Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends
This last week has had a welcome sense of normality in school with various summer term events actually happening. Let me take you through them…..
Firstly we had House Maths. Mr Green, KS3 maths coordinator, wrote
Last week, all of Year 7 and Year 8 took part in the annual House Maths competition. The competition involved students searching the school for clues in a race to complete a mathematical trail. The trail consisted of around 40 questions, all based on numbers and mathematical objects that students see every day, but perhaps never even notice. It’s a great opportunity for students to flex those team-work, observation, and numeracy skills while having fun and getting to know the school a bit better. It was great to see all of the students getting stuck in and really giving it their all and I’m happy to announce our winners were 7B and 8G! Well done!
Thanks to Mr Green for organising and well done 7B and 8G!
Moving to the rounders pitch…..thanks to Miss Cardy, PE teacher and Head of House for Tanners for organising and here are the results …another win for 8G! A special well done to 10H…I am in Haberdashers so good to see them in the top three.
Mr Gray and Mrs O’Reilly set up the Summer Vocal Concert on the school lawn and welcomed parents on Thursday evening. This was our first live concert in over a year and we had 14 students performing to show case all of their hard work that they have put into their singing lessons over the last year, both through online and face to face teaching. Thank you to parents for coming along and of course to the students, Mr Gray and Mrs O’Reilly for making an enjoyable evening.
It was all happening on Thursday night at The Holt….whilst the music concert was going on, excitable but beautiful Year 11 students were arriving for our very own “micro Prom”. I have been to 23 Proms in all sorts of venues and this one was special..…it was very relaxed and sociable. Year 11 got to wear their amazing dresses, have fancy hair styles, make up and heels. Lots walked up from Reading Road or Jubilee Avenue which was nice for them in their long dresses – thanks to parents for not blocking Holt Lane. Most girls had trainers, sliders and converse as back up and on leaving, heels were definitely not on feet – the sign of a good night. There was very little food left over so thanks to Chartwells for serving up a delicious BBQ. Thank you to Mrs Connor for organising… this was her first Prom and to all the Year 11 tutors who stayed for the evening.
Our running track resembled a film set for a costume drama … the micro prom surpassed our expectations.
They also had an early start that day………as Year 11 were in school for 8.40 to attend their Leavers’ Assembly….again a big thanks to Mrs Connor for arranging all the speakers, performers, the awards and for the sweet photos of students going right back to Year 7. Students delivered speeches for each tutor and for Mrs Maynard and Mrs Connor….they were all made up with the thoughtful and kind words.
The History department took Year 12 out of school on a trip….our first trip since the pandemic began back in March 2020. They watched The Last Abbot performance in Reading. Thanks to Miss Howard for organizing the trip and she wrote
The Last Abbot was about the trials and tribulations of the last abbot of Reading Abbey, Hugh Faringdon, during the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII. All religious houses were ordered to voluntarily surrender in 1538/39, and Hugh Faringdon was one of only three to refuse, as a result he was executed. It put a key part of the A Level Tudor course into a local context.
On Friday, the Spanish Department ran their annual Día de la hispanidad, where Year 8 came to school dressed in Spanish colours and their timetabled lessons had a Spanish twist to them with a salsa lesson in PE, Spanish MasterChef in food technology and some Spanish history was debated in history.
…..and to end the blog this week some amazing Year 10 artwork – Lily made the circular piece and Emma the head crochet piece. Incredible.
More events in the next week…Year 6 parents welcome evening, sports day, Year 10 sixth form taster day, KS3 Peter Pan drama performance and our end of term assembly next Friday.
Have a good week
Anne Kennedy
Co-Headteacher