Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends
Last Friday was the Spring Equinox, that time of the year when the day and the night are the same length, this signals the start of astronomical spring and from our point of view lighter mornings and evenings, daffodils and blossom and of course the countdown to the Easter Holidays.
Last week saw the culmination of months and months of rehearsal and preparation when over 80 students supported by a team of dedicated staff, presented the school show ‘Made in Dagenham’. It was performed on three nights and was a brilliant success. Miss Annesley says –
This is my first production as the new Head of Drama here at The Holt School and I cannot express how immensely proud I am of our fantastic students. The cast and crew have been working on this performance since September, and all their hard work has absolutely paid off. I had members of the audience come up to me to share how show was a highly professional standard, and they can’t quite believe how fantastic it was!
A huge shoutout to the production team: Mr Gray, Mrs Bennett, Mrs Pettet and Miss Harris. I have thoroughly enjoyed working alongside you all. What a dream team! We are all excited for the next production in the future!
Well done to everyone – it was amazing! There are plenty more pictures and comments on Instagram if you are interested.
The school show was certainly not the only event going on last week – as Mrs Baker writes –
This week has been Maths Enrichment week; The prefects led a fantastic assembly on optical illusions and maths paradoxes. Students have had the opportunity to take part in enrichment activities during lessons, and during lunchtime masterclasses. This year the masterclasses have included making flexagons, a year 7 treasure hunt, Finding out about the engineering behind Spotify, space and stars, and the maths for the lottery. Thank you to all the maths teachers who ran sessions, the students have really enjoyed them.
The Health and Social care students in Year 10 visited The Royal Berkshire hospital to gain an insight into careers in the NHS. Aaral, Aarusha l and Marta said :
During this trip we had the opportunity to visit a real working hospital and learn more about the different careers in healthcare. We explored how hospitals support patients, the separate roles staff have, and how teamwork is important in health and social care.
The first department we visited was Radiography. We learned about different types of scans, including X-rays, MRI scans, and CT scans, we also learned about the difference between a radiographer and radiologist .
Another activity we took part in was first aid training. During the session, we learned how to help someone who has a cut. We practiced putting on gloves to keep everything clean, wiping the cut to make sure it was safe, and applying a bandage on a dummy. This helped us understand the correct way to care for minor injuries safely and hygienically.
We also explored areas such as pharmacy, occupational therapy, radiology, CPR training, and wound care, which showed us the wide range of roles involved in supporting patient health and recovery. We also had the chance to see how hospitals use technology, practical skills, and teamwork to provide safe and effective care for patients. The visit also gave us the opportunity to learn more about career routes into healthcare, including apprenticeships and other training pathways.
Thank you to Miss Illingworth for organising the trip.
Last week also saw the first French Exchange that The Holt has run for many years. This time the French students came to stay in the homes of our own students.
Thank you to Madam Amye. We do not underestimate the organisation and hard work that means a trip like this can go ahead. She says;
At The Holt School, we are proud to celebrate the success of our recent Year 9 French Exchange with Saint Thomas School, which took place from 18th to 22nd March.
This programme offered students a rich and authentic experience of language, culture and daily life, both in school and at home.
The exchange began with an immersive day at Holt, where French students joined lessons across a range of subjects alongside their English partners. This gave them a genuine insight into British school life and created natural opportunities for communication and collaboration. Throughout the week, students took part in a variety of cultural experiences, including a visit to the Harry Potter Studios and a day exploring central London.
They also spent the weekend with host families, where they experienced everyday life, built friendships and developed their confidence in using language in real situations.
What stood out most was the overwhelmingly positive response from both students and families.
Students returned home full of enthusiasm, having formed strong bonds and lasting memories. Families expressed deep appreciation for the warmth of the welcome and the quality of the experience, with many describing it as truly special and already looking forward to the return visit.
These reactions reflect the true value of the exchange: not only improving language skills, but also building confidence, independence and cultural understanding. This exchange was the result of strong collaboration between both schools and the commitment of many individuals.
We would like to thank our host families, our staff and our students for their dedication and support in making this experience such a success.
We are now looking forward to the next stage of the exchange, when Holt students will visit France and continue building on these connections.
Experiences like this bring languages to life and leave a lasting impact on our students
Year 10 Food and Nutrition Students have also been busy; they completed a practice practical in preparation for the Year 11 NEA2 assessment. They demonstrated excellent understanding of the required techniques and followed procedures accurately and confidently. Their results were of a very high standard, showing careful attention to detail and strong analytical skills. Overall, this was a fantastic performance that indicates they are well-prepared for their upcoming NEA2 assessment in year 11.
It was British Science week recently and Miss Hayes has just announced the results of the competition, Curiosity; what’s your question? She had an amazing variety of curious questions, including, What is deja vu? Why is the sky blue? What came first, the chicken or the egg? Could there be alternative universes? and my favourite, What communication can we learn from a cat’s tail?!
Well done to the winners
PE have had an extremely busy and successful week. Mrs Bolton and Mrs Barington write –
Last Tuesday we took two teams to represent Wokingham in the Berkshire School Games Panathlon event at Bisham Abbey National Sports Centre. Our girls got fully involved in every activity and all achieved high points scores for their teams. Every student came away with a medal and the team led by Freya came second overall. This is an incredible achievement, and we are very proud of all of the girls for representing The Holt so well.
