Downe House
- web site: www.downehouse.co.uk
- telephone: +44 (0)1635 200286
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The competition is open to all students in Year 12 and the essay titles are set by Corpus Christi. Poppy's essay on the title ‘There are no ethical truths. If there were, there would not be such long-standing and serious disagreement about ethics' – What is wrong with this argument? was certainly individual and tackled the question without huge reference to other scholars which is clearly what the judges thought was so good about it as a piece of work. From her teacher's point of view, Poppy's essay was really tightly structured and made thoughtful connections between the different ideas and arguments which she explored. It was a mature and original piece of writing and I am delighted for her that this was recognized by the judges.
The judges for the Philosophy essay prize were once again pleased to see entrants tackling a range of philosophical problems and enjoying dealing with the relevant arguments. The best essays were able to offer a fresh and interesting angle based on personal inquiry and clear thinking. Some other essays were overly reliant on already existing literature – often taken, it seems, from summary accounts in web based resources. We were less interested in reading a survey of other philosophers' views than on seeing whether the students could tackle the question head on for themselves.
Congratulations to Poppy who will be attending the prize giving on 3rd July.
Annie entered her design for her AS Level Product Design Resistant Materials coursework to the Young Designers Competition and was selected as one of the 20 finalists. She took her project and portfolio to the Finals which was held at Dulwich College in London on 20th June 2008.
Click the following link to view more photos at the Young Designers Competition finals: www.johnadrian.co.uk/newwork
(Young Designers Competition information taken from the competition website)
You can find more information about the competition on the website: www.youngdesigners.org
Slumberjacks have been awarded the runners-up cup at this year's Berkshire Young Enterprise county finals. Additionally, they were also awarded the Institute of Directors (IoD) Award for Innovation 2008. Click here to see press report
Dan is a leading expert on architecture and historic buildings and a regular presenter on the BBC. He is best known for his popular series Britain's Best Buildings and Around The World in 80 Treasures; and for his appearances in Under Fire and What The Industrial Revolution Did For Us. Dan's latest series, Adventures in Architecture has recently been screened on BBC Two. Tickets cost £10, and further information can be obtained from Downe House Reception or by emailing Dr. Mickleburgh. (mickleburgha@downehouse.net ). All proceeds from the Medley Lectures support Ladies Fighting Breast Cancer (Registered Charity No. 1088943).
Downe House goes 'on-tour' to Stratford-upon-Avon to present Romeo and Juliet , Shakespeare's well known tragedy of forbidden love. Set in medieval gothic Italy , the all female student ensemble fuse live contemporary music with the poetic Shakespearean text to create a beautiful and at times sinister tale of woe.
Sunday August 10th, 2008
Performances at 11am and 6pm at 'The Dell', the outdoor performance space in the RSC Centenary Gardens, bordered by the river and Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon.
Bring a picnic, all welcome!
On Tuesday 29th April, three Young Enterprise companies from Downe House went to the West Berkshire Area Cup competition at Newbury Rugby Club. There were nine companies in total competing for five prizes and the winners and runners up would go through to the next round; the Berkshire County competition. The judging criteria included the quality of Business Plans, trade stands, product innovation, the final Company Report and 5 minute presentations given on the night. The girls made very professional presentations and delivered them superbly, so we were all delighted when Slumberjacks (MDs – Chia Brewin & Susannah Moss) were declared overall ‘Winners' and Magpie (MDs – Katy Hames & Cecilia Barclay) were declared ‘Runners Up' and won the ‘Best Trade Stand' award too! I was so proud of them all and look forward to more successes at the Berkshire Finals on Thursday, 15th May. (see above for results)
Miss Laura Jones (in charge of Young Enterprise)
One of ‘The Times' newspaper's leading columnists, Mary Ann Sieghart, visited Downe House School to give the Summer Term Medley Lecture and a seminar for some potential Oxbridge students. Her talk: ‘Bumping up Against the Glass Ceiling Under Blair and Brown' gave a ring side view of recent political change and particularly the difficult position facing women wanting to succeed in politics.
