nchs senior magaine 2010 - 2011

Voices

Issue 01

Editor : Miss C ChapmanSchool & Artwork Photography: Miss C Chapman and Mrs S TimneyFront & Back Cover Artwork: Abigail Buchan

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The Newcastle upon Tyne Church High School Magazine 2010

Introduction

Each school year is a wonderful mix of both familiar events and many unique, and at times, unexpected happenings. This magazine draws our attention to the success of just a selection of our

annual events, whilst also reminding us that Church High is composed of a large number of creative individuals with a diverse range of talents.

The academic year 2009-2010 had the finest start when we met at The Sage, Gateshead, to celebrate not only an excellent set of public examination results but also the broad-ranging and superb achievements of our pupils. Virtually all the girls were involved and it was a most uplifting and enjoyable evening, taking girls and parents quite by surprise! Traditional school Prizegivings can actually be quite uninspiring and the architects of our event, Mrs Grundy and Mrs Timney, were determined that the evening would truly reflect the energy and enthusiasm of our school community. I hope you will enjoy reading the magazine report on that very special evening.

Prospective parents frequently comment on what an exceptional educational experience our girls enjoy and I do agree with them! We support all our girls to achieve the highest academic qualifications they are capable of achieving, but we would not be successful if we did not make their experience at Church High both enjoyable and stimulating. It is our aim, but also our duty, to ensure we help them to grow personally and to discover and develop new skills and talents.

The articles in this magazine give an insight into the diverse range of experiences enjoyed by the girls and I wonder if, like me, many parents will wish they could turn the clock back and experience a Church High education for themselves!

A school magazine can only ever give a snapshot of the school year and I know Miss Chapman and Mrs Grundy have agonised over its content. It is hard to leave events and achievements unmentioned, but I congratulate them both for ensuring that the magazine touches on most areas of school life. For some time, Miss Chapman, the Editor, has wanted to see Church High’s talent showcased in high-quality printed format and, as you can now see, her efforts have not been in vain! I would like to thank Miss Chapman for her persistence and resolve in bringing this excellent magazine to fruition and I am grateful to both Miss Chapman and her writing team for all their hard work.

I emphasise once again that the success of this school is down to its wonderful girls, its highly committed staff and most supportive parents and governors. Thank you all for another great year.

Joy Gatenby Headmistress

August 2010

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Voices 01

‘I thank you for your voices, – thank you,Your most sweet voices.’William Shakespeare, Coriolanus

It is very exciting and also a great honour to be at the helm of our Senior School magazine as it returns to a more traditional

hard-copy format for the first time this Millennium. Its more recent online format made the contents accessible to all, anytime-anyplace, but it is hard to better ‘page and print’ if the aim is to create a palpable treasure-chest of memories that will stand the test of time. And this last academic year has had many highpoints, as the diverse ‘voices’ that speak out from these pages make abundantly clear.

Whatever the medium of choice – word, colour, sound or action – each creative contribution to Issue 1 of Voices takes the reader on a colourful journey right into the very heart of our school. Each piece may vie for the reader’s attention in individual ways, but, like strands of threads in a tapestry, they all work together to build up a vibrant picture of a very vital school community. It is this ability to nurture individuality and creativity that makes Church High, in my opinion, such a very special place to ‘live’ and learn.

Our cover artwork reminds us all that no work of art comes together just by magic; it emerges by creative process, piece by piece and stage by stage. Thus, behind the Editor there also stands a very hard-working Year 12 ‘magazine team’, who helped to make the creation of this year’s magazine so much fun. Thanks must also go to Mrs Grundy for creating a niche for our ‘voices’ in the School’s publications suite and to Mrs Gatenby for both her faith in my editorial vision and her enthusiastic support of all things creative at Church High.

Shaping the highlights of this busy and eventful year into Voices 2009-2010, I was reminded of the wise words of fashion designer, Betty Jackson : “Don’t forget to work. If you stop working then you stop the flow of ideas. Work is amazingly regenerative. It is very important to immerse yourself in something you love.” As this marvellous magazine clearly shows, a great many of you have evidently done just that this year. Voices could not have taken shape without the time, thought and effort of all who

contributed, whatever the medium, students and staff alike. Thank You!

Miss C Chapman, Editor

Whatever the medium of choice – word, colour, sound or action

Artist at Work

As an Arts student, the process of creativity has always been an interesting and vital area to me – and also one that puzzles me constantly. To humour this interest, over the course of this

past year I have used photography to document the progress of two projects in possibly my most creative subject, Art. The pieces were based on the images of a rabbit and a tiger – the latter now featuring on the front and back covers of this year’s school magazine.

The processes I used to create these two pieces were very different, however. The tiger was a fairly straight-forward ‘grid-up’ from secondary source material, as the back-cover image clearly shows, but the rabbit was a more free-reined piece based on imagery I had collected over time on the subject ‘Altering the Scale’. When I was asked by Miss Chapman to explain how a piece of artwork comes together, I felt my abstract rabbit piece offered the most potential for comment as there was a vast difference between the intended result and the finished canvas.

It is hard to describe such a complicated mental process to people inquisitive about the process of painting, so the photographic record of my work progress has proved very beneficial. Indeed, the images may be very surprising to some, as they clearly show that this piece of work was actually originally intended to be a horse diving head first into a

giant pink flower! How the final image eventually took shape is not easy to explain but it was an experimental process very much along the lines of Mary Lou Cook’s quotation on creativity.

Through this project, I have learned a lot about the importance of taking risks and making mistakes when it comes to creative work. The process has involved mud, PVA glue and black paint being poured down onto the canvas, covering-up hours of previous work, and then building the main image back up again. I realised that this was the only way to produce what I first set out to achieve. For me, my favourite part of the final product is the effect I ended up with of a bird in flight fitting perfectly around the face of the ‘unplanned presence’ on the canvas: the rabbit. It is pleasant surprises like this that make risk-taking so worthwhile in creative work, something I’m sure that is true in all creative subjects across the board.

So to all would-be creators, whether they are artists or not, my personal advice would be to experiment, take risks, break rules, make mistakes and, most importantly of all, have fun in everything creative you set out to do.

Abi Buchan, Year 12

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“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun.”Mary Lou Cook


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Voices 01

Church High Prize Giving 2009 was held at The Sage, Gateshead and we were delighted to welcome back former pupil and Alumnae member, Ruth Caleb, as our

Speaker at this most memorable event. Ruth is an Executive Producer in charge of BBC Drama and her most recent play, ‘The Last Days of Lehman Brothers’, went out on BBC1 just the evening before our awards ceremony. Another of Ruth’s productions, ‘A Short Stay in Switzerland’, the true story of a woman who took her own life in a Zurich clinic after being diagnosed with an incurable degenerative disease, had also just been listed for an International Emmy for the acting performance of Julie Walters.

We were very grateful to Ruth for sparing the time in such a busy schedule to travel back up north and help to make this very special evening so enjoyable for all who attended. Her speech was both informative and entertaining as she described her personal and professional trajectory after leaving Church High. Ruth went first to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre and then, deciding to direct rather than act, she became a Floor Manager. She then rapidly progressed through the ranks and in 1979 was awarded an OBE for her services to Drama – a truly inspiring role-model for all young students.

On the evening, parents, staff and pupils from both Church High Senior and Junior Schools celebrated a year of fantastic achievements not only in academic areas but also in the areas of Art, Dance, Drama, Music and Textiles. Our Performing Arts students really made the stage at The Sage their own as the presentation of awards was interspersed with musical interludes and excerpts from last year’s school drama

productions. Over the course of the day, visitors to the building were richly entertained by choral recitals and a fantastic display of artwork and textiles in the foyers and main concourse areas of this most magnificent of buildings. We couldn’t have wished for a better venue to showcase to the North-East the huge wealth of creativity and individuality that is Newcastle Church High School.

Mrs S Timney & Miss C Chapman

On Stage at The Sage:Prize Giving 2009

Over the course of the day, visitors to the building were richly entertained by choral recitals and a fantastic display of artwork and textiles

Assembly Line!Assemblies are an opportunity for the girls to express

their ideas to a small and familiar audience. The most memorable presentations are often those which have

developed naturally from the interests and experiences of those performing them. During Summer Term 2010, both Year 9 tutor-groups based their assemblies on ‘Reality TV’: “Everybody has talent!”

Form 9J adapted the format of the ever-popular talent show to illustrate the importance of confidence and self-belief as well as the role of criticism in developing talent. The full range of acts was showcased: a melodic piece of classical music beautifully performed on piano; an ‘enthusiastic’ dance more appropriate to YouTube and a song reciting the decimal places of π. All the judges were there, as were the dreaded red crosses so familiar to ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ viewers and a conclusion to focus the audience’s minds on the intended message: “Hire or Fire?”

Form 9F followed the theme of ‘The Apprentice’ for their assembly. The audience were all given cards to express their view on the prospective candidates for a job interview. The girls were invited to ‘hire or fire’ based on first impressions and then judge again on further evidence. The point was very clear and thought-provoking, despite the fact that there were a few worrying decisions in the audience about the employability of some of the prospective candidates!

Years 8 & 9 all went away with something to think about - surely the sign of a good assembly. The message was certainly taken on board and I am sure it will be remembered by everyone present that morning.

Mr K Jones, 9J Form Teacher 05

The girls were invited to ‘hire or fire’ based on first impressions and then judge again on further evidence.


Year 10 Celebrity Portraits

BrightLife Books: Young Enterprise Scheme

In early September, sixth-form students were invited to take part in the Young Enterprise scheme requiring them to set

up and run their own company providing either a service or a product to the public. Interest was huge with over 20 girls signing up for this mammoth task. Right away the group addressed the need to allocate key roles to ensure the company would run as effectively as possible. Lucy Topham and Francesca Thornton were duly elected Joint Managing Directors but an initial lack of original ideas meant everyone had to get their thinking caps on.

Long meetings, market research and many sleepless nights eventually delivered a product and a company name. ‘BrightLife Books’ would write, illustrate and publish educational books for children, a healthy lifestyle and the environment being the main areas of focus. Education was at the forefront of our ethos, so we decided to provide non-profit making workshops to local primary schools to inform children about key issues concerning the world around them. To this end, we came up with three main characters ‘Sunny the Sunflower’, ‘Ronny the Runner Bean’ and ‘Woody the Woodworm’ who would lead children every

step of the way and be the face of our company. As with every new company, we needed a brand image so the BrightLife logo was designed and the company motto, “Live the right life, live the BrightLife”, was developed to embody our ethos. The concept of value-added was central to our educational aims, so complementary gifts with each book and free educational workshops for local primary schools also underpinned our offer.

We felt there was no better time than the Church High Christmas Fair for BrightLife Books to launch our products to the public. What a great opportunity to show our biggest supporters - family, friends, teachers, students and shareholders - exactly what we had been busy working on for so long. So it was with great anticipation that we set up the BrightLife stand for the very first time and proudly put on our BrightLife hoodies in preparation for the big day. After many hours of chatting with interested parents and smiling with a genuine enthusiasm for our products, the day drew to a close and the BrightLife equipment was put in storage. But, it wouldn’t stay there for long.

Word had spread and we were soon invited to other events, but we all felt it was now time

to launch BrightLife Books into the broader public eye. As with all new books, we clearly needed a ‘book launch’ and at that point in time we were approached by Seven Stories Centre for Children’s Books in Ouseburn with an opportunity to showcase our products. So in early January, the BrightLife team and Church High preparatory girls boarded a coach to Seven Stories to embark on what turned out to be the day which properly launched BrightLife Books. Several articles in the Newcastle Journal and Chronicle later, we found ourselves at the forefront of public relations. This undoubtedly prepared the way for our victory in the Area Finals where we beat tough competition from RGS, Central High, Westfield and other local schools to secure a place in the North East Regional Finals.

The short space of time between the two finals meant there was no rest for BrightLife girls and we knew to stand any chance of winning, we were going to have to work harder than ever before. The Sales Team were under pressure to boost selling opportunities, Marketing had to continue pushing the brand image and Operations spent hours with their scissors constructing ‘Sunny the Sunflower’ canes.

