Soon after the school returned from evacuation in 1940, it was found to be impossible to carry on the Music Circle because of the blackout and other restrictions. Now after a gap of six years it has been restarted. Its return has been welcomed with enthusiasm as it is the first of the several school 'circles' which flourished before the war to begin its post-war life.

The first meeting, which took the form of a Gramophone Recital, was held on October 4th in the hall, and was attended by Miss Holden, other members of staff, and over fifty girls. The works played were the Hebrides Overture by Mendelssohn, Tchaikowsky's well-loved Piano Concerto Number One in B Flat Minor (an attempt to make some of the younger members realise that it contains more than one theme!) and David Gay's delightful "Holiday for Strings." June Hill's explanatory remarks added much to the interest of the recital.

R.D.

A visit to the ballet was a new venture for the Music Circle and it proved to be a most successful one. Mm Rambert's company was at the Riley Smith Hall for a week, giving eight works from their repertoire. On the night we went there was an attractive and varied programme. The classical was represented by "Swan Lake" Act II, the romantic by "Le Spectre de la Rose," and the modern by "Death and the Maiden" and "Facade."

"Swan Lake" had necessarily been telescoped down to fit the tiny stage of the company's own Mercury Theatre. It had been skilfully done, but the traditionally mysterious and tragic atmosphere had been replaced by a frosty, fairy-tale atmosphere. Unfortunately two pianos could hardly be expected to do justice to Tchaikowsky's music. Neither could they give to Weber's "Invitation to the Dance" (the music of "Spectre de la Rose") the swirling richness of rhythm and texture which it demands. But the ballet was charmingly danced by Sally Gilmour as the Young Girl and John Gilpin—a very young, lithe dancer with a neat technique—as the "Spectre de la Rose."

"Death and the Maiden," a short dramatic ballet with a strongly pictorial quality, depicts the struggle of a Maiden with Death, and her gradual and inevitable yeilding to him. The silhouettes of black, cloaked figures against a twilight blue sky were exceptionally striking and beautiful.

We, and apparently the company also, ended the evening in high good spirits with a performance of "Facade." This exhilarating and witty piece of burlesque appealed to us all. Sally Gilmour in the Tango Passadoble, wearing a scruffy leather boa and a permanently bewildered expression, was particularly delightful. To some of the Music Circle this was an introduction to ballet, to others a further aquaintance with it, but to all it was an enjoyable and happy evening.

R.D.

On Wednesday March 5th the Choir Competition took place. At 2-30 p.m. the Hall was almost full of interested parents and girls who were waiting for the choirs to enter. After the adjudicator—Mr. Bainbridge, the choir-master of West Leeds School—had taken his place, the first choir filed in and took its place on the platform. The talking ceased and the sweet voices of a junior choir filled the Hall.

In form rooms further away there was a very different atmosphere. There, the other choirs were waiting. The juniors were jumping up and down, and asking what was happening at that precise moment, and please when would their turn come. The seniors were more dignified, but even they were excited. At frequent intervals the captains went to and fro urging the girls to make less noise and telling them not to be nervous. Once on the platform some of the girls remembered to look cheerful, others certainly did not! However they all sang their best.

A choir cannot hope to be successful unless the conductor, pianist and choir have absolute confidence in one another, and this good team work was achieved by all the choirs. This was because the girls had worked hard at the practices. Practices had not been easy to arrange, because of the Winter evenings descending on us so early; transport was slowed down by the snow; and there was some difficulty over practising rooms, as the accoustics in the Hall, the Gym and the Music Rooms vary considerably. However in spite of the difficulties there were many amusing incidents at practices. There were times when the conductor in an enthusiastic moment knocked over the music stand or nearly poked the pianist's eyes out with her baton!

We were indeed fortunate to have Mr. Bainbridge as adjudicator. He pointed out our mistakes and told us how to improve. He even took all the choirs on to the platform and conducted them himself. We were very pleased to hear that he thought the general standard of singing high.

P.J.H.

The senior girls have been fortunate in having access to the many choral and orchestral concerts which have been given in the Leeds Town Hall, and they have attended with a keenness and enthusiasm which speaks well for the future.

The last concert of the school year provided a fitting climax when the girls had an opportunity of hearing the B.B.C. Northern Orchestra conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham—who was on a return visit to Leeds after an absence of ten years.

Half the programme was by Delius and as the audience listened to the masterly interpretation of such music as "Over the hills," "On hearing the first cuckoo in Spring," "La Calinda" and the Violin Concerto, some of them remembered that Sir Thomas had done a great deal—years ago—to bring this Bradford-born composer's merits into prominence.

