ANNUAL 2019

WELCOME FROM THE PRINCIPALI am delighted to welcome you to the latest edition of the OLA annual.The academic year 2018-19 was an exciting one for our pupils in many ways, not least the wonderful production of Hairspray we all enjoyed so much in the Hilary term. My thanks go to the editor of this annual, Dr Lawson, for masterminding such an entertaining and successful show, demonstrating as it did how enormously talented our pupils are in so many ways. Since then, Dr Lawson has taken on the demanding role of Head of Sixth Form, as well as getting underway her planning for our next production, Grease.

In August we celebrated some truly outstanding public examination results, which have once again shown how much added value OLA gives to our students’ performances. At both GCSE and A Level, many students were delighted to find that their grades had exceeded their expectations, enabling them to move with confidence into OLA 6th – as we now call our Sixth Form - or their chosen universities. We were also pleased to see our Lower Sixth once again gaining excellent grades in the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), another regular OLA success story in recent years.

This annual, of course, reflects more than just the academic life at OLA, showing as it does the great range of activities undertaken by our pupils in a huge number of areas. I hope it will be seen not only by current pupils and parents, but by your families as well and many people who up to now have had little or no contact with the school. Once you have read it, please pass it on. The breadth of activities described here, both academic and co-curricular, is a credit to all those who have had the initiative and commitment to bring them about, as well as the enthusiasm of the young people involved. It is invidious to single out one activity among so many, but Young Enterprise was particularly outstanding this year, with Team INFINITY achieving success at both a local and Europe-wide level.

You will read this annual at a very significant time for OLA as in 2020 we will be celebrating the 160th year of our foundation. Over the course of the year you will hear about the many exciting events that are happening in the school to mark this great milestone in OLA’s history. The celebrations will culminate with our Alumni Reunion on 5 September, which has already generated a huge amount of interest among past pupils of the school, going right back to the 1950s. We hope you will be as excited as we are by all that this means for us at OLA as we reflect on our remarkable history as one of Oxfordshire’s leading educational institutions.

My thanks, as ever, go to all the people who have contributed so creatively to the pages that follow, describing as they do in such interesting detail the rich tapestry of OLA life. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I have.

Stephen OliverPrincipal

December 2019

CONTENTSJunior School Welcome 1Early Years 2Reception 3Year 1 4Year 2 6Year 3 7Year 4 8Year 5 10Year 6 12Subjects & Events 16English 16Other Events 18Music 19P.E. and Sport 20Science Week 22Senior School 23New Staff 23News 24Subjects & Clubs 39Art 39Biology 43Design Technology 45Drama & Theatre Studies 46

Duke of Edinburgh Award 47English 49Food club 51French 52Geography 53Maths Challenge 54Psychology 54History 55OLA Model United Nations 57Music 58Spanish 58Religious Studies 59Science 60Textiles 63Young Enterprise 64Houses 67Sport 71Boys Football 71Girls Netball & Hockey 72Rounders 72Swimming 73Sports Day 73University Destinations 76

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EARLY YEARS

Florence countingThe girls are taking part in mathematical activities in the Nursery and Reception classrooms. Counting and recording numerals are embedded into our continuous provision.

Freya and Ralph Mini Bakers The nursery children are mini bakers each week. Ralph and Freya are making milk shake! Pouring is a very important skill to learn.

Snow pictureWe can watch the weather change from our big window in the nursery! The girls are watching the snowflakes as they fall. We also got to go outside and play in the snow.

Royal Baby Celebration cakesThe children were excited to celebrate the arrival of the royal baby with lovely celebration cakes for lunch!

Woodland ExplorerHeidi is laying the table during our Woodland Explorers session.

Cottage TeaTime for tea in the three bear’s cottage!

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RECEPTIONThe children planted and watched as their beanstalks grew. They grew so tall the children couldn’t reach the top!

We watched the lifecycle of a butterfly from tiny caterpillars to beautiful butterflies and then set them free outside.

Henry roasting marshmallows during Woodland Explorers.

Marina has been locked up in our ‘jail’ for speeding!

The children have a phonics session every day to practise their reading and writing.

The children went on a trip to The Lookout Discovery Centre in Bracknell. They had lots of opportunities for fun, hands-on learning!

The children are role playing a Baptism as we learnt about how babies are welcomed into the Church.

World Book day is always a highlight of our year!

INVESTIGATING MATHS AND SCIENCE The children have been exploring the world with Paddington Bear. On his travels, Paddington took part in many outdoor activities, in a variety of weather conditions. The children had to make sure that he had all that he needed for his holiday in his suitcase. Paddington asked them to find the best material to make a raincoat and a helmet. He also asked them to find him a scarf that measured a specific length.

The children happened to be studying materials in Science and so were able to plan their own investigations to carry this out. They explored a variety of materials, thought about their properties and made excellent predictions. After gathering all that they needed, they were able to complete their investigation and record their results. The children made some excellent conclusions and were able to report back to Paddington. They also used their measuring skills in Maths to find him the perfect length of scarf. Happy holidays Paddington!

“Science is so much fun because I learnt that I could get it wrong and then investigate to find the right answer.”Lucas

“I loved finding the best helmet for Paddington. We used eggs and it was very messy!” Cristina

“I enjoyed measuring all of the scarves and finding the right one.” Ivy

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YEAR 1

COUNTING STORIESThe children wrote their own counting stories on the theme of Going on Safari for the Nursery children, so that they could help them learn to count up to 10 animals. They thought carefully about the animals they would include in their stories and thought of amazing adjectives to describe them. When they had finished writing and illustrating their stories, they shared them with the Nursery children, who listened beautifully and really enjoyed joining in with the counting. “I had fun writing my book and I enjoyed sharing it with Joseph in Nursery. I helped him count the animals.” Adrien

INTREPID EXPLORERSIn History, the children explored the lives and contributions that Neil Armstrong and Christopher Columbus made to international achievements. As part of our topic we visited We The Curious museum in Bristol, where they had the chance to take part in an All Aboard, Destination Space workshop. They had great fun playing games on their mission, to learn about gravity, how electricity is generated in space, how to eat and drink and how to sleep. It looks like we may have some budding astronauts of our own at OLA. “I loved the floating ball race. When there is no gravity, it must be very strange and hard for the astronauts.” Ivy

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YEAR 1 CONTINUEDFOREST SCHOOLThis is a firm favourite with the Year 1 children, and a chance for them to explore the wildlife, climb, build, cook, wash up and enjoy a delicious Forest School lunch. It has also been a great way to reinforce learning in the classroom. Having completed a research project on brown bears, the children went to our woods and enjoyed role-playing using many of the facts they had learnt.

“I enjoyed digging a hole and making my friends think that a brown bear was hiding in it.” Lucas

“I love to toast marshmallows, eat hot dogs and drink hot chocolate” Annabel

POETRYIn class, the children listened to Sunflowers by William Wordsworth. They then painted pictures to reflect what they saw in their minds when they listened to the poem. They even managed to recite the first verse with tremendous confidence.

“I enjoyed learning the poem and I was proud of myself for saying it to the class.” Adrien

MUDEFORDYear 1 visited Mudeford and recorded their very own documentary based around seaside holidays 100 years ago. As part of their English and History topics, the children researched seaside holidays, using non-fiction books and search engines. They put all of their fact finding together and wrote a documentary, which they then performed on Mudeford beach. Passers-by were very impressed with their acting skills and knowledge and even stopped to admire the Punch and Judy theatre stand and puppets that the children had made in their DT lessons.

“This was an amazing trip. I loved jumping the waves, especially the big ones.” Lucien

“I enjoyed acting out the Punch and Judy scene in the documentary.” Annabel

DRAGON STORIESWe spent several weeks on the theme of dragons in English. We created freeze frames from The Dragon Machine and wrote instructions on how to catch a dragon. We wrote our own dragon stories and read them to Year 1. We invented our own dragon machines and explained how they worked. Finally, we created our own dragons and wrote about them for a class Encyclopaedia of Dragons!

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YEAR 2

CLAYDON HOUSEWe went to Claydon House in June as part of our History topic on Florence Nightingale. We dressed up as soldiers, acted out life in the Scutari hospital and even got to lie on Florence Nightingale’s bed!

WARWICK CASTLEWe visited Warwick Castle as part of our History work on castles. We visited the Time Tower and walked the ramparts. We had a workshop about weapons and another about castle defences. The children were intrigued by the murder holes!

SCIENCE AND SHADOWSIn Science one of our topics was light and dark. We had fun investigating shadows on the playground. We also learned how the earth moves round the sun. We enjoyed making our own shadow puppets too.

ROALD DAHL TRIPWe visited the Roald Dahl Gallery in Aylesbury in September for Roald Dahl Day. Year 2 enjoyed seeing lots of Dahl’s stories come to life and exploring the Science activities in the gallery!

MATHSYear 2 investigated fractions using lots of different practical equipment.

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YEAR 3

MUSEUM TRIPSWe went to the Ashmolean Museum to learn more about the Anglo Saxons and Sutton Hoo. We also visited the Abingdon Museum to learn about Anglo Saxons in Abingdon.

“I loved the trip to learn about Anglo Saxons.” Beth

“The thing I liked about the trip to the Abingdon Museum was when we looked at the Sutton Hoo helmet. I enjoyed looking at the artefacts.” Thomas

“I really enjoyed the trip to the Ashmolean because we got to look at lots of artefacts and play games.” Ruth

“I really enjoyed going to the Ashmolean because we got to learn about Anglo Saxons and look around the museum.” Zoe

WOODSTOCK MUSEUM

In the Michaelmas term we learnt all about the Romans and visited Woodstock Museum. We tried on Roman clothes, carried out an archaeological dig and examined artefacts.

“Looking at the Roman artefacts was very interesting.” Sophie

“I enjoyed dressing up as a Roman.” Camille

FOREST SCHOOLEvery term we get the chance to go to Forest School. We play in the woods, build dens, cook hot dogs and make smores.

“I enjoy toasting the marshmallows and especially eating them afterwards!” Sophie

“I enjoyed going to Forest School and playing in the forest.” Lily

“In Forest School we get to do jobs to help make the food and to help make the fire start. We eat hotdogs and you get a choice of having onions or not. We have hot chocolate, crisps and smores. I love Forest School - it is so much fun!” Flora

“In Forest School you get to climb a mud mountain.” Kitty

“We get logs, water and we even get the hot dog buns out. After this we get to play.” Beatrice

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YEAR 4

HISTORY - ANCIENT CHINA “In History we learnt about China. We visited the Ashmolean Museum. Mrs Graham brought some artefacts into school. I enjoyed looking at the tea sets. They were very old and fragile. They had pretty patterns and Chinese writing on.” Tommy

SUTTON COURTENAY ENVIRONMENTAL CENTRE“At the Environmental Centre at Sutton Courtenay we learnt how to separate our rubbish ready to recycle.” Sophie

“We found worms living in the compost heap. That means it’s good compost.” Julia

HISTORY - ANCIENT EGYPTIANS “We went to the Ashmolean Museum to see the Egyptian Artefacts. We saw lots of cools things and we even saw a mummy called Djed-Djehuty-iuef-ankh” Julia

“In History we were learning about mummification. We made our own mummies by wrapping strips of paper around a foil body.” Beatrice

STEAM MUSEUM - SWINDON“When we went to STEAM in Swindon we all dressed up and went underneath a train. We learnt about Isambard Kingdom Brunel. We also learnt about the navvies who built the railways. Bea and I dressed up as a navvy and pretended to drink beer!” Sophie

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YEAR 4 CONTINUED

SCIENCE - DIGESTION “We discovered how the digestive system works by making our own out of old tights. We squashed all the goodness from the banana.” Sophia

“It was quite disgusting!” Tommy

RESIDENTIAL TRIP TO YOULBURY “On our residential I learnt about team-work and resilience. My favourite activity was the zip-wire. I also tried different foods that I hadn’t tried before.” George

“I liked the zip-wire. It was fast. I had to drop the rope down to the ground so I could be lowered down from really high up.” Tommy

SCIENCE - THE SKELETON“We used sticks, stones and seeds to construct a skeleton. It was quite hard as we had to find the right length sticks for each bone. Our skeleton is called Max.” George

SCIENCE - SOUND“We hit a cymbal and felt the vibrations. We took off our shoes so we could feel the vibrations through our feet like Evelyn Glennie, the famous percussionist.” Sophie

“I played the piano and we saw that when I pressed a key, the hammer hit a string inside the piano making a vibration.” Beatrice

ASHMOLEAN MUSEUM“The trip taught me so many things! One fact that I learnt was that the Greeks would make pottery to show different events.” Flavia

“I liked completing the booklets and drawing my favourite Greek god.” Jacob

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LIFE IN YEAR 5 “I loved going on the trips and seeing what we learnt in real life.” Katie

“I loved learning about the ancient Greeks in history.” Emily

“I love Year 5 because I have made so many new friends and I have learned so many new things that I would not have learned in America.” Henry

“I loved going to the beach in Year 5.” Jacob

WHIPSNADE ZOO“When we went to Whipsnade Zoo, we saw the otters! I enjoyed it so much. It was the best day ever!” Esme

“When we went to Whipsnade Zoo, I loved seeing the different types of butterflies and learning about them.” Emily

YEAR 5

BEACH TRIP “I loved looking at all the wildlife and seeing different boats.” Henry

“I liked going to the RNLI. They are the lifeboat service who save people if they are stuck in the water.” Esme

YEAR 5 CONTINUED

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ABINGDON TRIP“I loved imagining a huge church in Abbey Meadows where the outlines are.” Katie

“I loved learning about the motte and bailey castle in the woods.” Emily

GREEK

Year 5 visited Ms Smith in the Senior school to have two Greek lessons during Trinity term- this tied in with their work on the Ancient Greeks. They found out about the alphabet and number systems. The children put their learning into place by writing short sentences on clay tablets.

LONDON - MEDICINE AND DISEASE“I enjoyed learning about plague masks.” Henry

“I loved going into the old hospital and finding out how to make medicine.” Katie

MATHS

The children created their own shops to develop their problem-solving skills. They put work problems into real life situations by being the shop owners and customers.

SOLDIER VISITRupert an ex-military officer in the army came into school to speak to Year 4 and 5 about different roles in the military and how many of our British values are reflected in their work. The children were given the opportunity to hold the ceremonial sword at the end of the question and answer session.

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YEAR 6

CHARITIES DAYThe children chose to raise money for two charities this year, the MS Society (supporting those with Multiple Sclerosis) and Emmaus Oxford (supporting homeless people in Oxford). They worked incredibly hard to get their stalls ready and despite the less than perfect weather they put on a great afternoon for OLA Junior School children and parents, managing to raise over £380 during the afternoon.

The children also ran a WWII café as part of their WWII studies, raising £85 and Mr Attree swam a 4km Lock to Lock swim for the Electric Eels Swimming Club, a swimming club for children with Downs Syndrome, raising over £640.Overall the Year Six class managed to raise a mighty total of almost £1,400 for their chosen charities this year- a superb effort!

MAGDALEN COLLEGE SCHOOL QUIZA team of Year 6 children represented OLA at the annual Magdalen College School Quiz.

The competition was fierce, but the children did amazingly well, eventually finishing mid-table. A super event that the children really enjoyed (especially the pizza at half time!).

YEAR 6 CONTINUED

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OXFORD CASTLE TRIPDuring the Michaelmas term the children studied crime and punishment throughout history. As part of our studies we went to Oxford Castle to explore how the castle and the prison were used to incarcerate and punish prisoners during different periods in history. We also took part in a mock trial of one of the actual inmates of the prison, ruling on her guilt or innocence based on the evidence presented to us.

BLITZ ASSEMBLYThe children put on a thought provoking class assembly looking at the experiences of children during the Blitz, sharing their learning throughout the Hilary term with parents and the other children.

HOLME GRANGE PERFORMANCE POETRY COMPETITION

Years 5 and 6 combined forces to enter the Holme Grange Performance Poetry Competition.

Both classes worked really hard to produce a group performance of The Charge of the Light Brigade, complete with bugle calls, marching and a drill sergeant. The performance blew everyone away and the children came away victorious, winning the competition.

We look forward to defending this next year!

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STEAM TRIPThe children took part in an evacuation experience day at STEAM Swindon.

We all dressed up as WWII evacuees to take part in several workshops and experiences, many led by actual evacuees or people who lived and worked at that time.

This really brought their learning to life and helped the children to put themselves in the shoes of those evacuees and some of what they must have experienced.

TRIP TO STRATFORDThe Year 5 and 6 pupils had an amazing day out in Stratford. The children took part in an RSC workshop in the morning, introducing them to the themes and the story of A Christmas Carol. The children were totally absorbed in this hands-on interactive session, where they really showed off their acting ability.

Full of enthusiasm we then went to go and see a performance of A Christmas Carol at the RSC theatre. This was a gripping performance and the children loved every minute of what was a brilliant interpretation of the play - they haven’t stopped talking about it since!

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YEAR 6 CONTINUED

WOODLANDS RESIDENTIAL TRIPIn May, Year 6 spent a fantastic week at Woodlands Outdoor Centre, near Glasbury. We had the opportunity to try all sorts of outdoor pursuits, including caving, climbing and canoeing. The children really rose to the challenges they faced, showing amazing teamwork and determination. It will be a week they will all remember for many years to come!

