Bulletin. . .W I N T E R 2 0 0 4

SummerexaminationsuccessesYet again, our pupils gave us cause for great celebration in August. At A-level, 70 % ofall papers taken were awarded grade A and 90% were awarded A or B grades, placingthe school second in the country in the Independent A-level League Table. At GCSE94.2% of all papers were awarded A* or A grades placing the School third in theTelegraph, Times and Mail national League Tables.Over two-thirds of the year gained three or more A grades. Four awards were received for gaining one of thetop five marks nationally: Georgia Ellis (Biology), Nemira Gasiunas (English Literature), Katie Cornthwaite(General Studies) and Katherine Hedley (Physics). Thirty-six awards were received for gaining one of the topfive marks nationally and in Geography, Madeline Clare gained the top mark and received a special silver medalat a ceremony held in London in November.

The distribution of the GCSE awards was as follows:

Geography: Madeline Clare, Elena Strbac, Sophie Tang, Caroline Wilde, Fleur Ferguson;

History:Rachel Cassidy, Joanna Nicholson, Sonya Passi, Philippa Roper, Katrina Limond;

Mathematics: Rachel Cassidy, Katrina Limond, Elena Strbac;

French: Rachel Cassidy, Zahra He-Li, Katrina Limond,Katherine Lynas, Anika Majithia, Kerry O’Herlihy,

Head’s LinesAs the end of an extremely busy but hugelyenjoyable and successful term acceleratestowards a close, this Bulletin gives a snapshotof the range, breadth, and depth of activitiesand opportunities of this wonderful school.

Following one of our Open Days in November, aprospective parent wrote ‘I am most impressed withWithington Girls’ School – there’s a certaingentleness of spirit and self-effacement evident herethat we haven’t found elsewhere. Delightful’.Subsequent to the Lower Sixth Presentation Eveninglast week, a current parent wrote ‘the evening itselfwas a wonderful testimony to the tremendous workthe school does and to the ethos it represents’. Thatevening celebrated not only outstanding GCSEsuccess, but also the extra-curricular commitmentsof our pupils, both in and out of school. This term a

new Young Enterprise Company has been formed,pupils have raised money for charities through arange of events and activities including the hugelysuccessful Fashion Show, they have delightedaudiences with ‘Women of Troy’, enjoyed manymusical and sporting successes, impressed at a ModelUnited Nations Conference, prepared for a Mock Trial,debated with a local MP, presented memorablewhole-school Assemblies, and so much more. Itremains a huge privilege and pleasure to be Head ofsuch an exciting school. There are many events stillto come in the remaining days of this term, not leastthe Advent, St Ann’s and Junior School Concerts, theRotarians Christmas Party and, of course, the HouseCarol Competition. All members of the school will certainly be ready fortheir Christmas break and it is a pleasure to sendSeasons Greetings to all readers of this Bulletin.

THE phoenix risen from the ashes of thedevastating fire that tore through parts ofthe School in the summer of 2003 is nowfully fledged and flying.

Three maths classrooms destroyed in the blazeare now fully reconstructed and are bigger andbetter equipped than before. Insurance coverfunded the replacement of the rooms, but theschool itself has borne the cost of providing theextra space.

Two rooms have had high-tech interactiveelectronic whiteboards installed and the third willfollow in the New Year. The days of chalk andduster are definitely numbered.

The boards are linked with computers viaceiling-mounted electronic projectors enablingstaff to illustrate mathematical problems usinggraphical and statistical software packages andtheir own innovation and enthusiasm.

Chalk off the blackboard

Use of interactive whiteboard

Head of Maths, Judith Willson says: “The newtechnical equipment is a wonderful asset with which toenhance our teaching and the girls’ understanding.”

Classes no longer have to decamp for short periods tothe computer suites and the pace of teaching hasaccelerated significantly through using the interactivefacilities.

As can be seen from the above, Zahra He-Li, Hayley Sivner and Kerry O’Herlihy gained two awards, Sonya Passiand Katrina Limond three, and Rachel Cassidy is congratulated on the remarkable achievement of gaining fivetop candidate awards.

