As mentioned in the Headlines, we held our annual Sports Awards this week.  It was a wonderful event and a chance to celebrate our amazing sporting success this year. Some of the highlights are below and more can be found @SandringhamPE

Overall Winners: 

KS3: Sebbie L, Hannah G KS4: Harry C, Martha D KS5: Callum B, Nicole F

Sports Personality of the Year: Jack M, Margot K

Team of the Year: Year 8 Boys Athletics team and U14 Performance Netball

Most Improved: Mimi G

Mike Cooke Cup: Luke C

Josh Farraway Shield: Olivia C

Football: Will A, Harry P, Jake B, Joe W, Callum B

Basketball:Sam McC, Otis Lau J, Harry G, Vincente L, Max G, Ryan O’S

Athletics: Toby P, Harry W, Sam P, Harry G, Ashton L

Rugby: Toby B, Tadi F, Joe F, Finn K Max H

Cricket: Arnold W, Harrison S

Teachers have been working hard on refreshing our super curriculum activities this year and have brought them together in a new dedicated website here.

For each year group, every subject has recommended a range of activities which include podcasts, documentaries, books, articles, places to visit and a whole lot more!  In addition, the new website enables students to briefly log the activities they have completed which will translate into ePraise accolades for them.  Please note that students will be recognised for any super curricular activities they complete - not only those recommended on the new website.  We wanted to share this before the break as it may provide students with some ideas for activities to do over the summer.  If students are interested in any of the books recommended on the site, we have noted if we have copies in the LRC, and students may wish to borrow these before we break for the summer.  If you would like a short video tour of the website, click here.

SAVE THE DATES! DANCE COMPANY AUDITIONS SEPTEMBER 2022!

Tuxedo - Monday 5th at 5.30pm in DC1
TripleEdge - Thursday 8th at 3.15pm in DC1
SYCD - Tuesday 13th at 4.30pm in DC1

See the picture for more details and the Dance department are looking forward to the new year!

Last Thursday our Year 11 DofE Silver participants embarked on their 3 day qualifying expedition to the Peak District.  Most groups started their route walking through the grounds of Chatsworth House which is a stunning location. They filtered through the village of Rowsley before crossing the Stanton Moor plantation which has lots of ancient stone formations. They were based at Barn Farm in Birchover for the two nights although they did pack up their tents on the second morning and completed a circular route through Gratton Dale, Long Dale and the outskirts of Youlgreve. Walking alongside the river was especially cooling. Day 3 saw them travelling south along the Limestone Way through the  pretty village of Bonsall Dale to the finish point at Middleton Top which is on one of the Peak District’s long distance paths.

The weather was glorious throughout although the almost constant sunshine brought its own challenges- they have come home with some unusual tan lines! They all did brilliantly and we, as staff, noted their kindness to each other and good humour. The ice lollies which were handed to them as they came into camp on night two were greeted with great enthusiasm . Well done to all of our students. There were a number of students who were unable to join us because of COVID but they will have the opportunity to complete the expedition section in the Autumn term.

On Wednesday, students enjoyed House Day. This was a great chance to bond in their houses and compete in various activities including: Creating a house song/ Poem/ Chant, designing a cake to mark the Jubilee, creating an updated House Flag that could be used at major School events,  teambuilding exercises, creating a Sandringham Specific Board game, a Scavenger hunt and a Jubilee House Quiz. At lunch students had a fabulous House Jubilee Tea in the field with music being played by fellow students and the day ended with the presentation of the House Cup and Tree planting at front of school with the SLT Sustainability committee. We are sure that students enjoyed another fun filled day. Congratulations to Newton who won House Day and Hepworth House who were overall winners of the House Cup for the Year.

Our Brilliant Club Scholars Programme graduates attended their graduation ceremony at the Royal Holloway University this afternoon. We are so proud of their achievements! A special mention to Tia K-B and Isabelle P who were nominated as SpokesScholars for Sandringham School to talk about their experience in front of a large audience. They were amazing ambassadors for the school. A huge thanks to Mrs Turner for organising the programme again this year.

