News

St Mary’s School, in Gerrards Cross, consistently achieves individual student success through a finely balanced approach that develops the whole student during her time with us. Character education is a deliberate and purposeful part of our holistic education. In teaching children the values, beliefs and behaviours that they need to be responsible, successful members of our school community, we are developing in our students the skills and mindset they need to strive for excellence and become role models who will take their place in the world and achieve their goals in whatever field their passions and interests lie. As we encourage our students to develop themselves holistically, we are also supporting their well-being and positive mental health.

We know how important it is that we ensure all our students are equipped for a modern and changing world, where new technologies and major demographic and environmental changes are predicted to transform education and employment over the coming decades. Using the acronym TAKE CARE, we identify a range of character strengths as important for students to develop. St Mary’s students are:

Team players, who enjoy leading and engaging with peers as mentors, as collaborators in lessons, in sports teams and in musical ensembles. Our students take on leadership at all levels of our school, gaining a sense of purpose and responsibility when supporting their peers and the wider community.

Adventurous, embracing new challenges and opportunities, for example, trying one of the sixty clubs we offer each week throughout the school. Kind and empathetic, acting as positive role models by supporting each other and showing respect for everyone in our diverse community.

Kindness, showing care, and empathy to build positive connections with others in the community

Enthusiastic, sharing their enjoyment of their learning and actively leading and supporting charity events to raise awareness or fundraise

Curious, engaging in their learning, asking questions and seeking out knowledge

Ambitious to achieve their personal best academically and to learn new skills outside of their academic lessons

Resilient, ready to have another go if something does not work the first time, and recognise that success is a journey and not just a final product

Excellent, in that they strive to be the best they can be, acting with honesty and integrity in everything they do.

Character education underpins everything we do at St Mary’s. It is integrated into our academic curriculum; students are challenged not just to be active in their

learning, but to take the lead, to be curious, and to be academically ambitious under the guidance and supervision of their teachers. Fostering habits that lead to such an active approach requires teachers to know each student they teach and what will support and challenge them in their learning pathways. At St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross, every student is an individual, and we encourage our students to strive to be the best version of themselves and teach them how to be resilient when things sometimes do not go to plan. By encouraging students to learn from their mistakes, we help them to develop a growth mindset, and to celebrate the pathway to success as well as the end result itself. We pride ourselves on our excellent examination results at GCSE and A Level, but equally we teach our students how to learn, so that they become lifelong learners.

Students at St Mary’s enjoy the opportunities both in and out of the classroom to extend their learning under the belief that a school experience should be vibrant and exciting. With a healthy mix of expectation and opportunity, our students naturally engage in a wide range of activities, both in and out of school, which provide them with a sense of accomplishment, meaning and engagement. The rich tapestry of clubs, societies, and community work ensures that each student their place at St Mary’s, and this helps to build our students’ sense of confidence and pride. They leave their school education achieving far more than the excellent A Level and GCSE grades that they have secured. They leave knowing that as young women they have the skills, ability, and confidence to change the world. And they do!

The promotion of self-care and responsibility for others enhances the sense of community that underpins our in-school support for when our well-being might be impacted. It is not just our students who TAKE CARE, all school staff at St Mary’s, plus a team of Sixth Form Peer supporters, have been trained in Mental Health Awareness through the MHFA England courses. Our pastoral and medical teams support students to ensure positive mental and physical health, whether this is through a proactive and bespoke pastoral programme for each year group, or encouraging those who need support into additional services at the earliest opportunity, reducing the chances of escalation. Bertie, our Well-being Dog in training, will gradually enhance targeted emotional support for students requiring assistance. Providing a framework of support and challenge to develop non-cognitive skills, character education underpins the success and wellbeing of all members of our community.

St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross, is excited to be holding its first ever conference for young female leaders of the future. The full-day event, on Saturday 25th November, 10.00 – 15.30 is destined to be an inspiring and motivational day of speakers, workshops, and practical advice for girls in Year 9 – Year 13 which will aim to encourage them to:

• Embrace their strengths
• Empower their voices
• Excel in life

Speakers on the day include Zak Sylvester and Robbie Wells who will be starting with a high-energy gymnastics performance. They will be joined by Steven Sylvester for an interactive and motivational session about how to excel in their day ahead and embrace the opportunities on offer to allow them to get the most out of the day for them, as individuals. Also joining the line up will be Stuntwoman and Model Imogen Leaver who will host a Yoga workshop and speak about the importance of mental health and well-being.

After lunch, Alice Bastin, who has an established and impressive career in the Fashion Industry, will take us on her journey to success, including how she has overcome some major challenges, before sharing some practical advice and hosting a Q&A session. To close the day, Natalie Gray, Singer/Songwriter and signed artist, who has supported Craig David and the Kaiser Chiefs will share some of her music and talk about mental health, body image and LGBTQ+.

Those wishing to join the day are encouraged to sign up using this link: https://stmarysschool.co.uk/future-leaders. Places available are limited, and given on a first come first served basis. Any questions should be directed to the school – office@st-marys.bucks.sch.uk.

Set in the heart of Gerrards Cross, St Mary’s School is easily accessible for those wishing to come to the event. Just 3 miles off the M40 at junction 2 and a 5 minute walk from Gerrards Cross Train Station, transport links are simple and central.

Over Summer, Lara who is now in Year 7, and joined St Mary’s in Year 3, had the most fantastic experience playing Young Sofia in La Bamba – The Musical. Lara is a talented dancer, singer, and actress and bought her passions and talents to life when she performed at The Peacock Theatre in The West End, and The Wycombe Swan alongside some familiar faces including Pasha Kovalev, from Strictly Come Dancing and Siva Kaneswaran from The Wanted. Her stint isn’t finished yet, as in a few weeks Lara is heading to perform at Theatre Royal in Brighton.

Earlier in the year, Lara performed in her Year 6 production, at St Mary’s, as Fiona from Shrek where her talents shone through. The St Mary’s community are so incredibly proud of Lara – her commitment, passion and hard work are paying off as she chases her dream!

Lara is incredibly grateful to have the opportunity and

said: “La Bamba is such a fun and uplifting musical! It makes you want to just get up and dance. I love playing the role of Young Sofia. It is the best experience and I am so lucky to get to dance, sing and act with the most amazing cast. I never thought I would actually be on stage dancing with Pasha Kovalev from my favourite show strictly come dancing. He plays my dad in La Bamba and Strictly’s Graziano Di Prima is the choreographer for the show. I also get to share the stage with Siva Kaneswaran from the group The Wanted. He is the loveliest person and is so caring and kind. The La Bamba sound track is brilliant and super fun. I am sure If you are planning to see the musical you will love it ! Thank you to all my amazing teachers and my friends for all of your support and kindness”.

Look out for Lara in more shows in future – she is definitely one to watch!

Today, our whole school community is celebrating the fabulous set of results achieved by our Year 11 students. The way in which this year group approached their GCSEs from their revision and commitment to preparing for their GCSEs in the months leading up to examination season, to the calm and composed manner with which they entered and sat each and every paper, was exemplary. The results they are receiving today are a testament to their collective positive attitude, maturity and resilience.

With 15.8% of grades awarded at a grade 9, and 31% at grade 9-8, almost 70% of grades were at 6 and above, we are pleased to say that our students have done themselves proud. They have bucked the national trend and overall results are higher than those achieved in 2018 and 2019 – an incredible achievement!

We are excited to be welcoming these girls into our Sixth Form to continue their educational journey at St Mary’s. During the next two years, they will gain further independence and confidence in their studies, as well as build invaluable working relationships with their teachers to allow them to continue to

flourish and exceed their potential once again in two years’ time when they receive their A Level results.

In our purpose built Sixth Form Centre, Cedar House, these students will broaden their horizons with our exciting Sixth Form Enrichment Programme and many students will also opt to study the Extended Project Qualification alongside their A level subjects, adding further breadth to their curriculum in preparation for their careers at University and beyond.

Mrs Adams, Headmistress said,

“The resilience and perseverance shown by this GCSE cohort cannot be underestimated. Following the pandemic years, they have shown tremendous determination to do their very best and have come out with a fantastic set of GCSE results. I am looking forward to working with them in the Sixth Form as they further their knowledge and skills in their A level curriculum and as they work towards their future goals.

Congratulations also to their wonderful teachers and to all the families who have supported them along the way; it is a day to celebrate the successes of all our Year 11 students.”

A Level Students at St Mary’s in Gerrards Cross have been celebrating some wonderful examination results today. This creative and inspiring group of students have been exemplary role models to their peers throughout Year 13 with their idea generation, strong leadership qualities, and enthusiasm and have, today, continued to be an inspiration to younger students with their A-level results and plans for their next steps.

They have achieved places at an exciting range of courses including Engineering at Exeter, Music at Liverpool, The Royal Veterinary College, Philosophy at Birmingham, Sports Management at Bath, Japanese at Durham, Drama at Exeter, and Sociology at Loughborough to name but a few. All of our students are either going on to a chosen University or Further Education establishment with some taking gap years, before further study, to complete further courses, gain invaluable work experience or travel; all looking forward to very bright futures ahead. They leave St Mary’s equipped with the passion, skills, and self-belief to be exactly who they want to be and to follow their dreams and we can’t wait to hear what they are doing in years to come.

With an overall impressive 78% A*-B and a 100% pass rate, we are proud of all of our students’ achievements. The Social Sciences achieved outstanding results with 100% A*-B in Psychology and Sociology. Our Head Girl, Phoebe, achieved an impressive 3 A* grades and the majority of those who applied to university this year will be attending

Russell Group Universities.

We will be celebrating all the girls’ achievements reflected in these A-level grades with their teachers and parents, as we wish them well for their future courses and careers. We look forward to keeping in touch with the families and welcoming the girls back to St Mary’s whenever they so wish!

Mrs Adams, Headmistress said:

“I am so delighted for our A-level students and their families today. It is certainly a day to celebrate our young people; after all their extremely hard work, dedication and commitment to their A-level studies, they now have some truly impressive results and will go on to some really exciting courses of further study. This outstanding cohort has distinguished themselves as leaders on the sports field, on the stage in the expressive arts, in their charity work, and as fabulous role models. We will certainly miss them and look forward to seeing what they do in the future.

To enable our students to thrive takes successful teamwork in the form of superb partnerships with parents, many of whom have been with us since their daughters were in Prep, and the expert guidance of their teachers. Our teaching staff have the highest aspirations for our students and walk alongside them, steering and guiding them every step of the way. Today we will be celebrating all of these contributions and we wish each and every family well as they now embark on their courses further study or fulfilling gap year plans. Many congratulations to all!”

Students in Year 10 at St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross, have been battling it out to win £1,000 for a local charity of their choice. Split into groups, students have been researching their chosen charity, visiting them and building relationships and fundraising for them on a weekly basis. Each group presented to a judging panel to earn their place in the final with finalists coming together in a showcase event attended by an external judging panel, a representative from each charity, and parents and peers.

The charities in the final were:

Wycombe Women’s Aid

CentrePoint

Slough Foodbank

Alexander Devine Children’s Hospice

Electric Eels – support adults and children with Down Syndrom to learn to swim.

The students presented, on the night, with passion and enthusiasm and their desire to win the £1,000 for their charity was clear. The evening was a lively celebration and included dance and musical performances, a raffle and a champagne and canape reception as well as emotive presentations. The school extends its gratitude to all who

attended the occasion, with special mention to our judging panel – School Governor Anne Freeman, Counsellor Andrew Wood, Head of Co-Curricular and Charities Miss Lasocki, and Headmistress Mrs Adams. After much deliberation, the winning team has secured £1,000 for Electric Eels – a huge amount for such a small charity that will go towards training some more swim teachers. There tears of joy shed when the winner was announced and, even though not every charity secured £1,000, the joy for Electric Eels was clear amongst the other teams. Director of Swimming, Pauline Walker, from Electric Eels said ‘I am over the moon to be awarded the money tonight and cannot thank the young students enough for choosing us as their cause. Their maturity and passion has been phenomenal and they have no idea just how helpful this money is to a small charity like ours’

Fundraising is still happening, post the event, with a sponsored walk organised for the 8th July and a Movie Night in September. Whilst the total amount raised is not yet established, St Mary’s has smashed the £1,000 target.

St Mary’s School was over the moon to welcome back, last Monday, their very own Gymnastics Super Stars after the Under 11 and Under 9 Gym squads celebrated phenomenal successes at the ISA Gymnastics Championships on Sunday 14th May.

The successes are a testament to the hours and hours of training and practice the girls have put in and the outstanding coaching they have received from Ms Connell. Their determination, commitment and teamwork, along with their clear talent and passion, has paid off at the National Championships.

The U11 team came 2nd overall with Betsy in 5th and Gabby in 2nd place as reserve national champion.

The U9 team won overall with Mia in 2nd place,

and Jodi being crowned individual national champion.

Our Head Coach, Ms Connell, said “it has been an absolute pleasure working with the students in the run-up to the competition. Their commitment to their training and desire to win is inspiring and something they should be proud of. On the day, each and every member of the squad performed with confidence and self-belief. They supported each other and celebrated their group and individual successes with pride and grace. I cannot wait to start on the next challenge!”

Very well done to both squads. The Students’ SMS Spirit truly shone through, and the school community can’t wait to see what the coming years hold for their squads!

Students at St Mary’s School in Gerrards Cross celebrated today when they received some outstanding results in their A level examinations. This impressively resilient cohort of students endured the disruption to their education during the pandemic and these were the first public examinations they have experienced, having missed the opportunity to sit GCSEs in 2020.

They will go on to study an exciting range of courses including mechanical engineering, modern languages with linguistics, medicine, psychology and liberal arts to name but a few. The majority of those who have applied have achieved their chosen courses at university and further education and are looking forward to very bright futures ahead.

With an impressive 53% A* – A grades and 83% A*-C, there was a 100% pass rate. The outcomes included a stunning set of Extended Project Qualification results. We will be celebrating all the girls’ achievements reflected in these A level grades with their teachers and parents, as we wish them well for their future courses and careers.

Mrs Adams, headmistress said: “I am immensely proud of all the work and achievements of each and

On Friday the girls in Pre-Prep had a visitor from outer space! Mr Roche, a new upcoming children’s author and husband to our very own Mrs Roche, visited school with his alien friend Niji. After explaining a little about where his ideas had came from, Mr Roche read the story of “Niji’s dream”, an emotional and heartfelt story about a brave alien seeking a more colourful world. The girls asked many thoughtful questions about Niji’s adventures and about the inspiration behind the

story.

Afterwards, Year 1 and 2 took part in a workshop. They learned that each colour of the rainbow is associated with a particular feeling and had to map out Niji’s feelings throughout the events in the story. Then they had to colour their own Niji in and explain why they had chosen that particular colour and feeling for him.

The girls worked brilliantly and understood the emotions in the story extremely well. Thank you to Mr Roche and Niji for sharing your wonderful world!

Some amazing costumes last week for World Book Day. Special mention to Molly who used an entire can of hairspray to create her incredible look as

Nagito, a Danganronpa character. In the Senior House Competition, first place was awarded to Leah, second to Kimaya and third to Georgina. Amazing, girls!

What a brilliant experience for the Year 8A squad at U14 ISA Netball Nationals on Wednesday. The girls performed so well and rose to the challenge amazingly well. There were schools from all over the

UK competing and St Mary’s made it through to the The Plate kick outs, however they sadly lost against Prince Thorpe. St Mary’s learnt a lot from today and everyone had so much fun. Well done, girls!

St Mary’s recently hosted the BSGA Southern region Floor and Vault Competition. Our U19 team came 1st overall out of 8 teams and qualified for the National Final in Stoke on Trent in May. Our U14s came 3rd out of

8 schools and all received medals. Our U11s came 2nd overall in their competition in the afternoon. All of the teams worked very hard in preparation for this competition and should be proud of their achievements.

As we begin to look forward and make plans to celebrate the school’s 150^th birthday, I am delighted that we have a brand new logo.

Whilst we will retain our traditional shield for some purposes, the new logo which depicts the heart of our lily flower emblem is fresh, clean and modern and will hail us into our next 150 years. We hope you like it!

This year, in what has become a biennial tradition, all students and staff in Years 6-13 took to the beautiful countryside for our ‘Harvest Walk’ to raise money for two charities: ‘Buckinghamshire Mind’ and ‘The British Red Cross’. I am delighted to say that as a school we raised £3,213.56 which has been split equally between our two charities.

I would like to thank all parents who volunteered to support us on the walk, and our whole school community for your contributions to our fundraising efforts. Salma A in Year 7 deserves a special mention for raising £600 from her sponsors. The effort from our whole school community is something to be proud of and demonstrates our compassion as a school for those less fortunate than ourselves.

On Wednesday 10th November, the Art department had the great pleasure of taking Year 11 and sixth form artists to The National Gallery. It felt wonderful to be in London again, and to be in the gallery, soaking up such important artworks. We started the session with Mrs Francisco teaching us about specific paintings and the mark they have made on the world. I feel so privileged to have an art historian in the department!

The girls were fascinated by the history and stories surrounding the paintings, which were brought to life by Mrs Francisco. The girls then had some independent time to find work which related to their own ideas, for their personal portfolios. For example, Sophie Coombes Aw-Yong (pictured) was able to see George Stubbs’ Whistlejacket’ in the flesh, which she has been studying in her lessons for the last few weeks. The girls were a joy and clearly gained so much from the trip! Miss Newton, Head of Art

Friday 19th November was the first meeting of the year for our fully trained Youth Mental Health First Aiders, having completed the MHFA two day training course. Here they are sharing their ‘superpowers’ that they might bring to the role of YMHFA in our school.