In The Financial Times Special Report on the combined achievements of the top Independent schools,Withington was ranked fifth and in November’s Sunday Times Parent Power, which again ranked the UK’s Stateand Independent School by combined A-level and GCSE performance, Withington was thirteenth – the top UKschool in the North. As can be seen from the articles herein, such outstanding achievement is not achieved atthe expense of extra-curricular breadth.

THE Entente is still extremely Cordialeaccording to Withington girls, praising theirFrench hosts on returning from their eight-dayexchange trip to Paris.

A regular excursion for over a decade now, the tripsaw 14 Upper Fourth girls, joined by 15 boys fromManchester Grammar School and four members ofstaff, warmly welcomed at the Franklin Jesuit Schoolin the French capital’s 16th Arrondissement.

“It’s a very academic establishment,” said WithingtonFrench teacher Mrs Elinor Chicken, who travelledwith the party, “with a tremendous location withviews of the Eiffel Tower.”

On two mornings the girls and boys were givenlessons especially devised by the French teachers atFranklin including Music and German. Excursionstook them on the famous Bateaux Mouches plyingthe River Seine, to the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre.

Host French families treated their guests to all sortsof French experiences and everyone had a very happytime. The French girls were in England with their

Entente Cordial exchange pupils from October 28th to November 5th.The English host families took them as far afield asLondon during the remaining half-term days and animpromptu Hallowe’en Party was enjoyed by allpupils. Through the exchange the girls enjoyed a realtaste of Manchester visiting the Museum of Scienceand Industry, Quarry Bank Mill, the Theatre of Dreamsat Old Trafford, the Imperial War Museum North andthe City Art Gallery. Topics in their lessonprogramme at Withington included The Beatles,Salsa, Aerobics and a Christmas carol.

The sad farewells at Manchester Airport testified tothe particular success of this year’s exchange andconfirmed its future.

Lauren Richardson, Jennifer Stones, Rachel Heydecker, Sonya Passi, Philippa Roper, Hayley Sivner, Caroline Wilde, Katie Combes, Rosalind Whiteley, Harraj Panesar;

Spanish: Rachel Cassidy, Zahra He-Li;

English:Rachel Cassidy;

English Literature: Sophie Atkinson, Kerry O’Herlihy, Sonya Passi, Hayley Sivner.

Summer music course 2005Advance notice - course running 1st to 5th August 2005

Following on from the success of last year’s course,we will be running another creative music week thisSummer. Open to boys and girls between the ages of8 and 13 the course is being run by Tim Chattertonand Rebecca Thompson from the Northern ChamberOrchestra. The children will be exposed to a rich anddiverse range of music including music from Chinaand India. For further enquiries please call PennyWillis at the School.

Fun club 200525th-29th July 20058th-12th August 2005

Fun Club will run for two weeks again thisyear – one week either side of the SummerMusic course.

Run by our own PE teachers, both weeks will keepyour children busy, entertained, and fit during the holidays. For further enquiries please call PennyWillis at the School.

QuizzicalFOUR girls from the Third and Lower Fourth Formsparticipated in the Times Educational Supplement‘Kids Lit Quiz’ at Lymm High School in November.There were about 20 teams vying for awards and thegirls acquitted themselves really well. They won oneround and two girls also won individual prizes.

The girls were Rebecca Livesey, Fiona Muir, Lucy Prendergast and Neha Passi. They all reallyenjoyed themselves and the School hopes to enteragain next year.

It is rocketscienceTWELVE girls with a particular interest in rocketscience attended the IEE Christmas lecture at SalfordUniversity in November given by local rocketmanSteve Bennett, who formed the Starchaser company, based in Hyde, with a mission to provide commercial space flights. There were workshops on rocket-related activities and a presentation on the development of the Starchaser rockets and engines.

WITHINGTON’S ‘navy’ set sail in a varietyof boats – canoes, picos, catamarans,toppers and wind surfers – at the RockleyWatersports Reserve near Bordeaux inFrance in July.

