Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends,
The leaves are changing, the nights are beginning to draw in, everything smells delightfully like Pumpkin Spice, and the first half term is almost at an end. What a half term it’s been- we’ve had MacMillan Coffee Morning, a Harvest Festival, trips to all sorts of exciting place, sports’ fixtures galore, and the school has had its usual busy buzz as all of these activities unfold.
One of the trips Y11 have had recently is the History trip to Shakespeare’s Globe in London to support their understanding of the historic environment. Maryum from Year 11 has written us the below:
“After driving past all of London’s most famous landmarks like The Shard, Big Ben and the London Eye, we were met with a guide to give us some context of societal beliefs about theatre during the 1500s. We were later taken to the globe itself and witnessed some rehearsals for the play Troilus and Cressida. We explored the features such as the trap door on stage, how props and sound effects were used and the four levels of seating arrangements. Next, we sat through a presentation providing us with further information on how the Globe was built. Then it was time for a quick break at Starbucks, we stopped off for lunch next to the Thames and the Millennium bridge. Of course, we had been caught in London’s rush hour traffic and we finally arrived home after 2 and a half hours, but overall, it was a great experience!”
A big thank you to Mrs Richards, Miss Howard, Mrs Hagger, Mr Vincent, Mr Doyle, and Mrs Vlahovska for taking the students on such an informative trip.
It’s not just outside of school that’s busy, in school every lunchtime we have a plethora of clubs for students to join- over 60 in the course of the week and there really is something for everyone. We have sports’ clubs, music clubs, drama, writing, subjects specific clubs, and more niche ones such as Genshin club, journalling club, and KPop (where there seems to be no end to the synchronised dance routines being learned)!
We’re always fantastically grateful for those staff who give up their time to plan and run clubs for students and for the students (sixth formers and 7-11) who volunteer to help run these clubs for their peers. It’s so nice being able to pop into a classroom at a lunchtime and hear all about the complex code-breaking problem that students are trying to solve or observe the debate about the latest book in Social Science Book Club. Clubs are so beneficial for students, not just for pursuing their current interests but also for exploring new interests, stepping outside of their comfort zones, meeting new people, and working with a range of students from across the school- maybe even across year groups.
I have invited some of our students to write about the clubs that they attend and what’s interested them.
Alice, Y10, on Critical Art Studies Club:
Critical art studies club is about looking closer at artwork to identify the detail that the artist has deliberately put into the piece. This detail could be the lighting, colour and symbolism to give the art a meaning and a purpose. For example, the light could hit a person on the face to make us look at that person first, conveying the meaning that the person is the most important visual in the painting. We have looked at multiple paintings ranging from ‘Starry Night’ By Vincent Van Gogh and ‘Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird’ by Frieda Kahlo, just to name a few. The Sixth Formers have led us through multiple artworks discussing the symbolism as well as getting everyone else’s interpretations, as it was interesting to hear what other people saw in a painting that others didn’t. As well as annotating paintings, we have also tried oil painting and discovered how to use it, by trying to blend colours and trying to match it to some of the paintings we have looked at. I find this club very enjoyable and interesting as I have found a different way to look at art, and I have learnt new skills that I hope to take away to my Art GCSE and possibly my Art A levels.
Olivia and Freya, Year 9, on Gardening Club and This Girl Can:
Gardening club takes place on a Thursday each week. I love this club because me and other people can do a wide range of activities in the garden, such as maintain the garden, plant the boxes and keep them tidy and presentable, rake the grass and add cool features… and many more things. When it comes to Christmas, we paint ornaments and use them to decorate a specific tree. Currently, we are planting tomatoes, and they are very ripe and tasty!
On Fridays I go to This Girl Can, where we make different crafts each week and have a general chat about what we have been doing. All the clubs in learning link are really fun and a good way to make friends. In Year 7 I was struggling with making friends and so came to these clubs. I now go to these clubs with my friends who I met through This Girl Can and gardening club. Overall learning link clubs are a great way to make friends and have a fun lunch time, in a relaxing and calm environment, and I hope I will continue to come to them in the future.
We also have some lovely photos from our Journalling Club showing what they’ve been working on:
Please do encourage your daughters to join a club or two- perhaps something they haven’t considered having a go at before. All of our Extra-Curricular Timetable information can be found on our school website: https://www.holtschool.co.uk/school-life/extra-curricular-activities/
Finally, the DFE schools’ performance tables for GCSEs 2025 were published on Friday. The Holt came top in Wokingham and in the top 4.5% of all secondary schools nationally.
Here is the link to the site
https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/find-a-school-in-england
We are beyond proud of all our dedicated staff, our hard-working students, and our wonderfully supportive parents and governors. Well done and thank you!
I wish you all a very happy and restful half term and look forward to seeing students back in school on Tuesday 4th November.
Elizabeth Harris
Assistant Headteacher