Publication

THE ELM 2015
WYCHWOOD SCHOOL
Letter from the Head
At the end of last year’s article for The Elm, I
wished everyone an enjoyable summer and
another productive and purposeful year in
September. The girls and staff took this to
heart during this academic year, which has
been one of recognition of the girls’ and
staff’s achievements. This magazine is one of
the most exciting ways of allowing you all to
see what Wychwood girls have been doing
this year. Although it is not very British to
do so, in a year when the focus on teaching
fundamental British values became part of
the ISI inspection criteria, it is a real pleasure
to reprise those triumphs here. Last year’s
Shell (this year’s Study 1) worked hard and
effectively for their GCSE results and it was
with enormous pleasure and pride that we
found that their efforts had placed the school
second in The Sunday Times League for Schools
with Small or No Sixth Forms – an achievement
with which they and we are delighted. My
wholehearted thanks go to the staff who
ensured that each girl did as well as they
possibly could. I was also delighted on behalf
of the staff, girls and governors that the Good
Schools' Guide reported on the school in very
positive terms, describing us as a ‘charming
pint-sized power house’, offering something
close to a customised education.
at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the welldeserved award. Wychwood would like to add
our congratulations to a woman who has done
so much for so many of our girls, as well as
noting that this medal includes all her work for
children linked to her church and annual Easter
pilgrimage, as well as that at Wychwood.
On the day I write this, the last EPQs (Extended
Project Qualifications) have been finished, a
cause for much rejoicing. After one project last
year gained an A* (the EPQ is the only AS level
that can be awarded an A*), we have submitted
four this year and are looking forward to the
results with great anticipation. As an academic
process, the EPQ offers excellent learning
experiences for those girls who complete it
and the sense of achievement is palpable.
Universities welcome the EPQ as evidence
that its holders will be able to cope with the
independent learning required at tertiary level.
The Wingfield Digby lecture series has
continued to offer exceptional extension for
Wychwood girls. In the Michaelmas term we
welcomed Professor Heath Brown, former
Wychwood parent, speaking on A History of
Cryptography and Code Breaking which was
extremely well received. We entertained the
scholarship cohort from Ashfold preparatory
school as part of a very full and enthusiastic
house. This was followed by Dame Professor
Jocelyn Bell Burnell, the eminent astrophysicist
who spoke to us on The Universe and Us in
the Hilary term. Somehow she makes the
most complex seem lucid and everyone
Last year we were all thrilled to find out that
Ms Crawford was awarded the British Empire
Medal for services to children in the New Year
Honours List, 2014. During this year, she was
presented with her British Empire medal in
Oxford and then attended a garden party
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in the audience left with a much clearer
understanding of astrophysics and its links to
art, history, theology, philosophy, chemistry
and other subjects than they had ever
possessed before. As the aunt of current pupil
Meredy Gibson, it was a particular pleasure
to see Meredy introduce her to the rest of the
audience.
strategy at Wychwood. Ms Crawford shadowed
the Inters last term, Mr Briant has spent a day
watching classes, and Mrs Hunter has been in
to discuss SEND matters with Miss Bray. Mrs
Pluck and Ms Stewart served on the Finance
and Bursaries Committees while Mr Briant and
Mr Clews served on the Finance Committee.
The three parent governors were on hand for
discussions with prospective parents during
Open Mornings which proved enormously
valuable in giving the parents’ perspective. I
would like to thank all
the governors for their
time, support, wise
advice and help.
We also celebrated the achievements of a
former pupil at Wychwood when we unveiled
the Society of
Biology’s Blue Plaque
which features Dame
Honor Fell, one of
Wychwood’s most
illustrious alumnae.
One of the most
important Wychwood
aims is to allow girls
to develop into the
person they should
become, in the same
wat that Honor Fell
did. To that end, we
have welcomed Ms
Liz Reece, a national award winning careers
consultant, to take over the careers advice
at Wychwood. We have had careers lessons
and assemblies and are about to play The Real
Game again with the Inters. The Wychwood
Sixth have been introduced to career planning
and Ms Reece is working on Wychwood’s own
Business Enterprise Day.
The Friends of
Wychwood have
continued with their
unfailing support to
the school with events
that bind us together
as a community
while raising funding
for items that are
non-essential but so
valuable in many ways. This year the Friends
of Wychwood will be buying new mattresses
and pillows for the sick bay and then aiming to
redecorate a common room.
In the past year we have been working on the
infrastructure that supports the work in the
classroom. In the summer holidays we began
an ICT update which updated both hardware
and software. This has been ongoing
throughout the year and we are about to
finish this phase of development by increasing
the speed of the broadband. At Christmas
we redeveloped the kitchens which proved
more eventful than we had planned, after
the discovery of asbestos in the ceiling space.
This delayed the works and we had to spend
the first two weeks of the Hilary term with a
temporary dining room in the Hall. However,
upsets like this always demonstrate the positive
side of life and the Dragon School proved to be
the very best of neighbours; delivering meals,
allowing the boarders to go to them at supper
time and making sure that the Wychwood girls
and staff were fed throughout. Mrs Langford
and her team are very much enjoying their
new surroundings and I must thank them for
Across subjects we have continued to work
with Habits of Mind and are also focusing on
Carol Dweck’s Growth Mindset – that important
and very simple concept that no-one’s
intelligence is fixed. Everyone has the capacity
to improve. This may require Habits of Mind
like persisting, questioning and creating,
imagining and innovating, but everyone can
get better at what they do. The two concepts
together produce a powerful and positive
incentive for Wychwood girls to learn.
Wychwood’s governors have, as always, played
a strong role in supporting the school and it
events. Mrs King and Mrs Hayes are serving
on the new Education Committee whose
successful opening meeting this term was
attended by Liz Reece to explain the careers
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enduring a very difficult couple
of weeks in the hall with great
good humour.
This term 46 pupils from Phil and
Jim’s attended the Fields of Battle,
Lands of Peace exhibition at
Wychwood as part of their yearlong work on the First World
War. Many of them, as well as
the Wychwood girls, found the
exhibition intensely moving.
We were also privileged to hear
Mike St Maur Sheil speak to the
photography students on a life
in professional photography and
to a wider audience about the
First World War.
Mr and Mrs Giles Ashdown have
given the school a wonderful
gift in thanks for the education
of their four daughters which
is a carved owl. This is perched
in the gardens and was carved
in situ at Wychwood using a
chain saw as the school looked
on in wonder. It is a delightful
piece to have as part of the
school in commemoration of the
four Ashdown girls and we are
very grateful to the Ashdowns
for the idea and the gift. However, more
importantly, the four very different young
women who have passed through Wychwood
have developed into people of whom both
Wychwood and their parents are very proud.
As I write I am conscious that
I have not included so many
of the achievements from this year but this
is a deliberate omission. The individual and
collective achievements of the Wychwood
girls themselves follow in the pages of this
magazine and are very much better explained
with the girls’ words and images, not mine.
As a school, we finish the year very proud
of the achievements in all spheres of life at
Wychwood, while recognising that there are
and always will be areas on which we need to
work. After the election on May 7th, we are at
last in a position to know definitely that there
are major changes coming in the way public
examinations are being taught and examined
in schools throughout the UK. Despite this, I
have every confidence that Wychwood girls
will continue to achieve at levels that will make
us all proud, just as they have done this year.
We have continued our outreach work
to primary and prep schools throughout
the year. The Modern Foreign Languages
department welcomed about 30 pupils from
West Oxford Primary School for their Day of
Christmas in French, German, Swedish and
Spanish. All pupils (secondary and primary)
were introduced to the Christmas traditions
of the country they were assigned to, learned
a carol and made some festive food. The
concert at the end was memorable and the
primary school children went away glowing.
Leavers’ Destinations Summer 2014
Accountancy and Finance
UWE
Accountancy and Finance
Warwick
Architecture Westminster University
Biomedical Sciences Warwick
Economics Warwick
English Literature Chester University
English Literature and Drama Royal Holloway, London
Film and Television Production Westminster University
Gap year doing PA course Oxford Business School
Marketing with Management Royal Holloway, London
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Dame Honor Fell – A Remarkable Scientist
We honoured the memory of former pupil
Honor Fell (1900–1987) in March when we had
the official unveiling of the Blue Plaque on our
front gate. The Society of Biology has installed
10 plaques to celebrate eminent biologists and
we were very pleased that Dame Honor Fell
was among them and that they chose to site it
at Wychwood where she was at school in the
early 1900s.
caused a stir when she took one to her sister’s
wedding in her pocket and it escaped.
After a zoology degree at Edinburgh University
and PhD at Cambridge, she began working
with Professor Strangeways at the research
centre he founded in Cambridge. Due to his
untimely death she found herself Director
of the laboratory at the young age of 27 and
continued until 1970. Even after her retirement
as Director she still worked there until within a
few weeks of her death.
She was an individual and pioneer in all senses
of the word, the youngest of nine children, she
developed her love of animals and biology
with her father who worked with horses in
the First World War. This continued as she was
allowed to keep ferrets at school (the place for
pets was where the workshops are now). She
Her personal contribution to science was in
the field of organ culture, the forerunner to
stem cell research. Her great contribution to
the research lab was her talent for getting
funding and attracting outstanding
scientists who were refugees in the
Second World War. She was also the
person who gave Francis Crick, codiscoverer of the structure of DNA, his
first job. The Strangeways research lab
still flourishes today and the current
Director, Professor Doug Easton spoke
at the unveiling about the work they are
doing now.
Professor Kate Beckingham also spoke
very warmly about Dame Honor the
person. She was her last PhD student
in 1970 and is now professor of
biochemistry and cell biology at Rice
University, Texas. She spoke about
Dame Honor Fell as an inspiration to
women scientists and that she had
felt like an apprentice learning from
a master craftsperson. We in turn felt
inspired by their research work and
enthusiasm for it.
The unveiling itself on Banbury Road
was a rare opportunity for Wychwood
to be in the limelight. The Lord Mayor,
Mohammed Abassi, in full regalia,
together with Professors Easton and
Beckingham, unveiled the plaque while
we looked on and we were later able to
see ourselves on the BBC local news.
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English Department News
Farewell to Mrs Milne
It has been an eventful and creative a year as
ever in the English department and there are
many people to thank, but special thanks in
the first instance must go especially to Mrs
Birte Milne, our librarian, for her eight years’
service. It has been a pleasure to have such
a strong and supportive presence in the
department and we have been enormously
lucky to have benefited from Birte’s expertise,
enthusiasm and inspiration for so long. With
her calm demeanour, she has managed a
peaceful and productive working atmosphere
in the library, assisting those who require
sources for subject specific work, whilst also
maintaining a vibrant, current, fiction library.
poetry writing amongst girls across the school
remains impressive. Sayna (who currently
holds our Frances Lambrick Poetry Award)
went on to be long-listed in the prestigious
national Christopher Towers competition – an
impressive achievement. Well done.
The Youth Speaks teams were as strong as
ever and the poetry recital competition on
sonnets was a pleasure to experience. After
a hotly contested final in School Assembly,
Camilla Radwan was awarded overall winner
receiving this year’s English Department book
mark for her stunning recital of Shakespeare’s
Sonnet 116.
We started the year with the UTs and Shell in
the gardens of Lady Margaret Hall watching
a dramatic Macbeth and by the end of the
year, with the cross curricular project on the
Wonderful World of Shakespeare, the Remove,
Inters and LTs were taken to Stratford in
the Trinity term, to attend a Brush Up Your
Shakespeare course, to visit Shakespeare’s
birthplace, and then to watch the RSC's
production of The Merchant of Venice.
What with this, the Shakespeare for Schools
competition and the sonnet recital, they were
very prepared for the four-day, off-timetable,
cross curricular experience, which is always
anticipated with excitement.
Birte has also driven the annual World Book
Day celebrations since 2009 when visiting
author Julia Golding came into school. Since
then we have had Marie-Louise Jensen, Ann
Evans, Patricia Elliot and Linda Newbury as
visiting authors, as well as visiting story teller
Cassandra Wey, and performance poet Ashley
Harrold. A keen writer herself, girls have been
encouraged to enter writing competitions
in the form of Book Reviews, Short Stories,
Speedy Stories, Mini Monologues, Around
the World in 80 Words and A Twist in the Tale,
resulting in spirited opinions from the judging
panel within the department! She has also
organised an annual second hand book sale
and supported reading related projects around
the world.
Birte, you have been so much more than an
excellent librarian, a tower of fictional and
non-fictional strength! We shall all miss
you enormously on both a personal and
professional level and we wish you all the very
best in the future.
Other News
The Charlotte Kell poetry and the Mini
Monologue World Book Day writing
competitions have provided excellent work,
as can be seen in this magazine. Eva, Rebecca
and Sayna were treated to afternoon tea
at the Randolph Hotel, and the quality of
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Youth Speaks
Wychwood placed 2nd and 3rd in the
Intermediate Youth Speaks Competition 2015.
This year’s Intermediate Youth Speaks teams
lit up a dreary January evening at Leckford
Place where they spoke on ‘Arachnophobia:
the truth behind the fear' and 'Sarcasm, the
lowest form of wit or just the most effective?’
Heather Fitzgerald was the sparkling chair
introducing Evlyn Lloyd’s speech for the 'B'
team on arachnophobia which soon had the
room crawling and twitching as her carefully
written descriptions of spiders (and maggots and slugs for good measure) employed such evocative
imagery! Sarah Cox’s excellent proposal of thanks explained that she would avoid ‘creepy sycophance’
for ‘creepy crawly’ (an inspired touch) and she went on to wow the judges.
Molly Fagan took the time in her chair’s speech to explain that the arrival of Eliza Sinclair into the form
last term had meant that the already formidable duo of Sophy Vane and herself had been significantly
strengthened, and the ‘Wychwood A’ team were a force to be reckoned with. How right she was! Eliza
Sinclair’s witty, scholarly and beautifully timed delivery on sarcasm had the audience divided in terms
of the eventual winner of the evening. She was a most convincing main speaker. After much amusing,
and sarcastic anecdote, citing research and pertinent facts, she argued eventually that sarcasm is
always premeditated whereas situations can be ironic, and thus less sophisticated. This certainly gave
food for thought and this was recognised in the judge’s summing up and Sophy’s vote of thanks.
Sarcasm – the Lowest Form of Wit?
A child’s discovery of sarcasm, taken from
the Greek ‘sarkasmos’ meaning to tear
flesh, bite the lip in rage and sneer, is one
of the most momentous stages of growing
up. No, seriously! These first baby steps
towards sophisticated wit can lead you to a
crossroads. A crossroads that can determine
the sense of humour you acquire in later life.
Obviously someone as hilarious as me has
fought and won my battle with sarcasm. My
first experience was when wading into the
North Sea, brrrr, I know! I said ‘Wow this is so
warm’. If I’m perfectly honest, I was pretty
proud of my quick wit but as usual was put
down by my ‘oh so mature’ older brother. This
only led to dreadful repercussions making
my attitude towards older brothers bitter,
cruel and sarcastic. One can only imagine the
conversations at meal times.
You may not give it a second thought but
the back street life of sarcastic humour has
many problems. For instance, what do you do
if the sarcastic tone of your voice isn’t strong
enough? Pretty devastating, given that the
distinctive quality of sarcasm is present in the
spoken word and manifested chiefly by vocal
inflection. Or if the recipient of your hilarity has
been living under a rock for as long as sarcasm
has been adapted and used constantly by
the children of the 21st century and all those
other centuries back to the ancient Greeks?
Let’s look at one of the most socially awkward
characters from The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon,
who develops his recognition of sarcasm
throughout the series but clearly struggles with
such sophisticated humour. In his own words
‘I am immune to your sarcasm’. A poor defence
in my opinion. This pitiful phrase applies to
all those who can't recognise even the most
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blatantly obvious sarcasm if it slapped them
in the face. Sheldon’s quotation would appear
to defend those people who rile and ‘de-ego’
gifted people like me.
race would be to lose (my speciality and prize
winning event!).
Although sarcasm creates many a problem
it also can be used as a solution (granted
an annoying one) but still it can be used as
something to solve certain awkward situations.
The socially awkward Friends character
Chandler Bing said to a friend asking for help
‘I’m not so good with advice... Can I interest you
with a sarcastic comment?’ Now, some may
argue that his sarcastic quality was the reason
he couldn’t provide advice. Is sarcasm reducing
our ability to have a mature conversation or
social interaction? Don’t get me wrong, I think
sarcasm is of the utmost sophistication, but
could it be leading us to a declining level of
comic interaction?
This embarrassing dilemma can also be applied
to texting as obviously you can’t recognise
caustic tone through writing. Or can you? I
mean, I don’t think I’ve ever detected a tone of
sarcasm in any of Enid Blyton’s books. (About
them perhaps, but not in them). So what
does a 21st century text savvy teenager do
about sarcasm when messaging? We try and
incorporate a hint towards the sarcastic tone of
our voice into the text. This NEVER works. So,
there’s the other option of just sending another
text after the supposedly sarcastic comment
saying ‘*sarcasm*’. Another way of doing this is
to send a text saying ‘I hope you enjoy sarcastic
comments because this one’s a killer’, and
then you write the rest of the text. Honestly,
this does seem to defeat the object of the sly
ridicule or mockery in contemptuous sarcasm
we all love and know too well. So ULTIMATELY
every modern day technology operator’s wish
is that sarcasm were available as a font.
John Haiman writes that ‘there is an extremely
close connection between sarcasm and irony.’
Literary theorists often treat sarcasm as simply
the crudest and least interesting form of irony,
but let’s look at that more closely. Situations
may be ironic but only people can be sarcastic.
People can be unintentionally ironic but
sarcasm requires intention. Not so crude a
form of wit after all. So all in all, do the worries
and problems that come hand in hand with
sarcasm make the glee of feeling like you own
the universe after making a successful sarcastic
comment accompanied by ‘ooohs’ and ‘aaahs’
and ‘oh BURN’, make it worth it? The buzz of
the bitter gibe, the adrenaline of the actively
cutting and caustic. Judging by the laughs I
got from this speech, maybe those annoying
mothers are right (as usual) and sarcasm IS the
lowest form of wit. Thomas Caryle despised
sarcasm as ‘the language of the devil.’ Well the
devil may care, but I, for one, do not.
Another problem that the esteemed users
of sarcasm face is the pressure to hide their
sarcasm from many people who look down
on the artists who create these sarcastic
masterpieces. My defence is Dr Seuss’ advice
of ‘Be who you are and say what you feel because
those who mind don’t matter and those who
matter don’t mind’. The mothers are the worst!
They’re the most critical, whether they be
our own or other people’s. They’re always
trying to guide all children around or out of
their phase of sarcasm by using the worn out
and completely worthless term ‘sarcasm is
the lowest form of wit’. It’s one of the most
annoying of those parent friendly sayings, in a
category with all those aphorisms designed to
inspire gentleness, sensitivity and self esteem
in children when in fact it has the opposite
effect of patronising and embarrassing us.
And is there any sense in them? For instance,
‘slow and steady wins the race’. PLEASE! SPARE
ME! If slow and steady won the race, Usain
Bolt would be beaten by a morbidly obese 7
year old boy with a backpack full of duck fat
encrusted quavers. The face of the Olympics
would be changed forever and the aim of the
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Mr and Mrs Disraeli
This is the new novel by Daisy Hay who is an ex
pupil and current governor of Wychwood and a
University lecturer in English Literature at Exeter
University. Here she tells us how the idea for
her book came from a chance discovery in the
Wychwood library.
life after the wedding, when the marriage plot
is over. It brings together many of the things
I have been preoccupied by throughout my
academic and literary career, but it also draws
on my passion for English literature and my
fascination with the art of storytelling, both of
which I first discovered at Wychwood.
