E-weekly Issue 294 - 7 March 2025

Welcome

This week, our Year 13 students completed their mock exams—a significant milestone! They were able to shake off the stress with a lively and good-spirited netball match against the boys from Tonbridge, which proved to be a great way to unwind.

As part of National Careers Week, we were delighted to welcome back two of our accomplished OCs, Natasha Muhamba and Mary Whitlock, who shared their inspiring career journeys with our girls. Mary went on to study History of Art at St Andrews, while Natasha, our former Head Girl, took the Apprenticeship route and is making great strides as a Software Engineer at Goldman Sachs. Their stories were a wonderful reminder of the many exciting paths our students can take beyond Mayfield.

Yesterday, our annual World Book Day celebrations filled the school with creativity, with a host of beloved book characters making an appearance! Reading is one of life’s greatest joys, and it’s always wonderful to see our girls embracing a love of books so enthusiastically.

Wishing everyone a restful and enjoyable weekend. And don’t forget—Saturday marks International Women’s Day! We look forward to celebrating it together in school on Monday.

Deborah Bligh, Headmistress

In the News This Week...

A Date for Your Diaries...

Year 7 parents: Coffee at the House Cafe, Mayfield on Friday 14^th March at 9am.

Year 10 Attend 'Thriving Minds' Conference

On Tuesday, 28 Year 10s attended the Thriving Minds Senior Stretch Conference at London Bloomsbury Baptist church, where they were treated to the following talks: Explore Quantum Realities: A Journey Through Quantum Realms; Discover the Psychology of Unconscious Biases; Shakespeare: Humors and Appetites. There was a also a session on possible approaches to a classic Oxbridge interview question: ‘Tell me about a lightbulb’ and a debate about whether veganism should be a moral imperative. Emma, Betsy, Michelle, Sophie and Hannah showed great courage in standing up and speaking, representing Mayfield brilliantly in the process.

“If I had to describe the conference with one word, it would be ‘enlightening’, I walked into the room feeling hungry but walked out feeling mentally nourished. The psychology lecture definitely spoke to me because of the reflective and personally engaging elements. Furthermore, the debating session about veganism at the end was the cherry on top!” - Jasmine

“The lectures were truly inspiring and intriguing. I particularly enjoyed the explanation of Schrödinger’s Cat, which provided me with a profound insight into quantum realities. The discussion of Noetic Science, especially the question, "Can human life perceive things without ordinary senses?" was equally captivating for its explanation of the mind’s influence towards larger material systems.” - Winnie

“The lectures were really interesting, and I enjoyed it a lot. The topic that stood out to me the most was psychology especially when they talked about death, war, and poverty. I also found the Oxbridge interview questions session very helpful. They gave us useful advice on what to do and what to avoid in an interview. It was really interesting to see how random the questions can be and what to expect during the process. Another part I really enjoyed was the debate. The topic was engaging and everyone had strong arguments. It was exciting to hear different opinions and see how people defended and debated their views. Overall the conference was a great experience and I learned a lot!” - Mari

“I found all the lectures really inspiring and interesting. I particularly liked the psychology lecture on the theme of memories as it made me realise the importance of being optimistic and different ways of facing traumatic events that I can bring to my daily life.” - Charlotte

“I particularly enjoyed the talk about quantum realities. I found the idea that reality only exists with the presence of observers and the idea of the universe being in waves of possibilities if not being observed intriguing.” - Rainie

“I found the conference really inspiring especially the psychology part where Dr O’Neil talked about the power of negative and unconscious bias. It broadened my understanding of the power of negativity and made me reflect on myself and reminded me that I should always think in a positive way.” - Amantha

“The thriving minds conference inspired me as each lecture was unique, and every lecture captivated me in its own way. However, what fascinated me the most was the lecture about “Quantum Mechanics” and the “strangeness” in Physics; How the movement of particles changes when being observed and how there are some things in the world that cannot be explained on a human level." - Nana

Mrs Kasia Kilvington, Director of Scholars

Year 10 Scholars Explore Oxford & Cambridge

This three-day, two-night residential trip to Oxford and Cambridge was a rare opportunity for our current Year 10 scholars to ask questions and discover what university courses, application and social life is like while taking in valuable tips from the Old Cornelians themselves. 