Girls from the Upper and Lower Fifth and theSixth Form flew with five members of staff fromManchester Airport to the French city viaGatwick and completed the journey to thecampsite by coach.

Each day was crammed with activities, experttuition, great fun and inevitable drenchings asthe girls learned how to right overturned boats.

One of the main highlights was the scaling of thehighest sand dune in Europe, the Dune de Pylawhich offered incredible views from its summit.Later that same day the itinerary included thrillsand spills at the local water park, Aqualand.

We are sailing

Throw-overHead of French, Mrs Yorke Menzies is making a speedy recovery after a serious riding accident.

An enthusiastic and experienced horsewoman, shewas thrown when her horse reared, suffering fourfractures of the pelvis.

She is out of hospital, convalescing at her mother’shome, and marking pupils’ work and test papers. She will return to School next term and meanwhilewe are most grateful that Mrs Barbara Livesey hasbeen able to cover all Mrs Menzies’s French lessons.

See you in court

ANYONE having anything to do before my Lordsthe Queen’s Justices, draw near and give yourattendance….

Early in December the Sir Rhys Davies Schools’ MockTrial Competition held in the impressive surroundingsof Manchester Crown Court in Minshull Street willgive a number of Upper and Lower Sixth girls theopportunity to do just that.

Nine Upper Sixth students have met every Mondaylunchtime this term to prepare and consider the twocases that Withington is presenting against 11 otherindependent schools in the North West - and theyhave had the benefit of two real barristers who cameinto School to listen and give their expert legaladvice.

Lower Sixth students will attend as jurors on the dayand observe the proceedings – to see whether theywould like to take part in 2005 as barristers andwitnesses. Two members of the Lower Sixth haveentered the associated Court Reporting Competition.

Withington on the webLOOK out for a redesigned Withington Girls’ Schoolwebsite early in the New Year. The pages will containupdated information about the Senior Club and newsof the School and its students, past and present.

The address remains the same:www.withington.manchester.sch.uk

IT was the sassiest,classiest, struttingcatwalk spectacular in South Manchester.Withington’s girls swapped their school bags forglad rags in a bid to raise over £5,000 forBarnardos and Hope for Children.

Vibe – an east-meets-west fashion showorganised by 19 members of the Upper Sixth atWithington Girls’ School – featured danceroutines specially choreographed to showcaselatest clothes lent for the occasion by more thantwo dozen local and leading national retailers.

Models and technical crew were drawn fromevery year from the Third Form to the UpperSixth and ten boys were ‘borrowed’ fromManchester Grammar School to highlightmenswear.

The chief sponsors were Beaverbrooks, the highstreet jewellers and clothes were donated bySteranko, Vicky Martin, Xpose, Yasmin Gill,Republic, Unique Collections, Henri Lloyd, All Saints, Hurleys, Khadijah Amin, Chaos, Andaaz Sarees, Flipside's Wildside, Coast, Fatface,Industry, Dialogue Box (Selfridges), Pastiche,Designs by Ollie, Alankar Sarees and Pumpkins.

It’s the night the traditionally academic let theircollective hair down and have a (well-dressed)ball. Last summer a quarter of the Upper Sixthmight have won places at Oxford and Cambridge,but as Vibe demonstrated: girls, they wanna have fun.

Sixth Former Lucy Wright, from Hale, one of theorganisers, said: “It’s always a terrific night andthis year, with the eastern flavour, was betterthan ever.”

Fashion Show

Photograph courtesy of Manchester Evening News

THIRTY-three girls from the Sixth Form playedtheir parts as delegates to the Model UnitedNations – a conference session organised eachyear by Cheadle Hulme School.

This year the Withington students represented SaudiArabia, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Canada, Sweden, China,Australia and South Korea, having prepared andresearched their respective positions on a range ofpolicy issues.

Talks covered political, social and economic mattersincluding ecology and the environment, the MiddleEast, the Security Council and human rights.

