After completing Bronze D of E successfully, the ‘lucky’ thirteen set off aspiring for their Silver along the Sussex/Surrey/Hampshire boarders. After much hail and with clothes soaked in rain the groups arrived at Chase Farm for the first night camp. I will not lie. It was a sleepless night – very cold. The next day involved a long walk around the Devil’s Punchbowl, including some unplanned ‘diversions’. The hail was torrential and all were very happy to settle down for the second night in their tents. 13 extremely tired yet very content faces were beaming at the finish line, until we remembered that this was only the practice.

29 hours of intensive,uninterrupted rehearsal +
26 girls from forms I II and III in the Senior School +
1 producing company called Upstage Productions+
1 Drama Teacher from school+
1 Audience of 100 people+
1 set of costumes=
1 50 minute performance called 'The Dreamer'

A very jolly combination it was too, of people,acting, singing and dancing in the Marian Hall from 7to 11 April.The judgement of both the performers and the audience was that it had been an incredibly worthwhile experience and one that is worth repeating another year!

Well done to all who decided to use one week of their Easter holiday in focused creativity!

After completing Bronze D of E successfully, the ‘lucky’ thirteen set off aspiring for their Silver along the Sussex/Surrey/Hampshire boarders. After much hail and with clothes soaked in rain the groups arrived at Chase Farm for the first night camp. I will not lie. It was a sleepless night – very cold. The next day involved a long walk around the Devil’s Punchbowl, including some unplanned ‘diversions’. The hail was torrential and all were very happy to settle down for the second night in their tents. 13 extremely tired yet very content faces were beaming at the finish line, until we remembered that this was only the practice.

29 hours of intensive,uninterrupted rehearsal +
26 girls from forms I II and III in the Senior School +
1 producing company called Upstage Productions+
1 Drama Teacher from school+
1 Audience of 100 people+
1 set of costumes=
1 50 minute performance called 'The Dreamer'

A very jolly combination it was too, of people,acting, singing and dancing in the Marian Hall from 7to 11 April.The judgement of both the performers and the audience was that it had been an incredibly worthwhile experience and one that is worth repeating another year!

Well done to all who decided to use one week of their Easter holiday in focused creativity!

After completing Bronze D of E successfully, the ‘lucky’ thirteen set off aspiring for their Silver along the Sussex/Surrey/Hampshire boarders. After much hail and with clothes soaked in rain the groups arrived at Chase Farm for the first night camp. I will not lie. It was a sleepless night – very cold. The next day involved a long walk around the Devil’s Punchbowl, including some unplanned ‘diversions’. The hail was torrential and all were very happy to settle down for the second night in their tents. 13 extremely tired yet very content faces were beaming at the finish line, until we remembered that this was only the practice.

29 hours of intensive,uninterrupted rehearsal +
26 girls from forms I II and III in the Senior School +
1 producing company called Upstage Productions+
1 Drama Teacher from school+
1 Audience of 100 people+
1 set of costumes=
1 50 minute performance called 'The Dreamer'

A very jolly combination it was too, of people,acting, singing and dancing in the Marian Hall from 7to 11 April.The judgement of both the performers and the audience was that it had been an incredibly worthwhile experience and one that is worth repeating another year!

Well done to all who decided to use one week of their Easter holiday in focused creativity!

29 hours of intensive,uninterrupted rehearsal +
26 girls from forms I II and III in the Senior School +
1 producing company called Upstage Productions+
1 Drama Teacher from school+
1 Audience of 100 people+
1 set of costumes=
1 50 minute performance called 'The Dreamer'

A very jolly combination it was too, of people,acting, singing and dancing in the Marian Hall from 7to 11 April.The judgement of both the performers and the audience was that it had been an incredibly worthwhile experience and one that is worth repeating another year!

Well done to all who decided to use one week of their Easter holiday in focused creativity!

