Francis Holland School

Summer Concert

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 23:04:38 PST

The Summer Concert was held on Monday 5th July in St Mary's Church and largely featured soloists, groups and choirs from Years 7-9. There were, however, also performances by a Lower VI Chamber Choir and the Staff Choir and a highly impressive violin solo by Freddie Flintoff in the Junior School.

The varied programme included piano, saxophone, clarinet and vocal solos as well as performances by the Junior String Group, Guitar Group and Clarinet Group; the latter performed a lively arrangement of Brian Bonsor's 'Caribbean' by our piano teacher, Mrs Shaub.

Girls in Years 8 and 9 performed their own compositions and the Middle School Choir sang 'Thank you for the Music' followed by the Year 8 Choir's singing 'Feel Good'. The evening ended with a rousing drumming performance by Year 7 following their workshop with Mr Godfrey a couple of weeks ago.

At the end, Members of the Lower VI welcomed back Ms Vickery from her maternity leave and gave their thanks and good wishes to Mr Davies.

MyDaughter newsletters

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 02:18:48 PST

Year 9 PGL Week

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 02:24:04 PST

Year 9 has just returned from a fantastic week at the PGL centre at Osmington Bay in Dorset.

In the course of the week, all the girls (and staff) tried abseiling, aeroball, climbing, mountain biking, trampolining, the zipwire, the trapeze, the Giant Swing and Jacob's Ladder. The off site bike ride up White Horse Hill proved to be the most challenging activity, but even so three of the four groups completed the six mile circuit.

The girls also spent a very wet morning raft building at the Olympic sailing centre in Weymouth. Two of the four rafts desintegrated rapidly and the rafters on the other two didn't escape for long as their rafts were tipped up by jealous rivals!

Evenings were spent playing 'World Cup' football on 'Little Wembley', watching a film or sketching on the beach. Mr Edes also had us searching for fossils, although Dr Upcott swore that it was the wrong type of rock!

Thursday morning was spent shopping and around the harbour and beach in Weymouth itself and in the evening, the group gathered on the private beach at Osmington Bay for a finale barbecue - we're still not sure how Amalia managed to eat six s'mores!

All agreed that it had been a really exciting and enjoyable week - photographs below.

Molly Bown says farewell in style

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 23:30:25 PST

Francis Holland held a wonderful farewell party for Molly Bown who has been an outstanding Head of Junior School for over 25 years. Her commitment and imaginative leadership have enabled numerous girls to achieve at the highest possible level; she will be greatly missed.

The champagne reception was attended by hundreds of parents, former pupils, former parents and staff who gathered to wish Molly well in the future.

Presentations were made and Molly, in her own inimitable style treated the guests to 'a gift of passion' - the tango which was danced by two professional dancers. In turn, special guest, Anton Du Beke, more than met his match when he asked Molly to take the floor.

See photographs below.

Lauda Sion: 2010

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:04:31 PST

Latin Reading Competition

When Pope Urban IV (1261-1264) first established the Feast of Corpus Christi, he requested St. Thomas Aquinas to compose hymns for it. Lauda Sion is one of the five hymns which he composed in honour of Jesus.

The first verse runs as follows:

Lauda Sion Salvatorem,
lauda ducem et pastorem,
in hymnis et canticis.
quantum potes, tantum aude:
quia maior omni laude,
nec laudare sufficis.

Classical plays and reading competitions have a long history at Francis Holland School. The competition for Latin was established in the 1930s, and the Sheila Griffiths memorial fund gave money to fund a prize for Latin verse-speaking, known as the Lauda Sion prize. On the 24^th June, in keeping with the tradition of the school, we saw girls from years 8 and 9 perform short plays in Latin.

The adjudicator of this year's competition was Miss Alexandra Gowlland, an Oxford Classics graduate who now works for the Schools Minister, Nick Gibb.

Congratulations to all girls who took part, in particular to our winning groups and individuals.

