Anna gains WJEC’s top A* grade in English Language

Many congratulations to Anna, who has not only gained eleven GCSEs all at A* but has also achieved the highest GCSE result in Wales in English Language, scoring full marks. This is a tremendous achievement and we are very proud of her.

22nd August 2008

Howell’s School Llandaff entered 85 candidates for GCSE and was delighted that 44% of all results were at the top A* grade, 69% were A* and A combined, and 89% A*- B. Thirty-three girls gained ten or more passes at A* and A, and fifteen gained straight A*. The overall A*- C pass rate was 97.4%.

Those who gained a clean sweep of A* grades are Ellen Brookes, Francesca Capel, Rashmi D’Souza, Anju George, Nikki Gill, Kiryn Howard, Alice Johnston, Calan Jones, Deepshikha Kumar, Anusha Manjunath, Alice Ojeda, Rachel Patel, Anna Sambrook, Bronwen Warner and Chloe Wright.

Dr Sara Southern, Head of the Senior School, said, “We are thrilled with these outstanding results, which reflect the hard work on the part of the students and the excellent teaching by the staff.” The Principal, Mrs Sally Davis, commented, “I am extremely pleased with the results. Howell’s consistently achieves very high standards. Although we are a selective school, we take average to very able students. It is quite clear that the value added achieved by Howell’s enables them to maximise every possible learning opportunity so that their final results are outstanding.”

21st August 2008

Calan and Alice each gained 10 A* grades

Year 11 girls celebrate GCSE results.

The Principal, Mrs Sally Davis, said, "The school is very pleased to report another excellent set of results, which reflect the hard work and commitment of the students."  44.6% of all the results were grade A and 33% grade B (ie 77.6% grades A and B). The pass rate was 99.6% (276 entries, 275 passes). 16 students achieved 3 or more grade A's.
The highest performing students, and their destinations, are as follows:
Sophie Aslan    5 passes at grade  A                              Imperial College, London, Physics
Harriet Rees     5    "        "     "      A                              Oxford University, Mathematics
Nathan Brown  4    "        "     "      A                              Cardiff University, Medicine
Laura Hoddell  4    "        "     "      A                              Durham University, Economics
Helena Read     4    "        "     "      A                              Oxford University, English
Amisha Wagle  4    "        "     "      A                              King's College, London, Medicine
Pia Banerjee     3   "        "     "       A, plus 1 at grade B    Cambridge University, Law
Lydia Lewis      3    "        "     "      A ,plus Merit in History in the Advanced Extension Award

Sally Davis Principal

14th August 2008

Visit to the Egyptology Centre

Year 9 girls visited the Egyptology Centre in Swansea University on Friday 11th July 2008 as part of Challenges Week. All the people who work there are volunteers and they were friendly, helpful and extremely welcoming. They provided a great deal of information in an interesting way and were very willing to answer questions. The girls took part in various activities and the "Senet" game proved to be most of the girls’ favourite. The mummification process was explained very well and the girls enjoyed taking out the various body parts and washing the body. They also saw all the artefacts in the House of the Living, which were remarkably intact, considering their great age. It was an extremely rewarding and informative experience.

18th July 2008

Charlotte is invited to become a member of MENSA

After looking on-line, Charlotte (9L) found out about MENSA, a society founded in 1946 for people with a very high IQ. MENSA welcomes people whose IQ is in the top two per cent of the population. She completed their on-line assessment and decided to attend one of their formal assessment sessions in Cardiff. The test was split into two sections and lasted for about two hours. To be accepted into MENSA she had to score over 130 in either one of the two tests, and was delighted to here two weeks later that she had been successful. She receives a monthly newsletter from MENSA as well as one from their Cardiff branch and is able to attend one of the meetings. Charlotte said "I would encourage anyone else who thinks they might like to join, to get on to the MENSA website: it’s a great way to expand your mental horizons".

