Thank you to Mrs Blandford for creating our new display: Amazing People Who Think Differently. The display features authors, presenters, singer-songwriters and figures in sport with ASD or ADHD. We’ve also highlighted a number of book covers, either about neurodiversity, ADHD and dyslexia, or featuring neurodiverse characters. Our colourful display is downstairs in K block. Do stop and take a look! All books displayed are available from the LRC and can be reserved on Accessit, and our stock of neurodiverse books is regularly updated. Our librarians are always available to help. We love to hear what you’ve been reading!

We are currently looking for a Music Technician, an Assistant Caretaker and a Teaching Assistant (Visual Impairment Support) to join our fantastic school. More information is available on our website here.

Please share with friends who may be interested.

Congratulations to the following students who have been successful in gaining roles within OVO Theatre's Secret Garden.

• Megan Cohen - Ensemble
• Sofia Brydon-Minic - Ensemble
• Elena Mackay - Ensemble
• Noah Short - Colin

Noah said of the experience so far "Having performed as Jim in the Railway Children at the Ovo Theatre last year, I was excited to see an advert for a part in the Secret Garden taking place this summer. After applying online, I did an audition at the Ovo reading some of the script and was delighted to hear soon afterwards that I have been selected to be in the show with Megan and Sofia who I worked with on the Railway Children as well. On Saturday, we did our first rehearsal and I have been chosen to play Colin. I am excited to be part of the show and look forward to performing on stage this summer. If you haven't been to the Ovo Theatre before, you definitely should as it is an amazing venue! Set in the Roman Theatre of St Albans, which was built in 140AD as part of the Roman city of Verulamium, it is believed to be the oldest theatre in the country that is still producing theatre today. The setting is amazing, especially at sunset!" 

Dance London Workshop

This week our company dancers took part in a full day workshop with Pro Excel company in preparation for their two performances at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a few weeks' time. We are so excited for this performance opportunity. 

BTEC and GCSE performance evening

Next Wednesday 13th March, our lovely Y11 GCSE dancers will be performing for their trio exam during the day, and all Y11 dancers will be performing their practical exam work in performance evening. The event starts at 5.30pm in the Sandpit Theatre and free to attend. Come and support our amazing dancers in the lead up to their final practical exams. 

Thank you so much to Diego, Eleanor and Evie in Year 9 who wrote fantastic write ups of their CSI Sandringham ELD. The following extracts of their articles give a great insight into what they learnt and how much they enjoyed the day. 

Diego: Today we had an amazing experience learning about forensic science and crime investigation. We learnt many interesting processes and methods used to collect evidence. First we learnt about fingerprint detection and how to use magnetic powder to reveal them. After putting our hands on paper, we applied the powder with a magnetic wand, and the marks were revealed on the paper. We also used ink to see the different features on our fingerprints, and we made a keyring with one of them. Afterwards we learnt about shoe traces and fibre traces, where we used a sticky sheet to see the shoe marks and a tape to see the fibres on our blazers. Later we used microscopes to see the fibres closely, and we had a look at different people’s hair. I had never thought about the amount of evidence that someone can leave behind without knowing, and that the slightest traces can be detected using different methods....

Evie....It was interesting to know all the different methods of extracting DNA and evidence from a crime scene, and the precautions CSI investigators have to take in order not to incriminate the evidence. So, in order to really understand the steps investigators take, we got into a full CSI kit, complete with what looked like hazmat suits, masks, gloves and shoe covers! Next, we imprinted our footprints on pieces of sticky tape which we then stuck to some white paper, to see how footprints would be extracted from a crime scene, and how crucial they can be in building evidence for a case. Finally, we finished the day with our own case to solve, bagging evidence, looking at suspects’ profiles, dusting for fingerprints, and trying to solve the murder case. Overall, the day was fun, interactive, and gave us an insight into how a CSI investigator would investigate a crime scene. Thank you PulseCSI for such an amazing day!

Eleanor: "Today was an excellent and exciting day, full of engaging activities and useful information. It was amazing to learn how CSI operates and learn some ways crimes can be solved. A great day that I won’t forget.”