My new book, Mr and Mrs Disraeli, began life
in the Wychwood library. When I was about
thirteen Ms Crawford offered me my pick of
some dusty hardbacks she was clearing out of
the school library. The inside of these books
told a sad story: their sign-out cards, inscribed
in Ms Crawford's beautiful italic hand, revealed
that they had never once been borrowed. At
random I chose a 1960 novel called The Perfect
Wife by Doris Leslie.
We were also excited to hear about the
successes of two more Old Girls this year,
Vicky Jewson (1997 – 2004) and Florence
Pugh (2007 – 2009).
Vicky’s second feature length film Born of
War came out this year. A tomboy in her
time at school, it is no surprise to hear
that a day’s work for her now can consist
of being strapped to a pick-up truck on a
runway in Jordan and being chased by an
aeroplane! Tackling the subject of terrorism
and family ties, Born of War follows a
young girl's journey to Afghanistan as she
uncovers the secrets behind her parents'
troubling past. A female protagonist at
the heart of the story is something Vicky
is passionate about, and something that
her Wychwood education instilled in her!
Ever supportive to us, she kindly offered
work experience on the editing of the film
to Sayna Asadi and Rebecca Robb of this
year’s Study 2 when they were in their Shell
year, and now Rebecca is on the verge of
heading off to London to study film and
film making for herself.
The Perfect Wife is a heavily romanticised
account of Mary Anne Disraeli's life. I took it
home and read it over the course of one winter
weekend and was gripped. On the Sunday
evening, I told my slightly surprised mother
that I was going to write Mary Anne Disraeli's
biography. I remember being absolutely
convinced that if the story Doris Leslie related
was even partially true, then it was extrordinary
and needed to be told. And over the years,
that conviction never left me. I went off to
university to read English and never really left,
so that by the time I was in my mid-twenties
I had become a biographer and an academic
and was immersed in writing my first book,
Young Romantics. It was only once Young
Romantics was published and I realised that
I had, after all, become a biographer, that I
returned to Mary Anne Disraeli. By this point, I
knew more than I did when I was thirteen, both
about my craft and the kind of books I wanted
to write, and it had become apparent to me
that the Disraelis' intertwined stories needed to
be told together. Mr and Mrs Disraeli sent me
down a rabbit hole into the strange, mysterious
world of the nineteenth century, and I spent
three years in a basement reading room at the
Bodleian, not far from Wychwood, trawling
through the Disraelis' papers. The book is
about Victorian fact and fiction, and the road
not travelled, and about what happens in real
Florence Pugh was with us in Remove and
Inters and was a lively, popular and outgoing
young pupil. How wonderful it was then
to learn of her huge success in Carol
Morley’s film The Falling in which she plays a
charismatic schoolgirl, responsible for what
Guy Lodge of the Guardian described as ‘a
surge in adolescent psychosexual exploration
at an all-girls’ public school in the 1960s.’ In
many ways it was a dream part for a talented
teenager and has resulted in outstanding
reviews for her.
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World Book Day
Wychwood celebrated World Book Day 2015
with a series of events.
we heard some of the suggestions read out. In
the final part of the work shop the girls were
asked to work in groups and then combine
their individual writing into a longer piece
which they then read out for us all.
We began with an assembly for the whole
school where visiting poet A. F. Harrold treated
everyone to a 15 minute performance of
wonderful wordplay and poetic delights. All
girls, ranging from Remove to Study 2, as well
as staff, were left in tears and with belly aches
from continuous laughter and a sea of smiling
faces left the hall in high spirits ready to face
the day’s lessons.
This is what one group came up with:
If I ran the school it would be on the Moon.
We would have pet baboon
and the kids would all be cool.
If I ran the school there would be a wave pool.
There would be no rules
and our bags would be carried by mules.
If I ran the school there would be pirates in the
halls
and you could draw on the walls.
If I ran the school you could sleep on the floors
and you could slam all the doors.
If I ran the school …wait …
That would not be a very good idea!
Our main event of the morning for Remove,
Inters and LTs carried on from assembly with a
presentation and poetry workshop by Ashley
Harrold. He began by talking a little about
himself, his writing techniques and inspiration.
He read out some of his poems about animals
with strong audience participation and then
explained some of the techniques behind
them. Then we all had chance to write some
similar poems which were read out to much
amusement and Ashley Harrold gave some
feedback and suggestions for possible
changes. Ashley continued the second part of
our session by reading out some more poems
in a different style where he was listing things
he would do if he ran our school. He then
asked the girls to each write a similar list and
At the end of the visit the girls had an
opportunity to buy copies of Ashley’s book The
Imaginary and get them signed by the author.
A big thank you goes to Ashley for coming to
our World Book Day event and giving us all
such a special morning.
At lunchtime we had a
second hand book sale with
books donated by girls and
staff and we have so far
raised more than £30 for the
charity Book Aid International,
a charity which sends books
to libraries serving some of
the poorest people in subSaharan Africa.
Thank you to everyone who
contributed towards making
our World Book Day events
so enjoyable, and for helping
to raise money for Book Aid
International.
Birte Milne
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Mini Monologues
The Mind of the Maid Senior Winner
Those Birlings always gotta make a mess don’t they? I can always tell which of them is Sheila’s
because she always gets her precious pink lipstick on it. I like that girl. Still has an air of… naïvety
about her, but always smiling. Not like her mam… gets me angry, she does. Only reason I’m
working here is ‘cause she kicked out the last after making an 'impertinent comment on Master
Eric’s drinking habit'. If only she knew what… Sounds like the telephone in the dining room.
Maybe I should get that. No sounds like the Mr’s already answered it.
Imogene Goodman
O, Sister, how can you? Senior runner up
The Porter’s Truth Senior runner up
Oh sister, how can you? Bide me with death
and sin, when you have sinned yourself? You’re
the one who was deceitful and lied to our
parents. You are the one who had the affair.
How can you accuse me of spying and peering
on the two of you when I was only passing
by? How can you say I’m jealous when I have
always wanted the best for you? How could I
have known what was going to happen? All I
did was to be honest and tell the truth. They
would have found out at some point anyway.
Ay! The lady walks again in the night. Her flesh
burnt with tears and her mind tortured by her
tyrant king. I once did love thee gentle lady,
with no blemish of torment, just smiles of love
and happiness. But who doth remember the
porter? I have spent years of my life slaving for
that arrogant husband, who hath now fled,
leaving his gentle lady to live in fear and despair.
He is the thief of her true heart, which is too
pure for him. I shudder at the thought of what
lies ahead. I pray you: remember the porter.
Alexandra McMillan
Emily Spence
Mary, Mary Was Not Contrary Junior
winner
The Big Bad Wolf Junior runner up
Hi, I’m the big bad wolf and this is my story.
I was having my morning stroll when Little
Red Riding Hood skipped by. She was taking
some cookies to her grandmother. A minute
later I got a call from Red’s grandmother,
explaining she had to go to her yoga class.
She didn’t want to disappoint her beloved
granddaughter so she asked if I could pretend
to be her. You probably know the rest of the
story. The next day Red told the Papers that I
tried to eat her and her grandmother, but this
is the truth – I promise.
“Girls can’t be astronauts. You should
garden, you’re great at that!” The teachers
would tell me. “Well, I don’t give two rats
in a can about what you say.” That’s what I
should have said. It’s funny how I wanted
nothing more than to be up above the
earth, yet somehow I’m stuck down here
as connected to the earth as possible. I
was pushed into my career, but I should’ve
put my foot down. And I’m educated too!
I would have been a fantastic astronaut.
Well, I’d better get back to my cockleshells –
they’re looking a bit droopy.
Scarlet Lopez
Evelyn Peterson
10
White and Black Commended
Slowly slithering down the sloping stairs, she
slumps into her pool of gold, sighing with
content. Her face is young and beautiful but
her heart is sly and empty, but covered up –
earning her my throne, my gold, my property
and my castle; earning her the chance to swap
her birth-right with mine. How could she
manipulate everyone, especially me? How
did that monster fool me? She has turned
my people against me and drives me out
of my own home. The pure evil that fills her
beating heart is inhumane with the weight of
everlasting pain.
Dogs are Annoying Commended
Vile creatures! Dogs. The noun used for
malodorous chaotic, disobedient, measly
beasts. As a cat, I have been brought up to
despise such things as these. I used to be King
of the streets! Other cats bowed down to
me! Humans adored me! But now my stupid
humans bought a puppy! All he does is run
around the house chasing either me or his tail.
He’s annoying and unintelligent. He can’t tell
‘sit’ from ‘roll over’. I wish things were back
to the way they were – me and a lot of food,
sleeping, sitting on laps and on warm beds.
Poppy West
Finding freedom Commended
Hello I am Alaska Young and I have been stuck
in boarding school away from family for years.
I have never had the feeling of going out
without someone watching me. I think people
like me need to have some time alone without
anyone saying “go to sleep”, “be quiet”, “stop
it”, “behave yourself” or “no”. I respect that
people around me want to know I am safe, but
one day I will escape from the behind the walls
of adventure and take the risks that everyone
will take in their life.
Evlyn Lloyd
Climbing down Commended
My fingers wrapped around a crag on the
volcano, and I pulled myself up. My skin,
which had grown tough from the decades of
catching fish and strangling men, was perfect
for gripping the rocks. I continued climbing,
stretching my limbs as far as they could go. I
thought about the burning lava in the volcano;
I thought about the two evil hobbits who I
wished to kill, and my thoughts drifted to the
most beautiful thing in the world: the Ring.
Just knowing it was metres away from me
made my skin tingle. Soon it would be mine.
Sophie Lagden
Ignored Commended
Neither of us saw the ice, coming crashing
down before I knew what was happening. I
was winded and had a sharp pain in my near
fore. My master freed himself but immediately
indulged in his sprained ankle. I felt neglected,
struggling through pain with no recognition,
my master only thinking about himself. My
nerves were inwardly screaming with terror
after the incident but I allowed myself to
be caught by him, thinking he would check
my legs before mounting. But he wasn’t
that caring. He landed heavily in the saddle
and spurred me on, my rearing protests
completely ignored.
Rebecca Whitlow
Isabel Jackson
11
Wychwood Sixth Extension
Oxford Brookes’ Celebratory Lecture
Programme
In the Hilary Term, members of the Wychwood
Sixth and girls in the Honours Club were
invited to attend two fascinating lectures at
Oxford Brookes University as part of their 150
year anniversary celebrations. The first was Our
Long Love Affair with Magazines – perfect for a
girls’ school – and speaker Dr. Leander Reeves
talked us through the history of magazines
and the implicit meaning of aspects of them.
Her lecture was mainly about how and why
magazines give their readers confidence and
made us question how we view ourselves
under their influence. It was really interesting
to focus on how we are presented in the media
and also to reflect that the first magazines
were, in fact, gentlemen’s magazines.
Activities and Forums for Wychwood Sixth
Welcome to Wychwood Sixth Dinner
Old Girls’ Leavers’ party
Wychwood Sixth Ball
Old Girls’ Careers Fair
TRAap (Rape Awareness) presentation (also
to parents, and UT and Shell year groups)
Safe Drive Stay Alive
(Oxfordshire emergency services
presentation on road safety as a driver)
Sex, Drugs, Doc and Dole (also to UT and
Shell year groups)
Study Skills morning with The Life
Skills Company
Public Lectures
On Liberty, Magna Carta and Our Future:
Jon Snow, Shami Chakrabarti and Helena
Kennedy (OBU Lecture programme)
Our Long Love Affair with Magazines
(portraying confidence from the 18th Century:
Leander Reeves. OBU Lecture Programme)
Fields of Battle Lands of Peace Photography
Exhibition and talk on the First World War
Michael St. Maur Sheil
Cracking Codes: Professor Heath-Brown
Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell: The Universe
and Us
The second lecture was on the vast topic:
Liberty, the Magna Carta and our Future.
The speakers were the prestigious Shami
Chakrabarti of Liberty, newscaster Jon Snow
and Baroness Helena Kennedy QC, all of whom
are past Chancellors of Oxford Brookes. They
discussed the history of human rights and the
continued need for focus on systems around
liberty and democracy at home and abroad.
It was really interesting to hear prestigious
people talking about our liberty, human
rights, and as many relevant worldwide
political implications they could squeeze into
their hour.
General Studies
Bushcraft at Hill End
UCAS, Personal statements, and Alternatives
to University
London: The Orbit, Olympic Park; Tate
Modern and the Matisse Exhibition; Atelier
de Chefs cookery school (sushi making
course); Wolf Hall.
Religious focus: Mindfulness
Critical Thinking
First Aid
Credit Action Finance
Skin Care and Make up
It was interesting to see how Shami
Chakrabarti chaired the discussion and how
she continuously moved the focus on to
ensure that as much material as possible was
considered. Her skill set was phenomenal,
and the way she took three – often rambling
– questions at a time and broke down the
responses to address all issues in a simple and
direct way was the sign of a great mind at
work! I feel like I gained a lot of information
and inspiration from hearing them speak and
being present at such a prestigious event. Our
young Honours Club members were rather
more taken with their tasteful celebratory
goodie bag including books, pens, calendars
12
and jelly beans along with the rest of the
audience members.
Thanks to Oxford Brookes for allowing us to
attend such a prestigious event, and good luck
to Olympic Gold Medal winner Dr. Katharine
Grainger who is the new Chancellor of Oxford
Brookes University.
Ruby Naybour
Theatre
The theatre productions that we have seen
this year have been of an incredible quality
and there is no doubt that we reap cultural
reward simply by being in Oxford. The Kite
Runner at the Oxford Playhouse was probably
one of the most powerful pieces we have seen
for a long time. Hanif Khan’s live music which
played from our entering the auditorium, and
throughout the production, wove between
the powerful narrative seamlessly. Each actor
took on various roles, returning to the hopeful
and then haunting tableaus of kite flying
at intervals. Both Andrei Hastin as Hassan
and Ben Turner as both child and adult Amir,
as well as narrator, were captivating. The
shutting down of Hassan’s character as he
shuffled before us was heart-breaking. The
Farsi spoken throughout, with the power and
the beauty of the prayer to ‘Allah’ was quite
simply breathtaking (and our resident experts
in Zahra and Lema, could also report positively
on its authenticity). The whole performance
was an eye-opening, evocative glimpse into
Afghanistan, and we were thinking about it for
a long time afterwards.
should be to the chilling theatrical experience
of the adaptation of Susan Hill’s novel The
Woman in Black. We were not disappointed…
the screams and nervous excitement inside the
theatre ensured that animated conversations
were had all the way back to school!
In the Hilary Term, a fascinating one man
performance A Girl with a Book at Chipping
Norton Theatre, explored Nick Wood’s
experience of going into the community and
searching for answers to help him explore
Malala Yousafzai’s fight for girls’ education
following the brutal attack against her in 2012.
His research revealed attitudes counter to his
liberal convictions and he began to learn more
about himself. The Q and A following the
performance allowed the Wychwood girls to
question Nick further on his experiences. It was
a rich and rewarding experience. Time then
for some light relief, and when One Man, Two
Guvnors came to the New Theatre in Oxford it
was a ‘no brainer’: hilarious, ridiculous, brilliant
fun. What’s not to like? Perfect!
The tone was as desperate in Nicholas Wright’s
adaptation of Pat Barker’s Regeneration. This
compassionate look at the First World War
against the stark Craiglockhart Hospital set,
with Siegfried Sassoon institutionalised to
undermine his public disapproval of war, was
both brutal and touching. However, it was the
momentary glimpse of the ghost behind the
door that had the lasting impact on the girls.
It was obvious therefore that the next outing
13
The Hub Team Building Challenge came to Wychwood Sixth on the first Monday of the Michaelmas
term and much fun was had by all. Stretching across voids, stepping across blocks, lowering helium
sticks, creating human caterpillars and solving AMAZING maze challenges ensured that everyone
was well and truly integrated by the end of the gorgeously warm and sunny school day.
In the evening, things became a trifle more sophisticated with the annual Welcome to Wychwood
Sixth Dinner and Wine Tasting. Heartfelt speeches from girls in Study 2, along with animated dinner
table discussions between staff and pupils of Wychwood Sixth ensured that the academic year of
2014 – 15 has got off to a lively and encouraging start.
14
Poppies
In response to the centenary of the start of the
Great War, and following on from our thought
for the week on The Value of Remembrance, the
community of Wychwood came together to
create its own three dimensional tribute that
can be seen in the foyer of school. Our tribute
on the theme of remembrance comprises
messages from everyone on handmade
poppies that have been wired into a structure
that literally tumbles off the table, scattering
onto the floor.
The Study 1 artists and other members of the
form, ably led by Alicia Wong and Ms Jones,
magnanimously took on the task of making the
poppies. Ms Sherlock, Mrs Bridgman and Sine
wove the piece together and we think that the
end result is moving and personal, reflecting
and capturing the spirit of Wychwood at this
time.
are crucial in our world today. Thoughts are
expressed for a positive future for Afghanistan;
for those suffering, in Gaza, Syria, Iraq and for
the journalists who brave war zones in order
to tell the world the truth as they see it - in
environments where they are increasingly
targeted and used as collateral. Whilst the
majority of messages are in English, some can
be found in other languages, reflecting our
international community.
Obviously, many of the messages are
expressions of gratitude and pledges to
appreciate life to the full; to live our today, in
memory of those who lost their tomorrows.
Some poppies are tributes to individual
servicemen, related to members of our
community; they reflect conflicts across
both world wars, the Falklands, Iraq and
Afghanistan. Other messages call for peace
and recognise that peaceful negotiations
We hope that those who encounter our tribute
will be moved and also inspired. Thank you to
everyone who has taken part.
15
In Our Own Time
Capoeira
I have been attending Capoeira classes for
about six months now. However, before I go
on I will give a brief explanation on the history
and origins of Capoeira as the first time that I
had ever heard about Capoeira was six months
ago and I am sure that some of you have never
heard of it.
to bring them both together in a traditional,
cultural and beautiful way.
Camilla Radwan
Cheerleading
Both of us cheer for a squad called Bicester
Elite Cheer United (E.C.U). We train on a
Wednesday and a Friday for two to three hours,
and sometimes on a Monday for two hours.
Both of our main positions are as bases (the
girls who do the lifting), but we sometimes
change to a ‘back spot’ which is a girl who
supports the flyer’s ankles and helps the bases
with the lifting. In March, we competed at the
UKCA National competition in Manchester and
we came away with nine trophies, one of which
was second place! We couldn’t have been
more proud of our squad. Even though we had
faced some major issues, we pulled together
as a team and came away with some amazing
results! Last month, we took part in another
major competition in Manchester. We worked
incredibly hard to make sure we perfected all
our routines, pushing ourselves to physical
limits to make ourselves stronger. For us, it’s
not about the winning; it’s about forming a
bond with each and every member of the
squad and having the overwhelming feeling of
happiness when you come off of the mat after
hitting your routine. So many memories have
been formed already whilst we have been part
of this squad, and we’re sure that many more
are going to be made. Our squad is like our
family away from home.
Capoeira is a Martial Art, thought to have
originated from slaves in 16th Century Brazil.
The Art is infused with dance and has distinct
music and rhythm. As well as being a very
productive exercise activity, Capoeira is also
a cultural passion and way of life for many
Capoeiristas (people who do Capoeira).
At first, I was not too keen on the idea of doing
Capoeira for, as I said previously, it is a mixture
of dance and Martial Arts – neither in which am
I particularly gifted! However, after attending
just one lesson with two of my brothers, we
were all completely enamoured with it!
All of the Capoeiristas are kind and supportive,
especially to shy newcomers like ourselves
and the friendly community atmosphere in
the classes allowed my brothers and myself
to rapidly gain our confidence. Soon we were
playing the sparring/dancing game in the
centre of the ‘Roda’ (circle) that is typical of
Capoeira.
I have learnt the basic movements of Capoeira
and now I am slowly developing my own ‘flair’,
which is the ability to make the moves look
professional.
