Head’s LinesDear Readers

As I write, I am putting the finishing touches to Senior School reports, and the Carol Service at St. Ann’s Church, the Rotarians’ Christmas Party and Christmas Concerts are still fresh memories. This time of year is a contrast of reflection on the past term, and eager anticipation of the Christmas holiday.

This Bulletin is itself an exercise in reflection, celebrating some of the girls’ notable achievements with our whole Withington community. As for anticipation, the majority of the Upper Sixth have now sent off their university applications and many have already received conditional offers. Others, who intend to apply post-A Level, are now planning travel and work experience for their GAP years. The Upper Fifth have already been considering subjects to study at AS level, and the Upper Fourth have been thinking about GCSE options next year. Girls in Upper II have been preparing for the Entrance Examinations in January. We have even started to plan the celebrations to mark the 125th anniversary of the School’s foundation, in 2015!

On 15th December, twelve Upper Sixth girls will leave for The Gambia for one week, accompanied by Miss Browning, Miss O’Neal, Mrs Smith and Mrs Manning; we wish them all a safe, productive and educational visit.

Key dates for next term may be found on the website at www.withington.manchester.sch.uk and are also contained in my separate letter to current parents, which accompanies this Bulletin.

I send you all my very best wishes for a happy Christmas break and a peaceful, happy and healthy New Year.Mrs Sue Marks Headmistress

DECEMBER 2012 Editor: Mr Ray KingTel: 07768 022 082

Christmas MusicThe Music Department’s ‘Festive Tour’ culminated in a wonderful Christmas Concert performed by the Junior girls on Thursday 13th December, which followed the Senior School’s Christmas Concert performed to a packed Arts Centre on the 10th.

Their programme began with the annual carol service at St Ann’s Church in aid of Wood Street Mission on Monday 3rd December and continued with performances at the Rotarians’ Christmas Concert in the Arts Centre on Wednesday, 5th December and at the Tree of Lights Services in aid of St Ann’s Hospice at Manchester Cathedral on Sunday, 9th December.

There was something for everyone in the Senior Concert programme of traditional carols and popular Christmas music as the Senior and Lower School Orchestras were joined by the Senior and Lower School Choirs, soloists, Clarinet, Flute, Strings and Brass Ensembles and the Stageband.

There were also ‘premieres’ for original compositions by GCSE Music candidates; two for Big Band by Clara Bernstein and Helen Foot, one for Brass Quartet by Amy Brown, another for percussion by Haleh Taghinejadi and a piece including vocals by Michaela Redhead. All the composers directed their own pieces, performed by a combination of professional musicians, the School’s own talented pupils and, for some pieces, themselves.

Yae-Joon Kim, Maddy Williams and Becky Appleby provided solo spots for Violin, Voice and Saxophone respectively.

Rotarians’ Christmas ConcertPortico Library CompetitionIn May, Vidya Ramesh, Ella Langley and Miranda Gold were selected to take part in the Young Laureate Gold scheme, organised by the Portico Library. Over the summer the three girls worked with postgraduate students from Manchester Metropolitan University to produce a piece of writing about Manchester which was then entered into a competition. We are very pleased that all three girls have won prizes – Vidya’s work was Highly Recommended while Miranda’s and Ella’s were Commended. The work of all three girls will be published.

Withington’s long tradition of staging a Christmas Concert for local senior citizens seemed in jeopardy when the Didsbury Rotary Club announced earlier this year that it would be closing down. Mrs Marks vowed that we would continue the event and Head of RS, Mr Ian McKenna, and a Lower Sixth Committee swung into action to organise transport for our guests, including obtaining funding from Manchester City Council to help with costs. The concert, held in the Arts Centre on Wednesday 5th December was a charming mix of traditional carols and popular Christmas music, and included performances by the School’s choirs, soloists, ensembles and orchestras. Withington staff took over the School’s kitchens to make party teas for the

pensioners who also each received a gift very kindly donated by Withington parents and pupils. The programme also included two special pieces composed and directed by GCSE pupils Ellie Stonehouse and Rosie Martland.As ever, the audience participated enthusiastically in a sing-along of nostalgic tunes including a surprise turn by Mrs Marks leading them through the Doris Day classic, Que Sera Sera!

DebatingThe WGS Senior Debating team has had an outstanding Autumn Term filled with articulate argument and verbal victories! Despite none of the current debating side having any experience of external debate before this term, the girls have trained hard to hone their speaking skills to impressive effect. In October, Harriet MacLeod, Alice Beardsworth, Sheanna Patelmaster and Lucinda Chamberlain won their heat of the Debating Matters competition in Eccles, progressing to the North Regional Final. Their convincing and well researched arguments on minimum alcohol pricing and copyright law impressed the judges, and Harriet was also awarded the individual Best Speaker prize.

Not to be outdone, our Cambridge Union teams performed superbly at Manchester Grammar School in December to produce our best ever result in this competition: two teams, comprising Hunadda Sabbagh, Samantha Cooke, Damaris Adebambo and Siyang Wei, won their debates outright and will represent WGS at the regional finals in February. This achievement now sees WGS lying 15th equal in the Cambridge national leagues, a truly exceptional result.

Huge congratulations go to all of our competitive teams and to the girls who have attended our weekly in-house debates, and we look forward to an equally successful 2013!

Geography Fieldtripto CranedaleFifteen Lower Sixth Geographers descended on the Cranedale Field Study Centre in East Yorkshire this October and spent a Friday, Saturday and Sunday experiencing Physical Geography first hand. The Centre occupies a collection of converted farm buildings and offers the comforts of wonderful wholesome food, a hot chocolate machine, a roaring log fire and cosy bedrooms!