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Voices 01

RON

NY

THE RUNNER BEAN

RON

NY

THE RUNNER BEAN

SUNNY THE SUNFLO

WER

SUNNY THE SUNFLO

WER


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The day of the Regional Finals brought both nerves and anxiety but, en route, good news was received via an email from national bookstore, Waterstones, who seemed to have taken a liking to both ‘Sunny’ and ‘Ronny’ and subsequently placed an order. With very little time to celebrate this exciting news, the ‘core’ Presentation and Judging Interview Team had to get to work in order to squeeze every aspect of our ethos into a five minute presentation and short interview with an intimidating judging panel. Although a huge task, the girls rose to the challenge and after an evening reception at the Gosforth Park Marriot spent displaying the product, networking and presenting in front of 350 North East businessmen and women, BrightLife Books were finally rewarded for their efforts and walked away with ‘North East Company of the Year’. Francesca Thornton, Joint Managing Director, was also awarded the ‘Leadership Award for 2010’. Elated, we posed for photographers, spoke to journalists and after a very long day, finally took off our high heels!

Following our victory, we dominated the front cover of the ‘NE Business’ supplement in The Journal with a large article inviting the North

East to “Meet the Tycoons of the Future”. But success did not end there. When Young Enterprise examination results were received only days later, BrightLife Books were ecstatic to learn that over 50% of the company members had received the highest possible grade with Distinction. It has been quite a year!

As the summer holidays loomed, however, an air of sadness fell over BrightLife meetings – it was nearly time to dissolve the company. One last challenge remained though, a journey to the Capital for three days to compete in the National Final, representing the North East of England and more importantly, Church High School. This was a huge honour and a fitting end to our company year. You can still follow the BrightLife progress at www.wix.com/brightlifebooks/brightlife-books however and remember, it is still not too late to order your copy of ‘Sunny’ or ‘Ronny’ at [email protected]

Rebecca Hastie and Francesca Thornton, Year 12

Long meetings, market research and many sleepless nights eventually delivered a product and a company name.

C hurch High has now been involved with the Open University for several years encouraging sixth-

form students to work on OU modules alongside their A level studies via the Young Applicants in Schools and Colleges Scheme (YASS). This scheme makes it possible for more able students to extend their subject knowledge to university level with a view to helping them become confident independent learners and setting them apart from other students when making UCAS applications to universities. Because of our link with the OU, Margaret Chaytor, National Schools Co-ordinator for YASS, has visited school on three occasions during the past academic year to promote these self-funded extension courses to sixth-form students and respond to any queries.

Last year, two AS level English students, Harriet Johnston and Kate Thompson, decided to participate in this challenging and exciting scheme. Following the successful completion of their Open University Level 1 course ‘Start

Writing Fiction’ in 2008-2009, both girls felt so enthused that they decided to continue studying with the OU alongside their A2 level English modules in Year 13 this year. Their initial successful foray into higher-level study in Year 12 was most commendable, as it demands great personal motivation and organisation to study independently whilst also following main-stream academic courses. However, the girls deserve huge credit for successfully sustaining a programme of dual-level study for a second year. Their more recent success in Year 13, with Harriet completing another Open University Level 1 module ‘Shakespeare: an introduction’ and Kate the Level 1 course ‘Start Writing Plays’, means they will be the first students to leave Church High for higher education with not one but two Open University units already under their belts - a tremendous academic achievement.

Since then, the English Open University ‘baton’ has been taken up by the next intake of Year 12 AS level students and it is Megan Lewis and Laura Stuart who now deserve our warm congratulations for successfully

passing the same Level 1 course ‘Start Writing Fiction’. This particular course is ideally suited to complement the creative writing elements of the Edexcel AS level English Language and Literature syllabus. The English students who undertake this dual-level study work under the guidance of their ‘mentor’, Miss Chapman, herself a past student of this course. This year, a further opportunity for extension study was also offered to the OU English students in April when they were invited to meet Fiona Evans, a member of the BBC Writer’s Academy, to discuss writing as a profession. Very well done to all of them!

Further information about YASS courses in all subject areas is available to girls in the school Learning Resources Centre and on the Open University website: www.openuniversity.co.uk/yass. Mrs Oliver is also happy to enrol new sixth-form students with the Open University in the 2010-2011 academic year. Good Luck!

Mrs C Oliver, NCHS OU Co-ordinator

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Open University Extension Study

Harriet Johnston, Megan Lewis, Kate Thompson and Laura Stuart with BBC writer, Fiona Evans

Voices 01


‘The Gentleman’:Open University Fiction

The world does not disappear when you close your eyes. I discovered this at a young age. Once opened again, you still see the same problems. Those in your blind

spot. Those far beneath your exterior. Those in the utter emptiness of your soul.

The gentle tug of time had awoken me on that dry morning. Dry of tears. Dry of hope. Dry of him. I had taken my seat at the front of the cabin, closely protecting myself from things external or unknown. Yet, if what had happened in the past week had taught me anything, it was that it wasn’t the unknown that hurt you most. The things you were oh so familiar with, they were what you had to watch out for.

My eyes closed then. They were closed when the humming of take-off began and when the humming turned into the roar. And now I was wide awake. The world below me seemed so far below. Milky clouds coated the globe like a downy duvet and I couldn’t help wondering if the world looked like this before we ruined it. It looked gentle enough to dive down into without causing any harm. Nature was all you could see from this point to the horizon. But the world was still there...wasn’t it?

A single tear slid down my cheek, fumbling its way down through the imperfections. The man next to me stirred and rolled over, his body straight and correct. I leaned a little further away, towards the window. He couldn’t have been much older than my father, but his hair was greying at the sides into an elegant silver. His body seemed too large for the seat he was confined in and from what I could see beneath the blanket, he was wearing a faded black suit. The result was strangely calming.

The man shuffled again, as if he sensed I was looking at him. I

quickly turned back to the world of white, ashamed and a little nervous. We sat there for a moment, two complete strangers with nothing in common, no history, no future beyond this moment. Two people who knew nothing of each other. It was only far later that we began to speak, an air of relaxation settling between us. His ability to calm me attracted me to him.

“I didn’t mean to...I wasn’t...”, I began. I took a deep breath, my finger tracing the edges of the empty plastic cup, “I wasn’t staring at you.”

He reacted slowly, removing his glasses from his nose and folding them into his pocket. He turned to me then and the smile spread to his eyes, which were a sparkling blue, exaggerated by long, eyelashes.

“I realised that. But thank you.” He spoke quietly in consideration of others packed around us, a crowd of the lonely. “I see you’re reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe?”

I blushed, nibbling at my lips tentatively.

“Yes, I suppose…I’m a little behind the times,” I smiled, checking his eyes for any mockery within them. I could see nothing, only honesty and truth. “I’m sort of reading it in memory of someone.”

“Ah, I see,” the man sighed and crossed his hands over his lap. “I’m very sorry to hear that.”

I attempted a smile in appreciation of his kindness, yet could feel my face crumpling into a pained grimace. Clearly sensing my grief, he nodded as though to himself and shuffled a little further down into his seat.

“It was my brother’s favourite book.” I gazed down at the cover, running my nails along the worn pages. “He always said he wanted me to read it. Now...I just feel like it’s the right thing to do.”

“How did he ’pass’?” the man asked, his accent undetectable, his manner so peaceful.

“He...” I could barely control the tremors running through my voice, as though an earthquake was shaking my very foundations. It was not. The disaster had already occurred. “He was out buying cheese....we were hosting this cheese and wine evening at our flat and he just...he was in this garage...we don’t live in a particularly nice area...this guy came in...and...and...Matthew tried to stop him….”

The man reached across and touched my arm with his rough hands; my own were shaking from emotion. My eyes had welled up: pain for myself at my loss and pain for Matthew. He had died, alone and cold in an aisle of a garage, next to the hard-boiled sweets and tacky men’s magazines. He had died alone. I hadn’t been there. I couldn’t even remember the last words I said to him.

“He’ll be safe now,” the gentleman said, his eyes attempting to hold mine but I just couldn’t. I had expected a blustery response, perhaps a quick ‘I’m sorry’. Instead, he was staring at me so truthfully, so genuinely sorry. He nodded, as though confirming what he had just said.

“Thank you”, I smiled. My eyes closed and I felt this feeling deep in my stomach, a feeling that I had not felt for years. It was that feeling you get on the first day of a school holiday...that excitement, that happiness and calm of knowing that ahead of you there is no stress, no troubles. Just...peace.

Harriet Johnston, Year 13

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Rachael Stein, Year 13

Charity Fundraising 2009-2010

We made a fantastic start to our charity fundraising in the Autumn Term when our ‘Start of Year Communion Service’ raised £112.92 for the Sir Bobby Robson

Foundation. We then turned our efforts to a Big Stir Coffee Morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support, organised by Mrs Timney, Mrs Thew and Year 7. The whole school was invited to this event and we were joined by many parents and friends. The morning raised £680.23 from the sale of coffee, cakes and sweets rising to a grand total of £997.23 when donations and Gift Aid were included. This is £300 more than we raised last year, a great result! Later in the term, we all wore something pink to raise a fantastic £292.00 for Breast Cancer Research and donated our Harvest Festival produce to The People’s Kitchen.

During the Autumn Term, girls were also involved in the annual shoebox appeal for Operation Christmas Child, a project committed to bringing joy to those children much less fortunate around the world. Thanks to those who participated, we were able to collect a fantastic 78 boxes. Next, a Children in Need Sweet and Cake Sale was held on November 20th. Year 10 girls were very industrious in making up 200 bags of ‘pick-‘n-mix’ sweets for the sale and also provided delicious cakes to tempt us into donating a total of £121.73 for this cause. The whole school became involved in fundraising for the people of Haiti when their country was hit by a devastating earthquake. To help the Haitian people, Church High held both a coffee morning and a Non-uniform Day. Thanks go to Miss Bailey, Mrs Chambers and their Geography students who organised the coffee morning. With the addition of money raised by everyone wearing the red and blue colours of the Haitian Flag that day, the grand total for our Haiti fundraising was an impressive £778.45.

A Disney-themed ‘For One Night Only’ performance was the musical highlight of our Spring Term fundraising. The £40 raised from the bar went to the charity Médecins Sans Frontières which provides medical aid in crisis situations, armed conflicts and natural disasters to impoverished areas such as Central Africa. Our Easter Service collection raised £240.53 for Macmillan Nurses.

The Summer Term Non-uniform Day raised £258.70 for the Holocaust Education Trust and in May, Church High girls and staff participated in the Greggs’ Cancer Run at Gosforth Park Racecourse in aid of the RVI Cancer Research Unit. This was the 28th year of the run and Church High raised a total of £500.00 in sponsorship. Towards the end of the year, St James’ Park was the venue for the annual Sixth Form Leavers’ Ball and this year’s raffle proceeds were donated to ‘Charlie Bear for Cancer Care’, a local charity based at the Freeman Hospital. The Church High charity year finally came full-circle in July at St George’s Church when The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation once again benefitted from our ‘End of Year Service’ collection.

In total, over the course of this academic year Church High has raised a grand total of £3,300 for charity. A tremendous total. Well done to all.

Ayesha Ali, Year 13

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Voices 01

“Church High has raised a grand total

of £3,300 for charity”

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Catering and Ballet Shoes: The Duke of Edinburgh Award

The Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme requires all participants to complete three months of a chosen skill, physical

activity and service. In Year 10 we completed a First Aid training course for our skill which taught us how to treat injuries from the simplest of bandages to ‘mouth to mouth resuscitation’. My physical activity consisted of me continuing with two dancing lessons a week. The ‘Service’ choice however was entirely optional and simply required us to do an hour of work which benefited the public once a week.

The week following our first Duke of Edinburgh meeting I had approached numerous charity shops and a hospice but, despite the speed of my applications, sadly there were no jobs available. Time passed and I was faced with a dilemma. In order to complete my service before the end of the school year I would need to act fast. The urgency of my situation was underlined by the fact that my friends were already doing services such as assisting with mini tennis and helping in animal shelters.

