Edited by Maddie Lock and Phoebe Rayner
Lent Term 2015
SOUTH HOUSE NEWSLETTER Mrs Frett’s Corner As I reflect on this crazy action-packed term, there is a word for me that sums up what I hope the South girls embody: resilience. It is the educational world's buzz word, but to me it is about staying power; stamina. It is about the ability to keep going no matter what the challenges and obstacles. It is about being strong enough emotionally, physically and spiritually to cope with whatever life throws at them. This was certainly in evidence watching my 6th Form cope with some tough rehearsal exams and walking out of one exam, feeling drained and walking straight into another. This was certainly in evidence when I had the privilege of being able to go to the hockey Nationals and watch the U18 team pull off some of the most phenomenal teamwork against fierce opposition, and celebrating with them and the U14s their successes as silver medallists out of the whole country. This was certainly in evidence when I have watched my bone-weary Silver D of E Upper 5th trudge wearily into South hardly able to put one foot in front of another and yet not too tired to check in with how their mates have been coping without them! It is attending various lunchtime concerts, musical concerts and the school play, 'Romeo and Juliet', and knowing that hours upon hours of gruelling rehearsals and practicing have gone into that polished performance. I suspect resilience is what South girls have been embodying for a very long time. It is what makes this house so special. The ability to keep going and push through. We are in the middle of house netball matches and hot off the press is the wonderful news that the U15s and seniors won all their matches. However, what struck me as I wandered around in between the quarters was not the drive to win (although their housemistress left them in no doubt that this was the preferred outcome!) but their camaraderie and team spirit. They were simply there for each other; looking out for each other; complementing each other on their ball skills and passing; cheering each other on - to keep going until the last whistle blew. I walked away not only proud of their victories but more importantly proud of their team work and their support for each other. On paper, South is a strong house, full of powerful young women who are ready to take on the world. Case in point was the second year running when we won the house debating - this year South were clear winners after a unanimous decision by the judges. The house cross country also demonstrated that the Southies are willing to step outside their comfort zone and enter into any competition if it means helping out the house. I am proud of each and every South girl and would keep encouraging them to realise that happiness is not found in looking inward but in having a world vision, having the ability to look to the needs of others before themselves. I have many precious snap shots of this term, but this term's nugget is summed up by a question I was asked in one of my tea-in-the-snug moments - what I loved about South. Simple answer: you - the South girls - every one of you. Get some rest this holiday. God bless and have a happy Easter. Mrs Frett x
Matron’s Corner Should you pop into Matron’s room at the end of term you could be forgiven for thinking we’ve installed an aviary!! But no! Tis all the origami birds the girls made at the end of last term (they were not pinched from the Emms Centre as some would say!). We’ve had many a session of ‘stringing birds’ in recent afternoons and evenings in readiness for their migration to the main common room during the Easter break. Highlights of this term have included Whole House Matron’s Night’s, where luxury hot chocolate or the chocolate fountain have been served (not too easy for those who stoically have given up chocolate for Lent), and we can only say how our lovely ‘Southies’ continue to entertain and delight us. The trip to Harry Potter world with Mrs Frett and Miss Sturdee was also a most enjoyable weekend where some of us relived scenes from Hogwarts while comparing them to South! Spotting Miss Sturdee in her HP dress up costume that day wasn’t easy as she blended in so well with some of the models on display…If only we could work some HP magic on the dorms!! Although to be honest we’ve had some other matrons working in South this term, and they’ve commented on the tidiness of the girls’ areas – well done! A tidy area is a winning way to cheer not only your Housemistress but your matrons and our amazing 5 cleaners! Have a wonderful time over Easter with plenty of family fun and relaxation.
Love from CLAIRE AND KIM
Frodo and Bertie’s Corner Ruff Ruff and a Happy Easter from South’s cutest boys !! We have loved having your compliments and constant attention – Keep It Up! The walks you girls take us on are always super fun and we love you all, though some people’s singing has on occasion made us run back to mummy Frett’s lap to save us… Wishing you the best with your revision over the holz; wish we were there to get you through it. Can’t wait for next term’s sunshine and all the barking mad fun we’re going to have!!!
A massive thank you to our wonderful cleaners; what would we do without you?! We know we can be really messy sometimes but you are always so patient and help to make our house a home. On the lower floor we would like to thank Val for keeping it spick and span. Thank you to Mollie who keeps the hub of the house (the common room) squeaky clean. A huge thank you to Mel and Jan who continue to persevere with the terrors of the top floor. Finally, thank you to Lynne who gives up her Saturdays to tackle this mad house and get it into shape for the tours. We are so grateful to you all and hope you have a well deserved break over the holidays.