Mary Ann said that if women and men were genuinely being judged on an equal basis there would be many more women in politics because women were just as able, but currently less than 20% of MPs are female. Better representation could be achieved – for example as it had been in Wales, where 47% of the Welsh Assembly is female. “I'm worried about the discrimination which still occurs, especially in the city and business – perhaps the answer is to start up my own company!” commented Alex Wyatt, 17, afterwards.
As a political writer on ‘The Times' for nearly twenty years Mary Ann has reported on the demise of the Major government, the rise and fall of Tony Blair and now the problems facing Gordon Brown. She gave her views on recent developments and drew parallels between the administrations of Major and Brown. Jemima Tennant, 17, said “She recognised the achievements of Tony Blair, and said he was a man of principle – but was very critical of Gordon Brown.”
A few lucky Sixth Formers, including some guests from nearby schools, enjoyed a seminar with Mary Ann before the lecture – sitting out on the grass, in front of Willis, on the first really summery day of the year. Taking two of her articles as a starting point they discussed the issue of expectations and image amongst young girls today and the pressure the quest for success and perfection brought. Mary Ann was keen to stress the importance of happiness as well as success and the ability to accept and recover from disappointment and failure, enjoying life as you lived it. Debate continued as to the role and responsibilities of journalists and others in creating these, often impossibly unrealistic, expectations.
The Medley Lecture series for next academic year is now being planned – further details will appear on this website or can be obtained from mickleburgha@downehouse.net
Ben Fuller - i/c Politics
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet was this year's school production staged over Music Weekend (2nd - 4th May 2008) in the Performing Arts Centre.
Following on from the success last year of the Centenary Opera, Olive Triumphant at Music Weekend, and the stage production of Jane Austen's Emma in June, the task of selecting the school production for this year was a daunting one. Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is indeed a classic and well known play. Over the centuries it has been adapted for stage, film, musical and operatic productions. This interpretation, although cut quite dramatically remained true to the original text, and was set in gothic Medieval Italy. The production however, crossed successfully into the 21 st century through the use of contemporary music and song. A mixture of live and recorded music was incorporated with instruments being played on-stage by the actors as part of the action. This production gave the cast of forty a chance to stretch their acting and musical skills in new directions.
Newbury's MP, Richard Benyon, visited Downe House on April 25th to speak to Politics Society about his work in the House of Commons and the constituency.
As someone born and brought up locally, who had lived in the area all his life, Mr Benyon said that he found his work in the constituency the most satisfying area of his role. Challenged by one of the students to talk about one area of local life where he had made a difference Mr Benyon said he had campaigned successfully to restore some of the early morning and late evening rail services to London. Alex Wyatt was concerned that her local post office in Chapel Row was under threat. Mr Benyon replied with a passionate defence of local post offices and the effect their closure had on those, especially the elderly, who could not reach other branches. Jemima Tennant was concerned that Newbury still did not have its own cinema, but received an upbeat reply from Mr Benyon. He said that with work now starting the cinema should finally become a reality.
Mr Benyon said it was a fascinating time to be in parliament because he was able to watch great political change as it happened. He felt that the current government had reached a point where it was tired and its M.P's had lost their connection with both supporters and the reasons they came into politics in the first place. Referring to the recent row over the abolition of the 10p Income Tax band he said that he certainly did not come into politics to make the disadvantaged worse off. Annabel Barrons, 18, asked whether his work as a whip undermined parliament and the independence of MP's. Mr Benyon defended the system saying that MP's had to work as a team and stay true to the party under whom they had been elected by their constituency, but that there were opportunities as an MP to vote according to conscience. Annabel was also concerned about the facilities and hours being unsuitable for mothers who wanted to serve as MP's – and Mr Benyon conceded that Parliament could be hard on family life.
