19 October 2024

Dear Oakley Parents and Guardians

I would like to start by thanking all those who donated generously to our Oakley House Charity 5k last weekend. We have now raised over £700 for Medecins Sans Frontieres and I was really impressed with the House spirit shown by our girls. We were lucky with the weather and the course lapped the perimeter of campus twice. It was a great success, with a fierce battle for 2nd place. The final podium was Bronze: Lucile; Silver: Lacey and Gold: Celina. Well done, girls!

   

      

  




Oakley House competed in Junior House Swimming at the end of last month. I was very proud of our swimmers and my thanks go to Fayruz, Alice, Emily, Mia Z, Ava, Lacey, Charlotte, Brisha, Tanvi and Tiffany for taking part. It was hot and loud during the event and our girls came first in some solo heats, 3rd in the Medley relay and 2nd place in the Free Relay. The squad enjoyed breakfast in house as a treat at the start of the week.

Our Junior badminton squad represented Oakley in the House competition:




Silver Duke of Edinburgh awards in Routh went to Sai-Nam, Kalash and Ashlina. Good luck with your Gold Award, girls!

We prepared for Hallowe’en with some traditional pumpkin carving at the weekend:

  












Of course academic work keeps everyone busy too. After the first set of AE grades, the following were commended for their performance within Oakley:

Best Engagement: Lacey, Amy, Belle, Kerron, Ava, Stasy, Amelie, Greycious, Rozelyn, Clara, Tajvy, Kalash and Lina.

Best Attainment: Shristi, Ava, Amy, Clara, Amelie, Sai-Nam, Masha, Lina and Bernice.

Perhaps some of you were able to watch the live stream of House Song on Tuesday. Three weeks of intensive rehearsals, led by the Upper Sixth, culminated in an outstanding performance of ‘Another Day of Sun’. The standard across Houses was so high and we were delighted that Karis won the Best Conductor prize. The cheers of Oakley reflected the enormous respect that the girls had shown Karis during the past 3 weeks. It is a challenging experience to lead from the front and Karis grew into her role magnificently; the judge commented that she held the House in the palm of her hand throughout their song. Trissie played magnificently for the second year running and they were supported by Alvina and Bernice who helped with the arrangement which was highly praised too. Watching the whole House take part and give it their all in front of an audience of 1000 spectators was a highlight of the term.



  

  

  

  





As the girls now return to their families or relocate to Housman Hall for a break from school routines over the holidays, it is important that they take time to recover from this busy start to the school year. It has been a busy but rewarding 7 weeks and our new students in particular should be particularly proud of the resilience and determination they have shown settling into boarding school life. It has been wonderful watching new friendships form.

I look forward to welcoming your daughters back to Oakley in November.

Best wishes
Victoria Adams