Dear Parents and Carers
It has been STEM week this week where we have taken opportunities to celebrate and discuss all things Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths as you will see from some of the articles below. If you are involved in roles related to STEM and would be willing to come in and share your experiences as part of our Career Talks or other related events in future, please contact Mrs Brenton, our Careers and Transition Manager.
It has been non-uniform day today to raise money for Children in Need and our school charity The Rise Trust. Thank you very much for your generous support.
Please note that to ensure our site security the Yewstock gate will be locked during the school day. If young people are leaving the site for appointments or returning during the day, they will need to do so via the Silverwood or Main entrance.
It is UK Parliament Week next week and again there are many experiences planned to help our young people to learn about our political system and get involved in decision making both in school and beyond.
I am looking forward to Year 11 of 2023 Awards next Thursday evening which will celebrate their incredible achievements in their GCSEs last summer.
Lisa Percy
Headteacher
News Items
Sheldon School Admissions Criteria 2026
Consultation on the reduction of Sheldon School PAN
Focus on… UK Parliament Week
Next week we will be taking part in UK Parliament Week. This annual event aims to raise awareness about what Parliament is, what it does, and how to get involved.
During the week, pupils have the opportunity to take part in a variety of different activities and events to inspire an interest in UK Parliament, politics, and democracy. In tutor time, pupils have the chance to learn about petitions and create their own, they will discover more about debates and debate a trending topic, and they will take part in The Great UK Parliament Week Quiz. Pupils will also attend an assembly about UK Parliament, getting involved, and becoming a changemaker, presented by some of our wonderful student leaders.
There is a display in the Resources Centre showcasing books with themes of politics, democracy, and empowerment. Pupils are encouraged to borrow one of these great reads and come along to Book Club to discuss.
At lunchtimes, pupils are very welcome to attend any of these events on offer.
We hope it will be a fun and informative week for all.
Mental Health PIAG – Wednesday 20 November, 6.30 – 8pm.
Next week is our annual Mental Health Parent, Information, Advice and Guidance meeting in the Peter Thompson Hall. We will be selling refreshments before the event to raise money for the Sixth Form trip to Malaysia.
For this PIAG we will be discussing the following:
- Ways in which Hardenhuish support your child’s wellbeing in school.
- The teenage brain and factors that can affect your child’s mental health.
- Overview on mental health conditions and signs that may indicate your child is struggling.
- How to look after your own mental health whilst you support your child.
We look forward to welcoming you to this event.
Resource Centre News
The past two days have been the busiest of the year so far here in the Resource Centre, as our annual Year 7 Poetry Slam workshops took place. As always these were run by our visiting performance poet, Sarah-Jane Arbury, and she helped our Year 7s produce some superb pieces of drama, poetry and A-Z stories. Congratulations to those teams who have made it through to the prestigious Poetry Slam Finals Evening on Thursday 28th November – you will hear lots more about the winning creations in a future edition of Headlines!
Book Group have also met twice in recent weeks, firstly just before half-term as we got the chance to discuss our thoughts on books by some of our past author visitors. Sophie Cleverly was a real favourite amongst our Year 7 cohort, with many describing how they “loved the plot twists” in both the ‘Scarlet and Ivy’ and ‘Violet Veil’ series of novels – it is no surprise to see both of these titles featuring in our top 10 most borrowed books during the first term of the year. Sophie Anderson was also popular, with one student describing her novels as “magical and inspiring” and Fleur Hitchcock remains a Hardenhuish favourite too with her murder mysteries always being sought after.
On Wednesday we met again for the first time in term 2, this time focussing on six titles that showcase either wartime or political issues. The novels ranged from thrilling adventure stories like ‘When The Sky Falls’ by Phil Earle to dramatic historical tales of women’s suffrage, the Spanish Civil War and the overthrow of Communism in 1980s Romania, and also thought-provoking empowering reads like Holly Bourne’s ‘What A Girl Gotta Do’ and ‘Safiyyah’s War’ by Hiba Noor Khan. If you like the sound of any of these topical and occasionally hard-hitting novels, please do let Mr Southwood know over the coming weeks. We’ll be meeting again on the final Thursday of term to see what our group thought.
It shouldn’t be too long now until our Year 7 and Year 8 Bookbuzz choices arrive in school, so we look forward to handing those out to students very soon in library lessons. Finally, as we head towards Christmas and if you’re interested in some great deals on children’s books – look no further than the latest Scholastic book club order form. The attached link https://schools.scholastic.co.uk/hardenhuish/digital-book-club will take you through to our Hardenhuish page where you can browse the latest book offers and order online. Not only will you benefit from free delivery to school but the school will also receive 20p in rewards for every £1 spent. The closing date for orders is Monday 25th November
UK Bebras – Problem solving competition
This week over 600 pupils/students from Years 7 – 13 took part in the ‘UK Bebras’ problem solving challenge ran by the Raspberry Pi foundation and Oxford University. During their ICT/Computer Science lessons, pupils/students were tasked with solving a variety of computational thinking problems in a time limit, using their problem solving and quick-thinking skills to try and gain as many points as possible. Well done to all those who took part, and we look forward to seeing if any pupils/students have been selected to take part in the second round of the competition in March.
If you would like to learn more about the UK Bebras or have a go at some of the challenges yourself, more information can be found on the competition website here.
Tim Phillips – Curriculum Leader for ICT & Computer Science
Year 7/8 Football Festival
Fantastic effort by the Year 7/8 footballers this week playing a festival of football against several local secondary schools which allowed them to showcase their talents. It was lovely to see the girls’ confidence improve as the afternoon went on and show what potential they have as a squad. Our 9 a-side squad finished in 2nd place and our 5 a-side team finished in 3rd place which highlighted such a positive afternoon. A big well done to all the girls, you will have more fixtures after Christmas in Term 3.
U16 Football Round-up
The U16 football squad have taken part in their fixtures the last 2 weeks and enjoyed some very close matches. The girls have been very determined throughout both the games and showed some real grit to clear their lines and pressure the balls. I am extremely proud of the girls who have played and represented Hardenhuish-some who are in Year 11 and will be their final football season; they have worked hard and always want to improve. We have our final 2 games this week coming and we will hopefully get our first win.
Our results are as follows:
HH 0-3 Sheldon
HH 3-4 Malmesbury
Tae Kwon-Do Southern Championships
Year 7 pupil Dakota Simpson recently competed in the Tae Kwon-Do Southern Championships for the first time and earned a bronze medal in the Sparring Division. Congratulations Dakota.
Vacancies – Hardenhuish School