Headteacher's Message
The Summer Term always passes by so quickly and we are already almost at the end of this half of the term. This week has been full of wins for our Sports Teams and I encourage you to read more in our Sports Fixtures section further down but I have to share that our incredible Basketball Team smashed all their competition at the London Youth Games Junior NBA 3v3 Regional Finals and will be heading to the finals in Trafalgar Square in July! We are so proud and can’t wait to cheer them on the big stage.
We had a fascinating talk in school on Monday organised by Mr Drew, our Head of History. We welcomed the Holocaust Educational Trust to lead a workshop and give students the opportunity to ask their own questions of Holocaust survivors via pre-recorded interactive testimonies. Pupils also had the opportunity to use virtual reality technology, they were able to explore the recordings of historical sites associated with the Holocaust – all without leaving their classroom!
On Tuesday a small group of Year 8 pupils attended the Queen Elizabeth Prize Engineers Speed Mentoring Event at the Science Museum in South Kensington. Pupils met female engineers at the top of their profession who shared insights about the exciting career opportunities open to young women interested in this sector. It was a fantastic day and I am sure has inspired the attendees!
This week all of Year 8 have enjoyed visiting the Buddhapadia Thai Buddhist Temple in Wimbledon. This fascinating visit explored part of the Religious Studies curriculum, learning about the Buddhist faith and its core values. The temple is a spectacular place of worship surrounded by peaceful grounds and our pupils showed themselves to be sensible and mature with the questions they asked.
Our Year 9 Duke of Edinburgh hopefuls had their training days on Tuesday and Wednesday learning about camp cooking, pitching a tent and how to plan their route using OS maps! The groups really enjoyed their day off timetable learning something new.
Next week our Year 12s will be off timetable, with a variety of workshops and networking sessions for their enrichment and progression week. They will meet professionals from medical, veterinary, financial and media backgrounds, as well as learn about University applications and apprenticeship opportunities. A highlight of the week will be the session learning about the Extended Project Qualification. This optional qualification, equivalent to half an A level, is open to all students and is an independent project they can undertake on a topic of their choice. The week will end with an exciting trip to Thorpe Park, which I am sure they are all very much looking forward to!
