7A
We are very proud of our achievements throughout this term. These include Lauren R, Lizzy O, Mylie S and Grace W participating in the Rainbow Laces tournament and winning two of their matches. In the cross country competition, Millie B and Hannah P both took part, Millie coming 5th and Hannah coming 7th. And last but not least, Lauren R and Millie B played in a Year 7 netball match and their team achieved 2nd place.
8A
We took part in Rainbow Laces and other sports matches with some results to be proud of. Neve S represented HGS in the District cross country tournament and came 3rd overall. We have finished the term by getting together to hand-craft lots of lovely Christmas decorations!
9A
In 9A we are celebrating lots of achievements. Olivia came 3rd in her karate competition, Bea’s football team is undefeated, and Molly and Tilly’s netball team has won all their matches. Mirelle went to France and came 1st in her cheerleading competition, qualifying for a contest in Florida next year.
10A
Our form has accomplished a lot this term in a wide range of activities, from successes in acting to even successes in sport! For example, Isabel P has been selected to be in the annual Senior Classics Play, and Evie S won a karting race at the track she trains at in London. In addition, Olivia T and Lily B won a football tournament that took place at the Priory School, where they beat multiple secondary schools, and so did Kezia K, who won a netball tournament with her team. Overall our form did great this term and are hoping to achieve even more in the next.
Sixth Form
Bella L, Avani R and Millie F (Year 13) took part in a netball tournament representing the school, along with Year 12s and 11s who were also on the team.
Avani has also been busy organising the Year 13 prom as Deputy Head Girl.
Amelie B and Scarlett L (Year 13) both did Drama devising for their A Level, which parents and friends could go and watch - I was in the audience and they did amazingly well!
Scarlett is also performing in Peter Pan at the Queen Mother Theatre as part of the theatre group Big Spirit, and Amelie is doing the lighting. Keziah H (Year 13) has also contributed to our festive spirit with a reading at our annual Carol Service.
We have great news to share from the House Cup - 9R won the football final!
Well done also to our Year10 footballers, and our Year 9 and Year 10 netball teams - great efforts and progress made by them this term.
Also this term, we voted in our new House, Charity and Wellbeing Prefects, and one of our Year 12s has been nominated to join the Student Leadership Team.
A big thank you to all tutor groups for submitting their charity nominations for us to vote on - the results are in and Bronte will be supporting The Little Princess Trust this year. In the New Year our House and Charity Prefects will be meeting with me to develop fundraising ideas and activities.
Miss Lennon, Head of Bronte House
This Autumn term, Curie has had some incredible achievements and events that have made it truly memorable. Firstly, we joined forces with Rosa House for the annual charity dodgeball event, where we raised an amazing £160 (the maximum amount) for Herts Young Homeless. It was heart-warming to see everyone come together and make a positive impact. Many of the staff put their bodies on the line in aid of this good cause.
In sports, Year 10 showed off their football skills and secured an impressive 3rd place, as well as coming 1st in netball later in the term. Way to go, team! And in academics, Curie House dominated the Senior Maths Challenge, claiming the 1st-place position.
But let's not forget about Year 7, who showed their competitive spirit right from the start and came in 2nd place in the induction challenge. Great job! Meanwhile Year 8 were amazing in the Rainbow Laces event, promoting inclusivity and acceptance, and emerged as the winners.
With continuous effort throughout the term from all Curie members, through BFL points and representation in many other sporting events, we have ended the term in 2nd place! Only a few points off the leaders now, putting us in a great position to challenge for the lead next term.
These accomplishments and events made Curie’s term absolutely amazing and we can’t wait to see what the next term holds.
Well done Curie!
The Curie Prefect Team
Frank House has had another brilliant start to the year, with lots of achievements and hard work to celebrate! The Prefect teams have organised, led and supported a wide range of House activities, and every single student has played a role in our success this term. There are a few achievements in particular that deserve to be highlighted.
