Downe House School Magazine 2021-2022

Our Year 2021-2022

Head & Deputy Head Seniors

Introducing Cléo. It is practically impossible not to get along with Cléo. I met Cléo on my very first day at Downe and five years later I’m still in awe of her. That young girl, my pastoral buddy in fact, was vibrant, welcoming, and incredibly smiley, she seemed exactly like the type of girl I’d seen on the Downe House website: confident, kind and welcoming. In the Lower Fifth, Cléo and I went on to share a dorm together where we grew immeasurably closer. My memories of that term are full of laughter, support of one another but also pushing each other to be better. Over the last few years, we have grown alongside one another but even after all these years I still marvel at Cléo’s ability to excel in everything she puts her mind to; few people are as driven, dedicated and successful in all that they do. Not to mention that she can also be found giving her all on the lacrosse pitch, singing your favourite songs (with the wrong lyrics) at the top of her lungs and generally making everyone’s day better. Compassionate in all that she does, I could not think of anyone more suited to the role of Deputy Head Senior than Cléo. Her joy is contagious, humour always appreciated and dedication admirable. I feel so privileged to be working with my best friend this year.

Ebunlola Oyegunle (LVI), Head Senior

Introducing Lola. I will start with this: Lola is one of the most inspiring, unstoppable and hilarious people you will ever come across! Although we met in the Upper Fourth, it wasn’t until we shared a dorm together in the Michaelmas term of Lower Fifth that we really hit it off…and never looked back. From her infectious sense of humour to her exceptional taste in music, Lola leaves an imprint on everyone she meets. She is a doer, she influences and she inspires people to be better, a true friend to everyone. I am proud and constantly in awe of the woman Lola is turning into and I feel confident that we are all in admiration of her ever-growing achievements and abilities. From her renditions of Stay by Rihanna (secret revealed!), to winning competitions left and right as well as her wittiness, which is very much appreciated during song writing for assemblies, Lola shines in everything she does! There is no doubt that Lola will become one of Downe House’s most renowned alumnae who will be back to inspire future girls. I know that she will excel in her position as Head Senior and life beyond Downe House. I am honoured and privileged to be able to support and work alongside my biggest role-model and closest friend!

Cléo Dutertre-Delaunay (LVI), Deputy Head Senior

What a difference a year makes! As I sit down to write this now, the sun is shining and we have just concluded a wonderfully special Summer term and the first relatively normal school year since the outbreak of the pandemic, with bubbles, isolation and one-way systems a thing of the past.

The joy of being able to come together again in person, of girls being able to visit one another freely in the boarding houses regardless of age, of House competitions starting again, of parents being able to meet again socially and so much more, has been palpable. I would even risk saying that the girls have been grateful for the return of public examinations! However, what made the term so special was not just the return to normality but the fact that we were also able to celebrate the move of the School from Kent to Berkshire in April 2022.

The move took place at a time when the School was recovering from the impact of the Spanish Flu; the need to provide spaces for isolation and recovery had thrown into sharp focus the need for larger premises for the growing school population and so the site at Cold Ash was selected. Although not quite big enough to house all the girls immediately, its beautiful countryside, its proximity to good transport links and the scope it provided for development made it irresistible to our Founder, Olive Willis. She was a woman of remarkable vision and courage, someone who saw obstacles as opportunities and someone who recognised the possibility of creating a community here where girls would flourish. It would be a place where they would become confident young women who would contribute positively to the world around them. I hope that if she were to look at her school today, she would be equally proud of the young women who leave our campus now. I hope that she would find the Downe House of 2022 equally aspirational, courageous, nurturing and forward-looking. The content of this magazine would certainly indicate that this is the case. For my part, I am confident that, if we continue to retain this character, ethos and these timeless values, the future will be a bright one.

Celebrating 100 Years

Throughout 2022 we have celebrated the centenary of the School’s move to its campus in Cold Ash. Our Archivist, Mrs Jane Caiger-Smith, shares here a little of the history of that move, which cemented the foundations of all that our School has become since that time.

In the early 1920s, an increase in the number of pupils and staff at the School and the pressure to develop the area around the village of Downe in Kent, meant that the School’s Founder, Miss Olive Willis, sought a new home for her School. Whilst visiting a friend in Berkshire, Olive and her sister Dorothy came across the sale particulars for The Cloisters Estate. Olive was clear that she wanted a place on a hill, with relatively easy access to London and enough land to offer some real countryside for the community to enjoy and on their first visit, they realised that they had found their new home.

Miss Nickel set about making the necessary changes to the layout of the buildings with the help of local craftsmen, and the final move was made after the close of the Lent term in 1922. Furniture, books, kitchen equipment, linen, blankets and other belongings were transported over, by road or the railway. The buildings put up by the School in Kent had to be removed, under the terms of the lease, so they were taken down and all materials were moved to Cold Ash. There are even reports of steam engines being used to get everything from Hermitage Station up Red Shute Hill to the school.

For a short time, some girls slept outside on camp beds as not all dormitories were finished. A balmy start to the Summer term and a supply of exceptionally comfortable wood and canvas camp beds made this a great pleasure and the tradition of sleeping outside as a treat on warm nights, under the cover of the cloisters, has continued over the years.

In the late 1970s, a house system was introduced, and the House names were chosen to reflect aspects of the School’s history. Darwin house was of course named after Charles Darwin, Hill house after Red Shute Hill and Hermitage house after the village in which the School now resides. Miss Willis had a small cottage in the Quantock Hills named Holcombe, and that cottage sits on the edge of the village of Aisholt. Ancren Gate took the name from the original Cloisters Estate, The School of Silence, a religious order founded in the early 1900s by Adela Curtis and Lily Davison Cancellor. ‘Ancren’ coming from the term Anchorite or Anchoress, is one who withdraws from the world for a solitary life of prayer. Ancren Gate was built in 1914 as part of the School of Silence, when Downe House moved to Cold Ash, the building was used for staff accommodation and after a time it became a boarding house for the older pupils. As the School enrolment increased, in 1992 Ancren Gate was split into two houses, Ancren Gate North (AGN) and Ancren Gate South (AGS). Tedworth house takes its name from Tedworth Square in London, where Miss Willis spent the last part of her life and York house, one of our Sixth Form houses, was named after York Terrace, near Regent’s Park, where Olive made her first London home. The other Sixth Form house, Willis, was of course named in honour of the School’s Founder, Olive Willis.

The Cold Ash site has developed over the years, but Miss Willis’ founding principles remain, Downe House is a strong community where each member is respected and valued for their individuality, and where the needs of girls and young women are at the heart of education. Despite considerable changes throughout the years and development of the site, returning alumnae and former staff find the same DNA and core principles remain the same to this day.

100Years in Cold Ash

1922–2022

What an eventful year! From Winter Wonderland to a trip to Bournemouth, so much has gone on during this academic year and we cannot believe it is already the end of the Summer term. There have been so many activities and trips that we will never forget. In December, a Winter Wonderland came to Downe, and we were able to try ice skating and bumper cars and enjoyed crepes and doughnuts. The outdoor cinema was also really spectacular, with a massive cinema screen, comfortable blankets, delicious food and little bags of sweets. Our trip to Bournemouth was our favourite event this year! With the sun shining it was just the right weather for a day at the seaside. We dipped our toes in the sea, ate at Harry Ramsdens and had the best fish and chips. Afterwards, we went on a zip line over the sea, which was just so much fun. We ate Mr. Whippy’s in the sunshine before we went to do some rock climbing. The walls were so high and we felt so accomplished when we finally got to the top. After all of that we were all shattered but it really was an amazing day at the seaside.

Aleksandra Cork and Margaret Tam (LIV)

One of the best things when I arrived was that everyone was new together and so we were able to support each other. When I first arrived at Downe House, I was quite nervous because I came from a very small primary school where everyone knew everyone else, and I had never had the experience of moving to a new place and having to learn my way around and make new friends. Also, the Housestaff were there for us through everything and if we were ever feeling homesick then they would help. At night if we can’t get to sleep then we can ring on their doorbells and they can give us iPods to listen to stories on or will sit with us and do some mindfulness colouring to help us calm down. It was quite easy to make friends as everyone was so welcoming and nice but it took me longer to remember where all my classrooms were! The dorms are warm and cosy and you can decorate your section of the dorm. There are three other girls in the dorm so you form close bonds very quickly. At the beginning, the prospect of a new school was daunting, but Downe has become a second home to me.

Alexia Walker (Remove)

The Lower School production this year was The Lion King. The auditions were fun because for most of us it was our first time doing a proper audition.

Everyone was quite nervous, but the teachers were very supportive and helped us to prepare and made sure that everyone who auditioned got a part. I thought this was nice because it encouraged us all to take part in drama and learn more about the process of putting on a production. If you don’t want to go on stage but still want to be involved then you can volunteer to work backstage, where you help to make the props and scenery. There were a lot of rehearsals as we had to learn and practice acting, singing and dancing, and as we got closer to the final performance, we had some very long rehearsal days! These long rehearsals were a good chance to see the whole play from start to finish and the time in between scenes you can be trying on costumes or practising a different part of the play in another room. At Founder’s Weekend, we performed the play in the Performing Arts Centre and was an amazing success!

Amelie Perceval (Remove)

In Hill House, we do lots of different activities. For example, on one Saturday when we did not have any fixtures, we had the great opportunity of making resin jewellery. We went into the woods and picked beautiful spring flowers to place inside the resin. We also sometimes enjoyed tie-dye outside and created great t-shirts. One of my other favourite activities has been cooking with Mrs Usmar, who sometimes came to Hill and helped us to make some amazing meals! We often make chicken chow mein or egg fried rice; they are so much fun to make! All the activities we do are always a great experience and really stretch my creativity.

Mia

My time in Lower School has been so much fun, even though there have been some challenges like joining the School

in the middle of a global pandemic and preparing for our first ever set of exams. But being surrounded by other girls all going through the same thing has been great and only made our friendships stronger! I am excited to move on from the Lower School, but I will miss the trust between the Housestaff, my friends, the Remove girls, House Seniors and evening staff. Spending two years with the same people means you get to learn a lot about each other and grow strong bonds. It has helped to build my communication skills, and that is definitely something that I feel has prepared me for Upper School. Apart from anything else, the thing I’m going to miss the most of all is the ‘Hillians’ all being together.

In September, at the start of the Michaelmas term, we were all a bit nervous and unsure of what lay ahead, particularly after a long summer holiday and many of us having not boarded before. This was soon to change as on arrival to Hermitage House we were greeted by our Housestaff Mrs Collingwood, Miss Davies and Miss Daddy. They were so friendly and made sure we were all occupied and having fun! Throughout the first week we got to meet all our lovely evening staff, who together helped make Hermitage as warm and cosy as possible, so we all felt welcome and able to have the best time with all our new friends. Each Remove is given a Lower Fourth buddy, someone who has been in the same boat as us, which meant they could answer any questions we had and act as a big sister figure. Within the first week of term, we had already baked cupcakes, decorated heart trinket pots and had a fun movie night in the common room. It immediately felt like a home-awayfrom-home.

In House, there are so many fun activities on each night across the week. On Tuesdays, we often do crafts or a wellbeing activity, such as yoga or decorating lots of fun things such as flowerpots, postcards, pillows and piggy banks. On Wednesdays, we have ‘Movie and Tuck Night’ which everybody enjoys! Personally, Fridays are one of the best evenings because we get to cook with Mrs Hamisi (who is one of our evening Housestaff). We made cupcakes, cinnamon swirls, cookies, cheese sticks, milkshakes, chicken noodle soup and loads more delicious things.

At Downe House it is really easy to get involved within the wider School community. Firstly, as part of our allocated Upper School House we get the chance to join in with whole school competitions such as House Drama, Dance, Sport, Music and Gymnastics. These are a great way to meet the older girls and engage in some friendly competition. In the evenings we can also sign up to co-curricular activities, this year many of us have enjoyed silver jewellery club, ballet and cookery club which were all really good fun. Many of us took part in the production of The Lion King that was performed at Founder’s Weekend. We also had a great time at our end of year residential trip to the Calshot Activity Centre near Southampton, which was a lovely way to round off our first year at Downe together.

Furthermore, at the weekends there are so many fun trips to keep us all entertained. For example, we went to Harry Potter World at the start of the Summer term where we looked behind the scenes and at all the amazing props, sets and costumes that were

used which was a magical experience. One weekend, we went pottery painting and shopping in Newbury which was very relaxing, and we are so lucky to have Newbury as our closest town. On the first weekend back from our Michaelmas Long Exeat, we had an especially good time with a trip to Coral Reef Water World followed bybonfire night in the evening, which was such a treat as we were able to toast marshmallows around a fire pit with our friends from the other Lower School houses.

There have been so many occasions that have made our first year at Downe House memorable. As we move into Lower Fourth, we can’t wait to share our experiences with the new Remove girls and to make their first year as welcoming as ours was. The Remove year has been more than we expected, and we look forward to September with the new adventures and challenges that lie ahead.

Mia Olsen, Anna Dawson Paul & Araminta Winkworth (Remove)

When we first arrived at Downe House, we were a little nervous about what lay ahead - everyone was new! On our first night in Darwin, we were all chatting in our dorms before ‘lights out’ and before we knew it our first night passed and it wasn’t as overwhelming as we thought it would be.

During the start of the term some of our House felt homesick, some more than others, but no matter what, the Housestaff went out of their way to make us feel welcome and at homeand being around our new friends was also a big help.

As we got further into the term, we felt more relaxed and became familiar with our routine. In Remove, there is something called FOG (feet off ground) where we can stay in our dorm and play a board game or maybe write a letter to our parents. Just after FOG is silent reading for Remove and LIV, which is a nice time to relax before ‘lights out’.

Some elements of life at Downe were affected because of the ongoing pandemic, however our teachers and Housestaff were always there to reassure us and make us laugh.

Weekends have often been quite busy, from sports matches all the way to pizza and film nights! Usually, we have a match on a Saturday, whether it’s a lax match or a cricket match; there is always something to keep you busy. There is some time to relax, see your

friends from other Houses and go out and enjoy the fresh air. However, our Housestaff always make sure that we have a good rest at the end of the day, which sometimes includes a fun treat like pamper night! We then normally have a trip either on or off-site on Sundays. Some of our favourite places were Cadbury World, the Harry Potter Studios, shopping trips, escape rooms and so much more.

There are a lot of House activities during the week, such as something crafty or arty and during the warm weather we love to play Swing ball!

We also had some fun House events like Dorm Dance and Dorm Drama, where each dorm had to prepare a dance routine or drama performance and perform it to the rest of the House. We loved watching them all and it was really fun and entertaining for everyone. Other activities we enjoyed this year were our charity events, such as charity film night and charity house bingo.

In the Summer term, both the Remove and LIV went on a residential trip. The Remove went to Calshot and we loved the activities there - including climbing, kayaking, sailing, aero track, ringos, velodrome and many more. It was a great experience and a fun way to end the year!

March 2022 marked the first time that Downe House pupils were able to spend time at the Château de Sauveterre. Not only have the pupils had the opportunity to travel again, but they experienced life in the wonderful Gers region of France. Rich in many cultural delights, including foie gras, duck, local markets and many Gascon traditions, but most importantly, the Gers is known for its relaxed pace of life and its proximity to the beautiful Pyrenees, the Mediterranean Sea and the ocean. At School, we strike the perfect balance between ensuring academic rigour and reaping the benefit of our surroundings. The proximity to such fantastic locations means that the pupils can experience the very best excursions, no matter the term they spend here. In addition to all the wonderful excursions the girls go on, we are very fortunate to have a 9-hectare site which provides many activities right on our doorstep.

Since first welcoming girls to the Château in March, they have helped our eco initiative by rejuvenating our orchard and aiding the construction of our permacultures. Through their efforts, we have already enjoyed home grown salads in the comforting knowledge that we are working hard to become more sustainable. The next step in our journey is to establish a garden kitchen from September, to make fruit tarts and jams using produce from the garden.

The highlight for many of the girls has been our trips to the mountains: we were delighted to catch the end of the skiing season with our first group of LIV pupils and as such made the most of a day trip to Peyragudes. We split into three groups and spent the afternoon exploring the slopes and resort. With the second group, we were equally pleased to spend time looking at the snow-capped mountains from the comfort of a relaxing spa at the foot of the mountains. It was difficult to decide which baths were the best, but the Japanese baths were certainly a real hit as they were 35, 38 and 40 degrees with gorgeous panoramic views.

Our excursions, however, were not limited to trips to the glorious mountains; we also visited Toulouse and Auch, our two closest cities, where the girls were able to find out about the local culture and to speak to the locals about their likes, dislikes, and frankly, everything in between. The questionnaires the girls produced were anything but ordinary and made for some interesting conversations.

Being so close to Toulouse, we visited the Cité de L’espace which certainly tested our understanding of astronomy, but it was fun and educational, which must be the best combination! Our excursions also took us to museums and local markets, with arguably the best game being the search for Mr Stacchini’s ‘wow item’. Markets in this region remain traditional

and there is a real focus on local, organic produce, which compliments our efforts in the Château garden perfectly.

In addition to our immersive lessons which include designated culture lessons, alongside French Language, History, Geography, Maths, English and Journal lessons, the pupils loved our weekend Art and Photography workshops. They were able to explore new techniques and produced beautiful results. They relished the freedom they had to learn new techniques, to work with their friends and to use the Château buildings and grounds to create beautiful images. What we do here and what makes Downe House Sauveterre so unique is that we integrate the skills needed to succeed in the Downe House curriculum, with the language required to successfully take part in the excursions on offer here and beyond, with an immersive, culturally enriching and exciting French experience. We do this because we all love watching the difference it makes to a pupil, the joy it brings and memories they make as a result. It has been wonderful being able to welcome the girls to the château, to watch them grow and to be able to share this experience with them. A big thank you to them for making our first year such a memorable and successful one.

It has been a wonderful year for Tedworth, full of change, excitement, challenges and successes. It was a delight to welcome everybody back to House as everything returned to normal. The support of our Seniors, Georgia Biggs, Airlie Fleming and Eleanor Gibbs (UVI) was invaluable in rallying House spirit and making a success of our inter-House competition entries. We also had the pleasure of welcoming Miss Brown as the new Housemistress of Tedworth: she has taken the helm with enthusiasm and compassion, guiding us seamlessly through the year!

The Michaelmas term began with an action-packed House bonding trip to Beaulieu for some outdoor activities. Everyone had a great time canoeing and paint-balling and the time spent getting to know one another really stood us in excellent stead for the year to come.

Our first school-wide event of the year was the annual House Drama competition. Everybody participated with gusto and produced a brilliant performance based around the music of Amy Winehouse. Amabel Baring missed out on the Best Actress award for her role as Valerie, but we were honoured that our very own Hannah Hurd received the prize for Best Supporting Actress and we walked away with awards for House Spirit and Best Script courtesy of Konstanza Haefner, who worked incredibly hard to create a piece that was both moving and hilariously entertaining.

The House Gymnastics and House Dance competitions were combined this year and our Tedworthians continued to do us proud. The level of competition was very high indeed and all our dancers and gymnasts held their own beautifully. Tedworth’s group dance, Events that Changed the World, was based on the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Agnes Rose and Verena Whitbread (LVI) did a fabulous job with

the choreography to showcase the talents of Tedworth’s many fabulous dancers. However, the small ensemble piece really stole the show - Agnes Rose and Yuwen Ge’s duet was intensely moving and beautifully done.

House Music was equally fabulous. Under the direction of our incoming Seniors, Agnes Rose, Thea Davies and Verena Whitbread, and the skilful musical direction of Anson Leung, we were awarded Best-Presented House and Best Musical Director. Original music choices, including a beautiful choral arrangement of Radiohead’s Creep, set our entries apart and made it a memorable event indeed!

All the house events really gave our pupils the performance bug and their efforts across the year are almost too many to mention, from carol services and School concerts to productions of ABBA: The Party and dance showcases. They have made us so proud. This culminated in the amazing events of Founder’s Weekend. Our UIV pupils stole the show in the production of The Lion King, with Tomi Olunuga, Violet Barker, Isabella Neill, Dhyaana Shourie,

Esmeé Haefner and Niamh Planner all taking featured roles. It was a planning feat to see it all! Lord of the Flies, the Moving Memories dance showcase, the beautiful art exhibitions and Bring the House Downe really highlighted the sheer talent of our pupils and we can’t wait to see where it takes us next year.

Tedworth’s house motto is the Zulu saying Ubuntu – ‘I am because we are.’ Community spirit, working together and supporting each other are incredibly important to us. Sports Day highlighted these attributes in our pupils: watching them cheer one another on regardless of success was a true delight to see. But it is day to day that we really see the Ubuntu spirit manifest within Tedworth. Our pupils may be incredibly talented young people, but they are also kind, thoughtful, sociable and in possession of the very best sense of fun. It is a real pleasure to spend time with them in the evenings and weekends as they throw themselves into activities from yoga to baking to the ever-popular Glitter Club. They represent themselves and the School beautifully at social events and always put their all into everything they do. We could not possibly ask for better.

It really has been the most fantastic year for Tedworth and we could not have done it without the support of our team, including our inimitable matrons Mrs Edwards and Mrs Parsons. A huge thank-you is also owed to our outgoing Seniors, Georgia, Airlie and Eleanor whilst we eagerly look forward to the endeavours of Agnes, Thea and Verena as they take on the roles. Here’s to next year and even more fun, achievement and Ubuntu spirit!

We started off the year in an enthusiastic way by being united as a House post-Covid and ready to take on the academic year.

To bond as a House, we set off on our first House trip to Aston Clinton in September, where we took part in numerous activities such as the leap of faith, blind-folded obstacle courses and rock-climbing in House families, which consists of girls from each year group; this helped create connections with the older girls. Miss McCann showed a great example by stepping out of her comfort zone and ventured up a great height but swiftly regretted her decision!

Showing Holcombe’s ever competitive side, we took the win for Winter Sports Day! Our successes continued with our House Drama 2021 victory, crowning us as the ‘Killer Queens’. At Christmas, Holcombe was gifted a football table – which has become a very popular way for everyone in House to relax and relieve stress together! Holcombe also participated in Advent Angels, like Secret Santa but with homemade gifts and multiple acts of kindness across the festive season, including making toast and hot chocolate for your Advent Angel. It was finished off with the whole House Christmas party, where main gifts were given and Advent Angels revealed - it was an extremely fun evening! To conclude the Michaelmas term, we went on a House trip to Reading where we had a delicious lunch at Pizza Express and enjoyed some shopping.

“After being online for much of UIV and not being in Holcombe for most of LV, it was great to finally be back this year. We had a range of activities put on in House including baking and recipe club, bingo, Wii dance, knitting club, smoothie making and the middle ground discussion group. Many of these activities were put on by members of UV and LVI which allowed the younger girls to interact with the older years in the House. I think the middle ground group was a great addition to the House and allows people to talk about current issues in the world and discuss different opinions.”

Pupils taking their exams were offered the opportunity to take part in ‘puppy therapy’, where puppies were brought in to help pupils relax and have fun. Currently, this is only for A Level and GCSE pupils, however, since it was so successful, they are looking to expanding this to the whole of the Downe House community. While the Lent term is always busy, Holcombe still managed to retain our excellent House spirit, gaining us the title of Overall Winners of House Gymnastics and Dance. An excellent way to end the Lent term!

On 4 May, we got into the Star Wars spirit by getting together with Tedworth for an UIV House social. We started off by playing a Kahoot! on all the Star Wars films and the lovely Housestaff made bubble tea for us. This was a

great evening, which allowed us to bond together and enjoy the much-loved films.

Holcombe has a real family feel to it, with our Cub Families and Housestaff. There are many opportunities to bond with the girls from all year groups and staff; from a range of activities to just a cup of hot chocolate in the common room. Birthdays are always special in Holcombe with pizza and cake, and friends from other Houses coming to celebrate. Our amazing and hardworking Housestaff plan evening activities such as tie dye bags, pom pom making, mindfulness, puzzle making and Lego competitions, to name a few! Many of us have found it to be extremely relaxing and useful to help us unwind.

“It was so great to finally be back in Holcombe with the other year groups and some normalcy. This term I have done many House activities varying from House supper to WII dance competitions, we have done it all. In House this term the atmosphere has been homely and supportive; especially as the years can start to bond again. The thing I found particularly challenging this term is the academic jump from LV to UV. However, Miss McCann, Miss Pickford and the whole Holcombe team really helped our year to wind down in the evenings. It is so nice to feel like a House again!”

At Founder’s Weekend this year, each House made homemade items to raise money for their House charity. Each girl from Holcombe made pom poms and tie dye bags to sell during Founder’s Weekend and Sports Day, all the proceeds went to the Charlie Waller Memorial Trust based in Thatcham.

Overall, it is safe to say that Holcombe House had a fantastic year with much to be celebrated. We are really looking forward to welcoming in the new UIV in 2022-23!

Aisholt had another wonderful year! Despite the challenges boarding through Covid brought, Aisholt rose to the challenge and proved how resilient and amazing the girls are. I have thoroughly enjoyed my first term in such a fabulous and successful House and cannot wait to see what next year brings!

Aisholt have shown their creative talents in so many ways this year starting with the ever competitive and hotly contested House Drama in Michaelmas term. Aisholt performed Love, Mrs Houston written, directed, produced and choreographed by our amazing Lower Sixth pupils. It was an intensely suspenseful drama about a girl who learns about the true cause of her mother’s death, by reading her journal. Alas, in doing so, she meets a similar end! The Aisholt girls always show their true colours when it comes to competitions; supporting and encouraging one another to the fullest and brimming with enthusiasm! Our Aisholt pupils brought the amazing writing to life, and we were thrilled to walk away with awards for Best Technical Team and Best Choreography.

House Music in Summer term was a highlight with Aisholt winning five awards including the overall House Music Trophy. Lauren Akinluyi (LVI) led the girls wonderfully, ably assisted by our new Head of House Willow Wilkinson (LVI). The evenings spent rehearsing paid off and we received special mention from the adjudicator about our energy in singing Taylor Swift’s Shake It Off with fantastic choreography and surprise rapping of

Araminta Hervey, Claudia Pope and Sophie Scott (UV). Seeing all the girls up on stage, laughing and having such fun was infectious and the Housestaff and Upper Fifth happily joined in from the audience. Our vocal ensemble sang a beautiful a cappella rendition of Amy Winehouse’s Valerie which really showed off the talents of our singers. Chenxi (Thalia) Li (LVI) led the instrumental ensemble to victory and Thalia herself won the award for Best Performer, dressed in her fabulous red robes. It was Aisholt’s night to shine and there were definitely a few repeat performances in the Common Room to celebrate afterwards!

Aisholt showed their sporting prowess on Sports Day this year with so many pupils winning medals. Watching the House cheer their friends on, decked out in Aisholt red, was a lovely sight. Well done to all the girls who won medals and a particular congratulations to Pollyanna Reynolds (UIV) for winning the Hurdles Cup. We finished in second place overall, so watch this space for next year.

Outside of all the excitement of preparing for these House events (as well as lessons and learning), Aisholt were busy with weekly clubs including the ever-popular Monday night baking with Mrs Rodgers and the new Thursday night Book Club, which has been a hugely welcome addition to our evenings. We went on a wide variety of trips and socials, which we all thoroughly enjoyed including black tie events, BBQs, sightseeing, shopping, paddleboarding, ziplining, trips to the cinema and the bright lights

of Newbury. We have also continued to support our House charities, particularly through selling chocolate stirrers and strawberries on Sports Day. To demonstrate how Aisholt girls are such fantastic and successful allrounders, we have won the House Cup for the second time this year.

We want to wish the best of luck to our Leavers and hope that they keep in touch. We thank our wonderful outgoing Seniors, Lara Harries, Ashley Iguh and Emma Woodworth (UVI) for all they have done for us and welcome in our new Seniors, Willow Wilkinson, Alice Crowston and Charlotte Beveridge (LVI). My thanks must also go to the wonderful Housestaff, without whom Aisholt could not be the wonderful place it is. Thank you to Miss Prentice, Mrs Rigby and Mrs Rodgers. We are sad to say farewell to Miss Donnelly and wish her the very best of luck.

To start the year off, AGS headed to an Activity Centre where we did a range of activities, including kayaking and climbing. It was a chance to build our teamwork skills, spend time together as a House and have some fun! We all enjoyed getting to know each other better after a few terms away from AGS, and it was a great way to welcome our new Housestaff!

This year’s House Drama was extremely exciting as the theme was ‘Musical Jukebox’, directed by Isabel Davenport (LVI). The whole House worked extra hard this year with the short amount of time they had to rehearse. A special mention must go to Melissa Hulse (UV) and Sophie Carter (LV) who received individual awards for their brilliant acting!

In between House Drama rehearsals, there were lots of events being hosted throughout the Michaelmas term. We had our first House supper of the year and in typical AGS fashion we got our costumes out and dancing shoes on! For Halloween, all the girls (and staff!) dressed up and went round the Housestaff accommodation for some ‘trick or treating’. The Michaelmas term ended with our AGS Christmas party, where there were lots of games and music with everyone participating in their House families to compete for prizes. Secret Santa consisted of homemade gifts, which is always the highlight of the year and brought lots of smiles across the House.

