Issue 9 November 2012 1

Issue 9 November 2012

HEADITORIAL Dear Parents and Students, It gave me great pleasure, last Friday, to review and celebrate a hugely successful past year at Brighton and Hove High School and publically to celebrate the many achievements of our girls and staff, under the leadership of my predecessor, Lorna Duggleby. One of the qualities we encourage in our girls is the confidence to take risks in their learning and so, in the spirit of setting a good example, the teaching staff have been, this fortnight, taking part in an activity called RiskIt. This is a project designed to encourage teachers to develop their skills by trying out something using ICT that they have not tried before. We intend to share our experiences with one another and we would like to hear from the girls what they think about any ICT innovations they may have spotted in their lessons. Finally, I attended the Girls School Association conference in Liverpool this week where in a keynote address Carrie Paechter, professor of Education at Goldsmiths, University of London, argued that too many teenage girls are under pressure – from schools and parents – to be perfect at everything. As a headteacher, her speech gave me much food for thought but it was as a parent of a fourteen-year-old that her words resonated most with me. Have a good weekend.

Jennifer Smith

Year 9 Development Morning On Monday November 19th the Year 9 pupils took part in a World Development Morning. It was organised by the Geography and RE departments. Pupils considered many issues surrounding development and how it is important to be aware of Global problems and what can be done to tackle them. Monday November 19th was world Toilet day and it was quiet apt that speakers from Water Aid came to give an inspiring talk to Year 9 pupils. Pupils were encouraged to think how to use and save water wisely.

Miss M. Davies Temple Update Following on from last week, Mr Osborne has been in touch to say that unfortunately the Temple is “broadly square with a builder’s margin of error” and so does not conform to Solomon’s Temple as described in 1 Kings 6.2 ,which measured sixty cubits long, twenty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. It defies logic that this myth has perpetuated so long. As a Non-Conformist minister Kemp would surely have been aware of the dimensions of the original and so the story must postdate the Temple’s construction. Even from the 1892 plan of the school, the squareness of the building is evident. Anthony Dale quotes the story in his 1947 Fashionable Brighton as does Tim Carder in his 1990 Encyclopaedia of Brighton (& Rose Collis in the 2010 update).

Ms Dean

Prize Giving Prize Giving is one of the events that we all look forward to the most. It provides us with a chance not only to celebrate and congratulate others on their achievements, but also be applauded for our own. It was a delight of being joined by our Chairman of Governors, Mrs Smith, along with the rest of the governors, teachers, current and former students and parents. As well as this, we were also incredibly fortunate to be joined by Karen Pickering, who entertained and inspired us all with her fantastic speech. Other highlights of the evening included a beautiful rendition of Schumann's 'Widmung' by music scholar Louissa Denney, and the opportunity to catch up with the students who are currently in their first year at university and even pick their brains about applying for university! Overall, the evening proved highly entertaining and enlightening, and it's great to get the chance to come together as a school community to celebrate in this way.

The Head Girl Team

Philosophy Conference 'Of that which we cannot speak

we should remain silent' (Wittgenstein)

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? This was the motion in the afternoon debate at the Conference. Maud Lorenz (Year 12) spoke confidently against the motion, at the side of the charismatic modern philosopher, Peter Vardy. She was applauded loudly by the packed conference hall for her contribution and courage in taking part. This Philosophy Conference was a day to stimulate informed critical thinking about arguments for the existence of God and ranged from Plato to Feuerbach, and Aristotle to Freud. It supports the AS and A2 Philosophy of Religion A Level Courses. It was attended by Winnie Lawrence, Maud Lorenz, Katrina Hart, Lydia Tyson, and Jaye Somers (Years 12 & 13). It was a great opportunity for our students to deepen their understanding of key philosophers and reflect on their own evaluation of their theories. Everyone said that they took away much from the Conference which they needed to process over the coming weeks. It was a privilege to observe young minds working so hard and enjoying it so much. We are looking forward to attending the next conference, on Ethics, in March 2013.

Mrs A. Dowglass

Issue 9 November 2012 2

Independent Schools National Competition A massive congratulations to the Y8 Netball team who beat St Swithun’s School, Winchester in this week’s enthralling match. Our team had their work cut out and the score was 5-3 at half-time. However, having settled in to this away match after a two hour journey the girls forged ahead in the second-half to achieve a convincing victory, 16-3. An extra special well done to my team!

Liz Osborne (Date for your Diary - ISNC finals are on Friday, 22nd March, 2013) Year 10 English Language Controlled Assessment The Year 10 will be sitting their second controlled assessment during morning lessons on Tuesday 27th November. This piece of creative writing is part of their English Language GCSE and we ask for parents’ support in ensuring full attendance and punctuality. The assessment will start at 8:50am and finish at 10:05am.