At the start of term students had the opportunity to put forward a charity of their choice for Frank House to support this academic year. After lots of research, presentations being shared and a deciding vote, Feed Up Warm Up was chosen. This is a charity that offers food, friendship and support to homeless people and those at risk of homelessness, in Hertfordshire. We look forward to raising money to support this charity later in the year.
Thank you to everyone who contributed towards the Frank & Jewel Christmas Fayre. From creating paper chains and snowflakes to filming videos of ‘Santa’ running around school and designing stalls, the students and Prefects worked tirelessly to make it happen, and it was a big success.
Kicking off the House League this year were the Year 9s and 10s, who competed in the netball and football finals. Congratulations to 9F for finishing a fantastic 3rd in both, and to 10F for finishing 4th and 8th respectively. The competition was fierce!
We had the opportunity to celebrate diversity in sports with Rainbow Laces once again this year, with 7F finishing in 1st place in the tournament. Thank you to every student who took part, your effort and enthusiasm were greatly appreciated.
Also making their House proud, those who competed in the Senior Maths Challenge finished 4th. Well done! Lastly, a special shout-out to Aashi in 7F, who submitted an incredible entry to the House song-writing competition; more to come about this in the Spring term.
A huge well done and thank you to everyone in Frank House - have a wonderful Christmas break and let's continue to build on our achievements in 2024.
Miss Mills, Head of Frank House
Jewel House has enjoyed a very positive term, starting the year with lots of effort and positivity. It has been great seeing large numbers of our Sixth Form students step up as House Prefects, and we look forward to supporting our House charity for this year, The Pink Ribbon Foundation.
Sporting success has been strong, with great teams fielded for various House League events and the Rainbow Laces tournament.
Supported as always by our excellent Form Prefects, Jewel has consistently been at the top of the leaderboard for positive behaviour points.
The term was capped off by our joint Christmas Fayre with Frank House, an event which raised festive cheer as well as many donations to Herts Young Homeless. Well done Jewel and all the best for the festive holidays!
Mr Clifford, Head of Jewel House
We have come to the end of a very busy Autumn term at HGS, with lots of achievements throughout the school and within the House. Once again, Pankhurst students have been engaged and competitive across a whole host of activities. There have been some great sporting performances from 9P and 10P in the inter-House netball and Rainbow Laces football tournaments respectively.
Our newest members, 7P, have been making waves in the world of literature, with Lottie, Tilly, Evie and Katie all achieving their reading awards. And out of school, Poppy from 7P performed in the West End!
In 8P, Mia and Lily swam the fastest times in the County in their respective events, while Suniska has shown herself to be a table tennis ace, winning doubles games. In addition, Anna was recently crowned winner at the Christmas Tree Festival with her Guides group. Well done 8P!
In 9P, continuing our theme of aquatic success, Lizzie has been selected to play for the East of England U14 water polo squad, and to join the England Talent Centre in this sport.
Our 10P students have also been busy outside school in a range of extracurricular activities. Anouska finished 8th in the Country cross country championships, and Deepuk was awarded Grade 4 in her piano exam, with distinction!
I would like to extend my thanks to all the Pankhurst Form Tutors and Sixth Form Prefects for their help this term, without which it would be impossible to maintain the House system. It has been a bust term, with lots of points scored across the board. I am confident that, with the attitude shown by our students this term, we will be swiftly climbing the leaderboard over the course of this year.
Merry Christmas to you all!
Mr Beardmore-Crowther, Head of Pankhurst House
 Miss Murch, Head of Rosa House
It’s been a good first term back at school for Teresa House, with many students taking part in and engaging with various activities and events, while earning reward points towards the House Cup, where we currently stand in 7th place. There will be no shortage of opportunities to improve our standing in the New Year.
This term we took part in several sporting events. Years 9 and 10 competed in inter-House football and netball - to varying degrees of success - with 10T even winning in football! We also took part in the Rainbow Laces tournament, where students played several football matches to support and raise awareness of LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport.