RIVER AND ROWING MUSEUM TRIPWe spent a super day at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley during the Michaelmas term, learning all about rivers and how we impact them.

This was a really practical day, including a walk along the river to take what we had learnt in the classroom and see it in action.

The experience was invaluable and really enriched our understanding of rivers.

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STORY COMPETITIONIn December, members of the Storymaking Club were all highly commended in a national competition to write a 50-word story. We were the only school to have more than one of these commendations!

ENGLISH

AUTHOR VISITSWe were visited by award-winning author Ross Montgomery in Book Week. After an entertaining assembly, he ran workshops for each class and inspired us to write our own stories. Author Laura James came to visit Years 1 to 4 in June. She told us all about her inspiration for her pug dog mystery stories and we worked together to come up with our own ideas for an animal detective story.

BOOK WEEKOLA’s Book Week started with the arrival of the Story Museum’s giant pumpkin tent, and each class enjoyed a storytelling session in the tent. Later in the week we invited parents in to read with their children. Older children in the Junior School read with younger children in our shared reading time. We also had an author visit and a story writing competition. We all enjoyed dressing up for World Book Day.

ANIMAL BLESSINGYears 4 and 5 organised a great Animal Blessing service. All children from the school were invited to bring their pets into assembly. The children shared with the school how we should take care of our animals and how in return they can take care of us. We had a visit from The Guide Dog Association.

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ENGLISH CONTINUED

DRAMA WORKSHOPIn December, younger children enjoyed a Perform Drama workshop.

BOOK WEEK: BRIDGE HOUSE TRIPIn June, Year 3 children visited Bridge House as part of their book week and shared some of their favourite books with the residents. The residents also enjoyed sharing their own favourites with the children.

PERFORMANCE POETRY COMPETITIONIn our very own OLA Junior School performance poetry competition, Anton (Year 6) was the first to win our new shield, with an exceptional performance.

Every child in the school learned a poem by heart and the best in each class performed to the whole school.

ROALD DAHL DAYWe celebrate Roald Dahl Day every year on 13 September and this year our theme was chocolate!

The children were challenged to invent their own chocolate bar and the winners received some chocolatey prizes!

MATHS WEEKThe Junior School enjoyed a great week getting involved with different Maths activities every day:

• All classes from Nursery to Year 6 worked with Nathan Crook (Maths specialist) to investigate the use of equipment in the classroom and how it helped to understand fractions.

• Photo Competition - Nursery- Year 2 took pictures showing counting with nature and Years 3 to 6 looked for symmetry in nature.

• House Maths Trail - children worked in their buddy groups to solve different levelled questions around the school. There were mixed age group teams and it was run with the support of the Parents’ Association.

• Times Table Competition - this culminated in a final led by Alison Knight, Head of Mathematics at the Senior School.

• Maths Parents’ Morning - parents were invited into school to do Maths activities with their children. Some children challenged their parents to a times table game and other children enjoyed sharing different resources used in the classroom.

• Whole School Maths Week Homework - the children had to design a Maths game to support an area of the curriculum e.g. counting, times tables, number bonds, measures or shape. The games were tested at school at the end of Maths Week.

“It was really fun and now I understand fractions better” Ben (Year 6) Nathan’s session

“I liked the Maths trail because it was fun and I enjoyed working with children in other classes” Bea (Year 3) Maths Trail

“I liked how we worked as a team on the Maths trail” Katie (Year 5)

“I loved everything!” Lily (Year 6)

“I liked the way Nathan used blocks to represent fractions. It made it easier to understand” Charlotte (Year 6)

FIRST AID TRAININGFirst Aid is such a valuable skill to have, so when we received information from a group called First for Safety who said they ran courses for children from four upwards we were quick to book them in!

In the Hilary term the Year 2 to Year 6 classes completed the Mini First Aider Course. They learnt, amongst other things, how to call the Emergency Services, how to manage choking, bleeds, and burns and scalds, as well as being given a demonstration on how to use a defibrillator. Then it was the turn of the Nursery, Reception and Year 1 classes on the Mini Mini First Aider Course where they learnt how to open an airway and check breathing and how to put someone in the recovery position, as well as how to manage choking, burns and scalds. Both groups were introduced to the DR ABC mnemonic to help them remember the essential steps used when dealing with a patient. As you can see they really enjoyed their workshops and received their certificates with pride!

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OTHER EVENTS

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MUSIC

CLASS MUSIC “I really enjoy music especially when we compose our own music. We get to try out lots of different instruments.” Ruth (Year 3)

“In Music we created a piece of music about a battle and now we are learning the recorder.” Bea (Year 3)

“In Music we learn a lot of instruments – my favourite so far is the recorder. My favourite piece we have learnt this year was The Tortoise Song.” Flora (Year 3)

“I really enjoyed composing our own music based on The Carnival of the Animals in Year 2. We worked with a partner to compose an animal.” Lily (Year 3)

“It was fun learning to play the recorder – even though it squeaked a bit!” Sophie (Year 4)

“I enjoyed doing the rumble wave in African drums, composing and trying out all of the instruments.” Mark (Year 4)

“I liked composing my volcano music based on A Night on the Bare Mountain – I used lots of instruments to show the emotions.” Julia (Year 4)

“I remember The Carnival of the Animals from Year 2 – I was the aquarium!” Beatrice W (Year 4)

“I enjoy doing piano lessons at school and learning new music.” Jacob (Year 5)

ORCHESTRAThe orchestra is made up of children from Years 4 to 6 who play instruments in school and is led by Miss Meadows. We meet every Wednesday lunchtime. In the orchestra we have a string section, tuned and untuned percussion, brass and wind sections. The orchestra plays in the Christmas Carol service, tea time concerts and performed in this year’s summer concert.

“It is a great experience being part of the orchestra. I wouldn’t be in one if it wasn’t for this school.”Flavia (Year 5)

AFRICAN DRUMMINGIn 2018, the African drumming club went to Waitrose to do some drumming. We played outside Waitrose and lots of people stopped to listen. It was a great experience to show off our musical skills whilst performing in public. African drumming is a really fun club to do and sometimes we don’t just use drums we use other percussion instruments. As a club we get to come up with our own rhythms and contribute them to the piece of music.Charlotte and Miranda (Year 6)

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SUMMER CONCERTIn June 2019, the children from Years 4, 5 and 6 took part in the Summer Concert. Our Head Boy and Girl compered the event and we were able to showcase the amazing talents of our school. Acts ranged from comedy sketches to orchestra with performances from the school choir and our individual musicians. We had performances on the bassoon, piano, cornet and saxophone. We also had a lovely performance from The Sound of Music from our Year 5 and 6 pupils.

P.E. AND SPORT

FOOTBALLThis year we have had football teams for Year 5 and 6 boys, Year 3 to 6 girls and Year 3 and 4 mixed. The boys football team took part in the Vale six aside tournament. After a slow start the boys found their winning fire and secured enough wins to leave as winners of the tournament! They also finished their league competition as runners up.

The girls football team competed in the local Vale League and had some great battles against some tough opposition. They also went to the end of season tournament and showed just how much progress they have made this year by working incredibly hard as a team. They finished the tournament in 3rd place overall, which is a fantastic achievement for the team.

CROSS COUNTRYThe Junior School Cross Country Team competed at the Abingdon Schools Cross Country competition at Tilsley Park where they were faced with their longest distances yet, Year 3/4: 1.5K and Year 5/6: 2K. Ruth (Year 3) and Naomi (Year 6) both finished 4th out of approx. 80 girls in the Year 3/4 girls and Year 5/6 girls competitions respectively. The Year 5/6 boys team finished 2nd overall gaining qualification to the Vale competition.

The Year 6 Boys Cross Country Team qualified for the Vale School Sports Partnership Cross Country Team event at Buscot Park. It was a beautiful setting for a competitive cross-country event. The boys worked so well as a team to push each other around the course and secure the best team result possible. Although we didn’t place in the top three, the boys really excelled themselves to get to this stage in the competition.

HOCKEYThe Year 6 hockey team played in the Vale Schools In2Hockey competition. Competing against 17 schools, from across the Vale of Abingdon, our wonderful team won the competition and qualified for the county final. They played some fantastic hockey, only conceding 2 goals in the whole competition and scoring a whopping 16!

NETBALLThe Year 6 netball team played in the Vale Schools Sports Partnership Netball Tournament at Thomas Reade School. We had the delightful position of being able to take two teams to the competition. Both teams performed outstandingly well, the B team came third overall out of five teams and the A team won the competition and qualified for the Vale Finals. They played some great netball but came up against some tough opposition. They won two games and lost two games finishing third overall in the competition and just missing out on a place at the County Finals. They have been a fantastic team to work with this year and have improved so much in their netball skills, to make it to this round of the competition was a great achievement.

P.E. AND SPORT CONTINUED

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SPORTS DAYSThe Junior School held their Sports Day on Monday 17 June this year at Tilsley Park Athletics Stadium, Abingdon. Historically held on two separate afternoons, the Infant and Junior events were amalgamated this year to take place across a full day. The whole school ventured to the ground in the morning for the Infant event which is led, run and managed completely by the Juniors and what a spectacular job they did. The Infants had a wonderful time competing in athletic related activities to earn points for their House guided by the support of a pupil from KS2. The afternoon was a much more competitive affair as the Juniors competed in their track and field athletic events. The final results saw Bowyer taking the overall Sports Day Champions title.

SWIMMINGOur pupils have been working very hard with their swimming over this academic year with pupils making excellent progress and producing some amazing achievements.

Our swimmers in Early Years have been making steady progress and gaining confidence with their swimming and having a lot of fun along the way. They have also been working towards achieving their certificates for the key stage one award scheme Little Swimmers introduced specifically for early years at OLA.

The children delight in achieving these certificates and are very proud of themselves when they are presented at assembly by our Head Teacher Miss Meadows.

The Junior School has also developed its own new and exciting key stage two award scheme in the form of swimming licences. These awards encompass the National Swimming Curriculum and are aimed at stroke technique and stamina development as well as developing key water skills. On achievement of a licence pupils are rewarded with an amazing certificate and, for most awards, also an appropriate achievement medal. The swimming licences progress from the Provisional Licence then follow on to Bronze, Silver, Gold and then finally the Ultimate Platinum Licence. These awards will provide motivational stepping-stones to swimming success at Our Lady’s Abingdon.

All of our pupils have also been working very hard over the year gaining various awards, with amazing achievements overall. Some of our Year 6 pupils were presented with their Swim England 1 Mile distance certificates swimming a staggering 64 lengths of our 25 metre swimming pool non-stop. Well done to all the children for their swimming successes. In addition, a team of Year 6 boys and a team of Year 6 girls have been competing in the Oxfordshire Schools’ Swimming Championships. Both teams swam extremely well. Our boys team successfully made it passed the initial local Abingdon schools’ round and then onto success at the Abingdon Vale round. The boys have been true ambassadors for our school and have been working very hard training at our newly formed Early Bird Swim Squad session which now runs each Wednesday from 07.00 – 07.45 coached by Mrs Doy.

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SCIENCE WEEK

JUNIOR SCHOOL SCIENCE WEEK 2019: JOURNEYS THROUGH NATURE“We learnt about how to reduce, reuse and recycle our rubbish.” Aksel

“We made Eco bricks from single use plastic. We are going to use them to build flower beds.” Sophia

“EYFS are learning about how water travels through plants.” Miss O’Neill

“Years 1,2 and 3 used a special ultra violet torch to look at the germs on our hands. We also investigated how far germs travel when we sneeze!” William

“Science Oxford helped us to learn about how animals adapt to their own environment. We made our own creatures. They were so cool. Year 5 and 6 investigated animal adaptions and how different birds’ beak have changed to suit the food they eat.” George

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NEW STAFF

MRS UNDERWOOD – REGISTRATION/OFFICE MANAGER/PA TO DFOI have very much enjoyed my 1st term here and I have settled into the role of Registrations Officer with ease and made lots of new friends. My first impressions of the school, on arrival for my interview with Mr Karian, was a sense of a calm and friendly building. In my free time I enjoy going to the gym for fitness classes and I do a lot of running and am currently training for my next half marathon (although I am yet to decide which one to run).

MRS KIRBY-HALL – TEACHER OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES/CHAPLAINI have had a wonderful first year at OLA. I have met many lovely colleagues who have helped me settle in. The students have been wonderfully interesting and have really showed their love of learning. The first year has had its challenges but I’ve really enjoyed learning my craft as a Chaplaincy Coordinator. I’ve been very pleased with the positive response of students to their roles in the year and whole school masses. High Leigh with the Year 10s and Year 7s have also been a highlight of the year.

I have so many things that I love doing outside of teaching, but love being a good teacher too, I suppose what I love doing the most is quizzing and I was lucky enough to appear on television this year doing something I love when I appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Most of all I have really enjoyed becoming part of the team at OLA.

MS TODD – SCHOOL NURSEMy first term at OLA has been enjoyable and thought provoking. The staff have been supportive, (especially Miss Lewington) and the students have been polite and helpful. My first impressions of Our Lady’s were that it was really lovely to see the care and consideration shown by pupils and experience the pleasant, nurturing atmosphere within the School. My ‘hobbies’ are dancing, walking, gardening and retail therapy when I have a bit of spare cash!

PIERS HEYWORTH - LAMDAI have hugely enjoyed my first year at OLA. I have been taking various pupils for LAMDA Speaking in Public examinations so I only come in for a couple of hours a week on Wednesday lunchtimes. I often start with a trip to the canteen as I know I am guaranteed the most friendly service and delicious food. The pupils I’ve taught have been very enthusiastic and responsive and have worked really hard on their speechmaking technique, to the extent that they all achieved Distinctions from LAMDA. I am now preparing two pupils for their LAMDA Grade 8 Gold Medals Public Speaking.

I was really struck by the friendliness of all members of the school community, from the secretarial and reception staff to Dr Lawson, who as Head of Drama is the line manager for the two LAMDA teachers. She has made sure that there is a perfect room me to use and she also ensures everyone always turns up on time! She also invites me to events happening at the schools such as the brilliant production of Hairspray, as well as a very entertaining soirée put on by the Music scholars. It is particularly nice to be invited to things when one is very part-time.

I play golf and a fair amount of bridge. Now that I’m semi-retired, I have been working hard on doing up my house. I also do some private tuition in English and Maths in addition to my LAMDA work. My children are in their late teens so family life is still very busy indeed.

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THE ABINGDON MUSIC FESTIVAL RETURNS TO OLAIn April 2019, OLA was proud to host the 2019 Abingdon Music Festival. The school hosted some of the best musical talent Abingdon has to offer. Students from schools across the town (including OLA) impressed the large audiences of over 270 as the festival took over the Music Department, the CMA and much of the English Department too. As well as students, there were also many adult performers.

ART, MUSIC AND ACADEMIC SCHOLARS SOIREEIn March 2019, we were delighted to welcome our Art, Music and Academic Scholars and their families to OLA for a fantastic evening of presentations, music and art - all provided by our scholars. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the talents of our amazing students.

NEWS

ANTI-BULLYING WEEK During Anti-Bullying Week, November 2018, our assemblies covered the issues of bullying to make sure pupils understand:

• The definition of respect

• That bullying is a behaviour choice

• That we can respectfully disagree with each other i.e. we don’t have to be best friends or always agree with each other, but we do have to respect each other

• That we all need to choose to respect each other both face to face and online

In a recent talk, delivered to OLA 6th students, an outside speaker asked what bullying was like at this school. Nobody replied. Then a few students looked at each other and said: “There isn’t any”. It’s wonderful to hear this from students who have been at school for a number of years and I really hope that this is the case. However, it’s always helpful to use Anti-bullying week as a reminder and this year’s theme of respect points out that although we won’t always agree with everyone, we do need to respect each other.

Mrs Martin-Morrissey

NEWS CONTINUEDA LEVEL RESULTS 2019In August 2019 we celebrated an excellent set of A Level results, building further on the reputation of the school for guiding its students to significant academic success. The 2019 results show an impressive 16% increase in A and A* grades from 2018, with 53% of grades achieved above ALIS baseline predictions, the best on record.

2018-19 2017-18

Grades A* - A 37% 21%

Grades A* - B 65% 49%

Grades A* - C 79% 75%

Grades A* - E 97% 97%

Number of pupils in year 31 30

Among the many smiling faces were students who had achieved their requirements to continue their studies with prestigious universities across the UK and beyond. Subjects to be studied include Business and Management, Politics and International Relations, Archaeology and History, Biochemistry, Theatre and English and Psychology. OLA Head Boy Esmond Martin becomes the first OLA student to go on to study in the USA. Esmond won a prestigious scholarship to Georgetown University in Washington DC. He will major in International Politics. OLA students also returned another excellent set of results in the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). The EPQ requires students to pick a research topic and produce an independent piece of work. Our A* topics this year included:

• Do referendums enhance or diminish democracy by Will Allen

• Designing a netball dress by Katie Winnicott

• Modern Trends in Immersive Theatre by Bethan Corley

Commenting on the A Level and EPQ results School Principal Stephen Oliver said:

“We are thrilled. The results are a clear testimony to the hard and dedicated work of our students and the excellent teaching they receive from our staff team. Our small class sizes and highly praised pastoral support regularly help our students achieve beyond expectation but this year our value added has soared. This year’s results show 53.2% of grades achieved were above their ALIS prediction, a really remarkable achievement. Well done to all concerned.”