Kelly Kaeferstein & Ellie Tarff
Doing Capoeira has given me a lot of
confidence in Dance and Martial Arts: my
classmates would perhaps say too much
confidence as I spend the most part of our
break times teaching them kicks, handstands
and cartwheels!
Choosing to do Capoeira was a very good
decision and I would recommend it to
everyone of all ages. Capoeira doesn’t just
teach you how to fight or to dance, but how
16
Fencing
I started fencing about a year ago at the
Oxford Fencing Club, along with a friend
of mine. Fencing is something of a family
tradition: my cousin and father were fencers
and my aunt was a national champion.
We completed a beginners' course and an
intermediate course and now we are able to
fence in 'friendly' matches.
I enjoy fencing for so many reasons. In itself, it
is a thrilling and lively sport and tests the limit
of your performance, but it is also interesting
to learn about its history during the lessons.
I have to be honest and say that there is a
lot of standing around slowly mimicking the
teachers’ actions but we learn from copying
these actions with precision. When we fight
against each other, we have to be able to dodge
(parry) attacks from our opponent then be able
to find just the right moment to defeat them.
which have taught me to persist and stay
determined even when things get tough. It is
through my scout troop that I have managed
to achieve my Gold Duke of Edinburgh award,
of which I am very proud. Also, more recently,
I have achieved my Queen Scout Award. This
is the highest award that you can achieve in
scouting and involves completing your Gold
D of E along with several other challenges
from three categories: Faith, International
and Environmental. Over the last few years,
these challenges have seen us litter picking,
completing a presentation on the importance
of Remembrance Day and hosting a camp for
a group of Californian scouts as well as many
other activities.
It is a fun way to make new friends, or rivals,
especially in competitions. I have participated in
only one competition but I won it and it is a truly
exhilarating feeling to win something like that.
Eva Kischka
The Scouts
Kayaking, sailing and camping are just a few
experiences that belonging to a scout troop
has offered me. I have been a member of First
Standlake and Cokethorpe Sea Scouts for nine
years and I am now in the process of becoming
a leader. Over the years, scouts has given me
many amazing opportunities such as surfing,
climbing, abseiling and camping as well as
weekly kayaking and sailing sessions.
We have many girls in the Scout and Guide
Association at Wychwood. It is very easy
to drop activities when work and revision
increases. However, I would encourage you not
to do so. Although it is hard to fit activities in
with school work, Scouts and Guides help you
to become more organised and encourages
the formation of lifelong friendships. It
also promotes skills such as team work,
independence and responsibility for yourself
and others. It is through the scouts that I have
developed these skills and I encourage other
girls to develop and grow through these
fantastic associations too.
However, although all these enjoyable
activities are a vital part of the scouting
experience, being a scout also allows you to
develop skills such as determination, respect,
discipline and motivation. It encourages you
to try new things because you know you have
a supportive network of friends, and usually
a harness and rope to help you if something
goes wrong!
Ellie Doughton
Horsing around
In our form, Teana and I both love horses.
Teana goes hunting (with a fake scent) whilst
I go to One Day Events and other shows. My
pony is called Ifan and is a Welsh Section D. He
is a liver chestnut (dark orange). He has a very
Being a scout has also offered me physically
and emotionally demanding challenges,
17
Dressage
I started riding when I was three years old,
just learning how to steer and get to grips
with a new skill on my Mum’s old pony called
Polly. I quickly progressed through the stages,
learning from mistakes after countless times
of falling off. When I was ten, we found a new
pony – a top level school master called Jytomyr
D’Arquetan (Jyto). That’s when I started
dressage. I have now been doing it for two
years and I am currently competing at the level
of novice, although I love doing all the more
difficult movements, such as flying changes
and leg yields. I was lucky enough to be on one
of the British Dressage Central Region teams
and Pony Club teams last year. This year, I am
working towards the Summer Regionals and
Team Quest Regional Finals. I also love going
for long hacks on my lovely pony.
wide white blaze and four white socks. He is
extremely cute!
One Day Events consist of dressage, showjumping and cross-country. It is fun but I
usually get eliminated in the cross-country
because of too many refusals and run-outs
at the fences.
Poppy West
Dressage is the equivalent of dancing on a
horse. It is when you make your horse do
harder and more complex moves in front
of a judge. You perform in a dressage arena
with letters around the outside (K, E, H, C, M,
B, F, A – when you go around in a clockwise
direction). The entrance is at A and the
judge normally sits at C. It is the phase in
which you have to look neat.
Chinese Character writing
It has been three or four years since I started
Chinese Character writing as a hobby. I was
motivated to take it up by my best friend who
also enjoys it as a pastime. It was really tough
when I first got started. There were a lot of
difficulties, such as how to hold the brush, how
much ink I should use and so on. My mum did
her best to support me. It didn’t go that well
at the beginning and I got quite fed up writing
the same thing for hours. But a few months
later, when I actually started to get to the
heart of it as an art form, I found that it got
less challenging.
Show-jumping consists of man-made jumps,
such as wooden gates and poles set up in
a winding course in an arena. There are
‘fillers’ under or beside some of the jumps
which are meant to spook the horse and
make it harder to get a clear round with no
refusals, run-outs or poles knocked down.
Finally, cross-country consists of natural
fences or obstacles that you would find in
a field. There are a range of jumps such
as field gates, stone walls, mini wooden
‘houses’, chicken coops, hay carts, logs,
hedges, open ditches, tyres, tiger-traps and
barrels. The course is set over different fields
and can be quite long, so your pony gets
very tired at the end. Luckily, it is the last
phase in One Day Eventing.
I enjoy the charm of character writing. Chinese
Character is a unique form of writing in the
world, thus by writing in a traditional way for
my culture, I feel closer to my homeland, China.
Isabel Jackson
Luna Li
18
Triathlons
I have been training for triathlons for about
six months. I first became interested in road
cycling a year ago after joining my local club
VC10. It is a group of men and a few ladies who
are very fit and cycle light and fast bikes up and
down the Chilterns. The Head Coach, Greg, has
been really supportive and has encouraged me
to develop my techniques and my endurance.
I cycle with the club once a week and we will
cycle about 50km. The furthest cycle I have
done with them is 100km, which was very
tiring but a great achievement.
sighting and coping in the 'washing machine',
which is what it is called when everyone starts
swimming at the beginning of the race.
I recently entered my first triathlon at Green
Park in Tring. I was very nervous and not sure
quite how my transitions would work out, but
it all went quite smoothly. I was really pleased
to come 4th Lady and 17th out of 42. I am
now entered into a few more so I will continue
training hard.
In order to be a good triathlete, you need
to work hard but know when to stop as you
can over-train. You need to be focused and
dedicated to improve. You need to listen to
people around you and learn from them but
also try new things that will work for you.
When we cycle, we work together as a peloton.
We have to be aware of what is going on with
the whole group as well as watch the road and
other vehicles. It can be quite scary at time
as well as very enjoyable. During the winter, I
had some training at the velodrome in Cardiff.
It was a great experience riding bikes with no
gears or brakes! I really enjoyed going fast
and practising weaving techniques on a
45-degree slope.
Milli Rowland
Guitar
Outside of school, my life is pretty much music.
Mostly guitar playing. I started guitar about
a year and a half ago. I had always wanted to
play. I remember air-guitaring to some of my
favourite Green Day or Fall Out Boy tracks and
just wondering what it would be like to play.
So I got myself a teacher and he started to
come every Saturday. I remember him giving
me a silly guitar that was right-handed but
I had to play it upside down because I was
left-handed, but I was addicted. I learnt about
three songs a day, maybe even more. It would
never come to a point when my mum had to
tell me to practise. I just did it because I loved
it so much. Yes, there were a few weeks when I
couldn’t master the bar chords and my fingers
became really sore, but I just kept going. I got
my very own acoustic on my birthday and
my electric guitar for Christmas. I was just
hooked. It made me look at music differently.
I started to get into more quirky bands and
I loved listening to guitarists like Slash and
Jimi Hendrix. Whenever I go to rock concerts,
I always look at the guitarists and look at the
chords and riffs they are playing. I have made
some really good friends through music and
I sometimes invite them to my house and we
jam. I have also enjoyed performing live and
I have done a few things here at Wychwood.
I am planning on learning new instruments.
I have recently got a bass and I am starting
drum lessons so let the good times roll!
I first became interested in doing a triathlon
after speaking to the lead lady at VC10,
Suzy. She has raced in many triathlons and
won medals in national and international
competitions. I had already been doing some
running so was keen to start trying to improve
my swimming again. I found it very difficult
to find a swimming group for teenage girls
and one just to improve freestyle. Eventually, I
found a coach called Annie who trains a range
of people from athletes to children like me.
She has greatly improved my freestyle and I
work with her every few weeks to improve my
technique and style.
I will now start to practise swimming in lakes
as triathlon is mainly open water swimming.
I will have to wear a wetsuit and practise
Georgina Lagden
19
Text Speak
And I was like ‘SUP’.
And he was like ‘WYWH’.
And I was like ‘LOL’.
And he was like ‘J/K’.
And I was like ‘ROTFL’.
And he was like ‘IKR’.
And I was like ‘B4N’.
And he was like ‘BCNU’.
And I was like ‘TTYL’.
Do you have any idea what the conversation I was recalling was about? Didn’t think so. ‘TBH’ (to be
honest) neither did I. I have to put up with incomprehensible jibberish like this every day at school.
Every lunch I end up zoning out of my friends’ conversations for the simple reason that they are
speaking in another language. The language of the youth; text talk.
I cannot stand text talk.
The first reason that I feel like this is because we live in a time where things are changing too quickly
before our very eyes – iphone turns to iphone 4s, iphone 4s turns into iphone 5s, iphone 5s turns
to iphone 6s, and very soon no one remembers just the plain old iphone any more. The same thing
will happen to the English language too if we’re not careful. “How are you?” will be replaced with
‘sup’, laughing will be a thing of the past, replaced with a joyless ‘LOL’ and we will need a whole new
dictionary for the new language of ‘txtspk’. Adults will have to go back to school to learn how to put
‘wuup2’ into the past tense correctly, a baby’s first word could be ‘YOLO’; we must stop now before
it’s too L8 (late).
The second reason I dislike text talk so passionately is because it encourages bad spelling and
grammar. The fact that the number ‘2’ is used in text talk to represent words ‘to’, ‘too’ and ‘two’,
could confuse people, and lead them to believe that ‘to’, ‘too’ and ‘two’ are all written the same;
like ‘two’ (2). After going through a phase of extensive text messaging, I found myself using it in my
school work, writing the letter ‘r’ for ‘are’, the letter ‘u’ for ‘you’, and so on. This not only made me
look extremely stupid but also pushed me even further down the dark, one way road of ‘da txtspk’.
I am, however, proud to say that I am on the road to recovery, reverting back to plain old “How are
you?’ and “Do you want to meet up?”
The third reason I have this view on text talk is because these ‘words’ simply have no meaning. I
for one think that the simple phrase “I love you” carries far much more emotion and feeling than
‘143’ or ‘ily’, the text talk versions. I’m afraid that people won’t understand the emotion and power
that words can carry if text talk continues to take over our language. Furthermore, text talk can
be extremely confusing. If someone was to tell me ‘GLHF’ (good luck and have fun), I would have
20
no idea what they had said and would probably presume it was offensive. Also, I have many times
been asked ‘wuup2’ (what are you up to) and have simply replied with ‘yeah’. Text talk has made my
conversations very confusing, making me feel like I was talking to a brick wall of ‘sups’ and ‘sozs’.
I think one of the reasons that text talk has evolved to be the multi-million speaker language that
it is today, is because of the simple fact that it is incomprehensible to non-speakers. Cunning
teenagers, knowing that their parents check their Facebook page every night to see what they have
been saying, have developed their own language so that they can alert their ‘GF’ that their ‘PAW’
(parents are watching) but ask them out on a ‘D8’. Keeping their parents excluded from the ins and
outs of their social life while keeping it ‘KL’.
I think that social media is also partly to blame for the over use of this talk. On sites such as Twitter
and Instagram there is a limit on how many characters you can have in one post. Meaning that over
time people have shortened words and phrases so that they can write more, but if this continues we
will soon have no real words left.
However, there is also a more serious side to my argument. Due to the increase in use of social
media, cyber-bullying has become a serious problem. Thanks to text speak people can send really
horrid messages to people, but to an adult it can seem like a harmless text talk conversation. New
words have been invented in text talk, their sole purpose to make the person on the receiving end
feel bad about themselves. It is for this reason I think text talk should be abolished, now and 4ever.
As an ex-text talk speaker myself, I know the pros of text speak. It is far quicker to write ‘LOL’ than
“Right now I am laughing out loud at what you just said.” But is the world really going to explode if
you take more than five seconds typing a message? Well I certainly hope not! Is it really necessary
to shorten a word so dramatically that it loses its meaning just so you can boast to your friend that
your can reply to a text 1.26 seconds faster than they can? Definitely not. Furthermore, nowadays
there are smart phones that are so smart you can create your own short cuts, so that if you type
‘wuup2’ it will automatically change it to ‘what are you up to’ without you having to do a thing.
Thanks to spell check and predictive text, your phone can also know that when you are going to
type ‘thx’ so you make the ‘mistake’ of spelling it correctly it kindly changes it for you. Thx. Finally,
there is now also such a thing as voice activation texting, where you tell your phone what you want
your text to say and who you want to send it to, and it sends it – text talk free – without you having
to do a thing. All of these things that I only ever thought I’d see in sci-fi films are now here to help us
get out of our bad ‘txttlk’ habits, so use them!
Some people may defend these text talk users by saying that it is the ‘language of the youth’. They
may say that text talk is what makes them who they are; that if you take away their text talk, you
take away their identities. They may say that their use of text talk is their way of making their mark
on the world and that we cannot deprive them of this. To these defenders I ask, “R u stupid?!” How
can anyone who has ever met a member of the teenage species seriously believe this. Teenagers
don’t care about leaving a powerful linguistic legacy, or even about language for that matter. They
care about what will happen to Binky in next week’s episode of Made in Chelsea and who likes who
in their year. Imagine in sixty years time, a once ‘hip’ and ‘trendy’ teenager, now a grandparent,
asking their grandchildren ‘sup bro’, or Year 11 children doing a careful analysis of the ‘2 b or not 2 b’
soliloquy in Billy Shakyspeer’s [sic] famous play. You may laugh at the thought of this, but at the rate
we’re going, it's more possible than you may think.
So, next time you’re chatting to a friend or texting away on your phone just remember this, the
future of the English language is in ur tiny texting hands.
Imogene Goodman
21
Sports Roundup
It has been a successful year in sport and
Physical Education and the girls should be
proud of their achievements, both in lessons
and in fixtures. Well done to all girls who have
represented the school. I am delighted that
commitment is improving, especially in the
lower school. I see this as a fundamental part
of development, both individually and for
team success.
Trinity Term 2014 seems so long ago now but
it is important to recognise the achievements
of last year's Sports Day. It was a wonderful
event with Oak being the overall winners and
Chestnut getting the Spirit Award.
Some students were selected to represent
Wychwood in the Oxfordshire Schools Athletics
Meet and they all did the school proud. We had
some great results with Anaïs Rostand making
it through to represent Oxfordshire at the
County Championships in the Triple Jump.
academic qualifications, developing invaluable
skills that cannot be gained in the classroom.
Girls have been responsible for leading
sessions in their choice of activity, as well
as leading events such as house netball
and the annual swimming gala, where the
girls performed very well. I would like to
congratulate Mai Johnson and Ella Ward for
outstanding swimming performances in the
Gala and all the Sports Leaders who have done
a fabulous job throughout the year.
We then wrapped up the year with the Sports
Awards Dinner. All students who had offered
a large contribution to sport were invited.
We were delighted to be joined by Oxford
University rower Elo Luik who presented the
awards to the winners. The Sportswomen of
the Year were announced as Evie Scott and
Stephanie Kirkman.
All GCSE and A Level P.E. students attended
the Girls Go Gold Conference in September.
Speakers included Olympic Rower Anna
Watkins and Tanni Grey-Thompson, British
former wheelchair racer. The conference
involved an exciting range of workshops,
lectures and practical session, all related to
their courses.
Some girls from Study 1, Shell and UTs
have been doing their Sports Leaders Level
One. Sports Leaders is a highly recognised
qualification that supplements the girls’
The A2 students visited Loughborough
University on 13th November as a part of their
Physical Education course. This consisted of
an introduction to university life, laboratory
testing, sports science support and a talk from
an elite basketball player. The girls were lucky
enough to see GB sprinter Adam Gemili and
many other elite athletes whilst on their tour
around the sports facilities. As well as taking
part in sessions that are specific to the A Level
course, it also offered students a great insight
to university life.
Junior, Senior and Study Sportswoman of the
Term are awarded to pupils who stands out for
one reason or another throughout each term.
Well done to the girls that have received this
22
we played Rhymney, St Patricks, Cathedral,
Merchants Academy and Grey Court. The girls
were in 5th position after day one, having
beaten Rhymney. It was a shame about the
weather because we were unable to finish the
netball tournament, where we had a good
chance of moving up to fourth place. Well
done to Evie Scott and Evlyn Lloyd who won
Players of the Tournament.
Overall it has been an immense year, with lots
going on in the Sports department. We look
forward to building upon these successes
next year.
award so far this year: Heather Fitzgerald and
Georgina Lagden from the Juniors; Marieka
Seidler and Phoebe Sek from the Seniors
and Ellen Todd and Alicia Wong from
Wychwood Sixth.
Miss Barnes
Sports Councillors
Over the course of our time in Wychwood
Sixth we have taken on the role of the Sports
Councillors. We have taken the lead when
organising house events, weekly fixtures
and training sessions. This has given us a
large amount of responsibility and has been
rewarding as we have gained organisational
skills and developed our social skills, as we
learnt to work as a team and communicate
well with the rest of the school. In this role we
have got to know the younger years through
the organisation of teams and by ensuring that
everyone is given vital information in relation
to matches. In addition, we have enjoyed
acting as role models in sport and P.E. The
role has been a big commitment alongside A
levels. However, we were able to manage this
efficiently and get the jobs done, which has
been a useful lesson for the future, particularly
for time management. Overall, we have
thoroughly enjoyed carrying out this role.
Jess Clews & Laura Ford
All of the sports teams have impressed me
hugely this year. I would particularly like to
mention the Remove and Inters teams who
have shown outstanding commitment which
has paid off in their matches. I hope all year
groups make this a larger focus next year.
We have also had house matches in both
hockey and netball and these events have
been much enjoyed by all. Winners of House
Hockey were Oak, beating Lime who have won
the competition for the last five years.
This year’s House Netball winners were Lime,
with Oak snatching the Spirit Award for super
chants and support throughout the whole
afternoon. Thank you to the Sports Leaders for
organising the event. I was extremely proud of
the Sports Councillors, Laura Ford, Jess Clews
and Ellen Todd, who oversaw the whole event.
This year we hosted our first Dance
Competition, against Leckford Place. The girls
put in some excellent performances, despite
limited rehearsal time. The LTs' and UTs'
category was won by Regina Stolyarova,
Molly Fagan, Sophy Vane, Evlyn Lloyd and
Milli Rowland.