Our Year 12 Biologists recently took part in the Intermediate Biology Olympiad, a competition open to students in the first year of post-16 education anywhere in the world.

The competition consists of a one-hour multiple choice paper to be taken online. Questions are set on topics students are likely to have covered at GCSE and in their first year of A level, with some additional ideas introduced requiring their problem solving skills and understanding of core principals of Biology.

Only a small percentage of students who take part in the Olympiad achieve Gold, Silver or Bronze certificates and so we are incredibly proud of our biologists for their results this year! Rosie A achieved gold and so was in the top 5% of students taking part in the competition, well done Rosie! Christy S, Ida S and Katie L all achieved silver (top 10% of entrants) with Isobel S, Angus H, Ella M, Izzie S, Shiam A and David G all achieved Bronze (top 15%). We also had many students receiving highly commended, commended and participation awards and are incredibly proud of them all. What an amazing set of results, well done Year 12!

On a bright and sunny Tuesday 5th July, Year 12 Psychology students visited the Freud Museum.  The Freud Museum in London is a museum dedicated to Sigmund Freud, located in the house where Freud lived with his family during the last year of his life.  Students took part in a lecture about Freud’s life and times and developed their knowledge in key aspects of the psychodynamic approach.

Students loved exploring Freud’s study and seeing the famous couch where he conducted his renowned psychoanalysis with patients.  Psychoanalysis revolves around the belief that everyone has unconscious thoughts, feelings, desires, and memories.  Students were able to debate Freud’s contributions to our knowledge of the mind and behaviour and whether his theories are still relevant in our modern day understanding of the brain.

The current Year 6 students who have been offered places at Sandringham had their transition day on Thursday and spent the bonding with their form, experiencing various lessons and navigating their way around the campus. They were talked through the rewards and consequences system, given expecations for their journey at Sandringham and were also shown some of the prizes they can win for academic, sporting, arts and extra-curricular success. Thank you to all of the staff involved in making the day run so smoothly and we look forward to welcoming the students in September.

On Thursday 14th July, our Year 7 students enjoyed their ‘Work Exploration Day’.  Students were encouraged to work with a family member or friend for the day and we’ve been pleased to hear about what they have been doing.  From assisting in excellent local schools, to Google, Morrisons, Airbus and the House of Lords, we were grateful for the time given to these students.  It was also fantastic to host activities online for those working at home or unable to find a placement (which we understand is difficult following the pandemic) and we hope that all students found the day beneficial.

Over the last couple of weeks, Year 7's have been bringing packets of teabags to their English lessons. A little strange you may think, but it is part of our study of literature linked to identity. We have studied poems about refugees by Brian Bilston, Ifrah Mansour and Benjamin Zephaniah. Through our link with Herts for Refugees, we have organised a collection of teabags which will be taken to camps in France to help support the hot drink programme which this charity and their partners provide. In total year 7’s efforts will be providing over 6500 cups of tea.

Lost property! We have quite a collection of valuable and expensive items; water bottles, trainers, earbuds/airpods, reading glasses and keys!

If your child has lost any of the above over the last academic year please ask them to come and check at Student Services before the end term.

Many thanks

Last week, the Gold DofE students undertook their assessed expedition in the Lake District. They have been on a training and a practice expedition in preparation and set off with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. The weather for their expedition was excellent, although quite warm with sun hats, sunscreen and water bottles frequently replenished from the streams. The expedition requires students to spend a minimum of 8 hours per day for 4 days journeying through wild country and requires excellent navigation, fitness, teamwork, campcraft and mental toughness. This is in addition to the determination and commitment to complete the other 4 sections of the Gold Award.

