Dear Parents and Carers
It has been a bit of a whirlwind term due to it being so short and the Bank Holidays along with the start of the GCSE and A Level exams!
Year 11 left us on Tuesday for study leave and I wish them well for their revision over the next little while and for the adventures to come. Thank you to Mrs Parry-Jones, Mrs Loft and the Year 11 Tutors and teaching team for their support of our wonderful young people during their time with us so far.
The Key Stage 5 Art, DT and Photography showcase was amazing (as you will see below) and there was some fantastic work on show which the young people and their parents were proud to talk about. Thank you to Mrs Creed, Mrs Portlock and the DT, Art and Photography team for putting on such an amazing exhibition.
I hope that you and your young people have a restful Spring break and look forward to seeing them back for Term 6 on Monday 2 June. As usual we will be starting term 6 with a renewed focus on uniform, punctuality and behaviour so please encourage your young people to be prepared to be challenged if they are not meeting our high expectations.
Lisa Percy
Headteacher
News Items
Focus on… Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion
At Hardenhuish, we champion Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) to ensure that every pupil feels seen, heard, and valued.
Throughout this year, pupils have been celebrating diversity within assemblies, the Successful Lives Programme, classroom lessons, and during special events like ‘A Taste of Christmas’ and Culture Week. Pupils have the opportunity to attend Diversity Club; a student-led group that offers a space to discuss topics relating to EDI and propose ideas to make a positive difference in our school community. We also have a staff EDI team who meet regularly to organise initiatives to support, promote, and celebrate EDI in school.
We recently launched an EDI Charter which details our ambitions for EDI within Hardenhuish and our commitment to provide an inclusive environment where every pupil is inspired to learn and supported to achieve their full potential. We are dedicated to achieving these goals through actions focused on six pillars: Curriculum, Inclusion, Respect, Culture, Leadership, and Engagement. We also set annual equality objectives to provide specific focus, which are shared in our Equality Information and Objectives Policy.
Yr 7 Techniquest Trip – Thursday 15th & Friday 16th May
The Maths department took over 150 Year 7 pupils to Techniquest in Cardiff at the end of last week. The pupils had time to explore the hands-on exhibits which included a hurricane experience and a wind tunnel. The colony of Leafcutter ants were also a huge hit and very fascinating to watch – they don’t eat the leaves but farm a fungus! Each pupil enjoyed a session inside the digital planetarium. We were taken through space for a close-up look at some of nature’s most beautiful sights such as distant galaxies and exploded stars. Pupils were asked to leave their phones in their bags throughout the day, and they embraced a day without screens, the coach journey entertainment consisted of reading, noughts and crosses and much singing! Our pupils were older than some of the other school visitors at Techniquest and set an excellent example; it was wonderful to see them engrossed in the activities and enjoying the experience. Year 7 were a credit to Hardenhuish!
Mrs Cobb.
Resource Centre News
Book Group this term have been thoroughly enjoying a range of murder and crime mysteries from some of the most popular authors around.
Holly Jackson is without doubt the queen of teen fiction in the 2020s and our students loved both the ‘Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ series and her latest novel ‘The Reappearance of Rachel Price’, with several commenting about the “unexpected discoveries every time you turn the page” and “new information in every single chapter” that “keeps you hooked”.
‘One Of Us Is Lying’ by Karen McManus is another well-established modern classic of the genre and it was described as “awesome”, “amazing” and containing “a plot twist at the end that really shocked me!”
‘Agency For Scandal’ is a much newer addition but the series is now onto its third novel and rapidly gaining in popularity. One student here commented that “it has such a good plot and a great build-up to the end”. We think this series will continue to become even more sought-after in the coming months.
Finally, Richard Osman’s ‘Thursday Murder Club’ for older readers was described as “mysterious, captivating and funny” and this series certainly provides a modern interpretation on the classic murder mystery if you have outgrown the YA lists. If you like the sound of any of these, make sure you see Mr. Southwood after half-term.
Next term there will also be a different theme for the final Book Group meetings of the school year but you’ll have to come along on Friday 6th June at lunchtime to find out exactly what the theme will be!
As well as our Book Group reads, the most borrowed books this term have tended to be the Carnegie Shortlisted titles as our shadowing group have been diligently working their way through the eight contenders. ‘Play’ by our very own Mr. Palmer has just edged it for top spot here in terms of borrowing, with ‘Glasgow Boys’ and ‘The Final Year’ just behind – all outstanding novels which we would recommend to everyone. Will this be a good omen for the awards ceremony coming up in mid-June?!
Art and Photography
The Art and Photography Department started Term 5 with a Y10 and Y12 trip to the Tate Modern. After a very long coach drive, we finally made it to London to see lots of thought provoking, the unusual, the iconic and of course the amazing Tate modern building itself. This kickstarted our GCSE and A Level coursework projects which we look forward to seeing progress and develop.
Next up was our Y13 Art and Y13 Photography 15-hour exam to conclude their amazing 2 years of hard work. Finally, to finish the term we had our KS5 creative showcase, which celebrated all of our Y12 and Y13 creative students in Art, Photography and Product Design. We wish our Y13s all the best with the rest of their exams, and the department will certainly miss them (not the mess in the studio) but are thoroughly proud of everything they have achieved.
Here are some quotes from parents from the showcase:
“It was incredible!
The work your team are able to inspire, teach and promote was so varied and creative 😊 as a non-creative person it was positively overwhelming!
My little girl (9) now wants to do GCSE/Alevel art after seeing everything!
Well done to all involved.”
Netball
Year 10 Pupil Hermione Ferris recently took part in an end of season tournament at Bath University Training Village with her ADC squad who are based at the Swindon Hub in Dorcan.
The 10 Team Bath Athlete Development centres are recognised as host sites for delivering the athlete development programme to provide access to elite training environments and opportunities to nearly 200 girls from across the South West.
Centres from Bath, Blandford, Bristol, Exeter, Glastonbury, Gloucester, Salisbury, Swindon, Tavistock and Truro took part with Hermione’s Swindon hub taking the overall win of the tournament.