United NationsBy taking part, delegates are required to developtheir skills in research, planning, teamwork,debating and public speaking.

The following girls from Withington won awards:Chloe Mattison ‘Commended’ for her work on thePolitical Committee; Rachel Cassidy ‘HighlyCommended’ Political; Kerry Turnbull ‘HighlyCommended’ Social and Economic; AlexandraPatrick ‘Commended’ Ecology and Environment;Lucy Kinder ‘Highly Commended’ Ecology andEnvironment; Prudence Buxton ‘Commended’Security Council.

Lauren Wild also had the honour of co-chairingthe Middle East Committee.

Jazz-loving Imogen Lewis Holland, fromDidsbury, plays such a mean slide trombonethat she’s landed a coveted BBC FameAcademy bursary and the prize of a hand-crafted brass instrument.

But Imogen, a member of the Upper Fifth, is alsoa gifted violinist, playing on the front desk ofsecond violins for the Hallé Youth Orchestra andfor a local chamber orchestra.

And she’s passed through for the final set ofauditions for the National Youth Orchestra....withboth instruments.

Tim Chatterton, who has taught Imogen tromboneat Withington since she started playing theinstrument six years ago, said: “She’s an all roundprodigious talent.”

So which will it be – strings or brass; classical or jazz?

Courtesy of South Manchester Reporter

LOWER Sixth pupils Sarah Parr and JaneHooper, accompanied by Miss McKenzie, aretravelling on a joint Withington Girls’School/Manchester Grammar School trip toUganda in East Africa at Easter, organised byMr Hand, Head of Physics at MGS.

The students will be working with children in MaamaJane’s (Mwiri) and Maria’s care (Kamuli) orphanages.

They will also have the opportunity to see brickmaking, the Busoga Trust water project, a sugarplantation, Bujagali Falls and Nile Breweries.

The last 4 days of the trip will be spent in QueenElizabeth National Park with opportunities to takephotographs on the equator, cruise down KazingaChannel and take game drives to look for elephants,lions, buffalo and other wild life.

Uganda, Easter 2005

The Duke ofEdinburgh’s AwardTHE Duke of Edinburgh’s Award continues to be extremely popular at Bronze level with over 60 members of theLower Fifth attending weekly sessions. These girls planned and carried out their first practice walk in LymePark in October and are now being trained in preparation for the second day walk on February 27th.

Interest also remains high among the Upper Fifth with over 20 girls hoping to carry on to Silver Award.

A new initiative this year is the offer of direct entry to the Award Scheme at Gold level to meet demand fromnew entrants to the Lower Sixth. Some of these girls went on their first training walk in November and copedvery well with icy and muddy conditions walking between Chapel-en-le Frith and Whaley Bridge in the PeakDistrict. They will join with the other Gold participants to carry out expeditions next summer.

Direct Entry Gold training walk. (Arshiya Mastan, Se-Ye Oh, Josephine Wong)

’Miniluv’ at Lyme Park (Lucy Green, Hannah Woods, Olivia Atkinson, KristinaMilanovic, Jill Richens, Celina Aggarwal, Jemima Heap)

CeramicsLower II, Upper II and Third Form girls havebeen enjoying Ceramics classes after Schoolon a Wednesday afternoon. Taught by DianeConnell, former Head of Art, the classesprovide a wonderful opportunity for the girlsto explore clay-making in a fun environmentat the end of a busy School day. A set of 9 classes for the Spring Term will start on 12 January 2005.

Ceramics is also available to parents and friends ofthe School on a Wednesday evening from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm.

Christmas cards & calendar

IT sounded like the perfect recipe for making a crisis out of a drama.

For not only did ten girls in the Lower Fifth givethemselves just one week to devise, script andrehearse a play, they chose to base their productionon an ancient Greek tragedy.

Euripides’ Trojan Women, written in 415 BC,dramatises the timeless subject of women’s responseto war.

Under the guidance of professional director PaulWarwick from the Leeds-based Unlimited TheatreCompany – winner of two Fringe Firsts at theEdinburgh Festival – the girls sought to relateEuripides’ ideas to the context of modern conflicts.

