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Welcome to our first e-newsletter specifically for former staff of Wimbledon High. Our aim is to keep you in touch with school life, remind you of opportunities to come back and see us and share your news too. We would like to hear any suggestions you have on what you'd like to see here. Equally, if you no longer wish to hear from us, please email or use the unsubcribe options below.
MESSAGE FROM THE HEAD
It has been a cracking half term, replete with great weather, purposeful learning, outstanding fixtures and heaps of creativity. Highlights thus far have been welcoming all of our new girls and staff with gusto at the Stepping In Ceremony; getting to know my lovely House Form every other Wednesday morning; listening to our musical Amelie shaping up slowly but surely over the weeks; and perhaps best of all, watching our 1st XI beat King’s 4-1 on a glorious September morning – could anything be better? And so the Autumn Term within our walls has been a happy and productive one, with much to
celebrate.
Of course, outside of our walls, things have been somewhat different. And so it seems perhaps a contradiction, that we could have had such a positive start to the year here at WHS when so much around us reflects the VUCA world we’re told we now live in: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. Yet I don’t see it as a contradiction: schools are always changing, but always the same. Fundamentally, learning and childhood and school structures and routines stand as steadfast pillars of longevity in a shifting world; and this was underlined in the opening speech at HMC Heads’ Conference by the excellent Chair Sue Woodroofe, Head of the Grammar School at Leeds:
‘Conference, all that we are, and all that we aspire to achieve now, is not new, even if the immediate threat and the pressing circumstance is; rather, we stand for something that crosses the boundaries of time, educational trends, of political pressures, because we stand for the eternal truths about learning, about care, support and hope for our pupils, and the value that we place upon them.’
I can sense myself turning to these words over and over in the times ahead, and it comforted me enormously that this message of change being a reliable constant chimed with the blog I’d written for HMC prior to the conference (which you can read here if you’d like to do so); and, spurred on by Sue’s wisdom, I will be returning to the wider purpose, the over-arching nature of what we are doing and achieving in our school – and in all schools – in the coming months and years, to sustain us in our goals of girls-first, joyful education.
The new academic year brings changes and we welcome the new Student Leadership team, headed up by our new Head Girl, Poorna Baikady, who also features in a GDST spotlight film which you can watch here
We also congratulate the Class of 2023 for becoming the newest members of our Alumnae community. They are already off doing amazing things and we look forward to welcoming them back to school to hear their tales soon:
STAY CONNECTED:
EVENTS & REUNIONS
The Birthday Reunion - book now!
If you haven't already booked your free ticket to the Birthday Reunion on Saturday 4 November don't delay! We have 80 alumnae and staff attending and booking closes on 27 OCTOBER!
Last year was brilliantly busy year for reunions and we hope this year is even better and we make full use of our beautiful new spaces. In the past year we have welcomed over 100 guests for our Birthday Reunion in November, the 2017/18 Reunion in April saw more than 80 alumnae return to be wowed by the new auditorium and share tales of former mischief and happiness, followed by the Class of 1963 and 1983 reunions on 10 June and most recently, the Class of 2013. As well as being an brilliant excuse to catch up on news from former colleagues, your presence as former staff really does mean such a lot to our alumnae. Thank you to all those who return!
“Thank you for organising such a lovely birthday reunion on Saturday. I had not been back to the school since picking up my A-level results in 1995 so it was great to come back and see how the school has developed and reminisce about the parts which have not! It was so wonderful to reconnect with people I had not seen for 27 years, both friends from school and former teachers.”
ALUMNA
WHS EVENTS
There are many occasions throughout the year for you to join us for a range of concerts, fundraisers and performances. Our Rosewell lecture series continues and we are looking forward to a whole host of Christmas activities, including the Christmas Community Concert on 14 December and the annual Christmas Fair (grandchildren welcome!). Look out for further information or keep an eye on our Events Calendar for details.
BOOKFEST
We were delighted to be hosting Bookfest 2023 on the school site this year with a stellar line-up, including many alumnae, in the Auditorium and Rutherford Theatre.
The Sunday Times bestselling broadcaster and alumna Afua Hirsch (Class of 1999) took us on a global exploration of ancestral beauty practices with Bernardine Evaristo on Sunday 15 October. And on Thursday 19 October alumna Rachel Wang (Class of 1990), director and co-founder of Chocolate Films, spoke with author, expert and champion of the arts, Will Gompertz. Read more here
FOLIO
Alumna Claire Cohen (Class of 2003) returns to school as Guest Speaker at our Folio celebration evening on 31 October. Folio is anthology of writing from talented students across the school and the evening is an opportunity for the sort of young writers who may one day be on the Bookfest stage to read their work to an audience of peers, staff and parents.
Book your tickets for Folio here
STAY CONNECTED:
NEWS: We would love to hear your news! Tell us what you are up to on alumnae@wim.gdst.net and we can share it in the next newsletter. Take a look at all the latest school and alumnae news stories, magazines & newsletters on our website
WHS ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Follow our official social media accounts to find out more about what's happening at school or to be reconnected with former colleagues.
Twitter @Alumnae_WHS WHS Alumnae Facebook and Instagram
or join our Alumnae LinkedIn group
WHS BLOGS: If you still work in, or have an interest in education, our regular Head's Blog and WIMTeach blog may be of interest.
BROWSE THE ARCHIVE
We have recently added some new content to our online archives and we hope you enjoy browsing our collections of magazines, photos and articles. Our newly re-done WHS Heads portraits can now also be seen online here
To request log-in details for the online archives please get in touch on alumnae@wim.gdst.net
SPREAD THE WORD!
Our records are incomplete - please do pass our newsletter on to any former staff who would like to stay in touch and ask them to register with us.
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