Head of Sixth Form Dr Elizabeth Lawson commented:

“I want to congratulate every student for what they have achieved. It’s a joy to see all of the hard work paying off in such a happy and excellent way. It’s emotional!”

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CHOCOLATE CHALLENGEOLA held a Chocolate Challenge for our Year 9 pupils who formed a company to package and advertise chocolates. The groups had to present to a panel of teaching staff their packaged chocolates, their advert and explain how their team contributed to the activity.

The groups did amazingly well and we thoroughly enjoyed their presentations and were impressed with their creativity and how effective they worked in their groups and carried out the task. Unfortunately, the chocolate challenge didn’t require any chocolate to be consumed!

BORNEO EXPEDITION 2018OLA’s expedition, in July 2018, led them to Sabah on the island of Borneo. A group of nineteen Year 11 and OLA 6th students worked on a forest conservation project on the Kinabatangan River, learnt all about palm oil and the issues surrounding its large scale production, saw spectacular wildlife including Orangutans, Proboscis Monkeys and Pygmy Elephants, learnt traditional dances from their homestay hosts, trekked through the rain forests of the Kiulu valley, learnt jungle skills and all about the indigenous uses of plants for medicinal and survival purposes, snorkelled in a marine park and sampled many delicious new foods.

The aim of the expedition was for the students to take responsibility for arranging the smooth running of the itinerary, budget and organisation of activities. They did this extremely well and gained the confidence to navigate in a foreign country by themselves. They also brought back many wonderful photographs and lifelong memories.

CAROL SERVICE 2019In December 2019, OLA’s students and staff took part in annual OLA Carol Service at Our Lady and St Edmund’s Church. It was a lovely service and great to see so many of our students taking part.

OXFORDSHIRE ART WEEKS 2019In May 2019, Mrs Holden (OLA’s Head of Art) and Mrs Stinton displayed their work in a joint exhibition for Oxfordshire Art Weeks. Mrs Holden exhibited hand built ceramics with textural surfaces and clay possibilities. Mrs Stinton exhibited richly coloured still lifes, interiors and life studies in oil, distemper, gouache, ink and oil pastel.

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presents

11, 12 & 13 February 2020 | 7.00pm | CMA | Our Lady’s Abingdon Senior School Tickets available from OLA Senior School Reception | Radley Road | Abingdon | OX14 3PS

GREASE School EditionBook, Music and Lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey

‘Names of Songs’ used by arrangement with Robert Stigwood‘GREASE School Edition’ is presented through special arrangement with and all authorised

performance materials are supplied by Theatrical Rights Worldwide (TRW) 122-124 Regent Street, 5th Floor, London W1B 5SA. www.theatricalrights.co.uk

OLA is proud to present GREASE - February 2020

OLA 6TH CHRISTMAS JUMPER DAYOLA 6th raised £135 from their Christmas jumper day and Isabel and Rosie added another £134.76 with the glitter tattoos which they created with some of the students from Bowyer House before the Christmas break.

The money raised is going to The Gatehouse drop in centre for the homeless in Oxford. The Gatehouse is run out of St Giles Parish rooms and supported by many churches of different denominations in Oxford. The Churches also organise cooking soup on a rota basis throughout the year. The collection went towards Christmas lunches for the homeless.

ART STAR!Congratulations to OLA pupil Jamie Lyon, who was selected to attend a three-day workshop at the National Portrait Gallery in London. This Summer School is run each year as part of the BP Portrait Awards: Next Generation Project for aspiring young artists. 18 young people attended the three days of whom Jamie was the youngest. Using a live model, the tasks included sketching and using pastels before moving on to creating a painted portrait of the model in acrylic paints. The teachers were impressed with Jamie’s work, his attitude and talent, especially at such a young age.

The National Portrait Gallery have now shortlisted Jamie’s work to be placed on display in a special exhibition showcasing the best of the work from the Summer 18 school. Jamie attended a special Private View evening in June 2019. Well done Jamie!

NATURAL HISTORYCongratulations to Ollie Year 9 who has successfully applied to be a Natural History Investigator at the Oxford Museum of Natural History. Ollie will be spending Saturday mornings at the museum going behind the scenes. He will be carrying out an investigation of his choice into his favourite subject of Palaeontology with a special emphasis on fossils. Congratulations to Ollie and we hope he makes an exciting discovery.

GCSE RESULTS 2019In August 2019 OLA celebrated another strong year of GCSE results. The 2019 results show a 4.1 % increase in grades 9 - 4 from 2018. The sciences are the stand out performers this year with Physics (88%), Biology (81.3%) and Chemistry (75%) of pupils achieving grades 9 - 7. This compares very favourably even with last year’s excellent figures of 63%, 79% and 74% respectively for these subjects. There were also excellent results in English Language where 79% of pupils achieved grades 9 – 7 and in Art where 72.7% celebrated the top grades.

2018-19

Grades 9 -7 46.8%

Grades 9 - 6 64.8%

Grades 9 - 4 92.1%

Grades 9 - 1 100%

Number of pupils in year 39

Commenting on the GCSE results School Principal Stephen Oliver said:

“These are excellent results for our sciences in particular. I want to congratulate our budding scientists for all their hard work in achieving this magnificent performance building further on our science success in GCSE last year. I am also delighted by the increase in our grade 9 - 4 scores. This is testimony to the hard and dedicated work of our pupils and the excellent teaching and pastoral support they receive from our staff team. Well done to all concerned!”

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KID’S LIT QUIZ This year, two teams from OLA took part in the regional heat of the Kids’ Lit Quiz which was held at Cokethorpe School. Nearly 40 teams took part, many coming a considerable distance and competition was fierce. Both OLA teams, one from Year 7 and one from Year 8, did extremely well and showed an astonishing breadth of reading knowledge.

To our delight, the Year 8 team – Rafferty, Gabriella, Ben and James – finished in joint third place and, after winning a tense tie-breaker, came third overall - a magnificent achievement! Representing Year 7 were Ben, Elinor, Jamie, Grace and Lydia, who will undoubtedly be on the podium in next year’s competition.

MAKESPACE WORKSHOPIn the summer holidays of 2018, OLA pupils Alex, James, Oscar and Thomas attended a workshop at the Makerspace in the Westgate Library Oxford. The session was being hosted by Professor Eric White and involved the boys making their own version of a reader machine as invented by Bob Brown in the 1930’s. They used Meccano, cogs, elastic bands and a 3D printer to produce the parts that were not in the box!

They completed the project and at the end of August Professor White held a lecture at the Ashmolean Museum where he discussed his theories about the Reader Machine. The machine built by the boys was also on display alongside a prototype machine that was interactive with an iPad.

OLA’S 2019 PRODUCTION OF HAIRSPRAY WAS AN UNSTOPPABLE DANCE PARTY!Telling the story of a young girl who just wants to dance on television, Tracy Turnblad dreams of being on The Corny Collins Show but when she turns up to audition, she is told she doesn’t quite fit the look of the show. Tracy has a big heart bursting with passion to both pursue her dream and fight against institutional racism. Set in the city of Baltimore during the 1960s, Tracy fights for all the kids to be able to dance together.

Isobel (Year 9) was an outstanding Tracy Turnblad. She gave a splendid performance with her stellar vocals and expressive character. Her best friend Penny, played by Honor (Upper Sixth), was effortlessly funny in the role. With a strict mother that will just about let her out the house, Penny’s shy awkwardness was portrayed superbly and Bethan’s (Lower Sixth) comedy timing as Prudy was exemplary. Zephyr (Year 10) was slick and sharp as Penny’s love interest Seaweed. Ellie (Upper Sixth) played the sassy powerhouse Motormouth Maybelle and her iconic number I Know Where I’ve Been was a real showstopper.

Taking on the enemy and producer of The Corny Collins Show was Velma Von Tussle, performed by Evie (Lower Sixth), whose blunt and self-absorbed approach, alongside her daughter Amber (Bella – Year 11), was very funny. As Amber competes with Tracy to impress the suave, handsome and talented star of the Corny Collins show, Link Larkin (Freddie – Lower Sixth), her desperation was marvellously performed.

What really captured the hearts of the audience was Tracy’s fighting spirit and beautiful relationship with her mother Edna (Scott – Year 9) and their tender scenes together were memorable moments in the show.

Across the three sell-out shows the entire cast gave it their all and I applaud them for their tremendous spirit. They even managed to get the entire audience dancing during the final performance! It truly showcased all the hours of hard work they had put in as they gave the OLA community a stirring show with a powerful message.

Well done to all the staff and students who took part and supported the show!

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LEAVING STAFF

Goodbye from Mrs Willis-Bund

I would like to thank the OLA community for making my year at their school such a hugely enjoyable experience. I don’t think I’ve ever worked in a friendlier or more welcoming environment; both staff and pupils made me feel completely at home. From the moment I stepped through the door and saw the glorious and diverse art which covers every inch, every nook and cranny (and there are many) of the school, I knew that this was a place that wholeheartedly celebrates its pupils and their achievements.

I had great fun persuading my Year 8s and 9s of the joys of reading Shakespeare and the numerous ways their lives would (allegedly) benefit from a grasp of close literary textual analysis. I’m not sure I fully succeeded, but both classes were a pleasure to be with, particularly periods 7 and 8 double with my Year 9s, a lesson always fuelled by biscuits and Co-op brownies. And the English department couldn’t have been a nicer bunch; they made me feel part of the worn but comfortable furniture within minutes.

Highlights included the fabulous production of Hairspray and seeing my Year 8 Kids’ Lit quiz team showered in books, having come second in their fiercely competitive regional heat. OLA has a truly caring and inclusive ethos and I wish the school and all within its community the very best for the future. I do hope to drop in some time next year for a quick catch-up and a coffee in The Mall.

Goodbye from Mr C Storey

I have been at OLA for almost four years, and have always felt like a part of the family while I have been there, even after I was employed by Planet IT in the first month of 2019. I will miss working at OLA, it has been my first and so far only place of work. It will be very strange not seeing everyone there anymore, but I have gained a great deal of experience during my time and I am very grateful for all the kindness and support that has been shown to me since I started. I was initially worried about what it would be like working “on the other side” after coming straight from A Levels, but that was swiftly swept away by the kind and caring atmosphere at OLA. I wish the school all the best with its new IT infrastructure and I know that Planet IT will give OLA the highest standard of service. Thank you all for your support, and all the best to you in your future, both at OLA and in future prospects.

Goodbye from Mrs Storey

I started working at Our Lady’s Convent, as it was known then, in September 2002 as a Teaching Assistant, Sr. Jean was Headteacher. I was very nervous on my first day but was made to feel completely at ease with the kind and friendly staff. I would often hear Sr. Jean’s voice booming up the corridors, keeping the children and staff in order! I have been very lucky to have worked with such fantastic people in the Junior and Senior schools, I have made some very special friends.

OLA has a true team spirit with very dedicated people doing their utmost to ensure that the children are happy and secure within their education. I will really miss working there but I’m sure that I will settle in Yorkshire without any worries, we have been frequenting Whitby for the past 28 years so are very familiar with the town.

As well as being a Teaching Assistant I ended up looking after the Junior School library, this was an enjoyable role which I only gave up after becoming a secretary in the Junior School office. I left this post in June 2019 just before the Year 6 Charity Afternoon and I dodged Splat the Teacher once again!

I wish OLA all the very best for the future, it will hold a very special place in my heart forever.

Goodbye from Mr P StoreyI have worked at OLA as a Site Team member for the past two and a half years. I’ve enjoyed working within a great team and have really enjoyed my time at OLA. I would have been happy to stay but retirement in Yorkshire was too much to resist, but with Chris at the helm of a great team I know OLA is in safe hands. I have made lifelong friends in a short time and will be hoping to stay in contact with many.

LEAVING STAFF

Goodbye from Mr Willcock

It didn’t start well. At 8.59 on 8 September 2014, I prepared to teach my first class at OLA. With 8C waiting expectantly at the door, I bent down to get a pile of new exercise books. The seam on the seat of my suit trousers ripped from stem to stern. My dynamic lesson plan went out the window and I spent my first lesson shuffling round with my back to the wall trying to protect my modesty.

The next five years could only get better and they did. I’ve made great friends on the staff; I’ve sung the Pearl Fishers duet with Mr Chim and read minds with Mr Cooper and Mr Jackson; I’ve been lucky enough to travel to New York (twice), China and High Leigh (ten times); I’ve commentated at Sports Day and judged Latin competitions; I’ve started the Dress for Success club; I’ve seen our Sixth Formers succeed in so many areas of life, winning places at universities across the country and now also the USA; I’ve even learnt to rap for the Year11 Mission Effort. And I’ve managed to squeeze in some RS teaching. Best of all, my trousers have remained intact throughout.

However, if I had to choose one moment which sums OLA up for me it was Heart of Light. I am proud to have led the team of students that pitched for seed money from the Diocese and who organised an event that included both Junior and Senior schools and also partnered with St Edmund’s. It is great that we raised enough money to build a new school block for a Rutsya Primary School in Uganda. But what will stay with me was the event itself. OLA is nothing if not a community, and I shall always remember the whole school turning out to light 12,000 candles, older students guiding and helping the younger and all the staff throwing themselves into this bonkers idea. It is absolutely true to say: I left my heart at OLA.

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NEW CHAIR OF GOVERNORS ANNOUNCEMENT JUNE 2019

I am delighted to announce that the Governing Body has appointed Mr Freddy Elturk as the new Chair of Governors. Mr Elturk has a diverse background and wide experience in Business, Education & Technology, with his main focus being on Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Deep Learning.

Having acquired his Technical & Business qualifications from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard University, the University of Oxford and Insead Business School, he is the Founder of Vizidox Solutions Limited (VDX), a complete solution to issuing and tracking official records using the blockchain technology.

He is also the founder of Morphotech Limited, a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) development company, as well as being the Global Head of Technology for the largest creative media college, SAE Institute. Throughout his career, Mr Elturk’s forward-thinking and relentless passion for advances in futuristic technology have earned him respect and admiration amongst industry peers and we are fortunate to have his skills at our disposal as the new Chair of Governors.

Mr Elturk has also been an OLA parent for many years and has three children in our Junior School. I am very much looking forward to working with him as we enter a new and exciting phase in the history of the school under his Chairmanship.

Mr Oliver – June 2019

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LEAVING STAFF

Goodbye from Mr Norris

Just carry on, that’s it, you’re doing just fine. Well, time has caught up with me … and finally, FINALLY, I am moving into retirement. I am leaving the WONDERFUL OLA. OLA is a place I grew fond of within minutes of moving inside its walls. I recall very vividly the day of my interview some four years ago and my tour of the School by Mrs Wales. The longer the tour, the more I saw, the more I liked. And then I met some of the students of OLA and had the chance to take them for a lesson … and that was the clincher for me … I really wanted to be part of the staff team and be a teacher at OLA. And, nothing has changed for me. I felt at home in this place from that day … my home from home. Now, it’s often said that our first teachers in life are not our school teachers but the people who reared us - our parents … we tend to mimic them as you grow up. At the same time they lay down some of the rules and behaviours that we adopt … my parents did just so for me. They were of modest means though they regarded themselves rich in so many ways … and particularly endowed with the gems of their marriage … their children. My mother took great delight in us, nurturing us in a very Gaelic way. I remember her often saying to me, after I had done the simplest chore, “I wish I had a dozen like you” …

My parents were people of deep faith … and they instilled in me certain values … guided by that faith. 1) Be tolerant (of others) 2) Always try to do your best 3) Enjoy life (take advantage of opportunities before you).

These core values and their positivity are as sound today as they were yesterday … and I have tried to live by them in whatever I have done – particularly in my attitude and behaviour towards young people. They are not easy values to uphold and they can sometimes cause personal conflict and sacrifice but they bring their own reward. I also recall my mother’s simple words of wisdom to me when I was faced with a particularly new and daunting challenge … “That’s it,”, she’d say, “carry on, you’re doing just fine”.

It’s amazing how those few words could instil in me confidence reborn and a little courage. I hope I have succeeded in some part in doing the same – even if in some small part – to the students I have had the privilege and honour to teach. I cannot thank the students enough for their response to me during my time at the School and for the faith and trust they placed in me to help them. I have really enjoyed their company – it’s been a blast – and I truly wish that I could be with all of them yet again next September but there other new, daunting challenges ahead for me.

I WILL carry with me many cherished memories of my time at the School and reflect upon the opportunities and adventures I have shared with staff and students. I have watched students build companies as part of Young Enterprise. I have working alongside students one-to-one to enhance their understanding of Maths or Science and I have been lucky enough to take part in many out-of-school activities too. There were the Science trips to the Natural History Museum, Culham Research Labs, Rutherford Appleton Labs, the Science Festivals at Headington and Cheltenham and of course my annual excursion with Mrs Edwards to Wales with the A Level Biology group.

A stand-out event for me must be the absolutely wonderful and very surprising, time I had travelling with Mrs Gunn (and Mr Hathaway) and a bright and engaging group of students to Uganda more than two years ago; that was an extended trip of three and a half weeks in a part of the world that was unknown to me; it was a remarkable time, full of colour, evocative smells and tastes and really lovely people. I can even look back fondly at the somewhat rough terrain we travelled over in our antiquated mini-bus, jostled as we were for mile after mile on broken roads, sometimes through challenging weather; and me with a couple of broken ribs from a bad fall in my first week!

