June 2010
On Tuesday 15 June the two new Deputy Heads, Aisling Byrne-Hanson and Hannah Bisbas, the Head of Charities, Holly MacAndrews, and myself, Head of PR, visited Mansion House in London, located right next to the Bank of England. Originally we had intended to meet the Lord Mayor to raise awareness for the Alexandra Rose Charity, but due to his absence regarding an important engagement (what's more important than four Queen Anne's girls?!), we met with the Sheriff, Peter Cook and his wife.
As we gathered outside the surprisingly unimpressive entrance (we were expecting a red carpet and several London guards) 15 minutes early we provided the Mace Bearer on duty inside the building with some entertainment - or rather, Ms. McKnight did...
...After pretending to ring the door bell and bang down the door for about five minutes Aisling observed that it would be quite funny if someone inside the building had been watching her. Two seconds later the Mace Bearer appeared and said he had been watching Mrs. McKnight through the camera above her! We did wonder if this could somehow relate to the Lord Mayor's absence... but the Mace Bearer did give Mrs. McKnight a cheeky wink as we left one and a half hours later, so all was forgiven.
We met with four Harrow boys, who were also there to raise awareness for the Alexandra Rose Charity and we taken to have tea and photos taken with the Sheriff and Margaret Stock, National Director of the charity and an old Queen Anne's old girl!
After the Sheriff kindly contributed towards the charity's fund we were able to ask him about his job and role in the house itself; at one point he laughed and said "I'm always coming up against remarks like ‘where's your star, your Stetson and your gun?'" when we actually found out he provides a vital link between the Livery companies and the Lord Mayor - not quite the Sheriff we had imagined!
After tea the Harrow boys and us were given a guided tour of Mansion House and learned it was built in 1752 and has a £100 million worth of artwork inside it, has well as an amazingly valuable chandelier! We also saw the vault where the royal swords and spectre are kept - and we did notice the Mace Bearer kept a careful eye on Mrs McKnight in case she got up to her mischief again!
Overall, the trip was extremely successful; not only did we support and promote our chosen charity Alexandra Rose, we also had the amazing opportunity of meeting the Sheriff and learning some interesting facts about the history of British politics (which in these hard times are always useful), as well as enjoying a well deserved YO!SUSHI on the train home!
Cameron Troake
April 2010
The term has got off to a flying and sunny start. There was a trip to Thorpe Park on the first weekend for all the boarders, which was very popular and perfect to soak up the sun.
In the spirit of the recent political climate the school will be having its own election on May 6th, with a small group of girls from mixed year groups representing the main parties. They will each do a short presentation before the voting day to find out Queen Anne's political standing. We also heard from the 6 girls representing the school in Malawi this summer, they gave a presentation about the project that they will be supporting and how they hope to raise money throughout the term.
Next week there will be a joint sponsored walk with Shiplake School to raise money for the local Air Ambulance charity. The L4s to U4s will meet Shiplake at Caversham Bridge where they will have come from Moulsford, to walk the rest of the way back to Shiplake. They will then have a well-earned tea before we walk back to school.
The U6 leavers' lacrosse team members hosted the U6 Oratory in a lacrosse match; the hosts just lost in a tightly fought game that brought out a particularly violent side in the boys and some of the girls too! The two teams then shared a barbeque in Michell gardens that was a lovely end to a fun evening.
On Friday the professional singing group, VOCES 8, performed a concert having done an afternoon workshop with all L4s and other senior singers. They also took the evening chapel service with some surprise group elements!
Louisa Gayford
March 2010
With only a couple of weeks left of the term until Easter, everyone is very busy and hard at work! The sixth form recently had a tea meeting with Margaret Stock, National Director of Alexandra Rose Charities and TV Presenter and style guru, Lizzie Cundy. They came to receive a cheque for £1250, money which the school has raised though various fundraising activities such as the Christmas fair. We all had lots of fun hearing about Lizzie's exciting lifestyle that involves mixing with celebrities on a regular basis! It was great to hear Margaret speak about what the school was like when she was here and it turns out this was her first ever visit back!