We were toured around each college by OCs who answered all of our questions and showed us all of the beautiful buildings, libraries and gardens. After an eventful day at Oxford, including visits to three colleges, a bookshop, the Covered Market and the Ashmolean museum, we drove up to Cambridge. There we visited three more colleges on Sunday, the Open Market and attended Mass at Fisher House, the University Catholic Chaplaincy. The sun shone all weekend; the girls walked everywhere and had a wonderful experience.  

"Spending the weekend at Oxbridge was an incredible experience. Not only did we tour the universities, but we also gained valuable insights into the application process, choosing the right college, and what studying at Oxbridge is generally like. I also really enjoyed exploring the markets, bookshops, and visiting the Ashmolean Museum! Thank you so much to Dr Reijers and Mrs Kilvington for organising this trip and the OCs who toured us around!" - Frances

"I found the Oxbridge Trip fascinating and inspiring. Not only did we get to visit the various colleges, which specialised in different areas, but we also had the opportunity to meet with Old Cornelians and ask them questions about their personal university experiences. I particularly enjoyed listening to some of the Old Cornelians talk about their different courses they are studying, especially on languages, which is something I aim to study in the future. Thank you so much to Mrs Kilvington and Dr R for making this trip possible." - Annette

"Visiting both Cambridge and Oxford was an unforgettable experience. We had the chance to tour several prestigious colleges across Oxbridge, guided by old Cornelians who shared their personal stories. Throughout the trip, we learned about the rich history of both universities and gained a better understanding of what it's really like to study there. Each student we met shared her experiences, which made our trip even more meaningful and gave us a clearer picture of student life beyond the classroom. The trip inspired us to set goals and work harder to achieve them." - Betsy

"The Oxbridge trip was an intriguing and eye opening experience for me, the Old Cornelians were very helpful and answered most of my questions about either the academic curriculum or social aspects of Oxbridge, and seeing the colleges assisted and guided my choices for A Level." - Eve

A special thank you goes to our six wonderful OCs who gave up their time to show us around. Genevieve (St Peter's), Cosima (St John's) and Yueshi (Somerville) at Oxford, and Valeria (Pembroke), Elizabeth (Peterhouse) and Victoria (Trinity) at Cambridge were our fantastic tour guides. It was such a unique experience for our girls – hopefully they will be inspired!    

Dr Reijers, Teacher of French

Captivating Performances from Year 11 Drama Students

This week students in Year 11 GCSE Drama were visited by an examiner and performed their scripted performance work after months of preparation. The students gave stunning performances from a diverse range of play texts and were able to show an extensive range of vocal and physical skills. Thank you to Mr. Savage and Mr. Smith for their technical assistance and bravo to all of the performers who will be eagerly waiting until August for their results!

Ms Victoria Nash, Director of Drama and Media

MESSy Car Boot Sale for Charity

The Big Lent Walk

Last week, Ronan spoke to the girls in Liturgy about rather than giving something up for Lent, that we should think about taking on a new challenge.

This had me thinking about what challenge could I take on. I then started to look for an assembly to host on Ash Wednesday and I suddenly remembered about CAFOD's 'Big Lent Walk'. 

This year, CAFOD are looking to raise money to support those in communities who have been badly affected by drought. Where they had lost all of their livestock and instead, CAFOD have taught them to raise chickens as they require less water and feed than larger livestock. 

CAFOD Lent Video

To raise money, CAFOD are challenging us to walk 200km in the 40 days of Lent.

So, on Wednesday 5^th March, Miss Auer helped to launch 'The Big Lent Walk' with Year 9 & 10. We have also asked Years 7 & 8 to get involved. 

All the girls need to do, is email me with how many kilometres they have covered and which tutor group they are in. We will be running a competition between the year groups, to see who can walk the most!

We will be having well-being walks in the mornings and also tracking our distances when we go on adventures at the start of the Easter break. 

When I receive the information from the girls, I will add this to our total and submit to our just giving page. 

How can you help? Get out for a walk with the girls and please donate to our JustGiving page:

Mayfield School - Big Lent Walk is fundraising for CAFOD

We will be posting weekly updates as to how we are doing.

Thank you so much for your support in advance.

Mrs Le Riche

International English Girls Enjoy World Book Day

The Year 7 International girls enjoyed taking part in World Book Day yesterday! Daisy and Jenny were Stitch from 'Lilo and Stitch', and Pia dressed as Anger and Clara as Disgust, both from 'Inside Out'.