On Friday, the PE department took 68 students from year 7-10 on a PGL netball weekend! Students had the opportunity to play lots of netball and take part in all the different activities that the centre has to offer. Activities included axe throwing, the giant swing, archery and zip lining. The netball took place on both the Saturday and Sunday where our 8 teams played a variety of fixtures against a number of different schools. The teamwork and camaraderie were excellent amongst the students and atmosphere was electric particularly moving into the semifinals and finals. The competition was fierce and there were some nail-biting moments particularly in the year 9 and 10 games. The results were as follows:
Year 7
Year 7 A team: Champions of the year 7/8 category
Year 7 B team: 4th place in the year 7/8 category
Year 8
Year 8 A team: Champions of the year 8/9 category
Year 8 B team: 3rd place in the year 8/9 category
Year 9
Year 9 A team: Champions of the year 9 category
Year 9 B team: 3rd place in the year 9 category
Year 10
Year 10A team: Champions of the year 10/11 category
Year 10B team: 3rd place in the year 10/11 category
A huge well done to all our teams who competed and joined us on the trip and a huge thank you to the PE department for giving up their weekend
After huge success at the Berkshire Schools Cross Country Championships Grace (Year 9) and Marnie (year 13) were selected to represent Berkshire at the English Schools Cross Country Championships that were held in Liverpool last weekend. Both girls had excellent runs and held their own in a large and strong field of runners. Well done to Grace who was 3rd in the Green Park Challenge on Sunday and congratulations to Marnie who has represented the school in numerous athletics and cross-country events over the last 7 years, good luck for the future!
Our GCSE PE moderation and final dance choreography exams have also taken place this week. Well done to all of our Year 11 examination students for demonstrating an excellent work ethic and high-level performances.
As part of our KS2 to KS3 transition process we have hosted two primary school netball tournaments in the last week. Thank you and well done to our Sports Leaders and umpires who were superb at these competitions.
Finally, good luck to our U12 football team who are hosting The Piggott in in the semi-final of the Berkshire Cup on Wednesday.
Thank you to all of the PE staff who make sure all of these events can happen.
PSHE has also been busy this week. Mrs Hornblow tells us –
On Wednesday morning, Year 9 students watched a powerful talk by Paul Hannaford who shared his story of drugs, gang crime and knife crime and how he managed to turn his life around. Paul spared no details when discussing the choices that led him to spending time in prison, becoming addicted to illegal drugs and even stealing from family in order to fund his drug habit. The students watched and listened attentively to Paul and enjoyed hearing about how he now uses his experience to educate young people about the dangers of illegal drugs and gang crime. The session will be followed up with a reflection session next term, where students will be able to discuss the key messages from the talk with their form group and form tutor. Additionally, students will also be having further drug education lessons as part of their scheduled PSHE lessons next term.
Year 8 had a busy day on Thursday. They finished the day with a theatre performance called ‘Smashed’ which focussed on the risks and consequences of underage drinking. Students watched a 30-minute performance followed by a 20-minute workshop where different aspects of the performance were discussed. Students were able to discuss the risks of underage drinking and were able to identify where to go for support. A highlight was the whole cohort ‘signing’ the number to Childline (which they all knew!)
The performance will be followed up in registration next term with a short reflection activity, where students will be able to further discuss the peer pressure regarding underage drinking and the physical & mental health effects of alcohol misuse. Additionally, students will also be having further lessons on drug and alcohol education as part of their scheduled PSHE lessons next term.
Finally, it would not be the Easter blog if we didn’t have the results of the History department’s Hard Boiled History Competition. Here are the three winners of Hardboiled History 2026. We had a bumper year of entries and the History prefects were really impressed by everyone’s creativity and attention to detail….it was really difficult to choose between them.
Year 7 winner – Georgia 7L – Elizabeth I
Year 8 winner – Aimee 8S – also Elizabeth I….but so detailed!
Year 9 winner – Jess 9W – William Shakespeare, complete with the Globe Theatre
Each winner receives a chocolate egg (what else!) and all entries win House points
Thank you to Mrs Hagger and the History prefects.
This week has also been filled with our presentation assemblies; always a highlight of the term. These moments give us the opportunity to celebrate the many achievements, efforts, and experiences of our students. It has been wonderful to see students confidently delivering short speeches and performances to their peers, as well as receiving recognition for subject achievement, for flourishing in their form group, and their impressive recognition point totals. We now look ahead to Friday’s end-of-term assemblies, where the excitement will build as we announce which House will take the overall title.
Phew, I think this must be one of the longest blogs! It’s certainly been a busy and rewarding term, and a well-earned break is just around the corner. As our Year 11 and Year 13 students begin to focus on their GCSE and A-Level exams, now is the perfect time to put thoughtful revision plans in place, balancing study with rest, fresh air, and time with friends. And of course, a little chocolate along the way never hurts!
Wishing everyone a restful and joyful Easter break.
Yvonne Smith
Assistant Headteacher