On the way home one day, as my mind turned again to the looming deadline, I happened to pass the newly- built Trinity Church café on Gosforth High Street. After attending the previous Christmas service at the Trinity, I knew the people were welcoming and friendly

and so a close friend and I applied to work voluntarily in the café. The job required my friend and I to work for just one hour a week serving food and assisting elderly people.

But it’s strange how in life one thing often leads on to another. During a conversation with the Head of Catering at Trinity Church café I just happened to mention dancing, an interest I had pursued since the age of three, gaining up to Grade Seven. Coincidentally she mentioned there was a dance school which held classes within one of the many halls attached to the church. After observing only one lesson for the youngest class, ages 3-4, I completely fell in love with the friendly atmosphere and was totally inspired by the skills the toddlers gained from just one class. I explained to the principle teacher what was needed to complete Duke of Edinburgh and my previous experience in dance and she instantly offered me a job as an assistant dance teacher.

Working with such young children was really refreshing and I myself gained new skills in how to project authority and patience. I was really surprised to see how eager such young children were to learn and try new activities. It also became apparent that my affection for the children was mutual as I found myself with twenty children competing to hold my hand at the same time. A very tricky skill indeed! I

soon became familiar with the many dynamic little characters in the class and their individual responses to different techniques.

Very quickly my Saturday job became my hobby and I simply wanted to spend more and more time with the children. The dance teacher soon noticed my confidence and as my knowledge of the syllabus increased, she gave me the freedom to take full control of the lesson. Being able to share with others my experience of the techniques used in dancing really took me back to basics and in turn helped me to approach my own dancing in a new way.

Three months passed in no time at all and I still continue to teach there. I have gained nearly forty new young friends who I feel great loyalty towards and am currently teaching between my exams and other activities. Soon I will be invigilating during the ballet exams which the children have been working towards over the year. I am very grateful that the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme required me to offer a service which not only teaches children valuable skills but has also allowed me to extend my own education and knowledge. It has certainly opened my mind to the possibilities of teaching in the future and could provide me with the experience which might enable me to pursue a truly inspirational career.

Amy McKenzie, Year 10

totally inspired by the skills the toddlers gained from just one class


I first realized I was one of the 40 finalists for Face of 2010 when Dad rang me and said I was in the newspaper. At first I didn’t believe him, however after rushing to the nearest shop to buy

the Sunderland Echo, I did indeed see my own face there amongst the other finalists. I was shocked but extremely excited. The Judges had cut the entrants down to 40 and due to the sheer number of entrants, they had decided to crown both a King and Queen of the Catwalk. Reading the article, I learned that my fate as a ‘Top 12 Finalist’ lay in the hands of a public vote and after a whirlwind few weeks, I finally received that phone call: I had made it to the Finals at the Stadium of Light where I would strut down the catwalk.

We were instructed to bring both a day and evening outfit to the Final. Although thrilled to be there, I had no idea what to wear. I even hired a personal shopper and she took me to the changing rooms where I waited whilst she ran round finding a range of clothes, shoes and accessories I might like but, with only one day left, I still hadn’t found even one outfit. Then at last I came across a gorgeous, long, purple Maxi-dress. After trying on countless dresses, for my casual outfit I finally decided to ‘go’ relaxed in a blouse, jeans and heels. I was still worried about what I’d chosen though: would all other girls have the same taste or would they be wearing party dresses for their evening outfit? In the end, I just decided to be unique and try to stand out, after all, everybody’s taste is different.

Once at the stadium, I was very apprehensive but, because I knew I had friends and family there supporting me, I began to relax. Upon arrival, I was shown to the dressing room where I met the rest of the finalists, only two of whom were males; this meant I had even more girls to compete against to take the ‘crown’. I’d heard stories of how competitive the other finalists might be but was surprised to see they were all really friendly. We were all taken through a sort of ‘Catwalk

Bootcamp’ before the guests arrived where we were shown how to walk properly by a professional model from the agency.

Actually walking on the catwalk for the first time was truly amazing and the screams and shouts from the audience gave me such a thrill that I couldn’t wait to get back on for my next turn. After both our casual and evening walk, we each spoke to the judges who asked us about our experience in the competition so far. I was asked how I had prepared my hair and why I’d chosen to wear a Maxi, being the only person in the competition to do so. We were then filmed and interviewed for the competition web page.

The very next day at school, I got a phone call telling me that I had won. A Newcastle Church High girl was now the Face of Sunderland 2010 (Female). I was delighted! Winning the competition meant I now had an exclusive one year contract with Tyne Tees Models, a £800 photograph portfolio with David Lawson Studios, a £150 styling session at Eleven and free hair and beauty treatment for one year. I was also informed that the male winner and I were to attend our first photo-shoot together for the front page and a two-page centre-spread of that Monday’s Sunderland Echo. That day, walking through the park with cameras flashing around us felt amazing, so I was really looking forward to my portfolio photo-shoot with David Lawson.

My next treat was my visit to the Eleven store where I was brought fabulous gowns to try on, £150 of the ticket-price being met by the agency. I left happy with four dresses and a lovely cardigan and the following week, I was booked into the Salon where I had four people styling my hair. I felt really famous! Once in the actual studio, my photographer, Lee, was great and I didn’t want the experience to end. I lay all the outfits around the dressing room and Lee chose the clothes for each shot. Whilst I got ready, he set up the studio to match my outfits: he had such amazing ideas!

A few weeks after my photo-shoot, I was duly amazed to see my face spread over another two pages of the local paper but it doesn’t all end there. This summer, I will attend a meeting at the agency where they will help me choose the right photos for my portfolio and sit down to discuss my modeling contract with me. I have loved every moment of modeling so far and cannot wait to continue with it in the future.

Rachael Kandola, Year 12

The Face of Sunderland 2010

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Dyslexia: a problem or a gift?

What is dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a learning disability that impairs a person’s ability to read and which can manifest itself as a difficulty

with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short term memory and/or rapid naming.

The majority of dyslexics find it hard to read written text due to:

• letters/words appearing to be blurred

• letters appearing to move around, shimmer or shake

• words or letters appearing to break into two

• having difficulty with tracking across the page

• experiencing glare on the page or oversensitivity to bright lights

This is an example of what dyslexics may see whilst trying to read.

However, although these factors of dyslexia can create difficulty for students, there are many areas of achievement where dyslexics also seem to do very well such as Art, Architecture, Electronics, Entertainment, Engineering, Physics and Sports.

What is creativity?Creativity is the ability to generate innovative ideas and manifest them from thought into reality.

Why do dyslexia and creativity seem to go together? Dyslexics tend to be very creative people. They possess a heightened ability to ‘think outside of the box’ which can bring an ‘added benefit’ to many areas of life. An example of this is a company based in Birmingham which actively prefers to employ dyslexics for this very reason. Dyslexics tend to be lateral thinkers and are able to come up with unusual solutions to problems. This can be a very useful skill as a different viewpoint is often needed to solve complex problems. For example, how many uses can you think of for an elastic band? Lateral thinkers will be able to come up with lots of different solutions

Personal Viewpoint: Georgia Stanley, Year 10Finding out I was dyslexic at seven, I cried because I didn’t understand what it was. Now I understand it more. Dyslexia may seem to be a problem to many people but I now see it as a gift. This is because it has brought out a side of me which loves being able to ‘block out’ my brain and just do what I feel. For example, I do Art, Dance and play musical instruments such as the drums; this is my way of expressing myself creatively. I have been dancing since I was two and have never let it leave my life since. When I dance, I don’t think about anything, including what I am actually doing, I just let the body do what it does. This gives me the opportunity to do something without thinking, unlike say English or Science; it enables me to let my body do the talking for once. Dance and movement have also been a great inspiration for my artwork too.

Personal Viewpoint: Laura Stuart, Year 13Many people believe that dyslexia is a flaw and as one of my mother’s best friends so eloquently put it “a mental problem”. However, along with many others who suffer this condition, I would be very happy to contest this view. Dyslexia comes in hundreds of different forms and no one sufferer will have the same issues as another. I personally struggle with graph reading and spelling but reading has never been a barrier for me, whereas for many dyslexics I know it can hinder their learning experience. My condition is therefore reasonably mild and I really enjoy creative writing, indeed so much so that I have even been studying it at Open University level this year. Whilst I acknowledge that you sometimes have to accept and remind yourself of your weaknesses and limits, in my experience dyslexia has never stopped me achieving what I set out to do. In fact quite the opposite. It has actually helped me. Dyslexia gives people an added ability to express themselves creatively without using written words, which can be a major confidence boost for some. In fact, my dyslexia has worked only to my advantage and for that I am truly grateful.

Main article and dance-inspired GCSE artwork by Georgia Stanley, Year 10

“Dance and movement have been a great inspiration in

my artwork”

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Spellbound by Spellhorn: Berlie Doherty Visits Church High

In March 2010, renowned children’s author Berlie Doherty visited our school to conduct a reading and writing workshop

with Year 7. Berlie has had her work published in twenty-one different languages and is now the Reading Champion for Derbyshire; she regularly travels the world, visiting different schools. How lucky we were to have her visit Church High!

That morning, Berlie gave us all an English lesson with a difference. We had been recently reading one of her books, Spellhorn, in class and the workshop provided us with the opportunity to ask Berlie how she got her inspiration for the idea of the story, a question which she answered obligingly. First of all, however, Berlie started by telling us all about herself. We learnt how she grew up on a farm and also learnt that this was where she started writing - by hand, her own particular preference. We learnt how she wrote down all her stories and ideas in a big A4 notebook for later use and she also told us how she spent her very first pay cheque when her first book was published. We were most interested to hear the answer.

Berlie’s story began in Liverpool in 1943. The youngest of three children, she was four years old when her family moved to the seaside town of Hoylake, the setting of several of her early books. She explained how her father had encouraged her to write and how she rose to the challenge, later reading English at the

University of Durham. After employment as a social worker and teacher, Berlie then spent two years writing and producing children’s programmes for BBC Radio Sheffield. Her first book, the children’s novel How Green You Are! was published in 1982 and her novels have been published in 21 different

languages. Berlie became a full-time writer in 1983 and has written over thirty novels in total, as well as picture books for children and young adults. According to the novelist Phillip Pullman, “Doherty’s strength has always been her emotional honesty.”

Her novel Spellhorn (1989) uses a fantasy setting to explore the experience of blindness. As the main heroine of the novel, Laura, is blind, Berlie’s

research for Spellhorn included extensive work with a group of blind children from a school in Sheffield. Laura’s blindness is suddenly lifted after a house fire when Spellhorn, a unicorn, and the Wild Ones come into her life. It was here that we began our workshop. Our focus was poetry and, to start with, we were all asked to work on some ‘Kennings’. A kenning is the name of a certain object, made by joining two words together, for example, ‘Swan’ could be ‘Featherswim’! We learned that this was the basis of the language of ‘Wild Ones’ and found this exercise really fun to do. Berlie had also brought some of her most popular books with her and we all had the opportunity to buy a signed copy of her work.

It was very inspiring hearing about her writing career and we definitely benefited from the afternoon we spent with Berlie. We were also very pleased to learn afterwards what she said about us in a press release: “The girls have been absolutely fantastic, very attentive and receptive throughout the session. The girls at Church High are also clearly very imaginative as I was asked a question no one in all my 28 years of writing has asked me. I was asked what I spent my first earnings as a writer on; bizarrely it was a lampshade which I still have today!”

At the end of the day, we were all extremely sad to see Berlie go.

Katie Donnelly, Emma Mills, Lottie Pedley, Holly Prudham and Olivia Walker, Year 7

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The Nightof the Fire

I woke up to the bitter smell of smoke and the sound of sizzling and crackling. I jumped out of bed and pushed my bedroom door open. Smoke was unfolding as it twisted up the staircase. The fire was incandescent light. I saw the serpentine flames dance at the bottom of the stairs. Screams of horror were coming from my sister’s bedroom.