The groups set off from the Glenridding area, heading up steeply over Sticks Pass, north over the Dodds to Threlkeld. The weather was perfect with views as far as Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland. Day 2 saw the group heading upwards and through bogs towards Borrowdale for their second night. Day 3, one group headed up over Windy Gap and to Haystacks with a slight scramble down, finishing a very long and tiring day in Buttermere. The other group headed up steeply through the quarry to climb Dale Head, before heading over the ridge and along the lake to camp at a small, remote farm near Buttermere. On arrival, they were confronted by security and later discovered it was also the location for the filming of Mission Impossible with Tom Cruise jumping out of helicopters.

The final day, both groups headed north, again on very different routes, to finish near Braithwaite, very tired but happy. The teamwork from all members of the groups was excellent and they should all be very proud of completing such a hard challenge and in such good spirits. The evening finished with a debrief from their assessor, a very welcome shower and the groups sharing their stories over dinner at the hostel and the washing up. The students have worked extremely hard preparing for their expedition and have been an absolute pleasure to work with throughout their training and expeditions. They have also been dedicated to completing various other sections of their Gold D of E and should complete the award in the coming months.

All staff who have been involved with the Award at Sandringham are incredibly proud of their achievements and look forward to seeing them complete their award. Finally, I would like to give a huge thank you to the staff who supported the expedition. Mrs Mouncey, Ms Headland, and Mr Tattersall

The teams were

Zach, James, Sophia, Damola, Isabel, Rosie

Jasmine, Olivia, Frankie, Lucy, Henry, Mikey, Shiam,

Well done to the Year 8 Enterprise club team Diverse, the team of Max B, Joseph H, Alex C and Isaac N, who made over £70 in revenue selling their 100% sustainable eco-pens during Open Evening and Jubilee Lunch. They have shown incredible ambition in coming up with the idea of sustainable pens and turning their idea into a profitable business this year, with part of their profits being donated to the Ukraine appeal. The boys showed great confidence and initiative when selling their pens to the public, students and teachers. So, if you see them about do ask about the pens and make sure you have some change. The boys have displayed exceptional entrepreneurial spirit and skills and we are looking forward to their next big idea!   

This week we’ve tweeted about an open day with Herts Police and Springpod Virtual Work Experience opportunities for the summer which can be found here. This includes opportunities at Airbus, Siemens and Barclays.  Please do follow us @sandcareers so that you can see the news as soon as we share it!

A huge well done to the following students who have recently gained the following amazing results in the Music exams:

Nico C – Grade 7 Saxophone, Distinction

Jimmy D – Grade 3 Singing, Distinction

Phoebe D – Grade 2 Singing, Distinction

Phoebe D – Grade 2 Violin, Distinction

Dhanu G – Grade 7 Piano, Pass

Isla F – Grade 4 Piano, Pass

Luke D-G – Grade 2 Piano, Distinction

Hywel J – Grade 1 Piano, Distinction

Hayden W – Grade 5 Theory, Pass

Year 9 have been working hard on their colourful lamps this term. It was fantastic to see them on show for Open Evening on Wednesday. We are sure they will have inspired other students to want to come here and experience the amazing range of modules we offer for DT.

A huge congratulations to Phoebe in Year 7 who gained distinction in both her singing and violin exams recently. She has been working really hard in both areas and this is a great testament to her hard work. Well done Phoebe

This is the last student spotlight for this year but we would love to hear about anything that your children get up to over the summer that could be featured. This can be something in the Community, Sports or Arts related, Academic or anything where a student has gone above and beyond. Please send any articles and or pictures to the admin email address. We have really enjoyed featuring all of our students this year and hope that they have enjoyed their moment in the spotlight. 

This week we also feature some tennis success outside of school. It was a Sandringham take-over at the annual St. Albans LTC 2022 Club Championships last Sunday. While Djokovic & Kyrgios battled it out at Wimbledon, Sandringham pupils were dominating the finals at Jersey Lane. There was sibling success for Marelie & Ivan R in the Open Ladies & Mens Singles & Doubles events, respectively, while brothers Matt & Sam McC claimed the U18 Doubles title before Matt joined Ivan to win the Mens doubles & Sam added the U14 cup to their silverware. Sandringham boys triumphed in all the singles categories: Samuel B - U12, Sam McC - U14, Harrison H - U16, & Angus H - U18. Oli W was victorious in the U14 Boys Doubles, & Liv C & Kaela L claimed the U18 Girls Doubles trophy (played last month). Angus H was also presented with a special award in recognition of his contribution to St. Albans LTC as both a player & assistant coach. All matches were played with great sportsmanship & were of outstanding quality. Well done to all of the students involved for representing Sandringham School so brilliantly! 

