SUMMER TERM 2014
ISSUE 50
N E WS L E T T E R
OPEN DAY
AND
AND
PRIZE-GIVING
S AT U R D AY 5 J U LY 2 0 1 4
Open Day 2014 began with a beautiful Mass of
thanksgiving celebrated by Father Dermot, who,
once again, gave us a most moving sermon. We
welcomed Sr Michaela to St Mary’s to help us
to prepare for, and oversee, our Mass.
The Chair of Governors, the Lord
Hemphill, began the formal part
of the day by thanking the whole
staff for their dedication and
commitment in looking after the
girls. He spoke about the formal
openings of the Senior Library
and the all-weather athletics
track which had taken place this
year and introduced our next
project which is to develop
and improve our boarding
accommodation, and specifically
to build another boarding house, without
increasing the number of pupils in the school.
Mrs Breen spoke about the achievements of the
school year, the sporting and academic results,
and the success of the sixth form. She
highlighted last year’s UVI ‘A’ level results - a
stunning 73% at A* and A and 94% at A* to B
with ten girls from a year group of 60 gaining
places at Oxford and Cambridge. She thanked
our three retiring members of staff, Mrs Ruth
Davies, Mrs Marian Lake and Mr Michael
Hughes for their extraordinary contribution to
the lives of St Mary’s pupils over a combined
total of 72 years. She also thanked Mrs Sarah
Hampel who, after six years, is stepping down
as chair of the Ascot Alumnae Association.
Mr Nick Ross, Director of Art History
Abroad, presented the prizes and
amused us all with his anecdotes
about his long friendship with Mr Tom
Parsons, aka ‘Tommy Tangent’, and
Tom’s invention of a word transcapilliarytremulation, to describe
the hairs on the back of your neck
standing up! Mr Ross spoke about our
duty to exercise our senses, to make the
very best of all of our abilities and to
engage with life.
The gala, comprising dancers, singers,
actors and musicians, followed lunch and the
day ended with a most enjoyable Sixth Form
Ball which saw all generations dancing
together until midnight ■ C Holland
1
BARBADOS NETBALL TOUR 2014
This year for the first time girls from Years 8 and
9 set off with great excitement to the sunny
shores of Barbados. We were to spend nine
days playing netball, fitness training, team
building and experiencing all the island had
to offer.
The girls played four matches in total, against
some very athletic opposition, half of which
they won. They were lucky enough to endure
all their fitness training on the beach and were
kept busy with island tours, snorkelling with
turtles and swimming on the beautiful beaches.
The tour was a huge success ■ A Haylett
CLASSICSNEWS
This term Year 9 enjoyed exploring the Roman
Baths in Bath on a pleasant May day. They
then used their research and photographs from
the trip to produce some entertaining and
imaginative presentations to their classes.
2
Year 8 visited Butser Ancient Farm on the
penultimate day of term. This provided a fun
finale to all their hard work in Latin lessons,
where the backdrop to the language exercises
has been Roman Britain. The girls were able to
compare Celtic culture with Roman and soaked
up the unique atmosphere of this experimental
archaeological site.
Two trips were made to the theatre and both of
the outdoor variety: a joint classics/ French day
out to Bradfield College to see the production
of Sophocles’ Antigone in the original Greek,
performed on a blistering hot day in June in the
newly renovated outdoor Greek-style theatre.
This was a welcome return to an old favourite
summer feature of the classics calendar and
we truly felt we were in Greece in the sizzling
heat! We also experienced another approach
to Greek myth, with an evening outing to
Simon Armitage’s Last Days of
Troy which Years 9, 10 and LVI
classics and drama pupils
attended. This lively, down to
earth and humorous modern
production provided a charming
end to a year marked by
wonderful opportunities for St
Mary’s pupils to experience the
variety and appeal of Greek
drama ■ L Povey
FOOD
GLORIOUS FOOD
YEAR 7
foods were clearly
more appealing than
others! ■
INTER-HOUSE MATHS CHALLENGE
At St Mary’s we make an extra special effort to
provide meals that are interesting, varied and
will appeal to all tastes and our catering team
do this extremely well. The options at main meal
times include choices between hot meals,
baked potatoes, salads and soup - all beautifully
prepared and tasting delicious.