I frantically picked her up and took her to a place where the ferocious beast could not grab her. The smoke scorched my eyes like hot, blunt needles and stung my throat as I breathed in. The fire slowly stole my precious air as I attempted to escape from this nightmare.

Anna Richardson, Year 7

ColourlessOf all the people, the ones I feel most sorry for

Are the ones that cannot see.

The colours that they lack Living their lives always in black

Never to see the sun in the bright blue sky The green green fields and a river running by

Bright red roses, deep blue sea I can’t imagine being unable to see.

The colours of the rainbow must always be grey

Never to be glimpsed at the light of day.

But most of all, the biggest miss, The one thing I love to see is this:

The thing that makes me beam Are happy faces and smiles that gleam.

Millie Preston, Year 7

Here at Church High we believe in supporting every girl to ensure that everyone achieves their full potential. Our mentoring system partners girls from Years 8 and 9 who

are struggling with some aspect of school life with a Year 12 girl with similar interests or experiences who is willing to help with any problem. The girls who take part in the system have a variety of needs ranging from dyslexia to problems relating with people or lack of organizational skills. The system benefits both the older and younger girls, giving the Year 12 girl a taste of responsibility and the younger girl a chance to learn from and make friends with an older girl. Mainly the mentors meet on a Monday morning but if they want to, they can also go for lunch together or meet up during free lessons.

Below are two different viewpoints on how the system actually works:

Laura:My protégé Eleanor and I have taken part in both Monday morning sessions and lunches throughout the year and it’s been great for me to get to know her. Eleanor and I are both dyslexic and although my condition is more mild than Eleanor’s, it’s been good to be able to show her how you can cope with the condition no matter how bad it gets. It’s really important to think positively and remember that there are always activities in school where you don’t need words to express yourself. The mentoring system has really helped me to understand this and has also enabled me to pass the knowledge on to others. I hope that the system continues to the benefit of other girls in the future.

Eleanor:What I really enjoy about the mentoring system is the fact that our mentors are not just there to help with work, they are more like friends. They’re always around school, so if you have any problem eg. with clashing work deadlines for different teachers, they can help you sort it out. They can also give you extra help being someone who has done it all before and who is happy to give up their own time to help. And, as an added bonus, they also know all of the gossip and have the best funny stories. It’s made me want to be a mentor myself and help other younger girls in the same way when I’m older too.

Laura Stuart, Year 12, and Eleanor Thompson, Year 8

PupilMentoring

‘Boys on Film’:A Level Film Studies

This year, 3 boys from Newcastle School for Boys joined the AS level Film Studies group at Church High.

We came with little knowledge of what the course entailed but found it to be both an interesting and creative subject as we studied a wide range of topics from ‘British Horror’ to ‘Film Noir’.

One practical aspect of the course came to fascinate us in particular : the Creative Project entailing the production of either a short film or photo story-board. Its main purpose was to enable students to show knowledge of filmic micro features (performance, sound, cinematography, editing and mise-en-scène [the decor and look of the film]) and how to use them to their full filmic potential. It therefore gave us a chance to be a director, an actor and also gave us an aesthetic appreciation of film as a genre.

When we started our Creative Project, I don’t think any of us were fully aware just how much work goes into creating a film. We were left with lots of questions: What should it be about? Who should I hire as actors? What types of shots and editing cuts should I aim for? And most importantly, where am I even going to film? Luckily we had a lot of guidance from our teachers and worked as a team

to help each other. Also many of the filmic techniques we had studied during the course, such as in Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later, proved to be a great help in inspiring us to be more adventurous with camera angles and editing techniques such as coloured filters.

As time went on, some of the boys became fervently passionate in their work as a director by trying to create optimum emotion and atmosphere. Jamie Mongan stated that he “wanted the film to be filled with pain and misfortune” and the main way he could show the characters’ pain was through emotive ‘performance’. During the shooting of his film, he became a skilled director, moulding and shaping his actors in their performance. We all had an image in our head of what we wanted, what would make the perfect film, but we all still had to find ways to portray this image to our actors.

The focus of my project was a completely different micro feature, namely ‘Mise-en- scène’. This element was primarily focused on the general atmosphere given to shots through such things as light, costume and decor. I was inspired by the famous ‘Film Noir’ style of filming, often set in dark areas with chiaroscuro shadows, after having studied Noir films such as Double Indemnity and The Last Seduction.

I also researched intensively how the atmosphere of a shot can portray characters’ emotions.

After we had all passed the first hurdle of actually shooting our scenes, we were left with the task of editing and ‘tweaking’ our films. Although we didn’t have any ‘fancy’ Hollywood effects, Church High still had very useful editing software which meant we could push our films’ concepts to their full potential. Jamie Mongan managed to create a very impressive and touchingly sensitive ending to his film How Not to Love, where his main character is run over by a car, thus showing his knowledge of using the editing software in conjunction with his creative thinking.

After this long process, we were all left with impressive pieces of work, gaining us full marks, which we were very excited and pleased about. The whole experience of creating a film was a shock to us whilst at the same time also very exciting. The subject of Film Studies itself proved to be both interesting and enjoyable and has left these 3 students at least with a real craving to get straight back behind that camera for our A2 course-work next year.

Tom Evans, Year 12

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Excerpts from Tom Evans’ storyboard:

Shot Number & Duration Shot Shot Type Action/Dialogue/Sound

Shot 1 (3 secs) Low Angle, Male character holds the door Medium Shot for his partner on their way out. The diegetic sound of the car door and people laughing.

The non-diegetic sound of easy listening, late 1950’s music.

Shot 8 (3 secs) Low Angle, Here we see the man proposing Over-the-Shoulder shot to the woman with the ring he was looking at before. We can instantly see from her facial expression she’s unsure.

The sound stops; the restaurant becomes quiet.

Shot 25 (4 secs) Close-up We now see he is in the same room as the girl. We see her in the background beside the man’s knife. We are now sure what he is going to do. In the background the music playing is happy-sounding, contrasting with the act about to be done.

A2 Small-Scale Research Project

Changing messages and values as represented in The British Gangster Film from ‘Brighton Rock’ to ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’.

Libby Jensen, Year 13

I recently played tennis with Paul Gasgoine. Well,

actually, I played tennis with an actor who was playing the part of Paul Gasgoigne as he stayed at a hotel in Italy before the World Cup in

1990. And no, we weren’t in Italy, we were in Gateshead at 7.00am one freezing cold morning with the frost lying thick on the tennis courts around us. I have performed on stage since I was 4 and have always wanted to take part in productions, train as a dancer and study Dance at university, so when I saw this advertisement to be a film extra, I applied straight away.

I knew the film was about the build up to the World Cup in 1990 and that it would end with the famous game where Gazza cried as the English team lost. I was told I might be in a scene involving dancing in a night club, but then they needed a young girl to play tennis and asked if I could do this instead. I jumped at the chance.

So that was how I ended up arriving on ‘set’ – in reality a sports centre in Gateshead – at 6.30am in the morning. The film crew were already setting up the cameras and the tracks via which the game would be filmed. Lights were then set up to create the effect of Italian sunshine and there wereTV monitors all around so that the director could follow exactly what the camera was recording. I found this fascinating and learnt a lot about how films and television productions are made that day.

On arrival, I was taken to Wardrobe where I was fitted out with a selection of 1990s style sporting ‘gear’: some skimpy salmon-pink shorts, a teeshirt and blue sweat-shirt. I couldn’t even wear my own trainers; even they had to be exactly of the era. Topped off with a sun visor and grasping an old style tennis racket, I was then escorted to makeup. Even though I wasn’t going to be ‘in shot’ very much, it was still very important that I looked the part. My hair was scraped back into a pony tail as I was made up to look like a ‘Fresh, Young American Tourist’. My partner was to be a ‘Young, Male American Tourist’. Whilst in makeup, I noticed that the man who played Gazza really did look like him. He too was fully-kitted out in 1990s style sportswear and period-style trainers. However, unfortunately

for him, as Wardrobe could only supply a pair 2 sizes too small, the poor man was almost crying with pain by the end of our tennis match.

The director then came to give us our brief. We were to play a game of tennis, keeping the ball going backwards and forwards; this wasn’t Wimbledon, just a friendly game, he said! And on cue, like you see in the movies, the director really did shout ‘Action!’ and so we began to play tennis running up and down, backwards and forwards. Throughout, the camera was focused only on our feet and legs and I was very aware of it rolling back and forwards on the track along the line of the net. The director’s eyes remained glued to his monitor.

By the time we were allowed to stop, I was so cold my legs were blue. One of the crew got me a raincoat and a hot water bottle to try and warm me up. The crew were all wearing thermals and puffa jackets. When the director decided he had all the footage he needed, we all went inside. And, yes, he really did say ‘Cut’ too! This had all taken about 2 hours, although on screen the action actually lasts only about 20 seconds! But, if you look out for the blue ‘blurr’ and the girl’s legs in the tennis scene when you watch the film, that definitely is ME!

What was most fascinating about the day, however, was how much I learned about the filming process by watching them all at work. It was a small team but there were still a lot of people involved: director, electricians, camera-men, props, wardrobe and countless drivers to transport everyone and all the equipment. And, of course, people to organise tea, coffee and breakfasts for the actors and crew. Food is very important if you are waiting around for hours, especially in the cold. Behind the scenes, there was also the location manager who found the centre and arranged for us to use it and a casting director selecting all the extras by reviewing photos to match the person to the part. No matter how small the part, it all had to look right.

My Casting Director, Mrs Fox Lansley, was happy to be interviewed to give an idea of what it is like to work in film and television.

“‘One Night in Turin’ was released on 11 May 2010 with a charity premiere in aid of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and a live link-up with the Odeon Cinema at Gateshead Metrocentre, featuring a question and answer session with Erskine Davies and members of the England Italia ‘90 squad. I went to see the film at The Gate, where it was sold out. It would then go on to screen in 70 cinemas with a DVD to follow.

“The film is a docu-drama based on ‘All Played Out’, the book by Pete Davies. It follows Paul Gascoigne, Chris Waddle and the late Sir Bobby Robson during the Italia ‘90’ World Cup, charting the change in English football from a sport associated with hooliganism played in run-down stadiums to today’s multibillion pound industry. The film is narrated by Gary Oldman, of ‘Harry Potter’ Sirius Black fame. It inter-cuts real match footage with the acted parts so well you cannot see the difference.

“In the build up to this year’s World Cup, I know it’s going to be a popular film and it shows the North East in a very good light. That England team included three players from the North-East: Paul Gascoigne, Trevor Steven and Bryan Robson; three goals were scored by players from the North-East; the team was captained by a man from the North-East and managed by one too. The film has also really captured the importance of Paul Gascoigne’s role too, not just in getting us to the semi-final, but in changing how everyone saw English football. It’s very emotional when he cries. The film now also has an added importance being released less than a year after the sad death of Sir Bobby Robson”.

I am very pleased that I was able to be involved in such a film, even if only as an extra. It has given me some real experience of the industry where I may yet work. I have been very fortunate to view ‘behind the scenes’ of the film world first-hand and now have a much better understanding of how days become minutes and hours become seconds on that big ‘Silver Screen’.

Camilla Dowling, Year 12

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‘One Night in Turin’: A Film Extra’s Story

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An Afternoon With Fiona Evans, BBC Writers Academy

Never in my wildest dreams did I believe I would ever get an opportunity to talk to a working playwright, never-mind have one interviewing me as research for a play-in-progress. But

here I was sitting in the LRC Careers Room with 5 other classmates waiting for BBC scriptwriter and playwright Fiona Evans to arrive. All we knew was that Fiona had been invited to Church High by Miss Chapman to meet some 15 year-old Independent schoolgirls as background research for a character in her new play. The character was ‘Ruby’ and the play, ‘The Price of Everything’, was commissioned by The Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.

The 6 of us were bubbling with excitement but we needn’t have worried. Fiona was so down-to-earth and genuine that she made you feel at home in an instant. As soon as she entered the room any nerves were quelled by the aura of happiness she seemed to radiate. With a wide grin, she launched immediately into ‘hellos’ and lots of questions about our lives. She initially centred questions on each of us individually, but whether the question was on musical taste, hobbies or even what career path we wished to follow, each reply ended up being a communal effort offered as if we were speaking to a close friend we all had known for years. It wasn’t hard to see why Fiona is such a successful writer ; she has a real gift for words.

