Dear Parents
As we get closer to the end of the academic year, our weeks seem to get busier!
It was great to see Jordan Smith, Hardenhuish Alumni, finish 20th in the US Open at the weekend – so good to be able to share his success and hopefully inspire the next generation to strive for their own successes.
I am delighted to announce that we have been awarded the WIRE Award (Widening Inclusivity in Religious Education) by the Diocese of Bristol. Congratulations to the RE team who have worked hard to achieve this award and I know have plans for even more exciting opportunities for our young people next year.
I had the absolute pleasure of opening the Chippenham Games this week for the young people who will be our new Year 7 in September. It was lovely to meet them and embrace the atmosphere (and the face painting – shown here alongside Mrs Barton our amazing SSCO!) of the games which have now been running for 11 years, led by the Chippenham Sports Partnership.
I have enjoyed reading the Carnegie shortlist over the last few weeks and I know that the group enjoyed watching the winning announcement yesterday and discussing all of the books as the article below explains.
Successful Lives Day yesterday was a fantastic opportunity for our young people to learn in a more cross-curricular way.
- Year 7 had a fun filled day at Cotswold wildlife park completing a variety of tasks including conversation, animal observation, creative writing and designing future exhibits for the park.
- Year 8 did amazingly well during the STEM day based around plastic use and sustainability including turning plastic bags into clothes.
- Year 9 spent the day developing their personal skills and qualities and looking towards the future. They started the day by completing a personality test and then did sessions on Team Building, Productivity & Transferrable skills, Inclusivity and Diversity and Barclays Life Skills.
- Year 10 spent the day looking at future plans and potential careers. During the day they completed Health and Safety training, doing careers quizzes and researching what different jobs entail. They then had visits by different workers from a range of sectors who spoke to the students about their jobs and finally heard from a speaker from Employment for Students who gave the students some fantastic advice.
- Year 12 visited Southampton University to start to explore their post-Year 13 options.
Thank you to all staff involved in enabling these enriching opportunities for our wonderful young people.
As you can see from the articles below there has been lots of sporting success over the last couple of weeks. It is Sports Day today and it will be lovely to spend the afternoon on the field sharing in the true community spirit of our school and supporting our athletes in their events. One of the highlights will be the staff relay which always brings out the competitive spirit in the staff!
Lisa Percy
Parent Focus Group
Thank you again to all of our parents who completed the Kirkland Rowell Survey conducted recently. Following the survey and as part of our drive for continuous improvement, we are planning to hold a parent focus group event with a particular focus on safeguarding and the safety of our young people. If you are interested in becoming part of this group or have further thoughts to share on this topic, then please let me know by sending an email to jeg@hardenhuish.wilts.sch.uk by 1 July 2023. We will then arrange a suitable time for the first meeting to suit availability. I look forward to hearing from you. Many thanks,
Jo Glossop (Assistant Headteacher/Designated Safeguarding Lead).
Year 9 World of Business trip to LEGOLAND Windsor
On Monday, the Year 9 Business pupils went on a trip to LEGOLAND Windsor. Pupils attended a workshop about the business of LEGO and LEGOLAND. The workshop gave them a fascinating insight into the business of managing and marketing attractions, which linked brilliantly to their recent studies of marketing. They took part in a competition to design a new theme park attraction for LEGOLAND out of LEGO, coming up with so designs, and then explored the park.
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Year 8 Carnegie Award Shadowing Group
For the last 3 months a fantastic group of Year 8 pupils have been shadowing the prestigious Yoto Carnegie Book Awards. They’ve been reading the 7 books on the shortlist and meeting weekly in the Resources Centre with Mrs Lucas to discuss and debate the books and their themes.
On Wednesday of this week, the Award’s winner was announced, so the Shadowing Group spent the day on Wednesday bringing together their ideas and opinions about the books and deciding which book they thought deserved to win. (‘The Eternal Return of Clara Hart’ by Louise Finch, was their preferred choice, by the way!) They then watched the live stream of the awards ceremony over lunch, where it was announced that ‘The Blue Book of Nebo’ by Manon Steffan Ros was this year’s winner.
Mrs Lucas, who coordinated this year’s Shadowing Group, said, “It has been such a pleasure to spend the last few weeks working with this amazing group of pupils, hearing their (often very opinionated!) thoughts about the 7 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 2023 shortlist to anyone looking for their next great read.”