Thank you for all of these stolen moments – moments I had no idea I would experience so late in my teaching life and which I shall always hold dear. I am not moving too far away and so I do wish and hope to visit you all in the future to see some more of your marvellous exhibitions, shows and concerts … all of which continue to amaze me. I cannot finish without thanking all of the staff for their support and kindness over the last few years and for making my time at OLA so enjoyable – with special mention to the Maths and Science Departments. How did you all put up with me! A big thank you to the lovely technicians in Science who bore the brunt of my requests for equipment and my rushing around all over the place “like a mad one”.

I wish you all the very, very best for the future … and remember, if and when YOU come face to face with some new and daunting challenge of your own, don’t worry, “just carry on, that’s it, you’ll do just fine”.

MCAULEY SOCIETY TALKS 2019The McAuley Society invites speakers to show how exciting the outside world is. The 2018-19 schedule featured a wide range of speakers from different disciplines with topics covering everything from designing a sculling boat to discussing career opportunities in the Creative Arts. Mercy day in September heralded our second McAuley anniversary lecture with Dr Tom Moorhouse giving the whole school food for thought with his talk entitled Is wildlife tourism killing wildlife? Dr Moorhouse, who is a Zoologist andConservationist at Oxford university, gave a thought-provoking insight into his research on the impact of wildlife tourism.

Other speakers throughout the year have included Emma Baldwin, Head of Art and Design courses at Abingdon and Witney college. Paul Godsafe, boat designer, Richard Penny, Politics lecturer at the University of Southampton, Ian Ellis, Head of Art at Radley College and Emma Maillard- Holden who gave a fascinating talk about her work with Oxfam in Bangladesh.

Our popular Lower School McAuley series this year featured three brilliant talks by OLA staff members. Our school librarian, Megs Bowers in her talk entitled Once upon a time inspired pupils about storytelling and encouraged them to have a go at their own creative writing. David Wilcock revealed his passion for ornithology with his entertaining talk entitled Boom! Why Britain needs Bitterns and Deputy Head Neil Hathaway gave a very relevant talk on the highly topical subject of Social Media.This talk series is open to all lower school pupils and is the springboard for summer research projects completed by our lower school academic scholars. I am really looking forward to hearing presentations on these in the Autumn term.

Finally, I would like to extend a huge thank you to all our wonderful speakers and to extend an invitation to all parents and past OLA students. If you feel that you could give a talk on a recent project, or your job in relation to a news or subject perspective then we would love to hear from you!

Mrs Thomas

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THE GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF 2019In August 2019, we were delighted to learn that former OLA pupil, Rosie Brandreth-Poynter, was going to be a contestant on The Great British Bake Off. Rosie did incredibly well, making it all the way to the semi-final. Well done Rosie!

SAVE THE DATE!Did you know that 2020 marks a very special anniversary for OLA? Next year will be 160 years since the school was founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1860. We think that’s a good reason for a very big and very exciting celebration to which all current and former OLA students and staff along with their families are invited.The big day will be Saturday 5 September 2020 and will be ticket only. To find out more and register for your free ticket go to www.olab.org.uk/ola-community/alumni/

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NEW YORK 2018In October half-term, a group of 26 students and 4 staff embarked on a trip to New York. We started our trip by going to watch the New York Knicks play at Madison Square Gardens. This was a very late night and then we were up early the next morning to explore the American Museum of Natural History. We saw many dinosaur fossils and other interesting examples of nature. Mr Willcock was our tour guide for the whole trip!

We went to Grand Central Station and the Whispering Gallery, which was an interesting experience as we could communicate across the room with each other. We rushed home to change and then sped out the door to watch Wicked on Broadway. This was an amazing show that impressed everyone that was there. Day two started with a delicious breakfast and a surprise meeting with Dr Lawson who was there on holiday. We then went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and looked around which then lead us to Central Park Zoo. There were so many cute animals especially the penguins! The Textiles students were then taken on a fashion tour of Macy’s and were told about all the new upcoming trends right from the source. A few of the students were even styled by their stylist!

Near Macy’s we then got on a bus ride called The Ride which was an interactive theatre around the streets of Times Square. To continue the day, we went on an impromptu ice-skating rink at the Rockefeller Centre which was so magical as it was night time and there were lots of fairy lights. We even took Robert Johnson ice skating for his first time!

Day three took us on a boat ride around the Statue of Liberty and to Ellis Island. A member of our party had family who were in the Ellis Island records. Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to find their records however we did explore all the building. To continue the theme of history, we went to Ground Zero and the museum. This was very moving as we were all able to learn about the events that happened during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. We then had dinner and went up the Empire State Building which gave us a panoramic view of New York at night. This was very special.

On the last day we had the option to walk The Highline which is an unused railway track that has been overgrown by plants. We then sadly made our way home reflecting on what was an amazing trip!

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SWIMMING POOL REFURBISHMENT Over the summer holidays 2019, OLA’s swimming pool had an impressive refurbishment. Extensive work led to the installation of a new swimming pool filtration system. The new system, which is fully automated, uses ultra violet as the main pool water disinfection meaning chlorine levels can now be significantly lower. The pool is both crystal clear and has a noticeable sparkle!

LOWER SIXTH PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBITIONOLA 6th artists produced some amazing photographs following their workshops with our visiting professional photographer, Christopher Baines.

SRI LANKA NETBALL TOUR 2018On 6 July 2018 our senior netball squad, along with Mrs Barrett and Mrs Barnett, travelled to Sri Lanka.

We had an amazing week full of experiences that we will never forget. This included seeing 30 elephants bathe in the river, visiting a tea plantation and tasting the local brew, going to a spice garden and learning about natural medicines, visiting a tsunami museum, a cruise down the river through the mangroves to cinnamon island, visiting a turtle sanctuary and having a wonderful experience of releasing a baby turtle into the sea and yes…. netball!

We had three matches during the week. The standard was much higher than we expected. Our first match we won quite easily 36 - 11 against Bishops College but playing in the humidity was a struggle for the girls. Learning from this, we armed ourselves with a big ice bucket for our next match. This was at a new venue at The Foundation of Goodness where the court was hard sand, this was a whole new experience! Before our match we ran a coaching session for the local children. Our girls really engaged with them and gained a lot from doing this. Then onto our match, this was a tougher game with a more physical team, the girls had to work and think harder but won 21-16.

Hearing that we had won both our matches the Sri Lankans drafted in their stronger players, but we were ready. The girls a bit more acclimatized to the heat and wanting to win their last match battled every minute against a very good tactical team. They played the best netball I have ever seen them play. With excellent teamwork, spirit and resilience we were undefeated winning by one goal 24-23. I am so proud of these girls, for not only playing brilliantly, but for the impeccable attitude and behaviour. They were a pleasure to take on tour. Thanks also to Mrs Barnett for accompanying me on the trip and for all her support.

Mrs Barrett

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SKI TRIP 2019Who would have thought that it was possible to top our last trip to Canada? Clearly Mrs Parry did, and she was right!

On Saturday 30 March 2019 an excited group of pupils from Years 8 to Lower Sixth clambered aboard the coach to Heathrow and waited eagerly for our flight to Boston and the transfer to Sunday River Ski Resort. We arrived tired but happy and looking forward to getting onto the slopes after a good night’s sleep.

By the next morning we were ready to go, suited and booted, poles and skis in hands and sporting our ski passes and goggles with the obligatory ski helmets. Our outfits were complete! Our lessons took place in small groups of matching ability so that we all grew in confidence and mastered new moves.

For those who had skied before it was incredible to improve our skills on the more challenging runs. The resort also proved to be perfect for beginners who soon found their balance and gradually gained more confidence. We found the instructors were friendly, encouraging and had a great sense of humour which added to the whole experience.

Our amazing time didn’t stop there as each night our lovely teachers had organised several après-ski activities for us. In addition to a cinema trip and time relaxing in the hotel hot tub, we tried our hands at broom-balling - which was a bit like curling but on carpet (don’t try it at home without asking first…) as well as snow-tubing. This was similar to going down a water slide, but snow-tubing is not through a tunnel. It’s a ride on a giant doughnut down a ski slope. One of the highlights was watching an exhilarating but incredibly rumbustious ice hockey game. We also had a photoshoot with the mascot and ate hot dogs while watching the game. The speed of the players was exhilarating and mesmerising!

Even the journeys between the hotel and the activities were extra-enjoyable. thanks to the Year 11 playlists and Bluetooth speakers. Our coach driver was surprised and delighted by the whole group joining in the singing, saying that he had never driven such a joyful party before! We treated him (and the staff) to our vocal stylings of Mr Brightside, Sweet Caroline and Country Roads, amongst others!

The whole trip was filled with moments that none of us will ever forget, from Mr Samways in his platinum blonde wig channelling his inner Dolly Parton or the rush on the final day to use up the $50 some of us had (we are still getting through four huge boxes of Reece’s Pieces!).

It was great to spend time with pupils in different year groups and make new friends. We are still learning even though we are outside of the classroom and know that these trips are incredible opportunities to develop our confidence and our character, too.

We would like to thank the teachers and all students who came for making it such a fantastic trip – we have lots of happy memories and are already looking forward to the next one.

Isabel and Rosie

YOUTH SPEAKS COMPETITION 2019In January 2019, Louis, Scott U and Scott B from Year 9 represented OLA in the Rotary Club Youth Speaks public speaking competition. Up against teams from Larkmead, Abingdon School and St Helen & St Katharine, the boys performed extremely well. Their speech on the dangers of social media was given by Louis, one of the few Year 9 boys in the country never to have used it! Outlining the risks of social media, as well as drawing attention to the enormous amounts of time teenagers spend online, Louis seemed to convince not only his team mates (hardened social media users) but also the audience, who, despite invitations to the contrary, didn’t check their devices once during the ten minutes the boys were on stage.

Congratulations to the team for their hard work in preparing as well as for their performance on the night. See you next year!

Mrs Thompson

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY SUCCESSCongratulations to OLA’s 2018-19 Head Boy Esmond Martin.

Esmond won a prestigious scholarship to Georgetown University in Washington DC to study from September 2019.

Founded in 1789, Georgetown is the oldest Catholic institution of higher education in the United States. Esmond, who studied Economics, English and History A levels, is being admitted to the Walsh School of Foreign Service and will be the class of ’23. He plans to major in International Politics.

In order to participate in the course Esmond also needs a foreign language so he is polishing off the dust from his GCSE Spanish books. Esmond may be setting a new trend with other students from OLA 6th also now considering applying to American institutions.

Good luck with your studies Esmond!

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SPANISH TRIP: OCTOBER 2018We set off from OLA at 1am on Monday 1 October. Our flight was at around 7am so by the time we were in Spain it was 11am local time. We checked into our hotel rooms and set off to a paella cooking demonstration. It was very fun! We got to join in at some points and it tasted delicious. Later, after splashing in the hotel pool for a while, we took part in a flamenco dancing session and even though we were far from professionals, we all thoroughly enjoyed it. Next it was time for dinner, then bed.

On Tuesday we headed off to Seville. We had a guided tour in the Royal Alcázar of Seville and the Cathedral. Both were very beautiful; the Royal Alcázar was surrounded by colourful and attractive gardens and as for the cathedral, it was stunning with its huge organ and pure silver altar. While in Seville we also visited localrestaurants, cafes and shops during our free time.

Wednesday was most people’s favourite day. First of all we had a two hour Spanish lesson in a local language school. We improved our cultural knowledge and we were introduced to new vocabulary. Then we headed off to Mijas, a beautiful white washed Andalucian village. We could watch a flamenco performance and browse around a colourful market in the main square. The shops were full of beautiful souvenirs. In the afternoon we went to Puerto Banus, a popular village for the rich! We saw the super yachts and very expensive modern houses. It was a fabulous day.

On Thursday we had a guided tour in Malaga . We visited la Alcazaba, an Arabian fortress where we could enjoy a magnificent view of the city. Later in the day we visited the Picasso Museum: the paintings and sculptures looked even better in real life. The Picasso Museum really captured our attention; it was certainly one of the highlights of the trip. Friday was our last day. Once again we had a two hour Spanish lesson, which further deepened our Spanish vocabulary. We investigated Benalmadena, the village we were staying in and enjoyed the hotel swimming pool as the weather was hot and sunny. All in all the Spanish trip was a fantastic experience: the scenery was beautiful, the day trips were fascinating and most of all we became better speakers of Spanish!

Oliver (Year 10)

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SUB

JEC

TS

& C

LUB

S

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Sukh Mani-Gill | GCSE

ART

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Alys Quainton-Blake | A Level Isabella Hunter | A Level

Rory Campbell-Smith | A Level Clara Wells | GCSE

Eloise Harris | GCSE Emma Doel | GCSE

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Georgina Segrt | GCSE Grace Hummerston | GCSE

Katherine Garbett | GCSE Maddie Warne | GCSE

Marine Pons | GCSE Thomas Holburn | GCSE

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Yr 9 mythological creatures montage

BIOLOGY

THE LIVING RAINFOREST TRIPOn Tuesday 18 June, Year 8 visited The Living Rainforest near Newbury to further investigate the ways in which both plants and animals adapt to a rainforest environment. This formed part of the Ecosystems topic which they have been studying this term. When touring the glasshouse the pupils were able to observe and learn about some incredibly interesting creatures such as the Asian Mudskipper, the Green Iguana, the Two-toed Sloth, Goeldi’s Monkey and the Channel Billed Toucan. In addition the pupils were shown some fascinating plant adaptations such as the drip-tip leaves which are able to withstand prolonged intense rainfall.

After completing the glasshouse tour, the group visited the Human Impacts Building where they learnt about the effects we have on the rainforests as well as visiting the gift shop. Overall, the students gained a great insight into this particular ecosystem and were able to relate their theoretical knowledge to a practical environment.

LOWER SIXTH A LEVEL BIOLOGY TRIP TO OXFORD’S NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM - DECEMBER 2018On 4 December 2018 we went to the Natural History Museum in Oxford to attend some lectures on biology. It was a really useful opportunity to attend lectures before we go on to university and discover more about current research into biology at a relevant level to apply to our A Level study. We looked at a range of topics within biology and furthered our understanding outside of our course. The first lecture was on cell imaging, a topic which we have already covered in our course so it was interesting to look at it in a bit more depth – especially looking at clips from recent live samples, which show the cytoskeleton as a fluid nanomachine that is constantly assembling and disassembling. Next was a lecture on Supersized Cells which looked at cell migration, and how scientists are currently looking at how fungi build efficient mycelial networks to reach food (and how this had been tested by comparing it to the Japanese rail network!). The lecturer explained how reaction-diffusion models demonstrate the formation of many different patterns and I think he made this topic really accessible to our level as well as staying interesting. The last three lectures included; Life as a Single Cell which detailed how bacteria’s structure allows complex functioning despite their size, and how they form communities; Bacteria and the Future of Food, focusing on the nitrogen cycle, the revolution of the Haber process and solutions to future food development and distribution problems; and Gut Microbes and Mental Health, which explained the nature of the link between the brain and the gut, the uses of probiotics and influences on mental disorders. After the lectures we were able to have a look round the museum where there were some interactive displays about the lecture topics, as well as the familiar beehive, dinosaurs and specimen displays. It was a really interactive trip and really helpful for us to apply our knowledge to and discover more about current developments in the science. Naomi and Eleanor (Lower Sixth)

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Award Name Year group

BRONZE

Zephyr Acworth 10

Will Bush 10

Sammy Chisholm 10

James Dalton 10

Laurie Davies 10

Kathryn Perkins 10

Eme Plater 10

Jamie Rendell 10

Oliver Wilkes 10

Cressida Danko 9

Will Garner 9

Sophie Whyman 9

Eleanor Whyte 9

COMMENDED

Meredith Corley 10

Jamie Mercer 10

Eve Turner 10

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A LEVEL BIOLOGY FIELD TRIP TO PEMBROKESHIRE 2019The Lower Sixth biologists had a brilliant time on the annual field trip to Pembrokeshire and had four very sunny days. This year we were based at Orielton Field Centre in an old manor house set within extensive woodland – an idyllic setting! The A Level students worked very hard over four days learning new practical techniques including kick sampling in streams and transects over the sand dunes and rocky shore. No field trip is complete without the excitement of a timed search through seaweed on the lower shore to see who can find the largest and most feisty crabs! A large chunk of the essential practical work was done and several new statistical tests were studied and used to evaluate the students’ data. In accordance with our tradition the trip was rounded off by an afternoon at Bristol Zoo to reinforce our recent topics of Evolution, Biodiversity and Conservation.

SENIOR BIOLOGY OLYMPIAD 2019Each year students studying Biology in the Upper Sixth take part in the Olympiad in February. This year Emily was awarded a coveted Gold medal. Thomas gained a Silver medal and Sanjay gained a Bronze. Special congratulations go to Emily as this is our first Gold medal in the Senior Olympiad.

INTERMEDIATE BIOLOGY OLYMPIAD 2019

The Lower Sixth Biology students were also very successful in the Intermediate Olympiad in June.

