Malvern St James Summer 2013 Newsletter

The full version of all these stories can be found atwww.malvernstjames.co.ukIf you wish to receive future copies of the newsletter electronically,please email: [email protected]

OPEN DAYSaturday 12 October 10.00am – 1.30pm

MSJNEWS

From the HeadmistressSummer Term 2013

Clever Cadet ScoopsTrip of a LifetimePetty Officer Cadet Susan Utting (Year 13), amember of Ross and Monmouth Sea Cadets,has been named as one of nine winners of theCVQO Duke of Westminster Award 2013.

CVQO is an educational charity which hasbeen helping cadets gain internationallyrecognised vocational qualifications. Each year,CVQO's most outstanding learners from acrossthe UK are nominated for the Duke ofWestminster Award - a prestigious andchallenging competition delivered by CVQOand sponsored by the charity's patron.

Susan, who plans a career in the Royal Navy orthe defence and security industry, now has thechance to travel to South Africa on a threeweek educational expedition.

Susan Utting

@malvernstjames

The 2013 Gambia Trip was indeed an experience. Our twenty Sixth Form studentsworked tirelessly, in searing temperatures, to enhance the lives of children. Isobella Bradshaw (Year 12); “Before I came to The Gambia I had no idea what to expect, howeverthese past 12 days have delivered a hundred times more than I could ever have asked for, in givingme the opportunity to explore this amazing place - seeing the real side of Africa and interacting ona personal level with the locals in their everyday environment.”

Phoebe Whitehouse (Year 13), summarises perfectly, “It was a moving experience that will stay withme for the rest of my life. Thank you for the amazing opportunity to be part of Gambia 2013”

Life Changing Experiences

It's been another bumper year of celebrationat Malvern St James! This newsletter istestament to just 4 months in the life of ourvibrant and exciting Community.

We bid our leavers a very fond farewell - allthe very best for everything the future holdsfor you and do please be sure to keep intouch with us; as alumni you are criticalfabric in the MSJ tapestry.

I wish you all an invigorating and fun-filledsummer break - make the most of thesunshine. We look forward to September2013, heralding the largest number of girlsin the history of MSJ.

Mrs Patricia Woodhouse

MSJ Newsletter Summer13_Layout 1 26/06/2013 16:01 Page 2

Academic

Tilly Wows Michelin ChefCongratulations to Tilly Storrie (Year 7),MSJ Masterchef 2013, as judged byMichelin-starred Chef, Stephen Bull. Tilly’swinning dishes were seared tuna steakwith quail’s egg, asparagus salad and basildressing, and melting chocolate pots. Thewhole School enjoyed Tilly’s tuna dish inthe first week of June as part of the MSJlunch menu.

GEOGRAPHICALSOCIETY

PHOTOGRAPHYCOMPETITION

Below are two of the entries which met thebrief, an example of human or physicalgeography.

Our A Level Communication and Culturestudents visited Liverpool to explore HighCulture and Mass Culture, to aid understandingof key concepts for their studies. The trip toured The Museum of Liverpool to exploreSpaces and Places, Accent and Culture within thecity, before heading on to the Museum of Maritimewith an intriguing exhibition on The Titanic. Afterlunch, we saw the Museum of Slavery before visitingLiverpool One.

A tribute was paid at the Hillsborough Memorial,before venturing to the Walker Art Gallery to marvelat amazing Pre-Raphaelite paintings and modernart, including a sculpture made of rubbish.

Hannah Nolan (Year 9)New York, Times Square. 89% of Britishpeople and 80% of Americans live inurban areas. The effects of so manypeople living in cities is that the pollutionlevels rise, there is more chance ofgetting ill because there are much morepeople around you, the air is murkier asthere is much more traffic.

Lottie Jones (Year 9)Breaking the calm of an estuary inSuffolk. Soon beautiful places like this willbe destroyed by global warming. Risingsea levels will result in the flooding ofestuaries. This means one day places likethis will no longer exist. We must learn toappreciate life and to love the world.

