Archived News | Lent: January to April 2009

Latest News | Lent Term 2010 | Michaelmas Term 2009 | Trinity Term 2009 |

Welcome to our new Headmistress

A very warm welcome to our new Headmistress, Mrs Rosemary Martin.

Click here for further information

Published: Wed, 22 April 09

New School Website Launched!

We are pleased to announce our new website www.stahs.org.uk has now launched. The site has had a major overhaul and features some new and exciting content. Including the Download Centre which contains useful documents about St Albans High School for Girls.

Please use the slideshow above to view the section of interest or click on the school logo to enter the main site and let us know what you think.

Published: Mon, 20 April 09 @ 09:00 hrs

BBC School Report girls broadcast live on BBC Three Counties Radio!

BBC Three Counties Radio broadcast live from St Albans High School for Girls on BBC School Report Day 26 March, showcasing the live news website created by our team of Year 9 girls.

The girls' efforts to get a fresh angle on local stories – including organising a helicopter trip over the proposed site for Heartwood Forest – have also caught the eye of the national BBC News team. Check out photo 3 in the photo-gallery on this site:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/7834676.stm

Led by ICT teacher Carole-Ann Wright, the girls have interviewed local people and produced a range of written and video reports on a range of topical issues including Marks and Spencer's five-year, 100-point "eco" plan. Visit our website to see their latest work at www.stahs.org.uk/BBCSchoolReport/

This is the first year the school has participated in the BBC School Report initiative, which encourages young people to get actively involved in reporting on local, national and world news through the web and other new media.

As well as offering support and monitoring progress made by all the participating schools in the run up to 26 March, the news network broadcasts stories about the initiative on the big day and picks up particularly impressive reports by school children to show nationwide.

First Published: Thu, 26 March 09 @ 18:00 hrs

U13 Netball Team win the Royal Masonic Tournament

On Saturday 28 March, the U13A Netball Team played in the prestigious Royal Masonic School Annual Netball Tournament. The High School were drawn in a section against Parmiter's School, St Joan of Arc School and St Helen's. The High School played some fantastic netball and won all their matches. The scores were 6-3, 14-2 and 7-3 respectively. Winning all matches meant that the High School went through to the semi-finals as winners and faced the other section’s runner-ups, Kings Langley. The High School continued to dominate and with the final score at 14-1, they cruised through to the final against RMS.

RMS (the host School) had also won most of their matches very convincingly and we knew that they would be much tougher opposition. The High School went up 3-0 but RMS pulled the scores level. The quality of netball was very high and neither team could gain a comfortable lead. The second half was extremely tense and any mistake could cost the team the game. Nonetheless, the High School kept their cool and showed why they are District Treble Champions, never giving up. At the final whistle they were 10-9 ahead and shortly afterwards the jubilant team gratefully received their trophy. An absolutely brilliant day's play – all girls rose to the challenge of the top quality netball and finished the season on a high. Congratulations to the following girls: Julia Dawson, Jess Thorne, Lucy Johnson, Pippa Babayode, Abbie McCall, Emi Giles, Sabina Messent, Sophie Carter and Sarah Cleaver.

Published: Tue, 31 March 09

U11 Netball Team win District Tournament

On Saturday 21 March, the Under 11 (Year 6) 1st and 2nd team took part in the St Albans District Netball Tournament. The first team played some excellent netball to win the tournament. Their court linkage, shooting and movement in the attacking circle were their great strength. Not only did they play good netball but they competed well throughout the morning focusing on the game, holding their nerve under pressure and being so determined to win.

The team consisted of: Catherine Felce (GK), Lexy Simmons-Perry (GD), Maya Berger (WD), Nina Patel (C), Abby MacGregor - vice-captain (WA), Ellie Wlbraham - captain (GA), Nina Kapoor/ Eleanor Wardley (GS).

Results
Group matches:
Gardens Field won 8-0
Bernard Heath won 9-1
Bowmansgreen won 10-1
Fleetville drew 4-4
We won the group.

Semi Finals vs Wheatfield won 7-0
Finals vs Fleetville won 9-2
The team received a shield and each player won a medal.

The second team also had a successful morning winning two matches and losing two matches. 2nd Team Rianne Patel, Charlotte Rumberg, Rachel Parlour, Hannah Yeboa, Philippa Lawford, Lucy Burr (capt) Emily Lawford, Lucy Voyce.

Published: Mon, 30 March 09

U11 Swimming Team excel

In the evening of 21 March, the St Albans U11 swimming team competed in the District swimming championships at The Hertfordshire Sports Village with the following results.

1st place in the 25m Breaststroke: Juliet Merelie, 1st place in the 25m Backstroke: Millie Dixon, 2nd place in the Freestyle Relay: Carly Jennings, Nina Patel, Millie Dixon and Rachel Parlour. 1st place in the Medley Relay: Nina Vinther, Lizzie Whelan and Juliet Merelie (cup received). These results placed St Albans 1st in the Overall Girls competition (cup received).

Published: Mon, 30 March 09

U15 Netball Team winners in District Tournament

On Thursday 12 March the U15 Netball Team played in the District Tournament. The team played well as a unit to win their 4 group matches, most quite convincingly. They went through as winners of their group to the semi-final where they beat St Albans Girls’ School. The High School faced Loreto in the final where they continued their form to win the match 8-2. Congratulations to all the girls in the team for a fantastic end of season performance.

U15 A Team District Winners: Alex Theochari (Captain), Charlotte Meredith, Georgia Lowe, Katie Lightowler, Polly Williams, Melissa Patel, Jenny Babayode, Emily Baldwin, Eleanor Theochari, Maddie Alterman and Eleanor Taylor.