Year 12 Apprenticeship Day
On Wednesday this week Year 12 had a day focused on higher and degree level apprenticeships with an assembly from ASK Apprenticeships, a talk and Q&A with an ex-student currently completing a degree apprenticeship, and a workshop where students were supported with their applications. Lots of useful resources can be found on amazingapprenticeships.com including:
Higher-Degree-Listing-FEB-2023.pdf (amazingapprenticeships.com) – updated twice a year
Parent_and_Carers-_Pack_June_2023.pdf (ctfassets.net) – advice for parents
Find an apprenticeship (findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk) – government apprenticeship search website
Year 12 trip to University of Southampton
For Year 12 Successful Lives Day, students went down to one of the UKs’ Russell Group universities, the University of Southampton. Students had a talk about the variety of things to consider when choosing a degree / university. Later in the day, students were given a tour of the campus and talk from existing undergraduate students about university life. Students also gained an idea of degree lectures with short lectures in English and audiology. The visit was very successful and excellent preparation for our Year 12s, who are currently considering their post-18 options.
Letter from School Effectiveness, Education & Skills team – Wiltshire Council
SPORTING NEWS
Chippenham Games
On the 21 and 22 of June our incredible Year 12 Sports Leaders supported the annual Chippenham Games at Stanley Park. As part of their role they led stations, did face-painting and supported groups of Year 6 pupils. This event involves approximately 500 primary pupils over 2 days and they get the opportunity to try activities like archery, indo boarding, golf and orienteering. I was so impressed with the maturity the Sports Leaders showed and the enthusiasm they brought to the role. Every single Year 12 student who helped should be exceptionally proud of themselves for the positive contribution they made. Congratulations to all those involved – they were brilliant ambassadors for the school and fantastic role models.
U15 Girls Rounders Tournament
Congratulations to the U15A rounders Team who played 6 matches in total at the Area Rounders Tournament and finished in 1st place after remaining unbeaten throughout the whole tournament and scoring a total of 43 rounders and only conceding 11 ½. There were some excellent batting displays and quick fielding to ensure the girls finished in the top spot.
Players included, Ottie B, Erin R, Sophie V, Harriet W, Katie C, Libby C, Hope M, Emily F, Lily S and Aila M. It was a strong performance who are now looking forward to the next round.
Results were as follows:
HH Vs Abbeyfield won 7 ½-4-MVP-Emily HH vs Sheldon B won 11- ½ -MVP-Hope
HH Vs Devizes won 4- ½ -MVP-Erin HH vs Corsham won 8 ½ -2 MVP-Ottie
HH Vs HH won 5 ½ -2-MVP-Aila M HH vs Sheldon A won 6 ½ -2 ½ MVP-Libby
Huge well done to the U15B Team, they played 5 matches, players included; Mia, Martha, Chloe, Emily N, Emily N, Emily K, Panna, Lucy and Aurora.
Player of the tournament was Chloe, for some massive hits and one very impressive catch.
V Corsham lost 2.5 – 4
V Hardenhuish A lost 2.5 – 5.5
V Abbeyfield won 4 – 2.5
V Devizes lost 6 – 3
V Sheldon A won 7 – 3
The girls made it to the podium, finishing in 3rd place. Well done to all players, fantastic team performance.
Wiltshire Athletics Championships Saturday 10 June.
Congratulations to the 22 Hardenhuish students who were selected to represent North Wiltshire at the Wiltshire Athletics Championships at Swindon Athletics Track on Saturday 10 June.
Every year Hardenhuish students are selected for the North Wiltshire squad, but this year we had record numbers.
Well done to all athletes, competing in incredibly hot weather is not an easy task.
All students had a fantastic day performing to their best with many new PBs and podium finishes.
Special mentions go to:
Tom Southgate – 1st JB 200m 24.5s | Tobi Loughlin – 1st JB 1500m 4.24s | Tommy Mattis-King – 1st JB 80m hurdles 12.3s, 1st JB triple jump 12.24m, 2nd JB long jump 5.43m | Harry Glover – 3rd IB 100 12.0s | Oliver Upton – 1st IB 400m 56.0s | Joe White – 4th IB 200m 24.5s | Natasha Moyes – 1st IG 200m 27.3s, 2nd IG 100m 13.0s | Louisa Niker – 4th JG 1500m 5.38 | Henri Cotineau – 2nd SB 1500m 4.21s
Tom, Tobi, Tommy, Natasha and Henri were all selected to represent Wiltshire in the South West Schools Athletics Championships in Exeter on 17 June, what a fantastic honour.