From Aintree to the Beatles

New this year!


Academic

The MSJ STEM (Science,Technology, Engineering andMathematics) Club waslaunched this year. Girls from Years 8 - 13 took part in athrilling competition, creating a ‘glider’to transport a quail egg, in unpoweredflight as far as possible, without breaking it.

With the assistance and guidance of volunteersfrom global engineering firm MalvernInstruments, girls were encouraged to combinetheir skills in all STEM areas.

The Final was a tense experience for all, withsome exciting near misses, inevitable breakagesand great distances travelled. After 3 attemptsper group, some winners were found:

- The KS3 Distance Prize went to Year 9’sGenevieve Phillips, Rosie Baird, Alex Roviraand Jadie Luo, with a distance of 6.9 metres.

- The KS4/5 Distance Prize went to theengineering of Year 11’s Jennifer Lam, KacyChou, Nicky Clift, Jennifer Robb and HarrietGloag, for the great distance of 9.24 metres.The prize included a trip to the Apps Lab atMalvern Instruments.

- Finally, one Year 12 team won theDesign Prize, for Great Innovation in

their Design.

Years 5 - 8 sampled the continental way oflife on their fantastic excursion to France.After an exciting ferry crossing, featuringHMS Daring in dock, we arrived at thepalatial Chateau du Molay in Normandywhich would be our home for three fun-filled days. Despite the cold, we very muchappreciated a visit to the Normandy beachheads and the solemn forces cemeteries. Ona lighter note, we also visited the BayeuxTapestry, explored a goat farm and shopped!The evenings were also busy, with some ofthe girls trying their hand at karaoke, crepeeating and even protecting an egg from allmanner of abuse - including being hit with abaseball bat!

Mary Beth Prindezi (Year 8) reported,“Despite the bad press the frogs’ legs andsnails were quite nice, though we agreedthey weren’t something to eat on a regularbasis! I think I can say on behalf of everyonethat our time away was a lot of fun.”

FantasticFrenchForay

MSJ in ScienceNational Science and Engineering Week atMSJ saw:

● Year 10 competing in IBM’s BlueFusion Competition in Winchester● Year 12 learning new skills on theirBiology Field Trip to The Knapp andPapermill Nature Reserve● The Annual MSJ NSEW Lecture,supported by The Institute of Physics,presented by Prof Allan Boardmanfrom The University of Salford – histalk was entitled ‘Invisibility Cloaks’

● The Chemistry Departmententertaining pupils with excitingdemonstrations and girls participatingin the Malvern Instrument STEM ClubChallenge No wonder 3 of our Upper Sixth this yearhave received offers to study NaturalSciences and Engineering at Oxford andCambridge!

Let’s go fly an ...Egg?


Academic

ExpressiveArts@msjThis year’s Expressive Arts Programme hasbeen packed out! Alongside the much talkedabout events such as ‘Joseph’, the ‘ExposéMusical’ and the GCSE and A Level ArtExhibition, The Music Department hostedconcerts, Young Performers’ Platforms,Evensongs, instrumental and vocalworkshops, trips to concerts and recitals, andhas performed at numerous events within theSchool and its wider community. The ArtDepartment enjoyed Printing, Textile and LifeDrawing workshops, visits to Art Exhibitionsin Birmingham and London and the annualYear 10 trip to Cornwall. The DramaDepartment has explored highly contrastingproductions such as ‘A Midsummer Night’sDream’ at Malvern Theatres and The GlobeTheatre in London, as well as thecontroversial ‘Forests’ a Theatre of Crueltyplay, which provided much discussion anddebate. Preparation for the ShakespeareFestival Workshop and Performance, theTelling Tales Drama Showcase, Silver andBronze Arts Awards and the manyexamination performances havecomplemented the mix, culminating in ourfabulous Expressive Arts Week.