The girls were given a free hand to 'go where theplay led them' with their interpretation, and theyexplored the ritual of contemporary theatre alongsidethe issues of the play. Paul Warwick, co-Director andProducer of the play said: "The group that I have hadthe pleasure of working with this week haveastounded me with the intelligence, rigour,professionalism and emotional honesty which theyhave brough to each and every session".

The excellent production was enacted at both amatinée and evening performance at the School onNovember 27th.

Trojan women

BBC Fame Academy

A strikingly colourful range of Christmas cardsdesigned by Third Form girls are proving thehit of the festive season.

The cards depict composite versions of localtownscape scenes around Withington and Didsburyafter the unique style of the Austrian-born artistHundertwasser. The cards comprise three full panel views and six detail enlargements. The range is complemented by calendars and notelets reproducing the GCSE, AS and A-level work.

The Christmas cards, in packs of nine individual designs are £3.50; the calendars £6.50 each and the notelets – eight in four designs – are £3.50. Special offer packagescontaining three packs of cards or notelets or a combination of cards and notelets are £10. Cards, notelets and/or calendars can be orderedthrough the School Office.

LacrosseFORMER England under-19Lacrosse international MissRachel Day didn’t take long todemonstrate her coaching skillswith girls who hope to emulateher success.

For Miss Day, the ‘baby’ of the PEDepartment since joining the teachingstaff in September, has steered theschool’s U19s to the Northern Schools’ LacrosseChampionship against formidable opposition.

The First XII progressed through their four-teampool and the semi-final before meeting HarrogateCollege in the final at Queen Margaret’s, York.

The ’War of the Roses’ encounter– saw Withingtonrun out winners 3-2 in a nail biting finish.

“It was like Lancashire playing Yorkshire, there wereso many county players in the match,” said MissDay. “All the girls knew each other.”

The former international, who represented Englandagainst Wales and in America, added “It was thefirst tournament I have ever taken with the girlsand winning was the most exciting thing ever.”

Dates for your Diary

5th [Wednesday] Term StartsUpper V examinations begin

10th [Monday] Upper VI examinations begin14th [Friday] Senior and Junior Entrance Examination

(No pupils in school except U5 examinees)15th [Saturday] PTA Theatre trip19th [Wednesday] Upper 5 back in school

Junior School Parents’ Evening20th [Thursday] Upper VI back in school25th [Tuesday] Junior School Parents’ Evening27th [Thursday] Junior School Parents’ Evening

4th [Friday] Gym Competition5th - 6th [Saturday-Sunday] Winmarleigh Hall (Upper II)8th [Tuesday] Parents’ Evening : Lower V Forms 6.30pm10th [Thursday] Gym Display 6.00pm 14th – 18th [inclusive] Half Term Holiday23rd [Wednesday] NCO Partnership Concert at School 7.30pm24th [Thursday] Parents’ Evening: Lower IV Forms 6.30pm27th [Sunday] DoE Walk Marple to Hayfield All day

2nd [Wednesday] Parents’ Evening: Lower VI Forms 6.30pm8th – 10th [Tuesday-Thursday] AS Theatre Studies Production 7.30pm10th [Thursday] Parents’ Evening: Upper V Forms 6.30pm16th [Wednesday] Spring Concert 7.00pm17th [Thursday] Spring Concert 7.00pm23rd [Wednesday] Term Ends28th [Monday] Ski Trip to USA departs (Lower IV – Lower V)

4th [Monday] French Trip (Lower & Upper V) departs6th [Wednesday] German Trip (VI Form) departs

Ski Trip returnsSpanish Trip (Lower V – Lower VI) departs

9th [Saturday] French Trip returns10th [Sunday] German Trip returns10th – 11th [Sunday-Monday] Duke of Edinburgh Practice Expedition11th [Monday] Spanish Trip returns12th [Tuesday] Summer Term Starts

JANU

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SPR ING 2005

Summer Term startsTuesday, 12th April 2005

For further information contact the School Secretary

Withington Girls’ School, Wellington Road, Fallowfield, Manchester M14 6BL.