17th July 2008

Kristy-Ann scoops poetry prize in international competition

Kristy-Ann in Year 6 has won the prize for best poem at the Buxton Festival in her age group. Kristy- Ann’s poem ‘I Will Take Over the Earth’ won first prize in the Children’s Poetry category for poets aged up to 11. Competition organisers, Buxton Festival and the University of Derby (UDB), were delighted to receive more that 1,000 poems from poets of all ages, from across the UK and abroad – including from the USA, Switzerland, Italy, France, Australia and the West Indies. The competition was launched on National Poetry Day (4th October), last year. Kristy-Ann, who has been interested in poetry for some time now, sparkled as she spoke of her entry “I entered the competition for fun and didn’t expect to win.  I was really happy when I found out that I had won”. Kristy- Ann’s mother Donna said, “She is thrilled to have this poem read by others.  It is still one of her favourites out of all those she has already written.  This poem features Brecon, which is one of her favourite spots for hiking. It is good that she has won in the National Year of Reading; as one of the objectives of the Buxton Poetry Competition 2008 is to encourage younger generations in reading and writing.” Kristy-Ann has had a special year, which started with winning her first Blue Peter Badge for a letter that she sent in reporting on her Year 5 school trip to Plymouth. Later, she submitted one of her short stories that she had written for Mrs. Marissa Davies while she was in Year 4.  For this she was awarded a silver Blue Peter Badge

17th July 2008

UK Junior 8 delegate Harry Brooks, aged 17, gives his impressions of the J8 summit in Japan and describes how delegates worked together to create the Chitose Declaration. 

On the evening of the 7th of July, 2008, nine young people from the 39-strong Junior 8 (J8) delegation had the opportunity to meet the most powerful people in the world – the G8 leaders. The J8 Summit is the young people’s event linked to the G8 Summit and organised by UNICEF. 

The chosen nine travelled to Lake Toya in Japan (this year’s G8 venue), were given lessons in protocol and presented the group’s recommendations in the form of a global communiqué on climate change, global health, and........Click here for the full report.

10th July 2008

© UNICEF/HQ08-0660/Ayano Sato

Australian Rules Football

Ed Doe, in Year 13, has been selected to represent Great Britain at the next Australian Rules Football International Cup, taking place in Melbourne in August/September this year. The tournament has been held every 3 years since 2002, and the GB team has attained respectable placing in both 2002 and 2005. This year - the 150th anniversary of the oldest codified football sport in the world - the event promises to be a massive occasion, with a much larger pool of competing countries than ever before. As an amateur sport, the squad is responsible for fundraising and securing sponsorship to finance its participation, and Ed has been given a £1700 personal target to reach, to cover flights, accommodation, equipment and kit and sustenance whilst in Melbourne. We hear that Ed has massive potential in the sport, and has shown extraordinary commitment and dedication to personal training since he came to the attention of the GB Bulldogs AFL Club.  Very well done on your selection, Ed, and good luck in Australia!

For more information on sport in the College Click Here

10th July 2008

A team of four College students, named Vision of Hope, is representing  the UK at the J8 Summit in Japan from 2-9 July 2008, which is a youth event that runs parallel to the G8 Summit. The team consists of Hannah, Rose, Harry and Jasper. They represent the young people of the UK alongside teams from every other G8 country as well as a number of young people from developing countries. The team had to complete a challenging application form outlining their ideas for solutions to the issues being discussed at this year's G8, including infectious diseases and climate change, and showing how they thought they could fully represent the young people of the UK.

While in Japan the team has been keeping a 'Blog' which can be viewed HERE.

8th July 2008

Potential Officer training course 16^th-20^th. June 2008

Venue: Court-y-Gollen, Crickhowell, Mid Wales.