The girls are also given the opportunity to try new
and, sometimes, unusual foods at food tasting
evenings. Two were held this term; for Year 7 on
1 May and for Year 9 on 12 June. As can be seen
from the photographs, the girls enjoy being able
to give their views on different tastes and some
On Friday 7 June, Year 7 took part in the
inter-house maths competition. Four girls from
each house were chosen to take part. It was a
fun afternoon which everyone enjoyed.
The first activity was eight questions which we
divided between the four of us. The second
round was cross numbers. You had to figure
out the answers to each across and down and
fill it in on the grid. It was quite a challenge, but
we worked together and succeeded!
In the final section of the competition we split
our group of four into two groups of two, and
named ourselves pair A and pair B. Pair A
would answer a question and, if it was correct,
they would bring the next question to pair B. It
was a real test of teamwork. In the end,
Wigmore won, with Babthorpe in second
place, Bedingfeld in third, Poyntz in fourth and
Rookwood fifth ■ Liza Rance, Tatiana
Quintavalle, Carlota Alvarez-Rendueles and
Victoria Chapman, Y7
ANDREWJEFFERY
THE MATHEMAGICIAN
On 16 June, Andrew Jeffrey, a Mathemagician came in and talked to Year 7 about the magic behind
maths. He managed to turn a plain piece of paper into a twenty pound note. He did this by folding it
again and again, until he was satisfied. He then set fire to a corner and suddenly it turned into the
twenty pound note. Using shapes such as rectangles, triangles and squares he was able to write
‘maths rocks’. At first none of us saw the pattern but once he had explained it, everyone understood!
Another thing that we really enjoyed was when he was a 'human calculator' ■ Alexia de la Chaise,
Margarita Armstrong Jones, Margherita della Gherardesca and Grace Goldstone, Y7
FINAL RESULTS
The final results for the maths inter-house
competition are as follows:- Wigmore 1st,
Bedingfeld 2nd, Poyntz 3rd, Babthorpe 4th
and Rookwood 5th.
Wigmore are the first house to be awarded
the Davies Trophy for team mathematics
presented by Ruth Davies who is retiring from
St Mary’s this year ■
UKMTJunior Maths Challenge - May 2014
Years 7 and 8 enjoyed considerable success
in the junior maths challenge this term. In total,
10 gold awards, 13 silver awards and 12
bronze awards were achieved. Gabrielle
Littlefair achieved the best in school and the
Year 8 certificate and Tatiana Quintavalle
achieved the best in Year 7 certificate. An
excellent performance. Well done girls ■
B Breedon
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HISTORICAL
HEROINES
It has been a busy summer term for the
Historical Heroines! Glitter glues, jewels and
a mass of sequins were used to embellish
beautifully designed princess crowns and
Venetian masks. The creativity on show was
impressive and put our humble efforts to
shame! At our film screening, we learned
about the extraordinary life of Amelia Earhart.
Amelia was the first female aviator to fly solo
across the Atlantic Ocean. Sadly, she later
disappeared mysteriously during her attempt
to fly around the world. The final event of the
school year, a Historical Heroines treasure
hunt comprising cryptic clues and delicious
prizes took place on Saturday 28 June. Miss
Wood and I would like to take this opportunity
to thank everyone who has attended our
events this year as well as the classics
and history departments for their constant
SAT 20 SEPT 2014 & 15 NOV 2014
10am - 1.45pm
Open Mornings
FOR PROSPECTIVE PARENTS AND PUPILS
For further details and to register your interest, please
contact Mrs Sandra Young, Registrar, on: 01344 296614 /
296615 or email: admissions@st-marys-ascot.co.uk
CONGRATULATIONS...
