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Friday 29 November 2019 |
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Dear Parents and Guardians, As you will know, following Cheryl’s letter earlier today, I have, after much careful consideration, decided to retire at the end of this academic year. This means I will sadly not be returning to Northampton High School next September as I had originally planned. I feel very fortunate to have had the pleasure and privilege of leading Northampton High over the past few years. I have enjoyed, above all, getting to know the students, staff and families in what is, for me, a very special school community. Although I will be very sad to step away from my role, I know that the time is right for me to entrust the school to a new Head, so Northampton High can begin the next phase in its history. The school is thriving under the present dynamic leadership and there are exciting projects on the horizon, such as the Erasmus Plus Conference in April. I am, as you know, only an hour away currently at Oxford High GDST, and plan to make sure I have opportunities to meet with the girls, staff and parents before my final departure in the summer. Indeed, I am liaising with the Northampton team with the intention to spend some time in Hardingstone before Christmas. I will look forward to seeing the school community very soon, and sharing in the festive preparations. Wishing you a restful weekend. With best wishes, Dr Helen Stringer |
Week Ahead |
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Monday 2 December Tuesday 3 December Wednesday 4 December |
Thursday 5 December Friday 6 December Saturday 7 December |
6.1 and 6.2 Theology and Philosophy trip to the Candle Conference |
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Students in 6.1 and 6.2 enjoyed a Religious Studies A Level trip to Cambridge on Thursday 21 November to attend the Candle Conference. We departed before school began and sadly endured a little traffic before reaching the venue, a Wesleyan Church in the centre of Cambridge, where we encountered the famous Philosopher and Lecturer Dr Peter Vardy! He was absolutely magnificent at bringing to life our studies through a series of lectures. His main focus was on Language and how we may or may not be able to use it to talk meaningfully about God. |
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It was great to hear views of scholars such as Anthony Flew a famous Falsificationist battling against the work of the important Thomas Aquinas who used analogy to enable us to try to talk meaningfully about God. Equally, we discussed the implications of these approaches on Ethics and realised that saying something is ‘good’ and ‘bad’ can be challenged to be meaningless dependent on the scholarship we followed.
We finished the day with a debate involving students from other schools entitled; ‘This House believes the claim ‘Sex before marriage is wrong’ is meaningless.’ It was a great debate with several contributions from students from our own school providing great insights and making connections with previous study. We left promptly returning to school in good time and reflected at what a fantastic opportunity it was to engage with a university-style lecture and hear from the great Dr Vardy who has published many works including ‘The Puzzle of God’ and ‘The Puzzle of Christianity’ that we use in our current course of study. Miss Robinson |
Senior School Trip to British Museum |
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On 22 November, the Senior School took part in the traditional trip to the British Museum in London for more insight on the GCSE Latin and Classics course. A group of L5, U5, 6.1 and 6.2 Latin students, along with Latin teacher, Mrs Peto and Ms Monks, took off that Friday afternoon on an hour and a half long bus journey to the Museum, especially looking forward to one of the new and exciting exhibitions on display. During the bus journey the L5s were given the task of recording a vlog of the trip in the style of Horace, a piece of literature they are currently learning. This was a clever way to help us practise our translation, knowledge and understanding of his style that would help us in future exams. Once we had finally arrived around five o’clock and successfully entered the Museum, we were handed many (many!) sheets that would help each year group narrow down what we were looking for depending on our topics. I know I was instantly taken aback by how grand and magnificent the structure of the building was, but also by the authenticity of things…the ‘real-ness’ of it all. Going through the museum I remember a plethora of artefacts and sights that were jaw-dropping among the 8 million that they protect there. Such as the Rosetta Stone, key to the reading of hieroglyphics, or the Winged Bulls of Assyrian, the Roman and Greek mosaics and many more that were just as stimulating. Seeing first-hand the history and craft work behind these pieces is a one of a kind feeling. It was evident the effort and talent put into them which will help the GCSE students in their units on civilisation and Sixth Form, as well and overall broaden our knowledge on the history and beliefs of the Romans. |
