A Specialist Science College - Hitchin Girls School

HITCHIN GIRLS’ SCHOOL 

A Specialist Science College 

Summer Term 2011 

Term ends at 12.30 pm on Friday 22nd July. 

Students moving into Years 7, 12 & 13 return for the new academic year at 8.40 am on Monday 

5th September. Year 13 Students will leave at 12.30 pm that day and Year 12 students at 1.30 

pm. Years 8, 9, 10 & 11 return at 8.40 am on Tuesday 6th September. 

Year 12 and Year 13 students are expected at 11.00 am on Tuesday 6th September. 

Welcome to our end of year newsletter for the 

academic year 2010-2011. It has been a busy, 

interesting and sometimes challenging year as 

we have worked to address the Government initiatives 

which have been introduced over the past twelve months. 

Our conversion to Academy Status is progressing well and 

I will update you on this on our return in September. 

We have said goodbye to our leavers this term with our 

traditional Leavers’ Supper and Founders’ Day service. The 

music in the church for Founders’ Day was beautiful and the 

whole day provided a wonderful memory for our girls of their 

last day at Hitchin Girls’. In the afternoon this year, for the first 

time, there was an Enterprise event which ran during the sports 

events, to raise money for the building works by the Music 

School. he whole day saw a wonderful mixture of tradition 

and enterprise, with some outstanding sporting achievements 

as well. Many thanks go to all the staff and students who 

made the day so special. I wish all our leaving students the 

very best for the future, whatever their chosen path, and look 

forward to being there when the results arrive in August. 

Other key events this term have included the legendary Gym 

and Dance Display, the Art Exhibition and Summer Music 

Concert as well as a variety of trips, including the Year 10 

trip to Berlin. The sheer number, quality and variety of 

events that take place within the school are notable and my 

ongoing thanks goes to our staff who take the time to 

organise and oversee these events for the girls. 

SCHOOL UNIFORM / DRESS CODE 

Please ensure that your daughter’s uniform is appropriate for 

return in September. Skirts must be knee length or longer and 

so if there has been a growth spurt, please ensure that you have 

As always we have some staff leaving us at the end of this 

term: 

Mrs. Pritchard, Administrative Assistant, who has been 

covering a maternity leave; 

Miss Tofts who has been working temporarily in the Music 

Department; 

Mr. Baker, School Sports Co-ordinator whose post finishes 

this summer; 

Mrs. Moffatt, Science Technician, who is taking early 

retirement; 

Miss Hobbs, English Department, who is relocating to 

Oxford and taking a post in a new school; 

Mr. Matthews, Technology Department, who is retiring; 

Mrs. Powers, Modern Foreign Languages Department, who 

is retiring; 

Mrs. Self, Specialist teacher in the Student Development 

Department, who is retiring; 

Mrs. Outen, Head of Physics and Head of Curie House, 

who is retiring. 

I wish all these staff the very best for their future and thank 

them for their ongoing loyalty and commitment to the 

school. We have successfully filled all our vacancies and 

are fully staffed for next term. 

Finally I would like to thank all parents for their ongoing support 

for their daughters at Hitchin Girls’. I wish you all a very happy 

and healthy summer and look forward to welcoming you all 

back in September, alongside our new Year 7 students. 

Frances Manning - Headteacher 

bought a new skirt for the new school year. 

Sixth Form students are reminded of the requirement to wear a 

suit, either skirt or trousers with matching jacket. Skirts must be 

knee length or longer and those made from stretchy fabrics are 

not permitted. 

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Hitchin Girls’ School 

CHAIRMAN OF GOVERNORS END OF YEAR 

REPORT 

Managing change is a permanent feature in our lives and 

education is no exception. If the final arrangements are 

concluded as planned, by the time we return in September, 

Hitchin Girls’ School will have joined the growing number 

of the new, high achieving Academies. Whilst we will not 

notice much difference in the day to day activity of the 

school, the new status will offer opportunities to influence 

our future to a greater extent. For instance, in our survey 

of parents, staff and pupils this year, most respondents 

were concerned about our resources and accommodation. 

I hope that we will be able to address these issues with 

greater success. I am encouraged by our modest but hard 

won achievement in getting planning permission to 

upgrade our tennis and netball courts. 

Financially, we are soundly based at present. However, we 

know that like all community secondary schools we may 

face reduced income in the coming years. You may be 

sure that any such changes will be managed effectively. 

We are fortunate to have Governors who are deeply 

committed to our school and community. They devote their 

time, skills and energy behind the scenes and we owe them 

our thanks for all their support. 

On behalf of the Governors, I want to thank the Head, 

Senior Management and Staff for another wonderful year 

of achievement in all aspects of school life. Most of all, our 

warmest thanks go to the students who are a credit to our 

community, our school and to themselves. 

Colin Minton - Chairman of Governors 

AWARDS & PREFECTS 

Each year at the Founders’ Day assembly, a number 

of awards are presented to recognise achievement 

and service to the school. The following are 

congratulated on their awards: 

The Rand Award - presented for outstanding 

service to the school is awarded to Lucy Keen. 

The Helen Porter Award for Biology is awarded to 

Abigail Bevan. 

The Cathy Taplin Award for Art is awarded to Ria 

Ma. 

The Wendy Fitzgerald Award for English is 

awarded to Frances Clarke. 

The Frank Ellis Award for Chemistry is a new 

award and is awarded to Kelly Hibbert. 

The Beryl Wearmouth Award for Citizenship is 

Awarded to Caroline Ward. 

Also at the assembly, the outgoing Head Girl, 

Katie Mills, presented Ambir Mann 

with the Head Girl badge for 2011/2012. 

The Prefect Body for next year was also confirmed and the 

following are to be congratulated on their 

appointments: 

PREFECT BODY 2011-2012 

Head Girl - Ambir Mann 

AUSTEN HOUSE 

House Captain : Emma Poynter 

Performing Arts Prefect : Millie Morris 

Charity Prefect : Millie Evanson 

Sports Prefect : Candy Campbell 

Public Relations Prefect : Rosie Cowling 

BRONTE HOUSE 

House Captain : Tara Anderson-Bonner 

Performing Arts Prefect : Elissa Grainger 

Charity Prefect : Lydia Embleton 

Sports Prefect : Georgia Wood 

Public Relations Prefect : Amy Dinsey 

CURIE HOUSE 

House Captain : Rebecca Dawson 

Performing Arts Prefect : Beth Copping 

Charity Prefect : Sophie Pease 

Sports Prefect : Ellie McGurk 

Public Relations Prefect : Flora Perry 

FRANK HOUSE 

House Captain : Sophie Cross 

Performing Arts Prefect : Olivia Speakman 

Charity Prefect : Committee 

Sports Prefect : Lucy Swinburne 

Public Relations Prefect : Emily Ellwood 

JEWEL HOUSE 

House Captain : Georgia Tomkins 

Performing Arts Prefect : Stephanie Sims 

Charity Prefect : Megan Pease 

Sports Prefect : Faith Ndebele 

Public Relations Prefect : Grace Woods 

TERESA HOUSE 

House Captain : Emma WIlding 

Performing Arts Prefect : Lucy Nottingham 

Charity Prefect : Natasha Kumar 

Sports Prefect : Holly Hunt Mount 

Public Relations Prefect : April Knapper. 

