Do you have your Christmas reading sorted? A reminder that our librarian, Miss Critchley, is a published author and her novel, The Undoing of Violet Claybourne, out just last month, is the perfect wintery read for dark nights. Set over the Christmas of 1938, featuring a crumbling gothic county house, three very different sisters, and a terrible betrayal, The Undoing of Violet Claybourne is an atmospheric suspense novel with plenty of twists. Reviewed in Good Housekeeping magazine and picked as Heat magazine’s book of the week, Emily’s novel can be purchased online or from any bookshop or borrowed from any library. The book is an adult read, suitable for Year 9+. Thank you to all those students and parents who came to support Emily’s signing in Waterstones St Albans last month. We hope you are enjoying your books!

Our LRC front desk 'Christmas Tree' has been much admired, and with the LRC display of Christmas books too, there has been very festive feel over the last few weeks!  We hope that you enjoy reading the wintery themed books as much as we did in selecting them! 

We have plea for all to get involved with the return of overdue books. Over the last few weeks students with significantly overdue library books have had extra emails encouraging them to return their overdue books so other students have the opportunity to read them too. Please would you take a little time over the holiday to check for emails received, and check shelves, under beds, rummage in cupboards and behind the sofa for these library books, so that they can be brought into school the first week back in January and left in the red returns box in the LRC. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday and look forward to seeing you in the New Year! Mrs Blandford, Miss Critchley and Mrs Thomas

The Puzzle of the Week is a Mathematics challenge run weekly. This week's puzzle is shown above. For every entry you will receive 1 house point, if you answer correctly you will win 2 house points and if you are the fastest person to answer the puzzle correctly then you will win 5 house points!  To enter, simply scan the QR code and fill out the google form.  Good luck! Why not play at home and see who is the quickest to get the answer?

Our Dance Faculty were excited to meet with some of our amazing dance alumni team this week. Preparations are underway for the first alumni dance piece in Velocity 2025.

This show is not to be missed so grab the last few tickets for Thursday, Friday and Saturday matinee here. Get them before they are gone!

A message from Miss Arif: " A massive well done to Year 8 for an amazing first term. You have outdone yourself with your extracurricular commitments and house points, 17,969 in total!  You continue to strive to be the best versions of yourselves. I hope you all enjoy the Christmas break and come back rejuvenated and ready for another brilliant term. "

Sandringham School has a vacancy for an Assistant Operations Manager and Lettings Manager.

If you would like to join our team of passionate, dedicated staff, visit here for more information and to apply.

We look forward to hearing from you.

If you would your child like to participate in the fifteenth German exchange between students at Sandringham and the Dietrich-Bonhoeffer Gymnasium in Quickborn near Hamburg, then you can still indicate your interest.

For the past 14 years students from Years 9 and 10 have hosted Year 9 German students in September and then visited Quickborn later in the school year.  Each visit lasts a week. Our German exchange students will be visiting us in late September 2025, with our group travelling to Germany in March 2026.  This is an exciting opportunity for our students to make meaningful contact with young Germans, to develop their language skills, and to broaden their life experiences.

Your child does not need to be studying German to take part in the Exchange. This opportunity is open to all students in Year 8 & 9. If you are interested in exploring this exciting opportunity, please find further details of the Exchange and questionnaire to be completed here. These are to be returned to trips@sandringham.aetrust.uk to confirm your interest.

We hope that this exchange visit will cement a long and beneficial exchange relationship.

Its been a brilliant and challenging first term for Year 11. To say we have been busy would be an understatement! On top of the usual school activities including, sporting excellence, dramatic performances in whole school shows and dance spectaculars, Year 11 have continued to show a fantastic attitude towards their studies and their excellent performances in the November Trial exams are testament to their hard work. We have also experienced a water sports ELD where we weren’t allowed on the water and visited various local colleges to explore options for the future. To say I am proud of their attitude and efforts is an understatement, they work hard, represent the school in impeccable fashion and keep me going with their fun nature and good sense of humour. I hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas holidays and comes back ready for the final challenge of next years GCSE. I am very confident they are going to be a fantastic success! Merry Christmas, Mr Smith.