We also appointed our new Year 12 Prefect team earlier on in the term. Alongside me will be Emily, Leila, Soraya, and Rose. Emily and Rose will be our Charity Prefects, while Soraya and Leila will be sharing the roles of Healthy Schools and Sports Prefects. I think I speak for us all when I say that we are very excited about our new roles within the House and we look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.
Sophie, House Prefect
Charity update
In November we had our House charity assembly, where each year group presented on their chosen charity to be put to the vote of the whole House. It was close, but the winning charity was GRIT presented by 10T. GRIT is a local charity supporting the mental health of young people in Hitchin and the surrounding villages. They utilise group therapy to teach life skills such as understanding emotions, learning to lead and building relationships. We look forward to supporting this charity and improving teenage mental health.
Our next charity event will be held jointly with Austen House, where we will be running a ‘Thrifting’ second-hand clothing sale – hopefully it will build on the success of last year's one. This will be taking place in early February, so if you have a clothing clear-out in the New Year, please put some items to the side for this.
Rose, Charity Prefect
The Teresa Prefect team and Mr Pateman wish you all a great Christmas break and look forward to seeing you all in the New Year.
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The Art and Design department have had a busy term, with students working hard on their coursework (Years 13 and 11) and elsewhere on their taught modules.
In addition, it has been great to see so many KS3 students attending our extracurricular clubs. The Art Club have made batik paintings and poppies for Remembrance amongst other things, while the Arts Award Club have made an excellent start on building portfolios for this qualification.
Also this term, we had a very successful joint trip with Design & Technology to Copenhagen, to take in the famous art and design of this capital city.
There will be more to look forward to next term with our KS4/5 Coursework Show - see below for details.
Mrs Wallace, Head of Art & Design
In KS3 Latin, we have spent this term learning about Caecilius, his family and their life in and ex horto. Year 7 Latin students immersed themselves in the materials on their Chromebooks and have ‘attended’ a Roman dinner party. Year 8 Latin students have got to know Caecilius and his household further this term, and are now enjoying learning about the ancient Roman theatre. Year 9 Latin students have been learning about the final days of Pompeii, and will soon experience a change of scene as our story moves to Roman Britain. We have been impressed by all our students’ engagement this term.
Year 7 Ancient Civilisations students have enjoyed the War with Troy story and continued the blended learning approach using Chromebooks. They have made some lovely character diary entries, illustrations of new shields for Achilles and cartoon strips of the action. Year 8 Ancient Civilisations students have learnt about where civilisation began and have really enjoyed a focused study of Ancient Egypt. They have engaged in some wonderful discussion, demonstrating that they have really understood why civilisation began in the Fertile Crescent and how the Egyptian civilisation was able to flourish. In Year 9 Ancient Civilisations, we are continuing our study on the Romans, looking at everyday life in the Republic, including topics such as gladiators, slavery, the baths and chariot racing.
We took a group of Year 9 students from the Latin and Ancient Civilisations classes to Verulamium (St Albans) in October. They had a lovely day exploring the museum with a hands-on artefacts session, and touring the Roman remains in Verulamium Park.
In KS4, Year 10 Latin students have continued to make great progress in their GCSE course in Latin literature, and produced good results in their Stage 20 assessments. Year 10 Ancient History students have made a great start to their GCSE course: they have shown enthusiasm for the topics and have developed discussions about the themes of Ancient Greece and Persia. Year 11 Latin students have all opted to study the Boudica literature module, and will soon finish the prescribed language element of the course. Year 11 Ancient History students have studied the Kings of Rome this term and are about to start looking at the origins of the Roman Republic. Year 11 students have all coped well with the mock exams - we wish them all the best for their results!