TRANSPORT REVIEW 

How will your child get to school from September 2012 

A consultation on the future school transport network for 

statutory age pupils, following the County Council’s 

decision to adopt a statutory only school transport policy, 

will run from 13 June to 15 August 2011. This consultation 

covers five key proposals. 

If you wish to discuss any aspect of this consultation, please 

contact Sarah Vize, Transport Strategy and Policy Manager 

(CSF) by email to transportreview@hertscc.gov.uk. The 

consultation document and online response form is 

available on www.hertsdirect.org/csfconsultations. 

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SPECIALISM 

PHOTOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT 

The photographic equipment that Stephanie Smith of 10A 

won for the school back in the Autumn is now being used 

throughout the school. June saw our first Enterprise Month 

that aimed to develop students’ ability to make a profit out 

of a £10 investment. Stephanie and her team used the 

photographic equipment to take family and friendship 

pictures on Founders’ Day with the support of Mrs. Molloy 

and Mr. Murray-Smith. Stephanie and her team will 

continue with this venture at appropriate times of the year 

i.e. in the lead up to Christmas, Mother’s Day and Father’s 

Day so keep an eye out on Parentmail. Stephanie and her 

team will also start Photography Master Classes in the new 

term to disseminate their knowledge and understanding to 

other students in order to train them to use the equipment. 

HGS COMMUNITY AMBASSADORS 

This year’s cohort not only continued the excellent standard 

established by last year’s group but have also made the 

scheme their own. Both in school and in the wider 

community the praise for what our girls offer and contribute 

is overwhelming. From performing demonstrations in 

class, helping girls with their reading here in school, 

running dance classes in one of our family of primary 

schools or training dogs, our girls have been dedicated, 

enthusiastic and engaged. 

In order to mark their achievements, Mrs Manning 

presented our Ambassadors with certificates during a 

Celebration Breakfast on Thursday 21st July. This was 

folllowed by the handing over of their Ambassador badges 

to the new Year 12’s. We would like to thank all the 

Primary school staff and community group colleagues for 

their continued support and enthusiasm for this scheme 

which promises to grow even more in September. 

INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL AWARD 

We are extremely excited to have established a learning 

partnership with The Chapin School in 

New York. Chapin is among the top three 

girls’ schools in the US and we are very 

grateful to local business man, Sam Isaly, 

for the suggestion that we could partner 

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with them. Through two visits to the school during this year, 

we have now established key relationships that promise to 

provide exciting opportunities and an enhanced learning 

experience for all our girls. While the focus so far has been 

on joint Art projects, we are very excited to welcome 

Chapin’s Head of Music during the last weeks of term 

which promises to open up even more avenues. 

In September both schools are going to hold an ‘Our 

School’ photography competition where girls from each 

school will try to capture the ethos of their school and share 

the images with each other. This is going to be a great 

opportunity to further enhance our existing ‘Identity and 

Diversity’ week in which our Year 7’s participate. 

In addition students from both Art departments will 

contribute to a fantastic international Art project called ‘The 

Memory Project’. The project aims to provide 

disadvantaged children from around the world, with a 

painting or drawing of themselves. Growing up in 

orphanages or living on the streets, these children do not 

have family photos or the memories provided by them. Our 

girls will therefore have the very important task of creating 

an image of a designated child and through Art will 

provide them with an invaluable gift. 

During the Autumn term we also hope to establish further 

learning partnerships using our Learning Platform as a 

medium through which girls at both schools can 

communicate. Possible links so far include the Civil Rights 

movement in History, US v’s UK healthcare in Social 

Sciences and joint Scientific research. 

We hope that our link with Chapin will mean that we are 

successful in our application for the Full International School 

Award. Our applications for the Foundation and 

Intermediate stages of the Award will be submitted before 

the end of term. As the full Award has to encompass the 

partnership learning we undertake we envisage our 

successful completion during the 2011-2012 academic year. 

I would like to thank all the students and staff for their hard 

work and commitment to us being a Specialist College this 

year. In particular, Mr. Jackson and Mr. Alison and the 

Science and Maths departments respectively, Mrs. Bridge 

and Mrs. Dixon for the work they do as Primary Coordinators, 

Mrs. Wheelock and Mrs. Sahota for running 

our Diabetes Support Group and Mrs. Goose and Mrs. 

Cheetham for their fantastic monthly Book Club. 

Mrs. R. Cooper - Director of Specialism 

MATHS DEPARTMENT 

MATHS ROADSHOWS 

The Maths department have been extremely busy visiting 

primary schools throughout June and running the Hitchin 

Girls’ School Roadshow for Years 5 and 6. Teams of four 

competed against each other by solving mathematical 

problems and puzzles including Tangrams, Cross 

Numbers, Pentominoes and Anagrams. The teams had a 

few minutes to answer as many questions as possible at 

each table before they moved on to the next table. The 

pupils became more and more competitive as they moved 

around the room and were eager to collect as many marks 

as possible on each puzzle. It was fascinating to watch 

these young people work through each different type of 

problem, a skill which will benefit them as they move on 

to the next phase of their education. 

On 29th July five of the winning teams from the 

Roadshows came to Hitchin Girls’ School to compete in 

the Roadshow Finale. The competition suddenly became 

even fiercer as the teams competed against pupils from 

other primary schools. Again the pupils used their skills 

brilliantly and although the final scores were extremely 

close the winning team came from Samuel Lucas. Well 

done to all the pupils that took part! 

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MATHS AMBASSADORS 

This year we have had 21 very impressive Year 12 students 

who have acted as Maths Ambassadors both here at Hitchin 

Girls’ School and in six primary schools. They have a variety 

of roles including supporting primary classes, Key Stage 3 

classes, mentoring younger pupils in the school and assisting 

at our very busy Maths Club. All of these girls have shown 

initiative, sometimes by finding suitable tasks to assist a Year 

8 pupil who is having difficulty understanding a concept, or 

by finding out which topic the class they are supporting is 

working on so that they can be fully prepared to help in the 

lesson. They have been a tremendous support to the 

department and have hopefully used skills which will help 

them in their future career choices. Well done to the following 

girls:Cassandra Kennedy,Beth Copping, Naomi Cave, Emily 

Ellwood, Natasha Kumar, Julia Speakman, Sasha Gatselyuk, 

Lucy Green, Emily Auld, Zoe Bothamley, Ambir Mann, 

Sophie Cross, Georgia Wood, Becky Dawson, Emiko Kemp, 

Flora Perry, Imogen Sheldon, Ella Thomas, Pavan Ghag, 

Eashani Haria and Deepika Dhillon. 

