18 Jan 2024

WEEKLY MAILING

Message from the Head

Dear Parents

We have hit the ground running during this short but important term and I would like to congratulate the students on the positive and constructive way in which they have approached school life so far.

Saturday saw the formal start of our hockey and football seasons and we saw some excellent performances, even if some teams looked a bit ring-rusty. Both 1st XIs started the season on a successful note and I wish all our teams the very best for the challenges that lie ahead this term.

It’s perhaps not often that the worlds of high art and cross-country running align but they do every year at the Knole Run. This is one of the most prestigious events in the school cross-country calendar as athletes compete on a very hilly and wet 9.5km course in the grounds of Knole House in Sevenoaks, Kent, formerly home to Vita Sackville-West, lover of Virginia Woolf and eminent member of the Bloomsbury group. The event took place last weekend and it is the third year in a row that an Abingdon student – this year, Quinn – has come home first. Our team can be very proud of their second place finish overall.

I enjoyed catching up with many Old Abingdonians of various vintages at their annual London drinks last night. This is an event which always attracts many recent OAs who tend to go on to continue reminiscing after drinks have finished. It served as a powerful reminder to me of the strength of our alumni community and the bonds that Abingdonians form with one another while they’re at school.

Many of the OAs whom I met yesterday had been guided into the School by Jane Jorgensen in her capacity as Director of Admissions and Marketing. Jane has given superb service to Abingdon for twenty years but she recently announced that she would be standing down at the end of the academic year. We will express our gratitude to her in the summer but in the meantime we have begun the process of recruiting her successor to a restructured role that will be known as Director of External Relations. You can learn more about the role here.

Best wishes, Mike Windsor

 

UPPER SCHOOL

  • To parents of Sixth Form Scholars
  • 5th Year, L6, U6 Parents: Abingdon Careers Convention: Thursday 14 March 2024, 6.30-9.00pm, Our Lady’s Abingdon
    • Save the Date: The annual Abingdon Independent Schools’ Careers Convention, jointly run by Abingdon School, Our Lady’s Abingdon, and St Helen and St Katharine, will be held on Thursday evening 14 March 2024, 6.30-9.00pm at OLA. 5th Year, L6 and U6 students will not want to miss this event!  More than 125 parents and alumni of the three schools (representing more than 50 different career areas) have so far volunteered to serve as ‘career representatives’. The event is run as a careers fair, with students and parents choosing which career representatives they would like to meet, going to their table/stall, and sitting down for casual face-to-face chat, individually or in small groups. This event offers a rare opportunity to gather information about a wide range of occupations and educational routes into those occupations…from people who know.  Concurrent with the career fair will be a selection of five different half-hour talks which anyone can attend. The event is compulsory for all 5th year students and optional for 6th form students. Parents are welcome to attend.  No booking is necessary. Please put this date in your family diary!  Michael Triff, Head of Career Guidance.

 

MIDDLE SCHOOL

  • To parents of Middle School Scholars
  • 5th Year, L6, U6 Parents: Abingdon Careers Convention: Thursday 14 March 2024, 6.30-9.00pm, Our Lady’s Abingdon
    • Save the Date: The annual Abingdon Independent Schools’ Careers Convention, jointly run by Abingdon School, Our Lady’s Abingdon, and St Helen and St Katharine, will be held on Thursday evening 14 March 2024, 6.30-9.00pm at OLA. 5th Year, L6 and U6 students will not want to miss this event!  More than 125 parents and alumni of the three schools (representing more than 50 different career areas) have so far volunteered to serve as ‘career representatives’. The event is run as a careers fair, with students and parents choosing which career representatives they would like to meet, going to their table/stall, and sitting down for casual face-to-face chat, individually or in small groups. This event offers a rare opportunity to gather information about a wide range of occupations and educational routes into those occupations…from people who know.  Concurrent with the career fair will be a selection of five different half-hour talks which anyone can attend. The event is compulsory for all 5th year students and optional for 6th form students. Parents are welcome to attend.  No booking is necessary. Please put this date in your family diary!  Michael Triff, Head of Career Guidance.