Kim and Claire continue to smile and give us cuddles in our hour of need. South wouldn't work without you and the endless effort that you put into fantastic socials for us. We love you both to bits and we’re sorry if we don't say it enough but you both go the extra mile for all of us even if you’re struggling. We are so lucky to have you and we hope you can relax away from all our craziness over Easter. Mrs Frett, Miss Sturdee and Miss Merry, you help to keep South together as a family and drive the house through good and bad times. Your love for South is clear in everything you do and with your support South continues to flourish. Mrs Frett, thank you so much for all the work you do. We love the deep and passionate words of wisdom you share with us and always feel better after a good old cup of tea with you. Miss Sturdee continues to do a brilliant job as our new Deputy Housemistress and keeps us all smiling with her lively and enthusiastic personality. Miss Merry has truly become part of the South House family; we couldn't do without you and we love knowing there’s always a friendly face to talk to. We can’t wait to share the Summer Term with you but we hope you all take Easter to recover and recharge from the stresses of your constant vigilance over us.
As always, this term has been a busy one, with everyone cramming as much into their days as possible, emphasising that the ‘busiest people really are the happiest’. The 4 th Form are well and truly settled, thriving in many aspects of life. They have excelled on the sports field as well as academically and became National runners up in Hockey. The Lower Fifth have strengthened their friendships, and their support for each other this term has been touching to see as well as their involvement in house and school activities. Upper Fifth are preparing for their first set of big exams and have been flawless in leading the juniors by example. The Lower Sixth have stepped up and are excited to take over the house next term, which I’m sure they will do brilliantly. Upper Sixth are definitely relishing and making the most of all of their ‘last’ events, along with working hard in order to ensure everybody gets into their preferred universities. This has been an amazing term, in which so much has been achieved; well done again! I hope you all have a restful break, see you next term.
House Competitions HOUSE SQUASH HOUSE FIVES House Fives this year was a much fought over event with girls from every year participating. With our passionate supporters cheering us on in the freezing cold, our matches began. Sadly some were over relatively quickly due to both South and West team’s lack of practices. We all fought valiantly but we were defeated by a strong West team, unfortunately forcing the South team into second place... or first loser, depending on your interpretation!
At the end of last half term we competed against West in the battle for the House Squash trophy. The competitors were Poppy Bathurst, Olivia Chesser, Willow Senior, Amy Mitchell and Amy Thompson all playing intense matches. Despite some loud cheering and excellent support we unfortunately lost some matches by a game or two, but it was a great effort. However the South support was immense, so it was a fun and enjoyable event for all.
HOUSE NETBALL
HOUSE CROSS COUNTRY South had another storming victory this year in the house X-country. Jess Robinson narrowly missed out on first place for the juniors, with Issy Petter and Lily Hibbert following closely behind. In the senior race, first and second place were easily won with Olivia Chesser leading by miles, followed by a great run from Clemmie Ryder-Smith.
House netball this year was very eventful and we had many close matches as well as some large victories. Both the Under 14 teams had an incredible performance, however unfortunately lost, but this was made up for the fact that all 3 teams for the under 15’s won! The scores of the Under 15’s were 15-6, 24-12 and 16-7; so they did extremely well, working together and playing with lots of house spirit. Overall, unfortunately, we lost the junior house netball, but the senior teams’ passion saw them through to victory. The Upper 5th As had a close match scoring 33 goals to West’s 28, but their skilful and tactical play saw them triumph. The Bs, however, scored a huge 28 goals to West’s 4 goals, and played with energy to gain this domination. The Sixth Form teams also won both of their matches. South’s A team won 30-14, which was impressive considering how strong the West side was. The B’s also won their match with a close score of 21-18. This match was very close, but the persistence and skills of the players enabled their tight win. There were many participants in house netball this year and South is very proud of all its Southies and their efforts! Well done!
HOUSE COMPETITIONS HOUSE DEBATING This year South had a bye in the first round as we managed to win last year's House Debating. We debated against Cubitt in the first round and we put forward the argument that the UK should leave the EU. We won, and in the final we managed to beat North, debating that a free press is fundamental for a democracy; so we retained our victory for another year! The team was made up of Ellen Talbot, Olivia Chesser, Ellie Williamson, and Caileigh Faure in the final.
