Enews issue 80 27 09 2013

Issue 80, Friday 27 September 2013

eNewsTatler ‘Best School Food’ Award 2013

The catering team are celebrating after being awarded the prestigious ‘Best School Food’ Award at the Tatler UK School Awards held at The Dorchester Hotel, London on Tuesday 10 September 2013.

“A menu that reads like a Michelin-starred restaurant” is how the school food was described by the Tatler UK team who visited the school in January. Collecting the award, a large silver spoon, was Mrs Owens who was accompanied to the glamorous event by Mr Cornish, Domestic Bursar as well as Head Girl, Kate Beckitt and Deputy Head Girl, Natasha Yatsenko.

The in-house team at St George’s always make the most of local, seasonal produce, changing the menus accordingly and creating an outstanding range of food from pan-fried sea bass on asparagus risotto to miso soup with tofu. Everything is produced on-site, right down to the natural yoghurt served with fresh fruit everyday as an alternative to the pudding. The catering team are responsible for producing breakfast, lunch and supper for the boarding and day community at St George’s, as well as catering at special events such as themed cultural days and the many formal school events throughout the year.

Mr Cornish, Domestic Bursar and manager of the Catering Team commented: “I am so proud of each and every member of the team here at St George’s; we produce exceptional food, not just compared to other schools, but compared to many restaurants and the best home-cooked food too. We are passionate about creating menus that will enthuse and inspire the girls here and we love what we do.”

It has been another fantastic summer for the girls at St George’s. The examination results were superb, with 42% of A Level Grades at A*-A and 75% at A*-B. At GCSE, an impressive 59% of grades were at A*-A. We are also particularly delighted to see that the value-added score shows that girls at St George’s achieved on average 1.5 grades higher at both GCSE and A Level than predicted by national testing; a remarkable achievement.

Head Girl Jennifer Blackburn, received 4 A*s in Biology, Chemistry,Mathematics and her Extended Project Qualification, an A in Physics and a Distinction in her AQA Baccalaureate. Jennifer has accepted her place at Emmanuel College, Cambridge to read Veterinary Science; one of the most competitive courses in the UK.

Top Results for St George’s

Girls secured places at many of the top universities in the UK including the University of Cambridge, UCL, LSE and Durham. Subjects being read by this cohort include Veterinary Science, International Relations, Archaeology, Civil Engineering, Classics, Graphic Design, History and Fashion. Several girls will also be continuing their study of Fine Art with 2 girls gaining places at the prestigious Central St Martin’s School of Art.

At GCSE over 21% of the year group achieved straight A*-As with Anna Blackburn and Gina Clare topping the list with 11 A*s each.Congratulations to all the girls who worked so hard and who make St George’s such a rewarding, enjoyable and exciting place to be.

DevelopmentI hope that by now you will have noticed our wonderful new front garden, which not only enhances the front of school, but provides a much safer access route from the locker rooms to the main school building for the girls. This is a very obvious example of just some of the works that have taken place over the long summer holidays. Other works have included the final stage of refurbishment of the Science Labs, a new roof for the Studio Wing which houses the IT Department, full redecoration of the Maths Department as well as new interactive white-boards, new carpeting and windows in several areas of the school, IT software upgrades across the site and much more. Thank you to the maintenance team for all of their hard work which will make a huge difference to the girls' experience at school.

Headmistress’ Lecture For the first Headmistress’ Lecture of this academic year, we were delighted to welcome Rachel Musson. Rachel is a former English teacher who developed a love of travelling during her gap year and the school holidays. After accompanying several volunteering trips with students, she began to have concerns about the impact of what is known as vol-tourism and also how pushing a western style of education on developing countries is perhaps not appropriate. The audience of girls, staff, parents and alumnae were fascinated to hear about her travels and how she has given up her job to support schools all around the world but particularly in Nepal and Tanzania, to develop curricula and strategies to best serve the students and staff. Welcome!

A very warm welcome to all of the many news girls who have started at St George’s Ascot this September.

Members of the First Year are pictured here in their first week - we think that they are going to be a great group!

