E-weekly Issue 301 - 16 May 2025

Welcome

In the News This Week...

Sixth Formers Celebrate Gold DofE Award

Three of our Year 13 students - Charlotte, Ellie and Katie - enjoyed a trip to Buckingham Palace to receive their Gold Duke of Edinburgh award. Charlotte reflects below on their trip and celebrating their well-deserved awards:

"Attending the Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award celebration at Buckingham Palace was an unforgettable experience. The weather was perfect, the gardens were beautiful, and there was a real sense of excitement and achievement in the air. Being surrounded by many others who had completed the same journey made the occasion feel especially meaningful.

We had the privilege of hearing a thoughtful speech from Prince Edward, who spoke with genuine warmth about the significance of the Award and the values it represents. We also heard from Alex Scott, former professional footballer and sports presenter, who gave a powerful and inspiring talk about her life and the challenges she has overcome. Her honesty and resilience resonated with everyone there.

The atmosphere was full of celebration and pride, with participants sharing stories, reflecting on their experiences, and enjoying the moment together. It was a truly special day that left me feeling proud, motivated, and incredibly honoured to have been part of it."

Year 10 Explore Surrey on Silver DofE Practice Expedition

Last weekend, 17 intrepid Year 10 students took to the Surrey Hills for their Silver Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition – and returned (slightly sunburnt, slightly sore, but smiling) after successfully completing the challenge. With the sun blazing and spirits high, the girls showed incredible resilience and determination as they tackled some of Surrey’s finest hills, including Leith Hill, Box Hill and the never-ending slopes of Denbies hillside. This was a brilliant opportunity to put all their training into practice – from pitching tents and cooking in the wild, to developing their map reading and navigation skills (with only the occasional debate about whether north was really “that way”).

Despite a few blisters and the discovery that pasta tastes even better after walking 15km with a heavy rucksack, the girls rose to the challenge with good humour and great teamwork. I am incredibly proud of their achievements and how well they supported one another throughout the weekend. A huge thank you to Mr Glazebrook, Mr Marshall and Mr Doy for giving up their weekend to lead the expedition.

Mr Partington - Interim Duke of Edinburgh Leader & Director of IT

Introducing our Oxbridge Coordinator

Laughter and Curry at Mayfield Quiz Night

On Friday 9^th May, Mayfield School was alive with laughter, friendly rivalry, and the irresistible aroma of curry as the Friends of Mayfield hosted their ever-popular Curry and Quiz Night. The event was a complete sell-out, with eight competitive teams taking part in what turned out to be a thrilling and thoroughly enjoyable evening. 

Over the course of ten quiz rounds, teams tested their knowledge on a wide range of topics, from general trivia to themed challenges. The competition was fierce, but in the end it was the teachers' team who emerged victorious—just edging out the rest in a closely fought contest. It’s reassuring to know they’ve got brains as well as teaching talent! 

The delicious food was a highlight of the evening, and full credit goes to Jennifer Munnery and her team, as well as James and the entire catering department, for going the extra mile to make the night special. 

A special thank you also goes to Jerry Quinnell, a parent who did a fantastic job compèring the evening with humour and flair. Thanks are also due to Caron Williamson and Mrs Nixon for crafting some of the quiz rounds that kept everyone on their toes. 

Not only was the night a lot of fun, but it also had a meaningful impact: £270 was raised for the school charity, and a significant contribution was made toward a much-needed new high jump mat—which we hope to see in action on Mayfield Day! 

Finally, a heartfelt thank you to our wonderful parent reps for their ongoing hard work behind the scenes and their continued support of school events. Your dedication makes all the difference. 

Mrs Georgina Fletcher, Director of Partnerships and Outreach 

Inter-House Cooking Competition

Tuesday saw our inter-house cooking contest take place, this year involving mixed groups with girls in Years 7-10 participating for each of the four competitive houses. 

The challenge was to make six savoury pastries and six sweet pastries. Each group decided on their ingredients and recipe beforehand, as well as how they will shape and present their chosen products.

Results:
Joint 3^rd - Assisi and Stein 
2^nd - Bakhita - the judges loved the creative "palmier" shaping
1^st - Avila - the judges loved the tart flavour, complemented by the Chantilly cream

Other awards went to:

Favourite savoury - Bakhita (James's overall favourite) - most creative 
Favourite sweet - Avila 
Great teamwork - Stein 
Great leadership - Olivia in Assisi 

Well done to everyone who participated!