During the Lent term, there were many competitions including the House Competition: ‘So you think you can move’, which combined House Dance and Gymnastics. Ophelia Bracken, Hetty Hack, Iona Neville and Alice Aird (LV) produced an excellent House

Gymnastics routine with the Lower School, and Isabella Withey (UIV) won the individual gym routine for AGS! Then the Lower Sixth organised a wonderful set of dances, a group dance based on the theme of Covid-19 and Cheuk-Yi Cherie (Sage) Lau as our individual dancer - we were crowned the overall winners of the Dance section! AGS celebrated National Book Day by decorating our dorm doors in the theme of our favourite books. There were a huge variety of books chosen from 1984 by George Orwell to The Hungry Caterpillar, everyone was so inventive and creative. Mrs McKendrick then had the hard task of judging all the doors!

The Summer term flew by, with examinations for every year group, DofE expeditions as well as preparations for the infamous Founder’s Weekend. We can’t forget House Music with the theme ‘Female Icons’ and our group performance was It’s All Coming Back to Me Now by Celine Dion, which was so much fun to perform. Everyone had a great time which would not have been possible without the help of all the LVI involved, and well done to Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee (LVI) who won Best Soloist, and Camilla Hale (UV) was awarded Best Accompanist.

Throughout the term lots of activities have been put on to help reduce stress, including night-time yoga with Miss Archer, which help us all relax, especially when some of us had exams the next day! We had a Hawaiian-themed barbeque in Miss Vidler’s garden, where there was a delicious range of food and drinks, which went down well with everyone. We couldn’t write about the Summer term without mentioning Swing Ball! The whole House has thoroughly enjoyed playing Swing Ball when the

weather has been nice; this has however, resulted in a few balls being lost to the roof of AGS!

There are always a variety of clubs during the week including Book Club run by Miss Crompton, Cookery with Mrs Trigwell, and Middle Ground with Miss Stonebridge where we discuss recent and relevant news which not only is fun, but also enriches our worldly knowledge. These clubs bring all the years together and allows us to feel more at home.

Lastly, we would like to say a huge thank you to our UVI seniors, Madeleine (Maddi) Hales, Isabella Pemberton and Ceara Bastin, for all their hard work for AGS and we wish them good luck for this exciting time in their lives. Well done to Isobel (Izzy) Peddie, Nicola Iu, and Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee (LVI) for taking over their roles - we know you will all do an amazing job. Thank you so much to all the Housestaff this year for always going above and beyond the call of duty – your work does not go unrecognised, and we are all very grateful for your incredible support this year! We are all very sad to be saying goodbye to the amazing Miss Crompton, but we wish her the best of luck for the next stage in her life and thank her for everything that she has done - it has been lovely getting to know you!

Martha Drew & Jemima Thistlethwayte (UV)

AGN

Ancren Gate North (AGN) is a house full of life and love. All the girls and Housestaff contribute to the amazing atmosphere and adventure you get the moment you step through the door. We are especially enjoying our new refurb and look forward to its completion next year.

It has been an incredible year for everyone, (post Covid!) with many highlights and fun activities all the way through. A long-standing favourite has been Monday Mindfulness run by our very own Housemistress, Mrs Mears-Smith. Many girls take this as an opportunity to start their week off the right way and enter a relaxed state! One of our favourite moments was star gazing in Michaelmas term, all wrapped up warm seeing shooting stars and burning sage. Cookery is also always popular and leading up to Christmas we ran baking activities and stayed on top of all world issues and cultural life with Current Affairs Club. We also loved making egg cups as gifts for our tutors as a thank you for all their hard work. Finally, we went on a whole House festive outing to Windsor where we enjoyed Wagamama and shopping.

In January 2022, we all returned from a restful holiday ready to take on the next term. While the Lent term may be one of the shortest terms, there was certainly plenty going on. We celebrated House Drama, House Dance and Gymnastics, as well as House Music so there was certainly lots of purple spirit about. House Drama is always a favourite, and we were looking forward to the theme of ‘Musical Jukebox’. Our Sixth Form team chose Michael Jackson, which was an exciting and bold show. Unfortunately, AGN did not win overall but we were awarded the prize for Best Lower School Dance and we loved every moment and felt so proud of all we achieved. For Music, we had our friend Janice Lee (LV) perform the most amazing percussion solo, as well as all three

years represented in the ensemble, and everyone joined in for the final whole House song performance. This was a most enjoyable act of Bad Romance by Lady Gaga for the theme ‘Female Icons’. Congratulations to our singing ensemble for winning a prize for their beautiful performance of Into the Unknown from Frozen. Finally, Gymnastics and Dance was choreographed and run by two members of our Lower Fifth, Jemima and Alice, who in fact won an award for their gymnastics choreography, as well as our Sixth Form prefects for dance. They ran rehearsals with everyone in the lead up and did a most wonderful job. It was an action-packed term but certainly a fun one!

The Summer term finally rolled around – a favourite term for many in the House despite the challenging exam period. The warmer weather followed a particularly cold Michaelmas and Lent term, which was a relief for everyone, allowing us to make the most of the spacious area outside the House, with AGN hosting BBQ socials with other Houses, as well as lawn games such as Swing Ball and table tennis – showing our competitive sides!

As Founder’s Weekend approached, we were all busy preparing for the House stalls, coming together with Lower School to paint flowerpots to sell, to help raise money for our House charities. It was an enjoyable evening and helped us all bond with the UIV girls joining us in September. We hope they are as excited as we are for them to move to the beautiful spot in the woods.

Some of our other highlights include our infamous break-time Toast Mountain from our matrons, Matron Medal and Dorm Tidy prizes to eat pizza with our friends, and seeing our famous AGN turkey about the place. There is never a dull moment in AGN and we are so appreciative of everyone for being a part of such a great year - from all our

staff to each girl. We are so sad to see Mrs Mears-Smith and Mrs MonkHouse leave because it has been a successful year in AGN, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of our incredible Housestaff and matrons. We can’t wait to see what next year brings for AGN!

Our last year in Willis is difficult to describe. We have undoubtedly made up for anything we missed in our absence last year. In a year marked by lasts, we have enjoyed every moment of being together as a year group, perhaps best encapsulated by Happy Day (organised by the Seniors), the condensed celebration of our times here into one day was undoubtedly a high point. This sentiment was echoed at the Foundation Dinner, where reminiscences of Downe from the Remove to Sixth Form made for an emotional yet commemorative evening. We are sure that this compassion and togetherness will persevere beyond our years here.

Throughout the Michaelmas and Lent terms, Caledonian Society remained one of the most popular activities. Friday evening practices prepared us well for Reels at Radley, Eton, Harrow and at home: huge thanks to our Cal Soc presidents and Ms Natta for this organisational feat. Establishing links with other schools, a central tenet of the goals outlined in our Leadership Conference last year, a group of UVI from Downe and Radley collaborated on the Respect Programme; raising awareness and encouraging dialogue around sexual assault has been the group’s priority and they have now passed down responsibility into the hands of the LVI. Alongside these social events, many other activities have now been fully resumed; those taking the Leiths qualification passed with flying colours, and Phoenix Society was back in full swing with a range of thought-provoking talks.

Coming to the end of our time here, those musical amongst us have certainly provided a creative input throughout the year. Starting in November, the Music Department staged the Michaelmas Concert, led by various music seniors and punctuated by panels, it was the first concert of its nature since 2020. An accomplished tableau of talent, both musically and technically, signalled some of the first lasts we experienced this year! The protean artistic capability of our year was

demonstrated again in ABBA: The Party, an import of Grecian sunlight into a cold February. With Morgan Wallace (UVI) as Sophie and a charismatic cast led by the UVI, we were drawn into the emotional yet exuberant story, with Slipping Through My Fingers eliciting many a tear. This was followed by the St John’s Music Showcase, the last concert for the UVI, in March. Not to be forgotten amongst these other endeavours was the Dance Showcase of The Nutcracker, and Music and Speech and Drama exams, which were held live, in person.

Alongside these creative ventures, other aspects of School life have been highlighted in assemblies, from the Creative Arts Prefects to the Sports Captains - entertaining and insightful starts to a Monday morning! For those with positions of responsibility, this year has also brought fresh responsibilities and challenges, yet I can safely say that leading the School has been an honour for all of us. We are deeply grateful to Lucy Barrie and Teal Uahwatanasakul for enthusiastically and devotedly leading the School as Head and Deputy Head Seniors, alongside the team of Seniors, who have worked so hard throughout the year. Moreover, we would like to express our thanks to the Housestaff and our teachers for their consistent support and dedication. To the matrons, who have gathered us together for many treat nights, we are deeply grateful also! Contributing to this ecosystem of support are unfortunately too many to mention by name, yet our thanks go out to them also.

Wherever we find ourselves this time next year, the memories, lifelong friends, and support of those at Downe will never leave us. Lastly, I would like to emphasise the gratitude felt, towards each other, our teachers and Housestaff, and to Downe for all it has given us.

This year in York has been a busy one, a new year in a new house for all the Lower Sixth as we began to tackle A Levels. Michaelmas term brought all of us into York with excitement for the coming year and the start of our A Levels. The opening months saw the Lower Sixth take fun whole-house trips to Oxford and Barbury Shooting School combined with the joining of societies. Many were enthusiastic about partaking in their first Caledonian Society reel with Radley. Hockey and Lacrosse matches dominated our weekends with varying successes throughout the sports.

Members of York performed some stunning pieces in the Michaelmas Concert. Although delayed due to Covid, the beloved House Drama was back in all its glory. The theme was ‘Jukebox Musicals’, and Holcombe was declared the 2021 winner for their musical based on the discography of the legendary band Queen. House Music also returned with the theme of ‘Female Icons’ and all the houses gave great performances, but the winners of 2021 were Aisholt for their amazing rendition of some serious power ballads, including Shake It Off by Taylor Swift.

The winter season saw Downe’s very own Winter Wonderland and many in York had fun attending and riding all the attractions as well as ice skating. We ended the term with a House trip to Reading, where many of us did our Christmas shopping and had a lovely buffet.

Lower Sixth have taken part in many competitions throughout this year, one of which was ARTiculation, which saw all the participants give brilliant speeches and presentations on a piece of artwork which fascinated them.

The winning presentation was Lola Oyegunle’s talk about Grayson Perry’s Brexit Vases and their political value. Elfreda Harvey was awarded the runner-up prize for the presentation on the architecture of the Museum of Qatar, Dasha Andreeva and Cordie Reeve were highly commended for their own displays.

The Lower Sixth this year had the chance to reboot the academic mentoring programme. This gave them the opportunity to help the younger members of the School community with their studies face-to-face in the Murray Centre. Some of the girls set up their own societies in addition to the many pre-existing ones, such as the Medical Society and the Lavender Society.

York’s chosen charities were Variety and Coppafeel; which meant we took part in many charitable fundraising events, including a colour run and bake sale. A lot of the members of York took part in organising, baking and running in the event to raise money for Coppafeel, the total figure being over £1700. A lot of the girls have also individually found charities which they have passionately supported through collections of stationery and clothes or mufti days. This initiative to find causes that they want to support has shown how generous and altruistic the members of York are.

These characteristics have set up our approach to our new positions of responsibility and newfound place at the top of the School going into Upper Sixth. All of us are very excited to enter our last year at Downe and tackle A Levels head-on.

Thursday 24 March 2022 saw the inaugural ‘So you think you can move?’ competition, combining for the first time the House Gymnastics and House Dance competitions. The LV (Gymnastics) and LVI (Dance) captains were set the challenge of choreographing and creating group and solo routines for their teams to perform in the competition. We were very fortunate on the day to have Kirsty Noble and Hollie Taylor judging the competition along with the help of the Gymnastics and Dance seniors, Heloise Friedlander and Louisa Healey (UVI). The judges and the audience were wowed by the performances from all houses and all the competitors should be congratulated for their beautiful work.

In the gymnastics categories, congratulations go to Isabelle Withey (LIV), AGS for winning the Individual Floor and Holcombe for winning the Group Floor routine. Eloise Harrison (LIV) was named as the Most Improved Gymnast and AGN were awarded the LV Captain’s Cup for Leadership.

In the Dance element, congratulations go to AGS for winning the Group Dance and Holcombe for the Duo Dance. The Standout Performer for Dance went to Cheuk-Yi Cherie (Sage) Lau (UIV), AGS. With all the totals added up the overall So you think you can move? Cup went to Holcombe. The competition was a wonderful showcase of the talent we have throughout the School. We can’t wait for next year!

This year’s House Drama Captains were given the challenge of creating an original piece of theatre using the ‘Sound of Icons’ as inspiration. Directors and script writers were tasked with choosing a popular musical icon and then creating a piece of theatre that used the music or the icon as the basis for their piece. The LVI certainly rose to the challenge with a vibrant and eclectic mix of stories from Britney Spears through to Queen. The standard of the script writing was excellent and was further bolstered by the quality of the direction. It was fantastic to see pupils stretch and challenge themselves by creating these original contemporary drama pieces.

First up were AGN with their brilliant ‘Off the Wall’, a gripping murder mystery using the extensive musical catalogue of Michael Jackson. This was then shortly followed by ‘Lucky’, which was performed and directed by AGS and provided us with an insight into the ‘Free Britney Spears’ movement and won Melissa Hulse (UV) the award for Outstanding Performance. This was shortly followed by ‘Love, Mrs Houston’ by Aisholt, who gave us a thrilling crime drama using the music of Whitney Houston. Tedworth came next with their performance of ‘Valerie’ which was a moving dedication to the life of Amy Winehouse. Last, but certainly by no means least was Holcombe’s performance of ‘Killer Queens’ a School of Rock-esq piece using the rousing music from the legendary Queen. Holcombe seamlessly incorporated the music throughout their piece, and noone will forget their finale of We Will Rock You which had the whole audience joining in – it is no wonder they were crowned winners of House Drama 2021!

The awards were a very intense affair, after the hours of creative planning and rehearsing, which was led by our outstanding production teams from LVI. The Artistic Endeavour Cup was given to AGS for their creation of ‘Lucky’ and the overall House Drama Cup was awarded to Holcombe for their slick and professional ‘Killer Queens’.

Our adjudicator for this year’s House Drama was Elena Skye, who has starred in West End productions of Les Misérables, Kinky Boots and We Will Rock You. Elena was tremendously impressed by the standard of the productions the girls had created in such a short space of time and was overwhelmed by the enthusiasm Downe House girls have for Theatre. This year’s LVI received extra praise for the resilience and determination they displayed in the face of so much diversity when rehearsing, it was a fantastic moment to finally see their pieces performed live on stage.

“I loved being Director for Holcombe House and working with my whole year was so much fun. It felt like such a long time since we have been able to do a House competition but after all the hours put in, by the end it with it being pushed later, it didn’t affect our overall performance as we had managed to use our rehearsal this it was a bit daunting to begin with but once we had and I am very proud of everyone’s input. I loved being able to oversee all the amazing work from our House team who put in so many hours. From the costumes and designs, the Lower and Upper School dance, the tech team, to the whole House scene - there was so much going on. One of my favourite parts was working with the cast as I really got an insight into managing a team and the importance of communication. It was such an backstage, seeing it all pull together was such a rewarding feeling and one that I won’t forget.”

“It was an event that I had been looking forward to since the Remove. I would describe it as a Downe House ‘rite of passage’ by the time we reach the Lower Sixth. The great thing about House Drama is that all year groups throughout the School take part. Competition between the Upper School Houses elevates, as everyone becomes very secretive about what plans they have in mind. Initially met with slight confusion as to what we would create, my Upper School House, AGN, put on a devised piece entitled ‘Off the Wall’, inspired by the discography of Michael Jackson. It followed the drastic murder of Billie Graham, son of a billionaire tycoon, and the two detectives assigned to the case, weaving their way through misleading clues and dubious suspects. I was appointed Producer, amongst a team of 18 members of the LVI, who had roles ranging from movement direction to set design to lighting coordination. It was a thoroughly enjoyable experience to have the whole House working together and I was very proud of everyone’s the opportunity to mirror that of a professional theatre production, as we are now all able to say that we produced

The House Music competition came back in April 2022 with a bang! After the delays of the pandemic, all the houses truly embraced the theme of ‘Female Legends’. Lead by the dedicated Sixth Form seniors, the pupils displayed a range of talent from AGS taking on the challenging song It’s All Coming Back to Me Now by the iconic Celine Dion to Tedworth’s performance of Umbrella by one of the ultimate female legends, Rhianna. We welcomed Sophie Cleobury, Head of Music at the Royal Ballet School, as our adjudicator, and along with Dr Charlotte Exon, they crowned Aisholt the House Music 2022 winners.

“This year I had the honour of leading Aisholt’s whole house choir and vocal ensemble, alongside Willow Wilkinson (LVI). After being given the theme of ‘Inspirational women’ by our Music seniors, we decide to perform Shake it Off by Taylor Swift as our whole house song and Valerie by Amy Winehouse as our vocal ensemble piece. The rehearsal process consisted of an electric atmosphere from the outset, as the girls all really channelled their ‘inner Swift’ as this enthusiasm and excitement from the girls that allowed Aisholt to win House Music this year. It was an amazing experience which we will never forget and was a great way to introduce House competitions back to Downe after

On the 15 June the five representative Houses assembled and went head-to-head in the annual Inter-House Science competition. Each house team was comprised of a Remove, Lower Fourth, Upper Fourth, Lower Fifth and two Lower Sixth members. The competition proved to be a close one, with some excellent individual and collective performances. The first round (The Buzzer Round) was designed to test speed of thought and general knowledge across all three sciences. Questions within this round were targeted to three specific age ranges: Lower School, Upper School and Sixth Form. The Lower School sub-round was won by Holcombe with an impressive display. AGN proved the stronger house in the Upper School and Sixth Form sub-round with overall scores of 40 and 30 points respectively.

The second round saw each team presented with a particularly challenging problem to solve. Each House was allowed access to the internet and had 10 minutes to solve as much of the puzzle as they could. The exercise required each House to work both efficiently and collaboratively to maximise their score in this round. Congratulations to AGS who were the only team to successfully complete the challenge in the allocated time frame. The additional 50 bonus points accrued would prove crucial.

The final round of the competition was named the ‘Famous Scientist Round’. Each House nominated two of their team members to answer questions on their chosen scientist. Clearly all the contestants had done their homework, with an impressive performance by all. Holcombe came out top in this round, thanks to their outstanding perfect score (120) on Dorothy Hodgkin.

In the end, however, it was AGS who came out on top, with a total of 220, closely followed by Holcombe on, 200 and Aisholt in third with a score of 180. My thanks once again to all the participants and to those who kindly came along to offer support to their house.

Academic Life

Looking back on our academic year, it gives me such pleasure to reflect on all that we have achieved and enjoyed. Our pupils, as always, have given their all in preparing for the public exams and have taken every opportunity to equip themselves for any possible question! In their last lessons in 2022, both the exam classes were on top form singing quotations from ‘An Inspector Calls’ rap, planning essay responses and practising timed work. They all worked incredibly hard and deserve their fantastic results.

As well as the work of the curriculum, the English department has been busy re-establishing school trips and searching for new opportunities to enhance learning within the school environment. We were delighted once again to be in the company of Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage at The Forum in Bath this February giving the Upper Fifth a chance to hear from their GCSE Literature poets.

In May, members of the new Lower Sixth Book Group read the Ishiguro novel ‘Klara and the Sun’ in preparation for a meeting with Radley. There were some fascinating insights shared by both schools and we enjoyed sharing varying perspectives.

Lastly, we are delighted once more to have collaborated with the Murray Centre for the Downe House Seniors Association (DHSA) Short Story Competition. The DHSA is a wonderful opportunity for our pupils to flex their creative writing muscles and share their thoughts on a given theme. This year, Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee was the inspiration with each school section writing on a theme taken from one of Her Majesty’s personal qualities. The story content did not have to relate to the Queen, the themes were purely to spark ideas. The Sixth Form were given the theme of Dignity, Upper School had Endurance and Lower School wrote on Wisdom.

The stories submitted showcased a passionate interest for a wide variety of literary genres. The shortlisted work was judged by a panel of DH alumnae with careers or interests in the world of writing and publishing. Mrs Boswell, one of our English teachers, who began the competition, and 2021 winner, Poppy Scales (DH 2020), also joined the panel.

Congratulations to our well-deserving 2022 winners:

Sixth Form winner: Lauren Akinluyi (LVI)

(Runners up: Charlotte Butterworth (UVI) and Mary Hazlitt (LVI))

Upper School winner: Annabel Trew (UIV)

(Runners up: Isabelle Ashworth (UV) and Felicity Harris (UIV))

Lower School winner: Sophia Bones (LIV)

(Runners up: Rosie Ilott (LIV) and Aryana Patel-Sharma (LIV))

The overall winner and recipient of the Clare Balding Prize for Excellent Writing was Annabel Trew, whose name now appears on the beautiful carved oak trophy that proudly sits in the Murray Centre Library. Annabel wrote a powerful, original story from the perspective of the ship Endurance on its final voyage.

As a celebration to honour all our talented winners, we were delighted to be joined by Poppy Scales, who is currently studying English Literature and Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. Poppy led a spirited and motivational creative writing workshop where the finalists were tasked with various writing and thought exercises to conjure up new characters, worlds and plot lines which they took to with enthusiasm and imagination.

“My favourite thing from the creative writing workshop was creating two different characters and seeing how they interact with each other.” Mary Hazlitt (LVI)

“My favourite aspect of the workshop was the prompt of a person – any person, your choice – sat behind a tree.”

Felicity Harris (UIV)

A celebratory lunch followed, with the Catering department providing a delicious spread in the Boardroom, including cupcakes for all the winners. It was wonderful to see everyone bonding over a love of literature. Congratulations to these pupils and to all those who took part. It has been an exciting and action-packed year once more and we look forward to all that the next year brings!

A collaboration between the Murray Centre and the English department.

From 15 – 18 March 2022, the Murray Centre became the backdrop for the Downe House Festival of Literature. The bunting was hung, flags fluttered outside and a local bookshop moved into the Collaboration Space. The stage was set for an exciting four days of events that allowed the whole community to share in the joy of literature.

WORKSHOPS

All Key Stages enjoyed a workshop to complement their programmes of study. The Remove and UIV enjoyed creative writing and confidence workshops provided by The Watermill Theatre and Revolution Performing Arts. Our GCSE classes were treated to a Shakespeare workshop on ‘Macbeth’ or ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ by Three Left Feet from Lancashire. The LVI had the opportunity to hear from a Casting Director at the Watermill and considered how they might cast their set texts: ‘Wuthering Heights’, ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘Othello’. In addition, Mr Owen, Mr Bartholomew and Mrs West read extracts from their favourite novels in The Murray Centre at lunchtime. Perhaps most entertaining of all, however, was the Birmingham based performance poet Giovanni Esposito or Spoz who encouraged all year groups to write and perform their own raps in response to their favourite chocolate!

GUEST SPEAKERS

In addition to our Performance Poet, Spoz and staff from the Watermill, the undoubted highlights of the week were the evening events when we welcomed some of our most popular authors to Downe House.

ROBERT HARRIS

Robert Harris is one of the foremost political and historical thriller writers. He is truly a master storyteller who has had many of his books made into films and TV series. He was expertly interviewed by one of his biggest fans, Tacita Rhys Williams (UV), and gave our audience of pupils, staff, alumnae and parents a very memorable evening. With his background in journalism and a lifelong interest in politics and history, it was fascinating to hear his take on the state of our world today. The interview was followed by a very busy book signing session in the Murray Centre that kept our guest writing for over an hour!

HOLLY BOURNE & LISA WILLIAMSON

We welcomed top teen authors Holly Bourne and Lisa Williamson who shared their love of writing with the Upper School. Holly and Lisa write with insight and humour about the issues faced by teenagers today with a particular slant towards mental health, friendships and romance. Once again, one of our pupils, Sophia Smeaton (LV) did a superb job hosting the evening and, although Holly was unable to join us in person, thanks to the expertise of our AV department, the conversation flowed freely from screen to stage.

KAREN MCCOMBIE & NICOLA PENFOLD

Our final evening event was with two popular authors amongst our Lower School readers, Karen McCombie and Nicola Penfold. The event was live streamed to our LIV pupils in Sauveterre and we also welcomed some of our families who will be joining Downe House. Karen and Nicola interviewed each other and treated us to a reading each from one of their books. It was lovely to see how engaged our Lower School pupils were – the Q&A at the end could have gone on all night!

POP-UP BOOKSHOP

Throughout the week, we were delighted to have a bookshop on site, hosted by our local award-winning independent Hungerford Bookshop. It was a real treat for pupils to be able to take time to browse and choose their own books from a wide-ranging selection on offer, including books from our festival authors.

BOOK HUNT

There was great excitement every day of the festival when a new set of books wrapped in brown paper were hidden around the School campus. These were brand new books gifted to whoever was lucky enough to find them and much fun was had running around searching every nook and cranny. Some pupils proved to be particularly skilled at seeking them out.

In addition to all of this, there were competitions to enter, a 1940s vintage typewriter on display where pupils could add sentences to a festival story and lots of daily quizzes, crosswords and even a Shakespeare puzzle to complete.

“There is no doubt that Downe House is a community that understands the value of books and reading. This enthusiasm was demonstrated in abundance during this year’s Festival of Literature – a wonderful celebration of all things literary.” Mrs Jenny Hill, Learning Resources Manager

In the Michaelmas term, we participated in the National Cipher Challenge which is an annual competition organised by the University of Southampton. This entailed teams from schools around the world solving two different challenges published on the website every Thursday afternoon. Each included passages which were encrypted using various types of cryptographic methods, with some of the most common being Vigenère and Columnar Transposition Ciphers. We would decode the passages and submit our answers to the host, who marked them based on the accuracy and the speed of our decryption. This also determined our position on the leader board. The entire event spanned about ten weeks with each challenge getting progressively more difficult and the leader board, as well as the forums, progressively more competitive. The forums were filled with participants asking one another various questions or building theories about the plot and who all the mysterious characters were until it was all finally revealed at the very last challenge, which was by far the hardest one.

On the forums, the host of the Cipher Challenge was playing the role of one of the characters; Harry. He interacted with us in the way that Harry would interact with Jodie, another one of the characters, through the letters which we decrypted throughout the course of the challenge. He would also answer questions and leave helpful hints which managed to help us through Challenge 10B, the final one.

The plot was undoubtedly the most captivating part of the entire experience as it was both carefully crafted to be interesting on its own as well as being a source of motivation to come back to solve the new challenges each Thursday.

One of the most memorable parts of this was when we finally managed to figure out to whom all the initials belonged in all the previous letters, as we had been intrigued by it from the very start.

There were two parts to the overarching plot; the more modern line of two people attempting tirelessly to uncover the conspiracy, and the other consisted of the conspirators’ letters to one another revealing in the last of the challenges what the Lighthouse conspiracy was about. The last of the challenges revealed that Mary Boole, the head of this mysterious organisation, set out to recruit women all around the world to help with creating technology which could revolutionise the world into an era of light, with Jodie, one of the main characters from the modern line, being recruited by the Lighthouse conspirators in the final letter. We were delighted to discover that all the names of the characters used pertained to real historical figures of female scientists and mathematicians.

This was an incredibly fun experience and we learnt a lot about how cryptography works as well as managing to improve our skills along the way. Additionally, there was a very useful guidebook which helped us alongside the numerous online tools. We will certainly participate again next year and would recommend this experience to anyone regardless of how much you know about cryptography, maths or ciphers. To quote Jodie, ‘you should have both a linguist and a mathematician in your team’.

Economics and Business remain popular A Level subjects at Downe House. As active global citizens, these subjects never fail to interest and thus attract pupils wishing to know and find out more by studying our subjects. The well-used saying from Greek philosophy that ‘change is the only constant’ is fitting to the study of our subjects. The current national and global context adds further weighting to that, providing our pupils with much to digest. We hope that when pupils leave their studies, examinations aside, they do so, well equipped to face the inevitable change and challenges ahead.

Mr Ian Chapman hosted Oxbridge Business and Economics preparations this year, charged with leading the girls to think far beyond the confines of A Level theories. Keynes once said:

Pupils have considered the issue of Economic Rationality and Utilitarianism and looked at how different economies might grow and then might develop on the back of this. There has been discussion of the middle-income trap and the new Silk Road that China has been building where we have questioned the reasons and ethics of such a move and questioned whether international trade is just colonialism by the backdoor. Inequality has been considered through the work of Thomas Pickety and this will lead us on to consider fuel poverty as we start a new term.

Moreover, post Covid, educational trips to see speakers and factories restarted and will continue this coming year. Our pupil-led Business and Economics Society was relaunched by LVI: Amy Jiang, Nicola Iu and Cléo Dutertre-Delaunay. They hosted and discussed matters including Downe House Social Enterprise, the economics and external costs of Formula 1 and incentives to vote or increase vaccination rates. The girls are hoping to attract younger pupils in the school to join the society this year.