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Our next stop was the Troy exhibition that was recently opened, especially useful to the Sixth Formers. We were guided through the story of the Trojan War, the myths behind the Greeks and Troy through art, interactive screens and, of course, amphoras. These displayed the lives of the Greeks and Gods and the many tales told of Troy. One of my favourite aspects was the beautiful artistry shown, as well as the modernisation of some of the stories through oils and marble. After an information-filled walk through, learning about daily life as a Roman and a quick break for a snack, the group split off for some free time to take a closer look at the many sections they had to offer, such as Japan, Syria, Old Mexico, Italy and, of course, Egypt! The mummies and vast collection of typical objects of the time, such as jewellery, tombs, even real canopic jars, really intrigued everyone; definitely one of the highlights of my evening, as I am sure it was for many others too. The freedom to look around was also very enjoyable. Some finished vlog making, while others visited the gift shop and soon enough it was time to get back on the bus and head for the school. The insight and future resources we experienced on this trip were invaluable. It was a really successful trip that we all loved and took much from; my only wish was that we had more time to wander and learn more about all of the exhibits there. I would definitely go again and will remember this for the rest of my Latin course and longer. Thank you so much to Mrs Peto and Ms Monks for organising and leading the trip for the students, and putting in the time and effort for our benefit. Eeman |
Students enter the Rotary Young Chef Competition |
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What a great morning on Saturday running the local round of the Rotary Young Chef Competition! Emma (U4H), Aibhilin (U4H) and Tilly (L5S) cooked up a storm to each produce a 3-course meal. Congratulations to all the girls for being so fantastic, but especially to Aibhilin who won this round! She will go on to compete in the district round in the New Year. Thank you to Richard from the Rotary Club and the judges for their time and effort, and to Waitrose and Partners for sponsoring the event. Miss Knight |
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High School Sport |
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A quiet week in the Sports Department this week, but there was still time for us to take on Wellingborough at Hockey. The U12, U13, U15 and U18 teams were in action, with a mixture of wins and losses spread across the board. Some fantastic performances and positive team play was on show, as we now look forward to the last week of fixtures for this term. Mrs Littlewood |
Leah picks up 4 medals at the National UWK England Competition |
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On Sunday, Northampton High pupil, Leah, took part in the National UWK England Competition. The competition is one of the biggest events of the year, where every national Federation sends their very best athletes to compete in a day of intense competition.
Leah entered three categories in her age group, coming away with a fantastic two gold and one silver medal. Not content with this, Leah wanted to test herself to the highest standard possible, and also entered two categories in an older age group. Another superb display saw Leah pick up a bronze medal in one category, and a fourth place finish in the other, in a performance which helped Leah to compete under pressure and rub shoulders with older, more experienced competitors. Leah said “I learned a lot about how to get to the next level; I really enjoyed it and I’m proud of a really good performance”. Mr Nash |
Creative Arts Spotlight |
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This week, the Creative Arts Spotlight falls onto Grace in U4. Grace adapted the U4 Risotto recipe by adding asparagus and sweetcorn for extra flavour and texture – it looks delicious! Miss Knight |
Book Review |
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Airhead by Emily Maitlis Let woman of the moment Emily Maitlis give you a behind-the-scenes look at some of the biggest news stories of recent years If you think you know the news, think again. In this behind-the-scenes, no holds barred account of life in the seconds before, during and after going on air, Newsnight presenter, leading journalist, and queen of the side eye Emily Maitlis discloses the wrangling, bust-ups, blow-ups, pleading, last-second script-shreddings, scoops, walk-outs and unexpected love-ins that we never see on-screen. |
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Covering everything from the Paris terror attacks to Grenfell, #MeToo to President Clinton’s love affairs, Boris Johnson, goat yoga, and interviews with everyone from Emma Thompson and Tony Blair to Donald Trump and Russell Brand, Airhead is a brilliant exposé of the moments that never make the news. Miss Buxton |
Chemis-tree event, Thursday 5 December, 3.45pm |
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Term Dates |
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Northampton High School |
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