E-weekly Issue 311 - 26 September 2025

Welcome

This half term seems to be flying by, and I have been delighted to see our girls engaging so enthusiastically with the many extracurricular and enrichment opportunities on offer. My highlight this week was our Sixth Form Information Evening, where current Mayfield girls, their parents, and visiting families got a real flavour of life in the Sixth Form. It was wonderful to see them learning more about the extensive courses available, alongside the excellence of our university and careers provision. 

Looking ahead, I am very much looking forward to tomorrow’s Michaelmas Fair. Preparations today have shown me that we are all in for a real treat!

I am also particularly excited about our Careers Event on 1^st October. Mrs Davies has worked hard to put together a fantastic programme with 38 stands covering a diverse range of careers, offering invaluable guidance about opportunities and pathways, including work experience for students. We hope to see you there.

Finally, I thought it would be interesting to share a video of our current Head Girl, Alexa, in conversation with our former Academic Prefect, Breanna, discussing the Mayfield scholarship programme. Girls considering applying for 13+ and 16+ scholarships are warmly encouraged to watch the video and find out more from Mrs Kilvington, our Director of Scholars. A reminder of the process can be found below. 

Scholarship Applications – Upcoming Deadlines
A reminder to all parents and girls that the deadline for scholarship applications is approaching. Please see the details below for 13+ (Year 9) and 16+ (Sixth Form) scholarships:

13+ (Year 9) Scholarship
Academic Scholarship
Assessment dates: Wednesday 12^th & Thursday 13^th November 2025
Application deadline: Friday 31^st October 2025

Click here to complete the 13+ Scholarship Application Form

Sport, Creative Arts, Drama, Music, Riding & Dance Scholarships
Assessment date: Saturday 17^th January 2026
Application forms for these disciplines will be sent out in late October 2025.

16+ (Sixth Form) Scholarships
Assessment date: Saturday 15^th November 2025
Disciplines: Academic, Creative Arts, Drama, Music, Organ, Sport, Dance, and Riding
Application deadline: Monday 3^rd November 2025

Click here to complete the 16+ Scholarship Application Form

In the News This Week...

Year 9 Day of Recollection: Soup, Skies & Soul Searching

On Monday, it was a crisp, blue-skied morning and the entire of Year 9, alongside their form tutors, Head of Year, and the school chaplain Ronan, embarked on a memorable Day of Recollection at the beautiful Ashburnham Place near Battle. 

The day was a perfect blend of nature, creativity, and contemplation. With the sun shining and spirits high, the girls kicked off their adventure with a greeting from the staff of Ashburnham Place and an introduction to the Year 9 Cornelian principle of integrity. 

There were three activities for each form group. First up was a hands-on outdoor cooking session. Armed with enthusiasm, they harvested fresh vegetables straight from Ashburnham’s kitchen garden. What followed was a delicious collaboration: hearty soup simmered over open flames and golden flatbreads caked in garlic butter. The verdict? Absolutely delicious and even better because they made it themselves, with fresh ingredients straight out of the ground. 

Next came a burst of artistic energy. In a vibrant art session, the girls experimented with wax and oils on canvas, creating individual pieces that will be sewn together into a stunning Year 9 tapestry. Each canvas told a story, and together they’ll form a colourful mosaic of memories and shared experiences. 

But it wasn’t all soup and paint as there was plenty of brain food too. In a thought-provoking discussion, the girls tackled some big questions: What does honesty really mean? Is it ever okay to cheat at Monopoly? And how should we think about the rise of AI in our lives? The conversations were lively, insightful, and full of critical thinking, proving that Year 9 isn’t afraid to dive deep. 

The Day of Recollection was more than just a break from routine, it was a celebration of community, creativity, and curiosity. With laughter echoing and ideas sparking in every corner, it’s safe to say that Year 9 made memories to last them through their time here at Mayfield. 

Mrs Georgina Fletcher, Head of Year 9 

Year 11 Geographers Undertake Fieldwork

On Thursday 18^th September, the Year 11 Geographers spent the day collecting data for their fieldwork exam. We walked down to the woods near school to investigate whether they are typical temperate deciduous woodlands. Whilst there was a little mud involved, the students got experience of sampling an ecosystem using transects and collecting various data, such as soil characteristics and vegetation identification. We will investigate the data further later in the year.

The Geography department has also upgraded its fieldwork equipment carrying abilities by investing in a (now muddy) trolley. It is feeling a bit sad without a name and a little underdressed without some sort of personalisation (friendship bracelets could be an option). The Year 11s came up with a few options for a name, but we feel that there may be some other good options so please send suggestions of a name for the trolley to Mr Adams and the chosen one will result in a house point! 

Michaelmas Fair 2025 - Tomorrow!

We will have 43 stalls offering lots of goodies to help you kick-start your Christmas shopping. Please do come along and see what's on offer!

