Dear Parents and Guardians
Last Friday Year 13 celebrated their last day in fancy dress. The students thanked their teachers, enjoyed plenty of cake and then at lunchtime they had to choose between blue Sherbert, crushed Oreos or Kit Kat topping on their ice cream! The final assembly was made up of awards …who is most likely to win the lottery and then lose the ticket, who is likely to be Prime Minister, who is likely to be a teacher at The Holt and who is likely to be a millionaire? The students thanked their tutors and of course the sixth form team, Mrs Salamut-Ward, Mrs Thomas, Mrs Calliss and Miss Johnson. Mrs Salamut-Ward said ‘Well done to all our Year 13 students, they have worked so hard over the last two years. It was a lovely final day with a great selection of fancy dress – a lovely send off! We are so proud of them all and wish them every success whatever their post 18 destination maybe. Good luck in all your exams!’
We wish Year 13 all the best for their exams that have now started and go on until June 20th.
Year 12 spent last week on work experience placements. Miss Johnson organised 140 placements!
Isabelle and Molly completed a placement at The Royal Archives’. Both girls really enjoyed their placement they also had the opportunity to research a family history from starting off with just one photograph.
The companies that supported the work experience placements included Sonardyne International, Ridge, Pilon, Local primary schools, Reading University School of Biological sciences, NHS, Animal Rangers, Wilson Solicitors, Stable Croft. A huge thanks to all the firms who set up work placement opportunities.
Miss Johnson received some positive feedback from Balfour Beatty
I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for providing us with Charlotte for her recent work experience placement. Charlotte was an absolute credit to your school — punctual, enthusiastic, and eager to learn. She approached every task with a positive attitude, asked thoughtful questions, and showed real initiative throughout their time with us.
It’s always encouraging to see such professionalism and maturity in a student, and we hope the experience was as valuable for her as it was for us.
Thank you again for the opportunity — we’d be happy to support future placements from your school next year.
18 students visited the University of Reading’s School of Biological Sciences, where they took part in hands-on session exploring the world of genetics and immunology. They learned about how genes are isolated and gained insight into the scientific processes behind vaccine development. Thanks very much to the staff at the University of Reading.
Six students visited Sonardyne International Ltd in Yateley, Hampshire, for an immersive experience in cutting-edge marine technology. Sonardyne, a global leader in subsea acoustics and navigation systems, provided students with insights into underwater robotics, oceanographic sensing, and the development of autonomous marine vehicles. The visit included hands-on demonstrations of sonar positioning systems and discussions with engineers about real-world applications in offshore energy, maritime defense, and ocean science.
Afifa, one of the students attending wrote
One thing I’m proud of is applying my A-level Physics knowledge to understand the complex technologies and conversations around me. Concepts like the Doppler effect, wave propagation, and signal processing helped me grasp how the systems and products work. It was rewarding to see how my classroom learning directly connected to real-world applications.
Thanks very much to Miss Johnson for organising and visiting the students in their placements, her first work experience cohort!! In addition, a huge thanks to all the firms who set up work placement opportunities. We appreciate the time and planning that goes on in taking a WEX student…thank you!
The piano concert took place on Tuesday…postponed from the Autumn Term when the boilers broke! The concert was put together to showcase all the hard work the students have put in through lessons and personal practice. We are grateful for all the support from piano teachers inside and out of school for supporting students’ preparation for this concert. The skill and expression of all 23 students who performed was impressive and Olivia Kennedy played the final piece. Olivia is in Year 13 and this was her last concert having played since Year 7. Her mum and dad have been attending concerts for around 10 years, as Olivia had an older sister, Rosie, who played the cello and piano in concerts. A huge thank you to the Kennedy family (no relation) for their contributions and support of The Holt, and particularly the music department. Good luck to Olivia!
On Monday we had a musician in the British Army come and speak to students about careers in music in the Army. Students learnt about the range of different orchestras, wind bands and jazz groups that they could be a part of and the range of venues and countries the army performs in. It was a really interesting talk and we hope to have more of the musicians back to perform in the future. Thanks to Mr Gray for organising!
This is the first week of GCSE and A levels and our students are taking them in their stride – we can sense the relief that another exam is over in the excited chatter following an exam …just four weeks to go after this week! Year 10 had their POR GCSE exam this week and next – good luck to them too!
Years 7,8 and 9 are not being set homework this week and next week so they can revise for their end of year assessments that are after half term…beginning on Tuesday 3 June. Student have their assessment fortnight timetables and revision lists have been posted on the website. Follow the link below for the assessment fortnight timetables and tips on how to support your daughter revising.
https://www.holtschool.co.uk/parent-information/letters-and-announcements/
Finally, Heads of Year and tutors are running uniform checks over the next two weeks as part of our uniform refresh! While many students are wearing their uniform smartly and with pride, we’ve noticed a few standards starting to slip — nothing major, but worth a gentle reset.
However, on Thursday 22nd May, students can wear their own clothes as we are holding a non-uniform day to raise money for The Moonwalk being held this Saturday, 17th May in London. Mrs Williams is walking a marathon to raise money for Walk the Walk uniting against cancer. Good luck! https://walkthewalk.org/challenges/the-moonwalk-london/
The weather is going to be good over the weekend – enjoy!
Regards
Anne Kennedy