During the Easter break some of the Inters and
LTs headed off to Condover Hall, in Shrewsbury,
for a fun-packed Netball weekend. The trip
consisted of a two-day netball tournament
and lots of adventure activities. In our group
23
Sports Awards
Sports Day 2014 Winners:
Sports Day 2014 Spirit Award: House Hockey Winners:
House Hockey Spirit Award:
House Netball Winners:
House Netball Spirit Award:
Oak
Chestnut
Oak
Beech
Lime
Oak
Netball Player of the Year
Remove: Inters: UTs:
Shell:
Study:
O. Anubi & T. Minoli-Taylor
R. Stolyarova
A. Wilkins
A. Peach
R. Robb
Hockey Player of the Year
Remove:
LTs:
UTs:
Shell:
Study:
P. West
M. Johnson
E. Gough
A. Johnson
J. Clews
Rounders Player of the Year
Remove:
Inters:
UTs:
C. Boxall
E. Ward
A. Boardman
Athlete of the Year
Remove:
LTs:
UTs:
Fastest in School: E. Scott
I. Scott
A. Rostand
A. Rostand
Swimmer of the Year:
A. Heil
The Swimming Improvement Cup: G. Paturel
Most Improved Tennis Player: I. Scott
Wychwood Remove Tennis Cup: I. Ramsden
Most Improved in P.E.:
F. Allen
The Winter Games Cup:
I. Watt
Sports Leader of the Year Award (Service to School):
Junior Sportswoman of the Year 2014: Senior Sportswoman of the Year 2014 (The Jewson Award):
Special Recognition Award:
The Sports Honours Board:
E. Doughton
E. Scott
S. Kirkman
J. Clews and L. Ford
S. Kirkman
24
Solar Eclipse
We were all thrilled by the solar eclipse on the morning of Friday,
March 20th.
The Astronomy Club came prepared with their pin-hole cameras
and together with the special goggles that Mrs Johnson had
acquired, we got a good look at the moon making its way
across our line of sight to the sun. There was a noticeable
change in temperature and light as the moon blocked most of
the sun from us.
The Inters responded to the event with some spontaneous poetry writing. The next significant eclipse
viewable to us will be on August 12, 2026. How about making a date in your diary to meet up on Sir
John’s Lawn then?
A stone-coloured loner,
The fire-ball is extinguished
Blocking the golden, steaming God,
As the white oval rolls through the galaxy
Cloaking the sky
Hiding warmth;
As the world goes dark.
The birds silent with confusion,
Creatures stare in awe
As the night gets nearer
As he covers her.
And the life-force gets colder –
Reuniting.
Until,
Their love creates a moment,
Complete darkness,
Their love creates excitement
Except a golden flame around the distant orb.
And when they part,
Alicia Sandy
All is calmness.
Georgina Lagden
When the golden-god slips away
Under the blue coat
Turns dark
Circle becomes crescent
Crescent becomes circle
Time rewinds and the birds stop singing.
The air turns cold.
Meredy Gibson
The bright, golden warrior patrols the sky,
Standing proud, offering life to the world,
A silent, black hunter prowls,
Slowly hovering, strangling the warrior in its dark cloak,
Plunging the world into darkness and confusion.
A hidden beauty,
Two opposites unite,
become one
As they swim and float
Through space.
Finally, a stream of golden light bursts out;
Punching and fighting with its fiery blade.
The warrior fights until light is restored,
And the hunter crawls back into the darkness,
Defeated in a second.
Two lovers embrace
As he protects her,
But by time,
Their love is broken.
Scarlet Lopez
29
Antonia Heil
World Religions
LTs' visit to the Synagogue
On the 10th of November, the LTs and Mrs
Chalstry went to Oxford Synagogue. We met
a man called Mr Montague who talked to us
about being a Jew and what affects Jews in
their different cultures.
He showed us the Ark, which was at the front
of the synagogue. It is a cupboard that contains
the scrolls with a light above that never goes
out to represent God always being there.
We found out that mezuzahs are boxes that
contain a portion of the Torah, the holy book
written by God. Mezuzahs are put on every
door frame except for the lavatory because
that would be disrespectful to the Torah.
My favourite part was finding out as much
as I could by asking as many questions as I
could about Kippurs or Capels (skullcaps).
They fascinated me and we spent a long time
taking about who wears them and when.
Men normally wear them from as young an
age as possible and women can wear them
if they want to at any time. Mr Montague
also said how some people are afraid to wear
them because they might get attacked if seen
wearing them in public. This made us aware
that anti-Semitism is still a real problem.
Mr Montague demonstrated the different calls
of the shofar that is made from a ram’s horn.
You blow through it and it makes a noise. He
said that they also make plastic versions of
these for children so they can practise. The
shofar is blown at the beginning of special
Jewish festivals.
Sarah Cox
Remove visit to Middleton Stoney
Hindu Temple
Many people will be surprised to learn that
deep in the Oxfordshire countryside in the
village of Middleton Stoney is a Hindu Temple.
It is situated in the grounds of the Old Rectory
where Mr Chandra Vadivale and his family live.
On arriving you would not be able to identify
it as a temple but once you take off your shoes
and enter you become aware of distinctive
sights, sounds and smells.
At the entrance is a picture of Lord Ganesha,
a welcoming image of God, encouraging
the worshipper or visitor to contemplate a
God who helps overcome obstacles, develop
self-control and greater wisdom. Ganesha
is just one of a multitude of images, or
murtis, that are encountered in the temple
with each representing different aspects of
the one supreme being, Brahman. It would
30
be misleading to consider Hinduism as
‘polytheistic’ or having many Gods and Mr
Vadivale emphasised the universal nature of
Brahman, to be found in all things.
14th November 1940 by the Luftwaffe, much
of Coventry lay in ruins including the medieval
cathedral, yet amidst the rubble lay two
charred beams in the shape of a cross. These
were wired together and, along with another
cross formed from three medieval nails, have
become symbols of hope. The words ‘Father
Forgive’ are carved in the stone altar in the
ruins and are a reminder to all visitors of a
central teaching of the Christian faith.
In front of each murti was a puja tray used in
worship to venerate the image and thus God.
Fruit, flowers, water, incense and sandalwood
paste all played a part in the puja ceremony
carried out by Mr Vadivale. He recited
prayers in Sanskrit, Arabic and English. It
was interesting to hear him use prayers from
different religious traditions, indicative of the
inclusive nature of the Hindu religion.
The mission of Coventry cathedral is one of
promoting peace and reconciliation amongst
all nations and this is symbolised in so much
of the 20th century cathedral designed by
Sir Basil Spence. The new cathedral itself
is a symbol of Jesus’ resurrection and the
hope that new beginnings can arise from
adversity. Works of art by famous artists such
as Graham Sutherland, John Piper, Jacob
Epstein and Elizabeth Fink echo this message
and the Christian faith is expressed powerfully
through art and architecture.
As we made sketches of objects and images
around the temple we heard the constant
sound of ‘AUM’ which is symbolic of God and
we were enveloped in the scent of incense.
The temple is a peaceful place and we were
impressed by the deeply held faith of Mr
Vadivale. He and his wife were very welcoming
and we were given gifts of fruit at the end of
our visit which was very welcome!
In our cathedral tour we went into the chapel
of unity. Each continent is represented around
the edges of the marble floor. Seven girls were
each given a golf ball which they let roll from
a continent, only for them all to roll together
into the centre of the chapel under the
enormous overhanging cross. A wonderful
visual expression for the peace and unity of
humankind.
One of the most popular aspects of our
cathedral workshop was making origami
cranes. Cranes are a Japanese symbol of
happiness and longevity. We had seen a
display of these in the chapel of unity, a
present from Japan and a symbol of bridges
built between our nations.
Our visit ended with a steep climb up the
medieval cathedral bell tower from which
we could see right across the city. It was from
here after the bombing of Coventry that
the charred cross was first seen and hope
renewed that the cathedral would be rebuilt
along with the many devastated lives of the
people of Coventry.
Inters Visit to Coventry Cathedral
The ruins of the old Coventry Cathedral are
a stark reminder of the pain and suffering
inflicted by war. After the bombing of Tuesday,
31
Boarding News
It has been a busy time for the boarders as
they have enjoyed a number of activities
and outings over the course of the year.
Throughout the winter months the girls
were able to appreciate what Oxford and the
surrounding areas had to offer. They learnt
about the history of the city and explored the
wonderful attractions of which Oxford can
be so very proud. The girls made the most of
the good weather in September when they
visited Cotswold Wildlife Park. With over 300
species and outstanding gardens they could
enjoy learning about the different animals as
well as taking in the beauty of the park. With
the winter months looming, the girls made
time to get into the kitchen and practise their
cookery skills. As we have girls from all over the
world, they were each able to bring something
different to the table and the Chinese supper
made by Ann and Winnie went down a treat!
Keeping up with the annual events and
holidays the girls had a great time pumpkin
carving where their creativity shone as they
came up with some fantastic designs. We also
celebrated Bonfire Night by having sparklers
on the lawn followed by hot chocolate as well
as going to South Park in Headington to see
the fantastic firework display; not forgetting
the Clothes Show, which has become a regular
outing over the years, where the girls could
admire hundreds of gorgeous fashion and
beauty brands and take advantage of the
amazing discounted prices. Some of them
were even lucky enough to bump into a
celebrity or two.
Before the end of Michaelmas term, the girls
decorated the Christmas tree in the foyer, each
selecting and naming a bauble whilst eating
their way through a number of mince pies and
chocolates. We had music playing and the girls
all joined in singing Christmas carols, preparing
them for the Carol service at the end of term.
Celebrating the holiday was made even more
special when the girls had the chance to
take a trip to Camden Market in London to
see the beautifully decorated streets at this
magical time of year. It was the perfect outing,
especially during the Christmas period as the
girls could buy all sorts of gifts and presents for
their family and friends.
The New Year brought new ideas as we
introduced the Scavenger Hunt to the Hilary
Term. With two teams the girls went head
to head to see who could find all the clues
scattered around the school and win the prize.
It was a huge success, so much so that we
32
welcomed the brilliantly designed Oxford Quest
for the girls to enjoy. It is a guide that has been
carefully planned to enable you to explore the
city centre and expose the many highlights
around Oxford through hidden clues and
riddles. The inner child in everyone was truly
discovered when the yearly Easter egg hunt
was put into play. Boarders of all ages came
together to finish off the term with a treat and
take a well-earned break from all the hard work
they had been putting in.
thanks to the funding from the Wychwood
Old Girls. I want to take this chance to really
thank them for all their support and show how
appreciative the girls were for their generous
gift. Nonetheless, I cannot forget the staff
who have given up their time to enable these
wonderful occasions to take place and who
without, none of these activities would have
been possible. Thank you all.
As the weather started to improve so did the
girls' enthusiasm to get out and make the most
of it. I couldn’t have been prouder than when
the boarders got up extra early one morning
to help out the community in the OXCLEAN
project where people from all over Oxfordshire
get together to clean up and do their bit for
the county. Even the project manager was
overwhelmed when the girls all turned up at
her doorstep to offer a helping hand. With this
in mind the girls really earned a reward and
what better way than with a trip to Thorpe
Park, which luckily for us could be achieved
33
Reflections on the History of Art Trip to Paris...
Paris in the spring: it may be a
cliché but it is a truly beautiful
sight and we loved it! Mrs
Williams and Mrs Bennett-Jones
set a punishing pace, and we
certainly made the most of our
three days. We visited many
museums and galleries but
my favourite was the Musée
Marmottan. I like the domestic
scale of the former hunting
lodge filled with Impressionist
paintings, including Monet’s
Impression Sunrise. I also loved
the Louis Vuitton Foundation,
such a cool modern building
filled by so much light and air.
Connie Rogers
Despite having first visited the Musée d’Orsay
when I was ten, it was refreshing to stand in
front of pictures that six years ago I wouldn’t
have truly understood and realise the extent
of my newly acquired History of Art skills. I
am now able to describe and analyse the
composition of a painting in detail, whereas
before, because of my naïvety, my choice
depended on a work being famous or
beautiful. I am now able to recognise and
appreciate paintings that previously I wouldn’t
have noticed. The Musée d’Orsay is sometimes
overlooked especially when in comparison
with its neighbour, the Louvre. However, I
was astonished to discover that around every
corner there was yet another renowned
painting or sculpture.
Perhaps the most enjoyable thing for me was
roaming around the city being surrounded by
the most beautiful architecture, which ranged
from the nineteenth century boulevards
of Haussmann’s Paris, with the stunningly
decorative l’Opera, to the particularly
innovative designs of the Pompidou Centre
and the brand new Louis Vuitton Foundation
with its spectacular views. I enjoyed immersing
myself within another culture both inside
the galleries, looking at all of the incredible
paintings and also sculptures (the Musée Rodin
was a particular highlight), but also in the
restaurants and city as a whole, acquiring some
understanding of what it is to be French.
Flora Hunter
Kitty Parker
34
I enjoyed the Musée Picasso because so many
of his works were constructed from organic
fragmented shapes positioned together to
form a subject. The way in which they are
arranged at different angles and on differing
planes gave us the impression and feel of the
object, be it a fireplace or a figure. It is not only
because Picasso creates a more kaleidoscopic
and whimsical life that interests me, but it is
also his understanding of which combinations
of shape and colour forms a certain reaction
that we have towards an object despite not
looking like it. For example, Woman Throwing
a Stone is constructed of curvy lines and
ovals. The movement and motion created as
our eyes follow and trace the curves leaves
an impression of a woman and a stone. The
orange curved forms imitates the roundness of
a woman’s body and the metallic grey colour
identifies the rock she is throwing.
I loved the Louis Vuitton Foundation, a
building dedicated to the promotion of art
and culture. The building was incredible, made
of glass and steel and surrounded by a huge
public park. Impressive as it is as a building
surrounded by cascading steps of water and
calming pools, the interior was equally as
spectacular. Vast exhibition spaces filled with
modern art, including a collection of glass
flutes hanging from the ceiling that sang as a
breeze blew through the room. The view from
the roof was amazing.
Alicia Wong
Ask anyone who was there and they will tell
you that my favourite part of the whole trip
was Frank Gehry’s Louis Vuitton Foundation.
I had never seen such an incredible building:
it was more like a vast sculpture made of so
many harmonious forms and from the inside,
from every angle was a tremendous view. On
the many-levelled terraces above, we joined
the groups posing with either the distant Eiffel
Tower or the swathes of misty parks beneath
as a backdrop. Every element seemed so
painstakingly considered; it was breathtaking
and creative, especially as I am aiming for a
career in architecture. I now can’t envisage a
trip to Paris without visiting the Foundation.
Olivia Matterson
Sayna Asadi
35
I had many enjoyable moments during our
Paris trip, especially when we were given the
chance of seeing some of the works of one
of my favourite artists, Van Gogh. Starry Night
(Over the Rhone) was a particular favourite.
When visiting the Louvre, I noticed the strange
power of the Mona Lisa – a small but powerful
work of art compelling people to barge their
way through to the front of the crowd whilst
outshining the colossal painting that faced it
across the gallery. It wasn’t just the art works
that made the trip so entertaining. We enjoyed
the efforts of one of our group practising
her French on innocent passers-by as we
strode through the boulevards. I do admit
to possessing a childish joy as we travelled
on a double-decker train. I was struck by the
spaciousness of Paris and even though I have
been to the city before, I had forgotten its
charm. If studying History of Art has taught me
anything, it is to appreciate good architecture
and Paris provided this at every turn.
Eliza Innes-Ker
... and other visits
Print Room at the Ashmolean Museum
One of the most useful things about living so
close to the centre of Oxford is our proximity
to the Ashmolean museum. As Wychwood
History of Art students, we only needed a
triple-period lesson to scuttle there and back;
a trip which other, more distant schools may
have to set aside an entire day to accomplish.
But although the Ashmolean has an impressive
and comprehensive collection that is open
to the public, there is another permanent
collection that we had the privilege of viewing
close up: drawings by Titian, Raphael and
Michelangelo were close enough to touch.
Private tour of Woburn Abbey
It is not often that one gets the chance to
follow in the footsteps of an eighteenth
century English gentleman and go on a ‘Grand
Tour’ as part of one’s educational rite of
passage. But thanks to the generosity of the
Duke of Bedford and the support of Lord InnesKer, a ‘Grand Tour’ became a reality for Study 1
History of Art students when we were invited
on a private tour of Woburn Abbey.
Rather than the horse and carriage of our
predecessors, the school minibus, ably driven
by Mr Mott, was our mode of transport.
We were led through the splendid rooms
of Woburn Abbey with the immensely
knowledgeable curator, Mr Gravett, as our
guide. It was a treat to be able to appreciate
one of the most important art collections in
this exquisite and lavish setting.
It was peculiar to consider how we were
precisely the same distance from the drawings
as the artists themselves would have been, as
well as the fact that they were such informal
studies made to aid the artist rather than
amuse the spectator. The scope of their
skill truly hit us when we realised that the
dynamic charcoal lowlights on the twisted
horse by Titian, the page by Raphael where he
rearranged the same figures to find the best
composition, and the half autobiographical,
half reverent sketch drawn shakily by the
aged Michelangelo, were products of a mere
process. We felt a new respect for the Old
Masters, and grew to realise exactly why
their skills and work became so respected
and influential. But perhaps the most startling
aspect of all was the fact they were right here,
in the Ashmolean, available to view any time, it
is just a matter of booking a time.
The highlight was the largest collection of
Venetian views by Canaletto in England;
twenty-one of twenty-four paintings are
displayed on the walls of the dining room. Our
visit ended in the breathtakingly opulent gold
and silver vault, made all the more exciting
because some of the sides of the glass vitrines
had been removed for cleaning in preparation
for the new season, which allowed for
very close inspection. Like the eighteenth
century gentleman before us, we arrived
back at Wychwood the richer for our greater
understanding of art and architecture formed
by the exposure to great masterpieces.
Sayna Asadi
Mrs Williams
36
ARTiculation
ARTiculation is a public speaking competition designed to promote the appreciation and discussion of
art. Sixth form students from all sectors of education give a ten-minute presentation on a work of art,
artefact or architecture of their choice. Having watched the regional final in Oxford last year, the
Study 2 art historians thought they would enter this national competition.
After weeks of preparation, the girls made their presentations to a Wychwood audience and an
external adjudicator, Nicki Clarke. Nicki was perfect for the task; she is both a lawyer working for
Oxford University and the ex-owner of an art gallery. The Wychwood girls presented their works with
confidence, delivering impressive speeches to demonstrate their understanding and enthusiasm for a
variety of works. Rebecca Robb discussed the evocative painting ‘Flow II’ by the Ghanaian artist James
Cudjoe; it provided a link to the memories of her childhood in South Africa. Martina Jones tackled Carl
Andre’s pile of bricks, ‘Equivalent VIII’, which had caused such controversy in class. Ophelia Jorgenson,
who sadly was unwell for the event was inspired by Henry Moore’s sculpture, ‘Three Points’, which she
had seen at the Ashmolean exhibition. In second place was Olivia Matterson, who explored the issues
of racism following the death of Stephen Lawrence with Chris Ofili’s ‘No Woman, No Cry’. The very
worthy winner was Sayna Asadi who eloquently explained the complex ideas behind Lucio Fontana’s
slashed canvas, ‘Spatial Concept: Waiting’. Sayna represented the school in the regional finals and
came an impressive second.
Lucio Fontana’s Spatial Concept: Waiting, 1960
I’d like to start by saying that in my opinion the best thing about studying History of Art is figuring
out the things you thought you couldn’t see. However, when you come across works like this, I
wouldn’t blame you for thinking that there isn’t much to look at.
This is Lucio Fontana’s Spatial Concept: Waiting, a canvas semi-famous for exhibiting, from a layman’s
point of view, a blatant disregard for…well, effort. I first came across it while I was shopping, and
saw it on the cover of a book I now often think of throwing at people in galleries, called Why Your
Five Year Old Could Not Have Done That. Intrigued, I decided to visit the painting while I was at the
Tate Modern, not sure what to expect. I found it. I looked at it. And yeah, I was kind of irritated.
It’s not that I didn’t expect to be frustrated by it, but I happened to be a very particular kind of
frustrated. I am an artist myself, so I know what it feels like to sit in front of a blank canvas with
an equally blank head. Artist’s block is crippling to creativity, and when it feels like you have
everything set up except that one per cent of inspiration, honestly, it breeds a fury like no other. I
saw in that slashed canvas the result of waiting too long for inspiration to strike, and the feeling of
powerlessness that causes you to lash out at what oppresses you, mocks you. ‘Waiting’ – waiting
for inspiration – that’s what I thought the title meant at first. But I knew that couldn’t be it. Waiting
is passive, and the slash on the canvas wasn’t a mark of spontaneous fury, it was a slit: smooth,
decisive, centred, you could mistake it for something mechanically made if it wasn’t for the slight tilt
of the cut that confirmed human imprecision. Technically, it’s gestural, but it is leagues apart from
the wild and emotive expressionism of artists such as Pollock, who were making waves around the
same time. It’s gestural, but just barely.