support. We will be sad to give up our
involvement in Historical Heroines but we
know that the society will be in safe hands
with next year’s graduate assistants. Rookwood
were the winners ■ B Thomas and E Wood
LIFE IN THE
LOWER SIXTH
I have loved being part of the LVI. It is a time
when you feel like you are able to be more
independent, due to the fact that you are
choosing your own subjects and more freedom
is given to you. The LVI has enabled some of us to
take up some important positions of responsibility
in the houses. Being in the LVI allows you to enjoy
privileges such as the LVI play and wearing smart
home clothes. I have really enjoyed this year and
I am sure next year will be just as enjoyable if not
more so. Mariella Dembinska
It has been an eventful year for the LVI. The
main highlight of the year was Shrove Tuesday,
which the LVI organised, involving many staff
and all the girls. It was thoroughly enjoyed by
all and was a great success. The LVI were also
in charge of the running and directing of
inter-house events, including drama, dance,
music and sport. These competitions displayed
a high level of performance by all who took
11+ ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP
Emily Egerton-Warburton, Garden House
13+ ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP
Polly Symington, Oporto British School,
Portugal
13+ ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP
Thea Drinkall, Hazlegrove Prep School
13+ ACADEMIC SCHOLARSHIP
Isabel Norrey, Hall Grove School
13+ ALL-ROUNDER SCHOLARSHIP
Isobel MacGinnis, Farleigh School
part, and showcased the great effort and
talents of the LVI. Members of the LVI also
upheld the long tradition of the Caledonian
Society, enjoying a splendid evening at Eton
and advancing their Scottish dancing skills. In
February half term, 20 LVI historians and
politicians had a fantastic time visiting
Washington DC, where they explored the city
and learned about its historical and political
significance. Overall it has been a busy year,
with all the LVI undertaking AS levels; however
it has been successful and has been enjoyed
by all ■ Iona Tait & Mary Percival
RELIGIOUS STUDIES
Matt White from CAFOD ran a workshop with
Year 8 focusing on Sierra Leone. We watched a
short film about Mohammed. In this we heard
about his aspirations and how, through the
support of CAFOD, his dreams can become a
reality. The session closed with a class debate
around the following question - ‘Which will allow Mohammed and
his family to lead a better quality of life - carats or carrots?’ The
class split into groups representing the two sides - those for
diamond mining (carats) and those in favour of farming in the
diamond swamps (carrots) and finally a vote was taken on the
issue - it went to the carats! ■ M T Slater
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...to the following girls who have been
successful in gaining Scholarships from
September 2014:
13+ ALL-ROUNDER SCHOLARSHIP
Katharine Beirne, Beaulieu Convent School,
Jersey
13+ SPORTS SCHOLARSHIP
Eimear Griffin, Thomas’ Clapham
ART SCHOLARSHIP
Saskia Heath, Highfield School
MUSIC SCHOLARSHIP
Melinda Martindale, Holy Cross Prep School
SIXTH FORM SCIENCE SCHOLARSHIP
Theresa Dwyer, St Mary’s School Ascot ■
CONGRATULATIONS...
also go to the following girls who have been
elected school officers for 2014-2015:
Head Girl
Elicia Begg
Deputies
Cristina Amusategui,
Ines Stevens
Sports Captain Lara Jacobs
Music Captain Hannah Mackey
Drama Captain Honor Palmer-Tomkinson
U6 Prefects
Beatrice Hammerton,
Arabella Henderson, Georgina Hill,
Georgemma Hunt, Emilie Janssen, Lara Marks,
Cecilia Murray Brown, Mary Percival ■
GLOBAL SCHOLARS
Drama
REVIEW
My participation in the Yale Young Global
Scholars Program changed my perspective
and altered my way of thinking. I spent two
weeks at Jonathan Edwards College, Yale and
the opportunity to work at one of the best
universities in the world was remarkable.