The programme ended with Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony which delighted and thrilled all who heard it. The dynamic vigour with which Sir Thomas conducted the "thunderstorm" movement produced an amazingly realistic effect, and later he delighted some of us by gaily singing out "Cuckoo" in order to spur his orchestra on to yet further instrumental imitations of this bird!

The end of the concert brought a burst of applause from the audience showing clearly their appreciative admiration of the work done by the orchestra under its great conductor.

Miss CLAYTON.

On the last day of the Christmas term the school and its guests assembled for the annual Carol Service. It was a particularly happy idea that this should be the closing ceremony of the term—it was a reverent and joyful occasion.

The Senior choir opened the Service with a processional carol and we then followed the Christmas Story through the familiar Seven Readings alternately with a variety of carols—some familiar and some unusual, but all beautiful.

Our grateful thanks are due to Miss Clayton for the preparation of this impressive beginning of the Christmas Season.

Pendant cette année nous avons assisté à plusieurs conférences, à une soirée musicale allemande et à deux films français. Parmi les conférences françaises les plus intéressantes étaient celle de Monsieur Harry Rée sur la Résistance et celle du Professeur Chapman sur la situation économique actuelle de France. Mais le discours que nous avons écouté avec le plus grand curiosité, c'était celui du Professeur Allison Peers sur l'Espagne. Jusque là nos idées sur ce pays étaient des plus vagues. Nous ne comprenons la signification ni de la guerre civile ni du gouvernement du général Franco. On avait jeté sur l'Espagne un voile que les journaux ne nous aidaient pas à pénétrer. Monsieur Peers a tâché dans son discours admirablement concis, lucide et instructif, d'expliquer tout cela et d'éclaircir ce qui avait été mystérieux.

Le 23 octobre nous sommes allées au Riley Smith Hall pour voir un film sur la Libération, plusieurs films amusants et un film policier "Le Dernier des Six." Le premier, comme document historique, était très intéressant, mais l'écran était trop petit. Quant au "Dernier des Six," la demi-obscurité de l'écran, la confusion de l'intrigue et le dialogue incompréhensible nous ont fait penser que c'était bien "le Dernier," non pas "des Six," mais de tous les films que nous avons jamais vus.

Au mois de juin nous avons vu un très beau film, "Marie Louise," qui montre l'œuvre humanitaire des Suisses qui recevaient chez eux des enfants des régions sinistrées.

Enfin, nous avons passé une soirée très heureuse à Swarthmore chez Fräulein Steinitz. Les élèves avancés ont joué une comédie allemande dont notre hôtesse était l'auteur, et une cantatrice a chanté plusieurs belles chansons de Schumann et de Schubert.

The school I attend is called "Jules Terry" after the French statesman who made education compulsory and free. It is a modern brick building with big windows, a good playground, and new furniture. But unfortunately most of the schools in Paris are not like mine—they are dark old buildings, often disused convents. High schools are quite numerous but unequally distributed, so that in our 'quartier' for example, there are three boys' schools, and three girls' schools ("Jules Terry," "Racine," and "Lamartine"), whilst in other quarters there are none at all.

French schools belong to the state. The staffs are part of the Civil Service and are dependent on the Ministry of Education. At the top of the school is the "directrice" who has to see that the school is run properly. The teachers whom we have at "Jules Terry" are all "agrégées" (that is they have all taken an advanced post-graduate degree). They are usually over a certain age, since they have already carried out part of their career "en province." Consequently they are women of some importance who have had many years' teaching experience. That is why Parisian schools are better than provincial ones. The discipline of the school is kept by "surveillantes" and "répététrices," and we have a steward to deal with all school expenses.

There are no boarders. But for the girls who live far away there is a half-boarding system by which they can have dinner at school if they pay for it. It costs about 3000 francs a term at the moment (that is £6 5s.).

As for the teaching we receive, this is roughly what it comprises. In the Primary section—the 11th (the lowest form) to the 7th— you learn reading, writing, arithmetic, grammar, a little history and geography, and some elementary science. At the end of your year in the 7th form you have to sit an examination which gives you entry to the 6th form—that is, to secondary education. In the 6th you start Latin, and English or German, and start to study French literature seriously. You move up from form to form automatically without exams, unless you are bad at a certain subject, and in that case you have to pass a special exam in it. In the 4th you start another language—Greek, English, German, Spanish, Italian or Russian. At the end of your year in the 3rd you sit for your "Certificat d'Etudes Secondaires." In the 2nd lessons become quite different. There are four different courses you can take which are continued in the 1st. After a year in the 1st you take the first part of the Baccalauréat. This consists of a written examination on the subjects of the course you have taken, and an oral one on the same subjects and on History and Geography also. When you have passed this exam you take either the "Philosophie—Lettres" course, which is a preparation for law, the teaching of languages, ancient and modern, and for letters; or "Mathématiques Elémentaires," which is a preparation for all kinds of engineering; or "Philosophie—Sciences," a preparation for medicine, pharmacy and so on, which I take as I want to be a doctor.