The girls worked incredibly hard in the field and were totally inspired by the dramatic chalk cliffs and features of erosion at Flamborough Head in comparison to the devastating loss of the soft Boulder Clay cliffs along the Holderness Coast. It was with huge sympathy they observed areas where buildings sitting precariously on the edge of the cliffs have had to be demolished for safety reasons. Their understanding of the way this coast has to be so carefully managed was made all the clearer by seeing the work of the groynes and sea walls first hand and assessing their effectiveness.

The sand dune study at Bridlington was particularly demanding as, working in groups, the characteristics of the changing dunes were measured using various pieces of equipment and required careful balance on steep slopes. Unprotected from the winds off the North Sea, the environment is very exposed, but this year we were blessed with beautiful sunshine and the study was highly successful.

It was a little colder and more of a challenge carrying out a river study in Dalby forest. Knee deep in water, the girls remained remarkably cheerful as they learnt how the characteristics of a river change from the upper course to the middle course. Again, specialist equipment was used and all the girls absorbed the instructions and executed the exercises with expertise.

Evenings were spent working in the classroom until 9:00 pm but the atmosphere was positive and the students produced some excellent cross-sectional profiles, graphs, and field sketches. Their understanding of a physical environment has enriched their understanding of Geography and is a crucial element of their A Level Course, now complete.

Withington’s Eco Warriors were busy on the green campaign trail during the Autumn Term, engaging in a number of projects that saw the School’s prestigious Green Flag status re-accredited.

The dozen-strong team, drawn from across the Year groups, organised whole-school activities including the collection of sweet wrappers to produce striking outfits for this year’s Fashion Show hosts, recruiting eco-representatives for each Form and the staging of Switch Off Fortnight, aimed at saving power.

In Girls Go Green Week, projects concentrated on the avoidance of wasting food, excess packaging and fundraising efforts for Mary’s Meals, a charity that provides nutritious food to children in developing countries, whilst at the same time encouraging them to go to school.

The following week included World Porridge Day, though it turned out that Withington girls prefer flapjacks!

One of this this year’s School Christmas trees has been decorated with entirely recycled and natural baubles, handmade by pupils, who got together in the DT Room during a lunchtime to create them.

Equestrian Exploits - the sequelFurther to their achievements reported in the last Bulletin yet more congratulations go to Chloe Vell and Francesca Lugo, both in Lower Fifth, who have gone on to further successes in high-level equestrian competitions.

Chloe (15) represented Great Britain in the Under 18 category in an International Dressage event in Biarritz, France in October. In terrible weather conditions, Chloe and her horse, Kaja, exceeded all expectation by coming 2nd with 69.162%, a tiny 0.3% behind the leading Dutch rider.

Francesca represented the School in the National Schools’ Equestrian Association Championships at Addington Manor near Aylesbury at the end of October. Francesca was second in the warm-up class on Saturday and qualified as one of eight fastest clears for the final of the open on Sunday. Francesca and her horse, Cheeky Chap, jumped clear again in the final in a breathtakingly fast time – clearing all eight jumps in just over 41 seconds. Francesca finished in an impressive third-place.

Well done to the Lower Fifth Bronze groups who completed their first practice walk in and around Lyme Park on Sunday 11th October. We had twelve groups and some very enthusiastic participants, keen to practise teamwork and learn to navigate in the countryside.

The weather was sunny but chilly. The groups had different routes and start times so although Anon3 and The Ones at the Back were the first teams back, everyone was a winner and all have stories to tell about encounters with cows, shoes trapped in bogs and getting lost. Many thanks go to all the Withington staff and parents who came along to help keep track of all the groups.

Mrs Ruth Lindsay-Dunn, DofE Coordinator

Dof E - Lyme ParkHead Girls’ ConferenceWithington hosted the North West region’s Girls’ Schools’ Association Head Girls’ Conference on Wednesday 19th September.

The gathering, facilitated by Head of Sixth Form, Mrs Elizabeth Robinson, brought together Head Girls and their Deputies from leading GSA schools across the region, including Queen’s Chester, Manchester High School for Girls, Bolton School Girls’ Division and Alderley Edge School for Girls.

Discussions and seminars centred on what makes good leadership, public speaking skills and exploration of the various scenarios girls were likely to encounter during their time in post.

Former Head Girl of Altrincham Girls’ Grammar School, Abi Parker, who has founded her own company, Potential Directions, was on hand to guide some of the discussions.

Withington’s current Head Girls, Shriya Anand and her Deputies Alex Stone and Ellena Cotton, were joined by some of their predecessors, Alison Coxon, Selina Tso and last year’s Deputy, Holly Whiston.

Curtain up on a creative careerWithington’s current GCSE and A-level students and their parents attended a ‘celebration of creative careers and drama reunion’ staged at the School on Saturday 15th September.

The aim was to affirm to the audience of around 50 that a career in the Arts is “a genuine possibility and not just a pipe dream”, said Head of Drama, Mrs Jen Baylis, quoting a letter from a former pupil.

Mrs Baylis added:

“ We wanted to explode the myth of the starving actor and inspire future generations of Withington Drama students to have the courage of their convictions, follow their dreams and embark on a creative career.”

To that end, a number of former Withington pupils returned to the School to talk about their experiences at Drama School and careers linked to the Arts. They included Michelle Ghatan, actor and 2005 leaver; Miriam Battye, playwright and 2009 leaver; Beth Slater, musical theatre, pop performer and 2009 leaver and Drama teacher, Becky Stern.

The event, which began with a buffet lunch, was also attended by Mrs Marks and Head of Careers, Mrs Nicki Cottam.