We heard lectures on politics, law, and
economics from some of Yale’s Sterling
professors, including Akhil Amar, a leader in
the field of law. During the programme, I
participated in a simulation of a constitutional
convention, where all 140 students spent two
days together creating a new Constitution.
The summer term sees more of an emphasis
on junior drama, as the senior girls are
engaged in examinations. Year 8 performed
Macbeth and The Tempest before their
parents’ meeting. The plays are abridged and
use simple props and costume. It is an
opportunity for the girls to use the theatre
skills they have acquired so far and to bring
the Bard alive. The drama department use the
opportunity to cast girls who may not have
The most memorable aspect of the programme
was the people I met there. The programme
was truly global. My roommates were from
South Carolina, California, Costa Rica, and
India! The conversations and debates that
ensued at the dinner table or in the college
courtyard were among the most intriguing
and educational I have taken part in. The
programme gave me the ability to discuss
global issues with people with perspectives
unique to the countries we were discussing. I
still maintain contact with people from around
the world, which is one of the greatest rewards
I received from the programme!
had the opportunity to have a main role, or
who may not have considered auditioning,
to have a go. To put the Year 8 work on
Shakespeare in context, they were taken to
the Globe Theatre, before rehearsals began.
As part of this trip they have a tour and a
workshop. The girls were also lucky to see a
rehearsal of Titus Andronicus.
On Sunday 4 May, 21 St Mary’s girls in Years 9
and 10 joined forces with 18 Eton boys to
create a “Play in a Day” in the Rose Theatre,
using Craig Taylor’s A Million Tiny Plays about
Britain. After only four hours of rehearsal the
cast created a dynamic series of vignettes
about modern British life. Great fun was had
by all; the performance worked well and was
followed by a relaxed and enjoyable pizza
supper for all the performers and crew in the
Rose Theatre courtyard. Later in the term we
hosted a similar event with Year 7 and Year 8
boys from Ludgrove.
Blue Remembered Hills by Dennis Potter was
performed by students in Years 8 and 9 in the
Rufus Sewell Studio. This deceptively simple
tale relates the activities of seven English
children playing on a summer afternoon
during World War II. Set in woods, a field and
a barn, they play, fight, fantasise and swagger.
Their aggressions, fears, hostilities and
rivalries reveal how the war shaped their
experience of childhood.
In week 8 of the summer term we put on
Fantastic Mr Fox, adapted from the beloved
I returned home inspired by what I had
experienced. I only wish it could have lasted
longer ■ Sophie Davidson, UVI
MFL GERMAN
Roald Dahl classic by David Wood. We were
delighted to have a cast of nearly 60 Year 7
and Year 9 girls working together to bring
this wonderful story to life. This exuberant
production burst with life, laughter and music.
A special matinée performance was held for
over 200 local school children.
This term the Thorndike Society has been to
see Wicked in London. This society is open to
all year groups and allows our girls to
experience the magic of live theatre.
The Shakespeare in the Garden event is now
in its 13th year. Ninety extra drama pupils
performed extracts from different plays over
two nights in a rustic spot in the grounds for
an audience of their peers, parents and staff.
This event has
become one of
the summer
highlights of
the department
calendar, and
is enjoyed by
all who watch
each year ■
J Brayton
As part of our study of a divided Germany and
reunification, former British Airways pilot Mike
Waldron visited our German lesson on 25 June.
Mike used to fly in and out of Berlin through the
restricted air corridors, and told us of his
experiences having to navigate thick cloud
or make long diversions to avoid entering
Soviet airspace and risk being shot down.
He also told us of his journey through the eerie
“Geisterbahnhöfe” - abandoned underground
stations in the eastern sector - and of a
memorable walk through Berlin two weeks after
the Berlin Wall had fallen: complete with our
own pieces of the wall to handle! Mike learnt
German in order to be able to communicate with
his passengers, and conducted the entire
lesson in German. We would like to thank him
for giving us such an interesting personal
insight into this topic ■ LVI German
5
The first music
event of the term
was on 30 April, when Junior Madrigal were
invited by Mr Colin Rayner to sing for the Earl
of Wessex at the Prince Philip Trust Raceday
at Ascot Racecourse. They performed two
pieces, a spiritual and an arrangement of
‘Scarborough Fair’ under the direction of Miss
Weiss. Our girls performed beautifully and
were complimented by many guests as they
arrived. The Earl of Wessex stopped to chat
to all 12 of our girls, who were delighted to
meet him!