Sports News

Sailing at Weir Wood
On Saturday 20^th September, a group of pupils undertook a sailing taster session at Weir Wood Reservoir. It was a particularly good day and many of the girls have shown an interest in trying to do it more consistently. We had a range of experience, from Katherine in Year 10, who is undertaking her Assistant Instructor qualification, and who helped some of the girls with the other instructors, to girls who had not been in a boat before. With another taster planned for 4^th October, Miss Petty is hopeful that some of the Mayfield community will enjoy a bit more time on the water. In due course Weir Wood should also be sending out information about courses and activities over Half Term, so please keep your eyes peeled if you are interested.

Skiing at Chatham
On Sunday 21^st September, a Mayfield Team took part in the Regional Qualifiers of the Dry Slope Skiing in Chatham. Emilia, Imo and Jasmine came 6^th in the Team Competition, being beaten to higher spots by schools who have well-established ski programmes, so this is an immense achievement. In addition, Emilia was the 2^nd fastest female on the day, and was 3^rd overall (including the boys categories). Well done ladies!

Good luck to the girls participating in the British School Girls' Indoor Skiing Competition this Sunday.

Hockey

U14 vs Dulwich Cranbrook

On Tuesday, there was a re-match with Dulwich Cranbrook. As with last week, the game was tight and both sides had chances, but the match, once again, ended in a stalemate. 0-0.

U13A Hockey - Bede's Tournament

It was a tough day at the office for the U13A Hockey team, who participated in the Bede's Hockey Tournament. There were some incredibly strong sides in our pool, two of whom were the eventual Cup Finalists. We began by playing Holmewood House, who were strong, but we lacked a bit of discipline which enabled them to take advantage of the space and some misplaced passing, leading to a 3-0 defeat in our first game.

Sevenoaks, the eventual winners, had some strong club players on the field; we did well to keep them out, but a couple of the goals were incredibly well taken and most adults would have been happy with the finishing. Second game: 3-0 defeat. However, having developed a greater level of positional sense and a greater understanding of the roles required, the next game against Great Walstead (the other finalist) we lost narrowly (1-0), with some great saves from Iris, and Romilly beginning to take control at the back.

By game four, we were into our stride, had huge amounts of possession and a number of short corners and shots on goal. However Claremont, against the run of play, nicked a goal at the end. So sadly we did not progress, but a lot has been learnt and we are looking forward to building on this. Player of the Tournament: Romilly (Year 8).

U13 B-D vs St Andrew's

St Andrew's are always strong with their Hockey, but with the opportunity to enable more girls to get involved and play in their first matches, we made some significant improvements from last year. With all players playing an active role, it was also an opportunity for us to see what our goalkeepers could do. Highlights included: Sakura scoring a goal for the D team, Ella making some important saves with just a 2-1 loss, and Mencia being named player of the match.

The U13Es started their Hockey campaign with a close match against St Andrew’s. There was little to separate the two sides, in what was an end to end contest. The final score was 1-0 to St Andrew’s, despite Mayfield’s best efforts at goal towards the end of the match. Carlota was awarded Girl of the Game in her first Hockey match. Well done girls!

Former Head Girl Lizzie Visits Year 12

This week former Head Girl Lizzie inspired Year 12s with her excellent talk about taking a gap year. She certainly made the most of her time, with an internship in London, travel in Thailand, working in an orphanage, and fund raising for and taking part in a community project and building a bridge in Bolivia. Lizzie is off to Durham to study Engineering next week and she shared her journey through applications and obtaining scholarships from national engineering institutes. This raised lots of interesting questions from the budding engineers in the audience. It was wonderful to see Lizzie again and we wish her well as she heads off to university!

Mrs Rachel Davies, Deputy Head of Sixth Form

Tamsin Leads Workshop for Drama Scholars

This week Drama scholars had the opportunity to get together for their first huddle of the year. It was great to welcome our new scholars and to introduce all scholars to their buddies, with older scholars peer mentoring and offering support to younger scholars. The scholars were treated to a workshop exploring the theories of the female practitioner Uta Hagen, led by Tamsin in Year 13, who is carrying out research and applying her knowledge by workshopping, as part of her Extended Project Qualification. Thank you, Tamsin, for creating the workshop and sharing your knowledge.

Ms Victoria Nash, Director of Drama & Media

Parent Breakfast - Supporting Young People

A reminder that our next Parent Breakfast will take place on Friday, 10^th October 2025, from 08:20–09:00 in the Courtyard. A light breakfast will be served, followed by a talk from our guest speaker on the important topics of understanding eating disorders and self-harm.

This session will provide practical insight into recognising early signs, responding sensitively, and supporting young people through challenges.

There is still time to confirm your attendance, and we thank those who have already done so. The deadline for confirming attendance is Friday, 3^rd October 2025, and the link to confirm can be found in the letter sent on 1^st September 2025.

Dr A. Kasina, Life Skills and Personal Development Lead

Rainbows 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, for the duration of the 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 your daughter's form tutor.

‘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.

