E-weekly Issue 287 - 10 January 2025

Welcome

A very Happy New Year to you all! I hope you enjoyed a wonderful Christmas break with your families.

Our term began with staff training on Tuesday, focusing on maintaining excellence in teaching. Despite the dramatic weather this week, it was heartwarming to witness the girls’ excitement over the snow!

The girls have settled quickly into their studies, and it’s been delightful to see their joy at reuniting with friends and teachers. Year 11 have impressed us all with their calm and focused approach to their mock exams starting today, while the rest of the school is eagerly anticipating the start of A2 activities next week.

We are also thrilled to celebrate the achievements of three former Mayfield students honoured in this year’s New Year’s Honours List: Emily Craig MBE, Georgina Worrall OBE, and Dr. Bonnie Kwok OBE. Their success fills us with immense pride!

With a busy term ahead, one highlight will undoubtedly be our upcoming musical production, The Sound of Music. Don’t forget to secure your tickets—it promises to be a spectacular performance.

Wishing you all a happy and successful term ahead.

With best wishes,

Deborah Bligh, Headmistress

In the News This Week...

Sixth Formers Attend Philosophy Conference

At the end of last term a number of Sixth Form RS students attended a Philosophy Conference at Southampton University. Dominque in Year 12 said: "It was a wonderful opportunity to attend a university style lecture & broaden interests in our A-Level Studies! We spent the morning discussing complex philosophical arguments about the nature of God’s existence, followed by an afternoon exploring the reality of applying ethics in day-to-day life, leaving us to contemplate when - or if - we should simply ‘Agree to Disagree’."

Cornelian Lecture - Tuesday 28^th January

Our next Cornelian Lecture will be on Tuesday 28^th January 2025, delivered by Mr Henry Virgin on Zaha Hadid Architects - a British architecture and design firm founded by Zaha Hadid (1950–2016), with its main office situated in London.  Below is a list of some of Zaha Hadid’s most iconic buildings:

• Vitra Fire Station, Weil-am-Rhein, Germany.
• Bergisel Ski Jump, Innsbruck, Austria.
• Phaeno Science Center, Wolfsburg, Germany.
• Bridge Pavilion, Zaragoza, Spain.
• Guangzhou Opera House, China.
• Riverside Museum, Glasgow, Scotland.
• London Aquatics Centre, London, United Kingdom.

The lecture will take place in the Sixth Form Lecture Room at 16:45. If you would like to attend, please click on the link below to RSVP. 

Please click here to RSVP

News From the Sixth Form

Sixth Form Winter Ball
We are very excited to be preparing for the Winter Ball on Friday 31^st January. Please do get your replies in so that you don’t miss out on the winter festivities of the Masquerade Ball, where Tonbridge School will be joining us for dinner and dancing.

Year 13 Day of Recollection
We are also very much looking forward to the Year 13 Day of Recollection on Monday 20^th January. This will be our Leavers’ final Day of Recollection. As well as spending quality time together as a year group, there will also be time set aside for the girls to plan Muck Up Day which will be taking place at the end of term.

Year 12 UCAS Process Meeting
I would also like to remind Year 12 students and their parents of the important introduction to the UCAS process meeting on Thursday 23^rd January in Gresham Conference Room at 6:30pm, where there will be a deep dive into multiple aspects of the process, with a focus on what Year 12 should be thinking about and what they can be doing now to prepare themselves to feed into a compelling personal statement. There will also be a secondary meeting if your daughter is considering an early application subject: Medicine, Veterinary Medicine or Dentistry, a subject which requires a written assessment or an application to Oxford or Cambridge universities.

University Information Teatime Talks
We are also very excited to announce that as part of our preparation for university application, a series of informal but informative teatime talks for our Year 11 and 12 students delivered by recent Mayfield OCs who have generously given up their time to share their experiences of applying to and attending a range of UK universities. Parents are most welcome to attend these meetings as well; the meetings will be a mixture of online and in-person. They will be taking place in the Sixth Form Lecture Room on the below Tuesdays at 4:45pm.

The list of speakers for the first half of term is as follows:

• 14 January - OC Victoria Dahmen (2022). Victoria gained 6 A* A levels and is now studying Medicine at Cambridge University.
• 21 January - Dr Alison Macdonald. Associate Professor of Anthropology UCL.
• 28 January - OC Pia Larsson (2020). Pia studied Music at Bristol University.
• 4 February - OC Sophie Pepper (2023). Sophie is currently studying Liberal Arts on a sports scholarship at the University of Iowa.
• 11 February - OC Hettie Evans (2020). Hettie studied French and Italian at Cambridge University.