"We really enjoyed World Book Day because it is fun wearing costumes from book characters and finding out about what people like to read.  In Spain, we have World Book Day but it's not so fun, we don't dress up - we just have a book fair that sells books. We're looking forward to the Year 7 film night (from a book) in the boarding house later." - Pia

The Year 8s also looked fabulous in their outfits - can you guess who they are dressed as?

Mrs Turner, International English Teacher

Cecelia Shines On Stage at Glyndebourne

Primary Team Maths Challenge

On Monday 3^rd March, the Maths department and their team of helpers welcomed teams of four Year 5 pupils from 14 local primary and prep schools to take part in their annual Team Maths Challenge. After a set of warm-up questions, they competed across an initial three rounds testing both their mathematical skills and their teamwork. The rounds involved them firstly solving a range of problems as a group, then completing a logic problem, and finally using sets of given numbers to “Make 24”.

It was then time for a delicious Mayfield lunch before the excitement of the relay round where teams were split into pairs and having solved a problem they had to run to their allocated teacher and then back to their team’s other pair.

The victors were the team from Holmewood House, with The Mead School the runners up, and Somerhill in third place.

Feedback from visiting schools:

"Please pass on my thanks for a great maths challenge – very well organised and the pupils loved it!"

"I just wanted to say a huge thank you for hosting such a wonderful and fun Maths Challenge day at Mayfield School yesterday. It was so well organised, and our pupils thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience."

"Thank you to you and your team for hosting today's Primary Team Maths Challenge at Mayfield.  Although the Skippers children found some of the questions challenging, they had a very enjoyable time and announced on the short journey back to school that they would like to compete in more Maths challenges - a successful day indeed!"

Miss Clare Vardon, Head of Maths

Year 12 - Chemists... or Detectives?

This week with Dr Taylor, the Year 12 Chemists have been completing their second of two required practicals identifying unknown compounds. There were each given four solutions and had to devise a series of tests to identify them using the minimum number of tests possible. They all worked through their own planned series of tests and successfully deduced which compound was which. The required practicals form an essential part of the Chemistry course and ensure that the girls gain an excellent training in working safely and efficiently in the lab. Both classes are well on their way to being competent, practical chemists.

With Dr Turner, A-Level students are getting hands-on with chemistry in an exciting required practical, testing for halide salts. Using silver nitrate and ammonia, they carefully observe the unique reactions that reveal chloride, bromide, and iodide ions. It’s a great way to bring classroom learning to life, building confidence in their practical skills while deepening their understanding of key chemical concepts. More than just an experiment, this is a chance to think like real scientists—problem-solving, analysing results, and making discoveries along the way!

Sports News

SISNA
This week saw the postponed SISNA competition for the U12 and U13 teams. It was a brilliant day of Netball for all, with the girls facing some tough opposition. Both squads were able to develop throughout the day and left having learnt a lot. The girls remained positive and displayed fantastic team spirit despite the challenges they faced. The two highlights of the day were the U12s winning against Burgess Hill and U13s having a closely contested game against Ardingly.

U12B and U13B vs Ashford School
It was great to see our B teams in action on Wednesday against Ashford School. Both were well fought games and the girls had the opportunity to compete and develop throughout the afternoon. 

Upcoming Fixtures and Events
Monday 10^th March - Swim vs Benenden U18,U15,U13
Tuesday 11^th March - Netball vs Lingfield College, U14A,B,C,D
Wednesday 12^th March - Netball vs Roedean School, U13A,B,C, U12A, B,C
Thursday 13^th March - Netball vs Lingfield College U15A,B,C,D
Saturday 15^th March - Dance Show Tech Rehearsal (girls to be sent individual timings) 
Saturday 15^th March - Netball vs Kings Canterbury Seniors, U15A,B,C, U14A, B, C

Mayfield v Tonbridge Netball Match

A very competitive netball match was held between our Year 13s and Tonbridge School earlier this week. In the first half the netball rules flummoxed the boys, with Mayfield leading. However, they quickly got the hang of it to give a strong performance as the game progressed. The final score was 9 - 5 to Tonbridge. Our thanks go to Mrs Cox for umpiring the match!