Potential Oxbridge economists considered some of these issues. The year began with the question of: What do we mean by the ‘value’ of a good or service? Is it the amount of money that the consumer is willing to pay or the cost of producing it? This issue is explored in Mark Carney’s book, The Reith Lectures in which Christine Lagarde asked how can we go from knowing the price of everything to understand its true value? This led on to consider Kate Raworth’s ideas using the concept of Doughnut Economics of environmental concerns where she offered an “alternative roadmap for bringing humanity into a sweet spot that meets the needs of all within the means of the planet.”

“...an economist must be a mathematician, historian, a statesman and philosopher in some degree. They must understand symbols and speak in words … they must study the present in the light of the past for the purposes of the future.”

As part of the OCR A Level Specification, pupils are expected to carry out an independent investigation. The idea for this piece of work is that they choose an area of the syllabus that they find interesting and then plan, investigate and conduct a piece of research independently.

This year we were happy to finally take the pupils away again on a residential fieldtrip. We headed off to the Field Studies Council Field Centre in Slapton Sands, Devon. We were thrilled with the location, however less so with the weather!

The first couple of days were spent introducing the girls to urban and physical fieldwork techniques. The idea being to give them an opportunity to see which methods they enjoyed and begin to think about the type of project that they might like to carry out.

For our urban day, we headed down the coast to Plymouth. The aim was to investigate how differences in social inequality affect the quality of life for the residents of Plymouth. We looked at what life is like for people living on different ends of the income spectrum. Pupils carried out building quality surveys, environmental quality assessments and spent some time thinking about how they could add to these methods to create their own investigation.

For our coastal day, we travelled to three locations along the south Devon coast. The weather was dreadful but as usual, we found our geographers have a great sense of humour! This was assisted by finding a lovely café that served hot chocolate just in time for lunch. On the coastal day the girls looked at the impact of different types of coastal management strategy on the coastal settlements. The girls learned how coastal managers make decisions about the choice of different strategies, using both physical and human geographical considerations.

We finished on Slapton Sands, where we found it had a very moving story attached to it. In 1943, the beach was taken over by the allied forces to use as a rehearsal area for the D-Day Landings. Unfortunately, a combination of live ammunition and poor visibility resulted in the deaths of 749 American servicemen. In the centre of the beach, there is a beautiful stone monument which was set in place to commemorate the ill-fated.

Slapton Sands also plays an important part in the survival of some of the UK’s rarest flora and fauna and as such provided a stunning backdrop to our beach day. We were able to watch the thrilling display of gannets plunging into the sea while the girls carried out their beach investigations.

On our penultimate day at the centre, the girls travelled out on their own, to carry out an investigation that they had designed the night before. Some of the pupils headed back to Plymouth with field centre staff, while Mrs Ilott and I hit the beach again with the girls who had chosen coastal investigations.

We were so impressed with how hard they worked. The majority of the girls came back with their data collected and some had even begun to write it up! The FSC facilities were superb and several of the girls took the opportunity to use the on-site soils laboratory, so the Chemistry department at Downe House will be relieved to hear they are not needed this year!

The pupils used the final morning to discuss statistics and started making choices about how they would present and analyse the data they had collected. We are looking forward to seeing how the girls progress with this piece of work.

It has been another busy and exciting year in the Science department, with many scientific enrichment opportunities taking place to complement curriculum lessons.

A highlight of the year was the successful Science Residency in the Michaelmas term, which was very much enjoyed by pupils and staff alike. The Michaelmas term saw another very wet Biology Field Course, but despite the weather, the UVI remained in good spirits throughout! Several external Science competitions took place during the Lent and Summer terms, where some most excellent results were achieved. The Remove had their annual trip to ‘We the Curious’, where they took part in a range of interactive and hands-on exhibits.

“In the Lent term the Lower School went to ‘We the Curious’, which is a science museum in Bristol. I loved this trip as it was very fun and informative. We learnt about lots of topics to do with science including disease and illness and kinetic energy; this was demonstrated by a life-size hamster wheel that used kinetic energy to increase or decrease the speed of water released by the waterfall. We the Curious had many displays on different elements of science that were both fascinating and informative. The life-size hamster wheel was also lots of fun because we were allowed to try it out. It was a fun experience to learn about science, outside of the classroom, with your friends in an informal and more amusing way. This museum opened our eyes to all the different things involved in science and how everything is related to it. We the Curious was a fantastic experience and I encourage anyone who is interested in science to go.”

The House Science Competition, now a firm fixture in the Science calendar, returned for the Summer term and huge congratulations go to the overall winners, AGS! In the Summer term we also had our first Radley-Downe House Science collaboration event, where UIV had a fantastic talk from Professor Lewis Dartnell, followed by supper; this was a most enjoyable occasion for all, and hopefully the first of many for this partnership. Throughout the year, a number of members of the Science department have run a wide range of courses for the Elective Programme, which have been well received by the girls who have relished this academic enrichment opportunity.

SUCCESSES IN SCIENCE COMPETITIONS!

In March some of the UVI Biologists took part in the highly prestigious Biology Olympiad – an online competition sat by top schools all over the country. For the second year in a row all our pupils were ‘placed’ – they were commended or gained a Bronze or Silver Award. A special mention should go to Yuhan (Angela) Wan, who achieved a Silver Award, but missed the Gold by less than 0.5%! Milly Assheton, Madhulika Kaushik, Lara Harries and Heloise Friedlander all gained a Bronze Award, placing them in the top 15% of pupils who took part. Eleanor Gibbs and Sui Ying (Ashley) Tsoi did very well too, just missing the Bronze Award and so were commended. The Olympiad is a well-respected academic competition, so to even get placed is a great achievement; well done to all!

Further success for our Biologists came in May when some of the LV took part in the Biology Challenge. When Mrs de Chazal received the results, she was exceptionally impressed with the number of successes and very proud of all who took part. Freya Hanbury, Yuchen (Rebecca) Gao and Linxin (Sophia) Guo deserve special congratulations on gaining a Gold Award – placing them in the top 5% of the country! Nine of the LV that entered gained a Silver Award, 12 pupils received a Bronze Award and a further 18 were highly commended or commended. Huge success all round and much deserved – it is, obviously, a very challenging competition but the LV certainly rose to it!

Mrs Nadine de Chazal, Head of Biology

This year in Chemistry we have entered many of the prestigious competitions on offer for our pupils.

In January, we entered some of our Sixth Form pupils for the Royal Society of Chemistry Olympiad competition and received the following results:

Highly Commended: Ling Xuan (Victoria) Tiang and Sayuri Shukawa.

Bronze Award: Ziqi (Jade) Fang, Katie Lam, Cleo DuterteDelaunay and Motunrayo Adeniji

Silver Award: Anya Gannon and Zi Xin (Sunnie) Wei

Gold Award: Jiayi (Ariel) Cao

Due to the timing of the UVI mock examinations, the majority of our entries were LVI and so this set of results is incredibly positive given that they had covered just one term of the A Level course at the time.

We also entered a group of UIV, LV and UV pupils for the Royal Society of Chemistry Top of the Bench competition. Our team consisted of Kexuan (Angela) Zou (UV), Jiayi (Catherine) Wang (LV), Maria Taraban (UIV) and Liberty Spry (UIV). The girls each completed an online quiz as part of the competition and then built and tested a polarimeter made from LEGO. We ran into some unfortunate technical difficulties which prevented the team from completing the full competition but the skills and teamwork on display were outstanding and all girls should be highly commended for their effort throughout.

BIOLOGY FIELD COURSE

In October, the UVI Biologists undertook their compulsory field work and perfected their ecological sampling techniques on site here at Downe House. Yet again the weather was atrocious but despite the lashing rain they completed two core practicals; using quadrats to estimate the abundance of plant species around the Science block and Willis House and carrying out a belt transect to look at the effect of light intensity or soil depth on the distribution of plantain. They also took a woodland walk to observe succession and dug some pitfall traps to sample the invertebrates around the AGS tennis courts. The UVI worked extremely hard all weekend and with good humour, their Biology teachers were most impressed with their resilience and enthusiasm. They even managed to have some fun learning about the statistical tests used in Biology (although the supply of smarties helped)!

Mrs Nadine de Chazal, Head of Biology

SCIENCE RESIDENCY:

During the week of the 15 November, the Science department carried out their first Murray Centre Residency; it was a fantastic week of activities and quizzes for pupils to get involved with all in the name of science!

The week was kicked off by the superb Dr Helen Czerski as she delivered a Medley Lecture ‘The Ocean at the Top of the World’. We were lucky enough to learn about Dr Czerski’s exciting work investigating bubbles during the time she spent on an icebreaker near the north pole. It was a fascinating and engaging evening and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Dr Czerski really made Physics and scientific research understandable and intriguing for everyone even without an academic background in Physics or Science. After the lecture, Dr Helen Czerski’s visit to Downe was concluded with a book signing session of her book ‘Storm in a Teacup’.”

Jiayi (Ariel) Cao (LVI)

Dr Helen Czerski is an inspirational Physicist, Oceanographer and Broadcaster. After graduating from the University of Cambridge with a PhD, she discovered her love for oceanic bubbles, which is what her current works are focused on. Her enthusiasm for Physics is passed on to the general audience through her engaging books, broadcasts and lectures.

It was a fabulous opportunity to have Dr Czerski as a guest speaker for our Medley Lecture at Downe. Not only did we gain a better understanding of oceanic bubbles and scientific expedition in the Arctic but were also inspired by her passion for the natural world. The lecture gave us an insight into how scientific research and data collection were carried out in the Arctic, where teamwork became vital to ensure safety and the validity of data collected. Focusing on the open lead (open water within sea ice), Dr Czerski and her colleague measured the bubbles at the ocean surface, which were hypothesised to burst and spit out particles from the ocean into the air as aerosols that could then become starting points for cloud formation in the Arctic. It was also fascinating to hear how the seemingly remote Arctic is so tightly linked to our climate.

Dr Jones and Mrs Maspero started off the weekly lunchtime slots with some chemistry fun; the classic displays of Elephant’s Toothpaste and investigating dry ice. We also had some Origami Organs with Mrs Harrop and Miss Pugsley and tight rope walking fruit with Mr Smith; sadly we cannot promise that no fruit or veg were harmed during the making of this this balancing act! It was great to see so many of the students getting invovled with the exciting activities.

During the Michaelmas term, girls from the Sixth Form visited the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, Tokyo: Art and Photography exhibit. This fascinating exhibition provided an extraordinary insight into the city that has constantly reinvented itself. The show provided a thought-provoking insight into the development of Tokyo from the Edo period with a celebration of the floating world in a selection of beautiful woodblock prints and historic folding screens and examined how more contemporary artists have responded to this iconic legacy. Tokyo is renowned today as one of the world’s most important cultural hotspots and this was examined with examples of pop art, video works and contemporary photographs. With new commissions by contemporary artists too, this exhibition provided a fantastic insight into the power of location to inspire a myriad of artistic responses.

and Claude Monet. The final part of the day was a timely consolidation of our specified Renaissance painter in the special exhibition Raphael. Particularly useful was the study of the Portrait of Pope Julius II and the life-size copy of the School of Athens. The girls judged the day to be extremely helpful and eye-opening; all were very pleased to have been able to discuss the works in person, particularly the aweinspiring cast of Michelangelo’s David.

LVI REVISION TRIP TO LONDON

On Tuesday 24 May, the LVI Art Historians focused on their Renaissance revision and practised their visual analysis skills at the Victoria and Albert Museum, dividing into groups for discussion workshops, and then travelled to the National Gallery after lunch. The highlight of the day was a visit to the Raphael exhibition, which enabled everyone to revise one of the syllabus-specified artists in preparation for the mock exams. MsDiane Slocombe, Teacher of History of Art

LVI ARTICULATION COMPETITION 2022

On Tuesday 18 January, the LVI took part in the ARTiculation competition, providing the pupils with an opportunity to deliver a short presentation about a work of art, design or architecture that really inspired them.

Sixteen of our LVI girls competed, presenting on a diverse range of artworks, including architecture, film, fashion, photography, installation, ceramics, digital art and paintings. Everyone presented a carefully researched topic and the standard of presentation was particularly high this year; the adjudicators, Mrs Toogood and Mrs Lamont, had some very difficult decisions to make.

Cordelia Reeve and Daria Andreeva were highly commended for their presentations. Elfreda Harvey was runner-up for her insightful analysis of the National Museum of Qatar. Many congratulations to Ebunlola Oyegunle for her winning presentation which analysed Grayson Perry’s Brexit Vases, whilst evaluating the role of art in politics. Thank you to all the competitors for working hard to create such an informative and entertaining evening!

UVI STUDY DAY

On Sunday 24 April, the UVI Art Historians enjoyed an intensive day of revision, focusing on their Renaissance and Nature topics, with plenty of visual analysis practise too. They began the day at the Victoria and Albert Museum, comparing the depictions of David in the cast gallery and practised their analysis of unfamiliar bronze sculptures, ready for their exam. In addition, they were able to view contextual works, in order to better understand the case studies on their syllabus. After lunch, they continued their revision at the National Gallery, where they focussed on works by Giovanni Bellini, Sandro Botticelli, JMW Turner

LVI WRITE ON ART

Huge congratulations to all those who submitted an essay for the Write on Art Essay competition. The task was to choose a piece of art from a collection in the UK and to write a short essay on what our pupils believe makes it so fascinating. Our LVI History of Art pupils really got their teeth into their chosen piece and showcased a wide range of interests from grand manner portraiture to neoclassical sculpture to modern re-imaginings of baroque fresco. Miss Hannah Tomlin, Assistant Housemistress (Tedworth)

In the final week, we had a series of events to commemorate the Holocaust. This included a trip the Imperial War Museum Holocaust exhibition.

the Imperial War Museum in London. We were split into groups of three and given a tablet to discuss and think about questions, particularly why the Holocaust happened, as sometimes studies can be more concerned with what happened than why. We were guided through the early stages of the war, how restrictions and discriminatory laws increased in Nazi Germany throughout wartime, and then into the Final Solution, where we were able to see video footage and photographs from some of the death camps.

continue to study the Holocaust, why it is still important,

The History and Politics departments had another exciting year as they emerged from the constraints of Covid. Working out of a newly refurbished and hi-tech departmental office, we have introduced some new developments to our Lower and Upper School curriculum: the Remove now study the History of Medieval Mali and undertake a short course in archaeology in the Summer term, and the UIV course now includes an in-depth study of the Holocaust. Next year, we plan to introduce some Chinese history into the LIV course.

We enjoyed a number of online and in-person talks throughout the year from, amongst others, The Rt. Hon Jacob Rees-Mogg MP and Sir Max Hastings. We also ventured out on trips for the first time in two years. The first was a Sixth Form Politics trip to Parliament and the Supreme Court. Then in the Summer term the Remove had a fun and interesting day out at Hastings Battlefield.

of Hastings was fought. Firstly, we did an informational quiz; it was hard, but I learned many new things. We also went

learned many new things about the weapons and how they were used. I even got to try on a helmet that the soldiers years ago. It really painted a picture in my mind.”

Towards the end of the Summer term, our UIV linked up with the Radley Shells and undertook some project work on material about the First World War from the Radley archives. We spent an afternoon at Radley, and at the return fixture at Downe a few weeks later, the boys and girls did their presentations on topics such as Suffrage debates at Radley, three Radleian brothers and their experiences of the war, and the (singularly unsuccessful) Warden of Radley during the war.

The following day we had a series of inter-disciplinary workshops and a visit from Holocaust survivor Steven Frank.

“On Wednesday afternoon, UIV and LV were given a talk by Steven Frank. Steven is a Holocaust survivor and he shared his story from both before and after the War. His father was a lawyer and part of the Dutch resistance. His father got taken by Nazis and soon after, he, his mother and his two brothers were taken to a camp for more privileged people. After a few months, they went to a transit camp where they stayed for a year; then they were sent to Theresienstadt.

shocking. Very often, the Holocaust is seen as something

talk, Steven highlighted the bravery of his mother and her amazing ingenuity. She was a brave woman who managed to help her three sons get through one of the worst things that happened to mankind.

It is important to continue talking about the Holocaust and prevalent today. Listening to survivors and not silencing the voices of marginalised or oppressed people is very important.” Esmee

Learning a language is not just about what happens in the classroom. At Downe House, we ensure our pupils have fun learning about different cultures too.

This year was particularly busy, with a range of activities across the School for all ages and all tastes! As well as the usual essay and translation competitions, we also took part in the Poésiæ for the first time. This is an annual poetry recitation competition, embracing seven different languages with pupils taking part from all over the world. Very simply, pupils of all age groups select a poem in a language of their choice and recite it with as much expression as seems appropriate, some poems even encouraged physical actions. Many of our linguists took part and 18 girls were selected as the winners of their year group and their language within the School. They were the submitted to the competition and Alexa Peschkoff’s (Remove) French entry was highly commended, and Daria Andreeva’s (LVI) German entry won her age group. Well done to both girls!

After a hiatus due to Covid we were delighted to invite Onatti back to School to provide plays for our Remove to UIV pupils in French, German and Spanish. These were very well received and the girls enjoyed watching some entertaining and topical short dramas. It was excellent to hear the pupils laughing at these foreign language plays and understanding the issues that were raised.

To end our year, we were delighted to bring a little cultural ‘pzazz’ to Founder’s Weekend with a multisensory event outside the Murray Centre. ‘Culturalicious’ tested pupil, staff and families taste buds and knowledge of European cheeses, worldwide olive oils and German beer. We also encouraged our community to make Chinese dragons and write Chinese characters. As a reward, freshly made crêpes were available, but only if you could ask for them in French!

LANGUAGE AMBASSADORS

This year our Language Ambassadors took to their roles with enthusiasm and have been proactive about participating in events across the department as well as providing individual extras for pupils in the Lower School. They have played a prominent role and next year’s LVI have big shoes to fill.

“As Language Ambassadors, we have really enjoyed our role this year working together to encourage the learning of different languages and cultures all around the world. We have especially enjoyed leading a variety of activities and clubs for the School, such as French Cinema Club in which a range of films chosen by Elfreda Harvey gave us an amazing insight into French cinema from different decades, and MFL Book Club lead by Longwen (Vivi) Lei, where she gave everyone an appreciation for both German and Danish literature. The team were also very excited to launch the school language magazine ‘Lingua’ in which many of the Language Ambassadors wrote engaging and interesting articles. Well done Elfreda Harvey and Omenasan Irikefe for leading the team in this effort. Perhaps one of our favourite highlights was the Remove Christmas and Summer parties, it was great to teach them about culture and traditions in each of our respective languages.”

“As a Language Ambassador this year, I have focused on promoting Modern Languages from the aspect of literature by initially writing reviews for translated books and then

two meetings where pupils from three different year groups discussed Patrick Süskind’s German novel ‘Perfume’ and helped to give taster sessions to younger pupils interested in studying languages in the future.” Longwen (Vivi) Lei (LVI)

GERMAN:

Coming out of Covid has enabled us to enjoy lots of opportunities beyond classroom learning. Earlier in the year, we had to cancel our trip to the West End to see a live performance of Tom Stoppard’s latest play Leopoldstadt due to Covid, but we managed to watch a recording at the Curzon Cinema in Oxford. This epic play provided our Upper School pupils a glimpse at what thriving Jewish culture and identity in Austria was like before the Nazi regime came to power.

During the Michaelmas term, we were kindly invited to join Radley’s German department for their pupils’ Christmas celebrations. The LV and LVI were treated to traditional German Christmas food and drinks, as well as some quizzes, games and competitions which were great fun and provided some excellent opportunity to practise German outside the traditional classroom.

The arrival of spring brought our next German adventure: The Sixth Form pupils dyeing Easter eggs the German way! During a fun evening in the York House kitchen, we transformed ordinary eggs into colourful hors d’oeuvres and added some traditional Bratwurst and Bratkartoffeln to the mix.

Not content with simply enjoying a hearty meal, we then watched a new German film that addresses the rise of the New Right in Germany: , a thought-provoking work that led to many lively discussions afterwards.

Sticking with film and discussions, we soon welcomed Radley College German pupils for a film and discussion event at Downe House. After a brief warm-up exercise discussing key vocabulary and themes in the film, we watched Daniel Brühl’s directorial debut A film about Berlin’s gentrification and the lasting effects of the hastened reunification, it led to an interesting debate and exchange of ideas – and all in German! As teachers, we were thrilled and impressed by how well all pupils conducted complex discussions entirely in the target language.

To cap off the busy year, we were lucky enough to welcome Professor Sabine von Mering, Professor of German and Women’s Gender and Sexuality Studies at Brandeis University in Boston, USA, to Downe House. She started the day with a presentation to the UIV on the Holocaust, before meeting with sixth formers to discuss topics around their Oxbridge and IRP exams.

We look forward to more exciting events in the next academic year, including theatre trips and our first trip abroad to visit Aachen’s Christmas Markets!

We are very proud of Longwen (Vivi) Lei’s (LVI) great success in the Praktikumswoche competition:

CHINESE

Pupils and staff celebrated the beginning of the Year of Tiger on 1 February 2022 and started their Chinese New Year celebration by enjoying a wonderful Chinese lunch with many choices: dumplings with four different fillings: Shanghai red braised pork belly, garlic and sesame tofu, ginger and soy longevity noodles, dim sum, sweet red bean buns and so much more. Mia McLennan (Remove) said: “I enjoyed everything at lunch. I am so happy!” as it reminded her of the celebration in Hong Kong.

The Chinese department decorated Garden House and the girls learning Chinese had the chance to learn more about Chinese New Year costumes and to receive a , red envelope! The UIV pupils made a wonderful display of a tiger, made up of hundreds of ‘ Happy New Year’ greetings, accompanied by QR codes to videos and stories about China’s New Year traditions.

On the evening of Thursday 3 February, pupils learning Chinese and those with Chinese heritage attended an exciting concert by Transition, a British band singing in Chinese. Along with the songs, the band also shared stories of living in China - the pupils had a wonderful evening and enjoyed a little bag full of Chinese goodies.

theme of ‘health’. Each person had a designated role and Unfortunately, it was moved online due to Covid. However, many new friends, many of whom are genuinely passionate Longwen (Vivi) Lei (LVI)

Pupils of Chinese are often given opportunities to take part in competitions and in the UCL IOE Confucius Institute 2022 Young Photographers’ Competition Yasmine McLennan’s (UVI) photo received first prize. Yasmine explains, “I was at central ferry pier in Hong Kong, Gwyneth and I were walking around on a pretty day and was stopped by the vibrant colours of the stall. All the snacks being sold are typical Hong Kong snacks, which we grew up eating! The lady behind the counter was lovely and when I saw the title of ‘Chinese community and friends’, I was immediately reminded of my pleasant interaction a couple of months ago. Although the lady reminded me of the competition title, so did the food that surrounded her. The photo reminds me of the community and friends I grew up around, I am very proud to call Hong Kong my home and these hidden corners of culture remind me of my love for the city.”

FRENCH

We have enjoyed so many different French activities this year, from the Remove Christmas party to the Sixth Form Soirée de la Francophonie. It has been an incredibly busy year! In December, the Remove were entertained by the Language Ambassadors, who introduced them to the diverse ways of celebrating Christmas in their countries. They also had fun taking part in games and some loud singing of Vive le vent! At the end of the event, everyone enjoyed some yule logs and smoothies.

The Sixth Form girls studying French were invited to attend the Chandeleur festivities (France’s Pancake Day) at Radley in February. It was a fun evening that provided opportunities to explore different cultures with quizzes and, of course delicious, crêpes and cider tasting. All in moderation of course!

Later in the year, we joined the worldwide celebrations of ‘la Francophonie’. Our French assistants, Ninon and Joséphine, prepared a range of activities to raise awareness to our French sixth formers about the extent of the French language during our Soirée de la Francophonie. There are over 300 million Francophones all over the world across five continents. It was fun to watch the pupils work out the different flags and cities. Everyone certainly enjoyed ‘le fromage’ and ‘diabolo fraise’!

To top off the year, on Monday 20 June the Remove had a Fête Française (a French party)!

SPANISH

This year the Spanish department worked on some activities for our Hispanists that allowed them to explore and enjoy culture beyond the classroom.

party was one of the high points of our GCSE Spanish course and a well-deserved celebration of our teachers,

“In November, we were learning about la gastronomía and for us to gain a better understanding, Señorita Nuñez provided us with a booklet about the origins and recipes of the Spanish dishes, which she then brought ingredients to create them. My group made tortilla de patatas while the other group made el gazpacho. The cooking process snacks: cheese, prosciutto, calamari… It was such an Katie Lam (LVI)

were hidden around the site. Lastly, after all the activities

Tee-J

Mwenebungu (Remove)

“We did loads of fun activities like Pétanque, which is a game where you throw coloured balls as close as you can to

It has been another exciting year for the Computer Science department at Downe House! In the Michaelmas term we launched a school-wide competition to name our new Nao robot! The response was amazing – we received over 105 name suggestions (from staff and pupils) with very persuasive reasons! But there could only be one winner…Olive!

In September, Lower Fifth had a fantastic day at The National Museum of Computing where they experienced a fascinating insight into the evolution of computers: from the Colossus and Enigma machines, to Retro Games, programming BBC microcomputers with BASIC, AI and the Turing Test!

This was followed-up in October, when the department took a further twenty Upper Fourth pupils to the museum’s ‘Young Women in STEM’ day (presenters included the RAF and Sphero); a truly inspirational opportunity to introduce our girls to the broad variety of skills required for an exciting career in STEM.

In November, all girls from Remove through to Upper Fourth were entered into the annual Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge with a phenomenal 45 girls achieving Gold Awards (scoring in the top 10% nationally) and qualifying for the Oxford University Computing Challenge in the Lent term.

Olive makes regular appearances in Computing lessons and is a foundering member of the School’s first (and now thriving) Code Club! One of the highlights for Code Club this year was entering the ‘PA Consulting Raspberry Pi competition’. In keeping with this year’s theme: innovations to save the planet, our Code Club team produced an educational roleplayer game (RPG) called ‘Save the Planet Dash’. The girls designed and developed this idea entirely by themselves, coding their solution in Python, using the Raspberry Pi devices provided. Their code was modularised, so that it can be worked on and tested concurrently by different team members. The idea behind the game is to have fun while learning important facts and planet saving decisions!

The girls received a certificate for their ‘Raspberry Pi pico’ and some positive feedback from the judges:

“Such an interactive role-playing game would be great for teaching the importance of being climate conscious. The code looks very well written with good commenting and clear variable names”.

Olive was also an inspiration to our budding Remove programmers, who learnt to code their own interactive ‘chat-bots’, as part of the Wakefield Award programme.

On Tuesday 8 February 2022 we celebrated the 19th edition of Safer Internet Day (SID), the theme this year was ‘Together for a better internet’. The day called upon schools and youth organisations to band together to make the internet a safer and better place for all – especially for children and young people.

This year the annual ‘Hour of Code’ event for Remove took place in March, with all Remove girls off-timetable to experiment with the physical programming of BBC micro:bit devices.

Last year, we launched the iDEA award (a widely recognised digital qualification), specifically to Upper Fourth and we now have 26 Bronze and 7 Silver award holders! Extra special congratulations to Dominica Prentice (UIV) who was the first person at Downe House to have completed all Silver Badges in order to unlock the ‘Silver Star’ award.

We also welcomed Year 5 and 6 pupils from St Mark’s primary school to Downe House for a community coding event, as well as, hosting STEM activities for Founder’s Weekend, and taking the Lower Fifth Computing pupils to an academic presentation by Prof Sir Nigel Shadbolt at Radley College’s 175 festival!

GAP YEAR FAIR

The Gap Year Fair was very insightful, not only for those certain on taking a year out, but also for those who had never thought about it. The Farr Centre was lined with exhibitors who spoke about different opportunities, from volunteering abroad to cookery schools in London. It was incredibly helpful to explore gap year options and to think about activities outside of School.

It was wonderful to speak to Milly Lewis (Downe House alumna), who founded Holiday Hands; a company that links families to a pair of extra hands for holidays or events, we all agreed that this would be a fantastic opportunity, for either a gap year or during the holidays. The Language Gap also proposed excellent opportunities to improve language proficiency by spending time in native countries. The cultural immersion would be beneficial for any A Level pupil, as well as anyone looking to improve their familiarity with another language. Undoubtedly, this was yet another successful Gap Year Fair packed with options to consider. Thank you to Ms Akhtar and Mrs Knight for hosting such a wonderful event.

Ebunlola Oyegunle (LVI)

OVERSEAS UNIVERSITY FAIR

At the Overseas Universities Fair, we were given much insight into a whole range of universities and the benefits of applying to universities abroad. As I have an interest in the creative arts, one of the universities that piqued my interest the most was Loyola Marymount university in Los Angeles, California which was ranked number 64 by U.S. News and World Report Best National University Rankings (2020). I was particularly interested in the programmes they offer, including Marketing, Film Production and Animation. They also have many educational experiences that integrate academic life with real-world experiences to guarantee success in a global marketplace.

In addition, I was very interested in the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), with many of their alumni working in top positions at companies such as Apple, DreamWorks, Disney, Pixar and Samsung. They also offer programmes studying Architecture, Animation, Fashion, Film, Graphic Design and many more, as well as providing students with excellent resources and technology, which is perfectly suited for my interest in a marketing or creative career.

