Exams on the horizon….

May Day came in with ice on the windscreen this week and huge variations in temperature through the week but we are all hoping for a warm bank holiday weekend ahead. Last week saw the junior maths challenge with heads down over the problem solving and we are looking forward to the results. The Study II girls spent a very convivial hour with the Wychwood Association at the Leavers’ Social talking future plans, networking and illustrating how the Association can help the current Leavers as they move into university and their careers with contacts, ideas and work experience. The weekend was quiet with the boarders refusing the opportunity to ice skate as they wanted to revise – in some ways this was a good thing but we need to remind our girls that life should not be entirely overtaken by examination preparation.

During last week and at the beginning of this, the textiles girls at GCSE and A Level have been doing their examinations and the textiles room is full of really beautiful looking work – do come and see what they have achieved later this term in the Private View.

In staff news, Mrs Bennett Jones has decided to join her husband who is working abroad and so will not be with us next academic year – she will be much missed both as a maths teacher and as a member of the Senior Pastoral Team responsible for Key Stage 3. Her calm manner and wise counsel have been a boon to so many of the girls here. If anyone knows of a suitable mathematician, we would love to hear from them. Ms Drama Jones has also decided that she needs some time to travel so we will not have the joy of her teaching next year. However, we are lucky to have Mrs Mandy Constance who will take on the drama, LAMDA and Travel and Tourism BTEC next year, and who is well known to all of us as the director of the Promenade Play last year for the 120th Birthday Party, an experienced and a great dramatic practitioner. Mrs Roitt, who has been the force behind the geography department for the last four years, is moving to be closer to her family in Manchester and will be succeeded by Mr Phil Humphreys, who is extremely experienced and enthusiastic. The girls have already met Mrs Amy Wardell, Ms Art Jones’ successor, who will bring a different focus to the art department and who comes to us from St Helen and St Katharine in Abingdon.

This evening the Upper Transits and Shell are off to Stratford for a picnic by the river prior to seeing the Scottish play at the Royal Shakespeare Company – what a wonderful way to spend a Friday evening!

We all wish you an enjoyable and relaxing bank Holiday.

Mrs Andrea Johnson
Headmistress