Write up from Sasha T, 10S

"For our ELD on Wednesday, we took part in Alternative Interhouse Sports. For the first two hours we got to choose a specific sport. I chose badminton but you could have chosen Table Tennis, Swimming or Netball. After that, you could choose another sport for two hours including Ultimate Frisbee. I chose Netball and it  was really well organised- each form playing each form and letting Miss Walker know the scores afterwards. During session 5 we all took part in tug of war, splitting into two teams and competing against other forms. This was really fun and the eventual winners were Elgar. It was a really good environment as everyone was cheering and it was nice to spend time as a form which we don't get to do much of in Year 10. Elgar were the overall winners of the day and they got sweets to share. Shakepeare came 5th but we all really enjoyed the day, which didn't feel overly competitive. 

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?

A reminder that the next Alban TSH event will take place on Wednesday 14th March at 9.15am at Beaumont School. This is a great opportunity to find out more about what the programme has to offer and a career path into teaching. 

Alex C wrote the following about his Maths focused ELD . 

"For our ELD on Wednesday, we were given a cartoon family and had to spend the day trying to find the best house for them based on their specific criteria. My group's name was The Incredibles Real Estate and our task was to find a house for the Incredible family. Firstly, we had to look at the set up fees to work out what they could afford and find the best location for them. We then had to design a room, using a budget of £520 and a MathsKea catalogue. It was a good exercise in budgeting and planning where things could go in the space required. We then had to find internet providers suitable for the family and work with another group to make a bar chart comparing what houses they had chosen. At the end of the day, we had to make a presentation stating what choices we had made for our family and why. The day was a nice change from normal lessons and it was good to use Maths in a fun and practical way. I learnt about budgeting and it was great to work with friends for the day."  

Well done to Arunima A in 7E, who achieved a Bronze medal in the mixed doubles Badminton tournament under the Under 15 category organised by RBA Badminton Academy. This is a fantastic achievement for someone so young and we are really impressed with your confidence and determination Arunima. We look forward to seeing you play for the school in the future.

If you would like to nominate a student for the Student Spotlight, please email holianm@sandringham.aat.school with any details and/or photographs. We would love to hear from you!

The latest of our series of Careers Assemblies for Year 8 took place on Tuesday 5th March.  We were lucky to host Renee Ramsay-Nicol from Computacenter, who spoke about her career and the different opportunities open to school leavers, including apprenticeships and degrees.

Huge thanks to Renee for visiting our school. We are sure that the students found the talk interesting and informative. 

As mentioned in the Headlines, on Thursday 7th March, we held our annual Duke of Edinburgh’s Award presentation where we welcomed our young people and their families to recognise their achievements  in completing either their Bronze, Silver or Gold Award. It was a lovely occasion and gives us as a school the chance to say well done. Participants who complete their Awards demonstrate team work, resilience, independence and commitment- all skills which are invaluable beyond the scope of the Award.

In the past twelve months, as a school unit, we have achieved 110 Bronze Awards, 53 Silver Awards and 14 Gold Awards. As always, we have a number of young people who just missed the deadline for the Presentation evening but who are very close to completing their Award. Please ensure that you get those final sections signed off in the next few weeks.

Thank you to Lucas H, 8F who wrote the below

On Wednesday we went to Verulamium Park, through St Albans city centre, as part of our ELD focusing on Geography and Urbanisation. We stopped at various points to collect data such as how many cars went by, how many trees there were, parking spots. This was to ascertain how eco friendly St Albans is and it was interesting to note that overall St Albans is very eco friendly and has good sustainability efforts. We completed a booklet and created posters on urbanisation using the information we had gathered. It was fun to spend time together with our form and as a year group and different staff that I hadn't encountered before. It made me want to rethink how eco friendly I am and how I can help to improve my city. Thanks to the teachers for organising. 

As mentioned last week, it is not long until our fantastic STEM week (starting on Monday 11th March.) There are a huge range of activities on offer for all year groups including a mathematics workshop about sundials, a whole day Particle Physics Masterclass for KS5 and an online meeting with CERN scientists for other year groups, a sharing about AI application over time by our guest speaker, Dr Cordelia Mattuvarkuzhali Ezhilarasuis (a dedicated AI researcher at Cranfield University, specializing in the intersection of aerospace engineering and artificial intelligence), a D&T workshop about using AI to help us design for the future, a STEM project showcase, KS3 & KS4 house STEM competitions about engineering challenges, a House Quiz, and our anticipated annual Chemistry Show. Tickets for the show can be bought here and students can sign up for the other activities via Socs. We look forward to what is set to be an amazing and inspiring week.