The short time we spent with Fiona seemed to slip by in a matter of seconds and at the end we were all reluctant to leave. If anyone was

at all anxious about how much ‘information’ Fiona might actually use, no-one let on; we all just hoped that our answers would help in her quest to make ‘Ruby’ a totally believable 21st Century teenage girl - with a touch of the individuality and independence of mind that comes naturally to a Church High girl, of course!

Personally, I also valued the opportunity to talk to a professional about career paths involving writing as did the other girls present wishing to use English in some way in the future. Any opportunity to learn more about the writing industry first-hand would have been enough to satisfy me, but meeting such a down-to-earth yet clearly very talented person was an unexpected treat. Getting to pose with Fiona for a professional photographer was just the icing on the cake.

Having dreamed of a career in English for a long while now, I found it incredibly useful and inspiring to meet someone who writes for a living and to be able to speak at such lengths was all the more rewarding. It was a fantastic day for all of us and we really enjoyed the experience. Afterwards, we all noted the date of transmission for Fiona’s next episode of Eastenders (that it was a special hour-long feature was all she would tell us!) and all hope to travel to Scarborough in November more than just a little curious to finally meet ‘our’ Ruby’.

Megan Taylor, Year 10

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Year 8 have enjoyed several visits this year as an integral part of their study of the worship and beliefs of the main world religions. In the Autumn Term, Revd Alison Fenton showed

us around St Hilda’s, the sister church to St George’s, Jesmond. She explained the symbolism of not just the main features within the church itself but also of the vestments worn. We also visited the University mosque to further the girls’ understanding of how Muslims express their beliefs through their actions. After listening attentively to Mamoud as he explained the Muslim Faith, girls were fascinated to see and hear the ‘call to prayer’ and then observe the sequence of prayers which is carried out five times each day.

The following term, it was the turn of the Orthodox Synagogue in Gosforth and then, to coincide with our topic of Religious Festivals, the Krishna temple in Newcastle shortly after the Hindu festival of Holi had been celebrated. Finally, on a hot afternoon in June, we visited the Compassion Buddhist Centre in South Gosforth to learn a little about the Buddhist philosophy and the practice of meditation. After the experience of meeting people who observe these diverse faiths face-to-face, girls offer their own thoughts on three of the visits below.

Mrs J Evans

The Buddhist Compassion CentreWhen we first entered the room, we noticed a glass case containing numerous statues of Buddha. This intrigued us into wanting to know more about Buddhist beliefs. We were then introduced to Kelsang Sherab, who told us that his name meant good fortune and wisdom. He seemed very welcoming and open to sharing all his knowledge with us and asked us to think about why we learn about different cultures and religions. He then explained to us that everyone has the potential to be a pure and wise person as they try to remove daily stress out

of their lives. Buddhism, we learned, is about creating a peaceful and relaxed mind. Next we attempted meditation. Throughout the session he repeated “In meditation all consciousness goes to the heart and all awareness goes to the breathing”. Some people found it easy to zone out their lives, however others struggled and could not concentrate properly at all.

We learned that Buddhism started with a Prince who had everything. He soon realized that the people he loved and cared about would age, get sick and die. Unfortunately everyone has to go through these stages in life no matter who you are and he realized that all his possessions would not satisfy him and that there would always be hunger in your mind. This gave us all plenty to think about and we enjoyed our trip to the Compassion centre very much. We think we learned a lot more about their religion and their beliefs by actually seeing and hearing it for ourselves.

Sophie Reed and Annabelle Warwick, Year 8

Places of Worship Visits

We think we learned a lot more about their religion and their beliefs by actually seeing and hearing it for ourselves.

The Hindu TempleWhen we arrived at the Hindu Temple in Newcastle, we were greeted by Kirtida, the head of the Temple. From the outside the Temple just looked like any ordinary house but when we went into the main worship room and sat on little orange mats, we saw that the room was full of beautiful decorations, sculptures and photos. There was a prominent sculpture of the man who created the Temple, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. They put it there to remember him and they plan to keep the sculpture there as long as possible. Kirtida then performed a religious ceremony during which she constantly rang a small bell, which towards the end hurt my ears. At various stages, she picked up 4 different objects: flower, fire, peacock fan and chauri (made from lama hair and used to fan). Before she used each object she sprinkled water on them and cleansed her hands before she touched them.

We then learnt how to put a sari on and we all eventually succeeded in putting on our own! The sari I was wearing was a bright blue colour with a flower pattern. We then all sat down again while she performed a song using

a Tambora which is a long guitar with only four strings. Kirtida next told us about bindies. These are worn to show you are a married woman. We then got to do patterns on each other’s hands and face, which was very enjoyable.

Annabel Ranken, Year 8

The Orthodox Synagogue, GosforthOur tour around the building by Mrs Van Der Veldt included a social meeting place, a kitchen and the synagogue itself. Entering the front door, I had been expecting some sort of Jewish display, however I was surprised to observe that the hall was rather simple. The kitchen was split into two parts for both meat and dairy, which I thought was quite interesting as it showed their religion is very strict. I also learnt that everything they eat in the synagogue has to be eaten under supervision of the Rabbi or bought from the shop situated in the building.

In the actual synagogue, there was a special box which contained the Shema, called the Mezzuzah. The Jews have to touch the Mezzuzah every time they come in and out of the synagogue to show their respect for God.

The men and women have to be separate to stop the men being distracted by the women, so the women sit upstairs and the men sit on the ground floor and only they are involved in the service. In some strict synagogues the women actually have to sit behind a screen so the men can’t see them at all. We also learned that the Rabbis have to be married as they need to have a good understanding of home life and that the Rabbi owns over 39 kippas, which is a lot.

The sacred Torah scrolls were hidden behind a curtain in the ark; they were decorated in silver breastplates and covered in velvet with bells on the trims. We were forbidden from taking pictures here as this would be disrespectful to God. I thought it was interesting to learn that Jewish books are written backwards and that the Jews counted this year as 5570, indicating it is 5570 years since they think the world was created. I enjoyed this trip to the synagogue as it was very educational. I particularly enjoyed actually visiting it rather than just reading about it and really appreciate Mrs Evans organising all these visits for us all.

Katherine Johnson, Year 8

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We then got to do patterns on each other’s hands and face, which was very enjoyable.

On the 10th of February 2010, Church High girls from Year 9 to 10 upwards were waking up excited.

The reason for the excitement was because this was the day these girls were about to set off on a journey of 28 hours. A journey to Prague.

And the coach journey was certainly an experience never to be forgotten. For some pupils, it was actually the best part of the trip. Our main meals on the coach were fast food items, such as McDonalds Happy Meals. We crossed the Channel by a P&O ferry, the ship offering us all many areas of entertainment including an arcade, restaurant and shops. On our arrival in France, we continued the journey by coach.

Once in Prague, we went straight to the hotel. It was beautiful. Our friendship group shared the biggest room in the building but it had its downside: the heater was broken. Our first night there provided one of our best memories because of this. We were so cold we pushed two single beds together and managed to fit all three of us in at once!

On our first day in Prague, after a wonderful breakfast, we went out into the town centre for shopping. We enjoyed the famous Prague waffles and also met with our tour guide for the trip. Her name was Eva and she was very kind.

We enjoyed many different activities whilst in Prague. We went to see the Charles Bridge which had many statues, one of which had its own legend. If you touched it and made a wish, the story said it would come true when you returned to Prague. We all had a ‘go’ and one of our friends wished that all of the birds would fly over us and they did. Very unexpected!

To actually get around Prague, we used many different types of transport such as our coach

and the trams. It was great to explore the city and on one of the days it snowed. These were real snowflakes and so beautiful! They would stick to our coats and slowly melt.

As a choir, we sang lots of different songs including ‘All That Jazz’ and ‘When I’m 64’. Unfortunately, we were not able to sing in St. Patrick’s Church but we did sing in three other churches. We performed better and better each time we sang and, on our final performance, the audience even clapped along with us.

On our final night in Prague, we held a fancy dress party and an Awards Ceremony. Our group of friends dressed up as people from other cultures whilst others dressed up as famous people. At the Awards Ceremony, there were many funny prizes including prizes for ‘Worst Morning Hair’ and ‘Highest Chip Consumption’. It was great fun. Everyone had a wonderful time in Prague and brought back many happy memories with them. We all hope to go on another choir tour very soon.

Miranda Reynolds and Hannah Hall, Year 9

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Choir Tour to Prague 2010

“To actually get around Prague, we used many

different types of transport such as our coach and the trams.”

Voices 01

Studying SpanishWith such exciting culture ranging from flamenco dancers to bull fights, I just knew I

had to study Spanish at A Level. And it’s not just the culture, the language itself has also inspired me too. The phonology of the language and the diverse topic areas we

study have heightened my passion for all things Spanish. Despite having to deal with mind boggling grammar, having to add accents on words and remember spelling changes in the all-too numerous tenses, the atmosphere in lessons has always been pleasurable because of the friendliness of the teachers, Madame Mayhew and Señora Montague, something this school is renowned for.

My understanding of Spanish culture is developing significantly; I now know that Spain has low birth rates and is the only European country that doesn’t have to pay a TV license fee, among other interesting things! Studying the topic of every day culture, I saw the Spanish movie Volver by Pedro Almodóvar, which proved to be very entertaining. This was the first Spanish film I had ever seen and I am definitely going to watch more Spanish movies from now on. My enthusiasm for Spanish was further increased when we visited Northumbria University on the European Day of Languages. It was especially interesting to hear the students reminiscing about their year abroad as part of their language degrees, something I am considering doing in the future. Without a doubt, I have really enjoyed studying Spanish this year and I can’t wait for an opportunity to visit Spain now.

Venus Bhalla, Year 12

The 2010 Spanish trip to Catalonia was the MFL

department’s first visit to Spain and I am happy to report that both pupils and staff enjoyed the visit immensely. Twenty girls (12 Year 7s and 8 Year 9s) accompanied by myself, Mrs Montague and Mrs Temperley flew from Newcastle to Barcelona on the 21st of June.

The excursions worked very well, particularly our visit to the Dali museum at Figueres, which was fascinating and unlike most other museums. We also visited a number of sites in Barcelona itself including Parc Guell to see Gaudi’s work. During our stay, the Catalan festival of San Juan was celebrated which involves building bonfires and watching the local youths jumping over them; the carnival atmosphere was wonderful. We also visited Girona, where our guide took us on a tour of the old city and told us some interesting stories (kissing the lion’s bottom seemed a quaint custom!) and the beautiful coastal villages of Palafrugell and Llafranc.

The trip involved study too, of course, and the girls had a good opportunity to speak the language when we did some market activities in the amazing Boquería food market. We were all absolutely delighted with the way the girls responded to all aspects of this most enjoyable trip, as can be seen from Ami’s own account below:

Mrs B Mayhew

Waving goodbye to our parents at Newcastle Airport, we were far too excited to be sad because we were all looking forward to our journey ahead. The fun began straightaway at Barcelona Airport waiting for our

bags, when everyone found their suitcase but one: Mrs Temperley! Luckily the Year 7s jumped to the rescue and thankfully Alys found the suitcase we were all waiting for.

From our hotel base in Tossa de Mar, we took part in many different day-time activities, visiting a number of museums and art galleries such as the Dali museum (a modern art gallery). I thought this museum was very strange as it was an art gallery too and also a kind of mausoleum: Dali’s body was actually buried near the toilets! We visited some fascinating Spanish markets as well, where we saw lots of delicious Mediterranean fruits and sweets.