Sandvent 2024 concluded on Charity Day, having helped raise almost £800 for the Farafenni School in The Gambia. Enjoy the final instalment on YouTube here and find out who wins the big race between Mr Smith and Mr Cracknell. Look out for our VIP guests as well! Thank you for all of your support and Merry Christmas Everyone! 

Year 9 have got off to a fantastic start to the school year. This term has seen the beginning of the module curriculum , whereby all students have experienced two cycles of subjects. It has been lovely to see a number of modules over subscribed and so well enjoyed by students.

There have been opportunities for Year 9 to begin to consider future careers through taking part in careers talks with guest speakers from companies such as Google and Tesco . This was an enriching experience, and provided Year 9 with the opportunity to ask questions about apprenticeships and other routes into both workplaces. We are also very proud of all of our Year 9 students who have participated in extra-curricular activities , more recently the whole school production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the Carol Concert, and our poppy installation for Remembrance Day.  We have also had some great success in extra-curricular sports, with lots of wins on the basketball, netball and badminton courts, on the rugby field, and the girls' football team in round 5 for the national cup.

We are excited to see what 2025 holds for the Year 9 cohort, it has been a long term and they have all worked incredibly hard. Miss Rose

On Wednesday, we had our annual Lessons and Carols event. This year, it was held in the beautiful venue of St Paul’s Church and featured over 130 students from our choirs and string ensemble. As well as enjoying singing our traditional carols with the congregation, we also heard music in a wide range of styles from our Senior Choir, Show Choir, Junior Choir, A Level musicians and Year 10 GCSE musicians as well. This year also featured the debut of our staff choir! The evening culminated in a massed item featuring all of our students performing the moving ‘Holy Child’.

A huge thank you and well done to all of our musicians for working so hard, we are incredibly proud of you all.

All of our choirs and music groups will be back up and running in January and we always welcome new members. Our full timetable can be found on SOCs, or speak to any of the music teachers for more information

Fo$S are delighted to announce that the Christmas Raffle raised £1,800 for the school, bringing our total raised from the Fair to £5,000. Thank you to everybody that brought tickets, and to the local business that donated prizes. The lucky winners are:

• On the day prize: Panto Tickets - Simon Corcoran
• Prize 1: Pub in the Park Family tickets - Sarah Warren
• Prize 2: Wine Hamper: Sarah Salway
• Prize 3: Pamper Hamper: Susie Kynaston
• Prize 4: Try Something New Hamper: Liz West

Thank you for all your support throughout the year!

We had a brilliant afternoon of rugby for our youngest year groups on Monday with some great matches. The results were as follows:

Year 7

• 1st Turing
• 2nd Austen
• 3rd Newton
• 4th Elgar, 5th Shakespeare, 6th Hepworth, 7the Johnson and Fawcett

Year 8

• 1st Newton
• 2nd Hepworth
• 3rd Johnson
• 4th Austen 5th Elgar 6th Turing 7th Shakespeare 8th Fawcett

It was lovely to see some of our A Level cohort of 2022-2024 on Monday evening for our annual Year 14 reunion. Over 100 students and returned from their various universities, apprenticeships and years’ out to enjoy an evening of festive fun, catching up and the collection of their official A Level certificates. This was an exceptionally talented and friendly year group so it was a delight to see them again (and parents!) and hear how well they are getting on post life at Sandringham School. The exams office will be in touch with those who couldn't make it to collect their certificates in the New Year after the current Year 13 trials and public exams.

What a fantastic first term it's been for Year 10! We've had students representing the school in so many incredible ways: from the Whole School Show of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, to sporting fixtures, Autumn Concert, Rotary Tournament, Carol Concert and more. It's such a pleasure to see these young people develop their interests and talents. The whole year group have begun their GCSE studies very well, responding with maturity and hard work to their new subjects. I'm very proud of them all and hope they all have a well earnt rest over the Christmas break.