Mrs Cottam said:

“ It is so useful for our girls to hear about the experiences of previous Withingtonians who have had similar experiences and overcome similar hurdles to those our current students will face. The speakers all conveyed both the trials and rewards of this route with humour, and we are extremely grateful to them for giving up their time to provide such a valuable insight into creative careers”.

WGS girls in the ringWithington Drama students from Years 7 to 10 got a taste of ‘big top’ performing skills at the Z Arts Centre in Hulme, Manchester, during half term.

The girls engaged in learning traditional circus skills from juggling and plate spinning to trapeze, stilt walking and unicycling with members of Circus House, a company of professional circus ring performers.

Meanwhile the Drama Department served up a variety of productions as A2, Lower and Upper Fifth students performed their devised theatrical pieces.

The A2 girls showcased their take on Bernice Bobs Her Hair based on a short story written in 1920 by F Scott Fitzgerald about a young girl’s attempts to make an impression on the Jazz Age social scene.

The Upper Fifth performed four contrasting dramas, all based around the theme of heroes and villains. Ruby was an outrageously inverted version of the fairytale Little Red Riding Hood while the others dealt with a soldier’s return from Afghanistan, the daydreams of a quintet of office workers and the struggles of a young girl in a version of Alice in Wonderland.The Lower Fifth students performed a contemporary version of the Greek tragedy Electra following a workshop earlier in the year with professional director Paul Warwick and involving copious quantities of fake blood!

Dramatic Times...

Kids Lit Quiz 2012This year two teams entered the Regional Heats of the International Kids Lit Quiz. Rosie Barry, Eleanor Edwards, Tyra Kingsley, Gabriela Marfani, Anam Sidiqi, Ella Slater, Andrea Southern and Niamh Tobin were soon stuck in, racking their brains for that elusive detail from a well-loved book. They fielded questions from ‘Who was Zeus’ daughter?’ to ‘What bird type fuelled the resistance in The Hunger Games?’ to ‘How old was Alex Rider in his last book?’ and some great teamwork led to both teams winning prizes for top scores in individual rounds, one an impressive 10 out of 10!

Our great efforts were not enough, however, to win overall, but hopefully Withington will return next year for another evening of literary interrogation.

Comments from the participants incude:

‘The Lit quiz was good fun. It was a great challenge and everyone really enjoyed it’. ‘Our team did best in ‘cars’ – that was a surprise!’ ‘The questions were really unexpected!’ ‘I thought it was difficult, but that was part of the fun’. ‘Friendly competition’. ‘Made new friends’. ‘It was a once in a lifetime experience’.

It’s the economy...Lower Sixth Economics students had an excellent day visiting the Bank of England, London Metal Exchange and London Eye on Tuesday 6th November.At the LME they saw the system of ‘open outcry’ trading in which traders call prices of metals to fix a price around a large trading ring. In this exciting and dynamic

environment students could see how traders’ actions responded to changes in demand and supply for metals, such as copper, throughout the world. At times the trading became heated as traders struggled to fix a price in the trading ring in the short time of only a few minutes per metal.The Bank of England visit was again fascinating. Students were given the opportunity to practise managing the economy in a simulation, and to look at key economic events in history such as hyperinflation and booms and slumps. There was also a display on the history of forgery and the opportunity to win a prize by cracking a safe code. They listened to a talk and a discussion on the current state of the economy and how the Bank uses monetary policy to keep inflation low and deal with the current challenging economic environment.

A group of Lower Sixth Economics students have entered a global challenge run by the Poly U University of Hong Kong. Lower Sixth Former, Sonia Patel, writes:“ The PolyU Global Student Challenge has taught me so much about how to write a business plan. Three of us, Bethany Jack-Williamson, Midi Wang and myself, had to create a company and a product or service.“

“ We developed a company called PowKine and our product is called PoKe; a portable phone charger that creates electrical energy whilst you walk. Once we had decided on our product, our next step was to create a business plan and we are now awaiting results that will determine whether we get to go to Hong Kong for the semi-finals.”

Head of Economics, Mr Stephen Boddy said: “ The girls have developed a range of skills such as financial forecasting, business strategy and how to model the impact of the changing economy on their business. The business plan they submitted is professional and convincing and shows the ability to apply their skills in Economics to the international business environment.”

ENHANCINGOPPORTUNITIES

Annual FundThe Enhancing Opportunities Annual Fund, launched this year, aims to raise money for special projects in School designed to enhance the learning of all girls. In 2012, we set our sights on raising £50,000 for three projects identified by staff and girls: An industry-standard laser cutter which will allow the girls to interact with equipment used in today’s workplace; a residential creative writing course with the Arvon Foundation for 16 pupils in the Senior School, on which the girls will benefit from the direct tutelage of some of the UK’s most celebrated published writers; and a full-size Classical Pedal Harp allowing School to bring this rare instrument to even more pupils.

If you would like further information about the Enhancing Opportunities Annual Fund, please contact Clare Flynn, Development Director on 0161 249 3494 or at development@withington.manchester.sch.uk.

A2 Physics ChallengeCongratulations to the following who achieved a MERIT award in the A2 Physics Challenge set by the Institute of Physics.

• Zara Ali • Helen Carrington• Carmen Lau • Sophie Ngan• Charlotte Senn • Alexia Southern

Courting success... (well... almost)Withington’s budding legal eagles almost got the verdict they were hoping for when they were judged runners up in a prestigious Mock Trial Competition.

The nine Sixth Formers, who had been swotting up on legal terms, procedures and practices since the start of the school year, were pipped, in the final courtroom session, by a team from the Manchester Grammar School.