Epsom Downs Racecourse Trip

On Tuesday 17 September, the new Lower Sixth Historians went to Epsom Downs racecourse to the spot where Emily Wilding Davison ran on to the course and was hit by the Kings Horse, Amner, dying 4 days later in Epsom Cottage Hospital. The classes were investigating her death and the impact it had on the suffrage movement at the beginning of the 20th Century making YouTube videos. It was great to be able to get out and ‘do' history, and got some good footage.

Masters in Teaching & Learning

Congratulations to Miss Jackson who has just completed her Masters in Teaching and Learning from Canterbury Christchurch University. Her dissertation was entitled ‘Give a man a fish feed him for a day; teach a man how to fish you feed him for life’: An exploration of ways in which students in a secondary school can be supported in developing independent learning skills. Miss Jackson has undertaken much in-depth research into independent learning which she plans to pass on to staff at St George’s for the benefit of the girls.

Highly Commended Economics EssayCongratulations to Upper Sixth student Violet Li whose essay was Highly Commended in the Royal Economics Society Annual Essay Competition. Voilet’s essay was one of just 27 Highly Commended out of over 1,150 essays entered into the competition. In the Spring term of each year, students are invited to write an essay of between 1,000 to 2,500 words, on a subject set by the President of the Royal Economic Society, calling on key elements of their courses, examples from the world around them and imaginative discussion.

Good Deeds

Students and staff at St George’s have been offering a helping hand to the wider community in the last week. On Saturday, whilst in London with a group of boarders, Matron was the first on the scene at an accident at a junction near Piccadilly and attended a woman with a broken ankle until the paramedics arrived. The following day, Fourth Year boarders Stephanie Bankole and Alice Wiggins were returning to school when a woman collapsed at Ascot train station. As there were no staff at the station, the girls used their initiative, phoned emergency services and comforted the very grateful woman until the ambulance arrived. Well done to all three and I am sure that all of their quick thinking will have made a big difference to those involved.

National Riding Championships We were delighted to hear that Third Year student Mimo Sandford has had a fantastic summer of riding. Mimo went up against hundreds of other competitors and qualified for the National Championships in Dressage, Show Jumping and Eventing; it is rare to qualify in all three disciplines. In addition to this, she has been asked to join the Pony Trials circuit, a year-long selection process for a place in the UK Young Eventers Squad. We wish her every success in the coming year and look forward to following her continued success.

Macmillan Coffee Morning

Thank you to all the girls, staff and parents who supported the Macmillan Coffee morning on Thursday 26 September. The total amount raised will be announced soon!

The new boarders enjoyed their fi rst week at St George’s with a dip in the pool and some expert cupcake making!

Boarding Life

The new boarders enjoyed their fi rst week at St George’s with a dip in the pool

5 Minutes with …

Our new Deputy Head (Pastoral) Mrs Simpson. Mrs Simpson joins us to take over from Ms Masters as Deputy Head (Pastoral), Head of Boarding and as our Child Protection Officer. She is delighted to be joining the Senior Management Team here at St George’s and is looking forward to discovering the benefits and challenges of being at a new and very different school.

Name & Qualifications: Helen Simpson BA(Ed) Hons University of Exeter

Job Title: Deputy Head (Pastoral)

What did you do before St George’s?Senior Housemistress & PE/ Geography Teacher at LVS Ascot.

What is your greatest achievement? Aside from family and work based achievements it was running the London marathon.

How would you describe yourself in 3 words? Vibrant, energetic, loyal.

Who is/was the most influential person in your life? My supportive parents and my husband.

What was the last book you read?Safe Haven - Nicholas Sparks.

What would you do if you won £2m in the Lottery? Share it with my family, friends and charities then buy lots of Louboutin shoes!

If money was no object where would you travel to? I love Europe for ski and sunshine.

What is your ultimate Desert Island Disc? Mr Brightside – The Killers.

Which person alive or dead would you most like to spend a day with? Boris Johnson.

What makes St George’s so special?The warm welcome that I have received from all of the staff!

Memories of St George’s in the 1950s

The Georgian Alumnae Association (GALA) reunion lunch on Saturday 14 September provided a wonderful opportunity to reminisce about school life in the 1950s. After a delicious meal – much appreciated by all those present – our visitors had coffee in the Old Library whilst enjoying a slideshow of photographs that alumnae have given us for our archives. The passing of the years had certainly not dulled the happy memories of their school days, and they were able to name almost everyone in the photos, as well as recalling their schoolgirl pranks. Afterwards they viewed some of the areas that had changed hugely since their own schooldays, in particular the sports hall and the newly refurbished classrooms and labs – not forgetting the newly landscaped courtyard, which all agreed was a huge improvement. We are always keen to build up the school archives; should you have friends or relatives who are former Georgians, do let Sue van der Veen (Alumnae Relations Officer) know if you can add to our collection.

