The start to a lovely Summer Term in Barry House
29 May 2022 - Barry
This half term has been a busy one especially for those in Years 12, 11 and 10 sitting their exams. The House has been unusually quiet as our girls have been working hard revising. Alongside their hard work the girls have made sure that they have been able to enjoy the bursts of sunny weather, with plenty of sunbathing on the front lawn, studying outdoors, playing swing ball and other activities to relax and having down-time.
LV DoE
Scarlett, Kate, Gloria, Anisiya, Issy, Emma, Frances and Cosima undertook their Bronze DofE expedition. Mr George and Mr Chilton said, ‘Barry LV were an absolute pleasure to lead. They looked out for each other from start to finish and remained in good cheer throughout.’ Many of the girls plan to go on to complete the Gold award. They found the experience fun yet challenging. The girls discovered that communication and teamwork were key to completing the task. The DofE scheme helps the girls to build their self-esteem and resilience and discover new interests and strengths about themselves and their peers. Well done!
Lower School Arts Soirée
Well done to the Junior musicians for their fantastic performance in the Concert. Leanna, Camille, Tess, Clelia, Rahi, Emily, Abbey, Lucia worked incredibly hard in preparation for the Concert. This was a great opportunity for them to develop as musicians. The audience were receptive and supportive and the girls should feel immensely proud of themselves.
Tiwonge, Clelia, Abbey, Daisy, Tess and Estelle, were part of the cast of Wardrobe that took the audience on a journey through British history and showed how children might be more connected to their past than they might have imagined. Well done to all those involved in both productions – the reviews have been excellent.
House Chapel Service. Faith in God
Abbey, Layo, Chloe and Clelia led the reading and prayers. Their message was clear, comforting and reassuring. Have faith in yourself and in God. Prayer can be used as an affirmation of faith in God whether it is a long prayer, repeating a phrase or a quote that speaks to you to help you stay focussed and relaxed. The Lower Sixth sang Paradise by Coldplay as the school walked out of Chapel. Well done to Layo, Angela, Claudia, Tori, Maya, Penny, Nicola, Freddie, Argia, Amelie, Victoria – you are excellent ambassadors for the House.
We are proud.
My parents thought it was really important that I was a strong swimmer, so they took me to lessons. At age six, I trialed for Wycombe District. I got into the club and trained for one hour per week. I competed in my first competition at age seven, it was great fun. Seven years later I am training 16 hours in the pool and two hours land training per week. No wonder I often look a bit tired! I have swum in amazing pools, namely, the London Aquatic Center, Ponds Forge in Sheffield and the newly built 2022 Commonwealth Games pool in Birmingham. I competed in County and Regional Championships and the National Arena League Final. My highest achievement to date is qualifying for the British Championships & Commonwealth Games Selection Meet, where I was competing in the same event as Anna Hopkin, a gold medalist from the Tokyo Olympics! The best thing about swimming, however, is the friends I have made along the way. I love the way we push each other to achieve our full potential and support each other through our highs and lows. With their help, commitment, determination, and hard work, I hope to get as far as I can in swimming.
Annabelle (UIV)
I have been playing for the Swedish National Lacrosse Team since January after my school lacrosse coach managed to contact the head coach. I went to the trial session on January 16 in Kärrtorp, Sweden and was told the next day that both my sister and I had been selected to represent Sweden at the World Cup in June/July 2022, held in Maryland, USA. I am hugely looking forward to this opportunity and I am training often to improve my fitness and strength to prepare for the high-level standard of play. I go to the gym almost three times a week and attend lacrosse sessions once a week, to maintain my stick skills and shooting accuracy. I participated in the European Lacrosse Federation Tournament in April, held in Italy. There were 10 teams in total with countries spanning all over Europe. It was an amazing experience and I had so much fun; it was especially nice to bond with the team! I look forward to the World Cup, and I am excited to hopefully meet some of my lacrosse idols!
Victoria F (LVI)
Netball is a fast and exciting team sport that requires everyone to work together. I started playing netball when I was 7 and it has always been my favourite sport. I started to participate in matches and began to join weekly training sessions outside of school. When I was in year 3, I joined a club called Hornets which I left when I joined Wycombe Abbey. I have recently joined a new club called Marlow Kites. At Hornets, we had two Cross Keys tournaments, in 2017 and in 2018 and the two-day Butlins Tour in 2019- Hornets were victorious. Tournaments are enjoyable and a nice, competitive way to play netball for a day, and more fun than matches as you are playing for longer and against multiple teams. I look forward to developing my skills, teamwork and fitness further whilst playing for Marlow Kites.
Sophia (UIV)
When I was younger, I started fencing but stopped to prepare for the 11+ examinations. As a result, in UIII, I restarted sabre fencing but due to Covid-19, I had a disrupted experience. Since UIV, I began training seriously with no disruption. I have 2 lessons in school on a weekly basis and 2 lessons out-of-school at a training club. In March, I competed at the 2022 Public Schools Fencing Competition representing the school, the British Youth Championships and the regionals to qualify for the Championships in April. For Public Schools, I ranked10th and for the BYCs, I ranked 18th. Both were valuable experiences that helped me progress further as a fencer! In June, I have the England Youth Championships, where I will be representing one of the clubs I train with, which will be my last competition before I return to China for the summer holidays. Fencing has taught me discipline, self-confidence and being an independent thinker. It is physically demanding and requires speed and agility which I am developing through my commitment to my weekly training sessions.
Leanna (UIV)
One of my main interests is football, which I began playing in school at the age of nine, joining a team the following year. I currently play football with Maidenhead United as part of the girls U16 team, having started playing football in Bath where I lived at the time. Next year I will join the U18 team and continue to play in weekly matches in defence, where I play as a centre back; I have remained in defence since I began playing the sport. I typically train/play football five times each week and I very much enjoy participating in it and think that it is a beneficial team sport. It’s great to see its increased popularity amongst girls.
Issy (LV)
It is hard to believe that it has been a year since I took over as Housemistress; it feels like I have been doing the role for a lifetime. Despite the late nights, the busy nature of trying to keep up with 51 teenagers and the times when our best laid plans don’t quite work out, I have found myself inspired by how your daughters have grown over the last year. They are growing, learning, adapting, reflecting and working on being the best version of themselves. It is important that they continue to develop character and prioritise kindness to others. I have witnessed so much kindness in House amongst the girls and the House Team and I know that your daughters will carry these messages with them wherever they go.
Thank you for your incredible support. I am grateful for your trust, encouragement, understanding and willingness to support the House in all of our endeavours..
Warmest wishes over Long Leave and enjoy the Platinum Jubilee Celebration.