The main item on the agenda was ‘how to improve access to the Mental Health support for our students’ and the girls had lots of creative ideas, so watch this space! Supporting the meeting were Mrs Adams and Mrs Hall who is our Governor for Mental Health.

Olivia S, Year 8 had a very successful weekend up in Leeds at the Talent Games Swim England Diving competition. She won gold in the dry land (gym/strength/conditioning etc), gold in pool (diving) and gold overall in her age category.

She was also the highest scoring diver in the entire competition with divers from across England and Scotland! What a fantastic achievement – well done Olivia!

We are delighted to now have full use of our new Multi-Use-Games-Area complete with floodlights and a spectator area. The MUGA will further enhance the sporting provision here at St

Mary’s and the opportunities and experiences on offer to our students. We look forward to the official opening on Friday 19th November for our Staff vs Sixth Formers netball match!

We are delighted to now have full use of our new Multi-Use-Games-Area complete with floodlights and a spectator area. The MUGA will further enhance the sporting provision here at St

Mary’s and the opportunities and experiences on offer to our students. We look forward to the official opening on Friday 19th November for our Staff vs Sixth Formers netball match!

There were joyous smiles this morning on our Year 11 St Mary’s Class of 2021, who received a superb set of GCSE results, as they came with their parents to collect their results from school.
There is so much to be celebrated today; we are especially proud of all the achievements of the girls in this pandemic year. Following the cancellation of exams, grades were awarded through a process of teacher assessed grades, with a rigorous internal moderation and review the grades are then approved and awarded by the examination boards

The girls worked incredibly hard and with great determination, adapting to online learning and to different modes of assessment. throughout their GCSE course and as a result they will be able to embark on their Sixth Form curriculum with great confidence.

Mrs Adams, Headmistress said: “We could not be more proud of all the work and achievements of our Year 11 student class of 2021. These are all the more impressive when we consider the challenges these girls have faced during the pandemic with periods of remote learning and isolation. They have adapted incredibly well to everything that was asked of them after the cancellation of GCSE examinations. The grades they have been awarded today are fully deserved; they will enable our students to embark on the Sixth Form curriculum of their choice and will provide a firm foundation for their future study. We cannot wait to see what they will achieve in the Sixth Form, as after this year, they are sure to be ready to overcome any challenge that may come their way.
Special thanks must go to their teachers and parents who have continued to support and encourage throughout. There is so much to celebrate for our whole school community today.”

There were joyous smiles this morning on our Year 11 St Mary’s Class of 2021, who received a superb set of GCSE results, as they came with their parents to collect their results from school.

There is so much to be celebrated today; we are especially proud of all the achievements of the girls in this pandemic year. Following the cancellation of exams, grades were awarded through a process of teacher assessed grades, with a rigorous internal moderation and review the grades are then approved and awarded by the examination boards

The girls worked incredibly hard and with great determination, adapting to online learning and to different modes of assessment. throughout their GCSE course and as a result they will be able to embark on their Sixth Form curriculum with great confidence.

Mrs Adams, Headmistress said: “We could not be more proud of all the

work and achievements of our Year 11 student class of 2021. These are all the more impressive when we consider the challenges these girls have faced during the pandemic with periods of remote learning and isolation. They have adapted incredibly well to everything that was asked of them after the cancellation of GCSE examinations. The grades they have been awarded today are fully deserved; they will enable our students to embark on the Sixth Form curriculum of their choice and will provide a firm foundation for their future study. We cannot wait to see what they will achieve in the Sixth Form, as after this year, they are sure to be ready to overcome any challenge that may come their way.

Special thanks must go to their teachers and parents who have continued to support and encourage throughout. There is so much to celebrate for our whole school community today.”

We are pleased to report some truly outstanding achievements by St Mary’s A level students class of 2021 in their A levels and other qualifications this summer.

Almost all of those who applied to university this year have achieved their choice of course and are ready to start the next chapter in their education.

This year, following the cancellation of exams, grades were awarded through a process of teacher assessed grades, rigorous internal moderation and then approved and awarded by the exam boards following their own quality assurance process.

We will not be reporting headline figures this year as there cannot be a true comparison on previous years; each grade achieved by the girls reflects a huge amount of effort, hard work and dedication ; many of these long hours of work were carried out in isolation and in lockdown, conditions which we could never have imagined for their Sixth Form experience.

We will be celebrating all the girls’ achievements reflected in these A level grades as we wish them well for their future courses and careers.

Mrs Adams, Headmistress, said: “I am immensely proud of all the work and

achievements of our students, especially after such a difficult time they have had since the start of the pandemic with periods of remote learning, isolation and covid restrictions.

These girls have shown outstanding fortitude, strength of character and determination to surmount these obstacles and have come through with an astonishing set of grades, which are fitting reward for the work, effort and dedication they have employed to reach their goals. Not only have they excelled academically, but they have shown themselves to be a wonderful cohort of compassionate young women who embody everything we stand for and are superb role models for our younger girls.

Their teachers have worked tirelessly to ensure our students’ success and have remained steadfast amidst the administrative demands and responsibility of the TAGs process.. We are so pleased that these girls will be embarking on a wide range of exciting university courses and destinations. Having triumphed so gracefully in such adversity, I have no doubt these young women will continue to blaze a trail in their chosen careers. I am so very pleased for them and their families today.”

We are pleased to report some truly outstanding achievements by St Mary’s A level students class of 2021 in their A levels and other qualifications this summer.
Almost all of those who applied to university this year have achieved their choice of course and are ready to start the next chapter in their education.
This year, following the cancellation of exams, grades were awarded through a process of teacher assessed grades, rigorous internal moderation and then approved and awarded by the exam boards following their own quality assurance process.
We will not be reporting headline figures this year as there cannot be a true comparison on previous years; each grade achieved by the girls reflects a huge amount of effort, hard work and dedication ; many of these long hours of work were carried out in isolation and in lockdown, conditions which we could never have imagined for their Sixth Form experience.
We will be celebrating all the girls’ achievements reflected in these A level grades as we wish them well for their future courses and careers.

Mrs Adams, Headmistress, said: “I am immensely proud of all the work and achievements of our students, especially after such a difficult time they have had since the start of the pandemic with periods of remote learning, isolation and covid restrictions.
These girls have shown outstanding fortitude, strength of character and determination to surmount these obstacles and have come through with an astonishing set of grades, which are fitting reward for the work, effort and dedication they have employed to reach their goals. Not only have they excelled academically, but they have shown themselves to be a wonderful cohort of compassionate young women who embody everything we stand for and are superb role models for our younger girls.
Their teachers have worked tirelessly to ensure our students’ success and have remained steadfast amidst the administrative demands and responsibility of the TAGs process.. We are so pleased that these girls will be embarking on a wide range of exciting university courses and destinations. Having triumphed so gracefully in such adversity, I have no doubt these young women will continue to blaze a trail in their chosen careers. I am so very pleased for them and their families today.”

Congratulations to our newly elected Head Girl for 2021-2022, Shanze, along with Deputy Head Girls Lucy and Laura, Games Captain, Riley and Deputy Games Captain, Alicia.

We look forward to the inaugural flag ceremony in June!

Butler: House Captain Anna G with Arabella P Deputy House Captain

Kirk: House Captain Harriet F with Saana B Deputy House Captain

Latham: House Captain Luci F with Ria R Deputy House Captain

Temple West: House Captain Fleur S with Abbie D and Jess C as Deputy House Captains

Prep Prefects: Anand K & Grace M

Transition Prefects: (Y6-7) Faye T, Salina A & Ella S

Transition Prefect: (Y8-11) Kristina B

Charities Reps: Mia E & Sarah K

Eco Council Reps: Cara M & Nur-ul-ayn M

Diversity Prefects: Emma D and Titilayo K

Library Prefect: Saachi S

During the Easter Holidays, Taya M represented St Mary’s in a Show Jumping National Schools competition. Taya competed on the 6^th of April at Bury Farm Equestrian centre, in the 90 – 95cm and the 1m – 1.05m. She rode exceptionally well and was very proud to be representing St Mary’s for the first time in history.

On another occasion, during the Easter break, Taya also qualified for Nationals on her pony called Ella. Taya is competing regularly for St Mary’s and is hoping to step up to the next level. She also plans to qualify for Nationals in the Discovery and Novice too. We want to wish Taya the best of luck at Nationals this weekend, from everyone at St Mary’s.

Congratulations to Maisie who achieved a Silver Award in the Biology Olympiad which is run by the Royal Society of Biology.

This is a fantastic achievement that Maisie shares with only 10% of the students who took part in the scheme. Well done, Maisie!

Huge congratulations to Amelia, Year 9, who has been selected to play for the U15 Girls squad for Bucks County Cricket. She has been a committed member of her Cricket Club for a number of years and has worked incredibly hard to achieve this goal.

The England Women’s Cricket Team have been very successful in the last few years. This success inspires the younger generation, like Amelia, to take up cricket, making it one of the fastest growing team sports for female players. We wish Amelia luck as she embarks on this new challenge.

This week in Forest School, the Early Years girls revised the months of the year and what month we are in now, what season we are in, and what happens during spring time. Mrs Burton showed the girls some pictures of things we may see in spring ( daffodils, bumblebees, different types of

birds ) then placed the pictures all around Cedar lawn. The girls had to listen carefully as Mrs Burton described each picture, then they had to find and stand by the one they thought was being described. The girls were really engaged and thoroughly enjoyed this game!

On Friday 5th March, we had the pleasure of welcoming Lauren Williams to the St Mary’s community, to deliver a speech regarding her sporting career as a Team GB athlete. The girls were fascinated and listened intently to her talk, asking questions throughout. There was an extensive list of topics covered, ranging from the impact of Covid to her being an ambassador for Adidas.

Lauren discussed some of the challenges she has faced as a professional athlete and how she has overcome these to become stronger, both physically and mentally. She discussed how she wasn’t selected for a particular event and then at the last minute, got a call up to compete. She went into the race as an underdog and was convinced she wouldn’t even place in the top 5. She ended up winning the race and set herself a new PB. This sends a strong message to our girls, to never give up and to not let other people tell you that you aren’t good enough.

Lauren is studying a Business and Management degree at University, so balances her training time and her university work effectively. She travels around the world, training around 3-4 hours a day and continues to complete all of her university work. She has a varied training schedule, and the girls were lucky enough to take part in an active whole-body circuit, led by Lauren. Time management is a key skill to learn, to ensure you make time for the things that you enjoy.

As a young person, Lauren didn’t know that she wanted to be an athlete. All of her friends were going to Dance Club and Lauren was desperate to join Dance, however,

her mum had already booked for her to join the Athletics Club that evening. She was quite upset with her mum, but as soon as she stepped foot on the track, she never looked back. As a young athlete she kept her options open and performed as a heptathlete. Since she has been at University, she has narrowed her event to a 400m hurdler. Lauren advocates being an individual and not following the crowd and this is exactly what she did.

Lauren discussed how Covid had impacted her and her training. Initially, all of her training venues were shut so she had to be inventive in order to maintain her fitness levels and remain in the Team GB squad. Using bags of sugar as weights and running around her local park became the new normal, to keep her physically fit. Lauren demonstrated motivation and dedication to her sport, to not let this affect her, and she has managed to keep mentally and physically prepared for the upcoming Olympics. Covid has hit at a vital time of her career. This time last year she was performing at her highest level to date, and since then everything has become a lot more challenging.

Lauren is a role model to our students, and we feel very fortunate that they have experienced such an inspiring speech. The girls asked many varying questions, covering a magnitude of topics. She is an ambassador for females in sport and is a mentor to young athletes who are wanting to become professional athletes.

We wish Lauren luck in her future career and will certainly be looking out for her at Tokyo.

On Friday 5th March, we had the pleasure of welcoming Lauren Williams to the St Mary’s community, to deliver a speech regarding her sporting career as a Team GB athlete. The girls were fascinated and listened intently to her talk, asking questions throughout. There was an extensive list of topics covered, ranging from the impact of Covid to her being an ambassador for Adidas.

Lauren discussed some of the challenges she has faced as a professional athlete and how she has overcome these to become stronger, both physically and mentally. She discussed how she wasn’t selected for a particular event and then at the last minute, got a call up to compete. She went into the race as an underdog and was convinced she wouldn’t even place in the top 5. She ended up winning the race and set herself a new PB. This sends a strong message to our girls, to never give up and to not let other people tell you that you aren’t good enough.

Lauren is studying a Business and Management degree at University, so balances her training time and her university work effectively. She travels around the world, training around 3-4 hours a day and continues to complete all of her university work. She has a varied training schedule, and the girls were lucky enough to take part in an active whole-body circuit, led by Lauren. Time management is a key skill to learn, to ensure you make time for the things that you enjoy.

As a young person, Lauren didn’t know that she wanted to be an athlete. All of her friends were going to Dance Club and Lauren was desperate to join Dance, however,

her mum had already booked for her to join the Athletics Club that evening. She was quite upset with her mum, but as soon as she stepped foot on the track, she never looked back. As a young athlete she kept her options open and performed as a heptathlete. Since she has been at University, she has narrowed her event to a 400m hurdler. Lauren advocates being an individual and not following the crowd and this is exactly what she did.

Lauren discussed how Covid had impacted her and her training. Initially, all of her training venues were shut so she had to be inventive in order to maintain her fitness levels and remain in the Team GB squad. Using bags of sugar as weights and running around her local park became the new normal, to keep her physically fit. Lauren demonstrated motivation and dedication to her sport, to not let this affect her, and she has managed to keep mentally and physically prepared for the upcoming Olympics. Covid has hit at a vital time of her career. This time last year she was performing at her highest level to date, and since then everything has become a lot more challenging.

Lauren is a role model to our students, and we feel very fortunate that they have experienced such an inspiring speech. The girls asked many varying questions, covering a magnitude of topics. She is an ambassador for females in sport and is a mentor to young athletes who are wanting to become professional athletes.

We wish Lauren luck in her future career and will certainly be looking out for her at Tokyo.

Huge congratulations to Amelia G, Year 9, who achieved third place in the KS3 section of the ISA’s Musical Theatre Competition! There were over 200 entrants from around the

country with an exceptionally high standard of entries. Amelia sang a beautiful rendition of The Audition Song from La La Land. Well done, Amelia!

Some Year 10 students have taken part in two maths enrichment activities during lockdown, delivered by webinar by the FMSP – Further Maths Support Programme, to promote the study of Mathematics beyond GCSE. These enrichment events were designed to engage Year 10 students while developing an area of GCSE mathematics beyond the curriculum. They also informed students about their options for studying mathematics after GCSE and how it can benefit many chosen career pathways.

The first webinar ‘How much is too much?’ drew on the students’ knowledge of probability, along with their reasoning, problem solving and communication skills, to work out the best strategies for this game. The session developed and deepened their understanding of these skills, which are vital for success at GCSE. It also provided a context for their classwork.

They played the game of ‘Pig’ (described below), to experience the mathematical branch of ‘Game Theory’, and to develop algebraic formulae.

Each turn, a player repeatedly rolls a die until either a 1 is rolled or the player decides to “hold”:

If the player rolls a 1, they score nothing and it becomes the next player’s turn.

If the player rolls any other number, it is added to their turn

total and the player’s turn continues.

If a player chooses to “hold”, their turn total is added to their score, and it becomes the next player’s turn.

Stella and Aoife did St Mary’s School proud by working out the algebraic formula for winning this game and differing variations of it, outstanding, well done girls!

The Second Webinar

‘Race to the Target!’ looked at spotting and developing number patterns as well as developing students’ skills in reasoning, problem solving and communication – all vital for their success at GCSE.

They played a variation of the ancient game of ‘Nim’.

Rules:

The game board consists of rows of objects.

The players take turns removing any number of objects from a single row.

You must select at least one object.

The last player to move wins the game.

They played using different scenarios by changing the number of stacks and coins and learnt how it relates to binary. The key to the theory of Nim is the binary digital sum of the heap sizes. They did not have time to play enough scenarios to work out the theory, but they had plenty of fun playing the games and formulating some introductory ideas.

This year’s focus is on “an internet we trust”. In Senior House Mrs Kingston presented an assembly that focused on the unbelievable internet – i.e. lots of information, quick access and how we can find out almost anything we want to in seconds, but can we believe what we read? How do we check out the source of information and evaluate its accuracy and reliability? Mrs Kingston also reminded the girls of key safety messages to keep themselves safe online. The girls then completed a quiz in tutor time, and there was a parents evening on Thursday relating to this, where they were joined by Alison Watts who is Bucks Prevent Education Officer.

Prep also got involved in Safer Internet Day on Tuesday. In Year 1 Miss Connell and the girls went through the story of Smartie the Penguin who got a new tablet for his birthday!

The story focused on some internet scenarios and the girls learnt that they had to always ask an adult for help if they weren’t sure of something! In KS2, the girls joined a virtual assembly focusing on how we can decide what to trust online and supporting them in questioning, challenging and changing the online world for the better. This led to some good discussions in Form time and some of the key takeaway messages for the girls were (1) We should all be Internet Detectives, checking the information we are given and questioning when unsure (2) If you feel sad, worried, confused or upset by information or activities that you see on line, always tell a trusted adult. In Computing lessons with Dr Gimenes, the girls have also been studying several aspects of e-safety in lessons in the last few weeks.

The past year has made it difficult to hold assemblies like we usually would as a school. However, that is not deterring our teachers, who are constantly coming up with new ideas to present to the school—even if they are on zoom!

