Just before the half term break Lower 6th Physicists were thanked for their hard work and commitment throughout the national Atos STEM Challenge.

The girls were reminded that the quality of presentations seen by the panel of experts in the final was phenomenal and that their team should be incredibly proud of all that they have achieved together. They were then told the wonderful news that they had successfully won the category that they had entered, focusing on how the nuclear industry could cope with the current pandemic. The exciting news that their prizes are in the post was closely followed by the fact that the level of work they have completed and the time they have spent working on their project has also made them eligible for a CREST award.

A huge well done to Leia, Drew, Bibs, Faye and Emilie, they have shown that despite a difficult period of time in school they have still been able to pull together as a class, work collaboratively and not let standards slip.

Friday was mufti day at the Girls’ School and Mr Evans received a surprise when he found out what the Upper Sixth were wearing!

In his own words: ‘I have been for over four decades, a supporter of the Netherlands football team and every time there is a ‘mufti’ day I wear the team shirt. Today [Friday], unbeknown to me beforehand the Upper Sixth decided for their final ‘mufti’ day, to have a ‘Mr Evans day’ and imitate my outfit. Many of them carried a box similar to the one which I use to carry things around, and a juice bottle which I also carry each day. It was quite touching actually, and it caused general amusement.’

During lockdown, some of the Upper Sixth girls took part in the Royal Society of Chemistry Olympiad. Maeve O’Malley, Melissa Hennessy and Zoya Ahmed achieved a Bronze award, Ellen Marsh and Molly Dean achieved Silver.

We are immensely proud of the girls simply for having a go during these difficult times, so to have come away with an award is the icing on the cake.