Emily told us: "I loved the facilities the château had. The grounds were brilliant and I especially loved the swing! I enjoyed all the visits but the one I liked the most was the caramel factory. We watched how the caramel was made then after sampling some we all went to the shop to buy more! I also enjoyed the trips to the markets because everyone was so friendly. I loved asking people questions because once you had asked one person you wanted to ask another. I was very excited on the day we went out to buy our own food and make a meal. It was great fun, the food tasted fantastic and we won second prize! It was really touching when we went to the American War Memorial Cemetery because so many people had given up their lives for us. It was so sad to see how many thousands of graves there were and to know how many more people were missing.

29 hours of intensive,uninterrupted rehearsal +
26 girls from forms I II and III in the Senior School +
1 producing company called Upstage Productions+
1 Drama Teacher from school+
1 Audience of 100 people+
1 set of costumes=
1 50 minute performance called 'The Dreamer'

A very jolly combination it was too, of people,acting, singing and dancing in the Marian Hall from 7to 11 April.The judgement of both the performers and the audience was that it had been an incredibly worthwhile experience and one that is worth repeating another year!

Well done to all who decided to use one week of their Easter holiday in focused creativity!

Emily told us: "I loved the facilities the château had. The grounds were brilliant and I especially loved the swing! I enjoyed all the visits but the one I liked the most was the caramel factory. We watched how the caramel was made then after sampling some we all went to the shop to buy more! I also enjoyed the trips to the markets because everyone was so friendly. I loved asking people questions because once you had asked one person you wanted to ask another. I was very excited on the day we went out to buy our own food and make a meal. It was great fun, the food tasted fantastic and we won second prize! It was really touching when we went to the American War Memorial Cemetery because so many people had given up their lives for us. It was so sad to see how many thousands of graves there were and to know how many more people were missing.

Emily told us: "I loved the facilities the château had. The grounds were brilliant and I especially loved the swing! I enjoyed all the visits but the one I liked the most was the caramel factory. We watched how the caramel was made then after sampling some we all went to the shop to buy more! I also enjoyed the trips to the markets because everyone was so friendly. I loved asking people questions because once you had asked one person you wanted to ask another. I was very excited on the day we went out to buy our own food and make a meal. It was great fun, the food tasted fantastic and we won second prize! It was really touching when we went to the American War Memorial Cemetery because so many people had given up their lives for us. It was so sad to see how many thousands of graves there were and to know how many more people were missing.

The under 11 rounders team had their first match of the season on the first day of term! It was a really good game and quite close between the two teams, Alton Convent and Dunhurst. The final score was 10½ to 14, to them. It was a lot of fun and I think everyone enjoyed it.

Jessica, 6W

Emily told us: "I loved the facilities the château had. The grounds were brilliant and I especially loved the swing! I enjoyed all the visits but the one I liked the most was the caramel factory. We watched how the caramel was made then after sampling some we all went to the shop to buy more! I also enjoyed the trips to the markets because everyone was so friendly. I loved asking people questions because once you had asked one person you wanted to ask another. I was very excited on the day we went out to buy our own food and make a meal. It was great fun, the food tasted fantastic and we won second prize! It was really touching when we went to the American War Memorial Cemetery because so many people had given up their lives for us. It was so sad to see how many thousands of graves there were and to know how many more people were missing.

On Thursday 17th April the lower sixth geographers visited Guildford with Salesian College in order to define the boundary of the Central Business District and to determine whether Guildford fitted the standard model of core and frame areas.

The five girls and the boys from Salesian formed groups of twos and threes and each group took a different route. We investigated building height and age of building as well as the cleanliness and appearance of different sites along our route. We counted the numbers of pedestrians and cars in order to establish whether particular spots were busy or quiet. In addition each group were given particular areas to investigate the land use, some were primarily shops and others offices. It was then up to each individual group to describe where they felt the Central Business District of Guildford ended. At the end of the day, back at Salesian we each presented our findings and discussed what we had all found.