They were taking part in the Sir Rhys Davies Schools Mock Trial Competition against 11 rival schools. The Withington team, its barristers decked out in borrowed wigs and gowns, won through to the final with victories over rivals from Stockport Grammar, William Hulme’s and Oldham Hulme Grammar schools.

The competition, presided over by Recorder of Manchester, His Hon Judge Andrew Gilbart QC, required pupils to play the roles of lawyers, court officials and witnesses and their performances were marked by some of Manchester’s leading Crown Court judges and lawyers. Two set scenarios and witness statements – the ‘evidence’ – were prepared by real barristers and involved cases of theft.

The teams had to prosecute and defend the cases as the competition progressed. The aim of the annual contest is to enhance understanding of Britain’s legal system and the rights and duties of citizenship.

Miss Amanda Phillips, who accompanied the Withington contestants, said:

“ The girls did us proud and received excellent feedback for their efforts.”

The Great WGS Bake-offSixth-Former Gemma Foxler, leader of the School’s Jewish Society, involved the leaders of Withington’s other religious societies in staging Mitzvah Day with the help of fellow Sixth Formers, Jordanna Cainer and Sophie Bainbridge.

As Mitzvah Day strongly encourages interfaith relations, it was a perfect opportunity to get the whole school involved in one big charity project. The theme of this event was giving time and not money, so raising a different type of dough seemed the perfect activity. Baking bread for the homeless was not only a lot of fun, but also thoroughly rewarding. Those who received the bread much appreciated all our efforts. The publicity posters around School brought plenty of amusement with numerous amusing bread puns and howlers! For example: ‘At yeast it’s for a good cause’, ‘Crust me, it’s going to be good’ and ‘Rye oh rye are we still making bread puns’.

Gemma Foxler, Upper Sixth

SGS MUN 2012The first weekend of December saw over 30 girls representing the delegations of the Russian Federation, Portugal, Australia, Guatemala and Zimbabwe at Stockport Grammar’s second Model United Nations conference of 2012.

Hunadda Sabbagh, Jo Lees and Jessica Stolberg were also chairing at the conference.

All the girls acquitted themselves very well. Despite such a busy term, they had managed to get some valuable preparation done and many went armed with resolutions.

Different conferences have varied awards, but there are always individual and full delegation awards and at SGS, Withington girls were extremely successful. Commended Delegates were Amy Brown and Anisha Chopra; Highly Commended Delegates were Sadaf Naqvi, Kavneet Jolly, Caroline Cartmill, Izzy Byrne, Siyang Wei and Anuradha Ponnapalli.

Outstanding Delegates in their committees were Haleh Taghinejadi in Disarmament (representing Guatemala), Sam Cooke in Human Rights 2 and Vidya Ramesh in Middle East both representing Russia.

We had three girls in the Security Council where debate is always the most intense as it is a smaller forum. May Xiang did extremely well representing Portugal and Lucinda Chamberlain won a Commended Award for Guatemala even though this was her first experience of this committee. Sheanna Patelmaster was the very worthy winner of the Outstanding Delegate award for Russia.

Rounding off an excellent conference for WGS... Russia won the Best Delegation Award of the Conference for contributing the most in every way. Russia comprised Sheanna Patelmaster, Millie Coen, Izzy Byrne, Sam Cooke, Penny Jones, Vidya Ramesh and Leila Parsa.

MUN Coordinator, Ms Jane Maher, said: “It was a fantastic achievement and all girls should be very proud of themselves.”

What a Rush!Fifty models, eight choreographers, a team of lighting and sound technicians and a 15-strong organising committee put their heart and soul into staging Withington’s most dazzling Fashion Show ever.

Months in the planning – work on choreography, finance, sponsorship, the clothing collection, publicity, construction of the set and ticket sales began before the summer holidays – the show, directed entirely by pupils, raised more than £5,000 for Barnardos and diabetes charity Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

The catwalk spectacular, advisedly entitled Sugar Rush, featured the sweetest fashions of the year as the show’s three compères combined with the school’s ‘Eco Warriors’ and wore outfits made entirely of sweet wrappers and packets collected in school. Some brave Withington Staff also took to the ‘catwalk’ and were given an enthusiastic reception as they danced and sashayed to Robbie Williams’ Candy/Vertigo.

The models, drawn from Lower Fourth to Upper Sixth Forms strutted their polished choreography in impressive style and sported sumptuous clothes lent by supportive retailers. The main sponsor was Beaverbrooks and clothes were generously loaned by Xpose, Someone Else’s Wardrobe, Heavenly Way to Dye, AX Paris, Forever Unique, JDRF, Bar Code, Missguided, Internacionale, Urban Edge, Boohoo.com, SOS and Vicky Martin.

Said Mrs Fabiola Cotton, Withington’s Head of Design Technology:

“ It was the best range of clothes we have ever shown – a very diverse collection from quite expensive couture to second hand and recycled outfits and the way the girls arranged the show, it all fitted together brilliantly.”

The show ended with an explosive finale of pink and white confetti fired from eight ‘confetti cannons’!

&

Raising money in aid of:

The WGS Careers Department needs YOU!!It is our aim in the Careers Department to provide the girls with access to a wide range of resources relating to their future careers. To help achieve this, we are currently trying to increase the involvement of our parents, alumnae and other associates who are willing to offer their knowledge and expertise to the School. A number of you have already indicated during the summer telephone campaign that you would be willing to offer work experience placements, participate in mock university interviews or be involved in career-related talks - we are extremely grateful for all of these offers and will be in touch in the New Year to discuss them.