Published: Mon, 23 March 09

Saatchi Art Gallery

Congratulations to eight of our current and recent Art students whose work was on show in the prestigious Saatchi Gallery in London during March. Year 12 and 13 art work was on display on the top floor of the Saatchi Gallery. A great achievement for all the girls involved.

This was in addition to the Royal Academy of Art A level Online Summer Exhibition last year which had over 760 submissions from A level (and IB/Higher) students from all over the UK; the Shetlands Islands to Cornwall. The curators of the exhibition were: Sir Norman Rosenthal, Eileen Cooper RA and Gabriel Hartley, third year RA Schools student. They selected approximately 40 works for the exhibition from a short list of 105 submissions and we are delighted to announce that Heidi Wakefield in Year 13 is one of those shortlisted.

Published: Tue, 17 March 09

Primary maths challenge National Finals 2009

On 4 February 2009, five girls from Year 6 of Wheathampstead House were invited to sit the finals paper of the National competition. There were 99,000 pupils who entered the Primary Maths challenge and only 720 pupils were invited to sit the finals.

"We were really proud to be amongst those top pupils", said Lucy.

"The paper was extremely difficult but we are so glad we did so well", said Ellie.

"I enjoyed the challenge and love the way we do Maths at our school", said Rebecca.

"I was exceedingly nervous to start with, but everyone became relaxed and confident by the end and thoroughly enjoyed the paper", said Philippa.

"Only 340 pupils got medals so I feel very proud to have received a silver award", said Catherine.

The girls were presented with their prestigious certificates and medals in whole school assembly and received a torrent of applause.

Published: Fri, 13 March 09

Wheathampstead House Funky Science Club

A group of enthusiastic scientists has had great fun making such things as rocket balloons and balancing birds. They have turned water upside down, explored mixtures that behave in peculiar ways and much more.

Published: Thu, 12 March 09

Doctor Visits Year 6 Pupils

On Tuesday 27 January 2009, Dr G Cridland visited Year 6 of Wheathampstead House for a lesson on the circulatory system and how doctors examined their patients for problems with their circulation. Dr Cridland made sure the lesson was fun and interactive for the girls who said that they thoroughly enjoyed it.

The girls got to be doctors and patients and examined each other. They looked for signs of bad circulation, measured pulse rates and blood pressure. Afterwards the girls were told that the worst harmer of the circulatory system was smoking. The doctor said that smoking causes many diseases, such as lung cancer and heart disease. To show that they would never start smoking, they all broke a cigarette in half whilst saying: "Smoking is BAD for the circulation!"

Being given their own 'doctor mask' was a great end to the lesson.

By Charlotte Hallam

Published: Wed, 11 March 09

House Drama 2009

This has proved a very popular event again this year. We were lucky to have some talented student directors from Year 12. The girls have run a weekly drama club to produce spoof versions of well known genres of drama. The evening was a great success and enjoyed by the audience.

Verulam presented Il Fornicazione, an Opera

Paris presented Julius and Cleopatra, a Tragedy

Julian presented Streuth, a Murder Mystery

Mandeville presented The Vagabond Prince, a Musical

Published: Wed, 11 March 09

Our Cross Country U11 County Champions!

On 25 February the U11 Cross Country Team took part in the St Albans League Cross Country Event at Wheatfield School. They finished 1st overall with Nina Patel in 1st place, Rachel Parlour in 5th place, Caroline King in 6th and Juliet Merelie in 13th. This followed their success at the Hertfordshire championship in February where the finished in first place. They are thus the County U11 Champions. The team has also competed in two other league events winning them both. To date they have finished first in every competition they have entered. Well done to all who took part!

Published: Tues, 10 March 09

Report: Edinburgh Lacrosse Tournament

After weeks of preparation, the 1st Lacrosse Squad left England behind and headed to Scotland on 16 January for the annual Scottish Lacrosse Open Tournament. Looking sharp in new team sweatshirts, the team made the uneventful flight to Edinburgh in style. The Squad arrived Friday evening giving the girls some time to relax before a team dinner at Frankie & Benny’s. After dinner the girls were off to bed to rest up for an early start the next morning.

Saturday was a crisp clear day; perfect for lacrosse. The team had a long day ahead with five games against various teams from around Scotland. With the sun shining the High School battled hard through all five games. The squad played well together at both ends of the field, excelling in their transition offense allowing for two wins, a draw, and two losses on the day. Despite their efforts the girls just missed a spot in the semi-final match. While there was some disappointment in the air, the team was able to come away from their last game with a positive attitude and recognise how much they had improved in the last few weeks. After their last match, the team watched the championship game that was eventually won by local competition North London Collegiate for the second year in a row.

It had been a fun-filled day of lacrosse causing both players and coaches to work up quite an appetite so it was time to clean up and enjoy dinner at the Hard Rock Café. The meal was a great chance for the girls to discuss the day’s events and surprise Miss Wick with balloons and ice cream for her birthday! Although the High School did not return with any trophies, the weekend was a success and all involved had fun!

Published: Mon, 16 Feb 09

Wheathampstead House named Sunday Times Independent Prep School of the Year!

We are delighted to announce that our Primary School, Wheathampstead House, has been named Sunday Times Independent Prep School of the Year.

This is not only a reflection of our current position in their Prep School league tables, but also an acknowledgement of the significant and sustained progress of the School over recent years.

It is a fitting tribute to the hard work and dedication of the entire school community. Girls and staff, both past and present, have all worked extremely hard, encouraged by parents. Thanks must also go to the governors, who give so freely of their time to support us.

To read the Sunday Times article, please go to the Infants and Juniors section of the Download Centre.

Many congratulations to everyone.

First Published: Fri, 13 March 09

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