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Toasts for year 13 at leavers' dinner

This summer's outgoing year 13 students gathered in the dining room on 19 June for a candle-lit dinner to mark their moving on from St Paul's.

A week before the formal celebration of the year group's academic achievements at St Paul's first valediction ceremony, the head of years 12 and 13, Alex Hems, commemorated what they had given to the school over the last seven years.

"A love of the creative and performing arts has been a notable feature of your time here," said Alex. "Your year 12 play was powerful and thought-provoking. Your dance shows brought together girls from all years and really brought dance to the school's attention. Creative writing has blossomed while you have been here and the recent spring concert and art exhibition were formidable showcases for your talents."

Alex also toasted the students' achievements in sport and their work with the wider community. "There have been notable triumphs and, in a quiet and unobtrusive way, you have also brought new chances and great pleasure to many in our local area through your work with the 60+ scheme, the Greenhouse Project and local primary schools."

"A number of you have become legends of track and field and, as a team, you reached the national athletics finals," she added.

A catering team led by Mark Vernon, the general services manager, laid on asparagus salad, grilled steak and a dessert of panna cotta with balsamic strawberries. Zareena Beavan-Vaughan and other members of the St Paul's parents' association (the Parents' Guild) installed flower displays in the windows and on tables, while the staff band The Pink Slips, under the musical direction of maths teacher Roger Green, provided the accompaniment.

St Paul's athletes reach national combined events final

Our intermediate team for the Track and Field Cup, the major team competition for schools athletics, has reached the national round for only the second time in St Paul's history after coming third in a regional final.

"Over 400 schools enter the Cup and the top 12 make it to the finals," says the director of PE, Marika Hatley. "Each team has two members who have to cover all the events between them and everyone has to take part on the track as well as in a field event."

The team scored 359 points in the Regional A final on 16 June and had to wait a week to find out whether that was enough to qualify for the national final on 4 July. "It's sensational to be at such a high standard," says one member of the squad, Kristjana Caka. "I couldn't have done it without my team. When I broke my record in the high jump, they were all cheering me on."

"I hadn't done many of these events before I came here," adds Kristjana.

Meanwhile, the junior team finished sixth in a Regional B final after coming third in the first qualifying round. "It's a commendable score, particularly because five competitors from year 7 were in the squad," Marika says. "Things are looking bright for the future."

Summer musical plays to a thoroughly modern theatre

Outstanding vocal performances, a stage filled with 1920s dance and surtitles for scenes played entirely in Chinese marked this year's summer musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie, which played to three sold-out houses between 23 and 25 June.

Flapper costumes for forty, a collection of period props and a two-level set made full use of the Celia Johnson Theatre's recently-refurbished backstage areas. A staff and student orchestra conducted by the director of music, Yat-Soon Yeo, occupied the gallery.

Three drama and singing teachers came together to create the spectacular, which involved several dozen performers in years 9-12 and almost as many more behind the scenes. From the Charleston to tap, the choreography was the responsibility of a year 10 student, Lucy Moss. "I was asked to choreograph the show in March," says Lucy. "I watched the film of Millie and some video clips from the twenties, took some basic steps from those and came up with the rest. I also had some help from the dancers."

"I enjoyed learning to polka when the waltzing didn't work," says Ari L'Heveder, from year 12. "I also liked spending time with the younger year groups."

Cast members interviewed for the programme also left the audience in no doubt of how much fun months of rehearsals can be. "I've made loads of really good friends. It's nice to get to know people out of your year group," said one, and another added, "I've learnt so much from watching the older girls rehearse."

Local primary school pupils visit Living Library

Library visitors borrowed people rather than books when the Living Library occupied St Paul's for a morning on 23 June. Pupils from Sacred Heart and Larmenier Primary School were able to chat to year 12 students and members of staff who had volunteered as "living books".

Izzy Renton, from year 12, did a session on art and encouraged children to try drip painting like Jackson Pollock. "It was great to be able to talk about our interests with the children," says Izzy. "They were really engaged, so I found it very rewarding."

The librarian, Linda Kelley, adds, "The range of topics was broad, from pets, travel, music, sport, science and Greek myths to Frankenstein and Doctor Who. No-one quite knew what to expect at the outset. However, the children's enthusiasm and probing questions soon broke the ice and created a great atmosphere."

Careers in the spotlight for St Paul's and Wembley High

Eight students from Wembley High Technology College joined our year 10 careers conference on 11 June. During the first half of the all-day event, eight morning panels saw young women, some of them alumnae, talk about their own jobs with the girls. The sessions took in careers as diverse as medicine, publishing, drama and scientific research.

Although the tube strike forced staff to draw on their initiative and devise an on-site discussion programme, two groups were able to visit nearby workplaces after lunch. India Matharu-Daley and nine other students spent the afternoon with Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners, the architectural firm which recently won a RIBA London award for designing the Hammersmith Maggie's Centre.

"A lively young architect introduced us to the subject and told us how we could become architects ourselves," says India. "She explained that architecture was actually a study of the human relationship to space. We had a preview of some plans for a London skyscraper before we visited the model workshop to see the creations in miniature. It was inspiring, great fun and refreshing look into the professional world after our exams."

