Over two days, Paul Batchelor worked with English, Modern Foreign Language and Classics groups. He got them all writing their own versions of Virgil and Apollinaire poems. Paul was genuinely impressed by the readiness to write and freedom to explore, which he encountered in South Hampstead girls of all ages.

We are looking forward to welcoming Paul back to South Hampstead for a longer residency next year.

At the school, after a short coach journey, we met our family - a beautiful dog called Tani, and an extremely lovely, typically Spanish, and welcoming woman called Carmen.

We had a lovely dinner and went to bed early, because we knew we were going to have a busy day the day after!

The next few days were packed with fun activities, lessons and excursions . Here are a few of our favourite moments :

• our visit to Mijas on the first day, an incredible sweet little authentic Spanish town, where we found lots of great gifts for friends and family
• the flamenco lessons, because they gave us a sense of Spanish culture
• the Alhambra Palace, because it was so intricately designed
• the Cathedral / Mosque because it was stunning, and had a huge amount of interesting history behind it
• the Spanish lessons at our school, because they taught us such amazing Spanish using loads of different and interesting methods. They went by so quickly as we were all having so much fun !
• the food ... It was amazing !!!
• our Spanish 'mother' because she looked after us so well
• the beach, because it was breath-taking
• the heat, because it was over 26 degrees Celsius on most of the days !
• the teachers, because they were so understanding and helpful

All in all it was an amazing trip, and we are so grateful we went. We feel we have learnt loads of Spanish, and have really had the chance to have proper conversations with people. We would definitely recommend this trip to future year 7 and 8 Spanish learners ... You won't regret it !

By Cameron and Martha, Year 8

LAUNCH OF SHOGA!

The current Head Girl Team has relaunched SHOGA – the South Hampstead Old Girls’ Association. SHOGA will enable girls and staff to keep in touch with each other once they have left the school; to exchange news, meet for reunions and network with other South Hampstead Old Girls.

It seems that there used to be an Old Girls’ Association many years ago but it fell by the wayside, so we have set up a new one. Over the past year we have been liaising with a huge number of old girls to establish the concrete foundations of a brand new, up-to-date association.

We have formed a committee of old girls, with Mrs Coates as Chairman, and appointed year group representatives going to back to the class of 1994. We have also created a newsletter which will now be produced annually (follow the link below to read the first issue). It has been great to see the interesting things that old South Hampstead girls are doing now.

In addition, we have set up the first of what we hope will be many reunions – a '5 Years On' reunion for the class of 2008, which is taking place on 28th March.

SHOGA is something that all those who have been a part of South Hampstead can benefit from and we are very pleased to have been its founders.

By Amy George, Martha Parsons, Isabel Kilborn, Neha Khaliq and Tamar Freiberger (Head Girl Team 2012-2013)

In a moving and entertaining speech, the parenting guru spoke of the challenges parents face raising their daughter in a modern world and offered practical advice on parenting throughout the five stages of ‘girlhood’.

The event was one in only six scheduled talks by the author in conjunction with the launch of his new book, Raising Girls which has become a UK bestseller in less than two weeks since its release.

“We were honoured to welcome Steve to our school. His insight into the challenges of raising girls in today’s world really resonated with our parents,” said Headmistress, Jenny Stephen. “Alongside parenting, the school environment plays an important role in the development of a child and Steve’s views on building confidence and developing a strong sense of self really reflect the ethos of our school.”

The talk was one of a series of annual events organised the Junior School PTA with the aim of supporting SHHS parents.

Pupils in Years 6 and 7 will participate in the experiments to calculate a value for the earth’s gravity, simultaneously with 2000 pupils from GDST schools across the country. Bean-bags and yo-yos are at the ready!

Science is extremely popular at SHHS. Last year, over 30% of SHHS Sixth Formers  applied to read science at university. Of those sitting A2 physics, over 50% applied to read physics or engineering.

Ava

“The grades tell a story that we’re familiar with from the Olympics,” said Jenny Stephen, Headmistress. “If you take talented and dedicated individuals that aim high and work hard, they will win the gold.”

“We are proud of our girls and thrilled with their results, but education at South Hampstead is about more than exam grades,” said Mrs Stephen. “Our girls are equally outstanding in art, drama, music and sport. They lead rich lives outside the classroom and are mature, happy and balanced young ladies.”

The school saw strong results in a range of subjects, including English Literature, Mathematics, History, Biology, Religious Studies, Art and DT.

