Dear Parents and Carers
Thank you for your support and understanding over the last couple of days as we have made difficult decisions for the wellbeing and safety of our school community.
It is good to have young people back in school today and we have been encouraging them to keep as cool as they can!
The Summer Concert planned for Wednesday will take part on a slightly smaller scale during our Open Evening (for current Year 5 pupils) next Thursday. If your young people are performing you are very welcome to come along to support them.
I hope that Year 13 have a wonderful time at their prom this evening and am looking forward to celebrating their time at Hardenhuish with Year 11 at their prom next Tuesday.
Have a good weekend.
Lisa Percy
Headteacher
News Items
Focus on … 50 Things
During their time at Hardenhuish pupils have the chance to take part in a huge breadth of experiences that will enhance their personal development. To encourage our young people to get involved in as many opportunities as possible, we have designed our ‘50 things to do at Hardenhuish’. This is shared with pupils at the beginning of each year so they can plan which opportunities they want to try. Pupils review this throughout the year as part of their tutor time Successful Lives programme so they can celebrate everything that they have done.
Please take the opportunity to ask your child about the ‘50 things’ and the activities they are getting involved in at school.
Focus on SEN
At Hardenhuish, we know that every child is unique; and so are the ways they learn. Whether your child has an identified Special Educational Need or just needs a bit of extra help from time to time, our dedicated team is here to support them.
Through our base in the House, the department offers a wide range of support to pupils. Security, structure, and tailored support is provided where needed and possible; with the core purpose of equipping pupils with the confidence, skills, and independence required to access the wider school and take part fully in all the of exciting experiences on offer at Hardenhuish.
This time of year is always a mix of emotions. We’re incredibly proud of our Year 11s as they finish their GCSE exams. It’s a time of reflection and celebration as they prepare to take their next big step.
Meanwhile, our extra transition visits have been taking place over the last few weeks for our new Year 7s who will be joining us in September. We have had fun exploring our beautiful site and discovering a little more of what life will be like for them at Hardenhuish and the support available. It has been lovely to see some worries ease and we are so looking forward to getting to know them properly in September. Their enthusiasm and curiosity remind us just how exciting the start of secondary school can be—for students and parents alike!
Year 8 Carnegie Award Shadowing Group
For the last 3 months a fantastic group of Year 8 pupils have been shadowing the prestigious Carnegie Book Awards. They’ve been reading the 8 books on the shortlist and meeting weekly in the Resources Centre with Mrs Lucas to discuss and debate the books and their themes.
On Tuesday of this week, the Award’s winner was announced, so the Shadowing Group spent the morning on Tuesday bringing together their ideas and opinions about the books and deciding which book they thought deserved to win. (‘The Boy I Love’ by William Hussey was their almost unanimous favourite, by the way – a mesmerising and heartbreaking tale of forbidden love in the trenches of World War One). Unfortunately, due to the school’s early closure because of the extreme heat warning, they were unable to watch all of awards ceremony live stream, but it was later announced that ‘Wolf Siren’ by Beth O’Brien is this year’s winner.
‘Wolf Siren’ draws on the traditional fairytale of Little Red Riding Hood, but gives it a modern and feminist twist. It’s a story about bravery, justice and grief, highlighting our connection with nature and our responsibility both to respect and to protect it. Beth O’Brien, a neurodivergent and visually-impaired writer, wanted to include a character with a visual impairment and reading this book helps you to empathise with the character of Red and is an important example of representation.
Mrs Lucas, who once again coordinated the school’s Shadowing Group (aided by our wonderful Librarian Mr Southwood!), said, “It has been a pleasure and a privilege to spend the last few weeks working with this amazing group of pupils, hearing their (often very opinionated!) thoughts about the 8 wonderful books on this year’s shortlist. I have been inspired by the pupils’ enthusiasm and engagement in the whole process, and I highly recommend all of the books on the 2026 shortlist to anyone looking for their next great read.”
Discus Success
Year 9 pupil Edward Coombs recently competed at the Southwest Athletics Championships in Exeter, achieving a very commendable 3rd place in the Discus having thrown two personal bests – the best being 38.3m. Edward has qualified to represent Wiltshire in the Junior Boys Discus at the English Schools Championships in Birmingham. Congratulations Edward!
Area Rounders Tournament
The Year 10 girls represented the school brilliantly at their Area Rounders tournament this term. After a short period of readjusting to the rules, they quickly found their rhythm and grew in confidence with each game.
Their performances showcased some excellent batting, with well-placed hits that made full use of the space on the pitch, alongside strong, organised fielding that led to some impressive catches and
run-outs. The team demonstrated great teamwork, resilience and a positive attitude throughout the tournament.
Finishing in 4th place overall, the girls should be proud of their efforts and how they developed across the competition. A special mention goes to those who stepped in at the last minute to support the team—your contribution made a real difference.
Varsity Rounders Round-up
Huge congratulations to all of the girls who have proudly represented us in the varsity rounders fixtures against Sheldon over the past few weeks!
Their commitment, determination, and teamwork have been fantastic to see, and it’s clear how hard they have worked to bring their tactical understanding of the game into a competitive environment. The matches were full of energy and excitement, with some incredible batting, powerful hits, and truly outstanding catches on display!
They played with confidence, resilience, and great sportsmanship throughout—an amazing effort all round. Well done to every player involved, you should be really proud of yourselves!
Please look out for the overall Varsity scores from the whole year!
Yr7 Rounders vs Sheldon
7-3.5 Huish win
7.2.5 Huish win
3.5-3.5 Drew
3-2 Sheldon win
7.5-3.5 Sheldon win
Yr8 Rounders vs Sheldon
2-11.5 Sheldon win
9-15 Sheldon win
Yr9/10 Rounders vs Sheldon
12.5 -10.5 Huish win
11.5-8 Huish win