Summer 2014

Leweston Life

Head’s Welcome 3

Academic News 4

Creative Pursuits 6

Art and Design Exhibition 10

Charity 12

Senior Sport 14

Junior Department 18

Spiritual Life 36

Overseas Trips 38

Boarding Trips and Visits 40

Duke of Edinburgh Award 42

Leavers 43

Dates for your Diary 44

Contents

www.leweston.co.ukFront Cover: A2 Level Coursework by Isabella Holroyd

Welcome from the HeadWith the summer term completed, we find

ourselves reflecting upon another exceptional

academic year at Leweston. Once again, the

outstanding public examination results achieved

by Sixth Form pupils have been recognised in the

DfE School Performance Tables. For the second

consecutive year, Leweston has been placed as the

top school in Dorset and Somerset for its A Level

performance as measured by the average UCAS

points scored per pupil. The School has also been

placed in the top 5% for Value Added up to GCSE

and we are delighted with the offers our Sixth

Form have received from the Russell Group

Universities.

This year has seen great change across the campus,

with the Prep School becoming Leweston’s Junior

Department. This positive move has seen both

schools benefiting from a fuller integration with

one another. The Junior pupils will now take

advantage of the specialist teaching in Languages,

(including Spanish), Art, Maths, Domestic Science,

Music and Sport that is provided by the Senior

School. There will also be a further ‘twinning’ of

Houses across both schools, so that we can

implement some cross-campus activities. We look

forward to September and to welcoming Victoria

Bridgeman-Sutton to her new role as Head Teacher

of the Junior Department.

Creatively, one of this year’s highlights was the

Choral Society Concert, ‘A Mozart Celebration by

Candlelight’, featuring a professional orchestra

playing on period instruments dating from the

C18th, and professional soloists. The choir, made up

of girls, parents, staff, governors and adults from

the local community, was over 100 strong and the

concert raised the roof, especially during the

‘Requiem’. Dramatically, the production of The

Tempestwas performed to great acclaim; the

acting was outstanding and we would like to

especially congratulate Sarah Warham, the Drama

Prefect who enchanted audiences as Prospero. We

were thrilled with the Junior Department’s all-

singing, all-dancing production of The Little

Mermaid; everyone in attendance enjoyed this

spectacular display of enthusiasm and young

talent! Congratulations also go to those girls who

performed so well at the Bath Festival of Speech

and Drama, bringing home top prizes in a number

of divisions.

2013-2014 has witnessed some incredible sporting

achievements by Leweston pupils. As I write we

have five girls in Germany representing GB at the

Biathle World Tour, for which I wish them luck.

Congratulations to all those girls who partake in

team sports representing the school, the region or

the country. It has truly been a terrific year for

Leweston’s sporting stars, with successes across all

disciplines - from fencing and rowing, to football,

swimming and everything in between. A marked

improvement in performance has been evident,

thanks in no small part to the excellent coaching

and training programmes available and the

dedication of the pupils themselves.

Duke of Edinburgh participation has gone from

strength to strength in all categories and at this

very moment we have a team in Peru undertaking

their final assessment for the Gold DofE award. I

wish them well.

With this being the end of a full and pleasing

academic year, we say goodbye to our leavers but

remain safe in the knowledge that they depart

Leweston well prepared for the next stage in their

lives. ‘Gaudere et Bene Facere!’ Rejoice and do

well.

Adrian Aylward

Headmaster

3

4

Sixth Formers Compete inthe UK Chemistry OlympiadCongratulations to the three Year 13 girls who were awarded certificates

at this year’s UK Chemistry Olympiad. This annual event is designed to

select students for the UK team at the International Chemistry Olympiad

and is open to all UK Year 13 students. Round 1 is a challenging written

test of chemical knowledge and Gold, Silver and Bronze certificates are

awarded. This year a total of 5682 students entered the competition with

four from Leweston. Ciara McCarthy was awarded a Gold certificate,

joining the 7.4% of candidates who entered the competition and were

awarded top honours. Annie Trevis and Justyna Ekert were awarded

Bronze certificates.

Leweston is delighted that two

of its Upper Sixth pupils have

been successful in obtaining

offers from Cambridge.

Congratulations to Ciara

McCarthy who has received an

offer to study Natural Sciences

and to Harriet Woodland who

has received an offer to study

Modern Languages.

Leweston has a strong history

of enabling Sixth Formers to

win places at the most selective

universities and specialist

colleges and these offers serve

to highlight the school’s

reputation for preparing pupils

for further success.

Pupils Win Places at Cambridge

Leiths Success for theUpper Sixth

Seven Year 13 girls achieved their

Leiths Basic Certificate in Food and

Wine having passed all elements

of the 5 term course. The girls’

excellent knowledge of theory and

ability to work under pressure in

the timed practical exam, led to

excellent theory and practical

examination results.

Congratulations go to Olivia

Gregory, Isabella Holroyd, Daria

Korznikova, Isabelle Mcgowan,

Isabella Thompson, Zoe To and

Jaime Lao. Olivia achieved a

distinction and the Leiths prize

closely followed by Isabella

Holroyd achieving a merit, with

the other girls achieving first class

passes. Leiths teacher, Susan

Larkin, is delighted that the girls’

hard work has paid off, with them

achieving our best ever results.

PUPIL WINS PUBLIC SPEAKING COMPETITIONFOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTSCongratulations to Marielle

Camara (Year 12) who fought off

strong competition from 11 other

finalists from five schools to win

this year’s Public Speaking

competition for International

Students held at Sherborne

International College. Marielle

spoke about why she had chosen

to study in England despite the

lure of the climate and lifestyle in

her home country of Mexico. She

went on to adeptly answer a range

of questions from the audience.

The chairman of judges, local

businessman and magistrate Peter

Crinks, commended Marielle in

particular on her mastering of

English idiom and nuance despite

having only been in England for

five months. Congratulations must

also go to our second

representative Ashley Ma (Year 12),

who spoke with much humour and

enthusiasm about why Chinese is

such a difficult language to master.

5

LEWESTON TOPS

SCHOOL PERFORMANCE

TABLES FOR DORSET

AND SOMERSET AT

A-LEVEL

This year’s outstanding public

examination results achieved by

Leweston’s Sixth Form pupils have

been recognised in the School

Performance Tables.

The performance tables place

Leweston as the TOP school in

Dorset and Somerset for the

second consecutive year for its A

Level performance as measured

by the average UCAS points

scored per pupil. Leweston’s Sixth

Formers produced an average

UCAS points score of 929.2, the

equivalent of well over three A

grades per pupil. On another

performance measure 37% (the

highest percentage) of pupils

achieved grades of AAB or above

including at least two of the

facilitating subjects recognised by

the Russell Group Universities as

being the most academically

demanding.

LEWESTON PLACED IN THE

TOP 5% FOR VALUE ADDED

The Value Added feedback

produced by Durham

University has placed

Leweston in the top 5% of

schools nationally for the

second consecutive year!

Ann Widdecombecomes to LewestonLeweston was delighted to

welcome British politician and

novelist Ann Widdecombe to the

school. Miss Widdecombe

delivered a fascinating talk on

‘Politics’ to Leweston pupils from

years 10, 11, 12 and 13 and two

groups of Sixth Formers from The

Gryphon and Sherborne School.

She spoke about the role of the EU

and that if the referendum

occurred in 2017 she would vote

for our withdrawal. She then went

on to speak about the Scottish

referendum and the future of the

‘Health Service’ – believing that it

is becoming a 3 tiered service, the

bottom tier being left to receive

the poorest care and ever

increasing waiting lists.

Miss Widdecombe was engaging

and gave comprehensive answers

to the questions asked – it was an

exciting opportunity not only for

the Leweston Politics students but

for everyone who attended.

Sixth Form TeamPlace in Top 9% ofthe UK in NationalStock MarketCompetition

Pupils have performed

exceptionally well in this

year’s IFS Student Investor

Challenge placing in the top

9% of the UK, pitted against

nearly 9,000 other teams.

