Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends
As we enter the season of Advent, preparations for the end of term and the festivities beyond are cranking up at The Holt. A sense of mounting excitement lifts staff and students alike after a pretty drab and wet November.
Students who had been attending the Technology Department’s CAD/CAM club throughout the term attended Wokingham Town Council’s ceremony for the dressing of the Christmas tree on Monday. You can see below the decoration that they had designed and made which now adorns the branches.
The music department continues to work hard to provide opportunities for our singers and musicians to perform. Following hot on the heels of the Year 7 concert, last Saturday saw our students join forces with the Berkshire Youth Training Choir for a wonderful concert in our school hall.
Our school Christmas Concert offers a magical evening of seasonal music and song at St Paul’s Church this Thursday evening. Some tickets are still available here.
Next Tuesday is our annual Christmas Jumper Day when we encourage all who wish to don some festive knitwear to do so in exchange for a voluntary donation to charity. This year the money raised will go to Save the Children’s Gaza appeal. On the same day, we will also enjoy our annual Christmas lunch together – a big thank you to Mrs Jones and all the Chartwells team in The Holt Café kitchen.
Further Christmas themed fundraising activities are being hosted by various tutor groups in aid of their House charities. The elves of 11L will be delivering pre-ordered candy canes around the school, 10H will be selling gingerbread this Thursday, and 8W will be providing something to hang on your tree with a bauble stall on Monday. These fall either side of our school Christmas Fair. We encourage the students to bring some cash to school on Friday to avail themselves of all these opportunities. Well done to all the students and staff who work hard to make these things happen.
In less festive news, all the usual school activities continue. The Senior Leadership Team, along with Miss Izod, have had the pleasure of meeting individually with all students in Year 11 to talk about their plans for post -16 studies. It is wonderful to hear about the hard work they are putting in now and their high aspirations for the future. For those hoping to join our sixth form, a final reminder that the deadline for applications is next Tuesday!
Our current Year 12 students have been sitting PPEs getting their first taste of formal examinations in their new courses. Among their number are our new Student Leadership Team who will be introduced to the school in our end of term assemblies on Friday 15th.
The Geography Department welcomed teams from nine other local schools to compete in our Worldwise Quiz. A great evening of global questions saw Reading Boys’ School come out on top, but I am sure you will agree that Mr Mosley’s suit was the real winner.
Recent trips to report on have included visits to Wellington College for Year 10 students to “Take Maths Further”, an Amnesty International youth conference, and a girls’ football festival in Woodley. We are grateful to the staff who provide these opportunities.
I will let the writer of next week’s blog wish you all a Merry Christmas, but I wish you all the best in your preparations for festive season – whatever it may bring you!
Ben Adams
Assistant Headteacher