On Wednesday, Mr Gibb presented to Senior House about “ideas.” In Mr Gibb’s words “It was a bit bonkers!” The assembly focussed on good ideas, bad ideas, not having any ideas and where ideas come from. Mr Gibb is grateful for the lovely feedback he got!

Year 10 Geographers have been working really hard again this week online. During our live lessons we have been focusing on Ecosystems; learning about food webs, nutrient cycles and how different types of ecosystems work at varying scales.

I have been so impressed with the girls’ resilience to the change back to online learning, and have loved receiving the pieces of independent work they have clearly spent a lot of time doing. Lockdown isn’t stopping us – keep up the hard work! Mrs Jobson

Many congratulations to Fleur S in Year 12! Her beautiful and poignant poem has been shortlisted and is through to the final of the ISA National Poetry Competition. This is what the judges commented on her poem, ‘Often the extraordinarily simple can be complex in the depth of thought. Fleur  brings a tear to your eye. Words are carefully chosen and the expression in short lines is so effective.’

All the girls whose poems were entered should be really proud of themselves and will be receiving a certificate. In fact, the judges were so impressed with the quality of entries that they wanted this message to be delivered: ‘It is wonderful that so many schools have been able to submit poems at this time of global pandemic. We have thoroughly enjoyed reading all of them and are amazed, once again, with the quality of writing and imagination. We would like to declare every poem a winner – because each one actually is! Keep writing!’ Miss Brain

Those of you that have taken a music exam over the years realise how difficult it is to achieve a      distinction grade, so will appreciate the fact that over the Christmas holiday, I learnt of four St Mary’s girls who have done just that! Huge congratulations go to the following students on achieving          exceptionally high scores in their music exams and particularly to Maisie R who achieved this accolade for her Grade 8 Singing exam. Well done to all of you and our wonderful team of peripatetic teachers, on your achievements in these strange times:

Maya B, Grade 1 Jazz Piano, distinction.

Jasmine B, Grade 4 Drum Kit, distinction.

Eloise M, Grade 3 Clarinet, distinction.

Maisie R, Grade 8 Voice, distinction.            Mrs Phillips

Rebecca K in Year 13 has been participating in Dance workshops this term with professional dancer, Jason Tucker from the Richard Alston Dance Company to enhance her learning on the A Level Dance Course. Since its founding in 1994, Richard Alston Dance Company has become an avidly  followed contemporary dance company, performing the work of its Artistic Director Richard Alston and Associate Choreographer Martin Lawrance.

Richard Alston Dance Company has an outstanding reputation on the British dance scene and internationally and the A Level Dance course requires students to study Richard Alston as one of their key practitioners for both their written and practical examinations in the subject. Jason has been teaching Rebecca some of the Alston repertoire to further develop her understanding of Alston’s movement and choreographic style and to support her in preparing a performance solo for her examination.

We were delighted to see Mrs Roberts back in school to speak to Year 12 and present their GCSE certificates.

Well done, girls!

Nursery and Reception performed Away in a Manger to a small audience. A proud mule called Maurice, who lives in the stable has become rather attached to his manger. What a commotion it causes when he has to share it with a stream of visitors! Brilliant performance, girls!

In the story of Shine Star Shine, the Big Star above Bethlehem has lost her shine. As the shepherds and sheep, Kings and camels stumble in the dark, the other little stars try everything they can to cheer up the Big Star! Eventually, the Big star recovers her glow and shines proudly above Bethlehem and the stable where Mary and Joseph are tending to the baby Jesus. The girls worked tirelessly to provide a professional performance. The soloists sang their heart out, the jokes were told with gusto and the acting was incredible. Well done Year 1 and Year 2!

Over the summer, Saana, Year 12 at St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross, created a video for digital health company, Cognitant, on the importance of vaccines. In December, her animation (via QR code) was embedded in a full page advert within The Times – therefore being shared with the whole national readership

of this broadsheet. Saana was also awarded a £250 bursary by Cognitant, which she kindly donated to the school. After careful deliberation it was decided the money would be used to create a wellbeing space in the garden behind Cedar House, the Sixth Form centre. Well done Saana, on a brilliant achievement.

As part of their Enrichment Programme our Sixth Form were visited by St Mary’s ‘Old Girl’, Radhika Thakrar who is now a qualified doctor. She gave our students excellent advice on applying to university and key things to find out, as well as how to write a great personal statement and how to prepare for interviews.

Radhika achieved all As at A level and studied medicine at Imperial   College London. She also shared her fond experiences of St Mary’s, which our students very much enjoyed! Radhika was keen to stress the importance of looking after yourself at university and the kind of challenges that may lie ahead. She is very much enjoying her work as a doctor and has chosen to specialise in paediatrics. Thank you, Radhika for coming in to talk to us!

For the first time ever, our annual Autumn Concert was filmed without an audience, on Thursday 15th October, with a view to sending parents a link to watch the concert at home. There was a brilliant variety of musical    numbers including debut performances from the Steel Pan Drum bands! There were beautiful solos from several girls, a rousing “Wonderwall” from the GCSE  Music students, and bands from Years 7, 8 and 9!

The Chamber Choir was split into two, due to their bubbles, with one year singing Chiquitita and the other singing My Love, My Life. Huge thanks to Mrs Phillips, Mr Gibb, compere, Mrs Williams, and to all the girls, for a brilliant concert.

The sun shone on St Mary’s this morning for our inaugural Flag Ceremony.

Last year’s Head Girl, Dayna, passed over the badge, lowered the flag and it was raised again by our new Head Girl, Emma, as her and her team take the helm for the year ahead.

We were so delighted to welcome the girls to our brand new Early Years building, Little St Mary’s!

Nursery and Reception girls will enjoy brand new classrooms, equipment and a wonderful outdoor space.

We were so delighted to welcome the girls to our brand new Early Years building, Little St Mary’s!

Nursery and Reception girls will enjoy brand new classrooms, equipment and a wonderful outdoor space.

The sun shone on our St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross, Year 11 girls as they arrived in school to collect their GCSE results this morning. In a year in which they did not have the opportunity to sit the GCSE examinations, the girls received the higher of the Centre Assessed Grades or the Ofqual moderated grade. We were delighted that after so much waiting, government u-turns and media speculation that the girls have a fabulous set of GCSE grades. The

headline figures are: 15% were at Grade 9, the very highest A*grade, 35% at Grade 9 and 8, 62% at Grades 9-7, 84 % at Grades 9-6 and 99.77% at Grades 9-4.

My thanks go to all the staff, parents, governors and friends of the school who have supported the St Mary’s community in this most challenging of years. Congratulations to Year 11 class of 2020, we are so very proud of you!

Mrs Patricia Adams, Headmistress

It was a very happy morning at St Mary’s this morning as the Year 13 leavers received their A level results. In an examination year full of uncertainty, the Year 13 leavers have been delighted that the majority have achieved their desired place at university. 50% of grades were A*-A, and 79% were A*-B. Their resilience, determination and positivity has been evident throughout their Sixth Form course and during lockdown, and in a situation that could not have been imagined, they now have what they

need to pursue the next exciting chapter in their careers.

Mrs Adams , Headmistress said, “I am incredibly proud of the girls, staff and everyone who has supported the Year 13 Leavers throughout their Sixth Form course and during their whole time at St Mary’s. Some of our girls have been with us from Reception and are now leaving to take their place in the world, full of confidence. Their achievements are so well deserved and I could not be happier for the Year 13s and their families today.”

It was a very happy morning at St Mary’s this morning as the Year 13 leavers received their A level results. In an examination year full of uncertainty, the Year 13 leavers have been delighted that the majority have achieved their desired place at university. 50% of grades were A*-A, and 79% were A*-B. Their resilience, determination and positivity has been evident throughout their Sixth Form course and during lockdown, and in a situation that could not have been imagined, they now have what they need to pursue the next exciting chapter in their careers.

Mrs Adams , Headmistress said, “I am incredibly proud of the girls, staff and everyone who has supported the Year 13 Leavers throughout their Sixth Form course and during their whole time at St Mary’s. Some of our girls have been with us from Reception and are now leaving to take their place in the world, full of confidence. Their achievements are so well deserved and I could not be happier for the Year 13s and their families today.”

Whilst we were learning at home EYFS enjoyed tangram Tuesday. We have continued this tradition back at school and the girls are

great at them! Early years have also been getting to grips with a 100 square. They have played some games to help them! (Miss Rose)

Year 7 have been busy designing, making and playing a musical instrument; a project that Miss Newton and Mrs Phillips created for their Year 7 Design and Music classes. There have been some outstanding designs,

incredible creations and some very interesting noises being produced! Here are some photos of their finished products and a video compilation is being created as we speak. Well done Year 7s on some inventive designs.

This year’s Prep Sports Day, like most events this term, wasn’t quite how we’d imagined but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t brilliant! Thank you to Mrs Hemsworth for organising a fun and interactive week of sports. The girls (and their teacher and families!) competed in the following events, either in school or at home:

Monday: Speed bounce

Tuesday:

Standing long jump

Wednesday: Throw and catch against a wall

Thursday: Under and over

Friday: Aim at a bucket and egg and spoon race.

Parents and staff: Aim at a bucket

Siblings: Egg and spoon race.

The scores were close all week, with the eventual winners being declared as… Kirk! Well done, girls!

This week St Mary’s has been awash with books and literary activities! Of course Thursday was World Book Day, and the Prep Department expanded on this exciting day and had Literary Week! The girls took part in a poetry reading competition, learned all about the book Meerkat Mail and participated in lots of related activities, attended special Perform workshops, and did a House Quiz! Congratulations also to all the girls who brought in books for the book swap – a brilliant way to recycle! On World Book Day itself the girls came to school dressed as a character from a book of their choice and with such a focus on climate

change and the environment, both in and outside school, the girls were challenged to create rather than buy a costume by using/recycling clothes they already have at home. The girls rose to the challenge and all looked brilliant! Girls in Senior House also dressed up as book characters and the competition winner will be announced on Monday! Elsewhere Senior House girls made bookmarks for each other, experienced a “book in a day”, guessed how many books Mrs McNally has at home, produced origami from old book pages and took part in a quiz run by Librarian Mrs Murray! What a busy, brilliant week!

It was a pleasure to welcome local author, Andy Huxtable, to talk to our Early Years to Year 4 girls about his new book, The Cake, the first in a series about an ant called Sam. Andy told the girls about the

story, and about why he decided to become an author, and then presented a signed copy of The Cake to the children, to be kept here at St Mary’s. A brilliant experience for our girls at the end of Literary Week!

7R tried ‘mindful walking’ in their PSHCE lesson this week, as part of their mindfulness course. It was cold and windy, but the girls found that by focusing on the feelings in their feet, or paying attention to the sounds and sights around them, they were easily

able to forget the weather. Mindful walking helps us to connect with the present moment in a simple, daily activity. Why don’t you give it a go, to clear your mind of clutter and concentrate on the sensations in a mindful practice? Mrs Cork

St Mary’s was delighted to host the Floor and Vault Regional Gymnastics Competition on Sunday 9th February. Our two teams performed brilliantly with the Under 13s winning second place, and our Under 11

team coming in first! Huge congratulations to both teams and good luck to the U11 team who are off to the National Floor and Vault finals in May. A big thank you also to Mrs Deadman for running this event.

On Friday 7th February the Elite Dance Squad performed at the Wycombe Swan as part of the ‘One More Time’ Showcase of Dance Talent within the Buckinghamshire area. 2019 was a year filled with political unrest in Britain and our piece entitled ‘Political Unrest’ explored the tension between the two leading political parties and the impact that this had on British Citizens who felt

unheard, unrepresented and undervalued. Our girls performed brilliantly and it was so fantastic to be able to watch and collaborate with other local schools such as Amersham School, Beaconsfield School, Princes Risborough and Wycombe High School. We also enjoyed performing alongside Futunity UK (Britain’s Got Talent 2019, Live Semi-Finalists). Well done to all of those involved! Mrs Good

On Sunday 19th January three teams took part in the National ISGA Challenge Cup Championships at Prior’s Field School in Godalming. For many of the U9s this was their first competition and they all remembered their routines! I was very proud of their determination and many judges commented on how smiley they all were. The U11s became National Champions for the 2nd year running,

with an individual 3rd place for Lily-May and Eden became Reserve National Champion! The U13 team astounded everyone. Maya scored a perfect score on her set floor routine and became National Champion, with Milly just 0.1 behind her in second place. The team became National Champions and I was very proud of their team spirit and how well they performed. Amazing, girls! Miss Connell

On Wednesday 22nd January, Year 7 went to Maltman’s Green for a much anticipated trip to meet to meet Lucy Hawking. Lucy certainly lived up to her reputation as the daughter of Stephen Hawking, the 20th Century genius and one of the world’s great thinkers. He has passed on his passion and ability for all things cosmic to Lucy. We were all star struck and so lucky to have the opportunity to meet her, we didn’t want the talk to finish! The photos and images she brought along of the solar system, its mysteries and wonders were amazing, and her personal stories and anecdotes about her Dad were very touching. Lucy co-wrote “Unlocking the Universe” with her father and talked about his life and obsession with “black holes”, the theory

of everything, time travel and the existence of alien beings. The book is a comprehensive guide to the origins of the universe and its future with AI, and looking beyond our own solar system. After an hour of being totally mesmerising, Lucy gave everyone a chance for a Q and A and then spent time signing her book and talking individually with the girls. It was an incredibly inspiring talk; Lucy is clearly a great ambassador to continue her father’s fervour for pushing the boundaries of mankind’s need for exploration and space travel. Lucy also told us that her Dad is buried in Westminster Abbey in between Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin. What a fitting end to such a marvellous and awe-inspiring event. Mrs Murray, Librarian

Year 5 have been learning about levers, gears and pulleys as examples of simple mechanisms. In order to demonstrate the mechanisms in action, they used Lego Technic to build models which included levers and gears. Lego is such a fantastic toy for developing fine motor skills, spatial awareness, problem solving and creativity. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the session and I can see Lego Technic making its way on to some Christmas wish lists!

Next term we will be focusing on separating mixtures. In the first

week back in January, we will be doing some practical work, separating dry mixtures. Does your daughter know the difference between a sieve and a colander and suitable applications for each? In the second week, we will be studying the process of dissolving and learning some of the related key terms. Does your daughter understand the difference between dissolving and melting? Helping out in the kitchen this holiday is a great opportunity for your daughter to prepare for her next Science topic.

The evening of Thursday 12th December saw a stunning Carol Service, held in the Sports Hall which was beautifully decorated and lit. The service opened, as per tradition, with Once in Royal David’s City, with India, Year 7, taking the solo which she sang beautifully. There were readings by Head Girl, Dayna, and her deputy, Qi, a stunning flute ensemble

and the always memorable Staff, Parent and Governor Choir singing When a Child is Born and The Holly and the Ivy along with the Senior choir. The Prep girls took to the stage to sing songs including How far is it to Bethlehem. Thank you for your generosity with the collection for Crisis, the national charity for homeless people.

Across the school the girls have been promoting their assigned parties, and have this week presented their manifestos to the rest of the students. In Prep, the Brexit Party, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and Green Party gave their speeches on Monday. The girls were so confident and articulate and presented their respective parties brilliantly, leaving the rest of Prep to decide who to vote for in the ballot on

Wednesday. In Senior House, Year 10 have been leading the campaigns for the parties. In assembly, the students read their speeches to Senior House girls, with voting taking place at the end of assembly. Well done to all the girls for participating in our own mock elections with such maturity and poise. In Prep, the winning party was the Green Party and in Senior House it was the Conservatives, closely followed by the Liberal Democrats.

Over in Pre-Prep the girls delighted us with a heart-warming story about aliens who land on earth and know nothing of the

Christmas story! The play was funny and adorable in equal measures – well done to all involved!

Legally Blonde

On Thursday 28th and Friday 29th November, almost sixty pupils from Year 7 to Year 12, performed ‘Legally Blonde’ to a packed out Senior Hall. It was transformed into a theatre using a traverse stage configuration which allowed all of the cast to shine. The energy and enthusiasm of all performers oozed from the stage, leaving the whole room buzzing! Everyone worked extremely hard from the nerve-wracking auditions, complicated and relentless rehearsals and the weekend technical run, to the energy needed for the performance – they all did amazingly well. A special mention has to go to Maisie Reid in Year 12, who

played Elle Wood; she was in every scene and sang almost constantly, she never missed a rehearsal and always supported others to excel. Also to Year 10 girls: Phoebe Wyatt, Rachel Mosely, Ruby Richards and Lillie Dures, as this was their debut performance in a musical and they did brilliantly in their roles.

This was a memorable musical to direct. It had its challenges, but all students, staff and parents involved (many thanks to Mrs Georgiou, Mrs Reid and Mrs Smith) worked brilliantly together to make it a success. As the musical promoted – ‘Never stop believing in yourself and you will achieve!’

The Year 10 Puritea team sold a huge number of bubble teas and lip scrubs on Thursday lunchtime. The bubble teas caused quite a stir around the whole school – some flavours sold out within 15 minutes! The team of seven girls were working flat out taking orders, preparing drinks and delivering them to customers. They had taken on a “Starbucks style” of taking orders, writing customer names on the cups, and the lip scrubs were professionally packaged. The girls are proud

of the fact that ALL of their packaging is either recyclable or biodegradable, which is in keeping with their eco-friendly/well-being brand. Thanks go to the other Year 10 girls who got involved and helped with the production line of teas, and helped ensure customers got the right order. The Puritea team could not have done it without you! The girls are now going to regroup at their weekly meeting. Watch this space: they may be selling bubble teas again before Christmas!