Highlights from Food & Nutrition - Autumn Term Kick-Off

The Food & Nutrition department has had a deliciously busy start to the Autumn Term, and we’re thrilled to share a few highlights from our culinary adventures so far!

Saturday Morning Boarding Sessions
Boarders have been getting creative in the kitchen, whipping up apple & toffee muffins, pizza puffs, and yo-yo cookies. A sweet and savoury start to the weekends!

Year 7 – Fruit Kebabs & Knife Skills
Our Year 7 students have been settling into routines and showing off their knife skills while preparing vibrant and healthy fruit kebabs. A colourful introduction to food prep!

Year 10 – Ramen & Savoury Tarts
Year 10 have impressed us with their precision and flair, crafting flavourful ramen dishes and mastering pastry techniques to produce delicious savoury tarts.

Culinary Skills – Focaccia Art & Poached Chicken Ramen
Year 10 Culinary Skills girls have taken things up a notch with edible artistry! From beautifully decorated focaccia to more advanced ramen dishes featuring poached chicken in aromatic broth, their creativity and skill are shining through.

It’s been a fantastic start to the year—well done, girls!

Mrs Sue Smeaton, Head of Food & Nutrition

Careers Fair - Wednesday 1^st October

We are delighted to confirm we have a huge range of careers represented, from STEM to healthcare and finance to law. All students should attend and parents and siblings are very welcome too. See you on Wednesday! Please find details of all 38 exhibitors on the link below. 

More Information

Teatime Concert - Thursday 2^nd October

RSVP - Teatime Concert, Thursday 2nd October

Mayfield Charity Fashion Show - Dresses Wanted!

Chaplaincy News

It has been a busy week here in Chaplaincy, with lots of hot chocolate and probably too much coffee consumed - and definitely too many biscuits eaten... but there's also been a huge amount of laughter, community and prayer.

Monday evening saw our Chaplaincy Ambassadors work together to help Rachel plan next week's liturgies: we're going to hear about the life of the newest Catholic Saint, Carlo Acutis.

Tuesday evening's Young Christian Women group - through mouthfuls of bourbon creams, and a pack of chocolate digestives that lasted about 45 seconds - discussed and debated some real-life scenarios in which the Christian response might not be immediately clear, and how we are called to respond in these difficult situations. Conversation was as lively as ever, but I was once again struck by the maturity and mutual respect evident within the group.

Confirmation preparation on Wednesday evening saw the group think about their faith journeys up to this point. Questions they considered included:

'What is your favourite religious object? Who gave it to you? Why is it important to you?'
and,
'Tell a story of a time when you really prayed.'

Liturgy on Tuesday and Wednesday morning was another music practice, as we look forward to the Whole School Masses on 15^th October. The girls are becoming more confident singing the parts of the Mass, as evidenced by their gorgeous harmonies singing the Taize Alleluia 7.

Monday morning saw 40 Year 9s descend on Ashburnham Place for their Day of Recollection. Tim Young, from the Closer to the Land project, and his brilliant team of Jules, Dan, Lucy and Helen, once again used a variety of creative activities to unpack the Year 9 Cornelian Principle of Integrity.

The art workshop used Batik to explore integrity of self and of our contribution to community. The Samoan circle helped to look at the integrity of our relationships with others, while the kitchen garden activity made us think about the integrity of Creation - while eating delicious bread and soup from vegetables harvested by the girls themselves!

Mass this Sunday is at 11am as usual, and all are welcome.

Holy Half Hour continues on Tuesday evening at 6pm.

And finally, if you regularly attend Sunday Mass in the school chapel, you are invited to complete the Parish Register here: https://sacredheartchurchwadhurst.org.uk/register/. Completing the form in the link will register you as a parishioner, and give you the option to receive the weekly newsletter electronically.

Next Week's Daily Prayers

Daily Prayers 29 Sep - 03 Oct
Mr Ronan Lavery, Chaplain

Library News

From the School Shop

Mayfield Tartan Pyjamas Back in Stock!
We have our tartan pyjamas back in stock, these are £20.75 per pair including VAT and have the Mayfield logo embroidered on the upper leg. If you would like a pair, you can try them on in the school shop. Please remember to have the bill payer’s permission to put them on your school shop account. We carry them in green, red and pink/grey options.

Mrs Susan Bowles, School Shop Manager

New Support Sessions from 'The Parenting Team'

'The Parenting Team' are a small team who support parents and carers of children aged 0-19 across the whole of East Sussex. They have released their latest series of online sessions and webinars for October to December, helping parents and carers understand various topics relating to children under their care. 

There are QR codes on the document linked below if you wish to sign up to attend any of the sessions.

Webinars and Online Sessions - 'The Parenting Team'

Photo of the Week

Photo of the Week comes from Mrs Gordon-Booth, with her picture taken from the lower school car park of the double rainbow on Tuesday evening!

If you wish to submit a picture for any future 'Photo of the Week' stories, please send your selected image to jtompsett@mayfieldgirls.org.