Naomi - Gold Medal

Megan, Eleanor and Yasmin - Bronze medal

Isabella - Commended

RESULTS OF BRITISH BIOLOGY CHALLENGE RUN BY THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF BIOLOGY 2019

Award Name Year group

GOLD

Best in school

Carenza Danko 10

Ben Mayer 10

Dominic Warburton 10

Isaac Markovitz 9

SILVER

Tofarati Adeniran 10

Istvan Bessenyei 10

Isobel Glover 10

Ashley Hillier 10

Emily Irving 10

Charlotte Pettipher 10

HIGHLY

COMMENDED

Joe Freeman-May 10

Egor Kolchanov 10

Archie Langdon 10

James Quinn 10

Leo Williams 10

Scott Ulyatt 10

Jinung Bae 9

Isabel Mackay 9

DESIGN TECHNOLOGY: GLIDEBOATS TALKPaul Godsafe, from Glideboats, was invited into OLA by our Mr Humphreys, Head of Design Technology, to explain the process of designing and manufacturing his range of glide single sculling boats. From initial concepts to the finished product and his marketing strategies, Paul presented to the students various manufacturing processes that were involved and material technologies to create a highly advanced finished product. The main focus was design technology, however, there were a number of other subjects covered including business studies, history and science.

The rowers in the audience were particularly interested in the new soft seat that he is currently experimenting with which floats.

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DESIGN TECHNOLOGY

through a mixture of workshops, improvisation and written exercises, before being finally shaped and written up in a very definite lyrical style by Fin Kennedy.

Honor and Lexi performed an extract, East End Tale 5, as narrators using the techniques and methods of Steven Berkoff. Their dramatic intentions were to:

• Make the audience think about the consequences of ignoring domestic violence

• Make the audience feel sadness and sympathy for the female victim and her twin children

• Shock the audience by using Berkoff’s ‘in yer face’ physical theatre style

• Make the audience think about the reality of being a domestic violence victim

Alys designed Honor’s costume for the performance. Her dramatic intentions, through the costume, were to:

• Represent the context and characters of the play – young, poor teenagers living in East End London in the early 2000s

• The painted mask face should detach the audience from the characters making them think about the big messages and themes

The girls performed exceptionally well and received top grades in their practical work. Congratulations!

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DRAMA AND MUSIC STAR!OLA’s drama and music scholar Kathryn (Year 10) wasoffered a place with the British Youth MusicalTheatre Company of 2019. Kathryn, who attendedauditions for places with over 800 others across theUK, performed in BYMT’s new musical The AccidentalTime Traveller at the Barbican Theatre in Plymouth during August 2019.

You’ll be able to see Kathryn perform as Patty in OLA’s 2020 production of Grease!

Congratulations Kathryn – we are very proud of you!

A LEVEL PLAY 2019: EAST END TALESIn April 2019, Honor, Lexi and Alys, the Upper Sixth A Level Theatre group, performed an extract from Fin Kennedy’s 2004 play East End Tales.

East End Tales is a series of nine stories inspired by photos and news articles from local papers in East London. It was written as part of The Half Moon Theatre’s Young People’s Script-Works Project in 2008. The story ideas were initially developed by a group of young people aged 15 and 16 over a number of weeks,

DRAMA & THEATRE STUDIES

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DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARD

DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD AT OLA 2018 - 2019The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award remains a popular and successful extra-curricular activity for pupils in Year 9 and above. Most people are aware of the expedition section, but to gain an Award participants also need to show commitment and improvement in a range of activities, including volunteering, learning or developing a skill and participating in a physical activity over a set period of time.

At OLA, our pupils have volunteered in school, by helping in the nursery or helping with various clubs for younger pupils, including sports and art clubs. Outside of school they have been involved with fundraising for charities, working in charity shops, helping the elderly, supporting youth groups and joining conservation projects. For the physical section, popular activities have included team games, racquet sports, rowing, dance and gym work, but have also included climbing and cycling. Many pupils choose cooking, art, music or drama for their skill, but learning business skills through Young Enterprise has also been popular this year, particularly at the Silver level. This year a group have also extended their language skills by studying Ancient Greek.

Many Year 9 pupils have taken up the DofE challenge and as well as working on their other sections, they have recently completed their expedition training and are looking forward to completing expeditions early next year on the Ridgeway and in the Chilterns.

Having successfully completed their practice and assessed expeditions during Year 10, and consequently achieving their Bronze Awards, a record number have now progressed to the Silver Award. In June, 22 Year 10 pupils completed their practice expedition in the Black Mountains and they are now ready for their assessed expedition.

In Year 11, we had a small group of six pupils working on their Silver Award. They successfully completed their expedition on Exmoor, in September 2018.

In OLA 6th, a small group of pupils have started on their Gold Awards, with some completing their expeditions outside of school, at Easter and during the summer holidays. At this level, participants also have to complete a residential section, with some pupils using their NCS activity week for this, whereas others have attended cookery schools or helped with youth group activity camps.

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Bronze

Isabella Allen

Hannah Ashley-Carter

Holly Birtwistle

Will Bush

Meredith Corley

James Dalton

Laurie Davies

Naomi Fletcher

Isobel Glover

Enya Hagan

Ziyi Huang

Emily Irving

Egor Kolchanov

Alex Lamboll

Max Lecky Thompson

Lucy Lock

Jamie Lovejoy

Jamie Lyon

Robert McRae

Freddie Morriss

Daniel O’Hanlon

Kathryn Perkins

Eme Plater

Jamie Rendell

Megan Rowles

Emma Samuels

James Shaw

Bruno Volpe

Dominic Warburton

Oliver Wheaton

Oliver Wilkes

Leo Williams

Louis Wishlade

Silver

Tom Davenport

Lizzie Bloomfield

Hannah Richardson

George Davies

Isabella Boyce Parr

Isabel Gallacher

Eloise Harris

Alex Phillips

James green

Archie Tyack

Gold

Ella Sissons

Florence Ripley

Conor Thornycroft

The Bronze and Silver Awards have been presented in school assemblies and at prize-giving, but those achieving Gold will have already been to a presentation or will be invited to a presentation soon, at either Buckingham Palace or St James’ Palace. Earlier in the year former pupils Luka Yardley and Grace Wright received their Gold Awards at St James’ Palace and Ella Sissons received hers at Buckingham Palace.

Mrs Knight

Congratulations to the following pupils who have completed their DofE Awards during the year:

ENGLISH

CARNEGIE SHADOWING AND ABINGDON CARNEGIE FORUMDuring 2019, six pupils from Year 8 have been reading the eight books shortlisted for this year’s Carnegie Medal – the UK’s oldest and most prestigious children’s book award. The pupils have been reading at an extremely impressive speed and producing excellent reviews: debating characterisation, setting and plot.

On the 7 May, we attended a Carnegie Quiz at St Helen & St Katharine’s school, where Rafferty won a prize for completing his three reviews the quickest!

In June, the OLA Carnegie Shadowers took part in the 2019 Abingdon Carnegie Forum at Christ Church.

It was a fantastic day where pupils from OLA, John Mason, Larkmead, Fitzharrys, Europa, St Helen and St Katharine’s and Abingdon School worked in groups of eight with Oxford University PGCE students to create a presentation on their favourite Carnegie book. They then presented it later that day in front of all the pupils, Mrs Thompson (OLA Head of English) and the Mayor of Abingdon!

Thank you to Tiernan, Jacob, Sofia, Raff, Laura and Gabriella for their excellent reading, reviewing, participation and unwavering enthusiasm!

Special mention to Sofia, who won Outstanding Contribution in her group and to Laura, who won Best Review.

Each pupil has gained some invaluable skills which they will carry through school life and into the big, wide world – well done everyone!

Miss Bowers

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YEAR 7 DIORAMASHaving read the novel, The Conch Bearer by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, and finding the ending so wonderfully contentious, 7B were given the opportunity to create a diorama - a visual representation of a scene from the novel or the novel in its entirety. They rose splendidly to the challenge, harnessing both their enthusiasm and their imagination. These impressive models are currently displayed in both the Library and our classroom.

Mrs Martin

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POETRY COMPETITION 2019 – WINNERS AND RUNNERS UP

Upper School• Winner – Izzie Plater, Year 9• Runner up – Megan Rowles, Year 10

Lower School• Winner – Elissa Druett, Year 8• Runner up – Harry Ford, Year 7

Upper School – Winner: Izzie Plater, Year 9

Power of a CandleSlowly shifting centre,Created by a spark,Beating, steady pulse,The warmth of my heart.

Flames flickering free,Glinting in the dark,They sing, they dance, they heat, Mesmerising art.

Melting wazy pool,Overflowing tearmark,Rolling beneath the stars,Pulling me apart.

Power so fragile, In a gust, I depart.

Upper School – runner up: Megan Rowles, Year 10

AntsAustere marchers,Obedient to their queen,Tiny compasses embedded in their body, Nature’s wonder,Ants.

Miracles of planet earth,Able to carry twice their weight,Humble and hardworking,Ants.

Powerful enough to cooperate,Powerful enough to work as one,Powerful enough to persevere,Ants.

Their silent power is overwhelming,They appear as tiny pests,But they are deceptive, Strong, Intelligent,The true meaning of power,Ants.

Lower school – Winner: Elissa Druett, Year 8

PowerPower is invulnerable; it is capable of anythingIt can make a friendshipIt can achieve the impossibleIt can climb the ladder of successAnd it can make man invincible

Power is dangerous; it can create wreckagesIt can mess with a child’s headIt can sabotage a kingdomIt can cause endless warsAnd it can make man fearsome

Power is an honour; it is only given to the responsibleIt can excite many peopleIt can infuriate othersIt can be lost so effortlesslyAnd it can make a man spineless

Power is selfish; it isolates manyIt can overconfident your “talents”It can take the popularity awayIt can be oblivious to other people’s feelingsAnd make a man die young

Lower school – runner up: Harry Ford, Year 7

The Power of Tsunamis

An unstoppable forceTsunamis have the power to level a town

Standing tall and forebodingWhite horses galloping through the wavesPower surging through the airThunderous noises coursing the earth

Like a mechanical digger it gouges the landSpitting out trees, mud, brick and bone

Crashing rolling rushing till it drainsRolling ever on till the power fades

Although students can choose an area of study related to their A level, the EPQ allows students to explore a different area of interest.

2019’s titles included the following:

Do referendums enhance or diminish democracy in the United Kingdom?

Can the fashion industry truly be sustainable?

Have modern trends of Immersive Theatre blurred the boundaries of traditional ideas of performance and theatre beyond definition?

A project to design and build my own electric guitar.

A project to design, develop and manufacture a netball dress for Trinity Netball Club in Oxfordshire.

Is there really an Olympic effect?: A comparison of the impacts of the Olympics focusing on Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympics.

Is referee training fit for purpose in 2019? Does current referee training provide referees with the sufficient skill set and capabilities to meet requirements of the job?

ENGLISHEXTENDED PROJECT QUALIFICATION (EPQ)

2018-19 marked a very successful year for OLA’s EPQ students with 70% of students achieving A/A* grades.

What is the EPQ?

The EPQ is an in-depth study. It is graded A*- E. It is an independent learning opportunity unlike anything else available in the school curriculum. The project offers huge flexibility and allows students to choose how they present their work. For example, a project might take the form of:

• A written dissertation• A scientific investigation/field study• A performance• An artefact (designing and making an object)

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SATURDAY FOOD CLUB CAKE COMPETITION

And the winner is... (drum roll)...

Courtney Loader of 7A!Well done Courtney!

Thank you to everyone else who took part.

FOOD CLUB

LANGUAGE BEYOND THE CLASSROOM TALKSOn Wednesday 26 June, the Year 10 and Lower Sixth language students attended a series of talks relating to the topic of The use of a language beyond the classroom. Mr Alexander Braley, who works for the European Commission and the Foreign Office and Miss Corrie Sissons, who works in the Humanitarian and Aid Division at Oxfam, explained how their knowledge of languages is helping them in their career on a daily basis and how having a language in addition to their other qualifications has made a difference in getting to where they currently are professionally.

Former student Savannah Burt also came all the way from Exeter to talk to students about her current university life and studies. The students had an opportunity to ask questions and some refreshments followed the event. We hope events such as these will encourage language students to reflect on all the progress they have made over the years, on the skills they have developed and on the opportunities that their knowledge of a language can open up in the future.

OLA’S NEW FOOD CLUB!The new Saturday Food Club has proved popular with Year 7 who have so far excelled in their skills! They have made fruit salad and oat biscuits and for Open Morning were delighted when their biscuit investigation proved popular with all the visitors to the school!

Pupils are very keen and buzzing with enthusiasm, so much so that we have now decided to move on to more skilled foods as they are such an efficient group!

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FRENCH

FRENCH FILM STUDIES In January, Lower Sixth French Students went to the British Film Institute in London for a French Film Study Day about the Nouvelle Vague movement of French Cinema and its influence on modern-day French cinema. We are studying François Truffaut’s Les 400 Coups in class so the programme complemented our studies well. In the morning we had an interactive presentation in French about the Nouvelle Vague from a lecturer at Greenwich University. We had a study booklet to follow, and saw many clips from different films which we discussed and analysed together. In the afternoon, after a short introduction, we watched a screening of Entre Les Murs, a recent film about a school in Paris which had some interesting parallels and contrasts with Les 400 Coups both in terms of themes and direction. It was an interesting and worthwhile day and the level of French and analytical skills of all the students present was impressive.

HONOURS SHARED IN HOUSE BAKE OFF In July, eight of our Year 7 pupils arrived at School on Saturday morning to take part in the House Bake Off Competition. They all rustled up appetising picnics for the judges and were very impressive.

The House teams comprised Courtney and Maddie (Bowyer), Ben and Jamie (Challoner), Emma and Tobi (More) and Georgie and Isaac (Rich). They were judged not just on the final presentation but also on planning of work, preparation, cooking, teamwork and cleaning up.

It was very difficult to choose between the teams because they had all put their heart and souls into the delicious fare on offer, and only 2 points separated the tied first and second places. Bowyer and More were highly commended for their beautiful presentation and choice of colourful dishes. The final result was a tie between Challoner and Rich – bravo!

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GEOGRAPHY

YEAR 11 GEOGRAPHY TRIP TO ABINGDONIn September 2018, the Year 11 geographers travelled to various different areas within and around Abingdon in order to investigate how the quality of life varies throughout the local urban area. This was to help the pupils prepare for their GCSE Paper 3 exam – Geographical Applications. The pupils studied various contrasting areas such as Wootton village and the Brewery development near the town centre. Various primary data collection techniques were used such as environmental quality assessments and questionnaires. The pupils thoroughly enjoyed their trip and are now experts on which parts of Abingdon enjoy the highest quality of life!

YEAR 10 GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP TO BLACKPOOL BROOK, FOREST OF DEAN In September 2018, the Year 10 geographers headed out to sunny Gloucestershire to carry out data collection in preparation for their GCSE Paper 3 examination Geographical Applications. This involved studying how the width, depth, velocity, gradient and bedload size and shape changed downstream in Blackpool Brook, (a tributary of the River Severn, Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire) and how the weir (river defence system) affected these variables. The pupils worked exceptionally well and proved to be extremely independent geographers out in the field. The only major challenge were the rather painful falling acorns!

LOWER SIXTH GEOGRAPHY SNOWDONIA RESIDENTIALIn December 2018, during the final week of a very busy first term, the Lower Sixth made the long journey to Snowdonia for their one week residential in Betws-y-Coed. The students undertook significant primary data collection for their Independent Investigations, which are worth 20% of their final A Level mark. On the first day they collected data on carbon storage which built upon their knowledge of the Water and Carbon Cycle module. Later on, they carried out research up in Migneint Moors where they showed great resilience in withstanding the extremely harsh weather conditions! Further into the week, the students increased their knowledge on the environmental factors which affect infiltration and interception rates within the hydrological cycle out in the field. In addition, the students investigated coastal processes and landforms in the scenic coastal region of Criccieth, where they also conducted a cost/benefit analysis of the various coastal defence schemes which have been implemented in this town. Following the daytime fieldwork activities, the students pushed on deep into the evenings, when they consolidated their knowledge within the workshops in the labs and the classrooms at the field centre. Incredibly, after all these activities, some of the students even summoned the energy to join Mr Jackson on his evening 5km jogs around the beautiful town of Llanrwst!

Mr Jackson

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MATHS CHALLENGE

The second round was the crossnumber. A crossnumber is a crossword, but with numbers instead of words. One half of the group had the across clues and the other had the down clues. However, it was more complicated because we weren’t allowed to talk to the other pair!

After lunch, we did the third round. This was the shuttle round. This time, we had to use the other pair’s answers to complete the challenge. The first two questions were relatively easy, and we finished early, but the other two were more challenging. The fourth and final round was the relay. One member of each pair had to run back and forth between their team and the teacher collecting questions and delivering answers.

When we had finished all four rounds, we went into a lecture theatre. Here, the organisers told us who had won. Our team came joint 3rd out of twenty-one teams! We are all really pleased with the result. We took the bus home, but not before a quick treat at Taylor’s!

The whole team thoroughly enjoyed the day and are grateful to Mrs Gray for taking us on the trip.

UK JUNIOR TEAM MATHS CHALLENGE In March 2019, Mrs Gray took Ben and Laura from Year 8, and Izzie and Jin from Year 9 by public bus to the UK Junior Team Maths Challenge Regional Heat in the Institute of Mathematics, Oxford University.

