This has been a very exciting term for the Classics department with preparations for our trip to Italy reaching the final stages, as well as two wonderful shows of our student-led Senior Classics Play.

At Easter some Classics students from Years 10-13 will be embarking on a two-centre tour of Italy to take in a range of ancient sites, including the Colosseum, Roman Forum,Trevi Fountain and St Peter’s in Rome, and Pompeii, Herculaneum and Mount Vesuvius in the Bay of Naples. Staff and students are all very excited – these photos from Italy 2024 give a flavour of what students can expect.

  

Having stunned audiences last year with Cleopatra, the Senior Classics Society returned on 12 and 13 March with this year’s play. Written, directed, produced and performed entirely by our consortium students, Orpheus and Eurydice was a truly amazing blend of musical theatre, comedy and classical drama. Our Senior Classicists went one step further this year by writing their own soundtrack to the show and having a small band accompany the performance. An incredibly impressive achievement all round, with a special mention to writers and directors Lauren and Esme.

The two nights of performances were a huge success, with audiences stunned by the high quality of the production and all the hard work that went into it. It also raised £1,280.66 for the Breast Cancer Now charity. Thank you to the very supportive audiences and their generous donations.

Mrs Rowe, Head of Classics

Product Design: A Look Back at Last Year's Year 11 Outcomes

We are now able to showcase some of the incredible practical outcomes produced by last year's Year 11 Product Design students.

Food & Nutrition / Textiles

Well done to our Years 11, 12 and 13 Food students who have worked hard to complete their NEAs and practical exams with an array of amazing dishes being produced. We look forward to sharing those photos with you at a later time, along with the fantastic outcomes that have been achieved by the Years 11 and 13 Textiles students. 

Here is a small selection of the work produced in Textiles during the Spring term. Well done to all the students!

Another busy term in Drama with the completion of the GCSE Devising exam and lots of preparation for the A Level Acting exam in the final week.

At the start of March both A Level and GCSE students went to the beautiful Wilton Music Hall (pictured) in East London to see John Godber's Do I Love You?, a play about the redemptive powers of Northern Soul music.

Mr Balfe, Head of Drama 

Here are some of the highlights from our busy Spring term in the English and Media department. We wish everyone a happy holiday and look forward to seeing all our students again in the Summer term.

A performance of A Christmas Carol by Box Clever Theatre for Year 11s

Upon our return to school in January, we had the opportunity to refresh our learning of one of our English Literature set texts, A Christmas Carol, through a three-person live production by Box Clever Theatre. Their exciting modern take on the Victorian tale made the story come to life, and helped us develop a deeper understanding of Dickens’ novella — especially as key quotes were retained to aid our revision.

"Using a thrilling mixture of music, lighting and stagecraft, Box Clever formed an immersive experience for everyone, allowing us to explore key themes and quotes in a contemporary way. By being able to interact and actively engage with the performance (one of our classmates shone as Tiny Tim!), we were able to truly understand and conceptualise Scrooge’s emotional journey, which will prove useful in the run-up to our exams."

Year 12 Media Trip to Sky Studios Elstree

“The Year 12 Media Studies class had an exciting visit to Sky Studios in Borehamwood to gain an insight into the amazing opportunities available in media production there!

We spent the afternoon taking part in a range of activities, including a private tour of the site, discovering different job roles within media production, developing our own short movie ideas, and bringing these to life in the Virtual Production Studio.

We took on roles including director, producer, actor, camera operator, stylist, editor and more, gaining hands-on experience of what it’s like to work in the production industry and exploring potential future career pathways.”

Poppy Carroll, Year 12

A Level English Literature Club

A new addition to our extracurricular calendar this term is A-Level English Literature Club. We have been working on the exploration of poetry, from Carol Ann Duffy's feminist poetry to 17^th-century Cavalier verse expressing themes of love.

Year 9 Spotlight: Bringing the Rainforest to Life

Our Year 9 students have recently swapped their traditional notebooks for cardboard boxes and craft supplies as they embarked on our Biome in a Box project. This hands-on challenge invited students to work in small teams to build creative, three-dimensional models of a tropical rainforest ecosystem.

