Meet our Head Girls

Head Girl, Lana Badenhorst

Earlier this term I was fortunate enough to be entrusted with the role of Head Girl. As you can imagine, this was amazing news, only to be made better by the fact that I’d be working alongside some of my close friends; Martha and Sara. Both Martha and Sara are extremely kind and hard-working as well as being inspirational and incredibly supportive. I am genuinely grateful for the opportunity given to me to inspire and support everyone here at St Nicholas’, along with receiving a role which enables me to bring about improvements to our magnificent school. 

At first, joining St Nicholas’ in year 7 may have seemed a bit daunting, knowing that friendships had already been established; however, I quickly realised that there was nothing to worry about and that both the girls and staff were all welcoming. I soon found that St Nicholas’ offers many extra-curricular activities where a pupil can explore their passions ranging from music and art to sport and more. Although I enjoy art and drama, I found that my strong suit (and favourite hobby) was sport – from netball, football and basketball to badminton, cross-country and athletics. I thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere and competitiveness of sporting events which bring us closer as a team and as a school. 

Some of my favourite memories at St Nicholas’ are thoroughly embarrassing ourselves during a photo race in Spain where we asked people to take pictures for us whilst we struck ridiculous poses. Similarly, during our trip to Swanage for our Geography fieldwork, despite the awful weather we kept our heads high and managed to create some laughable moments – such as having a group pamper evening or throwing an orange in the ocean for “experimental purposes”. I can confidently say that Swanage definitely brought our entire year closer and will forever be a special memory.  

St Nicholas’ provides us with such great teachers, facilities and education which is why I am sure that the future will be successful for all of our girls here. The support we receive is unmatched and truly extraordinary. Thanks to St Nicholas’, I am confident that I am prepared for further education such as college and university. However, I am not quite ready to let go of St Nicholas’ yet and cannot wait to make our last year here as memorable as possible.

Deputy Head Girl, Sara Goldman

I have been awarded Deputy Head Girl this year, and I am very grateful to be able to represent the school in this way and help bring changes to the school to make it the best it could possibly be. I am very excited to be working alongside Deputy Head girl, Martha, as she is very hard-working and caring. I am also looking forward to working with Head Girl, Lana, as she is very loyal and is always very friendly to all. This position will allow me to inspire younger pupils, and encourage them to always try their best and be kind to one another.

I joined St Nicholas’ School in nursery, and I am very thankful for the constant support the school has provided throughout the years. I have made many memories from being at this school, but my recent school trip to Spain will be something that I will be forever grateful for. We benefited from this trip greatly, and also very much enjoyed doing many different activities such as beach sports. Sports days are another favourite memory for me, as many friendships are built, and watching everyone cheer on somebody from their house makes it such an enjoyable day for all. I have also taken part in many house music and house drama events, and I am very much looking forward to helping organize these this year. 

Furthermore, this school provides many valuable opportunities and extra-curricular activities. I have taken part in the school’s orchestras, chamber orchestras, choirs, and chamber choirs since juniors, and I am very thankful for all of the music aspects the school provides. I am currently working towards my grade 8 on the violin, and I am also currently working towards my grade 7 on the piano. I also have the sports scholarship and I love to take part in the many sports teams that St Nicholas’ has on offer. I took part in the U16 basketball team, which recently won the county and district cup, and I also take part in many other sports such as netball and cricket. I am very fortunate for all of the sports and music that was available to me at such a young age as I think it has helped make me the person that I am today.

Deputy Head Girl, Martha Pittman

I was fortunate enough to be elected as Deputy Head girl alongside Sara, whom I have grown up with and been good friends with for a long time. Lana, Sara and myself have been close for a long time since we have all been on the same sports teams for many years, so when we found out we would be working together we were extremely excited. 

The reason I enjoy St Nicholas’ so much and believe it’s the perfect school for me is because of all its diverse activities and opportunities. While being at St Nicholas’ I have taken up many sports. I contribute to the football, basketball and cricket teams (and the occasional appearance in other sports), as well as being a GCSE PE student.  Football, which is now one of my main passions, was inspired by this school encouraging young girls like me that football can be played by any gender. I also love musical theatre and drama, I consider myself a triple threat, having the strong ability to sing, dance and act. In school, I take GCSE drama and at the moment, I have dedicated myself and many hours to the school production ‘The Sound of Music’ where I obtained a main role of ‘Captain Von Trapp’. Moreover, I thoroughly enjoy both playing and listening to music. Since I joined the school, I have had singing lessons and guitar lessons. I have recently obtained my grade 5 singing qualification and although I do not take grades for guitar, I have always participated in group performances such as year 10 band, guitar group, music concerts and the occasional swing band appearance which has influenced me to take up GCSE music. 

I am a hardworking student who is aiming for mainly 7 and 8s in my GCSEs and this year I have the great opportunity to take my statistics GCSE early, which means I will get 11 GCSEs, helping me to apply for colleges. Like most of my year, I have not yet decided what college I want to attend let alone apply for, however, the school is helping me hugely by setting up a college’s night and careers sessions. I am truly grateful to St Nicholas’ for supporting me into my next stages in life.