Sports Captain Francesca said:

"It was a competitive and amusing game; with our wonderful support from the side-lines cheering us on. To top it off, the sun was shining, definitely the perfect way to end our busy week of mocks!"

Mrs Rachel Davies, Deputy Head of Sixth Form

A Busy Week in Boarding

Over the past week the boarders have enjoyed a variety of activities on site, which will hopefully continue as the weather improves heading into Spring. 

Leeds House went on a short walk to their new 'wishing tree', where they tied ribbons representing their wishes to the branches. The wishing tree can be found near the Sixth Form Centre, if anyone would like to add their own wish.

St Gabriel's House made the most of the sunshine last weekend, with all the girls spending at least one hour out of the house playing badminton, tennis, using the fitness room or going on a walk around the school grounds. 

The girls in St Michael's House enjoyed their Year 11 ball last Friday night! Lots of them dressed up for the occasion and looked fabulous. The girls that opted not to attend the ball remained in the house and enjoyed a mega baking spree while the house was quiet.

The boarders in St Dunstan's House particularly enjoyed pancake day on Tuesday, spending the evening in their common room with Miss Ruival making (and subsequently eating!) lots of pancakes. 

STEM Hero - March 2025

Students Relax with Yoga Activities

Lots of girls have been enjoying yoga sessions recently - last weekend the Year 10 boarders from St Gabriel's house and this week a group of Year 7 girls during their Life Skills session on World Book Day (hence the colourful outfits!). The girls took part in an enjoyable activity learning some new yoga poses and having a go at practising some partner poses too. It was great fun seeing them all taking part and most importantly having fun. It's always good to have the opportunity to enjoy some well-earned relaxation!

Ms Corinne Richard, Teacher of French, Spanish & Yoga

Siena Bakes Delicious Mille-Feuille in Culinary Skills

Siena in the Year 12 Culinary Skills group produced a very impressive Mille-Feuille this week, featuring homemade creme patisserie and fabulous feather icing. 

Well done Siena - it looks delicious! 

Mrs Sue Smeaton, Head of Food & Nutrition

Justice and Peace Team Raise Awareness of Cost of Living Crisis

This term, the Justice and Peace team have been working on designing activities to help Years 7 & 8 girls understand the Cost of Living crisis so many families are having to cope with in the UK. The girls engaged well with the activities, and we hope they now understand better how many families are struggling at this time, and have developed a greater sense of gratitude for what they are fortunate enough to have at school and home. 

Thank you to the amazing Year 12 girls who created these fun and educational activities, and to Year 7 & 8 for joining in so enthusiastically. 

Mrs Gaelle McGovern, Head of Religious Studies

Rose Attends Awards Evening

Congratulations to Rose in Year 12 who was shortlisted for her SPoKE Art Documentary Film Competition entry on Jean-Honoré Fragonard's 'The Swing' in the Wallace Collection, which she examined using a feminist approach. This competition invites students from Years 10-13 to create a short film on a work of art or architecture, linking the visual and the verbal in an imaginative and creative manner, underpinned by solid academic research.

On Tuesday 4^th March Rose was invited to attend the prestigious awards ceremony at the Paul Mellon Centre in Bedford Square, London where she was able to meet the judges, and students from other schools, many of whom are also studying A Level History of Art. Dr Weddell commented: 'Being shortlisted for this national competition is a great achievement and, while Rose didn't win a prize, she is to be commended for challenging herself to explore new concepts and ideas and develop valuable skills. I am happy to support other Mayfield students who are interested in applying for the 2026 competition.' 

Details of the competition are below: 

SPoKE Art Documentary Competition — SPoKE Competition

Reflecting on her achievement, Rose commented: "Unfortunately I didn’t win the History of Art SPOKE documentary competition, but I am still very glad to have entered it, and about getting shortlisted. I also met lots of other people who were likeminded, so worth the trip - lots of fun!"

Congratulations Rose!

Easter GCSE Revision Courses

We are delighted to announce that Mayfield is running Easter GCSE revision courses aimed at Year 11 students who are taking GCSEs this summer.  Five courses are available to book, offering a different GCSE core subject on each day. Mrs Parrett will be leading the English course, Mr Taylor the Chemistry course, Mrs Lewis the Biology course, Mr Clark the Maths course and Mr Smith the Physics course. (If there is sufficient demand to run a second course each day, Mrs Staunton, Mr Everitt, Mrs Garcia Claramonte, Mrs Motoc and Dr Kasina will also be providing tuition). 