Tel : 0161 224 1077 Fax : 0161 248 5377

Email : office@withington.manchester.sch.uk www.withington.manchester.sch.uk

Registered Charity No. 526632

Withington old girl Dr Claire Smithson, now incharge of the AIDS programme at the Mau Hospitalin Kenya, returned to school in the Autumn Termboth as an inspiring role model for today’s girls andin order to say “thank you” for UVY’s fund-raisingefforts.

This year £2,800 raised by their Dance Competitionin the Spring went directly towards paying for teststhat patients need to see if they are suitable forantiretroviral drug treatment at the hospital.

Dr Smithson was candid about the huge AIDSepidemic afflicting many parts of Africa but positiveabout tackling the problem in the immediate areaof the hospital.

Kenya AIDS programmeShe has won the attention of the Kenyan Presidentand her AIDS unit has gone from strength tostrength, offering treatments that are bringinghope and enabling many patients to resume fairlynormal lives.

Dr Smithson was impressed by the numerouschanges at school since she left in 1978 andbrought photographs of patients dancing – apoignant link with the way the school raised vitalfunds. Mrs Julie Buckley, Geography teacher andHead of General Studies says another DanceCompetition is planned, possibly for next year.

Crime and Punishment

SEVENTEEN entrepreneurs from the Lower Sixth are hoping to turn theexpression ‘strapped for cash’ on its headwith their new company, Indulgence - set up as part of the nationwide YoungEnterprise Scheme.

They hope to make a decent profit by summerwith the business which involves customising bra straps.

The girls are all members of the Indulgenceboard and have appointed a managing directorand company secretary. They are engaged insourcing, design, production, marketing andsales for the company, which has its own bank account.

Aside from making a profit, the aim is todevelop a range of skills required in therunning of a successful enterprise. The schemeis competitive too, for the girls’ businessperformance will be matched against similarteams at other schools. Last year Withingtonreached the northern final stage.

Young Enterprise

GCSE Religious Studies students were treatedto an arresting insight into crime andpunishment during the Autumn Term.

Guest speaker Detective Chief Inspector EileenScarratt of Greater Manchester Police, mother ofPippa, revealed the inner workings of policing fromcrime investigation to administrative duties, withreference to recent murder cases in the area.

Crime and punishment - and society’s attitudestowards them - are key elements in the philosophyand ethics section of the course.

NetballWITHINGTON'S U16s were unbeaten in five matchesin the Manchester and District Invitation NetballTournament organised by the School in Novemberand held at Stockport Grammar School.

The Senior team won one match and drew anotherand both teams were presented with a trophy and badges.

IT was a reunion with a difference…about making a difference.

DO CALL US (BEFORE WE CALL YOU!)

Four staff took parties of 42 and 40 girls, respectively,over consecutive weekends to the ManchesterSchools’ Outward Bound Centre, by the side ofEngland’s largest lake, for experience of problemsolving, bonding and exploits of derring-do.

Tasks before them included scaling a 70ft tree inorder to descend very quickly on a trip wire; climbingfells in the driving rain with ice underfoot; navigatingropes courses and canoeing on the lake.

There was plenty of scope for fun too: on Fridayevenings the girls followed a nightline in the pitchdark round Ghyll Head House’s 17-acre garden andSaturday night in the beautiful old Victorian houseinvolved traditional party games before staff madehot buttered toast and hot chocolate for each girlprior to reading a bedtime story.

Ghyll HeadThe Third Forms’ two weekend trips to Ghyll Head House, Windermere, in November providedsome gruelling but exciting challenges for more than 80 girls.

Pupil absencePlease would all parents use the followingnumber to inform the school of pupilabsence before 8.30 am on each day of absence.

Absence line: 0161 249 3476

Senior Late RoomThere is now a direct number to the Senior Late Room (in the Library):

0161 249 3492Junior Late RoomThis number remains: 07729 805647