In Year 12, our Latin and Ancient Civilisations students have established effective working relationships and are engaging wholeheartedly with all the activities, including the wider department life through the annual Senior Classics Play. Well done to the Year 13 Latin and Ancient Civilisations students for their ongoing hard work. We continue to be impressed by their professional attitudes to learning and mature approaches.
Classical extracurricular activities have been going strong again this year, with Beginners’, Intermediate and Advanced Ancient Greek. The Advanced student is studying for their GCSE in Classical Greek, reading Homer’s Odyssey Book 7. The Intermediate students are making excellent progress: they are completing vocabulary tests and have sat a formal assessment this term. In Beginners’ Greek we have mastered the alphabet, and are having a lot of fun with the language. Mrs Rowe has continued to offer Latin GCSE at Hitchin Boys’ School, with all carrying on into Year 11, and Ms Romain has launched a group for the new Year 10s - both groups are proving popular and well attended.
The HGS Senior Classics Society are working hard on their production of this year's play, Pandora, which has been written by three of our Year 13 students, Becca, Elizabeth and Sophie; we have been really impressed with what they have created and look forward to the production in March 2024.
Following on from the successful return of the annual Classics Trip with our tour of Greece in March 2023, we are looking forward to Italy 2024. Also, new for 2024, Year 8 are excited by their upcoming Romans in Britain residential: we will be touring Chedworth Villa, Caerleon Amphitheatre and the Roman Baths.
We welcomed two Classics trainee teachers from Cambridge University into the department this term: Mr Durcan and Mr Spain. The students appreciated their enthusiasm and interesting activities. We look forward to meeting our new trainee teacher, Mr Norris, who will be joining us in the New Year.
We wish you all “io Saturnalia!”
This term, Years 7 and 8 students took part in the Bebras international computing challenge. Very well done to Anna P in Year 8 who came 1st in the whole school, and special mention also to these students who were in the top 10%:
Lauren R, Mya P-B, Heather M-H, Florence W, Libby T, Zurie L, Emma S, Ilona A, Hanna P, Elsie B, Phoebe H, Elizabeth Y, Lily J, Clemie P, Agnes F, Rose M, Daya N, Audrey C, Helena W, Olivia B.
Mrs Symeou, Head of Computing
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This term we have introduced the iDEA (Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award) programme to Years 9 – 11, with an amazing uptake from complete newbies to others who wanted to develop their skills further. Recently the group has seen success with the first Bronze awards being achieved as well as a Silver award, and the race is on to become badge masters at the Bronze level! The energy and enthusiasm within the club is amazing, and the new skills and knowledge being acquired are sure to serve students well in the future. Our Friday lunchtime sessions in W98 are quite the hit and our numbers continue to increase as we welcome new members. It's wonderful to see the creativity and passion for learning displayed by our digital enthusiasts. Going forward there will be more skills to learn, more puzzles to solve and many more awards to celebrate!
Emily L, Year 12
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We kicked things off in Code Club this year with Micro:bits! The first few sessions were spent teaching students the basics and doing some simple programs before moving on to independent projects. Over the course of three weeks, each student created their own individual program, and was given the option to present it in the final session before half-term. Some went the extra mile, preparing PowerPoints and the stories behind their code.
To begin the second half-term, we spent a short time looking at algorithms on Flowol, doing both individual and set work. After this we moved on to binary and, most recently, hexadecimal. We started each session by teaching the students how to do the work before progressing to the activities, including sheets, Kahoots and many games.
Code Club was such an enjoyable part of our Year 7 experience, it’s so nice to continue the tradition! Moreover, since this term the club has been expanding, with attendees inviting their friends along!
Ellie, Rose and Grace, Year 12
Graphics
Spotlight on Year 9 in Graphics - here are just some examples of the fantastic logo design work done this term.
Textiles
Year 10s have been working hard on their festival t-shirt project, developing their design skills, sampling, and trying out new techniques to create fantastic upcycled white t-shirts.
Year 9 have been creating upcycled products as well, and thinking about a more sustainable future for fashion.