MUSIC
We held the Vocal Concert on Friday 16 May
which featured all vocal ensembles (Campion,
Junior Campion, Davenport, Junior and Senior
Madrigals) performing a variety of repertoire.
Other musical occasions this term included:
our termly Open Mic evening, the Music
Captain’s Concert and the Midsummer
Concert, which is a platform for our younger
girls. In the final week of term we had Open
Day, where Campion and the Orchestra
provided music for Mass, and the afternoon
Gala Concert where our Jazz Band performed
alongside others ■ A Rees
MUSIC CAPTAIN’S CONCERT
The Music Captain’s concert is an annual musical
celebration which highlights some of the school’s
most talented musicians, all organised by the
Music Captain herself. As well as programming
the concert, organising all rehearsals and stage
managing, Jemma Cleary also found the energy
to perform superbly in every item, and the
evening was a great success. The programme
itself was impressively varied, including
everything from Baroque chamber music to Folk
and a contemporary vocal arrangement of Sweet
Dreams by the Eurythmics. It was touching to see
how many girls participated from all years to
support Jemma and a particular highlight was a
duet she did with her younger sister Anna.
Another successful concert that next year’s
Music Captain will enjoy living up to! ■ C Weiss
OPEN MIC
The last Open Mic event of the school year took
place on 13 June in the Rose Theatre. It was a
hugely successful concert with 45 performers
and 18 acts including girls from Years 7-UVI.
It was very encouraging to see over 30
performers who had never performed before at
an Open Mic and this was the first concert
where there were bands from Years 7, 8 and 9.
We thank the professional band who supported
the evening. There was a huge variety of songs
from “All of Me” to “I love Rock ‘n Roll”. Open
Mic events are proving to be more and more
popular, which is wonderful. Everyone clearly
enjoyed themselves by standing and dancing
for the final numbers! Thank you very much to
Lydia Chapman and Millie Chu for all their hard
work presenting the evening ■ S Jubert
ROTARY
YOUNG MUSICIAN
COMPETITION
At the beginning of this term, Francesca Power
took part in the national final of the Rotary
Young Musician competition which was held in
Cornwall. The finalists had all won their local,
district and regional rounds of the competition
to be awarded a place in this prestigious
final. The standard of the competition was
outstanding. Francesca was one of the
youngest competitors and sang her 10 minute
programme of three songs brilliantly ■
6
DANCE
On Friday 2 and Saturday 3 May approximately 150 girls took part in our annual Dance Show,
with performances in contemporary, street, hip hop, ballet and tap or a fusion of all genres. Each
year the standard is exceptional and this year for the first time there were performances from
the St Mary’s Dance Company - a selection of dancers in the school who have also represented
St Mary’s at the ‘Lift off’ festival in Bracknell ■
NETBALL At the beginning of the netball season
SPORT
TENNIS The annual Save the Children tennis
tournament took place in May with 72 girls
participating on our new Frith astro courts. The
standard again was very high with over 150
matches taking place on the day. All played in
great spirit and the tournament was very much
enjoyed by players and spectators alike. The girls
raised over £2000, which again was a great effort
from all of the players to help such an important
charity. After many exciting knockout matches
the final took place between defending
champions Marnie Macdonald and Isabel Baker
against Lara Weatherby and Emilienne Dowsett.
All four players excelled in the final but Marnie
and Isabel became the first pair in the history of
the tournament to defend their title. Well done to
all 72 participants ■ A Flamson
in August, I moved from my club 'Royals' to
‘Weston Park Blades’ in Southampton. Our team
qualified for the South Region team, and I played
for U16 Berkshire County.
