Hardenhuish Headlines

Dear Parents

Firstly thank you for all of your support through what has been a busy and seemingly incredibly long term.

Thank you to all staff who have, are or will be accompanying residential trips. As you can see from the Battlefields write up and we have heard from the ski trips that departed yesterday, these are amazing opportunities for our young people to take their learning beyond the classroom and make memories which will stay with them for many years.

Charity Week raised over £2000 for Cots for Tots last week which is amazing and takes our total for this year so far to over £3000. Thank you to all those involved in organising this and to you for your generosity.

As pupils return after the break, they no longer have to wear their jumpers but they do need to ensure that if they are wanting to be warmer they should only wear their jumper or an outdoor coat – hoodies and non-waterproof coats are not part of our uniform.

A reminder that in Term 5, there are Bank Holidays on Monday 1st and Monday 8th May.

Have a good Easter break and I look forward to seeing our young people back for Term 5 on Monday 17 April.

Lisa Percy

Headteacher

News Items

Battlefield Visit March 2023

After a three-year gap, we were back, and this time double the size. The 80 pupils we took abroad covered two coaches and took over an entire hotel. We spent three days in the Ypres Salient exploring museums, battlefield sites, memorials and cemeteries. The weather was extremely kind and offered us plenty of chances to walk around in sunshine, or without rain at least. Tyne Cot was particularly moving, as was the private ceremony we undertook at Langemarck German cemetery on the first day. We were extremely pleased to find as many relatives as we could at the various cemeteries and memorials, with many pupils leaving a cross and paying their respects. On our second day we explored Wellington Quarry, Arras and then the Somme battlefield site, where we all found somebody from the Wiltshire regiment on the Thiepval Memorial. There were plenty of timely moments on the trip including a brief three-minute rain shower which hit us as we observed our minute silence at Thiepval and the triple rainbow we experienced over the Newfoundland Park battlefield site. The culmination of the trip came with our observing the Last Post at the Menin Gate in Ypres. Three of our pupils, in uniform, took a wreath on behalf of the school and laid it during a very busy ceremony. The behaviour was excellent, and the way Year 9 conducted themselves around each site was wonderful to see. We were all very proud of how they approached this topic and hopefully they will pass on the legacy of the First World War to the next generation.

Many thanks to all staff who helped support the trip to make it the success it was.

Philip Arkinstall

Music Exam Results

Congratulations to Year 10 pupil Matei Soltermann who recently achieved a merit in his Grade 6 piano exam.

Reverse Vending

We are very pleased to share that we have taken delivery of an reverse vend machine, which will allow every student to recycle their plastic bottles (up to 3 litres) and cans.

From term 5 we will be offering 3 termly prizes to the students who recycle the most – top prize of £25 WH Smith voucher, 2nd prize of £15 WH Smith voucher and 3rd prize of £10 WH Smith voucher. The machine will issue a ticket with each piece of recycling; students will need to write their name and tutor group on each issued ticket and place in the post box provided. At the end of term all tickets will be counted and prizes issued.

As a school community we are committed to doing everything we can to support sustainability which includes our reverse vending machine and our newly arranged food waste collection.

Badminton
Imogen Drew recently played in the U15 BE sanctioned tournament in Warwickshire, coming up against some tough opponents and winning gold in the girls doubles.
Saturday saw the last session of the Mid Wilts Badminton Association Under 12 league competition, with Year 7 pupils Charlie Burnham and Caleb Lai playing once again in North Wiltshire Badminton Project’s A team. Both players continued their amazing run with wins in all of their singles and doubles matches. Having won all the previous ties across the season, the team finished top of the league, winning the trophy on Saturday. Well done to Charlie, Caleb and Imogen Drew, who was unable to attend on Saturday but was also a member of the winning team.
U16s WSFA Quarter Final

SWGS 0 – 5 Hardenhuish

U16s produced a fantastic performance wrapping up their quarter final convincingly. The girls worked hard throughout the game and applied pressure at every opportunity they could to win the ball back, this worked well as the girls took an early lead and the goals followed quite quickly afterwards. Well done girls and congratulations on your result-Bring on the semi- final!