But you can’t go to Spain and not enjoy the beaches. They were really beautiful and we all had a great time exploring them. Most of the Year 7s bought snorkels and decided to swim around to find fish and coral. And there was also the water-park; it had so many different slides which we even managed to get some of the teachers on. One particular slide, Slash Mountain, which everyone loved, certainly provided one of the trip’s most memorable moments. When Anna Young and I went to have a go, we got halfway through the slide when all the water stopped and we were stuck! We shouted and shouted until finally the lifeguard arrived and had to cut us out of the tube! Nevertheless, we all had a great time and are really looking forward to the next Modern Foreign Languages trip in 2011.

Ami Ragsdale, Year 7

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Church High in Catalonia

Voices 01

24

House ‘Ready Steady Cook!’Scene OneMiss Hall enters Sixth Form common room

Miss Hall: Have you any ideas for House events you would like to run?

Girls: Wouldn’t it be fun to do a ‘Ready Steady Cook’ challenge thing between the Houses. You could give each house the same ingredients and they could cook whatever they want. The Home Economics girls could choose a box of ingredients to provide. It would have to be just a few girls from each House and maybe we could have a tasting session at the end… pass round bits of cake or something?

Miss Hall: We couldn’t fit many in to watch in the Home Ec. Room though.

Phoebe: We could film it. Libby and I could borrow the Film Studies camera. I could, like, interview people about what they are making. Then we could show it to the school one lunch time on a big screen and announce the winners.

Miss Hall: The cakes would be a bit old by then but never mind.

Scene TwoMiss Hall enters Sixth Form common room

Miss Hall: Phoebe, how are you getting on organising the Ready Steady Cook?

Phoebe: Everyone is keen, we just have to push the snowball a bit to start it and it will just grow as it rolls.

Miss Hall: Start pushing that snowball then!

Scene ThreeFour House teams, each consisting of a Sixthformer, a Year 10 or 11 and a Year 7,8 or 9 girl are looking at their boxes of ingredients. Phoebe interviews them for the camera

Phoebe: Here we have the Bamburgh Team. Have you any idea what you will be making?

Bamburgh: A pasta bake with vegetables and apple scones.

Phoebe: Alnwick are already at work peeling the apples. What are they being used for?

Alnwick: A Victoria Sponge with apple.

Phoebe: Dunstanburgh are doing something fancy, grating potatoes. What is your plan?

Dunstanburgh: Hash browns to have with an all day breakfast.

Phoebe: Not a pasta bake then! And what are Warkworth up to?

Warkworth: Pasta bake and apple cake.

Scene FourMrs Gatenby, Mrs Roe and Mrs Batchelor are tasting the final dishes

Mrs Gatenby: It is so difficult to choose.

Mrs Roe: They are all beautifully presented.

Mrs Batchelor: The breakfast with scrambled eggs and rosti is a clever idea.

Mrs Roe: The apple cake with lemon drizzle sauce is very light and delicious.

Mrs Batchelor: The handmade crisps and cheese dip side-dish was a lovely touch.

Mrs Gatenby: It was very close but the winners are: the pasta bake with herbs and the individual Victoria Sponge with apple sauce!

Very well done Esme Beer, Phillipa Batey and Rose Doyle of Alnwick House.

Miss H Hall, House Events Co-ordinator


As part of the annual Jesmond Community Festival, the restaurant Pizza Express invited all local schools to enter the Junior Pizziola Masterchef Competition. All the girls in Year

9 were encouraged to enter as earlier in the term they had learnt how to make bread dough and had made a pizza as part of the Home Economics curriculum. Everyone duly submitted a pizza design which included a bird’s eye pizza sketch, a list of toppings and a paragraph describing their design concept and choice of toppings.

Pizza Express received over 300 entries and 4 Church High girls - Bethany Painter, Tamar Dutton, Polly Copestake and Miriam Rabey - were selected to compete alongside 8 others in the final which took place one evening at the Pizza Express restaurant in Jesmond, under the guidance of the Head Chef. Each finalist had to shape pre-prepared pizza dough and construct their pizza design using authentic ingredients provided by the chef. A lot of fun and laughter followed as each finalist attempted to shape their pizza dough, which was not as easy as the chef had made it look! The pizzas were then cooked and judged on shape, imaginative use of toppings and on ability to make the pizza closely match the original design.

We were delighted when one of our Church High contingent, Bethany Painter, was awarded 2nd prize and all agreed that it had been an enjoyable experience. This was the first time Pizza Express have run this competition and the Home Economics department hope to return there again with the A Level Food Technology students later in the year to observe food manufacturing processes in a commercial setting.

Mrs L Batchelor

Junior Pizziola Masterchef Competition

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Bethany’s PizzaI initially found the task of designing a pizza quite challenging, as it

is difficult to think of a pizza that has not already been created. However, I believe my unusual combination of ingredients made

my pizza unique because it had no tomato sauce and just a garlic base. So, when the 300 entries were narrowed down to only 12 pizza designs and I was one of the lucky finalists, we all went to Pizza Express in Jesmond to practise our Italian cuisine skills. I had already practised making pizza dough, as dough was the current topic we were studying in Home Economics, however, despite all the practice I had had, my pizza dough still managed to contain holes. Luckily, my second try was more successful! Our second task was to place our ingredients on our pizzas in an appealing and appetising way. The pizzas were then taken away to be cooked.

Once they were out of the oven, they were ready to be sampled by the judges. The pizzas were judged on their originality, appearance and obviously also on taste. Everyone’s pizza looked delicious but as they announced the results in reverse order, I was delighted to hear my name in second place. I won a £20 gift voucher for Pizza Express and found the whole experience most enjoyable, so much so that I intend to continue with my love for cooking in the future.

Bethany Painter, Year 9

“Pizza Express received over 300 entries”

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Voices 01

Once a personal work placement is agreed for girls in Year 11, many hours are then spent on administration to ensure that Connexions and the employer have all the necessary

documentation. It is also during this time that Health and Safety checks are carried out to ensure that students enter a safe working environment. This year has seen Church High girls working in a wide range of professional environments; two girls were even placed with Newcastle Utd and Sunderland AFC, both working in Conferencing and Banqueting.

At the end of each placement, the employer is asked to assess the student and it is always wonderful to hear encouraging positive feed-back on our girls such as “she demonstrated a very mature attitude to her work”, “always completed tasks to a high standard” and “she is a credit to her family and school”. The student’s own comments on their first experience of the world of work can be equally interesting, as can clearly be seen by the tenor of Hannah Jobey’s account below on her first taste of journalism in the workplace:

Mrs D Chipchase, Work Experience Co-ordinator

“My work placement was at the North East Press office in Whitley Bay. From this office, two papers are put together for the local area ‘The News Post Leader’ and ‘The News Guardian’. I was working with five journalists, two photographers, a deputy editor as well as the editor, who acted as my employer for the week. My work was really varied as the editor tried to introduce me to many different areas of journalism and publishing. Though I was based in the office, I was also able to ‘shadow’ reporters as

they sourced stories by visiting both the Crown and Magistrate Courts and also a residential home. I found this interesting as the court cases were all different and I was also able to see the reporters use a particularly hard skill to master: short hand. Though one of my colleagues tried to share his expertise with me, sadly by the end of the week I had only learned to write two words ‘pal’ and ‘pull’!

“When I was in the office, I worked from press releases manipulating the information into a story. I used the same software the professional reporters

used but it was very complicated. Nevertheless, by the end of the week I was able to write stories with a headline, strap-line, caption, picture and a by-line. I also worked in the archive department. Both papers carry an archive column featuring three stories from fifty years ago and three from twenty five years ago and as the work experience employee, I was allowed to choose that week’s six stories from the archives of 1960 and 1985. The diverse nature of the stories was fascinating, particularly one story suggesting that girl school-leavers are more employable than boy school-leavers!

“This work placement certainly provided me with a great experience of the world of work. Though very different from school, journalism exceeded my expectations and helped me to conclude that this profession is definitely a career I will be considering. My work colleagues were friendly and gave me real responsibility, not something that I had expected to happen. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and the week presented me with many new experiences that I wouldn’t have encountered any other way”

Hannah Jobey, Year 11

The World of WorkHannah Jobey, Year 11

That morning was a morning like any other morning. I settled into the car, ready for another boring trip to school and stared out of the

window. At school, I rushed into my registration room, sat down and threw my bag onto the desk. Suddenly I heard a quiet but high-pitched ‘meow’. I looked at the other girls who were chatting among themselves then another innocent ‘meow’ came from the bag. I opened the zip slowly, noticing that my fingers were shaking, and reached down inside the bag with my hand. It couldn’t be? Never! A soft fluffy ball moved towards me and using both hands, I took the little creature out. Big green eyes stared at me through black fluff.

“Oh WOW!! She’s brought a kitten to school!”

‘Don’t shout! The whole school will hear!’ I whispered. “ It was an accident. I didn’t mean to bring her! What am I going to say?’ I hissed, very worried.

‘You mean, she got into your bag without you even knowing it? Well, we’ll have to get her somewhere to stay!’

‘Yeah, but WHERE?!’

I was so scared, I didn’t know what to do. What if a teacher saw the kitten and threw it out thinking I’d just found it on the street? What if other students saw it, told everyone in the school and they all crowded round scaring it? I felt so sick at these thoughts that I decided the best thing to do was to put it in my locker and hope no-one would hear it. So I carefully placed the kitten in my bag, hurried downstairs to the locker-room and squeezed in with all my classmates. I quickly opened my locker, got the kitten out of the bag and put it inside. Even though it was noisy and chatty in there, I could still hear another desperate ‘meow’. Everyone stared at me and I just shrugged.

Antonina Kulmasova, Year 7

And that was how one overly-inquisitive little black kitten, as yet without a name, ended up spending a whole school day with the secretaries in Church High Senior School office curled up between two filing cabinets and visited by all and sundry - without a doubt, the youngest and prettiest ‘new girl’ ever. One of those who came to see the surprise visitor was Josie Lau in Year 10 who thankfully brought this little tale to a happy ever-after ending:

When I found out there was a tiny kitten in school, my friends and I rushed to see it. It was all black with faint brown stripes and I remembered it being so adorable. The school office was full of girls so I only managed to stroke it for a while. Then I heard that Antonina was giving her kittens away for free. My family were reluctant to offer it a home at first as I already have a five year old cat called Tom, who is treated like a third child. But, nonetheless, the following Monday after school I was there with my cat basket when Antonina brought the kittens out and I went straight for the little black one. I named her Tilly for my friend Tilly McGurk and since that moment life has never been the same!

The ‘fun’ started on her second day at home when she tried to jump onto the sofa and fell onto the floor. She gets along with Tom, my other cat, but is always jumping onto his back or playing with his tail to annoy him. She always seems to be able to sneak outside, has spent a night under the veranda and one day I came home to find that she’d been

stuck up a HUGE tree for 9 hours. And it was the biggest tree in the garden! She is literally a little bundle of trouble and is always running around looking for something to play with. As I write this, Tilly is now lying on my nap having a quick cat nap. She seems so calm and sweet but I know that in about five minutes time she will be galloping around the house like the mischievous little cat she is. Not the best of adverts for a Church High education at all!

Josie Lau, Year 10

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Tilly Goes to School

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Voices 01

History, as we know it, covers a great expanse of time from before 3000BC up until yesterday’s news but which period is most interesting to the masses or most relevant to today’s

society? Personally, I prefer Ancient History (I have an intense passion for the Egyptians), yet others might find them completely irrelevant. Like Laura Stuart, for example. She enjoys reading about Stalin’s policies and the Cold War – something I find very dreary indeed – believing that because we are still living with the repercussions of the past hundred years, Modern History has the most to teach us. I strongly disagree, yet we are both (with apologies to Alan Bennett) devout ‘History Girls’. I would guess our discussions on what history can teach us are typical of the historical debate that has waged since time began, a debate we both would like to extend to you, the reader, ‘right here, right now’:

‘The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there’ LP Hartley

‘History’ is not a new thing and it has always raised many questions. Everything turns itself into history, whether it is a personal decision never to go back or a decision by government to cut spending by a quarter in all sectors. All of these decisions can make ‘history’ but does all history affect our future? Can it really be that choices made today will affect our children and grandchildren tomorrow? Can history really repeat itself and should we all take greater stock of the past in order to decide upon our decisions in the future?