WHOLE SCHOOL

  • Abingdon News: The latest issue of Abingdon News is now available to read here.
  • From the Head of Wellbeing: James Shone Webinar Monday 5 February, 7pm
  • From the Drama Department:  Tickets for Senior School Productions.  Tickets are still available for both joint Senior School Productions with St Helen’s and St Katharine’s. Please see below for more information:
    • A Monster Calls, Wednesday 24 – Friday 26 January, 7pm (Abingdon)
      Patrick Ness’s best-selling novel A Monster Calls is brought vividly to life by playwright and director Sally Cookson in this moving and imaginative adaptation. First performed in 2018 by The Old Vic in London in association with the Bristol Old Vic, it is now being performed by our Senior School students. This is a story about love, loss and hope. Conor has the same dream every night, ever since his mum became ill.  Then, one night, Conor is woken by something at his window. A monster has come walking. It’s elemental, a force of nature, and it wants something from Conor. It wants the truth. Please note that this production deals with the sensitive issue of terminal illness.
      Age recommendation: 11+. Book tickets here.
    • Made in Dagenham, Wednesday 31 January – Friday 2 February, 7pm (SHSK)
      Tickets are now on sale for the joint senior musical production of Made in Dagenham. The production is a show-stopping musical based on real-life events which led to a strike at the Ford car plant in Dagenham. The women workers dared to believe in a world that could be different and risked their livelihoods to fight for equal pay with their male counterparts. Join us as we journey back to 1968, with playful, high-energy music and a talented cast. Please be aware that this production contains strong language throughout and deals with themes of discrimination including some sexist and homophobic language and is suitable for Year 9 and upwards. Book tickets here.
  • Sporting Reminders:
    • Teamsheets:  Whilst we will continue to inform the players verbally about selection, we also publish teams to all students and parents through our dedicated sports website (www.AbingdonSport.org.uk), which enhances the details already held on the main school website. To view the teamsheets a password is required. This was shared in the Sporting Welcome by Tom Donnelly at the start of the academic year. Please contact [email protected] with any questions.
    • Saturday Sporting Commitments:  A reminder that the School expects all students to be available for sports fixtures, including on a Saturday, within their own Core Sport or Other Half option. On occasions, there may be an ad-hoc unavoidable clash. In such rare instances we ask parents to seek permission from the Head well in advance, at least a week, copying Tom Donnelly (Acting Director of Sport) into the e-mail correspondence. Without your support in this matter we will find it very hard to honour our competitive fixture list and provide the well-documented benefits team sport can provide.
    • Injured / Off-Games Pupils:  If for any reason your child is not able to actively participate in their PE of Sport lesson they should arrive at their lesson with a note from their parents, or alternatively their parents should email the respective teacher in advance to explain why. Pupils are still expected to attend their PE and sport lesson in person, even when injured.
  • All Parents: Volunteer Career Representatives needed for Abingdon Careers Convention, Thursday 14 March 2024Thank you to all parents who have volunteered to represent their profession at the upcoming annual Abingdon Careers Convention on Thursday evening, 14 March 2024 at OLA, 6.30-9.00pm (with set up and buffet supper for volunteers from 5.00pm). Despite coverage of some 50 different professions, there remain a small number for which we still need volunteers. If you work in one of the following professions and would like to volunteer, please complete this online Registration Form. We are in need of volunteers to represent Commercial/Retail Banking, Construction & Building Services, Government (Civil Service) – Central or Local, Graphic Design, Human Resources, Interior Design, Journalism, Mechanical Engineering, Medicine – General Practice, Piloting, Scientific Research – Chemical and Physical Sciences, Theatre, TV, Film, Radio, Writing & Publishing.  If you work in one of these professions, thank you for considering being a volunteer at this important event!  Michael Triff, Head of Career Guidance
  • Music:
  • Reminder from the Chair of ASPA, Richard Stone:
  • Annual Boat Club Dinner Saturday 9 March. 
    • We are delighted to invite you to join us for the annual Abingdon School Boat Club dinner on Saturday 9 March at 7pm in the School Dining Pavilion.  This is always a wonderful opportunity for the whole boat club, OAs and honoured guests to come together and celebrate our very special club.
    • As well as enjoying a wonderful dinner amongst friends, we will hear speeches from club members and our guest speaker. This year Dr Anna Watkins MBE and Olympic Champion 2012 will be the speaker at the Dinner. Anna has a long list of achievements in Rowing. Having never rowed before, Anna was talent Identified at Cambridge University by the World Class Start Rowing scheme as a potential future Olympian. In 2004 Anna secured her first World Championship Gold in the Coxless IV at the World Under 23 Championship. Anna would go on to great success winning a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and became Olympic Champion at the London 2012 Olympic games in the double scull. She is now CEO of the British Elite Athletes Association. We welcome Anna and look forward to hearing from her.
    • Tickets £45, £28 students.  Bookings can be made online here https://www.abingdon.org.uk/sports-and-leisure/performance/fasbc-annual-boatclub-dinner-2024/
  • OX14 Learning Partnership Upcoming Events
  • News from the week
  • Food menu for the following week – Week 3
  • School calendar
  • Weekly mailing archive
  • Box Office: