School of St Helen and St Katharine
Encyclopedia
The School of St Helen & St Katharine is an English independent
Independent school
An independent school is a school that is independent in its finances and governance; it is not dependent upon national or local government for financing its operations, nor reliant on taxpayer contributions, and is instead funded by a combination of tuition charges, gifts, and in some cases the...
girls' school, located in Abingdon
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
Abingdon or archaically Abingdon-on-Thames is a market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Vale of White Horse district. Previously the county town of Berkshire, Abingdon is one of several places that claim to be Britain's oldest continuously occupied town, with...
.
History
The School of St Helen & St Katharine was originally two separate girls' schools, St Helen's School and St Katharine's School, founded in the early years of the twentieth century. The schools merged in 1938 to create the present school of St Helen & St Katharine.The present school
The School of St Helen & St Katharine's buildings are numerous and have separate areas for more specialist subjects — eight science laboratories, a new block for modern languages and English including a specialist Language Learning Centre, a performing arts centre containing a circular theatre, a new library and lecture theatre, many music rooms, including music technology with a recording studio, an exhibition gallery and two modern sports halls. One is used for indoor sports such as netball and the other opened in 2005 with a specialist fitness suite, indoor area for gymnastics, trampolining, badminton, and large changing and teaching facilities. There is also a large outdoor swimming pool, now not in use as swimming is done at the recently opened Abingdon school pool, lacrosse and rounders pitches, tennis and netball courts, long jump and triple jump sand pit, and grass running tracks.An outstanding new library has recently been opened, the Jean Duffield Library. It contains a lecture theatre, careers room, higher education office, sixth form study area, an archives area, a junior library, a reference library, two large ICT classrooms and a seminar room.
The school has a reputation for great sport, music, drama alongside high academic achievements.
Academics
The school boasts an excellent academic record, being placed in the Premier League by the Daily Telegraph for both its 2005 GCSE and A-level results. St Helen's was ranked sixth nationally and was the top school in the Home Counties at A Level in the Daily Telegraph league table of 2005.examination results 2009
A level results
100% pass rate at A Level
Over 94% at grade A or B with over 79% at grade A
45 candidates obtained 3 or 4 A grades (over 59% of candidates)
9 candidates obtained 4 A grades
There were 9 distinctions and 4 merits obtained at Advanced Extension Award
AS level results
100% pass rate
Over 88% at grade A or B with over 68% at grade A
54 candidates obtained 3, 4 or 5 A grades
42 candidates obtained 4 or 5 A grades
individuals in the top ten at A level 2008
(2009 results pending)
Hannah Roberts and Sarah Pennington for physics (out of 5,988); Rohini Giles for physics (out of 7,387).
GCSE results
99.56% A* - C
98.87% five A* - C including English, Maths, Science
57.9% of the results obtained were at A*
87.8% of the results obtained were at A* or A
36 girls obtained eight or more A* grades (over 40% of the year group)
24 girls obtained nine or more A* grades (over a quarter of the year group)
13 girls obtained ten or more A* grades
9 girls obtained A* grades in all their subjects
individuals in the top ten at GCSE 2008
(2009 results pending)
Emma Collinson and Katie Bartholomew for Art and Design (out of 909); Freya Varden for Double Award Science (out of 3,657); Catarina Heynes, Emily Maw and Emily Stephens for German (out of 19,484); Emma Collinson, Elizabeth Farrell, Charis Fisher, Emily Granger, Emilia Hoskins, Amelia Papworth, Emily Strang, Lucy Wyatt for Italian (out of 2,357); Freya Varden and Katie Bartholomew for Maths (out of 19,231).
A large number of varying subjects are taught, Ancient History
Ancient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
/Classical Civilization, Art and Design, Biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
, Business Studies
Business studies
Business studies is an academic subject taught at higher level in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, as well as at university level in many countries...
, Chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
, Computing/IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
, Coordinated Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
, Design & Technology (CDT), Drama/Theatre Studies, Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, English Language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, English Literature
English literature
English literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Further Mathematics
Further Mathematics
Further Mathematics is the title given to a number of advanced secondary mathematics courses. Higher and Further Mathematics may also refer to any of several advanced mathematics courses at many institutions....
, General Studies
General Studies
General Studies may refer to:* Bachelor of General Studies, a degree offered in some Western Universities* A GCSE and A-level examination offered to 16-18 year olds in the United Kingdom and some other countries...
, Geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
, Government/Politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, History of Art
History of art
The History of art refers to visual art which may be defined as any activity or product made by humans in a visual form for aesthetical or communicative purposes, expressing ideas, emotions or, in general, a worldview...
, Home Economics
Home Economics
Home economics is the profession and field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community...
, Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, Physical Education
Physical education
Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....
, Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, Religious Studies
Religious studies
Religious studies is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, and cross-cultural perspectives.While theology attempts to...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
Some of the lessons in upper school are taught jointly with Abingdon School
Abingdon School
Abingdon School is a British day and boarding independent school for boys situated in Abingdon, Oxfordshire , previously known as Roysse's School. In 1998 a formal merger took place between Abingdon School and Josca's, a preparatory school four miles to the west at Frilford...
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Sports
The school sport teams were 2006 county champions in lacrosseLacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
, netball
Netball
Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
and individuals have gone on to represent their country in sailing, squash, rounders, lacrosse and more. The school fulfills the national curriculum requirements and offers a huge range of other sports including yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
, t'ai chi, street dance, fitness, judo, fencing and International Games. The sports department also offer physical education for GCSE, AS and A Level.
The arts
The school has a strong creative arts sector, with girls being selected to join prestigious societies such as the Junior Music Conservatories, national music ensembles and the National Youth TheatreNational Youth Theatre
The National Youth Theatre is a registered charity in London, Great Britain, committed to creative, personal and social development of young people through the medium of creative arts....
. There are many very high standard instrumentalists, some achieving diplomas and places at The Royal Academy of Music and the school provides orchestras, bands and many groups for them to join.
Extracurricular
The school has a large range of extracurricular activities available to the girls. These include danceDance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
classes, chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
club, several choirs, debating and public speaking
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
societies, drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
clubs, The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award , is a programme of activities that can be undertaken by anyone aged 14 to 24, regardless of personal ability....
, many different musical orchestras and bands, pottery
Pottery
Pottery is the material from which the potteryware is made, of which major types include earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. The place where such wares are made is also called a pottery . Pottery also refers to the art or craft of the potter or the manufacture of pottery...
and Young Enterprise
Young Enterprise
Young Enterprise is a not-for-profit business and enterprise education charity in the United Kingdom. It is made up of 12 regional organisations, each operating individually under a license agreement...
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Notable former pupils
- Mary AllenMary AllenMary Allen is a British writer, broadcaster, arts administrator and management consultant best known for her controversial and turbulent period as Chief Executive of the Royal Opera House.-Early career:...
- Samantha CameronSamantha CameronSamantha Gwendoline Cameron , often known simply as "Sam Cam", is a British business executive and wife of David Cameron, the current Conservative Party leader and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom....
- Hatti DeanHatti DeanHarriet Dean is a British long-distance runner.In August 2008 it was announced she would be unable to compete in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing due to a stress fracture to her ankle....
- Kat English
- Elspeth HansonElspeth HansonElspeth Hanson is the violist of the all female string quartet, Bond.- Biography :Elspeth started learning the violin aged 12 and at 16 won a place as first violin with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain with whom she has toured the UK and played live at the BBC Proms.Previously she had...