 
 
Meanwhile Year 8 produced a superb range of individual and diverse drawstring storage bags inspired by other cultures.
 
 
And in their first term of Textiles, Year 7 came up with some brilliant responses to the brief ‘Design a product to sell in a gift shop to promote and raise funds for a wildlife charity of your choice’. They selected a wide range of charities, including bat conservation, the RSPCA, marine conservation, butterfly conservation and The Woodland Trust.
 
 
 
Product Design
Spotlight on Year 10, who have had an excellent start to their GCSE course. They were tasked with solving a storage problem and had to build up their skills to sketch, model and manufacture. There have been some wonderful outcomes. Well done Year 10!
Our Key Stage 3 students have impressed us with their hard work and creativity this term! Year 7 have had a great start to their time at HGS. They have written autobiographical pieces, descriptions and stories, and have recently been busily composing their own excellent poetry after analysing the way a range of poets create imagery with words.
Year 8 students started the term with their work on ballads and narrative verse, and have recently finished their study of Shakespeare’s magical A Midsummer Night’s Dream. They have produced emotive, engaging monologues to explore character, and we have even had some great performances of scenes from the play!
Year 9 have visited the wonderful world of Shakespeare too this term through their study of Much Ado About Nothing, and have also had some spooky adventures along their learning journey with their work on the Gothic.
Our Key Stage 4 students are well underway with their GCSE studies in English and Media. Well done to Year 11 who worked hard for their mock exams this term, and to the Media students who have now submitted their creative NEAs after putting much time and effort into their projects. We are looking forward to welcoming them all back in the new year, when Year 10 will be starting their Shakespeare play and Year 11 will be exploring viewpoints and perspectives in non-fiction.
Finally, well done to our English and Media A Level students. Again, Year 13 Media have submitted their NEAs (a huge 16-week project!). We wish all our Year 13s all the best for their mocks in January!
We have been delighted to see a huge turnout for our Key Stage 3 Media Club this year, and Mrs Bunker has been very impressed with the excellent work students have been creating. Meanwhile our budding writers have been joining Ms Mani on Wednesdays for the Creative Writing Club.
We were also delighted with the fantastic responses to our whole-school National Poetry Day competition on the theme of Refuge: it was a tough job to decide upon a winner! Huge congratulations go to Sehrish in Year 11 for her winning poem, and to our two runners-up, Rosie (7C) & Allegra (7J).
Mrs Batchelor, Head of English & Media
In Geography, the Autumn term has been a whirlwind of activity across all year groups. Our Year 13 students completed their Non-Examined Assessments (NEAs), through which they showcased their understanding and application of Geographical knowledge to an independently selected enquiry. These are as diverse in scope as ever, with titles covering issues such as urban microclimates, place-making, sustainable forest management and coastal management.
Year 12 will have opportunities over the coming months to build their experience of, and independence in, undertaking Geographical investigations. Earlier in the term, they spent an afternoon in Hitchin investigating livability. In the Spring and Summer terms, they will have a day visit to King's Cross and a residential in Norfolk and Southwold. This will build on the fieldwork experiences they have acquired since Key Stage 3.
Following their successful residential in Sheringham, Year 11 have consolidated their understanding of fieldwork through the mock exam, which took place earlier this half-term. This was an opportunity to reflect on the appropriateness of data presentation techniques and the extent to which the data collected affected the validity of conclusions.
Opportunities for Geographical enquiries are being developed and re-introduced at Key Stage 3, starting with a microclimate investigation in Year 8. This is a chance to become familiar with the Geographical enquiry cycle as well as the use of GIS for remote sensing and data analysis.
Well done to all our students for their hard work this term!
