Just when you thought it was safe...

A November poem from Hettie Virchis

Anthology 2014 - launch

Just to whet your appetite, the Anthology Project for 2014 is being launched this week...

The day the lights went out

The summer of 1914 and its outcomes...a review of 100 years' progress

Thank You for your support with last year's anthology. We hope you enjoy reading it... if you don't want to purchase a hard copy, then the ebook is downloadable from amazon via www.mardibooks.com where you can also download the free kindle software if you need it to any pc, mac, smartphone, tablet...

Sales from the last 2 books have meant about £1000 going to local charity… plus all the editorial and publishing experience and the PR and Sales experience for the Edit team and The Mount School. 

This year we are doing another one, entitled:

The Day The Lights Went Out – a reference to the opening of WW1.

The book is a celebration of 100 years of progress since 1914… and Year 10 are leading the edit team.

This can be translated as global or UK and has been selected as a theme as it will, we hope, enable more opportunity for all departments. Last year, we had some great entries from Art, History, ESOL, Maths, MFL, Classics, DT, Music, English; from staff and pupils from all years.

We look forward to entries from all years, departments, parents, staff too are invited to submit work...

Please see the link on the left for fuller details.

Looking forward to another great project!

Year 10 visit The Bard

Year 10 with Mistress Quickley from Merry Wives

On a wet October morn we sojourned north to pay homage to the man most responsible for British schoolchildren's appreciation of theatre. Or in his words, for the 'schoolboy creeping unwillingly to school...'

We were regaled with songs and enactments from Shakespeare's plays and enjoyed a superb workshop lecture on Romeo and Juliet. 

The trip was designed to bring to life Shakespeare as a poet, man and playwright and for the girls to contextualise the myth in preparation for a GSCE Controlled Assessment task they will undertake after half term. 

A busy Elizabethan market street

'It is always really useful to have ideas about texts confirmed, as the girls meet members of the RSC and SBT, actors, librarians, PhD students, all of whom have specialist knowledge. They add to the girls arsenal of developing appreciation and support the girls in feeling their way for personal evaluations of the texts.  It is vital that the texts leap from the page for the girls to enjoy and understand these complex works.'

In time with our visit to Shakespeare's birthplace, the sun dried up the grey clouds and we were able to amble merrily without being showered.

A big thank you to Mrs Warnock for organising.

National Poetry Day - Mount School Laureates crowned...

In honour of National Poetry Day, the Mount held its own poet laureate competiton - seeking to unleash the latent talent throughout the school.

As with the National competition, the theme was water and this flowed through the verses presented in torrential floods.

The event was run by Lupus House and the winners and their fine poems can be found on the house blogs.

Each house crowned a winner for junior and Senior House Poet Laureate, in what we hope will become an annual tradition.

Gothic Tales for Children at John Lewis, Brent Cross Sunday 13th October – 1pm to 4pm

Press Release 14.10.13

A joint event by John Lewis, Brent Cross, Mardibooks and The Mount School, Mill Hill took place on Sunday 13^th October to raise funds for local charity, The Good Neighbour Scheme for Mill Hill and Burnt Oak.

The event publicised the latest book published by The Mount School entitled,

Gothic Tales - A Cornucopia of Creepy Stories, Music Art & Poetry.

Staff and pupils dressed up in Gothic attire to entertain the young customers with readings from the book in the Toy Department amongst Halloween displays.

Richard Dearden, managing director at John Lewis Brent Cross said: "We are delighted to support this entrepreneurial activity; it is inspiring to see young people working so hard to make a success of this fantastic charitable initiative".

Catherine Cozens, Head teacher at The Mount said: "There was such a tremendous and positive feedback from last year’s anthology that we continued the project this year. The whole school have been involved in producing our ‘Gothic’ compilation."

The event on Sunday was a huge success with sales of books on the day and to our school community raising £358. With anticipated donations The Mount School will be presenting The Good Neighbour Scheme with over £500 once again this year. In addition the school will be donating its harvest festival provisions to GNS to be distributed amongst needy old people in the Mill Hill and Burnt Oak area.

Gothic Tales

When we think of the Gothic of course many traditional images from literature spring to mind - not least vampires and castles, cobbles and wind-swept moors.

But the Gothic embraces so much more than the Romantic and Victorian period. To younger generations it conjures a modern cult in music and dress, and film; to Historians the ancient Goths were a whole sub-culture inhabiting the Crimea and Germanic regions; whilst Medieval Europe fashioned Art and Architecture in its designation of the Gothic style.