The Upper sixth have been hard at work preparing for their mock examinations. Good luck to everyone! The senior lacrosse squad has also been very busy on the lacrosse pitches training hard in the build up to National Schools' lacrosse tournament. It will be a tiring two days of matches with dinner for the whole squad at the captain's house on Friday night!
Last week was ‘World Book Week' with a literary fancy dress day encouraging everyone to dress up as their favourite character from any book - see news items for some of the pictures. The money raised will be donated to Afghan Action which is this term's charity.
Louisa Gayford
February 2010
After a delayed start to the term, the snow has finally disappeared and the school has settled back into its normal routine. Many of the upper sixth are still hard at work with public exams, but for the upper fifth mocks are now over and they are just waiting on results (possibly the worst part!).
The choir left the country on Friday to spend the weekend in Paris, performing in a number of spectacular locations including the Notre Dame Cathedral. Singing aside, I'm sure they also had a number of opportunities to squeeze in some much loved shopping time!
This week we have welcomed the French Exchanges, who have arrived and are staying with families from the 4s and U4s or in boarding houses here at Queen Anne's. Last week there was a whole school charity chapel service with our chosen charity for the term, Afghan Action, hearing more about what we will be raising money for in this warring country. Following was a flute and strings music workshop before a concert by the Nephele Ensemble. Throughout the term there are a range of professional concerts, giving both girls and parents the opportunity to be inspired by a range of talents.
The tragic earthquake in Haiti that has caused unimaginable destruction has inspired the girls of Queen Anne's to pull together and think of some fundraising ideas in order to help the families and survivors of the earthquake. Every day the news tells us of the rising death toll. By the end of the week we hope that every girl in the school donates £1.50 and this would be a small gesture that we could send off immediately. Ideas for long term fundraising are currently being formulated and as a school we hope to make a difference.
Louisa Gayford
January 2010
After a delayed start to the term, welcome by the girls more than the teachers, because of the unexpected snow fall, everyone started to return this week kitted out for the cold weather in Uggs and wellies. The snow certainly changed the mood of the school with a few slips and slides around the place but it did not seem to stop the senior lacrosse squad with ultimate Frisbee and sledge races instead of the normal training sessions. The players were probably in the snow more than the dropped balls!
As soon as everyone returned to school there were mock exams for the U5 and L6 and a few retakes for the U6 so there was definitely no chance for slacking at the beginning of term, this weekend will be a welcome break for them all.
The L4s were not hindered by the icy roads and were treated to an Arabian Nights theatre trip to Stratford for the day on Wednesday, with the English department. Another great trip for all the boarders staying in on the weekend was to the West End Grease Musical; after last term's Senior Production, this was a popular choice to see the professionals take on our Sixth Form!
On Friday there was a whole school charity chapel service with our chosen charity for the term, Afghan Action, hearing more about what we will be raising money for in this warring country. Following was a flute and strings music workshop before a concert by the Nephele Ensemble. Throughout the term there are a range of professional concerts, giving both girls and parents the opportunity to be inspired by a range of talents.
Isobel Petersen and Louisa Gayford
December 2009
On Thursday the much-awaited senior production kicked off with a bang! And people started queueing 45 minutes before the performance began to make sure they got a seat.
The show was full of energy and fun and involved a lot of singing and clapping along from the audience. There were crazy big hairstyles and fantastic costumes, but it didn't stop there. The classic songs of Grease sung by the cast were accompanied by an ‘after-school' band. It was definitely a show NOT to be missed!!
As the longest term of the year flies by the school's arrangements for ‘Bust Up' have finally been confirmed for Friday (4 December). This year things have changed slightly. Each year group has been given a themed task to perform on the night to the rest of the school, chosen by the head and deputy head girls. The Upper Sixth are, in fact, doing a performance that involves members of staff, which should be fun for all!
Things are getting busy as we head for the holidays. Hymn practice involving Christmas songs has begun, much to the delight of the school, in preparation for our annual carol concert at Dorchester Abbey at the end of term.
As usual the sports women amongst us are still hard at work and this weekend was the first round of the U14, U16 and U19 round of the National netball tournament and on Sunday the West of England players had yet another round of trials.
We are looking forward to the upcoming closed weekend, Saturday 5 December, when the Christmas Fair will take place and the old girls come back and join us for a lacrosse match!
Louisa Gayford