Welcome back to the second half of the spring term, the school grounds are starting to bloom. Crocuses and daffodils are making their first appearances, hinting at the warmer days ahead—though this week certainly greeted us with plenty of rain!
Our Year 11 and 6th form students have returned from an unforgettable trip to Madrid, filled with sunshine, culture, adventure, and new experiences. A huge thank you to Mrs Totolan Moore, for organising the trip and to Mrs Diaz and Mr Gray for accompanying them.
Mrs Totolan Moore provided us with the following write Up:
The Madrid trip went very well, and I am incredibly proud of our students!
Their behaviour was outstanding—they represented the school beautifully, listened well, and truly embraced the experience.
The girls made a real effort to speak Spanish, tried new foods, and, while they naturally stuck with their friendship groups, many also stepped out of their comfort zones and formed new friendships. It was wonderful to see them growing in confidence and engaging so positively with the culture.
Throughout the trip, we had an exciting and varied itinerary. After settling in the hotel, we started by seeing the sunset at the Templo de Debod – which was an incredible view! We had a little tour of the centre of Madrid, taking in key landmarks like Plaza Mayor and Puerta del Sol. The students loved visiting the Royal Palace and exploring the stunning halls and rooms. We also visited the Prado Museum and the Reina Sofia Musem, where they saw famous artworks they had learned about in school. One of the highlights was our day trip to Segovia, where we admired the Roman aqueduct and enjoyed some breathtaking views. We also visited the Alcazar in Segovia which was inspiration for the Disney Castle.
Another unforgettable experience was the flamenco show. The students were completely captivated by the intensity and emotion of the performance—so much so that a few of them were left in tears! They all thought it was wonderful, and it was amazing to see them so moved by the passion and storytelling of the dance.
The students also had the chance to visit a bustling food market to sample traditional Spanish cuisine, and many were adventurous in trying new dishes while also having plenty of time for shopping and acquiring souvenirs. One of the days in the city we came across a second-hand book shop and it was lovely to see how many of them were browsing the shop and asking questions about certain books.
Whether it was trying new foods, navigating new social situations, or embracing the challenges of traveling in a foreign country, they adapted incredibly well and showed great resilience.
Overall, it was such a pleasure getting to know our students better, and we were all so proud of the way they conducted themselves. They truly did the school proud!
Looking back to the week before half term, the year 12 biologists attended Marwell Zoo for a conference on conservation. Thank you to Mrs Whitehouse for organising the trip and sharing the following write up:
Students had the opportunity to see artefacts confiscated at airports from endangered species, including furs and a rhino horn on which the individual keratin strands were visible. It was incredibly heavy for something made from the same protein as human hair, yet so valuable in some areas of the world. The conference explained Marwell’s role in conservation around the world, using the Grevy Zebra and Arabian Oryx as key examples. Marwell work with local people to track and monitor the Grevy zebra, realising that they coped less well than other species in times of drought. As a result, they started to provide food near water holes to help more mares and foals survive to increase population numbers. The Arabian Oryx is another key example, Marwell is part of the global breeding program for this species. They were extinct in the wild, but as of last year are now classed as vulnerable, a huge achievement for the zoo. Animals were released into a world herd in Tunisia and last year their offspring became the first wild population since the 60’s.
Both are key examples of how important it is to understand the world around us and how the organisms that live there interact with both the living and non-living factors in their ecosystem. As well as this, international cooperation is a key factor for success in conservation projects. Students heard about the levels of cooperation required in trying to count Snow Leopard numbers, as this species lives on the borders of 12 countries, including China, Russia, Afghanistan and Nepal.
Visiting Marwell to hear about their current conservation projects is always a highlight for the Biology department and hopefully the students were inspired by some of the rare and endangered species they saw.
On Friday 14th January, we held a taster day for Year 9 options. The aim of the day is to give students the opportunity to ‘try before they buy.’ The senior leadership team are currently offering guidance interviews to all Year 9 students, it has been great to hear about their experiences on taster day and their aspirations for the future.
This ties in nicely with Careers Week, On Tuesday 25th February we welcomed Sonardyne International – a world leader in marine technology to deliver a careers talk to our students. Sonardyne spoke about their cutting-edge technology and how it is shaping the future of underwater exploration. They also shared different career paths into this fascinating industry. Please encourage your daughter/ son to keep an eye out for future events, we don’t want students to miss out on these valuable opportunities to meet employers, ask questions and gain valuable insights into different industries. These events are advertised on daily briefing and open to all students in all year groups. This week there will also be presentations from Babcock about careers in aerospace and Wilsons Solicitors about careers in law.
Mrs Martin
Assistant Headteacher