On the evening of Wednesday 20th, parents, students, staff, governors and local residents were enthralled by the inaugural speaker in our Gwyneth Bebb Lecture Programme – Denise Beddows (Pen name D J Kelly). We learnt of the history of our school’s beautiful building – Orchehill House and the Blounts who resided there. Denise’s talk took us on a journey which encompassed the area’s link with the Norman invasion,

scandalous affairs and even a connection with singer James Blunt. There was also great discussion over the possibility of tunnels under the school linking to other parts of Gerrards Cross! All guests were enthralled and agreed it was an informative an enriching evening. We are very grateful to Denise for sharing her wealth of knowledge with us. Next Gwyneth Bebb Lecture: Baroness Pidding CBE, Thursday 5th March at 7pm – save the date!

As you may remember, during Breast Cancer Awareness month in October last year, St Mary’s appeared live on ITV’s Lorraine. This was due to the work that Mrs Taylor has been doing with the breast cancer charity, Coppafeel!, in recent years and her commitment to including breast health onto St Mary’s PSHCE curriculum. Coppafeel! invited Mrs Taylor to join their Educational Advisory Group and asked her to develop a pack for them (including detailed lesson plans, activities and resources), suitable for delivering to KS3/4/5 on the topic of breast cancer. When the new national PSHCE curriculum was revealed, it included the statutory requirement for schools

to teach learners about cancer from September 2020: something that daunted many schools and thus making the Coppafeel! teaching resource all the more important. We are delighted to announce that Mrs Taylor’s School Pack has been given accreditation by the PSHE Association which means that from early 2020, the pack will be rolled out to schools across the country to support their delivery of this invaluable educational message! Mrs Taylor continues to work alongside Coppafeel! to further support its educational provision and teacher training. Never one to miss an opportunity, a final reminder from Mrs Taylor: “know your boobs and check them regularly!”

Well done to three of our Year 8 girls who entered the Helen Arkell (Dyslexia Charity) Christmas Card competition. The girls entered this national competition as part of Learning Support’s Dyslexia Awareness Week celebrations last month. The overall winner was

Hollie, and we also had a runner up too – Rosie! The judges loved the detail on Hollie’s entry, and were impressed with the effort all the girls put into their cards. Hollie’s design will be used for the charity’s official Christmas card, well done Hollie!

What a tremendous afternoon Years 4, 5 and 6 experienced when the multi award winning author, Sita Brahmachari, came to visit St Mary’s on Wednesday 6th November. Sita’s novel, Artichoke Hearts, won her the Waterstones Children’s Book Award for 2011, and since then Sita has become a prolific writer of children’s fiction. Sita told the girls how, in the past, she has been asked why she doesn’t write for adults and her response was “I write for the most important people; the children”. Sita won everyone’s hearts with her answer! Our girls were mesmerized from there on in. Sita spent the entire afternoon talking to the children about her new book “Where the River Runs Gold” and bringing her book to life by involving the children through audience participation.

The story is a dystopian futuristic tale where bees have become extinct so the dilemma for human beings is – who are the pollinators going to be now..? The children of course- because they have such tiny fingers and hands! In our Senior Hall a drama was unravelling; the children became “pollinators”, “Luca Freedoms”, a prime minister, and Shifa and Themba to name but a few of the characters. Sita’s passion regarding the important message about climate change and conservation was evident in everything she spoke about; she was a true inspiration to us all. Sita concluded her speech by sharing several artefacts and a banner made for her by refugee children with the message: Dare Dream Believe Imagine.

What a fantastic afternoon!

On Tuesday 22nd October, 15 girls from Years 11, 12 and 13 embarked on a journey to Krakow, Poland. On day 1 we went on a walking tour of a district of Krakow known as Podgorze, which was the area where the Nazis constructed a ghetto during the occupation of Poland. We saw the remains of the ghetto wall and houses, and streets that were used to film scenes from the film Schindler’s List. We learnt of the horrors that many Jewish people endured and were able to see the apartment blocks that housed many families in cramped conditions for a two year period.

We started our second day with a tour of what used to be Oskar Schindler’s factory. It is now a museum and explores, in great detail, the Nazi occupation of Krakow. In the afternoon we went to the most infamous of all concentration camps: Auschwitz-Birkenau. As we walked under the foreboding sign ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ a silence fell upon the group. We saw the original barracks and punishment cells, and we walked through the first gas chambers to be constructed there. We saw the punishment cells, where up to four people at a time were kept, and the shooting wall and gallows. We saw huge cabinets of artificial limbs, shoes, spectacles, suitcases and hair

– all taken from their owners upon arrival. Later, we got on a coach to take us to the second part of the camp and were shocked by the sheer scale of this place of mass murder. We saw the artificial train station, wooden barracks and mile upon mile of electric fences and watch towers. It is very hard to describe how Auschwitz makes you feel – there are no words that are appropriate; even the angriest of adjectives seem trite. In the evening we had a thorough de-briefing and discussed what we had seen, and we considered the importance of remembering the past.

On our third day we toured the beautiful district of Kazimierz, to the south of the city. It was once the centre of Jewish life in the city and now, after many years of neglect, it is being regenerated and is thriving once again. We were also fortunate enough to listen to the story of a Holocaust survivor, Rena Rach, who was born in the Krakow ghetto and survived, but not without considerable heartbreak to her and her family.

It was an absolute privilege to take our girls to Krakow. At all times they displayed the utmost maturity and respect. I hope they feel that they have experienced something they will remember for the rest of their lives.

On Wednesday 2nd October two dance troops made On Wednesday 2nd October the Elite Dance squad made their way to Reddam House School in Berkshire to take part in the 2019 ISA National Dance Competition. The KS3 dancers performed a contemporary dance titled ‘Dreams and Nightmares’. The girls performed wonderfully against many other talented dancers, and were rewarded with first place! Feedback was that they had a very creative and demanding piece which was very polished and excellently performed. A fantastic achievement, well done, girls! The KS5 Elite Squad performed a contemporary trio titled ‘Bruises’. They

performed extremely well and although they just missed out on first place they were the only team to receive the Highly Commended award from ArtsEd in recognition of their high level performance. They were complimented on their flawless technique and their commitment to performance. An extremely successful day for both teams. Well done! I look forward to working with the Elite Squad to create our next piece. Auditions to join the squad are 4th October 4-5pm in the Senior Hall. If you cannot attend this there will be an alternative audition on Thursday 10th at 1.30pm in the Senior Hall. All students welcome! Mrs Good

Girls from Year 7 right up to Year 13 braved the less than ideal weather on Friday 4th October , and set off on their 10km trek around Gerrards Cross and the Chalfonts. In doing so the girls helped to raise money for two

mental health charities: ‘Buckinghamshire Mind’ and ‘Heads Together’. We were delighted to welcome many parents along on the walk, too. Well done, girls, and staff, on completing the whole 10km for such a good cause.

St. Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross, once again achieved a very impressive set of A level results this year. With 37% of all grades achieved at A*/ A, 60 A*/B and 87% A*/C, there was certainly cause for celebration.

Headmistress Mrs Adams commented “In this my first year as Head, I am delighted with the fantastic results that our girls have

achieved. From those who have attained a full set of top grades to girls who have worked relentlessly to accomplish grades better than they had ever hoped for, we are proud of all of their achievements. I wish them every happiness and continued success as they move on to their chosen universities and careers.”

Congratulations to all the girls who attended the South bucks District Athletics competition this week, at Hillingdon Athletics Stadium, we had a stunning set of results!

1st place

Year 7 High Jump – Ella S

Year 10 1500m – Alicia B

2nd

place

Year 8 High Jump- Izzy N

Year 9 Discus – Polly W

Year 10 Hurdles – Anna G

Year 8 100m – Mia D

Year 10 800m – Laura W

3rd place

Year 10 Discus – Abbie D

Year 7 Javelin – Megan A

Year 7 Hurdles – Kate A

Year 8 Hurdles – Livvy C

Based on the growing popularity of the Teachmeet movement on Twitter and the growing grassroots movement to share good practice and accelerate whole school approaches to teaching and learning, St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross, put together a day of cutting edge CPD entitled ’21st Century Education’.

We also, very excitingly, enlisted the services of Tom Sherrington, former Head and Educational Consultant, who was the Keynote speaker and also hosted a couple of seminars on key

educational theories in practice. Our own staff, Mr Cox, Mr Gibb, Mrs Williams, Mrs Davison, Mrs Cork, Mrs Kalinowski, Mr Dodd and a colleague, Helen Hawkins, from the Royal Masonic School, then put on sessions ranging from Technology and Media in the classroom, through to Golden Sentences, High Challenge, Character Strengths for Learning, Vocabulary and Communication, Collaboration and Creativity.

A range of teachers from far and wide attended the day and said it was a great success.

The KS2 production of Mary Poppins was quite simply spectacular! Set with a stunningly painted backdrop, and costumes that looked so professional it could have been a West End musical, the girls delighted the audience with their

on point acting, beautiful singing and entertaining dancing. Well done, girls, and to all the staff members that worked so hard to make this the brilliant production it was. It was truly “practically perfect in every way!”

After many months of excitement and anticipation, How to Train your Dragon and Wizards of Once author Cressida Cowell arrived at St Mary’s on Monday 10th June! Our Prep girls were joined by St Joseph’s, Thorpe House and Maltman’s Green, so the Sports Hall was truly packed! Cressida’s presentation was punctuated with clips from the film of How to Train your Dragon, and her wonderful illustrations of Hiccup, Toothless and some of the Viking characters. She talked

about her childhood and her inspirations behind her stories, and her love of literature, language and art from a young age. There were lots of giggles as Cressida taught the children how to speak “Dragonese”! Cressida interacted with the children and had them enthralled, recounting her journey to success and telling touching anecdotes from her past. Thank you to our Librarian, Mrs Murray, for organising such a wonderful event and to “Team Magic for all their help!

This week has been Healthy Eating and Walk to School Week at St Mary’s! The rain did not deter our Walking Busses, and the Prep girls did well with their daily miles!

On the Healthy Eating side, at the heart of the British Nutrition Foundation Healthy Eating Week are five health challenges:

• Have breakfast

• Have 5 A DAY

• Drink plenty

• Get active

• Sleep well

Girls have been able to increase their knowledge of these issues by using the interactive

display outside of the Food and Nutrition room. Many have been surprised by the salt levels in their favourite takeaways. At the beginning of the week, Senior House girls took part in a quiz to assess their own health levels. They were then invited to challenge themselves to make a healthy eating pledge for the week. Year 10 girls enjoyed an after school cookery session on Thursday where they were given the opportunity to experiment with baking reduced sugar cakes, try out some plant based dishes or cook a dish that fits in with the healthy eating guidelines.

Years 5 and 6 enjoyed an action packed week in France. Based at the Chateau de Warsy near Amiens, they spent their time in the outdoors canoeing, paddle boarding, problem solving and climbing, to name but a few of the activities they completed. They also visited the 13th century cathedral in Amiens, one of the oldest and largest Gothic cathedrals in Europe and were amazed at its size, beauty and range of stained glass windows. They even managed to find the purple donkey in the windows depicting scenes from the nativity! It was great to see the girls attempt to use their French when they visited the market and the stallholders enjoyed prompting and encouraging them to do so. Last Thursday, as the former allies celebrated the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, we went to the town of Arras and visited the Wellington Tunnels. Here, the girls went 20 metres underground and, with the assistance of a tour guide, they walked through the tunnels and got a true sense of where and how the British Soldiers who fought in the Somme in WW1

lived whilst waiting to take up their positions on the front line. The girls then went to Vimy Ridge and could see first-hand the cratered landscape and the trenches that were occupied by the Canadian soldiers who fought and won a strategic battle against German forces in WW1 that changed the course of the war. They also saw the huge memorial that has been built to commemorate all those who died and who were never found. En route home, the girls visited a snail farm and many were keen to take part in the ‘snail tasting’ experience offered by the farmer after he explained how he farms and then harvests the snails. Snail, sausage, snail pate, snails in garlic butter were some of the delights on the menu! Our final visit of the week was to a wheat farm where the girls learned to make decorations using wheat to celebrate the Harvest. It was a busy, busy week but the girls really enjoyed being residents at a lovely Chateau, participating in a range of great activities, visiting this historical region and experiencing French culture.

Congratulations to several of our Year 10 girls who are Biology Challenge winners! Biology Challenge is a competition hosted by the UK’s Royal Society of Biology. It is open to Year 10 students around the world and usually takes place during the month of March each year. The aim of the competition is to stimulate students’ curiosity for the natural world and to encourage them to take an interest in biology outside of school. The competition consists of two, twenty-five-minute multiple choice papers taken online under staff supervised exam conditions. Questions are set on the school curriculum, but

the competition also rewards those students whose knowledge of the subject has been increased by reading books and magazines, watching natural history programmes, taking notice of the news media for items of biological interest, and are generally aware of our natural flora and fauna. The results are as follows: Silver for Arabella, Bronze for Ruby and Shanze, Highly Commended for Orla, Anna, Victoria, Saoirse, Daisy, Shedlia, Cara, Saana, Charlotte S, Isobelle, Emily, and Commended for Amrit, Alessia, Jessica, Sarah, Ria, Fleur, Lisa, Daniella, Abbie, Emma, Alicia. Well done to all who took part!

Congratulations to Ella and Millie (Year 12) who have been shortlisted in the New College of Humanities national essay competition. Both students have been invited to the final, which will be held at the College, in June, where they will find out if they

won overall their overall categories – Art History for Ella and Politics for Millie. The College received over 3,600 essays from across the country so reaching the shortlist is a brilliant achievement in itself. Well done, girls!

As part of Mental Health Week, St Mary’s School was delighted to welcome parents to school on Thursday morning for a coffee morning with a difference. The morning included four practical sessions to help parents support their daughters’ mental health and wellbeing, followed by an opportunity to enjoy refreshments and a chat with other parents including representatives from the St Mary’s Association and Teaching Staff. The event was facilitated by parents, students and staff, in keeping

with how the school supports the girls through the pastoral and PSHCEE programme.

The talks included: “Healthy thinking – changing negative thoughts”, the benefits of oils to support your mood, “Breakfasts on the go”, and “Breathing – it’s in your control”.

A fantastic morning on mental wellbeing, which will undoubtedly prove valuable as we enter the summer examination season. Thank you to all the parents who supported this event.

A huge well done to two girls who bravely took to the Speakers’ Corner stand, and addressed the whole of Prep in assembly. Isabel, Year 5, spoke about her wonderfully selfless decision to have her long hair cut, and donate it to Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides real hair wigs to children and young people with hair loss. Well

done, Isabel! Prep were then treated to their first ever KS1 speaker! Clementine, Year 2, spoke about her love of ballet, her visit to the Royal Opera House, and also about famous ballerinas such as Darcey Bussell. Clementine also showed the girls a pair of pointe ballet shoes – which had incredibly hard toes! Well done to both girls.

Lizzy Marshall, former St Mary’s student, who is in her second year of her degree course in Creative Advertising at Falmouth University, has won a prestigious advertising award: the D&AD Pencil, for her promotional campaign package for a programme to get young offenders into creative careers. This award is rarely won by students – it is akin to the BAFTA for the advertising world!

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Lizzy popped into school to tell our Year 13 Media students (who were on their last day of school before study leave!) about it all. Well done Lizzy, a true inspiration!

A sunny afternoon in May saw our annual flag Ceremony take place as Annicke handed over the reins to our new Head Girl, Dayna! Annicke, Head Girl, Lucy and Scarlett, Deputy Head Girls, and Grace, Sports Captain, said their goodbyes and then ceremoniously pinned badges on to their successors. Peta is our new Sports Captain and Krupa and Qi are

Deputy Head Girls. The girls then processed outside where Annicke lowered the flag to signify the end of her term, and Dayna then raised it to signify the start of hers! A very warm welcome to our new team, and huge thanks to last year’s. We also welcomed new Heads of Houses; Amrita (Butler) Millie (Kirk) Rebecca (Latham) and Lara (Temple West).

Year 4 and 5 had a brilliant time on their trip to Ufton Court. Ufton is an innovative charity that aims to change children’s lives through challenging and inspirational learning outside the classroom. The girls spent their day living a day in the lives of Vikings and

Tudors. Year 4 studied Tudor artefacts and portraits, and then made their own quill and ink for writing, whilst Year 5 learnt how to battle and sail as a Viking and then created their own torcs. What an exciting trip! You can see lots more photos of the trip on our Facebook page.

Huge congratulations to Emily, who entered the Independent School’s Association Shakespeare Monologue Competition with her LAMDA examination piece. Emily had to film herself performing the piece, from a Midsummer Night’s Dream. Emily was then awarded first prize! One

judge commented: “This one just blew me away. Lots of movement but always controlled. Great diction and precision in the words and speech – just the most lovely, vibrant performance, full of magic.”

Absolutely amazing, Emily!

On 25th March 24 girls from Years 7 to 13 took part in the Stevenage Rock Challenge Dance competition. Students started rehearsals for this competition in November, and have worked tirelessly in preparing their final eight minute dance about the Berlin Wall. Students took on many different roles including Backstage Crew, Lighting Design, Performer, Co-Host and Costume Design. Well done to all of the girls in these roles for making the performance possible. We are extremely pleased to announce that our girls placed first and received eight different awards for outstanding

achievement in a variety of areas. These awards included Student Leadership, Choreography, Visual Design and Concept. Judges complemented us on the high technical ability of our students and their use of lighting and sound to enhance the performance. A teacher from another competing school commented that our piece was “the best she had seen in 13 years of competing at Rock Challenge.” We are extremely proud of all of the girls who were involved and we now have our fingers crossed that we received enough points to go through to the Regional Finals. Well done, girls!