MSJ GCSE and ALevel Art ExhibitionOur annual end of year exhibition was aresounding success (as usual!) and extremelywell attended. Girls are always pleasantlysurprised when all their work is displayed soprofessionally! This year’s exhibitors revealed ahigh level of talent in both Fine Art and Textiles;A Level pieces covered the whole spectrumfrom fairy tale to fish. The exhibition wasinspiring and challenging with a painting of MsWeissberg herself providing a real talking point!

JUNIOR SCHOOLS’ ART EXHIBITIONThis year, our Junior Schools’ Art Exhibitionattracted an extremely high standard of entriesfrom the ten schools which took part.Congratulations to MSJ’s Emily Hutsby (Year 7)Winner of the Year 7 category and Sanchia deVilliers Kuun (Year 8) who won the 3D category.In addition, the Group Work featuringdecorated glove puppets produced by our Year2 girls was also Highly Commended.

Champion OlympiadsSixty one girls in Years 9 - 11 took theIntermediate Maths Challenge this year,gaining a very commendable 8 Gold, 11Silver and 10 Bronze awards. JenniferZhang and Angel Xu (Year 10) have bothwon places at the inaugural MathsSummer School for Girls, organised bythe UK Mathematics Trust (UKMT) heldat Balliol College, Oxford.Added to this superb success, a team of SixthForm girls from MSJ came first in the RegionalSenior Team Maths Challenge earlier this year,going on to successfully compete in theNational Finals in London.

MSJ girls have also achieved excellent resultsagainst thousands of other pupils in this year’sLinguistics Olympiad, and the National ScienceOlympiad Competitions. Specialcongratulations, for their outstandingachievement, go to Sixth Form students SaraDevereux (Biology); Weiyi Zhang and JiayingYan (Chemistry) and Dan Qi Li (Physics).

Congratulations to Jennifer Robb (Year 11),who has been awarded the ISAC (IndependentSchools Adventure Cruises) Eric SherwinScholarship, and Rosie Baird (Year 9) who hasalso received an ISAC Scholarship.

As a Charity, ISAC subsidises cruises for allstudents to some extent but is able to rewardthose who submit original projects of realmerit. The week-long voyage will take placein October and will encompass threecontinents, visiting Greece, Turkey, Israel andEgypt. Bon voyage girls!

CRUISING THECONTINENTSWITH CLASS..ICS

Year 10 Mathematicians

Years 7 & 8 Arts Week


Expressive Arts

Telling TalesTelling Tales was a spectacular evening ofdance and drama, featuring the work ofthe Speech and Drama Departmentalongside curriculum Drama, plays by theboarding Houses and the REP Group, andperformances by the MSJ Dance Group. The Dance Group, led and choreographed byZoe Hutber and Yemi Shittu (Year 13), createdand performed some lively and powerful dances,where they opened and closed the evening.

Dancers in Year 8 - 13 have been inspired byZoe and Yemi’s enthusiasm and commitment todance. This has been evident throughout theirSixth Form with some dazzling performances forArabian Nights in Year 12, and Joseph earlier thisyear. All of the MSJ Dance Group must becongratulated on their skill, commitment, energyand creativity.

Fairytales, Friendships & FantasyGCSE and A Level Examination Performances 2013

Ashputtel

Alice in Wonderland

Don’t Forget Me

Little Red


Exposé Musical a standing ovation for all

Expressive Arts

Christy Wong (Year 11, violin), Catrina Leung(Year 13, saxophone) and Rachel McKie(Year 7, voice) were selected from over 50students at this year’s audition process forthe Worcestershire Young MusiciansShowcase. Each girl performed brilliantly infront of a large audience at the HuntingdonHall in Worcester.

Happy Birthday Elgar!On 2 June an appreciative audience at MalvernPriory enjoyed MSJ in concert, celebrating SirEdward Elgar’s birthday. Our School musiciansplayed many favourites, including theMovement I from the ‘Cello Concerto’, thebeautiful ‘Salut d’Amour’ and the School Choirsang some of Elgar’s charming vocal music. Itwas a perfect way to celebrate Elgar’s birthday.