Kate Ashdown

Year 11 Drama Performance Evening On 22nd November the Year 11 GCSE Drama students performed their Devised Drama pieces in the Drama Studio. They were using Arthur Miller’s play “The Crucible” as their stimulus and they had incorporated some powerful scenes from it into their performances. The four plays proved to be very different. The first one was about a group of disparate characters on a coach which breaks down in the middle of nowhere. The audience is left questioning who was responsible for leading them to their deaths. The second one was based around the Hillsborough disaster and the exposure of the corruption surrounding the event. The third one was about the harm that drugs can do and the division of friendships as a result. The final one was a combination of Kafka’s “The Trial” and Miller’s “The Crucible” resulting in an intense and chilling drama. The stress of the run up to the performance evening paid off and these talented girls entertained their audience admirably.

Music News As we approach the end of term musical events come thick and fast. It is imperative that all choir members are fully committed to the few rehearsals we have before the Carol Service. Senior Choir is also performing at the City Charity Christmas Concert on Tuesday 4th December whilst the Youth Choir is participating in a concert organised by the Royal British Legion on Thursday 6th December. This coming Tuesday 27th November there will be an Informal Concert at 1pm in the School Hall - this is an ideal opportunity for girls who are taking Associated Board Music Exams (on Friday 7th December) to have a trial run. The sign-up sheet is on the music notice board. Finally, we would like to invite all girls to make their views heard about our instrumental lesson provision. The survey should take about 5 minutes to complete, you may need to ask your parents about a few of the questions. If you learn more than one instrument please complete a separate survey for both. The link to the online survey can be accessed from both the senior and junior school music portal pages.

Mr Lloyd

Friday 23rd - Sunday 25th: Holiday on Ice Brighton Centre www.holidayonice.co.uk Friday 23rd - Sunday 25th: MADE12 Brighton's Design & Craft Fair The Corn Exchange http://www.brighton-made.co.uk From Saturday 24th: Daydreams and Diaries: The Story of Jacqueline Wilson Hove Museum & Art Gallery – Free Saturday 24th & Sunday 25th: A Tudor Christmas Michelham Priory, 10:30am Find out about how the Tudors celebrated Christmas (Call 01323 844224 for more details) Saturday 24th: Rubylux Concert (Special guest band of our 10 to 6 event in 2011) Concorde2 at 7pm TICKETS HERE

Upcoming events Tuesday 27th: 3pm Senior Team Maths Challenge; 5:30pm Y10 Parents’ Evening Thursday 29th: 5:30pm Ski Trip information; DofE presentations at Hove Town Hall Friday 30th: Non-uniform day for Christmas Fair bottle stall Saturday 1st December: Christmas Fair 12 – 3pm

What’s on this weekend?

On Friday we hosted a fabulous evening when we were able to celebrate the successes, not only of our GCSE and A level students, but also girls from lower down the school who were awarded prizes, including our inaugural TPQ winners. The audience were entertained by the Senior Choir at both the beginning and end of the proceedings and Louissa Osorio-Denney sang Schumann’s Widmung beautifully in German before the presentations to our last year’s leavers. Our new Head, Jennifer Smith, reviewed the wonderful range of achievements from the previous year and her report was interspersed by contributions from girls about Sport Relief, the Duke of Edinburgh Award and House Plays; well done to Sophie Wolff, Hattie Buck and Sarah Smeed. Special mention should be made of the address given by Karen Pickering, our Guest of Honour. It was inspirational to hear her main message, which was that talent is nothing in comparison to hard work. The tales of her training and then racing in various international Olympic and Commonwealth swimming events made everyone realise just what it takes to be a champion – a huge amount of effort, determination and sheer grit! After lively votes of thanks from the Head Girls, Ellie Thompson and Helen Clifford, our guests enjoyed a splendid reception in the library where it was great to catch up with exciting news of first university terms and plans for gap years. As ever we are very grateful to Juliet Smith and her team of governors for everything they do for our school. The Prize Giving of 2012 was a very special event which made us all proud to be associated with the school.

Prizes, Awards and Commendations The following students received Prizes, Awards and Commendations:

Year 13 Centenary Prize for Science C. H. Davies Prize for Classics C. H. Davies Prize for Mathematics City Books Prize for Biology Clare Plumbridge Prize for Geography Claris Prize for English Claris Prize for History Farrand Prize for Modern Foreign Languages Head Girls’ Prize (presented by Old Girls’ Association) Hooper Shurrock Prize for Social & Economic Science Menkes Prize for Modern Languages Peckham Prize for Music Percival Prize for Endeavour Political Science Prize Psychology Prize Theatre Studies Prize Toft Prize for Art Wenble Prize for Physical Science Year 12 Farnsworth Prize for Geography Year 11 Kate Chalmers Prize for Religious Studies Sweeting Prize for Classics Sylvia Colls Prize for English Sylvia Colls Prize for English Sylvia Colls Prize for History Year 10 Ann Hogg Cup for a MFL

Emma Holmberg Leila Ratcliff Alice Davey Rebecca Hart Harriet Denis Le Seve Stephanie Austera Harriet Denis Le Seve Jenny Copping Leila Ratcliff Stephanie Austera Daisy Wright Louise Zhou Stephanie Austera Ulli Singleton Freya Sansom Sophie Hayes Esme Tyler Verity Smith Daisy Wright Esme Tyler Charlotte White Alice Davey Harriet Freestone Saskia Sullivan Beth Arscott Clara Austera Tabitha Ogilvie Miriam Brooks Zula Donoghue