We played matches every
weekend in the South
Region league and as a
result of these, qualified for
the national clubs U16 finals
which took place over half
term. We played six matches
and reached the national
finals and although we lost
to Oldham, who played
exceptionally, we were delighted to have
achieved second place in the country!
Earlier in the season we had a ‘tri-county’ match
from which I was selected to trial at the ‘South
Region Academy’. Having passed through
further U17/U19 trials, I was selected to be part
of the England netball ‘National Academy
Potential’ group, for which I am so excited ■
Charlotte Curtis, Y10
CONGRATULATIONS...
to Honor Palmer-Tomkinson in the LVI
who competed in the amateur inter-club ski
championships earlier this year. Honor’s
team won gold in the Ladies category 1.
...and to Cosima Strong in Year 10 who,
further to a series of England U16 weekend
training sessions, has been selected for the
“Elite” England rounders squad of 11 girls
from 24. She is the only girl of her age group
in the England squad ■
7
ATHLETICS
The start to our athletics season has been a huge success, with the ability to
continue good quality training on our new track regardless of the weather. We hosted
the Ascot Schools athletics competition with St Mary’s achieving 1st overall in
competition with Licensed Victuallers School, Marist Senior School, St George’s
Ascot and Heathfield School.
Three athletes have broken school records: Clarissa Nicholls broke the Year 7 school
record for the 1500m which has stood since 1998 by 4 seconds, completing it in 5
minutes, 15 seconds; Cosima Strong broke the Year 10 discus record, throwing 26.74m
and beating the old school record from 2003; and Camilla Brown threw a new school
record in the javelin of 31.49m.
A number of girls achieved personal bests in the ‘English Schools Athletics Track and
Field Cup’ competition: Sasha Trapani in 100m, Minnie Cooper in 1500m, Charlotte
Curtis and Isabel Baker in high jump, Mariella Letman in 800m, Victoria Chapman in
hurdles, Clarissa Nicholls also beat her own new school record with a time of 5
minutes 13.90 seconds in the 1500m.
This season Katya Marks has competed in Youth Development League (YDL) and
Southern Women's League (SWL) fixtures for her club, WSEH, who are currently top
in YDL and 2nd in SWL. In the Oxfordshire county championships she came 1st in
200m and 2nd in javelin. She has also competed in the Berkshire Schools combined
events, where she came 1st in the county and qualified for the regional round. She
hopes to qualify for the national finals which take place in September ■
S
...a selection of photos from Sports Day
WIMMING School records have also been broken in the pool with Sophia Cicchiné achieving 44.19 in the 50m breaststroke and
Lavinia Craston 40.26 in the 50m butterfly ■
TRIATHLON
150 girls took part in this year’s triathlon. They had the choice to
compete as an individual, completing a swim, bike and then run in
succession, or as a relay team with a competitor for each section. The
results for the individual competition are:
Year 7: 1st Clarissa Nicholls; 2nd Alexia de la Chaise;
3rd Cosima Aslangul
Year 8: 1st Adele George; 2nd Jimena Plazas Cabral;
3rd Camilla Letman
Year 9: 1st Juliet Ehinger; 2nd Ottilie Mitchell;
3rd Gabriella Raphaël
Seniors: 1st: Eleanor Pooley; 2nd Katya Marks; 3rd Cecilia Vorfeld
For the team competition the winners were:
Year 7: Wigmore - Elizabeth Tang, Liza Rance and Tatiana Quintavalle
Year 8: Wigmore - Camilla Bogoni, Marnie Macdonald and Ella Seigne
Year 9: Bedingfeld - Mayte Horn Montoya, Anastasia Quinn and Thalia Guarnieri
Seniors: Poyntz - Gabrielle Jabre and Mariella Letman, with Mariella completing two sections of the event
8
St Mary’s School Ascot Tel: +44 (0)1344 296600 Fax: +44 (0)1344 873281 Email: admissions@st-marys-ascot.co.uk