Day 1: On arrival I was greeted by the officer who was going to be looking after me for the week – his name was Oliver Pope, he had been in the army for 7 years, and been on 2 tours to Iraq. Following introductions, we were thrown in at the deep end with all of us required to run 3 miles with full kit, including backpack and rifle. During this run, many of the other candidates dropped out. I think they were trying to establish who amongst us would not give up and were fit enough for the challenge.  The accommodation left a lot to be desired........... Click here to read the full report

26th  June 2008

Prize-winning trip to Tanzania

Three girls in Year 10, Angharad Thomas, Alex Lindsay and Zartash Jarvaid, were winners and runner-up respectively in a national competition organised by Water Aid. They had to produce a film on the use of water. As a result of their success, they will be visiting various places in Tanzania in August. This is sure to be an exciting trip for them. Congratulations!

Click here to watch the Video

24th  June 2008

Visit from Colin Jackson

The Junior School are delighted that the great athlete, Colin Jackson, will be coming to their Sports Day as guest of honour on Monday 14th July. He will be signing copies of his new book, Life's New Hurdles.  It is one of the Quick Reads series of books published by Accent Press Ltd., and is suitable for children and adults.  It costs £1.99. We are all looking forward to the day and are hoping for good weather!

24th  June 2008

Fewsion

 There  is no doubt that the concerts given by the music departments of both Howell’s School and the Cathedral School are always highly impressive and moving showcases for the abundant talent and dedication to be found at each of these two wonderful neighbouring institutions.With that in mind, have you ever wondered what might happen should some of these talents merge? Well, the aptly named band, Fewsion, can answer that question! It was formed about a year ago by a group of (classically trained) “jazz-heads” aged 13 to 16 years, after meeting and playing together in the Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan County Jazz Band, “Jazz News”.Piers Kennedy (piano) and George Jones (drums) are two stalwarts of the Cathedral music department, whilst Alice Leggett (sax), Rachel Walsh (bass) and Zoe Leggett (vocals) represent Howell’s in the band. Over the last year they have played to great acclaim – at open-air charity gigs, various village and masonic halls throughout South Wales, the Wales Millennium Centre Foyer, Cardiff’s Café Jazz and other more intimate private functions and charity evenings. They also came second in the ensemble class at the South Glamorgan music festival in May this year and were invited to play at the Gala concert. 

The band has a continually expanding repertoire of jazz standards, original compositions and their own jazzed-up arrangements of popular songs. Their broad repertoire means that their performances demonstrate a refreshing variety in style, tempo and mood within the jazz genre. Samples of their recent recording at Ty Cerdd can be listened to on www.myspace.com/fewsion and the band is pleased to announce that on the back of this the WMC management has engaged them once again to perform at a concert on the Tesco Stage – this time at 6.00 pm on Friday 25^th July . Admission is free as the concert precedes a matinee performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in the main theatre. Fewsion would love to see as many of you there as possible – please put the date in your diaries and come and give them your support!

18th  June 2008

Leah is a pin-wizard!

 Leah Hawkins has been awarded the runner’s up prize in a competition to design a Hard Rock Cafe Limited Edition Pin. She had to use a guitar design template and include a Hard Rock Cafe Logo in her picture. Her entry was judged on the quality of work, as well as originality, interest and entertainment value. Leah attended a brunch last Friday for the awards ceremony, to which several schools were invited. She won several prizes including dinner for four at the Hard Rock Café.  The café also put up a display of some great artwork done at Howell’s. Well done Leah!

18th  June 2008

Orchestra Open Workshop in the Junior School

 Mr Beckett, Head of Music in the Junior School, recently invited Years 2-6 to an Orchestra Workshop in the Music Room in the Junior School.  Several of the girls accepted the invitation, particularly Year 2, and enjoyed a lunch time session using a range of instruments and playing along with the members of the Junior Orchestra.  

Afterwards they were inspired!

‘I liked all the different parts of the orchestra but when they played together, it sounded beautiful.’ Olivia Burge.

‘I managed to play a tune on the kazoo.’ Molly Loveland. 

‘When Miss Christmas played the tuba, her cheeks went bright red and puffed out!’  Bebe Pickering. 