Each of our speakers will be talking about the university they attended, what it is like to be a student in their university, what they wished they had known before they applied, the transition from school to university as well as what their course was like. These will be really useful for all our Year 11 and 12 students as they start thinking about their future pathways. Our recent leavers will be able to provide the most up to date insights of what life as a student after Mayfield is really like. We are also delighted to welcome Dr Macdonald who will be able to give a whole range of insights into making an application to UCL.

Prefect Applications
This term we will be inviting Year 12 to apply for next year's prefect roles including Head Girl, Deputy Head Girl, Heads of Competitive Houses and the other exciting student leadership roles. There will be a formal process of application which will be initiated on 24^th January with an introductory assembly for Year 12.

This Week in UCAS
There has continued to be lots of activity in UCAS as the final applications are submitted before the January deadline. 52 applications have now been sent, generating 110 offers to date, with more coming in on a daily basis. We are delighted with the strong offers that our Year 13 are receiving.

On 26^th March we will be taking Year 12 students to the Universities Fair at the Brighton Amex stadium. There will be many universities represented here and it will be an opportunity to speak to representatives and start to think about different institutions.

Year 12 have also started a rolling programme of Careers Interviews which will take place across the Spring and Summer term and they will now be having regular careers and UCAS assemblies.

Mrs Elizabeth Aherne, Head of Sixth Form

Tickets Selling Fast for 'The Sound of Music'!

We are nearing our fantastic production of The Sound of Music: School Edition on 6^th - 8^th February, and tickets are selling fast - book yours now if you wish to come along and support the girls in their performance! 

Book your seats

Rainbows Bereavement Support Group

Rainbows is a national and well-respected charity, which offers a programme of support for young people navigating grief of all kinds, such as death, divorce, incarceration, abandonment and many others, through facilitated peer groups within their communities. These groups provide a safe environment that encourages communication while identifying, navigating and discussing difficult feelings that accompany loss. Our trained staff host small, informal sessions in St Raph’s kitchen on Friday mornings during Tutor Time, for the duration of the 10–12-week programme.

Confidentiality, which is at the heart of all Rainbows Programmes, is always kept, unless a young person is at risk, in which case the school’s safeguarding procedures are followed. 

Rainbows supports self-esteem, trust, confidence and resilience, whilst promoting positive emotional/mental development and healthy relationships. If you feel your daughter might benefit from attending the Rainbows group, please feel free to contact me, Helen Lavery at hlavery@mayfieldgirls.org  or Lynette le Riche at lleriche@mayfieldgirls.org. The new programme will start after Christmas.

‘100% of headteachers agreed that the Rainbows programme is a valuable resource for supporting vulnerable children in school.’ 

‘96% of parents and carers would recommend the programme to others.’ 

‘79% of children agreed that they felt more confident and less worried about their problems after attending a Rainbows Programme.’ 

Please do not hesitate to contact us via email if you have any questions regarding this.

Meet the Teacher - Introducing Mr Taylor

We are delighted to welcome Phil Taylor as our new Head of Chemistry. Want to know more about Mr Taylor? Read on...

OCs Recognised in New Year Honours List

We are thrilled to share that three of our remarkable Old Cornelians have been recognised in the King's New Year Honours list for their outstanding achievements and contributions in their fields:

Emily Craig MBE (Class of 2011) – Gold medal Olympian, awarded an MBE for her services to rowing.

Georgina Worrall OBE (Class of 1996) – Honoured with an OBE for her dedication to diversity and inclusion in the Energy Sector.

Dr. Bonnie Kwok MBE CMgr FCMI FRSA (Class of 1997) – Received an MBE for her services to education.

We are so proud of these inspiring women and the incredible mark they’ve made, and how they continue to inspire our current students and the wider community. Congratulations!

Chaplaincy News

This week, in assembly, Mrs Bligh used this short video to introduce the Jubilee year, 2025: Pilgrims of Hope.

Pilgrims of Hope Video

A Jubilee year, which takes place every 25 years in the Catholic Church, is used to highlight certain graces-reconciliation and forgiveness in particular. As well as reconciliation, Pope Francis is calling us to be a people of hope, and a people of joy. How's that for a New Year's Resolution!