Students will now have received their book tokens and can exchange these for a £1 book between now and the 28th March. Spare tokens are available from the Learning Resource Centre if required . This year’s selection for KS3 pupils include books by Jennifer Killick and Louie Stowell who are both popular with the younger readers here in the LRC. Do remember that the token can be used to get £1 off a book costing £2.99 or more. More information on this year’s titles here if needed can be found here.

Students can also try their hand at The Big Book Quiz, which will be available in the LRC until the 14th March. Correct entries will be entered into a prize draw to win a £10 book voucher. You can enter by scanning the QR code hereaboveor the link here! All books referenced in the quiz are on the shelves in the LRC and we are very happy to help should anyone need a few pointers! 

Thank you to all of our wonderful students who took part in the Spring Concert on Tuesday. It was a fantastic showcase of all the musical talent we have at Sandringham and wonderful to see the huge variety of orchestras, choirs and ensembles.

"I took part in the Senior Choir and Show Choir part of the Spring Concert. It was a very fun experience and great to be able to perform something that we had been working hard on since last term. The songs "Never Come Back Again" and "Stick Season" are both very joyful and it was lovely to see the audience enjoying them. I'm Still Standing is an iconic song and always a crowd pleaser so that was fun to perform as well. Show Choir is Year 9 and above so it is a nice opportunity to work with students higher up in the school and to form new friendships over a common interest. I would definitely recommend joining some of the amazing ensembles we have here at Sandringham or coming along to watch one of our shows if you haven't done before."  Sara E, Year 9

"On Tuesday I took part in the Spring Concert. I really enjoyed performing in Show Choir and listening to Sinfonia playing a medley from Hamilton. I thought it was a really good mix of the school’s musical talents and thought that everybody got their time to shine. I’m really looking forward to the next concert!" Ava L, Yr 9

Following on from our article last week regarding Year 12 Work Experience, we would like to include some further feedback from our students about their week in industry. As you can see, there were a wide range of sectors covered and we are grateful to all of Ms Griffiths Plunkett and the parents who helped to make this happen. 

• “My experience was fun, interesting and taught me a lot about different processes that happen to make Sizewell B safe and effective as a power plant.”
• “My work experience opened up the world of e-Commerce, Ai and digital marketing.”
• “I really enjoyed teaching Year 3.”
• “The exposure to new technologies reinforced my passion for pursuing a career in the field of computer science.”
• “I got to experience the day to day routine of being a physiotherapist and the work it involves.”
• “I didn't just learn about medicine and life as a doctor, but also had an invaluable experience speaking to patients.”
• “An interesting experience, being part of a team working for David Roth who is the CEO of BAV at WPP.”
• “It was a very informative and interesting experience. I was exposed to both the security and politics side.”
• “It was useful to see what a marine biologist does other than just swimming with marine life.”
• “I got to meet tech giants from big companies like Coca-Cola, Vodaphone and Autotrader.”
• “I gained an insight into the TV and film industry, meeting different teams at the organisation including Studio Management, Production, Lighting, Camera, Sound, Post Production and Directors. I assisted on live programmes such as Newsround. Working on the set for The Voice.”
• “I learnt about the different roles in the construction industry.”

Well done to Turing who maintain their lead this week with 15,266 points overall. A slight change at second place however!

1. Turing (15,266)
2. Newton (14,282)
3. Shakespeare (14,230)

Special mentions this week also go to Arthur M, Max J, Daniel E, Azzy C and Charlie G in 13J who all gained over 18 house points. with an impressive 20 points

Upcoming House Events:

• W/C 11th March - STEM house competition 
• Friday 15th March – Non uniform for Comic Relief
• W/C Monday 18th March - Newton & Johnson CHARITY WEEK

As part of our commitment to provide students with a strong careers programme, Year 12 spent Wednesday's ELD considering their next steps towards a career. The University of East Anglia gave a useful presentation about university followed by tutors explaining the nuances of universities and how to make the right choice. Students then attended a relevant career talk and we would like to thank all the professionals that came in to share their experiences. These included Adele Rowley of Mironid talking about a project in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, Tom Curry of Google discussing roles in IT and James Cameron - a former student - explaining how to build a career in sports, which he has done at Stevenage FC. Other talks were on journalism, accountancy, branding/marketing, the police, law, finance/business, geographical information systems and living abroad. Students then spent time considering what they want to include in their university or apprenticeship application. We look forward to further supporting our Year 12s with what they decide to apply for later on in 2024.

