On Sunday 9 March two girls in the Vth Form, Hannah and Jenny, had the unique opportunity to participate in the annual performance by the Bach Choir of the St Matthew Passion in the Royal Festival Hall. This is the second year that our girls have been invited to participate in this event and offers some of our more advanced singers the chance to sing with a truly outstanding choir.

From the 86th floor of the most famous skyscraper in the world, the Empire State Building, members of the Sixth Form gazed in awe at the sights of New York which stretched before them. A busy few days followed during which they visited many of the sights, attended an impressive conference at the UN and had a sparkling night out on Broadway where they watched "Hairspray". A solemn moment was spent at Ground Zero where the construction of a memorial garden and a new World Trade Centre is underway. Returning with bulging suitcases after seeking out the best bargains in the shops, all the girls agreed it was a brilliant trip and are looking forward to going again next year.

With the weather looking grim and the prospect of getting very muddy looming, Year 4 embarked on a trip that, for some, would be their first time away from home. Excitement coupled with anticipation and nervousness was high. Since the middle of September Mrs Whicher and Mr Walker had been preparing Year 4 for this trip, explaining what would happen and what to expect and now the time had arrived.

Year 4 were accompanied by Mrs Bothwell and Miss Orbell as well as their intrepid class teachers! We were all impressed by the way in which year 4 threw themselves into it and tried their best in every activity.

Upon arrival at Bethany house we were greeted by Sophie, the manager and Myles, our group leader. Both of them were in charge of organising us, making sure we ate on time and got to the correct activity on schedule. After finding our rooms (and engaging in the annual problem of putting a sheet on a duvet, for some children!) the children were taken for the first of their 3 evening activities lead by Myles. Afterwards we began the task which haunts the dreams of every teacher on residential, bedtime!

From the 86th floor of the most famous skyscraper in the world, the Empire State Building, members of the Sixth Form gazed in awe at the sights of New York which stretched before them. A busy few days followed during which they visited many of the sights, attended an impressive conference at the UN and had a sparkling night out on Broadway where they watched "Hairspray". A solemn moment was spent at Ground Zero where the construction of a memorial garden and a new World Trade Centre is underway. Returning with bulging suitcases after seeking out the best bargains in the shops, all the girls agreed it was a brilliant trip and are looking forward to going again next year.

From the 86th floor of the most famous skyscraper in the world, the Empire State Building, members of the Sixth Form gazed in awe at the sights of New York which stretched before them. A busy few days followed during which they visited many of the sights, attended an impressive conference at the UN and had a sparkling night out on Broadway where they watched "Hairspray". A solemn moment was spent at Ground Zero where the construction of a memorial garden and a new World Trade Centre is underway. Returning with bulging suitcases after seeking out the best bargains in the shops, all the girls agreed it was a brilliant trip and are looking forward to going again next year.

From the 86th floor of the most famous skyscraper in the world, the Empire State Building, members of the Sixth Form gazed in awe at the sights of New York which stretched before them. A busy few days followed during which they visited many of the sights, attended an impressive conference at the UN and had a sparkling night out on Broadway where they watched "Hairspray". A solemn moment was spent at Ground Zero where the construction of a memorial garden and a new World Trade Centre is underway. Returning with bulging suitcases after seeking out the best bargains in the shops, all the girls agreed it was a brilliant trip and are looking forward to going again next year.

Away, at Ditcham Park

From the 86th floor of the most famous skyscraper in the world, the Empire State Building, members of the Sixth Form gazed in awe at the sights of New York which stretched before them. A busy few days followed during which they visited many of the sights, attended an impressive conference at the UN and had a sparkling night out on Broadway where they watched "Hairspray". A solemn moment was spent at Ground Zero where the construction of a memorial garden and a new World Trade Centre is underway. Returning with bulging suitcases after seeking out the best bargains in the shops, all the girls agreed it was a brilliant trip and are looking forward to going again next year.

