We continue to be blessed by this gorgeous weather and the sunshine is providing us with much positive energy at HCH. Eating lunch outside, seeing the children run around in t-shirts, and feeling the warmth of the sun on our faces has been fantastic. Reading to the Year 2 English class this week under one of our beautiful trees was a magical moment for me.
Town Hall Meeting
Thank you to the parents who joined us on Tuesday for a discussion about how we are safeguarding your children and tackling any issues around behaviour. It was a useful opportunity for us to share with parents our updated Behaviour Policy and Anti-Bullying policy, as well as all of the interventions we are implementing to ensure that your children feel safe, confident and happy at HCH. I will be hosting another meeting like this in the new term for all of you who were unable to attend.
Year 10 Trip to Sky Studio
On Tuesday, Year 10 pupils ventured to Sky’s Headquarters in Osterley to make their very own blockbuster movie trailers. During their visit the pupils experienced a behind the scenes tour of Sky Studios and had the chance to work with cutting edge technology including including green screens, broadcast quality cameras and bespoke touch screen edit tables. We were very proud to receive the feedback that our pupils were the most creative and engaged group they have ever worked with!
Year 8 Drama Trip to the National Theatre
On Wednesday, Year 8 went to The National Theatre to watch the play, Our Generation. The play was created by Alecky Blythe from five years of interviews with 12 young people from across the UK, and is a captivating portrait of their journey into adulthood. Year 8 have been studying verbatim theatre this term and the play was a lovely end to the unit as they gained a deeper understanding and appreciation for this theatre form. The play touched on many relevant themes such as peer pressure, exam stress, relationships and covid; overall, it was a valuable experience which Year 8 greatly enjoyed.
Spell and Count Competition
On Thursday Khalil, JR, Noah and Max took part in this year’s Dukes Spell and Count Competition. They prepared in their weekly lunchtime club and were very excited to be chosen for the team representing Hampton Court House. The boys stood out through their remarkable teamwork and support of each other. This in combination with accurate spelling skill and the ability to answer quick fire maths question helped them to be this year’s champions. Well done HCH team!
Pupil Fundraising
Our pupil body have been busy thinking about how we can support those affected by the war in Ukraine. They have been raising awareness through assemblies and discussions, and in the process also raising funds. Katie, one of our Head Students, has written the following:
As a sixth form, we have been discussing the Ukraine crisis in form time and we obviously felt a need to get involved and help. We decided on a donations box that we would announce in assemblies and ask students at the school to donate any amount of money they felt they could contribute. We reminded students and left donations open for two weeks. Over the course of these two weeks, we managed to raise a grand total of £293. This money will be going towards the Disasters Emergency Committee Ukraine Appeal to help house and provide necessary supplies to refugees displaced by the conflict. We are very hopeful that our contribution will be useful to help all those affected by the conflict and would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated.
We will continue to think of ways we can offer support. I would like to thank Katie and the rest of the pupils involved for their efforts with this initiative. They have made me and the rest of the staff very proud. Thank you, too, to the Friends for organising the bake sale today in support of those affected. I was sadly unable to be there but I have heard it was fabulous.
William Morris
It is such a pleasure to work in such a beautiful historic building as Hampton Court House. Our Head of Estates and Operations, Nik, takes particular pleasure in thinking about how we can preserve and improve all of the site, but specifically our building. He may have found original William Morris wallpaper in one of our classrooms hidden behind the Victorian fire place surround under another layer of brown wallpaper. Nik has sent Williams Morris and Co Morris & Co. | The Official Home (sandersondesigngroup.com)
Label FrancEducation Ceremony
I very much look forward to celebrating everything French with you on Wednesday night when we welcome the French Embassy to HCH. This will be a fantastic opportunity to reflect on our unique identity and to recognise all of the hard work of our French department over the years.
Term dates
Just three days are left next week until we break up for the Easter break. Please note that Wednesday 30th March is a full school day. I have included a link here with our term dates for the Summer term.
https://www.hamptoncourthouse.