As mentioned in previous editions, we would like to highlight two excellent services which parents and students can access for support with their mental health and well-being.

First Steps (who work closely with CAMHS, ED and NHS links to support young people who are struggling with eating difficulties, disorders, low self-esteem and poor body image) provide an excellent variety of resources. They have recently received funding for the Hertfordshire area and can offer free support to any students who may have struggles around their eating or low self-esteem. Young people can either self-refer or can be referred by someone else through their website www.firststepsed.co.uk. This is an excellent service for those experiencing difficulties, so if you would like to find out more, please visit the website or speak to Mrs Coyne in the SLA.

The Sandbox by Mindler is also an excellent free, NHS funded service to support children and young people in Herts with their mental health and well being. It offers access to internet enabled Cognitive Behavioural therapy, one to one support from professional therapist by texts, phone, online chat or video calls. Signing up is easy and doesn’t require a referral from a professional. You can visit The Sandbox website or click here to find out more details.

As part of the Hertfordshire Careers Hub we are once again participating in their annual Apprenticeship Survey which has been running since 2019. We would really appreciate your help in completing this short survey to share your thoughts generally about post-16 options for your child.

The survey responses are really useful for us as a school to identify how we can improve careers education and knowledge of the different pathways available for all students. Survey responses also help build up an accurate picture across Hertfordshire – you can read the outcomes of the 2023 survey here.

The survey will be open until 31st March.  Thank you for your time.

Congratulations Sophie and Harry for their excellent effort in clubs and lessons. Sophie worked incredibly hard in performance evening last week, and we are thrilled that she has accepted her University of Chichester offer to study Dance and Dance Teaching starting next year and can't wait to see where her future takes her. Go Sophie!!

Fo$S are hoping to have a uniform sale before the Easter Holidays. But we need donations to help restock before we can confirm a date. Any donations please drop to 15 Skyswood Road (in the bike store).

They are also looking for new helpers to join them. A couple of the Fo$S team will be leaving the school this year as their children are in Year 13 and the Second Hand UniformSales are a great and easy way to raise funds for Fo$S. They hold 3-4 sales per year and the time commitment is just to set up, manage the sale and clear down at the end. 3 hours max on a Saturday morning.

Please send a message to Friendsofsandringhamschool@gmail.com with your mobile number if you are interested and they can add you to our WhatsApp group or pop along to the next sale and help out and find out more details.

Written by Jacob, Ross and Freddy

All of us had a lovely time on the German Exchange and got familiar with the German Language. We all had a lovely time with our exchanges and their families. We spent a day in the German School where we experienced a wide range of lessons in German. We took part in lots of trips around Hamburg including a trip to the Hamburg Dungeons where we learnt about the history of the trading port town in a scary and gruesome way. We also went to Lüneburg, a traditional German village historically rich from the sale of their salt and had a guided tour around the town. Furthermore, we all completed an Escape Room with our German Exchanges where we solved puzzles and challenges in German. Luckily all the teams made it out alive. We also went Kegel bowling, a type of small German bowling with nine pins which was also really fun. We then had the weekend to spend with our exchanges. Some of us took part in a ‘KrimiDinner’ a murder mystery meal which was also really enjoyable. Some of us visited other Hamburg attractions including the ‘Miniatur Wunderland’ which was a vast, detailed and moving model of many locations in the world. On Sunday, many of us went to the Hamburger SV game against VFL Osnabrück. Hamburg were expected to win as they were against the bottom of the league and were dominant throughout the game. However, unfortunately they lost the game 2-1. Overall we had a lovely time in Hamburg and really improved our German. Thank you Dietrich-Bonhoeffer-Gymnasium!

A reminder that next Friday,15th March will be a non uniform day for Comic Relief. Comic Relief is a fantastic charity which supports incredible projects and organisations that are making a difference for people across the UK and around the world. Thank you for supporting this worthwhile cause. You can make your donation via ParentPay from next week.