On Monday 25th March, St Mary’s hosted a Public Speaking Event. There were five teams in total with two teams per school. We welcomed Gayhurst, Thorpe House, Chalfont St Peter Academy and Chesham Prep School. There was a range of speeches from the teams. St Mary’s kicked off proceedings with Historical Crimes and speeches on pollution, respect, sports, kindness and even Lego followed. The standard of speeches and

delivery was high with all teams presenting themselves well. We were very fortunate to have Ann Hall and Tony Aston come and judge our event. Tony and Ann are from the local community and work closely with the Rotary club. They have previously been judges for the Rotary Youth Speaks so were very qualified in their judging abilities. Congratulations to Eliza from Year 4 who won Best Overall Speaker out of all 30 children!

The girls in Year 3 and 4 have been extremely busy in Design & Technology lessons. They spent time researching, designing, constructing and evaluating their products. Year 3 designed Moving Monsters using pneumatic systems

which look fantastic. Year 4 designed pop-up books, including different moving parts and mechanisms to retell traditional tales. Their designs were very unique and creative and they should all be extremely proud of their hard work.

This week the four Houses have been hard at work raising money for their chosen charities. Kirk is raising money for Windsor Baby Bank, a charity that provides baby and child essentials to families in need. Butler is raising money for Child Bereavement UK and Latham’s chosen charity is Beauty Bank, a non-profit organisation which collects, re-packages and distributes essential personal care and beauty items to registered Food Banks and shelters. Finally Temple West’s efforts are for School Angel, a totally self-funding charity which supports disadvantaged

children in education. The Sixth Formers have put on wonderful and entertaining assemblies, that have also been poignant and clearly stated the aims of the charities they’re supporting. They have also held sales each break-time of cakes and biscuits, and also chicken nuggets, chips and mozzarella sticks! The final day of Charities Week focussed on the Prep Department, and girls came to school in Mufti, purchased goodies at break-time and took part in a huge array of activities at lunch-time – look out for pictures of Friday’s fun in next week’s newsletter!

Yet more amazing Gymnastics from our talented girls. St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross, was pleased to host the Regional BSGA Floor and Vault Gymnastics competition on 3rd February with over 200 competitors from Maltman’s Green, Wycombe Abbey, Wycombe High, Pipers Corner and Beaconsfield

High, and many others. All of the gymnasts performed very well, and the amazing St Mary’s Under 11 team were named champions! The team will now compete and represent the South in the National Floor and Vault Finals in May, in Stoke on Trent. Congratulations, girls, on another incredible victory.

Year 4 have been learning about the global issue of plastic pollution in our oceans, and the associated risks and problems that come with it. In a bid

to help save our planet, they have been creating innovations to helping either prevent or reduce the problem. We can’t wait to see their final designs!

To follow on from the Year 12 visit to Westminster last Monday, this week has been a celebration of Parliament at St Mary’s. The focus this year was the ability to hold dissenting opinions within our UK pluralist democracy. The students started by looking at examples of secret protest from the recent “I Object” exhibition at the British museum. They looked at objects that contained hidden political messages and learned how people living under tyranny have found creative ways to make their voices heard. Tutor groups then discussed how fortunate we are to be able to express our opinions freely and without fear of arrest. Our Sixth Form students continued this theme by partaking in our very own assembly edition of “Question Time”, discussing whether the government should lower the voting age, and the topical issue of a ‘people’s vote’! There has also been a wide range of political messages hidden around the school this week for pupils to find. Everything from songs with political undertones, an environmental colour theme amongst the staff and logos from various protest groups have been deployed around the school to help our St Mary’s girls raise their own political awareness and find causes of their own to

supporTo follow on from the Year 12 visit to Westminster last Monday, this week has been a celebration of Parliament at St Mary’s. The focus this year was the ability to hold dissenting opinions within our UK pluralist democracy. The students started by looking at examples of secret protest from the recent “I Object” exhibition at the British museum. They looked at objects that contained hidden political messages and learned how people living under tyranny have found creative ways to make their voices heard. Tutor groups then discussed how fortunate we are to be able to express our opinions freely and without fear of arrest. Our Sixth Form students continued this theme by partaking in our very own assembly edition of “Question Time”, discussing whether the government should lower the voting age, and the topical issue of a ‘people’s vote’! There has also been a wide range of political messages hidden around the school this week for pupils to find. Everything from songs with political undertones, an environmental colour theme amongst the staff and logos from various protest groups have been deployed around the school to help our St Mary’s girls raise their own political awareness and find causes of their own to support.

Last Friday the Sixth Form girls were visited by student run company called Strength From Within (SFW), to speak to them about what to expect from University, and how to cope with the last few months of Sixth Form. It was an interactive and engaging session, where students were in control of the topics that were discussed as they voted yes or no to suggestions. There were two final year university students who shared their Sixth form experiences, and how they went about applying for University and coping with the first few years there. They then spoke about ‘life after school’ and the expectations, and how to deal with them from a student’s perspective. It was most interesting to hear our Sixth Form students get fully engaged in the discussion, and to interact with each other, voicing their different opinions. We are grateful for SFW for taking the time to speak to our students.

ast Friday the Sixth Form girls were visited by student run company called Strength From Within (SFW), to speak to them about what to expect from University, and how to cope with the last few months of Sixth Form. It was an interactive and engaging session, where students were in control of the topics that were discussed as they voted yes or no to suggestions. There were two final year university students who shared their Sixth form experiences, and how they went about applying for University and coping with the first few years there. They then spoke about ‘life after school’ and the expectations, and how to deal with them from a student’s perspective. It was most interesting to hear our Sixth Form students get fully engaged in the discussion, and to interact with each other, voicing their different opinions. We are grateful for SFW for taking the time to speak to our students.

Congratulations to our Year 10 public speaking team; Daisy, Lucy and Orla, who qualified for the Zone Final of the Rotary Club Youth Speaks Competition last Friday, 18th January. St Mary’s was proud to host the local heat of the 2018/19 Competition. Six teams from St Mary’s and Thorpe House School delivered excellent presentations on a range of topics from ‘Here to stay or throw it away’, from Year 9s Polly, Jaskiran and Madison in the Intermediate Section, to ‘It’s a conspiracy’. The judges remarked on the extremely high standard of the entrants, with Isabelle, Year 12, earning the accolade as ‘next Prime Minister’ after her convincing speech on ‘Should the vote be extended to 16-year-olds?’, backed by her Year 12 team-mates Alexandra and Dayna. Our other Year 12 team both challenged and entertained us with Millie’s powerful presentation on ‘Are our thoughts our own?’ supported by Krupa and Avneet. Well done to all the

competitors,Congratulations to our Year 10 public speaking team; Daisy, Lucy and Orla, who qualified for the Zone Final of the Rotary Club Youth Speaks Competition last Friday, 18th January. St Mary’s was proud to host the local heat of the 2018/19 Competition. Six teams from St Mary’s and Thorpe House School delivered excellent presentations on a range of topics from ‘Here to stay or throw it away’, from Year 9s Polly, Jaskiran and Madison in the Intermediate Section, to ‘It’s a conspiracy’. The judges remarked on the extremely high standard of the entrants, with Isabelle, Year 12, earning the accolade as ‘next Prime Minister’ after her convincing speech on ‘Should the vote be extended to 16-year-olds?’, backed by her Year 12 team-mates Alexandra and Dayna. Our other Year 12 team both challenged and entertained us with Millie’s powerful presentation on ‘Are our thoughts our own?’ supported by Krupa and Avneet. Well done to all the competitors.

Although Michaelmas term ended on Thursday 13th December, St Mary’s School was very much alive and kicking on Friday 14th December, as we were joined by several schools in the area for the BSGA Southern Region Milano Trio Gymnastics Competition. It was a fantastic day of gymnastics and our teams did amazingly well. The Under 16 team finished in 2nd place, and the Under 11 girls finished in first place! Both teams will be representing the school in the nationals in March. Our Under 13 team then finished in 3rd place. A great achievement for all the girls and their coaches. Special thanks go to Mrs Deadman for organising the day, Miss Connell for helping prepare the teams, and to Mrs Hemsworth for helping on the

day.Although Michaelmas term ended on Thursday 13th December, the school was very much alive and kicking on Friday 14th December, as we were joined by several schools in the area for the BSGA Southern Region Milano Trio Gymnastics Competition. It was a fantastic day of gymnastics and our teams did amazingly well. The Under 16 team finished in 2nd place, and the Under 11 girls finished in first place! Both teams will be representing the school in the nationals in March. Our Under 13 team then finished in 3rd place. A great achievement for all the girls and their coaches. Special thanks go to Mrs Deadman for organising the day, Miss Connell for helping prepare the teams, and to Mrs Hemsworth for helping on the day.

Wednesday 28th November was the final of St Mary’s School House Bake Off 2018. Six girls advanced through to this round and the challenge of creating a Showstopper cake. They baked all through lunch and then after school – and they pulled out all the stops! What incredible cakes! From Anna’s Pumpkin Spice, Honey and Walnut cake complete with honeycomb to Lara’s rainbow cake, complete with enough sweets to make Willy Wonka jealous. We welcomed

Mrs Adams, Mrs Kingston and Mr Moss as our judges this week and their jaws dropped when they saw the amazing creations of our skilled bakers. All three judges commented on the skill, creativity and ability of each cake and judging was incredibly close. Mrs Adams commented that it was her hardest decision to date, as Head! Congratulations to our Star Baker Lisa for her Lemon and Blueberry Showstopper with handmade meringues and chocolate shards.

Last Thursday and Friday saw performances of the Senior House production; The Light Burns Blue. A packed audience watched, enthralled, the story of a girl and her cousin who fake photographs of themselves talking with fairies at the bottom of the garden. The

story follows the girls as they are catapulted to the heights of fame; their photographs published around the world. However, will the girls be exposed as fakes? Congratulations to Mrs Kalinowski and all the girls who performed on a fantastic production.

The girls in EYFS had an amazing afternoon at Thorpe House on Friday. They had a great time exploring Thorpe’s forest area, “Badgers Rest”, and they learned how to light a fire

and how to stay safe around a fire. They then cooked popcorn, made crowns and finished the day with a nice hot chocolate! Thanks to the Thorpe explorers for being such lovely hosts.

On Tuesday 20th November, Chamber Choir sang at Marlow Music Festival. Two years ago, the Senior Choir entered this competition and gained a bronze medal, so hopes were high that we would match this achievement, if not surpass it! The nine members of Chamber Choir – Jazmin, Phillipa, Olivia, Maisie, Kate, Grace, Orla, Daisy and Daniella sang two songs, ‘Flanders Fields’ and ‘Electricity’ from Billy Elliot.

They sang beautifully and Mrs Phillips was very proud of their performance. The adjudicator complemented the girls on their warm tone quality, part-singing and solos. She also pointed out that the girls seemed to have a real sense of ‘camaraderie and enjoyment of singing together’. We all really enjoyed the experience and were pleased to come away with a silver medal! Well done, girls – a superb performance!

On Thursday 14th November, Miss Wilkins accompanied eight girls to Milton Keynes, to play in the ISA Badminton, London North Region Tournament. The day started off with two strong wins for both the Year 9 and 10 teams against tough opposition. Unfortunately, the Year 10 team were faced with more tough opposition from The Webber Independent School- this is a Badminton School associated with the National

Badminton Centre- and they lost that match. The Year 9 team carried on winning all day, dropping few points throughout the games. The Year 10 Badminton team, consisting of Cara, Anna, Lia and Abbie subsequently came in a brilliant 2nd place. The Year 9 team went on to win the tournament! Huge congratulations to Alisha, Lucy, Holly and Jaskiran. Both teams have qualified for Nationals! Well done, girls!

Last Friday was Children in Need, which meant a day of fun and fundraising! Girls (and teachers!) across the school came dressed in mufti, with plenty of animal onesies and face paint on show!

The morning started off with a fantastic whole school assembly run by Year 12 girls Avneet, Isabelle, Millie and Krupa. The girls explained why we raise money for this charity and where the money goes. Then there were some hilariously competitive games- who can eat a

donut hanging from a string faster; student or teacher? Of course no whole school assembly is complete without a school hymn, and what better school hymn than… Baby Shark! (doo doo doo doo doo doo) Break time brought cake sales in both Prep and Senior House, yum! At lunchtime the Prep girls were treated to an array of activities run by the Sixth Form girls including face-painting, games and even fortune telling! A fabulous day raising money for this most worthy cause.

On Friday 19th October, Poppy, Isabel, Imogen and Yasmine in Year 5 travelled to the Wycombe Swan theatre to learn about becoming E-Safety ambassadors for St Mary’s Prep Department. The girls learnt all about

cyber-bullying, how to use apps correctly, and how to keep safe when using the internet. They will be planning and leading an assembly with Senior House E-Safety ambassadors soon, so they can spread the E-Safety word!

We have had a lot of fun in rehearsals for The Light Burns Blue. It’s been really active and everyone has been getting up to loads, the play is constantly evolving. It is quite difficult, but everyone is giving it their all. We all work so well together on stage, which is really great! You can already tell how good quality the performance is going to be. There are lots of styles being shown throughout the performance and there is a wonderful atmosphere both on

and off stage. I’ve had a lot of fun playing my character, Agatha, who is very dramatic and spends her time with her friends. The other girls have been super nice to work with and we’re all supporting each other and helping each other out with lines and cues. The Year 7s have also been really helpful, sorting out the costumes and props that all the cast need. Its so amazing how such a big range of students can come together to help create this! Daisy, Year 10

As Sunday 11th November marked the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, St Mary’s girls have been very busy carrying out a range of activities to mark this momentous date. In Monday morning’s assembly, Mrs Adams explained the history of the poppy and encouraged girls to take part in the remembrance activities during the week. In order to create a permanent tribute to the contribution made by British men and women in the First World War and all conflicts involving British troops since, every girl in the school has painted a poppy on a tile. All of them will be put together to create a beautiful piece of art for all to see. On Wednesday, we held a First World War poetry recital in the library. Miss Kaaber-Gore, Mrs Stansfield and Mrs Davison read some of the most famous poems, including In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, The Soldier by Rupert Brooke and Dulce et Decorum Est by Wilfred Owen. We discussed the purpose and message of the poems and our listeners offered insightful thoughts. In

form-time, our pupils have discussed and debated the issues surrounding Remembrance Day, the fund raising methods of the British Legion and why some choose to wear a white poppy. Our Year 13s were also fortunate enough to meet and listen to Major General Tim Inshaw, President of the Gerrards Cross branch of the Royal British Legion. They learnt more of the importance of Remembrance and the work of the Legion. Mrs Stansfield and Mrs Davison have also been delighted by the response to the request for stories of family relatives involved in the Armed Forces. There are tales of tragedy, heroism and very lucky escapes! We thank all of you that have sent in your stories and very much look forward to putting them together in a display. The week ended with an assembly in which our Chamber Choir sang In Flanders Fields and Dayna, Year 12, spoke of her visit to the battlefields of the Somme and Ypres. Lucy and Grace in Year 13 spoke of locals that fought in the wars and all pupils observed a two minutes silence.

On Wednesday, 17th October, the Year 10 and Sixth Form Media Studies students at St Mary’s School in Gerrards Cross were excited to welcome Dr Hilary Jones and the film crew from the Lorraine Show for the filming of a live broadcast.

ITV are working with a charity called Coppafeel! to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month and chose to film and interview teachers, parents and students from St Mary’s because of their involvement in an educational pilot scheme with the charity. Coppafeel! was founded by Kris Hallenga, who was diagnosed with incurable breast cancer at the age of 23, and her twin sister, Maren. The aim of the charity is to promote the message, specifically to young people, that identifying cancer early offers a higher chance of recovering and surviving.

Mrs Taylor, Head of Support for Learning and PSHCE Lead for KS4 at St Mary’s, became involved with Coppafeel!  and in 2015 worked on a national pilot scheme, called #RethinkCancer, to educate the St Mary’s KS4 learners about breast cancer and to encourage self-checking behaviours from an early age. The scheme aimed to research the value of including cancer education onto the curriculum. The positive benefits of the pilot were presented to the

government in 2016 and as a direct result of the research, the government have announced that health education, including topics relating to preventing cancer and self-examination, is to become compulsory in all schools from September 2020. This was a monumental achievement for the work of those at #RethinkCancer and Coppafeel!, and Mrs Taylor was proud to have been involved in the pilot of 16 schools that were instrumental in providing the persuasive evidence of the benefits of spreading the message.

Mrs Taylor is now a member of Coppafeel!’s Education Advisory Group, with the remit to develop a set of lessons and resources which Coppafeel! will produce and make freely available to schools. The resource pack, which she is developing, will support schools across the country to fulfil their statutory duties under the new regulations.

Mrs Taylor commented, “It was very exciting for the students to be involved in live TV, but more importantly it was a great opportunity to continue to drive the message that self-checking from an early age is incredibly important. I am personally delighted to be involved in developing the resources that will enable schools to educate all children about the importance of self-examination”.

Early Years were very excited to welcome PCSO Dobbin and PCSO Puksis to the school on Wednesday. The PCSOs talked to the girls about their roles in the community, and they got to see the police

car with its flashing lights and very loud siren! They even got to sit in the car and try on the high visibility jackets and a police hat. Perhaps we have some future Policewomen in Early Years!