HOUSE CHESS As always, chess this year was intense! The startling line up consisted of Poppy Bathurst, Jemima Young, Amy Slade, Georgina Le Saux and Annie Norton. As the whistle went the crowd let out an almighty and silent roar. After some strong moves from South, West began to pull away, eventually claiming the victory. However, South gave a great display of skills throughout.
JUNIOR SCHOOLS’ CHALLENGE The House Challenge team consisted of Emma Galletti, Iola Andrews, Sophie Dixon and Poppy Watkinson. We had an exciting first round against East; starting off, it looked close, but towards the end we managed to pull away to take the victory. This was thanks to Emma’s outstanding knowledge of the States and miscellaneous knowledge from the rest of the team. In our second round against Cubitt we were not so fortunate and fell behind early on, but, thanks to Sophie’s incredible historical knowledge, we managed to significantly close the gap between the two teams. We unfortunately lost by a narrow margin, but reaching the semi-finals was a great achievement for South.
4TH FORM PJ PARTY The Fourth Form prefects hosted an amazing evening for us in South Middle Common Room. There were different stations with different games as well as crisps, dips and drinks. We met up with West and split into four mixed groups. The first station was playing Shwa at very high speed with not many rules which was really funny. Then, we played a game in two teams where you had to pass an apple down the line without using our hands. This was very tricky but was really fun. Then we played the Chocolate Game with different dice going round. It gave it a much faster pace and was certainly frustrating when you couldn't get the swimming hat on fast enough! Finally, we played a game in two teams where you had to use a straw to suck up as many skittles as possible and lift them into a separate container. Although it made you quite light headed, it made everyone laugh. It was a great night and both houses had a lot of fun.
Chocolate Fountain South enjoyed an evening of chocolate madness as the matrons once more brought out the sacred chocolate fountain! All year groups were able to dip anything from strawberries to marshmallows in the chocolate.
L5TH CUBITT SOCIAL The Cubitt social was really successful as everyone had a laugh and enjoyed themselves. The Lower Fifth prefects made such an effort to make sure it would all go to plan, and we were all so grateful. We first did a small Harry Potter quiz, which was amusing, especially as there were a variety of facts that were known throughout the houses. For the most part of the evening we all played in a fierce game of 'Shwa', which may have been a bit competitive and loud, but was so much fun, and we all managed to enjoy ourselves even if we got out early on.
HARRY POTTER WORLD TRIP Visiting Harry Potter World was a truly amazing experience. It was especially entertaining as many people had dressed up as Harry Potter characters to make the trip more memorable and hilarious. It took us around three hours to walk through the whole studio tour. We saw many impressive costumes and props and we felt privileged to stand where the actors have stood. We want to thank Miss Sturdee for making this trip happen; we had a wonderful time!
SPEED DATING On Thursday 5th March, the Sixth Form had a Speed Dating Butts Night in the Emms Centre! This was well attended, especially by the Upper Sixth. Each girl sat at a table opposite a pair of boys, who had a minute with each. I have to say some of the pick up lines were interesting, but it was a great laugh and a fun night for all! I especially enjoyed some of the boys' dressing up efforts some serious and some not so much...
TEA IN THE SNUG
L6TH MASTERCHEF On Friday 30th January Mrs Frett treated the LVIth to a surprise trip to the Prep School. On arriving, we were greeted by Mrs. Brown, a teacher at the Prep School who would be supervising our Masterchef competition! We were separated into teams and had to follow two challenging recipes, with a decision at the end made by two excellent judges, Mrs. Frett, Mrs. Brown and Miss. Merry. It was a great chance to work together as a team, with delicious treats at the end for all to enjoy! The evening was a total success and everyone had a great time. We even managed to clear up after ourselves, a feat for all Southies to be proud of! A massive thank you must go to the staff who organized the event; it really was a wonderful evening and we envy the lower years who have this to look forward to.
This term, Mrs Frett once again welcomed us into her snug to drink tea, eat biscuits and ponder over the goings-on in South. The Sixth Form reminisced over their lower school days, listening to stories from the current juniors while retelling some of their old favourites. Mrs Frett added to the conversation, interjecting with interesting questions, including the weirdest injury; apparently these range from broken fingers to cracked skulls and everything and anything in between. One particular highlight has to be watching Bertie whine and bark at pictures of himself on the TV, at which point Mrs Frett and all the girls were in fits of laughter. All there is left to say is thanks Mrs Frett, and roll on next term’s tea in the snug!!