When we walked in to class after lunch on Thursday we were in for a shock: a lady dressed in 1940’s clothes was standing there! It turned out to be Mrs Denby, she was here to tell us about war time and the 1940’s. She had also brought a lot of objects from the time as well. I found out that girls would go a long way to look good.
She went on to talk about jobs during the war and how everything changed. It was really interesting learning about war time with Mrs Denby and at the end we got to try out some of the arefacts

Emily told us: "I loved the facilities the château had. The grounds were brilliant and I especially loved the swing! I enjoyed all the visits but the one I liked the most was the caramel factory. We watched how the caramel was made then after sampling some we all went to the shop to buy more! I also enjoyed the trips to the markets because everyone was so friendly. I loved asking people questions because once you had asked one person you wanted to ask another. I was very excited on the day we went out to buy our own food and make a meal. It was great fun, the food tasted fantastic and we won second prize! It was really touching when we went to the American War Memorial Cemetery because so many people had given up their lives for us. It was so sad to see how many thousands of graves there were and to know how many more people were missing.

This year's Scholastic Book Fair was a great success! After the pupils all visited the fair on Monday and Tuesday, we were delighted to see lots of children bringing mums and dads in to browse the books after school throughout the week. An excellent range of titles was on offer, together with a few posters and toys, capturing children's interest from Early Years up to Year 6. Mrs Wilding's talent for matching the book to the child proved invaluable and lots of pupils went home excited about their purchases with a renewed enthusiasm for reading.

This year's Scholastic Book Fair was a great success! After the pupils all visited the fair on Monday and Tuesday, we were delighted to see lots of children bringing mums and dads in to browse the books after school throughout the week. An excellent range of titles was on offer, together with a few posters and toys, capturing children's interest from Early Years up to Year 6. Mrs Wilding's talent for matching the book to the child proved invaluable and lots of pupils went home excited about their purchases with a renewed enthusiasm for reading.

On a beautiful spring day, 22nd April, every one of Alton Convent School's 500 pupils set out on a walk to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the school's foundation and to raise money for schools in India with which the school is linked.

The youngest pupils, some not yet 3, strolled around the school's 17 acre site or neighbouring Anstey Park, whilst the 7-9 year olds set out on a three mile walk through Holybourne and the surrounding area. The rest of the school, from 9 to 18, and their teachers, tackled an ambitious route up on to Holybourne Down, taking in bluebell woods, farmland and the occasional very muddy track en route.

This year's Scholastic Book Fair was a great success! After the pupils all visited the fair on Monday and Tuesday, we were delighted to see lots of children bringing mums and dads in to browse the books after school throughout the week. An excellent range of titles was on offer, together with a few posters and toys, capturing children's interest from Early Years up to Year 6. Mrs Wilding's talent for matching the book to the child proved invaluable and lots of pupils went home excited about their purchases with a renewed enthusiasm for reading.

As part of the school's Shakespeare Day celebrations, we were delighted to welcome five-time Foyle Young Poet Award winner Helen Mort to the school to run a couple of poetry workshops. Year 6 were joined by a number of pupils from neighbouring Bentley Primary School for a workshop which explored the ways that poetry, in contrast to Auden's view, can change the world. The children explored techniques for writing poetry of their own, such as thinking from the perspective of other senses or exploring the impossible. The workshop concluded with Helen reading some of her own poems, and answering pupils' questions on her life and work as a poet. The Year 5 workshop followed a similar format, although with this group Helen also had chance to hear some of the pupils perform their ESB poems. We've purchased a copy of Helen's collection of poems, The Shape of Every Box, for the prep school library.

This year forms in years seven, eight and nine performed role-plays in the theme of one of Shakespeare’s plays to celebrate St George’s day, the 444th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth.
The forms either got into groups or did a whole form performance. This year we had to choose a subject themed on Shakespeare’s play ‘A Midsummer night’s dream’ and then create a story six months from when the play ended. The subjects were: The Lovers, The Mechanicals (Bottom, Flute, Quince) and The Fairies. We were given two weeks to practise our role-play, year eight a little less due to a school trip.

Shakespeare Day also saw the Upper Prep's celebration of our recent outstanding performance in the ESB exams. Whilst time didn't permit the audience of pupils and parents to hear performances from all children, two dozen pupils from Years 4-6 performed their exam pieces. The programme gave particular prominence to poetry recitation, following on from Helen Mort's visit that morning, with lovely performances of "The Mystery of my Sister's School Photo" from Flora, "Excuses, Excuses" from Zoe and "L Plates on my Football Shirt" from Josh, amongst many others. A few brave children performed their presentations, including a splendid illustrated talk on Polar Bears by Grace. ESB work does much to boost the children's self confidence, and their willingness to perform to a large audience is some testament to this. The Year 3s are already thinking ahead to their chance to take part next year!