The universality of Gothic has meant that it has seen revivals and re-birth across time and space and has again been interpreted here in its widest form to cover the supernatural, mythical, historical and factual and resonates with qualities of hidden perspectives, of secrecy and dark, moody depths.

'Gothic Tales' has become a feast of extraordinary creativity demonstrating some wonderful research, craftsmanship, individuality and energy in the stories, poems art and design contained in its pages. The essence of 'The Mount' is yet again demonstrated in the unique qualities that our girls bring to this community and the nurturing of their skills and celebration of their achievements under our roof is a matter of great pride to us.

Gothic Tales is available on Amazon as an ebook for £7 and on the day, from the school or on www.mardibooks.com in hard copy for £11 (+£2 P&P).

For more information please see visit the following websites:

The Mount School www.mountschool.com

Mardibooks www.mardibooks.com

Good Neighbours Scheme www.thegoodneighbourschememhbo.com/index.htm

John Lewis Brent Cross www.johnlewis.com/our-shops/brent-cross

A Right Royal Occasion

Year 8 went agog over the Royal Diamond display, the Queen's Art Collection and the Royal Mews on their trip to Buckingham Palace last week.

"The journey to Buckingham palace was quite long. On the way we saw many beautiful areas and statues. The rooms in the Palace were quite big and each room had a special purpose.  Some of the rooms were very calm, for example the blue drawing room. We also went to the Queen's art gallery and saw some magnificent paintings.   As we walked up the grand stairs to the first room we were greeted by paintings from the Tudor times.  We watched videos on how to make lace as in those days lace was quite popular.  Then we entered another room, with more paintings and clothes from the Stuart period.

We were fascinated to see all the jewellery and the dresses that were worn by the Queen on her Corontion.  The jewellery was solid gold and diamond. It looked quite heavy to wear!

We then visited the Mews, where a man showed us round the famous carriages; Our favourite one was the golden Coronation Carriage.  Apparently, nobody liked sitting in it because it would make them feel sick with the swaying from side to side. We saw two types of horse to pull the carriages, Bay and Greys.  The Bays pulled everyone in the Royal family except for the Queen; the Grey pull the Queen.  The tour guide told us so many interesting stories about the royal family.

This trip to Buckingham Palace was a fun and educational trip.  Thank you to Mrs Warnock." 

- Year 8

Gothic Tales - Now Available...ebook and hard copy

Another Great Anthology from the Mount School, in aid of The Good Neighbours Scheme, supported by John Lewis, Brent Cross

'Gothic Tales' has become a feast of extraordinary creativity demonstrating some wonderful research, craftsmanship, individuality and energy in the stories, poems art and design contained in its pages. The essence of 'The Mount' is yet again demonstrated in the unique qualities that our girls bring to this community and the nurturing of their skills and celebration of their achievements under our roof is a matter of great pride to us.

PRESS RELEASE aug 2013 MARDIBOOKS The Mount

This anthology was specifically made for gothic creations in its widest sense, accepting that the gothic genre can be interpreted in so many different ways. Students have created stories about man-eating plants, horror houses and hungry dinosaurs. We here define Gothic as anything that can send shivers down your spine and in reading this anthology, maybe you will become more aware of what is behind you?

Gothic Tales is available from Amazon in ebook and hard copy and from mardibooks at www.mardibooks.com

Amazon Kindle – Gothic Tales – The Mount

Proceeds go to support The Good Neighbour Scheme and John Lewis Brent Cross are again hosting a sales event for The Mount girls to coincide with Halloween.

We Read...Do You?

Yesterday, Year 8 went to UCS to participate in the annual We Read conference.

The day was an opportunity to hear current popular children's writers talk about their work; to ask questions and to purchase signed copies of their latest books.

We broke into 4 groups during the day to listen to:

Sarah Crossan  - The Weight of Water Water, Breathe and Resist

Lydia Syson - A World Between Us

Anna Perera - The Glass Collector, Guantanamo Boy

Elizabeth Wein - Code Name Verity, Rosa Under Fire

'I enjoyed listening to how the authors get published' - Saskia
'I liked being able to ask the authors questions about their research and characters' - Sarah
'It was interesting to find out about the authors' perspectives on their books' - Olivia
'Discovering the contexts of the book especially about the Spanish Civil War was fascinating' - Mayuka
'I liked the trip as I enjoyed meeting my favorite author' - Lucy

Go to We Read link for more information

Thanks to Mrs Ransley for organising.

Gothic Tales - coming soon

We are now completing the compilation of our new Anthology - and what an exciting project this has turned out to be...

With girls from all years involved and subjects from Sciences to Humanities and Arts, we have an arresting array of Tales, Art, Poetry, Graphics, Music to chill your bones on winter nights...

Proceeds will again go to support The Good Neighbour Scheme and we look forward to   working with John Lewis again next year to support our Girls' marketing and fundraising efforts.

Watch this space for further updates...

House Drama Finals - 8th May

A fantastic and highly skilled drama performance from all four houses made this year's event very difficult to judge.

Winners - Lupus House

With a scene of guilt and silent anger from The Crucible, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Zusi Inegbeniki were just pushed into second place by a fun and amusing reminiscence from Blood Brothers, convincingly portrayed  by Elif Bekler and Mariam Haddad.

Runners-Up - Caduceus House

Third Place - Osira House

In equal third place with a difficult portrayal of Mother/ Daughter love in a scene from Kinder Transport saw Amber Codron and Romina Khajoue address this issue with aplomb.

Third Place - Phoenix House

The adaptation of a scene from Blue Remembered Hills was presented with a great use of the stage by Cemre Gurkan and Olivia Garner.

Jon Mayhew - author visit

Author Jon Mayhew captivated year 8 today, with a lecture of fear and tension in creative writing.

...It was an ordinary day for year 8, stumbling haphazard, Fridaywise into school.

With thoughts on the weekend, they had forgotten that today was the day...

The difference between a good book and a boring book is simple.  A good book is a page turner and today's author, Jon Mayhew focuses on building tension into his novels for children, which centre on the destruction of the world and the power of good, evil and the supernatural...

The workshop enabled girls to listen to the devices used by the author and practice their own skills...

We look forward to the impact of the workshop on their impending gothic horror tales in the forthcoming Mount School Anthology.

Guardian Books Sunday 11 April 2010 

Mortlock by Jon Mayhew

Told at a breakneck pace, this horror story will appeal to young readers of 10 and over, says Geraldine Brennan...

An astonishing number of British folk songs ponder on death and decay. First-time author Jon Mayhew, who is also a folk musician, knows a lot of them and starts most chapters of his ghoul-laden mystery adventure story with a traditional verse that tells of coffins, gallows, clay-cold lips, white bones or worms that crawl in and out.

The novel itself is well laden with all these but, while many ingredients of classic horror stories are present, this is also an original tale of two brave children who take on the forces of evil while they piece together their extraordinary history.

Mayhew has woven a rich tapestry depicting a series of convincing worlds, from the Victorian vaudeville circuit with its bearded ladies, tumblers and dancers, to a house of horrors in the Essex marshes, a circus where something is very wrong in the big top and the teeming, smelly, noisy streets of London before horseless carriages. It will appeal to a wide range of readers aged 10 and above and not only those who enjoy a gore-fest.

Three explorers called Mortlock, Chrimes and Corvis travel to the Abyssinian jungle in 1820 to find the amaranth flower, the first bloom to grow in the Garden of Eden and the key to eternal life. Terrified by the living dead who guard the precious plant, they vow to leave it in place. More than three decades later, in London, where Chrimes is drawing crowds as a magician called the Great Cardamom, it becomes clear that one of the three made the vow with fingers crossed.

Cardamom/Chrimes and his young niece, Josie, whom he has trained to perform a knife-throwing act as Artemis the Huntress, are besieged by three ominous "aunts" who are really ghuls (demons who feast on the newly dead) in the form of giant crows and who are seeking the amaranth for their master, Corvis. When Cardamom dies, a kind set-builder called Gimlet delivers Josie to her long-lost brother, Alfie, who has been brought up by Mr Wiggins, a Seven Dials undertaker, and has an uncanny gift with corpses. The children flee the aunts and their army of winged spies, only to find themselves in Corvis's lair. Meanwhile, where is Mortlock?

The tale has a breathtaking pace, so encounters with the many colourful minor characters are short enough to leave us wanting more of Corvis's rebellious servant, Chrimes's lugubrious housekeeper and Jacob Carr the trusty Thames boatman. The frequent changes of location and nail-biting escape sequences soften the edges of the truly horrific scenes, such as the demon-aunts' daily death-feasts and the ghastly secret of Lorenzo's circus. Death is delivered frequently and without sentiment, but there is room for mourning.

