Book of Inspiring Women

KATHERINE JOHNSON

Mathematician

Katherine Johnson (neé Coleman) showed a talent for maths at an early age and graduated from high school when she was only 14!

In 1952 she heard the NASA was hiring mathematicians and so she applied and got it. At first, she worked with a group of 20 women performing maths calculations. One day, Katherine was temporarily assigned to help an all-male research team. Katherine’s knowledge of analytic geometry helped her make male friends because they respected her. Katherine was assertive, asking to be included in editorial meetings (where no women had ever gone before). She simply told people that she had done her work and that she belonged.

From 1958 to her retirement in 1986, Johnson worked as an aerospace technologist moving, during her career, to Spacecraft Controls Branch. She calculated the trajectory for Alan Shepard, the first American in space.

By Harry C, Year 6

‘Girls are capable of doing everything men are capable of doing. Sometimes they have more imagination than men.’

JENNY LYNE

Rugby Player

Jenny Lyne is a former Rugby Union Player who played at both blindside flanker and lock for England.

Lyne starter her career at the Chichester RFC, before playing for Crawley, Richmond and Saracens first teams. She was selected for her first England match against Wales, where she came on as a replacement to score her first international try.

Jenny Lyne has 38 caps for England. Her height is 1.78m. She was part of the England squad that bean New Zealand Black Ferns at home during an international tour in June 2001, ending a 10-year unbeaten track record for the Black Ferns. Lyne was part of the Five and then Six Nations Grand Slam winning squad in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2006. She played at the 2002 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Barcelona, in the final and again in the 2006 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Edmonton, Canada.

Furthermore she is the only woman ever to have had children and return to rugby at an international level.

Jenny Lyne teaches Year 3 pupils and coaches pupils across the Prep school at Westbourne House.

By Hugh F, Year 7

"All the effort, all the commitment, all the dedication, all the pain, sweat and tears - ALL worth it."

"All the effort, all the commitment, all the dedication, all the pain, sweat and tears - ALL worth it."

DARCEY BUSSELL

Ballerina

Darcey Bussell is a world famous British ballerina. At the age of 13, she went to White Lodge, the lower school of the Royal Ballet. At 16 she progressed to the upper school, before joining the Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet in 1987.
She became principal dancer at just 20 years old.

She has performed in many ballets, including Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, the Nutcracker and Giselle. She retired from dancing in 2007. She now appears as a judge in Strictly Come Dancing. She has also written several children’s books about “Delphine”!

She is my inspiration because she is a beautiful dancer and I want to become just like her.

By Lucy P, Year 5

"Criticism and bullying are part of life. It’s how you cope with it that matters."

ALI SPARKES

Author

When Ali Sparkes was in Prep school they thought that the alphabet wasn’t groovy enough, so they decided to mix it up a bit. Instead of A, she got something like apple apocalypse. So when she moved to secondary school she couldn’t really read, so she was the bottom of her class. Back when she was young there weren’t any video games or iPads or anything like that, so her idea of passing time was to go to the library. One day the librarian recommend a book to her and she loved it, so she got into reading.

She wrote her first book in secondary school. She took it to one of her teachers and he said she should send it to a publisher, which she did. She got rejected by publishers 14 times. She persevered and today she is a top author even after all her let downs. The Shapeshifter series is one of the most popular and was originally called Dax Jones and the COLA Club.

She recently visited Westbourne House during book week.

By Rory N, Year 6

VENUS WILLIAMS

Tennis Player

Once upon a time, a girl named Venus Ebony Starr Williams lived in Lywood, California, with her four sisters, and parents Richard and Oracene. Her father taught her tennis on public courts in Los Angeles, using books and videos about tennis. She is now a professional tennis player who is ranked eighth in the WTA singles rankings.

By the age of ten, Venus’ serve was more than 100 miles per hour and became her most important asset. She won her first professional match on Halloween in 1994, at the age of 14. Her father shouted, ‘That’s one for the ghetto!’

Venus was ranked world number 1 for 11 weeks in 2002, until her younger sister took over and held the number 1 ranking for 316 weeks! Venus has captured seven Grand Slam titles, including 5 Wimbledon championships. Venus is the most decorated tennis player in Olympic history since 1896, and has been in 5 consecutive Olympic Games.

Venus has had some challenges in her life. She found out she had Sjogren’s syndrome in 2011 but overcame it. Venus also runs two businesses: EleVen, an athletic-clothing line, and V*Starr, an interior design company.

Together with her sister Serena, they have grown the popularity of women’s tennis.

By Lachlan F, Year 4

"There have been many frustrating games... That happens, but that's sport. Otherwise why would there be so much glory in victory."