Dreaming the DreamCongratulations to Grace Harris (Year 10) andNatalie Coventry (Year 11), who will spendtheir summer rehearsing for the MalvernTheatres Young Company performance ofthe musical ‘Les Miserables School Edition’which runs from 14 - 18 August. Graceauditioned for the principal role of ‘Eponine’with over 200 other hopefuls aged between14-19 years old, and was delighted to be castby Director Andy Reiss.

“I wanted to play Eponine but didn’t mindwhat I was offered as itwas my first audition”said Grace, “when mumreceived the email I wasreally, really excited”

The show will beprofessionally directed,choreographed andaccompanied by a liveband.

Grace HarrisMrs Lynne Lindner, Helen Liu, Mr David Strange, Ronnie Yeung, Mr Malcolm Forbes Peckham, Saska Ingham, Epiphany Poon, Ms Jenny Pearson, Catrina Leung, Mr Graham Lloyd

OrchestralExtravaganza HitsThe Right Notes!Local Prep and primary schools joined forceswith MSJ’s young musicians for a fun day ofmaking music together in our inauguralOrchestral Extravaganza. The children workedthroughout the day and were treated toperformances by senior MSJ girls in a speciallunchtime concert. The day culminated in aperformance of Schumann’s Chorale, theTheme from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony,and ‘Dead Dog Boogie’, which was especiallycomposed for the event. It was a marvellousopportunity for the young musicians to playtogether in such a large orchestra. We arelooking forward to welcoming more schools toour second Orchestral Extravaganza in theSpring Term 2014!

At the start of the Summer Term, our A Level Music students took to the stage in front of a capacityaudience to play their own choice of concerto movement in MSJ’s newest platform for showcasingthe outstanding talent being nurtured in this School - the Exposé Musical.

The five young ladies, Ronnie Yeung, Saska Ingham, Epiphany Poon, Catrina Leung and Helen Liuwere joined on stage by The Malvern Sinfonia, MSJ’s Associate Professional Orchestra andperformed concertos written by Wieniawski, Vivaldi, Elgar, Mozart and Grieg.

The combined Choirs of Malvern St James also featured on the programme, performing music byBorodin, Puccini and Humperdink. In typical MSJ fashion, the girls complemented their glitzyperformances by wearing dazzling evening dresses, transforming the evening into an extraordinaryand very professional affair; it’s hard to believe that this was a school concert.

This was a fabulous and unforgettable evening! Congratulations to all the soloists and girls who tookpart; we are extremely proud of you all.

Worcestershire Young Musicians

Conservatoire for GraceTalented flautist Grace Higgins (Year 11) has

been accepted on to the Birmingham Junior

Conservatoire Programme. The Junior

Conservatoire offers specialist training to

young musicians with exceptional potential.

We are delighted that Grace's ability and

dedication to her musical studies has been

recognised and we look forward to seeing her

flourish!


Prep Department

You want some more???!!!This year’s performance of ‘Olivia’, a reworking of the classic musical Oliver Twist, was atotal triumph for the Prep Department! A huge well done to all, for a show thatdemonstrates what our girls can achieve working as a team.

MSJ Strikes Gold in Well Dressing CompetitionYear 5 won a prestigious Gold award withRapunzel at the Malvern Well DressingCompetition

Going back in Time

Pre-Prep girls ‘enjoy’ Victorian Day

Pre-Prep girls dressed in French Chic to celebrateFrench Day. They cooked French Apple Tarts, andenjoyed creative activities. The most accurate replica ofthe Eiffel Tower was won by Rose Taylor and ElizabethMotteram, seen here with their winning model.

BollywoodTo link with Prep 2’s study of India, the girls have triedBollywood dancing using a mix of classical Indian Dance(known as ‘Kathak’), along with Bhangra and some popmoves from more western cultures.

Seaside Fun for Years 3-6

Oooh La La!


