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Friday 7 February 2020 |
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The competitive debating season came to an end for the High School this week, with two teams competing in heats following their successes last term. The Sixth Form debaters went to Stowe on Thursday 30 January for the English Speaking Union’s Schools’ Mace Competition. They took on Oundle over the ‘commercialisation of Pride’, with Katie delivering an impassioned, well-reasoned opening speech. Amelie then responded to Oundle’s first speaker, successfully rebutting the opposition’s argument, before Niamh ably addressed audience questions and summarised the proposition’s case. The crux of the debate centred around a distinction between the commercialisation and the sponsorship of Pride. Unfortunately for us, the judge felt that Oundle’s approach to the issue was more compelling. We were in good company, however, as Stowe lost to Chenderit School, with all four teams commended for the high standard of their debating skills.
On Monday 3 February, the L5 public speakers travelled to Bedford School to compete in the ESU-Churchill Public Speaking Competition. Six teams had made it through to this round and the standard here was, if anything, even more perplexingly high (if any older readers need a reason to feel optimistic about the future, do attend one of these competitions – the kids are alright). Neeya spoke eloquently on the topic of problem gambling, dealing confidently with probing questions from Bedford School’s questioner. Meanwhile, Hannah chaired the speech delivered by Bedford’s speaker on recycling with customary energy and quick-wittedness (having won best chairman in the previous heat), while Angelica developed a set of questions that successfully illuminated the speech. After much deliberation, the judges returned their verdict and Bedford Free School were through to the regional final. Taking part in these intellectually demanding competitions is enormously valuable to the girls and they can feel rightly proud to have got this far against some very talented debaters. Mr Viesel |
Week Ahead |
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Monday 10 February Tuesday 11 February Wednesday 12 February |
Thursday 13 February Friday 14 February |
Alumna of the Year 2020 |
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As you know, many of our alumnae have achieved great levels of success and renown and have gone on to extremely exciting, dynamic careers. We regularly have opportunities for our pupils to find out more about our alumnae’s many and varied career paths and how to progress in a myriad of fields. The GDST Alumnae Network now has more than 70,000 former students and staff of the 23 schools and two academies of the GDST. The network offers girls in our schools mentoring, networking, special interest communities and much more. Within the network are many successful alumnae who have become highly regarded and |
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even household names, including, amongst many others, Konnie Huq, TV presenter and children’s author (Notting Hill & Ealing), Hannah Mills MBE, Olympic gold medal-winning sailor (Howell’s), Olivia Colman, Oscar-winning actor (Norwich), Khadijah Mellah, Magnolia Cup winner 2019 (Sydenham), Cressida Dick CBE, Metropolitan Police Commissioner (Oxford), Sophie Simnett, Actor (Putney), and Dame Mary Beard, Classicist (Shrewsbury). To recognise the inspirational alumnae of our group of schools, the GDST runs the annual ‘GDST Alumna of the Year Award’. The GDST Alumna of the Year Award is now in its tenth year, and our 25 GDST schools have been asked to nominate alumnae for consideration for this year’s competition. A shortlist is currently being drawn up by GDST colleagues, and the whole school community will soon be invited to vote for the alumna who, in their opinion, most deserves this accolade. We are exceptionally proud to have nominated two of Northampton High’s revered alumnae this year, and we would like to share with you a little information with you about each of our nominees, Anne Fine OBE and Professor Sasha Roseneil. Read more about our nominees here Mrs Wilmot |
Annika a finalist in Computational Thinking Challenge at Oxford University's Department of Computer Science |
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U4 student Annika was invited to the Department of Computer Science at the University of Oxford on Sunday 26 January, as a finalist in a UK-wide competition – The UK Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge. Reaching the final of the Intermediate (12–14) age group is an impressive achievement, as 130,774 students entered the first round for this age group. Annika was among the top 48 highest achieving students invited to the final round in her age group, and was presented with her finalist’s certificate at a prize-giving ceremony at Hertford College. The UK Bebras Computational Thinking Challenge, supported by the Raspberry Pi Foundation, is designed to get students excited about computing and computational thinking. It is a problem-solving contest with questions inspired by topics in computer science. In the first round, held in their own schools, students have to try and solve as many problems as possible in the allotted time. There are six age categories. The highest scoring students from the four oldest age groups (Elite, Seniors, Intermediate, and Juniors) were then invited to the Department of Computer Science at Oxford for the finals over two weekends in February. Rosanna Cretney |
