Dear Parents and Carers
As this is the last full week, this will be the last Headlines of Term 1.
A massive thank you to apetito for the generous donation from their community fund towards our changing room refurbishment. The fitness suite continues to be well used by our young people and staff and they were keen to support the opportunities this provides.
It has been another busy week with Hello Yellow on Tuesday and numerous trips taking place. I wish our Geography Team an educational and safe trip to Iceland over half term!
I hope that you found Tutor Check-in last night useful to speak to Tutors and hear how your young people are engaging with wider school life.
Further to a number of recent local incidents, we will be having a supportive discussion about lockdown with young people next week and sounding our lockdown signal. Please discuss this with your young person/people and reassure them that this is to help us prepare for the rare occasion when this may be necessary and they should not be concerned.
Please can I confirm that the Y11 Awards evening next term will take place on 21 November.
I hope that our whole community has a restful break, and I look forward to welcoming everyone back for Term 2 on Monday 4 November.
Lisa Percy
Headteacher
Focus on.. Successful Lives Days – November and June
As part of our holistic curriculum and commitment to personal development, every year we have two Successful Lives days that take place in November and June. This is part of our mission for all of our pupils and students to become independent life-long learners, empowered with the knowledge and skills to thrive in a changing world. The five ‘Language for Life Themes’ (below) underpin each of these days and they are a chance for pupils to learn in an alternative way to the normal timetable and with different groups of young people. There is a range of days on offer from Enterprise Smoothie Day and STEM Day to World War One Day, as well as career focus days with external speakers and educational visits. Look out for year group reports after the days in November and June.
Hello Yellow Day 2024
Thank you to all pupils, students and staff who got involved in Hello Yellow. It was lovely to see people engaging with different activities. At lunchtime we celebrated with a photo booth, facepainting, writing motivational messages and selling jewellery made by pupils to raise money for Young Minds.
If anyone in the Hardenhuish Community is struggling, there is support on the school website Wellbeing – Hardenhuish School and posters signposting support to pupils in each tutor group.
Year 11 Vocational students enjoyed a visit to Coppershell Animal Sanctuary this week to learn about the work they do to care for rescued animals. Matt, one of the founders of the Sanctuary gave them a tour of the Rescue Centre and talked about the range of job roles he has had. They met some of the 300 animals that currently live there, found out about the cost of running the Sanctuary and the range of responsibilities and volunteer roles they have.
Thank you, Matt, for providing such a valuable opportunity for the students!
Dyson Engineers Inspire Future Innovators at Hardenhuish School with Air Purification Workshop
Hardenhuish School recently had the exciting opportunity to once again host an engineer from Dyson, a leader in innovative household appliances, thanks to the James Dyson Foundation. The event featured an engaging workshop focused on air pollution and purification, tailored for Year 10 GCSE Design and Technology students. This session aimed to educate and inspire students about the importance of air purification in both our homes and the broader environment, as well as giving them an opportunity to experience prototyping with variety of different materials.
The workshop began with a captivating presentation by Maryum (Dyson Institute student engineer), who shared insights into the company’s groundbreaking products. They highlighted the critical role that air purification plays in maintaining clean and healthy living environments and presented the advanced technologies used in Dyson’s air purification solutions.
Following the informative talk, students were divided into groups for a hands-on activity. Their challenge was to design, prototype, and present their own concepts for air purification products. Equipped with a variety of Dyson parts and materials like cardboard and tape, students were encouraged to unleash their creativity and innovative thinking. Throughout this process, the engineers provided invaluable guidance and mentorship, inspiring the students’ enthusiasm for design and technology.
Events like this, which bring industry experts together with aspiring young minds, play a vital role in promoting a culture of innovation and sustainability. The James Dyson Foundation’s commitment to supporting the development of young innovators marks an essential step toward a cleaner and brighter future. Hardenhuish School is extremely grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with the Dyson team and looks forward to future projects together.
