Dear Parents and Carers
It has been a busy first week back, and I am pleased to say the young people have settled back into school life really well.
Rehearsals are going well for our production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream next week which I am really looking forward to.
Please see details below for the Friends of Hardenhuish Quiz Night on Friday, 28th March – we look forward to seeing lots of you there to support our fundraising and show off your quizzing skills!
Have a lovely weekend and let’s hope that the sunshine continues.
Lisa Percy
Headteacher
News Items
Friends of Hardenhuish Quiz Night 2025
Get ready for an unforgettable evening of trivia, fun, and friendly competition! Our much-anticipated Friends of Hardenhuish Quiz Night is back at Peter Thompson Hall on Friday 28th March at 7 pm.
🏆 £100 top prize for the winning team!
🧠 A wide range of questions to challenge all ages.
🍻 Fully licensed bar available.
Team Entry: Up to 6 players per team – just £20 per team. Secure your spot by paying via Arbor or booking a table through the School’s Reception. Tables sold out early last year, so don’t wait—book now to guarantee your place!
Focus on – Examinations and Non-Examined Assessment
Most GCSE and A Level courses are assessed linearly, which means all examinations take place at the end of the course. This means that pupils will have the vast majority of their examinations at the end of Year 11 and Year 13 and will not have the opportunity to resit examinations before results are published. To ensure pupils and students are well prepared for this, we have introduced exam fortnights in Year 8 and Year 9 as well as Mock exams in Year 10, Year 11, Year 12 and Year 13. This regular practice of sitting exams helps pupils to manage any difficulties with exam stress and gives them practice of the key revision skills they need to be able to retrieve large amounts of information they need to be successful in an exam.
Formal public examinations usually take place in the Sports Hall or another suitably large space and are managed by a team of invigilators who ensure exam regulations are followed. Some pupils will qualify for access arrangements for their exams, such as a reader or a scribe or extra time. This will depend on any diagnosed special needs and their usual way of working. In such instances, pupils usually sit their exams in smaller spaces. Assessments to determine who is entitled to exam access arrangements can only happen within 2 years of the exam season and so happen at the end of Year 9 and beginning of Year 10 for GCSEs and in Year 12/Year 13 for A Levels.
The other main form of assessment in GCSE and A Level courses is called non-examination assessment (NEA), which is coursework completed in class, usually under the supervision of the class teacher. Non-examination assessment is only used in some GCSEs, Cambridge Nationals and A Levels. The percentage towards the overall grade varies from subject to subject but all courses must have at least 25% of their final grade determined by an exam as outlined above. More details about the nature of non-examination assessment for each course and the contribution it makes to the overall grade can be found the subject pages of our Key Stage 4 and Sixth Form Options information.
Student Voice
This week, students took part in a focus group with Miss Sullivan, an NHS Education Mental Health Practitioner who delivers 1:1 and group sessions to Hardenhuish students. The students shared their thoughts on what they already know about wellbeing and what they would like to know more about. This student voice will be used to shape upcoming wellbeing workshops that will support students in understanding more about their mental health and help them to feel more confident in managing their wellbeing.
Easter Egg Raffle Donations
Charity Week takes place on the week commencing 24th March and School Parliament will be hosting an Easter Egg raffle to raise money for our school charity The RISE Trust. We would be extremely grateful if you are able to donate an Easter egg prize for our raffle. Please can students bring any donations to Mrs Auld in A8 by 17th March. Many thanks, School Parliament
Chippenham Dance Festival
Our KS4 Dance company had the opportunity to perform to a packed out Neeld Hall on Monday and Tuesday evening as part of a dance festival run by the Chippenham Sports Partnership. They danced alongside other local primary and secondary schools and proved themselves to be excellent and inspirational role models for the younger pupils. The group performed a narrative piece of contemporary dance that explores the story of the girls receiving letters from loved soldiers from WW2 who have been captured at war, and the aftermath of events when they arrive home. Many thanks to the girls for such an emotive and beautiful dance – it really was impressive, and we are exceptionally proud of you all.
Hardenhuish Climbing Wall
Following a long and busy weekend, 48 graded climbs are now up at Hardenhuish School climbing wall; our climbing instructors and the school’s PE staff will be teaching students during school hours and in the after school climbing sessions.
Huge thanks to the JSOI team for pulling together to get this set completed.
Friday saw trainee setters Rachel, Drew and myself stripping the climbing wall and washing all of the holds; Saturday James, a qualified route setter started route setting with me and on Sunday, RSD qualified route setter George joined me to round off the route setting. We were also joined by Josie, Bathan and Scott to help forerun and grade all of the newly completed climbs.
Big shoutout to all of the JSOI team!
Joel Self – Outdoor Instructor
Somerset County Swimming
Year 8 pupil Isaac Wheadon did fantastically well at the Somerset County Swimming competition, achieving the following results:
4th 200m Breaststroke
4th 50m Butterfly
2nd 100m Breaststroke
2nd 100m Backstroke
2nd 200m Individual Medley
2nd 50m Backstroke
2nd 200m Freestyle
And County Champion for
1st 50m Breaststroke
1st 50m Freestyle
Isaac will now go on to compete at the Southwest Regional competitions in April and May, hoping to be placed in the medals; he is also hoping to be considered for the National Championships in July.
Congratulations Isaac!