Mrs Sue Smeaton, Head of Food & Nutition

News from MESSy

Hi everyone, I’m excited to introduce myself as your new Sustainability Prefect! This year, I’ll be running MESSy with loads of exciting plans—from regenerating the courtyard outside the sixth form dining room and building bug hotels, to running eco-themed competitions and charity days supporting local environmental causes. We’re also looking to work with school departments like catering and cleaning to make a real impact on sustainability. If you’ve got ideas, enthusiasm, or just want to help the planet, we’d love to you see you there! Meetings are usually Wednesdays in A1 (subject to change), and you don’t have to come every week—just when you can.

We will also talk about current climate news; one big thing at the moment is David Attenborough's birthday, so we are also hoping we can show his new film one week during A1 for anyone who is interested.

Heidi, Year 12

Mayfield Girls Support Village Mayfair

Last Saturday the sun was shining and Mayfield high street was flooded with people who came to visit the annual Mayfair event. Boarders from Mayfield contributed time and effort to the fair and thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

The Leeds girls had a fabulous time in the village, with some of them treating the crowds to a lively Maypole dancing performance - their weeks of practice paid off!

Boarders in St Michael's and St Dunstan's spent time baking lots of delicious items, which some Sixth Form volunteers sold at the fair. 

The girls in St Gabriel's organised a couple of games - the ever-popular 'Splat the Rat' and 'Fruit Machine' provided much entertainment. Nana, one of the Year 10 stall helpers, commented: "I really enjoyed going to the Mayfair because it was a great opportunity not just as a Mayfield student but to be a part of the Mayfield village community. I also loved the fact that our involvement in the fundraising games will help support the village." Thanks go to Martyna in Year 12 for her photos of the girls running the stalls.

St Michael's Marian Procession

It was a glorious day on Sunday as boarders, staff and parishioners gathered in the school grounds for our now annual Marian Procession. 

From our starting point by the Gatehouse, a large crowd followed the statue of Mary through our beautiful school grounds, growing ever-larger as the various boarding houses joined our ranks. The choir- comprising students and parishioners- led us in singing some beautiful Marian hymns, finishing with 'Bring flowers of the Rarest', as we queued up to lay our flowers at Mary's feet. A gorgeously colourful display to celebrate and honour Mary our Mother.

We processed further into the Chapel for the crowning by our Mary namesakes boarders before continuing with a beautiful Mass celebrated by Fr Raymond. We join with Millions of Catholics world wide as we celebrate Our Lady in the month of May. 

When some of the boarders asked me why we do this, I am always reminded of something my own mother told me when I was little. If we need something or help, we can pray to Mary and she will ask Jesus - because you should always do what your mummy asks you! It also helps to remember the story of the Wedding Feast at Cana, when Mary simply turned to the waiters and instructed them, "do whatever he tells you."

Finally, the very path of our procession is a wonderful reminder of the role of Mary in our faith lives. We began our route away from the chapel; but by following Mary, we ended up at the foot of the altar, ready to meet Christ in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. 'Ad Jesum per Mariam' - when we follow Mary's guidance and example, we always, always, draw nearer to Christ.

Mrs Helen Lavery, St Michael's Housemistress

Welly Walkers Discover Secret Spot

On Tuesday's welly walk we came upon a secret bench completely hidden amongst the trees.

 Why was it there? How long has it been there? Who put it there?

Whilst mulling over ideas, the girls had to share the bench with the dogs, who couldn't quite see what all the fuss was about!

The intrigue continues! Who knows what we might discover on our next welly walk....?

Mrs Turner

Chaplaincy News

Next Week's Daily Prayers

Daily Prayers 19-23 May

Mass This Weekend
Mass is on Sunday at 11am, with Holy Half Hour on Tuesday evening at 6pm. All are welcome.

Coins Wanted!
Give us all your old change!

One of our Year 12 Actions not Words groups has been spending months learning about food poverty and groundwater issues in Zimbabwe. Using the See, Judge, Act principle, they are now planning a number of fundraising events, in the hopes of raising enough money to upgrade a borehole with a manual pump to one with a solar pump and Jojo storage tank. They have targeted the community of Somgolo, in Matabeleland North Province. See below for an excerpt of a report I wrote about the borehole when I visited the area last summer.