The day consisted of four rounds. For the second, third and fourth rounds, we were in pairs within our team. The first round was the round in which we had to answer ten questions as a group. We only got one question wrong in this round.

PSYCHOLOGYPSYCHOLOGY/ART TRIP In November, 25 Lower Sixth Psychology and Art students visited London Zoo on a beautiful sunny day, accompanied by Mrs James, Mrs Holden and Mrs Barrett. The Psychology students attended a phobia workshop led by Clinical Hypnotherapist John Clifford. We were introduced to a range of phobias from the common to the unusual, including one in which a man had a fear of writing his own name! John told us about his Friendly Spider Programme which he runs for people with arachnophobia and we experienced a hypnosis therapy session followed by the chance to hold Rosie the tarantula. It was an informative and fascinating session and some students have already reported that they are now calmer when faced with an eight-legged friend!

The Lower Sixth artists were on a photographic mission to produce at least 30 close up images of the various animals, birds, insects and reptiles. Some came back with 300! With the sun shining down and an almost deserted zoo, they managed to capture clear and uninterrupted images of some wonderful creatures. We are now back in the studio and working up large drawings from the photographs that will translate into sculptural form in due course.

HISTORY DEPARTMENT REVIEW

The History Department has been busy encouraging OLA students to learn about and understand, people’s lives and experiences in the past by seeing, hearing and recreating some of what they study beyond of the classroom.

A large group of Year 10 and 11 pupils gained a deep and powerful insight into Remembrance during October Half Term on the school’s inaugural First World War Battlefields trip, before the centenary of the Armistice. We visited the excellent, interactive Passchendaele Museum in Belgium followed by very contrasting British and German cemeteries. Everyone was moved by the different approaches towards commemorating the war dead and began to appreciate the human cost of the conflict by seeing so many headstones and names. The first day ended by joining hundreds of other visitors to take part in the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres, where Nik, Lottie and Archie laid wreaths on behalf of the school and Emma delivered the Exhortation.

Day two was spent on the Somme, where very personal stories were heard, including that of an Abingdon soldier missing in action and pupils’ relatives commemorated on the Thiepval Memorial. A number of the group found graves or plaques with theirs, or family, names on the Somme. The scar the war has left behind, even one hundred years later, was clear from the preserved trench system at Beaumont-Hamel and the massive Lochnagar crater. These sites really helped us begin to understand the soldiers’ experience on the front line.

The final day was spent back on the Ypres Salient, at the atmospheric Pool of Peace, a water-filled crater, as well as the muddy Sanctuary Wood trenches and the tranquil Ramparts Cemetery. Pupils and teachers then stocked up on Belgian chocolate to take home, or sustain them through the long coach journey back to Abingdon, at the end of a very moving and thought-provoking three days. Through exploring these sites, absorbing the scale and atmosphere of the Western Front, learning the history and reading the poetry of the First World War almost a century after it ended, we had an experience that we will never forget.

Having just finished studying the First World War, Year 9 were visited in January by former OLA Governor and parent, Dick Richards, to learn about the legacy of the war. Dick has carried out substantial research on the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and came to share this with us. He explained how graves were dug by soldiers at the end of a day’s fighting and transformed into modern, permanent cemeteries after the war. It was fascinating to hear the ideas and reasons behind the designs of each cemetery and headstone and see how these standards were established on a vast scale, so that every fallen soldier was commemorated with a marked grave or, if missing in action, by being named on one of several large memorials. Dick also told stories of local men, including brothers who had lived in St John’s Road. Learning of such losses so close to home really helped us to appreciate the tragedy all families in Britain faced as a result of the war.

To help better understand both World Wars, Year 9 travelled to the Imperial War Museum in March. Ellie (9C) describes her experience …

“On the 15 March 2019, the whole of Year 9 went to the Imperial War Museum in London, to gain a deeper understanding of the two World Wars which make up a lot of the year’s History course. We split into two groups to carry out two activities, which we then swapped after lunch. The First World War gallery had many interactive activities, soldiers’ uniforms, and artefacts. Some favourite activities were the soldier height measuring and replica trench. For the documentary challenge, we split into groups of three, and explored the World War Two exhibits, explaining artefacts on phone-cameras to make a mini-documentary for Smash TV. We had to scour the museum for objects from tanks to torpedoes, jackets to jeeps, and even a banjo, and present their story in an engaging and original way. Both activities complete, there was just time for a quick visit to the gift shop before we went back to school after a very enjoyable day.”

HISTORY

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Year 8 also ventured out of the classroom at the end of the school year, exploring the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley. Rafferty (8C) explains more …

“On Tuesday, 25 June we went to the Black Country Living Museum. A recreation of a mining and metalworking town in around 1900. It really brought our History topic of the Industrial Revolution to life. It was like stepping back in time!

When we got there, the first thing we did was look at the differences in living conditions between the rich and the poor. It was interesting to see how little the poor families had to live on and how cramped their back to back houses were. After that we had lunch. Everybody had eaten their packed lunch by the time we arrived at the Museum, so we all decided to get fish and chips. The chips were cooked in traditional beef dripping, instead of vegetable oil and were delicious! The fish was a massive portion, at least a foot long. We also had a chance to buy some vintage sweets such as liquorice and pear drops.

In the afternoon we popped to the pub and learned that it had many different uses, including for drinking, hiring workers, gambling and meetings. None of us tried any of these things! Apparently, it is haunted by the ghost of a 10-year-old boy who died doing his dangerous job on the canal. Finally, we went down into the mine and saw the risks workers faced to make sure that the coal was mined and brought up to the surface. There was a lot to see and absorb.

Overall it was a brilliant day back at the start of the last century and I would want to go again.”

Years 8 and 9 will have an opportunity to visit the Black Country Living Museum and Imperial War Museum next year and planning has just begun for another Battlefields trip in October 2020.

Mr Weekes

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OLA MODEL UNITED NATIONS

The MUN group at OLA has had an extremely busy and

successful year.

In November four students from OLA (Isobel Gallagher, Ziyi Haung, and Owen Harding) attended a Model United Nations day conference at Malvern St James. The standard of debate was, as always, very high with all the delegates well prepared having thoroughly researched thetopics under debate in advance of the conference. Lower Sixth students Ziyi Huang and Isabel Gallacher did a fantastic job representing Kuwait and Germany on the Human Rights committee, debating important questions such as whether UN funds should be directed towards children or an aging population.

A special mention goes to Julian Kirby-Torres, Henri Embers, James Wilson and Ed Jacobs. This was their first time attending a full conference and they fought through their nerves to prove themselves excellent delegates and representatives for the school. Huge congratulations as well go to Carenza Danko who was awarded Commended Delegate for her role representing Germany on Health and Environment. This is Carenza’s second award in a row.

In December Abingdon School held its inaugural Model United Nations conference, AbingMUN18. OLA students joined over 150 delegates to take part in the day. The standard of debate was very high and delegates in the committees were kept busy discussing resolutions on topics including sanctions against developing nations, the Iranian nuclear deal, contemporary slavery and the deforestation and destruction of habitats. The conference also held an International Court of Justice and a Security Council. Many congratulations to Rosie Gallacher and Dominic Warburton for coping so brilliantly in their first full conference.

In March Year 10 student Carenza Danko attended a weekend conference at Magdalen College School with over 200 delegates from other schools across the South East. The conference was opened by guest speaker Olivia Selbie who spoke about her experiences working for the UN Mine Action Service arranging the clearing of mines in Afghanistan and other countries. Carenza, a delegate for Venezuela on the Health Committee, participated in lively debates on important topics including, the rise of antibiotic superbugs, genetically modified organisms and the standard of female health care and vaccination programmes in developing countries. Carenza was awarded the prestigious Highly Commended Delegate certificate at the closing ceremony. This is a fantastic achievement, particularly given the extremely high standard of debate. Well done Carenza!

In June, a group of 14 students from Years 9, 10 and Lower Sixth attended a mock MUN conference at Abingdon School. This conference aimed to help students learn about UN procedure and what to expect at a larger Model United Nations conference. Both students who had already been to several conferences and those who had never been to a conference before found the day very enjoyable and a fantastic learning experience. Congratulations go to Ziyi Huang (Lower Sixth) for her Outstanding Delegate award, Julian Kirby Torres (Year 10) for his Commended Delegate award and particularly to Lottie Payne (Year 9) who was awarded World’s Best Delegate. A remarkable achievement in her first conference.

If you are in Year 9 or above and would like to find out more about MUN at OLA and perhaps become involved in next year’s meetings and conferences, please see Mrs Thomas or email athomas@olab.org.uk.

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MUSIC EXAM SUCCESSOLA musicians had excellent exam success in ABRSM in August 2019. 60% of pupils passed with Merit or Distinction! Notable individual achievements were: Freddie Lee and Kathryn Perkins with a Merit at Grade 7 and Grade 6 singing respectively.

Well done to all 17 students who took an exam.

SUMMER CONCERTIn June 2019, staff and pupils created a memorable evening of music to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing.

There were Star Wars influences and a chance to join in creating an arrangement of the Dr Who theme using a Theremin app. There was even a chance to do some star gazing.

Congratulations to all the staff and students for making this an ‘out of this world’ evening!

MUSIC

SPANISH TRIP 2018Being able to practise the language you study outside of the classroom is a really great opportunity to improve your language skills. We are very fortunate to have both French and Spanish language trips and on the 1 October 2018 an excited group of pupils from Years 8 to Lower Sixth travelled to Andalucía in Southern Spain to work on their Spanish.

From the get-go, the trip was absolutely full of excitement, from the air of anticipation as we departed

SPANISH

OLA to watching everybody try their very best on the dance floor to excel in Salsa dancing - a traditional dance from the region.

Waking up to the most amazing view of the sea and bright sky was a daily highlight of the trip. And of course, the food throughout the whole five days was absolutely incredible: we sampled many regional dishes, including traditional paella (which we made on the first day) and got to experience the salty flavour of bacalao – a salted cod dish, which left some of the hungrier boys scurrying to McDonalds for a top-up!

Alongside appreciating the incredible Spanish scenery and gastronomy as well as the various touristic sights such as the white pueblo (village) of Mijas, we did have time to practise using our Spanish. The language school we attended had teachers who were really passionate about improving everybody’s skills, no matter what their level of Spanish was and encouraged each student to do their best.

It is safe to say that all of us thought we had gained a lot more confidence to speak Spanish whilst treasuring the buzzing and beautiful culture of Spain.

I would like to thank the teachers and all students who came for making it such a fantastic trip – we have lots of happy memories and I really hope that I can go again!

Isabel Gallacher

TRIP TO OXFORD SYNAGOGUEOxford’s Jewish Congregation is a unique institution in Britain. All communities of Jews, Orthodox, Reform, Masorti and all-women share the same building and hold services there. OLA’s Year 9 pupils listened to a fascinating talk from Cyril Levicki who explained some of the highlights of the Jewish calendar. Pupils were also able to look at the bimah, ner tamid, aron hakodesh and Torah scrolls all of which have hitherto only been key terms in a textbook.

YEAR 10 HIGH LEIGH RESIDENTIALYear 10 went to High Leigh on Wednesday 9 January and returned on Friday 11 January. The year group was split into five groups and they completed several informative workshops throughout their time at High Leigh. On the Wednesday, we enjoyed ice-breaker tasks such as breaking up a bar of Dairy Milk whilst wearing boxing gloves and a Film Night. On Thursday, we enjoyed watching the Year 10’s participate in a Talent Show competition- many thanks to Zephyr and Enya for hosting. On behalf of the Year 10’s, Miss Campbell would like to thank Mr Willcock, Mrs Kirby-Hall, Mr Allen and Mrs Sharkey for helping to make this a successful retreat.

RELIGIOUS STUDIES

YEAR 7 HIGH LEIGH RESIDENTIALIn June, Year 7 went to High Leigh. They were accompanied by Miss Campbell, Mr Willcock, Mr Jackson and Mrs Kirby-Hall. The new Head of Year 8, Miss Page, joined us for a day and the group were delighted to spend time with her. The sun shone on Wednesday and Thursday, which enabled the Year 7 to fully participate in the bonding activities that were arranged. There was, of course, the famous OLA’s Got Talent show which showcased the wonderful array of gifts and talents that Year 7 have. The audience enjoyed several magic tricks and Mr Willcock had the audience hooked with a nail-biting performance with Mr Jackson, where he used his telepathic powers. Brooks ultimately won the competition with his own unique take on ventriloquism. There should be a special shout out to the presenters, Jamie and Dan who carefully crafted a hilarious script. Lydia was phenomenal with organising the entire event for the evening.

The Year 7 pupils were superb and fully immersed themselves in each of the activities throughout the retreat, during which they discussed friendship, identity and social justice. It was a fun but relaxing retreat and the Year 7 pupils had a fantastic time. We concluded the trip with special token of thanks to Mr Willcock, who retired in September 2019. Mr Willcock was a phenomenal member of the High Leigh team with his great enthusiasm, faith and passion for each of the workshops. Ms Campbell would like to thank the Year 7 group and the staff who attended for making the trip such an enjoyable experience.

Ms Campbell

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CHELTENHAM SCIENCE FESTIVAL (YEAR 7)Year 7 attended the Science for Schools 2019 as part of the big science festival on Tuesday 4 June. The festival runs over three days (although they only attended one this year) and is set up to “excite and inspire in equal measure”. And we think it did just that but you don’t have to believe us. This is what the pupils wrote themselves about their day out:

“We went into the discovery zone which had lots of different activities to do from eating bugs to building plane wheels. We had a fascinating talk about microscopes and what we can see under them. We got shown a live spider, head lice and much more!” Georgie

“I loved the wide variety of experiments you could take part in, especially the tent with a VR headset and a flight simulator. There was a set up where you could build a paper plane and fire it through a small room to test its aerodynamics. I learnt that Hydrogen and Helium - despite appearing the same - actually had quite different properties, Hydrogen being flammable unlike Helium.” Harry

“I made a prototype of a wheel in 30 seconds! I also ate buffalo worms which tasted like green nuts and somehow a little bit of chocolate. I really enjoyed the trip to the Cheltenham Science Festival because it had loads of cool things that were truly fascinating. My favourite thing were the talks about Biology and the Periodic Table.” Ben

“We had a talk about the Periodic table and how they organised the elements. It was very interesting and fun. We got to play Kahoot at the end!” Jemma

“We got to see woodlice under the microscope. I liked seeing the small details they had and how they moved.” Emma

“There are brilliant talks about all sorts of things like microscopy, the periodic table and much, much more! In the ‘cyber space’ tent you can try out super fun virtual reality maths games, try to find a code to a top secret safe, attempt to ‘escape the room’ and best of all, play with artificially-intelligent rabbits which are the cutest things that you will ever see! It is well and truly, an amazing trip!” Felix

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SCIENCE

NATIONAL SCIENCE COMPETITIONSThis year the Science department have participated in many prestigious national competitions, including the Biology, Chemistry and Physics Olympiads and Challenges. This has involved pupils from Years 9, 10 and 11 as well as our Sixth Form scientists. Our students have done fantastically well and have achieved many Bronze, Silver and even Gold awards. 2019 was a record breaking year for the number of awards gained by our students.

YOUNG SCIENTISTS OF THE YEARCongratulations to our Young Scientists of the Year, Emily (Biology), Thomas (Chemistry) and Sahil (Physics). All were nominated for their excellent effort and achievement in the sciences. The awards were presented at the Natural History Museum in Oxford during the October half term at a gathering of all the best scientists from schools across the county.

SCIENCE CONTINUED

WHY I LOVE SCIENCEThis was a national competition run as part of a school science prize by the Science and Technology Facilities Council at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories. Following the success of last year, when the overall winner of the competition was OLA’s Sammy Chisholm, we once again ran this competition with the whole of Year 9. To enter, you needed to write a 500 word essay with the title Why I love Science.

This year we had two finalists. Scott and Isaac were selected from the many entries that they received and were invited to a special evening event along with fourteen other finalists from across the country to present their essays in the form of a two minute presentation to all the assembled parents, pupils, RAL employees and the judging panel.

They both did an excellent job with their presentation, but sadly this year, lost out to a great talk from another finalist.

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SCIENCE TRIPS AND EVENTSThis year, once again, the Science department have run many exciting events, both in and out of school.

In December, we took the whole of Year 9 to the Christmas STEM lectures. We heard all about the enzymes involved in digesting a Christmas dinner and tips on how to train your fish! They were fascinating talks and we also had a chance to explore the Natural History Museum and meet some of its residents.

In January, we took the whole of Year 10 to the excellent Science Live event, a series of inspirational talks from some famous scientists, including Professor Robert Winston, Professor Lucie Green and Professor Jim Al-Khalili. There was also some useful input from the exam boards regarding skills and techniques necessary to succeed in the new specification GCSE examinations.

March was a very busy month of events. OLA was delighted to host events as part of the ATOM Festival of Science in Abingdon. We had a series of talks take place in the CMA titled Destination Moon – how does science fiction imagine our future in space?

March also saw Science week and we ran a whole school tutor group science quiz and a series of events including challenges, dissections and solar observation sessions. As a finale, there was a dramatic chemistry display courtesy of Miss Gellert and Mr Chim.