On Thursday, the children in Pre-Prep had a special taster session themed on the book “We’re Going On A Bear Hunt”. All the children, along with some new friends, got the opportunity to experience an afternoon in Reception, and thoroughly enjoyed exploring, creating and investigating all sorts of different activities based around the “Bear” theme. The children particularly enjoyed using instruments to accompany the story, making bear biscuits and even creating their own bear masks. Some of the children were especially good at impersonating the bear and I am sure the occasional roar could be heard from further away! All the children joined in beautifully and were keen to use the different equipment and facilities that they will experience in Reception.

St Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Farnham was the setting for a glorious concert last Thursday evening. Almost 180 girls and boys from the school filled the church with a wonderful mixture of modern, traditional and classical music which thrilled a packed audience.

Full choirs from the prep and senior schools were in magnificent voice for a number of items and the smaller Chamber Choir of the senior school and Chanteurs group of the prep school enchanted St Joan's parishioners with some quieter songs. There were splendid duets featuring Olivia with Kate and Eleanor and musical pieces from Hannah on recorder and a violin quartet from teacher Pam Edwards with Erin, Kate and Elisabeth. Georgia, Imogen and Allison stepped from the choir to perform beautiful solo pieces.

Our fundraising for this year’s Good Shepherd Appeal on behalf of the Catholic Chidlren’s Society reached its climax on the last Friday of term. At lunchtime, the prep school joined the senior school for a simple, frugal lunch of bread, cheese and fruit. Later on in the day, the Welsford Hall was transformed as the Upper Prep set out the stalls for their businesses, which had been in preparation throughout Lent. Staff, parents and younger pupils were hugely impressed by the variety of business ideas that the children had come up with, with sweetie kebabs, cakes baked to order and chocolate fountains attracting particular interest.

The weeks of hard work, learning poetry, rehearsing prose and planning and practising presentations have certainly paid off this year, with record numbers of pupils (33!) achieving distinctions in their English Speaking Board exams. Almost all of our candidates achieved a merit, with no less than 84% getting Merit Plus or higher; our best results so far. The results apart, the opportunity for independent, personalised study and research, the chance to learn from and critique one another’s work, and the development of analysis and presentation skills make this a hugely important part of our curriculum.

Early years and KS1 enjoyed some exciting Easter activities on Tuesday.

The day started with an egg rolling competition in Reception, where the children rolled their hard boiled eggs across the playground, trying to get their egg to land nearest to the Easter egg target. Hannah and Maddie were victorious, but all the children enjoyed the challenge and lots of interesting techniques arose!

The Easter Bunny had been hard at work in the woods, and all year groups enjoyed searching for the Easter eggs, which he had thoughtfully left behind. This was certainly the highlight of the day for many, and we had some very vigilant Easter egg hunters! The eggs came in all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes, and were found in some unusual places! Fortunately we were very thorough and every class ended up with a sizeable collection to share out.

Variety is the spice of life - this was certainly the case at the Chamber Music Concert presented by the Senior School pupils. From the serene sound of Debussy's Syrinx on solo flute played by Hannah to the Gorilla Rock, composed and performed with panache by Katie. Hannah also gave an accomplished performance on recorder and piano of her A2 examination recital.

Chamber groups also featured - the year 9 flute quartet delighted the audience with their Ragtime piece whilst the wind quartet brought back nostalgic feelings with an arrangement of The House of the Rising Sun.

The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound

Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.

The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound

Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.

The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound

Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.

The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound

Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.

The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound

Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.

The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound

Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.

The trip that took months to arrive and will take years to fade
The trip that moments made, moments endlessly replayed
Where I was forgotten but where we were found
The trip where our days and actions were framed by a sound

Lourdes alters your thinking and moulds your perception, from your first time in the grotto to strolling the streets. You were constantly surrounded by music, every corner you turned, every group you joined. And regardless of your ability or talent you sang as well. Everyone could join in and it was a unifying force. Everyone's experiences of Lourdes were unique to them but we all sang the same songs.