
Thursday 25 March
We marked the end of term with an outdoor Film and Food Festival. Both Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here we go again… were on show. The girls were up dancing and singing and having a wonderful evening with comfy chairs, delicious food, warm drinks and of course, sweets and ice cream. Our online girls got to take part to with their VIP tickets linked to the screenings. Thank you to CCA, Catering and Estates for organising such a brilliant evening!
Thursday 25 March
All the girls spent an inspirational and uplifting afternoon watching our Celebration of Writing event in the company of four very successful writers Clare Balding (DH 1988), Cesca Major (DH 2000), Marina Hyde (DH1992) Virginia Macgregor (former Teacher of English and AGN Housemistress). We heard what inspires them, how they became writers, their top tips for budding writers, their biggest challenge and perhaps most entertainingly, their favourite memories of Downe House! Thank you to all the panellists for taking the time to join us and for all their humour and great advice!
Wednesday 24 March
A fantastic House Drama and Dance 2021 Final last night – we were wowed by the brilliant performances from all the Finalists. Thanks to everyone who has supported this year’s competition and especially to our Adjudicator, Jodie Steele for her incredibly detailed and expert feedback for all the performers. And the winners were… UV girl, Mary who performed a monologue she wrote herself and the winning House was Holcombe!! Congratulations!!
Monday 22 and Tuesday 23 March
This term’s Downe House Young Musician of the Year 2021 competition came to an exciting climax this week with the Finalists performing both live in the Murray Centre Studio and from their homes across the globe. Our Guest Adjudicators, Mr Bob Chilcott and Mr Alun Jones, had the very difficult job of choosing the winners but it was wonderful to hear them giving every Finalist such detailed and encouraging feedback. The winners were:
Music Maker YMOTY 2021: Kayla (LIV) who sang Earth, Sea and Sky
Maestro YMOTY 2021: Maria (LIV) who performed Chopin’s Mazurka in G Minor
Virtuoso YMOTY 2021: Sophie (LVI) who performed twice – firstly with Arnold’s Sonatina for Clarinet and secondly on piano with Chopin’s Nocturne no.1 in Bb minor
Huge thanks to all the Visiting Music Teachers, our wonderful Accompanist, Miss Susan Holmes, the Adjudicators for their expert advice and wise words and to all the staff at Downe House who made it happen. And of course, well done to everyone who took part this year!
Saturday 20 March
Tune in to Episode 2 of the Downe House Podcast featuring Jenny Hill. Our host talks to Jenny about her role in the Murray Centre and how the new space allows for a very special type of collaboration for staff and pupils. It’s a great listen!
The latest Downe House Podcast is now LIVE! Tune in, press play and enjoy Episode 2: Talking Collaboration with Jenny Hill. Explore the Downe House DNA in relaxed conversation. #DHCommunity
Apple Podcasts https://t.co/37mAQqbUDK
On Spotify, Stitcher & https://t.co/jsoB9nYXjV pic.twitter.com/Xrq4ua80r7— Downe House School (@DowneHouse) March 20, 2021
Wednesday 17 March
Our Digital E-Champions have given some wonderful feedback on remote learning – have a read below.
Great to hear lots of positive feedback from our Digital E-Champions about remote learning during the lockdown #DigitalDowneHouse #DHInspiringGirls #MSShowcaseSchool #MSTeams #Edutech pic.twitter.com/G3sCX9FB9O
— Downe House School (@DowneHouse) March 17, 2021
Sunday 13 March
Mrs Jones ran an Art workshop for the Lower Fourth. The girls took photographs around the School grounds and used these to create lively compositions that show the arrival of Spring. The girls had an hour to plan, sketch and paint their piece using expressive brushwork and vibrant colours in the style of David Hockney. Well done girls, lovely pieces!
Scroll through the images to take a look.
Wednesday 10 March
York House welcomed Sir Geoffrey Nice QC for a lecture on International War Crimes at the launch of the Global Affairs Society. Sir Geoffrey was knighted in 2007 for his contributions to International Criminal Justice and at the lecture discussed his current work at the ‘Uyghur Tribunal’ which is a tribunal exemplifying an alternative approach to justice. The lecture was both thought-provoking and extremely interesting, and led to many discussions amongst the girls in House.
Tuesday 2 March
The UIV girls interested in taking GCSE Drama next year were treated to a Physical Theatre workshop last night hosted by The Watermill Theatre. Thank you to the Watermill staff for such an inspiring online workshop – looks like we have a very talented group of girls entering the Lower Fifth next year.
Tuesday 2 March
Well done to everyone who took part in the Downe House Show Stopper Bake Off to raise money for the West Berkshire Food Bank. Congratulations to our winners, they all look too good to eat!
What amazing entries we had for our Downe House Show Stopper Bake Off. All raising money for @WestBerksFoodB 1st places for @DHLowerSchool was Gracie @DHTedworth was Harriet and @DHSixthForm was Lauren. Incredible work girls 👏🥇🧁 @DowneHouseAGN #DHCCA pic.twitter.com/YjHBzyZfAm
— Downe House CCA (@DowneHouseCCA) March 2, 2021
Monday 1 March
Such a fantastic achievement. Well done Tatiana!