Mrs. S. Bridge – Maths Department 

JUNIOR MATHS CHALLENGE 

Fifty nine girls from Years 7 and 8 took part in the Junior 

Maths Challenge in May. They did particularly well and 

gained a total of 41 certificates. 

Rhea Janjua, 8F, was Best in School and was awarded a 

Gold certificate. 

Other pupils from Year 8 who gained Gold certificates 

were: Hannah Dixon 8F, 

Anahita Mahmoudzadeh 8T, Josie West 8J, Rhianna 

Browne 8J, Freya Nobbs 8B 

A further 19 girls gained Silver certificates while 16 obtained 

Bronze certificates. Congratulations to all girls who took part. 

Mrs. S. Morgan – Maths Department 

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT 

YEAR 9 CREST DAY - BUCKETS OF WATER 

In June our Year 9 students spent a day investigating water 

in order to gain a CREST Bronze Award. We were joined 

by Ted Casey from Veolia Water, who started our day off 

with a thought provoking talk. The day was centred around 

water and during the challenge students worked in teams 

to complete a variety of activities including: cleaning river, 

calculations of water loss and the cost of energy wastage 

resulting from dripping taps, creating the fizziest bath 

bomb and finally a water taste challenge. Special 

congratulations to the Gifted and Talented Water Audit 

team who spent some time on the day planning for 

extended projects. 

CREST is an acronym for Celebrating CReativity in 

Engineering, Science and Technology. BA CREST is a 

nationally recognized accreditation scheme for project 

work in the fields of Science and Technology. Aimed at 

students aged 11-19, BA CREST Awards encourage 

students to develop their scientific curiosity, problem-solving 

and communication skills. The project was partly funded 

by our Specialist School status. 

Many thanks to all the staff and students who helped the 

day to run so smoothly. If you haven’t yet paid the £4 for 

your award please bring it to the office so you can receive 

your award in September. 

SCIENCE CLUB 

The Science Club have been very busy this term! Just before 

Easter they spent several weeks building volcanoes from 

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paper maché, painting them and then creating spectacular 

volcanic eruptions. Their next project was to design some 

rockets with the Physics department. After several weeks 

of hard work, some very impressive looking rockets were 

fired on the pitch with fantastic results. Their current project 

is a "Whodunit" using forensic investigation skills including 

fibre analysis, trace analysis, chromatography and digital 

analysis to try and figure out who committed a crime. 

Thanks to Cassandra Kennedy for helping every week and 

Verity Hime, Mrs. Outen and Miss O'Reilly for organising 

the Rocket Club. 

Mrs. L. McAdam 

CHEMISTRY 

ROYAL SOCIETY OF CHEMISTRY ANALYST 

COMPETITION 

We entered a team of three Year 12 students, Zoe 

Bothamley, Cassandra Kennedy and Georgia Wood for 

the regional heat of this annual competition and they came 

first out of the sixteen teams that entered. The competition 

involved analysing some samples to a high degree of 

accuracy and being able to process the results 

mathematically. Their success meant that they went forward 

to the national finals in Reading, in which they also 

performed creditably although they did not win. 

BIG BANG SCIENCE FAIR 

The team of Year 8 students who came First in the Science 

Fair, Rhea Janjua, Kiran Janjua, Anahita Mahmoudzadeh 

and Elly Jenkins, displayed their project at the Big Bang 

Science Fair at Duxford on 13th July. Their original project 

involved researching the history of hovercrafts and since 

then they have been busy making one of their own that is 

large enough to transport one of them. 

OTHER NEWS.... 

As part of our outreach work to junior schools, Mr. P. 

Jackson presented the Potions Roadshow to over 150 

students in two sessions in the penultimate week of term. 

The mixture of exciting flashes and bangs never fails to 

impress! 

Mr. P. Jackson - Head of Science 

of wildlife. Most students realised that a 

balance between entertainment and 

conservation has to be maintained for a zoo 

to be successful. We have had lots of entries 

for the photography competition and prizes 

will be awarded before the end of term. 

BIOLOGY SOCIETY AND 

AMBASSADORS 

The Biology Society was started in 2009 by two of our 

Year 13 students. This is a club run by Sixth Form students 

for the younger year groups. This year they have been 

working on a bumble 

bee project and the 

Ambassadors have 

installed a tropical fish 

tank in the Biology 

corridor. They also 

have plans for the 

development of an 

indoor wildlife area. 

JUNIOR SCHOOLS 

Mrs. Dixon and her Ambassadors have been working with 

the junior schools on electricity, healthy eating and ecology 

projects. 

They have also worked with Gifted and Talented students 

on physical and biological aspects of microscope work. 

William Ransom JMI School, Year 5 students, visited in 

May to take part in The Great Pond Dip 2011,and they 

are returning with Year 2 to do the same again before term 

ends. It is wonderful to see our wildlife area being used to 

such great effect. 

BAYFORDBURY 

In May all Year 13 Biologists took part in our ‘Ecology in 

a Day’ course at the East of England Science Learning 

Centre. Some students were able to improve their practical 

skills which will boost their A2 exam results. 

BIOLOGY 

WHIPSNADE ZOO 

On 15th June all Year 7 went to the zoo. 

The aim was to consider whether zoos 

should be banned. The students learned 

all about the work that zoos do behind 

the scenes and their role in conservation 

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AFRICA 2011 

We leave on July 28th for our second Africa Conservation 

trip. The girls are getting excited and a little nervous as 

they prepare for the expedition. Here is a note from one 

Year 12: 

On the 28th July 30 Year 12’s and 13’s along with Mrs. 

Dixon, Mr. Jackson and Mrs. Monks will be jetting off to 

South Africa. The first week will begin with a 10 hour 

journey from Johannesburg Airport to Kruger National 

Park. The week will comprise of field activities, surveillance 

of wild animals and birds, survival techniques and a series 

of lectures about the type of species and biodiversity we 

are likely to encounter whilst there. We will then transfer 

to Sodwana Bay to begin either our scuba diving training, 

for those of us who aren’t already qualified, or for those 

that are they will be doing their first dives and carrying out 

reef ecology surveys. There will be some hard work 

involved as for most of us we will be using the long 

journeys between transfers to brush up on our scuba 

knowledge as the theory test for the PADI qualification we 

are taking requires a lot more revision than we bargained 

for! For those of us who have been studying Biology at A- 

level it is a once in a life time opportunity to see the things 

we have been learning about in the classroom in real life, 

but for everyone it will be a great experience to learn a lot 

about South Africa’s varied and interesting wildlife! by 

Flora Perry, Year 12 

Mrs. M Dixon – Head of Biology 

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BIOLOGY SOCIETY - WHAT BUMBLEBEES DO 

YOU HAVE IN YOUR GARDEN 

Bumblebees are crucial pollinators of our flowers and crops 

across the UK, such as apples and strawberries. Without 

insects to pollinate our crops the food industry would not 

be able to have enough food in the supermarkets for 

everyone to buy and therefore live. 