The IFS Challenge is run by

the Institute for Financial

Services University College

and is the UK’s premier

investment competition. It is

an annual national

competition where schools

can put forward teams of

four. The teams then invest

£100,000 of virtual money in

the stock market. Students

are tasked with keeping

portfolios healthy by reading

and forecasting market

information provided online

to identify shares and make

judgements of when to buy

and sell in order to make a

profit.

The girls’ aim was to make as

much money as possible -

buying and selling with one

eye on the news to pick up

indicators of which

companies would rise and

which would fall. This was

particularly challenging this

year due to the volatility of

the markets.

Creative Pursuits

Leweston’s Choral SocietyConcert Raises the Roof!Early March saw the Leweston

Choral Society performing ‘A

Mozart Celebration by Candlelight’,

featuring a professional orchestra

playing on period instruments

dating from the 18th century and

professional soloists. The choir,

made up of girls, parents, staff,

governors and local adults in the

community, was over 100 strong

and the concert raised the roof,

especially during the ‘Requiem’.

The first two songs, ‘Laudate

Dominum’ with soloist Rachel

Milestone, singing teacher at

Leweston, and ‘Ave Verum Corpus’,

were sung entirely by candlelight

which lent an authentic feel to the

evening. Claire Hawkes, Director

of Music, conducted the

performance. Claire is a specialist

in historical performance, having

studied for her Master’s Degree in

Historical Performance in France

and London and has travelled

across Europe playing historical

clarinets and basset horns.

6

7

LEWESTON TAKES PART IN THE

SHERBORNE SCHOOLS’

SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

CONCERT AT

ST GEORGE’S, BRISTOL

In March Leweston took part in the

Sherborne Schools’ Symphony

Orchestra Concert at St George’s Bristol.

The Leweston musicians joined

performers from Sherborne Girls,

Sherborne School, Sherborne

International College and The Gryphon.

This followed their successful joint

schools’ concert in St John’s, Smith

Square last year. Participating students

were of a very high standard and entry

was by audition. The orchestra was led

by Leweston’s Clara Hewitt (Year 12).

Leweston’s Schola Cantorum

gave a fantastic performance in

front of a packed audience at

Sherborne Abbey, as part of the

Sherborne Abbey Festival. Here

Schola Cantorum debuted their

special commission for upper

voices: ‘Song of Songs’.

‘Song of Songs’ by Patrick

Hawes, with text by Andrew

Hawes, was originally written for

SATB and was then dedicated to

Leweston’s Schola Cantorum.

Accompanied by a string

quartet and harp, the piece is a

sequence of six poems derived

from the Old Testament ‘Song of

Solomon’ which explores the

nature of love. The performance

was rapturously received by all

in attendance.

Schola Cantorum Debut ‘Songs of

Songs’ at the Sherborne Abbey Festival

8

Guests were welcomed to a

special concert to mark the

unveiling of the school’s new

grand piano. The concert was led

by renowned concert pianist and

Old Antonian, Fiona Dalzell (nee

Ward). A previous Leweston Music

Scholar, Fiona went on to study at

the Royal College of Music,

l’Academie de Maurice Ravel in St.

Jean de Luz and the Conservatoire

National Superieur de Musique

Paris, where she was the recipient

of numerous prestigious

accolades. Fiona has appeared in

major venues and festivals

throughout the UK and abroad,

both as a soloist and chamber

musician and has recorded for

both television and film.

The concert was a great success

with guests astounded by Fiona’s

immense talent. Leweston would

like to thank Fiona for giving her

time to play for us so beautifully

and would also like to thank the

Sisters of the Religious of

Christian Instruction for their kind

donation of the incredible new

Yamaha grand piano.

Leweston’s pupils enjoyed a

successful time at the 2014

Mid Somerset Speech and

Drama Festival, bringing

home the top prizes in a

number of divisions.

In the solo acting division,

Sarah Warham gave a

winning performance in the

17-18 age group to clinch

the Bath Community

Theatre Cup.

Amy Baker and Amelia

Bailey were runners up in

the Under 17 duos.

In the category for acting

duos aged Under 21, Lila

Chillingworth & Ellie Mules

performed exceptionally to

win the Norah Ball Cups.

Leweston pupils then

dominated the Under 16

Shakespeare duos; Jemima

Dempsey and Lexsis Nyeko

impressed the judges to

win the Westonbirt School

Cup.

In the Under 13 duo acting

competition, Portia Manson

and Fleur Crittall placed

second.

Anthony Irvine, Head of

Drama commented:

“Leweston took the 113th

Mid Somerset festival of

Speech & Drama by storm.

Five prestigious cups were

won and the number of

high placements in other

classes was also particularly

impressive.”

Success at the Mid Somerset Festival of Speech and Drama

PUPIL AWARDED BYASSOCIATED BOARDOF THE ROYALSCHOOLS OF MUSICFOR TOP MARKS INVIOLIN ASSESSMENT

Clara Hewitt (Year 12)

has been awarded the

‘Vicar’s Close’ prize by

the ABRSM (Associated

Board of the Royal

Schools of Music) for

achieving the highest

Grade 8 Distinction on

the violin.

The ‘Vicar’s Close’ is a

cash prize endowed by

the generosity of an

anonymous donor

who died in 1979. It is

offered to promote

education in music in

the former County of

Somerset and is

annually awarded to

candidates gaining the

highest marks in Violin

and Pianoforte.

Unveiling of the New Grand Piano

Years 7-9 were involved in the Music

and Drama Showcase ‘All the World’s a

Stage’. The showcase provided the

girls with the opportunity to

demonstrate what they had been

working on in their private music and

drama lessons, as well as during

lunchtime clubs and in the classroom.

The performance got off to an

impressive start with girls from Year 9

performing the monologue ‘All the

World’s a Stage’ from William

Shakespeare’s play As You Like It. The

girls rose magnificently to the

challenge of performing a complex

monologue and spoke eloquently.

The standard of music was very high

and the audience listened to a variety

of solo and ensemble performances

as well as the girls’ own compositions.

The Drama department contributed a

variety of dramatic pieces including a

profound performance by Year 7 of

scenes from the script Private Peaceful.

To bring the show to a close, all girls in

Years 7-9 performed the gospel

medley ‘Feel the Spirit’. It made a

wonderful ending to a brilliant

occasion!

Pupils Impress with Music and DramaShowcase, ‘All the World’s a Stage!’

10

Summer GCSE and A Level Art and Design Exhibition

This year saw another exciting Art and Design Exhibition of GCSE and A Level

work which included Fine Art, Textile Design, Graphic Design and Costume

Design. The wonderfully diverse collection of work included installations by

Sarah Warham (Year 13) and Jasmina Tims (Year 10) and a paper sculpture

which adorned the staircase in Black Hall by Eleanor Evason (Year 12). Year 10

showcased some impressive work based on their trip to Cornwall last October.

Once again the exhibition highlighted the wealth of creative talent at

Leweston.

•A Level Textile Design

•Jasmina Tims GCSE

• Hollie Clarkson GCSE

•Kate Zibrova AS Level

•Amelia Bailey GCSE

•Alice Hague A2 Level

• Hannah O’Toole-Thrower A2 Level

•Kasey Chiu A2 Level

11

Pupil Places in the ARTiculationPrize Regional HeatEleanor Evason (Year 12) took part in the ARTiculation

Prize regional heat at Roche Court, Salisbury and

gained second place. The ARTiculation Prize is an

annual event designed to promote the appreciation

and discussion of art. Sixth Form students are invited

to deliver a ten minute presentation to an audience

about a work of art, artefact or architecture of their

choice.

•Isabella Humphreys GCSE

•Natasha Lau GCSE

•Hannah O’Toole-Thrower A2 Level

• Isabella Holyroyd A2 Level

12

Leweston celebrated

World Book Day with

a Mad Hatters theme.

Staff and pupils were

encouraged to come

into school sporting

a hat or headgear

representing a book -

or failing that just

show their support for the cause by wearing

any hat, the madder the better!

The chosen cause this year was the

Alzheimer's Society Memory Cafe in

Sherborne. We had some fantastic entries with

Mr Messy, Life on the Refrigerator Door,

Rainbow Fish and a complete Teddy Bears’

Picnic as a staff entry. We are pleased to have

raised £180 for this very worthwhile group.