Congratulations to Tatiana!! https://t.co/rMNhgPWjWK
— Downe House School (@DowneHouse) February 27, 2021
Wednesday 24 February
Our Geraldine James Drama Scholars had this incredible opportunity to talk to Geraldine herself – lots of advice and guidance on entering the industry from such a distinguished British actress (and DH Alumna). Can’t think of anything more inspiring for a drama student at Downe House! Many thanks to Geraldine James for sharing her experience and time with us.
Monday 22 February
Congratulations Imogen on becoming February’s Artist of the Month!
We predict a bright creative future for Imogen, our February Artist of the Month selected by the Art Department staff – isn’t this ceramic beach hut just so adorable? Well done Imogen! #DHInspiringGirls #DHArt pic.twitter.com/d3PP1N7vWu
— Downe House School (@DowneHouse) February 23, 2021
22 February 2021
The Downe House Politics Society was delighted to conduct an interview with Simon Manley who is about to take up the role of Ambassador to the WTO and UN in Geneva. Simon joined the civil service in 1990 and he was the UK Ambassador to Spain for six years before serving as Director-General for COVID-19 in the FCO Department. We were exceptionally grateful that he could spare some time from what must be an incredibly busy schedule to share his experience working in international relations.
One of the hosts, Lower Sixth girl, Mathilda reports a few of the questions and answers,
What is the biggest challenge facing the diplomatic community?
Answer: The climate. Simon highlighted the importance of the COP26 that will be held in Glasgow this November and the ‘enormous diplomatic effort’ that will be required to try to fix the climate crisis.
How do first-world countries choose which smaller nations to help?
Answer: It depends on a variety of factors, such as what is actually happening in the country and the willingness of Parliament to intervene, and these are ultimately very difficult decisions to make. Simon suggested some wider reading for those interested in global politics, The Naked Diplomat by Tom Fletcher, and books by Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles, former Ambassador to Afghanistan.
It was a fascinating evening and I certainly gained a lot of knowledge about what a job in the international political sphere entails, and I am sure that all those who attended did too.”
Friday 19 February
A massive shout out to the girls from Aisholt who have created a cookbook with 60 recipes from all over the world and are selling these with all proceeds going to Aisholt’s House Charity, Reality Gives. Amazing work girls, well done!
Friday 12 February
I am quite sure that girls and staff alike will all enjoy a break from online teaching and learning this week. The girls should be in no doubt of the admiration of the teaching and Housestaff for the way in which they have approached the term with such commitment, creativity and positivity.
Mrs McKendrick
Friday 12 February
We hope that many of you tuned into DH Music Live on Friday. Thanks to special guests Bob Chilcott and Jonathan Manners for getting involved, it was a terrific testament to our creative Music department!
Your Friday feeling starts now! Not one to miss! 📻 https://t.co/enDM7KiRLA
— Downe House School (@DowneHouse) February 12, 2021
Friday 12 February
Great to come together albeit virtually to celebrate the Lunar New Year! Lots of departments came together to organise events for our families to take part in.
Thursday 11 February
We celebrated International Day of Women and Girls in Science with a quiz about female scientists and some of our girls shared which scientists inspire them. Thanks to Dr Pilkington and the Science department for organising a special day.
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Monday 8 February
Downe House joined forces with Radley College to launch a special collaborative sports challenge! From Saturday 6 February to Friday 12 February at 12 noon we’re seeing how far we can travel! Families can add their walking, running, cycling, swimming, horse riding and whatever else to clock up our miles. Over the first weekend we had over 50 Downe House entries with 500+ miles travelled by our families all over the world!
Great work @RadleySports https://t.co/kySk8rhV2r
— Downe House School (@DowneHouse) February 9, 2021
Saturday 6 February
On Saturday evening our Remove gathered virtually for a live bake off with the boys from Elstree School. The first of a different kind of social, the event proved extremely successful with new friendships formed and even a suggestion that there was “more chatting than had they all been in the same room”! Huge thanks to CCA for organising such a successful event.
Thank you to @ElstreeSchool for joining our Remove for a fantastic evening on Saturday and the cookies looked delicious too! #DHCCA #iloveboarding @DHLowerSchool pic.twitter.com/KskJbJhaTv
— Downe House CCA (@DowneHouseCCA) February 8, 2021
Friday 5 February
Friday marked the start of our first ever ‘virtual’ Global Schools’ Exchange, with Izzy and Clara’s social with Advika and Karmanya from Mayo College Girls’ School, India. The girls explored topics from interests and sports to schools and culture. We are looking forward to future exchanges.
Thursday 4 February
So great to see 53 Infant students and 68 Junior students who joined us for our online live dance lesson with Miss Ward! The event was such a success, our Drama and Dance department are running more dance lessons until Long Exeat.