‘The drums, tuba and saxophone were really loud but I liked the quiet ones best like the violins.’ Natasha Srinivas 

18th  June 2008

Year 10 recently sat the Intermediate Mathematical Challenge which is a national challenge.  Jiyhun obtained a Gold Certificate and went through to the Intermediate Mathematical Olympiad, where she attained a Certificate of Merit. This put her in the top 50% of those who took part. Well done to Jihyun on her success.

9th June 2008

Lesotho Reception

On Thursday 5 June Mrs Davis, Miss Brewer, Miss Chard and four Year 12 students - Sam Capron, Hannah Coakley, Catherine Rendle and Elinor Cater - were honoured to be invited to attend a reception in the presence of Prince Harry, the new patron of Dolen Cymru. Miss Brewer is now a trustee of the organisation and both she and Miss Chard have spent time at our partner school, Likakheng High School. The reception formed part of a two-day Lesotho conference to celebrate the special relationship between the peoples of Wales and Lesotho. The co-chairs of the conference were Mr Wayne Crocker and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho and the reception was hosted by the First Minister, the Rt. Hon. Rhodri Morgan AM and the Hon. Mohlabi Kenneth Tsekoa, Minister for Foreign Affairs for the Government of Lesotho. Staff and students had the opportunity of talking to the Prince who spoke very warmly of the special time he spent in Lesotho during his gap year. Miss Brewer and Miss Chard hope to arrange a trip to Lesotho next summer for members of Year 13 to work on a project with Likakheng High School.  The Prince assured the students that their visit would be an unforgettable experience. Hannah said, "We were all very excited to meet the Prince and he spoke to us about our proposed trip to Lesotho next year to help build a junior school for our sister school, Likhakeng High School".

9th June 2008

Howell’s wins GDST Sustainability Challenge prize!

We have just heard that Howell’s has been awarded the GDST’s Sustainability Challenge Prize for Best Whole School Initiative.  The panel of judges reported that they were particularly impressed by the way in which the school is tackling sustainability issues in a systematic and coherent way, so that each individual project is not only valuable in itself but also contributes to the overall agenda for change.  They commented on the strong evidence of a careful involvement of pupils across the school, a clear lead from staff and a responsiveness to new ideas.  The panel were also struck by the emphasis on individual responsibility, for example in the personal pledges. 

The judges liked the use of imagery and music in the film, combined with skilfully deployed quotations and the vox pop clips from a range of people and the clear context, both globally and locally, for the educational importance of sustainability. This of course is influencing the curriculum in general and specific practices, such as recycling.   

Congratulations to everyone involved!

6th June 2008

Click here to watch the Video

What Katie did. What’s next for Katie?

‘Should parents always tell the truth to their children?’ and ‘There is too much surveillance in the UK’: weighty topics which many adults would baulk at debating, but issues which Katie, a Year 10 student at Howell’s, has tackled with huge confidence and great enthusiasm in her public speaking roles over the last two years. In fact, such is Katie’s talent in this area that she has brought great distinction to the school and much personal fulfilment by winning two of the most prestigious national prizes in public speaking: in 2007 Katie won the Rotary Club Youth Speaks Best Speaker in the finals of the UK competition, aided by her team members Sidi Bai and Emily Davies who, together with Katie, also carried off the title of Best Team; they will now go through to the international finals. And the chance of another international prize also beckons next May for Katie when this year she beat off fearsome competition from some of the country’s most eminent young speakers in the national final of the English Speaking Union’s Public Speaking Competition in London to win the accolade of Best Speaker, again supported by team members Sidi and Emily. Katie’s speech on the necessary evil of surveillance was argued with great conviction and clarity of purpose; her fluent, persuasive argument spiced with humour won over both the judges and audience; indeed, the enthusiastic reaction of those in the hall to Katie’s success clearly showed their approval of the judges’ verdict. Typical of Katie’s modesty, she commented after the competition results were announced: ‘I was so overwhelmed when they announced that I’d won Best Speaker and am honoured to have achieved this award.’........ For the full article please click here.

4th June 2008