Autumn Newsletter - The Red Maids` School

L A E T I T I A
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L I B E R T A S
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L I B E R A L I T A S
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News Issue 20 Autumn 2015
Thanks to
our ‘shepherds’
who tended to
Shaun over the
summer...
see page 2
The Red Maids’ Senior School News
A Word from the Head
You would expect me to be a strong
advocate of single sex education.
Yet regardless of what the latest
trend or survey suggests, it’s my own
experience in schools that gives me
such conviction especially when it
comes to educating girls!
Each year, girls arrive at Red Maids’ to start their
secondary education and confident, articulate,
well-educated young women leave. Yet the
adolescent journey between these two points is
rarely a smooth one, which is where our expertise
in educating girls comes in.
We focus on building the personal qualities that
will help our girls to be the best that they can be.
I make no apology when I say that our students
need to be independent and determined. They must
also be problem-solvers who can work creatively
and collaboratively. If they’re really going to make
a difference in the world, they must also be
reflective, inquiring and open-minded.
In a single sex school, with less social pressure and
no gender-stereotyping, resilience steadily builds,
confidence quickly grows and the girls’ own
interests are vigorously pursued.
We have strong links with the boys at QEH and
I know our girls see their peers there as complete
equals. By the time they reach the Sixth Form,
I feel great pride as I watch them go head to head
on the hockey pitch or in an intellectual debate.
They also join forces in numerous music and
drama productions. Our girls are not the least bit
fazed. Why should they be? They are Red Maids!
They know exactly what they are capable of and
are not to be under-estimated at any point – and
I believe their single-sex education has played an
important part in this.
Isabel Tobias
Visiting speakers:
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Hope Woolf, published author and Red Maids’
alumna, spoke to Sixth Formers about writing and
researching World War1 and collaborating with
Sebastian Faulks.
Labour candidate Darren Jones spoke about his
plans for Bristol.
Conservative candidate Charlotte Leslie launched
our mock election.
New appointments
Director of Music: Stephanie Harrison
Stephanie read Music at The University
of Bristol, graduating with First Class
Honours and being awarded the
university’s Centenary Performance Prize
for her final vocal recital. She then gained
a Postgraduate Certificate in Education the following
year. Stephanie joins us from Redland High School,
where she was Assistant Director of Music, and
brings with her extensive choral experience and
expertise in leading ensembles and orchestras.
Head of Drama: Chris Walker
Chris completed his BA (Hons) degree
at the University of Plymouth and a
PGCE in Drama and Education at
the University of Gloucester before
gaining valuable experience in
a number of local secondary schools.
He is an active writer, performer and
musician himself and intends to bring excellent
performance opportunities and continued academic
rigour in Drama to Red Maids’.
Red Maid, scientist and TV broadcaster
Alice Roberts designed the Red Maids’
Shaun the Sheep which was displayed in
Clifton over the summer. As Mrs Tobias
said, “As such an eminent and respected
scientist - and a Red Maid herself - we are
thrilled that Alice Roberts was chosen to
design our school's Shaun sculpture.” The ‘Shaun in the City’ trail has
been organised by The Grand Appeal, the Bristol Children’s Hospital
Charity and all sheep (including Alice’s) will eventually be auctioned to
raise funds for the hospital.
Our girls have
done it again –
securing excellent academic
results at every stage
★ In Year 13, based on A Level and IB-equivalent results,
50% of grades were A* or A, allowing girls to secure their
places at top universities. Many other high performers are
beginning Art Foundation courses before going on to university
next year, while some are venturing further afield on gap years.
★ Almost half of those going on to higher education are
taking degrees in STEM-related subjects including Physics
and Astrophysics, Civil Engineering, Neuroscience, Pharmacy
and Psychology.
★ More than 10% of the year group have gone to medical
school.
★ Issi Trout put herself in the top 0.5% in the world when
she achieved 44 out of a maximum total of 45 points in her
IB Diploma. She will be studying medicine at Birmingham
University after a year of work and further volunteering with
Unicef as a youth adviser.
★ The GCSE results were also very positive with 65.5%
of entries marked A* or A. In this year group our three sets
of twins performed particularly well gaining more than
50 A* and A grades between them! Neha Mehta, Bristol’s
Youth Mayor was also delighted to receive a straight set of
11 A* grades.
Paying tribute to both staff and students, Mrs Tobias said, “It is testament to the girls’ own hard work and
the diligence and dedication of their teachers that they achieve such excellent results year on year.”
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Year 10 historians visit
the Battlefields
“
In France, we all saw the reality and sadness
of what WW1 caused for people all over the world.
