Mrs Winch-Johnson (pictured here with her husband) attended a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on 24 May 2016 in recognition of 35 years of her volunteering work with the English Speaking Union (ESU).
Mrs Winch-Johnson, who teaches English and is responsible for Learning Support, has worked tirelessly for the ESU outside school and is currently Chairman of the Guildford and District Branch. The ESU works principally with young people providing opportunities to build skills and gain experiences. It runs a wide range of educational and cultural programmes, from scholarships for school leavers, teachers and professionals; to ground-breaking persuasive speech training and competitions involving hundreds of schools in the UK and internationally. Her Majesty, The Queen, is the patron of the ESU.
Girls have been coached by the English Department (first Mrs Winch-Johnson and currently Mrs Campbell) in public speaking at Farnborough Hill since 2000. Mrs Winch-Johnson has prepared many Farnborough Hill students very successfully for ESU competitions over the years and this has included teams which have become national public speaking champions.
We were delighted to hear in our Assembly this week that Mrs Winch-Johnson had been rewarded for all this work and she entertained the school with a very witty presentation about the Garden Party in the style of one of her favourite playwrights, Noel Coward.