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This week has been a true celebration of community, remembrance and joy. As part of our VE Day commemorations, we were delighted to host a very special celebration to help our students reflect with gratitude on the courage and sacrifice of those who served and to honour the peace and freedom we now enjoy because of their legacy.

It was moving to see so many of our young people wearing their Cadet, Guide and Scout uniforms with pride – a powerful reminder that the values of service, leadership and community are still thriving in this generation. The bunting created by students from across the school added a vibrant and personal touch to our decorations, and the biscuit-making competition (complete with wartime rationing rules!) was both a challenge and a pleasure, with some truly impressive and creative entries.

 

The highlight of this week was undoubtedly our VE Day Street Party, held on the school field – a festive experience complete with traditional refreshments, 1940s music, and a fun quiz. This joyful event was planned specifically for Year 7, offering them a unique opportunity to come together as a year group and bringing their history curriculum to life in an unforgettable way. A huge thank you goes to Miss Barlow and Ms Burningham for bringing this event to life, to the staff who prepared a delicious VE Day lunch for our students, and to all my staff for their support in making the day such a success.

Meanwhile, our Year 10 students have shown great maturity and resilience throughout a hard week of exams. Their conduct and attitude have been exceptional, and we are incredibly proud of the way they’ve approached this important milestone.

 

This morning, we held our memorable and traditional Good Luck Assembly for Year 11. The exam season begins officially on Monday 12th May – with some students already having faced their first papers, including French and Spanish Speaking exams – so this was a timely moment to pause, reflect, and celebrate.

 

Over recent months, our students have demonstrated determination, maturity, and a remarkable work ethic. The assembly was filled with warmth and encouragement, as we shared wonderful messages and cards from parents, friends and relatives – each one a reminder that these young people are surrounded by a community that believes in them.

As they prepare to take this final step in their secondary school journey, we want our Year 11 students to know how deeply proud we are of them. We will continue to support them throughout the next five weeks and beyond. Good luck Year 11 – Class of 2025 – we can’t wait to see all you go on to achieve.

I wish you all an enjoyable weekend,
Mrs Dawn German

All key dates for 2024-25 are also available on the website.

Assembly this week - Year 9 Sparsholt
Year 9 students had an introduction to Sparsholt College and what facilities they will be able to see at their upcoming Futures Day on the 20th June. All Year 9 students will have an opportunity to look around the Sparsholt campus seeing the large range of vocational courses on offer, most of which differ from sixth form colleges. More information on the day will be sent home shortly.

Year 8 Street Party
On Thursday afternoon, Year 8 students who have shown excellent behaviour throughout the year were rewarded with a street party to commemorate VE-DAY 80th Anniversary. They were invited to bring in their own snacks to eat while they quizzed, listened to 1940s music and treated to an ice cream.

Prom Attire Donations – Can You Help?
With prom just around the corner, we're kindly asking for donations of any gently worn prom dresses, suits, shoes, bags, or other formalwear accessories you may have at home and no longer need.

These donations will help ensure that all students have the opportunity to enjoy the evening feeling confident and dressed for the occasion, regardless of financial circumstances.

Items can be dropped off at the main reception. Many thanks for your support!

Cheaper Internet Access for Families Receiving Benefits:
The DfE has asked schools to advertise to parents and carers that households receiving benefits such as Universal Credit (and some others) could be eligible for discounted social tariffs on broadband. This could help you to stay connected to friends and family (and also on top of school work) at lower costs.

For more information, please visit Ofcom’s website.

Ways Forward - our weekly newsletter for Careers, Apprenticeship, College, Work and Work Experience.

This week in Ways Forward, we highlight an exciting summer volunteering opportunity with Andover Museum.  You can also find out how to write a great CV, and learn more about becoming an Art Therapist. 

Those interested in a military career might like to explore local MPCT Military Academies as a post-16 option.  Peter Symonds College has some open events coming up soon.

As always we highlight local apprenticeship vacancies that Year 11 students might like to apply for; this week there are opportunities in hairdressing, engineering, early years/childcare, and business administration.

Here is a link to a Comic writing activity from BookLife - they even supply the template! This is being promoted through the LRC and our Art Department. Comics are a great way for reluctant readers and writers to engage with these skills.

With recent coverage of the drama series Adolescence, it's worth noting we have a copy of the award winning book by Alan Bissett titled Lads - a guide to respect and consent. We asked several of the male teachers to read it and they and I are happy to recommend it for secondary school students 13+.

Students have had the chance to engage with a myriad of activities this week including Star Wars Day and National Space Day (books and online quizzes supporting reading for inquiry ) and a programme of resources and activities marking VE Day supporting the History and Citizenship curriculum. We had an online knowledge quiz, 1940's music, eye witness accounts of VE Day celebrations, photos of 1945 street parties in Andover and the surrounding area, stories of people returning home from the war, newsreel footage from the time and some letters from veterans thanks to an initiative called VE Mail. We intend to reply to the letters. Once again, we are pleased to be able to promote another important event through our dynamic Learning Resource Centre.

Zach continues to impress at AFC Bournemouth
Following Zach’s end of season review at AFC Bournemouth he has been offered a further 2 year contract with them. They explained previously that the reviews would be  much harder this year as the contracts move from 1 to 2 year contracts but he’s worked really hard under a lot of pressure to retain his place. In fact only 7 outfield players have been kept on. They praised him for his resilience and ability to adapt to different positions.

We are all very proud of Zach!

Year 9 Boys County Badminton Finals
Neyo, Piotr, Alfie and Cohen attended the KS3 Hampshire County Finals on Wednesday. The boys qualified at the district event earlier in the year and met all the other qualifiers at Eastleigh. The competition was strong however our boys were well prepared and played some lovely badminton. 

The format of the competition was interesting. Player 1 went against the opposing player 1, then players’ 2 competed and then players 3 and 4 finished with a doubles match. The aggregate score was then collated.

Our first game against Deer Park got the things moving for the boys. A convincing win 44-17 aggregate score.  A tighter game against Brighton Hill saw the Harrow Way boys win 33-22.  We then faced Robert May school and won that convincingly, 46-16. The final game of the groups stage was lost after an act of gamesmanship from the Priory shook the boys who narrowly lost 33-30. This meant that we finished 2nd overall in our group and progressed to the semi-finals.

It was at this stage where we exited the competition after facing an unbelievable team, and eventual winners, from Thornden.

Our boys played extremely well.  Tactically brilliant under a new format. Well done to all.

Check out the latest news, fundraising initiatives and upcoming events from the PTA here - harrowwaypta.charityhive.co.uk

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Harrow Way Community School,
Harrow Way,
Andover,
Hampshire.
SP10 3RH