NEWS BULLETIN
1st May 2015
Maths Challenge Results
Hall School Wimbledon pupils achieved 3 gold, 2 silver and 5 bronze certificates in
this year's UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge. Over 200,000 pupils from across
the UK sat the Intermediate Maths Challenge with the top 6% receiving a gold
certificate, the next 13% silver and the next 21% bronze. Well done to all our
certificate winners: Akane Ota, Shingo Nohara, Sam Penny, Lewis Patrick and Ben
Atkins from 10W; and Maiko Hotta, Hibiki Suehiro, Tom Nelson, James Krammer and
Ben Jureidini from 9X.
Special mention must go to Akane Ota in 10W who was invited to sit a follow-on
round to the challenge. Her Olympiad results came in this week and we are pleased
to say that she achieved a Distinction, which means that she scored in the top 25%
of pupils competing in this challenge - well done, Akane!
Tuneful Success
Last Saturday, Year 8Y pupil Caitlin Pinkess attended the Ealing Festival 2015 to
participate in the Vocal section. The festival is a competitive, annual event that is
affiliated to the British and International Federation of Festivals of Music, Dance and
Speech, of which Her Majesty the Queen is Patron.
We are delighted to announce that Caitlin took first place in the Novice (aged 14 and
under) category, singing “You've got a Friend” by Carole King. She also tied for
second place, with a Distinction, in the ‘Songs from the Shows’ category with her
rendition of "Maybe" from the musical ‘Annie’.
Miss Wilkins and everyone at Hall School Wimbledon congratulate Caitlin on her
achievement and, after her stage appearance in 8Y’s ‘Bugsy Malone’, look forward to
seeing and hearing more of her musical talents in the future.
Wimbledon Egg Painting Competition
At the end of the Easter term, children in Years 1F and 2E and pupils from all year
groups at The Downs decorated a polystyrene, 4ft tall egg for an Easter competition
run by Wimbledon’s Centre Court Shopping Centre. The imaginative artists created
hand prints using printing ink and drew inspiration from the Year 7Z visit to the
Matisse exhibition at Tate Modern last September – in particular, the Matisse cut-out
‘La Gerbe’. The competition provided a nice opportunity for pupils from Beavers Holt
and The Downs to work together on an interesting art project and the bulbous egg
sat proudly on display in the middle of the shopping centre during the school
holidays.
Trip to the Theatre
On the first day of term, the 10W GCSE Drama pupils took their seats in the Gielgud
Theatre to enjoy the National Theatre's production of 'The Curious Incident of the
Dog in the Night-Time'. As the lights went down, it immediately became apparent
why this show had received such acclaim: the mesmerising lighting design, the
hugely imaginative physical theatre sequences and the outstanding performances of
the ensemble were just a few features that made the show particularly striking. One
especially memorable moment featured the protagonist, Christopher Boone, arriving
in Paddington Station and feeling overwhelmed by the people and noise. The cast
pushed, pulled and somersaulted over one another, accompanied by the sounds of
blaring techno music, in an effort to metaphorically depict the psychological anguish
of Christopher Boone. As we left the theatre we were in no doubt that we had
witnessed one of the greatest productions of recent years and would certainly
recommend the show to anyone with a keen interest in theatre.
British Isles Day
Last Friday, the 2E classrooms were decorated with flags and bunting and the year
group dressed in red, white, blue and green, ready to celebrate British Isles Day.
In the morning, Mrs Price – mother of Louis in 6A – kindly came to talk about
Scotland. The children listened with fascination to stories of Robert the Bruce and the
legend of the spider that consoled and inspired him. 2E then tucked into a delectable
feast of homemade Scottish shortbread, tablet and haggis. Those brave enough to
taste the haggis were pleasantly surprised and returned for seconds and thirds! Mr
Hobbs then joined in the celebrations and used the acronym of ‘England’ to regale
the children with historical and exciting facts about this country. They were riveted by
his bag of props, in particular the suits of chain mail and a replica of King Arthur’s
sword. A lucky few were chosen to try on the weighty chain mail and the helmets!
The children then crossed the Irish Sea and were introduced to the popular Irish
game of Hurling by Mrs Harding, before hearing the famous Irish legend of
Cúchulainn. Miss Partington helped the children to speedily learn Welsh greetings
and numbers and all enjoyed the exciting story of Magon, the Welsh dragon.
At midday, the unwrapping of a fish and chips lunch transported 2E to the seaside
and added to the festive spirit of the day. The photograph attached to the Bulletin
shows 2Ei children Emily Chater Robinson and Anushka Naik contentedly rounding
off the seaside lunch with ice creams!
The well fed and energetic children then put on their dancing shoes and learnt
several English country dances, including ‘In and Out the Dusty Bluebells’ and ‘The
Cornish Eight Hand Jig’. Finally, the children created brightly coloured wall hangings
decorated with the emblems of the British Isles.
The day was a wonderful start to the beginning of the summer term.
Rounders Results
On Monday the 11V girls played their one and only rounders game of the season,
against Harrodian School, before beginning the GCSE examination period. A strong
fielding performance with consistent bowling from Alice Gnap, and some excellent
catches from Chloe Grasselli, limited Harrodian to 8 rounders. All players contributed
well when batting, leaving HSW 11.5 - 8 winners.
Transport for London Safety and Citizen Presentation to 6A
Yesterday Melinda from Transport for London delivered a talk to the 6A classes
about using public transport safely, sensibly and confidently. She spoke to the
children about travel cards (Oyster and Zip cards) and how to plan their journeys.
The year group watched videos in which actors demonstrated the serious and
potentially fatal impact of senseless behaviour whilst travelling on buses, trains and
escalators. The children were suitably shocked by some of these incidents. Other
videos instructed the children on how to behave wisely whilst waiting for a bus or a
train, how to show respect for people, property and the environment and what
precautions to take if ever they felt uncomfortable or unsafe on public transport. This
engaging and informative presentation was very much appreciated by the 6As and
the sensible tips the children picked up will remind them to travel responsibly as they
prepare for their move to secondary school.
Wedding Bells
We are delighted to announce that on Saturday 4th April, Jacqui D’Alessandro, one
of our Year 2E teachers, was married to Geraint Davies. Jacqui’s children are exHSW pupils and her sons gave her away on the day, while her daughter was the
bridesmaid. We wish Mr and Mrs Davies a very happy marriage and new life
together!
Headmaster’s Coffee Morning at Beavers Holt
On Thursday 7th May, we will be holding a coffee morning in the Main Hall at
Beavers Holt from 8.30 – 10.00am. This is an opportunity for parents to meet and
chat over coffee, and to hear a brief update on school life from Mr Hobbs. We look
forward to seeing parents for this occasion.
Dates for next week:
Monday 4th May: Bank Holiday
Tuesday 5th May – Monday 22nd June: GCSE Examination Period
Tuesday 5th – Friday 8th May: 3D Examinations
Wednesday 6th May
• 1F Local Walk around Stroud Crescent
Thursday 7th May
• Headmaster’s Coffee Morning (8.30am at Beavers Holt)
• 1F Walk on the Common
Sunday 10th – Friday 15th May: 9X Field Trip 1 to Wales
HSW