In my opinion, a prime example of not learning from the past must surely be the current issue of the Iraq War (sometimes known as the Second Gulf War) and the similarities it seems to hold with the 1990-1991 Gulf War. The key issue about this war was that the Americans failed to win the hearts and minds of the people. Civilians at home, in the conflict zones, and, more worryingly, the actual armed forces themselves remained unconvinced of their country’s reasons for going to war. Another missed point of learning, to my way of thinking at least, concerns the disorganisation of the military. During the Gulf War over 23% of American forces were killed due to communication problems that culminated in ‘friendly fire’. In Iraq and Afghanistan today, this same issue is still apparent. We are losing men to ‘our own side’ at such a rate that our own military success now hangs in the balance.

I fear that if lessons such as these are not learned once and for all, these conflicts will come back from history to haunt us again. In my opinion, as individuals, we must all try to learn from history’s mistakes, no matter how painful the conclusions we reach may be, because if we don’t, we will undoubtedly suffer the inevitable consequences in the future. I can only agree with Lamartine that “History teaches everything, including the future.”

Laura Stuart, Year 12

Mummies, Pyramids and PharaohsMy knowledge about the past was developed as a child through the fascinated viewing of books, articles and even films on mummies, pyramids and pharaohs. But why do I find Egyptian History so tantalizing? I’ll start at the very beginning. In Year 4, colouring in my copy of a burial mask on the front of my History work book, it was the colours that drew me in. The golds, blues and reds, so bright and gleaming. But holding my interest there took something a little less attractive - mummification. How the embalmers managed to extract the brain from the dead body

through the nose to be exact. Yes, the process of preserving bodies had me in awe for years.

Now if you asked me what aspect of the past I was most keenly interested in, it would have to be the greatest role models in history: the Female Egyptian Kings. Everyone knows about Tutankhamun, but the women of the ancient world remain mostly unknown. Hatshepsut, Nefertiti and Cleopatra were powerful and beautiful women who all proved to a male-dominated society that they could rule supreme. Everyone knows about Cleopatra, some know of Nefertiti via the famous bust with only one eye and half an ear, but hardly anyone seems to know about Hatshepsut.

A very recent historical discovery in comparison to Tutankhamun or Cleopatra, we are only now learning the many mysteries of Hatshepsut’s life. Indeed, there are so many that it almost makes me want to drop everything and go off to Egypt to try to uncover the

truth myself. Her ability to govern a great country, keep control of a vast army and avoid attempts on her life overshadows the exploits of any other female historical figure known to me. Her capacity to stay cool under all of this pressure astounds me.

So would I argue that we can learn lessons from our ancient past as well as from events closer to us in historical terms? Yes, I would. Indeed, if I was putting forward a role-model for young girls of today, I would opt for Hatshepsut every time over the women who hit the news nowadays. In my book, the likes of Katie Price and Cheryl Cole have nothing on this enigmatic, long dead female Pharaoh of Egypt. Now she really was a ‘History Girl’!

Megan Lewis, Year 12

The History Girls

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In December 1991 the UK government agreed to commit to the United Nations Convention for the Rights of a Child. It proclaims that children should be able to express a view on all matters of

concern to them and their views be taken seriously. The newly-formed Newcastle Youth Council now plans to ensure that those views are upheld. It is determined that young people should have a voice that is listened to within their neighbourhoods and wider communities and that their ideas are taken seriously, their input valued and that they have an opportunity to communicate their ideas to both local and national government.

I first heard in school that Newcastle City Council were intending to establish the country’s very first Youth Council with real decision-making powers and funds to administer. Because this interested me, I decided to get involved and attended the first meeting with 52 other candidates. I was up against stiff competition. Students from schools much larger than Church High would have a lot of school mates voting for them and there was hardly anyone present from small schools like ours. The organisers separated us into groups and talked to us about writing a manifesto. This information, uploaded with our candidate photographs onto the official voting website, would hopefully provide people with statements and beliefs sufficiently persuasive for them to give us their vote.

After that, I had only a month to promote my campaign and encourage people to vote for me. I relied on posters, flyers and even word of mouth to get people to vote. School friends, stable-friends and neighbours all voted for me, either online or via actual ballot boxes, and all too soon it was time for the results.

The results ceremony took place at St. James’ Park and all the candidates and their families were there. Six people were to be elected from 4 different areas of the city: Newcastle North, East, West and Central. I was lucky enough to be one of the 6 elected for Newcastle East so I am now a member of Newcastle Youth Council. This is an amazing opportunity for me as I am now one of those responsible for ensuring that the views and concerns Newcastle’s youth are listened to and acted upon.

I already have some experience of serving on a council, as I am also a member of Hexham and Newcastle Diocesan Youth Council. This

is the body of young people

who represent the Youth of the diocese. We help organise events,

attend meetings three times a year and a residential gathering once a year. Monday 5th July of this year was the

official opening of the Diocesan Youth Village, a retreat centre that offers young people the opportunity to meet others who share their views. The opening ceremony, to which I was invited, was a very special event. Ant and Dec were there to officially ‘push the button’ and we all had the chance to get autographs and have photos taken with them. I was even lucky enough to talk to them (and appear on ITV news behind them too!)

I’m now looking forward to attending future events with both councils. I already know that in September I am travelling down to London with the Diocesan Youth Council to see the Pope and I have meetings with the Newcastle Youth Council to attend too. I am very grateful for both of these opportunities and aim to be a good ambassador for Church High on both councils. The world of Politics, even at this level, is an exciting place and I would encourage others to start getting actively involved in some way in their own communities and local area too.

Julia Henzell, Year 10

Someone who is already reconsidering her views on political involvement having listened to Julia’s views is Year 10’s Grace Jackson. Asked about Politics, the Youth Council and Julia’s potential as a councillor, Grace voiced the following thoughts:

“I don’t know a lot about Politics but I’d like to know more. Unfortunately, at my age we don’t get taught this at Church High so my only knowledge is gained from things I overhear from my family or from glimpses I see on the news. I think a Youth Council is a great thing to have if it gives young people a voice. Young people can have new, fresh ideas which adults may not think of. They can improve things because they know the concerns of young people and share the same mind-set, unlike adults. I think Julia will be a very good representative for the young people of Newcastle. She gets on well with people and is confident enough to speak up. She is also very intelligent and will communicate well with others and take their ideas to the council.”

Our Woman in Politics: The Newcastle Youth Council


From Page to Stage:acting with The National Theatre at Newcastle Theatre Royal

What a difference a day makes! In an attempt to prepare the new Year 13 English groups

for their A2 unit ‘The Language of Drama’ in September, I arranged for the girls to attend what was billed as a ‘Page-to-Stage’ Lecture by the National Theatre education department at Newcastle Theatre Royal, linked to the touring production of ‘The Pitmen Painters’. As our unit topic area was ‘The Individual in Society’, a theme very much central to Lee Hall’s play, an opportunity to observe how a modern playwright interpreted this conflicting cultural situation would prove invaluable.

The lecture was to be on the dramatic interpretation of text made evident via staged demonstrations of a speech, a piece of dialogue and a crowd scene from ‘The Pitmen Painters’. Or at least this was what we thought we were going to see and hear! A little nervous of the unfamiliar format, the girls had already needed re-assurance that they would not be required to ‘do’ anything. Imagine our surprise then, when we arrived at the theatre to learn that we were the only audience. And even more so when we learned that the ‘demonstration’ would now become a drama-workshop with three members of the acting company,

especially for us, in the intimate surroundings of the Theatre Royal rehearsal room. An enviable opportunity, without a doubt, but more than a little scary for a group of English Language as opposed to Drama students who were just expecting to sit back, listen and watch!

Church High girls are not generally known for their quietness. However, the echoing boards, the mirrored walls and the close proximity of three male actors keen to involve us, rather than just show us how it is done, made for a rather restrained start to the session. After the surprise ‘theft’ of two of the girls’ handbags as props (an act of sheer inspiration by Ian Kelly, the actor playing Mr Lyon), the ice was well and truly broken. Very soon volunteers from our midst were not only reading from scripts and participating in staged tableaux but before long even loudly directing the actors in re-staging key scenes. Quite a turnaround! Indeed, by the end of the morning, not only was our understanding of the dramatic process utterly transformed, we could hardly wait to see our new ‘friends’ perform their roles on stage the following evening (See Harpreet Uppal’s review below). Our heartfelt thanks to the original Live Theatre acting trio of Deka Walmsley, David Whitaker and Ian Kelly. They were true stars!

Miss C Chapman

“Lee Hall’s ‘The Pitman Painters’ is based on a true story of working class coal-miners from Ashington embarking on an art appreciation course with a bewildered college teacher from The Royal College of Art, Mr Lyon. The play has received rave reviews and seemed very popular with the audience on its opening night at Newcastle Theatre Royal. The humorous observations on life and references to the North East kept the audience highly entertained throughout. I was most interested in the parts of the play which referred to Art and culture though. The messages conveyed that there is an artist within all of us and that class doesn’t matter when it comes to Art were very inspiring.

“But messages aside, the part of the play I enjoyed most was the realistic plot. The play just felt so real. It was fascinating to see the harsh reality of a pitman’s life dramatically depicted alongside the struggle of an artist’s way of life. This ‘reality check’, the cultural messages and seeing the artwork of the Ashington Group re-created on stage, all combined to make an enjoyable evening. And as an artist myself, it was motivating in an artistic sense too”.

Harpreet Uppal, Year 13

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Voices 01

Textiles was added to the AS level subject choices five or six years ago and since then has become a huge part of school life at Church High. The subject has given those who are interested

in design an opportunity to move away from the more restrictive Fine Art syllabus and work more closely with fashion and materials, areas very close to many girls’ hearts. Starting by looking at basic techniques, Textiles students develop portfolios on topic areas and themes set by

the examination board. Those progressing to A2 level also have the opportunity to develop the techniques they have learned the previous year and apply them to a theme of their own choice. This allows a lot of freedom to pursue personal interests and work very freely. We have yet to see any of the NSB boys sign up though!

Abigail Stobart, Year 12

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Textiles

House Fashion Show 2010To the delight of all fashion-conscious Church

High girls, one of our most popular house events, the House Fashion Show, was resurrected

this year. For this event, a strict recycling theme is observed and all costumes have to be designed and created in only one morning. The 2010 show embraced the theme of ‘Decades’ and featured fringed dresses from the 1920s, go-go boots from the 60s and also a futuristic element too. Bin bags and tin foil were used by all the houses to create an array of impressive outfits while various extras such as CDs, video cassettes and paper flowers once again served as stylish accessories. Each year group had to create costumes for a particular decade and send them down the catwalk with music to match. The judges awarded first place in each category to Dunstanburgh (in my view the most creative house but I admit to being a little biased here!) making them the over-all winners of House Fashion Show 2010.

Laura Rea, Year 12

Elinor Byass, Year 12 Hannah Oxnard, Year 12

Art Gallery

Voices 01

32Abigail Buchan, Year 12

Tuesday Riddell, Year 12 Rachael Stein, Year 13

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Phillippa Harman, Year 13

Alex Caygill, Year 12 Abigail Stobart, Year 12

Art Gallery

Voices 01

34

Phillippa Harman, Year 13 Phillippa Harman, Year 13

Phillippa Harman, Year 13

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Tuesday Riddell, Year 12

Tuesday Riddell, Year 12 Holly Forsyth, Year 11

Art Gallery

Voices 01

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Tom Evans, Year 12 Tom Evans, Year 12

Clare Coulson, Year 13

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Church High’s Artist in Residence: Mr Wells at work

Seven Ages of WomanA woman’s life is a mirror of her mother’s

The first reflection

A newborn infant secure in the warmth of the mother’s arms.

Wisdom will be passed down

And the child will build her own inner shield.

The shy first day of school arrives

And the child hangs back in fear of separation,

As the volume of noise approaches.

Next the blush, as the dark eyes of the boy next door meet her own.

Independent decisions are made,

Risks are taken,

As words and ambitions fill a diary.

