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Alumnae News
Garden Party
On Saturday 3 July we welcomed back 180 alumnae, current and former staff to celebrate Mrs Berry's retirement as Headmistress of Dame Alice. Over a hundred and ten 'old girls' who left between 2001 and 2009 were able to attend, all of whom had attended the school during Mrs Berry's years as Headmistress.
In the charming setting of the Junior School gardens, alumnae were able to catch up with former school friends and teachers whilst enjoying canapés, strawberries and Pimms. Musical entertainment was provided by a reformed cabaret band and chorus including 15 of our talented musical alumnae. This included a wonderful vocal solo by Natasha Harbinson, a 2006 leaver, and a rendition of The Sailor's Hornpipe from Rebecca Noble and Sarah Dawes (also 2006 leavers).
The alumnae were delighted to be able to wish Mrs Berry well for her future plans in-person and to thank her for her support over the years. We were pleased that the last nine head girls were also able to attend, all of whom had worked closely with Mrs Berry whilst at school.
The event was partially funded by DAHSA and the PTA, and the Head Girls' Team offered their support on the day by manning the door and serving food and drinks. Committees from both DAHSA and the PTA were present for the afternoon and were able to thank Mrs Berry for her assistance over the years by presenting her with lovely gifts.
Gemma Ives, 2006 Leaver
2006 Leaver, Gemma Ives, has been very busy since leaving Dame Alice.
Gemma ran the Silverstone Half Marathon in 2009, and is busy preparing for this year's event, which she is running to raise money for Children's Hospices UK. She's also aiming to try and beat her time from last year!
Gemma also collected her Gold Duke of Edinburgh award at St James' Palace, where she spoke to the Earl of Wessex!
Gemma has achieved all of this as well as graduating from university! Congratulations Gemma!
Suzy Wimbourne, 2008 Leaver
Suzy contacted Mrs Berry with exciting news of her summer travels and time at university.
I thought I would let you know what I've been up to this summer as I had such an amazing time! I went to Canada to teach music at a summer camp near Montreal, and I was there for almost three months. It was such a fantastic experience: I met many new people, became much more confident and did things that I never thought I would do. One of the best experiences that I had was teaching the whole camp to sing the hymn 'Siya Humba' (that we used to sing at school). Everyone sang together as one huge choir, and it was fantastic!
I am really enjoying my Fine Art degree at Lancaster University. I have started to move towards photography in my work, and I am pursuing it as a potential career. I have been taking lots of photos and gaining work experience in the field. I even went along to a wedding shoot alongside a local Lancaster photographer, which was a brilliant experience.
Here are some of Suzy's photos.
Wedding Photos
Suzy herself
Old Girls and Year 13 Leavers' matches
Tuesday 30th June 2009
On Tuesday 30th June, the Dame Alice PE Department hosted an event which provided an opportunity for Old Girls to compete in sports matches against girls who are currently in Year 13. Former pupils (of all ages) were invited to take part in the following sports - Water Polo, Badminton, Netball, Tennis, Rounders and Rowing. The matches took place between 4pm and 6pm and a buffet tea was provided for all competitors from 6pm onwards.
Former pupil wins Royal Society award
Dr Green receives the award for her leadership in building up a first-class programme of engagement, communication and outreach projects at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) at UCL over ten years. Her achievements include mentoring scientists within her department in public engagement and changing the overall culture of her department and university to encourage public engagement with science work. One example of Lucie's work in changing UCL culture was her major contribution to UCL being recognised as one of six Beacons for Public Engagement by the UK Funding Councils, Research Councils UK and Wellcome Trust.
The judging panel was particularly impressed by Dr Green's work on the Satellite Stories project, which brought members of communities living around MSSL into the labs for the first time. Local people were given a forum to share their feelings about living near such an active research institution. Staff took time to talk to local people and to listen to their views on research and the history and culture of MSSL. The MSSL is now planning a similar event for next year which local people will have full control over.
Dr Green is a Royal Society Dorothy Hodgkin Research Fellow working on the study of coronal mass ejections (CMEs). These events are huge expulsions of magnetised plasma from the Sun's atmosphere and are seen as clouds of outward moving material when the Sun is eclipsed. Dr Green studies their magnetic source regions with a view to understanding the changes in the Sun's magnetic field which trigger them.
She was the national co-ordinator for all outreach activities for International Heliophysical Year (2007-2008), a United Nations sponsored program of scientific collaboration to understand the external drivers of planetary environments and universal processes in solar-terrestrial-planetary-heliospheric physics. She promoted the UK's research in solar system science and associated space mission involvement to members of the public and professionals. This project directly reached over 21,000 school students and 45,000 other people through events culminating in a touring exhibition that began at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2007.
Dr Green said: "As a scientist I feel that public engagement is a vital part of my day-to-day life and fundamental to the role of a university. As well as being an important part of our culture, public engagement with science provides many benefits to the scientist, their host institution and the audience through discussing research in an inclusive way. I'm extremely pleased to receive this award which highlights both the Royal Society's commitment to this important area and UCL's valuable contribution to the cultural life of London."
Dr Peter Cotgreave, Director of Public Affairs at the Royal Society said: "We are delighted to be awarding Dr Lucie Green the Royal Society Kohn Award. She is a shining example of how one person's determination can change an entire institution's approach to public engagement. More than ever before, the general public needs to know the importance of science and the solutions it may hold to some of our generation's biggest challenges. Dr Green is a fantastic ambassador for science and her efforts to encourage other scientists to engage with the public make her a very worthy recipient of this award."
Tola Onitiri in The Bacchae
Dame Alice alumnae Tola Onitiri in "knockout of epic proportions" says Daily Telegraph. Tola starred in The Bacchae at the Edinburgh International Festival which then transferred to Glasgow and the Lyric Hammersmith.
Tola left Dame Alice in 2002 and has performed as a soloist in numerous concerts including appearances at The House of Lords, Buckingham Palace, and for The Nelson Mandela Children Fund.
She made her West End debut while still studying for her A levels at Dame Alice Harpur School when she joined the cast of The Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre. She performed the role of Nala on many occasions.
Tola has also been involved in television. She appeared as Donna in Grass for the BBC, Marcia Jones in Bad Girls and played in the role of Dotun in The Window for Channel 4.