Mr Sutton, Head of Geography
A highlight in History this term was Black History Month; the theme this year was 'Saluting Our Sisters', focusing on the contributions made to society by black women. Throughout October students in all years researched and presented the achievements of a wide range of black women and created displays showing their findings, giving them an awareness they may not have previously had. Thank you to 8B for sending me this picture:
English Civil War workshops
In November all students in Year 8 had the opportunity to better understand life in England during the Civil War, when volunteers from Huntington Museum came into school with items from their collection, such as a 15' pike and a musket! Students were able to watch a demonstration of how to fire a musket and appreciate the type of fighting that took place in the 17th century. Seeing the battle attire and artefacts from the museum really helped improve their understanding of this turbulent period of British history.
Mr Hanse, Head of History
The Learning Support team have had another busy but successful term supporting students both in the classroom and through interventions. Take a Break remains a popular Key Stage 3 club, offering students the chance to get to know the team, meet peers and have fun. Homework Club continues to be a supportive place for students to receive guidance with their work.
We are excited to have purchased Read and Write technology, which is helping those with literacy challenges to access their learning with a greater level of independence. We have been trialling this and will be rolling it out with a greater number of students after Christmas - a huge thank you to Mrs Noble, who has been spending a lot of time working out how the system works.
As a team we have been delighted to have Mrs Virdee join us as administrative support, and this will help streamline the processing of paperwork moving forwards.
It has been lovely to see so many students thriving in the classroom this term, and we have also been pleased that students are using the Pastoral and Learning Hub effectively to regulate as they need to. We have been developing the range of resources available in the Hub based on student feedback, so will ensure it's a space they can use effectively.
Mrs Cole - SENCO
HGS Library 'Wrapped'!
As the term draws to an end, it’s time to find out what the students of Hitchin Girls' School have been reading this year. Inspired by Spotify, we’ve been crunching the numbers and are excited to bring you the results of our first ever Library 'Wrapped'! Let’s take a look at how the figures stack up:
- The Library issued well over 6000 books this year.
- The most borrowed books in 2023 were the Heartstopper series by Alice Oseman, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson and One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus.
- It’s no surprise then that the most popular search term on Access It, the online library catalogue, was ‘heartstopper’, followed by ‘romance’, ‘horror’ and ‘funny’.
- The year that borrowed the most books was 7, with 7T borrowing the most books, closely followed by 7B.
That’s it for this year - thanks for visiting the Library and we hope to see you all again in 2024 for more great reading.
Merry Christmas from Mrs Goose and Mrs Woods
This term has seen Year 7 settling into their new language learning with all students studying French, and many have already had a taster of Spanish for half a term as well. Those students have been presenting themselves in Spanish to the rest of the class, and in French all students have completed their first speaking assessment.
Year 8 French students have recently been looking at French culinary dishes and have produced their own recipes for some ‘classics’ - in poster form and, particularly impressive, as a video as well!
Year 9 have been using their extended knowledge of the language to talk about their plans for the future, at the age of 16 and beyond.
Year 10 have embarked on their first term of a GCSE language course, and some have been doing additional research on the Paris 2024 Olympic games next summer.
Project Polyglot has also got off to a strong start this term. Thirty-one Year 10 French and Spanish students have been learning how to improve their presentation skills during their Wednesday lunch breaks, and have started to plan their MFL lessons that they will take into local primary schools next month. We look forward to seeing the lessons!
Year 11 have sat their mock GCSE exams in all four language skills, and now have a really clear idea of their areas of focus for the months ahead. Finally, good luck to our Year 13 linguists with their mocks immediately after the New Year.
Well done to everyone for their hard work this term in their MFL lessons - Joyeux Noel / Feliz Navidad!
Mr Dellar, Head of Modern Foreign Languages
It has been a busy term in the Music department, culminating in four performances of the Carol Service at both St Mary's Church and in school. The choirs and orchestra worked incredibly hard in rehearsals, and we thoroughly enjoyed our first carol services back in St Mary's Church. Other highlights of the term include performances in assemblies and carol singing in the town square. As always, we are very grateful to all of the students who attend extracurricular rehearsals and look forward to more music-making in the new year!
