Dear Parents and Carers
Thank you for your support and for working with us to reassure our young people in relation to their journeys to and from school due to the recent issues this week. This has happened in school yesterday afternoon and this morning and we continue to encourage all of them to walk in groups, remain vigilant and let you and us know if they have any concerns.
As the weather begins to improve (at least in the short-term!) and the days get a little longer it is great to see the number and range of extra-curricular opportunities for our young people increasing. Please do encourage your young people to have a look at all of the amazing activities on offer and consider signing up to something new and or different.
We have welcomed lots of visitors to school this week to enrich our teaching, thank you to them all and if you think you could contribute to our curriculum in any way through the various programmes, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you also for your support of our trips and visits which are also increasing as the term progresses. These also enrich our curriculum and the young people’s experiences and I thank our wonderful staff for everything they do to not only ensure that learning is taking place in their lessons but that this continues in many ways beyond the classroom.
Lisa Percy
Headteacher
News Items
Focus on…. Medical Room
General Information
If your child has been diagnosed with a new health condition or their existing medical situation has changed (including medication changes), it is essential to notify the school as soon as possible. This ensures that the school has current and accurate medical information for each pupil.
Non-Emergency Medical Room Visits
For non-emergency situations such as headaches, stomach aches, or toothaches, pupils should visit the medical room during break and lunch times.
Emergency Medical Room Visits
If a pupil is so unwell that they cannot continue their class, they will need permission from their teacher to visit the Medical Room. The pupil’s conduct card will be signed, and they will be evaluated and treated accordingly. If the pupil needs to go home, a staff member will contact the relevant parent/carer to arrange transportation. Pupils must not contact parents/carers using their mobile phones as this violates the school’s mobile phone policy.
Medication Guidelines
Pupils are not permitted to carry required medication in their bags or self-administer medication.
Sanitary Wear
As part of the “End Period Poverty” campaign, all female pupils in school can now access sanitary products for free from the Medical Room and Year Offices.
Sickness Policy
Please note that if a pupil has suffered from diarrhoea or vomiting, they must not return to school until 48 hours after their last episode.
If you have any questions about any of the policies outlined here, please do not hesitate to contact the school
Olio Lecture

This week, we were visited by Tessa Clarke, Co-founder and CEO of Olio – a food sharing app that connects users with food they don’t want or need, with neighbours who would like it.
Tessa gave an inspirational lecture to students detailing the founding Olio story. The talk gave students a first-hand account of every aspect of starting a business from market research to business finance. The talk covered the core purpose of the food sharing app, highlighting important issues of food waste and global sustainability. Finally, Tessa detailed her insightful top learnings for starting a business and answered questions from the students. Overall, this fascinating talk informed and inspired our future entrepreneurs!
Year 11 Health and Social Care

This week Year 11 Health and Social Care students enjoyed a visit from some members of our very own site team – Estates Manager, Barry and Deputy Estates Manager, Gary who talked to students about equipment considerations and other safety measures within the workplace to help inform their studies for the exam unit.
Thanks so much to our Site Team it was great fun having your input and very useful for students’ understanding of this topic!
Year 11 Health and Social Care

Year 11 Health and Social Care students enjoyed a visit from Ruth Hussey, a Counsellor and Mindfulness Teacher, to learn about Psychotherapy this week to help inform their coursework and discover more about different roles within the health and social care sector. During the session the students learnt about the benefits of Psychotherapy and some of the theory around it, as well as the skills, qualities and training needed to become a professional in this field. They also had the opportunity to try out active listening skills, one of the essential skills involved in the role. Thank you, Ruth, for your time, the students really enjoyed your visit, and this is so valuable for their studies!
School Uniform Suppliers to Launch New Website
Price and Buckland, our uniform suppliers will be launching their new website on 11 February 2025 which will provide the following benefits to parents:
Parents with children at different schools will be able to order from multiple schools with ease.
Parents will be able to spread payment across 3 months through Klarna.
Parents will be prompted how close they are to the free delivery threshold.
Parents will have more payment options with the introduction of Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Could you host an international student?
After two successful visits, Hardenhuish School has agreed to join with St John’s School, Marlborough to take part in hosting a group of up to 30 Chinese pupils in June for 4 weeks. This exciting venture is being run in coordination with two schools in China who have visited the UK on a number of occasions, with pupils speaking impeccable English and who were extremely friendly and well-behaved, many forging lasting friendships with their host families.
As the children are early secondary school age, we are ideally looking for families with children in Key Stage 3 who would be able to offer hospitality for from 1 – 28 June 2025. We would also be happy to hear from families with older children. You do not have to have a spare bedroom, just a spare bed and enough space to fit the student in comfortably during this time.
Our visitors will be shared equally between families from Hardenhuish and St John’s, and will have four weeks in a school, following our curriculum and improving their ability to understand and speak English. They will also follow a programme of weekly visits to places of historic and cultural interest.
Families will be recompensed towards costs of housing and feeding their Chinese pupil.
Please complete this form to register your interest by Monday 10 February. We will then be in touch directly with further details about what’s involved when hosting a student and next steps.
Badminton Success

Last weekend Jake Drew from Year 7 competed in the badminton U12 Mid Wilts restricted and won Gold in boys singles and boys doubles. Then the next day competed in the U12 Wiltshire County restricted and won gold in boys doubles.