Nothampton High School
High News

Friday 15 November 2019

Last week we had the pleasure of coming together to celebrate the academic year 2018-2019, to recognise and applaud the achievements of our students and to thank all those who had contributed to making the three terms so successful.

The theme of the evening was ‘Fearless Individuality’ and, although we rightly mentioned the excellent headline examination figures of 59% A*-A grades at GCSE and 70% A*-B at A-Level, the focus was very much on the stories of the individuals – on the risks that they had taken, the hurdles that they had overcome and of the opportunities that they had been given along the way.

Our guest speaker was Sasha Roseneil, Professor of Interdisciplinary Social Science and Dean of the Faculty of Social and Historical Sciences at UCL. As a High School alumna, she was able to take us on a journey from Derngate to London via Yorkshire and Essex as she spoke about her ‘Places of Learning’. In an entertaining and informative speech that touched students and visitors alike, Sasha outlined her academic and professional journey, discussed memories of school, and –  picking up on the theme of the evening – spoke of her own relative strengths and weaknesses, her interests and passions and of the unexpected events that have made her the person that she is today.

Please click here to read more.

Mrs Petryszak
Acting Head

Week Ahead

Monday 18 November
Senior School Assembly – Global Entrepreneurship
Drama Rehearsals
U5 Consultation Evening

Tuesday 19 November
Student Charity Committee Meeting
Minerva Seminar – Physics
Hockey: U14A vs Wellingborough (H)

Wednesday 20 November
Student Council Meeting

Thursday 21 November
House Assembly
Candle Conference (TaP)
Speech and Language Team Selective Mutism Workshop
U5 Engineering Visit to FESTO
Senior Team Maths Challenge
San Francisco Trip Celebration
Swimming: U14A, U16A, U18A vs Warwick 100’s (A)
Hockey: U16A vs Wellingborough (A)

Friday 22 November
Senior School Assembly – Global Entrepreneurship

Saturday 23 November
Rotary Chef Competition
Hockey: 1st XI, U13A, U14A, U15A vs Ratcliffe (A)

6.1 students visit Westminster

This Wednesday, a group of 21 6.1 Politics, Economics, Business and History students travelled to London for a fascinating tour around the the Palace of Westminster, along with History teacher, Mr Donaldson, and Business and Economics teacher, Mrs Langhorn.

We arrived and were greeted by our tour guides, before entering the Palace through the Sovereign’s Entrance, which is where the Queen enters when she visits Parliament.

We walked through the House of Lords and House of Commons, learning many interesting facts about the beginning of Parliament, the role of the Lords and the plaques that adorn the walls of the House of Commons. The plaques were placed honour of MPs who died during their service to the House of Commons, including Jo Cox, who was killed during the build-up to the EU Referendum in 2016.

Next, it was on to Downing Street, and we saw No.10, which was very informative and interesting as many of us had never seen the street in person before. It was a brilliant experience to see first-hand the seat of government in these controversial political times, and it has brought our studies to life. Many thanks to Mr Donaldson and Mrs Langhorn for arranging this for us.

Elena
6J1

Languages Faculty welcomes a professional translator into school

On Monday 11 November, the Languages Faculty welcomed Mrs Louisa Waugh, who is a professional translator, to our Late Rec session. Mrs Waugh spoke about her varied and extremely interesting career and the opportunities which had opened up to her, particularly during her time at Barclays Bank where she was the only linguist on the team. She then gave us a flavour of the huge range of fields she has worked in as a translator.

We are very grateful to Mrs Waugh for giving her time so generously to talk to the girls and we hope to welcome her back again for those of you who missed the opportunity.

Mrs Hill
Head of Languages Faculty

Creative Arts Spotlight

This week, the Creative Arts Spotlight falls onto our U3 textiles students Aisha, Imogen, Imogen, Annabelle, Manha, Arna, Knojah, Muzainah and Gemma for their wonderful woodland themed Lino printed cushions. Well done girls!

Miss Lycett
Subject Leader Textiles

School Sport

What a week!