These courses will take place during the second week of the Easter Holidays (7th April - 11^th April) and are open to Mayfield students, as well as those from local schools.   For more information about dates, content, prices and how to book please see the revision booklet below or visit the school website.

Revision Booklet

Mayfield School  - GCSE Revision Courses

Curry & Quiz Night - Friday 9^th May

Book your places here

Chaplaincy News

This Wednesday was Ash Wednesday, which we celebrated as a school community by coming together for Mass with the parish, and to receive ashes on our foreheads.

For those who don't know about the tradition of receiving ashes, it may seem - at first glance - quite peculiar. On Ash Wednesday we are marked, with black ash, in the shape of the Cross. All are invited - people of all faith backgrounds and none. The reason for the ash, however, is simple.

It is a call to humility and repentance. 

This tradition has its roots in the Old Testament, where wearing ashes was a common sign of repentance for sins, and a sign of one’s humility before God. Mordecai (Book of Esther), Job, Daniel and the king of Nineveh (Book of Job) were all recorded as having worn ashes as a sign of repentance. Since Lent is a season of penitential renewal through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, it’s appropriate that this ancient sign marks the beginning of the season. 

Cornelia Connelly said "be yourself, only make that self all that God wants it to be." Lent is a great opportunity to still ourselves, to humble ourselves, and to listen for the voice of God calling us to reconciliation with him. As we receive the ashes, we are called to '"Repent and believe the Good News" - the 'Good News' of course being that we are loved beyond measure, full of dignity and divinity, and called to be a people of hope.

"O lord, make this Lenten season different from the other ones. Let me find you again. Amen." -Henri Nouwen

Mass on Sunday is at 11:30am. Holy Half Hour is on Tuesday at 6pm. Our Lenten Taize service is next Saturday, 15^th March at 7:30pm. As ever, all are welcome. 

Next Week's Daily Prayers

Daily Prayers 10-14 March

Photo of the Week

Many thanks to Mrs Lane for her beautiful picture of a misty morning this week, as the sunshine was emerging. 

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

Library News

Thank you to everyone who has made this World Book Day such a lot of fun, joined in by dressing up (always amazing costumes) and entering the competitions. We had a Year 10 flash fiction write-athon, a literary pairs competition - congratulations to Mrs Nixon and Mr Walser for finding their literary partner the quickest - and a fabulous dress-up parade; the winners are listed below: 

Year 7 individual was a joint win this year for Annabella as Paddington and Marcela as a Bad Case of Stripes.

Year 7 group was also a joint win for The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe, AKA Meryl, Ella & Mary, and Disney's Rapunzel complete with lantern lit boat AKA Ina-Mae, Leonie & Sofia.

Year 8 individual winner was Helena as Professor Snape.

Year 8 group were the Demon Slayers aka Janie, Alice, Mckinley, Amelie, Elsie and Hei Bo.

Southern Schools Book Award
Last Friday, I accompanied the girls in Pageturners book club to the presentation evening for the Southern Schools Book Awards held at Hurstpierpoint College. Here is Nicole’s report on the event;

"The Southern School Book Award presentation evening was hosted in Hurst School on Friday. I was lucky enough to go there with Raine (in year 10). Although we were stuck in traffic for half an hour, we still got there just in time before it began. The presentation took place in the theatre, which was massive.

It started off with the host - Ravena Guron (last year's book winner) introducing the 5 authors. Each of them talked about their inspirations for writing their short-listed books. While the authors were speaking, Chris Riddell, a talented artist, was drawing their faces. Some of them were hilarious. Then, it was followed by a Q&A session.

Afterwards, a representative from each school went up to the stage to collect book tokens from Chris Riddell. The book tokens allow students/ teachers to each choose a book written by the short-listed authors and get the books signed by them. It was quite nerve racking for me as there were hundreds of eyes staring at me as I went up.

Finally, the presentation ended with Ravena announcing the winning book which got the most votes. My favourite book out of the five was You Wouldn't Catch Me Dead, which came second. The winner was The Things We Leave Behind by Clare Furniss.

As we walked out of the theatre, the view of the sunset was breath taking. This was such an interesting and fun experience getting to meet the authors and I really enjoyed the night."

Ms Jan Blagden, Librarian