Finally, he encouraged young people to consider becoming active in politics, but said it was vital for would be MP's to bring some outside experience to the job if they wanted to convince voters on the doorsteps to support them.
The L6th girls went on a very enjoyable visit to Salisbury on 23 April 2007 with Mrs Walker, Rev Rainey and Mrs Caiger-Smith to experience the cathedral and learn about William Golding's novel 'The Spire' which they are studying for their AS level English Literature examination.
Congratulations to Emma Powell (U5) who was selected from thousands of applicants for the National Youth Theatre's highly acclaimed acting course to be held in London over the summer. Once Emma has completed the course she will be eligible to audition for future NYT productions up until the age of 21. Productions are staged in major professional theatres and festivals in London, across the UK and often abroad. Successful performers who began their careers with the company include Dame Helen Mirren, Sir Ben Kingsley, Sir Derek Jacobi, David Suchet, Kate Adie and Orlando Bloom.
Speech and Drama is a popular ‘extra' subject at Downe House, with around one third of girls across the school electing to take lessons. The lessons offer opportunities for developing inter-personal and communication skills through the speaking and acting of literature and drama, and can be taken in groups, pairs or individually.
Girls are offered the opportunity to sit examinations with both Trinity College and RADA, and enjoy success at all levels. In our most recent exam series with Trinity College, all of our students passed with outstanding results; 58% of girls gained a Merit, and 41% gained Distinction.
We also aim to provide experiences for performance outside the school environment, most recently we competed in the Mid-Somerset Festival. Once again our girls performed exceptionally; one of our pairs won the Under 17 Duologue Class, and 3 other girls were placed third in the Duologue and Solo Classes respectively.
Gillian Clarke -The Poet As Alchemist
On a rainy Sunday afternoon in March, Gillian Clarke's poetry reading began with her first published poem ‘ The Sundial' and the audience were immediately impressed by her passionate and erudite thoughts coupled with her very personable manner. As an experienced speaker she is able to convey her ideas about poetry with skill and her audience learnt many interesting details about how poets actually write poetry.
Gillian Clarke made what is a very complex process seem almost effortless in her highly skilled and accomplished hands, although she was also determined to remind the girls of the very real importance of reading great literature and developing literary critical skills in order to hone ones' ability as a writer.
During the event she actively encouraged the girls' personal literary ambitions and remarked on her own career in which her first husband, unbeknownst to her, decided retrieve her creative musings from the waste paper basket and send them to the literary magazine ‘Poetry Wales' and how it was that this simple action began her lengthy and impressive career.
Her views on the position of women writers in society show a recognition of the importance of womens' voices in literature without undervaluing the enormous importance of studying and enjoying the great male poets such as Wordsworth, Keats, Yeats, Heaney and of course, Shakespeare.
A wordsmith of the highest order, Gillian Clarke impressed the girls with her vers libre poems, sonnets and elegies. She read each of her works in a direct and dramatic voice which captured the hearts of her listeners, especially her poems ‘ Catrin ' and ‘ Miracle on St David's Day' .
She has the remarkable ability of being able to transform ordinary events into the extraordinary and she made this literary event a very memorable and enjoyable experience for both pupils and staff.
Ms J Doyle
On Saturday 15 th and Sunday 16 th March, Downe House School hosted a charity fashion show. The events were organised by Rosie Fortescue, Georgiana Haig and Celia Thursfield, in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust, raising a total of just over £5,500.
Teenage Cancer Trust funds specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals, providing an environment where teenagers can get on with being teenagers, an environment expected to improve survival rates and ensure a better future for patients and their families. The shows were performed in front of pupils and their parents. Clothes were very generously lent by Armani, Luella Bartley, Reko, S.P.A.N.K., New Look, Ana Sekularac, and Lulu Guinness amongst others, and jewellery by Robinson Pelham.