Many of you are already involved, and through you, our girls have access to some of the best work placements available – these opportunities and experiences you have provided will be invaluable to the girls when they apply to university, and also when facing the increasingly difficult world of graduate employment.

If you are not currently involved with the work we do, but feel that you would like to be, please fill in the short questionnaire on the School website – the link is on the right-hand navigation on the homepage.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have been involved with the Careers Department this year, and look forward to working with many more of you in the future.

With best wishes for the New Year.

Mrs Nicki Cottam, Head of Careers

NURTURINGP O T E N T I A L

Supporting Bursaries at WithingtonStephanie Jean Siddall (2010) Stephanie, in her final year at King’s College, London reading Philosophy with War Studies is President of the King’s College Israeli Palestinian Forum.

“ Without the support from the Bursary Scheme I would have been unable to attend Withington Girls’ School and I think I would have been a very different person today. The teachers at Withington were supportive and encouraged me to develop a strong work ethic. Withington taught me to be more self-assured in my ability and the skills I learnt at Withington have proved invaluable. From a solid grounding I am now confidently exploring my own ideas and arguments. Withington was not just important academically, I was involved in a wide range of amazing extra- curricular opportunities from Model United Nations to the Mock Trial competition to Drama. These experiences have inspired me to immerse myself in student life at university where I am keen to try everything. I also teach at Saturday school for underprivileged children in the area. I will always look back at my time at Withington with fond memories.

“ Lack of financial support should not prevent children from having such a fantastic education. I am so grateful for the opportunities I was given and I would implore anyone to donate towards the Bursary Appeal as it gives girls the chance to succeed in a supportive environment regardless of their background. It is this diversity which makes Withington such an amazing place and I feel that any pupil that attends Withington not only benefits from the standard of teaching but the personal development they make from being with like-minded students who want to learn, care about others and staff who give endless encouragement.

“ I have been eager to give something back to the bursary scheme as a way of helping other girls benefit from Withington in the same way I did.”

If you would like further information about the Nurturing Potential Bursary Fund, please contact Clare Flynn, Development Director on 0161 249 3494 or at development@withington.manchester.sch.uk.

NURTURING POTENTIAL...

Supporting Bursaries at Withington

In 2012...• 37% placements were business placements

e.g. Commerce, Advertising, Media, Administrative

• 21% were medical, dentistry or veterinary with a further 13% in hospitals

• 16% law and accountancy

Well over half of the placements were provided by parental contacts or alumnae contacts, including large law firms, hospital placements, theatre companies, head offices of large retail groups, accountancy and management firms and local businesses.

Young EnterpriseA delegation from Denmark visited School on 12th December to observe how Withington’s two Young Enterprise teams were preparing for the competition’s first key event of the new ‘season’ – a Christmas Trade Fair in Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens.

The two companies this year are: Storm, who have sold jewellery to raise funds for their main business, the sale of ‘heatholder’ and Christmas socks; and Athena, who sold cases for a range of mobile telephones to raise initial capital, and have now moved on to sell hand-made decorative candles including a seasonal Christmas range.

Charitable ChristmasThe School Foyer resembled Santa’s grotto as toys and gifts donated by the WGS community for local radio station Key 103’s Mission Christmas appeal were piled up ready for collection on 13th December. The appeal aims to ensure no child in Greater Manchester will be without a present on Christmas Day.

In another Christmas charity initiative, Friday 14th December saw pupils wearing crazy Christmassy jumpers in support of Save the Children’s Jumper Day, each paying a ‘fine’ to ‘make the world better with a sweater’.

Where Are They Now?In a specially-produced series of films, we turn the spotlight on four former pupils and ask them about their experience at Withington and how their education has impacted on their current careers and projects.

Elaine Lipworth is an international award-winning journalist in L.A; Annette Byron is Partner at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and aims to increase access to Law as its Champion for Social Mobility; Danielle Morley is Founder of global NGO Freshwater Action Network, which secures clean water and sanitation facilities for developing communities around the world through political dialogue; and Sasha Carter is pursuing a degree in Medicine at Leeds University whilst also competing as an international trampolinist with her sights set firmly on the 2016 Olympic Games.

The series of films, produced for Withington by PictureWise Productions, can be viewed online now at www.withington.manchester.sch.uk.

The Emily Simon Society has been established in recognition of the generosity of Founder, Emily Simon, who bequeathed the Playing Fields to School upon her death in 1920. The Emily Simon Society allows School to recognise those who would like to support the School’s future through a Legacy gift, enabling projects such as the Bursary Fund to grow and enhance the opportunities for all current pupils. School is now inviting membership to become a Founding Member of the Emily Simon Society where you will be invited to join the Headmistress and Patrons at an annual Emily Simon Society event.

Please telephone Clare Flynn, Development Director, on 0161 249 3494 or email flynnc@withington.manchester.sch.uk for further information or for a confidential discussion.

Alumnae Dates for your Diary9th January 2013Upper Sixth 2012 Leavers’ Reception4pm, Withington Girls’ School BistroAll 2012 Leavers and their teachers are invited back for cakes and sparkling wine.

16th March 201390th Birthday Reunion for Miss Hulme10.30am, Withington Girls’ SchoolAll former staff and former pupils who came to School during Miss Hulme’s years: 1961-1986 are invited. The day will feature tributes, archive displays, a three course lunch and tours of School. Dedicated 25-year, 40-year and 50-year reunions are planned for the leavers of 1963, 1973 and 1988.

11th May 2013Former Parents’ Reunion11am, Withington Girls’ SchoolA reunion for parents of Withington leavers. All are welcome with guests.

More details of all our events can be found on the Alumnae webpages. Please contact the Development Office on 0161 249 3494 or at development@withington.manchester.sch.uk to reserve your tickets.We look forward to seeing you soon.