You usually leave school at about eighteen, but many girls do not finish until they are twenty, because they have had to take the same exam twice or oftener, after failing the first time. In my school each category I have mentioned contains many classes, because there are in all two thousand of us.

As well as our ordinary lessons we have gym and drawing lessons. We also have a theatrical company. Two years ago we produced "Andromaque," and I was Phoenix. I wore white hair and a white beard—it was really very funny and my friends always wanted to laugh when I came on the stage! We do have an "Association Sportive," but like all good French people we have not much liking for sport.

It is difficult to speak about the spirit that prevails in a high school like ours. Since we are very numerous and widely scattered over Paris, we form small groups of only four or five friends. The only thing which really unites us is the pleasure of annoying a bad-tempered teacher—which perhaps is not to our credit!

The first excursion of the Science Society this school year was a visit to Kershaw's in October. Miss Hall and members of the Society enjoyed an interesting and well planned tour of the factory, during which we were able to follow the complete manufacture of optical instruments, beginning at the workshop, where machines and tools to make the instruments were produced, and concluding by admiring the finished cameras, field glasses and projectors being packed—unfortunately for export.

We saw the development of the lenses from one department to another. They were made in the factory, and the rough lenses of different sizes were then polished by many machines, and finally each lens was separately examined and some were rejected.

The outer coverings of the cameras were cut out in one workshop from metal sheets, and the parts were assembled in another and finally sprayed by special machines which gave them a dull, slightly rough appearance. Most of the cases were black, but bright colours were used for opera glasses and binoculars. Finally the complete instruments were constructed and fitted with strong leather cases also made in the factory and then tested, and we were allowed to examine and use them.

In two hours we had had glimpses of all the departments of the factory and we returned to school for the speech day programme—a fitting end to an enjoyable afternoon.

P.L.C.

On Wednesday, November 13th, invited by Montague Burton, nineteen girls of Upper IV went round Montague Burton's factory in Hudson Road. We arrived about 3 p.m. and were divided into two groups. The first corridor which we walked down had offices on both sides, and over each door was the name of the manager who was inside.

When Montague Burton's receive the cloth, the first thing they do is to look over it all, to see if there are any flaws in it. To do this there are two men across the room by the windows about one foot apart and a little higher up than the height of the average man. They pull the cloth slowly over bars and look at it very carefully to make sure that there are no flaws in it.

The cloth is then passed on to another man. This man has a machine which folds the cloth into a rectangular shape. At the side of the machine there is a wheel with a pointer on it which turns round as the cloth goes through the machine. This measures the cloth, which is then sent to the Store Room until it is required. The Store Room, the guide told us, was full of cloth before the war but now it is almost empty.

Then the cloth is taken to the Cutting Room where it is cut by hand. All the cutting is done by men. The pattern is drawn in white tailor's chalk on the material and it is cut out with a pair of very large scissors. The men work at very long tables. The next stage is stitching. The material is stitched by women on a sewing machine.

We then saw the pressing machines, again operated by men. The machine is like an ironing table on which the garment is laid and another ironing table comes down on top worked by a foot lever. The man then turns a screw on the top piece of the machine which cools the garment. The shape of the bottom ironing table varies according to the part of the garment which it is pressing. When the garment is being pressed the lining sometimes gets creased, so that is ironed with a flat iron.

There only remains now the finishing off of the garment. The button holes are made and the buttons sewn on by machine. A button is put in a container in the machine and the garment is put underneath the button. The machine stitches on the button and moves that part of the garment to one side. The garments are finally folded and packed.

As well as seeing how the garments were made we saw the canteen which was opened by Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal in 1934. It holds eight thousand people. The counter in the canteen is divided into many small counters each for a different food. The dinners are put on the counters ready and are kept hot until they are served.

We also visited the kitchen. In the kitchen there are two electric mixing machines which can mix five stones of bread at once, one electric potato peeler which peels potatoes at one pound per second, a fish and chip range and two electric dish washing machines, one for cups and one for plates.

