We have an online absence reporting form for all absences (whole day or part of the day). If you are unable to use the form you will need to email absence@hgs.herts.sch.ukwith the student's name and tutor group, reason for absence and expected return date (if known).
WEEKLY LUNCH MENU - Week 1
You can see our three-weekly menu here - we are on Week 1.
SCHOOL NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Good afternoon,
As the end of term draws ever closer, amazing experiences and milestone events just keep on coming. This week has been a great one for trips, with Year 10 going to Thorpe Park, Year 8 going to Chessington, a Year 10 trip to Cambridge University, the Science Fair winners going to Snozone and a Drama trip to the Globe Theatre.
Away from trips, we welcomed our new Year 7s into school for their Transition Day on Thursday, with their parents joining us in the evening. I must say the students were exceptional and clearly ready to embrace our values and make the very best of life at HGS. As you know, I often say how proud I am of our students and the Year 12s showed why, with their fantastic support throughout the day. They were informative, helpful and kind, and were every bit the role models I want for our new Year 7s. Well done to each and everyone of them - they were phenomenal!
On Wednesday night Miss Shaw led our first ever Sports Awards evening, and it was a brilliant success. Two sessions of a packed-out Main School Hall saw students receive their sports colours, values awards and special team awards. A big thank you to our special guest for the evening, Ellie Rattu, England and London Mavericks Netballer. Ellie presented awards and held a Q&A session with students, providing advice, guidance and inspiration to our athletes and dancers. I look forward to this new event in our calendar becoming an annual one - it was a real showcase of the talent, hard work and dedication of the students and the PE team here at HGS. Well done all.
Today, we welcomed next year's new staff into school in preparation for starting in September. We continue to enjoy great success in recruiting great staff to join us here at HGS, and I look forward to seeing them flourish in their roles in the coming year.
Next week, the trips continue with Year 9 going to Chessington, Year 7 to Whipsnade Zoo, and on Friday, Year 10 Historians departing for Berlin - I wish everyone a safe and successful trip. Also next week, we have the final musical event of the year as the Summer Concert takes place on Wednesday evening.
Have a great weekend.
James Crowther, Headteacher
Some students opted to go to Pots of Art in town instead of one of the day trips this week - here is some of their lovely pottery-painting!
Chromebook repairs ahead of the new year
We are asking all parents to check that their child's Chromebook is in full working order and ready for the new academic year. This is so that the IT support and Library department are not overwhelmed by Chromebook requests and repairs in September.
For Year 9 school scheme Chromebooks, the warranty will expire at the end of August. After this date students will no longer be able to have their Chromebooks repaired by the school, so please ensure you report any repairs in good time to be carried out before then.
Student printing in school
Since the recent upgrade of the Chrome browser extension for student printing in school, all Chromebooks need to be running Chrome OS v114 or later. This only applies to personal Chromebooks that were not purchased through the school scheme.
Wanted! Board games and card games for students to play at lunchtime. If you have any unwanted games you are happy to donate to the school, please bring them to main reception. Thank you!
You can now view the Gym & Dance display photo album - with almost 200 students taking part in a programme of 18 performances, this is just a sample of the incredible talent and hard work that were showcased in another triumphant instalment of our long-running annual tradition.
Back in May, Year 12 students took part in a schools' Analytical Chemistry competition delivered by Northumbria University, in which they evaluated soil samples from a disused industrial estate to consider their safety.
The results of the competition are now in and we would like to congratulate these students for their excellent work on the project!
Winners: Zahrah Z, Emma V, Varsha S
2nd place: Rita A, Shaanya U
3rd place: Beatrice L, Amelie S, Rebecca J
Our students received some very positive feedback from the judges: "The quality of the titrations was excellent this year, and you’ve done yourselves proud working through the complex calculations. You had good eyes on the flame tests, particularly as some of the metals give rather similar colours, and gave great answers on instrumental methods of analysis."
And huge congratulations to Emmelya and Grace, also in Year 12, for being awarded Silver and Copper respectively in the prestigious Cambridge Chemistry Challenge - one of the top awards that a student of A level Chemistry can achieve. Grace and Emmelya completed a paper of undergraduate level and placed in the top 20% of students who took part in the challenge.
Our Years 10 and 12 Fashion and Textiles students attended New Designers 2025 in London last Thursday - an annual exhibition that showcases the best emerging graduate design talent from across the UK. The event featured outstanding work in fashion, costume and textiles, offering students the unique opportunity to see the latest trends in design. It was a very inspiring experience for all!
The day began with a hands-on workshop hosted by London Metropolitan University, where students explored the role of colour in textile design. As part of the session, they created their own colour books to take back to the classroom and had the chance to hear directly from Textile Design graduates. Students then got to see the work of graduates up-close and speak to universities, which gave them a valuable insight into potential career paths in the design industry.
Also at the end of last week, some of our Years 9 and 10 tennis players went to Wimbledon for the day, where they got to see Sonay Kartal and Cam Norries play in 3rd round matches, before bumping into Gary Lineker and being interviewed by the BBC!
Some of our students have entered the Royal Society of Biology's BioArtAttack competition, which celebrates the combination of art and science, and is inviting 7-18-year-olds to draw or paint their favourite animal or plant. Here are some of the entries - enjoy! Good luck to them all in the competition!
There may be a heatwave outside, but five of our Year 7s hit the piste this week for a day of skiing and sledging at Snozone, which was the prize they won for their Science Fair projects earlier this year. Well done again to Silvia, Emily, Emma H., Emma P. and Eleanor. They were joined by pupils from Mary Exton school, who won in the primary school category. It looks like everyone really enjoyed their prize!
We were excited to welcome back Julian Sedgwick, the Carnegie-shortlisted author of Tsunami Girl and 100 Tales From The Tokyo Ghost Cafe, to talk to Year 8 students last Friday. Julian spoke about how he researched his books, visiting Japan and even venturing into the Fukushima Exclusion Zone. He shared the experiences of some of the people he met there who had survived the 2011 tsunami, and explored the elements of Japanese culture and myth that run through his work.
After answering questions and signing books, Julian met with members of the Library Reading Group and ran two workshops for our Year 8s who have been studying Tsunami Girl. They worked in groups to create the opening scene of a ghost story, thinking up some fantastic spooky settings and lots of really imaginative plot ideas. Just like last year, this was a really informative and engaging author visit, and we hope that our Year 8s felt inspired by the experience.
NOTICEBOARD - LOCAL
NOTICEBOARD - SEND / WELLBEING
What is offered by
Services for Young People?
Hertfordshire Services for Young People deliver a range of youth work projects for young people aged 11-17 (up to 25 for care leavers and those with SEND), in young people’s centres and other community venues in all districts of Herts.
They are committed to giving young people high-quality opportunities to learn life skills and excel in their personal and social development. They also aim to address issues at the earliest opportunity to give young people the best chance to thrive, have a voice in their community, reach their potential and make a successful transition to adulthood.
A partnership of local agencies, DSPL publishes a weekly round-up of courses, workshops and events related to young people's wellbeing and additional needs in the North Herts area.