Regardless, Fontana made his name through exhibiting such artwork, and well, you don’t get that
popular without there being something to it. His Spatial Concept series, or Concetto Spazialismo,
consisted of two methods of piercing the canvas, long vertical slices called Tagli, and staccato
37
perforations called Buchi. He stated no preference
for one over the other. To begin with, he would
paint the canvases with vivid colours before
applying the incisions in groups of varying sizes,
shapes, and depth, but as his series progressed, he
abandoned the colours for monochromatic white,
before finally settling on the canvas in its virgin
form. I personally prefer them raw as I think there
is a certain compatibility between the bareness
of the canvas and the frank, unhesitating nature
of the gesture. It’s really a fact of minimalism
that reducing extraneous stimuli (in this case,
colour and collectivism) concentrates attention
on whatever’s left, enhancing it, revealing its
importance: in this case, the cut.
Fontana began his experimenting with attacking the canvas around 1950; an era that should ring a
few bells, or perhaps air raid sirens – it’s post-war. It wasn’t difficult to make a connection between
the savagery of wartime and the intrusive, gouging nature of his Spatial Concept series, which have
been considered as suggesting pain and in particular, skin wounds. Also, the patterns of holes in
several of his Buchi canvases bore an eerie resemblance to those left by machine-gun shots. This
was another argument that interpreted Spatial Concept: Waiting as signifying the act of destruction,
and the vacuum it leaves behind.
Unfortunately, my theory was quickly blown out the water by none other than the artist himself. I
have created an infinite dimension is what he had to say to one particular interviewer. At this point
in my research I felt like he was purposefully messing with me, but I humoured the idea. So the
purpose of his art wasn’t to exemplify destruction, but rather to emulate creation. I looked back at
the title, and suddenly, conveniently, it all fell into place.
I realised that Fontana’s intention wasn’t merely to depict as we expect artists to do, he was
revealing – showing us the space we had forgotten existed, on the backside of a canvas. The reason
that this work is so ground-breaking is because we, as spectators, are hard-wired into perceiving
a canvas as a two-dimensional plane primed for application of a three-dimensional illusion, so we
inadvertently brush over its sculptural potential. Fontana denied the canvas its intended use as a
pictorial surface, and in doing so opened up all of its sculptural possibilities. As soon as he intruded
into the space behind, it began to exist in the third dimension. And he knew what he’d done. I’ve
said before that Fontana deliberately reduced the artwork to its bare components for the sake of
enhancing them, but that wasn’t all. What he wanted to draw attention to wasn’t the cut itself. It
was the space behind the cut. Once the incision was made, the canvas was backed with a thick,
black gauze that contrasted with its blankness to emphasise the darkness behind it, making it seem
as though it was the opening to a void. The door to Fontana’s 'infinite dimension'. Fontana also
emphasised it, I believe, by extending the gap between the canvas itself and the surrounding frame
in order to further isolate it. Now, you might be thinking, why is there a frame at all? It’s a sculpture
now, isn’t it? If it’s the height of minimalism, why not get rid of everything that isn’t the cut? That’s
because, unlike colour, the frame is not extraneous: it reminds us, especially those of us who might
see it for the first time, that what we are looking at is art. Which leads me on to this….
Regarding an entire room of Tagli that he once exhibited at the 1966 Venice Biennale, Fontana
stated that he had found a way of giving the spectator an impression of spatial calm, of cosmic rigour,
of serenity in infinity. Although, it sounds a bit hippy-dippy and pretentious, according to reviews of
the event, it somehow worked. And it is from pretentious, hippy-dippyish concepts like that, when
aligned with the right objects, that conceptualism itself is born! At a time when the physicality of
38
gesturalism was inexplicably tied to the artist's subjective emotions, when evoking a reaction in
the spectator relied upon their sense of empathy, Fontana managed to induce something stronger,
something truly transcendent, all the while exposing nothing of himself. He combined a physical
object projecting the illusion of a void, that is, something which displays nothing, with the action of
creating art through destruction. He said himself, "Art dies but is saved by gesture". Therefore, I think,
that by cutting the canvas instead of painting on it, by literally cutting through the dimensions,
he was saving his art from its own inevitable perishing – he wasn’t going to let it die after a brief
lifetime of being, identifiably, art. It was the cut which made it immortal.
Just to conclude; the word 'attesa' in Italian can actually mean several things translated literally: it
can mean 'waiting', 'expectation'... and 'hope'. From his earliest experiments with the Tagli, Fontana
inscribed this word on the back of all his canvases with one cut, and where there were multiple cuts
he used its plural, 'attese'. One 'attesa' per cut. With every opening in a canvas came expectation
and hope: it humanised the otherwise generic title Spatial Concept. In 1968, his final year, Fontana
stated, "My discovery was the hole and that's it. I am happy to go to the grave after such a discovery."
Even as a dying man, he was not afraid of the void, not even the voids he himself discovered. Why
would he be, when he’d spent so much time facing them, waiting?
Sayna Asadi
39
Art 2015
We seem to have had a
rather busy year in the Art
Department – starting at
the end of the 2014 Trinity
term with a visit to the
wonderful Matisse: The Cut
Outs show at Tate Modern,
with all the Remove,
Inters and LTs, and then
spending the following
day off-timetable in
school, exploring different
processes and responses to
it. Mr Pennington worked
with a group of girls
producing cyanotypes,
Mrs Bridgman helped
girls to use tissue shapes
to print on to wet fabric
to transfer colour, and Ms
Jones reduced the art room
to a chaos of colour and
shapes, out of which came
some superb, hand-cut paper pieces… we
then ate a scrumptious tea on Sir John’s lawn in
the sunshine. It was a fantastic couple of days,
which we hope to repeat soon!
(many, many times!) and a
very exciting Anselm Kiefer
show at the Royal Academy
in London, out of which
Franci Donovan-Brady
(Study 2) eventually had
to be forcibly dragged, so
inspiring did she find it. The
photographers saw John
Deakin and the Lure of Soho,
and the Best Photography
Graduates of the Year show
at the Photographers'
Gallery. Mrs Bridgman
took the Textiles artists to
beautiful Chastleton House,
near Stow on the Wold,
The Knit and Stitch Show in
London and they also went
to the Clothes Show Live
together with the boarders
just before Christmas.
Our Summer Exhibition Private View was very
well attended, and both girls and parents
enjoyed the superb selection of very strong
exam work on show. The lovely weather held,
the band played and the cheese straws were all
eaten…what more could one ask for?
Teas tend to
figure regularly
in Wychwood’s
creative
subjects, and we
had another in
the Michaelmas
term. Our
second Art Tea
and Talk was
given by Ellie
Foreman-Peck
(Wychwood
Head Girl
in 2004), who spoke about her work as a
professional illustrator since leaving Bristol,
bringing some stunning prints in to show the
exam pupils... whilst they ate cakes!
The theme for this year’s Young Art Oxford
competition (to raise money for cancer
research in young people) was In my Dreams.
Luna Li’s painting was Highly Commended
and Regina Stolyarova‘s was Commended.
Milli Rowland, Rebecca Whitlow, Antonia Heil
and Mai Thomas also had works chosen and
exhibited at the Ashmolean in May.
Girls taking Fine Art visited the National Gallery,
the National Portrait Gallery, the Ashmolean
40
Model United Nations
MUN is an exciting and extremely fun
activity to experience, especially if you enjoy
negotiating and debating. MUN is also a
great way of making friends who aren’t in
your school and it also helps build confident
communication skills in
preparation for any future
career. Being a girl of strong
opinion, the MUN experience
has inspired my interest in
politics and debating.
Committee’ and the topics were superbugs,
volcanic eruptions, paramedic response and
carbon emission caps.
Boppy, Louise and I all went to a conference at
Magdalen College School.
MUN opens many doors and
we should never waste such
opportunities to develop
skills and enhance our
experiences of the world.
Chloe Boxall
MUN is like the United Nations
but with students. Each
student chooses a committee
for example, Historical,
Environmental or Political. Each
school is then given a country.
From that country you research
the issues to do with each
committee. For example I was
in the ‘Health and Environment
Chloe was awarded the
best Junior delegate in her
committee which is a great
achievement, especially for
a novice delegate of such a
young age. We anticipate a
bright future for this young star!
Honours Club
This year, Wychwood launched the Honours Club. Members are those who have been placed on
the Honours board or who have been nominated by teachers for achieving highly in all academic
subjects.
The group includes pupils from LTs, UTs and Shell and they meet fortnightly for a short talk or
workshop on a subject usually outside the main curriculum or one that is cross-curricular. This
year, sessions have been based around subjects such as time travel, optical illusions and lateral
thinking puzzles, and challenging questions such as Is it Art?, What is Happiness? and an Oxbridge
entrance question, Can Books be Bad for you?
Older students attended the annual Gifted and Talented Conference at Oxford Town Hall. This is
always a stimulating and challenging event bringing in pupils from all over the country. This year
talks from Julie Arliss of Kings College London included a discussion of the Oxbridge question
‘Do you believe that statues can move and how might you justify such a belief? ‘and a lecture on
Chaos and the origins of the universe. Professor of Philosophy at Aberdeen University, Tom
Greggs, examined the current developments in artificial intelligence and considered whether a
robot can be human. Then we were entertained by the ‘Rock Doctor’, Dr Mark Lewney who has
been described as a cross between Einstein and Jimi Hendrix! He spoke of Quantum Physics and
looked ahead to how science and technology will change in the coming decades. Finally there
was the Big Debate in which students were able to engage on whether or not morality is purely a
relative and subjective matter.
49
Charlotte Kell 2015
The Back Streets of Oxford Winner
Atop the castle tower surveying the labyrinth of cobbled streets below.
Alone with shadows of the past,
Secluded in my thoughts.
The route is planned, following in the footsteps of ghosts,
Along narrow streets watched by the beady eyes of petrified gargoyles.
Alone amongst passers-by revelling in the history of dreaming spires,
Trapped in a time paradox.
Nearing the end of the gloomy passage, following in the footsteps of
ghosts.
At last. Blinding warmth, regal columns, honeyed limestone.
Alone no more: embraced by familiar laughter of
Children racing at a hundred miles an hour;
Discovering untold secrets, following in the footsteps of ghosts.
Eva Kischka
December Runner Up
Icicles
Hanging
Like daggers
From the archway of a chapel;
Obituary: Found Runner Up
Found: one body, lightly used.
Some call it well loved,
This mesh of meat and sinew.
Other hearts skipped their beats
To fall in with this one,
Only to march ahead
As it faded out.
The constellations fathomed within,
Scattered like pearls.
One hung around her neck
‘Til Fate slit the thread,
Then this, the last heavenly body,
Pale as glamour, set down its head;
Unwound its skin, returned from pearl to grit,
Condensed to solid milk,
Nurtured maggots where love would sit,
And dreamed of discovery.
Frost
Painted
On the empty streets
The church haunted by the sound of carol. Can’t
Sleep
Only lying awake
Waiting for the presence of a fairy tale.
Snow
Lying
Until spring conquers
Hanging on to the ghost of a snow angel.
Death
Singing
As it freezes me
My lungs fill with ice.
Sayna Asadi
Rebecca Whitlow
50
Dementia Highly Commended
The café bright with yellow light
Pouring in from every side,
Chairs and tables all wiped clean
Glittering with a shining sheen.
Crimson coats and leather bags,
Trendy jeans with rips like rags,
Crunch and munch of cakes and sweets,
Opened wrappers left on seats.
But in the centre of this room,
A woman slumped: a red cocoon.
Stark contrast with her lanky hair;
Stark contrast with her vacant stare;
Her eyes were ashy, sullen, pale;
She glared and stared to no avail.
No understanding to be found, just
Wandering eyes and shifting mind.
But in that mind, her thoughts revealed
Like pearls in oyster shells concealed,
Precious spheres of memories glimpsed,
But intermittent, unconvinced.
Her mind once bright, suffused in light
Now compromised from every side.
Woes and pleasures all wiped clean,
No flutter of her shining sheen.
Camilla Radwan
The Flamingo Highly Commended
There is a sea of blood orange
Merging seamlessly with the setting sun
All together in one mass
But none seen as one.
So I ooze like a shadow
To seek one out
And like a flash of fire I see the pinnacle of pink,
A blooming debutante balancing with ease
On one impossibly slender stalk,
An impressive gymnast
About to win gold.
Graceful form
This bird will blow your mind
As it flies with its dream,
Just its warbling squawk and cumbersome beak
To detract from its form. Oh, Flamingo, you’re a dream
Just a fairy tale beauty!
Hot pink outfit
Eyes like sun shine
So slim, tender, charming.
Regina Stolyarova
51
All the World’s a Stage
Oxford School of Drama: Great Expectations
In January, students from The Oxford School of Drama (OSD) came in to Wychwood to perform a
modern take on the play Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. The OSD are rated as one of the
five best acting schools in the world and it was wonderful for our girls to see such a high quality
performance take place in their own drama space. It was a vocally rich, unique interpretation of the
play using physical theatre and vocal sounds to create the set, props, animals, music and characters.
Afterwards, the performers led a workshop during which the girls explored some of the themes
within the play, and they were taken through the stages of animal movement which the performers
had used in their own workshop process.
Senior School production: Hamlet
In February, students took part in an abridged promenade performance of Shakespeare’s Hamlet,
using the space in an original and exciting way. The audience were asked to take a seat at the
banquet table where drinks and canapés were served, while the action took place around them.
The audience were then encouraged to follow the actors to different spaces in the Hall and outside
areas to keep them fully immersed in the action.
52
LAMDA
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic
Art (LAMDA) is one of the oldest drama schools
in the United Kingdom, and is a centre of
excellence in performance training. It is also
the UK’s largest speech and drama awarding
body, with a reputation for excellence across
the globe. LAMDA lessons are not only suitable
for those wishing to pursue an interest in the
performing arts but are also designed to equip
candidates, whatever their age and aspirations,
with a range of skills that will serve throughout
their life. Increased self-confidence and
assertiveness along with improved vocal and
reading skills, among others, are acquired in a
fun and enthusiastic atmosphere.
Shakespeare Schools Festival: Twelfth Night
Our first production of the academic year was
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, involving Junior
girls in a 1920s-style take on the play. It was
performed at The North Wall theatre in Oxford,
followed by a later performance at Wychwood
School. The play was a 30 minute abridged
version which formed part of the Shakespeare
Schools Festival (SSF), the UKs largest schools
festival with over 1,000 schools taking part
across the UK each year. The festival has a
unique impact on everyone who takes part
and aims to engage pupils in their education,
inspire teachers and create community ties.
In a 2012 survey, 92% students said that they
felt more confident after taking part in the
experience.
LAMDA continues to thrive at Wychwood, with
students from Remove to Study working their
way up through the grades. Once again, there
has been a 100% pass rate this year, with all
students gaining Merits and Distinctions.
“Every child in every school ought to have the
chance to experience this magical process.
To bring the enchantment of Shakespeare to
thousands of children – there’s no more magical
process in the whole of education. Long live the
Shakespeare Schools Festival!”
Philip Pullman, SSF Patron
I first did Shakespeare for Schools in Remove and had a blast of a time. This year Wychwood
performed Twelfth Night. At first when I found out my part I was a little disappointed because I
was playing a man and I thought I would have to perform with a low voice. However, if you think
about it, in Shakespearean times all of the parts were performed by males so why not have an all
female cast in the modern age! I was assigned the part of Sir Toby Belch, the kinsman of Olivia.
I was a bit unsure of how to play a drunken man, but Miss Gosling was an amazing director and
helped me through the many challenges I faced during the six-week rehearsal period. As we
moved through each week, we all realised what a delightful play Twelfth Night is.
The night of the performance was very nerve-racking for all of the performers. Before we went
on stage, we all panicked and said we had forgotten our lines but little did we know that half
an hour later the whole audience would be engaged with our performance and enjoying every
minute. My most memorable moment was when Ella, Heather and I dressed up as flowers in
hilarious costumes.
Molly Fagan
53
Languages
It has been another very busy year in the Languages department.
At Wychwood, French and Spanish are taught as well as German, Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese.
Some years, we even have pupils taking other languages for GCSE or A Level. This year, one of our girls
took her A2 in Persian. Variety is the spice of life!
Outside the normal curriculum, the girls have participated in the Primary Day of Languages when
West Oxford Primary school came just before Christmas to try four different languages: French,
German, Italian and Spanish. They learnt songs, made puppets and wrote dialogues in languages they
had not experienced before. Our catering department came up trumps with Viennoiserie for break and
a Spanish inspired lunch. It was a great day for all involved.
Later in January, we had the visit of Onatti Theatre Company who gave their all for our pupils. As
always, it was very visual and every one had a great learning experience.
Day of Languages
Before the end of the Michaelmas term, we
invited a group of primary school children to
come for a fun and educational workshop on
how different cultures celebrate Christmas.
I was allocated the Spanish group and had
prepared a presentation about how I celebrate
Christmas from where I come – Cordoba,
Spain. Next, we all made some finger puppets
and they all had to perform a basic little
dialogue about what they were going to do
at Christmas. All the children had great fun
drawing faces, styling hair and sticking googly
eyes on their puppets. I was allowed to help
a little girl named Rosie and by the end of the
day we became great friends and I was glad to
have made her day enjoyable. We then spent
the rest of the day learning a Spanish Christmas
song called Los peces en el río.
After lunch we all had our final practice
and we added in some actions and musical
instruments. As we were the final performers,
we all sat nervously on our seats in hope that
our hard work would pay off.
In the end all went to plan and all of the
children enjoyed themselves and we would
love to repeat this special day.
Heather Fitzgerald
The Spanish Play
Each year, the Onatti acting company come
to our school to perform an amusing play. In
order to help students to learn and improve
their Spanish speaking and listening skills, the
entire play was spoken in Spanish.
This year’s play was about a typical teenage
girl longing for the love of one of her friends.
When her crush finally asked her out, she
54
ob Erwachsene die Notlüge benutzen dürfen
und Kinder nicht.
panicked and struggled to decide what to
wear. Her trickster brother didn’t make the
situation any easier as he constantly annoyed
her and dressed her in rather unfashionable
clothes. Once the girl had left for her date, her
brother rolled on the floor laughing – but it
didn’t end there! He grabbed some volunteers
from the audience (myself and Evelyn from
Remove) and, in Spanish, instructed us to move
the furniture around in his sister’s bedroom
so when she returned from her disastrous
date, she came home to find her bedroom
completely messed up! She realised that her
brother had been pranking her all along and
decided to take her revenge. She told him
that she and her 'crush' were running away
to Australia to get married. She informed him
that he was welcome to join them, but must
dress as a woman to get on the plane. He
did so as he really wanted to go to Australia.
Unfortunately, for him, she had been joking
and a photo of him dressed as a woman was
posted all over the internet!
Die ganze Geschichte dreht sich um den 11
jährige Matti, der einen jüngeren Bruder hat
namens Sami. Matti ist der Erzähler im Buch
das hat der Vorteil, das wir die Vorleser seine
Gedanken wissen. Eine wichtige Person in
Matti und Sami ist der Onkel Kurt, der den Matti
fast jeden Tag zu und von der Schule bringt.
Der Onkel Kurt und der Matti haben eine sehr
starke Beziehung, weil der Onkel Kurt wie sein
Vater ist, in das er den Matti unterstützt.