Vows are exchanged,

“Till death do us part”,

For the life ahead shared with a loved one.

Now her palm lies against her stomach

As she feels another heart beating inside her.

A glow beneath her skin shines,

Knowing her own creation is growing inside her.

And now the moment when her child takes her own step into the world

Of sex, drugs and rock & roll.

Later, the house will fall silent with the emptiness.

As the cough starts to irritate,

The realization approaches that death is creeping near.

A calm acceptance falls into place,

Knowing the next generation can take care of itself.

Emily Page, Year 10

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Voices 01

Rachael Stein, Year 13 Phillippa Harman, Year 13

Alex Caygill, Year 12 Phillippa Harman, Year 13

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LOVE

finding love is like finding aneedle in a box of knivesthe searchis dangerous and deadlyand the resultmay not be satisfactory

some love is like finding arose in a box of silkthe searchis relaxing and easyand the resultis worth everything

other love is like finding alump of salt in a box of knivesthe searchis painful and full of hurtand the resultmakes it hurt more

my heart bleedslike the knivesbut it’s worth itlike the rose

some parts of my search were easylike the silkother parts made the pain growlike the saltand one partwas like the needle

Is that my mission:trying to find a salty rosewith a needle stalkin a boxof silk wrapped knives?

possiblymy searchis not over

Olivia Hall, Year 10

NOTHING PEOPLE

the nothing girl is thereher foot kickingunseen.the something people walk pastthe nothing girl stares.they don’t see her.too wrapped up with their livesthe nothing girl matters not.sometimes the nothing girlwondersif she met another nothing girlwould that make hersomething?or would they remainnothing.the nothing girl is too alone now.watching something peopledo anythingto avoid looking in the eyesof a nothing girl.

Olivia Hall, Year 10

‘Reality Bites’

Rachael Stein, Year 13 Phillippa Harman, Year 13

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Voices 01

Bleeding Woman Fountain

You may wonder what possessed me to produce such a strange creation as a sculpture of a woman with a bleeding fountain, but if you are familiar with my previous artwork you will already know of my fascination with all things macabre. I based the woman on the disturbing but beautiful work of HR Giger who designed the terrifying life forms in the 1979 film Alien. Her creation was long, gruelling and not without some last minute panics as the fountain leaked a huge amount of red water just as the moderator arrived. An ‘all hands on deck’ fluster ensued but the situation was swiftly dealt with just in time thanks to the caretaker’s expertise!

I wanted to portray the fountain as a heart circulating the water through various tubes from the inner tank into the outer reservoir just like the heart circulates blood around the body. I enjoyed making her and think I succeeded in my aim gauging by people’s comments about her at the Art Exhibition. I know I have devised other sculptures that were simpler to construct and certainly a lot simpler to display, but this one was special and will always have a place in my heart.

Sophie Morton, Year 12

Willow Hand Sculpture

The topic of my Sculpture project was ‘Carnivals and Festivals’. I used a hand to represent this unit of work because when you look at music festival photos you can usually see hands waving in the crowds, grabbing at the bands and pointing at the artists. At festivals people also use their hands to admire, respect and thank the musicians for their performances, so my sculpture was designed to show how festival-goers channel their emotion for their idols by using hand gestures towards them.

I made the hand from willow to give the sculpture a natural feel like you also get at a festival; the twiggy, rough sculpture reminds me of fields and the nature of festival venues. The sculpture was created by twisting smaller flexible twigs around stronger, longer ones to construct a base for the hand. I then sculpted a palm by bending the willow into place. I next separated sections of the willow to craft fingers but, instead of rounding the ends of the fingers, I let the willow continue out from the ends to create the desired reaching effect.

Tuesday Riddell, Year 12

By the Sculptor’s Hand

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A Fall from Grace

My GCSE art installation tells the story of a certain type of woman, suggesting both her life in the past

and what it has become. A once extravagant and elegant room now displays the decayed life of this woman, her belongings lying broken and shattered. I wanted the room to look as if it - along with its fading inhabitant - has long since been forgotten, so was keen to instil a sense of dated glamour and suggest the loneliness of the woman’s life. Framed pictures of the famous instead of friends, hidden packets of drugs, cigarettes and empty alcohol bottles hopefully portray this. The 1950’s luxury is decayed and ruined, highlighting just how long it has been since the room has housed anyone or anything positive.

I loved the idea of showing how time had decayed a once glamorous life and decided to

use pieces of furniture and clothing to show the change. Whole doors, tables and lamps create an atmospheric 3D display of a life in decay. Every item had to tell a story, showing in some way the neglect of the room and its resident, so wallpaper was peeled and stained, pictures were ripped and clothes were torn and strewn about the floor. To suggest the room had once housed someone still grasping at the glamour of fame, I introduced torn pictures of inspirational movie stars and a cupboard that couldn’t quite hold all of her secrets inside.

Strangely, it felt extremely satisfying as the installation took shape and started to portray this woman’s world. The idea had been in my mind all year and I had based my whole sketchbook on telling her story, however it was still a challenge to finally solidify the image

as an examination piece. I had spent hours collecting the many items of furniture and clothing the piece needed, so the beginning of the ten-hour examination was very daunting as I sat surrounded by a huge door and about 10 bin-bags full of furniture and accessories. I definitely took up the most space in the art room that day! It didn’t go quite as I’d planned, all the elements proving very time consuming to create, but, having said that, by the end of the exam I had learnt how to wallpaper, hammer, spray-paint and wire fabric, so the process was certainly educational! And I’m really pleased with how the piece turned out; it feels as if the journey of my sketchbook’s persona has finally been concluded.

Holly Forsyth, Year 11

‘Bugsy Malone’:Lower School Production

“When we were first told that this year’s Lower School production was going to be ‘Bugsy Malone’, I wasn’t very interested at first, as the musical isn’t particularly well-known. However, I have a great passion for drama and love performing on stage, so eventually decided to audition for a part. I hoped to be cast as one of the main characters, Tallulah, so I knew I would have a lot of competition. However, after a nail-biting wait, when the cast list was finally placed on the drama notice-board I saw I had actually been given three parts: Bangles, Louella and one of Tallulah’s dancers. Although I didn’t get my dream part, I was very pleased with my selection of characters and taking part in ‘Bugsy’ helped me a lot with my performing skills. It also gave me the opportunity to socialise with pupils I wouldn’t normally talk to in Year 7 and 8. I really enjoyed my experience of taking part in a school production and I would thoroughly recommend it to other pupils for next year”.

Sophie Rowley, Year 9

“As I was playing the flute in ‘Bugsy’, I didn’t have to put as much hard work and time into the show as the performers. However, by the end of both performances I was so shattered, I can’t imagine the exhaustion the actors and backstage crew must have felt. As a musician, I had obviously sat through the rehearsals but I still found it hard to stop myself from turning around to watch the actual performances; the girls on stage always amaze me, especially when dancing. I think the most exciting part of the production was watching my friends using the splurge guns; they really enjoyed splurging and pushing pies into other’s faces and it was very enjoyable to watch. After the final performance, everyone in the cast had a massive fight with the shaving foam!”

Grace Trudgill, Year 9

“Standing in the wings, adrenalin running through every member of the cast, our hearts were beating faster, faster. The hours of rehearsals all came down to this: the performance. The chatting of the audience stopped and all fell silent as the show began. I was now Leroy and a member of Fat Sam’s Gang….

“Our show was a hit. The audience clapped and roared with laughter. The hard work had definitely paid off. When the curtain closed for the final time, we were all on a high. We had put together a play to be proud of with the help of our dedicated Performing Arts teachers. The whole production was so much fun and I am very pleased that I took part in such an enjoyable event”.

Rebecca Wilson, Year 9

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‘Grease’: Upper School Production

Grease is a musical known to thousands of people through the phenomenally successful film starring

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. We all know, love and can sing along to the story of Danny and Sandy (ably played and sung in our production by Abigail Buchan and Rachael Kandola) finally coming together from different sides of the tracks. It’s packed full of catchy songs, lively dance moves and lashings of teenage drama. When we found out that we were to perform it as this year’s main school production, a sense of excitement hit all of us. The audition process flew by and everyone was filled with joy when the parts were handed out. I was lucky enough to be allocated a part as a T-Bird named Roger, a character I thoroughly enjoyed bringing to life on stage.

The summer holidays of 2009 saw every member of the cast, band and stage crew collected in the main school hall to begin the long process of rehearsals which would involve training in dance, drama and music. The thought of a week packed full of non-stop rehearsing filled us all with dread but the shared jokes along the way got us through

and before we knew it, our first performance was only two weeks away.

This year the cast as a whole were much intrigued by the additional thrill of performing in The Peter Sarah Theatre at Newcastle College for the very first time; in recent years, our venue has been The Little Theatre in Gateshead. The week before we opened, we all travelled to the college en masse, complete with costumes and props, to set up camp and get our bearings on the new stage. Once Church High was well and truly ‘in situ’ there, we worked long hours from 9am until 10pm but everyone’s motivation to make it a fantastic performance got us there in the end.

The dressing rooms were spacious and enabled everyone to prepare themselves in plenty of time. The stage was also a good size for the scale of our dance numbers and production design, allowing us to bring a real car on-stage at key moments in the all-important role of ‘Greased Lightning’, which looked very impressive indeed.

At the end of our first performance, everyone’s faces glowed as the whole audience clapped and cheered. Such

enthusiastic support greatly motivated us to make each show special. The second night performance had to be extra special because it was to be recorded by some of the students studying Film Studies at Newcastle College. Once edited and transferred onto DVD, this show became a wonderful record of a fantastic ensemble experience for cast members and friends & family alike.

After our final performance, which in true theatre tradition was beset by one or two small hiccups, the stage-crew joined the musicians and performers on stage for a much deserved thank-you from the audience and cast. We all had such a good time and I think it’s safe to say that all the hard work really did pay off. No-one standing on stage that night wanted our ‘Grease’ experience to end, especially not the Upper Sixth formers in the cast for whom this was their final school production. I’m sure all would agree that taking part in Church High musical productions is without doubt a truly joyful experience and one that just gets better and better, year after year.

Lucy Hindmarsh, Year 12

“we worked long hours from 9am until 10pm but everyone’s motivation to make it a fantastic performance got us there in the end”

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June 25th 2010 saw all Senior School girls take to the sports field with winning in mind, personal goals to achieve and house reputations to uphold. Over the year, girls had worked towards

the success of their individual houses in many events and Sports Day was no exception. Every girl participated in at least one event and a full schedule of track and field events meant there was something for everybody to enjoy whether competitor or spectator. The most memorable event was undoubtedly the relay. The last event of the day, all eyes were on the runners and thanks to encouragement from other girls and teachers, every girl gave it their all.

The whole afternoon was a great success held together by enthusiastic staff participation whether through the constant snapping of a camera by Miss Chapman aiming for the perfect magazine action shot, the calculating of points by Mr Jones and Miss Robotham, the PE staff ’s event organisation or the encouragement of others on the sidelines. Sports Day also offers girls who excel in athletics a chance to compete against other girls in their year ; this is known as The Championship and

each girl must complete a track, throwing and field event in order to challenge for the title. This year saw many girls from Years 9 and above contest the event with a high standard of athletics on show.

At the end of the day, the results were announced in reverse order by Mrs Gatenby dragging out anticipation about the name of the winning house until the very last moment in true ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ style. After a pause which seemed to last for hours, she finally revealed the overall winners of Sports Day and the 2010 Sports Cup as Warkworth, much to the dismay of the other three houses.

Sports Day is only one of many events over the course of the year where our whole school works together. It allows all girls to contribute to the success of their House, achieving as many points as possible in an attempt to ensure that the House Cup is ultimately wrapped in ribbons of red….or white….or orange…. or blue.

Molly Howarth, Year 10

Sports Day

Having Fun‘Around the Houses’

Tankerville Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 3BA Tel: 0191 281 4306 www.churchhigh.com

nchs senior magaine 2010 - 2011

Documents

senior school magazine

miss chapman

school community

excellent magazine

introductioneach school

magazine touches

magazine report

wonderful girls