Mad Hatters on World Book Day! Charity

Miss Flannery, Deputy HouseMistress of Senior House, Completesthe London Marathon for Whizz-KidzMiss Flannery ran as part of a family team with her

sister and father and together they managed to raise

over £5,000 for Whizz-Kidz. Whizz-Kidz is a charity

which provides disabled children with the essential

wheelchairs and other mobility equipment they need

to lead fun and active childhoods.

Senior girls at Leweston made a fantastic contribution

to help Miss Flannery's London Marathon fundraising

efforts by purchasing an array of cakes and sweet treats

from a cake sale, raising almost £100 in 15 minutes!

13

‘Crazy Shoe Day’ forParkinson’s UKThis day was organised to assist

the fundraising efforts of Charlotte

Hyslop, a former teacher of Maths

at Leweston, who was diagnosed

with Parkinson’s disease more

than 10 years ago. Charlotte is an

avid fundraiser for Parkinson’s and

even took on a sponsored tandem

skydive in September of last year,

raising more than £4,000 for the

cause. The ‘Crazy Shoe Day’, which

was kicked off by an inspirational

assembly led by Charlotte, was

well received by the girls, who

embraced the chance to wear

their brightest and wackiest

footwear. The day raised over £80

for Parkinson’s.

Pupils Raise Money for Sport ReliefThe PE department would like to say a big thank you to everyone

who helped raise money for Sport Relief. Many girls took part and

there were excellent efforts in the fancy dress and originality section.

Prizes were given for the Best Sports Group, which went to the

swimmers Polly James and Olivia Manson, and the Best Overall Group,

which was awarded to the Year 9 Crawlers. The prize for raising the

most money for the event was presented to Kate Bickerton, for raising

£37. The total raised on the day was a magnificent £500!

Congratulations to the five pupils who represented GreatBritain at the Biathle World Tour in Germany this summerThe team of Daisy Liddle (Year 11),

Olivia Manson (Year 10), Portia

Manson, Poppy Boyden (both Year

8) and Elektra Covell (Year 6)

travelled to Erding to compete at

this illustrious international event.

The girls performed superbly on

the day, generating some fantastic

results and proving themselves

against the best biathletes from

across Europe. Olivia even graced

the podium to collect a silver

medal in the 16 and under girls

division! Leweston would also like

to congratulate Elizabeth Tolley for

her outstanding win in the 14 and

under category. Elizabeth will be

joining Leweston’s Year 9 in

September. Congratulations to all

those girls representing GB!

These results topped off a

sensational year of sporting

achievements for Leweston’s

biathletes.

Currently 10% of Leweston girls are

either competing Internationally

for Team GB or are on the pathway

to National selection, working

regularly with International

coaches.

Leweston is a leading school in the

region for aspiring pentathletes,

biathletes and triathletes.

In March, Leweston hosted the

Dorset Schools Relays for the

Dorset Pentathletes, winning three

golds, three silvers and a bronze

medal across nine different age

categories. In June the school

hosted the National Schools’

Biahtle Championships, with the

Year 8 team winning a bronze

medal in their event and the older

team consisting of girls from years

11 and 12 producing outstanding

performances to be crowned team

champions. Keep up the good

work!

Senior Sport

14

Record Number of Leweston Biathletes Qualify for National Schools Finals

Nine Senior girls and three Junior Department girls qualified for the National Schools Biathlon Finals which

were held at the Olympic Park, London.

Congratulations to Immie Jones

(Year 11) and Tillie Newman

(Year 11), who have been

selected for the first stage of

the Rider Development

Pathway, a new national

Equestrian training scheme

which aims to find the stars of

tomorrow in the disciplines of

Dressage, Show Jumping and

Eventing.

Two of Leweston’s aspiring rugby players in the Sixth Form were given the

opportunity to receive a master class in front row play from Alex Brown

from the Exeter Chiefs. Both girls were put through their paces and were

given a few excellent tips which they will no doubt put in to action in

their next game. Both Phillipa Graham and Maddie Kirby play for North

Dorset RFC and Maddie also represents Dorset and Wilts U18s.

Pupils Continue to Excelon the Cross Country Field

Rugby Masterclass for Two Year 12sLeweston Equestriennes

Selected for the First

Stage of the Rider

Developement Pathway

County Championships at King’sPark, Bournemouth: All threeteams performed exceptionally

well against the best runners from

the county and were delighted

with the strong results achieved.

The minor team came third out of

30 teams, the intermediates were

county runners up and the senior

team finished in third place.

The Ken Baily Meet at BryanstonSchool had some excellentperformances in a very

competitive field of over 200

runners.

Kingswood Meet: The teamperformed outstandingly well at

Kingswood, resulting in victory by

a large margin to bring the

Kingswood Trophy back to

Leweston.

Downside Meet: Lewestonshowed great resilience and

strength in depth to retain the

Downside Trophy.

Sherborne Cross CountryTrophy: The team performedexceptionally well against strong

opposition with a point score of

35, placing them joint 1st with

Bryanston.

16

HockeyAfter a fantastic spring term

on the hockey pitch that saw a

number of girls representing

Dorset, Leweston would like to

especially congratulate

Charlotte Edwards (Year 12)

and Lizzie Davis (Year 10) who

were selected to join the

Junior Regional Performance

Centre (JRPC) at Exeter for

training. Charlotte was

selected for the U17 category

and Lizzie for the U15s. Both

girls play as Goalkeepers.

Pupil Competes at theHenley Women’s Regatta

Congratulations to Beth Bailey

(Year 10), who had a fantastic

weekend at the Henley Women’s

Regatta. More than 1,600

competitors travelled from all

around the world to race over the

famous Henley Regatta course,

making the it a truly international

event. Beth’s crew completed five

races over two days, qualifying for

the two boat final. Here they were

up against the more experienced

Henley crew who all regularly

compete in an older age group.

They finished in second place but

felt it was a good result to lose to a

team who are a year older!

Junior Victrix Ludorum 2013/2014

was awarded to Portia Manson

(left) and the Senior Victrix

Ludorum 2013/2014 was awarded

to Olivia Manson pictured right.

Leweston hosted a Netball League with more than 100 girls in attendance

from local Primary Schools, Guide groups and Netball Clubs. The annual

league is dedicated to girls in the U11 and U13 categories, with weekly

sessions held over four weeks here at the school. The U11 league was

won by Leweston School.

Netball

Congratulations to theManson Sisters

Pupil Competes in The National Schools’Fencing ChampionshipsNatalie Tam (Year 10) enjoyed a

successful day at the 2014 Public

Schools’ Fencing Championships

held at the Crystal Palace National

Sports Centre, London. Natalie was

competing against pupils from

schools across the country and put

in a fantastic performance to

secure third place in the Girls’

Junior Foil.

17

Swimming Successes

Leweston’s swimming teams

continued their run of

fantastic form in the pool by

dominating events across the

fixtures calendar.

Many school records have

been broken, personal bests

achieved and the overall

standard of swimming has

been consistently high. The

girls have put considerable

amounts of time and effort

into their training this year,

with these incredible results a

testament to their dedication

and hard work.

Victory at HomeSwimming Gala

Leweston’s swimming teams

pulled off a remarkable feat by

winning all the events at the

home gala against St Mary’s,

Shaftesbury. This marked the

first time that Leweston had

won the team events across all

three categories and was a

fantastic achievement.

Athletics News!Pupils excelled at the North

Dorset Athletics meet this

summer. Congratulations to the

Year 10 girls who were crowned

the U15 North Dorset Team

Champions out of nine schools!

SENIOR WESSEX ATHLETICS

CHAMPIONSHIPS - Leweston

pupils travelled to King’s Park,

Bournemouth for the Senior

Wessex Athletics Championships.

Poppy Boyden (Year 8) won a

Bronze medal in the U14 Girls’

Javelin and Portia Manson won a

Bronze medal in the U14 Girls’

300m and a Silver medal in the

U14 Girls’ 200m.