The girls were invited by Plan UK, the international children’s charity, to join hundreds of other young people raising awareness of the ‘Because I am a Girl’ campaign on the bridge which will be closed to the public.

"We are delighted to have the opportunity to continue to support Plan’s work to help some of the world's poorest girls," says Mrs Stephen, Headmistress at South Hampstead High School. “For the past two years, our girls have raised an impressive amount for Plan UK's campaigns through two school-wide sponsored walks. Last year, SHHS raised enough to school 444 girls for one year or 88 for their entire secondary education, in the developing world. So far this year, we've raised enough for up to 1,000 young girls and women to take part in an education programme on the dangers of early and forced marriage."

Plan is campaigning on behalf of 75 million girls around the world not in school - and aims to help four million girls into education by 2015.

The floating cavalcade will be part of four days of celebrations to mark the Queen's 60 years on the throne.

The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and other members of the Royal Family will travel on the Royal Barge, The Spirit of Chartwell.

Organisers say the procession route is about seven miles long and will be decorated with 14 miles of bunting.

"We're honoured to be involved in such a momentous occasion - and it's especially poignant that we'll be joined on Waterloo Bridge by hundreds of schoolgirls from around the UK," says Plan UK's chief executive Marie Staunton.

"We've been working with the Commonwealth to try and raise awareness of the millions of girls in the world's poorest countries who don't go to school and the jubilee will help bring their plight to a global audience."

Lord Salisbury, Chairman of the Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation, says: "A key consideration for the Pageant organisers was that as well as making the Pageant an unforgettable day of celebration, we wanted to contribute to The Queen's Diamond Jubilee legacy by supporting charitable projects that improve the lives of Commonwealth citizens."

Plan's 'Because I am a Girl' campaign aims to highlight the plight and potential of the world's girls by securing them an education and support.  For more information visit: www.choicesforgirls.org

The event will reach audiences across the globe and registered schools, book clubs and individuals are invited to ask the author questions online. Afterwards, the talk will be available to watch on demand for one month. It is the first in a series of live-streamed author events from Simon & Schuster’s children’s and YA list.

Eleven SHHS designers were through to the final of the competition with inventive and beautiful projects that included an intricate baby mobile, ‘bone’ jewellery, a cupcake chandelier, a coffee table and an child’s game with interlocking pieces based up on the Parc de Villette, Paris – to name a few.

Well done girls!!

Students were tasked with researching one of the 350 different career opportunities in the NHS and producing a job advertisement and either a job description or a CV of the ideal candidate for their chosen role. Over 1,250 students from across England entered the competition.

The Year 8 girls decided to look at the role of a surgeon in the NHS. The judges were particularly impressed by their creativity and understanding of the role in developing a range of materials including an animated video which really demonstrated the impact surgeons have on people’s lives. Click here to view the advert.

Georgina, Genie and Zoe were each presented with their prizes of £50 Amazon vouchers by Professor Fares Haddad, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, during a special presentation at the school.

Mrs Stephen, Headmistress, said, “We are thrilled that our students have won this important prize. This competition has proven to be a valuable classroom tool, engaging students with the workings of the health service and the different career options available to them. The hard work and effort invested in this project reflects their commitment and dedication.”

Georgina, Genie and Zoe, said, “We enjoyed taking part in the competition and now we are more aware of the jobs available in the NHS. We chose to look at the role of a surgeon as we wanted to learn more about what people do in this role and how they help people suffering from injuries and diseases. Through the research we did for the competition, we have learnt a lot about the day-to-day work of a surgeon and are seriously considering a job in the NHS when we finish school.”

Download Your Complimentary Ticket Here

Nina Fowler's booth is number 138

The Other Art Fair Returns to London

Following the success the of inaugural launch of The Other Art Fair in November 2011, this Spring a larger, second instalment of the fair will open at the Ambika P3 at University of Westminster. A truly unique artistic venture, The Other Art Fair will once again give audiences the opportunity to see the brightest emerging artists working in Britain in one location from 10 May – 13 May 2012. With the inclusion of more artists in a bigger venue, The Other Art Fair is unlike any other, providing a platform for artists that allow them to build their profile whilst also giving the opportunity to connect with collectors and gallerists directly.

Last year The Other Art Fair debuted as a brand new contemporary art fair at The Bargehouse on London’s South Bank. Over three and a half days, the fair received 4,300 visitors and 1,200 attended the private view. Collectors spent over £120,000 on art with thousands more spent after the fair. One artist single handily sold over £10,000 worth of art works while many were approached by prominent galleries for representation including Scream, Rove, Opera Gallery, Rook and Raven and Rosenfeld Porcini.