We visited many sights including a Portuguese and
Indian memorial which made us consider the
involvement of these countries. Many of us found
relatives’ names in memorials which made the trip
particularly poignant.” Anna Roberts
“
I highly recommend the Battlefields trip as it helped
me apply what I had learnt in my history lessons to ‘real
life’ surroundings. We had lovely tour guides at each
cemetery or memorial who helped explain what battles
took place. My favourite part of the trip was visiting
the Lochnagar crater, as the scale of the destruction by
mines (which was difficult to imagine in the classroom)
was very shocking, and clearly showed how the
battlefield would have looked.” Lucy Robinson
It’s
’ all go in F
rance
Australian exchange
Making our mark in
Cambodia
For 21 Sixth Form girls, the first three weeks of
the summer holiday were spent teaching in
Cambodia through our partnership with United
World Schools (UWS). The girls delivered six hours
of lessons each day in our link school in Jong Village,
as well as in five other UWS community schools.
Their extensive lesson planning stood them in good
stead as their teamwork, resilience and thinking skills
were tested. “They were true global citizens,” said
Mr Cooper, the Expedition Leader. “They worked
extremely hard but enjoyed cultural activities such
as swimming in a volcanic lake, bartering in local
markets, and visiting historic sites on their rest days.
They really impressed me – their creativity and
enthusiasm show just how prepared they are to get
out into the world and really make a difference.”
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Four lucky Red Maids – Niki Mehta, Hazel
Reade, Evy Quinn and Emma Shurety – spent
a month ‘down-under’ as part of an exchange
programme with Pymble Ladies’ College in
Sydney. As well as enjoying unique educational
experiences, such as learning about aboriginal
culture, the girls visited the Blue Mountains, the
Gold Coast, climbed the iconic Sydney Harbour
Bridge, visited a wildlife park, sand-boarded,
paddle-boarded and much more! As Hazel said,
“Australia really was the trip of a lifetime.”
Experiencing India!
Following the tragic earthquakes earlier this year in Nepal,
our biennial journey was hastily reorganised by trip leader
Miss Dalley. The party of seven students and two teachers
enjoyed a few days in Delhi before travelling 12 hours by
train and coach to Manali, in the Eastern foothills of the
Himalayas. These ‘strange English people’ were a
source of great fascination to the locals as they
trekked and climbed through the mountains
to reach their community project. At the
Sambahota Tibetan School in Manali, the
group’s UK fund-raising efforts helped to
pay for building materials and the team
had a few days of physically hard work!
The expedition ended with trips to the
Taj Mahal, the Fort Monuments and an
elephant sanctuary – all in Agra.
The biennial water-sports trip to France is always
an action-packed affair as girls travel to the south of
France for a week of kayaking, sailing, wind-surfing,
raft-building and fun. “There really wasn’t a minute
to spare”, said Trip Leader Ms Matthews.
“The girls were fantastic and threw themselves
into every activity with
great enthusiasm.”
Solving
problems
in the USA
In June, Kashif Rashid,
Carrera Dursley and
Caitlin O’Regan (Y9)
spent nine days in the
United States while attending the International
Future Problem Solving Competition at Iowa
State University. The girls met other students
from around the world and took part in a series
of educational lectures and activities. They also
visited the Empire State Building and the Statue
of Liberty in New York, and enjoyed an
American baseball game.
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The Red Maids’ Senior School News
The Red Maids’ Senior School News
Report by Miss Maggs
DEVELOPMENT and DRAMA
Pen pals
In a scheme launched last
year, Year 8 started writing to
Red Maids’ Society members.
Katherine Livingstone has
continued corresponding with
Ruby Morlin and has struck up
a lovely friendship. Katherine
said: “I love writing to Mrs
Morlin, because her letters
are so full of interesting
information about the school.”
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Two teams of athletes – Junior and
Inter squads – qualified for the Regional
English Schools Athletics Association’s
Championships in Winchester; a day which saw
many of them achieve new personal bests, including
Daisy Drew who beat the Year 7 high jump record
with 1.29m! Joss Lumby and Jemima Bennett also
represented Bristol Schools in the Avon Schools
Track and Field Championships.
In a great term for tennis, Connie Whittlestone and
Jess Peace won the Avon Schools’ Girls Doubles
and Jess won the Avon Schools’ Girls Singles. The
Y10 Div 2 AEGON team, Millie Burgess, Bella
Walker, Sophie Pyke and Joss Lumby also won their
league and the Y8 Div 1 team finished 2nd.
Our inaugural London
Lunch took place in
June with a river cruise
along the Thames. Alumnae
spanning 60 years were joined
by Mrs Tobias and special guest
Mr Browne for lunch and sightseeing – with a
special appearance by the Red Arrows and a 62-gun
salute (thanks to the Trooping of the Colour)!
Joss Lumby has made the Hockey Junior Regional
Performance Centre, and more Red Maids than ever
are involved in the Junior Development Centre (JDC)
and Junior Academy Centre (JAC).
Many students have worked with local schools to
gain their Sports Leaders qualifications and all Year 7
spent a day with Craig Figes, an Olympic athlete.