One of the ways the girls have decided to raise funds is to lay out a coin trail round the school. Coins (this is where you come in - please give us your coins!) will be laid end to end round the top and bottom corridors, hopefully completing the loop. The route is about 85 metres long. The mathematicians in our group have calculated that, were we to complete the circuit using pennies only, we'd raise around £42. If we were to complete the loop using pound coins, we'd net just over £3,000. We're hoping for somewhere in the middle!

This feat will be taking place during A1 next Friday, 23^rd May.

So our plea to you - teachers, students, parents - is: clean out your change jars, check down the sides of your sofas, empty the ashtray in your car, and send us all your old coins. There will be a bucket in reception, guarded closely by Andrea, where you can drop all your change any time from Monday to Friday next week. Thank you so much! 

Watch this space for details about a car wash next half term.

Mr Ronan Lavery, Chaplain

Library News

Book of the Week

Mental Health Awareness Week
Mental Health Awareness Week has been marked in both libraries with a range of relevant fiction and non-fiction books displayed. You can find hints and tips on the teen brain and how it works as well as how to build mental and emotional resilience and positivity. The fiction titles explore storylines where mental health and wellbeing are a main issue, fostering empathy, greater understanding and recognition of the various causes and impacts this can have.

Thank you to Venus and Olivia for selecting the books and creating the posters.

New Library Books
We have received some new books into the main library this week. These include recommendations from students as well as physics books recommended by Mr Smith in his interview for the Mayfield Quibbler.

Ms Jan Blagden, Librarian

From the School Shop

Sister Jean's Marmalade
This is the last call – we only have eight pots left, and once they are gone, sadly we will not have any more. Each pot is £2.50 (cash only please) and all proceeds go to Mary’s Meals.

Since Sister Jean left us in September, we have banked £217.50 for Mary’s Meals with the sale of the marmalade she left us. If we can sell the last of the pots, we will make our final donation. Thank you all for your purchases of Sister Jean's wonderful marmalade; it makes a difference to children in the programme. It would make Paddington Bear proud!

Revision and Exam Aids
We carry stationery essentials in the shop including clear pencil cases, calculators, maths sets, pens etc. If you think there is anything you would like us to have to assist you in revision and the exams, please email sbowles@mayfieldgirls.org with your suggestions.

Year 11 & 13 - Second Hand
Once you are on study leave and have a reduced need for certain parts of your uniform, if you wish to send this back to the school shop for second hand, please do the following:

1. Please make sure you have uniform for prize giving / sports day which is on Saturday 21^st June – including your house polo.
2. Make sure all the items are washed and ironed. If we must launder them, we will consider the item a donation as we will need to cover the cost of laundering them- this includes ironing them.
3. Please make sure they are the current uniform. We do not take back obsolete uniform (i.e. Kukri sports kit or items with the old logo – no cross in the centre, old house polos or wrap round and zip kilts etc.).
4. We do not take back things like white shirts, swim caps, hockey socks etc, but you can send them in and they will be responsibly recycled
5. All items must be in good condition, have no holes, rips, broken zips, or stains and not be faded.
6. You may leave the names on them; we can remove these for you.
7. If you are in doubt, send it all in and what we cannot take for second hand we will recycle for you.
8. Items taken in (and not sent for recycling) will be credited to your school shop account straight away. Therefor please make sure all items you wish to sell are with us by the last day of term. After 4^th July any items received if you are leaving will be considered a donation as your account will be shut. For those in Year 11 going into Year 12, if we receive items after term has ended, we will credit you on the next available bill run.
9. We respectfully remind you that there is no official agreement to take back any second hand items and the credit we give you is final and non-negotiable. If we deem an item too old or in too poor condition to sell, we will just dispose of it responsibly. Likewise, if we have too many of a specific item, we will not be able to credit.
10. For Year 11 - please remember to keep your sport bag and any sport kit you know you will need for next year. If you are unsure of your sport choice yet, please keep all your sport kit and then bring items you will not need to me in the Autumn term once you have chosen your sport.

Name Tapes
If you are leaving us, and you had the naming service please come to the school shop and collect any surplus name tapes towards the end of term.

Mrs Susan Bowles, School Shop Manager

Photo of the Week

Photo of the week today comes from Martyna in Year 12 and her beautiful photo of flowers in a beam of sunlight in the local woodland. 

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