Thank you to the 53 Infant students and 68 Junior students who joined us for our ‘Trolls’ and ‘Hairspray’ live online dance lessons today! We loved dancing our way through the morning with you and can’t wait to welcome you back next Wednesday! @DowneHouse #DHinspire #DHcommunity pic.twitter.com/J2Hb6veJEj
— Downe House Drama and Dance (@DowneHouseDrama) February 3, 2021
Wednesday 3 February
We welcomed DH Sport special guest Fontaine Wright, former Team GB and England No. 1 Badminton player, mindset coach, athlete mentor and personal trainer.
Fontaine shared how she managed to overcome career threatening injuries, financial setbacks and lack of confidence to become England’s highest world ranked women’s singles player, and live her dream of being a professional badminton player and competing with the best in the world.
Saturday 30 January
Great advice for making the most of IT in remote learning from our E-Champions.
5 top tips from @DowneHouse E-Champions for the DH community. Great work! And great advice for us all, especially number 5 #edtech #MicrosoftEDU #teacher5aday pic.twitter.com/EvXmzG5cCt
— Baz (@basnettj) January 30, 2021
Friday 29 January
Foster care isn’t like Tracy Beaker.
Sixth Former Nellie ran our online Mufti Day in aid The Fostering Network, encouraging us all to wear orange!
Nellie explained her choice of charity for the Mufti Day in Whole School Assembly:
“This charity is very important to me, as I have been in foster care since 2018.
I’m very lucky to be at a school like Downe where I have endless opportunities to be who I want and study what I want. But this isn’t the case for most young people in foster care. Though I will be going to university next year (hopefully), only 12% of other young people in care actually go on to higher education!
It’s charities like The Fostering Network that fight for not only extra educational support, but support with mental health as well.”
You can still get involved with Mufti Day by supporting The Fostering Network here.
SUPPORT
Check out our Instagram story below for the highlights! We’re proud of you, Nellie!
Thursday 28 January
A fantastic opportunity for our Upper Fifth who are interested in taking Biology A Level. As part of their taster lesson, the Biology department invited Dr Mike Skinner, Senior Lecturer at Imperial London and expert in viruses, for a Q&A session on viruses. Dr Skinner has been interviewed by the BBC and has served as a lab support volunteer at at the UK Lighthouse National COVID-19 (PCR) Testing Laboratory so it was a a truly enriching experience for our girls who asked insightful questions.
Wednesday 27 January
It’s Project Day – a day for every girl to unplug from technology, be completely off timetable and spend the day pursuing a project of studies she has chosen and planned with the support of staff. Whether it’s exploring another culture, creating an artwork from nature or immersing herself in a new book, a piece of music, tailoring a skirt, cooking dinner for the family and of course, making the most of getting outside to exercise and engage with her local area… the plans and possibilities are endless and we can’t wait to hear about how the girls have used this special time to get away from the screen and learn.
Monday 25 January
Our Monday morning Whole School Assemblies continue online. This week it was wonderful to meet the new team at Downe House Muscat and to find out more from Mrs Scott about the beautiful city of Muscat.
Saturday – Monday 25 January
The HEGI, PE and CCA departments joined together to create a series of events and challenges to celebrate the next in our series of global festival celebrations… Burns Night!
Congratulations to Tedworth House for winning the Highland Challenge and thanks to Miss Prentice for her top tips on how to celebrate Burns Night.
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Wednesday 20 January
Our latest online Sports talk was something a little different…
“Love the Sport not the Success” with Joanne Jones – an Open Water British Champion and marathon swimmer. Joanne is an open water swimmer, and is passionate about the importance of finding a sport you love, doing it for the enjoyment and not just the success.
Joanne proved incredibly inspiring and with so many amazing stories to share. Thanks to Jo and to everyone who joined us online!
Monday 18 January
In the spirit of the Downe House DNA, our seven core values at the heart of School, Mrs Harrop set her Upper Fifth Biology class a prep to make a model of DNA using whatever they could find. She was delighted with the results!
Sunday 17 January
DH Sport challenged us all to get outside and complete 1 mile of exercise at the weekend with a big SMILE. Lots of different activities completed and so good to see so many happy smiley faces too!
Monday 11 January
‘We can make this term special if we work together, show generosity of spirit and bear in mind that everyone has a contribution to make.’
Inspiring words from Mrs McKendrick at our first assembly of the Lent term this morning.
We welcomed our Interim Deputy Head, Mr Phil Wise and congratulated all the girls who were successful in their ABRSM exams, to Evie, Tilly, India, Lauren and Poppy who have been selected for the Berkshire Hockey Squad and to our newly appointed E-Champions – Queena, Alice, Cosima, Dominica and Tomi. Exciting news from Miss Tinman about the new Learning for Life initiatives and as always, brilliant entertainment from our Head Seniors, Tosin and Poppy with their top tips for remote learning.
Have a great term everyone!