Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends,

As of last Co-Headteachers’ blog, there were 12 days ‘til Christmas remaining and so most of the last events of the year have had a distinctly Christmassy feel. So, and sing along if you wish…..on the twelfth day ‘til Christmas, (Thursday) we had a beautiful Christmas concert in St Pauls Church. This is an annual favourite, and the church was packed, as parents, staff and friends of The Holt came together to celebrate Christmas. The music was beautiful, with choirs, ensembles and solo performers. As ever, the staff choir made their welcome annual appearance as they sang their version of Last Christmas, an original and fun take on the great Wham classic! Many thanks go to Mrs Carter, and Mr Gray, Head of Music for arranging the concert, which was excellent. Well done!

Below are some of the pictures taken of our musicians and readers.

On the eleventh day ‘til Christmas, (Friday) we had Golden Tickets day. This was where 25 students were picked at random and invited to bring a friend with them to the café to taste the sampler menu prepared by our new caterers Chartwells. The verdict was that the food is excellent!  It was a good job they over catered though, as many staff heard there was food on offer and went along as well!

We also had the much-contested Christmas Doors competition. This annual event gives students 5 school days to plan and decorate their form room door with a Christmas theme. On duty last week, the school felt like Santa’s Grotto with tinsel, glitter and paper chains strewn everywhere, and students rushing around like elves gluing, cutting and pasting. The results are always stunning……see some of the pictures below.

Broderers got their first House win with their door.

Even the 6th form joined in.Even the 6th form joined in.

This year, we had a staff entry with the maths department office door decorated in a Geome-tree theme with good symmetry throughout. Well done to them and next year I suspect we will have a few more staff entries

Monday was the eighth day ‘til Christmas and the Year 7s had their first Holt School presentation assembly. It was a lovely event that recognised the hard work, effort and successes of our newest students throughout the term. Thanks Miss Herron for organising this.
At lunchtime, Mr Stromdale and Mr Wolton in physics led an extended demonstration of the Van Der Graaff generator to students in Year 10-13. This was well attended and even had a festive theme!

On Monday evening, we welcomed back our Year 13 leavers from last year to receive their hard earned A level certificates and to hear all about their adventures and experiences during their term of university or place of work. It was a delight to see them all again, Mrs Kennedy and I are so proud of them all. Mrs Allison was our guest speaker and it was lovely to catch up with all her news since she retired in the summer.

Wednesday, today, is the sixth day ‘til Christmas and we ended the school year with our fabulous end of term assembly led by the Head girl and her deputies. The assembly was a festive mix of music, singing, readings, reflections as well as the latest charity and House updates. I am pleased to announce that the current leaders are Weavers.

So, that just leaves the fifth, fourth, third, second and final day ‘til Christmas which are over to you to enjoy!

We would like to thank you all for your continued support this term and we wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year. We hope you get some time relaxing with your families and look forward to seeing you all in 2019.

Mrs Pearce and Mrs Kennedy
Co-Headteachers