Dear Parents
The Summer Concert on Tuesday was a fantastic showcase of the amazing musical talents of our young people. Several parents of departing pupils and students expressed their thanks for the musical experiences their young people have had at Hardenhuish and this is a testament, along with the concert, to the hard work and support of our music team and our peripatetic teachers in nurturing and encouraging our young people – thank you. Thank you also to the family (-2!) who wish to remain anonymous who helped to pack the chairs away at the end of the evening!
I wish our Chinese visitors a safe journey home, it has been a pleasure hosting them at Hardenhuish and I hope that they have enjoyed their experience. A big thank you to Kerry Irwin for her amazing organisation of the whole visit, for hosting Aria and Sophia the teachers and ensuring that the children have enjoyed their stay in the UK by organising so many fabulous opportunities for them. Thank you also to all of our host families for looking after the young people so well and welcoming them into your homes and families. It was lovely to see you all at our celebration event yesterday and to hear how much our visitors have enjoyed their stay in Wiltshire and their time at Hardenhuish.
The formal summer exam season has finished this week, I would like to thank Maggie Kyprianides , Fiona Ernest and our wonderful team of invigilators and TAs for all of their hard work and support of our young people during their GCSE and A Levels. I am sure that the care and support our young people receive at this time reflects in their results and I would like to thank them all for everything they have done in the build up to and during this year’s exams.
Thank you to all of the employers who gave so generously of their time in coming in for our Year 12 Mock Interview Day on Wednesday. I know the young people will have gained a huge amount from the experience and the feedback they are given, and this will stand them in good stead for future interviews. Thank you to Ms Brenton for organising this.
The Year 11 Prom last night was a lovely celebration of their time here at Hardenhuish and it was lovely to see them enjoying themselves and time together. A big thank you to Mr Peake, Mrs Burgess, Mrs Pike and the Year 11 Team for getting them to this point in such a positive way.
Sports Week this week has been an amazing celebration of all things sport and culminates in Sports Day today which has an Olympic theme. As you know this is being used as an opportunity to raise funds for the refurbishment of our gym changing rooms to bring them up to the same standard as our amazing gym. Any donations are very gratefully received Hardenhuish Sports Week – JustGiving. Thank you to Mr Brailey, all of the PE Team and everyone else involved in making today a success. Also a massive thank you to Mrs Auld, School Parliament and our Student Ambassadors for all of their hard work in making Sports Week so positive and with so many activities taking place.
Lastly, looking ahead, the calendar for 2025/6 has now gone on the website in case you are making plans for the academic year after next!
Have a good weekend.
Lisa Percy
Headteacher
News Items
Focus On ….Languages Week – Week Beginning 1 July
It’s time for languages week, so once again we’re asking you to dive into some multilingual challenges, games and events that will test your logic, awaken your curiosity and remind us all of this wonderfully diverse world we live in.
Languages are at the root of everything we do, they make us feel things, and they help us identify with others, be it at a national or simply local level. There are words that perfectly capture a feeling, words that can cause emotional and even chemical responses in our bodies, and all of the different languages we learn to speak give us different perspectives on what it is to be human.
Each year group will have special lessons around Languages Week in their Spanish and French lessons, a Super Languages Club on Wednesday lunch time, a Duolingo competition for staff, parents and students over 13, and there will be a Treasure Hunt on La Francophonie around school running all week.
So, whether you’re already multilingual, just love to learn about other languages or figure you’d like to get involved with some of the events, we’d love to see you get involved!
D-Day Display
Following the D-Day assemblies for the 80th anniversary of the landings, the History Department tasked the school with creating a recycled plastic bottle display, with a lantern at the centre. It was connected with the theme of shining a light for remembrance, which was observed at the Bayeux Memorial on 6th June. Alongside our bottle display, we have a new board in the history corridor commemorating the actions of all involved during D-Day, from the machinists in the factories, to the soldiers on all sides. Many thanks to all who took part.
Chalke Valley
On Wednesday 26 June, the History Department took Year 12 historians to the Chalke Valley history festival. This was a way of introducing them to lecture-style talks from academic historians on topics from Louis XIV, the uncovering of the Mary Rose and Eric Ravilious (war artist). We were met with glorious weather in the Salisbury landscape and students not only were involved in listening to talks but had the chance to explore the festival listening to other free talks going on, visit the living history camp and look at real objects. A highlight for some was taking part in a free archery event and holding parts of the Mary Rose.
Year 8 Successful Lives Day
Last week saw our Year 8s take part in “Rubbish Day”; a STEM themed day focussed on the sustainability of plastics. Students competed in groups throughout the day to look at different aspects of plastic sustainability through the lenses of STEM subjects. In Science, students investigated the tensile strength of different carrier bags; in Engineering, students fused old bags bags together to make customised clutch bags; and in Maths, students looked at how to maximise the capacity of a container whilst using the minimal amount of material. At the end of the day, winners were announced in assembly and prizes awarded. Thank you to all of Year 8 for being so engaged and well done again to those students who went home with prizes.
Sports Week
This week Hardenhuish held an action-packed Sports Week culminating in a brilliant Olympic-themed Sports Day.
During the week, staff successfully completed a sponsored ride and row the distance from Hardenhuish to the Olympic Games in Paris, supported by music from our student led Hardenhuish Radio. Students took part in a ball shooting competition, yoga, a raffle, facepainting, penalty shoot-outs, an e-sports competition, attended a lecture from a former professional sprinter and bob skeleton athlete, and much more.
A huge thank you for your kind donations which will go towards the refurbishment of our gym changing rooms to make our gym offering even more fabulous for students now and in the future. We hope everyone enjoyed our celebration of sport!
Vacancies – Hardenhuish School