Dear Parents, Guardians and Friends
We may well be approaching the count down to the end of term, but Holt life is still busier than ever!
Last Wednesday was the final of The Holt Young Musician 2026. From over 120 entrants, the final was whittled down to just 12 students- who were all amazing. I do not know how our guest Lucy Scotchmer could choose the winner! Luckily for us, she did and we are proud to announce Katie as instrumental winner, Natalie as the piano winner, and Ruby as the vocal and overall winner. As The Holt Young Musician competition is also a House competition; valuable points were also won by entering. Broderers came first, followed by Clothworkers in second, with Spinners in 3rd place.
A massive well done to all the entrants and thank you to Mr Gray for organising the whole event and to Lucy for judging!
And the winning three……..
On Thursday, we had our annual early closure and open evening for prospective Holt students. This event is for students currently in Year 5, and their parents to come along to see The Holt. We had two talks, both to a packed audience; and a school full of very enthusiastic Year 10 prefects who were tour guides for the night. The evening felt almost “festival” like as the weather was beautiful and sunny. Our guides led the students and their parents around all the departments, where they were met by staff and other student volunteers and encouraged to take part in numerous activities. Our site looked amazing and our staff and students did a great job. Thanks to you all- and of course our hard-working site team!
I would also like to thank our student speakers on the night; our newest members of The Holt, Year 7 Avni, and Clara, along with our most senior students at The Holt, Amrit, our Head Girl, and Julia, one her deputies. They gave wonderful speeches that really encapsulated their thoughts of The Holt. They were fabulous, and so confident. Well done!
Also on Thursday, our technology dept led a trip to the New Designers at the Business Design Centre in Islington.
Mrs McCarville, who organised this trip, wrote;
It was a highly positive and valuable experience for our students. The exhibition brought together graduates from universities across the country, showcasing an impressive range of innovative and creative design work.
Students had the opportunity to speak directly with exhibitors, who were enthusiastic about sharing their projects, design processes, and experiences of studying design at university. These conversations gave students a valuable insight into what a future in design could look like and helped them to understand the pathways available within higher education and the creative industries.
The exhibition featured work from across the full spectrum of Design and Technology disciplines, including Product Design, Textiles, and Graphic Design. Meeting the designers face-to-face and discussing their work provided students with a unique behind-the-scenes perspective on the development of successful design projects.
Overall, the visit was both inspiring and informative. It encouraged students to think more creatively about their own design practice and provided a wealth of ideas that will support the development of their NEA coursework. The experience has helped to broaden their understanding of contemporary design and has increased their confidence in exploring and refining their own project ideas.
Thank you, Mrs McCarville, for organising this trip and also to the technology department for accompanying our students
This week, the English department take the lead in their run of public speaking events. Yesterday, was the Year 7 speech competition……and competition was fierce …..Mrs Roberts, Head of English, Mr Stickells one of our school governors and I, had the hard job of judging. And difficult, it was. The speeches ranged from bullying to animal abuse to gender inequality. All the speeches were impassioned, well researched and delivered confidently. In third place, came Sahar with her speech on gender inequality in Afghanistan, in second place was Lottie who talked about the importance of kindness and ……..our winner is Maya, who suggested that home learning should be banned. To be fair, she gave a great case!
Well done to all eight students for having the confidence to take part and talk in front of 240 students ……..and thank you Ms Mirza for organising this event.
This afternoon is the poetry recital for Year 8 and tomorrow, the praise song competition for Year 9.
Our last event for this week is our annual colour run on Friday. Then on Saturday, two MFL trips leave; one to Puy de Fou in France and the other one to Valencia in Spain. We wish them a great trip!
Next week of course, is Year 10 work experience, activities’ week, culture day and our re-organised sports day. Phew……..and then that’s a wrap for this year
Katie Pearce
Co-Headteacher