Just before the half term, Harpenden Colts had their end of seasons awards and for the Under 15s Girls Hawks, Georgina was awarded the ‘Manager’s Award’ after her first full season with the team.  The manager said these wonderful words about Georgina that we would like to share: 

‘Georgina was selected as the Harpenden Hawks player of the season as she works hard every week in training and is committed to improving. Her hard work is paying off and her match performances throughout the season have shown both great technical ability as well as vision and calmness. Georgina has become a real asset to the team and also a built some great friendships’.

Well done Georgina- what a fantastic acheivement.

On Tuesday evening, we welcomed prospective parents to the school for our annual Open Evening, where the were treated to Dance performances, singing from our buskers, Arts displays, explosions in Science, cooking experiences, rowing challenges, creative games in various departments and much more. Mr Gray gave a fantastic speech including our new school video and our current students acted as wonderful guides, showing parents around and answering any questions. As always this is a huge team effort to put together so a big thank you to all of the staff and students involved for making the night such a success. As you can see from some of the feedback below - existing and prospective parents were really impressed.

The students were really welcoming and gave fantastic answers to my questions.

I liked how enthusiastic and welcoming everyone was. We were really impressed.

Our guides Archie B and Ollie were excellent

The evening was very fun, interesting and welcoming

It was an extremely well organised tour. Lexi and Freddie who showed us around paid great attention to detail and answered all of our questions. They were a credit to the school

Absolutely outstanding! 

Loved it. Enthusiastic teachers and confident students 

Very good. Our student guides were excellent - informative, enthusiastic and altogether helpful (George D and Willow B)

The School seems very well managed and children-centered 

We were really pleased to read this very complimentary article from the French newspaper Ouest-France about one of our Music Tour concerts. It was a fantastic tour and students and staff had a great time. Perhaps those studying French would enjoy translating it for their parents! 

FRENCH: Le mot de la semaine- La lacération

GERMAN: Das Wort der Woche- Die Schnittwunde

SPANISH- La palabra de la semana- La laceración 

Thinking Questions

• Nouns in French, German and Spanish all have a grammatical gender. Why do you think this is? What impact does this have on the way people potentially view certain objects and abstract concepts?

L is for… laceration  [noun]

Definition: A deep cut or tear in skin or flesh.

Example: He suffered lacerations to his head and face.

Synonyms: Lesion, Pierce, Slice

Antonyms: Closure

Etymology: From the Latin ‘lacerare’ meaning to tear to pieces.

The WCSQM Essay Competition is back for the summer with the theme of Friendship. "Everyone needs friends. They are our supporters, our allies, our teammates. They make us laugh; sometimes they make us cry. You can tackle this theme in any way you like. You could write about a real friendship or a fictitious one; what it is like to make a new friend or lose an old one. What does friendship mean to you?" Below are a few details of the competition which you may like to think about over the summer. You can find out more here.

• The competition is open to all students 
• The maximum length of each submission is 2,500 words
• Submitted essays should not include diagrams or graphics
• Essays must be submitted electronically to Mrs Beaton or Mr Whorrod
• Each submitted essay should include your name and form.
• A maximum of three submissions per school will be accepted, and must be submitted by Friday 14th October 2022.

World Class School Quality Mark are celebrating World Youth Skills Day on the 15th July. As a summer activity, why not go to the WCS framework of skills and characteristics here and choose a skill from their secondary section. You can then send a photo of you exercising the skill, with a short explanation of what you are doing and WCSQM will celebrate you on their website. Send your photo and explanation to info@worldclass-schools.org by August 31st 2022
If you are under 13 years old, your parent/carer must email. 