Stonar ISODEThree girls from the Senior School

took part in the Stonar ISODE

(Independent Schools One day

Event) at Stonar School in

Wiltshire.

The Leweston team of Kitty

Godman-Dorrington (Year 9),

Ellie Guy (Year 10) and Eve

Southcombe (Year 9) rode

fantastically well across all three

disciplines (dressage, show

jumping and cross country) to

place 4th out of 26 teams. This was

a wonderful achievement as most

schools were represented by

teams of four (three best scores

count) and it was even more

impressive as it was the first one

day event for both Eve and Kitty.

Junior Department

First Holy Communion

At a special Mass in June, four

young people from Leweston’s

Junior Department and a pupil

from Year 7 with her brother made

their First Holy Communion. The

School Chapel was filled for this

important moment in their lives

and those of their families.

Leweston’s Visiting Chaplain,

Father Peter Clarke, was the

celebrant who joined us for this

special occasion.

Year 3 MassYear 3 were given the opportunity to

celebrate their very own Mass. The

children read the Reading and the

Bidding Prayers extremely well and

were praised by Father Jean-Patrice for

the clarity of their delivery. Flora

Pilkington (Year 3) was a server for the first time and Alban Godard (Year 4)

was a candle bearer. They were supported by the more experienced Tillie

Baker (Year 4) and Isabelle Bridge (Year 6) and all were guided by Sixth

Former, Chloe Salisbury.

ASH WEDNESDAY

Leweston marked the start of Lent with a special Ash

Wednesday Mass celebrated by Bishop Crispian Hollis.

19

International Day

Reception took part in an

‘International Day’ where

parents were invited to join

the children to learn about

other countries, with some

parents giving talks about

the countries they were

from.

The children were taught to

count to 10 in Spanish and

ate hot Churros with

chocolate sauce from one

set of parents. Another

parent talked about Italy,

taught the children some

Italian words and then

demonstrated how to make

fresh pasta with pesto.

Year 5 Sample Senior School Life

Year 3 Get CreativeThe pupils in Year 3 learnt a great

deal in their Art Workshop with

Finn Bush from the Senior School

Art Department. The pupils spent

the session creating colourful

model fish for their production of

The Little Mermaid.

Reception Venture into the Enchanted WoodReception spent a wonderful activity-filled morning in the Enchanted

Wood. Adrian Wood from FACE (Farming and Countryside Education)

spent the morning with the class hunting for mini-beasts, listening to the

sounds of the wood, playing music and making clay heads decorated with

twigs and leaves. The morning was brought to a close by a fabulous picnic

lunch at the log circle.

Year 5 spent the day at the Senior

School trialling different lessons

and activities. They made the most

fantastic pictures in Art; in Maths

they learnt which whole numbers

can be written as the sum of 2 or

more consecutive whole numbers;

and in Science they made rockets

and even launched one of these,

which went so high it was not able

to be traced again!

The afternoon was spent cooking

with Mrs Larkin and the girls were

proud to present their cakes and

biscuits to their parents at tea.

The girls all had a fantastic day and

thoroughly enjoyed their taste of

what to expect in Year 7!

20

World Book Day 2014

Pupils enjoyed a Mad Hatters themed World Book

Day to raise funds for the Alzheimer’s Society

Memory Café in Sherborne.

This year, the children were encouraged to come to

school wearing hats, wigs, headgear or face-paint to

represent a book or a character from a book, with

the madder the hats, the better!

The Junior Department fully embraced the theme of

the day and everyone had a wonderful time

recreating their favourite books and characters.

Sport Relief 2014The pupils of the Junior Department wheeled their

way around a mile-long course to raise money for

Sport Relief 2014. Some cycled, some scooted

and one pair had a go-kart which they pushed the

mile length.

High Flyers

The children in the ‘Gliders (and

Other Things that Fly) Club’

thoroughly enjoyed testing out

their Dart model aeroplanes.

The maiden flights were all

hugely successful, with some

planes climbing high in the sky

and staying airborne for a

remarkably long time.

Cake Sale for MosaicPupils took part in ‘Bake a Cake

and Support Mosaic’, an annual

Dorset-wide bake sale, to raise

funds for the charity Mosaic.

Mosaic is a Dorset based charity

offering a pathway of support

to bereaved children, young

people and their families. The

pupils, their families and

members of staff all generously

donated cakes for the sale and

the Year 6 team did a fantastic

job of manning the stall, with all

proceeds going to Mosaic. The

final amount raised was £123.

EASTER

EGGSTRAVAGANZA!

To mark the end of the spring term the Junior

Department enjoyed a wonderful Easter Egg

Hunt. With spring well and truly sprung at

Leweston, the pupils ventured out into the

grounds to search for Easter eggs hidden

amongst the blooming flowers. Older pupils

gave a helping hand to the younger ones and

with their help and expert knowledge of the

school’s terrain the eggs were found in no time.

22

The Friends of LewestonSummer Fayre 2014The sun shone for the annual Friends of

Leweston Summer Fayre. The attendees

enjoyed a vast array of activities including a

chocolate and bottle tombola, a bouncy

castle, a toy and book sale, the stocks and

face painting. The afternoon was

thoroughly enjoyed by all; thank you to the

Friends Committee for organising such a

fantastic event.

With such a high demand for the

boarding taster nights in Junior

House from both Years 3 and 4,

we decided to host two separate

tasters. Six boarders were

welcomed into Junior House for

the Year 4 Boarding Taster just

before half term. The girls

enjoyed an action-packed

evening, playing in the beautiful

grounds and then sampling the

delights of junior boarding at

Leweston.

After a restful half term break

Year 3 had their turn to board.

This was a great success, with a

lot of fun and chat being had in

the dormitories! We look forward

to welcoming the girls back next

term with their free one night

boarding voucher.

Lorraine Roberts, Head of Junior

House looks forward to

welcoming three new recruits on

the back of these taster nights in

September.

Year 3 & 4 Boarding Taster

The Summer Production of The

Little Mermaidwas performed to

great acclaim. Children from years

3 to 6 took to the stage to bring

Hans Christian Andersen’s

magical fairy tale to life. The

colourful spectacle, which

boasted the original songs by

Alan Menken, enchanted

audiences over three days with

acting, music, singing, dancing,

costumes and set design of the

highest standards.

The cast was supported

excellently by Mrs Robotham and

Ms Pankhurst from the Drama

and Performing Arts Department

and a fantastic crew working back

stage!

The Junior Department Dazzles Audiences with The Little Mermaid

24

Pupils Perform at a Charity Concert for Julia’s House

The Year 3 and 4 Performing Arts group represented the school at

a Charity Concert in the Digby Hall, Sherborne. Their singing and

dancing in the song ‘Pieces of Eight’ was greatly appreciated by

the audience. A special thank you to all of the parents who came to

support their children and the event. We hope the concert

managed to raise plenty of funds for Julia’s House (The Dorset

Children’s Hospice).

St Antony’s Retainthe Inter-House Music Cup

All of the children from Reception

to Year 6 thoroughly enjoyed their

music making during this year’s

Inter-House Music Competition. All

houses performed their own song

and various soloists performed for

their house. Music Captain, Alice

Southcombe, who organised the

competition with Mrs Robotham,

ensured that the event ran

smoothly. Miss Hawkes, Director of

Music at the Senior School, who

adjudicated the competition,

praised each child involved with her

encouraging comments. There were

only five points between fourth and

first place, but St Antony’s managed

to retain the cup for a second year.

Spring Term Ends on a High Note The spring term was brought to a fantastic close by the Spring

Concert. Family and friends of those performing were impressed

by the abundance of singing, acting, presenting and musical talent

on display. Two of the highlights of the concert were the

Reception class solos and a play written and performed by Years 1

and 2.

Biathle Bulletin

Well done to the Biathletes who

competed at the Dorset and

Open Schools’ Biathle Relays in

March. Leweston’s junior teams

defied strong competition from

schools across the region to win

two gold medals (Year 5 girls and

Year 6 girls) and a silver (Year 4

boys).