 
We love teaching you all, and coaching so many of you who come to our extracurricular clubs. Thank you to everyone who has attended clubs this term and worked really hard to learn new skills and tactics, which has resulted in great performances in matches, competitions and tournaments. Here’s a snippet of some of your successes.
Sports Leaders
Well done to our Level 2 and Level 3 Sports Leaders, who have taught sessions at Whitehill Junior School and Lordship Farm School respectively this term. The feedback has been very positive, especially when you had to lead and keep pupils happy in the wind and rain.
Trampolining
Eighteen students took part in the East Region Schools trampolining competition held at HBS in November.
All Novice level gymnasts produced very commendable performances against stiff opposition. Well done to Grace (Y11), Lyla, Megan and Isobel (Y9), Bella (Y7) and especially to Lilly (Y8), who finished a very creditable 8th in her flight.
 
HGS had two teams in the Years 7-9 flight and finished 1st and 2nd. Issy (Y7) was crowned Regional Champion. Congratulations to Rowan, Jess and Keya (Y8), and Sarah and Charlotte (Y7). In the Years 10-14 flight Charlotte and Lily (Y11) achieved top 20 finishes individually.
In the team event, students took the top 4 individual positions: 4th - Freya (Y10), 3rd - Chloe (Y11), 2nd - Eve (Y12), 1st and Regional Champion - Izzy (Y10)!
All medalists will compete in the Zonal round in January.
Netball
Year 9s have played 4 fixtures so far, winning 3 out of the 4. Well done everybody!
Year 10s have participated in 5 fixtures and 1 tournament against various schools. They won most games and came 1st in the tournament. Congratulations!
The Years 11/12 and Year 13 netball teams both played brilliantly throughout the Senior District Tournament. They both won all of their 7 round matches, scoring lots of goals, and conceding very few. The crunch match against each other was fantastic, with the Y11/12s winning by 2 goals to achieve Gold, and Y13 getting Silver overall out of 9 teams.
Cross country
At the District Cross Country Championships, every age group (Years 7, 8, 9, 10 and Seniors) won team Gold. What a fantastic achievement!
We also had individual medallists, which included Jess (1st - Y8), Neve (3rd - Y8), Sarena (2nd - Y9), Edythe (3rd - Y9), Juliet (2nd - Y10), Abi (1st - Y12), Fran (2nd - Y11) and Rose (3rd - Y11). Well done all!
Badminton
With so many students coming to Badminton Club on Mondays, it was great to put the practice into action in a fixture against St Chris. Well done to the Year 10 students who played very well!
Hockey
Well done to our Year 7 hockey players who have been committed to training this term, and played really well in their matches and the tournament. The A team (orange) were District Champions and the B team (navy) played brilliantly to come 3rd out of 5 teams.
Congratulations to the Year 8 B team (orange) who came 4th overall, with some cracking saves by new GK Molly, and the Year 8 A team (pink), who demonstrated great teamwork and scored some brilliant goals to become District Champions. Special mention to Sophie for the most goals scored in the tournament.
In Years 9/10 hockey, it's been great having students with a range of experience attending Hockey Club this year - some students starting for the first time, alongside those who have played a lot in and out of school. It was great to have two teams in the District tournament giving all of these students the chance to play at this level. They showed fantastic teamwork, resulting in Year 10 winning Gold (navy) and Year 9 (light blue) winning Silver! Well done all!
And finally well done to our Senior indoor hockey team, who showed great skill and teamwork as they played against tough opposition in the County tournament.
Football
A massive well done to the Years 7 and 8 footballers who have been training hard all season! Year 7s came 3rd in their District tournament - a special thanks to Izzy for being an amazing captain all term.
Year 9 footballers put in an incredible performance at their District tournament. They were unbeaten and kept a clean sheet throughout the whole competition, which landed them in 1st place against some very difficult opposition.