There are also many welfare rooms. One is for the dentist who comes twice a week. The charges are moderate but learners do not pay for treatment which they receive. Another room is for the chiropodist and optician, and there is a room for sun-ray treatment. Free sun-ray treatment is given if necessary to new girls provided the consent of their parents has been obtained. Also there is a surgery in charge of a nurse which is open at all times for accidents and illness. Near the surgery there is a Men's Rest Room and a Women's Rest Room. The nurse gives people permission to go to the Rest Rooms. Some of the women go in the dinner hour. In the Rest Rooms there are easy chairs and camp beds. The firm also employs a doctor whom any worker may consult on application to the nurse.

When we had finished looking round we went into the Managers' Canteen. Each of us was given a book called "Ideals in Industry" which we looked at while we were waiting for the other party. We then had tea and left the factory at about 5 p.m. I am quite sure all of us had enjoyed our visit to Montague Burton's clothing factory.

EILEEN GREAVES.

Twenty members of the Science Society took a l½d ticket on the tram-car, and alighted at the B.B.C. We immediately entered into a world of many-sided tables, sound-proof walls and an air of efficiency, gaining the idea of how far flung points can be linked together by the ever increasing wonders of science.

Upstairs was the control room, which is the centre of all the activities of this amazing building. It contains an apparatus which is a master-switch of all the microphones.

We split into two parties, half going into one studio and the other half into an adjoining one, here we could see each other, as the whole of one wall was sound-proof glass. Here the fun began; on switching one of the control levers, we were able to say exactly what we wished to the others in the next studio. They in turn were able to reply.

Downstairs in the building was the largest studio, with a balcony providing seating accommodation for a hundred people. In here many of the famous orchestras and bands have played. This studio was divided into two smaller ones, in one of which, we were informed, Wilfred Pickles had broadcast many of his famous ''Under the Barber's Pole" programmes.

In the basement were the squat generators, which gave the motive power to all the broadcasts from this station.

The two hours slipped by all too quickly, and we ended our visit with a kind invitation, on the part of our guide, to come again in the near future.

GWENDOLINE M. CHAPPEL.

On May 1st the members of the Science Society were fortunate in being able to listen to a lecture on coal, given by Mr. Webb.

After giving a few facts on the formation of coal from prehistoric forests, Mr. Webb gave an interesting talk on the disadvantages of using coal, in its natural state, for domestic purposes and industrial uses. He explained that if the coal was first converted into coal-gas and its by-products, and then used for these purposes, Britain would benefit not only by conserving thousands of tons of coal every year—a consideration of great importance owing to the fuel crisis—but also by a decrease in mortality caused by atmospheric impurities due to the smoke in industrial areas.

The lecture was illustrated with photographs of industrial towns, demonstrating the necessity for a smokeless fuel, and with clear diagrams of the most modern retorts used in the manufacture and purification of coal-gas. With these lantern slides Mr. Webb concluded his address leaving those present with a greater practical knowledge of a subject so vital today.

J.C.M.

On Tuesday, May 13th, several middle-school forms were given a lecture with lantern-slides on the Netherlands. In answer to an invitation some of the older boys from the Modern School came over to the lecture.

The Dutch Consul, who was the speaker, gave a very interesting and rather amusing talk. Mixed with his educational facts, he told us some of the stories, both amusing and horrible, of the wars in Holland.

He spoke for some length of time on the education of Dutch children. As in England, the education is compulsory but free. The school-children have not such an easy time as English children, for many reasons, including having to pass six languages for School Certificate, no games, and shorter holidays. The school hours are much the same, however, being 9 until 12 o'clock and 3 to 4 o'clock. There are three types of schools, but the boarding schools are only for girls.

When speaking about the towns and industries of Holland, the speaker mentioned that although Holland is always thought of as an agricultural country, only one fifth of the population is agricultural, the rest being industrial. In the South are a great many coalfields. The first miners' strike was held in 1943 against the Germans. Another small industry is diamond-cutting.

The 17th century is always known as the Golden Age of Dutch Painting, in this age such great artists as Rembrandt and Jan Vermeer were born in Holland. One of the towns spoken of was Delft, an old 17th century Dutch town.

As the lecturer spoke, he pointed out various places on his lantern-slides. One of these was a picture of an old water-mill in Rotterdam which was used to pump the sea from the land. About a third of Holland, mainly in the North, is below sea-level. In this district the fields are separated by ditches, which is very useful. The daily life of a Dutch household is not very different from our own. One of the main differences is that there are no markets in Holland. All the shopping is done from carts which come round each day. Most of the travelling is done by bicycle, which is the popular vehicle in Holland. The Dutch are very fond of cheese, and often have this for breakfast, as there is no bacon. Their main winter amusement is skating. The canals give ample room for this sport, and both young and old alike can be seen in winter on the frozen canals.