Café Sci welcomes Greenpeace into school |
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On Monday 3 February, Cafe Sci welcomed guest speaker Shirley Ann Waterhouse from Greenpeace to talk about the climate emergency. The girls who attended the event found it very useful and thought that it was important to address topics such as travel and veganism and their effects on the environment. Shirley spoke about the causes, effects and solutions for the emergency. We were able to see the difference one transatlantic flight makes in terms of gas emissions and also small scale solutions for example washing our clothes at a lower temperature. |
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It was an incredibly interesting talk and we are grateful that we have been able to learn more about the environment and our roles. Although we are not always able to make the best decision for the climate, all of the positive actions do add up. Miss Parboteeah |
Sixth Form Classicists visit Warwick for production of Oedipus the King |
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The 6.1 and 6.2 classicists went on a trip to Warwick University, where we watched their production of Oedipus the King, one of our set texts. In the morning we enjoyed a range of lectures from professors at the university, exploring different interpretations of the play, as well as the rich cultural history that shaped the themes and characters. It was exciting to take notes and learn in a new way, whilst getting valuable insight into how University lectures work and how we best learn from them. Equipped with new knowledge, we spent the afternoon watching a musical interpretation of the Greek tragedy. By incorporating singing and dancing into the production the |
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performers reflected how an Ancient Greek chorus would behave on stage, albeit with a modern twist. By watching how the performers interpreted the text, we gained an appreciation of how complex and intricate Greek theatre is, as people read the play in so many different ways. For example, in response to Oedipus’ blinding the chorus performed a rap/rock ballad to highlight to a modern audience the violence and crudeness of the act. Through this we gained an understanding of how varied and intense an emotional response the first audience watching Oedipus must have felt. I would like to thank Mrs Peto for taking us on the trip and Miss Monks for organising it; we all learnt a great deal from the lectures and the performance. Becky K |
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A week in the life of: Chloe |
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In this instalment of our ‘A week in the life of’ series we talk to Chloe about what a typical week looks like for her… Mondays are one of my busiest days! I wake up at 4:20 to give me time to get up and get to the pool, where I train from 5:00 – 7:00. My training on Monday morning usually consists of an aerobic freestyle or medley set, involving a lot of distance, but on comfortable times. After training, I go to school for 8:25. At 11:45, I leave school and go to my riding stables, where I complete work experience until around 17:00. I sometimes ride during this time as well! Once a month, I also compete in a dressage league, so after work |
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experience I have to get ready and ride two tests. After this, I go swimming in the evening, from 19:00 – 21:00. This is usually a heart-rate session, where we complete a set (such as 30 x 100m), where the aim is to maintain a high pace and high heart rate. On Tuesdays, I wake up at 7 and go to school. After school, I sometimes work as an assistant teacher for swimming lessons between 3:45 and 5:15 (depending on whether cover is needed). In the evening, I go swimming at 7:00, where I complete 20 minutes of pre-pool land training, before training in the pool from 7:30 to 9:30. On Tuesday nights, we do a timed kick set, as well as a short rest set, where the turn-around times are very tough, and the aim is just to make them! Read more here Mr Nash |
High School Sport |