Sixth Form Quidditch Thanks to our Harry Potter extraordinaire, Miss Immie Terry (our referee dressed as Madam Hooch), we were able to organise South’s first Quidditch match as a 6th Form social. It was a real laugh and great fun to run around the TASC with our capes and mounted on our broomsticks imagining ourselves as bonafide Hogwarts students. It was a well fought match with both teams energetically shooting the quaffle into the hoops, but ultimately it came down who could catch (rugby tackle) the golden snitch (Allegra Clark - painted head to toe in gold paint). The Cornish Pixies came on top with a well fought game against the House Elves. Hopefully there will be many more re-matches to come!!!
MUSIC & DRAMA EAST HOUSE PLAY The East Play this year was four scenes from the well known and famous Blackadder. As the only girl from South, I appropriately took the role of "Bob". It was a lot of fun to be involved with this play. I was glad to be supported by Southies, even thought it was for one night only. The best bit was working with a great cast and feeling welcome. Best of all, I got bacon butties and East House socks! Amy Slade
HELEN WAREHAM
This term has been incredibly busy for the musicians, and we have now completed the Helen Wareham competitions. The first one of the term saw both the senior and junior vocalists in full voice, with Emma Grainger and Ellen Talbot representing the juniors, and Alice Simmonds, Victoria Parker, Olivia Chesser and Fayruz Megdiche representing the seniors. A special mention must go to Ellen for coming second in the junior section, and to Fay for gaining a place through to the Final. The next competition to arrive was the Junior Strings and Keyboard section. South certainly showed their versatility, with Millie ROMEO AND JULIET Mazone, Soo Choi, Katherine Carr playing in both competitions, and Lizzy Paton playing Romeo and Juliet has been a long but rewarding proin the Strings section. Well done to Millie cess. We started rehearsing in Michaelmas Term all and Soo who came third and second in the Strings, and again to Millie for winning the the way through to the final performance in the Lent junior Piano. Term. The three main female characters were from The last competition in the juniors was the South. Lady Capulet (Kimi Zoet), Nurse (Ellie Woodwind, in which South certainly Williamson) and Juliet (Libby Richards). We also had dominated, with Ellie Williamson coming Olivia Chesser and Alice Simmonds as musicians and second on bassoon, and Emma Grainger Eva Solt, Laura Clark in the cast. In the tech crew we achieving first place on the clarinet. Well had; Georgina Le Saux, Willow Senior and done as well to Catherine Carr, Ellen Talbot Liv Walliker .The show provided a great evening who played incredibly well. of wonderful and moving theatre. For the seniors, the long awaited Helen Wareham Final, saw Soyoung Choi, Olivia Chesser, Fayruz Megdiche and Alice Simmonds dominating the evening, winning 3 out of the 5 category sections! Well done to Olivia for winning the Strings, Alice for winning the Piano and Fay for winning the Woodwind. We look forward to Encore next term!
SPORTS DEVIZES TO WESTMINSTER This term we have had kayaking races most weekends! We have been competing in the Waterside and Thames - side racing series and are thoroughly looking forward to the actual four day race on April 3rd. From South it is just Charlie and Jemima Young who are paddling. The recent Thames training camp gave us further practice on the river as well as a fun evening camping.
RIDING The riders have had a quiet term but there have been several South girls who have still been very successful at competitions. South had several riders competing at Bury Farm at the start of term - Caileigh Faure, Charlotte Livingstone and Daisy Roberts — who had a unlucky day just missing out on placing in their respective classes. Phoebe Osborn has done amazingly well in her dressage, coming second in an under 21’s class on a national scale. Other riders such as Millie Adorian, Charlie Johnson, Amy Scheidje and Freya Hough have been practising hard to ensure they have a very successful season ahead of them. We are all looking forward to the 2015 competition season.
DUKE OF EDINBURGH SILVER PRACTICE EXPEDITION On Sunday 8th March, several groups set off from school on a hike up to Whipley Manor Farm where we spent the first night. After setting up tents and cooking various dinners, everyone settled in for what was a very cold night. The second day was considerably further than the first with most of us walking about 25kM with a lunch break at the top of St Martha's hill. The second night was spent near Peaslake, where it rained! In the morning we were all very glad to be setting off for school. Everyone arrived back around lunchtime to dry tents and clean kit. We were all very tired but everyone enjoyed themselves.