In the UK we have 25 different species of bumblebee, but 

three are now extinct and six species have declined by at 

least 80% in the last few decades. We have seen a huge 

decline in bee numbers in the wild for a number of reasons. 

This term the Biology Society has been taking part in a 

National Bumblebee Conservation project in association 

with the organisations ‘Conserve Me’, ‘Bumblebee 

Conservation’ and ‘Greenstack’. The aim of the project is 

to research which species’ of bumblebees are in the area 

and also to find out what flowers they forage. The students 

were very diligent in their preparation and are now 

recording data. They began by planting seeds of 

bumblebee friendly plants into hanging planters. Whilst 

waiting for them to flower they started research into 

different bumblebee species. They are now putting their 

research to work as they observe the bumblebees each 

lunch time. Unfortunately the seeds have been slow to 

flower but they have adapted the scientific method to 

include the plant species already growing in school. 

Get involved! Have a look in your garden over the summer 

months and see which flowers they like to forage. You can 

even try your hand at identifying them by logging onto the 

school Learning Platform for a bumblebee identification 

chart. 

Mrs. A. Salmon – Biology 

PHYSICS 

TES SCHOOL AWARDS FOR 'OUTSTANDING 

TEACHING RESOURCE OF THE YEAR' 

We are delighted to announce that Mr. Jackson has won 

the National TES School Award for 'Outstanding Teaching 

Resource of the Year'. Mr. Jackson has led our highly 

successful Astronomy Master Classes over the last seven 

years. He recently developed a 

presentation from these classes 

which was short listed for the 

TES Schools Awards 2011. The 

beauty of this particular work, 

which has grown from his own 

expertise and enthusiasm, is 

that it can be used by teachers 

throughout this country and beyond to inform and inspire 

young people about the wonders of the Universe. 

Astronomy Master Class 2011 in action! 

Mrs. P. Outen – Head of Physics 

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT 

‘POETRY MATTERS’ – POETRY COMPETITION 

In the Spring term, our budding young writers were given the 

opportunity of entering the ‘Poetry Matters’ competition which 

involved students from Year 7 to Year 13 writing poetry about 

what matters to them. Eleven of these entries were successful 

in being selected for publication in the ‘Poetry Matters 2011’ 

anthology. Selection was based on their imaginative choice 

of language, expression and creativity. A copy is available 

in our school library, the anthology can be found in The British 

Library and further libraries across the UK and Ireland for the 

public to enjoy. We are very proud of those students who took 

part and congratulate them - their work is displayed in the 

Lower School Block. 

YEAR 7 TRIP TO SEE 

‘THE LION KING’ 

It was a pleasure to take our Year 7 students to a 

performance of ‘The Lion King’ on Thursday June 23rd. 

This opportunity was offered to encourage the girls’ 

interest in theatre and staging, which forms part of their 

studies in English. The show was a real hit amongst the 

students, who were impressed with the set design and 

costumes, and had memorised most of the songs by the 

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end of the evening! Thank you to all the staff who 

helped on the trip. 

Mrs. C. Eveleigh 

‘THE TIMES SPELLING BEE’ COMPETITION 

Our Year 7 spelling team won the regional heats and reached 

the semi-finals of ‘The Times Spelling Bee’ competition. On 

Thursday 26th May we travelled to Cambridge to compete 

against teams from around the country. Team members Amy 

Grocott, Laura Jones, Violet Pritchard and Megan Kennedy 

did extremely well and were supported by team managers 

Isla McLachlan and Choong-Ling Liew-Cain. The team finished 

an impressive 7th. All the girls worked incredibly hard and 

were a credit to Hitchin Girls’ School. 

Ms. H. Walker 

WRITING MASTER CLASS WITH MICHAEL 

MORPURGO 

On the 7th and 8th of June, I arrived at Ashlyn School with 

Dora Housham to commence a writing master class which 

was hosted by Michael Morpurgo. 

Michael introduced himself and gave us numerous tips on 

our own writing and informed us that the main ingredients to 

a good writer are imagination, a daydreamer and a liar! 

Each day we began with a starter activity which involved a 

picture and in groups we invented a story-line to match. Once 

our minds had begun to tick away, we had the chance of an 

hour session with Michael – which I enjoyed the most! He 

was so creative, had a great sense of humour and an 

extremely odd perspective on life. 

To end our time at Ashlyn School, Michael signed each of our 

books and wished us luck. Overall, it was an amazing 

experience I will never forget and shall treasure as long as I live! 

Danielle Martingano - Student from 7C 

MODERN FOREIGN 

LANGUAGES 

AU REVOIR MRS. POWERS 

On behalf of the Modern Languages department and all 

those students in her classes, I would like to extend my own, 

enormous thank you and best wishes to Mrs. Powers who is 

retiring this year. It has been a pleasure to work with such a 

dedicated, talented and professional colleague and I know 

that I speak on behalf of the other MFL staff and all her 

students when I say that we will miss her very much next year. 

We hope you enjoy a long, fruitful and very happy 

retirement! 

ET ENFIN......A MFL DEPARTMENT 

CHALLENGE..... 

Are you going abroad this summer to a country where you 

don’t speak the language If so, your challenge is to learn 

5 phrases in the new language whilst you are there and to 

impress your languages teacher next September by saying 

them when you return! 

Bonnes vacances! 

Mr. Dellar - Head of Modern Foreign Languages 

SOCIAL SCIENCES 

YEAR 12 SOCIAL SCIENCES TRIP TO 

PARLIAMENT 

On Tuesday, 28th June, the Social Sciences department took 

23 Sociology and Health and Social Care students on a visit 

to The Houses of Parliament in Westminster. We embarked 

on a tour of the buildings including both the Commons and 

the Lords and then had a workshop with another school 

where we saw an insight into power in the UK and the ways 

in which we can influence it.We also had a meeting with our 

local MP, Peter Lilley, who was grilled mainly about the 

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Come & Join In 

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You’ll discover the history of elementary education 

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Explore Victorian, Edwardian and WW2 classrooms, have 

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what did they keep in the parlour and the scullery 

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government’s policy of raising student tuition fees and the 

debt that this will create for young people. 

The day was really useful for both sets of students who need a 

background of how the law is made, who benefits from it and 

the role of social policy when they go on to study their A2 

courses. In Sociology we are looking at crime and deviance 

including the role government plays in crime prevention and 

dealing with crime and in Health and Social Care we will be 

looking at political issues in the UK care system considering 

the politics of the welfare state and the NHS. 

Mr. I. Osborne - Head of Social Sciences 

MUSIC DEPARTMENT 

The Summer term has been a busy one for the Music 

Department. The concert involved many ensemble 

performances, lead by Sixth Form students, Mr. Chambers, 

Miss Tofts and the peripatetic North Herts Music School staff. 

Many hours have been given up (in and out of school time) 

for rehearsals, and I think it’s safe to say the result was worth 

it! The concert was also an opportunity to say farewell to the 

Sixth Form students who have supported the Music 

The GCSE and A Level Music students have been working 

very hard on their ensemble and solo pieces for private 

concerts, and we would all like to thank Mr. Chambers and 

Miss Tofts for the time they have given up for these. 