The project was a way for students to revise and apply their understanding of several key Geographical learning objectives. Throughout the two-lesson workshop, they had to demonstrate their knowledge of:

• Ecosystem Structure: Identifying and naming the four distinct layers of rainforest vegetation.
• Climate and Location: Explaining how the specific location of a rainforest biome directly influences its climate.
• Adaptations: Researching at least three plant and three animal species to show how they have physically adapted to thrive in rainforest conditions.
• Complex Connections: Explaining the characteristics of rainforest soils, the interdependence between living and non-living parts of the biome, and why these regions boast such high biodiversity.

We are incredibly proud of the teamwork and perseverance shown by Year 9 during this project. Below are the winning designs, as voted for by their peers and teachers – enjoy!

Mr Sutton, Head of Geography

Hannah P, Daya N and Izzy W 

Madeleine B and Ariana L

Daisy M and Emilia H

Sargun B, Allegra B, Emily B

In Year 7 Learning for Life lessons this term, students have been learning about the physical and emotional changes that occur during puberty and have been talking about menstrual wellbeing. They also discussed the various sanitary options available and have been shown or given samples of sanitary products.

Year 8 have been learning about the risks associated with illegal drugs, smoking, vaping and energy drinks. We are lucky to have some excellent speakers from the charity Phase working with our Year 8s for a session on building resilience.

Year 9 have been discussing what makes a healthy relationship and have explored topics around consent. They have also been learning about the importance of sexual health and different sexually transmitted diseases.

In Year 10. the charity Herts Young Homeless are running sessions on factors that may lead to homelessness, and the importance of resolving conflicts. Year 11 have had sessions on cancer awareness, pregnancy health and birth, as well as finding out how to put together their CVs in careers and finance sessions.

As always, we would like to say a big thank you to Phase and Herts Young Homeless for supporting the delivery of our Learning for Life curriculum.

Mrs Pearce, Head of Learning for Life

Year 7 Team Maths Challenge

At the start of March, three teams of Year 7 mathematicians participated in the annual HFL Team Maths Challenge, which invites schools around Hertfordshire to participate in a friendly but rigorous mathematical competition. The pupils had to demonstrate excellent communication and problem-solving skills across four rounds: two general maths rounds, an estimation round, and a memory round. 

The heats were very competitive with around 100 teams taking part. Our top team placed 27th, narrowly missing out on progression to the final on this occasion. We are proud of the way they worked alongside one another, showing great resilience across all the challenges. We look forward to seeing our young people take part in further challenges in the future. 

If any parents would like to try their hand at the kind of problem our Year 7s were posed - see the image below. This shows a mobile, in which the two sides must be balanced. Can you work out the missing masses? 

UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge Success

Back in January, 80 students from Years 9 - 11 took part in the UKMT Intermediate Maths Challenge (IMC), a national competition designed to promote mathematical reasoning, precision and problem-solving.

Our students achieved a fantastic set of results this year, earning 25 Bronze, 19 Silver and seven Gold certificates. From these strong performances, five students qualified for the next round, which is a significant achievement in such a challenging national contest.

A special mention goes to Anika R. (Year 11) and Maya E. (Year 9), who both achieved Best in Year awards for their outstanding performances.

Congratulations also to Anna P. (Year 10), who achieved an exceptional score of 105 out of 135, one of the highest in the competition. This outstanding result has qualified her for the Hamilton Mathematical Olympiad, the next stage for the highest-scoring students nationally.

We would also like to recognise Carly F. (Year 9) and Elsie B. (Year 10), who achieved excellent results in the IMC and have progressed to the Kangaroo round, another impressive accomplishment in this highly competitive national challenge.

Well done to all students who took part. Their enthusiasm, resilience and problem-solving skills made this a fantastic achievement for the school.