The Banfora House Cup was awarded to Gurney (Captain - Jenny Birtles)

Issue 9 November 2012 5

JUNIOR EDITORIAL Dear Parents, I am delighted to say we had a very constructive meeting with our Uniform supplier last week and we agreed, amongst other things, that some elastication should be included in the kilt and that they will source a more distinctly green swimming costume. They will also be visiting the Junior School in February for a ‘one off summer dress sale’ so that we can assure parents of dresses for the summer term. More details to follow. I am delighted to say that we are experiencing considerable demand for nursery places and from January we will be expanding. If you have a sibling or friend who might be interested, I would encourage you to make contact so that we can offer places. Our next Open Day is on 19th January. Best wishes,

Sian Cattaneo

Year 3 Last Thursday, Year 3 went to the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum as part of their Victorians topic. Dressed in Victorian costume, all the girls looked super (and very authentic!). They enjoyed taking part in several workshops, including: chores, cooking and Victorian schooling. They were also lucky enough to give Mac the working shire horse a stroke, and watch the blacksmith hammering his metal into shape!

RAFFLE BOOKS CHRISTMAS FAIR The PA are hoping that many of you are buying/or selling the raffle books which recently came home to you. However, if there are any unwanted Raffle Books out there, please can you return these to the office as soon as possible so they can be sold on.

Divali Day in Reception! Last week we were very lucky to have Mrs Chandra and her mother join us in Reception to talk about Divali. We have been celebrating different cultures and celebrations and the children enjoyed listening to stories told by them both. The girls all dressed up for the occasion and had fun watching a traditional Rangolil pattern being made, eating yummy Divali sweets and asking questions about the Hindu Festival.

SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENTS COATS: Many children are coming into school without coats and with the inclement weather we are experiencing, it is imperative that the girls wear a decent coat to go out to play at break and lunch times. Blazers are not sufficiently warm enough to come to school in. ALSO: there are many missing coats and could parents kindly check the labels on their daughter’s fleeces etc., to ensure they have the correct coat. ABSENCES: May we remind parents that they should be sending in a note to the teacher on their daughter’s return to school explaining the nature of their absence.

We have a winner! I am very pleased to announce that the winner of the “Create A Christmas Song Competition” this year is Stella Mohammed-Coleman (2A), who composed a song called “Christmas Is Here”. I chose this song because it had a particularly catchy chorus. Many thanks to all the other girls who entered this competition. I know that composing a song is not easy and can take a considerable amount of time and effort. The standard of entries this year was very impressive.

Year 1 Knight’s Visit Year 1 have been learning all about Castles this term and following their discovery of a mystery chest in the school grounds have been on a quest to find Princess Gertrude. Their first stop was Lewes Castle but she wasn’t there. The girls thought a knight might be able to help them and created posters seeking the services of a Knight. To our surprise a Knight saw our adverts and came to visit Year 1 on Wednesday afternoon.... the girls had lots of questions to ask him and found out lots of interesting things about Knights. Sir Spence has agreed to help Year 1 with their quest to find Princess Gertrude and took the chest away with him. It was a very exciting afternoon.

THIS WEEK’S EXCITING SPORTS RESULTS CAN BE FOUND ON THE PORTAL – Click here

Week at a Glance – beginning 26th November Wed 28th: Netball: U11 ‘A’ & ‘B’ Windlesham (Home), 2:30pm U11 ‘C’, U10 ‘C’, U9 ‘A’ & ‘B’ Brighton College (Away), 2:30pm Hockey: U10 ‘A’ & ‘B’ HPPC (c&d) (Home), 2:30pm Thurs 29th: Year 4A Parent Lunch; Swimming Competition v St. Bede’s (Away), Eastbourne, 3:20pm Fri 30th: MUFTY DAY FOR ALL JUNIOR SCHOOL (No school uniform) Sat 1st Dec: CHRISTMAS FAIR, 12:00pm

Children in Need – JUNIOR SCHOOL

Last Friday we had a spotty themed non-uniform day to raise money for Children in Need. Some of our girls were supporting the Blue Peter fundraising event for Children in Need and spent the whole day in their Pyjamas! During the day KS1 and KS2 had their own discos at lunchtime; lots of fun was had by all (even the teachers joined in!). We held a ‘Design a Pudsey’ competition and all of the entries were stuck onto a giant Pudsey and put on display – hopefully you’ve had a chance to see all the fantastic pictures in our window. The winners were announced on Friday, congratulations to: Grace McKellar, (Year 3.1), Charlotte Pettit (Year 6.1), Sasha Morton-Smyth (Year 4.1) and Harriet Kenyon (Year 1.1) As a school we raised £317.99, however, the Blue Peter girls raised a further £60.42p.!

Thank you to all those who supported

CHILDREN IN NEED - NURSERY

‘On Friday our Nursery was transformed into a mini bakery as we iced and decorated biscuits for Children In Need.

We brought our teddies to join in the fun and sit with us during our picnic time.

This was followed by a visit to the Disco where the Nursery girls really excelled in their fantastic dance moves’