During Science week, we also held a large science show in the CMA for the local primary schools. Over 200 excited Year 5 students visited OLA to see Professor Robert Taylor from Oxford University give his amazing Cold show. There were large quantities of liquid nitrogen, some loud bangs, many amazing demonstrations and some very tasty ice cream made using the liquid nitrogen.

We also took students from Years 9 and 10 to the Women in Astronomy day run by Oxford University. A day filled with interesting workshops and activities and the opportunity to meet and talk to some excellent local female scientists. It also provided the opportunity to get the great scientists from Year 9 and 10 today standing under a blackboard of writing from a great scientist from the past, Albert Einstein!

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Miss Gellert took a selection of Year 8 students to the Salter’s festival of Chemistry where they got the opportunity to carry out some very precise lab work and look at a number of interesting chemical reactions.

The whole of Year 9 were then involved in the construction challenge for the House Science Cup. The challenge was to build two structures; a fully functional lifting bridge with a one metre span, and the tallest tower using only paper and clips. Some ingenious constructions again!

Mr Hudson took several Year 8 and 9 pupils to the Exploring Engineering day at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories. They got to build solar powered cars, tour the site, engage in the interactive demonstrations and take part in the coding challenge.

In June, Miss Gellert took several Year 9 pupils to the Nano Science event, looking at the realm of the very small and the scales involved. They investigated the structure and uses of the Buckminsterfullerene molecule, and the amazing water repelling properties of hydrophobic surfaces inspired by the lotus leaf.

The whole of Year 7, accompanied by Mrs Thomas, Mr Chim and Mr Norris attended the Cheltenham Science Festival in June. They listened to some very interesting talks about microscopy and the periodic table and got the chance to explore the hands-on discovery zone.

We were also very lucky to be able to run a fascinating science event with our Year 4 pupils in the Junior School. Dr Kathryn Boast from Oxford University came in to tell us all about magnetism, the wonderful world of quantum materials and showed us some really cool demonstrations.

Pictures from all these events and many more can be seen on our Science department twitter page @OLAScienceDept so do please follow us.

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AN EVENING OF DRAMA AND FASHIONIn April 2019, the Drama and Textiles Departments hosted their annual evening of creativity.

Students from Year 10 to Sixth Form showcased the work that they had produced throughout the year. This event was a clear fulfilling of all of the thought, inspiration and creativity, along with a good dose of dedication, that had been poured in over many preceding months. Thank you to every student who took part and to every member of staff involved. Special thank you to everyone who attended the evening…. It was our biggest audience ever!

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN TRIPOn 5 March 2019, Year 10 to Upper Sixth students enjoyed a day exploring Alexander McQueen’s store on Old Bond Street.

The day began with a tour around some of Alexander McQueen’s archive pieces. Gaining understanding and appreciation for the volume of work and research carried out in ateliers (fashion workshops).

As well as understanding the story behind the designer’s collections such as the journey of a womenswear collection where Sarah Burton looked at the stages in a women’s life from christening, marriage to finally mourning. This was followed by two students, Lottie Year 10) and Charlie (Upper Sixth) being styled in some of McQueen’s current collection, in bold leather shoes and jackets used to create contrast between the vibrant colours of the dresses.

Students then spent the rest of their afternoon exploring the V&A seeking inspiration from the past for current and future projects.

All in all, the day was thoroughly enjoyable and I suggest if you find yourself in the heart of SW1 you check out the Alexander McQueen pieces on the third floor of the flagship store.

Charlie (Upper Sixth)

TEXTILES

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YOUNG ENTERPRISE

YOUNG ENTERPRISE 2018-19Sixteen applications came forward. Sixteen were selected. Sixteen good reasons why Young Enterprise has had a truly fabulous year. They came together in the first week of September 2018, the usual, slightly chaotic cohort that we might expect but in a very short space of time they gelled. Very quickly they chose a challenging name – INFINITY - and became an organised and highly industrious machine. And boy did they have fun doing it. Nothing was off-limits, no trial too great, nothing out of reach, and everything was to play for. Mrs Pickford, the team’s Business Advisor, knew very quickly that she was in for a highly exciting, roller-coaster ride of a year. And INFINITY didn’t disappoint her.

By the beginning of October, the team had voted members into their various Director roles. That went very smoothly indeed – the team had obviously been thinking about it over the preceding summer holidays. They then got to work immediately. There was a product to select and develop and they also needed to build up a presence on social media (this was to a key criterion for success along with the criterion to be as “eco-friendly” as possible). Very quickly they established a presence on the internet with accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. This would later be followed by videos on YouTube. The team was also the first to set up their electronic market place on YE-Online and their home page became the landing-page for anyone looking up Young Enterprise online sales. They went on to be the top team in Europe in terms of social media for the Michaelmas term. Other teams eventually woke up to the importance of the digital presence but in the life time of the company (over 10 months) INFINITY held a senior position in the top ten in the whole of Europe – a first for OLA and a significant result for the team. The digital presence was rewarding in a number of respects. The team built up a following very quickly. They were also able to trigger orders for future products. And, finally, it went down very well with the Young Enterprise judges. The downside was that it needed to be updated regularly – but that’s a small price to pay for success.

The selection of a product - The team had returned from the half-term holiday with a plethora of ideas and each was duly presented, considered and voted on. They shortlisted their ideas and conducted some additional investigations to determine which ideas had the greatest chance for success. They decided that they needed a product that: could be personalised, was sustainable and had mass appeal. After flirting with a number of ideas they eventually settled on the theme of Scrabble and ways in which they could develop an array of items adorned with scrabble letters.

Training event at Oxford Brookes University - As is usual with Young Enterprise a training event is held before the first serious trade fair to help the teams get acquainted with the essential knowledge and skill (and the rules) they will need to be successful at such events. The training event at Oxford Brookes University convinced the team they were doing something important and worthwhile and that their ambitions both personally and as a group would be fulfilled. They came back from Oxford Brookes even more fired up with ambition and set about designing and building their products - guided by the sharp and technical mind of Mr Humphreys and the financial acumen of Mrs Pickford. This was the activity of greatest fun for the team. They gave up personal time at lunch, after school and on Saturday mornings. The rapport and energy were tangible.

YOUNG ENTERPRISE CONTINUEDVery quickly they established a catalogue of products and prices and distributed it widely – truly excellent marketing and promotion!

They were then taken a little by surprise with their own success, order forms began to flood back in. The demand was overwhelming. Order fulfilment was going to be challenge. Could they meet the huge demand for current orders and produce enough product to sell at the forthcoming Banbury Trade Fair? The team put in extra hours. It was definitely all hands to the pump time. You can see the kind of effort they got up to on their lunchtimes and Saturday mornings on YouTube using this link. https://bit.ly/2IZbT71. Just before the Fair the team were invited to do an interview on Oxford TV. The team representatives did amazingly well, giving a very mature, professional and polished performance. Their recording was the lead item on Oxford News the day it went out – on the hour and every half-hour. You can still catch their interview on YouTube. https://bit.ly/2XEEUNB .

First public event Banbury Trade Fair

The team set off very early on 8 December reaching Banbury market at 7:40 am. Due to windy conditions the stalls were only just being set up. Within 30 minutes the team were building their stand – a little like putting a Lego model together. Awards came immediately … best Christmas Stand and they were highly commended for their product. The team came away feeling that they were off to a good start and the faith placed in the product was justified. Elation all over. It was back to work the following week because they only had two weeks to prepare for the next event – the Cowley Trade Fair. Traditionally Cowley is a difficult nut to crack but the team did a repeat performance and made a tidy profit. More awards came with the Best Product prize and a Case prize of £100 in vouchers. The team also received a signed letter of congratulations from MP Layla Moran on House of Commons writing paper.

The Abingdon and Stratford Trade Fairs - The date of the Stratford Fair was the same day as the Abingdon Fair. They decided to attend both because things were going so well. So, they split the team sending half to Stratford and the rest stayed in Abingdon. Minibuses were ordered and extra product was produced – more long hours in the DT labs. The INFINITY stand had to be duplicated (extra work for Mr Humphreys). Plans went a little topsy-turvy when on the Friday before the Fairs the organisers pulled the Stratford Fair because of forecasted high winds. INFINITY therefore concentrated all resources on Abingdon.

In the meantime, members of the team worked with Mrs Pickford to ensure that they had prepared the INFINITY Interim Company Report. The deadline for submission was approaching and without the report they would not be invited to the Young Enterprise South Oxon and Vale Regional Showcase and Finals at Abingdon School on the 25 March. The Abingdon Trade Fair was again a great success. The weather was kind, sales were excellent and once again the team’s efforts were awarded with the prize of Best Product.

South Oxon and Vale Regional Showcase and Finals – The team received their invite to the Young Enterprise regional finals and so now had to decide which team members would present on stage. The team would have to set up their stall and be interviewed by four judges about their company, their product and their sales/profits. They also needed to prepare a presentation of no longer than four minutes. Rehearsals took place in the week before the event and by the time they assembled in Abingdon they felt prepared and polished. The presentation went very well with Carenza and Henry doing a fine and funny turn for the judges. Judging took place for over an hour after the presentations. The tension rose with each award. INFINITY won the prize for Best Business Report. In fact, the team was told that their report was so good that it would be used as an exemplar. The runners up prize was awarded and it didn’t go to INFINITY; so, INFINITY was still in with a fighting chance to win. The belief was high. The judge slowly described the characteristics of the winning team and why they were to be awarded the top prize. He concluded by saying that the team was outstanding in all respects. It did sound like he could be describing team INFINITY but no one wanted to speak it aloud. And then he broke the tension by calling team INFINITY to the stage. The emotions of relief, joy and happiness permeated each member of the team. They had gone one better than last year’s team STELLAR and fulfilled one of their three goals for the year - they were going to the Company of the Year Finals in May as outright winners!

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Almost as a bit of a sideshow, and as a reward for earlier success, INFINITY conducted its first Sunday sales event at the Thame Con on the 28 April. This was not an official Young Enterprise Trade Fair and was a very different experience for the team. While preparing for Thame Con, INFINITY’s primary focus was on the forthcoming Company of the Year event to take place at Oxford Brookes University on Thursday 2 May. Only two teams of the eight selected would go forward to the next level of competition. The teams set up their stalls and were then interviewed by a team of judges who filled in their scorecards. The teams then presented to the judges and invited guests in a lecture theatre, before going off to eat while the judges deliberated. INFINITY’s presentation was the best yet and inspired a tremendous reaction from the audience, even getting laughs in the right places. The dramatic skill of the two presenters came to the fore and Megan supported them wonderfully as she synched their words with the slides on the screen. It all went off without a hitch. Feedback from those on the stall was very positive, so hopes were high as the awards were called out.

INFINITY got off to good start by winning the prize for Best Presentation. This was followed up by the prize for Best Teamwork. The selection of the two top teams was then called. First the runners up prize – it wasn’t INFINITY. Could they have got the top prize? But it wasn’t to be. There was disappointment in everyone on the team but they realised they had given it their best shot, had won two major prizes (nine in total for the year) and come very, very close to being Company of the Year. They did not need much cheering up on the way back to School in the minibus.

So, in summary, team INFINITY took OLA to new heights this year with a string of commendations, awards and prizes. They were extremely good at building and selling product – enhancing their business skills – and they turned a handsome profit at the end of year. Anyone buying shares in the company saw their investment rise by 400%. Once again, we must mention Mrs Julie Pickford our Business Advisor who kept the team honest and true and imparted her business know how along the way. This year we must also give a special mention to Mr Humphreys who threw himself fully into the mix not knowing exactly what he had let himself in for.

Your team INFINITY was:

Natalia Bradley: HR Director

Carenza Danko: Assistant Company Secretary

Naomi Fletcher: Asst Sales Director

Isobel Glover: Company Secretary

Alexander Lamboll: MD

Max Lecky-Thompson: Assistant IT Director

Lucy Lock: Assistant Operations Director

Jamie Lovejoy: Digital/Technology Director

James Lyon: Assistant Marketing Director

Caitlin McKeown: Finance Director

Daniel O’Hanlon: Assistant Finance Director

Kathryn Perkins: Sales Director

James Quinn: CSR Director

James Rendell: Ops Director

Megan Rowles: MD

Emma Samuels: Marketing Director

Henry Turner: Operations Director

CHALLONER HOUSE REPORTIt has been a great year for Challoner. We have had many successes throughout the year’s events with our highlight being winning Sports Day! Everyone in the House has participated in some way in all of our events and we feel that this is why we have had such a successful year.

It all started off with a bang with the House Music competition in October. We very closely missed out on winning the House Shout but bagged second place with our fantastic performance of Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline – it was a real crowd pleaser and we enjoyed singing it with gusto. We are very proud of everyone’s commitment to learning the lyrics and the moves – we could not have asked for more.

Our Lower School teams made up of pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9, did us proud in the second big event of the year at the Swimming Gala and won the competition. We were elated to win the House Swimming Cup for the first time in 9 years! There was a great sense of team spirit and real excitement in the pool and also on the sports pitches, as we also won several Inter-House Sports Cups in the Michaelmas and Hilary terms’ competitions.

Both of our House Challenge teams did very well with our Upper School team bagging third place and our Lower School team coming in a very close second in their quiz competition. Our audience support for the House Challenge teams was terrific and extremely knowledgeable too.

After that we had a long run up to Sports Day which everyone was very excited about. Everyone put in a great shift in all the events covering for absent people and even putting themselves forward to do races or events they had no idea they were doing in the first place, so well done to everyone and thank you for stepping up when needed. Your sportsmanship and willingness to help out is a true mark of character.

The day after Sports Day we had our brand-new House Bake Off event. Jamie and Ben came ready and prepared to cook dishes for a picnic. They did a series of cooking challenges and presented their food beautifully. Due to a great performance from our Year 7 pupils we came joint first with Rich.

We have thoroughly enjoyed being House Captains this year and have loved leading our House to many victories throughout the year. However, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve any of this if it wasn’t for our amazing team of students who stepped up to the plate in all our Inter-House competitions and did their best in every way, shape and form. So, thank you so much for the enthusiasm and effort everyone put in this year and for making it a very special year to be House Captains.

Alex and Ben

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BOWYER HOUSE REPORTIt’s safe to say that this has been a fantastic year for Bowyer with a huge number of successes. Our first event, the House Shout and Music Competition, was full of amazing performances and we are so proud of the efforts made by every single person in our House - they certainly paid off as we achieved first place! A special mention must be given to Zephyr Acworth, our insanely talented House Soloist, with his outstanding and emotional performance of Half the World Away. Our band, consisting of Ben Wilson, Laura Irving, James Wilson, Gabriella O’Leary, Delphi McAuley and Rosie Gallacher excelled in their category and we couldn’t be more delighted with their moving performance of Love in the Dark. Overall, the very first event left Bowyer with some great memories and it was brilliant to see the whole House unite singing the classic Livin’ on A Prayer. Thank you very much to everyone in our House who made the event so special.

During the year, Bowyer also organised fundraising events such as Glitter Tattoos at Christmas and an Easter Egg Raffle. These were fun events where all the pupils really came together to support the Yellow Submarine charity in Oxford whose aim is to provide support for children and adults with learning disabilities and autism. We really appreciated everyone’s generosity. The Inter-House Swimming Gala was great fun, with unbelievable Year 7, 8 and 9 swimmers participating for Bowyer. The atmosphere was phenomenal with all the Houses cheering their swimmers on, and although we did not come first, the Gala was definitely one of the most unifying events this year. The Year 9 members of Bowyer also showed tremendous creativity and brilliant teamwork skills in the Science Cup Construction Challenge. Despite their best efforts, they were just shy of winning the event, but nonetheless they were a credit to the House, so well done to the Year 9s in Bowyer - we are very proud of you!

Despite the loss, our morale was certainly never defeated as we picked ourselves back up and gained another victory in the Senior House Challenge. Watching the incredible knowledge of Nell Morris, Ed Jacobs, James Wilson and Emily Irving was, quite frankly, mesmerising! We couldn’t be prouder of our team and the whole event had an incredible energy with the audience jostling to answer questions, too. In the Junior Competition, Maddie Astley, Rosie Gallacher, Felix Oliver and Laura Irving were an absolute credit to Bowyer.

The atmosphere in the Bowyer Stands on Sports Day was absolutely buzzing and very competitive. It was an exciting day, with lots of great performances from House members, many of whom were nominated as House Heroes in recognition of their efforts. A special shout out to Tofarati Adeniran and Jamie Lovejoy for being our fantastic House Mascots, sporting banana costumes when it was 20 degrees - we really appreciated your willingness to motivate the House, so thank you, it added to the whole experience. Our House Heroes awards went to Amayalee Hazell, Courtney Loader, Gabriella O’Leary, Emily Irving, Ellie Birtwistle, Joe Davies, Felix Oliver, Scott Ulyatt and Jamie Rendall for their contribution to the day. Bowyer came just two points behind the winners, but we were extremely proud of all that we had achieved together. Everyone in Bowyer displayed such great determination and supported their teammates really well, so well done!

It has been an absolute honour to be your House Captains this year. Working with members of the House in all years and getting to know you has been very rewarding. Modge, Grace and I would just like to thank you all for the extraordinary levels of effort you have made and great spirit that you have always shown. It has been a pleasure to get to know you, you are a lovely group of highly talented, wonderful and friendly students. Without you all, it would not have been the amusing, successful and exciting year that it has been for all of us.