Tuesday 9 October saw the annual final of the Senior House Debate competition. Having triumphed through the rounds with their impressive speeches on “whether we live in a throwaway society”, Temple West and Latham fought out their battle in front of the whole school to decide whether “Space Exploration is a waste of money”. Both sides gave persuasive arguments, with Jessica, Year 10, and Lucy, Year 13, raising interesting points about Velcro, the

effects of space travel on the ozone layer and NASA’s ever-increasing budget. Latham were represented by Kat, Year 11, and Jazmin, Year 13, who gave powerful and emotive arguments on the benefits that space travel has brought to medicine, human curiosity and the mobile phone network – always a persuasive argument with teenage girls! By a count of 113 to 110 votes with 26 abstentions, Latham narrowly clinched a victory. Congratulations to everyone involved.

Last Friday, as part of their Enrichment programme, Year 13 had the pleasure of welcoming Eleanor Dimmock, our own Mrs Dimmock’s daughter, to speak about working in digital marketing. Eleanor took the students on a journey explaining how she ended up in her profession, covering the enviable holiday destinations she went to in her gap year, her experience at university as well as her personal interests. All of these led to her career in the

international hotel industry. She spoke passionately about how her experiences in her life as a young adult have shaped her work life, and how her passions and interests have now translated to her career. The girls responded to her animated talk by asking intriguing questions on work/life balance, sticking to deadlines, and what flying all around the world feels like. It was most rewarding to have Eleanor at St Mary’s and the girls thoroughly enjoyed the talk.  

Grace and Scarlet, Year 13, and Millie and Isabelle, Year 12, were invited to St Hugh’s College, Oxford for a symposium in honour of the late Gwyneth Bebb, a former Old Girl of St Mary’s (1906 – 1908). Gwyneth Bebb is considered a pioneer of the legal profession as the first woman to graduate with a First in Jurisprudence from Oxford, the only woman in an undergraduate class of 400 men, and for arguing Bebb v. The Law Society (1913), ultimately opening the legal profession to women in Britain. We first heard from Professor Senia Paseta, of St Hugh’s, on the remarkable life and impact of Gwyneth Bebb from being denied her degree because she was a woman, to being given membership at Lincoln’s Inn and being awarded an OBE for her war work in 1921.

The panel of speakers were

excellent and very engaging, giving lots of funny anecdotes about their time in the legal profession including the first female Advocate General for Scotland, the Rt. Hon Elish Angiolini DBE QC and the Rt. Hon. Nicky Morgan MP.

All panellists gave thought provoking and inspirational advice to guests. One of our favourite pieces of advice was from Carolyn Kirby OBE, the first woman to be elected President of the Law Society, who advised the audience to “never be afraid to be the first person to do something, someone has to be first”. Another was from Nicky Morgan, who encouraged us to “be brave – say yes to opportunities, then figure out how you’ll do it, find people to help you and persevere.” A wonderful day and a fitting tribute to the lasting impact of a St Mary’s Girl.

Dr Sigman, is a health education specialist, a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood and has also worked on teenage health education campaigns with the Department of Health. He
is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and a Chartered Scientist awarded by the Science Council.
Dr Sigman gave a thought provoking presentation based on the premise that aims, valuebased parenting leads to better-adjusted, more competent children, at all

developmental periods including preschool, school age and adolescence. The talk explained how and why this is the case and included the importance of values and boundaries in child development. He stressed that parenting includes not only parents, but also the other figures of authority in a child’s life, including teachers and he was vocal in the belief that parents should stand
shoulder to shoulder and in partnership with their child’s school. Parents commented that the talk was very beneficial with lots of practical advice.

Mrs Adams was formerly Academic Deputy Head at Blackheath High School for Girls, which, like St Mary’s, is an all-through school for girls aged 3 -18. She has a wealth of experience in girls’ education, having previously worked in Senior Leadership at Norwich High School for Girls, Oxford High School, where she was Head of Upper School and Head of Spanish, as well as Headington School, Oxford, where she held the position of Head of Modern Languages.

Mrs Adams read Modern Languages at St Catherine’s College, Oxford, studied for her masters in Applied Linguistics at Essex University and returned to Oxford for her PGCE teaching qualification.

Mrs Adams has a clear educational vision that is closely aligned to St Mary’s. Reflecting on her appointment she commented “It is an extremely exciting time to be joining St Mary’s. I look forward to supporting the environment where each individual girl learns and grows, reinforcing both the pastoral and academic provision that prepares them to be committed, resilient and compassionate individuals. I am keen to develop this vision whilst placing a sense of joy and excitement of learning at the heart of the School.”

With all results significantly above the national average, there was cause for celebration across the board. 50% of our students achieved the top grades in at least five subjects. Science results were particularly impressive: in Biology 88% of grades were 7-9 (A/A*), 55% of all Chemistry papers were graded 7-9 and for Combined Science the level was 67.5% at 7-9. Religious Studies achieved 92% of the grades at 7-9 and 100% 6-9.

Congratulations to the students, all of whom have achieved even better results than they dreamed possible.

Mrs Ross, the Headmistress commented, “I am delighted with these impressive results.  The students’ hard work and commitment have been well rewarded in what has been an uncertain and difficult environment with the reformed format of the exams.  Congratulations also to our dedicated team of teachers who work tirelessly to help our students achieve these impressive results.”

In the face of the reformed GCSEs St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross students once again returned an impressive set of results.

With all results significantly above the national average, there was cause for celebration across the board. 50% of our students achieved the top grades in at least five subjects. Science results were particularly impressive: in Biology 88% of grades were 7-9 (A/A*), 55% of all Chemistry papers were graded 7-9 and for Combined Science the level was 67.5% at 7-9. Religious Studies achieved 92% of the grades at

7-9 and 100% 6-9

Congratulations to the students, all of whom have achieved even better results than they dreamed possible.

 Mrs Ross, the Headmistress commented, “I am delighted with these impressive results.  The students’ hard work and commitment have been well rewarded in what has been an uncertain and difficult environment with the reformed format of the exams.  Congratulations also to our dedicated team of teachers who work tirelessly to help our students achieve these impressive results.”

28% of all grades achieved were A*/ A (higher than the national average), 55% A*/B and 86% A*/C. The Extended Project Qualification entries once again achieved very impressive results with 67% graded at A* or A and 83% A*/B.

The girls now move on to a range of universities, including Liverpool, St Mary’s London, Birmingham, York, Cardiff and Exeter to study a wide range of subjects such as Dentistry, Law, English Literature, Equine Business Management, Politics and Economics, Real Estate Management, Criminology and History.

These results are a tribute to the hard work of the girls and the strength of our teaching staff who work tirelessly with each individual to ensure they achieve their optimum results. A special mention goes to those girls with straight A*/A grades.

Mrs Ross commented, “It is so good to see the girls set fair for the next stage of their lives, to see the validation of all the work done by them, their parents and their teachers and to see them going off proud and confident as they embark on the next stage of their lives”.

St. Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross, once again achieved a very impressive set of A level results this year. With 28% of results graded at A*/A and 86% A*/C there was good cause for celebration.

Headmistress Mrs Ross commented “We are once again delighted with the fantastic results that

our girls have achieved. From those who have attained a full complement of top grades to girls who have worked hard to accomplish grades better than they had ever expected, we are proud of all of their achievements. We wish them all continued success as they move on to their chosen universities”.

On Thursday 5 July, two teams went along to the first Junior Youth Speaks, held at Thorpe House School. The Year 4 team, made up of Leyla, Marina and Isabel, chose to speak about children disconnecting from the great outdoors when they found out that 3/4 of children spend less time outdoors than prisoners.

There was also a Year 5 team that consisted of Madison, Holly and Serene. After being inspired in English, these girls chose to talk about the decline of orangutans in the wild. Both teams spoke excellently, really showing off their talents in public speaking, a skill that is invaluable to them for the future.

A Sixth Form Team lead by Orlaith, Year 12, organised a Model United Nations event for Year 8 at the end of Trinity Term. Students were paired up to research their country’s stance on a range of topics from Age of Marriage and Employment to Freedom of Speech and Equality. The topic for debate and therefore to find a resolution for was: “Strengthening UN coordination of safer access to the internet for children”. A series of moderated discussions, expertly led by

the team of Sixth Formers, and strongly debated by the Year 8 delegates, rejected a proposal by Nigeria and later accepted a proposal from Malaysia. All countries views were closely represented by their delegates which was challenging for some if their own personal views were different from the country they were representing. Congratulations go to Lana for winning the best delegate award for her skills of perceptive questioning, research and overall contribution to the event.

Speech Day was a wonderful affair on Saturday 7 July With lovely musical accompaniments, informative and entertaining speeches, a wide array of well-deserved prizes and an incredibly interesting talk by our guest speaker, former St Mary’s student, Nicky Connell. Nicky spoke about her work in emergency nutrition for various charities providing humanitarian response. It was

also an opportunity to say a very fond farewell to our wonderful Headmistress Mrs Ross as she retires. Following Speech Day, guests were able to peruse the fabulous artwork completed by girls from Nursery through to Sixth Form at the annual Art Exhibition. The standard of work this year has been simply stunning. Congratulations to Mrs Douglass, Mrs Brown, and all the girls.

Congratulations to all of KS2 and their teachers on a wonderful production of Peter Pan in Pantastic. It was a visual delight with beautiful, bright scenery and stunning costumes.

The acting and singing was superb, with many girls learning huge amounts of lines for the production. With truly moving sentiments about friendship and family there cannot have been a dry eye in the house at the end! For more photographs see our facebook page.

Over 100 students from the Chiltern and Buckinghamshire area entered this all day (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) Olympics competition. The challenges ranged from pure maths and application of science concepts, to practical skills and quizzes.

The day was intense but our team took on each task with gusto and had very pleasing results. They had the fastest boat in the “Solar so Good” challenge and won 772 Smarties by using their maths skills to get the closed answer to the number of Smarties in a jar (their calculation was 784). Overall, it was an exciting day that stretched the girls and showed them how well they could do in a variety of challenging tasks. Congratulations to Siyona, Polly, Phoebe and Lucy for their effort and excellent results in this competition.

Prep Sports Day started with a warm up for all of the girls which was followed by a series of events including throwing, high jump, egg and spoon races and track events, culminating in the House relay in which all the Prep girls participated. There were some excellent performances, including in the always competitive and fun parents’ races! The standard this year was very high in both the track and field. Phelix, Year 6, cleared 1.35m in the high jump, which is a new school record. We were delighted to welcome the new Headmistress for September, Mrs Adams, to present the medals. The overall winners were Temple West/Woodpeckers.

Sports Day for Senior House was also a lively occasion with some great field events in the morning, and competitive track events in the afternoon. As always, House spirit was in abundance, and the girls all supported each other, and their teachers! The winners of this event will be announced in a whole School assembly. It was fantastic to see the entire School competing in the open 1000 metres at the start of the day. There were a number of school records broken, with Freya Harrison clearing 1.45m in the high jump. There were many highlights and it was a great event. Well done to all staff and students for their achievements.

They were put through their paces by the drill master where they learnt the art of war, battle strategy and sword fighting, in their training to become knights. They worked as a team to walk in formation and learnt how to protect the King. They discussed different sword fighting techniques that they would need to parry, acted out by their own teachers. Then they went to the Trebuchet Master who gave them the low down on how to fire a this mighty beast of a machine. They learnt the engineering involved in creating, building and firing this device. The Trebuchet Master then gave them advice on how a trebuchet could be used to cause chaos and mayhem in the castle, like throwing over barrels full of bees or snakes, or even the decapitated heads of any emissaries sent to seek peace!

After a short break for sustenance the knights of St Mary’s were ready for the off. First, they scouted out the area, discussing how well defended Warwick Castle was, with its high stone walls, ditch, arrow slits, crenellations and machicolations. Then they discussed what had happened in their siege of the castle (in the previous 2 weeks). How they had used their trebuchets, mangonels, ballistas to cause disorder inside the castle.

However, they were wary not to destroy the castle, as they wanted to own and use this glorious castle themselves in the future once they had conquered it! They discussed their use of scaling ladders and siege tower, which had failed due to the ditch surrounding the castle. They discussed their attempts at mining the castle but the lack of right angles in their castles towers had saved the walls from collapsing. Finally, it was time to attack by the simplest of methods: walking through the open gates of the barbican! Luckily for them the portcullis’ were not in working order and they did not find themselves trapped in the killing zone, with murder holes and soldiers above them, with arrows and several buckets of human waste to drop on their heads. And so, the St Mary’s knights made it on to the Bailey. To secure their victory they walked the walls to admire their achievements and took a quick tour of the dark, damp gaol.

If you are interested in visiting Warwick Castle with your family this summer, Warwick Castle would like to thank the school for taking Year 7 to visit them this year, by giving all our parents the opportunity to visit for half price. You do not need to have a daughter who is currently in Year 7 to take them up on this offer. You just need to book online with the code ‘SCHOOLS2018’.

Terms & Conditions

• 50% off adult / child daytime entry to Warwick Castle from 26 May 2018 – 3 Sept 2018 and all weekends dates in June & July 2018
• Discount can only be redeemed online. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer or concession or for tickets bought over the phone or on a walk up basis on the day
• Admission prices are subject to change
• Discount is up to 10 people per transaction
• Child ticket is aged 3-11. Under 3s are free of charge
• Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 years or over
• Car parking charges apply and parking is subject to availability

Mrs Patricia Adams has been appointed Head of St Mary’s School in Gerrards Cross. She replaces Mrs Jean Ross, who is retiring at the end of this academic year.

Mrs Adams was formerly Academic Deputy Head at Blackheath High School for Girls, which, like St Mary’s, is an all-through school for girls aged 3 -18. She has a wealth of experience in girls’ education, having previously worked in Senior Leadership at Norwich High School for Girls, Oxford High School, where she was Head of Upper School and Head of Spanish, as well as Headington School, Oxford, where she held the position of Head of Modern Languages. 

Mrs Adams read Modern Languages at St

Catherine’s College, Oxford, studied for her masters in Applied Linguistics at Essex University and returned to Oxford for her PGCE teaching qualification. 

Mrs Adams has a clear educational vision that is closely aligned to St Mary’s. Reflecting on her appointment she commented “It is an extremely exciting time to be joining St Mary’s. I look forward to supporting the environment where each individual girl learns and grows, reinforcing both the pastoral and academic provision that prepares them to be committed, resilient and compassionate individuals. I am keen to develop this vision whilst placing a sense of joy and excitement of learning at the heart of the School.”

The weather was beautiful and the girls took part in a whole host of activities from buggy building and high ropes to wacky and wet fun and abseiling. They had opportunities to develop their problem solving and team work skills in an initiative skills sessions, and a healthy level of competitiveness was evident during mini-olympics and the run around quiz. It was great to see the girls and the teachers challenge themselves to try all that was on offer and a brilliant time was had by all! A special mention too, to Mrs Carney who abseiled for the first time and thought she may need a little “help” off the edge, but she did it!

This week the Year 8 students had their Enterprise Day challenge. This year, their task was to make, market and sell healthy smoothies, to kick start healthy eating week at School. The students also decided to donate all proceeds from the day to Liberty’s Legacy, a charity funding bone marrow research. The students were briefed before Enterprise Day by Mr Fernando and Mrs Roberts on budgets and ingredients, so as to reduce food waste and keep costs per team low. Each group was given a budget of £8 to spend in total. The day started with the teams selecting their team leader and other roles, and then coming up with creative team names which included: Tropical Galaxy, Fruit Attack, Schmaker, Groovy Smoothie, Shnabelle and Onflavour.

Once this was done the students had to make an A4 leaflet that promoted their company as well as healthy eating. The students were also required to make an infomercial and a jingle to go with it, which allowed them to use their ICT and media skills. During break time the students carried out market research by asking other students and teachers a myriad of questions to facilitate their marketing and production. With this information in hand, the teams were able to come up with reasonable pricing and appropriate marketing techniques to lure their customers. Afterwards, the teams were sent to the Food and Nutrition room to make their smoothies. During the second half of lunch the teams began to sell! It was pleasing to see the teams using innovative methods to sell their product, which included charging different prices to different customers and taking the products to the customer when footfall was low. All teams managed to sell out within the first 15 minutes. The girls managed to make £67.45 for their chosen charity. The students then presented their infomercials and jingles along with their powerpoint presentations on how they got on throughout the day. It was very hard for Mr Dodd to judge the teams as they were all exceptional. Ultimately, team Groovy Smoothie beat team Tropical Galaxy by one point and emerged victorious. Well done to Sarah, Verity, Katie, Ambi and  Molly. Congratulations also go to all the teams for their hard work on a very competitive Enterprise Day.

Congratulations to our Year 7 Carnegie Shadowing Group, whose video entry on their favourite book was chosen as runner up in this nation wide competition! The task was to create an 80 second video showcasing their favourite book from the Carnegie Shortlist. The girls chose ‘Wed Rabbit’ by Lissa Evans and used a camera drone to record their video.

The School’s library will receive a free set of books as a prize. Well done, girls!

On arrival, they were met by an informative Lulworth Ranger who explained the main features of the area, as well as highlighting why the region is a World Heritage Site. Pupils then visited Stair Hole and Lulworth Cove itself, learning about the geology and formation of each landform.

They were introduced to the idea of erosion and how it is constantly affecting the coastline. After a picnic lunch and a quick ice cream, Year 7 braced themselves for the uphill coastal path to Durdle Door. The views were breath taking and a welcome break was taken so that the famous arch could be sketched and appreciated. After the downhill walk back to the coach, we started the long journey home. Happy but tired after a busy and informative day.