The highlight of the year as per usual was Founders’ Day. 

This is the school’s opportunity to say goodbye to the Year 

11’s and 13’s who won’t be returning for another academic 

year in the coming September. For many girls, it is the last 

opportunity to perform as part of the HGS Music Department 

in Senior Choir. Even with the annual speech about ‘the joys 

of new beginnings’ many tears did flow; (and not all from 

the soon-to-be ex-students!). This year the event was 

organised by Hitchin Girls’ School and the fanfare was 

composed by Bethany Murray of Year 11. Well done to all 

those girls involved. 

Mr. Chambers and Miss Tofts would like to thank Isla Mclachlan 

for writing the Music Report for the Summer Term 2011. 

ART DEPARTMENT 

ANNUAL ART SHOW JUNE 22ND 2011 

The Art department were delighted with the standard of work 

on show this year from over 60 candidates at AS and A 

Department so much throughout the years. Although some 

were not present, they were not forgotten, and the time and 

effort they have given up has been much appreciated by the 

Music Department. 

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Level. The Art rooms and main school corridor were 

transformed into a gallery space for the private show of 

painting, sculpture, photography and ceramics. The evening 

was very well attended and friends and family were justly 

proud of their daughters’ and sons’ achievements. 

I would like to thank my staff for the hard work which went 

into making sure our candidates work was displayed and 

celebrated. Our GCSE Art show will be in November. 

Ms. S. Wallace - Head of Art. 

BUSINESS STUDIES & 

ECONOMICS 

ECONOMICS MASTERCLASS 

In May 2011, the A Level Economics students of Hitchin 

Girls' School were delighted to welcome Ray Powell to the 

school. Ray is a Senior Examiner for AQA and also author 

of the text book used by students. Would-be Economists from 

Year 12 and 13 of both Hitchin Girls' and Boys' Schools 

enjoyed hearing Ray speak and discuss issues of current 

significance. Useful revision tips were provided and we are 

hopeful that this will have inspired students to undertake 

further independent research and consider studying the 

subject beyond school. 

ENTERPRISE MONTH 

During June Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 worked in teams to 

develop their entrepreneurial skills coupled with research, 

problem solving, team working, innovation and creativity. 

This culminated in 48 enterprising activities being held during 

Founders’ Day. A wide range of goods and services were 

available from very enthusiastic sellers who were very keen 

to create as much profit as possible which will be contributed 

to the development of the new sports facility. Enthusiasm for 

maximising profits has spilled over into the coming week 

when the Enterprise Sale is to be held. 

We would like to acknowledge sponsorship from: Asda, 

Boots, Morgan Davies, Pink Blossom, Sega Games, Tesco, 

Tom Cubis Photography, Waitrose, parents and individual 

private sponsors. 

Thanks also to our Sixth Form Business Studies pupils who 

were able to use their enterprise experience and made an 

invaluable contribution to the success of Enterprise Month. 

Mrs. J. Molloy – Head of Business Studies 

FOOD TECHNOLOGY 

PAUL HOLLYWOOD VISITS HITCHIN GIRLS’ 

SCHOOL. 

Following Mr. Simon Ferguson’s success in winning a ‘Grain 

Chain’ competition to find the UK’s most inspiring Food 

Technology teacher, celebrity 

chef and master baker Paul 

Hollywood, gave A-Level 

Consortium students a 

Masterclass in making bread 

and scones. Paul shared his 

knowledge of the food industry, 

employment opportunities and 

his vast knowledge of baking 

bread with the students and staff. 

Mrs. R. Richards – Head of 

Food Technology 

STUDENT 

STRENGTHS AND INTERESTS 

VILLIERS PARK ‘STEPPING STONES TO 

EXCELLENCE’ 

A group of Year 10 students went to Villiers Park Educational 

Trust, near Cambridge. Villiers Park is a national charity that 

helps very able young people achieve their full academic 

potential and gain places at leading universities. 

Marisha Wallis, Emily Jackson, Joanna Hankin, Nicola Ip, 

Gaia Brooker and Lucy Foord, took part in a two day 

residential at Villiers, alongside students from other local 

secondary schools. The event involved various workshops, 

challenges and a visit to Cambridge University. 

The girls in front of the The Corpus Clock, presented to 

Cambridge by Prof. Stephen Hawking 

Ms. S. Wallace - Student Strengths and Interests 

DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S 

AWARD 

At a recent Awards 

Ceremony, held at Princess 

Helena College, 25 Year 

11 students were awarded 

their Bronze Duke of 

Edinburgh’s Award. The 

awards were presented by 

-12-


Mike Perham who, at 17 years of age, became the youngest 

person to sail single-handedly around the world. The school’s 

award unit leader, Sara Edwards, was also presented with 

the Chairman’s Award for long standing contribution to the 

running of the award in North Herts. 

CITIZENSHIP NEWS 

PSHEC ( Personal, Social, Health Education & Citizenship) is 

being re-branded and next year will be called ‘Learning4Life’. 

New modules such as first aid will be included. 

A PSHEC group were set the challenge to design a new 

front cover for next year’s work booklets. Congratulations 

go to Jemima Ross of 7C whose winning design has won 

her a Boots voucher and House points. 

HORTICULTURAL CLUB 

Broad Beans were a big success this year, it is always a 

pleasure to crop and eat the produce! 

Our 

annual House 

potato growing competition yield suffered from the early 

drought this year. On weighing Frank was a clear winner 

with over twice the weight of the lowest House. Mrs. 

Pearce, Head of Frank House has been awarded the silver 

potato masher for the year. 

THE COUNCILLORS SURGERY CANVASSING 

STUDENT VOICE- ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP 

On Wednesday 22nd June, Councillors David and Judi 

Billing together with Margaret Bracey (NHDC) met at 

lunchtime with an enthusiastic group of students to discuss 

local issues for young people in the area. 

discussed at the last session and then raised issues which 

included the dell, the shops in Hitchin and vandalism at 

local parks with suggestions for further discussion. 

The students were great Ambassadors for the school and 

our thanks go to Maia Perry in Year 8, Josie and Holly 

Teschner, Lauren Gardner, Hannah Skeels, Ellie 

O’Mahony, Florence Allard, Tiegan Fox and Immy 

Blackburn-Horgan in Year 7. 

EMILY’S GARDEN 

Emily’s Garden continues to enhance the well being of us 

all and we extend a big thanks to the dedicated weekly 

club members especially the Co-ordinators Hope Abbott, 

Elizabeth and Jenny Anderson. 

LIBRARY NEWS 

The library has been quiet this term as girls have used the 

study facilities to revise for internal and external exams. 

We continue to be grateful for our parent volunteers who 

help at lunchtimes, but we will be asking for more parents 

to come forward in September. 

