SCHOOL NEWS
Dazzling Dance
Headington’s Dance Department is extremely proud to share with you some of the outstanding dance performances that the students worked on over the last academic year during Covid. The performances are all the L6 A level Dance mock examination performances, the Dance Scholars' work created after a workshop with Headington Dance Academy practitioner Shaun Dillon and the Headington Dance Academy Dance Film, performed by dancers at both the Prep and Senior School.
Scientists Get Forensic
In July, after finishing their assessments, Upper Fifth forensic scientists enjoyed a fun morning in Biology to help to convict a criminal. A (fictional) young lab technician, Mrs Hummingbird, was found dead early in the morning and three suspects had been arrested. The suspects all had a motive, which meant the young scientists had to use their experimental skills to narrow down the list. Thankfully, some tissue, DNA and urine samples were left at the murder scene and they were able to take samples from the suspects as a reference.
Henley Women’s Regatta
Girls from HSOBC have represented Headington at Henley Royal Regatta since the inception of women's events in 2012 and raced down the Henley Royal Regatta track 27 times. Last summer, we were thrilled to congratulate our JW8+ for winning the inaugural Junior Women’s Eight at Henley Royal Regatta. Read more here.
2020 Leavers’ Celebration
We were delighted to welcome back our 2020 Leavers in September for a celebration of their time at Headington. Having missed the traditional farewell at the end of their Upper Sixth year, we were glad to give them the chance to catch up with old friends and have a proper send off. We were joined by current and former members of staff who had taught them and it was wonderful for everyone to be together again.
Oxford Town and Gown - Junior 3k run
In September, over 30 pupils from the Prep and Senior School took part in the Oxford Town and Gown 3k at Summer Fields School. We look forward to this year’s 10k run in May and all our Headingtonians are invited to sign up to run with ‘Team Headington’!
Evening to Celebrate the Opening of The Hive
In September, we celebrated the opening of our Creativity & Innovation Centre: The Hive. It was a brilliant evening, with the opportunity to thank our benefactors for all their support to Headington. Read more about The Hive here.
Hong Kong Community and China Community Virtual Events
In October, members of our Hong Kong community and China community joined Caroline Jordan at virtual events to learn more about what has been happening at Headington, ask questions and catch up with one another.
Community Service at The Fulbrook Centre
In October, nine Headington students, accompanied by Mr Tom Anderson, Head of Contemporary Music, performed a superb selection of live music to the staff and residents of the Fulbrook Centre on the Churchill Hospital site.
As part of their Sixth Form Community Service, the girls delighted patients and staff with their singing and instrumental performances. The music ranged from classical violin and sax solos to folk and rap songs, with patients happily joining in with the choir, singing songs by The Beatles, Bob Dylan and more.
HSO Sports Report
The Autumn Term was a whirlwind for the PE Department with some wonderful achievements to celebrate and share with you all. Most notably, our U15A Netball team wowed us with their performance in the Sisters in Sport national plate competition, where in a stunning semi final, they went on to win by one goal! In addition to this, our U12A and U14A Netball teams had tremendous success in their respective tournaments and cup matches. We hosted over 75 fixtures, ran over 60 sports clubs a week and every student in U3-U5 has participated in our annual house cross country event. It has left our pupils short of no opportunity to get involved and be physically active.
We Shall Remember
In November, a series of events were held to mark Remembrance Day at Headington. As well as a whole school service and a short gathering at the front of school on Remembrance Day, many girls were also involved on Remembrance Sunday.
Members of our CCF contingent joined the parade at St Giles alongside other cadet units from Oxford city. Brass players attended the annual service at St Andrew's, Headington, playing alongside the church choir and performing the Last Post.
Winter Concert
The Winter Concert was a joyful and seasonal celebration of music featuring performances from our key ensembles, including choirs, orchestras and chamber groups. Watch the concert here.
Chicago
‘Chicago’, our first school play open to the public since 2019, was a spectacular showcase of music, dance and acting skills and saw girls performing to sellout crowds over four nights.
Carol Service
At the end of the Autumn term, we returned to Christ Church, Oxford’s Cathedral, for a magical evening carol service which was moving and uplifting despite attendance being restricted by Covid. You can watch a recording of the service here.
Senior School ‘Lunch’
In January, Senior School Parents came together for a ‘school lunch’ in the Dining room at Headington Senior School to experience what a typical lunch is like for our students, along with a glass of wine. Parents from U3 to U6 attended and queued up with their lunch trays as their daughters’ do every day.
Mind, Body & Soul
After an online version last year, it was fantastic to be able to welcome two sell-out audiences to our Mind, Body & Soul Dance Show. This showcase featured girls of all ages and a wide variety of dance styles, from Ballet and Contemporary to Street Dance and featured plenty of girls’ own choreography as well as class performances.
International Week
Headington’s International Week took place in March where the school celebrated all the different nationalities we have here in school. This included a series of short sessions each day covering the language, history, music and dance of the different countries represented by our students. A highlight of the week included an inspiring talk from the Executive Director of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme. The lunchtime menu also celebrated different cuisines including Mexican, Indian, Pan-Asian, Middle Eastern and European.
During International Week we were reminded of the difficulties being faced in Ukraine, and Headington students have shown enormous support for the people in Ukraine as well as their Ukrainian friends by donating supplies and raising money.
Careers Fair
In March we held our Careers Fair for students in U4 through U6. We were delighted to welcome over 80 members of our Headington community, including parents, former parents and Headingtonians representing a huge range of professions to help inspire our students as they make important decisions about their future careers. We want to take this opportunity to thank in particular those Headingtonians who joined us for the evening to share their career advice with our students.
Dazzling Scholars’ Concert
The Music Scholars excelled at their dedicated concerts in March. The audiences were treated to a dazzling array of pieces and virtuosic playing from scholars across the Senior School. The Music Department was very impressed with the standard of performance, poise and expression from all of the musicians, as well as the preparation and rehearsal time with their accompanists.
Mrs Aimee Jamison, Director of Performing Arts said: "It was a delight to reinstate these events after two years of having to record scholars' performances and put them out online due to Covid-19." The concerts were also live-streamed and are available to watch through the 'Headington Live'.
Congratulations to all our scholars and thanks go to our instrumental staff, accompanists and subject staff for creating two very memorable evenings.
Festival of Creativity
Throughout the month of March we hosted a range of events, workshops and exhibitions which celebrated the wealth of creative talent we have at Headington and our local area. Students took to the catwalk with their own designs, upcycled looks and charity shop finds. The Emma Watson Gallery in The Hive was a feast for the eyes as students exhibited works using a wide range of media including photography, printmaking, textiles, painting and 3D design. In collaboration with the Prep School, these events have inspired and excited our future creators. Visiting artists and our in-house specialists led workshops across a wide range of activities including weaving, ceramics, animation and 3D design.
And next term we look forward to even more events including celebrations of music, our Day of Dance, the Entrepreneurship Challenge (where students are challenged to use their creativity and social entrepreneurial skills to grow £5 seed money into something more), and our Automotive Engineering Day, a day of engineering and design themed workshops, events, and activities focused on the future of automotive engineering.