In April, Anya Evans and Erin

Cassingham (both Year 5) took

part in the British Schools’

Modern Biathlon

Championships at London’s

Olympic Park. The girls

represented the school in the U11

and U10 categories.

In May Leweston hosted the

South West Schools’ Biathle.

Leweston pupils excelled on the

day, with Anya Evans and Lily

Amor (Year 4) producing winning

performances in their respective

girls’ divisions. The Year 6s and Year

5s also finished 1st in the team

competitions and both the girls

and boys in Year 4 took home

much deserved 3rd place team

medals.

The inaugural National Schools’

Biathle Championships hosted

by Leweston in June proved to be

a popular event attracting over

300 competitors. The Junior

Department had another great

day with Lily Amor and Anya Evans

producing two more fantastic

performances to be crowned

National Champions!

Elektra Covell (Year 6) travelled to

Germany to represent Great

Britain at the Biathle World Tour.

Elektra performed superbly this

season across all ‘athlon’ sports to

win her place on the team for this

illustrious event. Elektra competed

in the 12 and under group and

produced a strong performance

against the best biathletes from

across Europe . Elektra joined four

other girls from the Senior School

who all brought home top ten

placings and even an individual

silver medal! Congratulations

Team GB!

Such fabulous results at the

highest level of competition have

rounded off a wonderful year for

the school across all ‘athlon’ sports

and we look forward to more

successes next year.

JUNIOR PUPILS HAVE ENJOYED A TREMENDOUS SEASON COMPETING IN THE

SPORTS OF BIATHLE AND BIATHLON AND HAVE GENERATED SOME EXCELLENT

RESULTS.

25

Congratulations to the team of pupils who competed at the Junior Wessex Athletics Championships. The team

performed well against strong competition.

Junior Wessex Athletics Championships

Athletics atClayesmoreAthletes from Years 5 and 6

participated in the

Clayesmore athletics event.

The weather was very wet

and windy but despite the

conditions the pupils put in

some incredible individual

performances.

Results were:

ANYA EVANS (Year 5)

1st place U11 800m

PERDI DIGBY (Year 6)

2nd place U12 Long Jump

(by 1cm) and 2nd in U12

100m (by 2 tenths of a

second)

ALICE SOUTHCOMBE (Year 6)

3rd Place U12 200m

ELEKTRA COVELL (Year 6)

3rd Place U12 1500m

The sun shone, the picnic hampers

were bursting and the athletes

performed jubilant jumps, terrific

throws and tremendous track

events at the Junior Department

Sports Day.

From Nursery to Year 6 the athletes

took centre stage with displays of

sporting excellence that thrilled

the audience of family and friends.

Many comments were made about

the amount of talent on display

PUPILS SHINE AT THEJUNIOR DEPARTMENT

SPORTS DAY

and the sporting potential of the

pupils.

St Anne’s were crowned this year’s

champions with St Antony, St

Margaret and St Francis following

closely behind. The athletes were

presented with their medals on the

rostrum by Charlotte Edwards and

Hattie Trollope-Bellew, the Senior

School’s newly appointed Head

Girl and Sports Captain.

27

The Junior Department team had

a successful day at the Canford

Cross Country event. With eight

strong teams forward, the girls

from Years 5 and 6 performed

superbly to finish as overall

runners up.

County Cross CountryChampionshipsFour girls from Year 6 travelled to

King’s Park in Bournemouth for the

County Cross Country

Championships. Here they joined

three Year 7 girls from the Senior

School to make up the Minor

Team. The girls performed

exceptionally well, helping the

team to finish third in a field of

over thirty of the best teams from

across Dorset.

Dorset County NetballChampionships

Two girls from Year 6 joined

the Leweston U12 netball

squad for the U12 County

Championships in

Bournemouth. They had

qualified for the tournament

by finishing as runners-up in

the North Dorset Tournament.

They played seven matches in

total, against qualifiers from

the other four districts in

Dorset. Some competitive

games saw the squad win

two of their matches, and lose

one of their games by just 2

goals to 1. Overall they

finished in 6th position; a

fantastic achievement and a

great springboard for future

performances.

Junior Netball League is a Huge Success!

More than a hundred girls

from across the region

enjoyed competitive netball

at Leweston School over the

summer term. The inaugural

Leweston Junior Summer

League saw nine teams take

part in a series of fun league

matches as well as mini

tournaments.

The league organiser Sara

Guy, Head of Netball at

Leweston commented

“We felt that therewas a need to providemore competitivenetball for girls in thearea and it wasfantastic to see somany players gettinginvolved.”

The U11 league was won by

Leweston School, whilst

Yeovil Netball club took the

honours in the U13 category.

Canford

Cross

Country

28

National PentathlonChampionships

Elektra Covell (Year 6) participated

in the National Pentathlon

Championships at Solihull. She

competed in all five disciplines for

the first time, placing 3rd in the

ride, 4th in the swim and finishing

5th overall out of 10. The standard

was incredibly high with Elektra

performing superbly to earn such

a strong placing. Leweston would

like to congratulate Elektra on a

fantastic achievement.

Pupils Jump to Victory

In April, three teams took part in

the regional qualifier for the

National Schools’ Equestrian

Association Championships in

Show Jumping. The Mini team of

Sacha Godman-Dorrington (Year

7), Perdi Digby (Year 6) and Mimi

Digby (Year 3) jumped to victory in

the 70cm class qualifying for the

Championships. Individually Perdi

was 2nd, Mimi 3rd and Sacha 4th -

showing their strength at this

level. Perdi and her ponies were

on top form, qualifying individually

in all three classes.

Leweston hosted one of two galas held

in the area for the North Dorset trials.

Results from both events were then

assessed to select swimmers for the

North Dorset team.

The first event was held at home, and

saw Leweston girls dominating the

proceedings with wins in 11 out of the

13 races. The second event was then

held at Clayesmore, after which five girls

from years 5 and 6 were selected for the

North Dorset team.

Notable successes at the trials included:

Anya Evans 1st 50m Backstroke, Erin

Cassingham and Isabelle Bridge 1st in

their respective 25m Butterfly events

and a 1st place for the Year 5 Medley

relay team of Anya, Erin, Esme Clifford

and Sophie Worrall. These results

ensured their places on the North

Dorset team!

Congratulations also go to the rest of

the Year 5 and 6 swimmers and to the six

pupils from Year 4 who competed at the

trials. There were some fantastic

performances all round, with many

swimmers just missing out on the

chance to represent North Dorset.

The five girls from Leweston travelled to

Bournemouth to represent North Dorset

at the Dorset Youth Games.

Congratulations go to Anya, who

finished in 3rd place and graced the

podium for the 50m Backstroke; to Erin

for placing 5th in the 25m Butterfly and

to the Freestyle and Medley relay teams

who finished in 7th place in their

respective events.

Pupils Make a Splash on the North Dorset Swimming Scene

29

The Inter-House Swimming

Gala showed the pool in all its

glory and the children

performed superbly with an

unprecedented 13 swimming

records broken.

Two reception children swam

25m unaided and Eleanor

Crozier, as the youngest

swimmer, was awarded the

Cockeram Cup. Year 6 trophies

were shared between Elektra

Covell (Breaststroke and Front

Crawl) and Alice Southcombe

(Butterfly and Backstroke).

Anya Evans in Year 5 was

awarded the Reynolds Shield

and the Open Individual

Medley Cup. These fantastic

results are a testament to the

pupils and teachers who have

worked tirelessly in training -

sometimes up to three times a

week - starting at 06:45.

Well done to everyone, it was a

fantastic occasion!

Inter-House Swimming Gala

30

Congratulations to Alice

Southcombe and Elektra Covell

(both Year 6) who had a fantastic

day at the Cattistock Pony Club

Triathlon held at Leweston. In the

Mini Girls event, Alice was 5th and

Elektra was 3rd. The girls were both

representing the Cattistock Pony

Club and their great results helped

Cattistock to 3rd place in the team

competition.

Elektra also enjoyed further success

at the Mendip Pony Club Triathlon

where she was placed 1st as an

individual and 1st as part of the

Cattistock team. Hector Digby was

also entered in the 9 & Under Class

and was placed 2nd in his run and

swim and 5th overall as an

individual.

Elektra capped a wonderful first

season of Pony Club Triathlon by

qualifying for the Pony Club

National Championships at Milton

Keynes for Mini Girls (Under 11) and

by finishing in 2nd place in the Area

14 Winter Triathlon Pony Club

Accumulator.

Elektra also took part in the South

West Modern Triathlon

Championships. This regional

championship was held at Leweston

and saw Elektra competing as the

only Junior girl entered. She came

4th in her division, helping the

Dorset Pentathletes team to a gold

medal in the Youth D Girls’

category. This result then qualified

her for the National Triathlon

Championships in Solihull where

she was placed 5th overall.

A fantastic show of results and more

to come.

Junior Triathletes Takethe Season by StormJunior pupils have excelled at Triathlon events this year, with

successes at Pony Club and Regional competitions.

Reduce, Re-use,Recycle!Junior pupils enjoyed a day at

the Carymoor Environmental

Centre.

“At Carymoor EnvironmentalCentre we learnt that we shouldnot be producing too muchrubbish and that we need to becareful what we throw away. Ifwe are throwing away somethingwe should try to make sure that itcan be recycled so that it can startagain as something new. It iseven better to reduce our rubbishor to reuse something if we can.The three R words are Reduce,Reuse and Recycle.”

Ginny Bruce

“In the energy workshop welearned to make circuits usingwind power and the sun. Wemade a buzzer work, first byusing the wind to turn a propellerand then by letting the sun shineon a solar panel. We need tostart using more solar panelsbecause the sun will not run outfor billions of years and solarpower does not cause pollution.”

Mimi Digby

“It was a really interesting day.There were slow worms in thenature reserve that has been madefrom the old rubbish dump. Theywere ace!”

Fiennes Harris

31

Years 2 and 3Step Back inTimeYears 2 and 3 enjoyed a history trip

to the Ancient Technology Centre.

The children had a fantastic day

experiencing how life was lived

between a thousand and two

thousand years ago. They created

a Viking bracelet in the Roman

forge, twisted twine into rope,

ground wheat using quern stones

and then ate bread baked on a fire

that they had personally made

using a variety of ancient methods.

Years 5 and 6 spent an action-packed three days at

the Braeside Residential Centre in Devizes. They

participated enthusiastically in activities ranging from

team building and problem solving, to habitat

surveys and mini beast hunts. All the activities

enriched the Science and Geography curriculum and

encouraged the girls to develop their leadership and

investigative skills.

Cheddar Gorge

Year 6 enjoyed an extreme altitude and depth challenge during

their Geography field trip to Cheddar Gorge. In the morning they

found themselves crawling

through narrow underground

passageways and tight crevices

deep within the limestone rock

formations. In the afternoon,

the pupils all reached new

heights, climbing the 274 rocky

steps cut into the gorge to

reach the ‘Jacob’s Ladder’

lookout tower. Here they were

rewarded with amazing panoramic views from Glastonbury Tor

across to the Quantock hills and the Bristol Channel.

Braeside 2014

32

Fossil Festival Fever

Years 2 and 3 had a fantastic day

absorbing science at the Fossil

Festival in Lyme Regis. They began

by sorting shark egg cases and

were amazed to find out how

many types can be found on the

beaches around the UK. The

British Antarctic Survey allowed

the children to try on the specialist

clothing and then they explored

the fossils and strange animals

found in the hostile Antartic

environment. Other activities

included fossil polishing, dinosaur

designing and fossil sorting.

Romans for a Day

The Year 3 pupils enjoyed an

exciting day learning all about

Roman life. The children were

captivated by the artefacts that

they were able to handle and were

interested to hear that many of

them originated from the Yeovil

area.

Sevington Victorian School

Year 5 enjoyed a fantastic day at Sevington Victorian School in

Wiltshire, learning about Victorian life and education in an authentic

setting. The pupils spent the day as Victorian school pupils. They

dressed in authentic costume and experienced lessons and activities

that were part of everyday life for children from the era.

Glorious GreensReception visited Waitrose as part of

their topic ‘All About Me’ so that

they could look at fruit and

vegetables and their place in a

healthy diet. They were given a

guided tour of the fruit and

vegetable section and even went

behind the scenes to visit the cold

store rooms and the freezer.

Everyone bought something to try

and when they got back to school

they enjoyed a fruit feast, looking

inside all of the different fruits and

vegetables and tasting them.

Wriggle RangersYear 5 pupils enjoyed the delights of

the River Wriggle to conclude their

Geography topic on rivers. The

children visited the river at two

different locations, to compare and

contrast its changing features along

its course. The keen junior

Geographers set about taking field

sketches and measuring a wide

range of the river’s parameters

using metre sticks, tape measures,

stop watches and even oranges!

This year the river was a little faster

flowing and slightly deeper than

usual. The pupils remained

completely safe at all times by

following the ‘River Safety Code’ and

wearing the correct clothing.

Year 1 Make Three WishesYear 1 went on a special trip to The

Three Wishes in Sherborne. The

children had been learning about

Fairy Tales in their lessons and

particularly enjoyed the story

entitled, The Three Wishes, so they all

ventured to the café, to see if it was

as magical as its namesake. The

pupils wished for hot chocolate, and

were delighted when their wishes

came true!

The week began with Year 6

leading a thoughtful final

assembly performed in front of

the rest of the school. ‘Quest for

the Golden Rules’ saw the pupils in

character as their alter ego selves

and featured various characters

from the recent Little Mermaid

show. The assembly’s message to

the younger pupils was to

understand and follow Leweston’s

Junior Department’s ‘Golden Rules’.

The pupils were subsequently

presented with their Leavers’

hooded tops that they wore with

pride for the rest of the school

week.

Finally, pupils were treated to their

very own Pool Party on Monday

afternoon! Special mix and match

ice cream sundaes with firework

candles in the dining hall

completed a wonderful, sunny

afternoon – providing the 2014

cohort of Year 6 leavers with

special memories of their final

days in the Junior Department.

At the end of this academic year

the Junior Department held their

Speech Day incorporating a Mass

of Thanksgiving, the Headmaster’s

address and the presentation of

prizes, to mark the culmination of

a fantastic school year. With

another year now over, we wish all

the pupils and members of staff a

wonderful holiday and look

forward to seeing them again in

September.

SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GOODBYE…YEAR 6 THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THEIR FINAL WEEK OF ‘LEAVERS’ ACTIVITIES IN THE JUNIOR DEPARTMENT,

MAKING THE MOST OF THE WARM WEATHER THAT GREETED THE END OF THE SUMMER TERM 2014.

Speech Day

34

Nursery Activity Mornings are a Roaring Success!

Water Babies atLeweston

The Leweston Aquatots are

once again making use of the

school pool on a weekly basis.

The ‘splashingly’ fun sessions

have seen lots of parents and

their toddlers taking to the

warm and inviting water and

playing with the wonderful toys

on offer.

The interactive Aquatots group

runs every Wednesday

from10.30-11.30 and is

specifically designed for

children aged from 3 months to

3 years with an accompanying

adult. Activities are led by

dynamic and experienced pre-

school swim teacher Carol

Herbert and include a different

set of activities each week.

£3.50 per session, everyone is

welcome so please feel free to

come along to our next session.

The Nursery Activity Mornings

have remained as popular as ever

this year, with the Nursery

continuing to welcome parents,

grandparents and their toddlers to

Leweston twice each term. These

fun-filled mornings have included

the jungle-themed ‘On Safari’,

Easter’s celebratory ‘Spring Along’,

circus antics at ‘Roll Up’ and the

perennially popular ‘Teddy Bears

Picnic‘. These exciting and free

Activity mornings are always jam-

packed with arts, crafts, games,

toys and music and are open to all.

The Nursery has gone from strength to

strength since welcoming Sally Turner as

the new Childcare Manager in September

2013. The decision to remain open for 50

weeks of the year has proved immensely

popular and we are excited about

furthering our reach by welcoming babies

from newborn upwards from September. Children in the Nursery

are benefiting significantly from the expertise of Sally and her

team and from the wonderful facilities available to them here at

the school. All pupils have flourished this year and we are

delighted with their progress. Farmer Palmer’s Farm ParkReception and Nursery visited Farmer

Palmer’s Farm Park and everyone had a

fantastic day. The children were able to

bottle feed young goats, groom

Shetland ponies, have a bumpy ride in a

tractor trailer and watch a cow being

milked! There was time for playing in

the hay barn too and the weather was

even kind enough for a picnic lunch

outside.

STOP PRESS - LEWESTON NURSERY WILL BE TAKING BABIES FROM NEWBORN IN SEPTEMBER 2014

The Parent and Toddler Group have had a wonderful time,

enjoying a plethora of activities including bubble play, fun with

foam and clay and a springtime bluebell walk in the school

grounds. The group meets every Thursday at the Leweston from

09.00-11.00. Come along and make new friends!

Parent and Toddler Group The Wind in the Leweston

Wind SticksPupils in the Nursery were learning

about weather patterns in their lessons

and chose a particularly windy day to try

out their creative and beautifully made

wind sticks.

Nursery News!

36

Dr Genevieve Coxappointed asChaplaincyCoordinator fromSeptember.

Genevieve spent a few days at

Leweston this term and reports:

“I am delighted to be starting as

the new chaplaincy coordinator at

Leweston in September. Having

visited the school last month, I can

see that I am joining a kind,

welcoming and exciting

community. Christ’s presence in the

two beautiful chapels is a real

treasure, and it was clear to me that

the life of Christ is also active in the

boarding houses, in the health

centre, in the academic pursuit of

truth, in the beauty of the pupils’

art, in their drama and in their play.

I have recently completed my

doctorate in theology at Oxford

and I am keen to promote a

Catholic spirituality that engages

the heart and the mind. The

different nationalities represented

at Leweston are a great advantage

to the faith life of the school as

they reflect the universality of the

Church. Over the summer, I am

helping as a youth worker at a

Catholic Summer Camp in

Roncesvalles, Spain. Not only will I

benefit from Spanish Catholicism

but Roncesvalles is also a great

meeting place for pilgrims from

across the world as they set out on

their journey to Santiago de

Compestella. I hope that all the

journeys that Leweston staff,

students and family make this

summer are blessed and I look

forward to starting the new

academic year together in

September.”

Congratulations to the 11 Leweston girls who celebrated their Anglican Confirmation at Sherborne Abbey in March.

The Leweston girls joined pupils from Sherborne School for the event, with Canon Eric Woods officiating the service.

Pupils Celebrate theirAnglican Confirmation

Spiritual Life

First Holy CommunionAt a special Mass in June, four

young people from

Leweston’s Junior Department

and a pupil from Year 7 with

her brother made their First

Holy Communion. Leweston’s

Visiting Chaplain, Father Peter

Clarke, was the celebrant who

joined us for this special

occasion.

37

Year 8 Retreat toSway in the NewForest

The retreat was held at the

Dominican Sisters of St

Joseph’s priory. Upon arrival

we were met by Sister Mary

Catherine and the other

sisters with whom we spent

our two days.

The aim of the retreat was to

allow for a moment of

reflection in what was a very

busy term. It also helped the

girls to grow more spiritually

and to get to know one

another better. This was

especially significant as

we had a number of

international students

joining us for the summer

term.

Before departing the Sisters

answered all the questions

that had been put into the

‘Question box’ over the time

we had been there. The

Sisters were clear that any

questions could be asked by

the girls and so many topics

were covered including,

“How did you decide to

become a Nun?”, “Do you

miss your family?” and “Are

habits uncomfortable to

wear in the heat?” The

retreat was a real time of

reflection and consideration

by the girls and gave them a

wonderful opportunity to

meet Sisters.

Year 12 Pilgrimage

At the end of the summer term,

the prefects in waiting and other

members of Year 12 embarked on

a two day Pilgrimage walk to

Chideock. The walk started with a

prayer at Melbury Bubb and

finished on the first day at the

wonderful Parnham House just outside Beaminster. The next morning,

well rested and well fed, the group continued to Chideock where they

finished their walk with a prayer in the beautiful surrounds of Chideock’s

Chapel, attached to the Manor House. Once again, the group were

welcomed with great hospitality and tea and cake were offered in

abundance, as well as the opportunity for a much appreciated cooling

swim in the beautiful outdoor pool.

Year 11 visit St Gilda’s Country Manor House in Langport

Year 11 visited St Gilda’s Manor

House for a day of self-reflection

and some precious time together

out of the busyness of life. They

were greeted by two cheery sisters

of the Domincan order based in

the New Forest. Welcoming the

wide spectrum of Faiths in the

group, Sr Maria lead the day using

film clips of Les Misérables to pose

thought provoking questions such

as “Who am I?” and “How free am I

in the decisions I make and

motives I use?”

38

Pupils Take Part in aWeek-long Study Tripto Spain

A group of Spanish GCSE

pupils from Leweston and

Sherborne School spent a

week immersing themselves

into the life and language of

Córdoba in Spain, on a study

tour to the city.

The pupils attended lessons

in the morning at Academia

Hispanica and also

participated in language

workshops with Spanish

pupils from Colegio de la

Inmaculada Pias. They were

welcomed into the homes

of their Spanish host

families and enjoyed

sampling the local food in

restaurants, watching an

evening of Flamenco

dancing in El Cardenal,

visiting the great

Mezquita/Catedral and

touring the beautiful old

city of Medinat-Alzahara.

Years 7 and 8 VisitFlanders Field

Years 7 and 8 were taken on an

excursion to Flanders Field to see

where some of the First World

War battles took place,

particularly poignant in this

commemorative year. The pupils

visited the Tyne Cot Cemetery

which is the resting place for

11,954 soldiers of the

Commonwealth Forces. It is the

largest Commonwealth military

cemetery in the world. In contrast,

Langemark cemetery is one of

only four First World War German

cemeteries in the Flander’s region

and here the pupils could see for

themselves the distinctive

differences between the two sites.

On the Friday evening they

attended the daily ceremony to

remember those who died in the

war, it was a moving event for the

girls to witness and while they

listened to the buglers, they could

read the many names carved into

the stone walls.

Trip to Nice 2014

A group of students from the

Lower Sixth and Year 11 visited

Nice for a week. The girls had the

opportunity to be totally

immersed in French culture as

they stayed with families and had

French lessons in the morning in a

Language school. The afternoons

were filled with excursions which

enabled them to discover Nice

with its surroundings and

specialities. Places visited were the

principality of Monaco and

Cannes, as well as the Picasso and

Matisse museums. Evening events

included going to the cinema to

watch a film made in the area and

discovering local restaurants.

Paris Trip for Year 9

Year 9 enjoyed a fun and

educational trip to Paris. This year

the team stopped at Peronne in

the Picardy area for one night to

have a guided tour of a variety

First World War sites, including

Battle of the Somme trenches.

Pupils and staff alike enjoyed this

thought provoking and moving

experience before travelling onto

Paris the following day.

The group were completely

immersed in Parisian culture,

staying in the Marais, the centre

of the ‘City of Love’. Every morning

started with a French patisserie

and during their four days the

girls went on to explore the

beautiful sites of Paris, including a

boat trip on the Seine, Notre

Dame and the Sacre-Coeur de

Montmartre.

Year 9 also had the chance to see

the incredible collections at the

Louvre and the Pompidou Centre

and some of the girls decided to

fully embrace the culture by

trying the delicious delicacy of

French snails!

39

Overseas Trips

Spain

Flanders Field

Flanders Field

Paris

Paris

A Weekend of Fun in the Sun

Boarders visited the historic market town of Bridport

in West Dorset for a morning of browsing the

Saturday market stalls and high street shops before

heading East along the famous Jurassic Coast towards

Abbotsbury. Tiny white dots were able to be seen on

the edge of the lagoon which were the swans at the

Swannery where they were heading. The group were

extremely lucky to have the Swanherd guide with

them all afternoon around the swannery.

