As a very busy penultimate week of term draws to a close, I’m fondly reflecting on a number of particular highlights we have enjoyed.
The week kicked off in style with the Year 11 and Year 13 proms on Monday and Tuesday respectively. Both events were a wonderful opportunity for the pupils to dress up and gather together with their peers and teachers over dinner and dancing. A big thank you to the staff and the Friends who were involved in making the evenings so special.
The middle of the week saw the Main Hall come alive to the sound of music during our summer concerts and this would not have been possible without the hard work from the pupils, ably led by Raya, Aleksandra and Rosalind, as well as the peripatetic staff. Thank you all!
The pupils also took part in a jam packed day of trips on Thursday for Activities Day. Trips included rollercoasters at Chessington World of Adventures, botanical delights at Kew Gardens and spooky storytelling at the London Dungeon. Another thank you to Mark and the staff for organising such a successful and exciting day for everyone!
It was great to welcome a number of parents into school last night for a talk and Q&A from Dukes Education’s founder and Chairman, Aatif Hassan, over a glass of wine and delicious canapes from our caterers. Thank you very much to Aatif for visiting and communicating his and Kate’s vision for HCH over the coming years – there is much to look forward to!
I hope you have a restful weekend with your families.
With best wishes,
Adrian
Summer Term 2022
Dates for your calendar
5th July, Early and Lower Years Sports Day: 10.00am – 12.00pm on the back field at HCH
7th July, Middle and Upper Years Sports Day: 1.00 – 4.00pm on the back field at HCH
8th July, Speech Day Prizegiving Ceremonies
9.00 – 9.45am – Early Years
9.45 – 10.30am – Lower Years
10.30 – 11.15am – Middle Years
11.15am – 12.00pm – Upper Years and Sixth Form
8th July, Friends of HCH picnic, 12.00 – 2.00pm
End of term info
Sports Days – House shirts
We’re looking forward to seeing many of you at the EY and LY Sports Day next Tuesday 5 July (10am-12pm) and the MY and UY Sports Day next Thursday 7 July (12.45pm-4pm). We would love the pupils to wear their house colour for the events if possible. A link to purchase a house shirt or vest can be found here, however, please feel free to purchase a top from elsewhere or indeed use an existing item! Lunch will be served to pupils as normal on both days.End of Term Family Picnic – Friday 8 July, 12pm-2pm
We hope many of you will be joining us at the prizegiving ceremonies on Friday 8 July. Afterwards, we welcome you and your family to bring along a picnic to enjoy on the lawn at the front of school. The picnic is open to all parents, pupils and their families (including non HCH siblings). Please note, as this is event is taking place after school has closed, parents must accept full responsibility for their children, including supervision.Hampton Court Garden Festival, Monday 4 July-Saturday 9 July
There is a garden festival taking place at Hampton Court Palace next week and as such, we are anticipating that traffic is going to be heavier than usual on the surrounding roads. We will update you if we hear of any more specific ramifications that may affect you.
News from across the school Activities Day
London Dungeon
A courageous group of HCH students ventured into the dark underbelly of London yesterday. Lured into the gloomy tunnels of the London Dungeon they witnessed murder, witch trials and torture scenes as they time travelled through some of London’s horrible historical highlights. Guy Fawkes’ disembodied head told its tale, Jack the Ripper stalked them in The Ten Bells Tavern and Sweeney Todd sized them up for pie filling. Not everyone made it out scot-free: Eve was twice accused of witchcraft and George was threatened with torture and disemboweling…. a great time was had by all!
Year 3 and 4’s trip to Kew Gardens
Years 3 and 4 enjoyed a visit to Kew Gardens, where they did a workshop on utilising nature to survive learning which plants provide water, food and even medicine!
Year 8’s Great Fire of London tour
On Tuesday, Year 8 students went on a special “Great Fire of London Tour”. They walked along the Southbank towards Borough Market for lunch, then embarked on a “Terrible Thames” Cruise before being guided by Robert and Andy, our two “Great Plague and Great Fire” tour guides, around St Paul’s Cathedral. An intense but amazing day for all!
