Airlie Autumn Term Newsletter – Part 2

12 December 2023 - Airlie

Warmest greetings from Airlie House! We want to take a moment to express our gratitude to the Airlie pupils, staff, parents, and wider community. It has been a term filled with hard work, collaboration, and countless moments of growth for our pupils. We are immensely proud of everything they have achieved this term.

May this holiday season bring you relaxation, joy, and connection with loved ones. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas! We look forward to welcoming your daughter back for another exciting term in January 2024.

Claire & The Airlie House Team

Airlie House UIV Dance Champions!

In the Autumn Term, the highlight of our term has been winning House Dance, a fun-styled dance competition judged by the dance captains, where all the UIVs had to come up with a dance routine in their Houses. We had so much fun working with our friends, and dancing along to the music on the big stage. It was so rewarding to see the dance coming together and we felt a real sense of accomplishment when we found out we won in big school the next morning! Although things do not always run smoothly, it was great to overcome these hurdles as a House and a team.

Michelle & Roxy, UIV

Airlie House Tutor Team

We are thrilled to shine a spotlight on our truly admirable, amazing, and attentive Airlie tutors! They play an invaluable role in the lives of our pupils and school community. We want to take this moment to express our deep gratitude for the incredible work our tutors do day in and day out. We caught up with our tutors to share some get-to-know-you questions!

Mr Young, LVI Tutor

How Long have you worked at Wycombe Abbey? Just over three months.

Do you have any pets? A seven-year-old Sproodle (Springer Spaniel – Poodle cross) called Lottie.

What do you do in your free time? I have a three-and-a-half-year-old and a seven-month-old so I don’t really have much free time. I hope to start running again soon, probably in the better weather.

What’s your favourite colour? Yellow

What’s your favourite school meal? Breakfast, especially when there are unexpected extras like roast vegetables.

If you had a superpower, what would it be? To store time and use it when it is needed, a bit like the procrastinator devices in one or more of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books.

What is the best piece of advice you have received? Everything is a phase.

What’s your favourite book? Too many to choose from but if I had to give a recommendation, I would say the Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson.

Mr Oliver, LV Tutor

How long have you worked at Wycombe Abbey? I joined Wycombe Abbey in 2011 as a Maths and Physics teacher. Then in 2013 I moved to Toronto, Canada. But in 2016 I returned to Wycombe Abbey and have been here ever since. It was very strange to see pupils that I remember as U4 now living in Clarence!!

What is the best part about being a tutor? The best part about being a tutor is being able to get to know my tutees really well. They are all unique characters with so many talents. It is so nice to discover and celebrate these with them.

Do you have any pets? Yes. My dog Chaya. She came with my tutees and I when they completed their Bronze DofE.

What do you do in your free time? The most unusual thing I do in my free time is play Underwater Hockey (Yes, it is a real sport, google it!) I represented GB at U19 level in 2002, winning gold at the world championships and have represented GB at senior level between 2009 and 2019. Now, I have moved into coaching and coach the GB Men’s Under 24 team who will be competing in Malaysia this Summer.

What is your favourite school meal? Apple and blackberry crumble (Starter, Main and Desert!!)

What is your favourite book? Pearson Edexcel International GCSE (9-1) Mathematics A Student Book 2 … I am joking!! My favourite book is “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari. I can strongly recommend this to anyone who has an interest in the evolution of civilization and humankind.

Mrs Khan, UIV Tutor

What’s your favourite thing about Wycombe Abbey? The people. It is the friendliest place to work and getting to know so many talented teachers and pupils is such a privilege. The grounds and the treats at break are close seconds.

When you tell people about your job, how do they react? ‘Oh, you must be brave!’ People often think that working with teenagers sounds like a nightmare (It is not!).

What’s your favourite colour? Chocolate – I am in Airlie, what other colour could it be?

What’s your favourite school meal? Probably Katsu. It is the only lunch that warrants trying to get out of lessons 5 minutes early.

If you had a superpower, what would it be? I would wave my magic wand and stop Wycombe Abbey girls getting so anxious about tests. They are a fact of life, and we just need to crack on.

What’s your favourite book? I have many, but a book that I loved reading with my children was ‘Paul meets Bernadette’ by Rosy Lamb. A tale of two goldfish with an epistemological twist. The illustrations are beautiful too.

Mr Startup, UV Tutor

How Long have you worked at Wycombe Abbey? This is my sixth year at the school.

What’s your favourite thing about Wycombe Abbey? The beautiful grounds, particularly the area outside the Chapel.

Do you have any pets? I have a black cat called Milly. She has green eyes and is very gentle and watchful. My children adore her.

What do you do in your free time? One of my favourite things to do is to cycle through the woods on my mountain bike.

What’s your favourite colour? Green

What’s your favourite book? Tough One! One book I have read many times is Shirley Jackson’s “Dark Tales” – a collection of her short stories. Highly recommend for anyone who likes a creepy tale.

Mr Sidhu, LIV Tutor

How Long have you worked at Wycombe Abbey? This is my second year at Wycombe Abbey

What’s your favourite thing about Wycombe Abbey? The staff, I have only been here for just over one year, but the staff that I have met here are super friendly and super nice and I always really enjoy hanging out with them and talking to them at lunch and break.

What’s your favourite colour? Bright ones

If you had a superpower, what would it be? Definitely the ability to teleport. I feel like it would be such a useful ability, I would save so much time in the morning travelling to school, during Short Leave I could just go up to Manchester for the weekend or maybe even Australia, how cool would that be?

What was your dream job growing up? Like most people when I was younger, I wanted to be a football player, but it became pretty clear early that that was not going to happen. I wanted to be a radio presenter as well, I feel like I would be quite good at that, I am pretty good at talking. I have also got a really good music taste which helps.

Where did you go to university? I went to Manchester for University. I had a great time and being a student there was a lot of fun, it is such a vibrant city and there is so much to do!