They worked in teams on the STEM task, which required a variety of skills to successfully complete the bridges, which had to be strong enough to hold 1kg. Some of the girls chose to focus purely on the structural side in order to achieve the strongest bridge, whereas others also included an aesthetic element in their design. Great teamwork, girls!

Congratulations go to several of our girls who won prizes or were commended after entering the Chalfont St Giles and Jordans Literary Competition, as part of the villages’ Literary Festival in May. The girls were given three quotes; “Aftermath”, “To die will be an awfully big adventure” JM Barrie (from Peter Pan) and “One way to make the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure” William A Feather, American publisher and author, and were tasked with writing a piece of prose or poetry based on one of these.

Winners in the Prose section were as follows; Molly, Year 7, in first place, Jasmine, Year 6, in second place, Daisy, Year 9, in third place and Georgina, Year 6 was highly commended. In the Poetry section, Saana, Year 9, was first, Jessica, Year 9 was second, Chloe-Marie, Year 9, was third and Cara, Year 9, was highly commended. The girls were all invited to receive their prizes at the Memorial Hall in Chalfont St Giles, and were able to read their pieces aloud to the festival-goers. Congratulations to all these girls, brilliant writing!

The whole School spent a wonderful lunchtime on the Cedar Lawn on Friday, celebrating the Royal Wedding in the sunshine! The girls enjoyed burgers and chips from the kitchen as a special treat, and lots of activities run by Year 13, including face painting and apple-bobbing!

In the afternoon Prep Department had lots of fun with their Royal Wedding activities including making crowns, decorating cakes,a special Royal quiz, and making their very own wedding dresses!

This is a national competition administered by the Royal Society of Biology which aims to reward general biological knowledge rather than syllabus content. The results and grade boundaries have been released and we are delighted to report a fantastic haul of results: Gold award for Kat and Bronze awards for Ophelia, Maisie and Salma. Khyati, Amelia and Kaitlyn were highly commended, and Olivia, Riya, Rebecca, Freya, Millie and Jessica were commended. Fantastic news, well done to all these girls.

Spotlights Theatre, our after school drama club, competed at the annual Maidenhead Drama Festival on Friday 11 May at the Norden Farm Centre for the Arts. There were two performances of the plays ‘Round the World with Class 6’ by Nick Warburton and ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ by Paul King. The festival is a competitive event, where a total of 12 plays are performed across the week.

These plays are performed by adult groups, youth theatres, and colleges. Not only do the girls have to perform well, they are also given feedback from an adjudicator at the end of the night in front of the audience – some of the girls were more scared of this, than performing!

The comedy ‘Round the World with Class 6’ was performed by students in Years 7-9, and focused on a class of students who had an absent teacher, but had left them work to complete. The classroom suddenly gets turned upside down as they re-enact the circumnavigation of Sir Francis Drake in 1577. ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ is the tragic retelling of how the Jews were treated during the Second World War, and was performed by students in Years 9-12. The stylised performance showed how Jews were victimised and persecuted and how they were treated in the concentration camps. Two very different pieces, both with their own challenging tasks.

We are pleased to announce that ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ was awarded ‘Best Performance of a Short Play’ at the festival. Well done to all of the girls involved in both performances, as they have spent the last few weeks in endless rehearsals, learning the lines and all with the impending examinations in mind.

On a sunny Friday early in May, the girls in Prep were delighted to welcome their grandparents and special older people into their school. The visitors were taken on tours of the School with their grandchildren, treated to delicious cakes and cups of tea, and then listened to beautiful singing from all the girls, including a fabulous Mary Poppins medley. We hope everyone enjoyed this special afternoon.

Last weekend Miss Wilkins accompanied five netball teams form Years 7 – 9 to the PGL Netball tournament in Devon, with each team playing six matches across the weekend. The results were mixed with some comprehensive wins, a couple of draws and some narrow defeats. The girls’ progress since September was very evident with excellent individual and team performances.

Prizes were awarded to several girls, as voted for by staff and students. Player of the tournament from Year 7 Sky Blue team was Lucy who showed dominance in her position of Goal Defence, outstanding talent and her level of commitment to the team and determination to succeed was admirable.

Player of the tournament from Year 7 Navy team was Charlotte with an outstanding performance and great in her role as a captain; she improved hugely over the weekend to be a dominant player on the court. Player of the tournament from Year 7 Yellow team was Layla. Layla was determined and vastly improved her performances in all the matches. Her confidence improved massively over the weekend and she was a true asset to her team. Player of the tournament from Year 8 was Rachel after an amazing performance in the centre court, working hard all of the time and always being a team player. Player of the tournament from the Year 9 team was Ria with outstanding performances in all her games; Ria really stepped it up to perform for her team. Lana received an award for Defender of the Tournament for her excellent defensive display and huge amounts of progress. Cara and Arabella were rewarded for commitment to their team, hard work and determination, coaching and mentoring younger students, supporting staff with activities and generally being brilliant to have on the trip. Both girls were excellent leaders and supporters and their help was greatly appreciated. The Most Improved Player of the Tournament went to Sophie, having developed defensively and in attack to be an asset to her team, Sophie was amazing!

After all their matches, plus activities such as Jacob’s Ladder, abseiling and zip wire, the girls returned to School exhausted but happy and very much looking forward to next year’s trip!

On Saturday 12 May, the Year 6 Netball team travelled to York for the Netball National Finals. It was always going to be a tough day, with the top 20 schools in the country competing over the weekend. St Mary’s had a very tough morning of Netball, playing against some outstanding opposing teams. The team got better with every game and grew in confidence, showing fantastic resilience despite the scores not going their way. In the afternoon, the tournament was then split into; the trophy, the plate and the Bowl, based on how the morning games had gone. St Mary’s competed in the Bowl competition. The team’s opening game was outstanding. They showed how much progress they had made throughout the morning and played some excellent netball. They won their quarter final 6-1 and semi final 8-1. The girls met Alleyn’s Court in the final. They had played them in the group stages in the morning, and were narrowly defeated 4-5. It was an incredibly tense match that went from one end to the other. At one stage, St Mary’s were 4-1 up, and it looked like they were going to win it, but Alleyn’s Court came back fighting! The final score ended 7-8 to Alleyn’s Court but our girls played brilliantly. Well done to the team; Phelix, Kate, Megan, Kaia, Rehna, Scarlett, Lottie and Izzy.

Tuesday 8 May saw a delightful assembly to pass over the Year 13 leadership roles. The outgoing Head Girl team and House Captains handed over responsibilities and badges to the incoming team and the School flag was lowered by outgoing Head Girl, Lizzie, to be raised by our new Head Girl, Annicke. A lovely appreciation for the fabulous work that the students have undertaken over the past year and a warm welcome for those taking on the responsibilities.

Year 4 took a fun and educational residential trip to Flatford Mill last week. Flatford Mill is famously immortalised by John Constable in his painting of The Haywain and the Mill is still recognisable. The girls had a very busy time shelter building, catching mice (humanely!) and studying them, splashing around in the brook and measuring the speed of it, and much more!

Congratulations to Imogen, Year 4, who won Second Prize in the Year 4 category of the Misbourne Matins Rotary ICT Competition. The competition was open to ten schools in the area and had over 1,000 entries. The children had to design a poster inviting people to a Sports Day event and include various IT presentation skills. Fantastic, Imogen!

Congratulations to our Year 9 & 10 Model United Nations team who spent all of last Friday trying to solve the Global Food Crisis at Bucks County Model UN. With 10 essays written and over 20 speeches made on topics ranging from GM crops to food waste and climate change, they were eloquent, assured and the height of professionalism. Well done delegates! Special congratulations to Daisy, Saana and Millie for their awards!

On Tuesday, a group of Year 7 girls enjoyed a fun afternoon at RAF Halton. Their car won the Race for the Line event at School last month, thereby qualifying them to compete against other schools. They had to design a new car, benefiting from feedback they received in the qualifying stage, and then build and race the new rocket car. Whilst their car was being scrutinised to ensure it met safety requirements, the girls were able to look around the museums at the Air Base and learn about the first ever flight simulator which was built in the 1930s, and used to train over half a million volunteers. The girls watched all the cars race and although they did not come in the top three teams, their car did very well – there is a video on our facebook page! The girls really enjoyed their day out and were thrilled to come back with a trophy for qualifying in the event

On Tuesday, a group of Year 7 girls enjoyed a fun afternoon at RAF Halton. Their car won the Race for the Line event at School last month, thereby qualifying them to compete against other schools. They had to design a new car, benefiting from feedback they received in the qualifying stage, and then build and race the new rocket car. Whilst their car was being scrutinised to ensure it met safety requirements, the girls were able to

look around the museums at the Air Base and learn about the first ever flight simulator which was built in the 1930s, and used to train over half a million volunteers. The girls watched all the cars race and although they did not come in the top three teams, their car did very well – there is a video on our facebook page! The girls really enjoyed their day out and were thrilled to come back with a trophy for qualifying in the event

During the last few days of the Lent term, ten students and two staff set off for the biennial Languages trip to Germany. We flew to Cologne and stayed in the Köln Rhiel hostel in the city centre. It was the first time we had used the venue and it proved to be an excellent base from which to explore the city. On the first morning, after a hearty German breakfast, we set off by tram into the city. We visited the famous Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) and marvelled at its enormity and history. We sampled some Eau de Cologne and then completed a city trail on foot.

One of the highlights of the trip was undoubtedly the visit to the Lindt chocolate museum on the Rhine. We had an excellent guided tour and learnt lots of facts about the chocolate and its production. With Easter only a few days away, the gift shop proved a very popular place to spend some euros!

We were all up early the next day for a morning of language lessons at the Hommer Sprachschule in Koblenz. We were made to feel most welcome and the girls enjoyed doing some work on numbers and holding conversations in German. We then paid a lunchtime visit to Cochem, a beautiful medieval town on the banks of the Moselle before continuing our journey by coach to Burg Eltz. The rain did not stop us enjoying the fairy tale castle and our guide certainly brought the past to life with some very interesting stories and facts!

During the evenings, we enjoyed a delicious German dinner, followed by some diary writing and table tennis! On the last evening, we had use of the disco room for some music and dancing and the girls put on some entertainment in German for each other! Fun prizes were awarded and it made for a memorable last evening.

The final day was spent at one of Germany’s top theme parks, Phantasialand. Spirits were not dampened by the changeable weather and much fun was had by all! All too soon it was time to collect our luggage from the hostel and make our way to the airport for the homeward flight. It was a long last day, especially with the flight delay, and ten tired but happy girls were reunited with their parents in the early hours of Good Friday!

Miss Betteridge and I were most impressed throughout the trip with how much effort the girls put into using their German. They all entered into the spirit of the trip wholeheartedly and were great ambassadors of the school.

Auf wiedersehen and I look forward to planning the next trip for 2020! By Mrs Glenister

Congratulations to our girls in Prep who entered the Chiltern Decorative and Fine Arts Society annual painting competition where the theme was “My Favourite Day.” Scarlett, Year 6, and Ava, Year 5 were both commended for their paintings, and out of several hundred entries from across the Chilterns, Chiara, Year 5, was awarded second place, and Maya, Year 6, was awarded Best in School. These girls attended a prize-giving ceremony at Chalfonts Community Library where their beautiful work was displayed. Lots of other girls were also awarded certificates for innovation or for having their work commended. Well done, girls!

Congratulations to Holly, Year 8, from St Mary’s School in Gerrards Cross, who won second place in the Independent Schools Association’s Max Gate English Essay Competition 2018. She wrote a detailed, philosophical

and convincing piece on ‘Which is more important, numbers or words?’ The judge also commented on her technical structure and how readable her essay was, displaying sound reasoning on a demanding topic. Well done, Holly!

Congratulations to Holly, Year 8, who won second place in the Independent Schools Association’s Max Gate English Essay Competition 2018. She wrote a detailed, philosophical and convincing piece on ‘Which is more important, numbers or words?’ The judge also commented on her technical structure and how readable her essay was, displaying sound reasoning on a demanding topic. Well done Holly!

On Monday 27 March, four of our promising students attended an Oxford and Cambridge Admissions Conference held at the rather lovely Epsom Downs Racecourse. As well as picking up to tips about how to succeed in the competitive admissions process, the students were able to select sessions from Oxford and Cambridge subject specialists on a range of courses from Medicine to Law, Oriental Studies and Anthropology. Meanwhile staff were given up to date advice on how best to support their students with their applications.The students who attended were very enthusiastic about the day and found it extremely useful.

Chloe: “I found the Chemistry talk really helpful as it honed in on more detail about interviews on how to get in, and what the course would entail. This was especially helpful as it gave more information than what is published online.”

Annicke: “The medicine at Oxford talk was very useful as the speaker had a lot of experience with Admissions. Hearing opinions and advice from a current student also helped, as they were recently in the same position as you.”

Scarlet: “The day overall was highly beneficial in helping me to decide what course I would like to apply for. There was a lot of insight into the application process, university life and the course specifics, which has helped me to understand the whole Oxbridge process more clearly. After listening to multiple lectures, the Philosophy, Politics and Economics course stood out to me specifically, and I also liked the interactivity of questioning “what is dishonesty” in the Law lecture. Overall the information I have gained from this day will help me out infinitely during the application process.”

Grace: “I found the lecture on how to make my application especially valuable, as it told me how I should write my personal statement and removed any ‘interview myths’ that I had heard prior to this day. In terms of the subject lectures, I particularly enjoyed the Philosophy, Politics and Economics lecture as it consolidated my ambition to go to Oxford and it made me more motivated to work hard and get there, as I really liked what the course entailed.”

Congratulations to our Model United Nations team who performed brilliantly at Haileybury College’s MUN conference over the weekend. The theme of the event was “Open Mind, Open World” with topics from the Myanmar situation and Ocean Litter, to Truly Representative Governments and Tax Havens being debated. A special well done to Chloe who was awarded Highly Commended Delegate award for her work on the Environment Committee.

The Year 6 girls have been busy getting in to the Easter spirit! 6C visited Swarthmore House and sang a selection of songs beautifully for the residents, before working with them to make some very striking Easter Bonnets. 6H were busy too, working closely with the Nursery and Reception girls to find clues to complete a puzzle before completing some Easter activities with them. Well done, girls!

On Friday 9 March, the Year 6 and 8 teams attended the regional competition in the Independent School’s Association Netball tournament. The Year 6 team was undefeated throughout the competition and got through to the final. They lost 6-5 in a very close and exciting game of

netball to Knightsbridge. The Year 8 team came second in their group competition. They won convincingly against The Mount School in the semi-final and lost to St James in the final. Both teams have now qualified for the National finals this weekend in York. Amazing netball, girls!

They listened to a variety of inspirational speakers from very different backgrounds; teachers, lecturers, mathematicians, a TV presenter and also a maths populariser and YouTube sensation. The aim of the day was to show how mathematics is embedded in all that we do, in ways we may never have thought of.

Some of the demonstrations were on topics that one might expect like code-breaking in WWII and how the Enigma code was broken. Although the girls found this topic interesting they were certainly more captivated by how that led to the discovery of passing and receiving information over the internet and messaging. They were especially impressed by the demonstration that drilled a hole in a CD to show that the information could still be read by the CD player and therefore the CD could be played as normal.

The girls had the opportunity to play games and discover how mathematics can be used to win games based on the ancient game of Nim. The mathematics behind the chances of winning in a game show were demonstrated and also how mathematics can be used in magic too. One of the sessions was aimed directly at how to study and revise for GCSE exams; some of the girls have already adopted one of the recommendations to create a mistakes book to try and eliminate repeating errors and learn from them instead.

Another presenter described the mathematics involved in the flow of chocolate in a chocolate fountain. Her study then led her to analyse the flow of food sauces and custard and the findings from this research have led to the improvement of bullet proof vests – who would have expected that!

Can we believe everything we read in the papers? This session showed how the media constantly misuse, misinterpret and abuse statistics in order to dramatise and create headline news. This opened the eyes of our girls to the potential pitfalls of listening to and acting upon sensational claims we see every day on TV and the internet. Understanding how data can be used to influence society is certainly something that will affect all of our lives in years to come.

The girls all agreed that the day had been incredibly beneficial and enjoyable!

On Thursday our girls came together in assembly to celebrate International Women’s Day. In this centenary year of women obtaining the right to vote and in light of recent Hollywood scandals and the World Economic Forum predicting it will take 217 years to close the gender pay gap, it seems that recognition of this day is more important than ever. The theme of this year’s day is to ‘Press for Progress’. Orlaith, Chloe, Lucy, Olivia and Grace in Year 12 shared with us how they intend to do this, ranging from celebrating the achievements of women to maintaining a gender parity mind-set. Most importantly, our girls took away the key message that they should never allow their gender to hold them back.

On Friday, the Year 6 and 8 teams attended the regional competition in the Independent School’s Association Netball tournament. The Year 6 team was undefeated throughout the competition and got through to the final. They lost 6-5 in a very close and exciting game of netball to Knightsbridge. The Year 8 team came second in their group competition. They won convincingly against The Mount School in the semi-final and lost to St James in the final. Both teams have now qualified for the National finals this weekend in York. Amazing netball, girls!

Last Friday our team of Eco Warriors, with girls from Prep to Sixth Form, held “The Big Swap Event”. As part of our School’s commitment to reducing landfill and educating pupils about a more circular economy, students and teachers were invited to bring in any unwanted items from home, in order to swap them for something they might use more regularly. The response was amazing and girls from across the School were delighted to be able to take home a new toy or item of clothing, whilst helping to reduce landfill. Our Year 8 Maths students used their maths skills to calculate the amount of landfill that had been saved and it came to 12.85m3. So, a very worthwhile event!