Career Opportunities & Events – October 2024
Degree Apprenticeships
October’s Higher & Degree Apprenticeships Vacancy Listing has launched! It’s the biggest edition to date and features 2,300 vacancies from 75 leading employers, including the British Army, Morgan Stanley, Ford, British Airways, Nestlé, Coca Cola, the NHS, and more! This listing is filled with exciting career opportunities for young people.
Download the vacancy listing here: https://amazingapprenticeships.com/resource/higher-and-degree-listing/
Employer Events
In November, Siemens Mobility are hosting an Apprenticeship Insight Evening at their Chippenham site on 28th October. Running from 5pm to 9pm, students can be accompanied by a parent to explore what an apprenticeship starting Summer 2025 would look like for them. Students interested in signing up can visit www.siemens.co.uk/insight.
Hardenhuish Career Events – Support Needed
We have a great careers programme planned at Hardenhuish for 2024/25 which includes several opportunities for businesses and organisations to engage with our students. We are looking for additional support with the following career and employer events and would love to hear from anyone interested in helping:
- Thursday 7th November 2024 (1pm to 3pm): Year 12 Enterprise Day. Students will work in teams to design a new product and the final part of this will involve them pitching their idea to a panel. We are looking for some volunteers to be part of the panel, listening to their ideas, asking questions, helping to decide on the best product and giving some feedback to the teams.
- Thursday 7th November 2024 (1pm to 3pm): Year 10 Careers Carousel. This will involve rotating around classes of Year 10 pupils to talk for 10 minutes to each class about your career journey. The talk could include things like: what your day looks like, why you chose to do your job, how you got into the job (Uni, College, Apprenticeship etc), perks of the job, any advice you would give to yourself if you were at school again etc, with a very short time for Q&A at the end.
- Tuesday 26th, Wednesday 27th or Thursday 28th November 2024 (12pm to 1.30pm): Lunchtime Careers Fairs. This is an opportunity for Companies/ Organisations to have a stand in a large hall at lunchtime. These are extremely popular and open to all students at the school so they are a fantastic way to promote your opportunities.
- After school career talks or workshops (3.15pm to 4pm) – dates flexible. This is an opportunity to present to a small group of interested students about your career journey and/or opportunities within your organisation.
- Wednesday 25th June 2025: Year 12 Mock Interview Day (8.30am to 3.30pm). This involves giving one-to-one practise interviews to Year 12 students. Interviews are generic and not linked to a particular job or career path. The idea is to give them practice in answering the sorts of questions that they could face at different interviews in the future. They bring a CV which can be used to prompt questions, and a list of possible questions that you can ask is provided.
- Monday 14th to Friday 18th July 2025: Work Experience Placements needed for Year 10 and Year 12. We are looking for in-person work experience placements for our students during the last week of term across all career sectors and industries.
If you or your employer/organisation are interested in supporting one or more of these events and activities, please email Vicky Brenton at vjb@hardenhuish.wilts.sch.uk
Year 7 Netball
Congratulations to all the Year 7 girls who participated in their first netball match this week vs Sheldon. There was excellent defensive play and goals being scored with some very close games on show. Lots of learning and plenty to take forward into our games after half term and our tournament. Well done girls, If you are interested in being involved training is on Tuesday afterschool 3:15pm-4:15pm.
Lost Property
We have had large amounts of lost property handed in over the last few weeks and many items reported missing. We return anything that is named and pupils will be notified to collect belongings from reception. The majority of items we receive in lost property are not marked, we would suggest that all belongings, especially PE kit, are labelled to ensure it can be returned swiftly.
Lost property is kept for the term in the main house, all items are then donated to charity if they are not claimed. We ask that students check the area where they think they misplaced any missing belongings then check the lost property cabinet. Items arrive daily and it sometimes takes a few days for lost property to reach the main house, so it is worth rechecking regularly for any missing items.
Vacancies – Hardenhuish School