Group Winners Year 8:

Alexandra Horowitz
Sadia Islam
Anastasia McClain
Zoe MacClellan
Shabnam Amin
Olivia Cuddy
Emily Glazebrook
Krenara Petriccione Di Vadi

Group Winners Year 9:

Sirun Chiarini
Clara Hollants Van Loocke
Fiammetta Lori
Alice Moss
Rebecca Stokes

Individual Winners Year 8:

Alexandra Horowitz and Heather Percival

Individual Winner Year 9:

Sophie Taylor

Year 6 Activity Week - Cornwall

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 08:45:35 PST

UK Chess Challenge 2010

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 05:27:21 PST

Ballet Final Results

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 13:18:31 PST

Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret,

Countess of Snowdon

Classical Ballet Competition

The Finals of this competition took place on Monday, June 21^st at 6.00 pm in the Main Hall.

Sir Peter Wright CBE, DMus(Lond), FBSM, Dlitt(B'ham) was the Guest of Honour and Lady Birdwood chaired the Panel of Judges, Sir Peter Wright, Choreographer and former Director of The Royal Ballet Company, Miss Jenna Lee, Soloist, English National Ballet Company and Miss Susan Robinson, Examiner, Royal Academy of Dance.

Sir Peter and fellow Judges did not find it easy to decide on the winners and took the longest time in the 9 year history of the competition to make their decisions. There was much warmth and generosity from the competitors and members of the audience as the names were announced and Sir Peter concluded by praising the dancer's joy of dance and musicality and asked if he might come again!

Congratulations to the following pupils who were chosen as winners by the distinguished adjudicating panel. There were 34 competitors whose ages ranged from 5 yrs to 19 yrs .

Silver Rose Bowl (for potential)	Costanza Giovene
Silver Salver (for joy of dance)	Olympia Vitalis
The Lady Sarah Chatto Coronet (for promise)	Delphine Greco Tatiana De Suarez d'Aulan
The Linley Fonteyn Bequest (for love of dance)	Clara Hollants van Loocke
The Sophie Le Roex Junior School Prize (for musicality and expression)	Amy Jordan
The Antoinette Sibley Senior School Prize (for musicality and expression)	Zelie Britton
The Darcey Bussell Pointe Shoes	Reception

Graduates from our two leading Classical Ballet Schools, The Royal Ballet and English National Ballet performed variations from their current repertoire and the evening concluded with a Reception in the Kallakis Theatre.

Senior Sports' Day Results 2010

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:45:48 PST

Senior Sports on Thursday 10th June were once again held at Wimbledon Park. The day was cool and breezy, but fortunately, the threatened rain held off. After a morning of track and field events, the girls and staff enjoyed a picnic in the park before embarking on a range of activities. Many of the Year 9s and 10s took to the water in Pico dinghies, kayaks or bell boats. Other girls took part in minigolf or team games, while for the less energetic, there was sketching and a reading group.

Many thanks to Miss Deadman and her team of helpers for organising and running a thoroughly successful and enjoyable day.

Senior Sports' Day Results 2010

Girls learn self defence

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 05:48:19 PST

On Monday 14th June, Year 10 were treated to a self-defence workshop by martial arts expert Jason O'Connor. He led them them through various scenarios, asking them to identify what the safest course of action would be in each situation. He gave them lots of helpful advice for day-to-day safety, both for now, and for their future lives as independent young women.

He finished up with a few tips for defending oneself , such as, how to knee people in the groin without causing injury to oneself. It was a highly enjoyable session, and full of very practical advice.

Year 9 Trip to Cologne

Fri, 28 May 2010 04:06:47 PST

Junior Charity Flower Show

Tue, 25 May 2010 01:36:24 PST

The Junior School have organised their very own Flower Show this week, in aid of charity, to coincide with the excitement of Chelsea (which is happening just down the road)! Tasked with growing flowers from seed in four weeks, the girls' efforts definitely rival those of Chelsea's competitors.

Our show is in aid of The Children's Country Holiday Fund which offers disadvantaged children a range of residential activity and respite breaks. We have so far raised almost £400 in donations, which is fantastic.

All of the flowers were judged and awards were made in each year group from Reception to Year 6 for Best in Class, Highly Commended and Commended, also the most prestigious award made was for Best in Show. The girls should be justly proud of their awards.

Thanks goes to Mrs Fairley (Year 1) for organising the show, Miss Nada for setting up and Mrs Bown and Mrs Roberts, who had the unenviable task of judging the entries. Congratulations to all of the girls on their tremendous efforts.

Womens Rugby World Cup Star!