Applauded for its exceptional foresight, The Other Art Fair diverts from the formulaic approach of other fairs by encouraging emerging talent to sell their works directly to the public and allowing galleries to view some of the best, undiscovered talent working in Britain today in one location. As demonstrated by the first edition, The Other Art Fair can claim to be a source of artists who will go on to be represented by London’s top galleries, thus providing collectors with an early opportunity to purchase work which is likely to escalate in value.

At The Other Art Fair, viewers will be able to see work created by the winner of the Club Monaco Art Prize, Dan Hillier, who was chosen from the top exhibiting artists of the previous fair. He comments: “I think the way in which The Other Art Fair supports artists is spot on and makes a welcome change to the way a lot of organisations seem to go about treating artists generally.” This year the selection of the participating artists has been just as rigorous with a committee that has a diverse range of expertise in the art world:

The Committee:

Chris Levine’s progressive light work for Massive Attack, Grace Jones and his iconic holographic portraits of HM Queen Elizabeth II have positioned him as a leading figure working within the developing area of light as an art form. Using media such as laser, optics, LED and natural light, Levine aims to inspire a sense of wonder in viewers, taking them to unexplored sensory and spiritual territory in the process. The technology he uses is a means to an end; his work is about the beauty of light and the way we see and feel imagery. His work has graced galleries, fashion shows, band tours, and advertisements.

Francesca Gavin is a writer, curator and editor. She is Visual Arts Editor at Dazed & Confused and Twin Magazine, and is a Contributing Editor at AnOther. She has also written for publications including, Vogue, Wallpaper*, Elle, Guardian online and Timeout. The author of several books relating to the visual arts, including most recently 100 New Artists, which charts the upcoming generation of artists who will create the aesthetics of the next decade.

Kenny Schachter is an art dealer, curator and writer currently living and working in London. A renowned art collector, he owns works by artists including Vito Acconci, William Pope, Zaha Hadid, the Campana Brothers, Richard Woods, Keith Tyson, Franz West, Chris Burden and many more. Director of Hoxton Square’s Rove Gallery amongst other projects, Schachter defies categorisation, but is nonetheless hailed as a true innovator in the art world and elsewhere.

The Other Art Fair will also offer a range of interactive activities including:

Joffe & Pye’s Other Other Art Fair will provide visitors with the chance to visit an art fair within an art fair. They will present the work of ten emerging artists and will award one of them an exclusive “Superstar YBA of the Next Generation” prize, also tempting visitors with champagne and goodie bags.

Tom’s Shoes will once again seek out the artistic talent amongst fair-goers, this time looking for a winning design for a pair of sunglasses. After the fair the winner will then be presented with the finished product.

Hey Picasso Junior, Get in the Interactive Kid Corner! will be a supervised area for children to experiment with art materials from paint to playdough, leaving parents to explore the fair at their leisure.

Under 100 has been brought about by the Other Art Fair to offer each and every visitor the opportunity to become an art collector. For under £100, pieces by emerging artists will be a key investment, with their reputations set to grow in coming years.

Curated Walks, led by Jotta, these walks will cover topics such as ‘Buying your First Piece’, and ‘Investing in Art’ to give new buyers an insight into art collecting. Taking place three times a day, visitors should be sure to book in advance.

The Other Art Fair Unplugged will provide live music each day at the fair from a variety of emerging musical talent. A highlight will be Sunday’s performance from folk sensation, the singer-songwriter Emily Barker.
FAD OFFICE will be presenting a fictional construct of a 1970’s magazine, FAD then, a fully functional office space will open at this year’s Other Art Fair (2012). FAD looks to the past to re-imagine the role of the publisher in the future, using the office as a testing site to research and critique ideas that are not openly discussed today. To comment on the shifting values in art both politically and socially. FAD asks; do we need to look back in order to move forward? And what will the future hold for art?
In a hope to bridge the gap between the online and physical incarnations of FAD, FAD Office will present a curated programme of presentations with invited artists and curators; a series of in-depth interviews all of which will be documented and available online. The responsive staging of the office will take place over the four days for the public to watch - welcoming critical and collaborative discourse and exchange.