Overall, I would say that this event allowed me to broaden my knowledge of the countless universities abroad that offer multiple courses of interest to me, as well as helping my understanding of the benefits of a global education.

Onicha (Aimee) Chansue (UV)

MEDIC TALK

On Saturday 5 March, Dr Pilkington, Head of Medicine Applications, gave a presentation to selected Lower Sixth girls and their parents, about applying for Medicine, VetMed and Dentistry.

She highlighted the grades and key qualities needed for these careers, such as organisational skills, empathy and teamwork. We also learned about the importance of not just taking part in work experience but also being able to reflect on it. Dr Pilkington also discussed the different teaching styles of the universities and stressed the importance of considering our own learning methods to ensure we are a suitable match. It was an extremely informative talk, which has helped us with planning for our future applications.

OXBRIDGE LAUNCH

At the beginning of the Lent term, the Lower Sixth had the pleasure of attending the Oxbridge Programme Launch event, hosted by Dr Atherton. It was very enlightening, as it gave us insight into the process of applying, and the preparation needed for the interview and the admissions tests. Dr Atherton’s talk was very informative and gave us an excellent overview of the application process. We were joined by Kieran Hammond from Leading Education, who talked us through various insights about an Oxbridge application. We were also joined by Jenni Caisely, Admissions Interviewer for Cambridge University. Jenni explained the interview process and walked us through the typical structure of an interview, along with some pearls of wisdom to think about in preparation for it. To finish off the night, we were fortunate enough to have two Downe House pupils, who have just been accepted into Oxford University, impart some of their wisdom from their application experiences. Overall, it was a very useful event, which helped a lot of us get a clear sense of direction for the year to come. Many thanks to Dr Atherton and the Higher Education team who made this all possible!

VIRTUAL REALITY AND AI-ASSISTED INTERVIEW TRAINING FOR SIXTH FORM

We are proud to be the first school to be using VR (Virtual Reality) headsets to help our pupils become world ready. Our bank of VR headsets are proving to be a big hit with our Sixth Form students who have already started taking advantage of this new tech addition to their interview preparations.

Almost all leading business surveys, such as the Harvard Business Review, put soft skills, such as leadership, communication, teamwork, and interpersonal awareness, at the top of the list for recruiters. We have offered interview practise sessions for many years and have been looking for ways to extend that one-off experience to give our pupils the opportunity to practise at their own pace. With the emergence of fantastic EdTech training platforms, like , we are excited to introduce VR and AI (Artificial Intelligence) to our interview training programme.

The programme now includes training using VR headsets, creating an alternative to the traditional in-person approach with significant advantages. VR and AI support input methods such as speech, gaze and 3D gesture recognition, which enables pupils to practice behaviours in their own time and at their own pace, without the need to meet in person.

Virtual practise can feel safer and less stressful than performing in front of peers and it enables pupils to focus on honing their interview skills at their own pace.

As the world becomes more technologically advanced, we are aware that nurturing human to human interaction is important, now more than ever. The digital training programme concludes with online interviews using Shortlist Me, and personalised feedback with our partner EBP, to complete the whole programme which includes the range of traditional interview practice activities.

The period of examination results usually gives cause for great celebration and this year is certainly no different. I simply could not be more proud of our UVI and UV and all that they have achieved at A Level and at GCSE.

We are immensely proud of our A Level students’ achievements and were delighted to celebrate the results. Every one of our students showed great determination and resilience as they approached the first set of public examinations they had taken, and they can now look to the future with confidence and optimism.

The hard work and effort of the girls over the last two years, along with the support of their teachers, tutors, pastoral teams and their families, has resulted in a wonderful set of results for all; 75% of the A Levels taken by our students were graded A*-A and 91% were graded A*-B.

Our leavers are heading off to study a diverse and impressive range of courses both here in the UK and abroad, at some of the world’s most prestigious universities and establishments. The Class of 2022 is an exceptional group of young women who have contributed greatly to School life throughout their time here. All are to be congratulated for embracing opportunities for their personal development and for giving back to the School community through their roles as leaders on School Council, as Seniors, Ambassadors and Champions, as well for working so hard to reach their potential academically. They have set a superb example for pupils lower down the School and we have watched with pride as they have grown into confident and skilled young women, well-prepared for their future studies and careers.

The results were similarly positive at GCSE with 70% of the grades being 8s and 9s (A* and A**) of which 43% were grade 9. We are pleased to be continuing high levels of success across all subjects, but particularly across STEM subjects – this year 90% of STEM results (the Sciences, Maths and Computer Science) were awarded at grades 9-7. Similarly, our performing and creative artists have continued to achieve great results; 100% of our Music GCSEs were at grades 9-8,

100% of Drama grades were at 9-7 and across the Creative Arts (Art, Textiles and Design Technology) 89% of results were at grades 9-7. Factoring in the disruption to their studies that the pandemic caused, in particular to the practical elements of coursework, the achievements of this remarkable group of pupils are even more outstanding.

The statistics are, I believe, impressive but, what is always more satisfying, is the success that individual girls have enjoyed. The vast majority have gained grades which are a reflection of their personal best and these have been achieved alongside outstanding contributions to Drama, Sport Music, Art and so much more. The girls are all ready for the next stage of their educational journeys and should move on with great confidence.

I particularly congratulate the following girls who achieved 4 x A*/A or D1-D3 grades and above at A Level and/or Pre-U: Maria Kheyman, Sophie Loftus, Antonia McClintock, Alice Pernthaller, Mathilda Singer, Yuhan (Angela) Wan, Zi Xin (Sunnie) Wei, Cheuk Yu (Queena) Wong and Jiayi Zheng

And my congratulations go to those girls who achieved 8 x A* (9-8) grades and above at GCSE:

Shiloh Akintaju, Tundun Are, Isabelle Ashworth, Juliette Bale, Katie Beeson, Ploypailin Bennett, Emilie Booth, Georgina Boucher, Freya Brown, Ottilie Campbell, Xinrui (Sherry) Chen, Claribelle Cheng, Sinling Damais, Clothylde Debray, Emilia Finney, Kimberly Gan, Camilla Hale, Honor Harris, Lilias Hoare Nairne, Hannah Hurd, Hannah Knight, Janice Li, Sophie Li, Yizhuo Liu, Katya Longden, Charlotte Mackinnon, Olivia McClintock, Honor McNair Scott, Annabel Munnelly, Freya O’Donohoe, Sion Ovbiebo, Yi Kei (Alisha) Pak, Ellen Phillips, Claudia Pope, Zara Reeve, Tacita Rhys Williams, Emily Sideso, Ella Spry, Cecilia Stone, Isabelle Wessely, Sissi Xi, Charlotte Yeo, Ziyue Yu, Jocelyn Yue, Xin Yi (Jessica) Zhang, Zhuo Er (Joy) Zhou and Kexuan (Angela) Zou.

Mrs Emma McKendrick, Headmistress

Creative

“Our pupils have

In the whole-school assemblies, our Head and Deputy Head of Creative Arts announce the ‘Creative of the Month’ award as part of their monthly arts report. This is a special prize that rotates through Art, Textiles and Photography, and the winner is selected by the creative staff in recognition of the following: excellence, progress, admirable work ethic or outstanding engagement.

In the last year, pupils have bowled us over with their talent and dedication, and we have had some thoroughly deserving recipients across the year groups. Congratulations to all the winners of 2021-2022!

Mrs

A Level Art

GCSE Art

In the weeks leading up to the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, the Art department collaborated with local primary schools, St Mark’s and St Finian’s, as well as Cold Ash Pre-School to create artwork to celebrate this momentous occasion.

This work was brought together at an exhibition in Acland Memorial Hall, which also featured Royal memorabilia presented by the Cold Ash History Group. This formed a key part of the programme of Jubilee events that took place at the Cold Ash Recreation Ground over the weekend, which was attended by around one and a half thousand residents.

It was wonderful to see such a range of colourful, celebratory and uplifting pieces of Art on display, and the feedback from those who visited was tremendous!

Downe House girls created portraits of the Queen (with a few corgis thrown in for good measure) and contributions came from those in the UIV, the Lower School boarding houses and members of the Art clubs.

The Art department would like to thank all those who contributed – it was a fantastic event and a wonderful opportunity to work together with our neighbouring schools!

NEWBURY CITY ARTS COMPETITION

Our potters have been very busy this year, making all sorts of clay creations and would certainly make fine future competitors for The Great Pottery Throw Down! Thirteen girls had their work on show at City Arts in Newbury, which is a lovely creative space that runs art workshops for the local community. A competition and exhibition were held there in the Michaelmas term for local schools and ceramic makers. This was a wonderful opportunity to enter work from Remove, UIV and GCSE pupils. We were able to take the Downe House girls to City Arts for the prize-giving, enabling them to see the exhibition and their work on display. They were also able to sell their ceramics – so many had price tags attached! The Remove girls exhibited ceramic houses, UIV exhibited robot- inspired teapots and a GCSE pupil exhibited a large ceramic sculpture inspired by her travels in Africa.

Chiara De Sa Subiotto (UVI) won first prize and Amelia Clark (LV) won third prize in the 14 – 18 age category. Alice Bevan (LIV) won second prize and Imogen Brass (LIV) won third prize in the 10 – 14 age category. Well done to everyone who took part! We hope there will be more opportunities at City Arts in the future.

At the beginning of the Michaelmas term, Upper Fourth pupils produced artwork for a Remembrance exhibition that took place in the Murray Centre.

2021 saw the centenary year for the Royal British Legion, hence the image of the poppy was selected as the theme. As part of the event, Textiles pupils made poppy brooches that were sold to raise money for the British Legion to support the important work they do to help members of the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, veterans and their families all-year-round.

Upper Fourth (D) created the relief poppies that were suspended from the railings on the stairwell of the Murray Centre. They referred to source photographs when sketching the poppies onto foam board, then tissue paper and diluted PVA glue were used to sculpt the petals and pistil. Coloured and textured papers and sequins were added before the poppies were painted with blended acrylic. Finally, glass beads were added to replicate the seeds.

Upper Fourth (B&E) studied the work of the American painter Georgia O’Keeffe, who for seven decades was a major figure in American Art. The girls focused on her paintings of magnified flowers, for which she is best known. They were particularly inspired by her slightly exaggerated use of colour and simplification of tone. They began by choosing a background colour and technique that they felt would complement their subject matter. They then digitally edited their poppy images to simplify the detail and intensify the hue. Acrylic paint was used in a variety of ways to show form and texture.

The Upper Fourth (C&G) developed gelatine prints with subject matter that focused on letters and poetry written by soldiers in the first and second world wars. The girls made background compositions from the imagery and letters they had researched, creating digital manipulated compositions using Microsoft Word. Their completed background compositions were applied to a gelatine plate, covered in acrylic paint. This technique produces varied results according to the pressure used when rubbing a photocopied image on to the painted surface producing a range of interesting effects.

On Remembrance Sunday, Cold Ash parishioners, Girl Guides, Scouts and pupils from local schools, including Downe House, assembled for a service at the War Memorial at St Mark’s Church. Wreaths were laid at the base of the Grade 2 monument, which was recently saved from ruin by the Cold Ash Restoration and Preservation Action Group, who raised fifteen thousand pounds to bring it back to its former glory. Several years ago, Downe House pupils sold some of their paintings at the Men of the Memorials exhibition at the church and decided to donate the proceeds to the fund. Following the laying of wreaths there was a donors’ service in the church that was attended by representatives who had helped to fund the restoration. We are very proud that Downe House was able to play a part in the regeneration of this important local monument.

Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Head of Art

Trips & Workshops

KEW GARDENS - ART & PHOTOGRAPHY

At the beginning of the A Level courses for Art and Photography, the staff organised a trip to give pupils a starting point for their initial projects. In Michaelmas term, we chose to take the Lower Sixth to Kew Gardens, so that they could take photographs and make sketches.

Some chose to focus on the plant life, whereas others were drawn to structural features such as the glass houses, the pagoda, statues or ‘The Hive’ installation by Wolfgang Buttress.

The day provided an excellent opportunity to gather firsthand source material, which fed into some fabulous artwork on the return to School and gave the pupils a taste of what was to come during their A Level.

Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Head of Art

NEWLAND'S GALLERY & PETWORTH HOUSE

On 6 February, Mrs Jones and I took some of the Art Award holders to Newland’s House Gallery in Petworth. The invite came from Amanda McKee (DH Alumna), who was in Tedworth House some years ago. She was keen for us to experience what she felt was the best exhibition that the gallery had every held, entitled ‘Julian Opie, Collected Works/Works Collected’.

This extensive exhibition comprised his collection of artworks and artifacts (ranging from prehistoric to contemporary) alongside his own work, so our pupils could see how these pieces had informed his own practice. Another member of the gallery gave a captivating talk, then our award holders had the opportunity to sketch from the exhibits.

After lunch at the café everyone proceeded to Petworth House, which is owned by the National Trust. The group were treated to a fascinating tour of the extensive art collection by Sue Rhodes, following which there was an opportunity for more note taking and sketching.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day and we are extremely grateful to Amanda at Newland’s House for the invitation and for organising the schedule. We hope to maintain an ongoing relationship with Amanda and her outstanding gallery!

Mrs Kirsten Mortimer, Head of Art

IAN MURPHY WORKSHOP

In October, Lower Fifth to Upper Sixth Art award holders were very privileged to take part in a workshop with the renowned artist, Ian Murphy. We were incredibly lucky to see so much of Ian’s work in person, from large canvases of cityscapes to sketchbooks filled with drawings.

The day commenced with everyone producing backgrounds made up of torn newspaper and tissue paper, which were later sanded down and brushed with graphite powder to create an eroded and antiquated effect. Using either their own or Ian’s photographs for reference, the award holders then began to draw on top of their backgrounds, attempting to follow Ian’s technique, working from the lightest tone all the way up to the darkest.

Later in the day, Ian demonstrated some of his other methods, including ink and bleach, as well as how to transfer text or imagery onto pieces of work. Everyone produced an array of experimental studies showcasing how much they had learnt from analysing Ian’s work and process.

THE BASE ART CENTRE WORKSHOP

In the Summer term, Lower Fifth GCSE Art pupils took part in a day of creative workshops at The Base Art Centre just outside Newbury.

Local artist Gemma Kirby led one of the two practical sessions, in which pupils responded directly to the exhibition of screen prints by Pop artist, Eduardo Paolozzi. Collages were created using photography that related to individual project themes and were combined with magazine cuttings and coloured paper to form a composition inspired by Paolozzi’s work.

The second workshop was led by talented portrait artist, Ellie Kerr Smiley, whom the Lower Fifth studied in class, in preparation for their visit. Ellie gave a talk about her work, as well as a demonstration on how she applies paint. After this the pupils had the opportunity to put what they had learned into practice by applying colour to pre-prepared portrait drawings of their own.

The day provided a fantastic opportunity to work with successful local practicing artists and to strengthen our link with this nearby creative establishment.

SIXTH FORM POTTERY WORKSHOP

The Sixth Form took part in weekend pottery workshops over the Lent and Summer terms. They enjoyed learning how to throw on the potter’s wheels, as well as learning various techniques to hand-build a variety of creations. It was so popular that Mrs Keeling will be running further workshops next year for the Sixth Form pupils.

RADLEY ART COLLABORATION WORKSHOP

On Monday 23 May, the Textiles and Fine Art LVI A Level pupils had the pleasure of spending the day at Radley College, working together with their Fine Art students on two large-scale charcoal drawings of the Elgin Marbles.

To kick the day off, we were treated to a talk about the Marbles by one of Radley’s Classics teachers. It was a very interesting discussion which posed the question of ‘Should the Elgin Marbles be returned to Athens?’, which sparked a few different opinions around the room.

Following this we got started on the foundations of our drawings and began mapping out simple charcoal contour lines to create the base, ready for the next steps to strengthen our studies. We then took a little break, having some tea and biscuits whilst admiring each other’s sketchbooks – it was very interesting to observe the different approaches.

Before dashing off to lunch, we worked into the drawings with heavier strokes of charcoal and toned the piece by rubbing and spreading charcoal powder, effectively replicating the shadows observed across the carvings. We had a long break, preparing ourselves for the finishing of the studies, and were treated to four performances at Radley’s Lunchtime Concert.

In the afternoon, we refined the pieces further by using erasers to accurately represent the highlights. At the end of the day, we had a coin toss with the boys to decide which drawing we would be able to take back with us, which we then worked on back at School to add refinement and a background using ink.

It was a wonderful experience and the boys were very welcoming and kind. Hopefully, we will be able to do another collaboration with them again soon!

SCREEN PRINTING WORKSHOP

Just before we broke up for the Christmas holiday, the Upper Sixth Art and Photography pupils came together to take part in a screen printing workshop in the Art department.

Screen printing involves photographically exposing imagery onto a coated mesh that has been stretched tightly over a frame. Once the screen has passed through a number of processes it becomes a stencil through which ink can be pushed with a squeegee to produce an image on the surface below.

In advance of the session, we each created a range of backgrounds on paper using spray paint, marbled ink, acrylic ink, posca pens and collage. Once we had set up our workstations, we printed onto our backgrounds using a variety of inks to collectively generate well over a hundred prints.

We thoroughly enjoyed experiencing this new technique and now feel that we can confidently use what we have learned in the future. The day also enabled us to produce some fantastic work for our A Level and Art College application portfolios.

STUDY TRIP TO ST IVES

From Saturday 26 February to Wednesday 2 March, Mrs Lamont and I took the Art Award holders from the Upper Fourth, Lower Fifth and Sixth Form to St Ives in Cornwall for several days of creative enrichment.

During the first day, the group went to the Tate St Ives where they met with land artist, Greg Humphries. Greg discussed abstraction and rendering the invisible visible. The girls participated in several practical exercises in their sketchbooks in response to the concepts addressed in some of the works on display.

On Porthgwidden beach the girls explored what they had learned about Barbara Hepworth’s ideas regarding truth to materials. In groups, they sketched and created sculptures with found objects and sand.

The second day started with a trip to Porthmeor studios where we visited Studio 5, a space that has been used by several famous artists, including Ben Nicholson and Patrick Heron. Clare Wardman is currently working in the Studio, and she kindly explained the history of the building as well as her own work.

The award holders were treated to a practical workshop called ‘Exploring Abstraction’ with the artist Simon Williams, where the girls experimented with a range of exciting new media such as Yupo paper and spider spray to generate vibrant abstract compositions. As well as being a fine artist, Simon has made costumes and props for major films, such

as Harry Potter, Star Wars and The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The girls were fascinated to hear how he had constructed and operated well-known characters such as Dobby, Buckbeak and Chewbacca.

On the final day, we met with Greg Humphries again, this time at the Barbara Hepworth Museum and Sculpture Garden. Greg talked about Hepworth’s work and encouraged discussions, then the girls sketched and made small sculptures in response to the works.

The afternoon was spent in a practical cyanotype workshop with photographer, Josie Purcell. The girls applied a light sensitive coating to sheets of paper before masking areas off with natural objects such as leaves and feathers as well as cut paper shapes, threads and photo negatives. The compositions were exposed to light, which developed the areas that remained exposed. When the items were removed, the papers were washed to reveal imagery that appeared white where the stencils had blocked the light and blue where the light had set the coating.

It was an action-packed trip where everyone learned a lot about artists, creative concepts and practical approaches, and all the work produced on the visit served to enhance the pupil’s GCSE and A Level sketchbooks. The girls involved really were a credit to the School, which was remarked upon by all the artists. The Art department are very proud of the way in which everyone embraced the activities.

ALETHEA INGS-CHAMBERS

The colourful laser cut boxes were produced by the Lower School. The project was designed to get the pupils independently using the new laser cutter that was installed at the beginning of last year. The pupils were encouraged to pick a theme and then design a scene using tech soft and the new laser cutter. Each box also has a hidden window that can only be seen when held up to the light.

The insects were made by UIV. The project was designed to get pupils using workshop equipment and simple modelling tools. The pupils had a lot of fun coming up with creative designs. They were also given the opportunity to independently use the new laser cutter to improve the complexity of their work.

The sculptures made from bottles were made by the Scholars’ Club on a Monday evening. Pupils had the opportunity to produce a number of creative designs that would help improve their design skills. The plastic bottle sculptures were made from recycled bottles and were bent by the pupils with heat guns.

The tables and chairs were created in the Upper School. We encourage pupils to produce furniture as this is a good way to challenge them and for them to demonstrate their excellent design skills. This year we have installed a new Arc welder which the pupils used with considerable ease to produce a range of exceptionally high-quality products.

The flying creatures were made by Remove pupils. The project gives pupils an introduction on how to use workshop tools and equipment. All pupils very much enjoyed coming up with their own designs and seeing them through to fruition. They learnt a number of wood working processes including plywood bending and had fun problem solving how to make the extension extras on the wooden animals.

REMOVE

The Remove created a range of hand printed fabrics using the Batik and Block printing methods. These were then assembled and stitched together using the sewing machine to form a patchwork that is cut into a heart shape. Once the patchwork was complete, pupils created rows of different coloured decorative machine stitches and learned how to hand embroider with traditional methods of fly and cross stitches. The hearts were then filled with lavender ready for hanging.

LOWER FOURTH

The LIV studied the British contemporary artist Kurt Jackson, specifically researching his seascape paintings to make their own response to his work. They created an expressive, colourful painted background using a variety of painting techniques such as wet-in-wet, splattering and rolling, adding textural surface embellishment using methods such as soldering, free machine stitching and hole punching. These components were added to the painted canvas to form the final piece.

UPPER FOURTH

In the UIV Art Textiles rotation, the objective is to introduce the pupils to what the GCSE Art and Design Textiles course would entail. Pupils began by analysing the work of Josh Blackwell, an artist who embroiders and stitches onto items such as plastic bags (known as ‘Never Uses’) transforming commonplace objects into visionary sculptures. He uses plastic bags as his canvas and uses these to create geometrically abstract compositions.

Once the pupils had researched the artist, they were then introduced to drawing exercises that included Contour Drawing to create abstract and quirky portraits using a continuous line. These were then developed by adding colour and pattern to create bold illustrative portraits informed by the work of Natasa Kekanovic.

The next stage included the use of the free motion setting on the sewing machine; pupils transferred their portraits onto a plastic bag canvas using the machines, which created an outline for them to follow. They could then add colourful marks and patterns using various yarns and stitch types. The outcomes were unique to each pupil, an abundance of colour and pattern in the form of pupil portraits, they transformed everyday items into artwork that can now be mounted in a box frame.

Miss Amy Majerski, Head of Textiles

GCSE

UPPER FIFTH

The UV were inspired by the theme of Natural Forms and initial explorations looked to the delicate intricacies seen in fungi, seascapes and eroded steel. As pupils progressed on their own individual journeys, they sought a more ocean and more.

SONYA LEONG

Sonya looked to naturally eroded surfaces and focused on recreating the texture seen in source photography and observational drawings. She used rust dyeing to create a range of printed surfaces, using vinegar, water and rusted steel objects such as chains, rasps, staples and spanners. The flat dyed fabric was then adorned with soldered fabrics, beading, couched yarns and some hand stitched details.

EMILIA METHVEN

Emilia looked to seaweed and moss; a range of textural weaves, marbled fabrics, knitting, soldering and cutwork is used to adorn her jacket pieces.

ELLEN PHILLIPS

Ellen looked to moss and seaweed to inform her customised shirt. Ellen refined and developed techniques with intuitive thought, techniques include natural dyeing, free motion embroidery on a dissolvable fabric, soldered synthetic fabrics and hand wrapped components. The outcome is of a standard beyond GCSE level.

MARTHA DREW

Martha created an impressive sleeve which is heavily adorned with latch hooked yarns and fabrics, this is a labour-intensive method and she demonstrated much dedication. She also created an intricate hand-woven fabric which adorns one front piece. An authentic colour palette is uniformly used.

ILARIA PERHAR

Ilaria stands out from her peers in deciding to create a textiles sculptural piece. She chose to create a sculptural pair of shoes inspired by coral. The base of each shoe is created entirely by wire. Various techniques are used which include soldering, wrapped wire, heat setting, beading, and felting.

GEORGINA BOUCHER

Georgina created a striking jacket inspired by fungi and lichen. Her extensive development and refinement investigated textural techniques that included heat setting, soldering of various materials, shirring, dyeing, cutwork and more. Striking sculptural sleeves created a bold and structured silhouette.

TABITHA VENNING

Tabitha looked to imagery of fishing nets and tangled rope. These images were recreated into bold and colourful drawings that fed into the creation of a vivid hand-woven front panel. The back piece has delicate detailing, fine knitting yarn is knitted with aspects of textural latch hooking.

FREYA BROWN

Freya looked to sea life and specifically shellfish to inform the creation of her outstanding outcome. Lino printing was informed by an observational study of a crab, the detailing was cut into a lino and printed onto a dyed fabric surface. The crab claw inspired the structured and malleable sleeves that can be shaped and reformed due to the wire inserted into the tucked channels. Freya also studied the detailing seen in a fisheye and recreated it using circular weave as well as soldered and beaded fabrics.

ZARA REEVE

Zara created a striking hyperbolic crochet that stands out from the back section of her fitted waistcoat. These sculptural shapes are informed by the study of sea coral. Felt and shibori dyeing were used to create patterned fabrics.

KEXUAN (ANGELA) ZOU

Angela refined techniques informed by the shoreline; fishing nets were used to inform a series of samples that include techniques such as marbling, reverse appliqué, knitting and beading. She also researched the artist Mariam Jazmik and added sprayed found objects as adornment.

JOCEYLN YUE

Jocelyn looked at butterfly wings to inform the intricate detailing seen in the front panel of her naturally dyed garment. Turmeric was used to create a vibrant colour palette. Jocelyn created a sleeve from scratch by weaving a sleeve shape on a large weaving loom, the detail in this hand-woven sleeve is quite simply exceptional.

EMILY SIDESO

Emily looked to seascapes as her primary theme, and this is evident in the creation of her outcome. A moody blue and grey colour palette represented the depth of the sea. Fabrics are painted and gathered using shirring and pleating to create a textural effect. Sleeves were knitted using upcycled rope, cut strips of waste denim, plastic bags and more – a nod to the environment and removing waste from the ocean.

SOPHIE SCOTT

Sophie looked to shoreline source photography, this included a focus on rusted buoys, barnacles, seaweed and fishing nets. Her item includes a sculpted knitted sleeve, quilted lino printing and reverse appliqué using free motion stitching and naturally dyed fabrics.

MOLLY TRIBE

Molly has created a beautiful outcome. She created a handwoven a striking seascape. Painted fabrics are layered and stitched. She has also marbled fabric and created interest by using free motion stitching and reverse appliqué. Intricate beadwork completes the piece perfectly.

SION OVBIEBO

Sion looked to various natural forms to inspire her jacket. An intricate and colourful woven front has been made using a range of textured yarns and weaving stitch types. Sion is also an expert knitter and created knitted sleeves in keeping with her chosen colour palette.

Tara created her outcome inspired by lichen growing on bark. She used a combination of reverse appliqué, free motion embroidery and couching. A striking sleeve is created by latch hooking fibres and yarns onto a mesh base.

Emilia studied fruit and red cabbage as a focus, from this she created drawings to pull out shape and pattern. This is recreated using handmade felt, free motion embroidery, quilting, couching, natural dyeing and knitting.

Alisha looked at the contrast between the life and beauty in the ocean adjacent to the damage and death of the plant and animal life. One side of the garment looks at vibrant and colourful coral which is recreated with intricate crochet. The opposing side reflects a darker colour palette to represent the oil spillages and polluted waters. This is created by marbling onto a fabric surface, fabrics, wire, hand embroidery and beading add detail. Hand knitted sleeves focus on upcycling and reworking waste fabric and plastic.

Emilie has created a range of crochet structures informed by coral. She also created a series of textural knits which are layered on top of a marbled base. The blue panel is informed by a source photograph, this has been recreated using handmade felt, free motion stitching and reverse appliqué with a digitally printed base.

A Level

Lyla is a free-spirited and diverse artist who enjoys incorporating innovative resources into her work. Her approach to experimentation and exploration is original and individualistic with an eclectic aesthetic. Her A Level Personal Investigation focus was the study of Egypt, and she looked at the creation of sculptural neck and arm pieces using wire, tape and found objects. Lyla designed the fabric for the full-length jacket, and this was digitally printed onto a cotton twill fabric. The printed jacket sits beneath a sculptural over layer informed by Egyptian jewellery and symbolic fruit seen in ancient tapestries.

Madelaina looked to Brazil as her individually chosen area of focus; she has developed a range of fabric construction and surface decoration processes. She developed many textural fabric construction methods that included knitting, macramé, crochet, latch hooking and rag rugging. Her outcome is made predominantly by her own construction using yarn. A small aspect uses a hessian tea sack as a base. The colour and vibrancy of her theme comes through her outcome in bounds.