The girls were invited to help with ringing and

checking newly hatched cygnets and loved cuddling

the fluffy bundles. Later they joined the mass feeding

of the flock of mute swans.

BoardersCelebrateAustralia Day

Initiated by the

International Boarding

Committee and fully

supported by new

Gappie Miss Higgins

and the Catering

Department, Leweston’s

Junior House Boarders

stayed inside, out of the

stormy weather, to

celebrate Australia Day

in true ‘Aussie’ style.

Donning sunglasses and

flip flops, with a

scrumptious BBQ dinner

and authentic Pavlova

for dessert, all set to

traditional ‘Australia Day’

music in the

background, boarders

recreated the traditional

beach BBQ to bring a

touch of sunshine and

surf to Leweston! A

great celebration

embraced by all!

The girls had heard about the many good things to expect when visiting Kingston

Maurward: lambs, calves, goats and alpacas, all set in the beautiful Dorset

countryside. They were not disappointed! The animals were thoroughly entertaining

including pigs, donkeys, swans and beautiful miniature Shetland ponies which all

came up to the fence to speak to the girls as they walked by. They had a lovely walk

around the lake and enjoyed a brief stop at the café, for a hot chocolate!

JUNIOR HOUSE VISITKINGSTON

MAURWARD

An Action PackedWeekend inDorchester andthe Moors Valley

The sunshine was

glorious as boarders

from all houses boarded

the bus and began their

journey to Dorchester.

Much fun was had

shopping, but particular

joy was found by playing

in the fountains that are

placed outside the

shopping area. The

following day, Junior

House set off for Moors

Valley, a beautiful natural

park with lakes, a golf

course, a visitor centre

and most importantly,

great cycle tracks! Lots

of fun was had by all as

the girls set off on their

adventure following the

trails. Whether by

tandem or two-wheeled

bikes, the cycling was

excellent.

41

Camp Leweston to End the Academic Year!

Leweston boarders said goodbye to the comfort of their dorms and headed outside for a night of serious

camping! The girls had a delicious BBQ, after which they built a huge campfire and sat around toasting

marshmallows and generally feeling at one with nature. Some energetic games were played and some songs

were sung around the fire directed by the Year 11 boarders. Sleeping under canvas altogether in the majestic

Leweston grounds was the perfect end to a wonderful year at school!

}

Boarders Spend a Day Exploring Portsmouth

It was a bright and sunny morning as the boarders boarded the

bus to Portsmouth. They soon arrived in the glorious sunshine

to be met with bustling shops and a beautiful harbour. After

having lunch at the harbour, they met at the bottom of the

famous Spinnaker to brave its height. After a very short lift ride

to the top, they walked onto the platform that looked over

Portsmouth and stretched far off into the horizon. Some brave

girls even walked across the glass floor! They then made their

way up to the highest open air viewing platform where the

great views were enjoyed by all!

A Sunny Day Out in Weymouth along with aCoastal walk for all Boarders in Junior andMiddle HouseA coastal walk from Old Town to Nothe Fort gave stunning views of Portland

Harbour and Chesil beach. The Fort is a Victorian harbour-side defence with a

labyrinth of underground passageways and ramparts which the girls enjoyed

exploring, and again had wonderful views of the Jurassic coast, Weymouth bay

and the harbour. The girls enjoyed a brief sail as they were rowed across the

harbour in the small ferry boats, before having their much awaited fish and chip

lunch. The afternoon was spent shopping, enjoying the Bank Holiday fairground

and a happy play on the famous soft sands. Some even braved the sea for a

paddle or a pedalo ride. Ice creams and candy floss ended a lovely day out.

Boarding

DofE

Three DofE Bronze Expedition

groups from years 9 and 10 met

the assessor and set off to

Cranborne Chase with the sun

shining! All teams had a great first

day and spirits were high. Once in

camp, tents were erected and

cooking supper commenced. The

assessor was particularly

impressed with the camp craft

skills demonstrated by the girls.

Day two saw an early start, with all

groups setting off from camp at

08.00. Again navigation and

teamwork proved successful for all

teams, meaning that is was a big

PASS for all participants! Well done

to all those girls on the expedition!

Over 20 girls divided into four

groups performed their practice

DofE expedition in the New Forest

this summer. It was one of the

largest groups to go out on DofE

from Leweston. With this being

one of the hottest weeks, the girls

did incredibly well covering a large

number miles and checking in at

all the relevant check points on

time. The New Forest is difficult to

navigate but all teams did well,

giving each other plenty of

support and encouragment. The

teams were very happy to settle in

for their first experience of a ‘wild

camp’ and enjoyed cooking for

their groups. Everyone did

extremely well and should be

confident about their forthcoming

assessment in September.

SPONSORED CYCLE RIDE TOEARN FUNDS FOR THE GOLDDOFE TRIP TO PERUSeven Year 12 girls and Mr

Whitehead (Coordinator of DofE)

completed a 24hr sponsored cycle

ride in the school reception to

raise funds for their Gold DofE trip

to Peru. The girls needed to raise

£3,000 each for the trip, to allow

them to complete their Gold DofE

award, travel to some incredible

places and live and work in a rural

community in the Sacred Valley.

The girls will be away for a total of

three weeks teaching English in a

school and helping redevelop

some of the run-down buildings.

Bronze Silver Gold

Georgie Varley (’09) has

completed her final exams and is

now a qualified vet gaining a

First in her degree. Georgie

studied Veterinary medicine and

science at Nottingham University.

She is delighted with this result

and thanked Leweston for all

their teaching support and

dedication throughout her years

at school. She quotes:

“I regularly miss my schooldays, how lucky I was to be apupil at Leweston and share myjourney with such wonderfulstaff and girls. I would not be

here today with a ‘BVMedSciBVM BVS (hons)’ after myname if it was not forLeweston, who took a verydetermined and enthusiasticpupil straight to her goal whichhas now been achieved!”

OA News

As we say goodbye to this year’s Upper Sixth andwish them well in the next stage of their lives.

OLD ANTONIAN QUALIFIES AS A VET AFTER A LONG, DEDICATED ROAD OF STUDYING!

We look forward to the new Upper Sixth starting in

September and to Charlotte Edwards taking up the

position as Leweston’s Head Girl of the Senior

School. We wish all the prefects well in their duties.

LEWESTON SCHOOL, SHERBORNE, DORSET DT9 6EN01963 211010 ADMISSIONS@LEWESTON.DORSET.SCH.UK

WWW.LEWESTON.CO.UK

Saturday 27 September

Leweston Inter-Schools’ Show Jumping Competition

Friday 17 and Saturday 18 October

Activity Day and Junior House Boarding Taster

Weekend (for Prospective Senior School pupils)

Wednesday 5 November 18.30

Bonfire Night and Hog Roast

Thursday 6 November 10.00 – 16.00

Leweston Christmas Fair

Friday 7 November

Sixth Form Taster experience (for girls in Year 11)

Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 November

Sixth Form Scholarships for 2015 entry

Deadline for applications: Monday 10 November

Thursday 27 and Friday 28 November

Drama Production in the School Theatre

Monday 1 December

Junior Department Scholarships for 2015 entry

Deadline for applications: Monday 24 November

Saturday 6 December

Christmas Concert at the Sherborne Catholic Church

Thursday 11 December

Junior Department Carol Service 11.00, School Chapel

Senior School Carol Service 16.00 in Sherborne Abbey

Weekly Events:

Aquatots: Every Wednesday from 10.30 - 11.30 in the

School Pool. Parent and Toddler: Every Thursday from

9.00 -11.00 in the Nursery

For more information about any of these events,

or to register your attendance, please call

01963 210783 or emailoffice@leweston.dorset.sch.uk

Dates for your Diary…

Friday 3 October 2014Joint Schools Open Day 09.45

Sixth Form Open Information Evening 17.00

Thursday 9 October 2014Nursery Activity Open Morning 09.00 – 11.45

Bank Holiday Monday 4 May 2015Joint Schools Open Day 09.45

Open Days 2014/15

Leweston is a registered charity number 295175