Knitting club
The knitting club were the grateful recipients of some yarns donated by the Molesey community, and have been busy knitting squares for the charity “Knit a Square”!
Years 8, 9 and 10 loved their trip to the o2, and all showed resilience when faced with the disappointment of our first Uber Boat pulling away from the bankside without them! Nick H and Nicky K overcame a small fear of heights and, after a short climb up what felt like a bouncy castle, everyone enjoyed the view from the top. Well done all for contributing to a lovely day.
Year 4’s Symmetry
Year 4 have been working on symmetry and discovered real-life symmetrical objects such as road signs, flags and animals. They reproduced symmetrical patterns, identified lines of symmetry in different shapes and ended the topic by drawing the other half of an animal face. Some students chose to work on optical illusions and all produced an absolutely fantastic work!
ater
British Museum
Eleven students from Years 9 and 10 visited the British Museum with Caroline, John and Xue. They focussed on the Chinese antiques and ceramics in addition to the Korean and Japanese exhibitions. After the exhibition visit, they walked to a local park and discussed their favourite objects!
Olympic Park, Newham
Years 7 to 10 had a thrilling day out at the Olympic park this week topped off by a trip down the world’s longest tunnel slide: the AncelorMittal Orbit. They first had a guided tour of the Olympic Park visiting the London Aquatics Centre, London Stadium and learning about the history of the area and the efforts that have been made to redevelop the area together with amazing stories of the 2012 Olympics. They then zoomed down the Orbit – for a full 47 seconds of slide!
Year 13 graduation events
To mark the end of the A Level exam series and two years of Sixth Form life at HCH, Year 13 went camping last weekend at an outdoor pursuits centre and got involved in series of challenging and daring activities. The students demonstrated the same positive can-do attitude that helped to get them through their exams. Before their departure on Sunday, the team at the venue commented that they had never had a more polite, friendly and respectful group visiting. On Tuesday the students were welcomed back to school for their graduation party. Towards the end of the evening, several of the teachers and students gave speeches which encapsulated the amazing relationship that our Year 13s have developed with the rest of the HCH community during their time at the school. As individuals and as a collective they will be dearly missed. We look forward to seeing the Y13s along with as many of their parents as possible for the prize giving event next Friday.
HCH Community Garden
Last gardening club of the term and exciting wildlife sightings at HCH
We had our final gardening club of the term on Wednesday… and celebrated with a picnic in the community garden. The children talked about some of the things they’ve enjoyed most during our time together – from mulching the paths and beds and growing and potting up mint cuttings to eating the strawberries fresh from the garden – the kids have had a great time. And so have we.
We are intending to continue the gardening club in the autumn so keep an eye out for more information about how to sign your child up after the summer holidays.
We’ve also had some great wildlife sightings in and around the community garden over the last few weeks – including a hedgehog mum and baby. So we decided to put up a chalkboard next to the porters hut where you can read what we’ve seen and also add anything you’ve seen in the school grounds.
Please check it out. The grounds at HCH are thriving at the moment with insects, birds and mammals and we hope you’re enjoying it as much as we are.
We’ll be adding a small bookcase with plant and wildlife identification books soon.
Hope everyone has a wonderful summer break and more from the community garden team soon.
Friends of HCH Weekly Update
Dates for your Diary:
End of Term Picnic, 8th July
Middle Years Disco and Parent Drinks (date tbc)
Friends Event to welcome new parents, 14th September (evening, time tbc)
Christmas Fayre, 11th December
Summer Fete 2023, June 25th.
The Friends of HCH
Dukes Club members save the date!
We are delighted to announce the inaugural live event taking place on 13th September at Eaton Square Senior School and hosted by the Principal Sebastian Hepher. Join David Goodhew (Head at Latymer Upper) and Professor Mark Bailey (MD of Dukes Education) to discover the best way to navigate the secondary school selection process incorporating the 11+, admissions, applications, tutoring and timelines. Arrive at 6pm for a drinks reception to kickstart the evening, followed by the live debate entitled “London parents: a survival guide for admissions to the capital’s best schools”, Q&A session and networking drinks at 8pm. Not to be missed! Become a member today – visit www.thedukesclub.com – booking opens soon for this event.