Over the course of this year, we will be responding to the Holy Father's call to pilgrimage (Lourdes and Taize, to be launched next week). We will be focussing on prayer - especially the Our Father, as we examine what we are actually asking for when we say words so familiar we hardly need to think about them at all. We will respond to his call for Holy Hours - periods of communal worship before the Blessed Sacrament (though in our case, we might aim for Holy Half Hours!). And over the course of the year, we hope to learn more about what it means to be Pilgrims of Hope.

Here in Mayfield, the first Sunday Mass of each half-term is offered for the repose of the souls of deceased members of the Cornelian family. This Sunday, Fr Nelson will offer that Mass at 11:30. As usual, all are welcome.

This Tuesday evening, instead of Mass, we invite you to join us for our first Holy Half Hour - a period of quiet prayer and reflection before the Blessed Sacrament. It will run from 6-6:30pm. Everybody is welcome to join us, whether you stay for the whole time, or simply pop in for five minutes to say a quick prayer.

Next Week's Daily Prayers

Daily Prayers 13-17 Jan

Mr Ronan Lavery, Chaplain

Sports News

After the Christmas break, sporting fixtures at Mayfield return next week. Netball term is now underway, and despite the snow, the girls have begun their preparation for the upcoming fixtures.

We have an exciting, busy return to sport next week, including Swimming, Cross Country, Netball and Football fixtures.

Dressing for the Cold Weather
Now that we are in the thick of the winter weather, it is important that girls are wearing warm layers for outdoor PE lessons to stay comfortable and safe, whilst remaining active. There are plenty of warm clothing options in the school shop!

Upcoming Fixtures
Monday 13^th January
U18A, U15A and U13A Swimming - Away at Bede’s School
Tuesday 14^th January
U18A Cross Country - Sussex Schools Cross Country
U14A and U14B Netball - Home vs Burgess Hill Girls
Wednesday 15^th January
U13A and U13B Football - Home vs Ashford School
Thursday 16^th January
U15A, U15B and U15C Netball - Away vs Burgess Hill Girls
Friday 17^th January
U13A Cross Country – Away at Great Walstead School

Just a reminder to check SOCS for fixture details and team sheets.

Photo of the Week

This week we are featuring a gallery of all of the beautiful photos of snow that arrived at Mayfield!

We would love to receive submissions for future 'photo of the week' stories. Please send your chosen photos to jtompsett@mayfieldgirls.org.

Library News

This is a busy term for the library as we have World Book Day to celebrate and the visit of performance poet and rap artist Karl Nova after half term, but we start the term with a look at some new titles that have just arrived for both the main school and lower school libraries, and by announcing two winners of the Christmas ‘Get Caught Reading’ competition.

Well done to Mrs Fernandez for her amazing photograph amongst all those Santas! And to Ines in Year 9, who shared a story with family beside a stunning Christmas tree.

Please pop into the library to collect your prizes.

The books below are our newest arrivals, and will be available to borrow from next week.

Ms Jan Blagden, Librarian

From the School Shop

Welcome back to the Spring Term, and a special welcome to all the new students joining us this term.

Celebration Hoodies
Parents / Guardians will shortly get an email with details for Year 13 leavers and Year 11 celebration hoodies. We like to get these ordered by the start of the next half of term, as often supplies run short if we leave it much later, and we also like to get it organised before exams start so students are concentrating on the important things. Please look out for the email and respond as soon as you can.

Sister Jean's Marmalade
Thank you to all those who purchased last term, your support means a great deal to Sister Jean and to Mary’s Meals where the funds are sent, the thanks she expresses belongs to you for purchasing. Below is an extract from a letter I received from Sister Jean this week, the doubling up she refers to is a Corporate sponsor who agreed to match funds raised over December for Mary’s Meals.

"Thank you again for your hard work selling the marmalade – with the doubled effect, pretty well a class of children will be helped by all that you have done."

As Sister Jean is now in Yorkshire, we have the last of her marmalade to sell. I have 34 jars left, once those are sold there will be no more. The cost is £2.50 each (cash only) and all the proceeds go to Mary’s Meals.

Upcoming Exam Period
As exam season will shortly be upon us, we are stocked up on exam revision aids and exam essentials such as clear pencil cases, pens etc.

Please let me know if you think there is anything that we do not carry that will aid you in your preparation for exams. You can pop into the shop or email me at sbowles@mayfieldgirls.org

Mrs Susan Bowles, School Shop Manager

The Wellbeing Hub - What's On This Week