Dax Jones is an ordinary schoolboy . . . until something extraordinary happens. Whilst frightened for his life, he inexplicably changes into a fox! He is offered a place at a secret government school where he can develop, and learn to control, his powers. But if Dax accepts, on no account can he tell anybody.

Dave T 7T who has recently read the book says; ‘I really enjoyed the fantasy element of the story. I would definitely recommend this book and am now reading the second in the series.’

V is for…veracity [noun]

Definition: The quality of being true, honest or accurate.

Example: They questioned the veracity of the statement.

Synonyms: Accuracy, Credibility

Antonyms: Dishonesty, Deceit

Etymology: Originates from the Latin ‘veracitas’, from ‘verax’ meaning speaking truly.

Exciting to see our students getting ready for the upcoming Athletics season with a pre-season training session at Jarman Park in Hemel this Wednesday. Thank you to the PE staff for giving up their time to take them. We look forward to another round of silverware coming our way this summer!

Another year, another county semi final for our Year 9 boys. They played an incredibly strong Chauncy team, and unfortunately couldn’t make it to the final. Well done to all the players involved this season, on to next year.

A great effort from the Senior boys basketball team as well who played brilliantly but went out in the last 16 of the National Cup to Greig City Academy by 10. Well done everyone involved.

Please see above for the upcoming fixtures. Good luck to all of our teams! 

Our U13 and U15 girls had an enjoyable afternoon at the county indoor cricket tournament on Monday. A brilliant team performance from the U13 team earnt the girls a place in the regional finals. They won 3 from 3 and finished top of their group, captained superbly by Phoebe H. Our U15 girls also put in a great performance and although the girls didn’t qualify, they all played brilliantly. Well done girls

This week, our Y7 Boys' football team qualified for the Semi-Finals of the District Cup, with a hard-fought narrow victory over Roundwood! Well done all involved. We look forward to our next match.

Unfortunately for our U13 Boys, it was the end of their County Cup journey in a tightly fought quarter final match against Kings Langley. After going 1-0 down in the opening 10 minutes, the boys fought back valiantly to make it 1-1 with a goal from Lucas H. Despite some excellent attempts, the boys couldn't find the back of the net and after a quick flurry of goals by the opposition- the final score was 4-1 loss. The end result didn't reflect the boys efforts on the day and we now focus on the District Cup.

A busy week for our Netball teams!

Well done to the Y8A team (+Beatriz who missed the photo!) - coming joint 4th in the District tournament. Some great play and huge progress made by the team - POT Madison W for some incredible interceptions and defence at key points in multiple games!  Our Year 8B Team also worked their socks off at the Tournament, showing some moments of brilliance! PPT - Evie O and CPT - Mahathi V Well done to all involved! 

Our u14B team also had a tough match against a strong STAHS side! OPOM- A. Halsey, CPOM- E. Clarke

And the U14PS are off to the finals in Loughboroug after they won their south semi final of the SnS Plate 34-24 vs SHHS. Incredible defence the whole way through the court and some great shooting from Lexi and Katie. OP - Katie J, PP - Lauren W, CP - Liv S

And a final picture of our senior Performance Squad. The sun sets on this team's last ever game together. What an unbelievably talented and hard-working group of girls, who have fully embodied the spirit of Performance Netball and given their all on the court! Year 13's, it's been a pleasure to see you develop as players and we thank you for all you have done for Netball at Sandringham. A fitting end to their school netball journey, with a convincing win over Queenswood MVP Liv C

Good luck to Marelie R who is playing in the doubles final of the J100 Loughborough competition today and well done to her for beating some very tough competition to get this far.

Sandringham School's Science Faculty presents their annual Chemistry Show!  Expect exciting experiments, funky facts and lots more!

Tickets are on sale here and cost £3

An evening of Fleetwood Mac and Cheese performed by Big Love UK!  Featuring a 5-piece tribute to Fleetwood Mac, plus some familiar cheesy dance floor classics!

Tickets are on sale here and cost £20

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly.  I don't know why she swallowed a fly...

But the People's Theatre Company do!

And now you can too as they bring the world's best loved nursery rhyme to life just in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pam Adams' best-selling book!

With a captivating combination of live action, animation and puppetry, this magical re-telling of There Was An Old Lady Who Swallowed A Fly is sure to surprise and delight children and nostalgic adults in equal measure.

Tickets can be purchased here and cost £12.50