In Matti und Sami handelt es sich um Lügen,
Notlügen und Wahrheit. Im Buch entdecken
wir die Konsequenzen von Lügen auf Kinder
und Familie. Die erste Lüge, die stattfindet, ist
die Lüge von der Zeitung das ein Delfin im See
frei gelassen wird. Leider ist es der erste April.
Sami versteht gar nicht warum ein Erwachsene
so eine Lüge sagen kann. Er findet es total
unnötig. Die zweite Lüge ist als die Mutter
von Matti ihm erklärt das sie doch nicht für
die Tiere spendet sondern das sie kein Geld
hat. Matti ist traurig, dass er nicht versteht,
dass seine Familie kein Geld hat aber auch das
er betrogen wurde. Die dritte Lüge ist als der
Vater aus Neid eine Lüge erzählt. Er meint das
die ganze Familie in der Schweiz umzieht, aber
anscheinend nicht. Ich bin der Meinung, dass
diese die schlimmste Lüge ist, weil der Matti
seine ganze Klasse davon erzählt weil er es so
ernst genommen hatte. Der Matti fühlt sich
furchtbar allein, enteuscht und sehr traurig.
I really enjoy the Spanish plays each year as
I find them educational and helpful with my
learning of Spanish, but also hilarious and a
good laugh!
Evlyn Lloyd
Die Deutsche Lesegruppe
My name is Antonia Heil and I attend the
German literature lessons. During these lessons
with Frau Gauden, I learn language skills which
involve lots of reading and essay writing. As a
semi-native German speaker, these lessons are
very useful as they support the growth of my
vocabulary and understanding of the German
language. Moreover, these lessons are also
constructive for semi-beginners in that they
guide the student through the foundations of
regular German literature.
Ich finde, dass dieses Buch sehr interesant
ist und dass es für alle nützlich wäre.
Matti und Sami steht uns nicht nur neu
Charaktern vor, sondern auch etwas andere
Familiekonstellationen. Matti und Sami und die
Drei Grössten Fehler des Universums hat mir
sehr gefallen. Ich würde dieses Buch für Kinder
zwischen neun und zwölf empfehlen.
Matti und Sami und die drei grössten Fehler
des Universums – eine rezension
Matti und Sami ist ein kinderroman, der
von dem Autor Salah Naoura veranstaltet
wurde. Dieses Buch wurde für das 2012
Sparte Kinderbuch für den Deutschen
Jugendliteraturpreis nominiert. Der Autor stellt
die Frage: was ist Lüge? Was ist Wahrheit? Und
In this piece, Antonia introduces the book we have
been reading in the German book group, the title
of which translates as 'Matti and Sammi and the
Three Worst Mistakes in the Universe'. We hear
about the author, the main characters and the
main themes and Antonia goes on to recommend
the book to others.
55
GCSE Geography Trip to the Peak District
considering crowded pavements, noise, litter,
traffic congestion and car parked roads. All
the groups had to do pedestrian counts and
the EQS, but at different sites. My group was
responsible for sites 5 & 6 and we counted the
people at different hours in the day (10am,
11am, midday, 2pm and 4pm) for the purpose
of comparison.
The UT Geographers went to the village of
Castleton, which is a honeypot site in the Peak
District, to obtain some primary data for our
GCSE Controlled Assessment. Six of the LTs
were there to help us, as well as getting a taste
of the out-of-school data collection, which they
will be doing next year.
On the evening of 29th May, when we arrived,
we all had a look around the village so we
knew where we would be working the next
day. The weather was Mrs Roitt’s biggest
concern. Luckily, it didn’t rain at all!
We also had to hand out questionnaires which
focused on tourism: whether the subject is
a tourist, how they travelled to Castleton,
whether they were planning to visit any
attractions and what sort of accommodation
s/he is staying in. It was hard to find many
people, because Castleton is rather quiet and
uncrowded unlike Oxford. However, Maya and
Izzy, who were energetic and brave, asked
nearly every single person we passed on
the street; eventually we had finished all the
questionnaires we were given.
There were sixteen girls in total, so we split
up into three groups, separately doing
investigations of litter, traffic/parking
and land use. I was in the ‘litter’ group;
our job was marking litter bins on a map,
conducting pedestrian counts on a street
and an environmental quality survey (EQS)
56
up the Nab. Don guided us
safely up and down the hill
which gave us fantastic views
over Edale and the Hope
Valley. We had to walk back
down the same way we had
walked up to avoid a very
large bull that appeared to
be babysitting a number of
calves. It was a lovely stroll,
but we were all ready for hot
chocolate and cake when we
got back to the Peak Centre.
On the Sunday morning after
breakfast we went into the
sports hall to have a go on
the indoor climbing wall.
Don had us playing a game
called ‘sharks’ to warm up and then we all got
our harnesses. Mrs Roitt’s niece, Izzy, showed
us all how to climb, while Don instructed us
about how important it was to use our legs
and not our arms. He also told us that girls are
better at climbing than boys! Mrs Roitt and
her sister, Mr Roitt, Mrs Johnson and Sarah
were on the belaying ropes. They all made
us feel very safe. Don gave us the challenge
of climbing blindfolded if we felt comfortable
with it. Maya was actually a much better
climber without her sight!
The entire trip was very successful and
rewarding. We all worked hard and enjoyed it.
Many thanks to Mrs Roitt who provided us with
such a great opportunity.
Fei Wu
Our weekend in the Peak District was not
all work, work, work. Having collected
our geography data on the Saturday, we
made our way back from Castleton to our
accommodation at The Peak Centre in Edale.
The centre is run by Mrs Roitt’s sister Sarah,
and she is assisted by her husband Don.
After the climbing we had a go at archery. We
had to do it inside because of the rain, but
never-the-less it was still a fantastic experience.
Mia and Fei were particularly good when it
came to bursting the balloons that had been
fixed to the targets.
After we had all eaten our evening meal of
pizza, salad and yogurts, (and Camilla and Eva
had finally arrived back from going to see the
horses), we all got ready for an evening stroll
Mari Grace Adams & Kelly Kaeferstein
57
Wychwood’s charitable gestures
This year, we have
supported many
different charities and
have raised nearly
£3000 over the last nine
months. Thank you and
well done to all those
who have organised,
participated in, and
donated to, all our
causes.
The Nasio Trust, a charity
we have supported
for some time, runs
two centres in Kenya
which work with the
community providing
education, food, medical
care and support to
children. At the beginning of the Michaelmas
term, we donated some old school uniform
to the charity in order to help them clothe the
children in their care.
we offered our support for the international
charity, Save the Children – a charity committed
to saving children’s lives by providing medical
and educational support. It challenges world
leaders to promise a brighter future for today’s
children living in poverty. We supported
their national Christmas jumper campaign,
creating some festive fun for a serious cause.
The nominated charities for our Carol Service
were Young Dementia, a small local charity with
which Connie Rogers works, and the Meningitis
Trust. We must not forget the efforts of our
male staff, who grew some very impressive (?)
facial hair in support of the Movember
campaign.
During the year we continued our support of
Dorcus International, a small charity with which
Boppy Gye’s mum is closely involved. They
aim to provide relief and to develop small
communities in Africa. Following our plea for
contributions for the Oxford Food Bank, an
abundance of goods were gratefully received
and distributed. As the term drew to a close,
The Hilary term began with Becky
Pentland introducing us to a charity close
to her heart, SSAFA. This charity offers
lifelong support for military families,
veterans and serving personnel. Being
from a military family, Becky has benefited
from the work of this charity throughout
her childhood, particularly when her
father has been serving overseas.
Each term girls bring ideas to council as to
which charities they wish to support and
ideas of what they will do to raise money.
58
Earlier this year, the
Remove showed
their support for
the British Heart
Foundation by
encouraging
everybody to wear
something red for
the day.
to raise money and
everybody embraced
the spirit of the day.
We held a competition
to see who could wear
the most red to fit
with the theme of the
red nose. The winner
was Maddy Hilton
from Remove who
came dressed as Elmo.
We also organised
a dodgeball game
where the teachers
played against the
Wychwood Sixth. We ran a prediction game
whereby we predicted how many times each
teacher would be hit. It was a very raucous
event and along with our cake sale we
managed to raise a very pleasing contribution
to this great charity.
Throughout the
year we have also
shown support for
those suffering from
natural disasters
around the world, raising money for the child
victims of Ebola and those affected by the
earthquake in Nepal.
On Thursday, 13th March, Red Nose Day arrived
at Wychwood. We organised many events
Wychfactor
This year, Wychfactor took place
on Tuesday, 24th of March and it
was a great success. The charity
that we chose to support was
the Little Princess Trust which
supports and makes wigs for
children suffering hair loss due
to medical treatments. The
judges got into the Wychfactor
spirit with lots of supportive
encouragement from Mrs
Chalstrey and Mr IIott who
uttered some very Simon
Cowell-esque type quips. Miss
Barnes even offered Georgie
lessons on how to head bang!
Isabel Jackson from the LTs,
which once again sparked Mr
Ilott’s inner drummer and got
him thinking about performing
next year…maybe.
Last, but not least, we had
Georgina Lagden, with her
guitar. She became the
deserving winner after her
brilliant rendition of a Green
Day song. Not only were the
acts all amazing, but there
was a fantastic atmosphere
in the auditorium. With the
hall adorned with fairy lights
and balloons and the ‘Very
Important Princesses’ in their cushioned
seating, it was certainly an evening to be
remembered.
Our acts were as usual very diverse but, as
always, of a very high standard. They ranged
from the heartfelt singing of Anna Ashdown,
Franci Donovan-Brady and Boppy Gye (with
her ukulele) to the talented duets from Luna
Li and Beatrix Burrows and Emma Melzer and
Gabriella Paturel; from the very funny short
play written and performed by Ella Frost and
Evelyn Peterson from the Remove to the
amazing drum playing by Teana Heaton and
This year we managed to raise over £200
for the Little Princess Trust and I’m sure every
penny of it will be put to good use. Thank you
to everyone who attended the evening, as
well as the Citizens who organised the event.
Imogene Goodman
59
Maths News
Group Maths Challenge
On the 25th March, 2015, Mrs Stevens took
a group of four keen mathematicians to
the Junior Team Maths Challenge. It was a
wonderful experience and we all really enjoyed
it. The first round consisted of a sheet of
questions that you had to complete within
a time limit. It was great fun to work as a
team whilst doing challenging mathematical
problems. Luna and I whizzed off as soon as
the timer started with our extremely helpful
and proficient team of Lauren and Evelyn
from Remove, helping us along the way. We
discovered that we were in the top six by the
end of the first round which was encouraging
news! We continued through the process,
excited by our mathematics and we finally
reached the last round. This time-pressured
round consisted of running to your teacher to
hand in finished questions and then returning
to your team. Because of the energy involved,
our team especially enjoyed this round. At the
end of the day the results were read out. To
our surprise we had come third with which
we were delighted. Overall, it was a truly
enjoyable and inspiring experience.
memorise Maths problems even when I was
tired or sad – in fact, I would allow myself to
sink into my own magical world, the world of
numbers, to help me to relax. By Year 5, I had
won my first award in a Maths competition.
During my first term at Wychwood, whenever
I had some spare time, I would do the past
papers from the UK Maths Challenge and I
found that I was able to get some really good
scores. This encouraged me to do the IMC
(Intermediate Maths Challenge) last term,
and by the time I got my result back, I was
surprised. I managed to go through and get
into the Cayley round, which was much more
difficult than the first round, but I won a medal.
Luna Li
Milli Rowland
Luna did the Intermediate Mathematics
Challenge, which is intended for girls older than
she is. She did so well that she got through to the
Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad, which is
the highest level of challenge in the follow-up
round. The Cayley is the Olympiad for candidates
in school year 9. Unlike other rounds the
Olympiad is not a multiple choice paper. You have
to choose three problems (out of six) to solve and
then write up a clear solution to the problem and
describe your thought processes as you solved the
problem. There are two hours to do this paper.
Luna attempted all six problems and scored 100%
on the first three solutions. Congratulations Luna.
Maths – An irreplaceable part in my life
I can still clearly remember the day that I
begged my mother to allow me to go to the
additional Maths lesson at my school. It was
seven years ago, when I was only six years
old. By that time, numbers, to me, were the
most wondrous thing in my tiny world. I have
loved Maths since the day I first encountered
numbers. I was mesmerised by it. I could still
60
Form Plays
Form plays are a tradition at Wychwood. Every
year, each form writes, directs and performs an
original play inspired by a title selected from
suggestions made by the whole school. It is
always a challenge to pull something together
in the given time but every year, despite the
tears, hysterical laughter and sometimes,
yes, tantrums, we see performances of an
extremely high standard. The afternoon of the
performances is always great fun and gives us
all a chance to laugh together. This year offered
many innovative and interesting scenarios
including Ariel, the Little Mermaid, having a
relationship with the man on the moon and
people being whirled into a game of Cluedo.
This year the title was It Wasn’t Me!
betrayal and murder. The serious themes were
balanced with a healthy amount of humour
with Tara Minoli-Taylor playing a blind priest
with aplomb. Then the winners of the best
play award, the LTs, presented their play which
left even the teachers crying with laughter.
Evlyn Lloyd was the deserved winner of the
Best Actress cup for her hilarious portrayal
of Captain Sparrow in all his glory with many
witty one-liners tucked up her sleeve. The UTs'
performance was reminiscent of a 18th Century
murder mystery with a missing necklace and a
guilty servant. The Shell’s very witty play was
a take on Midsommer Murders with the guilty
villager being an old but revengeful granny
stealing all the gnomes from the gnome
competition at the fete. The Study 1 play
also consisted of a game of Cluedo, but this
time there was a messy kitchen and mother
about to return… dun dun duuuuun…..! The
Study 2, who were awarded the best script
prize, entertained us with a Disney inspired
performance, in which each member of the
form satirised a different Disney character.
Once again, we were left with tears of joy
rolling down our cheeks.
Each form interpreted the title in their own way
and each performance was of a high standard.
The Remove play saw the girls transformed
into a real life game of Cluedo. The lovely
and seemingly innocent Miss Scarlet turned
out to be the murderer and who could forget
Colonel Mustard (Isabelle Peach) and his rather
large stomach? The Inters’ play took on a more
serious tone dealing with themes of love,
Chloe Boxall
65
South Africa
They say that Africa gets under
your skin. When I went to South
Africa for two weeks helping
maintain Mankwe National
Park, it did not just get under
my skin: it spread through my
whole body and has found a
permanent home in my soul
and the urge to return grows
stronger every day.
On the 27th July, I met the
group of nine young adults I
would be spending ten days
with in Africa for the first
time at Heathrow Airport. I
knew one of them – Tish, who
was in the year above me at
Wychwood and this was comforting. We all
joked about our looming eleven hour flight
and got to know each other playing card
games – many of which none of us knew how
to play! Being six feet tall and having no leg
room on the plane does not equal a good
night’s sleep, but nevertheless, I had an endless
supply of films I had never seen and too many
nerves to care about where to put my legs.
never before and provide me with a feeling of
purpose and direction, even though I didn’t
know it at the time.
Mankwe National Park is a small reserve set up
entirely by father and daughter powerhouse
team Dougal and Lynne. Their park contains
beautiful South African creatures such as
giraffe, kudu, waterbuck, impala, ostrich and,
most importantly, rhino. Lynne, Dougal and
the entire team at Mankwe, dedicate their lives
to protecting the rhino population and caring
for each individual outstandingly, showing
extraordinary strength and determination in
the face of rhino poaching. The brutality and
severity of this illegal trade
is what affected all of us
the most during our time in
that fantastic place and we
vowed to take action when
we returned home, and
we are. As a team, we are
each raising money in our
own schools and through
independent means for the
charity that we are creating
called Let Rhinos Roam Free
(LRRF). We want to be part of
the generation that makes a
positive impact on the fight
against rhino poaching.
Touchdown in Johannesburg was greeted with
more card games and the excitement of using
their currency, Rand, for the first time. The next
ten days were going to be an experience like
66
Our determination was spurred on as we grew
to learn more about the incredible South
African wildlife and became part of helping
maintain Mankwe alongside its founders.
However, we by no means went for a holiday,
we went to work. We spent our days collecting
valuable scientific data that would be used
by scientists back in England and by many in
South Africa. We quickly became experts at
Latrine Surveys, which we nicknamed ‘Poo
Patrol’ as you have to lean out of the car and
shout stop when you spot hyena or jackal
scats. We conquered the bush at night doing
Spotlighting Transects, scanning the landscape
for eye shine, which is good fun until you very
unexpectedly come face to face with a large
mother hippo, which I did. And when I say face
to face, I mean only a mere two metres away
from my open car window. We searched the
ground for footprints and snares on Poaching
Patrol and spotted
herds of every
animal under the
sun during Large
Mammal Transects.
While I struggled to keep going, Dougal
walked in and out of the flames completely unphased whilst disappearing and reappearing
from clouds of smoke.
Might I add that Dougal is around 78 (nobody
really knows for sure) and is, quite possibly, the
coolest man I think I’ve ever met. He is a man
of few words.
I’m not going to lie, I had to fight back the tears
when we stepped onto the mini bus to be
taken back to the airport. I had spent the most
incredible two weeks of my life in this beautiful
place and leaving to go back to my life in
England seemed ridiculous and premature.
But we vowed to stay in contact and to this
day, over ten months later, I am still in touch
with the people I met both in South Africa and
those who returned on the plane with me.
When I arrived
home, I was
determined to
continue working
on helping Mankwe
with stopping rhino
poaching, even if
I was no longer in
the same country
as the very animals
for which I was
fighting. I organised
a charity day at
Wychwood to raise
money for LRRF. There was an art competition
with the theme of Rhino, and on the day I
announced the winner, everyone paid £2 to
dress up as a South African animal of their
choice. I, of course, opted for a rhino. It was an
incredible success and very touching to see
the whole school participating in a cause that
one wide-eyed student had rambled on about
in assembly.
One of the most
fascinating, and
terrifying, jobs
we helped carry
out was burning
firebreaks. This
required burning
strips of bush in
the park in a very
controlled manner to prevent fire spreading
too far if a bush fire ever does break out.
We walked along behind the line of fire and
were ‘beaters’. We had long strips of rubber
with which we wacked small flames at the
side of the path to prevent it spreading,
we were literally preventing the park from
burning down! Walking alongside the fire
was unnerving at times as you could see how
powerful the fire is among all the dry grass
and how quickly it could get out of hand. At
one point a particularly strong wind thrust
the entirety of the enormous flames sideways
directly across the path I was walking down,
and I could feel the heat of the fire right next
to me stronger than ever before. I quickened
my pace, not that I could see where I was going
as my eyes were streaming from all the smoke.
I cannot express how the place, the colours,
the animals and the people affected me. I have
never experienced something so inspiring and
emotional. I am counting down the days until I
can return. I was truly amazed and touched by
the people I met, and will never forget them or
that phenomenal place.
Annabelle Ashdown
67
Science News
LTs' visit to Begbroke Science Park
The LTs were lucky to be able to take part
in the ‘Innovation Showcase’ event at
Begbroke Science Park, close to Oxford,
earlier this year. The Science Park has
brought together many small businesses
so that they can develop their ideas and
make them into commercial ventures.
The groups were given a tour of some of
the businesses before being set a task to
complete in groups.
Each group was given a recent scientific
invention such as a material that is super
absorbent of oxygen and they had to
decide on how it would be useful and
invent a product using it. The challenge
required them to say how they could promote
it, who would buy it, what the unit costs would
be and how it could be marketed. Each group
then presented their ideas to everyone else.
Physics trip to Thorpe Park
The Shell embarked on the annual Physics
trip to Thorpe Park in December 2014.
Although a tad nippy at that time of year, the
cloud and low temperatures kept the large
crowds away, ensuring minimal queuing
time and a high rate of roller coaster action.
Our adrenal glands went into overdrive.
It was great fun and our girls did a fantastic job
working in cooperative teams and presenting
their ideas confidently and with clarity.