Alfie and Josie evade their captors so often and so imaginatively that they should have top billing as escapologists, with the readers cheering them all the way. While there seems to be no scope for a sequel, these are characters we hope to meet again.

Heats Winners - House Drama

House DRAMA Competition –Final 07 & 08/05 – Whole School

Heats took place on 13th March and a good turnout from each house produced some lovely performances.  Well done to all the girls involved.

The Senior finalists are:

Caduceus - Daisy & Zusi

chosen piece from - The Crucible

Osira - Amber & Jenny

chosen piece from - KinderTransport

Lupus - Elif, Mariam & Sophie

chosen piece from - Blood Brothers

Phoenix - Olivia & Cemre

chosen piece from - Blue Remembered Hills

Good Luck!

Mount Girls excel at Charitable Sales of Anthology

The well publicised sale of the Mount School Anthology took place on Sunday 17th March at John Lewis, Brent Cross and was a great success.
John Lewis' own catering department produced biscuits and cakes from the Girls' Recipe Book - A Celebration of Food from the Four Seasons of the World to entice passing trade to sniff out the goodies and support the local charity - The Good Neighbours Scheme for Mill Hill & Burnt Oak.
A massive £155 was raised from Donations and all  net proceeds from book sales, both on the day and from the whole project go to the charity.

Richard Dearden, managing director, John Lewis Brent Cross said: "We are delighted to support this entrepreneurial activity; it is inspiring to see young people working so hard to make a success of this fantastic charitable initiative".

Pam and Joanne, volunteers from The Good Neighbour Scheme, were delighted to receive the £155 - "we are always short of funds so this money is very welcome and will pay for our minibus for the shopping trips for 5 weeks."

Amber Codron and Sophie Shaban, the Year 10 team leaders for the project highlighted how The Mount School prides itself on equipping girls with the abilities to lead, project manage and communicate -  "We have a great team of girls and staff making it all come together and have learnt so much from this project."

If you would like any further information about any of the organisations please find The Mount School at www.mountschool.com, Mardibooks at www.mardibooks.com, Good Neighbours Scheme at www.thegoodneighbourschememhbo.com/index.htm and John Lewis Brent Cross at www.johnlewis.com/our-shops/brent-cross

If you would like to purchase a copy of the Anthology, please order via:
www.mardibooks.com for ebook or hard copy. All net proceeds go to The Good Neighbours Scheme for Mill Hill & Burnt Oak.


A huge thank you to the volunteers from GNS, to the staff of John Lewis and to the Mount Staff and Girls for making this another memorable and worthwhile event.

Hendon Times Press Clipping

Open Mike Evening Celebrates talent from The Mount

A great evening was had by all last night at The Mount School Open Mike Event.  Over 70 people came to share an evening of poetry, literature and song from 20 performers from the Staff, Pupils and local Community.  Ages ranged from 10-65 and the one common thread was the quality of performance and fun atmosphere.

Originally conceived as a bistro evening to share and promote the work of poets and authors from the school, published by mardibooks it developed into a wider event encompassing a wide array of talents where performers showcased their own work and the work of others.

Authors Xarina and Jeremy Havardi joined poets Belinda Hunt and Alyson Torns, along with musician Anthony Wilson and a plethora of talented students and staff from the school.

The event took place in the Gym at The Mount which had been turned into a Bistro serving snacks and drinks to the audience so that the evening could accommodate so many acts which included a medley of songs spanning tastes and generations as well as a broad repertoire of readings and presentations.

It was also an opportunity for the work showcased to be purchased and  raise money for The Good Neighbours Scheme, who also joined us to celebrate the evening. The Mount School Anthology - A Celebration of Food from the Four Seasons of the World, and Belinda Hunt's Poetry Collection - Windows & Doors were available along with other recently published mardibooks releases - see below for details...

Thanks to all staff and pupils involved and in particular to Amber,  Lauren,  Mariam,  Lynda,  who were the FOH and Stage Management Team and to Elif - a compere beyond compare!
Arriving home at half eleven, I was greeted by the following text from one of the girls:

Hi Mrs Hunt,
I know you're probably absolutely shattered after tonight, but we just want to say a huge thank you!
It was a great success and we really appreciate the fantastic opportunity!
Thank you again, let's look forward to selling more books on Sunday!


On Sunday, we shall be at John Lewis, Brent Cross, raising money for The Good Neighbour's Scheme, selling  The Mount School Anthology - A Celebration of Food from the Four Seasons of the World,

If you are interested in purchasing any of the books showcased, please go to www.mardibooks.com for details.