After  record results in 1997's Public Examinations , UV and UVI girls produced another set of distinguished results.  47% of all A Level passes were at A or B grades and 24% of GCSE passes at A* or A.  Rachel Avery, our Head Girl, gained a place to read Law at Trinity College, Cambridge.  Other UVI leavers chose the usual wide range of courses; e.g. Medicine, Dentistry, Electroacoustics, Town Planning, Music, Occupational Therapy, Agriculture, Mathematics with Economics and Modern Languages. 

Extra-Curricular Activities 

Large numbers of Junior and Senior girls have instrumental lessons in school and can participate in choirs, orchestras and ensembles which perform in regular concerts. Highlights this year were the Choir tour to Prague in February and the joint concert with the Royal Grammar School in March. 

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme  continues to be very popular; an expedition to Bolivia and Peru is planned for Gold Award candidates in the summer of 1999. 

A Senior School member of staff works full-time to co-ordinate the Award, Community Service and the wide range of clubs and activities.  A new scheme - the Church High School Challenge - was established this year for girls in Years 7-9, leading into the Duke of Edinburgh Award.  The majority of girls took part in developing new skills, outdoor activities and Community Service.  Junior School girls can attend outdoor activities' trips and Year 6 (LIII) girls visit London for a three-day sightseeing and study tour. 

Skiing trips and Summer activity holidays are regularly organised in conjunction with the  Royal Grammar School . Girls also participate in the RGS Modern Languages Exchanges. 

Girls also participate enthusiastically in the editing and production of the  School Magazine  and we hope to use the school’s outstanding IT facilities to bring more and more of the magazines production “in house”. 

As well as the A Level  Theatre Studies  productions, the Drama Festival and "Daisy Pulls It Off" (the school play), for Senior girls, LIII (Year 6) girls produced an original Opera (written by themselves), and "The Wizard of Oz", as a farewell to the Junior School. 

A record £6,120 was raised by the Senior School for charities last year (900 up on the previous year's record).  Junior School girls have supported a wide-ranging number of charities, raising £5,787.79. 

Sport 

UIV (Year 9) won the City Swimming League and Tyne and Wear Championships, and were City Champions.  Sarah Cook is City Champion at Butterfly, Front Crawl and Individual Medley.  In Netball the Under-15 team won the Tyne and Wear Knock-out Competition and Netball Tournament; they were also City League winners. 

The Under-18s and Under-15s were both runners-up in the Tyne and Wear Hockey Competition.  Our tennis team got through to the National Finals of the Aberdare Cup once again. 

Large numbers of girls participated in the Athletics Achievement Scheme organised by coach Mrs Dorothy Chipchase during the Summer Term. 

Recent Developments 

The School's Strategic Development Plan was completed during the year, aiming to provide new facilities and improve existing provision, starting with new cloakroom and toilet areas in the Senior School and the renovation of the Junior School Library during the Summer holiday. 

Theatre Studies, Psychology and Sociology are all now available at A Level.  Seven girls in LVI all passed their Business German RSA courses - an innovation. 

Every Sixth Form leaver attains either GCSE in ICT or the RSA CLAIT qualification. 

A range of holiday courses and activities is now well-established, including Tennis Coaching, Arts and Crafts and Drama enjoyed by large numbers of Junior School girls in the Easter and Summer vacations.