Mon, 24 May 2010 07:01:54 PST

Friends' Quiz Night Fun

Wed, 12 May 2010 15:06:31 PST

On Wednesday 5th May, teams of parents and staff pitted their wits against each other at our first ever Friends of Francis Holland Quiz Night. The evening was held at St Columba's Church, Pont Street and began with drinks and canapes.

The Friends also organised a highly successful Silent Auction during the evening with some amazing prizes, including dinner at Daphnes, a box at The Royal Albert Hall to see Swan Lake, tickets to see Mark Knopfler in concert, a Tiffany necklace, a unique chair with an embroidered FHS crest, handbags from Zoe Knight and also from Squatters, a week in a country house, a children's party entertainer and life coaching lessons.

The evening was great fun and the Friends raised just over £11,000. Many thanks to everyone who helped make it such a success.

Mock Election Results

Fri, 07 May 2010 03:53:42 PST

Mock election

Thursday 6^th May 2010

The number of votes recorded for each candidate at the said election is as follows:

Magdalena Moursy, Laura Shackley, Conservative 105 votes (41%)

Lizzie Wilson, Georgie Courtenay-Stamp, Labour 64 votes (25%)

Sabeen Nanji, Charlotte Moore, Liberal Democrat 36 votes (14%)

Holly Godwin-Thompson, Diva Sachy-Jeffrey, Monster Raving Loony Party 51 votes (20%)

The turnout was 85%.

Laura Shackley and Maggie Moursy, Conservative Party, are duly elected as MPs for the constituency of Francis Holland School, Sloane Square.

Middle School Choir Tour 2010

Wed, 05 May 2010 13:08:14 PST

Performing Arts Evenings

Tue, 04 May 2010 06:31:36 PST

Royal Academy of Dance Examination Results

Tue, 04 May 2010 03:57:52 PST

Examination Date March 26th 2010

Pre-Primary

The following candidates all received their certificates:

Matilda Bridgeman, Nell Asquith, Iris Harmsworth, Elsie Jacob, Theresia Schwab,

Delilah Rayne, Jessica Stokes, Delphi Primrose, Lavinia Primrose, Celeste Primrose

Primary

Nadia Salfiti Distinction

Maddison Nash Distinction

Ines Oberoi Distinction

Grade 1

Allegra Harris Distinction

Aiza Syed Distinction

Alya Amiri Distinction

Penelope Reid Distinction

Isabella Sherman Merit

Grade 2

Costanza Giovene Distinction

Mina Polo Distinction

Florence Harting Distinction

Emily Treacher Distinction

Arianna Rashidian Distinction

Christabel Gilmour Distinction

Lara Niggli Distinction

Grade 3

Olivia Geidt Distinction

Tara Viswanathan Distinction

Congratulations to all of these dancers but especially Costanza, Emily, Mina and Florence who entered for this examination the term after gaining Distinction for their Gade 1.

New Prefects

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:04:17 PST

The new Head Girl team, House Captains and Games Captains were announced at the end of last term.

Congratulations to the following members of the Lower VI:

Head Girl	Isabel Errington
Deputy Head Girls	Raeesa Anjum and Alexandra McClintock
Ashcroft House	Laura Shackley (Captain) and Ruba Ahmed (Deputy)
Fonteyn House	Elizabeth Wilson (Captain) and Tatiana Hirschler (Deputy)
Franklin House	Hannah Colgan (Captain) and Victoria Vickerman (Deputy)
Woolf House	Nicole Gojkovic (Captain) and Deeya Khemlani (Deputy)
Games Captain	Tianna Cambanis
Deputy Games Captain	Lucrezia Di Martino

Francis Holland School

Summer Concert

MyDaughter newsletters

Year 9 PGL Week

Molly Bown says farewell in style

Lauda Sion: 2010

Year 6 Activity Week - Cornwall

UK Chess Challenge 2010

Ballet Final Results

Sponsored Silence!!

Senior Sports' Day Results 2010

Girls learn self defence

Year 9 Trip to Cologne

Junior Charity Flower Show

Womens Rugby World Cup Star!

Friends' Quiz Night Fun

Mock Election Results

Middle School Choir Tour 2010

Performing Arts Evenings

Royal Academy of Dance Examination Results

New Prefects