 

Bletchley Park Visit

Some of our Year 9 mathematicians spent a day at Bletchley Park, the country house near Milton Keynes that was the centre of Allied codebreaking operations during the Second World War. They found out about the brilliant minds and complex machines that made this vital work possible, and discovered the global impact that Bletchley Park had on the outcome of the War.

Our students took part in a codes and ciphers workshop, had a guided tour to learn about the history and importance of the site, and had time to explore the museum for themselves.

Some of the day's highlights included touching an Enigma machine, seeing Alan Turing's office and hearing their own voices generated by AI.

“Bletchley Park was incredible! It was really inspiring to see what you can achieve through maths and computing. I felt like a small child around all the codes and ciphers, full of energy. Learning about ciphers and different types of codes, and how to break them, was really interesting! It really was amazing.” - Year 9 student

We hope to run this trip again next year.

Mr Alison, Head of Maths

It has been another successful term in MFL, with students enjoying a range of activities and clubs to enrich their language learning.

Our Year 10s have been particularly busy with Project Polyglot, heading out to local primary schools to teach the language lessons they have prepared over many weeks in after-school sessions. Thirty of our students are involved in this, delivering either French or Spanish lessons through topics such as food, zoo animals and holidays and celebrations. The feedback from the primary school pupils has been very positive!

Many of our Project Polyglot participants will also be able to use the project as evidence towards their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. The MFL team are delighted with how collaboratively and supportively they have worked in their small groups and as a whole group. They have all developed their confidence and presentation skills, as well as enhancing their language skills. There are certainly some budding teachers in the making!  

Our Pen Pal scheme has also continued, with our students exchanging letters and shooting a video tour showing life at HGS in French!

We are also very proud to have launched a student-run Ukrainian Club, which aims to share and celebrate the Ukrainian language and culture with the rest of the school. For all those interested, this will run during A Week Wednesday lunchtimes in L68!

We wish all our Year 11 students the best of luck with their revision and their speaking exams, which will be held shortly after the break.

Mr Clifford, Head of Modern Foreign Languages

         

It has been a lively time in the Music department this term, with high quality music-making across all year groups. Year 7 have been learning how to read music and play from notation on the keyboard, and Year 8 have been learning how to sequence and compose Electronic Dance Music using Soundtrap software. Year 9 have most recently been playing I Want to Break Free by Queen, while Year 10 have been studying Musical Theatre and Year 11 have been working hard to complete their GCSE Music coursework.

We would still like to encourage more students to take up the opportunity to learn a brass instrument, which could be the trumpet, tenor horn, trombone or even tuba. To this end we will fund a short course of small group lessons for any students who are interested in these instruments; if you would like to take up this opportunity for your child please complete the form linked here: Brass lessons HGS 2026. 

For lessons in all other instruments at HGS please apply via Hertfordshire Music Service. 

Outside the curriculum, we hosted a Senior Recital in February as part of Performing Arts Week, which featured GCSE students from Years 10 and 11 as soloists and in groups, along with the HGS Cello Ensemble who played She’s Leaving Home by The Beatles.  

This was a fantastic event that demonstrated musicianship of a very high standard; thank you to all who performed and attended in the audience. 

This term we also introduced a new competition to the HGS calendar: House Singing! Every House was tasked with choosing and learning a short song, which they then performed to a panel of A Level adjudicators from The Priory School along with a lively audience. Songs included Waterloo by ABBA (Curie), Lush Life by Zara Larson (Pankhurst) and This is Me from the Greatest Showman (Jewel). Huge thanks to the student volunteers from each House who led the rehearsals and, in many cases, conducted and danced in front to get the best from their choirs. Congratulations to the winning House, Rosa, who performed Man I Need by Olivia Dean in three-part harmony.  

The term concluded with a vibrant Performing Arts evening, Live from the Hill, which saw the culmination of hard work from a wide variety of groups and individuals. A packed audience of parents and friends were treated to some of the standout performances from Performing Arts Week from the student buskers, along with a fantastic medley of show songs and dances from the Musical Theatre Club and Commercial Dance Club. We also heard from several duetists and soloists including Anya P in Year 11 who delivered a memorable performance of In My Dreams by Anastasia, and Molly C. and Keira H-M who sang For Good from Wicked. Thanks also to Ash W. in Year 13 who arranged and rehearsed an a cappella version of 715 Creeks by Bon Iver with the Senior Choir, which was moving and beautiful. The evening culminated in joint pieces with the orchestra and choirs, with a hearty performance of God Only Knows by the Junior Choir leaving everyone smiling.