Yasmin looked to Hong Kong to inform her lantern shaped jacket. She wanted to create a circular, full shaped silhouette. During Covid in Hong Kong, Yasmin took to the streets to take source photography of peeling posts, markets and interesting surfaces. These set the scene for her Personal Investigation. One artist that stood out for her was Elnaz Yazdani who creates intricate surfaces using found objects. Yasmin was limited with her resources, so she sourced anything she could find – plastic bags, t-shirts, loom bands and safety clips. She then knitted a base fabric with cut strips of t-shirt fabric or plastic bags. The base was then painted to represent her drawings of her photography. The top layer was created by using sprayed and painted found objects in place of beads. The collar and yoke of her jacket are created using these refined and unique methods.

Isabella’s Personal Investigation was inspired by Singapore, and she gathered first-hand source photography to inform her unique investigations. Experimentation and development investigated a wide range of processes, these include knitting, crochet, print making, reverse appliqué, hand embroidery and mark making with threads. She very much developed her own signature style that is both colourful and highly textural.

Music

With the much-anticipated return of our full choral and orchestral provision and rich tapestry of concerts, competitions and Carol Services, it has been an exciting adventure in the Music department this year! It has been a year of ‘firsts’ with our first live studio broadcast of the Michaelmas Concert, our first Carol Service in London, our first performance at Birmingham Town Hall and, whilst we have sung as a choir at the Royal Albert Hall many times, it was the first time we have joined the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra singing at this world-class venue.

The year also saw the return of our much-loved activities, including the regular visits of our Musician in Residence, Bob Chilcott, supporting all things musical at Downe. Prima Voce were finalists in the Barnardo’s Choir of the Year Competition for the fourth time. We also saw the return of our much loved ‘Bring the House Downe’ music ensemble competition with 26 student-led ensembles competing for the highly coveted winner’s trophy. Congratulations to Trio Sempre Giocando (Anson Leung, Katie Lam and Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee (LVI)) who were the overall winners this year!

It is wonderful to see girls continuing to be represented on the county and national platform, including in the National Children’s Orchestra, English Symphony Youth Orchestra, Berkshire Youth Orchestra and the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain.

Exceptional musical achievement continues to thrive at Downe House Music: Sophie Loftus (UVI) was crowned Berkshire Young Musician of the Year 2022, Antonia McClintock (UVI) was awarded a Choral Scholarship to Merton College, Oxford and Jiayi Zheng (UVI) was awarded an Organ Scholarship to Magdalen College, Cambridge. Our warmest congratulations to these very talented musicians.

I wish to thank Antonia McClintock (Head of Music 2021-22), Sophie Loftus (Deputy Head of Music 2021-22), Jiayi Zheng (Head of Instrumental Music 2021-22), Eleanor Gibbs (Head of Choral 2021-2), Alice Pernthaller and Marina Pownall (Deputy Heads of Choral 2021-22) for their outstanding commitment, contribution and infectious joy of music! And together with all our talented Music Award Holders, they have inspired the whole School community, lived the music and had a lot of fun along the way!

With now over 3,700 followers, our Twitter channel continues to capture all our exciting news, live updates and inspiring moments from the Music department. Please do follow us @DowneHouseMusic.

Music continues to enrich our School and wider community as well as equip girls with lifelong musical skills, encouraging all musicians to explore, discover and be inspired!

PRO CORDA

During the Lent term, Trio Sempre Giocando embarked on its second venture into the Pro Corda chamber competition, after being crowned ‘Chamber Champions’ of 2020. This time, under rather contrasting circumstances, we were entered into the U19 group and had to record our entry online due to the all too familiar Covid restrictions. This did not stop us though, for spirits were high, getting the trio through to the semi-finals in a hotly contested national competition. We have learnt so much, with a particular emphasis on really learning to understand each other both personally and musically. As ever, our greatest thanks go to Dr Alexander for being an unwavering source of guidance and support every year, and none other than the Music department for always having our backs in whatever we do!

Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee (LVI)

BERKSHIRE YOUNG MUSICIANS OF THE YEAR 2022

Lots of pupils submitted entries for this year’s ‘Berkshire Young Musicians of the year competition’. We are very proud of all the hard work and dedication demonstrated with each entry, and particular congratulations go to Sophie Loftus (UVI) and Sayuri Shukawa (LVI) for progressing all the way to the final, with Sophie being crowned the overall winner!

DOWNE HOUSE YOUNG MUSICIANS OF THE YEAR

Our Young Musician of the Year competition took place again this year with great success. Musicians submitted a video entry that was judged by our Downe House staff panel, then the top scoring entries were invited to compete in the live final on Sunday 20 March which was judged by Alun Jones (former Principal of Chetham’s School of Music). There were three categories in the final: Music Maker (Grades 1-3), Maestro (Grades 4-6) and Virtuoso (Grades 7+). All three finals were live streamed, so that they could be enjoyed by a live audience and people at home. The Music Maker final was won by Isabella Hudson (LV) bass clarinet, the Maestro final was won by Alice Barber (LV) voice, and the Virtuoso final was won jointly by Olivia McClintock (UV) piano and Natalie Hui (LIV) violin. We received over 100 entries to the competition, so a massive congratulations to all the winners and finalists! Also, a huge thank you to Mrs Norman, our incredible Principal Accompanist, for rehearsing and recording so many of the entries and live performances.

“It was a great opportunity for musicians of all levels to

BARNARDO’S CHOIR OF THE YEAR

Prima Voce took part in the Barnardo’s National Choral Competition again this year. Previously, victories included the Senior Choir of the Year category in 2018 and 2019 and making it to the finalists in 2020. This year, the competition was run slightly differently in that all groups had to submit a sound recording for the first round. Prima Voce were one of six choirs to be selected for the final. That was the fourth time the choir had made the final, which is an amazing achievement! The final was due to take place at the Barbican in London, but due extenuating circumstances the live final was replaced with video entries. The choir took the news in their stride and used this opportunity to create two fantastic recordings (with the help of the brilliant AV team), that everyone is very proud of and will be able to look back on for years to come. They received some excellent feedback from the adjudicator, who said they had ‘a beautiful and unanimous choral tone from the outset’ and gave ‘a delightful performance’. The choir sang by Kim André Arnesen and – a spiritual arranged by Rollo Dilworth. Both songs were performed beautifully, and of the adjudicator said, ‘the singers rose magnificently to its challenges; tight rhythms, well balanced parts, true intonation’. Although Prima Voce were not crowned the winners this year, the choir has been on such a journey and thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the competition.

BARNARDO’S KIDSMAS LIVE

During the Michaelmas term, Prima Voce took part in the Barnardo’s ‘Kidsmas Live’ Concert at the Town Hall in Birmingham. The concert featured school choirs from across the country and was hosted by Heart DJ Dev Griffin. All the proceeds from the concert went towards Barnardo’s Kidsmas Appeal to raise money for vulnerable children at Christmas. Prima Voce performed two songs, one of which featured a beautiful solo from Antonia McClintock (UVI). All the performing choirs joined together to finish the concert with a joyful rendition of . A good time was had by all and everyone left in a Christmassy mood, ready to start the festive season.

BARNARDO’S YOUNG SUPPORTERS CONCERT

On 9 November 2021, Prima Voce was invited to Barnardo’s Young Supporters Concert and performed at the Royal Albert Hall! This concert was held to raise funds for vulnerable children and young people. Featuring the world-famous Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, young people from across the UK came together and sang some of Britain’s most adored film music. As a member of Prima Voce, it was truly a great honour to be able to live the music along with the other talented young people and the amazing orchestra. Singing in the Royal Albert Hall is an unforgettable experience as the large space provides awesome acoustics along with the glamours music.

Yizhuo Liu (UV)

CAROL SERVICE

This year, for the first time, all our choirs performed together in two carol services; the first at St Nicolas’ in Newbury and the second at St Mary Abbots in Kensington. Amongst the much-loved congregational carols, exhilarating brass fanfares and descant lines, was a wonderful and varied selection of choral gems masterminded by Dr Exon. In Harmony sang , a sensitive setting of Christina Rossetti’s poem; Once Removed and Treblemakers gave an exuberant rendition of , beautifully paced and very catchy; and Prima Voce performed a stunning modern arrangement of , and one of their favourites, . We also heard two beautiful compositions by Downe’s own Musician in Residence, the internationally acclaimed composer and conductor, Bob Chilcott: Prima Voce sang (composed especially for them), and the massed choirs gave us , a movement from

. Earlier in the services too, all the choirs joined forces to sing an extended Ave Maria setting, including an instrumental interlude over which the second reading was delivered; hearing so many talented young singers performing together as one created a spellbinding and magical atmosphere for the congregation. Amidst all this wonderful choral music, we heard solos from Eleanor Gibbs (UVI), Honor Mathews (UVI), Sophie Loftus (UVI), Alice Pernthaller (UVI), Alice Barber (LV), Lydia Isadora Dyer (LV), Harriet Boucher (UVI), Heloise Friedlander (UVI), Airlie Fleming (UVI), Xinyue (Audrey) Xu (UVI), Maria Kheyman (UVI), Serena Browne (LV), Antonia McClintock (UVI), and Maria Taraban (UIV).

The joy of singing to celebrate both Christmas and our Downe House community was evident in every girl’s face, and the sound of their voices together in one service was a delight to behold.

Dr Christian Alexander, Teacher of Music, Head of Composition

MICHAELMAS CONCERT

The Michaelmas concert 2021 took a step away from the conventional template and in response to government guidance on gatherings the Music department (with considerable help from Downe House magnificent AV department), constructed a studio-based event that was broadcast live. So, on a late-autumn evening in November, a small number of parents and family members gathered in the Farr Centre as our studio audience, they looked out over an array of cables, screens, cameras and discreet studio sets. At the far end of the hall, beyond the tech, sat the whole of Symphony Orchestra ready to play. The concert, which had been planned meticulously by Dr Exon, was a seamless and varied mix of musical performances, chats and interviews broadcast live and viewed across the globe by the extended Downe House community.

Showcasing our formidable orchestral tradition, Symphony Orchestra gave impressive performances of music from Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite and Bernotas’ , and Chamber Orchestra gave an enchanting rendition of Bartok’s . As well as Jazz Band, who gave a very funky and tight performance of by Gordon Goodwin, a perfect joining of their rhythm and horn sections, much to the delight of everyone in the studio and online. Choral music is represented every year at Downe House and interspersed the instrumental

performances. It was truly inspiring to see all our choirs in tip-top form again after the long break due to the pandemic. Once Removed sang from Matilda, Treblemakers sang from The Greatest Showman, and we had (famously sung by The Chordettes) from In Harmony. The Upper Sixth members of Prima Voce performed a set of three songs, each song in its own way intimate and beautifully fragile, and all sung with breathtaking expression and sensitivity to the words: Rutter’s , from Les Misérables, and John McCrae’s well-known poem set to music by John Jacobson and Roger Emerson. Linking all these stunning musical performances were conversations involving our Heads of Music and Lower School musicians, and a typically illuminating interview with Downe’s Musician in Residence, composer and conductor Bob Chilcott. Rounding off the concert, Mr Chilcott conducted Prima Voce in a performance of his own , written especially for this choir, and Dr Exon directed them in Kim André Arnesen’s This inspiring, event was a new adventure for the musicians of Downe, brim-full of energy, enthusiasm, and great musicianship – for both our small in-studio audience and our viewers around the world, a wonderful treat, and a source of much pride.

Dr Christian Alexander, Head of Composition

LOWER SCHOOL CONCERT

Throughout the Lent term Sinfonia, Once Removed and Treblemakers practised for the Lower School concert. On Wednesday 23 March, they all came together and performed the pieces they had been working on. Sinfonia opened the concert with by Verdi, which they had been working on since Michaelmas term, they also played Bach’s Sinfonia. This was followed by Once Removed, who sung , and then the LIV choir, Treblemakers, sang, , from Anastasia. As well as the performers, the audience consisted of Housestaff and music teachers alike. On the whole, it was a very successful concert.

MUSIC AWARD HOLDERS’ SPOTLIGHT RECITALS

It was great to be able to host the first Music Award Holders’ Spotlight Recital on Friday 22 October 2021. This recital showcased the talents of our performers and was the perfect start to the Long Exeat. After a short walk to the Chapel, we were treated to a performance of a Bach Trio Sonata movement by Jiayi Zheng (UVI), setting the standard for the afternoon’s concert. Returning to the Concert Room, Ziyue Yu (UV) gave a very accomplished performance of the first movement from Haydn’s Violin Concerto. Sticking with the string theme, Antonia McClintock (UVI) introduced us to Beethoven’s 7 Variations on the theme from the Opera, by Mozart for the cello, displaying some very technical and virtuosic playing! It was lovely to hear Camilla Hale (UV) sing by Vaughan Williams, transporting us to a pastoral English setting. Katie Lam’s (LVI) performance of the third movement from Rebecca Clarke’s viola sonata showcased the instrument’s diverse range and character. It was great to hear Olivia McClintock (UV) perform an intricate Mozart Rondo with tremendous skill and control. The concert finished with two works by Saint-Saëns: Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee’s (LVI) rendition of his was exciting and invigorating, whereas Sophie Loftus’ (UVI) performance of the first movement from his clarinet sonata created a calm and still ending.

The second Music Award Holders’ Spotlight Recital of the year took place on Saturday 30 April 2022 in the Concert Room. Performers from across the School were involved and delighted the audience to kick off the Short Exeat. Serena Browne’s (LV) trumpet solo of brought a taste of Spanish dance to proceedings and had the whole audience tapping their feet! Margaret Tam’s (LIV) first solo performance at Downe House was an accomplished rendition of Poulenc’s first movement from his flute sonata, displaying both her lyrical and virtuosic playing ability. Following on in the dance theme, Maria Taraban (UIV)

treated us to a Hungarian Dance by August Nolck, showing us the full range of the violin. Emily Mulford (Remove) should be commended for her first solo performance at a Music Award Holders’ Recital. She performed the opening oboe solo from the second movement of Brahms’ violin concerto with great poise and control. Continuing with the woodwind theme, Isabella de Arcangelis (UIV) performed the second movement from York Bowen’s flute sonata, ably navigating the extreme changes in character and contrast with a beautiful tone across the whole range. To conclude proceedings, we returned to Spain once more with Chenxi (Thalia) Li’s (LVI) rendition of by Manuel de Falla – a fiery and exciting piece to invigorate the audience before the bank holiday weekend! Well done to all performers for an excellent concert.

ST JOHN’S MUSIC SHOWCASE

In March 2022 we were able to hold our Lent term concert in St John’s Church in Newbury, for the first time in three years. The concert opened with a powerful rendition of by Mykola Lysenko, and other highlights included Symphony Orchestra’s selections from Peer Gynt and a medley from , Chamber Orchestra’s by Debussy and Prima Voce’s electric performance of . The concert also featured a performance from Jiayi Zheng (UVI), who played Bach’s on the Organ. This was the final concert for the UVI, and the UVI from Prima Voce sang by Stephen Paulus for a moving finish. Overall, it was a memorable evening, with the retiring collection for Christian Aid raising over £2,000.

TAMERLANO AT THE GRANGE FESTIVAL

On Monday 6 June 2022, the LV musicians were kindly invited to see a final stage rehearsal at The Grange Festival, Alresford. OAE baroque specialist Robert Howarth, one of our visiting music teachers, was musically directing their summer production of Handel’s Tamerlano, with a cast including Raffaele Pe and Sophie Bevan.

During the interval, we were invited down to the enormous stage by Mr Howarth and we were given a personal tour of the backstage areas, green room and orchestra pit. This included a detailed explanation of how the orchestra pit was laid out for a baroque orchestra, as well as how Mr Howarth conducts from the harpsichord. It was an incredibly memorable afternoon and a fantastic experience!

THE MINORITY INSTRUMENT SCHEME

Having played the viola for five years, with prior experience on the violin, I was delighted to be able to launch the Minority Instrument Scheme alongside some other girls to the Lower School in the Lent term. The instruments offered were viola, bassoon, double bass, trombone and tuba, all unique yet endangered instruments with crucial roles in orchestras. There was an assembly where we introduced our instruments and played a small section of music for pupils and staff to hear. The girls who signed up were allocated a buddy, where we check in with them from time to time, see their progress, encourage them and answer any questions they may have. This scheme is a fantastic opportunity to learn something new and I look forward to more violas joining me in orchestra!

We are fortunate indeed to have Bob Chilcott as Downe House’s Musician in Residence, bringing to our school the deeply impressive breadth and depth of his experiences working as a successful composer and conductor. Bob’s huge generosity of spirit, keenness to share a lifelong love of music, impressive ability to communicate clearly to young people and his practical-minded approach to music combine to make him a powerful advocate for all things musical in our school.

composers (pupils from Remove to LVI), developing a ‘relay composition’ – each composer would pass on the musical ‘baton’ to the next, and by the end of the day an all but finished piece of music had been carefully nurtured and brought to life. The piece was then completed by our Head of Music, Antonia McClintock (UVI); it was subsequently orchestrated and given a play-through by Music Award Holders and musicians from Chamber Orchestra – the finished result (inspired by Bob’s care and guidance), was outstandingly beautiful and an unambiguous testament to the positive impact he has had upon musical life at Downe throughout the year.

Mr Bob Chilcott, Downe House Musician in Residence

Throughout the year Bob has fulfilled many different roles as a musician, from mentoring Downe House alumnae and our present impressive cohort of Music Award Holders, to working in rehearsals with our choirs (and even conducting them in concert). Often when he works with a Downe House choir, they are learning one of his own compositions – many of you will have heard in December’s carol services Prima Voce’s beautiful rendition of , and all the School choirs performing together to sing . The impact of having the composer in our midst to encourage and give insight cannot be underestimated. Bob has also worked with our academic music pupils, chairing the UIV Year of Composing final workshop performances and delivering stand-alone composition lessons, modelling composing techniques with our GCSE and A Level pupils. In the early weeks of the Summer term, he spent an entire day working individually with sixteen

it even more amazing as everyone in little groups

Dance & Drama

“The night was truly magical.”

Dance & Drama

As we emerged out of a pandemic and returned to School in Michaelmas term to something that resembled normality, the Drama and Dance faculty were hugely excited about being able to work practically again and were determined to make up for lost time. Despite the Michaelmas term being slightly challenging, we continued to be creatively innovative and were thrilled to see the return of House Drama. It was particularly inspiring to see the whole School community come together and work creatively with such resilience and determination.

A highlight of the term was the annual Scholars’ dinner, which was our first opportunity to come together as a Drama community and celebrate the talent of our pupils. Miss Donnelly transformed the PAC into a magical woodland and the audience was delighted to watch performances from our scholars from A Midsummers Night's Dream. We were also treated to our first Christmas Dance Showcase, which took us on a magical journey into the world of The Nutcracker. This was a highly imaginative piece of Dance and really showcased the extra-ordinary talents of the dancers at Downe House. It was inspiring to see such an array of dance styles throughout the performance and audiences were amazed to even find snow falling from the ceiling of the PAC. It was the perfect end to the Michaelmas term and once again, I was struck by the passion and enthusiasm the girls have for Drama and Dance.

At the beginning of the Lent term, we were joined by our new Musical Theatre Director in Residence, Mr Rob Castell, who arrived just in time for the first UV and UVI musical ABBA: The Party! This immersive musical showcase whisked audiences to a Greek taverna where they were treated to an array of ABBA’s greatest hits. It was a real joy to see our fantastic cast having the time of their lives on stage and to see the audiences on their feet at the end of each performance. The Lent term was a term of firsts as we were also treated to ‘So You Think You Can Move’, a culmination of the formally known House Gymnastics and Dance. The event was a huge success, and the Farr Centre was simply electric after every performance.

93% grade 8-9. We are, of course, thrilled with these results and believe they are a true indication of how hard the girls have worked.

The Speech and Drama department has continued to go from strength to strength this year and despite the disruption, the girls were still able to achieve excellent results. We have seen a huge number of girls receiving distinction grades and have been thrilled to see 100% success rate in all the RADA examinations. A huge thank you to Mrs Watson and the Speech and Drama team for facilitating this.

The creative pinnacle of this year was Founder’s Weekend where we saw fantastic performances from across the faculty. The Dance department created an excellent piece called ‘Moving Memories’ which documented the School’s history on its centenary year. The LV and LVI embarked on a dark and experimental reimagining of Lord of the Flies and transported audiences into a chaotic and disturbing world. Parents, pupils and staff were also treated to an extra-ordinary Lower School production of The Lion King which left audiences amazed, not just by the talent, but also the sheer beauty of the production. It was fantastic to see pupils not only performing on stage but also running the backstage area too! The show was a roaring success and everyone involved should be immensely proud of their achievements.

The staff at Downe House are an amazingly inspiring collective and somehow the pupils are even more so. I would like to congratulate everyone on all the fantastic events this year and to thank the AV team for their unwavering support throughout the academic year!

Pupils have excelled in the sphere of academic Drama this year and it has been a delight to see a full range of both devised and scripted practical pieces from our GCSE and A Level pupils. During the Michaelmas term we were treated to a range of extracts by the UV from the classic, Medea, to the more abstract Changing Room. The LVI created a thoughtprovoking devised piece based upon refugees using Paper Birds as their practitioner. The pinnacle of the academic performances this year was the UVI scripted performance of Mine by Polly Teale, which was performed in the style of Frantic Assembly. The quality of the practical work has been reflected in our exam results this year with our A Level class receiving 100% A*-A grades and our GCSE pupils received

DRAMA PRACTICAL EXAMINATION

In LV Drama, we spent the academic year preparing for our upcoming GCSE devised exam. In the Michaelmas term, my class was split into two groups and given different stimuli to choose from. My group discussed potential ideas and themes which could come from each stimulus, and once we had established our dramatic intentions for our piece, we chose our stimuli. Mrs Wood, our Drama teacher, advised us to take a practical approach to devising our plan and encouraged us to perform lots of different scenes to discover which dramatic techniques and dialogues worked best for our storyline. In my devised performance there were four stand-alone characters. Each of us in the group spent time constructing our characters individually, in order to create depth to our characters. In our performance, Hidden Truths, each of our characters explored different debilitating mental illnesses which were kept secret. My character struggled with anxiety, and I focused on representing this through physical drama and creating soundscapes. I enjoyed collaborating with my group because it allowed us to express creative ideas. Throughout the devising process I learnt that trial and error is sometimes the best way to discover your creative potential.

Hope Black (LV)

On Thursday 12 May, we performed our Drama devised piece, Survival and not living, which was part of our coursework for our A Level Drama course. This piece was wholly created and devised by us. We started this process in Michaelmas term, we chose the novel, The Lonely Londoners by Samuel Selvon as our stimuli. This post-colonisation literature follows the daily lives of ‘The Windrush generation’ as they try to adapt to the British lifestyle. We as a group wanted to build our piece from this and explore further the prejudice and stigma surrounding immigrants settling in Britain. We each wanted to tell the hidden stories of these wronged people, so we all choose characters from different backgrounds and timings to show this repetition and failure over the course of history. To make this piece more impactful, we wanted a practitioner that was well-versed in Verbatim, to provide a truthful representation of these important stories of suffering and pain. We decided on Paper Birds, drawing inspiration from their performance, A Thousand Pieces. Overall, it was an amazing experience to collaborate on a subject that we felt passionate about and explore it in a creative way, so we could deliver our message to the audience.

On Tuesday 22 March, our group of six performed our A Level Drama Scripted Production of an abridged version of Mine by Polly Teale. This piece is a Psychological Drama that explores the pros and cons of adoption. We applied the Frantic Assembly style which involves using a combination of naturalistic acting with abstract movement in order to aid the feeling and meaning of more difficult concepts. A large part of this was using ‘The Child’ played by Yasmine McLennan (UVI) to reflect feelings of abandonment, which largely impacted our piece. Lyla Elichaoff (UVI) played ‘Rose’ the biological mother who had her child forced from her hands as she was deemed an ‘unfit mother’ due to her troubled upbringing. A key feature of the piece was exploring motherdaughter relationships which was shown between ‘Woman’, the adoptive mother played by Alice Pernthaller (UVI) and ‘Mother’, played by me, Marina Pownall (UVI). There were also more comedic moments shown through ‘Sister’ the adoptive mother’s sister played by Alethea Ings-Chambers (UVI) as well as some more poignant ones shown through the dismantling of ‘Man’ played by Morgan Wallace (UVI), the role of the adoptive father and his marriage with ‘Woman.’ This therefore made the audience question whether ‘The Child’ was better off with the wealthy, yet disjointed adoptive couple or the struggling, loving biological mother.

Back in September 2021, the return to a full timetable of live and in person Speech and Drama, Musical Theatre and Communication Skills lessons was welcomed by staff and students alike. Conducting our inescapably practical subject online was a challenge, but one we rose to during the pandemic and subsequent School closures. However, having pupils and teachers sharing the same space, collaborating creatively is what our lessons are all about and it was so exciting to be able to fully enjoy this part of the process again. Our Upper School and Sixth Form RADA students hit the ground running with their first exams scheduled for November. The RADA Shakespeare Awards are a great opportunity for our older students to expand upon their love for Shakespeare’s work by practically exploring some of his more obscure texts, either as a solo or duo candidate. During the assessment, pupils work with RADA tutors and alumnae - it is always a highlight of our year. I am delighted that all candidates entered received the award and special mention must go to Elfreda Harvey (LVI) and Ziqi (Jade) Fang (LVI), who not only achieved their Bronze Awards last year, but also their Silver Awards as well!

The Trinity exams took place in four stages last year and everyone worked exceptionally well as they made the transition back to ‘normal’ exams. During the pandemic, it was necessary to move all pupils onto the digital exam option. This meant that everyone worked as a soloist and all material was recorded, instead of being presented live. This year we were delighted to welcome live examiners back into School and have the chance to present work as pairs and groups. After such turbulent recent experiences, the pupils are to be commended on their excellent results this year. Our Lower School and Upper Fourth groups achieved astronomically high results and deserve a standing ovation. There are too many pupils to mention, but if you cast your eyes over the published results, you will see many overall marks of 90 and above, which is an incredible achievement. Upper School and Sixth Form also performed extremely well in their various exams, with many personal triumphs and very pleasing outcomes. Keren Feng (LV) impressed with her “articulate and creative” presentation for her Grade 5 Communication Skills exam, achieving a fantastic 89/100. Melissa Hulse (UV) managed to gain distinctions in her Grade 6 and Grade 7 Musical Theatre exams. Agnes Rose (LVI) achieved an outstanding 95/100 for her Grade 7 Acting Solo exam, the examiner commended Agnes for her “convincing and truthful” programme of monologues.

Congratulations to all our pupils for such a wonderful year. We are so proud of everything that you have achieved.

The Grade 5 Communication Skills exam is a great opportunity to showcase your development in conveying causes and arguments in two different aspects: a presentation task and a delivered news story in either a TV, radio or podcast format. For me, the exam was a chance to showcase the skills I have learnt throughout the year, speaking about something that I am passionate about and have an interest in, along with research and preparation guided by our teachers. We had three parts to the exam, a prepared presentation task about a charity which is significant to you, the second part was a prepared news story. For me I enjoyed the first presentation task the most, I enjoyed the presentation research about my chosen charity which was UK Save The Whales; it gave me and many others a chance to express why these charities are so important to us.

The second task was a spoken account of a news story, I chose a medical news story in a podcast format, which was the most popular as it is such a contrast to the presentation. The third task was to answer unprepared questions about the two proceeding tasks themselves or the process of research and presentation development of the tasks. Personally I found this the most difficult, however the conversational format was much more favourable. Overall, I learnt a lot from both the preparation experience and the exam itself; it is a great opportunity to improve not just presentation skills but conversation and improvisational skills as well.

Maya Gazzard (LV)

I started Musical Theatre lessons for the first time at the beginning of the Michaelmas term. To begin with, I wasn’t happy with my song choices, and I would constantly change my mind. Overall, I was quite nervous knowing the outcome of the lessons would be my first Musical Theatre exam. However, after meeting Mr Castell for the first time, I was put at ease immediately. We quickly got started, finding three perfect songs. Over the course of a few weeks, we decided on: ‘All That Jazz’ from Chicago, ‘Wouldn’t it be lovely’ from My Fair Lady and ‘She Used To Be Mine’ from Waitress However, after much deliberation, Mr Castell and I decided to scrap ‘She Used To Be Mine’, due to a key change that I was finding particularly difficult and instead settled for ‘You’ll Be Back’ from Hamilton. After a lot of practice, I confidently walked into the exam room. Although I left feeling unsure of myself, I know for certain that I would not have been able to receive a high distinction without Mr Castell being with me every step of the way, I would recommend Musical Theatre to anybody, even if you are uncertain of your ability, as its not only lots of fun but also an amazing confidence boost.

LIVE THEATRE VIEWING OF PETER PAN

On 1 March 2022, I watched the production of the National Theatre’s adaptation of Peter Pan. I found the play very enjoyable to watch. Throughout the play there was lots of different elements and techniques which made it very interesting. The themes that were explored throughout the play were motherhood, fantasy, magic and childhood vs adulthood. The play was centred around the juxtaposition between the innocence of childhood and responsibility of adulthood. Fantasy and magic were also key parts of the performance, as to enable the children to fly they must have a great imagination which is lacking in adulthood, having a vivid imagination allows the children to be able to fly because of their innocence. Another theme that was explored was motherhood and family. The Lost Boys are desperate to have a mother figure in their lives, to tell them stories and to comfort them.