Where: Ambika P3, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Rd, London NW1 5LS
When: 10 May – 13 May 2012
Nearest Tube: Baker Street
More Info: http://theotherartfair.com

We had a lovely outing to the Mont Saint Michel, where we had a tour of the Medieval abbey and shopped for souvenirs and crêpes.



Our other excursion was a day in Bayeaux, where we put our French to the test in the market, visited the gothic cathedral and saw the famous tapestry, bringing to life what had been learnt in History lessons at school.



The food at the chateau was fantastic and mealtimes presented another opportunity to practise our French. While the first breakfast was a little overwhelming for some, by the end of the week, everyone was taking their turn to ask for “encore du pain” or “encore de l’eau” at the kitchen. The girls wrote a diary in French every day and they had extra French lessons with me in the chateau grounds. On the penultimate evening we had a French themed fancy dress evening, with snails as our starter at dinner, which was served by Astérix and Obélix. Hundreds of South Hampstead girls have enjoyed the chateau experience over the years and it really is a fantastic opportunity. I would like to thank this year’s group for being such lovely company and for approaching all of the activities with such enthusiasm. I would also like to thank Miss Forsey and Miss Reynolds for their tireless help and support of the girls during the week.

M. Smeaton May 2012

While in Barcelona, we visited many remarkable sites including el Palau Guell and el Parque Guell both by Gaudi, the Dali museum in Girona and we had a very interesting tour of the old Jewish quarter. We saw a cathedral, also by Gaudi, called La Sagrada Familia. This was my favourite of the sites we visited, it was very unusual. Gaudi’s designs were based entirely around nature which gave the cathedral a light and open atmosphere; everyone found the effect breath-taking.



The exchanges and their families were incredibly warm and friendly and very willing to help us to learn the language. They welcomed us into their homes and showed us how it’s done in Spain! We all enjoyed ourselves enormously and would like to say Thank you to both Mme Finley and Ms Bell for leading the trip!

South Hampstead groups have also performed with great credit in the Spring Grove chamber music competition, with a piano trio consisting of girls from year 11 and year 9 (Charlotte, Lizzy and Emily) giving a stirring account of music by Smetana in the Classical Final. Meanwhile, the Clarinet Quartet, making their debut in chamber music competitions this year, were winners in the Popular category. Director of Music Daniel Webb paid tribute to all of the girls involved. “They have all worked extremely hard and shown great maturity in their playing. We are extremely proud of them and they can reflect with great satisfaction on their performances. Their teachers, Caryn Cohen and Sarah Clarke must also take credit for preparing them so thoroughly and for giving them the confidence to enjoy themselves in performance.”

We have chosen to celebrate our heritage through creating our own handmade bags with simple icon British images on them, as well as printing our vintage posters with photographs taken in 1950's. We've been selling in market places around London as well as around school, trying to promote our brand and celebrate this historic year.

Find out more here.

If you would like to buy or check out our products email us.

The large hadron collider – the search for the Higgs boson

Things are moving very quickly at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, with new results coming in every week. Jonathan Butterworth, Professor of Physics at UCL and head of the UK part of the ATLAS collaboration – one of four detectors at the CERN Large Hadron Collider, will tell what we have learned so far and what we hope to learn in the future. This will include the status of the hunt for the Higgs boson, thought to be behind the electroweak symmetry breaking and the origin of mass.

The Science of Zombies

Dr Anna Tanczos of the University of Surrey will take a look at Zombies in modern popular culture, in history and stories of real-life Zombies in Haiti. The science includes toxins from puffer fish, sodium channels and compounds such as atropine; molecules associated with ‘Zombie Powder’. There are careers in Zombie science!”

Pain, empathy, and evolution

Dr Amanda Williams of University College London will cover pain as a fundamental evolved defence; why we and other animals express pain in our behaviour; and how this helps us understand empathy and helping others in need.

The scientific methods used in psychology

Dr Rosalind Arden and Dr Yulia Kovas will describe a fascinating research project currently conducted at King's College and Goldsmiths College, with contribution from South Hampstead High School students. The project investigates the origins of individual differences in learning and behaviour, using the data from thousands of UK twins. We will describe all stages of this project development: from theoretical rational, to developing of the hypotheses, to developing and piloting of the research instruments, to collecting data, to data analyses and interpretation of the results, to preparing the results for dissemination.