Ms Stott, Head of Music

 

Here is our termly round-up of the PE department's activities this term, as well as individual student successes outside school. 

Thank you to all students who have attended PE clubs this term and worked really hard to learn new skills and tactics, which has resulted in great performances in matches, competitions and tournaments. 

See the PE department Spring Term round-up

Innovation, Exploration and Excellence

It has been an 'electrifying' term in the Science department! From cutting-edge genetic engineering to the foundational wonder of our Junior Science Fair, our students have been immersed in the diverse world of STEM. Here is a snapshot of the fantastic work happening across all year groups.

High-tech Biology & Global Partnerships

Our Year 13 Biology students recently stepped into the shoes of biotechnologists. Thanks to a generous equipment loan from the biopharmaceutical giant Amgen, students gained hands-on experience with professional-grade micropipettes.

They successfully performed complex genetic manipulation, using enzymes to 'cut' genes from bacterial plasmids and 'paste' them into new ones. They performed electrophoresis to visualise their results and experienced PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), which is used to amplify the DNA. This is truly university-level work being mastered right here in our labs!

Junior Scientists & Extracurricular Fun

Science isn’t just for the older students! Our Year 7 Biology Club has been equally active:

Art meets Science - using the Amgen micropipettes to create precision 'dye paintings' while learning about DNA paternity testing in orangutans.

Life skills - learning the delicate art of suturing (on oranges and bananas!) with the expert guidance of our Year 12 mentors.

Fieldwork - exploring local biodiversity through pond-dipping sessions.

Meanwhile, many weeks were spent building up to the Years 7 & 8 Science Fair taking place at the very end of term. With more than 140 students preparing to present their original research and inventions, the energy in the labs was palpable. We wish all our young innovators the very best of luck!

Aiming High: Career & University Pathways

We are committed to showing our students where Science can take them:

MEDROC (Year 12) - our aspiring medics took part in fascinating Q&A sessions with two experienced medical practitioners, gaining 'insider' knowledge on the journey to becoming a doctor.

GSK Leaders in STEM - fifteen Year 12 students are in the final stages of their research projects. They attended the GSK Symposium to present their findings alongside peers from three other schools - a prestigious opportunity to showcase their hard work.

Opwall Indonesia: - participants in our upcoming expedition are meeting weekly to prepare for the ecological trip of a lifetime.

Academic Support & Competitions

As we approach exam season, our staff are providing extensive support to ensure every student reaches their potential:

Revision & drop-ins - targeted sessions are running for Year 11 (Physics: Matter & Forces, and Chemistry) and Year 13 (Biology and Chemistry Club).

Intervention - dedicated support sessions for Year 12 students in Biology and Chemistry, to help them hit and exceed their target grades.

TedX Video Competition - we have officially launched our TedX-style competition for Years 9 & 10. We can’t wait to see our students' "ideas worth spreading" on camera!

Mr Horner, Head of Science  

In Social Sciences we have been working really hard on interventions this term. There was an after-school session for Year 10 Sociologists, and lunchtime sessions for Health and Social Care students in all year groups. Year 13 Sociology and Psychology students attended sessions both in groups and individually where needed. The staff timetables have been very full indeed, and I would like to thank my team sincerely for all their hard work in supporting students in every way possible to achieve their potential. It has been a case of all-hands-on-deck to ensure that time is used to maximise opportunities for the students in our department. 

Meanwhile our Criminologists have undertaken controlled assessment examinations, which contribute to a significant proportion of their final grade.

We would like to wish all our students and their families a Happy Easter and we hope that you have a good break, full of both much-needed rest and of course, purposeful revision.

Mrs Edwards, Head of Social Sciences