Wykeham House School

|

|

|

|

HOME

Foundation Stage

|

|

Art Exhibition by Mr Robertson
Just in case you haven’t seen the posters in school I do recommend a visit to Bedales Gallery between now and 24th March to view the exhibition of Mr Robertson’s work. ‘The Net Mender’ is an exhibition of box constructions and drawings; opening times are Monday – Friday 2.00-5.00pm and Saturday 10.00am-1.00pm. I know many of you will be familiar with the nature of Mr Robertson’s work, inspired by Scotland’s landscapes, writing and history. We are very proud to have such an eminent artist working on our staff to inspire the girls in the field of creative art. Douglas Robertson is an artist who divides his time between living and working with us in Hampshire and collecting and researching in his native Scotland. More details will be found on his website; www.douglasrobertson.co.uk



Rotary Youth Speaks
Wykeham House was very well represented at the local round of the Rotary Youth Speaks Competition, with four excellent teams from the Senior School. Our congratulations go to everyone who took part and to Mrs Jones for preparing the groups. The topics varied hugely but the enthusiasm and passion from the girls shone through in every one of the presentations. We were thrilled to win the Senior Competition with the team of Olivia Morris-Soper, Abigail Flynn and Caroline Wiltshire. These girls will now go forward to the next round which is taking place next Tuesday 2nd February.

Wykeham House and Uplands School Challenge Day
Thursday 29th January saw the two schools join together for what turned out to be an amazing fun filled, educational day. For Years 5 and 6 the day started with Uplands arriving and joining our girls in the Dining Room; some of them looking a little apprehensive and the boys looking bemused about being in an all girls school! So, it was wonderful to go into the hall and see them all working together as if they had known each other for ages solving an array of maths puzzles and then to climb the stairs to the laboratories and see them stirring, testing and recording an exciting experiment. The photos alone show what fun they were having. What a marvellous opportunity for them to work with different children, using a variety of thinking, mathematical, scientific and social skills to solve the challenges set.

The afternoon saw the creation of a marble run and again the children rose to the challenge inventing the most incredible looking paper structures. The trick was to slow the marble’s descent and the winning time was over six seconds. A huge thank you must go to the staff from both schools for their hard work. We look forward to our next link with the school.


Haiti Earthquake Appeal
Ellen Wood, Katie Smith, Sophie Lever and the girls of 9PG were so moved by the earthquake disaster that they prepared an assembly which they delivered to the Senior girls this week. They provided a bucket for any donations and after just a couple of days they had raised Ł100 for the DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee) fund. They wanted to thank everyone for their generosity and remind people that they can still give via the DEC website on www.dec.org.uk Snow, snow and more snow!
What a start to the new year and new term. It was good to see so many of the girls on Monday after our enforced closure due to the extreme weather conditions. Their stories of sliding, sledging and snowman building were good to hear and it was obvious they enjoyed the extra days at home. I think, however, many of us adults were glad to get back into some sort of routine! As you can see from the photos, the Bursar and his team were busy clearing the paths to make it safe for our return. As the snow was starting to melt, we had a visit from a ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ who seemed to make himself at home amongst staff cars. We did wonder whether he was a new pupil or parent and some say they did overhear Mrs Clarke asking whether he had any daughters at home!

Sponsored Walk / Run
On Wednesday 21st October we raised money for our house charity 'Naomi House' by walking around Bath Lane recreation ground during our lunch hour.

Girls Go Green week 5-9th October 2009
Girls at Wykeham House School have been 'thinking' about environmental issues for this year's Girls Go Green week, and writing 'eco' poetry. Inspired by the 'One million feet to Copenhagen' campaign currently running on the Footprint Friends website, the girls poems have been written within the theme of 'My dream of the future'. Wykeham House Senior Girls have written some impressive and intelligent poetry pieces ranging in style from haiku to rap. A selection of the work may be seen in the Eco Group section of the school's website.
Women Into Leadership Conference
Over one hundred year 10 and 11 girls from across the South gathered at St Swithun’s School in Winchester on Wednesday 16th September to hear leading business women talk about ‘Women in Leadership’ at a conference organised by the South Central Region of the Girls’ Schools Association. The first of what it is hoped will become a regular series of events was organised with the aim of raising the aspirations of the girls and to hear first hand the demands of leading others. The Keynote speaker was Mrs Karen Ford, a Wykeham House parent and Founder Director of the charity Footprint Friends. Following the initial presentation about the meaning of ‘Leadership’ three other Wykeham house parents and friends; Mrs C Barfoot, who worked in marketing before taking up a Senior Lectureship at Southampton Solent University, Mrs S Heaysman and Mrs D Stark both Managers from IBM, led group discussions with the girls.