Our reading group has had an exciting term. In May we 

took six girls to a Red House Book Award discussion event 

at the Schools’ Library Service, where they also heard Ali 

Sparkes talk about her life as an author. Our lunchtime 

meetings have revolved around the Carnegie and 

Greenaway Medal nominations. The girls were delighted 

that ‘Monsters of Men’ by Patrick Ness won the national 

award as this was their clear favourite. 

Our Adult Book Group continues to challenge itself with 

different genres and this term we have read ‘Stuart: A Life 

Backwards’ and ‘Sacred Hearts’, both of which provoked 

strong opinions and considerable discussion. 

Mrs. L. Cheetham & Mrs. M. Goose – School 

Librarians 

SPORTS’ REPORT 

The summer term sports’ programme has yet again been 

full and varied, with a large number of events being 

packed into a relatively short amount of time. 

We started the Easter holidays with our second Sports’ Tour 

They fed back progress and updates from concerns 

-13-

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to Holland, where 51 students took part in a busy week of 

coaching and fixtures. The students were excellent 

Ambassadors for the school both on and off the sports’ 

field. 

Congratulations go to Mr. Chambers, Head of Music, who 

completed the London Marathon in April. 

Our cricket players competed commendably in the second 

round, after winning the ‘Lady Taverner’s Trophy’ before 

Easter. They came across some tough opposition and 

played well throughout the day. We have also been very 

fortunate to gain some additional cricket coaching on 

Monday lunchtimes this term, with many thanks to Hitchin 

Cricket Club. 

One Year 10 PE group took part in the Firefit project at 

Hitchin Fire Station in their PE lessons this term. They have 

had an insight into how a fire station is run, climbed 

ladders, run out hoses, cut car doors off and encountered 

obstacle courses, whilst wearing “smoke” goggles! I’m 

sure the students will agree that it has been good fun and 

very informative, but hard work and we would like to thank 

Hitchin Fire Station for the opportunity! 

Our examination students for PE and Dance have been 

heavily involved in the final stages of their practical work 

and the P.E. Revision Saturday in May was well attended. 

Our Year 11 dancers delighted an audience of family and 

friends, with an evening performance of their compositions 

before their final examination. 

Our Gifted and Talented athletes were also given the 

opportunity to undertake an afternoon of intensive 

coaching before the athletics season got underway. 

Within school, we pride ourselves on giving opportunities 

for all to take part at whatever level they wish and on a 

recreational level. The Inter House League has been well 

attended with Years 10, 9, 8 and 7 being involved in Inter 

Form Tennis and Rounders. Many of our students have also 

participated in the ‘Race for Life’ at several venues across 

the county, raising a great deal of money for this very 

worthy cause. 

A large Year 7 team took part in a sporting festival at 

Knights’ Templar, where they participated in a wide range 

of new activities including street dance, badminton and 

track cycling. National School Sports’ Week gave all 

students the opportunity to take part in a range of fun 

activities and we were delighted that “Christians in Sport” 

were able to deliver exciting and fun, lunch time and after 

school sessions, which included “Sports Day Activities”, 

like egg & spoon and sack races. 

Our Sports’ Leaders are coming to the end of their level 1 

and 2 Awards, continuing to develop their coaching and 

leadership skills in school, in our local feeder schools and 

at local festivals. We shall introduce the Level 3 Award 

next year and will be able to deliver the Football Leaders’ 

Award next term. Ten of our Year 10 netballers will 

complete their Netball Leaders’ Award before the end of 

term. The term will end with HGS hosting a Primary 

Rounders and a High 5’s Netball Festival. 

Once again, our athletes have performed to the highest 

standards this season. We have competed at County and 

District level, and in the County Championships and District 

Championships. 

We started the term with the County Multi Events 

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for this event. Olivia Dixon produced a creditable 

performance in this competition at Under 15 level. 

At the Individual County Championships, the following girls 

either reached the finals or finished in the top eight; Alice 

Rackham (High Jump 2nd and 300m 3rd), Fran Maydom 

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(Javelin 4th), Caroline Willis (1500m 4th), Alice 

Sunderland (Hurdles 4th), Alessandra Stevens (800m 7th), 

Emily Evans (Hammer 2nd), Ellie Mann (100m 5th). Alice 

Rackham was subsequently selected to represent 

Hertfordshire in the High Jump at the National Schools’ 

Finals in Gateshead. 

At District level our Year 7 (A and B teams), and Year 8 (B 

and C) teams performed well across 3 fixtures per age 

group, with the Year 9, A team, and the Year 10, B team, 

finishing first in the District Leagues. 

Our senior and junior A teams competed at County level 

with the junior team finishing 9th in their division and the 

senior team finishing third in theirs. The senior team then 

went on to compete at the County Finals (top 8 County 

teams) where they finished in 7th place overall. 

The Senior District Championship took place the evening 

before the examinations started 

and we were delighted that our 

senior team finished in 3rd 

place overall. However, the 

District Championships for other 

years started off with some 

excellent performances in the 

morning but unfortunately was 

cancelled due to poor weather in the afternoon. 

We continue to challenge all of our students who are taught 

athletics in lesson time, to complete the 5 star Award 

Scheme; this year, the top award of 5 stars go to Sophie 

Butler and Molly Kerr-Barr (Year 7), Ellie Mann, Alessandra 

Stevens, Sadie Lenbergs, Jasmine Goold, Renee Williams 

(Year 8), Olivia Dixon (Year 9), Vicky Marquiss, Alice 

Sunderland and Fran Maydom (Year 10). 

We finished the term with Sports’ Day, where we saw a 

number of excellent performances. This year the Junior 

Trophy was jointly won by 7T and 7C, the Intermediate 

Trophy by 9B and the Senior Trophy by Year 12. Teresa 

House rose to the occasion and won the overall House 

Trophy, which Mrs. Outen was delighted to accept on 

behalf of the House! 

Three of our athletes continue to perform to the highest 

standard with Maria Verdeille becoming County 

Champion in the 100m and 200m at the County Disability 

Athletics Championships. Also, Fiona Montgomery was a 

silver medallist in 100m and 200m at County level. Both 

students were selected as part of the East Region team and 

will compete at the National Championships at the end of 

this term. Maria and Fiona were also part of the North 

Herts. team that succeeded in becoming County 

Champions in Boccia at senior level. Maria also achieved 

the prestigious Jean Ratcliffe Award for her contributions 

to the development of Boccia this year. Sophie Plummer 

has been selected for the East Region team for the National 

Athletics Championships and achieved a silver medal in 

this year’s Hertfordshire School Games Competition. 

Our rounders teams have continued to play well this 

season, still competing in the league right up to the end of 

term. At the District Tournaments, the Year 9 and 10 teams 

are yet to play due to their competition being hit by bad 

weather on two occasions. However, the Sixth Form team 

finished in 3rd place and the Year 11 team finished as 

winners of their tournament. The Year 7 team were 

narrowly beaten in the semi finals and the Year 8 team 

were winners of their Championship. 