Music in the interval was played by King Charles and his band, who came especially to Downe House for the event on Sunday, helping to raise awareness for such a worthwhile charity. The organisers, who are currently studying for their A Levels were pleased to have been able to raise so much money for a charity which they could all relate to and which performs such a meaningful function for teenagers across the country.
Here are the answers to last night's quiz.....
Diane Louise Jordan, the ‘Blue Peter' and ‘Songs of Praise' star, spoke personally and energetically about her life to girls and visitors at Downe House School, Cold Ash, last Friday.
She was giving the school's third Medley Lecture and discussed the opportunities and problems young women faced in trying to succeed. “She was excellent” said Georgina Langton, 17, “I really understood what she was saying.” Diane started by quoting the M People song: ‘Search for the Hero Inside Yourself', saying that whatever the outside image we presented it was how we felt about ourselves which mattered most in our happiness.
Diane has always been someone to take on a challenge. She only applied to Drama School because her friends at school ‘dared her'. Taking up the challenge and rehearsing hard for the audition she won a place – turning down the safer option of reading English at Manchester. After the course Diane went on to repertory and TV work.
Her biggest challenge came after the sudden death of her sister, when she adopted her two year old niece, Justine. She soon realised she could not continue to tour as an actress with a two year old, but later that year gained her role on ‘Blue Peter'.
Diane enjoyed the success ‘Blue Peter' brought, combined with being a partner in a successful property company. But she was unhappy ‘inside herself' and eventually walked away from the property business. Around this time she became a Christian; her faith being a huge support to her as well as the guiding influence in how she was to live. Diane showed the audience a video clip of her first and only bungee jump whilst on Blue Peter – explaining the importance of faith both when putting herself in the hands of the jump team and in the hands of God as she made choices in her life.
Photograph by G Roberts
There was a mammoth baking session in Ancren Gate North, one of the Boarding Houses at Downe House, over the weekend with girls and staff creating all kinds of goodies to sell to other members of the school community on Monday lunchtime. Girls also brought back tempting treats that they had made at home. At the cake sale, the girls raised £137.08 for Present Aid, which is part of the charity Christian Aid. The girls had been inspired during tutor time to try and do something to help people in Africa. They had previously organized a “mufti day” when girls paid for the privilege of not wearing school uniform and raised a further £275.79. “I am very proud of the girls baking and organizational efforts; they have worked very hard!” said Mrs. Kristin Simpson, the girls' Housemistress.
Girls, family and friends from Ancren Gate North (AGN, one of the boarding houses at Downe House) recently came together to take part in a Supper Quiz in order to raise money for Hop, Skip and Jump (Cotswolds), which is a children's charity based in the Cotswolds providing Play and Support Centres for children with special needs.
The event was masterminded by Joanna MacKay, the Head of House, and her family. In all 16 teams took part and raised £795.82 and had a thoroughly enjoyable evening! Pictured are the winning team whose impressive knowledge of Harry Potter and modern popular music helped to propel them to victory!
On the evening of Sunday 3rd February, the voices of the English Tommy, the General and the Bishop were heard again in Downe House School as Dennis Silk CBE gave a fascinating lecture on Siegfried Sassoon. Mr Silk, headmaster of Radley College in Oxfordshire for twenty three years, knew Sassoon personally, and for the last thirteen years of the poet's life was a close friend. An audience of parents, staff and pupils was enthralled by Mr Silk's eloquent account of the harrowing nature of trench warfare in the Great War, and by his moving readings of Sassoon's extraordinary poetry. The students are studying War literature as part of their A level English Literature studies and found the talk invaluable. “We have read the poems and studied the history; now we have met the man” explained Celia Thursfield, a prefect at Downe House who gave the vote of thanks. Mr Silk made available copies of his lecture, as well as readings of his poems by Siegfried Sassoon himself.
At the end of January, the following girls competed in the British School Girls Races in Flaine, France. 49 teams took part.
