12th October 2020 — Giving Tuesday on 1 December is a day of global giving. A day when everyone, everywhere can do something to support the good causes that mean so much to us all.

Developed in response to the mass consumerism of Black Friday, Giving Tuesday has been created as a day to give back and has since been adopted by schools, colleges, universities, and charities across the globe.

Malvern St James Girls' School is taking part in the initiative for the first time and on Tuesday 1 December we are asking the MSJ Community to come together and get involved in raising funds for bursaries to ensure that we can support social mobility and a diverse and inclusive student body in our school.

We all know and love MSJ for its ethos of grounded girls who will use the privilege of an outstanding education as a force for good in the world. As the Good Schools Guide says, we are “full of girls who will change the world”. Please help us reach out to bright, curious and ambitious girls who would benefit from an MSJ education but are held back by financial circumstances.

We are asking you, our vibrant School community of parents, past parents, Old Girls, staff, Honorary Members and friends to help us if you are able. We appreciate that many of us will have felt the financial effects of the pandemic, and there are many charities which need our support. But if you believe in the power of education having a transformative effect, and you are in a position to give, please do consider giving to the MSJ Bursary Fund on Giving Day.

There will also be a raffle to win a UK holiday. Mr Simon Holden, our Director of Operations, has already offered a week in his Scottish chalet set in spectacular scenery, perfect for riding, fishing, sight-seeing and generally galloping around in glorious Nature. If anyone else has a holiday home that they would be prepared to offer as a prize, please email Phillippa Weatherhead in the Development Office:

The girls in school will enjoy various activities on the day which they can support with a voluntary donation.

We are also looking for donors to support the appeal ahead of its launch to provide possible matched funding to help us to engage and mobilise our community to contribute and help to make a bigger impact on the day. For more information on how you can help, please email Fiona Meredith or call +44 (0) 1684 584613.

As ever, your support will make all the difference, and we know how lucky we are to have this amazing community around us.

9th October 2020 — Malvern St James Girls' School is delighted to have been named as winners in the Independent School of the Year Awards for The Marketing Award for Effective Brand Communication for our Malvern St James Old Girls’ Association Malvern Alumnae 100 campaign.

Huge thanks to all of our incredible and inspiring Old Girls who took part in the campaign and made it such a success. To find out more about this campaign visit Malvern Alumane 100 pages of our website.

Our congratulations to Handcross Park School too who were named joint winners along with MSJ.

8th October 2020 — On Thursday 1 October, Malvern St James Girls' School, we were thrilled to welcome Old Girl, Dr Sabrina Tsao (MGC 1988) to host an online Medicine Lecture from her home in Hong Kong.

Sabrina spoke to the girls about her education at Malvern Girls' College, her passion for music and medical training in both the UK and US. Sabrina has recently returned to Hong Kong where she is currently the Clinical Associate Professor of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Practice at The University of Hong Kong.

There were many interesting and insightful questions from girls following the lecture who are all involved in the MSJ’s Medical Society and are looking to follow a career in this field. Girls were able to watch remotely in their year group bubbles from various locations around School and it was enjoyed by them all.

Mrs Whitmore, Acting Head of Sixth Form and Biology Teacher, said ‘It was a fantastic lecture, Dr Tsao had clearly spent a lot of time pulling together her presentation and she has had such a fascinating journey so far, what with her changes in country and her specialism – I think the girls found this to be very valuable and interesting and we managed to ask lots of questions at the end as well.’

We hope to run more online career and motoring opportunities as the School year progresses and are always keen to hear from Old Girls, parents and friends of the school who would be happy to help.

To find out more, please contact Phillippa Weatherhead.

28th September 2020 — The Sixth Form Experience Day at Malvern St James Girls' School, on Friday 16 October, is open to both girls currently studying at MSJ and girls looking to join us in Year 12. Usually, everyone would be invited to join us at School on the day for Sixth Form taster lessons but due to COVID restrictions, things will be a little different this year.

Current MSJ pupils will experience a full day of subject taster lessons, a picnic lunch and an evening live-streamed session with guest speakers from our alumnae network and our Prefects and current sixth form girls at 17:00 on Friday 16 October.