In October,  18 students from  years 12 and 13 took part in the Andrew Jobbings Senior Kangaroo run by the UK Mathematics Trust.  A follow-on Round to the Senior Maths Challenge, the Andrew Jobbings Senior Kangaroo is a 60 minute, 20 question ‘integer answer’ challenge.

Entry to the Andrew Jobbings Senior Kangaroo is by invitation based on a qualifying Senior Mathematical Challenge score. Several thousand UK-based students qualify from the Senior Mathematical Challenge each year. This was a fantastic opportunity which offers students the chance to develop their mathematical problem-solving skills. It encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. 

Overall 6 students were awarded a merit.  Special mention goes to Roslin M and Christy W for joint best in Year 13 and Harry P for best in school. Congratulations to all those that took part. 

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed towards our FEED collection last week. Over 640 food and toiletry items were donated with Newton, Austen and Fawcett leading the charge.  These vital supplies will go towards supporting those in need in the local area over the festive period and beyond so we really do appreciate your support. If you would like to find out more about the work of Verso Care, you can do so here. Considering others is something that we promote at Sandringham School and we hope that donating gave students a chance to think about those less fortunate and other ways they can help in the local community.

This week we feature Tommy G in Year 8 who has had a fantastic weekend excelling in sport and the arts. On Friday he took to the boxing ring for a tournament where he won silver for his efforts. Then on Saturday he performed “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day” on his electric guitar at Columba’s College. The audience were all really impressed with his confidence and skill. Amazing work Tommy- its fantastic to see all your hard work paying off.

We have loved featuring all of our talented students over the past term and look forward to bringing you more news of people going above and beyond in the new year. As always, please send any submissions with a few lines and/or photographs to the admin email address with the title Student Spotlight. 

Well done to Hepworth who go into the new year as leaders on the board for house points. Newton are 2nd, Austen 3rd, Turing 4th, Johnson 5th, Shakespeare 6th, Elgar 7th and Fawcett 8th.

Theo C and Ridhay R gained the highest house points this week and the top five in the school are Sergey N (7A) with 144, Naomi S (7A) with 138, Leo K (7F) with 137, Julette D (7F) with 135 and Tim H (7T) with 130 points. 

Thank you to everyone for all their amazing efforts this term participating in house events and working hard to gain house points. We look forward to reporting more house events in the new year! 

The lovely "Hidden figures in D&T" display is finally finished and is looking great. Here at Sandringham we have a fantastic array of D&T opportunities ranging from food tech to electronics, woodwork to using CAD machines, and much more- working with a wide range of materials and machinery to allow students the opportunity to bring their ideas to life. You can see some of these around the D&T rooms in B Block and we are always impressed with students' creativity and attention to detail. The QR codes in the middle of the poster will take students to the super curriculum and STEM page on our website. We hope that they might inspire students to try something new!

A huge thanks to Jonathan R for his support in German lessons. Jonathan is from our exchange school in Quickborn and has completed a term’s work experience placement at Sandringham. Well done from Y9 and good luck with your Abitur!

As the holidays approach, we are aware that some students may need additional support for their mental wellbeing. The picture above includes a useful list of services students can access, should they be feeling overwhelmed. We wish you all a restful festive break. 

It was great to see every house represented in the first upper school house swimming competition.

Congrats the Hepworth on the win!! 1st - Hepworth 2nd - Shakespeare 3rd - Johnson 4th- Fawcett 5th - Elgar & Newton 7th- Austen 8th - Turing

After celebrating Christmas last week with our Christmas lunches, the theme of the week this week is Hanukkah. This is a Jewish festival commemorating the recovery of Jerusalem and rededication of the Second Temple at the beginning of the Maccabean Revolt in the 2nd century BCE. The festival lasts for 8 days and takes place this year from 25th December to 2nd January. For this, amongst other things, Jewish people will meet as a family, eat traditional meals, and light the Hanukkah candles. This week students have discussed the history of Hanukkah and whether we should celebrate festivals from a range of religious traditions in the UK. Students have also received an excellent assembly from Computer Science teacher Mr Beach who discussed the festival and shared his personal experiences.  