And congratulations also to our Year 10 footballers who came 1st place in their District tournament too! They were unbeaten throughout the whole contest.
As well as clubs and fixtures, we have had our weekly House League at lunchtime on Fridays, which is always a joy to umpire and referee! Well done to the Sports Prefects for getting your form teams organised and out in the wind, rain and sunshine this term!
It is with very heavy and appreciative hearts that we say goodbye to our wonderful Miss Murch at the end of this term. As so many of you will have experienced, Miss Murch is an enthusiastic, dedicated, and talented teacher and coach. She contributes so much to the department through her creative ideas, humour and hard work. She goes above and beyond to ensure HGS students get the best teaching and support in lessons, and opportunities to succeed in performances across a range of sports and activities. She is a great role model as she plays and competes in netball and athletics at a very high level herself, and she even brought out her gymnastic skills in the Gym and Dance Display last year! We want to thank her so much for all that she has done in her time at HGS, and wish her all the very best in her new adventure overseas.
We wish you all a very happy Christmas, and hope that you get a good mix of activity and relaxation!
Mrs Gales and the PE department
Biology
The Biology department has had yet another productive and busy term. Our focus, as always in the Autumn term, is to make solid progress in the curriculum, particularly with our exam cohorts.
Year 13 students have been offered weekly lunchtime drop-in sessions, allowing them an opportunity to ask for specific guidance if required.
There have been formal lesson observations and work scrutinies carried out, both of which were successful and have highlighted many strengths, triangulating well with both the observations last year and our results.
Open Evening was also a success, with around 100 potential Sixth Form students visiting the department and our Y12 helpers acting as great ambassadors.
There have been primary school Biology workshops too, including owl pellet and heart dissections. Indeed, more than 300 practical lessons have been delivered in the department this term and the technicians have worked tirelessly to support these - most recently our Year 13s cloning cauliflowers!
Behind the scenes, there have been major improvements to assessments with many re-written, especially to better accommodate the Key Stage 3 assessment criteria.
Finally, Biology hosted an ITT student, and it was no surprise that under Mrs Pearce’s fantastic mentorship, the feedback from the trainee and the provider was excellent.
Chemistry
Students have been busy attending a variety of Chemistry-related extracurricular clubs, including Chemistry Cafe (to support Sixth Form and Year 11 students), MEDROC (for Year 11 - 13s who are interested in applying to study Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science), and the popular Leaders in STEM Club (for Year 12s wishing to achieve the Industrial Cadets Bronze Award in partnership with GSK).
Physics
The Sixth Form Open Evening in November saw our telescope getting a rare outing; Jupiter and its moons were clearly visible which was an added bonus.
There have also been primary school workshops delivered by our Physics teachers, including a static electricity workshop at Mary Exton and Whitehill schools, and the 'Do Aliens Exist?' talk given to Year 5 students as part of Whitehill’s Space Day. Year 12 Physics students accompanied staff on these primary outreach days and were excellent ambassadors for the school.
It has been a very busy term in Social Sciences. We have welcomed Mrs Garthwaite into the team this year, who has brought a wealth of knowledge and experience with her.
We were thrilled to have Dr Guy Sutton back in our school to run Brain Days with our A Level Psychology students recently. Year 13 looked at the neuroscience behind a potential 'criminal' brain, and Year 12 carried out a brain dissection, learning about brain development, abnormalities and the structure and function of various brain areas. This is always a highlight of the school year for students and indeed for staff, who leave inspired and wanting to do a PhD!
The external exams begin in January in our department, with our first cohort of Year 12 Criminology students sitting a controlled assessment, and also Year 12 Health and Social Care students sitting their first unit exam. We wish them all the very best of luck.
Finally, we have grand plans for students to have a day of coaching from an A Level Sociology Chief Examiner in the Spring term, and also some careers visits over the next six months for students at both Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5 across the whole department. There is lots in the pipeline to look forward to - so watch this space!
Mrs Edwards, Head of Social Sciences
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