MSJ Sport

Well done to all girls involved in MSJSport this year. Outstandingachievements include:

Cross Country ● National ISA Cross Country: Sarah Ellis,

Elysia Garland and Penny Green (Year 10)ran for The Midlands team, each finishingwithin the Top 20 runners.

Netball● U14s won Worcestershire County Netball

Tournament and qualified for the regionalU14 Netball Championships inBirmingham.

● U14s also won the Worcestershire WestSchool Games Level 2 Netball Tournamentand are now the Worcestershire SchoolGames Champions.

Hockey● Four girls have been selected for the Junior

Regional Performance Centre phase ofEngland Hockey selection.

● U15s were undefeated and crownedNational Champions at ISA NationalSchools Hockey Tournament.

● U14s were named U14 WorcestershireCounty Champions and reached the SemiFinals of The Midlands Finals.

● U14s won the ISA National Hockeytournament and are now U14 ISA NationalChampions!

● U11s were unbeaten and namedWorcestershire County Champions,finishing 8th in the Regional round.

Lacrosse● 1st, 2nd and U15s won the Berkhamsted 8-

a-side tournament for their respective agegroups.

● U14s finished 3rd at the South Westtournament.

● Six U15s selected for the Gloucestershire /Worcestershire team.

● Four girls selected for the U19 County Team.

● Head Girl Lottie Van Praag (Year 13) wasselected for the South West Regional Team.

● The 1st Team finished 16th in the UK at theNational Schools Lacrosse tournament

● Lottie Van Praag, Nicky Clift and NatalieWhite (Year 11) represented Wales in theJunior team again this season.

Badminton● The MSJ Badminton Team reached the

regional round at Birmingham University.

Athletics● Five MSJ Athletes represented the Midlands

at the National ISA Finals

● At the ISA Midlands championships, MSJwon the overall Year 8/9 and Year 10/11 agegroups, beating the other 18 schools takingpart.

● Three girls represented Herefordshire andWorcestershire County at the Mason Trophyin Birmingham.

● At the Hereford and Worcester CountySchools Athletics Championships:Natalie White (Year 11) won the Inter girlsJavelinSaska Ingham (Year 13) won the 400m andthe Long Jump

● Hannah Tapley (Year 9) won both the ISANational High Jump, and the Hereford andWorcesterCounty SchoolsChampionships.Jumping 1.62m,Hannah hasbrokenChampionshipand Countyrecords.Hannah is nowranked 2nd inUK, and hasqualified for theESAA NationalChampionshipsin July.

Rounders● At the Worcestershire West School Games

Rounders Tournament: Year 10 MSJ teamsfinished 1st and 4th. MSJ went on to winthe Worcestershire Final, and are nowWorcestershire School Games Champions.

Tennis● Sisters Katie and Georgina Jeynes-Cupper

(Year 9 and Year 8 respectively) won thetitle of U14 County Doubles TennisChampions.

● Georgina has enjoyed a string of successfultournaments, knocking out top seeds, and isnow ranked in the UK’s Top 30 for her agegroup.

Eventing● Having attended Junior training with Team

GB, Imogen Gloag (Year 13) was invited toHaras de Jardy in France in May, which iswhere the Junior Europeans will be heldlater in the year. Imogen has now been longlisted for the Junior European EventingChampionships.

Golf● Lucy Walton (Year 9) competed in the

Murcia Ladies Open held at Hacienda delAlamo in Spain,finishing 4th.Lucy is nowpreparing for theScottish U16Championships,English U15Championshipsand her biggestchallenge to dateThe EnglishWomen’sAmateurChampionships.

MSJ SPORTING HIGHLIGHTS

U14 ISA National Hockey Champions

Lottie Van Praag in action


Outdoor Activities

Summer Term Outdoor PursuitsWe have been offering a number of watery activities thisterm. Sailing at Croft Farm Water Park has seen a number ofSixth Form girls working towards their RYA certificates. Also,a number of Year 8 and 9 girls have been ‘messing about onthe river’ trying out sculling and water skills on The RiverSevern, home to our Rowing Club.