This year's Scholastic Book Fair was a great success! After the pupils all visited the fair on Monday and Tuesday, we were delighted to see lots of children bringing mums and dads in to browse the books after school throughout the week. An excellent range of titles was on offer, together with a few posters and toys, capturing children's interest from Early Years up to Year 6. Mrs Wilding's talent for matching the book to the child proved invaluable and lots of pupils went home excited about their purchases with a renewed enthusiasm for reading.

Pupils in Reception, Years 1 and 2 enjoyed a visit from two Alton librarians on Thursday 24th April. They brought an exciting collection of books suitable for different ages and interests and also talked about many other items that children may borrow, including DVDs and Play station games.

The special events organised by the Library were also of great interest, and our visitors were very impressed with the show of hands demonstrating children who took part in the Summer Reading Challenge; apparently this year’s challenge will have an Olympic theme.

This year's Scholastic Book Fair was a great success! After the pupils all visited the fair on Monday and Tuesday, we were delighted to see lots of children bringing mums and dads in to browse the books after school throughout the week. An excellent range of titles was on offer, together with a few posters and toys, capturing children's interest from Early Years up to Year 6. Mrs Wilding's talent for matching the book to the child proved invaluable and lots of pupils went home excited about their purchases with a renewed enthusiasm for reading.

The Under 11 team played Ditcham Park on Monday in glorious sunshine on the Ditcham hill, with great views of the Isle Wight and beyond. With this setting, Alton played very good cricket. The team only conceded three wickets for 257 runs. Strong batting from Henry and Tom our openers. Sandy playing his first game of cricket defended stoutly. Knowing that our strength was our bowling department the team quickly gathered a clutch of wickets including several run-outs, which again Sandy assisted strongly. However, the bowlers conceded too many sundries if they are to each the final this year.

The AS level Biologists, accompanied by Dr Otter were fortunate to have the opportunity to attend a Revision Day at Surrey University in Guildford. The speakers were all Senior Examiners and so had an excellent understanding of the kinds of things that students find difficult and the ways in which they can improve their grades. All this was illustrated with some fabulous pictures and interesting biological stories so the experience was enjoyable as well as very useful!

Year 4 spent a brilliant day at Hampton Court Palace on Wednesday as part of their study of the Tudors. Despite the weather the class's first impressions of the palace were very positive, with many overwhelmed by the scale of this great Tudor building. We were met at the Buttery stairs by the mistress of the wardrobe, who regaled us with insider gossip of the King and his many marriages as we sat entranced in the wine cellar, before taking us up to explore the Great Hall itself, with its magnificent tapestries and stained glass. After a hasty lunch in the Buttery, we spent a while longer studying heraldic devices, carvings, glass and portraits in the state apartments before making our way into the Chapel Royal, which provided an interesting opportunity for comparisons and contrasts with our own chapel. We quickly toured the Young Henry exhibition in Wolsey's apartments, playing 'Where's Harry' with a number of epic paintings. For many, the highlight of the day was the multi-sensory tour of the palace kitchens with Hampton Court's two wonderfully entertaining and informative food historians. The whole day provided a wonderful opportunity to really enhance the children's understanding of the age of Henry VIII. Parents may be interested to know that the Palace has a very full programme of events both this and the next bank holiday weekend.

Drama comes in many forms and this year's final GCSE examination performances were no exception! The work was created and performed in five groups. The creative inspiration was a piece of contemporary film music by Craig Armstrong called 'Glasgow*. 'Big Brother's Watching You', a piece about the way we are all being surveyed today; 'Heaven Sent, Hell Bent', a slightly surreal comic play set in Limbo; 'Storm', the toy shop as a microcosm of life today; 'No Man's Land', a view of the world as a totally female society and 'When the Lights Go Out'.