After a slight detour by a confused coach
driver (who didn’t like to be overly reliant on
GPS technology), we still arrived relatively
early. Once through the gates, we headed
off for the hard-core rides such as Swarm,
Stealth, Saw, Colossus and Nemesis, only
briefly stopping for a visit to KFC. Contrary
to expectations, Mr Ilott did not spend all
day in the café, but instead went off with the
Gap assistant to enjoy some rides.
Some people think that a Physics trip to
Thorpe Park is just a jolly and an excuse for a
hedonistic binge, but that is not the case. At
the end of the day we met for a fascinating
lecture on the science of roller-coaster
design which explored such concepts
as energy conservation, circular motion
and ride psychology. It was a thoroughly
enjoyable and educational day.
Vicky Blake
68
Cancer: Causes and Treatment
In September, the Wychwood Sixth biologists
were treated to a day-long symposium entitled
Cancer: Causes and Treatment hosted by St.
Edward’s School and Oxford International
Biomedical Centre. It was entertaining and
informative and we heard several eminent
experts talking about the subject that inspired
them to work in the field of cancer research.
An important message that we gained from
the day is that we should encourage young
people with an interest in sciences to see the
subject as far more integrated than the single
subjects of mathematics, biology, chemistry
and physics might seem. Our speakers began
their careers as a physicist, a mathematician, a
statistician and a vet, but are now collectively
working in the field of cell biology specialising
in cancer.
Sir Walter Bodmer from the Weatherall Institute
of Molecular Medicine, Oxford University,
began the day by explaining the course of
cancer development. He told the audience how
somatic (body) cells undergo a series of genetic
changes that enables them progressively to
develop into cells that can divide without
limits, out-competing the normal, specialised
cells found in the body. His discussion was
modelled on the cells involved in bowel cancer,
the third most common cancer in the United
Kingdom and despite the difficult topic his
delivery was engaging.
Study 1 visit the Welsh coast
Every year the Study 1 biologists and
geographers venture off to do their fieldwork.
This year Mrs Doughton took both groups
to The Gower, South Wales. We packed our
rain coats, wellies, hats and scarves and
prepared to be battered by the wind and rain.
To our complete amazement, the weather
was glorious and we had three fantastic days
working on a quite deserted Oxwich Bay. The
tides were kind to us and the huge expanse
of golden sand and blue sea made us feel we
had landed in the Caribbean! Our study of
sand dune succession and marine zonation
were successful and we were treated to sights
such as Bee, Marsh and Pyramid Orchids in full
flower, carpets of Cranesbill and other flowers,
as well as a wonderful range of sea creatures
courtesy of the very low tides June brings.
Nothing beats getting outside to study!
Professor Timothy Key from the Cancer
Epidemiology Unit spoke about the patterns in
cancer diagnosis and recovery and explained
how some of the important risk factors for the
development of cancer were identified from
national health statistics.
Dr Ketan Shah from the Department of
Oncology, University of Oxford, gave a
really informative lecture on radiotherapy
treatment and explained its development
over the last 100 years. His talk showed the
need for biologists, physicists, engineers and
mathematicians to work collaboratively in
order to make continuous improvements in the
treatment of cancers.
Lastly, Dr. Kerry Fisher, also from the
Department of Oncology, talked about how
tumours adapt and often thrive under the
pressures exerted on them by our immune
system. His topic included the development
of drug resistance by tumour cells. It was clear
from his lecture that cancer is enormously
diverse and that there is still much to
understand. Future cancer treatments will rely
on a combination of surgery, radiotherapy and
cytotoxic chemicals as well as immunotherapy.
69
When Chemistry meets Art
pigments of each colour through time with art
works to illustrate their use.
In September, the Wychwood Sixth Chemists
went to the National Gallery to consolidate our
work on the Colour by Design module in the A
level course. We learned about oils and their
use in paints as well as inorganic and organic
molecules that can be used as pigments. The
case study is the restoration of The Incredulity of
Saint Thomas by Cima da Conegliano.
There was a part of Seizure by Roger Hiorons.
A whole house was flooded with copper
sulphate solution to allow every part of its
internal surface to be covered with copper
sulphate crystals. The work was so popular
that it has now been moved to the Yorkshire
Sculpture Park.
We had a special Salters' chemistry tour of the
gallery explaining how the restoration had
been done and looked at other paintings and
were told about their pigments and binding
media.
Not wishing to neglect other forms of culture,
we went to the theatre to see Shakespeare in
Love in the evening.
We are having another day with an Art focus
as we are joining the History of Art group in
a trip to the Wallace Collection to learn about
conservation at the end of term. More details in
the next issue of The Elm!
We then managed to get tickets for the Making
Colour exhibition which was still on for the first
few days of term. This was a fascinating look at
Scientists of the year 2014
Each year, Science Oxford honours the
three young scientists chosen as the
best in their schools in each of the main
science subjects. They hold a canapé
reception followed by a keynote
presentation given by a member of
the Nuffield department of Medicine
as well as some short contributions
from inspirational young researchers,
apprentices and other representatives
of the physical sciences.
This year the keynote speaker was
Professor Helen McShane – a leading
infectious disease expert at the
University of Oxford and she gave
a really inspiring, if at times rather
uncomfortable, lecture on the bacteria
that colonise the human body – some
2kg of them in most of us! Her talk was
absolutely fascinating and left you
feeling rather unusually like a walking
hotel for other cells!
Our Wychwood recipients of the award
were Eleanor Doughton (Biology),
Zahra Ardalan (Chemistry) and Shannen
Allen (Physics). Our congratulations go
to them.
71
LT Animal Poems
The Turtle
The Jay and The Deer
Her skin is scarred with memories,
Each wrinkle is woven by time,
This four oared helmet sails the seas,
‘Midst the sparkling coral, sublime.
As morning breaks
In the depth of the forest,
A single animal,
Stirs out of rest.
Her hexagonal honeycomb shield,
Completes her armour strong,
But her shell, she shall not yield,
As her life it shall prolong.
Large antlers,
Golden fur,
Iridescent eyes,
As fast as a blur.
She’s sweeping through the darkness,
She’s dancing out of danger,
She’s solitary, heartless,
She’s nature’s own lone ranger.
He nibbles at the grass,
Elegantly poised,
Standing alone,
Making no noise.
Grass of green in fields of blue,
The emerald blades unite,
Bright and crisp as morning dew,
The ocean floor ignites.
A rustle in the distance,
He becomes alert,
Ears point, head up,
Hoofs dug into dirt.
Eliza Sinclair
Bobbing bird in the tree,
It’s a blue jay,
Scouting the area,
Searching for prey.
The Horse
Those delicate ears,
That noble head,
The gentle curve of their legs,
That exquisite tail,
The perfect back,
The bouncy mane and forelock.
The jay sees the deer,
Analyses the creature,
Scanning its body,
Its every feature.
The deer does the same,
But loses interest,
Then strides away,
Deep into the forest.
Come closer.
Ears prick,
Eyes widen,
Nostrils flare.
Evlyn Lloyd
Come closer.
Ears pinned back,
Forefeet stamp,
Lips part, teeth bared.
But I’m not scared.
As they always said:
The horse is the gentlest creature of them all.
Isabel Jackson
72
The Bengal Tiger
When he was young, the forest was his playground with no threats or insecurities.
He would caper about with his feline sister, tagging along behind their mother.
He lived in wild tranquillity with moments of frivolity in a paradise of life and colour.
But the world around him changed for the worse and began to lose its purity.
His home was ravaged and soon his surroundings were going, then in places, gone.
People were after him; snares were scattered around. People waiting in anger.
But he would still stroll proud with poise, his body painted black and amber.
His eyes like flames would glare vigilantly through the grass, dry and long.
He spots his prey and the mighty game begins. He waits, and keeps silent and low.
An adult deer drinks peacefully on the river bank, oblivious to whom is present.
The beast crawls up behind the creature, unprepared for the pending torment.
Suddenly, strong and hard, he strikes and the deer is killed with one ferocious blow.
He roams the forests with beauty and no shame,
The Bengal Tiger is his name.
Sophy Vane
The Rabbit
Eating all day,
Munching away,
Hopping around,
Making no sound,
Floppy ears hanging,
Farmer’s gun banging,
Run! Run! Running away!
Run through the bushes,
Out of the farm,
Rabbit run quickly,
Blind with alarm.
Up to the forest,
Down to the lake,
Legs moving quickly,
Life is at stake.
The Giraffes
Like wandering towers,
Amidst empty plains,
Tall tongued, narrow necked,
They stroll elegantly and swiftly past,
Devouring the branches beside them.
Lashes long, their eyes explore the emptiness around them.
Long purple tongues aid their loud chomps,
And the juvenile conceals itself tranquilly under its protector
As she passes food towards her feet.
The calf feeds nonchalantly in her shadow.
Ella Ward
Home is in sight,
Exposed in the light,
The distance is closing,
A race not worth losing,
Flop down its hole,
Like an old rag doll,
Safe in its burrow,
Until tomorrow…
Teana Heaton
73
Head Girls
My first memory of
Wychwood is of a group
of nervous elevenyear-old girls, including
myself, hovering in the
lobby waiting for their
housemothers to come
to show them where to
go. The rest of the year is
now a blur of friendship,
laughs and some mischief,
and the memories of
the following six years,
much the same. My time
at Wychwood has taught
me perseverance and to
have confidence in myself,
making me secure in the
knowledge that whatever
I go on to do, I will do it to
the best of my ability.
Over the years, Wychwood
has become like a second
family to me not just
because my year group
is such a close-knit group
of friends, but because
the various activities the
school offers allow you get
to know girls in other year
groups. I think that this is
a really important aspect
of Wychwood life because
it means that there is always somewhere you feel welcome or someone you can have a natural
conversation with whatever their age or stage.
Being Head Girl has been a great honour, especially as I look back and remember previous head
girls and think how I used to be in complete awe of them. It has allowed me to build my confidence,
especially in public speaking, but also in everyday communication with younger girls and teachers.
My role has made me realise that I have a voice and that people do want to hear what I have to say
because they have trust in me. It has also given me a special insight into how the Council system of
the school works and how important it is in giving the whole of the school community a voice.
When asked what my favourite part of being Head Girl was, I will jokingly reply, ‘walking up the red
stairs!’, but in all seriousness I have thoroughly enjoyed everything about my time as Head Girl. It
has been an honour I will never forget and I wish all the best to the new Head Girl, Alicia Wong, and
her deputies, and all the future Head Girls to come.
Ruby Naybour, Head Girl
74
For five years I have been a weekly boarder at Wychwood and I have found that over this time it has
become my home away from home. When I first started in the LTs, I was very timid and quiet, but
as I was living here five days a week, it wasn’t long before I got to know everyone a lot better and
I became more confident. My time boarding has given me the opportunity to create some of my
best school memories whether it’s the sparklers on the lawn for bonfire night, the Easter egg hunt
or even just watching a film with friends. It has also made me more independent and better able to
cope on my own when the time comes for university.
Over the years, I have lived in both Sir Johns and 2&4, I have shared with different year groups and
had a room to myself. Whatever situation I have found myself to be in, I have never been far from
fun, laughter and hard work. In my first year of Wychwood Sixth, I became Boarding Councillor
which I felt was a fitting role for me as I now knew all the trials and tribulations of boarding life. I was
able to be a shoulder to lean on and a listening ear to the younger years if they were ever in need,
taking on the role of a surrogate older sister.
My time as Deputy Head Girl has taught me how to take responsibility and to develop my
organisational skills. I have always been organised, but I found trying to juggle school work and my
Deputy Head Girl duties
a struggle. However, I
enjoyed the challenge and
persevered. I have acquired
skills and experiences that
will stay with me for a
lifetime. It was a privilege
and an honour to be given
the role and the chance to
work closely as a team with
Ruby.
Wychwood has not only
helped me to flourish as a
person, but has also helped
me to find my strengths,
address my weaknesses
and nurture my passions.
Within our close
community, I have received
the care that has made me
the person I am today. It
has also meant that I have
secured a very strong bond
with the people in my year,
making friendships which
I hope will last for years
to come. Although I feel
that I am ready to take the
next step in my life, I will
definitely miss school and
all the opportunities it has
given me.
Rebecca Robb,
Deputy Head Girl
75
Study 2 Leavers
Study 2 leavers this year are an enthusiastic, fun loving group of young women, determined to
make their mark upon the world. We wish them well in all of their interesting and varied futures.
Good luck, God bless and stay in touch! The following are the personal extracts taken from Ms
Sherlock’s Leavers’ assembly.
Sayna, you have a phenomenal intellect. Apply
it wisely in the direction that most inspires you
and you will be a formidable, motivated and
inspiring young woman, we are absolutely
convinced
of it.
Ruby, always
give yourself
time for your
artistic talent
whatever
you go on to
do. You have
served us well
as a Head Girl and have shown that you can
drive through challenging times to absolute
success. Stay strong, be gentle on yourself and
go on to develop your leadership skills in
your future.
Franci, it
is hard to
imagine that
a more kind
or genuine
friend exists
than you! Creative, artistic and musical, you
have treated us to performances throughout
your time with us. Earnest, caring, honest and
determined, you have been unerringly positive
and philosophical in life and your life is the
richer for it. Never change, Franci!
Linna, you came in
Study 1 as a strong,
independent spirit
and you have worked
artistically and creatively
in a determined and
independent way. Your
hard work and artistic
aspiration are taking you
to London. We wish you
every success.
Shannen, you are determined, focused,
independent and loyal. You undertake tasks
with mature understatement and humility
recognising the hard work that comes with a
position of responsibility. Thank you.
Ophelia, you have
flourished here
and it has been
a privilege to see
that happen. Your
sincere, heartfelt,
impromptu
speech on
this uniquely
supportive school
at the Welcome
to Study Dinner
moved everyone
in the room. We
have grown fond of your charm and quirkiness
and you will be very much missed.
Zahra, you are thoughtful, conscientious,
ambitious and determined. Your social
conscience is driven by genuine political
interest and you want to make a real difference
in the world. We are sure that you will.
76
Winnie and Ann,
you show us the
power of true, sisterly
love and friendship.
Rarely apart, and
each other’s first
port of call for advice
and support, Skype
will become vital
for you next year
between Hong
Kong and London.
Two more applied,
conscientious and determined young women
it would be difficult to find, qualities all of your
teachers have consistently seen in both of you.
Impressive twin genes, that’s for sure!
Louise, you bring
a calm, strong
and composed
influence to the form,
unerringly measured
and demonstrating
absolute common
sense in all that you
do. The quality we have most observed in
you is your honesty and fairness to everyone
around you. This is a special quality, and one
friends and future friends and colleagues will
come to value enormously.
Becca, you
came in LTs as
a shy, reserved
pupil and
what you
prove is that
when you find
your strength
and interest,
(for you
photography
and film
making), and that becomes your passion, the
possibilities are endless. As you found your
robust self, so others recognised it in you, and
you finish your time here as Deputy Head Girl.
We cannot wait to hear how your filmmaking
develops into the future.
Anna, your poignant and powerful UT poem
Autumn reflecting on being home alone when
your three sisters had moved on and were
travelling the world, was memorable. Now
it is your turn to go. It seems a long time
coming and it’s going to be so much fun! Now
it is Wychwood mourning the loss of that
Ashdown connection.
Rozhin, you are one seriously determined
young woman. If you do not end up in
publishing, assuming that remains your long
term aim, we will be amazed. Go and make
your dreams come true!
Sarah, you are a quiet, thoughtful, mature
young woman. Tentative at first, you came
to understand
Wychwood
and have truly
blossomed here.
You have a great
sense of right and
wrong in the big
picture, and are
clearly great fun
to be with as a
friend. Take your
study skills and
achievements
with you to future
successes!
77
Laura, you are a calm, mature, capable
young woman with a great sense of fun. Your
sporting prowess, organisational expertise and
team playing attitude have been exceptional,
and these are all qualities that assure us you
will manage capably in life as you move on.
Ellen, you are
a talented,
courageous
young woman
demonstrating
the power of drive
and determination.
Originally here as
a talented figure
skater, you have
gained even more
in terms of personal
development. You
have a great sense
of fun, and you are
a born leader. Go
and lead!
Jess, you
are calm,
measured and
determined.
As a young
boarder you
developed
independence
as well as a
sense of fun.
Your ability
to focus and
achieve,
even in areas
you find
challenging, is
impressive. It is a quality that will undoubtedly
bring you success in the long term.
Liv, what we
recognise in
you is your
versatility and
ability to make
good friends
and to remain
popular with
girls, regardless
of year group.
As a young
girl you had
support and
as an older girl
you have given
support, in the true spirit of Wychwood. We
believe in you.
Ellie, you are an accomplished dancer of
distinction, and a Queen’s Scout with your
Gold Duke of Edinburgh award. However,
taking nothing away from these achievements,
your real strength is your work ethic. If
something is difficult, you just try harder. It is
an incredible, rigorous and relentless attitude
to have, but it brings results, and it feels as
though you will face anything in your life with
courage and determination.
Lema, you are warm, kind, supportive and
stylish, with a smile
that melts conflict
and will probably
get you as far as
most things in life!
You have matured
and grown in
confidence and
you are diligent
and determined.
You feel your time
here has flown by,
and it is wonderful
that you came.
Martina, you came
with a breadth
of educational
experience. You are
independent yet
socially aware on a
global scale, and follow
world affairs with a big
heart and a conscience
beyond your years. Go
and make a difference
to your world.
78
Welcome to the new Remove
When I first
arrived at
Wychwood, I
felt nervous, but
I settled really
quickly. Although
there is a lot of
things that I have
enjoyed and
achievements
I have made,
it is the school
trips that have
made the year so
special for me.
In September
the Remove and
Inters went on a residential trip to Croft Farm.
Raft building was our first activity. We were
given barrels, rope and some logs and having
worked hard, ours was the most successful
as most of the others fell apart in the water. I
loved jumping off them when the challenge
was complete. The other activity I really
enjoyed was abseiling. I got butterflies in my
stomach as I started to climb up the wobbly
ladder and when I finally reached the top, I was
terrified. I was standing on a small platform
and the people below looked like ants. We had
to lean backwards off the ledge but once I was
descending, I relaxed and loved it. The whole
experience was challenging but so much fun
and it helped us all bond together and become
firm friends.
I have gained
many things
from my year at
Wychwood. I am
from America so
life at Wychwood
is very different
from life in my
primary school
in Traverse City,
Michigan. Here
at Wychwood, I
have learnt that
I am capable of
doing a lot more
than I thought
I could. I have
managed the increased workload as I have
more subjects here than at home where we
have, for example, Science, but here I have
had the opportunity to learn about Chemistry,
Biology and Physics separately.
One of my favourite moments was doing the
’Sweety Test’ in English. We ate a range of
sweets, describing their smell, texture and
taste in order to improve our vocabulary. It was
a delectable experience!
I have made some great friends and I will miss
them when I return to America in the summer.
Evelyn Peterson
Mai Thomas
Since I started at Wychwood in September, we
have done so many fun and exciting things.
During the Hilary Term we were kindly given
the opportunity to have a sleepover with the
Inters in the school hall. We started off the
evening with games such as ‘Sharky, Sharky’
and were then fed delicious pizzas before
camping down in the hall in our snug onesies.
We were all sad when our mums came to
collect us the following morning as we had had
such a great time together.
Ella Frost
79
Throughout this year, we have done many fun
activities and, of course, learnt so much, but
one of my most memorable times occurred
at the start of the Hilary term. As we walked
past the LTs' locker room, we heard them
telling ghost stories so Mai had the idea of
going down to the basement with our form
to do the same. We chose the room between
the changing and the laundry rooms, turned
off the lights and used the light of Maddy’s
phone held under our chins to make the whole
experience more creepy. Viktoria and Evelyn
wisely baled out soon after we had started
and then Maddy started telling the scariest
story. I lay down on the floor to try to spook
the others but then suddenly a calculator case
flew out of nowhere over our heads. Promptly,
we all stood up to reach for the light switch but
the light flickered on and off. We all screamed
and ran for the stairs, laughing as we reached
safety. We found out that the calculator case
had been a trick offered to us by the kind LTs
and the light flickering was, of course, just a
coincidence but we still laugh together about it
to this very day!