Our climbers have been scaling the heights both atGloucester Warehouse and outdoors at the very scenic andadventurous Symonds Yat in the Forest of Dean.Congratulations to Isobel Adye-Ashdown (Year 9), who isnow a certificated ‘Lead Climber’.

Welcome back to Year 9 from your Adventure Activity Trip to Gilwern

The Duke of Edinburgh’s AwardKayaking● Sarah Ellis (Year 10) represented Great

Britain in her first International Kayakingcompetition in France.

Swimming● Davina Lam

(Year 13)represented TheMidlands at theISA NationalChampionshipsand won a Goldmedal in the50m freestylerelay.

Ice Skating● Nicky Connell (Year 7) has passed her Ice

Skating Level 10 and has now completedthe Stake UK's "Learn to Skate" Programme.

The number of girls who signed up for the Bronze doubled this year to 36 in total. We alsohave 21 girls undertaking the Silver Award, and 11 at Gold Level. Training days have beenin the Malvern Hills, Stiperstones, Shropshire, Black Mountains, the Brecon Beacons andSnowdonia. The Qualifying Expedition will take place in the Three Peaks of Yorkshire inthe summer.

Building Friendshipsand Working Together

MSJ Croquet SocietyThe Summer Term has seen lots of activity onthe croquet lawns for MSJ girls.

There have been visits to Severn Hill and SchoolHouse at Shrewsbury School, for croquetafternoons with lunch. Eton College kindlyhosted us to a delicious Al Fresco lunch andCroquet session. The play was quitecompetitive, with much hilarity. MalvernCollege have also challenged us to a returnmatch following last year’s contest.


Boarding At MSJ

Batsford has had a very exciting term makingthe most of the good weather, enjoying ourhuge garden: on the swings, building dens,and playing with all the new outdoor gamesthat The Friends bought us.

The highlight of the term was the trip to AltonTowers braving the scary rides, and getting MrsCardy soaked on the rapids. We have enjoyedBatsford boogies, bowling, shopping and thecinema. The Alice in Wonderland party andthe party with the inflatable in the pool werealso great fun. The girls loved Aztec watersports, and the beach, both a super way to endthe term. We say a fond farewell to Miss Jack,and to all the Year 8 as they move up into Year9 and their new Houses.

World of Events in Hatfield!I came to Hatfield last September, when I firstjoined this School. All of the social events havehelped me meet more and more people. Inmy opinion, the BBQ with the bouncy castlewas one of the best events, which was held inthe garden. We had so much fun on the castleand a delicious lunch!

One of the recent events was a trip with Mountto the cinema to see The Great Gatsby! Ienjoyed the movie so much that I have readthe book twice and now my dream party is theparty at Gatsby’s. We enjoy cinema and theatretrips with other Houses after Supper and pizzanights and Chinese meals in the House.

We are also allowed to cook in Hatfield, with

our Housemistress. We have a big kitchen anda great variety of kitchen utensils. With thehelp of Mrs Cole I made my own ‘qutabs’. Thisis our national Azeri cuisine. Everyone seemedto really appreciate the ‘new’ food.

One of my favourites this year was the HatfieldEaster Egg Hunt! Our Housemistresses hid ourchocolate Easter eggs around the House withour names on them. Everyone was delightedwith their eventual chocolate eggs, it was reallyfun.

Ulkar Akhundova(Year 10)

Batsford

Poulton & GreensladeFarewell to our Year 13 Leavers - well done for all your dedication and hard work, andgood luck for your A Level results in August!

The last two terms have been very busy with

visits to Alton Towers and Drayton Manor Park,

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award camp practices in

the snow and latterly blazing sunshine; Inter-

ship Cross Country, Tennis, Rounders,

Swimming and the Public Speakingcompetition, rival BBQs and croquet at

Shrewsbury School and Eton College.