For external pupils you are warmly invited to join us online for our live-streamed Sixth Form Experience from 17:00 - 18:00, giving you the perfect opportunity to ask questions to current Sixth Form girls, find out more about MSJ Sixth Form and how our individualised support helps girls achieve excellent academic results to secure places at some of the most prestigious universities in the UK and beyond.

Hear from Headmistress Mrs Raraty, current Sixth Form girls and our Prefects. Two ambitious and successful girls from our Alumnae network share how MSJ Sixth Form prepared them for their future studies and careers.

In addition to the Sixth Form Experience, join us for our Virtual Open Morning on Saturday 10 October for an introduction to the School.

External pupils looking for more information contact email Mrs Georgina Hanford, Admissions Manager or to register click here. Current MSJ pupils looking for more please contact Mrs Isla Whitmore, Acting Head of Sixth Form.

Generous Bursaries and Scholarships Available

Scholarships

A Scholarship is an award given to a girl that has shown exceptional talent in a specific field and it carries a financial reward of up to 10%. Scholarships are offered in the following areas: Academic, Art, Drama, Flexi-Boarding, Music, Riding, Sport and Technology.

For Sixth Form, students can apply for the School’s most prestigious Scholarship, the Founders’ Award. Girls who receive this award demonstrate all-round excellence. This bursary can go over the general 40% fee remission cap.

Bursary

A Bursary is designed to enable pupils to attend the school, where they would not be able to without financial assistance. At MSJ, the maximum fee remission a bursary can carry is 40%, although there are exceptions.

18th September 2020 — We are delighted former Malvern St James Girls' School student, India Wilkinson, has won the Royal Academy's Young Artists competition.

India was a pupil at MSJ until 2016. In Year 13, a Prefect with A* predictions, a player on the 1st Netball Team and holding an offer to study Chemistry at University of St Andrews, India was diagnosed with brain cancer. After a very brave fight, she sadly lost her battle with the disease in 2017. Several months after India died, her parents received an email from Bristol University Bequest Office naming her as the youngest body donor in the UK. During the final year of her life, she expressed her creativity by making prints on a letterpress. One of these prints has won the Royal Acadamy's competition. The below is taken from their website:

Over 18,000 voted for the People's Choice in this year's Young Artists' Summer Show, and the results are in with one of the two winning artworks being: 'We are all Stories...' by India, Age 18.⠀

"India (1998-2017) loved art – she drew, painted, took photographs and displayed her creative talents in many other ways. When she developed a debilitating brain tumour a month before her 18th birthday; losing her mobility, dexterity and some of her vision, India looked for new ways to express her creativity.⠀

This print, one of a series of limited edition prints she designed and made at a traditional letterpress in her home town, features in a short film India made in the weeks before she died in December 2017. Her film is called Inside my Head and can be found on YouTube."⠀

India's parents will be donating the £100 prize to St Michael's Hospice. ⠀

You can explore all of the artworks soon at the Young Artists' Summer Show, on display at the Royal Acadamy from the 19 October to 22 November 2020 (booking essential).

India's mother, Mrs Zinnia Wilkinson, Director of Pastoral Care at MSJ, said "As India’s mother, I am astounded by the impact she continues to have despite having died two and a half years ago. I am proud of her art and proud that she has been recognised in this way, but most of all I am proud of who she was and is."

17th September 2020 — Malvern St James Girls' School Year 12 student Tiggy and her older sister Vivi, who finished MSJ in July, have been fundraising for 18 weeks for Breast Cancer Research, with the aim of raising £1,000.

Sadly, in the week before lockdown, Tiggy and Vivi’s grandma was diagnosed with breast cancer. She began chemotherapy and is still going with the treatment. Tiggy wanted to do something positive for her to look forward to each week, so decided she would record a song or piece of music every Tuesday, as well as setting up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Breast Cancer Research. She has raised over £800 so far.

Vivi has helped by accompanying Tiggy and playing the piano. Tiggy also had the fantastic opportunity of an interview with Kate Justice on BBC Hereford and Worcester and many listeners reached out to her to say how inspired they were by this fundraising. The songs are posted weekly on her Twitter account so everyone can enjoy them. She will continue to make these video until her grandma has finished her treatment (she will be having radiotherapy after her chemo), as she would love to reach her target.

Well done to Tiggy and Vivi, you can support their fundraising efforts via their GoFundMe page.