At the very beginning of the play, there is a monologue from Wendy as a grown adult in the present. The monologue flashes back to when she was a child and the actor seamlessly removes her dressing gown, which represents her as being an adult, and becomes child Wendy. All the children in the play were acted by adults. This did annoy me a bit, as I think the actors over exaggerated their movements to show that they were children. Wendy had a very whiny voice, which made it seem less realistic to me as she was playing a 12-year-old girl and from my experiences, a 12-year-old girl would be a lot more mature. Whereas, I liked how Michael’s actor played the young boy with hunched over shoulders to portray being shy, he also had a whiny voice, but this helped to develop and establish his character as a very young boy. Michael’s high-pitched voice is a direct contrast to an adult voice, which is one of the key themes explored in Peter Pan – childhood vs adulthood. The father played his character as a manchild, which I think symbolises that every adult still has childlike attitudes, and it was also very funny for the younger members of the audience. John played his

middle-child character as being boastful and a show off. Peter Pan was played by a man, and I thought that this added something different to the play as Peter Pan is supposed to be an adult and the actor being an adult made me remember that he is a man in the story as well. The Lost Boys actors also played the pirates. This meant in the fight scene between the Lost Boys and pirates, the actors would play one group of characters and fight themselves. They would then emerge from the pirate ship and turn into the Lost Boys.

The set design, music and lights added to the performance even more. To create Peter Pan’s shadow, they used a green piece of material cut into the shape of a person and had background actors take hold of the material, make noises and move the fabric. It was very well done and added to the magic of the performance. Flying throughout the performance was achieved by the characters referring to ‘fairy string’, this was a rope that was attached to the actor that lifted them by a background actor climbing up and down a ladder. Seeing the rope could have ruined the magic but, as an audience member, I found it fascinating. Neverland is where we are introduced to the Lost Boys. The set design was messy and there was paint on the walls and floor, which is the opposite to what it would look like if an adult was looking after them. The lights reflected the mood of the piece. For example, when the lights turned red this showed connotations of danger, such as when Captain Hook captures the Lost Boys, Wendy, John and Michael.

Overall, the adaptation had many techniques that I found inspiring, and I was eager to implement these different acting skills into my own performance. The play had lots of things that I liked and disliked about it. I was pleased that the Lost Boys all had and maintained individual personalities throughout the production, as these could have been similar because they had similar backgrounds. The adaption ended with Wendy as an adult again, which finalised the performance well.

It is so fantastic to be treated to a live performance from our scholars. I would like to congratulate them all on what they achieved this evening, Shakespeare isn’t easy and so tonight has been a real achievement. I would like to say a huge thank you to the AV and catering team who have made this evening look and taste fantastic. I would also like to thank Mrs O’Sullivan, who has coached the girls through their performance and Miss Donnelly, who despite only joining us in September has made the PAC look spectacular.

I think it is fair to say that the past 18 months have been challenging for the world of Theatre and for the Drama and Dance Faculty at Downe House. We have all had to give up the things we love and really had to evaluate what is a luxury and what is a necessity. As we sit here today, at an event, which feels like everything is almost normal, I want to talk to our Drama Scholars about giving yourself permission to be creative and to remind you what an incredibly important element creativity can be to making your future a successful one.

I think I am right in saying that most people don’t spend their lives thinking about music, theatre or drama, because they have busy lives and simply accept it as being something that is ‘just there’… that is, until something happens – it might be that you are getting married, or planning a funeral or maybe you are feeling a bit sad – suddenly you find yourself reaching for a piece of music or a piece of theatre to try and make sense of how you are feeling. What I want to ask you all is: ‘At that moment is creativity a luxury or is it emotional sustenance?’ if it makes us feel better or somehow feeds our soul during a time of need - is it luxurious?

Another important question we should ask ourselves is, ‘Are we aiming to survive or thrive – can we truly thrive without creativity? Can you find out what you love without being creative in some way?’ When people find out that I am a teacher of Drama and Dance they almost always immediately launch into an experience of theatre they had when they were younger – in fact my husband Jake quite regularly recites his lines from when he played ‘Dandy Dan’ in Bugsy Malone in primary school, which is quite spectacular given how bad his memory is. My point is that almost everyone speaks fondly

of their experience, and I think it is because they are reminiscing on a time when they were being creative and expressing themselves.

There can be a danger when we are discussing creativity that it is seen as something ‘nice’, something warm or pleasant – but really it is so much more than that. I truly believe the creative skills you are currently learning in your Drama lessons and during your rehearsals will positively shape our future.

When starting PGCE I started an intellectual love affair with Sir Ken

Robinson. In one of his TED Talks he discusses creativity in schools and how well we as educators are preparing our pupils for the future. When I was listening to one of his talks it got me thinking about my own son, Barney. He was born on Christmas day 2020, which means when he leaves school it will be 2038. When I think about how much has changed over the past two years in terms of how we live our lives it is hard to imagine what life will be like in five years, never mind 18 years. I wonder how he will cope when adapting to the ever-changing landscape of life and what the future will hold for him. I realised that there isn’t anything we can do about this unpredictability, but what we can do is ensure we are encouraging our children and pupils to be adaptable, to ensure they understand the full value of their creativity and to have the confidence to be the innovators of the future. This is why Drama is so important - you are free to make choices, to discuss taboo subjects, to take a project in any direction you chose. You are encouraged to tell a story from multiple perspectives, to be original and create something never seen before. Not only are you doing this, but you are doing it alongside other people – you are having to work together to conceive something that is new, fresh and exciting. Your Drama lessons are an opportunity to hone your creative and collaborative skills into something that is really valuable.

So, Drama Scholars, my message to you is this: don’t just give yourself permission to be creative, really seek it out and use the skills you develop in Drama to help change our world for the better.

Day of Musical Theatre

On Thursday 27 February, we warmly welcomed over 100 girls from different prep schools for our annual Day of Musical Theatre. After a break due to the Covid pandemic the Drama and Dance Faculty were raring to go and excited to share their skills with our attendees. The day started with a variety of team-building games as each of the groups were introduced to their drama and dance teachers for the day. The musical this year was the wonderful The Lion King, so after suitably warming up, the girls were led off to prepare for their individual numbers. There was already an incredibly enthusiastic atmosphere, and we knew we were set for a fantastic day!

The groups then worked on their individual number with help from the Drama and Dance Faculty staff and several LVI and UVI Drama Scholars. During this session each group worked on a musical number, including singing, acting and movement. Whilst creating these short pieces the girls were introduced to a range of new musical theatre techniques, which they could use during their final performance.

After a delicious lunch from the Catering team, the girls and staff set about piecing the show together during the technical rehearsal. After a very short time, the piece was ready to go, and the parents were eager to take their seats. The performance of The Lion King was a tremendous success and the audience were treated to numbers like ‘The Circle of Life’ and ‘Hakuna Matata’. Our Upper Sixth Drama Scholars acted as narrators throughout the piece, which was a wonderful opportunity for them to perform with the younger pupils. The performances on stage really showcased the hard work the pupils had put in throughout the day, each number was slick and performed with lots of enthusiasm. Both the staff and the girls left with a real sense of achievement and a great deal of excitement. Thank you to everyone who helped to make the day such a rewarding experience.

Musical Theatre

It was an encouraging year! I joined the School as Musical Theatre Director in Residence in January 2022, when the world was tiptoeing gently into normalcy after what was unquestionably a troubling period for performing arts. Theatre is so inherently rooted in gathering and contact and so it was a joy to see ABBA: The Party achieve lift-off in February, complete with full cast dances and soaring pop harmonies. Mrs Richardson’s production was a dazzling carnival of fun and for me it was an excellent introduction to the theatre life of the School, with the pupils showing a fantastic collective spirit and professionalism. A highlight was Marina Pownall (UVI) in absence putting together a filmed performance of ‘Voulez Vous’ on the day of the show, expertly streamed through the multi-screen system by the AV team, proving that Covid would not stop the music.

There are a great many unsung heroes of musical theatre at the School whose work never gets any kind of public performance. I refer of course to our Trinity Musical Theatre classes, taken as a separate activity by enthusiastic pupils from Lower Fifth upwards. As well as working towards their grades, they have been exploring characters, building their portfolios, developing confidence, improving vocal skills and just having a fantastic time. Our team of peripatetic teachers are all superb and inspiring individuals with industry experience, and it is a delight just to wander between rooms behind the PAC and listen to a mega mix of showtunes throughout the day.

We had our Day of Musical Theatre in February, which saw an army of young performers from various prep schools descend on the department for an intense few hours of musical theatre-making. Given it was to be our Founder’s Weekend musical, The Lion King was the show we focused on, and each school gave a rousing performance of one of the main songs from the classic Disney film, complete with choreography and even some small character roles. Presented by our Seniors, we put together an impressive showcase of young talent – some of whom will no doubt be joining us in the years ahead!

I realise that from a performance perspective, all roads lead to Founder’s Weekend in the Summer term… and so it was with the Lower School production of The Lion King Under the direction of Mrs Watson, this well-loved show was quite literally a beast to put together, requiring immense aesthetic ambition and expansive thinking. Gathering nearly 80 pupils in the PAC to sing is a challenge in itself, made all the more difficult if you are asking them to simultaneously process down the aisle dressed as elephants and giraffes and hyenas! But the PAC was transformed, complete with painstakingly precise moments of symbiosis between cast and crew, for example during the Stampede, or with a CGI moving head of Mufasa’s ghost conversing with Simba mid song. The pupils gifted their voices to those soaring chants in the ‘Circle of Life’ and ‘He Lives in You’, dancers flitted seamlessly in and out of the action as buzzards or lionesses, our leads were magnificent and charismatic, and the ensemble all gave generously to the performance. I think it is safe to say we pulled it off.

We have a brilliant and committed team here in the Drama and Dance Faculty and I look forward to seeing what is in store for the future of musical theatre at Downe House. There are grand plans – big productions, more chances to showcase the talent within the School and more opportunities to connect with the musical theatre industry.

Dance at Downe House is an exciting and vibrant department within the Drama and Dance Faculty which allows the girls opportunities to take classes in a myriad of styles and techniques such as Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Tap and Modern. As well as a wealth of weekly recreational classes on offer, the girls can take examinations in RAD Ballet, ISTD Ballet and Rambert Contemporary Dance. For the girls who wish to focus on improving their Dance skills even further, the Downe House Dance Company and Academies train on a weekly basis and are open to pupils from all year groups. This year we have had girls take dance exams with fantastic results. The pupils have also had fantastic opportunities to perform live to excited audience members. As well as the extra-curricular dance lesson we have on offer, the pupils can choose Dance as part of their PE lessons. This gives them the opportunity to practise dance in a more relaxed and recreational setting opposed to the more formal process of the dance exam preparation process.

Miss Rachael Archer, Acting Head of Extra-Curricular Dance / Teacher

THE NUTCRACKER

The Nutcracker is a staple of the dance world during the festive season and this academic year, during the Michaelmas term, the dancers of Downe House worked tirelessly to produce their very own adaptation. Led by the Downe House Dance Company and supported by the Dance Academies, Contemporary dancers and Street dancers, The Nutcracker took the audience on a journey following Clara, a young orphan girl, who receives her first ever toy doll who comes to life and takes her on an adventure to the Land of Sweets. The dancing was spectacular, the costumes were vibrant, and the performance was a perfect way to end a busy Michaelmas term!

Miss Olivia Ward, Head of Extra-Curricular Dance

Sport

BASKETBALL

This year, we entered the National Schools Cup competition in Basketball for the first time ever. Both our first games in Round 1 were against the U15 and U18 National Champions. Due to Covid not many schools had entered, and our region was particularly strong. However, our team gave it their all and played well in both games, especially considering our team had few opportunities for team practice over the year. There is much untapped talent, and we hope to promote and develop the sport even more next year.

“The basketball team is one of the many amazing things I will never forget about from my time at Downe. Basketball has provided me with a new and amazing outlet. Right now, whilst it may be small, our Basketball team is mighty. I truly believe that due to the dedication of pupils, especially those who are rising in the School now, the team will continue to grow – in both success and size. It is entirely due to the passion of those in the team that I myself joined and have fallen in love with the sport.”

Violet Whittaker (LVI), Captain

CRICKET

The Cricket season has been fantastic this year. It has been lovely to have the first full, uninterrupted season, seeing so many teams playing on a weekly basis is a real testament to how hard the girls have been working on their cricket. The U12 teams have played regularly against St Helen’s and St Katherine’s, Queen Anne’s and Wycombe Abbey. Their most notable victory this term came against Queen Anne’s. The U12As showed great fielding prowess, as well as impressive individual batting from Lara Kendall (Remove) and outstanding bowling from Cecelia Harris (Remove). A true team performance to cap off a good first season here at Downe.

The U13 and U14 teams played a mixture of hard and soft ball games in 2022. The highs with both year groups have been the sheer number of participants across LIV and UIV. There have been several A and B matches that have meant over 40 different participants have taken to the cricket field for both the U13 and U14 teams this year, a huge increase on last year’s figures. The U13s also enjoyed two hard ball tournaments, playing in eight matches over two days. Improvements with both the bat and ball were noted and testament to how well the girls have honed their skills.

The U15 teams have enjoyed a very good season to date, reaching Round 3 of the Schools’ Cup (a first for Downe House), only to be knocked out by a very impressive Canford side. Nonetheless, some great bowling spells from Amelia O’Connor (LV) and Gabriella Ford (LV) meant Canford did not have it all their own way. Without a shadow of a doubt, the highlight of the 2022 season was seeing the first XI take to the field at Wormsley Cricket Club. We were hosted graciously by St Edward’s, Oxford, who fielded a very impressive girls side. Although Teddies posted an impressive 241-5, Amelia O’Connor (LV) and Molly Bates (UIV) took four impressive wickets between them to make it an exciting last six overs. Some good bowling work, as well as sharp catches at cover by Motunrayo Morinsola Adeniji (LVI) rounded off a great team performance in the first innings. Hetty Hack (LV) was incredibly impressive as both wicketkeeper and with the bat, however, an exceptionally high run chase proved too challenging for us, and Teddies walked away victorious. This did not dampen the spirits of the girls that epitomised teamwork, attacking and sharp fielding as well as fantastic sportsmanship over the course of the day. A fantastic season by all teams and one that will stand us in very good stead for even better cricket next year.

CROSS COUNTRY AND ATHLETICS

We have a very promising Cross Country Junior Team, who qualified to the Regional Final after a third place in Berkshire. The U12 Team won both the Newbury and Berkshire Athletics Competitions and both the U15 & U17 Teams came third in Newbury and the Berkshire Schools. Mia Olsen (Remove), Emilia Bushnell (LIV), Constance Hutchings (LIV), Ella Snow (UV) and Jessica Shakespeare (LVI) are to be commended for their excellent performance throughout the year.

It was great to be back competing in Athletics! When we were competing at full strength, Downe House could win their age groups against everybody else. The U17 team beat a strong Dauntsey’s side and the U14 team placed first, equal with Marlborough, in the May multi school invitational meets.

The LVI and UV major contributors are to be commended for attending as many competitions as possible, Jamie Ojo (LVI), Susannah Wood (LVI), India Sparrow (LVI), Jessica Shakespeare (LVI), Hannah Hurd (UV), Katya Longden (UV), Ruby Dean (UV) and Charlotte Absolom (UV).

Both Junior and Intermediate teams qualified to the Regional Final of the National Schools’ Cup and the Intermediate Team were placed in the top twenty in the country. The U14 and U12 Team won the Newbury Schools’ Championships, and sixteen pupils were selected to represent Newbury in the Berkshire Schools’ Championships. The following competed for Newbury (West Berkshire) in the Berkshire Schools’, this is a great achievement as selection for the team was the top two placed in West Berkshire:

1st Desola Omonijo (LV) - 200m

1st Yevedzo Wasterfall (LV) - Triple Jump

1st Adesola Odeyemi (LV) - Discus

2nd Pearl (Ivie) Avwenagha (UIV) – Shot Put

LV – Isabelle Regis, Georgina Ritchie, Iona Neville and Gabriella Ford

UIV – Natalie Sideso, Lucinda Boucher and Scarlett Hayes

LIV – Constance Hutchings

Remove – Emilia Corroon, Scarlett Wykes, Molly Johnson and Olivia Taylor

Desola Omonijo (LV) and Yevedzo Wasterfall (LV) were selected to represent Berkshire in the English Schools’ Athletics Championships in Manchester in July 2022. Desola placed seventh overall in the 4x100m relay and achieved a personal best in her 200m of 26.06 seconds. Yevedzo competed in the Triple Jump, and both pupils were a year young, so the experience this year was fantastic for them to then go back next year and challenge for the medals when they are at the top end of the U17 age group.

Mrs Lydia Rayne, Director of Sport

NETBALL

ABBA blasting from the courts will be the lasting memory of the wonderful group of Upper Sixth pupils who kept us smiling as we rebuilt the teams after Covid disruptions, and who taught us that teamwork enables success. They have been committed Netballers throughout their years and this certainly shows in their tactical understanding and fluidity of movement on court.

School Netball Captain Hoi Yiu (Danna) Cheung (UVI), led by example, setting high expectations for her teams and showing relentless determination on court in a whole variety of positions. Vice Captains, Antonia McClintock (UVI) and Isabella Pemberton (UVI), created an atmosphere where everyone was welcome and could achieve their potential, what a super trio of leaders they were.

This year, 29 Netball teams have taken to the court on numerous occasions and the staff have worked hard to ensure everyone who wants to play in a team can. The U15B Team topped our performance charts this season and both the second VII and fourth VII finished their year with a winning streak. It was wonderful to have a full season of matches again, and after two terms of hard work in training,

we were delighted to lift the second and third team trophies at the Charterhouse Tournament after a fantastic day of Netball.

Our U19A Team had a rebuilding year, having previously secured three unbeaten seasons prior to Covid disruptions; they were back on court training as a unit to get back to their winning ways. The Junior Netball teams took to the courts with enthusiasm and there were some outstanding performances by our shooters, who will ensure the future of DH Netball remains bright. Extra fitness and training sessions have been popular throughout the year and including the Thursday evening mixed year group Summer League Sessions.

Congratulations to Harriet Manning (LV) and Imogen Baxter (UIV) who were selected to represent Woodley Netball Club this year. Harriet also reached the incredible milestone of 100 hours of volunteering as part of the Pass on Your Passion initiative, run by England Netball, a fantastic achievement and one which will no doubt inspire others to sign up to the scheme.

HOCKEY

It has been great to be back playing matches again this season, with some very successful results. The Michaelmas term is always busy with the Berkshire Schools’ Tournaments. The 1st XI and U16A teams were both in very tough sections, and without much play the previous year we were rusty. But with every game the teams showed great improvement. The U14s and U15s both showed great skill and determination, both coming third, just missing out on regionals on penalty flicks - a skill to practise in the future! The senior teams had some great matches and finished off the season with an inaugural Radley College mixed game, which was played as part of our growing partnership with the College.

Many girls were successful in gaining places in their county age group teams. Congratulations to Jessica Shakespeare (LVI) U17, Cecilia Stone (UV) and Zara Reeve (UV) U16, Natalie Sideso (UIV) and Mia Corbett (UIV) U14 and Poppy McClymont (Remove) U13. The Upper Sixth have loved being part of all the Hockey teams whilst we have been at Downe, we will really miss it next year.

Lauren Raeburn-Ward (UVI), Hockey Captain

SQUASH

Downe House had an excellent year for Squash. We had seven teams enter National Schools’ Championships, which runs over both Michaelmas and Lent term. Each team must progress through stage one and two of the competition to reach the finals in March, where the top schools battled it out to be crowned National Champion. We had three teams enter at U14, two teams at U16 and two teams at Senior level. All teams compete together in one competition; it is not divided up into A, B, C events. After some tough opposition in rounds one and two we managed to get six teams through to the National Finals, which were played in Nottingham at the end of Lent term.

On day one it was the turn of our U14A, B and C teams. The matches were tough and the girls should be proud of their progress. After a long day we just missed out on a national title by one game! We came away as second, third and seventh nationally. Day two saw our U16 Team compete. They had a very strong draw and unfortunately just missed out on two crucial victories. They still managed to come seventh in the country! On the final day of the competition two senior teams took to the court. Our first team played well and managed to secure seventh place and our second team won the plate, so came away with a gold medal. Downe House was by far the most well represented school in the entire competition!

Outside of National Schools’, we had some friendly mixed socials, pupil vs teacher matches as well as friendly fixtures against other schools. Two UVI pupils, Théa Hawtin and Ceara Bastin, also had the opportunity to play with Paul Coll, British Open Champion and World Number 1. What an amazing experience for them both and we hope this inspires them, and other Downe House girls, to pursue Squash at school and long into the future.

TENNIS

Tennis at Downe during the Summer term was amazing. It has been so much fun being outside in the sun and getting competitive with both friends and other schools. There have been many incredible wins across all teams, which we hope will continue! My highlight would have to be the friendly matches with Eton College, it was a great way to spend the afternoon and of course an exceptional level of tennis was played. The most recent matches have been a challenge due to the lack of players due to A Levels and GCSEs, but the Lower Sixth have really stepped up and although we have slightly dented the winning streak, we gave it our best shot!

SWIMMING

This year has been busy for the swim team. After two years of not being able to swim due to the pandemic, we started off the season at the Berkshire School Relays. The Junior Team came forth in their freestyle relay and sixth in their medley relay, which is an amazing result for their first gala. The Intermediate Team (Isabelle Regis (LV), Emily Regis (UIV), Rebecca Ang (UIV) and Georgina Ritchie (LV)) came first in the county for both relays and broke a 14-year-old School record in the medley. The Senior Team (Kexuan (Angela) Zou (UV), Gwyneth Choi (UVI), Pattrawaran (Teal) Uahwatanasakul (UVI) and Ruby Dean (UV)) also came first in the county for both relays.

Next up in the Lent term we had the Winter Swim Meet for the U12s and U14s who came first and second respectively out of four schools, with Downe House finishing as the top boarding school.

The British Modern Biathlon Championships were held at the end of February and two age groups competed for national titles. The U12 Team (Alexa Peschkoff (Remove), Elizabeth Squire (Remove) and Alexia Walker (Remove)) came sixth with the U13 Team (Alice Bevan (LIV), Evie Pilgrim (LIV) and Emily Mulford (LIV)) coming an impressive third in the country. Isabelle Regis competed individually in the U16 category and with an amazing performance, coming forth in the country.

The infamous GSA gala took place on 22 March in which nine schools took part, with a McDonald’s trip on the way back to School as our main motivation – along with the Bronze medal for Downe House.

The two teams who previously competed in the earlier Biathlon Championships went on to compete in March in the British Schools’ Biathlon Finals at Bath University. Everyone finished with improved scores from the February competition and the U14 Team (Emily Regis (UIV), Natalie Sideso (UIV) and India Evans (UIV)) came second in the country.

Our final gala of the year in May was the Independent Boarding Schools Relays Gala with nine schools competing. Our U13 freestyle relay team (Alexa Peschkoff (Remove), Emily Mulford (LIV), Emily Laing (LIV) and Evie Pilgrim (LIV)) came second. The U15 medley and freestyle team of Isabelle and Emily Regis, Rebecca Ang and Natalie Sideso won Gold medals in both their events. The Senior Team of Gwyneth Choi (UVI), Madeleine (Maddi) Hales (UVI), Amy Wright (LVI) and Kexuan (Angela) Zou (UV) finished second. Scores were added up from all three age groups for the overall trophy and Downe House managed to win by one point!

Over the last two terms, we have won 18 matches, lost three and drawn in one, while achieving a phenomenal 137 personal best times. Madeleine (Maddi) Hales also broke a School record (Senior 25m backstroke) in a gala against Kennet and The Downs.

After seven years at Downe House, we want to say a huge thank you to Mrs Machin for supporting us through it all and always persevering when we said we didn’t want to swim! We are also fortunate to have gained our Assistant Swimming Teachers qualification in the Michaelmas term.

We have fond memories of our time in the Swim Team and we both hope to continue swimming in the future.

Gwyneth

VOLLEYBALL

After a slow start, the Volleyball Club picked up pace and grew in numbers, largely inspired by the Captain and Coach, Hoi Yiu (Danna) Cheung (UVI). As there are so few schools nearby that play Volleyball, it is difficult to arrange fixtures but that did not deter the committed members of this club who attended regularly and worked hard to improve technique and skill level.

In the Lent term we finally had our first match, against TASIS (The American School in Surrey), who are very strong in this sport! Under Danna’s keen gaze, we eagerly trained and prepared for this match-up, until one-by-one six of the strongest players had to pull out due to Covid – including Danna! Undeterred we went ahead and had a super fixture despite being somewhat outmatched in ability. The team played well and put some respectable points on the board, although we lost 0-2 overall. There was great camaraderie when we mixed the teams, allowing them to enjoy longer rallies and learn from each other.

At the start of the Summer term, we hosted a re-match which was a completely different, and even more enjoyable, experience. We trounced them in the first set, 25-12, then allowed them a narrow victory in set two, 21-25 and sadly let them win in the third set, 13-15. Nevertheless, it was a thrilling match with superb rallies and amazing team spirit, and we know we WON that match!

Outdoor volleyball was now on offer in PE lessons and the Club continued to grow to include younger members. This resulted in a fixture for the U15 Team, also against TASIS. Our team included a mix of UIV and LV, who had never trained together before and some had only started playing Volleyball that term. They all played extremely well and won the match 2-1. Special mention to Yunyi (Michelle) Jiang (LV) and Zhi Ling (Lauren) Chu (LV) whose experience and expertise helped secure the win.

Overall, it was an outstanding year for Volleyball in terms of the interest and improvement in skill level, both individually and as a team. Congratulations to all who played in the matches this year, and especially to those who have shown huge commitment to the weekly training sessions. Your dedication has not gone unnoticed. Finally, a huge thank you to Danna, who will forever be our inspiration in Volleyball. She has coached and captained the Volleyball Club for the past two years, researching drills to help with skill development and dispensing her invaluable experience and expertise as an advanced player. Danna has handed on the captaincy to Sayuri Shukawa (LVI) who will be ably assisted by Motunrayo Morinsola Adeniji (LVI), as Vice-Captain. These two are determined to maintain the legacy that Danna has created and to continue to grow with the Club.

Inter-house sports in the Summer term started off with House Tennis and House Volleyball. Everyone dressed up in their House colours and were ready to play. Half of each House was doing Volleyball and the rest were playing Tennis, this was a great way to end the term with some friendly competition between the Houses. In Volleyball, Aisholt won all their matches, but everyone was trying their best – we could hear the cheering and support all the way from the tennis courts. Cricket was the following day and everyone was involved, whether they were fielding or batting. The Inter-House Sports finished with Sports Day on Saturday as part of Founder’s Weekend.

Sports Day is certainly one of the highlights of the School calendar, it gives all our pupils the opportunity to come together and use teamwork to try their hardest and compete against other houses. The healthy competition between the houses always creates great House spirit and camaraderie. It is a great opportunity for everyone to give their allocated event their best shot, whether it be something they compete in frequently or (in many cases) their first go. All in all, Sports Day was a perfect example of how the hard work and dedication of both pupils and teachers - and favourable weather - can result in a great day that we will all remember!

This year has felt special. The girls have been back training and competing with very few restrictions in place. The past few years really highlighted how much we all value movement in our lives and I know many of the scholars found it tough to be without their competitive outlet.

We have seen many of our scholars back out on the court, pitch, track and pool competing for their school, club, county and country. Their consistent hard work is really starting to pay off! Many of our scholars are now training in the gym twice a week which has helped to build a really strong foundation for other forms of training. We have continued with our weekly conditioning session as well as weekly mobility sessions too. The girls are starting to understand the importance of listening to your body and knowing when to push and knowing when it is time to pull back a little.

We felt extremely lucky to welcome Kate French, Olympic Gold Medallist in Modern Pentathlon into School to give the girls a taster workshop followed by a Q&A. The girls thoroughly enjoyed learning the skill of shooting! Kate

concluded her Q&A by showing us her Olympic Gold Medal and I know that all the scholars found the evening both inspiring and insightful.

During the summer, our scholar, Kexuan (Angela) Zou (UV) competed in the Senior Women’s Lacrosse World Cup in America. She represented China, which was an incredible opportunity at only 16 years of age. Angela scored her first international goal on day one and her second during China’s final placement game as they defeated Latvia! Angela will be sharing her experience with other scholars upon her return next academic year- we can’t wait to hear all about it!

I would also like to take this opportunity to say goodbye to our leaving scholars: Olivia Monckton (UVI), Iona Neville (LV), Lauren Raeburn-Ward (UVI) and Poppy Wessely (UVI). Thank you for all you have given to Downe House Sport over the years, and we wish you the best of luck for the future.

Our annual Founder’s Weekend was a spectacular celebration of the many talents and achievements of our pupils, and it was made extra special as we marked 100 years of the School’s move to our beautiful woodland campus in Cold Ash.