Musicians have played and sung in the House

as well as the Exposé Musical and we have

enjoyed film and supper nights in the House

with ASK suppers and the latest Will Smith film.

Weekend baking sessions followed by tea

parties are always a great favourite and made

‘Revision’ sessions more enjoyable. Birthdays

were in abundance, with cakes made for

friends, a speciality. Supper parties with Mrs

Woodhouse have also been fun.

We have raised several hundred pounds by

selling personalised sugar candy canes,

followed by handmade ‘Valentine’ cookies,

individually iced. An Easter egg raffle and

finally a sale of ‘Krispy Kreme’ Doughnuts saw

us reach around £400.

We say a fond farewell and ‘Thank you’ to our

fabulous Year 11 as they move up into the

Sixth Form; they have been fun and wonderful

role models. Their activity-packed final week of

term will give them the send off they truly

deserve.

The Mount

The Friends of MSJThank you to The Friends for their first ever

‘Pig Roast’, and the Pimms, strawberries and

cream at Sports Day, as well as the following

generous donations:

● Prep Department: Year 6 Gifts and Lego

Mindstorm Robots

● Houses: games; hairbrushes; football

table; cookery equipment, rounders

posts; badminton set: posts, net,

racquets, shuttlecocks

Coming soon:

The Friends’ AGM26 September

Murder Mystery Evening 5 October

Games for the Houses


Over 60 girls from Years 9 - 13 joined a businessdiscussion evening at the beginning of May.Annabel Rayer, an Old Girl of the School who isnow Managing Director of her ownCheltenham-based PR company SilverBall,described the pitfalls, opportunities andexcitement of starting your own business.Carolyn Lazarus, founder of totally4women.coman online community aimed at women,discussed her business model, the hard work oflaunching a business and how to find thepositives from all challenges. Shortpresentations by visiting entrepreneurs werefollowed by questions, enabling girls to exploreany aspect of starting up and running your ownbusiness. The Year 10 Business group reportedback on their participation in the Real BusinessChallenge Regional Final in Birmingham. Theevening was a great success with the girls askingintelligent and challenging questions, and left usall inspired to get developing our own businessventures!

NEWS FROMTHE LIBRARY

Year 6 and Year 7 have been reading andreviewing the best books shortlisted for thisyear’s CILIP Carnegie & Kate GreenawayChildren’s Book Awards. Year 6 have beenconsidering the impact of illustrations for theGreenaway Award and Year 7 have beenanalysing writing styles and characterisationfor the Carnegie Award.

Year 7 discuss the Carnegie Award shortlisted books

MUN Annual DinnerAmbassadors presented reviews of eachconference with interesting insights andcelebrating successes across the board. Thisyear we attended a record number ofconferences in Manchester, Hampton,Edinburgh and Oxford with many awards forHighly Commended delegates. We have notyet won the wooden gavel, but maybe nextyear…

This was followed by our tradition of endlesstoasts by anyone who wanted to get up and

speak. Some were polished and serious suchas ‘The Queen’ and ‘The United Nations’,whilst some were politically outrageous.Many were full of thanks to Zoe Hutber,Catherine Stylianou and Chloe Moore, theamazing trio of leaders who have been quitebrilliant. The new team were dulyannounced: Presidents Elizabeth Rees andIfe Otegbeye, supported by Lucinda Ellaway-Bell as Vice President. Here’s to a great yearahead, full of new adventures!

Let’s Aim for

Oxford!The idea was to raise expectations at an earlystage and encourage girls to consider applyingto Oxbridge. One of the key aims was to allowthe girls to see what student life is really like bymeeting and talking to Old Girls in theircolleges. We hope to organise a similar eventnext year at Cambridge and also ask Old Girlswho are at / have been to other universities tocome and chat to the girls at School and bustthe myths.

Lucy Darling (PPE, Worcester College)welcomed us in and gave us a wonderful tourof her College. This was followed by a lunchwhere Alice Porter (English, Regents ParkCollege) sat and chatted to the girls andanswered lots of questions. After meeting anEnglish Don at Merton College and a HistoryDon at Christ Church, Jess Wright (Geography,Christ Church) gave us another great tour ofher College, including her room in PeckwaterQuad and encouraged the girls to apply toOxford.