Holland is ruled by Parliament, which is divided into two houses, Lower and Upper. The Catholic party is very strong. Queen Wilhelmina and daughter, Princess Juliana, are very popular. Even the Communists have turned Royalist!

The most famous war in Dutch history is the '80 Years' War,' which in reality only lasted 68 years. The Dutch leader in this war was the Prince of Orange, or 'William the Silent' as he was known. This prince got his name from being able to keep state secrets for a long time.

The Dutch Consul has spoken before to the school, and we hope his visit will be repeated as his lectures are both interesting amusing, and educational.

DOROTHY HAGUE, Lower IV 1.

Under the auspices of the Science Society, a visit was arranged to Torridon, the wool research laboratories in Headingley Hill, on 22nd March. The visit was organised by Miss Hall, to whom we must extend our grateful thanks for giving up so much of her time. The various departments were set out for us to view and the exhibits labelled clearly. All the processes were explained and the many intricate machines set working for our benefit. Everything was done to make their work clear to us, and questions were invited and gladly answered; even demonstrations being given. The first process we were shown was the method of measuring the length of the fibres of wool. It was explained how the various parts of the animal had wools of different quality, and how each is used.

The next extremely interesting department was one in which the fibres of wool sent in by manufacturers for testing were examined, the reasons for the manufacturers sending in the samples being widely different. An interesting example of how the laboratories help the factories in this way occurred when some fibres were sent in for testing. These particular ones were horsehair of the best variety used for stuffing chairs. The manufacturers however suspected that fibres of inferior quality were being mixed with the horsehair, although there was no difference as far as they could see. The samples were examined and it was found that an inferior fibre had indeed been mixed with the horsehair—cow-tail hair!

A preview of our future fabrics was shown to us—moth and beetle proof, non-shrinking, resistant to water, practically fadeless! New tests have shown that the susceptibility of various dyes to light varies from district to district—hence we shall soon be buying special fabrics for the district we live in!

To prevent what is known as "felting"—that is shrinkage and coarsening of the fabrics—a process known as chlorination has been evolved. By this the cloth is dipped into chlorine or chlorine vapour is passed into it in the presence of water. This reduces the shrinkage by 98% and also enables the cloth to take the dye up more easily, resulting in deep, richer colours. This is therefore used to weave patterned cloth—some fibres being chlorinated and others not. When dyed and woven up it results in pale and dark shades of the same colour, or more than one colour may be used.

We were then shown a room hung with some beautiful fabrics ranging from furnishing fabrics to teddy-bear coats—one of which, a pure white one, had been exhibited at the Ideal Homes Exhibition in London.

Outside in a long building we were shown how the wool fibres as taken from the sheep are combed and recombed, washed and finally spun into thread ready for weaving. Among several of the methods employed for combing, was one also used by the French.

Finally, and this was to many of us the most interesting department of all, we visited the dying shed where experiments are carried out on all the new dyes. Also in this building were a few freaks—the results of compressing blanket cloth (they were some of the softest blankets imaginable), the result being a block as hard as a stone.

The whole of this journey round took us almost two and a half hours; the staff were most helpful and encouraged questions. But time marched on to the end of a fascinating expedition.

P.L.C.

One of the main activities of the guild is connected with the Children's Home at Bramhope which was "adopted" in January 1946. Individual members of the Home are invited to the homes of our own girls and many letters are exchanged and birthday gifts sent. In January a New Year Party was given to the Bramhope children for which each House collected £3 expenses. The school entertained their guests very successfully while the Staff held a party for the Sisters.

Eighteen girls from Bramhope were invited to the One Act Plays and they thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

The first collection in the Autumn Term was for the 'Save the Children' Fund and £8 3s. 7d. was sent to Europe for relief work. A collection for Flood Relief at the end of the Spring Term brought in £35, an excellent response.

In the Summer, £30 3s. 9d. was sent to Crosby Hall Endowment Fund from the proceeds of the plays, and fifteen large parcels of books, stationery and other school equipment was despatched for German Educational Reconstruction together with £1 3s. 0d. for expenses.

Our branch has now 207 members and is always ready to welcome new ones.

At Christmas gifts of toys and games were sent to the Harrogate home and we should like to thank Mr. Pick for acting as Santa Claus in taking the presents across. Several parcels of clothing have also been sent and most gratefully accepted. In the Autumn Term we were very pleased to welcome Mr. Fitzjohn who gave us a most interesting lantern talk on the work of the Homes.