We took every opportunity to celebrate and commemorate the history of the School and the people who have made it what is today – its founders, former and current pupils and staff!

The special Centenary-themed event saw us open the School gates for an action-packed weekend of performances, productions and exhibitions to create our biggest ever community gathering; including current pupils and their families, members of our alumnae community, staff and their families and, for the first time, members of our local community – our friends and neighbours from the surrounding area. It truly brought together the whole Downe House community.

The girls got the weekend started with a bang – as the starting pistol sounded to begin the annual inter-House Sports Day competition on Saturday morning. As pupils and families alike gathered on the sports field for a morning of track and field events, the Houses took the opportunity to raise funds for their House charities, selling items created by the pupils and housestaff.

With the sun shining, everyone was able to enjoy their

picnic lunches in the grounds of the main campus, with the Cloisters being the focal point which was again home to a large festival screen streaming performances and videos throughout the weekend and was the venue for the premiere of a very special Spirit of Downe House film, which celebrates our Centenary and features alumnae, pupils and staff. There truly was something for everyone on Saturday, which also featured a range of incredibly popular Virtual Reality experiences, a Festival stretch tent packed with activities and performances including a Culturalicious experience from the Languages department, STEM workshops with coding and a chance to meet Olive our resident robot. The stretch tent also provided the perfect venue for our musicians and featured performances by pupils and staff – Music Alive!, Buskers’ Corner and, as the sun set on the first day of Founder’s Weekend, live Jazz with canapes – a particular treat for those who stayed to watch The Lion King on Saturday evening.

“These have certainly been challenging times in our world and remain so, but the way in which our extraordinary young women worked together throughout the Founder’s

MOVING MEMORIES DANCE SHOWCASE

This centenary-themed dance show saw dancers from across the school bring to life some of the most memorable figures from the history of Downe House through a wide variety of dance genres. Performed by pupils who take part in extra-curricular dance programmes alongside dancers from the Dance Academy and Company, the girls gave us a wonderful and sometimes thought-provoking glimpse into the life of the School through the years.

LORD OF THE FLIES

The Upper Fifth pupils’ adaptation of William Goudling’s classic gave us as we’ve never seen it before. In the midst of a deadly viral pandemic that has plagued the globe, children are being sent to quarantine districts to try and survive. However, when the children arrive at District 3, they find themselves alone with no adult or order in their lives. Could this group of children establish democracy among themselves, or would they succumb to the temptations of anarchy? In this dynamic and gritty production, the girls unpicked the original story’s concept of savagery and questioned what that would look like in a dystopian context with an all-female cast. The girls certainly rose to the challenge and made it their own.

THE LION KING

Girls from across the entire School give a simply jawdropping production of the smash hit musical The Lion King (Jr). Complete with a full parade of animals, including an audience walk-through by an elephant, giraffes, zebras and many other animals during the stunning opening sequence, there were powerful performances across the board, from the lead characters and the ensembles alike, and some outstanding renditions of The Lion King classics including ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’ and the much-loved ‘Hakuna Matata’. Supported by a dedicated and invaluable backstage crew, the girls certainly took us on a magical adventure through the African Savanah that left us singing the songs for days!

“I found the rehearsal process leading up to the performances so much fun. We rehearsed in groups every Monday and Thursday evening to practise individual scenes or songs. It was really exciting to see the whole play come together in our last few rehearsals, especially considering the limited time we had to rehearse in the evening slots. I loved seeing our head pieces for the first time, it was a lot to get used to and Rose, Alice and I really had to practice being aware of them when moving around! When Founder’s was approaching, people were growing nervous and rehearsals could get intense, but the staff made sure to take great care of us. The weekend of the show came around quickly, and we were introduced to the amazing makeup artists who would do each character’s face paint and makeup. During the show, the Drama studio became very busy and full of excitement. The backstage team were also very helpful and a crucial part to making the play run smoothly – we are so thankful to them! It was an opportunity to have fun, get to know more people and put on a great performance to remember for a lifetime!”

“In the midst of our Founder’s Weekend celebration this year, the Lower School along with the UIV held a wonderful production of the well-loved musical The Lion King. Led by an amazing team of teachers such as Mrs Watson, the director, Mr Castell, Mrs Archer-Raath and Mr Brown, the musical directors along with choreographers, they staged a jaw-dropping performance that kept the audience captivated all the way through. As an audience member, I could not look away from this colourful celebration created by the detailed props and costumes that really mimicked the plains of Africa and their inhabitants. Every person that entered the stage performed to their fullest, whether they were part of the ensemble or the main cast, really proving the power of collaboration and effort. And I must confess, that I did shed a tear at Mufasa’s death scene even though I have seen the production and watched the movie many times.”

BUSKERS’ CORNER

As is so often the case, the sun shone upon Buskers’ Corner. There were a few minor scuffles with argumentative gusts of wind, but nothing a few pegs and an extra pair of hands could not easily control! And so, the music flowed with the usual flair, variety and superb musicianship on display to a happy and supportive audience.

We heard Ivory Leung (Remove) and Anson Leung (LVI) playing , four hands on one piano; Alice Pernthaller (UVI), Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee (LVI), and Melissa (Millie) Hulse (UV) performed Ricky Montgomery’s ‘Line Without a Hook’; and Chenxi (Thalia) Li (LVI) gave a spellbinding rendition of John Williams’ ‘Theme to . We had Anson with Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee on guitar and Alice Pernthaller singing ‘ Elysees’; Downe’s own Trio Sempre Giocando (Anson Leung, Katie Lam, and Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee (LVI)), performed Elton John’s music for the song, ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight’, from TheLion King, played with exquisite finesse and style; and Melissa (Millie) Hulse gave us a poignant rendition of ‘ from . Enyi (Christina) Zhao (UIV) enchanted the audience with a very lyrical and expressive Intermezzo for solo piano by Brahms; and Antonia McClintock, Alice Pernthaller, and Sophia Loftus (UVI) performed ‘ d’, from the musical Wicked. The event was rounded off with a solo piano performance from Anson Leung – Gershwin’s ‘ , played with such panache and assured musicianship. To sit in the sunshine and listen to this eclectic blend of musical performances, given so happily by such impressively talented young musicians, was a highlight at Founder’s Weekend 2022, and an outright treat.

BRING THE HOUSE DOWNE

The pupils had a wonderfully boisterous end to the weekend with the return of this much-loved pupils’ own ensemble competition, back after a two-year break. The competition attracted 26 entries and after the Preliminary Rounds, nine groups made it through to the Finals – and what a fantastic competition it was for our young musicians. The atmosphere in the Farr Centre was electrifying throughout and after the panel of judges had deliberated, before the stunning ‘Trio Sempre Giocando’ were crowned as worthy winners of this year’s competition. Of course, no ‘Bring the House Downe’ competition is complete without an audience vote and the Cup for ‘The Most Entertaining Performance’ was solely in the hands of the audience – and the winners were ‘River Flows in Us’, following this talented quartet’s brilliant ‘mashup’ of

“We were so excited to win the

SING UP

An outstanding performance of choral music at its very best from our multi-award-winning choir Prima Voce with special appearance by Katie Hackman, DH 2019 Alumna who is currently training at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire in Vocal and Operative Performance.

‘Siren’; the Main ‘Home Fires’, which really set

conduct the choir singing ‘King of Glory, King of Peace’

‘Et Misericordia’ Howells’ ‘King David’

‘Ave Maria’

song in Danish: ‘Lyse Nætter’ by Aske Bentzon and Alberte

‘A Clare Benediction’ ‘Joshua’. The

FOUNDERS

FOUNDER’S CONCERT

The long-awaited return of a concert with a full live audience, since the restrictions of lockdown! Featuring all the School’s music ensembles and choirs – Founder’s Orchestra, Sinfonia, Once Removed, Treblemakers, In Harmony and Prima Voce – the programme embraced a wide variety of musical styles from a glimpse of Broadway and spot of Riverdance through to Gospel, Pop and Music for TV. Something for everybody! The concert finale brought together all our choirs from across the School for the first time in three years to sing as one community – very much in the spirit of our Founder, Olive Willis.

‘Lord of the Dance’

‘Tequila’ had everyone singing along and we were ‘Sorry Don’t Worry’

‘Why We Sing’

The Murray Centre and Nickel Room were transformed into gallery spaces which displayed the stunning artwork and creative works of our pupils. With Art, Textiles, Photography and 3D Design works on display, the Murray Centre was a hive of activity throughout the entire weekend. The Nickel Room was transformed into a exhibition hall featuring artifacts from the Archives as well as artworks and poetry created specifically to commemorate our Cold Ash Centenary.

The Creative Arts departments, which comprise Art, Photography, Textiles, and 3D Design proudly presented exhibitions across the School site over Founder’s Weekend. Garments by A Level Textiles pupils were the focal point at the entrance of the main exhibition in the Murray Centre and demonstrated skill, flare, imagination and the fusion of an array of creative techniques. GCSE pieces were displayed on the lower floor and were hung from scaffold so that viewers were afforded an interactive experience.

The Art department showed work by LV and UV GCSE pupils alongside A Level pieces by members of the LVI and UVI. Outcomes were based on personal investigations and all who saw it were astounded by the skill and versatility demonstrated by the participants.

The exhibition of AS and A Level Photography took place in the Collaboration Space towards the rear of the Murray Centre, and it is fair to say that the work would not look out of place at a degree show. Imagery was broad ranging and experimental and it was fantastic to see the development of photography into alternative media such as print, textiles, glass, and sculpture.

Pieces from the 3D department included an UVI A Level desk/table welded in steel with glass shelves. Alongside this, visitors could enjoy looking at a range of developmental work including small scale models, full scale mock-ups and assembly jigs.

In addition, there were beautifully crafted Key Stage 3 insect, fish and ‘scene’ sculptures as well as flying bird mobiles hung from a scaffold gantry over the stairwell.

Some stunning Remove - UIV Art and Textiles work was on display in the Pottery Room and the Textiles Studio, which included portraits of the queen to mark the Platinum Jubilee, ceramic boats and houses, lino prints, lavender hearts, embroidered bags and stitched canvas paintings.

In the Nickel Room there was a special Downe House Centenary Exhibition which featured a display of archive material alongside creative work by Textiles, Art, and English students.

In their Art lessons the UIV made resin-coated Pop Art portraits of the legendary Miss Nickel, as well as lino prints and collage/pen/ink pieces depicting Downe House headmistresses, and notable alumnae and staff. Further responses to the centenary theme took the form of wonderful Grayson Perry-inspired ceramic vessels, and Lower School Art Award Holders referred to archival photographs to inspire portrait pieces using print and mixed-media.

Some of the Lower Fifth Textiles pupils created a collaborative wall hanging depicting our Founder, Olive Willis. The background was made using a rag rugging technique and featured the Pepper Pot on the left, and Chapel to the right.

In addition, the English department led their students in writing poetry that responded to poems from the archives which was featured around the room.

Sunday was Community Day – dedicated to our pupils, to our alumnae and members of our local community. Starting with yoga for our pupils in the Cloisters, followed by a leisurely brunch for pupils and alumnae, as well as the open afternoon for neighbours of the School – Sunday had a very relaxed vibe.

There were opportunities to watch many of the performances from Saturday, lots of fun activities including bungy-trampolining, festival face painting and even a magician, as well as the fun and ever-so-slightly competitive alumnae vs pupils lacrosse and hockey matches on the sports field, cheered on by family and friends on the side-lines.

Firm favourites of the afternoon for our pupils were The Great Downe House Bake Off, especially as they were able to eat the entries once judging was complete, as well as the exciting Bring the House Downe music ensemble competition. We called time on this year’s event with a delicious BBQ supper provided by our outstanding Catering department.

Downe House and Radley College have enjoyed close relations for a long time; their proximity and their many shared values mean that siblings often attend the schools, and there have been many socials and other collaborative projects involving boys and girls from both schools over many years.

In 2020, pupils and staff at both schools started to explore the possibility of broadening the scope of our collaboration and formalising it into a coherent strategy. In the same year, the social media campaign ‘Everyone’s Invited’ had highlighted the need for all schools to work hard to build positive relationships between boys and girls, and so the desire to work more closely with Radley was also a response to this.

A committee of six Upper Sixth pupils was established in both schools and these groups met on several occasions to decide on a way ahead. The groups presented their ideas and plans to the Headmistress and the Warden of Radley in October 2021: they did a brilliant job and the project was taken forward enthusiastically.

The Downe House team of Sixth Formers – Deborah (Ayanfe) Adedeji, Hoi Yiu (Danna) Cheung, Maddi Hales, Poppy Wessely, Rosie Montague and Sophie Kelly – and their Radley counterparts have done a superb job initiating and running this project. In the first year alone, over 30 varied collaborative projects – academic, cocurricular and social – have taken place

involving pupils from UIV upwards. This is a student-driven project and those involved have worked hard with staff at both schools to agree the vision and objectives of the strategic partnership and to broaden the range of activities completed by the girls and boys.

Vision of the Radley College-Downe House Strategic Partnership:

By working together on mutually beneficial projects, both schools provide all pupils with direct and meaningful experience of working with the opposite sex, preparing them fully for life beyond school while retaining the integrity and value of single sex education. Relationships of respect are created through academic, cocurricular and social interactions. In formalising our long-standing links, we ensure that plans are sustainable and the impact is measurable.

A summary of the Objectives:

To create relationships of respect between pupils

To provide opportunities for personal development

To promote academic excellence

One notable success in terms of academic collaboration has been the Humanities Symposium, which was hosted by Downe House in May 2022. This event stretched some of the two schools’ most academically curious Year 10 and Year 12 pupils. The plan is

for Radley to host a STEM Symposium in the Spring term of 2023, and for the two symposia to become annual events. Another exciting collaboration in the Michaelmas term was between the two History Departments. Radley opened its extensive WWI archive to Downe House girls, and our own archivist provided information about our alumnae’s and other local women’s contribution to the Great War effort. These sources enabled some excellent historical research which was conducted by teams of pupils from both schools.

The group of six Radley UVI boys and six Downe House girls who comprised the original committees have now passed the baton on to the same number of pupils in the year below. This new team, which has renamed the partnership as ‘The Respect Project’, met in June 2022 to get to know each other and to start planning how to enhance the Project further.

The new Respect Project Teams from both schools have several exciting developments in mind. They are planning a new collaborative Debating Society and additional sporting events. Also, they will be trained to talk to younger pupils about consent and related issues with a view to leading discussions with the younger pupils in their school about building positive relations with the opposite sex.

It has been wonderful, to see the Murray Centre shake off its pandemic quiet and return to its proper role at the centre of School life. Always flooded with light, even on a dull day, the building exudes warmth and welcome. Most of us have occasion to pass through the building at least once a day, whether it be to undertake private study, to attend an assembly, lesson or tutor meeting, visit the library or simply get together with friends. The tuck shop and the drinks machine are an undoubted attraction and the icing on the cake (excuse the pun) has been the reopening of the Murray Centre Coffee Shop in the New Year. It has been lovely to welcome Debbie and Harriet to the Murray Centre team. Between them, they run the coffee shop between 9.30am –11.30am and 2pm – 5.30pm every weekday and from 10am-12 noon on a Saturday, offering a range of goodies - from the ever-popular lemon drizzle cake to cookies, popcorn and pretzels. Cold iced tea drinks have gone down a treat as well.

Throughout the year, the Murray Centre has hosted a range of events from Open Mornings for new and prospective parents, to Happy Day when it was turned into an airport terminal! We have been delighted to finally launch the long-planned Murray Centre Residency Programme during which our academic departments can take advantage of the versatility of the building to showcase their subject. The Residency Programme kicked off in style when the Science department moved in for a week in November. Displays, including one on Women in Science, quizzes and competitions proved to be popular and the lunchtime demonstrations by some of our Science teachers were a highlight. We welcomed Physicist and Oceanographer, Helen Czerski, who gave us a fascinating insight into her adventures and research on an expedition to the ice floes of the Arctic Ocean.

In the first part of the Lent term, it was the turn of the History department who chose the theme of Global History. Remove pupils produced a timeline of global historical events called ‘Meanwhile, Elsewhere’ and the Murray Centre was adorned with life-size cardboard cut outs of well-known figures in history and politics. Sixth Form pupils from around the globe gave us some fascinating presentations on the history of their country at lunchtimes and we were delighted to welcome virtually the historian, Jerry Brotton, who shared his research into the connections between Elizabethan England and the Islamic world.

Hot on the heels of the History department came the English department who played a key role in our Festival of Literature in the second half of the Lent term, and we even managed to squeeze in the Learning Skills department who were celebrating Neurodiversity Week.

For most of the Summer term, the Murray Centre fulfilled its educational role with almost every table and desk occupied by hard-working pupils preparing for exams - from 8am right the way through until 10pm. Events, however, continued with the Collaboration Space hosting a Black Classicists Exhibition celebrating the important role of African Americans in Classics. There was a colourful interlude provided in June by our GSA when we celebrated Pride Month and covered the Centre in rainbow bunting, and we ended the year on a high with the Murray Centre, yet again, demonstrating its versatility, providing the perfect backdrop to an exhibition of pupils’ artistic work as part of the Founder’s Weekend celebrations.

The Murray Centre Library has truly returned to ‘business as usual’ this year. It not only provides a peaceful haven for private academic study but has never been busier in terms of the number of visitors coming to browse and borrow from the wide collection of books and magazines. All Remove and Lower and Upper Fourth pupils enjoy a reading lesson in the library every fortnight – a time when they can be inspired and supported by English and Library staff in their book choices. Our new library system, Oliver, now gives each pupil their own personal library account where they can renew and reserve books, explore the catalogue and get personal reading recommendations. Within Oliver, ‘Learn Path’ offers a one-stop shop of high quality, curated academic resources for every age group that can significantly enhance learning in all subjects.

We have continued to expand and update our book collections this year, especially ensuring that the latest fiction titles for teenagers and young adults are available to borrow. There has been an explosion in the popularity of graphic novels, so we are investing in these, too. Our wellbeing section is another important focus so that we can offer relevant and up-to-date advice and support to our pupils across a range of issues that they may be facing.

BOOKBUZZ

This year’s Book Trust Bookbuzz initiative, where each member of Remove is gifted a book of their choice from a set of new titles, was thoroughly enjoyed by the pupils. After sharing their thoughts on their chosen book with a group, they were then challenged to write an illustrated book review, with the best five winning prizes.

Well done to this year’s Bookbuzz Challenge winnersHarriet Cull, Fong Fan (Charmaine) Hui, Mia McLennan, Mia Olsen and Alexia Walker.

DHSA SHORT STORY COMPETITION

The annual DHSA (Downe House Seniors’ Association) Short Story Competition is a wonderful opportunity for our pupils to flex their creative writing muscles and share their thoughts on a given theme. This year, Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee was the inspiration with each school section writing on a theme taken from one of Her Majesty’s personal qualities. The story content did not have to relate to the Queen, the themes were purely to spark ideas. The Sixth Form were given the theme of Dignity, Upper School had Endurance and Lower School wrote on Wisdom.

The winners of the short story competition were: Lower School: Sophia Bones, Rosie Ilott and Aryana Patel-Sharma.

Upper School: Annabel Trew (overall winner), Felicity Harris and Isabelle Ashworth.

Sixth Form: Lauren Akinluyi, Mary Hazlitt, Charlotte Butterworth.

We were thrilled to be joined for lunch by some familiar faces from the judging panel as well as the English department. It was wonderful to see everyone bonding over a love of literature. We are immensely grateful to the DSHA for their generous sponsorship of this event and we cannot wait to read next year’s stories!

LITERARY SENIORS

This is an important role for two of our Sixth Form pupils who work with the Library and the English department, playing an important part to ensure that literature is valued across our whole community. Our thanks go to Ashley Wong and Sophie Kelly for their contributions during 2021-22 and we look forward to working with Fife Akinkugbe and Longwen (Vivi) Lei over the coming year.

LOWER SCHOOL READING AMBASSADORS

This year, for the first time, the Lower School houses have appointed Reading Ambassadors as one of their positions of responsibility. They have proved to be a great addition to the Library team. Not only are they trained to be Library Assistants, checking books in and out, reshelving and writing book recommendation cards, but they also run events, write reviews and inspire a love of reading in their houses too.

The fantastic Finding Balance wellbeing programme has continued this year with regular access to morning and evening yoga, sound baths and forest bathing to name just a few of the brilliant activities on offer. Our in-house programme continued too with each house finding innovative ways to focus on finding balance and help develop positive wellbeing strategies that the pupils can use in their daily lives.

As part of our wellbeing programme, the girls took part in bedtime yoga. The sessions, led by Rachael Archer, lasted about 15 minutes and finished shortly before their bedtime, allowing the girls to drift off to sleep. The pupils gathered in the House common room, rolled out a yoga mat each and did some gentle stretching with some meditation to calm their minds. This was very popular and there were more participants with each week.

The wellbeing hampers continue to be popular in houses too, allowing the pupils to dip in and out of the various soothing lotions, relaxation remedies and well-being related items as they need them. Our wellbeing favourite, puppy therapy, returned and many of the pupils enjoyed spending some downtime playing with the puppies.

An exciting new wellbeing venture comes in the form of our newly established Wellbeing Committee which has been established by some of our Lower Sixth pupils and will be rolling out as a whole School pupil committee next academic year. Ten pupils have undergone training to be Wellbeing Ambassadors, who will now be able to develop the School’s wellbeing agenda, increase understanding of positive wellbeing techniques through education and will encourage all pupils to be open and proactive about safeguarding their mental and physical wellbeing.

Ellen Llewellyn, Director of Boarding (Compliance), Higher Education Advisor

“I regularly meditate, just sitting in silence with no distractions. I also watch films, listen to music and attempt to write about what worries me. Deep breaths once in a while also help me feel grounded. As a Wellbeing Ambassador I hope to remove the negative stigma that surrounds mental health, encourage people to speak up about what is bothering them and simultaneously be mindful of others.” Fara Akinkugbe (LVI), Wellbeing Ambassadors

The aim of the Scholars’ Programme at Downe House is to ensure that Academic Award Holders have a wide range of choice and opportunities available to have their intellectual life enriched through stimulating and substantive academic endeavours, and that they take a lead in encouraging and sharing their love of learning with their peers.

This has been a really busy and successful year for our Academic Scholars, which has seen girls take part in a huge range of events:, termly Academic Research Conferences and a lecture on antisemitism and the Holocaust from a visiting US Professor; UIV Scholars’ Book Club led by Mrs Hill, termly Academic Research Essay Seminars for the LV; termly Eton Book Club evenings at Eton for our Sixth Form scholars, as well as the introduction of some superb initiatives: Train of Thought Magazine (Scholars’ Magazine), Footsteps (LV Scholars’ Essay publication) and scholars’ movie and pizza evenings. Debating has really taken off too, with girls of all ages taking part in Debating Workshops run by a leading UK debating coach, and Sixth Formers taking part in the Oxford Schools Debating Competition in the Lent term.

CHRISTMAS SUPPER AND QUIZ

Alice Pernthaller, Head of Scholars Senior (UVI), organised a brilliant Christmas Supper and Quiz during the Michaelmas term, which was a lovely way to bring the Scholars’ community together for an evening of stimulating conversation, fiendishly difficult quiz questions and great company! The theme was ‘Come as your Academic Inspiration’ and there were some super outfits.

BATTLE OF THE SCHOLARS’ QUIZ

Sio I (Melinda) Leong, Head of Scholars Senior (LVI), masterminded a superb quiz night with Award Holders for Academic, Art, Drama, Sport and Music battling it out to see which category would be crowned the winning team! It was a fun event with rounds on general knowledge, art, drama, music, STEM and sport. First place was shared between the Drama and Academic Scholars! It was a lovely way to celebrate our Scholars at Downe House and to bring all award holders together.

SCHOLARS’ THEATRE TRIP TO SEE THE OCEAN AT THE END OF THE LANE

In February, academic scholars from Remove to Upper Fifth went to see the National Theatre production of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane. Girls had previously read the book (and much discussion was enjoyed in UIV Scholars’ Book Club) and the aim of the trip was to discuss and analyse the difference between the novel and the play. It was a beautiful production that had us crying, cowering under our seats and, at the end, almost lost for words!

COMPETITION SUCCESS!

The Michaelmas term started off with the wonderful news that Tacita Rhys Williams (UV) was shortlisted for the Theology Essay Prize in the John Locke Essay Competition, run by Oxford and Princeton Universities. The John Locke Institute encourages young people to cultivate the characteristics that turn good pupils into great writers: independent thought, depth of knowledge, clear reasoning, critical analysis and persuasive style. The John Locke Essay Competition invites pupils to explore a wide range of challenging and interesting questions beyond the confines of the school curriculum. There were over 4,000 essays from 101 countries, and for Tacita to be commended is an incredible achievement. What’s even more impressive is that the competition is open to pupils up to age 18, so Tacita was competing with sixth formers on an international level.

In the Lent term, a number of our Scholars were successful in the Immerse Essay Competition, an international competition with 5,000+ entrants. In 2021, only 7% of entrants were awarded scholarships. However, this year, seven girls at Downe were awarded scholarships to study at Oxford or Cambridge this summer. The girls were: Longwen (Vivi) Lei (Literature: Who is the most influential author of the 20th century?), Ebunlola Oyegunle (International Relations), Cleo Dutertre-Delaunay (Business Management), Lydia Isadora Dyer (Law), Maria Taraban (Computer Science: Why is cyber security important?), Pearl (Ivie) Avwenagha (Engineering) and Yuwen Ge (Law). Well done to all who took part.

Congratulations also go to our Lower School Scholars for their articles which have been published in Talk Education. Well done Emilia Corroon (Remove), Phillipa Drysdale (LIV) and Gabrielle Yue (Remove).

TRAIN OF THOUGHT

Train of Thought is the Scholars’ magazine, produced and edited by Academic Scholars from the Downe House community. This year’s edition has been put together by our brilliant Lower Sixth editorial team of Ebunlola Oyegunle, Cleo Dutertre-Delaunay and Ling Xuan (Victoria) Tiang.

The theme of this edition was ‘The Silenced’. Our contributors consisted of Academic Award Holders across the Scholars’ community as well as teachers, who all took a trip down memory lane to remember and uplift people whose voices have been stifled. Along with an interview with Mrs Caiger-Smith regarding ‘the School of Silence’ which was the school before Founder Olive Willis brought the School and transformed it into the Downe House we know today!

WINTER WONDERLAND

It was the first weekend of December and there was a Christmassy feeling in the air. The girls and staff were in tremendous delight as they watched our very own Winter Wonderland being created exclusively for the school. Theme-park style rides, games and refreshment stalls had been set up outside of the Murray Centre, and there was even an ice rink in the car park!

The girls, in their hats, scarves and gloves, headed to the space outside the Murray Centre with excitement to enjoy the festive funfair. Lots of fun was had on the Dodgems and everyone enjoyed the Waltzer, even if we did feel a little dizzy afterwards! As well as the rides, there were amusement stalls for the girls to take part in, such as a rifle range and a tin can throwing stall. There was also a photobooth in the style of a magic mirror and a high striker machine, where you could have a go at testing your strength.

The ice rink was also a huge success, and really brought the whole event together. This was hugely popular and many of the girls, staff and their families enjoyed some time ice skating. There were laughs and smiles all around, as well as some impressive skating skills!

For those with a sweet tooth, the CCA department had it covered: unlimited, freshly made doughnuts and pancakes were on offer for all, and everyone stayed warm with a cup (or two!) of hot chocolate. Everyone certainly felt very lucky to be able to enjoy such lovely treats whilst soaking up the atmosphere of Winter Wonderland.

INFLATABLES EVENT

The girls had an extra special treat one afternoon as they enjoyed huge, inflatable games and attractions. There was an incredible atmosphere on the Sports Field and there was a buzz in the air; the Upper Sixth had just had their final lessons as Downe House pupils and the rest of the school were looking forward to the Long Exeat. What a better way to celebrate than an afternoon of inflatable fun!

As the girls entered onto the Sports Field, there was music playing through huge speakers and an array of inflatables to enjoy. There was a gigantic, human game of whack-a-mole, and a bucking bronco. Lots of laughter was shared amongst the girls with these amusing games, but this was not all that was on offer. We had girls climbing a 32-ft wall, sliding down an inflatable slide and tackling an enormous obstacle course. Although we did not have perfect summer weather, this did not stop the girls from having a great time. The pupils were also treated to a delicious supper of Goujon Monkey, with a choice of fish, chicken, or halloumi goujons, and a side of fries. It was an amazing afternoon and there was so much fun had by all.

EVENING ACTIVITIES

This year, the girls have been enjoying lots of different activities in the evenings. The CCA department created a programme of activities, both onsite and offsite, to ensure that there was something for everyone.

The evening activities on offer have been great for those looking to start a new skill, or those who want a bit of fun and downtime in the evenings. Our onsite activities have included fencing, silver jewellery making, Art Club and fun swim with inflatables.

The girls have also had the opportunity to head offsite and take part in clubs such as volleyball, golf, gymnastics and horse riding.