WGS OnlineOur Alumnae Association Withington Onwards stays in touch with hundreds of Alumnae through Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter!

Add: WGSAlumJoin: Withington Girls’ School Alumni - group

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Follow: @WGSAlumnae for daily School and Alumnae updates

Elaine Lipworth

Danielle Morley

Annette Byron

Sasha Carter

Castleton TripsEarly in the term, the whole Junior School went on Geography Fieldtrips to Castleton over two consecutive days. Upper ll travelled with Transition on a rather bright and sunny day. Upper ll observed the mountain landscape and how it had changed over time. Transition focused on the village study and discussed why people had originally settled in Castleton and looked at the different amenities available to the local residents.

Form l and Lower ll travelled the following day, unfortunately with a gale-force 7 wind behind them and sideways rain! With spirits still high, each of the classes were able to follow the river down into the village and witness the different features and measure the speed of the water. Another jolly day in the Junior School!

Victorian AssemblyAt the end of October Upper II performed a cross-curricular Assembly based on the Industrial Revolution. They researched the important developments of the day in History lessons, used their ICT skills in their presentations, designed top hats in Design Technology and put their words to music in Music lessons. They provided a fascinating insight into an exciting period in our country’s development. Well done Upper II!

Barnardos VisitNancy Hart from Barnardos visited the Junior School and brought the work of this worthwhile charity to life for the Junior girls.

In morning Assembly she told the girls all about a little boy called Andrew Hodges who was helped by Barnardos to find a home and how he eventually went on to win medals at the Paralympic Games.

She presented the Junior School with a certificate to thank them for their charity work last year through the Penny Race and collections in money boxes. She also presented a cuddly ‘Barney Bear’ to be raffled later in the year.

Pets Club VisitThank you to all the members of the Senior School Pets Club for a very visual and informative Assembly presentation. They showed us all the new guinea pigs that have recently taken up residence in Pets Club. They also demonstrated how to hold hamsters properly and told us never to put them together as they fight and can even fatally harm each other. Some girls were able to hold the new guinea pigs and anyone going to Pets Club is now allowed to give them a cuddle.

Junior Festive Coffee MorningOn Monday 3rd December, over 70 family and friends came to a Junior Festive Coffee Morning. The coffee and cakes, and the happy relaxed atmosphere in the Junior Resource Room was a great start to the festive season. Girls joined their parents at breaktime and enjoyed sampling the delicious fare on offer.

Shakespeare AssemblyThe Junior School hosted their annual visit from the Young Shakespeare company on Wednesday 28th November. This year’s play was the tragedy, Hamlet. As ever, the actors put on an outstanding performance in the afternoon and the interactive workshops in the morning were both fun and informative. Some of members of Upper II, having experienced their fourth Young Shakespeare Day at Withington, said afterwards that it was, “The best one, ever!”

Christmas Cake RaffleA huge thank you to Mrs Pat Mamelok for once again producing an amazing Christmas cake for us to raffle. Over many years the Christmas cake raffle has raised thousands of pounds for charity.

Mathematics ChallengeCongratulations to every girl in Upper II who, between them, won 16 Gold Awards and 10 Silver Awards in the National Primary Mathematics Challenge.

Gingerbread HouseOn 11th December, the raffle draw was made for a most impressive gingerbread house made by two members of the School Catering Team, Mr Dominique Schickele and Mrs Julie Callender. The money raised will be donated to Francis House Hospice.

Junior Christmas ConcertThis delightful event had just the right mix of festive fun and tradition. The first half showcased all the musical groups including the Choir and the Orchestra, and this year we had three Forms performing with their ukuleles. Mrs Sargent led the Twelve Days of Christmas with much audience participation!

After the interval the whole Junior School took part in the poignant and beautiful tale of Baboushka complete with moving trees, an angel conga and the shepherds’ rap!

Pyjama dayThe Juniors have been asking for a pyjama charity day for many months now and finally here it is! It was the perfect way to spend the day after the Christmas concert. Other activities on that day included Lower II making marzipan fruits, as was done in Tudor times.

Junior Theatre trip and Party Day… As we were going to press, the Juniors were looking forward to the Theatre trip to the Lowry, planned for Monday 17th December, to see Arabian Nights. And then, on their return to school, a special party lunch and games in the Sports Hall.

Science Live 2012Science Live was a unique opportunity to see and hear some of the most influential and talented scientists of our generation. Francesca Hilton and Sadaf Naqvi write: On Monday 19th November Upper Fifth scientists went to the Bridgewater Hall to listen to a series of fascinating scientists, accompanied by Dr Vilela, Mrs Smith, Mr Langlois, Miss Hardwick and Mrs Cottam. The first speaker was Professor Lord Robert Winston of Imperial College London, who talked to us about his ground breaking research in IVF and shared with us his knowledge on whether it would be possible for women to extend their fertile life. We were then very privileged to have a chief examiner talk to us about how to improve our examination and revision skills and how to approach different styles of question. Professor Jim Al-Khalili, a well-recognised physicist from the University of Surrey, delivered a speech entitled Time travel: fact or fiction? explaining that, amazingly, there is no need to rule out the idea of time travel as it is theoretically possible. Another physicist, Dr Kate Lancaster, spoke about whether nuclear fusion actually works and explained the advantages and disadvantages of the process. Professor Andrea Sella, an organic chemist at UCL, explained how the zebra got its stripes by demonstrating a series of experiments. The final talk, by Professor Dave Cliff, centred on the impact that computer science has had in the last 50 years and promised that the next half century would be a period of astonishing progress with lots of exciting developments but also some serious challenges. All the talks were very interesting and enjoyable and showed examples of the numerous opportunities and careers available in science. With the motto of 2012 being ‘inspire a generation’, we feel that Science Live did just that as we all walked away truly inspired, awe-struck and eager to learn more.