We would also like to congratulate a number of
girls for their tremendous sporting success beyond
school: Katy Alvis for Carriage Driving, Rosie
Oates for Rowing, Maddie Hughes for Cricket,
Juliette Remillat-Scarpa for Taekwondo, Kenisha
Wijewardhane for Judo and Alice Edmonds
for Sailing.
This news reflects the tremendous commitment
girls show to their sport. It makes our job as a PE
Department extremely rewarding.
Here’s to 2015-16!
The Mobile
Phone Show
Ernie’s Incredible Illucinations
This abridged version of Alan Ackybourne’s play was a burst of colour, noise
and humour. The entire cast worked well as a team with every individual
adding energy and personality. Supported by some outstanding individual
character performances, this was a slick and fast-paced show. Bravo girls!
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Director of Sport
Alumnae
lunch on the
Thames
It is no wonder that Linda Cruse, humanitarian aid
worker, disaster management specialist and Red Maids’
alumna has influenced business leaders around the
world. She was powerful, positive and persuasive in
her talk to students, staff and parents, and the strong
connections between Linda’s ethos and ours made it
a very special evening.
SPORT
The irony of performing as
mobile phone addicts and
text junkies who cannot
cope when a phone is
missing was not lost on
either our Year 10 students
or the audience. What was
on display was great
collaboration and fine
acting across the board.
A relevant, contemporary
piece of drama.
Paddling with purpose
”
Sports
day
It was a fantastic record-breaking day again this
year with six girls achieving new records:
1 Sophie Nash broke the Senior 800m record
2 Rosy Owens broke the Year 10 long jump record
3 Isy Valentine broke the Year 8 high jump record
4 Katie Joslin broke the Year 7 high jump record
5 Millie Duckworth broke the Year 7 javelin record
Also, Heather Drewe broke the Senior high jump record
for the second time!
Year 9 teamwork
Year 9 spent three days and two nights in Wales,
camping, trekking, raft-building and climbing.
All designed to
focus on the
importance of
teamwork,
self-reliance and of
‘stepping out of
your comfort zone’.
Over the last five years almost 70 girls from Years 5 to 11 have
achieved British Canoe Union qualifications!
Healthy minds
and active living
Year 10 had an active, healthy
team-building day at the beach
in Porthcawl, Wales. Without
a mobile device in sight it
showed us how energising a
‘digital detox’can be.
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The Red Maids’ Senior School News
Break-time with . . .
News
in Brief
u 50 Year 10 students saw
The Merchant of Venice in
Stratford-upon-Avon
u 15 students entered the
Avon Singles Tennis
Championships
What is your favourite movie or TV show?
I have terrible taste in films and love to watch anything with monsters,
pirates, aliens and explosions. I do also enjoy a good old fashioned
melodrama like Gone With The Wind or Casablanca.
u 140 students from Red
Maids’ and surrounding
schools attended our
Creative Industries
Conference in May
Who do you admire and why?
As a scientist, it’s got to be Charles Darwin. His ideas were such game
changers as far as Biology is concerned.
u 15 girls performed in a
major concert at the Colston
Hall to raise money for the
Bristol Children’s Hospital
u 14 sixth formers formally
presented their Extended
Project Qualification essays
u 9 Year 10 students
won Gold, Silver or Bronze
Awards in the National
Society of Biology
Competition
u 3 girls took part in an
All-Party Parliamentary
Engineering Group lunch
at the House of Lords
in London
u 58 girls enjoyed a
history trip at Warwick
Castle
Kate Fleming, Director of Sixth Form
What was the last book you read?
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. It was really good if rather
disturbing.
What skill would you most like to have?
I’d love to be able to sing or play a musical instrument well.
What is your greatest achievement at work?
I always love the point in the Autumn term when Year 13 have sent
off their university applications and they start to get offers from the
universities they want to attend. Also I loved being in House Dance!
What advice would you give a student joining Red Maids’?
Get involved and try new things. Don’t be afraid of failure. The more
you put into your time at Red Maids’ the more you will get out of it.
Name one thing at Red Maids’ that is particularly unique.
Where to start? Taking over the centre of town on Founder’s Day,
singing Happy Birthday in singing practice, house dance, the constant
consumption of cake. It’s a great place to be!
How do you relax away from school?
I love hiking, climbing, running, a bit of caving. I’m also a very keen
scuba diver.
Who killed Dr Bell?
Links
with
QEH
Twenty Year 8 students put their
investigative skills to the test during
a hands-on forensic science workshop
led by The Detective Project.
WW1 Living History
In another first-class collaboration, students
from QEH joined us to re-create historical
events from 1918-20 when Red Maids’ was
used as a hospital for wounded Canadian
soldiers. They recreated a photograph from
our archive and performed to packed
audiences over two days in a unique and
highly memorable event.
The Red Maids’ School, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol BS9 3AW
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Telephone 0117 962 2641
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redmaids.co.uk