A wide variety of sporting fixtures were played during this week. To kick the week off, the U13 Hockey teams played Oundle, coming away with a win and draw. The U16 Badminton travelled to Moulton School and came second in the County Tournament, with the U12 and U13 Swimming teams picking up victories against Bedford Modern. The Tennis team travelled to West Bromwich to compete in the Regional Finals of the LTA Schools Team Tennis competition and were successful in beating strong opposition,  progressing on to the National Finals in Bolton on the Saturday 7 December. To round off the week we wish our U13s all the best at the IAPS National Finals today.

Mrs Littlewood
Director of Sport

Hockey: We were delighted with the U15 team’s progression through to the knockout stages of the GDST Hockey rally. We knew it would be a tough day and this was proved right from the first match. The team met Streatham & Clapham in the first round, with the opposition performing well in the first half scoring three goals. Finally, having woken up, we had numerous chances to bring the score line back but were unfortunate to not get any goals.

Two more matches were played; losing on shuffles to Bath, but getting a well deserved win against Newcastle. Well done to all the girls who played in the initial qualifying round in Birkenhead in September and Thursday in Croydon.

Netball: On Tuesday afternoon, a mixture of U13 and U14 Netballers made their way to a very wet and cold Oundle School for the U14 County Cup. The tournament began with a game against the hosts, with the girls making a positive start scoring 2 goals in quick succession. However, Oundle soon fought back taking the lead at half time. In the second half, we just couldn’t seem to keep possession, and Oundle made some excellent interceptions and took the win.

The second game was against a very experienced and drilled Wellingborough team. Their shooter didn’t miss and the defence made it very difficult for our girls to feed the circle, resulting in a loss. The final game was against Sponne. The girls made some great passes down court and showed determination and commitment to the end. A really tough tournament for the girls in tough conditions, however lots learnt and areas to work on ready for the Netball term.

Netball: The U15 Netball team represented the school in the Netball U16 County Tournament. Despite what can only be described as monsoon-like rain for the duration of the tournament, the girls played extremely well. They lost their first match against Oundle, but dominated the next two games against Moulton and Sponne.

The team finished second and now go on to represent the County at the Regional Finals next term at Repton School.

Book Review

The Last Fighting Tommy – Richard Van Emden with Harry Patch

Recommended for U4 and above

Harry Patch, 110 years old, is the last British soldier alive to have fought in the trenches of the First World War. From his vivid memories of an Edwardian childhood, the horror of the Great War and fighting in the mud during the Battle of Passchendaele, working on the home front in the Second World War and fame in later life as a veteran, The Last Fighting Tommy is the story of an ordinary man’s extraordinary life.

Five Children on the Western Front by Kate Saunders

An incredible, heart-wrenching sequel to E. Nesbit’s Five Children and It, set on the eve of the First World War. The five children have grown up – war will change their lives for ever. Cyril is off to fight, Anthea is at art college, Robert is a Cambridge scholar and Jane is at high school. The Lamb is the grown up age of 11, and he has a little sister, Edith, in tow. The sand fairy has become a creature of stories … until he suddenly reappears. The siblings are pleased to have something to take their minds off the war, but this time the Psammead is here for a reason, and his magic might have a more serious purpose.

Before this last adventure ends, all will be changed, and the two younger children will have seen the Great War from every possible viewpoint – factory-workers, soldiers and sailors, nurses and the people left at home, and the war’s impact will be felt right at the heart of their family.

Miss Buxton
School Librarian

Kitchen Team raises money for Children in Need

We are delighted to announce that our Kitchen Team has raised a sum of £143 today by selling Pudsey Bear Biscuits and Sweetie Bags.

Thank you to all those who contributed.

Mrs Maskey
Chef Manager

Early Years Family Fun & Junior STEM Taster Mornings

Job Vacancies - Join our team!

We have a number of exciting job vacancies available here at Northampton High School.

Please follow the below link to find out more about how you can join our team.

Vacancies

Term Dates

Northampton High School
Newport Pagnell Road, Hardingstone Northampton NN4 6UU
T: 01604 765765 nhsadmin@nhs.Gdst.Net