Art Attack!Junior Art Workshops

The Art Department have been delighted to provide Junior girls with two after school art clubs this term.One group of girls have learnt how to construct and assemble individual lanterns in the shape of houses. When finished, they will be lit from the inside to cast shadows through the coloured windows and silhouettes. The second group have been enjoying a series of seasonal decorations workshops. The girls have engaged in wire work, weaving and felt making activities and we are very pleased with the results so far!

Upper School Life Drawing This term the AS and A2 Art students have been given the opportunity to take part in an after school Life Drawing class. Pupils are taught the skills to draw from a model and experiment in many media and techniques to represent this figure. It is one of the traditional ways of building a foundation for doing all kinds of art and builds on the pupils observational skills.

Whitworth Art Gallery TripThe Lower Fifth Art group made an excellent start to their GCSE course. To enhance their experience of artists, they visited the Whitworth Art Gallery in Manchester. Pupils spent time in the gallery collecting research and making sketches from the original artworks. As it was such a lovely day, pupils were also able to draw from observation in the grounds of the gallery. This was an invaluable experience and built up their Natural Forms coursework project.

Open DayDuring both of the school Open Days the Art Room was a hive of activity. The girls were busy producing a communal artwork. All year groups could participate in this piece and prospective Withington girls also had their input. The work was created by using collage, painting and printing techniques. The final piece was a wonderful array of colour. Well done to all pupils involved in producing this piece.

Royal Society Book PrizeIn the age of internet and the cinematic documentaries of Brian Cox, it seems that science books are only read as study aids. Even textbooks are being read less and less. When you’re doing your homework, it’s much easier to Google the answers rather than search through a whole book! This year the Royal Society announced the shortlist for their Young People’s Book Prize, with the objective of getting more young people to read more books about science. Whether or not you intend to pursue a career in science, such books can provide us with a great understanding of how the world around us works.

With this in mind a group of girls, Julia Rea; Corlyn Lee; Emma Willan; Theodora Critchley; Philippa Slattery; Deeya Kotecha and Helen Ng, decided to rank the shortlist of books and submit their scores to the Royal Society. These scores are taken into consideration when the Royal Society decides the winning book. We met and discussed the merits of the books – which ranged from the Horrible Histories-esque Plagues, Pox and Pestilence to an intricate colour pop-up book How the Weather Works.

It was a difficult to make a decision, but we finally decided that Plagues, Pox and Pestilence was deserving of the prize. We concurrently created a film of our judging process which was also sent off to the Royal Society. Excerpts of this film have now been released on the Royal Society website.

Thanks must go to Mrs Sutton for introducing us to this activity, as well as allowing us to troop into the library at lunchtime with biscuits, drinks and some vocal discussion! Mr Keenan and Mr Dean were instrumental in putting the film together and the girls were keen and responsive. Although our preferred book didn’t win – that accolade went to Robert Winston’s Science Experiments - a great time was had by all.

Vidya Ramesh, Upper Fifth

Let’s DanceWithington’s very own version of the BBC’s hit show Strictly Come Dancing – staged for the fourth time - on Friday 12th October raised £1,200 for the School’s World Challenge Expedition to Ladakh in northern India next summer.

Two members of the expedition team, Jo Lees and May Xiang, assumed the roles of compères Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly for the event and introduced a programme of impressive dancing of a very high standard - performed by Withington Staff!

Overall winners were Mr Ian McKenna and Ms Amy Holland who performed an exciting Charleston. Mr Ian Dean and Miss Beckie Lowe danced the Lindy Hop with some impressive lifts and Miss Amanda Phillips and Mr Adam Fitzpatrick’s interpretation of the Waltz involved some superb story-telling and romance. Ms Bernie O’Neal and Mr Stephen Boddy danced a Russian folk dance and Mrs Anne Humblet and Mr Chris Keenan acted out a very dramatic Tango.

Mrs Marks, Mrs Buckley and Mrs Wallis were the eminent judges and Mrs Baylis and Ms Lopez assisted with choreography. The technical team, led by Sheanna Patelmaster, provided seamless music and lighting.

Challenging SnowdoniaIn the very early morning on Saturday 17th November the World Challenge Ladakh team met at school and headed for Snowdonia, where we were to spend Saturday and Sunday completing team-building exercises, hiking in the area and camping overnight. On arrival at the Centre, we met our leaders for the weekend, Richard and Chris, and once we had set up our tents we were given our first team-building exercise of creating a ‘monster’ with only 10 of our legs touching the ground and all of us in contact with each other. We then set off on our walk for the day which involved a lot more uphill walking than most of us had imagined but our teamwork helped us all to the top, where we stopped to have lunch. By the time we arrived back at the campsite it was already dark, which meant cooking our spaghetti and tomato sauce was a bit of a challenge but our nominated chefs delivered.Afterwards, we went up to the Centre’s house and our leaders took us through everything we will need for our expedition to India, telling us about possible illnesses and how to avoid and cope with them and, to the dismay of many members of the team, informing us of the many animals and insects that we could encounter during our stay.After an extremely cold night we headed off for our final walk of the weekend. We climbed the mountain next to Snowdon and although it was very hard work to get to the top, once we were there the views were spectacular. Though nearly every member of the team fell at one point during our walks, we all completed the weekend uninjured and feeling much better prepared for our trip in July.Hannah Loftus, Upper Sixth