The conference closed with a panel question and answer session in the main auditorium of the Performing Arts Centre with our presenters and girls.

Headmistress Lynn Clarke said; ‘Girls from GSA schools go on to have stimulating careers in many different professions and this conference was about giving them the opportunity to meet and talk with women who have been very successful in many different spheres. Our aim in planning it was to inspire girls to aim high and be at the forefront of their chosen professions. It was wonderful that so many women gave freely of their time and were thrilled to be a part of this exciting initiative.’


Latest News from the Nursery
The Nursery has had a very busy start to the term. The new 'outside classroom' is excellent, providing shelter from both rain and sun.

A recent self-review inspection by Hampshire County Council rated our provision as 'outstanding' and the new 'Mother and Toddler' Group had a very successful first meeting on Wednesday morning with ten mums and toddlers. If you would like to join the 'Mother and Toddler' group please phone the school for details, it is on Wednesday morning from 10.30am to 11.30am.


Chelsea Football Training Session
On Friday 18th September Wykeham House girls enjoyed a taster session with Chelsea Football Coaches. The girls will now be able to join a football club run after school each Friday to improve their ball control skills.


Welcome back
Autumn Term began on Thursday 3rd September and we were delighted to welcome lots of new girls to the school. Our Senior School is now larger than last year which is I am sure a testament to the school's success, small class size and dedicated staff team. The new Head Girls Team of Fern Barker, Hannah Moore and Rebecca Heaysman were introduced to all the new girls in our first assembly.


Pupils at Wykeham House Score Top Marks in GCSE Results
Pupils and staff are celebrating at Wykeham House School today as the GCSE results are published. Girls at the School have achieved excellent results with 100% of pupils gaining five or more GCSEs with A* to C grades and over 40% of results at A* and A. Results at the School continue to be of the highest standard year on year maintaining the School’s excellent academic record. Lynn Clarke, Head Teacher said ‘I am delighted for the girls and staff who together work very hard and have been justly rewarded with these excellent grades. Many of the girls have been at the School for a number of years and we get to know them and their families very well. It is good to see that they are now very well placed to move on to Sixth Form courses and stimulating careers. We congratulate them all and wish them every success in their future studies.’ Frances Bryon who gained mostly As and As is also an international Skier and is currently in Canada training. Jenny Mulholland, Frances’ Mum believes her results are down to the hard work and the flexibility offered by the School. ‘The small teaching groups and focus of the School has brought Frances from an average student to an A grade student in three years’ she said. ‘The School has supported her in her ski training allowing her to travel abroad whilst still keeping up with her school work.’ Victoria Moore who has achieved 11As is really pleased with her results. Mrs Moore said ‘Victoria has worked really hard, we are delighted for her and the School has worked really well for her’. Wykeham House School is a day school for girls with an outstanding reputation for pastoral care. Its aim is to encourage the girls' potential, both in and out of the classroom and excellent teaching combined with small class sizes ensure a high academic standard is achieved each year.
George and Jan Caddy	Grace Brumhill, Head Girl and Jamie Curnow, Deputy Head Girl
Victoria Moore who gained 11 A*s, with her family


2009 Prom at the Botley Grange Hotel
On Monday 6th July, Year 11 girls enjoyed a Leaving Prom at the Botley Grange Hotel. A wonderful evening was had by all. The girls danced the night away joined by staff, parents, good friends and boyfriends.


Speech and Drama Performance.
On Tuesday 23rd June Speech and Drama pupils form Year 6 and the Senior School performed six short plays. Congratulations to all the girls involved.


© 2007 Wykeham House SchoolTelephone: 01329 280178Fax: 01329 823964