In cookery club, the girls have worked with Mrs Lepeck to improve their cooking skills. Each week, the pupils alternated between making sweet treats and savoury food, to ensure that they are making all kinds of dishes. Some of their culinary delights include pasta alfredo, cinnamon swirls, chicken and bacon pie, red velvet cupcakes and much more.

Offsite, the girls have been loving going to Paddleboarding Club at the Andrew Simpson Centre in Reading on a Tuesday. The pupils spent their evening on the water, and it is a great opportunity to do something a little different to normal.

“I really loved getting out on the water with some friends to learn vital skills, such as how to manoeuvre a paddle board and rescue somebody in the water. As well as learning these crucial things, it was also just really nice to be out having fun on a hot summer’s day!” Phillipa Drysdale (LIV)

Another one of our popular offsite activities is horse riding. This has been available to girls of all ability levels and has been a brilliant way for them to relax.

outlet for me: it helps me to restore my equilibrium. I really appreciate the opportunity to ride every Sunday.” Sara (Sally) Niedringhaus (LV)

“I love horse riding - especially in the sun! It helps me to de-stress at the end of the week.” Tabitha Brewer (UIV)

Amongst the Lower School girls, the favourite activity of the year was Fun Swim with inflatables. With music playing and the pool full of inflatables, the girls enjoyed a fun swimming session with their friends every Tuesday evening.

“I really enjoyed Fun Swim because it was time that I could spend with my friends in a relaxed setting!”

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Another one of our popular evening activities is Art Club on a Wednesday evening. The girls have a chance to create whatever they like, whether that is a watercolour painting, a charcoal sketch, or a collage. Each week, the girls spend an hour in the Art Room working on their creation of choice and, once ready, can take it with them.

“I love cooking and learning new recipes that I can try at home for my family to enjoy.” Adekunbi Karunwi (LV)

The DofE adventurous spirit is certainly strong amongst the Downe House girls, and it is wonderful to see this through those that take up one of the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. Now, almost all the UIV have opted to do the Bronze Award and the LV were pleased to get the full expedition experience this year as DofE Covid restriction eased. The Sixth Form also continued to inspire us with Gold Award activities.

BRONZE

Those on the Bronze Award expedition enjoyed the local leafy Berkshire flats, although any small, rounded hill feels like a mountain when carrying a full rucksack of nutritious goodies and team equipment. It was a delight to hear how many simply enjoyed getting out into the countryside, cooking their own meals and sleeping in a tent. It certainly makes one appreciate the joys of a fat mattress at home. One team rewrote the Mamma Mia soundtrack about their DofE experience related to the School’s DNA. It was a masterpiece and a DofE assessor favourite!

As well as the much-loved expedition, many a volunteering hour was given back to the community by the UIV. After restrictions last year, it was pleasing to physically help at several primary schools, busking for the Swings & Smiles charity, helping at the Canal River Trust, supporting Food Bank distribution and many other projects were completed at Cottismore Gardens, Winchcombe Care Home and the Thirtover Girl Guiding Centre.

GOLD

Sailing, cycling and walking expedition groups all built up to an assessed 4-day self-sufficient journey, with training and qualifying expeditions throughout the year that suited each group.

SAILING

The Easter sailing group started their journey on the South Coast around the Isle of Wight on Morning Star Trust’s eleven-metre training yacht. They soon got to grips with sailing, sleeping aboard and anchoring these boats. No easy feat, and they interestingly looked at the history of pirates for their presentation. Sadly, the Summer sailing group had to break up as their boat was not ready in time. Fingers crossed it works out next year for them!

WALKING

Girls made up three different groups with various companies and ventured across the UK’s National Parks, including the Peak District, Dartmoor and the Welsh Brecon Beacons. Gorgeous places with the UK summer of drought making conditions challenging.

CYCLING

Boldly, a group planned on cycling to Paris. Hey, why not! Being the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year, they enjoyed some training at Great Windsor Park, passing many a royal statue before doing UK’s longest cyclable tunnel, the Combe Down Tunnel near Bath. The assessment saw them on day one enjoying a strong steady tail wind on the South Coast from Bognor Regis to Newhaven. Cycling under the beautiful iconic giant white cliffs near Brighton was certainly a highlight. Days two to four were all on the French side mostly on the old railway trail turned cycle path called Avenue Verte. With nearly 200km complete and a stop at the Eiffel Tower, it was certainly an inspiring and memorable journey of epic proportions.

RESIDENTIALS

Beyond the expeditions, other activities for the Awards skills, physical and volunteering, sections continued. On top of that, for Gold, I am always amazed at the range of residentials that take place getting to know others. They include Marine Conservation, Outdoor Activity Centre help, Youth Orchestra tours, PADI diving courses, Children Holiday camps, the Tanzania micro finance programme, a Scottish dancing course with Royal Scottish Country Dancing Society and Archaeological excavation of the Vindolanda Roman Fort. Well done to all those on their DofE Award journey and to those who have finished, congratulations. I’m sure the adventures will continue. Thanks also to the dedication and tireless support of the staff who help make all this happen. What gets achieved is truly remarkable. Thank you! We are already looking forward to the next challenging venture to begin!

It is an immense privilege to serve Downe House as Chaplain. I am most grateful to everyone who helps makes the Chapel a place of respect, hope, peace and love. We are a diverse and rich community, each one of us made in the image of God. Thank you to everybody in the School for reminding me daily that God is here with us! Many thanks to our new Chapel Senior, Daria Andreeva (LVI) for her commitment, grace, diligence and creative response to the role. I am very excited to be working with you! This has been a busy year with two beautiful Carol servicesthank you to Dr Exon and the gifted Music department! We have caught up after the delays caused by Covid and during this academic year we had five Confirmation services (four at Downe and one at Radley College). There have been some most happy baptisms of pupils, staff and their family. A huge thank you to Miss Thabet for her support of Confirmation and her excellent and inspirational work with our Christian Union, Roots. Many thanks to Mrs Norman for her faithful and beautiful playing in our weekday and Sunday services. Finally, my thanks must go to out-going Chapel Senior, Louisa Graves (UVI) who will go down in legend for her beautiful reading of prayers and Scripture, and for her joy-filled, loving service to the life of the Downe House Chapel.

Reverend Anthea Platt, Chaplain ROOTS

Roots is the Downe House Christian Union, to which all girls are invited. Girls from any faith and no faith are welcome. It is an opportunity for anyone interested to explore the Christian faith and ask questions. This year we had two Roots meetings both on Friday evenings; 6.45pm-7.30pm for the Remove and LIV, and from 7.30pm-8.30pm for the UIV and above. In both meetings the girls had a chance to read and discuss a passage from the Bible (sometimes we watch interesting videos and discuss these too), and we had wonderful and deep discussions about life and faith in both meetings. At 7.30pm there was an overlap between the two meetings and this is when we stop and play a game together, this term Articulate has continued to be the most popular game. It has been a wonderful year, with many girls coming and enjoying it thoroughly.

HEAD CHAPEL SENIOR

If there is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens, Chapel falls on the side of planting, healing and mending. Whilst navigating our own times to scatter stones and to gather them, the presence of Chapel is a bedrock of love and safety for so many. Over this past year, we have been able to gather in person consistently, thus many Confirmation services have taken place: each a cause for rejoicing. In returning to the rhythms of Tuesday and Thursday morning services, we have welcomed many outside speakers who offer profound insight into faith, alongside teachers and Housestaff; personal favourites include Mrs West’s reflections on poetry. Miss Thabet’s dedication to Roots, the Christian Union, has been reflected in its growth also; as I say goodbye to Downe, I have no doubt that it will continue to go from strength to strength and enrich the thoughts and lives of those who attend.

A role that has taught me unimaginable amounts and heartened me beyond words, I have been immensely grateful to be Head Chapel Senior; watching Dasha step into the role so competently and conscientiously has given me further hope for the role Chapel plays within the School. As noted by the UVI, who have been consistently remarking the loss they will feel leaving Chapel behind, the beautiful pulse of the School that Chapel constitutes beats on. An inexpressibly deep gratitude must also be expressed to Reverand Platt, who epitomises love and charity for so many of us, and whose leadership of Chapel is truly life-giving and spirit-led.

On Saturday 26 February, the Upper Fourth attended the launch of the Global Schools’ Exchange Programme (GSEP). Mrs McKendrick introduced the programme, explaining to us and our parents that the exchange trips would take place in the Lower Fifth year. We learned about how important it is for Downe House pupils to grow a global perspective, so that we can benefit from these experiences and shape the world in the future.

Downe House are partnered with 14 amazing schools in 11 countries from all over the world, all the schools have been visited by various members of staff in the Downe House Global Initiatives team, who are responsible for selecting the schools. This exchange programme suits pupils who are keen to embrace new opportunities, who are adaptable and want to make a difference in the world.

Ms Akhtar, Director of Higher Education and Global Initiatives, talked about the process for outgoing exchange trips, she showed us where to look for the key documents and went into detail about the information available. Ms Akhtar then talked us through the application process, timelines and what to expect, should we choose to apply.

Finally, Rosie Montague and Mathilda Singer (UVI) talked to us about their own experiences on their exchange trips to New Zealand and India. We learned about a range of things, including the travel arrangements, meeting your host families, the range of new opportunities and how to successfully host your exchange buddy during their visit to Downe House.

We all agreed that the GSEP would help us gain a better awareness of global work cultures, improve our communication within global teams and gain connections around the world, which would be very useful in the future.

Overall, this event was very informative and helped the pupils understand what a great opportunity it would be to go on an exchange trip. Most girls will be thinking about this opportunity now and discussing it with their parents, before applying in the coming months.

“I really enjoyed seeing the differences between the Swedish and English education systems, but especially enjoyed how welcoming and friendly my host family and Campus Manilla were!”

Cheuk Wah (Sara) Lee (LVI), Campus Manila, Sweden, 2022

“I can truly say that during my exchange to Durban, there was never a moment where I was unhappy or bored.

truly grateful to Iman and her family for being so kind and welcoming to me. My favourite experience at school was

from the Valley of a Thousand Hills. We learnt the traditional culture whilst beading and to get a small taste of what these incredible women do every day to earn a living. I loved learning this technique and plan on using it to create small gifts for loved ones.”

“It was so interesting to experience learning in another country. However, the part of the whole trip that had the greatest impact on me was when we visited a local government-funded primary school to help teach the students.”

On Wednesday 27 April, we held our first Festival of Culture event, organised by the UVI outgoing Head Global Ambassadors, Mathilda Singer and Cheuk Yu (Queena) Wong, supported by their LVI successors, Amelia (Mimi) Fernie and Taizya Adedeji. The whole School community was invited to participate in a full day of activities to celebrate global diversity and culture on our campus. Everyone was encouraged to dress up in their traditional attire and there was a gorgeous display of colourful garments on show, ranging from Japanese kimonos and Chinese qipaos to Scottish kilts; it was wonderful to see so many countries represented including Ireland, Wales, France, Germany, England, Nigeria, Egypt, India, Thailand, Turkey and many more!

Throughout the day, the Murray Centre was transformed into an activity centre with a ‘Selfie Corner’ set up to feed our Instagram stories, as well as a ‘Global Snacks’ area where snacks from all around the world were sold, with all profits going to charity. We all enjoyed taking part in Olympic-themed activities during our PE lessons and writing messages in different languages for the ‘Cultural Register’. For supper, a variety of street food from different stalls offered dishes from around the world. Whilst we enjoyed our food, we were treated to a variety of cultural performances with many girls and staff volunteering to perform traditional poetry, songs and dances. The day was magnificent and a huge success! We learnt about multiple cultures and saw an array of cultural attire from around the world, this was something which was enjoyed by pupils and staff alike and is a tradition we very much hope to continue and build on.

Amelia (Mimi) Fernie and Taizya Adedeji, Head Global Ambassadors (LVI)

It has been another joyous year of intellectual discovery and discussion for the Elective Programme. With a whole host of new Electives for this cycle, pupils have enjoyed, for instance, exploring the philosophy of literary study, an introduction to cognitive science, linguistics, Einstein’s theory of relativity, and many more topics. In each Elective, pupils have found ways to push themselves well beyond the curriculum, exploring fascinating academic topics as they do so.

A particular highlight for myself was teaching a completely new Elective – an Introduction to Cognitive Science. In this Elective, a group of UV pupils examined topics such as how we learn, how memory works, habit formation and the many ways in which all of this can make us better pupils! In one specific session, we ran a series of experiments aiming to explore whether multi-tasking is possible. By investigating the cognitive science behind multi-tasking, we discovered that, in fact, when we think we are multi-tasking we are actually just very quickly switching between two tasks. This rapid task switching forces us to move from one context to

another, which, as our experiment demonstrates, comes with a cognitive cost!

An easy way to demonstrate this, as we did, is to count 1 to 10 and then recite the alphabet. Easy! But now try to ‘multi-task’ by saying: 1 A 2 B 3 C 4 D, and so on. The time this takes, as we measured, is rapidly increased, and this demonstrates the cognitive cost of trying to do two things at once. We then connected this to the impact it might have on study habits and revision, recognising the cognitive cost of multi-tasking can have a negative impact on how we work, too.

Looking ahead to 2022-2023, we have several new Electives on offer including the science behind wellbeing, an introduction to biomimicry, and an Elective dedicated to teaching pupils how to write their own poetry. Just like this year, it promises to be a year filled with interesting new discoveries, cutting-edge thinking and rigorous academic discussion.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE AN ENTREPRENEUR

On Wednesday 4 May, the clouds quickly gathered pace into a dark gloomy evening, which was in stark contrast to the anticipation of the DH LINKS event that was about to take place in the Founders Forum. Nestled off a quiet side street, away from the hustle and bustle of High Street, Kensington, the Founders Forum office had an electrifying buzz of creative energy, full of entrepreneurs busy building their young businesses. This atmosphere set the tone for the DH LINKS event about to take place, where a select gathering of Downe House alumnae were invited to give a presentation on what it takes to be an entrepreneur. We were lucky to have a wonderful space at the venue, kindly arranged by alumna Isabella Boscawen (DH 2013) which allowed a relaxed, collaborative and inspiring atmosphere, perfect for a networking event.

We were fortunate to have six speakers, from a variety of industries, to share their experiences and advice on what they felt were important characteristics of being an entrepreneur. Alyx Van Der Vorm (DH 2017) was first to take the microphone and talked passionately about her

business Clyx. Alyx was truly inspiring, despite being fresh from university she ambitiously launched straight into her entrepreneurial role in setting up the app Clyx, an online platform to notify and connect friends on events and streamline the way people organise social gatherings. It was refreshing for our pupils within the audience to see that entrepreneurship can be achieved at any age and that if you feel passionately about something, you should not be afraid to pursue it.

Louise Galvin was the next entrepreneur to take the stage, talking humbly about her journey in setting up her haircare range over 15 years ago. Louise touched on the challenges she faced, the resilience needed to be an entrepreneur, but also the wonderful collaborations she had with chemists, designers and her support teams in delivering her haircare brand Sacred Locks. Louise also touched on the importance of adapting to market trends and thriving in business, a true testament having set up her business 15 years ago.

Venetia Cohen spoke candidly about setting up her Coco & Kinney jewellery business, exploring how initial dreams and visions began to take shape. Venetia was incredibly honest in terms of recognising her strengths and weaknesses, which helped define her strategies in building her business. It was also interesting to hear Venetia’s vision for the business going forward, particularly being online.

Grace Regan shared an illuminating insight into being an entrepreneur, summarising three rules to be successful:

Number 1: Be a ‘doer’ – be proactive, be a creator and get things done.

Number 2: Never stop growing, the importance of having a positive, growth mindset and accepting failure to learn how to overcome life challenges, which in turn will make you a more rounded and open-minded person.

Number 3: Look after your mind and body. Grace drew similarities to being an elite athlete, and how it requires lots of energy to be an entrepreneur and therefore it is so important to look after your mental health.

Katie Cary (DH 2007) echoed a lot of the positive mindset

Grace touched on, having set up Rogue Matilda back in 2015. Her vision started with the idea to revolutionise women’s flat shoes into vibrant styles to be worn anywhere. Fast forward a few years later and Rogue Matilda is a recognised footwear brand and winner of the 2019 Drapers Footwear Designer of the year, a highly coveted footwear recognition.

Finally, Holly Mirza (DH 1991) wrapped up the presentations by sharing her experiences in co-founding Fabric PR. With a wealth of experience in consumer PR, Holly talked about the challenges she faced in a high-profile career and juggling motherhood which ultimately led to her setting up Fabric PR. She never looked back and 12 years later, is now running a successful PR company representing high profile clients such as Scotch and Soda, Crocs and EastPak to name a few.

Having generated so much creative force at the end of the presentations, the drinks and refreshments that followed provided a perfect opportunity for the guest speakers to network and mingle with the audience. We think it’s safe to say that everyone found the speeches inspiring and invaluable advice for those thinking about being an entrepreneur. The candid and honest view from each entrepreneur was refreshing and instantly created a rapport with the audience.

After a short interval of networking and socialising, the event concluded with special goodie bags for the attendees, filled with supporting merchandise donated by the guest speakers which seemed to be delightfully received by the recipients and a lovely way to conclude the evening.

Our sincere thanks to Isabella Boscawen for allowing us to use the venue and to all our wonderful keynote speakers for their time and investment in making this event so special and hugely beneficial.

One of the joys of boarding is being a part of an eclectic school community, offering pupils, families and staff the opportunity to come together to create a ‘local community’ that unites and stretches across the globe.

With both pupils and staff living on site, boarding brings the extra time together to share and highlight issues that are important locally and globally, but also personally; and pupils are supported to collaborate, to be creative and to bring others with them as they share and rally behind causes that are close to their hearts.

A culture of helping others is part of the fabric of the School and everyone is encouraged to get involved. In our boarding environment, it is inherent for pupils to be compassionate, creative, to work collaboratively and importantly to be outward looking – all part of the Downe House DNA that has evolved from the Founder, Olive Willis’, ethos of kindness.

2022 marks the centenary of Downe House in Cold Ash, where the School stood throughout WWII, and welcomed refugees from other countries with open arms. Here is one testimonial from 1943:

“I arrived in December 1938 at the age of fourteen, a refugee from Austria, with hardly a word of English, to be greeted by Miss Willis in evening dress, surrounded by her Samoyed dogs. Thanks to her hospitality and caring concern I was able to continue my education, and in three years I gained admittance to the University of Reading, and subsequently to the London School of Economics. The friendships, the learning and the concern for others, were among the invaluable riches I enjoyed at Downe House and they have been an inspiration to me throughout my life. Besides myself, there were three or four other refugee children during the war years, who were also given the opportunity of a new life.” Rosemarie C. (DH 1943)

In recent years, a large proportion of charitable activities have been led by pupils and this has resulted in a broad range of activities and causes supported, that inevitably span the many cultures and beliefs represented in a diverse boarding school community. Our pupils are taught to understand that ‘education has the power to change lives’ and as such activities always include an element of education for the wider School community whether that is assemblies, displays and talks by pupils, themed evening and weekend events, or visits by representatives from organisations. Nominations come from the heart and comprise very personal causes, as well as important issues across the globe

and topics that affect young people today, wherever they are. Each of the sections within the School is involved in longer term-support too. Upper School boarding houses each have an international link charity supported by fundraising events but also by visits from pupils volunteering their time; Hope Asia, Open Arms Malawi, Sparkes Home Sri Lanka, Reality Gives India and Tiger Kloof School, South Africa. The Lower School houses collectively support the OSCAR Foundation. The common theme with these longer-term associations is the empowerment of children and young people – and generations of boarders have spent their time together productively to play their part in forging and maintaining these strong associations.

We were excited to host our annual Gift Fair in December once again to invite our girls, families and staff to enjoy some Christmas shopping! Welcoming a range of wonderful local and small businesses to the School, as well as our popular cake stall, tombola and prize draw. All the proceeds were donated to Suicide&Co a charity put together by Downe House alumnae, who support those bereaved by suicide through counselling services and online resources.

Supporting charities local to our School enables pupils to donate the gift of time, and to reach out and give something back to the community where they spend a large part of their young lives. Every year pupils collectively volunteer over 1,000 hours supporting organisations in our local community.

Schemes such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, which over 90% of our pupils undertake, actively encourages charitable engagement and these have ranged from helping to manage local woodlands, to busking for the ‘Swings and Smiles’ charity, to supporting the Cottismore Gardens ‘Growing2Gether’ project which promotes interest and awareness in local food and building a garden facility to allow those with learning difficulties to access horticultural therapy.

In 2022, the swell of support for those affected by the crisis in Ukraine has been felt across the globe. In support of Ukraine, a School concert in March 2022 raised over £2,000 for the Disasters Emergency Committee fund via Christian Aid, and the School’s choir, Prima Voce, performed A Prayer for Ukraine, learnt over two nights in its original Ukrainian language, and later released on social media to support further donations to the DEC fund. Coordinated by pupils and Housestaff, the whole School community also supported local charity, Racing to Help Ukraine, by collecting emergency aid supplies which the charity drove to Ukrainian refugees at the Ukrainian/Polish border via a convoy of horseboxes.

NAMEUNIVERSITY/INSTITUTIONCOURSE

Deborah (Ayanfe) AdedejiUCL, LondonBiochemical Engineering

Isabella AshleyUniversity of BristolAnthropology

Lucy BarrieEdinburgh UniversityNeuroscience

Ceara BastinSt AndrewsHistory

Sukhmani BathOxford BrookesBusiness and Management

Georgia BiggsUniversity of BristolModern Languages

Vasilisa BorovskayaUniversity of LeedsCommunication and Media

Harriet BoucherDurham UniversityGeography

Tilly BridgemanDurham UniversityEnglish Literature

Charlotte ButterworthPlymouth UniversityMarine Biology & Coastal Ecology

Yizhuo ChenUAL, LondonCostume for Theatre & Screen

Nga Man ChengUniversity of BathMechanical Engineering

Hoi Yiu (Danna) Cheung Kingston University and University of Exeter Art Foundation and Combined Honours

Gwyneth ChoiSanta Clara, USLiberal Arts

Alicia de Broë-FergusonUniversity of BristolInternational Business Management

Georgia DunkerleyCity & GuildsArt Foundation

Vivienne EisenhardtUCL, LondonCrime & Security Science

Zaynah FolawiyoUniversity of BristolPolitics and French

Heloise FriedlanderUniversity of GlasgowFilm & TV Studies/Politics

Tilly GibbensUniversity of BristolEnglish

Louisa GravesCambridge UniversityEnglish

Madeleine (Maddi) HalesNottingham UniversityModern European Studies

Lara HarriesDurham UniversityPsychology

Xinyu HuDurham UniversityAccounting

Celine IboriBrighton UniversityLaw

Ashley IguhLoughboroughInternational Relations

Alethea Ings-ChambersDurham UniversityAnthropology

Fleur JollUniversity of BristolPhilosophy & Theology

Madhulika KaushikBuckingham UniversityMedicine

Maria KheymanUniversity of SurreyInternational Event Management

Madelaina LavelleUniversity of BristolLiberal Arts

Philippa LimParsons, USLiberal Arts

Sophie LoftusDurham UniversityMusic

Honor MathewsCardiff UniversityHistory & Economics

Antonia McClintockUniversity of OxfordMusic

Yasmine McLennanUniversity of LeedsFashion Design Innovation

Olivia MoncktonNewcastle UniversitySport & Exercise Science

Rosie MontagueLSE, LondonPolitics & International Relations

Jiwon MoonEdinburgh UniversityLaw

Honor NevilleUniversity of ExeterPolitics & Sociology

Tumai OgunyemiUniversity of SurreyInternational Relations

Charlotte PearsonUniversity of SurreyInternational Business Management

Hannah PerkinsDurham UniversityAnthropology & Archaeology

Alice PernthallerCambridge UniversityLinguistics

Marina PownallUniversity of LeedsTheatre & Performance

Yitong QiuSt AndrewsArt History

Lauren Raeburn-WardNewcastle UniversityGeography

Imogen RidleyEdinburgh UniversitySocial Policy & Politics

Margot RidleyUniversity of ExeterInternational Relations and Modern Languages

Amelia RoslingSt George's, LondonMedicine

Lisa Lotte ScheunerSt George's, LondonBiomedical Science

Jiaying (Linda) ShenUAL, LondonFine Art: Photography

Mathilda SingerSt AndrewsTheological Studies

Pasitaporn (Memie) SripenBoston, USLiberal Arts

NAMEUNIVERSITY/INSTITUTIONCOURSE

Georgia (Hope) ThistlethwayteManchester UniversityLiberal Arts

Sui Ying (Ashley) TsoiUCL, LondonMedical Science & Engineering

Pattrawaran (Teal) UahwatanasakulLSE, LondonPPE

Morgan WallaceEdinburgh UniversityFrench & Spanish

Yuhan (Angela) WanUniversity of OxfordPhysics

Beatrice WeaverUniversity of BristolLiberal Arts

Zi Xin (Sunnie) WeiUniversity of OxfordChemistry

Poppy WesselyUniversity of ExeterMedicine

Rose WhitbreadDurham UniversityPsychology

Phoebe WhitingUniversity of BristolMedicine

Rosalind WippellCambridge UniversityArchaeology

Matilda (Tilly) WilkinsonNewcastle UniversityEnglish

Cheuk Yu (Queena) WongImperial College LondonMathematics & Computer Science

Ashley WongDurham UniversityEnglish Literature

Wai Che (Rachel) WongImperial College LondonMaterials Science & Engineering

Emma WoodworthCollege of Holy Cross, USLiberal Arts

Xinyue (Audrey) XuFudan, ChinaLiberal Arts

Ziyi (Annie) YangUCL, LondonBiochemistry

Zhihan (Helen) YangUAL - Central Saint MartinsArt Foundation

Kexuan (Sophie) ZhangKing's College, LondonCulture, Media & Creative Industries

Jiayi ZhengCambridge UniversityLinguistics

HEAD SENIOR

Lucy Barrie

DEPUTY HEAD SENIOR

Teal Uahwatanasakul

SENIORS

Ayanfe Adedeji

Milly Assheton

Tilly Bridgeman Gwyneth Choi

Susie Field

Honor Neville

Tumai Ogunyemi Margot Ridley

Phoebe Whiting

AISHOLT

Lara Harries Head

Ashley Iguh Deputy Head

Emma Woodworth Deputy Head

Thea Ings-Chambers LS AIS Deputy Head

AGN

Rosie Montague Head

Louisa Healey Deputy Head

Fleur Joll Deputy Head

Heloise Friedlander LS AGN Deputy Head

AGS

Maddi Hales Head

Ceara Bastin Deputy Head

Isabella Pemberton Deputy Head

Annie Yang LS AGS Deputy Head

HOLCOMBE

Lauren Raeburn-Ward Head

Harriet Boucher Deputy Head

Tilly Gibbens Deputy Head

Sophie Kelly LS HOL Deputy Head

TEDWORTH

Georgia Biggs Head

Airlie Fleming Deputy Head

Eleanor Gibbs Deputy Head

Tilly Wilkinson LS TED Deputy Head

GAMES CAPTAINS

Honor Neville Captain

Poppy Wessely Captain

HEAD OF DRAMA, DANCE & SPEECH & DRAMA

Marina Pownall Head of Drama

Louisa Healey Head of Dance

Celine Ibori Head of Speech & Drama

HEAD OF CREATIVE ARTS

Alicia de Broe-Ferguson

DEPUTY HEAD OF CREATIVE ARTS

Maddie Lavelle

CREATIVE ARTS PREFECTS

Georgia Dunkerley

Lyla Elichaoff

SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHER

Lyla Elichaoff

HEAD CHAPEL SENIOR

Louisa Graves

HEAD OF WILLIS

Susie Field

HEAD OF ACADEMIC SCHOLARS

Alice Pernthaller

HEAD OF MUSIC

Antonia McClintock

DEPUTY HEAD OF MUSIC

Sophie Loftus

HEAD OF INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC

Jiayi Zheng

HEAD OF CHORAL

Eleanor Gibbs

DEPUTY HEAD OF CHORAL

Alice Pernthaller

Marina Pownall

HEAD AMBASSADOR(S)

Freya Illingworth

Amelia Rosling

AMBASSADORS

Nga Man Cheng

Danna Cheung

Indi Hine

Pippa Lim

Yasmine McLennan

Charlotte Pearson

Hannah Perkins

Memie Sripen

HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS, MEDIA & EXTERNAL RELATIONS

Audrey Xu

HEAD GLOBAL AMBASSADOR(S)

Mathilda Singer

Queena Wong

GLOBAL AMBASSADORS

Zaynah Folawiyo

Morgan Wallace

Angela Wan

Rachel Wong

HEADS OF LOWER SCHOOL

Honor Mathews

Ashley Tsoi

LOWER SCHOOL SENIORS

Isabella Ashley Thea Ings-Chambers

Heloise Friedlander Sophie Kelly

Maria Kheyman Olivia Monckton Tilly

Wilkinson Annie Yang

LITERARY SENIOR

Sophie Kelly

Ashley Wong

PRESIDENT OF PHOENIX SOCIETY

Tilly Bridgeman

ENVIRONMENTAL AMBASSADOR

Madhulika Kaushik

Queena Wong