Geographically SpeakingOn December 5th, ten Upper Sixth Geographers attended the Geographical Association Debating Forum at Abbey College, right in the heart of the City Centre. Coordinated by Katie Wallwork, the team researched the issue of Food Security and the problem of acute malnourishment in today’s world. The debate took the format of Model United Nations and we were given the USA, a key donor country. Each girl had a resolution to research, and they demonstrated a genuine collaborative effort when discussing and investigating American involvement in World Food Security. Harriet Macleod was chief delegate on the night, with Alex Stone and Shriya Anand in support. Harriet made a brilliant opening speech; Shriya introduced largely economic issues and Alex was quick to respond to questions from other ‘countries’. The girls were all a huge credit to the School in their preparation and delivery and the skills they learnt will be a huge asset when they move on to University. Hot chocolate and pancakes were enjoyed in the German Market on the way home - a telling reminder of just how lucky we are in the Western World to have food in such abundance.Mrs Julie Buckley, Head of Geography

Gambia Fundraising DinnerOn the evening of Saturday 10th November Mrs Marks, Miss Browning and the Gambia team were delighted to welcome family and friends to a fundraising champagne and canapé reception, followed by a gourmet dinner, staged to raise funds for the Gambia expedition in December.

The multi-course dinner was provided free of charge by Mrs Michelle Greenwood, mother of one of the girls taking part in the annual trip, who runs an Oldham-based craft bakery and catering company.

Miss Kaeren Browning, organiser of the Gambia expedition, which will again see girls working on Withington-funded community projects in a remote rural village, said: “It was a most amazing meal with fine wines catered expertly by Mrs Greenwood and served professionally by her own staff.”

“ Guests were not charged a fixed amount but invited to pay what they thought was an appropriate sum – and the evening raised £1,800. Mrs Greenwood’s fantastic generosity meant that every penny raised went directly to the Gambia fund.”

Senior Team Maths ChallengeIn November, Midi Wang and Heather Lewis from Lower Sixth, and Sophie Ngan and Charlotte Senn from Upper Sixth travelled to Manchester University for the regional heat of the Senior Team Maths Challenge. The girls competed against 28 teams from the North West. After the first round the girls were lying outside the top eight places and then a stunning performance in the next round saw them drop only one mark out of 60; they followed this up with an impressive relay around to finish in third place with just a couple of marks separating the top teams. Congratulations to them all!

Pupil absence: Please would all parents use 0161 249 3476 to inform the School of pupil absence before 8.30am on each day of absence.

For contact after school please use these numbers:Senior Late Room: 0161 249 3492Junior Late Room: 0161 224 1077

Do call us (Before we call you!)Withington Girls’ School, Wellington Road, Fallowfield, Manchester M14 6BLTel: 0161 224 1077 Fax: 0161 248 5377 Email: office@withington.manchester.sch.uk Web: www.withington.manchester.sch.uk Registered Charity No. 526632

Belting Success!On Sunday 11th November, Francesca Jess in the Upper Fourth travelled, along with other members of Hale and Bowdon Taekwon-Do Club, to Stratford-upon-Avon where she was awarded her Black Belt.

This has involved attending classes up to twice a week and producing a written thesis on Taekwon-Do for which valuable points are awarded on the day of the grading. In addition, questions are posed that the students must answer in their own words, demonstrating their level of knowledge and understanding.

Over an intense four-hour period the students are tested rigorously on their patterns, technical kicking, set sparring, free sparring, thesis, power breaking and their knowledge of Korean terminology. The student is given a score for each discipline and a low score in one or more of the areas could mean that they fail the whole grading.

Instructor Andy Teague said:

“ We are very proud that Francesca passed her Black Belt Grading, achieving good scores across all areas of the graded disciplines. She has worked very hard and deserves her Black Belt.”

Sports NewsJunior LacrosseOn a cold December evening 14 eager Withington Junior lacrosse players travelled to Timperley Lacrosse Club for the December tournament. Withington started their first game strongly with the A team winning and the B team drawing against some tough opposition. As each team gained in confidence the goal difference increased with Withington’s A’s beating Bowdon by a huge 7 goals and Withington’s B’s beating St Vincent’s 3-2 in a close fought game. The A team finished in a fantastic 4th place and the B’s in a strong 9th out of 14 teams. Well done to all girls!

Miss Jessica Richards, Teacher of PE

Independent Schools’ Netball CupOur U13 Netball team have made it to the quarter finals of the Independent Schools’ Netball Cup. Teams from all over the country have entered and the competition is strong. So far they have beaten The Grange, Yarm School and The Royal Grammar School Newcastle. They are now due to play Oldham Hulme on Tuesday 11th December. The team have played magnificently! They have progressed throughout each round by performing with both technical and tactical elegance. This team has the ability and dedication to perform at the highest level.

Mrs Kate Kelsall, Teacher of PE

Olympic stardustGabby Marfani in Lower Sixth is one of twelve Withington Girls who are currently involved in county hockey training and coaching, ahead of possible selection in the New Year. On Sunday 9th December the Under 12, 13 and 14 players met GB Olympic 2012 bronze medallist, Nicola White. Brought up Littleborough, Nicola is a local girl who attended Oldham Hulme Grammar School and went through the county hockey system as a youngster. That really is inspiring!

Mrs Mhairi Ferrol, Head of PE

Congratulations to...Frances Coggon in Upper Sixth who has been selected for North Under 21 hockey. This is a fantastic achievement. Well done Frances!

It has been a busy term with many fixtures in Netball, Hockey and Lacrosse against other schools where we have had some fantastic results. The highlights have included some very closely fought tournaments too!