Astrobiology, the hunt for alien life

'Astrobiology' is a brand new field of science, encompassing research into the origins and limits of life on our own planet, and where life might exist beyond the Earth. But what actually is 'life' and how did it emerge on our own world? What are the most extreme conditions terrestrial life can tolerate? And where in the cosmos might we reasonably expect to find ET? Join Dr. Lewis Dartnell, University College London, on a tour of the other planets and moons in our solar system which may harbour life, and even further afield to alien worlds we've discovered orbiting distant stars, to explore one of the greatest questions ever asked: are we alone...?

We were fortunate to have dedicated tutors: Frances Leviston, a poet and Chris Wakling, a novelist. During our time in Totleigh Barton, they introduced us to critical aspects of creative writing, especially in the morning sessions that went on till early afternoon. We were given a great amount of time and freedom to work on our poetry or stories, to take pleasant walks through rambling fields, and to read, chat or make tea and hot chocolate. This made the trip unusually relaxing and enjoyable as we were not on a tight schedule, striving to achieve something every minute of the day. We had immense freedom to do what we wanted to with our writing and creative process. We also had very productive one-to-one sessions with our tutors who shared their knowledge and their experiences so generously.

Apart from these activites, there was another exciting diversion: four of five girls along with one of the directors were allocated time in the evening to prepare dinner with a pre-planned menu. Nobody ever expected this to become a competition but we all ended up trying to see who would decorate the dining room most elegantly! Later in the evening we were expected to go back to the barn for further discussions with Chris and Frances. During these sessions we would do more light-hearted activities such as writing poems about two words we picked out of a hat. During one of these sessions one evening, short story writer, Tania Herschman, visited us. She read a few stories from her book ‘The White Road and Other Stories’ and some extracts from her current writing. After our evening sessions, most of us would head back to the kitchen, a cosy meeting point, to make tea hot chocolate and in, some odd cases, even scrambled eggs! We would then venture off to the living room and play games or talk about the day’s activities until bedtime.

On the last night of our stay in Totleigh Barton, we all read out one or two pieces of our work to the whole group. Though it was a short time, it was clear that we had all learnt and achieved much during the course of the workshop. Alas, time flew by and the day of our departure arrived way too soon. Seventeen dispirited girls, with seventeen pieces of luggage and two teachers left Totleigh Barton, wishing they could have stayed longer in the peaceful, serene surroundings of Devon. I can safely say, however, that every minute we spent there was fun, memorable and truly inspiring.

Imaan

Download the Arvon Anthology here

Pupils across the school raised close to £2,000 in the lead up to SHHS ‘Pink Day’ to see the Mathematics teacher and Charity Co-ordinator arrive to school on the Metropolitan Line wearing pink from head to toe including fairy wings and a tutu.

“I want to encourage women to talk more openly about gynaecological cancers,” said Mrs Svoboda. “As a society, we’ve become comfortable talking about breasts and breast cancer which is great, but now we need to become comfortable talking about gynaecological cancers. We need more research and awareness in this area - if more women knew the warning signs and symptoms we could drastically increase survival rates . ”

'Pink Day' was celebrated across the junior and Senior school with fundraising activities and a Senior School assembly on female cancers. The money raised will be donated to two women’s cancer charities, Breast Cancer Care and the Eve Appeal.

The play begins as if it were a real school production, with a marvellous monologue from the head teacher (Maho). This is a great opening to the play and sets up for a truly tremendous show. The scene in which we first see Trixie (Lily) and Daisy is spiffing, and they really capture the strong bond and friendship between the girls. That said there are fine showings from the piggy and nasty pairing of Monica (Olivia) and Sybil (Saydee). The pair added a great sense of both humour and drama to the play with their antics. The enigmatic Russian teacher played by Lily was a pleasure to watch whilst being critical to the plot line. There's a bit of help from the staff too playing teachers and other grown-ups, Miss Granville (Hannah) , daisy’s mother (Ella) and the librarian (Cassandra) all played their parts terrifically and really made the play what it was.
The Hockey scene was staged marvellously and was really effect for the audience. Daisy, Belinda (Morag), Clare (Christiana) and Alice (Bella) were delightful whilst keeping the reality of the scene. Another outstanding scene was when Daisy heroically saved her two enemies from a tragic death. The scene was very emotional and really showed the high quality of acting involved in this play. Before the final scene all the mysteries were unravelled with a heartfelt monologue from the gardener who turned out to be Daisy’s long lost father. The play concluded with a final hymn and a happy ending.
The costumes and sets give an added touch to the play. This is a topping production, full of incredibly talented actresses. Credit must also be given to the amazing Director who put it all together, Mrs Ashwell.

See more photos in the Gallery

Paige