When I found out that we were going to
Thorpe Park, I was so excited because I had
never before been to a theme park. I have
always been a very shy person and have never
found it easy stepping outside my comfort
zone, so this was a great experience in which I
got to challenge myself. My favourite ride was
‘Tidal Wave’ because it was the ride on which
I screamed louder than I have ever screamed
in my whole life! The giant swing was also
exciting. My hands hurt from gripping my seat
so tightly but the views were amazing. I also
enjoyed having the independence to explore
the park in groups of friends, meeting the
adults at certain points during the afternoon.
Of course it was enormous fun, but it also
pushed me to be more independent and
daring as well.
Isabelle Peach
I have really enjoyed my first year at
Wychwood. We have done many fun things
such as the Form Plays. We had to make up
our own play using the title It Wasn’t Me! As
a form, we had to write the script, direct the
performance and find our own props and
costumes. I was really scared at first, but it was
really good fun. I am looking forward to doing
it all again next year!
Madeleine Hilton
Being at Wychwood has really boosted my
confidence and I can now talk more like myself.
I used to be very shy and never put my hand
up but now I can contribute without being
afraid. Wychwood is a great school because
you know everyone and everyone is really
lovely. I am friends with my whole year group
and we all get along so well.
Viktoria Boehner
My favourite trip this year was ‘Voice in a
Million’. Having practised for months with
Mrs. Walster, we joined vast crowds of people
at Wembley. It was a very exciting experience,
even if I did lose my mum!
My favourite lesson is Chemistry because I love
all the experiments – especially the one where
we smelled poisonous gasses!
Lauren Smith
80
Remove Trip to War Horse
On the 26th of March, Mrs Kirby and Mrs Chalstrey
took the Remove and some of the Inters on a trip
to see the play War Horse. We had been excited
for over a month about this day. When we got
to Paddington, we decided we should take the
underground to Piccadilly Circus and walk to the
New London Theatre, taking in some sights along
the way. We took a photo opportunity with the
gurning waxwork outside Ripley’s 'Believe it or not',
and had the opportunity to explore an exhibition
supporting the Cinderella premier in Leicester
Square so there was plenty of frivolity before the
serious matter of the play itself.
Having studied the book in English, we kind of
knew what to expect but couldn’t imagine how
it could be transferred to the stage, especially
with Joey, a horse, being the first person narrator
of the story. However, the play was magnificent.
It was by far the best play I have ever seen. It
was very emotional and I found myself crying
a few times during the performance. One thing I liked about the play was how the horses were
created. The puppetry was a work of art and we were able to suspend our sense of disbelief and
completely invest our emotions in these heroic creatures. The play wasn’t without humour. We all
laughed at was a little goose that kept re-appearing on stage; he had such personality! The play was
understandably different to the book we had all loved, but it was truly wonderful in every way.
Evelyn Peterson
Auf Weidersehen
During the Hilary term, the Remove were joined by Emma Melzer, an exchange student from Stuttgart,
Germany. She stayed with Gabriella Paturel, who then spent the Trinity term with Emma in Germany.
As I was walked into Wychwood on my first day of school,
everyone smiled and was very nice to me. They showed
me around and made sure I was alright. As I moved on in
my exchange, I met new people in school and they were
all really friendly. I took part in many fun activities such
as Voice in Million and a fascinating History trip to Oxford
Castle. In April, there were hot sunny days and we enjoyed
going on the swings. I even asked my parents if I could
come back to Wychwood to board but they said that they
missed me and wanted to see me after four months of me
being away! I enjoyed my time at Wychwood and I would
like to thank Remove for a wonderful time. I will miss
everyone but will keep in touch!
81
Staff Leavers
As a parent with two Wychwood girls recently
said to me – ‘The whole family is distraught
at the thought of Mr Singh leaving. Such a
Legend!’ And she was so right – Gurdip Singh
is a Wychwood legend and deservedly so. His
high expectations and standards are legendary
and are respected by girls and staff alike. Girls
appreciate his confidence in them and strive
to rise to the level that he quietly makes clear
is where they should be aiming. Staff consider
his meticulous professionalism and his eye for
detail and aim to emulate him.
Every school has its unsung heroes
and heroines and Birte Milne is one of
Wychwood’s. The library at Wychwood is an
oasis of calm and focus and it is Mrs Milne
that has made it so over the last eight years.
She runs it so efficiently that no-one notices
that any organisation is being done which is
the true mark of efficiency. The library skills
lessons for Remove help them to appreciate
the benefits of libraries in a time when fewer
and fewer children use public libraries. Our
fiction section is bursting with books and films
that appeal to a wide range of tastes and the
reference section is constantly being weeded
and updated.
Mr Singh is a rock – he has been a friend in
need to so many in times of trouble. His
listening ear and sympathetic manner, coupled
with common sense and a wholly realistic
world view have carried many a girl and
colleague through dark times. His dry sense
of humour and wit have made us howl with
laughter and whenever something needs to be
done, Mr Singh is reliably there to help.
Writing this, I am smiling at the thought of the
protests that will come as he reads and hears
the compliments being paid as he goes on his
way beyond Wychwood. Mr Singh is too selfeffacing to blow his own trumpet and so this is
our opportunity to express our wholehearted
appreciation for his eleven years at Wychwood,
during
which we
have been
privileged
to work
alongside
a legend.
He will
always be
part of
this school
and I hope
he will
frequently
return to
keep us
up to date
with his
progress.
In addition to being the doyenne of the library,
Mrs Milne’s influence stretches out over the
entire school. It is she who is responsible
for the whole school displays that everyone
pauses in front of to absorb as they are so
packed with information, colour and pizzazz.
It was she who initiated the Poems in the
Foyer leaflets that visitors so enjoy; It is she
that welcomes the nervous new girls in for the
entrance tests and maintains that delightful
air of calm that disperses the nervousness and
trepidation; it is she who ensures that all the
drama we do at Wychwood has appropriate,
imaginative and correct costumes and props.
However, Mrs Milne has decided the time has
come to spend more time in Denmark with
her family and so will be leaving us at the
end of the year. We will miss her imagination,
her flair for design and her kind authoritative
command of her domain and we wish her
every happiness and success in the future.
82
Virginia Castel has been the mainstay of the
Spanish department at Wychwood for the last
seven years. Gentle and open but with a real
desire to impart the beauty of the language
she teaches, coupled with an understanding
of Hispanic culture and influences, Señorita
Castel has been a force for good in the school.
Girls respond to her lessons, prepared in depth
with care and precision, and they respond to
her high expectations, achieving an ability in
Spanish that many had not believed possible.
Her tiny Spanish room is crammed with
resources that she can use at a moment’s
notice and her style, highly responsive to her
pupils’ needs and questions, quite simply just
works. She has also been a cheerful influence
in the house as an assistant house-mistress,
supporting the girls and their events, coping
with emergency and promoting a sense of
inner peace and calm. We wish her and her
fiancé, Rupesh, every happiness as they get
married this summer and they start the next
phase of their lives together.
common sense, desire to learn and willingness
to help have endeared her to all. She has very
quietly taken on a great deal of the work that
underpins the smooth running of the school
and we will miss her enormously as she moves
on to the next phase of her career. We wish her
every success in her new post.
Lucy Elliott is the epitome of the girls
produced by this ‘pint-sized powerhouse’
because that is exactly what she is – a pintsized powerhouse. Determined, petite and
a forceful leader, Lucy has chaired the Old
Girls for the last five years. She has a clear
vision for what the Old Girls should be doing
to support the school and she has ensured
that it came to fruition. The biennial Careers
Saturday was her inspiration and she has
ensured that it happened, managing the
considerable organisation almost singlehandedly. She has increased the membership
of the Old Girls' society and supported the
school by organising socials and attending our
marketing functions in Oxford and in London.
She remains as the secretary but Wychwood
must put on record our gratitude and affection
for our chic and effective Old Girl leader and
wish her every success in the future with the
Kensington Magazine.
Megan Bewsey-Lord has been one of
the most widely known members of the
administration team for the last year or so as
her job as receptionist in the school office puts
her in the limelight. Coming to us straight out
of education, Megan was initially shy, but her
83
GAPS
gaps there were over here, which provided a
fantastic opportunity to make friends and meet
new people to travel with in school holidays,
but also by how quickly I could fall into the
routine of working at Wychwood.
The opportunity to work at Wychwood is one
for which I will always be truly grateful. Having
lived in Oxford for small amounts of time
throughout my life, the city is familiar to me,
as is the school which I attended for one term
when I was fourteen when my parents were
working in Oxford. While I expected this year
to bring surprises, I hadn’t quite anticipated
how beautifully foreign this familiar world
could feel. Over the past few weeks, I have
experienced spring in England for the first
time, leading me to fall in love with the city
in a new way. While my mornings have been
instantly brightened by the beautiful blossom
tree I see when I walk down the stairs, I have
also learnt, among many other things, how to
make filter coffee,
how to play (and
teach) netball and
rounders, how to
answer the phone
like someone who
isn’t terrified of the
questions looming
at the other end of
the line and, most
importantly, how
to build cherished
relationships
with both staff
and students. I cannot write this without
mentioning two of my best friends, Beth and
Sine whose support, friendship and love I will
never forget. Likewise, the smiles I receive as
I walk through the Inters’ corridor will stick in
my mind for a long, long time. With trips to
Iceland, Denmark, Wales, Belgium and Holland,
I have seen more of the world in four months
than I could have ever imagined. If this year is
considered only to be a small ‘gap’ in my life, I
am incredibly lucky.
I have also been so lucky in this placement with
the incredible students that continually make
my day and especially with the other two gap
girls I have been working beside for the past
five months. It has made the job so much easier
going through this year with two of the most
caring and generous people I’ve ever met and I
wouldn’t change them for the world.
Beth Howlett
I never thought
that my name was
difficult to pronounce,
but it has posed
some difficulties at
Wychwood. Behind
the apparently tricky
name is a Danish
person who has
lived and worked at
Wychwood for almost
a year.
It has been a year
full of good days which I have spent together
with some lovely staff, students and other gap
girls, who have been patient with my English
language and delightful to speak to. I will
cherish days spent in P.E. and drama lessons,
office time, the creativity of the art club and
the time spent with my little running club;
days where I have enjoyed beautiful Oxford
with its canals and elegant buildings as well
as the surrounding cosy villages; days full of
traditions, systems and procedures that we
are not used to in Denmark such as school
uniforms and the use of last names and titles.
Alice Petch
My name is Beth and I come from Sydney,
Australia. Although I have travelled before and
have relatives in the UK, I was so nervous about
spending a year away from my close family
and friends in a foreign country. However, I was
surprised not only by how many other Aussie
It has been exciting for me to see and explore
another school system in another culture,
especially when this school is Wychwood. I
have definitely enjoyed my time here.
Sine Saugmandsgaard Kruse
84
Habits of Mind
Learning should have no boundaries, should
take people to fascinating places and teach
things you never dreamed of learning
– learning is lifelong and must not stop.
Learning should be fascinating, empowering
and wonderful. But sometimes, young people
don’t have that much choice about WHAT they
learn, when they are doing an examination
specification. And it is certainly true that
Wychwood girls have a variety of talents and
abilities and each girl will be better at some
specifications than others. However, for
everyone, there is a choice about how much of
that specification they master.
additional information – they look for new
ways of doing things and often have a good
sense of humour.
One Habit that really matters is Metacognition:
intelligent people know what they know but
also what they don’t know, because they think
about what they think.
In every aspect of life, Striving for Accuracy
and Precision is a Habit to hone: intelligent
people first of all know the difference between
accuracy and precision (any girl who has done
an ISA with the science department will know
this). They check their answers and ensure they
match up with the criteria.
So, from time to time girls will get stuck with
their learning and Habits of Mind is all about
how to get unstuck. We need to help girls by
emphasising a number of positive learning
habits: strategies, actions and behaviours that
they can CHOOSE to help them get unstuck.
One of the most difficult habits for many is
Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and
Precision: intelligent people strive to pass on
what they mean to other people when writing
and talking. Any of us who have suffered
from a miscommunication can appreciate the
importance of that habit.
At Wychwood we use the Habits of Mind based
on research by Art Costa and Bena Kallick.
They have been described as intelligent
behaviours and like all intelligences, they can
be learned and developed and as a result
intelligence will grow.
In both new and familiar situations, it is
essential to remember the importance
of Gathering Data through All the Senses:
intelligent people know that information
reaches the brain through ALL the sensory
pathways and all should be considered
carefully.
The sixteen Habits of Mind, in no particular
order, are:
Persisting: because intelligent people stick at
things. They don’t give up.
One of Wychwood’s real strengths lies in
Creating, Imagining and Innovating where
intelligent people try to find different and
unusual solutions to problems and new ways in
which to view their world.
Then comes Managing Impulsivity, a particularly
important Habit for young people. Intelligent
people consider alternatives and consequences
before they take action. They listen to different
points of view.
At Wychwood, Listening with Understanding and
Empathy is a particular strength: Intelligent
people listen actively – they can see things
from other people’s point of view.
We do live in a time where we have access to
more forms of communication and information
than the children born at the beginning of the
twentieth century could ever have dreamed of:
it is right that we should encourage Responding
with Wonderment and Awe.
Many Wychwood girls and staff are also very
good at Thinking Flexibly: intelligent people
can change their minds when they receive
Intelligent people have real curiosity and they
strive to see the unseen. As a result it can be
difficult when Taking Responsible Risks to assess
85
all the relevant information before doing
so, but intelligent people accept confusion,
uncertainty and the risk and reality of failure as
part of the normal process of learning.
two heads are better than one and that friendly
criticism is essential for improvement.
We started this article with the final Habit
– that of Learning Continuously because
intelligent people are always learning, always
growing, always trying to improve.
Most people are in danger at some point
in their lives of taking themselves too
seriously and so Finding Humour is a very,
very important Habit of Mind: intelligent
people with a good sense of humour can
see situations from original and interesting
vantage points.
Habits of Mind are intended to 'unstick' girls
when they get stuck. Once they get into the
habit of not stopping when the ‘I’m Stuck!’
thought pops into their minds but of continuing
to think ‘what can I do to get unstuck?’, one of
these Habits will pop into their heads and they
will know where to go next. That ability to get
unstuck will go with them beyond Wychwood
and will provide the foundations for success in
everything that they do.
As John Donne said so simply yet so
eloquently: No man is an island entire of itself;
every man is a piece of the continent, a part of
the main and so Thinking Interdependently is a
vital Habit: intelligent people understand that
Friends of Wychwood
Over the last year, Friends of Wychwood have
organised a wide variety of fundraising and
social events. Near the beginning of the school
year, we hold a 'Welcome to Wychwood'
Evening. This used to be just for new parents,
to introduce Friends of Wychwood and hold
our (very short) Annual General Meeting as
well as giving parents an opportunity to meet
up and compare notes. However, recently, we
thought it would be a good idea to open it up
to everyone as an informal social event. This
year we had a better than ever turn out and
it was lovely to see parents from all different
years there.
In the Hilary term we thought it would be a
good idea to have another social so we held a
‘Bring and Share’ evening. This year we lit the
hall with candle light and enjoyed a variety of
finger food, drinks and good conversation.
Finally, we hold another event every Trinity
term. Last summer Sue and Giles Ashdown
very kindly offered us the use of their beautiful
orchard for a Hog Roast. Sue was Chair of FoW
for many years and having seen four daughters
through Wychwood, this seemed a very fitting
way to mark the approaching end of an era.
The weather was a bit variable, but we had
lots of marquees available for cover from the
occasional shower. The food was delicious and
the singing by the Ashdown girls and their
friends was beautiful.
At the end of the Michaelmas term we hold the
popular and much looked forward to Christmas
Fair, our main fundraiser. Each form organises
their own stall and this once again proved to
be a great success. So far this year, we have
funded the purchase of a performance floor for
the hall and money raised from this year’s fair is
going to be used to help refurbish some of the
common rooms in school, as well as support
this year’s chosen charity, UKPIPS (UK Primary
Immune Deficiency Patient Support).
Sadly, two members of the committee have
had to withdraw over the last year – Katey
Vane who has revolutionised the café at the
Christmas Fair and Ruby Radwan who has
helped us in many different roles. We are
always looking for new members so if you feel
you could spare a few hours please let us know.
86
STUDY 2, YEAR 13
LOWER TRANSITS, YEAR 9
Shannen Allen
Lema Amany
Zahra Ardalan
Sayna Asadi
Annabelle Ashdown
Jessica Clews
Francesca Donovan-Brady
Eleanor Doughton
Laura Ford
Martina Jones
Ophelia Jorgensen
Ling (Linna) Hua
Wing Man (Ann) Li
Wing Yin (Winnie) Li
Olivia Matterson
Ruby Naybour
Sarah Pagnia
Louise Pollard
Rebecca Robb
Rozhin Tajermanshadi
Ellen Todd
Rachel Zukas
Rebecca Cooke
Sarah Cox
Molly Fagan
Heather Fitzgerald
Teana Heaton
Isabel Jackson
Qingyang (Luna) Li
Evlyn Lloyd
Millicent Rowland
Elizabeth Sinclair
Regina Stolyarova
Sophy Vane
Jiaying (Shirley) Wang
Ella Ward
STUDY 1, YEAR 12
Alice Ardizzone
Holly Brigden-Gwinnutt
Ruyan (Cathy) Chen
Hoi Man (Ruby) Cheung
Olivia Daulton
Sophia Dashwood
Charlotte Gye
Jessie Harvey
Flora Hunter
Eliza Innes Ker
Claire Lacour
Liah Palmieri
Catriona Parker
Annabel Peach
Rebecca Pentland
Esmée Purvis
Constance Rogers
Madeleine Russell
Nina Williams
Tsian Yi (Alicia) Wong
Pak Yi (Kelly) Wong
Jin ( Ivy) Yan
ACADEMIC YEAR
2014 – 2015
SHELL, YEAR 11
Elisabeth Ayres
Laila Bhatti
Victoria Blake
Alexandra Boardman
Beatrix Burrows
Imogene Goodman
Emma Gough
Tansy Heaton
Jessey Ilomuanya
Farah Madzar
Lydia Marshall
Phoebe Sek
Emily Spence
Annabel Wilkins
Yuqiao (Helena) Xu
UPPER TRANSITS, YEAR 10
Mari Grace Adams
Rebeccca Bullimore
Maya Johnson
Kelly Kaeferstein
Eva Kischka
Jiayi (Kayee) Luo
Alexandra McMillan
Camilla Radwan
Elsa Robinson
Isabella Scott
Marieke Seidler
Ellie Tarff
Mia Sun
Wei (Vivi) Wang
Fei (Faye) Wu
88
INTERS, YEAR 8
Frances Allen
Omolara Anubi
Chloe Boxall
Ziyi (Zoe) Chen
Meredy Gibson
Antonia Heil
Georgina Lagden
Sophie Lagden
Scarlet Lopez
Olivia Lowes
Tara Minoli-Taylor
Gabriella Paturel Conceicao
Eleanor Railson
India Ramsden
Alicia Sandy
Evie Scott
Poppy West
Rebecca Whitlow
REMOVE, YEAR 7
Viktoria Böhner
Ella Frost
Madeleine Hilton
Emma Melzer
Isabelle Peach
Evelyn Peterson
Lauren Smith
Mai Thomas
Alicia Wong Fine Art AS
Tan� Heaton Fine Art GCSE
21
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Jessey Ilomuanya Textiles GCSE
THE ELM 2015
WYCHWOOD SCHOOL