FRENCH: Le mot de la semaine: oubli

GERMAN: Das Wort der Woche: Vergessen

SPANISH: La palabra de la semana: olvido

Thinking Question:

• A bit of a different thinking question this week! Check out the following songs in German: Vergessen ist nicht so leicht by Silbermond, French: L’Oubli by Amir and Spanish: El Olvido  by Kany García. How do different languages and songs explore the theme of oblivion?

Book of the week has a festive feel to it this week as we collapse into the Christmas holidays.  We’ve picked a selection of Christmas reads for all to enjoy:

The Very Merry Murder Club is a  collection of short mystery stories selected by Serena Patel and Robin Stevens. Featuring authors such as Elle McNicoll and Sharna Jackson this is a perfect book for those who might want to dip in and out of a book over the Christmas holidays.

The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper has to be a modern classic. The hustle and bustle of the run up to Christmas is challenged by an increasingly sinister sequence of events. The book is the second in The Dark is Rising Sequence, but can be read and enjoyed as a standalone novel and is absolutely brilliant.

Let it Snow is a collection of three stories themed around “love, romance and breath-taking kisses”. Maureen Johnson and John Green contribute to this YA  winter themed holiday romance.

Heartstopper remains a very popular choice here in the LRC and “This Winter”, by Alice Oseman is a short one hundred page novella (with illustrations) chronicling the Spring family’s Christmas.  

Finally, for those addicted to thrillers, “You Better Watch Out” is billed as, “dark, moreish and chilling” Every day in December, a gift is left for Eleri in the abandoned tower block opposite her flat. At first, she can't help but be flattered, hoping that her Secret Santa is enigmatic Ras - a boy she has history with. But with each day that passes, the gifts get darker and more dangerous. Is this a harmless bit of festive fun? Or does this have something to do with Nina's disappearance last year? If so ... will Eleri be next?

O is for ... oblivious [adjective]

Definition: Not aware of, or concerned about, what is happening around one.

Example: She became absorbed, oblivious to the passage of time.

Synonyms: Unaware, Ignorant, Unconcerned

Antonyms: Mindful, Conscious, Understanding

Etymology: From the Latin obliviosus, from oblivio(n- ) ‘to forget’

Well done to our sports team for all your amazing efforts both during training and in matches this term. We've had some excellent victories and also learnt valuable lessons from defeats. Looking ahead to next term, please see above for the upcoming fixtures for the first two weeks back. Have a great break. 

Sandringham exit the County Cup unfortunately this week, after a 5-1 loss to a strong Queens side. Lots to work on ahead of the National cup & Saturday morning fixtures after Christmas. Will A provided our consolation goal in what was their first loss of the year. 

Award winning production company, Limitless Productions, are back in St Albans and this time they've got backup!

Welcome to the wild streets of 1920s New York, where gangsters run the show in Bugsy Malone! Join the charming Bugsy as he dives head-first into a thrilling turf war between rival gangs - Dandy Dan’s slick crew and Fat Sam’s lovable misfits. With whipped cream pies flying and laughter echoing, Bugsy navigates chaos while trying to win the heart of the dazzling showgirl Blousey Brown.

As the stakes rise and friendships are tested, Bugsy must step up to save his pals and outsmart the competition. Bursting with catchy tunes and high-energy dance numbers. From the team behind 'Little Shop of Horrors', 'Grease' and 'The Addams Family', this musical is a rollicking adventure not to be missed!

Tickets are on sale here and cost from £17.00

Following the fantastic success of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ & ‘Rapunzel’ our creative team are back with a Brand New pantomime adventure based on the classic tale.

 Puss In Boots and the Pea Green detective agency are ready to save Pantoland from a terrible threat!

The Hickory Dickory Dock clock has been stolen and someone is messing with the pantomime timeline. The police are struggling to sniff out a suspect and things are getting stranger by the hour! Join Puss In Boots on their epic quest to bring the time thief to justice. This sword-swinging, paw-scratching, time-stopping pantomime is an action packed treat for all ages!

Tickets are on sale here and cost from £10.00