Dear Parents Guardians and Friends,
The theme of this week’s blog is all about inspiration. In just one week it is great to see how many of our students have had the opportunity to listen to inspirational people both inside and outside of school.
On Thursday, Year 8 had the privilege of hearing the real-life stories of three entrepreneurs who visited the school to share their wisdom and experience, led by our Enterprise Adviser, Elizabeth Gorse. What often stands out in these talks is how decisions do not always go to plan and ideas can sometimes backfire, yet resilience, creativity and hard work can open up second chances and ultimately lead to success.
Miss Johnson told us:
Year 8 Inspired by Real Career Stories at Life Stories Panel Event
On Thursday, our Year 8 students took part in an inspiring Careers Life Stories Panel, hosted by Elizabeth Coarse, designed to challenge perceptions of careers and open minds to future possibilities.
We were delighted to welcome an outstanding panel of speakers who generously shared their personal career journeys:
- Charlotte Anderson – ex-Holt student and Founder of Growth NB
- Megan Fletcher – Ex-Olympian and Director of Ashridge Garden Centre
- Tribeni Chougule – Founder of Kinspace
Each speaker spoke honestly about their pathways, the challenges they faced, and the lessons they learned along the way. Students explored themes such as the importance of mentoring, setting and achieving life goals, and the range of routes into careers, including apprenticeships.
The session encouraged curiosity and confidence, with students asking thoughtful and insightful questions. One question that stood out was:
“How do you programme your mindset to achieve career success?”
This sparked powerful discussion around resilience, self-belief, and learning from setbacks.
By hearing real stories from people with diverse experiences and career paths, students were able to see that success does not follow one fixed route and that passions, hard work, and the right support can open unexpected doors.
The event was a powerful reminder of the impact that employer engagement and role models can have on young people, particularly at an early stage in their career journey. We are incredibly grateful to our speakers and to Elizabeth Coarse for hosting such an engaging and motivating session.
Thank you to Miss Johnson for organising the session, it was great to hear such positive feedback from the students.
Year 7 also had the opportunity to listen to some external speakers; this time it was on the theme of road safety.
Mrs Hornblow told us:
Last week, our Year 7 students took part in Streetwise, an engaging theatre production focused on road safety and personal awareness when using roads. The performance explored the real-life risks of distraction, such as mobile phone use, lack of concentration, and peer influence, helping students to understand how everyday choices can impact their safety.
Following the production, students participated in an interactive workshop where they discussed key messages, shared ideas, and reflected on safer behaviours when walking near or crossing roads. The session encouraged thoughtful conversation and allowed students to apply what they had learned to real-life situations. The session will be followed up in tutor time with a reflection activity, where students will have the opportunity to reflect on their own behaviours when walking to and from school and discuss the risks they encounter.
For Year 10, 58 students visited the Beacon Theatre in Bristol for GCSE Science Live. Mrs Rooms told us:
Students had a fantastic opportunity to see and hear talks from five of Britain’s top scientists, all working at the cutting edge of their specialisms. These included Dr. Jessica Wade, a physicist from Imperial College London, who introduced students to the exciting world of quantum technologies; Prof. Sophie Scott, a neuroscientist from UCL, who explained to students what she had uncovered about the neurobiology of laughter; the hugely distinguished Prof. Lord Robert Winston, who captured the students attention with both his dry wit and wealth of knowledge on human fertility; Prof. Andrea Sella, an inorganic chemist from UCL, who used chemicals on stage to inspire students about patterns in nature; and lastly, Prof. Jim Al-Khalili, a physicist at the University of Surrey and winner of the Faraday prize for science communication, who fascinated students with the possibilities of time travel to the future and the past.
The students had a fantastic day overall – “I really enjoyed having the opportunity to engage in topics which wouldn’t be a part of our school curriculum”, “I enjoyed the fun analogies to describe difficult topics we may not have come across before”, and they came back inspired by some amazing real world applications of science.
Thank you to Mrs Rooms and the science department for organising and supporting the trip.
And finally, on Friday 6th February, we were delighted to host a wonderful ‘Pink’ Bake Sale organised by our newly appointed Student Leadership Team and Mrs Hornblow. The event was a fantastic success, filled with creativity, community spirit, and of course plenty of delicious, pink-themed treats!
Thanks to the incredible support from students and staff, we are proud to share that we raised an amazing £1400 through the bake sale and our accompanying non-school uniform day. All proceeds will go to Sakoon Through Cancer, a charity that visits our school each year to deliver important sessions to Year 11 students on breast cancer awareness and the importance of self-checking. These talks play a vital role in educating young people about health, prevention, and early detection.
This is only a small snippet of the speakers that visit us throughout the year, and we strongly encourage your daughter to take up any opportunities that she hears about. They never know which event will open up a new idea for their futures or just develop their understanding of the world that we live in.
Emma Salamut-Ward
Head of Sixth Form
Assistant Headteacher