Isabel, Modge and Grace

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MORE HOUSE REPORTThis has been a tremendous year for More, starting with our first full-House event in the Michaelmas term - the House Shout. It was delightful seeing the whole house brimming with energy while singing, shouting, and flipping their hair to One Direction’s What Makes You Beautiful. We certainly put on an amazing show for the judges! We were thrilled with Ellie Chan’s outstanding performance of Hallelujah that wowed the audience, and our talented House Band’s heartfelt rendition of Adele’s Set Fire to the Rain that won first prize!

We displayed our ability to fundraise during our St Patrick’s Day bake sale, with pupils spending their weekends baking delicious cakes and brownies and helping with selling them at break and lunchtime. We’d like to thank everyone who participated, be it through baking or eating. We are extremely proud of More for working together and raising money for the local charity Yellow Submarine who, with our efforts, will be aided in supporting young people with learning disabilities.

The House also took on the House Challenge in the Trinity and Hilary terms. This involved students answering quick-fire questions on Maths, Music, Science, Art and Pop Culture. We were very impressed with the extensive knowledge demonstrated by our amazing Lower and Upper School teams. Keen members of More also answered many of the difficult questions directed at the audience. Congratulations to our Lower School House Challenge team who won the first prize!

The Year 9 Science Cup Construction Challenge involved pupils crafting ambitious and creative structures inspired by contemporary design out of tape, pins, and newspaper. We faced stiff competition from other Houses with many fantastic structures being made. Well done to the More team who won the Science Cup through their impeccable teamwork and outstanding towers and bridges that combined both aesthetics and functionality.

We also had another excellent year in sports with More demonstrating determination, enthusiasm, and most importantly, enjoyment! We were delighted with our House’s performance at the Swimming Gala, and Inter-House Sports Events, and were really pleased to have won the Girls’ Cup in the Michaelmas Term. Our dynamic group of athletes also showcased their talents on sports day in events including relays, shotput, long jump and the notorious 1500m. Although we missed out on winning Sports Day, we had an incredible competitive spirit and we are extremely proud of our House for working together and supporting one another, even if it meant volunteering to participate in events that they didn’t sign up for.

Thank you all for your endless spirit and determination in every single House event. Being your House Captains and Vice House Captains has been an absolute pleasure and we are more than proud of all the achievements that we have accomplished together. We hope that you all have enjoyed your time with us and look forward to seeing your continued enthusiasm next year. Keep up the good work, More!

Ziyi, Camille, Eleanor and Katie

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RICH HOUSE REPORTThis has been a good year for Rich, and we have very much enjoyed leading this great House. Everybody showed their passion and support for the House in a number of different ways, and we can’t thank each of you enough for your efforts and for making this an extremely gratifying experience for us as House Captains. We were successful in numerous events this year, including the Swimming Gala, House Challenge and the Inter-House Bake Off Challenge.

We kicked September off with a Welcome Tea for the newest members of our House, the Year 7 students, whom we loved getting to know over biscuits and some fun introductory games. It was great to meet all of them, and we all agree that they have shown particular enthusiasm and House spirit this year.

Our first challenge as a House came in the form of House Shout and the accompanying competitions of House Band and House Soloist. For our song, we selected Don’t Stop Me Now by Queen, with the band performing I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by the Proclaimers and soloist Jacob Allington giving a powerful rendition of For Whom The Bell Tolls by Metallica on guitar. Everyone in the House showed amazing energy in this challenge, and we encourage you to keep it up for next year.

Historically, Rich has been famous for its aquatic dominance and this year was no different. The atmosphere at the Swimming Gala was incredible and we were really pleased with the way everybody competed and supported their fellow teammates. We did not have enough people in some year groups; however, we were impressed with the way people stepped up to do events which they weren’t signed up for and gaining more points for our House. We finished in a close second, only a couple of points behind Challoner, and we would once again like to congratulate all of you who took part in what was a brilliant Gala.

In the Upper School House Challenge this year, we fielded a strong team consisting of Kathryn Perkins, Ollie Wheaton and Charlie Young and we narrowly missed out on first place by a few points. We are proud to have continued to exemplify intellectual prowess in this challenge, as we have in the past.

This year as our fundraising event to raise money for a good cause, in June we decided to hold a cake sale and we were really impressed with some people’s baking abilities. We’re pleased to say that in the end we managed to raise £58.52. As we as House Captains were away that day on a Sixth Form trip, we enlisted some Year 10s to help run the sale during our absence. They were phenomenal and we thank them for their undying allegiance. We got positive feedback from members of staff about how smoothly everything went and we would like to commend them for their willingness to volunteer. Special mention goes to Kathryn Perkins, Julian Kirby Torres, Katie Cleverley and Carenza Danko, who have helped us out numerous times this year and we’re certain that they will make very good House leaders in the future.

Sports Day this year was especially notable for the fantastic morale throughout the whole day. We held second for a good while, slipping later to a last place that in no way diminishes the heart and spirit everyone in Rich House displayed, of which we are immensely proud. Special mention goes to Bruno Volpe for his record-breaking performance and to our own Mr Irving, who stepped up to help us compete in the Staff and Sixth Form race.

While this year has perhaps not been as successful in terms of victories as would be preferable, it has been rewarding and heartening to see every one of you in Rich House give your all. It has been an honour serving as your House Captains and we wish our successors good luck in their future endeavours!

Danann, Endre and Chloe

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FOOTBALLRECORD OF FOOTBALL RESULTS 2019

January16 - Year 9 v Oratory Won 2-122 - Year 7/8 v Kingham Hill Won 6-024 - Year 10 v Kingham Hill Won 3-131 - Year 9 v John Mason Lost 3-0

February5 - Year 8 v Abingdon Boys Lost 5-46 - Year 10 / 11 v Oratory Won 3-17 - Year 9 v Kingham Hill Won 4-126 - Year 8 v Oratory Won 6-028 - Year 10 v d’Overbroeck’s Won 5-3

March4 - Year 10 v Abingdon Boys Won 4-25 - Year 7 & 8 v d’Overbroeck’s Won 3-07 - Year 9 v d’Overbroeck’s Won 1-012 - Year 9 / 10 v Reddam House Won 5-219 - Year 7/8 v Abingdon Boys Lost 5-420 - Year 9 v Abingdon Boys Drew 1-1

This year has seen the most successful season OLA has had in many years. All year groups have shown real commitment and dedication, not only to win, but to improve individually and as a team within their training session’s week in week out. Each year group has had some fantastic results. Year 7’s standout victory was beating Kingham Hill 6-0, with an outstanding team performance led by their captain Felix Oliver.

The Year 8 boys produced an excellent display to beat a very good Oratory side 6-0 led by their player of the season Joe Davies. The Year 9’s performance that deserves a mention was their 5-2 win over Reddam House. This team has had a strong year once again and have worked hard to develop their style of play and reach their full potential.

Our Year 10 boys have shown a huge growth in improvement since the start of the season. They showed real dedication every week to attend all training sessions throughout the term. Their standout performance was their last game when they beat Abingdon Boys 4-2 ensuring they were unbeaten for the year!

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NETBALL AND HOCKEY 2018-19 SEASONOur U12s settled into Sport at OLA well with good attendance at extra-curricular clubs and showing real promise. They played in some great fixtures this season with the highlight in hockey being a 4-3 victory over Rye St Anthony School.

Our U13s have faced tough competition this year but those who have played have shown great commitment to training and battled hard throughout the season with a couple of solid wins to be proud of.

Our U14s can be particularly proud of their 3-0 win in hockey and 25-4 win in netball against Cranford House as well as beating Rye St Anthony on the netball court and finishing third in their group ahead of Cokethorpe and Bloxham School and sixth place overall in the U14 County Schools’ Netball Tournament.

Players from our U15s and U16s have combined this season with our U18s to form our Senior Squads. They had a tough season on the hockey pitch but a high point was a great 2-0 win against Rye St Anthony. In netball they had fantastic season with lots of great wins. Particular highlights include a 15-7 victory over St Helen & St Katherine’s and a 27-8 win against d’Overbroeck’s.

Notably strong individual performances in these two sports across all year groups have been recognised in school and these pupils will have received their sports colours or a certificate of achievement during the Michaelmas or Hilary term to celebrate their success.

Mrs Barrett, Mrs Parry, Miss Page and I look forward to building on the success of this season and seeing all the girls back in action next term.

Here’s to a successful 2019/20 season!

Mrs Barnett

ROUNDERS 2018-19Despite the unpredictable British weather causing us a few problems, we did manage to squeeze a few rounders fixtures into our busy summer term calendar on the rare sunny days. Our U12 and U13 girls combined to form one squad. Their performances showed that as a team they have got some real potential for their future years. The highlight of their term being a 9.5-4 win against d’Overbroeck’s School.

Our U15 team who have been unbeaten for the past 3 years, won their matches by 7 rounders against St Helen and St Katherine’s School and by 10 rounders against d’Overbroeck’s and remain unbeaten. Well done to all the girls who represented OLA in rounders this summer. The PE staff were very impressed with both your fielding and batting skills and are excited to see what Summer 2020 will entail.

Mrs Barnett

NETBALL AND HOCKEY

ROUNDERS

SWIMMING 2018-19The swimming pool at OLA is one of our key facilities and is used and enjoyed by all our pupils and staff. With a range of before and after school clubs, pupils are able to make good use of the facility and enjoy their swimming experience. The swimming team continue to work hard attending training sessions on Tuesday mornings 07.00 -07.45 and Thursdays after school. They have had several competitions over the year which highlighted in an overall win against the Europa School Back in March 2019.

The Inter-House Swimming Gala in April 2019 was a huge success with some nail biting events and many surprising and amazing swims. This year the event included Year 9 teams and made for a very exciting and fun packed afternoon. The event was managed by the Lower Sixth House Captains and they did a sterling job of organising and motivating their swimming teams. Congratulations also goes to the results coordinators who had the unenviable task of calculating the final scores.

Our Synchronised Swimming Club on a Tuesday after school has a number of Year 7 and Year 8 girls developing synchronised swimming displays which are then presented at our open morning. I am always impressed by the standard of these displays and how talented the pupils are at choreographing and presenting these displays.

SWIMMING

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SPORTS DAY

SPORTS DAY 2019Friday 21 June 2019 was in my eyes the best day of the school year.

Senior School pupils in Years 7,8,9,10 and Lower Sixth made their way to Tilsley Park for our annual Sports Day event.

The whole day was a huge success with some amazing individual results and performances taking place.

Joe Davis, Jazib Naqvi, Tom Murray, Bruno Volpe and Robert McRae all manged to break the Sports Day records in their event and over 100 medals were awarded to individual winners as well as the House Captains nominating a House Hero for every Year group. The day was made extra special by the fantastic turn out from the parents and the effort, teamwork and enthusiasm shown by all the pupils. A massive well done to everyone who took part and thank you to the Lower Sixth students and all the senior school staff that helped out to make the day run so smoothly.

The Overall results were as follows;

• 1st Challoner 600 Points

• 2nd Bowyer 598 Points

• 3rd More 590 Points

• 4th Rich 576 Points

Mrs Barnett

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SPORTS DAY JavelinYear 7 Girls Billie Geehan 20.80m 2005Year 7 Boys Euan Backus 25.15m 2014Year 8 Girls Hattie Papworth 17.96m 2008Year 8 Boys Euan Backus 30:85m 2015Year 9 Girls Holly Birtwistle 20.62m 2018Year 9 Boys Bruno Volpe 26:97m 2018Year 10 Girls Saffron Jacomb 21.98m 2007Year 10 Boys Harry Woodcock 31:89m 2016

DiscusYear 7 Girls KathrynWoodcock 19:74m 2009Year 7 Boys Edward Ewens 16:85m 2012Year 8 Girls Kathryn Woodcock 29.04m 2010Year 8 Boys Adam Strange 26.50m 2017Year 9 Girls Kathryn Woodcock 33.86m 2011Year 9 Boys Luke Lynch 22.76m 2015Year 10 Girls Kathryn Woodcock 34:55m 2012Year 10 Boys George Ingram 27:70m 2013

Shot-putYear 7 Girls Eleanor Astley 6.88m 2016Year 7 Boys Mallam Findley-Grant 7:15m 2015Year 8 Girls Gina Sunderland 9.30m 2010Year 8 Boys Endre Bessenyei 9.49m 2015Year 9 Girls Honor Varnom 7.95m 2015Year 9 Boys Luke Lynch 10.38m 2015Year 10 Girls Imogen Harrison 8.63m 2017Year 10 Boys Endre Bessenyei 10:80m 2017

High JumpYear 7 Girls Evie Wright 1.26m 2014Year 7 Boys Fred Fishleigh 1.35m 2015Year 8 Girls Eloise Shepheard 1.35m 2011Year 8 Boys Alex Downton 1.45m 2014Year 9 Girls Kezia Pullinger 1.40m 2008Year 9 Boys Tom Murray 1.50m 2019Year 10 Girls Annabel Fish 1.43m 2007Year 10 Boys Bruno Volpe 1.52m 2019

Long JumpYear 7 Girls Francesca Young 4.20m 2016Year 7 Boys Ben Charlesworth 4.13m 2013Year 8 Girls Francesca Young 4.45m 2017Year 8 Boys Robert McCrae 4.87m 2017Year 9 Girls Olivia James 4.91m 2014Year 9 Boys Dan Wade 5.80m 2012Year 10 Girls Kim Daly 4.77m 2005Year 10 Boys Robert McRae 5.25m 2019

SPORTS DAY RECORDS100mYear 7 Girls Olivia Dobson 13:00 2008Year 7 Boys Noah Fisher 13:82 2010Year 8 Girls Lois Waknell 12:96 2010Year 8 Boys Joe Davies 12.89 2019Year 9 Girls Honor Varnom 13:00 2015Year 9 Boys Noah Fisher 11:92 2012Year 10 Girls Antonia Kam 13:10 2007Year 10 Boys Tom Davenport 11.86 2016

200mYear 7 Girls Lois Waknell 28:00 2009Year 7 Boys Noah Fisher 29:37 2010Year 8 Girls Lois Waknell 27:65 2010Year 8 Boys Jazib Naqvi 27:26 2019Year 9 Girls Olivia James 27:62 2014Year 9 Boys Alex Downton 26:12 2015Year 10 Girls Emily Dobson 28:06 2009Year 10 Boys Joe Wade 26:12 2013

800mYear 7 Girls Rebecca James 2:47 2008Year 7 Boys James Evans 2:40 2018Year 8 Girls Maddy Portwain 2:48 2008Year 8 Boys Will James 2:24 2015Year 9 Girls Isabella Boyce-Parr 2:27 2016Year 9 Boys Will James 2:24 2016Year 10 Girls Isabella Boyce Parr 2:44 2017Year 10 Boys Aaron Marriott 2:24 2015

1500mYear 7 Girls Sophie Fish 5:55 2005Year 7 Boys Will James 5.23 2014Year 8 Girls Saskia Clark 5:44 2014Year 8 Boys Oliver Armstrong 5.26 2018Year 9 Girls Saskia Clark 5:02 2015Year 9 Boys Alex Roscoe 5:26 2013Year 10 Girls Lara Reed 5:45 2013Year 10 Boys Niall Thornycroft 4:50 2015

Open mileYear 7&8 Girls Isobel Glover 6:03 2017Year 7&8 Boys Graham Beer 6:13 2011Year 9&10 Girls Rebecca James 5:57 2010Year 9&10 Boys Niall Thornycroft 5:40 20156th Form Girls Rebecca James 6:19 20136th Form Boys Niall Thornycroft 5:45 2017Staff Mr Farrow 6:26 2008

OLA UNIVERSITY DESTINATIONS 2019Name Destination Course

William Ayres Bristol UWE Accounting and Management

Daniel Baird Bath Physics (with Year Abroad)

Rory Campbell-Smith Bristol UWE Business Management with Marketing

Ellie Chan De Montfort Accounting and Finance

Thea Dawson Cardiff English Literature and Creative Writing

Alexander Downton Southampton Archaeology and History

Henri Embers Exeter Politics

Sahil Hamid Bath Civil and Architectural Engineering

James Himpson Cambridge Philosophy

Isabella Hunter Durham Mathematics

Edward Jacobs Warwick Politics and International Studies

Sanjay Kommu Keele Law

Milan Khosla-Stevens Royal Holloway Economics and Management

Esmond Martin Georgetown, USA International Politics

Charles Mendonca Cardiff International Relations and Politics

Gianluca Page Winchester Business Management

Thomas Pons Exeter Natural Sciences

Emma Quinn Loughborough Sport and Exercise Psychology

Joseph Roberts Sussex Business and Management Studies

Tiffany Tang Kingston Pharmaceutical Sciences (Foundation)

Alexia Tyack Bristol Theatre and English

Honor Varnom Swansea Sport and Exercise Science

Emily Walker Birmingham Biochemistry and Professional Placement

Charlotte Young Nottingham Trent Fashion Marketing and Branding

Lianna Zhu Leicester Modern Languages with Translation

Junior School | St John’s Road | Abingdon | Oxfordshire | OX14 2HB | 01235 523147

Senior School | Radley Road | Abingdon | Oxfordshire | OX14 3PS | 01235 524658

admissions@olab.org.uk | www.olab.org.uk