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On Monday and Tuesday, the Outreach programme for Northampton High School, Queen’s Cross Connect, held a Summer Steam Extravaganza.

Over 150 Year 5 students from local primary schools, along with Year 5 pupils from Junior School, attended a two-day event focused on encouraging young women to engage with Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM).

The day started with a fantastic performance of ‘Commotion’ by Highly Sprung Theatre Company, demonstrating physical forces through dance and theatre. Next up was a carousel of workshops, including mixing up slime with Atomic Tom, making bath bombs with Lush and exploring sewage with Anglian Water.

Senior School students volunteered throughout the day, with U3S and U3H acting as hosts for the visitors, guiding the younger students with their enthusiasm for science. Two of the carousel workshops were delivered by L5 students: Café Sci created rainbow fizz, water bombs and gigantic bubbles, while GCSE Computing students posed problems to be solved through cryptography and coding. The experience of mentoring and volunteering is invaluable for our students, developing leadership skills within the community.

After a picnic lunch and a demonstration of a Mentoes Rocket by Café Sci, the schools returned to the Senior Hall for a spectacular Chemistry show by Atomic Tom. The days ended with a quiz and farewell to our visitors.

The Summer STEAM Extravaganza is the first phase of our WHEW! (Women Helping to Empower Women) project, with the aim of positively impacting the futures of 140 young women in Northampton in our 140^th Anniversary year. These same Year 5 students will be invited to attend follow-up Masterclasses in the Autumn, delivered by our Sixth Form.

WHEW! has been made possible by a generous grant from the Northamptonshire Community Foundation through their Youth Social Action Fund. At the heart of Queen’s Cross Connect is the desire to form long-term connections with the local community and to encourage volunteering.

Ms Heimfeld, Outreach Coordinator

Our Arts Festival this year aims to celebrate in style 140 years of the Arts at Northampton High.

You may have noticed that we are running a literary element in the Festival for the first time on Wednesday. Our guest speaker in the evening from 5:45pm is Dr Annie Gray, a food historian who appears regularly on the BBC’s Kitchen Cabinet programme. Her recent book, The Greedy Queen, lifts the lid on Queen Victoria’s eating habits and will be on sale at the event, priced £8.

As well as Dr Gray’s talk, there will also be a wide range of student work to enjoy from Junior and Senior school pupils, ranging from food (ice cream!) with a historical twist, to poetry and creative writing displays and readings. I very much hope you will be able to come along to the evening to celebrate the work of all the pupils involved and to hear Dr Gray speak, perhaps even to ask her a question about Queen Victoria’s eating habits!

Mr Rickman, Deputy Head – Academic

Dr Annie Gray

The set is in place, the costumes are here, the sound and lighting ready to go…it’s almost time for this year’s School Production of The Sound of Music.

The ever-youthful Sound of Music promises to entertain the whole family with a thrilling blend of drama, harmony and song, as the free-spirited Maria tries to outwit the Nazis.

The performances will be held as follows:

Community Performance – Thursday 28 June, 10.00am
Evening Performance – Friday 29 June, 7.00pm
Behind the Scenes – Saturday 30 June, 6.00pm (interview/film with the show Director)
Final Performance – Saturday 30 June, 7.00pm

Tickets are free of charge, however for capacity seating please book your tickets at https://www.trybooking.co.uk/book/event?eid=3406&

We look forward to sharing this superb, feel-good show.

Mrs Care, Director of Theatre

As part of the celebration of the School’s 140th Birthday, our Music Recital showcases the talents of our pupils, from girls in the Junior School to Sixth Form.

The Music Recital takes place on Thursday 28 June, from 7.00pm to 8.00pm, in the Theatre.  The recital follows our Arts Festival Invitational event which starts earlier in the evening, at 5.30pm.

All welcome; please bring along family, friends and neighbours. We look forward to seeing you.

Mr Nathan, Director of Music

As part of our School’s 140^th birthday celebrations this year, we are hosting an Arts Festival week, from Wednesday 27 June to Saturday 30 June 2018.

There is a varied programme of events to showcase the School’s extensive array of performing and creative arts. Find more details here.

The Arts Festival Invitational Day will be held on Thursday 28 June from 5.30pm to 7.00pm and will be an evening of artist awe and wonder, with shows, music and activities spilling out of every corner of the School.

We would be delighted to welcome all pupils, families, friends and neighbours to participate in these celebrations and join us at any or all of the events.

There is no entry fee and all welcome. We look forward to seeing you there!

Mrs Beacroft, Head of Creative Arts

Northampton High’s Parent Association ‘Friends of Northampton High School’ (FoNHS) has raised £2,000 for local charity Cynthia Spencer Hospice.

Funds were raised at the recent 140^th Birthday Charity Ball hosted at the Marriott Hotel, as part of the School’s 140^th Birthday celebrations this year. Other FoNHS fundraising events organised through the year include The Spooktacular Party, The Sparkle Disco, The Fake It or Bake It sale and a Film Night.

This a very impressive total, and one that will that will be enhanced by the funds raised by our staff charity events, as Cynthia Spencer Hospice is also this year’s staff charity.

In recent years, the FoNHS committee has raised funds for other charities and for many projects in School, including the Forest School and a canopy for the sensory garden.

‘The ball was a wonderful evening and I would like to thank FoNHS for all of their time and energies in making this such an enjoyable event, as well as, of course, generating valuable funds for this important local charity,’ commented Dr Stringer.

