Much Ado About Nothing" – Sixth Form Play!

We are delighted to invite you to ‘Much Ado About Nothing'.

Shakespeare’s comedy entwines the stories of two sets of lovers, the innocent Hero and Claudio, and Beatrice and Benedick, whose barbed wordplay disguises their real feelings. Dastardly plotting and an incompetent amateur police force add to the fun, alongside a string of live 1980s songs performed by our fantastic student bands.

Performances will be 7pm on Wednesday 17 & Thursday 18 December.
Tickets are on ParentPay at £6.

Eva: I had such a lovely evening listening to the other speeches, and it was great being able to share my speech with everyone. It's really built my confidence in myself and I would definitely recommend the challenge! I'm also hugely thankful to Ms Ronayne and everyone who helped make this happen.

Congratulations to Eva and all the Year 10 students that took part in the initial workshop. Their willingness to learn public speaking skills offered such unique perspectives, and they delivered with impressive levels of confidence. 

These students are incredibly brave, and we are very proud of everyone who took part.

Ms Ronayne
Head of Year 10

CSG writes Poetry!

We loved the poem about life and Lowood School, inspired by 'Jane Eyre' written by Jill in year 9! Well done Jill – what a thoughtful and powerful piece of work.

Ms Gibson

Shivering beneath the thin coverlets.

Smashing the icy basins.
Frozen solid.

Stumbling through icy halls.

Cold flames lick at finger tips,
Blistered,red and bruised,

Teeth chattering,
Hungry gazes,
Stark white faces,
Narrow frames,

Cough.

A single loaf of bread.
A blessing.

Cough.

The flick of a wrist,
Lashes of pain.

Cold.

Art History Success at the Articulation Competition

On Wednesday 3 December, the Camden School for Girls Art History Department took part in the North London Heat of the Articulation competition, hosted at Highgate School.

The adjudicator, Isobel Wilcox-Mahon from the Victoria and Albert Museum, praised the Camden students for their high-quality research, intellectual rigour, and engaging delivery. Dr Judith Jammers of Highgate School also commented that all the Camden presentations were brilliant.

Camden was represented by three students: Mylo, Robyn and Tilly.

• Isobel praised Mylo for his performative and insightful examination of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s 1981 painting
• Bird on Money, highlighting its connections to jazz, synaesthesia, and Charlie Parker.

• She was equally impressed by Robyn’s thoughtful and powerful exploration of 1980s Newcastle poverty through the social-realist photography of Tish Murtha, focusing especially on the haunting image of her brother Glen in the window.

• The adjudicator selected Tilly as Camden’s winner for her compelling presentation on Rocco Morabito’s iconic street photograph The Kiss of Life. Tilly’s talk was praised for the way she connected the image to the work of paramedics, 19th-century ideas about lonely deaths, Frankenstein, and the history of gay rights in the United States during the 1960s.

Tilly will now progress to the Regional Heat at The Courtauld, Vernon Square, on Monday 12 January, 2–5pm

Year 12 Trip to the HerAI Conference at City of London School for Girls

Student Review by Maja and Jouwaria

Camden School for Girls Sixth Form was invited to the “HerAI” conference at The City of London School for Girls, which hosted brilliant guest speakers with expertise in the fields of AI and feminism. These included Joanna Shan from Google DeepMind, Dr. Amy Gaeta from the University of Cambridge, Charlotte Wood from Schroders, and Laura Bates, best-selling author and founder of the Everyday Sexism Project (the project being the first of its kind and scale). We heard a thought-provoking discussion about the problems that AI can cause for women and beyond, and how we can tackle the issues around safety and exclusion.

AI is taking a greater role in corporations worldwide, as well as how we carry out everyday tasks in our own lives (from everyday questions to ChatGPT and exam aid from AI chatbots) – Therefore, there is an even more pressing need to address the problems and dangers it can cause. Charlotte Wood from Schroders (an investment management firm) spoke about how whilst it can speed up bureaucratic processes like filing through information, it is also impossible to hold machines accountable when certain processes go wrong – hence highlighting how AI must be used responsibly and with skill.

Dr. Amy Gaeta spoke to us about AI and emotional reliance – she critiqued the belief that all solutions to AI issues are technical, as well as telling us of the dangers of growing emotionally attached to AI chatbots, such as a weakened sense of data privacy, susceptibility to misinformation and weakened human relationships. By giving power to AI tools made by male-centered technology companies, these companies also shape the way we view the world and communicate, and where we access our information. While there are obvious drawbacks to growing emotionally reliant on AI, Gaeta also rejected framing these problems as individual ones, when in reality big tech plays a key role in manufacturing these situations and in fact encourages them as they result in more use of their AI.

Laura Bates spoke to us about the issues discussed in her new book: The New Age of Sexism: How the AI Revolution is Reinventing Misogyny. She discussed how at the time of Facebook’s origin, when it was still being made, fellow students of Mark Zuckerberg raised alarm in the Harvard Crimson about the lack of regulation around safety and discrimination. Now, social media is fundamental to our jobs and lives, and the technology is so embedded that it is almost too late to make structural changes around harassment, abuse, and targeting of marginalised groups. But now, while we are at the beginning of AI entering every crevice of our lives, is the prime time to start building the foundations so that it is safe and ethical – rather than simply putting plasters when it is too late. Algorithmic AI tools take the patterns that already exist in society (misogyny, racism) and carry these over into the systems they are used for, even if the AI was not designed this way; for example, certain financial services downgrade women’s credit ratings while there is already a $17 billion gender credit gap globally.

Thank You to All Our Parents and Volunteers 

A heartfelt thank you to every parent, carer, school staff, and community member who donated items or volunteered their time for our annual Jumble Sale. Your generosity, energy, and enthusiasm made the event not only hugely successful but truly enjoyable for the entire school community.

We are delighted to share that £11,500 was raised this year, all of which will go directly toward supporting our school and its students.

This year, we also introduced a new recycling system, ensuring that all unsold items were passed on to local charities - helping support good causes beyond our school community.

Finally, our deepest thanks go to the school staff for their constant and incredible support from beginning to end. In particular, Matt, Brendan, Karen, Lynn and Sarah – your dedication and hard work make this event possible every year, and we couldn’t do it without you.

Wishing you all a warm and joyful festive season,

CSG Jumble Sale Committee