As part of our School’s commitment to reducing landfill and educating pupils about a more circular economy, students and teachers were invited to bring in any unwanted items from home, in order to swap them for something they might use more regularly. The response was amazing for The Big Swap,

and girls from across the School were delighted to be able to take home a new toy or item of clothing, whilst helping to reduce landfill. Our Year 8 Maths students used their maths skills to calculate the amount of landfill that had been saved and it came to 12.85m3. So, a very worthwhile event!

On Thursday, the Senior House Inter-House Music competition took place. Girls from Year 7 through to Year 13 contributed musical pieces from piano, flute and clarinet to beautiful singing performances. We were delighted that Cecily Redman, former St Mary’s student and Deputy Head Girl, who is now a singing teacher here at St Mary’s, was able to judge the competition. Cecily was more than qualified to oversee proceedings, having recently graduated from The Royal Academy of Music with an MA and DipRAM in Musical Theatre with Distinction. Cecily commented, “I was pleased to hear such a variety of music and I was very impressed with the standard of performances. It was delightful to see how well the students performed, the confidence they displayed and the pleasure they took from participating”. Congratulations to Temple West, who were the overall winners.

MUN is an educational simulation and academic activity in which students learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. It teaches participants researching, public speaking, debating, and writing skills, in addition to critical thinking, teamwork, and leadership abilities.  The aim is to engage students and allow them to develop a deeper understanding of current world issues.

Participants in Model United Nations conferences are placed in committees and assigned countries to represent, or occasionally other organizations or political figures, where they represent members of that body. They are presented with their assignments in advance, along with a topic or topics that their committee will discuss. Delegates conduct research before conferences and formulate positions that they will then debate with their fellow delegates in the committee, staying true to the actual position of the member they represent. At the end of a conference, the best-performing delegates in each committee are recognized.

Our students gave speeches, in front of up to 130 people, on “Conventional Weapons”, the “Rohingya Crisis in Myanmar” and the “Ongoing Human Rights Situation in Crimea and Sevastopol”. They worked incredibly hard and threw themselves wholeheartedly into an unfamiliar, and somewhat daunting, situation.

Emily was congratulated for making an excellent speech, and Isabelle won the Highly Commended Delegate award.

This time the U11 and U14 teams both won Silver medals for their performances at the BSGA Floor and Vault Competition, which was held at St Mary’s. Well done, girls!

The team, consisting of Olivia, Leyla, Lucy, Lily-May and Eden, competed as individuals performing one set and one voluntary floor routine and vault. All the girls performed brilliantly against gymnasts from ten other schools from across the UK, with Olivia taking the Gold, making her National Champion, Lily-May won Silver and Eden won Bronze! A fabulous achievement which led our girls to win over all as a team as well.

Our Year 9 team triumphed in the Intermediate Section with their excellent team presentation on ‘Toxic Technology’, with Arabella as Chair, Ruby as Main Speaker and Emma giving the vote of thanks. They will now go on to compete in the Zone Final in Marlow on 1 February. Our Senior Team, from Year 12, did a fantastic presentation on the challenging topic of ‘Is Social Media Taking Over Our Lives?’ Their main speaker was Zamzam, with Ambar giving the vote of thanks. The Chair, Jazmin, was singled out for particular praise from the judges for her excellent teamwork and control of the meeting. Our Year 8 team also performed particularly strongly, considering they were new to public speaking. Chaired by Holly, with Ambi as Main Speaker and Siyona giving the vote of thanks, they spoke very eloquently on their topic, ‘Does Religion Degrade Women?’

Well done to all of these talented young ladies – they made us very proud.

The under 9 gymnastic team swept the board at the ISGA 4 Piece Challenge Cup, which was held at St Faith’s in Cambridge. The team consisted of Olivia Sykes, Leyla Gottschalk, Lucy Broadberry, Lily-May Allan-Hatcher and Eden Simmons. The girls competed against

gymnasts from schools across the UK, performing one set and one voluntary routine for both floor and vault.  Olivia won Gold, making her National Champion, Lily-May won Silver and Eden Bronze, meaning that the team were clear winners of the competition overall.

Many congratulations to our gymnasts who competed in the BSGA Milano Regional Championships this weekend. They all performed brilliantly, with the U16 team winning the competition and the U11s coming second.

We were delighted to host the prestigious British Schools Gymnastic Association, Milano Trio south region finals competition last weekend. Several local schools competed; Wycombe Abbey, Dr Challoners High School, Maltman’s Green and Beaconsfield High, as well as schools from across Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Bucks. The U16s team comprised Freya, Poppy and Charlotte, whilst Tilda, Hollie, Rosie and Maya were in the under 11 team. All participants performed individual floor and vault routines and then a group routine. Our Under 16s scored the maximum possible for their group routine choreography, which was put together by Emily in Year 12. Both teams now go on to compete in the BSGA National competition in Stoke on Trent on 16-17 March. Well done, girls!

 On Sunday 14 January, St Mary’s School in Gerrards Cross hosted the prestigious British Schools Gymnastic Association, Milano Trio south region finals competition. Several local schools competed; Wycombe Abbey, Dr Challoners High School, Maltman’s Green and Beaconsfield High, as well as schools from across Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Bucks. St Mary’s entered teams for both the U11 and U16 categories and both teams excelled themselves, with the U16s winning their category and the U11s coming

second. The U16s team comprised Freya Harrison, Poppy Metcalf and Charlotte Sykes, whilst Tilda Sykes, Hollie Harris, Rosie Marshall and Maya Raja were in the under 11 team. All participants performed individual floor and vault routines and then a group routine. The St Mary’s Under 16s scored the maximum possible for their group routine choreography, which was put together by Emily Firman, Year 12 St Mary’s student. Both teams now go on to compete in the BSGA National competition in Stoke on Trent on 16-17 March.

‘No Electricity Day’ was a bid to raise awareness of climate change and to help encourage the girls to become more eco- friendly. Throughout the day all computers, printers, interactive white boards and even lights were switched off to highlight how much electricity we use, but also to see how well we can survive without it.  The girls found it strange not being able to switch on lights or use the interactive whiteboards, but enlightening too as they did recognise how reliant we all are on electricity. Year 1 wrote stories by “candlelight”, Year 2 learnt about the world using a giant map, rather than the IWB, and Early Years learnt the story of Christmas using puppets. The challenge going forward is to see how we can reduce our electricity consumption on an ongoing basis and perhaps chat, read and play board games, instead of relying on TV or the internet for entertainment.

The Prep Department at St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross, has a team of “Eco Warriors” who have spent the last two weeks promoting ‘switch off fortnight’, which culminated in ‘No Electricity Day’ on Friday 1 December. 

‘No Electricity Day’ was a bid to raise awareness of climate change and to help encourage the girls to become more eco- friendly. Throughout the day all computers, printers, interactive white boards and even lights were switched off to highlight how much electricity they use, but also to see how well they could survive

without it.  The girls found it strange not being able to switch on lights or use the interactive whiteboards, but enlightening too as they did recognise how reliant everyone is on electricity. Year 1 wrote stories by “candlelight”, Year 2 learnt about the world using a giant map, rather than the IWB, and Early Years learnt the story of Christmas using puppets. The challenge going forward is to see how they can reduce their electricity consumption on an ongoing basis and perhaps chat, read and play board games, instead of relying on TV or the internet for entertainment.

It was a wonderful experience for the girls who were able to see some of the world’s best performers in dance, drama and music as well as viewing some exclusive art work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. They also had time for plenty of sightseeing, taking in the key New York landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and Ground Zero. The girls sang in Trump Tower to a very appreciative audience and had a very engaging Broadway workshop, which was very useful in inspiring their artistic and performing aspirations and skills.

On arrival at the exhibition they spent some time learning about how astronauts live in space and some fun facts about the planets. They then had an exciting presentation in the planetarium which focused on the training and dangers faced by astronauts. There was also a workshop where the girls learned about the various rovers which have landed on Mars, before using some software to program Lego NXT rovers to navigate rocks and find aliens (without running them over!). The trip finished with an elevator ride to the top of the rocket tower, passing by some huge space rockets and landing on the top floor to find out all about the first moon landing. It was a packed visit, both fascinating and great fun.

In the morning they had to construct buildings out of newspapers, unfortunately only one of the buildings was sturdy enough to remain upright for any length of time, it was, nevertheless, a great exercise to build teamwork and get the girls thinking laterally.

The next task was for each team to design a toy to capitalise on the Christmas sales market. There were lots of ideas; a mobile phone specifically targeted at children, collectible toys and also a mixture of products based around the idea of slime. Once they had decided on the product the students then had to decide how to sell and advertise their product. At the end of the session the girls had to present their ideas and each and every one spoke to the whole group of Year 7 girls, fantastic experience in building confidence for public speaking.

Money is being raised for two causes this year during Harvest time. RAHAB, Uganda to pay for five girls to go to school and Mulemi Community School Zambia, to raise funds to build classrooms and resources to use in the classrooms.

Both of these schools have had representatives from St Mary’s help support them over the last year, and as a school community we want to continue supporting them as much as we can

All the girls completed the 10km walk cheerfully and in good time, trekking through Gerrards Cross, Chalfont St Peter and Chalfont St Giles, and back again.

You can still donate to this worthy cause here: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/stmarysgx2017

Our Year 5 and 6 girls were very successful in this year’s Chiltern Decorative and Fine Arts Society annual painting competition.The theme for this year was  ‘Precious’ and

Year 6 Sophie was the overall Gold winner, with her charming portrait of her spaniel, Hope. Year 6 girls Daniela and Lucy were both highly commended and Maya in Year 5 was the School Prize winner.

This week St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross, was filled with the wonderful aroma of baking as we had the House Bake Off competition. Over three evenings the competition became increasingly ‘heated’. 12 contestants entered the first round, which saw Chloe in Year 8 winning  ‘Star Baker’ and an honourable mention for Priya  Year 8 and Simran Year 12 for their beautiful decorations.

Nine students went through to the technical round of the competition, Chloe, Priya, Simran, Riya, Freya, Aman, Orla, Amy and Salma, which saw every cheese straw measured and cut to perfection, right down to the nearest millimetre! The nine bakers showed off their skills in rubbing-in, kneading, rolling, cutting and twisting and got creative with their remaining pieces of dough. Mrs Sylvester had the tough job of choosing which six to take through to the final round and the scores were very close. Star Baker was a joint affair this time, with Simran Year 12 and Salma Year 9 sharing the

spotlight. Special mention was also given to Freya for her presentation idea and Orla for creating a lovely pastry heart. The six girls who went through to the final round to face the Swiss Roll challenge were Riya, Freya, Aman, Simran, Amy and Salma.

The judges for the final were two of our Governors, Nick Moss and Christine Bayliss, who had the very difficult task of choosing the winner of our first ever Bake Off – it was so difficult that they even had to have second helpings! Standards were high as they tested the lightness of the sponge, the shape of the swirl, the flavour and presentation – special mention goes to Simran Year 12 who, despite it not going so well on the day, had luckily made a perfect example of a Swiss Roll earlier, so all was not lost! Amy, Year 12 and Salma, Year 9 both managed to create a fantastic swirl and scored highly for the shape and flavour! The Star Baker and overall winner was , however, Riya in Year 9 from Latham. Well done to all of the girls who participated.

Daniella Hoyland, Year 8 at St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross had 7 inches chopped off her hair that she then donated to The Little Princess Trust. The Little Princess Trust provides

real hair wigs free of charge to boys and girls across the UK and Ireland that have sadly lost their own hair due to cancer treatment and other illnesses.

Well done, Daniella!

St Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross has a newly formed Ukulele Club! It is run by a talented Ukulele player in Year 10, Izzy, and the group has already learnt two songs after only

two sessions! The girls particularly enjoyed playing and singing along to Emeli Sande’s ‘Next to Me’ and in the next session they will be attempting ‘Let it Be’ by the Beatles!

Girls at St. Mary’s, Gerrards Cross returned impressive GCSE results yet again this year. With 100% of girls achieving A* – C grades in 5 or more subjects and more than two thirds of the results overall graded A*-B. Over 50% of the girls achieved A* – B in at least 6 subjects and many of the subjects, including English, History, Biology,  Religious Studies and Art and Design recorded more than 70% of all papers at A* – B

grades. History, which switched to the IGCSE this year achieved 75% A*/A.

Mrs Ross, the Headmistress commented, “I am so pleased for our girls.  They worked really hard and remained focused throughout their GCSE studies.  I am delighted to see their commitment and determination being so amply rewarded.  Congratulations also to my very talented and dedicated team of teachers for whom this is equally a fitting tribute.”

St. Mary’s School, Gerrards Cross achieved a very impressive set of A-Level results again this year. With a 100% pass rate and 82% of results graded at A* to C there was good cause for celebration. 61% of the overall grades were A*- B and nearly half of all the girls gained A* – B grades for all of their subjects. French, German, Art and Design and Physics all recorded 100% A* – B grades.

The Extended Project Qualification results continued the success of previous years with all

projects again being awarded A* or A and the AS Level results were also very strong with 77% graded A*- B.

Headmistress Mrs Ross commented “We are once again delighted with the fantastic results that our girls have achieved. From those who have achieved a full complement of top grades to girls who have worked hard to achieve grades better than they had ever expected, we are proud of all of their achievements. We wish them all continued success as they move on to their chosen universities”.

St. Mary’s, Gerrards Cross pupil Scarlett Carroll in Year 4 has won the UK Rotary Poem Competition for The Queen’s 90th Birthday celebrations. Her poem was royally despatched to Windsor Castle, included in a birthday card to Her Majesty.

The Queen’s 90th Birthday:

It’s the Queen’s 90th birthday
Hip,hip,hip hooray!
It’s the Queen’s 90th birthday,
Let’s celebrate all day.

The corgis will bring

Last Friday our Prep Department once again held the immensely popular Grandparents/Special Older Person’s Tea. Girls got to tour their guests around the school, show off their fabulous work

and impress them with their singing and musical talents, whilst the guests enjoyed their afternoon tea. With nearly 80 guests it was a very popular event and great fun for the girls as well as our visitors!

There has been great excitement at St Mary’s School as a selection of our Senior House girls embraced technology to commence lessons in Mandarin. Using Skype, the girls linked directly to Beijing and their Chinese teacher May. Lessons were very interactive, covering an introduction to the language, the 5 Chinese tones, which are vital to develop speaking skills and understanding of spoken Mandarin, and  the Chinese Han characters – more specifically the point of them, they are, in fact, the oldest continuously used system of writing in the world and are among the most widely adopted writing systems in the world.

Additionally, the girls’ creative skills were used  to learn the art of Chinese paper cutting also named Jianzhi (??), to make pretty paper flower circles. A flavour of life in China and Beijing, with videos and pictures of the country as well as a real-time view of the city outside May’s office were also included. After the trial ended, the consensus was that the girls had thoroughly enjoyed the lessons and had learnt some useful basics as an introduction to the language and culture. The girls all receive a Chinese achievement award, which is in the same style as awards that are given out for achievement in Chinese schools.

Congratulations to all our Prep girls who entered the Rotary Club’s ICT and Poetry competition. Out of over 1000 entries from local schools, Evangeline in Year 5 won 1st prize in the Year 5 category, whilst Year 3 Serene was awarded 2nd

prize in the Year 3 category.

Year 4 pupil Scarlett won 1st prize at local level in the Rotary Young Writers competition for her poem for the Queen’s 90th Birthday. Her entry has now been submitted to district level.

Well done, girls!

On Monday 7 December, thirty five members of Senior Choir visited the Leonard Cheshire Home to sing Christmas songs. The residents were very appreciative of their efforts and joined in with singing and playing

percussion instruments. The girls enjoyed a drink of juice, and a biscuit, before walking back to school. A very worthwhile trip to spread a little Christmas Cheer leading up to the end of term. Great singing, girls!

After the excitement of yesterday’s launch, the Prep girls at St Mary’s are preparing to become space biologists and embark on a voyage of discovery by growing seeds that have been into space. In September, 2kg of rocket seeds were flown to the International Space Station (ISS) on Soyuz 44S where they will spend several months in microgravity before returning to Earth in March 2016. The seeds have been sent as part of Rocket Science, an educational project launched by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and the UK Space Agency.

St. Mary’s will be one of up to 10,000 schools to receive a packet of 100 seeds from space, which they will grow alongside seeds that haven’t been to space and measure the differences over seven weeks. The girls will not know which seed packet contains which seeds until all results have been collected by the RHS Campaign for School Gardening and analysed by professional biostatisticians.

The out-of-this-world, nationwide science experiment will enable the girls to think more about how we could preserve human life on another planet in the future, what astronauts need to survive long-term missions in space and the difficulties surrounding growing fresh food in challenging climates.

Mrs Joy

Stone, Head of Prep Science, has always been fascinated by space and was delighted to be offered the chance to be a Space Ambassador for this year’s Tim Peake Primary Project. Mrs Stone works with teachers from four other primary schools delivering training, workshops, resources and support to enhance the teaching of space science in schools. Mrs Stone said “We are very excited to be taking part in Rocket Science. This experiment is a fantastic way of teaching our girls to think more scientifically. They are thrilled to know that their results from this investigation could have an impact on the future of space travel. It is helping them to gain a better understanding of the kinds of jobs scientists do and the importance of Science in their lives.”

Rocket Science is just one educational project from a programme developed by the UK Space Agency to celebrate British ESA astronaut Tim Peake’s Principia mission to the ISS and inspire young people to look into careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects, including horticulture. St. Mary’s will be taking part in some of the other investigations linked to this project including completing Space Diaries that follow Tim Peake’s Principia mission month by month.