The three Old Girls were wonderful rolemodels; not only had they worked hard atSchool, but they had also done a lot of otherthings whilst at MSJ, including Lacrosse, settingup a Drama group, all attending MUNConferences and Debating, not to mentionbeing Head Girls or busy Prefects. Their mainmessage to the girls was: aim high, organiseyour time, and don’t waste it.

Grace Higgins (Year 11), said “Today was anincredible opportunity to meet academics andstudents and to find out what Oxford is allabout. It was great to see 3 very idyllic collegesand it has really inspired me to work hard formy GCSEs”

In the Summer Term, twenty-twoenthusiastic Year 10 and 11 girls set offfor a day exploring Oxford University.

Summer Term started with the last event in the Model United Nations Calendar- the legendary annual Dinner!

Other News


Our three Young Enterprise companies thisyear, Epic, Iconic and Supernova, developed avariety of products, including a ChineseCookery Book, a Malvern Calendar, a tablematjigsaw for young children, lanterns and coastersengraved with images of Malvern.

Iconic and Supernova wereFinalists in the Young EnterpriseSouth Worcestershire competition,where Supernova won an awardfor the Best Teamwork, and wentthrough to the Herefordshire andWorcestershire Final winning theprestigious award for the BestPresentation.

“This YE experience has been useful andenjoyable. Learning how to build up a companyfrom scratch, with no previous experience, hasgiven us great insight into the world of business.”

(Harmony Chan, Year 12)

DATES FOR YOUR DIARYOpen MorningSaturday 12 October

Prep Schools Pop Lacrosse Thursday 7 November

Sixth Form Experience Friday 8 & Saturday 9 November

Prep Department Open Morning Wednesday 13 November

Sixth Form ScholarshipsMonday 18 & Tuesday 19 November

Senior School Entrance ExaminationsWednesday 27 November

Carol ServiceWednesday 11 December

Malvern St James Girls’ School, 15 Avenue Road, Great Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 3BA, United KingdomTel: +44 (0)1684 892288 Fax: +44 (0)1684 566204 Email: [email protected]

Introducing our Head Girl & Deputies

Our new Head Girl for 2013-14 is GeorgianaKwok, supported by her Deputies ElizabethRees and Kellina Gannon:

“Having moved through the School togethersince Year 10, we enjoy the strong bonds offriendship and with our fellow Prefects, welook forward to upholding the values of ourSchool with pride, exceeding all expectations!”

MSJ Old Girls’ Association

OGA Summer ReunionLet’s Nail the NinetiesOver 100 leavers from the 1990s joined us in May,including four former Headmistresses. The very lastvisitor to leave - Emily Styles (Johnson, 1995) gavefour charming books she has illustrated to the PrepDepartment.

Ten Years On The Class of 2003 returned in June to enjoy exploringMSJ, meeting staff and ‘sleeping over’ in Benhams.

Epic, Iconic and Supernova

Other News

Race for LifeMore than 90 MSJ entrants took partin this year’s Race for Life at WorcesterRacecourse, raising over £3,500.

DebatingDebating has been a huge success at MSJ again

this year. Big congratulations to Hannah Willis

and Louise Hayes (Year 10) who competed

against schoolsfrom throughout

the Midlands toreach the Finals in

the Taylor Trophy

held in Solihull.

The Ships have been busy this term battling itout for the final round of this year’s Admirals’Cup. With Intership Swimming, Rounders,Tennis, Public Speaking, the Quiz Challenge,Prep Department Talent Show and Sports Daythere has been enthusiastic participationthroughout the School, and Daring even manageda trip to visit HMS Daring and crew in port!

Ahoy There!Year 13 Daring girls with the Daring Crew


Documents

Malvern St James Summer 2013 Newsletter