In tennis, our Under 13 and Under 15 teams won the 

North Herts Nicola Mabbitt League. They both went on 

to compete in the County finals where they both finished 

in 5th place. The teams consisted of Ally Antoniou, Lucy 

Foord, Brittany Sprawson and Fran Maydom (Under 15) 

and Serena Brooker, Bhavini Patadia, Sophie Taylor, Juliet 

Todman, Katherine Morley, Jasmine Pandit and Molly Kerr- 

Barr (Under 13). 

Tennis clubs have been well attended with some close 

matches in the District Leagues, with seven Year 7 doubles 

pairs enjoying a school tournament at the end of the term. 

The District Tournament for Under 13 and Under 15 had 

to be abandoned due to rain. 

Congratulations to Elizabeth Hodge (Year 8) and Alice 

Turner (Year 7) who played commendably through the 

early rounds of the Harpenden Lawn Tennis National 

Schools’ Girls’ Doubles Tournament, where, against some 

tough opposition, they qualified for the semi finals, 

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A special mention to Charlotte 

Reid in Year 11 who has recently 

competed in the National 

Championships for swimming in 

Sheffield, where she finished 

13th in the 50m backstroke, she 

also qualified for the National 

Youth Championships, to be held 

at the end of July. Congratulations to Carmen Au (Year 7) 

who competed in the Herts. Youth Games in Badminton, 

where she was a part of the winning North Herts. Under 

12 team. Congratulations also go to Alysha Stojko-Down 

who has been selected to play for the Under 15’s Arsenal 

Ladies Football Academy. 

At the time of going to press, we are still working towards 

our annual Gym and Dance display. We had our very 

own ticket crisis to rival that of London 2012, when nearly 

600 available tickets were sold out within three days! We 

look forward to three evenings and a matinee of excellent 

performances from the numerous dancers and gymnasts 

who are taking part this year. Numbers at gymnastics and 

dance clubs continue to increase year by year and the 

display is an excellent forum for students to perform their 

work. 

Following the display week, we are holding “Get Set” 

week whereby the Years 7, 8 and 9 students will have a 

chance to get involved in activities that will raise 

awareness of the Olympic and Paralympic values. Lunch 

times will be full of activities to encourage the three main 

values of Excellence, Respect and Friendship, with the 

students having opportunities to take part in a full 

programme of Olympic and Paralympic events. 

Well done to everybody for a highly successful summer 

term! We are always proud of the achievements of all our 

students. 

Mrs. D. Maydom - Head of Physical Education 

AUSTEN HOUSE 

I would like to thank our outgoing prefects, particularly 

Megan Baker, Amryta Barhey and Emma Bamberough for 

their work in Austen House over the last year and would 

like to introduce our new prefects for the coming academic 

year; Emma Poynter, Candy Campbell, Millie Morris, 

Millie Evanson, Rosie Cowling and Joely Dodds who have 

already been effectively participating in their roles. 

We hope to round off a successful year raising money for 

Great Ormond Street by sponsoring Miss Rai in her efforts 

to climb mount Machu Picchu in Peru in the summer. If any 

parents would like to do so please contact us by email or 

through your daughter. 

Well done to 7A, who came 3rd on Sports Day and to 8A 

and 9A who came equal 2nd in their groups – an excellent 

effort. As a House we came 2nd overall. Well done to all 

participants. 

I wish all our students who are leaving us this term in Years 

11 and 13 the very best for their future and all the girls 

returning a very restful summer. 

Mrs. J. Cornell – Head of Austen House 

BRONTE HOUSE 

Throughout the term there have been many successes for 

the students of Bronte House: 

Year 7: their group routine and their “fours” routine won 

them first place in the Gym Competition. Individual 

achievements also include Izzi Norrington gaining 73% in 

her first singing exam and Kailan Johal was awarded a 

gold medal for dance. Year 8: Renee Williams took part 

in the District Athletics competition and was awarded with 

a silver medal. Freya Nobbs achieved a merit in her piano 

exam. Year 9: Samantha Hodges completed the ‘Race for 

Life’ earlier this month. Sarah England, Lizzie Henton-Pusey 

and Hannah Malyon are working towards their Silver Crest 

Award in Science. Kirsty Bateman Foley won the Javelin 

event after throwing 24m28cm at Ridlins Athletics Track. 

Year 10: raffles have been held to raise money for the 

Great Ormond Street charity. Georgia Philipson and 

Bethany Palmer took part in the District Athletics 

competition where Bethany came 3rd in Long Jump. 

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Founders’ Day: The whole event 

opened with Leavers’ Supper and 

it was lovely to see all the Year 

13’s in their finery. Caroline 

Ward of 13B won the Beryl 

Wearmouth Award for 

Citizenship for her enormous 

contributions to the House and the 

school. 

The Founders’ Day Service was followed by a myriad of 

enterprise stalls and fantastic displays on the field and 

track events as part of Sports 

Day. 

Just when I thought the day 

could not get any better the 

news came through that 9B 

had swept the board in 

Intermediate Sports and 

Eleanor Laws had won a 

laptop in the HGFSA Poetry Competition. Lots of pictures 

and news about the events are being posted on the 

Learning Platform. Take a look and see if you can spot 

yourself! 

Have a lovely summer holiday and get plenty of rest as we 

have a busy term planned for the Autumn. 

Miss Stojko (Head of Bronte House) and Victoria 

Hodges (Public Relations Prefect) 

CURIE HOUSE 

This term has been one of great success but also great 

change for Curie House. 

Firstly at the start of the term Mrs. Johnson took maternity 

leave and is now a proud mother to baby Harry. 

This term has also seen the appointment of a new set of 

prefects to fill the shoes of our departing Year 13 students. 

I would like to express my personal thanks to the outgoing 

prefect team of Robyn Wootton, Laura Webb, Danni 

Brown, Zoe Greenbank, Eiben O’Connor and House 

Captain Aarti Patel. The time and effort that these students 

have put into House events has been immense, both in 

terms of visible projects such as our Christmas reindeer 

contest and, more importantly, behind the scenes 

organising charity projects and working with the School 

Council. 

The newly elected prefect body for 2011/12 is: Rebecca 

Dawson - House Captain, Flora Perry - Public Relations 

Prefect, Sophie Pease - Charity Prefect, Beth Copping - 

Performing Arts Prefect and Ellie McGurk - Sports Prefect. 

In the annual Sports’ Day, Curie House performed strongly, 

leading the overall competition after the field events and 

eventually finishing joint first in the Year 7 competition and 

4th overall. 

The first “Curie House Stars” were awarded this term to 

students who have performed far above and beyond 

expectations and I hope to be able to award many more 

into next term. 

Finally a Curie House Alumni Society has been set up for 

our departing students which will both allow ex-House 

members to stay in touch and also to provide advice and 

guidance to current students on life after HGS. 

To all our departing students and all those who have taken 

examinations this term, I wish you the best of luck on results 

day and wish you all a safe and relaxing summer break. 