SPORTING SUCCESS U18 HOCKEY NATIONALS
U14 HOCKEY NATIONALS
On the 24th and 25th of February the U18 girls hockey team headed up to the Olympic Park to take part in the National Finals. After our practice session on the pitch on Monday night, we were prepared for our matches on Tuesday against Queens Taunton and Trent College, and ran out 2-1 and 2-0 victories respectively. After a long hard day we headed back to the Travel Lodge (in all its glory), for a well-earned rest. We knew that if we won our next game against The Grammar School at Leeds, we would secure our place in the final; with this in mind we played well and won 3-0.
The U14 girls hockey team have done extremely well in getting to the Nationals, which was held at the Olympic Park in London. So far we had won the Surrey’s and the Regionals and we now were through to the Nationals. All our matches were really tough but we managed to get through to the finals successfully where we played St. Georges. It was a really close match and the whole team played well. In the end we came out runners up, an amazing result which we were so happy about. It was an incredible weekend and a great experience; we hope to do even better next year. In the team from South were Zoe Allchurch, Flora Phillips, Fifi Robinson, Izzy Boddington, Kathrine Carr, Ella Bonous , Emily Istead and Olivia Lord.
The final came around quickly, and we knew that this would be that last game we would play as a team, giving us even more motivation to win, with a crowd of Sixth Form spurring us on. Unfortunately, Stockport scored an early goal, and even though we had the upper hand throughout the game we were unable to equalise. After the final whistle we were disappointed not to have won but knew that second in the country was an achievement in itself. Well done to all the girls in South that played: Clare Marsh, Poppy Bathurst, Phoebe Street, Katy Robinson, Clemmie Ryder-Smith, Gaby Gerrard and Eva Solt. It’s been an amazing season and this was a great was to end it.
CHARITY COLOUR RUN On the 19th of April, all Southies are going to be taking part in a colour run for charity! Don’t forget to donate to the fantastic causes and come to support. There will be music and bacon butties for all participants after the gruelling 10k!! Please remember to donate at: .http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiserweb/fundraiser/ showFundraiserProfilePage.action? userUrl=south-charity-colour-run
HALL OF FAME
A huge well done to the South girls– Tash Gerrad, Emma Granger and PJ Cunningham - who won the free style finals at the Bath Cup.
Soyoung Choi proved her baking expertise with the incredible rainbow cake that everyone drooled over.
Matylda Buczkowska, and her team of Willow Senior and Ellen Talbot, won prizes at the Young Enterprise for best presentation and best company at the West Surrey finals. They are going to Surrey finals in 30th April.
Easter rap for 2015 Early back in January the Southies did return Full of Christmas pud, they’ve got energy to burn. Exams and mocks are looming but their hearts are sure and steady; Their pens are gripped with fingers and they know that they are ready. Rehearsal exams - their courage never failed; They might have felt sick but under pressure they prevailed. The weather didn’t help, it was raining and cold. Snow was expected, so the weather men told. Then the mock exams arrived and Upper 5th did weep and wail “Oh me, oh my”, they hollored, “I know we’re going to fail.” The 6th Form looked grim as mock/rehearsals they faced. The revision and the learning, nothing goes to waste. Now a South day starts early at 7 o’clock. We wake the 4th and 5th Form, and each time it’s quite a shock. They’re never up and ready for a busy day ahead; Instead they’re sound asleep, safely tucked up in their bed. We’re famous for being night owls, and we rarely miss the chance To party and to sing out loud and get up there to dance. MNM and snug times have become the social norm; Netball with the boys and staff have gone down like a storm.
So back to work and keep it down; the Quiet Nights are hated. But don’t you fret, step out of line, you surely will be gated. Phones withheld and make-up wiped, black bags are hung on doors. The South girls run and hide when they hear there are some tours. Sport is part of who we are and South has stormed to glory In the House Cross Country race, but that’s quite another story. We raced round the campus and we powered quickly through; We left the other house so far behind and feeling rather blue. The South girls are dramatic, it has to be said; The quality of acting in the school by South is led. The Southies don’t hold back when showing what they really feel; They act with fire then shrug it off as if it’s no big deal. Life in South is manic and as busy as can be. Blisters, walking 50 K are part of D of E. CCF and marching seems to be the norm for some. Music practice every hour ‘till all the fingers numb. My thanks to all the tutors, reliable and sound. And Kim and Claire, who never moan when dirty cups are found. Miss Sturdee who is positive and hopefully here to stay, Miss Merry who is fab and fun - please never go away! So now we’re counting down the hours as Lent Term’s nearly done. The holidays are close; girls it’s time to have some fun! Good luck to those canoeing and trying to revise. Take care, God bless and come back safe, I’ll say my sad goodbyes. Love Mrs Frett x (written at 5am!)