Area Athletics Championships 2023
88 students travelled to Bath University on Wednesday 14 June to compete in the prestigious Area Athletics Championships, this is the biggest event in the schools sporting calendar. The schools competing for the crown were: Hardenhuish, Sheldon, Corsham, Abbeyfield, Malmesbury, Royal Wootton Bassett, Brandon Forest and Kingsbury Green Academy. Athletes in years 7-10 competed in 100m, 150m, 200m, 300m, 400m, 800m, 1200m, 1500m, hurdles, shot, discus, javelin, high jump, long jump, triple jump and 4x100m relay.
Each athlete could only take part in 1 event plus the relay. Points were allocated depending on the position that each athlete finished in their event, 10 points for 1st, 8 for 2nd etc.
Hardenhuish dominated throughout the Championships with outstanding performances across all age groups. It was a tense wait at the end of the competition, over 100 events had taken place that day and all the points were accumulated.
Year Group Results
Year 7 – 1st
Year 8 – 2nd
Year 9 – 1st
Year 10 – 1st
As the results were being read out it was a pleasure to watch the pride on all of the Hardenhuish athletes faces. Hardenhuish were crowned for a second year in a row Area Athletics Champions. – the ice pops that did the trick! Huge Congratulations to the Hardenhuish athletes for all their hard work and determination. Team spirit and support as always was incredible. Below are all those who finished on the podium:
| Year 7 Samir 1st 100m Sophie 1st 1200m Layla 2nd 200m Amelia 3rd 100m Casey 3rd high jump Lucy 3rd Shot putt Ben 2nd Javelin Imogen 1st Long jump Martha 1st High Jump Girls 4x100m 3rd | Year 8 Barney 1st 200m Lucas 2nd 300m Charles 1st 1500m Martha 2nd 200m Amelie 2nd Hurdles Dan 2nd Triple jump Noah 1st Shot Will 3rd Discus Hannah 3rd Shot Scarlett 1st Long jump Amelia 1st High jump Girls 4x100m 1st | Year 9 Tommy 1st Hurdles Lily 1st Hurdles Tom 1st 200m Tobi 2nd 800m Dan 1st 1500m Louisa 1st 1500m Lief 2nd Shot Lucy 3rd High jump James 2nd Triple jump John 2nd Shot Lily 1st Shot Adam 2nd Discus Lara 3rd Discus Bryn 1st Javelin Boys 4x100m 1st | Year 10 Harry 1st 100m Natasha 1st 100m Joe 1st 200m Isla 2nd 200m Hannah 2nd 200m Ollie 2nd 400m Kieran 3rd 800m Ryan 3rd 1500m Boys 4x100m 1st Girls 4x100m 1st |
Bring on 2024!
South West Schools Athletics Championships
The Southwest Athletics Championships took place on Saturday 17 June in Exeter. Students represented Wiltshire against the top athletes from across all of the Schools in the Southwest – what a fantastic achievement in being selected.
Natasha Moyes came 8th in the Final of the 100m, Tom Southgate came 7th in the 200m, Tommy Mattis-King came 2nd in the Hurdles and Triple Jump, Tobi Loughlin came 2nd in the 1500m.
We wish Tobi the best of luck for the English Schools Finals in Birmingham on 30 June.
The final athletics event of the year is the one everyone has been waiting and training for – Sports Day 2023, this will take place today, Friday 23 June.
Every student has the opportunity to compete and win points for their tutor group. Who will be crowned tutor champions for 2023 and will any of the long-standing records from 1973 get broken? Judging by the results above there is a good chance there will be a few – Good luck to everyone Mrs Place
Badminton News
Imogen Drew from Year 7 competed in an U17 National Badminton England tournament in Milton Keynes. She came away with bronze in girls doubles. Which was amazing for a 12 year old playing Girls 2 and 3 years her senior. Well done Imogen.