Céilidh 2013As ever, our new Lower Sixth ended their fi rst week with a magnifi cent Ceilidh with the boys from Eton on Saturday 7 September.

Live music, lots of dancing, wonderful food and excellent company; it was enjoyed by all.

Mother & Daughter Netball

Mother and Daughter Netball Tournament

On Saturday 7 September, our annual Mother and Daughter Netball Tournament took place. This year we had 26 competitors who all entered into the spirit of the day and played fairly and skilfully but also with an element of fun!

Many of the new girls impressed us greatly with their ability, and the netball coaches are already looking forward to working with the girls in the year ahead.

The weather almost held out but with 6 minutes left in the final game the heavens opened! After cover was taken in the pavilion it was decided that we would call it a day and carry on with the presentation. Having not lost any of their matches due to some excellent play, and in particular some very accurate shooting, the green team came out on top.

The team consisted of :- Victoria Wyatt, Mrs Wyatt, Ellie Pusey, Jade Pusey, Auntie Pusey, Annabel Cunningham, Mrs Cunningham, Rebecca Murray and Mrs Murray.

The girls had a tough decision this year with choosing the ‘Mummy of the Morning’ but after voting, Mrs Wyatt came out on top and was presented with a bottle of champagne. Well done to all competitors and we look forward to seeing you all at the Mother and Daughter Tennis Tournament in the summer term.

Mummy of the Morning - Mrs Wyatt!

Berkshire Netball Selection

Berkshire County Netball Success

On Saturday 21 September, three students, Octavia Mason (5Y), Anna Mason (5Y) and Esme French (4X) were selected to attend the annual Berkshire county netball trials. With a strict selection process in order to attend the trials, it was an achievement for all three girls to attend.

The trials are always extremely competitive and the standard of play required in order to gain a place in the squad is very high. All three girls played their hearts out throughout their trial matches and after much deliberation Anna Mason and Esme French were chosen to represent the Berkshire U16 squad.

This is an exceptional achievement and we are now looking forward to seeing them in action in County matches throughout the year. Congratulations!

First�World�War�Centenary�Tour�

26-27th�April�2014�Open�to�all�girls�in�Third�Year�&�above

not�just�those�studying�History�

To commemorate the centenary of the start of the First World War we are organising an anniversary weekend tour of the trenches and cemeteries in Belgium.

We will be staying in Ypres and visiting world-famous sites such as Tyne Cot Commonwealth Cemetery, Langemark Germany Cemetery, Sanctuary Wood and Hill 62. We will also attend the last post ceremony at the Menin Gate. This is a very special opportunity for all girls, particularly those not studying History to gain a deeper understanding of the impact of this war.

Girls may also have the opportunity to research their ancestors’ involvement in the First World War. We willthen endeavour to visit particular cemeteries which hold personal signifi cance.

For more information please contact Miss Jackson on [email protected]. A deposit of £100 will be required at the start of the Autumn Term.

all�inclusive�£160

Sportsboard

A reminder that fixture and team lists are available on the school website by clicking on Sportsboard. No password is required and these are updated daily where possible.

School Website Sportsboard Citrix School Email

Scan the QR codes below using your smart phone to go directly to the web page you need.

Looking Forward...Sunday 29 September 2013 Dinner for Second Year Parents

7.00pm, Dining Room

Tuesday 1 October 2013Presentation to Fifth Year on

‘The Sixth Form at St George’s’ followed by A Level Subject Fair

6.30pm, Top Foyer

Saturday 5 October OPEN MORNING

All girls required from 9.30-11.30am

Wednesday 16 October 2013 Extended Project Qualifi cation

Presentation Evening 7.30pm, Chapel

Thursday 17 October 2013 House Drama Competition

Day girls to be collected at Normal times 8.00pm

Friday 18 October 2013Half Term Begins

4.00pm

First Year Parents’ Meeting 4.15pm, Cormack Hall