Five St Paul's records and national standards for year 7 swimmer

A year 7 student, Bella Hindley, has inscribed her place in St Paul's swimming history by breaking five individual school records in five weeks. Bella's swimming has also resulted in national recognition: while competing for her swimming club, Westminster Borough Swim Squad, during a half-term meet, Bella achieved the national qualifying times in the 100 m backstroke and freestyle. She also recorded personal bests in six other races and will take part in the UK championships at Sheffield in July.

"You can't achieve national speeds just by jumping in a pool once a week," Bella says. "It means getting up at 5.45 am and swimming hard before a long day at school. It takes commitment for months, even years, on end."

"Bella has been swimming with speed and finesse all term," adds the director of sport, Marika Hatley. "Her achievements have inspired all her peers, particularly much older girls who are desperate to get anywhere close to her in races."

Engineers report back in student assembly

Four year 12 students who took part in the Engineering Education Scheme this year explained their achievements to students and staff at an assembly on 12 June. Ceci Mourkogiannis, Anissa McClelland, Zahra Mashhood and Charlotte Harris worked with the engineering company Halcrow for ten months to design a flood alleviation scheme to protect the vulnerable flood plain area of Waltham Abbey.

The team began by discussing the proposals with their geographer, engineer and environmentalist mentors from Halcrow and the project organiser Roland Grzybek. "In the engineering world there are as many kinds of embankment as there are engineers," Ceci told her fellow students during the assembly. "The options appraisal meeting was when we really got in touch with our inner engineers. We learned what culverts were and what weirs looked like. There were eureka moments all around."

The group built a model embankment during a residential project at Ford's test centre in Basildon and visited a successful flood defence system at the Thames Barrier. "The scheme taught us a lot about all kinds of stuff – from presentation skills to office politics, timing, why Wikipedia is not always right, why flooding occurs, why planning is key and why we're forced to do coursework," Ceci added. "I don't know whether I'll become an engineer but I definitely appreciate what it means to be one."

Swimming team's rematch against Bute House

Students meet catering staff at Food Focus Group

From salmon with apple to noodles stir-fried while you wait, the changes in our catering have been a talking point all year long – not least at the summer term meeting of the Food Focus Group, where students were able to share their views with Mark Vernon, the general services manager, and Fred Achurch, the head chef. Mark says, "The group endorsed the overall view that things in the dining room are ‘great’. Students also mentioned that, in contrast to the food at friends’ schools, we are way ahead here at St Paul's."

The group was also able to discuss the satisfaction survey that the catering team carried out on the internal St Paul's website before Easter. "After seven months settling into our wonderful new catering facility, we thought it time to ask our customers how we'd been doing," says Mark. "Nine out of ten staff and students rated our overall service and the helpfulness of our staff as excellent or good. 85 per cent of students – and 100 per cent of staff – praised the quality of our food. Many respondents also contributed general observations that will help us review our catering service."

Six medals for athletes at London championships

Tough opposition from every London borough inspired several St Paul's athletes to medals and personal bests as they represented Hammersmith and Fulham at the London Schools Athletics Championships on 13 June.

Natasha Molson recorded a personal best in the 800 m heats and beat it again in the final as she raced to a silver medal. Charlotte Hampson scored a personal best of her own in the discus, where she finished second. Kat Spooner came third in the 1500 m and Lara Prior-Palmer came second in the high jump, just ahead of combined events specialist Kristjana Caka who also came second in the 75 m hurdles.

Reception reunites 1998 leavers

Eleven years spent developing careers and starting families slipped away as 52 alumnae from the class of 1998 returned to St Paul's for a reunion on 4 June. The reception began with a drink on the Marble and continued in the Old Library (view photographs), although most guests also took the chance to see how the school they remembered had changed since their own days at St Paul's.

"It was great to come back to St Paul's after all this time and renew ties with old friends," says Helen Ainley, one of the 1998 leavers. "I definitely won't leave it so long until I visit again."

Helen's mother Vivien, the former deputy head (Surmistress) between 1996 and 2001, was among 16 past and present members of staff who also came to the reunion. For history teacher Amanda Triccas, who began working here in 1997, the event sparked memories of the start of her St Paul's career. Amanda says, "My first year 13 class at St Paul's comprised 1998 leavers. Teaching them was a new experience for me, rather like a dip into a cold swimming pool – startling, refreshing and hugely rewarding. There was never any danger that my A-level history group would prove silent or sluggish."

Primary school links up with student orchestra

Musicians from a neighbouring primary school, Sacred Heart and Larmenier, visited St Paul's on 28 May to join forces with a student orchestra, Sinfonia. "Little did Sinfonia know that a recorder section was just what we needed to give greater power to the masterpiece that is the Doctor Who theme tune," says Zoe Ogahara from year 12. "By the end of the rehearsal, the piece sounded fantastic. We even had time to play a contrasting piece, Shrimp Circus, which Sacred Heart brought along."

"It was great fun to play with a full orchestra," adds Zoe, who started working with the primary school during the community service section of her Duke of Edinburgh's Gold Award. "The orchestra leader at Sacred Heart, Jo Teverson, has promised us that they'll return if Sinfonia ever needs help again."

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