Girls at a Hampshire girls’ boarding school have been using a new study facility for the first time.
The Jill Isaac Study Centre, at St Swithun’s School, is named in honour of a former student who died in 2017, and was donated in her memory by her husband, Malcolm.
Cllr Vivian Achwal, the 822nd mayor of Winchester, was on hand to preside over the first official event at the new facility, presenting students with certificates at the Jill Isaac Festival of Scholarship.
Nine students received awards and gave short presentations on their respective projects, in areas ranging across science, English literature, history, geography and biology.
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“We are delighted that Malcolm has given us permission to present the annual Festival of Scholarship Award in Jill’s name, and we look forward to many more presentations of academic endeavour in the years to come,” said school headmistress, Jane Gandee.
She also outlined how the new facility will be used by members of the school’s upper sixth as they prepare for A-levels and draft applications to universities.
“It will truly be a privilege to study there,” she said. “Malcolm’s vision, shared wholeheartedly by the school, is of a soaring space to encourage thinking and dreams of academic success.
“This is not a room for a quick Google search or a thoughtless copy and paste from the internet. It is a room to encourage slow, thoughtful study, original thought, grappling with complex concepts, genuine academic endeavour and time away from our devices.”