A TEAM
Georgina Johnston
Piera Van de Wiel
Lucy Wallace
B TEAM
Clementine Shott
Elizabeth Sola
Chloe Fox
RESULTS
We returned with 2 individual medals
Lucy Wallace Silver in the Slalom
Georgina Johnston Bronze in the Giant Slalom
Giant Slalom
Downe House A 13th
Downe House B 39th
Slalom
Downe House A 16th
Downe House B 37th
Combined result
Downe House A 14th
Downe House B 36th
It was quite easy to forget you were watching a production in which the actors were only in the Upper Fourth year - such was the talent that graced the stage for Oscar Wilde's, The Importance of Being Earnest.
There were some outstanding and entirely convincing performances from this young cast and it was clear that all of them had developed a love for Oscar Wilde's light-hearted play about the aristocratic manners of the Victorian high society.
The director, Miss Dee Pomson, injected some clever touches to the play including a memorable cucumber dance, the collection of Wilde society folk who commented and interacted with the action and the lovers' waltz which brought the production to a perfect close.
A group of thirteen U4 students visited Newbury on Tuesday 22 January 2008 to attend a meeting about the 'Kindertransports' in 1939. These were groups of Jewish children who were rescued from Nazi occupied Europe just before World War 2. Girls watched a video and met one of the people who was rescued - now 79 years old. The girls were taking part in the West Berks Council programme to mark Holocaust Memorial Day 2008.
The link below will take you to news video story shown on ITV about the event.
http://www.itvlocal.com/meridian/news/?player=MER_GoLocal_26&void=144078
To watch full screen press the button below the video. To return to normal press escape.
The competition is open to all students in Year 12 and essay titles are set by Corpus Christi. Poppy will be attending the Prize Giving on 3 July.
Annie entered her design for her AS Level Product Design Resistant Materials coursework and has been selected as one of the 20 finalists. She will take her project and portfolio to the Finals, which will be held at Dulwich College in London on 20 June 2008.
Dan Cruikshank - 'Adventures in Architecture'
Dan is a leading expert on architecture and historic buildings and a regular presenter on the BBC. He is best known for his popular series Britain's Best Buildings and Around The World in 80 Treasures; and for his appearances in Under Fire and What The Industrial Revolution Did For Us.
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Performances at 11am and 6pm at 'The Dell', the outdoor performance space in the RSC Centenary Gardens, bordered by the river and Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon.
Bring a picnic, all welcome!
2nd - 4th May in the Performing Arts Centre
‘Times' writer Mary Ann Sieghart gives Summer Term Medley Lecture
Newbury's MP, Richard Benyon, visited Downe House on 25th April speak to thePolitics Society about his work in the House of Commons and the constituency.
Congratulations to Emma Powell (U5) who was selected for NYT's highly acclaimed acting course.
On Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th March, Downe House hosted a charity fashion show. The events were organised by Rosie Fortescue, Georgiana Haig and Celia Thursfield, in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust, raising a total of just over £5,500.
Gillian Clarke, renowned poet, who has written poetry and prose for children and adults, visited Downe House on Sunday, 16 March. Her poetry reading began with her first publsihed poem 'The Sundial' and the audience were immediately impressed by her passionate and erudite ideas......
Diane Louise Jordan, businesswoman and one of the most popular presenters of BBC One's Songs of Praise, gave a talk and answered questions about how her faith influences the way she conducts her own business life and on matters relating to business ethics and corporate social responsibility more generally.
If you missed House Drama, or would like to see your daughter's performance again, a professional Double DVD recording by Kingsbridge AV Limited of all five productions will be available to order at a cost of £22.50 each.
Click here to find out how to order
This Trust was established in November 2006 as part of the agreed resolution of the OFT's recent investigation.
The objects of the Trust are to:
There are three criteria for eligibility:
For further details go to <Joining Downe> and click on <Scholarships>
