Pupils from Forms I-III once again enthralled parents and friends with their contributions to the annual tea-time concert. The appreciative audience was impressed with the great variety of styles and instruments represented from classical to folk ballads and contemporary pop.

Two third form girls, Jessica and Sarah, performed their own compositions. Particularly pleasing was the number of trumpet items and very promising young vocalists. It takes tremendous courage to stand up and perform in front of an audience. Well done girls!

Our trip to Hamelin was such fun! We spent a couple of days in May in the historic town of Hamelin in Germany to meet up with our German pen pals. For the past year we had been writing letters to our pen pals in Albert-Einstein-Gymnasium and now we were very excited to meet them for the first time. Our pen pals had chosen a nice ice cream parlour to “break the ice” and from there we went to explore the legend of the Pied Piper and followed the “rat trail” through the picturesque centre of Hamelin.

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.

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!

This February, girls from the third form went on a three day tour of the First World War Battlefields in Belguim and France. While exploring the Battlefields in the Ypres and Somme region, they had the opportunity to visit the "In Flanders Fields" museum, the reserved trenches at Newfoundland Park and Sanctuary Wood and Tyne Cot cemetery.

Girls compared French, German and British cemeteries and took part in the Last Post Memorial Ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres where form captains laid a poppy wreath on behalf of the school.

Local author Peter Ward visited Year 7, 8 and 9 pupils to present and discuss his latest novel "Dragon Horse" as a part of World Book Day celebrations. The girls were enchanted by his tale of ancient China with its range of weird and wonderful characters and vivid descriptions, brought to life by the author himself. Pupils had already read extracts from the novel and created a display of drawings of the old storyteller Shoo Lao which were much admired by Peter Ward. At the end of the talk, the girls were able to ask questions exploring his source of inspiration and the trials and delights of being a writer.