Mr. A. Jackson - Head of Curie House 

FRANK HOUSE 

7F have had a very good term. The Enterprise teams have 

worked enthusiastically and industriously. Sophie Taylor 

has been a very organised and efficient Sports Captain. 

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Dora Housham has been very effective as Schools Council 

Rep whilst Emily de Nooijer has been a popular Form 

Captain. Kiera Brunton and Emily Harding were elected 

Music Captain and Charities Prefect respectively. Well 

done to everyone in the form for all their contributions. 

8F have shown their potential and pulled together really 

effectively with their sporting activities and Enterprise 

ideas, particularly Aminah Elnemr. Special mentions needs 

to go to Rhea Janjua who was one member of the team in 

the Science Fair, which came first. Maia Perry has done 

an amazing job with the form on their video clips. 

9F have worked hard and coped with the difficult business 

of choosing their GCSE options. Lauren Batten has done 

an excellent job of putting together teams for House League 

and Sports Day. Both 9F Enterprise teams worked really 

hard and despite some setbacks and challenges have put 

together very good stalls. Well done in particular to Jayd 

Johnson and Lameez Jamil for leading the groups. 

10F have had an extremely busy term, organising their 

work experience and sitting a large number of internal and 

external exams. A number of members of 10F performed 

in the Gym and Dance Display which was amazing. 

11F have been working extremely hard on their GCSE 

subjects and have recently sat their final exams. 11F are 

such kind, confident and hard working students who have 

worked tirelessly in order to make success happen 

12F have had a busy term, with most of their energy going 

into their AS exams. They have continued to work hard as 

Ambassadors, and many have helped with forms lower 

down the school with many PE activities, the Horticultural 

Society, the Choir and Orchestra. Ambir Mann, our new 

Head Girl, has started to take on her responsibilities, and 

our new House Prefects are ready to take on an active role. 

We have had a wonderful 6 years together, and I am 

immensely proud of you all. I will have a tear in my eye 

on July 22nd, when I say goodbye; I leave them - and all 

of Frank House - with my very best wishes for the future. 

From Mrs. Powers. 

Year 13 are off to pursue a wide variety of university 

courses, college courses, gap years and careers. 

Particular thanks need to go to our House Prefect team: 

Sarah Wingfield, Emily Norman, Ella Rosser, Roxie 

Houghton and Jasleen Singh, led by Jessica Boyle. They 

have led Frank House with enthusiasm and determination, 

and have left a lasting legacy. Congratulations also to Ria 

Ma for being awarded the Cathy Taplin Award for Art 

Well done to Sophie Taylor and Jodie Kramer in 7F and 

Caitlin Coogan in 10F for excellent achievement on Sports 

Day and to everyone else who took part. 

It just remains for me to say, on behalf of all your tutors, I 

hope you all have a relaxing and enjoyable summer 

holiday, and to those of you who are going on to different 

places, good luck; we will miss you. 

Mrs. D Pearce, Head of Frank House 

JEWEL HOUSE 

With another school year coming to an end, it is good to 

reflect on the many successes enjoyed by the staff and 

pupils of Jewel House. 

First and foremost, I must congratulate all the girls for the 

manner in which they have conducted themselves 

throughout the school this year. With only a very few 

exceptions the girls have been rewarded by being the 

House which has lost the least amount of House points due 

to poor behaviour. This is an excellent reputation for Jewel 

House which both the Tutors and I are very proud of. I 

sincerely hope the girls get their deserved prize of ‘Fish 

and Chips’ on the lawn this summer. Well done girls. 

It has also been a year in which Jewel House completed 

its task set four years ago to raise enough money to 

purchase a special chair to be used in intensive care at the 

Lister Hospital. I was very proud to accompany a selection 

of our Charity Prefects and Mrs. Rowe’s family to a cheque 

presentation ceremony. We managed to make an article 

in the local press, an extract of which is below. Thank you 

to all girls and Charity Prefects, past and present, for your 

amazing contributions. You deserve to feel proud. 

Pupils and their parents raise over £1,500 through 

dedicated fundraising efforts to buy a special chair to aid 

rehabilitation - Rebecca Cheesman, the Trust’s fundraiser 

commented “We are extremely grateful to The Jewel House 

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pupils and their parents. This is a wonderful example of 

how the local community can make a contribution which 

has far-reaching benefits for patients, making the difference 

between a good hospital, and a great hospital.” 

STAFF CHANGES 

Having chaperoned the girls of 13J through the past 7 

years of schooling, it is now time for Mrs. Rowe to start the 

cycle again. However her excellent skills as a tutor have 

not been overlooked, and consequently Mrs. Rowe has 

been drafted in to support another House. It is with much 

regret that we must say goodbye to Mrs. Rowe, at least for 

now. I should like to thank her personally for all her 

excellent support and contributions made to me and Jewel 

House over the years. 

Dealing with change is always difficult, but on the positive 

side it allows us to welcome new people into our group. I 

am delighted that Miss Marchant will be joining us in 

September and wish her many successes in the role of tutor 

for the new 7J. 

Finally, all that remains is to wish the families and the girls 

of Jewel House a very happy summer holiday. I am very 

proud of all their successes this year past, be them large 

or small. 

Mr. S. Ferguson - Head of Jewel House. 

TERESA HOUSE 

What an amazing group of people make up Teresa House! 

I am writing this at the end of Founders’ Day when it has 

been wonderful to see our athletes triumph as House 

winners. We witnessed some superb performances with 

all competitors contributing to our final result. Well done! 

Our enthusiastic entrepreneurs have also been busy 

planning and making items for their stalls. They have now 

embarked on selling and generally working hard to raise 

as much money as possible. Well done to you also! 

As far as Teresa House is concerned, this is also a special 

day as we say goodbye to our Year 13 students and wish 

them well for the future. I would particularly like to thank 

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our House Prefects who have done such a marvellous job 

this year. In their places we welcome Emma Wilding 

(House Captain), Natasha Kumar (Charity Prefect), Lucy 

Nottingham (Performing Arts Prefect), Holly Hunt-Mount 

(Sports Prefect) and April Knapper (Public Relations 

Prefect). 

As usual, Teresa House students have continued to raise 

money for charity over the year. We have supported a 

student in Ecuador, raised money for our chosen House 

charity of Breast Cancer Awareness and also continued to 

support Hearing Dogs for the Deaf thanks to the work of 

Miss Collis. Bethan Gay (our present House Captain) also 

worked with a group of friends to raise over £2,000 for a 

cancer charity. 

This is my final newsletter report as Head of Teresa House 

and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the 

dedicated and caring team of Teresa House tutors with 

whom I work. I would also like to thank our Teresa students 

whom I have truly enjoyed being with over the years and 

finally, of course, thanks go to their parents. Good luck 

and very best wishes for your futures whether you are 

continuing at Hitchin Girls’ School or move on to further 

ventures. 

Mrs. P. Outen - Head of Teresa House 

Stevenage Indoor Market 

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