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What a fantastic start to our week of sport with the U11 Tour last weekend. We had an amazing time, playing Hockey, Netball, Dodgeball and Swimming.Thanks to all of the parents, children, Mrs Littlewood and the PE team for such a successful event. Northampton High finished in second place overall, behind Wimbledon. We’ve had netball fixtures versus Pitsford, Quinton House, The Grove and Beachborough during the week. Our 2nd Team and U15s both won their fixtures against Pitsford, demonstrating the high standard of our Netball. Our U13A, B and C teams mirrored this excellence in their defeats against Beachborough. The U14s and U15Bs took on Quinton House with some close games but Quinton took the wins. Our U11A and Bs beat The Grove, with some lovely movement and spot on shooting, and our netball fixtures continue into the weekend with 5 teams playing Bablake on Saturday. We also attended the Warwick 50s swimming during the week with our U13 and U12 team. We had some great performances and really enjoyed the competitive element of the gala. Finally, I want to wish Sophie and Georgie the best of luck in their Loughborough Tour weekend having been selected for the GDST Select teams in Hockey and Netball. This is a fantastic achievement for the girls and we know they’ll do Northampton High proud. Well done! Mrs Blake |
Creative Arts Spotlight |
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The Creative Arts Spotlight this week falls onto Jasmine in L4. Jasmine has produced a beautiful embroidered picture of the Sydney Opera House, inspired by the work of performance textile artist Harriet Riddell. Look out for our new ‘Places and Spaces’ exhibition on display now in the D Corridor. Miss Lycett |
Book Week in the Senior Library |
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Book Week in the Senior Library has been a busy one as ever with the focus being on encouraging the girls to look at fiction books in an objective way and trying a genre they might not normally read. The girls in the L4 and U4 have risen to the challenge of The Reading Game, discussing a selection of titles in any given genre, from fantasy to war fiction in a very impressive and mature manner. The U3 have equally enjoyed musical books which has a similar aim to the Reading Game, stopping to read the book in front of them when the music stops and thinking about what makes an appealing read for them personally. The competitions, author word search and book challenge have also been fiercely contested. The highlight of the week was The Murder Most Unladylike Party on Monday evening, hosted by Mrs Fordham and Miss Buxton. Girls from year 5, 6 and the U3 gathered in the Senior Library to enjoy quizzes, craft and coding activities, along with excellent chocolate muffins! The decorations, provided by Mrs Attwood, created a suitably crime scene related feeling and helped the party go with a swing! Robin Stevens novels are ever popular with the girls and a great source of creative inspiration. The week finished with an assembly on author and illustrator Judith Kerr, a Jewish refugee who fled with her family out of Germany just before the Second World War. Judith went on to become famous for her picture books The Tiger Who Came to Tea and the Mog books about a naughty cat, whilst When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit is the semi-autobiographical story of her own childhood and early life. Judith sadly passed away last year at the age of 95, impressively still working at that point. Isla H, Lucy, Charlotte, Sherain and Holly from Mrs Fordham’s year 6 class gave a fabulous reading of The Tiger Who Came to Tea illustrating that Judith’s Kerr books will continue entertaining children for decades to come. All very timely activities with half-term in sight and the prospect of down time reading! Miss Buxton |
Book Review |
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North Child by Edith Pattou A beautiful, epic story of destiny, magic and love. Rose is an unusual child, a North Child. For Rose was born facing north, and the old stories say she is destined to travel far from home on a dangerous journey. Making a pact with an enormous white bear, Rose travels on his back to a mysterious castle that holds a dark enchantment, a darker temptation, and the key to her true destiny. A spellbinding adventure to curl up with on long winter nights. Miss Buxton
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Project Poetry Quote of the Month: “Always live your life to the fullest like it’s a never-ending parade. Fill it with every kind of colour and music that has you dancing amongst stramgers as though they were lifelong friends” – James McInerney @MILLSMC07 |
Open Events - 5 and 6 March |
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Calling all CALL THE MIDWIFE fans! |
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We are delighted to be hosting at Northampton High an exciting event in conjunction with 78 Derngate, former home of Northampton High School, on Friday 28 February from 7pm. A Behind-the-Scenes Audience with TV series creator, Heidi Thomas, and actor, Stephen McGann (Dr Turner in the hit series), promises to be an evening not to be missed for all Call The Midwife fans. The fundraising event is to help the 78 Derngate trust’s efforts in reaching a target of £200,000, to match council funding to build an atrium extension at the popular visitor attraction. For more information and to book tickets, please click here. Mrs Wilmot |
Paint the school RED for Medical Detection Dogs |
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Northampton High Film Competition |
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Term Dates |
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Northampton High School |
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