The FoNHS Team

This week, our group of A Level Biology students visited the lovely seaside town of Westward Ho! – the only town with an exclamation mark in its name in the British Isles.

We spent 4 days and 3 nights learning about succession in salt marshes, rocky shores, sand dunes and rivers. By observing, measuring and recording species across all 4 habitats, we came into contact with loads of new and interesting species we wouldn’t find in Northampton. We got to stay in our own chalets and even had to cook, clean and wake ourselves up! All I can say is that we survived without our parents for 4 days, but only just.

Thank you to Mrs Pearson and Mrs Li-Lakkapa for looking after us and making the trip so much fun, and thank you Mr Attwood for the ice cream!

Mariam, 6G1

Don’t forget to bring your friends and family along to our Family Fun Day and Dog Show on Saturday 30 June, 1pm to 4pm.

There will be lots of activities for all the family, a tea room, refreshments and stalls as well as a family dog show on the field.

It promises to be lots of fun so please come along and join in!

The FoNHS Team

We politely request that all visitors to the school car park be aware of the 5 mph speed limit. The speed limit is for the safety of all children and adults using this site.

There have been a few incidents reported recently regarding safety, and, as you will understand, it is our priority is to make the school site as safe as possible for everyone.

May we please ask all drivers to give way to pedestrians using the designated crossing points.  Children should be dropped off in the designated bays in the parking areas, and not on the crossings or in disabled parking spaces. Please be conscious of looking both ways when pulling out of the parking bays.

We thank you for taking care and keeping safety paramount.

Mrs Headley, Director of Finance and Operations

The South Africa tour group 50-50 draw will now take place on Tuesday 3 July at the Gymnastics and Dance Extravaganza.

There is still time to buy tickets (£10 per number) so please contact the PE department if you would like to buy one!

Mrs Ford, Teacher of PE

After the Fire by Will Hill – recommended for the L5 and above

Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal 2018

The things I’ve seen are burned into me, like scars that refuse to fade.

Father John controls everything inside The Fence. And Father John likes rules. Especially about never talking to Outsiders. Because Father John knows the truth. He knows what is right, and what is wrong. He knows what is coming.

Moonbeam is starting to doubt, though. She’s starting to see the lies behind Father John’s words. She wants him to be found out.

Miss Buxton, School Librarian

We have had a very busy GDST week!

Firstly, we hosted an invitational Cricket tournament and coaching session on Tuesday with Ciara Metcalfe, and then we welcomed the U11 GDST teams on Thursday for the Cricket and Tennis Rally. We have also be delighted to celebrate the successes of our athletes in the Mason Trophy last week, along with Leah at the International Karate Competition in Dundee.

Well done girls!

Mrs Hackett, Director of Sport

Mason Trophy English Schools Intercounties Championships

Georgie Forde-Wells and Amelia Tutt represented the County in The Mason Trophy Inter Counties Schools Championships at Alexander Stadium on Saturday 16 June. Georgie competed in the high jump, fresh off setting a new PB of 1.57m, and Amelia took part in the hurdles.

Amelia has had an injury for the majority of the year and through sheer grit and determination qualified for Saturday. Unfortunately she aggravated her hip injury but still managed to finish her race with a respectable 5^th position.

Georgie had a battle on her hands and with a close fought competition against one other athlete she came away with another PB of 1.67m, and only through count-back was Georgie placed second. This means that she has jumped the qualifying height of 1.62m and is eligible to attend English Schools National Championships.

This is an amazing achievement in itself as Georgie has had no external coaching and is not a member of an Athletics club.

With only 24 places available for qualifying athletes, she is now awaiting confirmation for a place on the team travelling to Gateshead on the weekend of the 13 July;  let’s all keep our fingers crossed.

Mrs Littlewood, P.E Teacher

Karate

Last week was amazing, as I took part in the International Karate competition in Dundee, practicing Kata and Kumite. I came 5th in Kata, and managed to get to the last 16 in Kumite too!

I found it really beneficial as I saw people who did the same style of Karate as me perform their Kata in different ways. Also the championships show how many people there are that are amazing at Karate!

The opening ceremony was a brilliant spectacle, and the whole experience was very rewarding on the whole!

Leah, U4S

Don’t forget to secure your places for September for our Swimming School.

As a joint venture between Northampton High and Northampton Swimming Club, we will be offering swimming lessons in our pool for all levels, which, where appropriate, will then feed into the Northampton Swimming Club coaching programme.

Lessons will run from Tuesday to Friday from 3.45 – 5.15 pm and will be split into three 30-minute sessions daily. Lessons will also run on a Saturday morning. Northampton Swimming Club will employ all swimming teachers, and they will all be qualified to the ASA swimming teacher requirements.

If you are interested in booking a place for your daughter or would like more information, please call 01604 622264 or email coach.smith@northamptonswimming.com.

As you are no doubt aware, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect today (Friday 25 May).

At Northampton High School, and across the GDST, we use information to promote the welfare of our students, help every student fulfil her potential, and manage the School effectively.

To explain what data we collect and what we use it for, we have updated our privacy notice which you can see by clicking here. If you have any questions, please contact Jon Vogel, the GDST’s Information Security and Governance Manager, at dpo@wes.gdst.net.

We also want to remind you that, if you have given consent for your daughter’s photograph to be used in school promotional material and on the school and GDST websites and social media platforms, you or your daughter can withdraw that consent at any time by simply contacting the school office by email at nhsadmin@nhs.gdst.net.