A huge well done to the Senior boys tennis team on their successes last week. The boys finished an excellent 6th in the country after their week away at the LTA Tennis centre in Nottingham against the best 32 schools in the country after winning our regional finals. The team of Chris S, Ivan R, Ryan O’S, Matthew McC and Alex S did the school and themselves proud with their performances across the week, eventually losing to the overall winners Reed School, including boys that had played at Wimbledon the week previously! An amazing achievement for the team and the school, which will keep us in the top 10 schools for tennis in the country for another year. Well done boys.

John Robertson’s terrifying, live-action videogame 'The Dark Room’ now comes with a family-friendly flavour!

Part stand-up comedy show, part theatre; all interactive and insane - this award-winning, genre-defining, mixture of improv comedy and retro gaming all combines to become a deranged rock n’ roll game show – now suitable for ages 11 and up. Families will find themselves trapped inside a live-action videogame!

‘You must see the Dark Room at least once in your life’ ✭✭✭✭✭ The Sun

‘Genuinely irresistibly dangerous’ ✭✭✭✭ The Stage

Tickets £8

A fun-filled, sugar-fuelled, family-friendly pantomime adventure that reminds us ALL not to take candy from strangers (even if they wow you with a fabulous song and dance number!)

Join ‘Hansel and Gretel’ in a new take on an old favourite; with tasty tunes, magical mayhem and colourful characters (including a 7 foot yeti!) it’s simply not to be missed!

“Absolutely Incredible” – BBC Three Counties Radio
“Hilarious, Modern… an absolute delight” - Bedford Today
“Very Creative, fun and interactive” - Families Bedfordshire Magazine

Saturday 17th December – Sunday 1st January. Performances 12pm & 3pm at weekends.
EarlyBird Tickets from £10.00 (Available until 1st July).
Group Discounts and private schools’ performances are available – contact admin@sandpittheatre.co.uk

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The box office is open from 11.30am – 3.30pm Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Alternatively, you can call us on 01727 799565 or visit www.sandpittheatre.co.uk

Little Red Riding Hood’s friend arrives to tell us the story but has a problem, there are no pages in the book! He tries to tell the story and we meet Red Riding Hood’s mum, dad and grandma but he keeps getting the story wrong. So Cinderella arrives to help, dancing a conga with her Jack’s Baked Beans Band and suggests auditions to find the Wolf to end the story.

There is lots of participation in this theatre show, with the audience becoming Cinderella’s backing band, auditioning to be wolves, helping Red Riding Hood’s dad cut down trees and dancing a conga.

Tickets £7/£5

Welcome to THE DARK ROOM – the world’s only live-action, text-based adventure game. It’s strange, insane and addictive – it’s a choose-your-own-adventure, so choose it!

How do you play? The audience is trapped in a retro videogame with a sadistic end-of-level boss. Choose your options, survive the abuse simulator that is the improv comedy overlord John Robertson, and escape to win £1000 – or, be brutally murdered by the rest of the crowd!

Tickets £10.00 – £12.50

All the latest performances are on our website, www.sandpittheatre.co.uk, and you can keep up to date with what’s going on by giving us a follow either on Instagram & Twitter or give us a like on Facebook, just search for The SandPit Theatre!

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The box office is open from 11.30am – 3.30pm Monday, Wednesday & Friday. Alternatively, you can call us on 01727 799565 or visit www.sandpittheatre.co.uk

Chuckl. In association with The Sandpit Theatre bring you the very best in live stand-up comedy.

Enjoy some of the biggest names in comedy along with our favourite handpicked artists. The line-up includes Jo Caufield (Have I Got News For You, Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow) / Sarah

Keyworth (Live at the Apollo, Comedy Central's Roast Battles) / Martin Westgate ("...hope he gives up soon before he starts costing me work." - Gary Delaney) / Nelson Gombakomba (Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year Finalist).

Tickets £12.50