Events coming up 13th May Year 8 Progress Event
Message from the Leadership Team
Dear Noadswood Families, We hope you managed to enjoy the Bank Holiday weekend and were able to enjoy some well-earned time together. We would like to start our newsletter this week by thanking Miss Ebblewhite, Mr Payne, Mrs Blowers and Miss Tafirenyika for accompanying our students on this week’s History/RPE visit to Poland. During this trip, students had the opportunity to meet a Holocaust survivor and learn more about this topic by visiting places of significance during this period of history. Hearing a first-hand testimony is both powerful and deeply moving; it brings history to life in a way no textbook can and ensures that the lessons of the past are not forgotten. We are very proud of all the students involved, who conducted themselves with maturity and respect throughout—they were a real credit to our school. We would also like to wish all our Year 11 students the very best with their revision and upcoming examinations, which have begun for some this week. This is an important time, and we encourage them to stay focused, maintain a balanced routine and make use of the support available to them - we are all still here to help! Only today I had the pleasure of one Year 11 student working with me in my office to have some quiet study time, away from his friends at a point when, otherwise, time could have been wasted. He said he felt it was too late to have impact for him, but the two hours of study he has done today will actually impact well, even now. In that spirit we are pleased to offer a Year 11 Revision Support Day on Tuesday 26th May. Places can be booked here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/Wx8AtCxesX (please complete by Monday 11th May at 10:00am.) We strongly encourage students to take advantage of this valuable opportunity. We look forward to welcoming Year 8 families to our Progress Evening on Tuesday 13th May. These events are a key opportunity to discuss your child’s progress, celebrate successes and identify next steps to support their continued development. We encourage all families to attend. My three highlights, then, of the week comprise some lovely times with a whole host of students. I will start with Hot Choc today with four brilliant young people. There were two students who’ve done a terrific job in our school garden, with planting, maintenance and building of raised beds as well as a beautiful bench. It was good to have Mrs Penny along to celebrate their work and present them with certificates of achievement for all their top work. There was a further young man whose commitment to all things ornithology and conservation do him and me sooo proud, and it was so good to hear for all of us to hear about all the work he does outside of school about of all this. Finally, it was terrific to celebrate, for the second year running, one of our Year 10 students’ amazing success showing one of the family’s many dogs at Crufts. We all learnt about how hard she has to work and how well the dogs have to do at other shows even to make it to Crufts! A total pleasure to spend time with them all.
Secondly, I want to thank the students in Mrs Hobbs’ and Mrs Groom’s Y10 and 11 classes, respectively, for their excellent attention, knowledge and commitment in the lessons I joined in with this week. Lovely partnership between students, teachers and LSAs on show. Well done, everyone. Finally, heading back to our school garden, I was able to join in with the fun out there with our Y10 Integrated Curriculum Class today, edging, weeding, planting and watering, working with a real sense of team with each other and Mrs Groom and Miss Budden. I can’t wait to get out there again when Miss Penny and her students are there, too. I am grateful for the local community partnerships that are helping the garden to grow, literally, so much, and to my colleagues and all the students.
Thank you, as always, for your continued support, partnership and challenge, and wishing you all a decent weekend, Kathryn Marshall and Noadswood Leadership Team
Safeguarding Guidance
With young people spending so much of their time online, scams and fake news are increasingly targeting them in this way, and young people may not always recognise them as such. This poster provides practical guidance for parents and carers on how to help young people spot scams and misleading information, on talking to your child(ren) about staying safe online and supporting them in developing critical thinking skills when using websites, social media, and messaging apps.
#BEEWELL SURVEY RESULTS Earlier this year, students in Years 7 and 10 took part in the #BeeWell Survey, a large-scale wellbeing and life satisfaction survey completed by secondary school pupils. The survey gathers pupil voice across key areas of life, including mental health, school experiences, relationships, safety and aspirations. The survey is anonymous and provides schools with robust comparative data at school, local and regional levels. It helps us to identify trends, recognise school strengths and highlight areas for development. These responses enable us to review and evaluate the support already in place for students, while also informing our strategic planning moving forward. We were very pleased with the results overall. Almost all areas were positive, with outcomes either in line with or above the average of comparable schools. We look forward to sharing with you the steps we will take using the info gathered.
Noadswood’s Flexible Learning Programme
As mentioned above our garden is beginning to take shape with the beds being built and vegetables planted. Poppy, Lewis and McCorley worked solidly last Friday making huge progress. We love the conversations over the fence from our wider community, taking an interest and asking what's being planted. Especially the lady who told us of how she grew up on the farm we purchased our compost mix from and how different it was then. We are hugely grateful to all those supporting us from our local councillors, Waterside Christmas Fire Engine and the Waterside community fund, our school handy man, Ian, the site team and our lovely librarian Mandi. Friday saw lots of visits from members of staff and the students are hugely proud to share what they are achieving.
Donations
Some weeks ago, we reached out to local nurseries regarding the possibility of a donation of plants to help enhance the school's environment. Fairweathers of Beaulieu were very kind to offer some Lavender plants to us. This morning, we collected 108 Lavandula plants from the Fairweathers Nursery and have already planted 36 of them. Noadswood would like to thank Fairweathers for their generosity and kindness. Not only will these plants enhance the school environment, but they will also attract many more bees and butterflies to the area, helping to pollinate other plants and support the local beehives.
Careers
Year 9 Army Workshop On Wednesday, we were fortunate enough to be joined by the Army who delivered a two-hour workshop to a group of Year 9 students. Students were told about the different job roles within the Army, took part in a myth busting task whilst also having the opportunities to ask questions. The students then participated in team building exercises which required them to problem solve and challenge themselves. All students engaged fantastically – well done! Work Experience A reminder that students in Year 9 are encouraged to begin looking for work experience placements for next year’s work experience week. This will take place on the week commencing 5th July 2027. For further information, please follow the link to see the letter which was shared earlier in the term: Work Experience in Year 10.pdf If you think you, or your workplace, can offer a work experience placement, we would love to hear from you. Please get in touch with our Careers team by emailing Miss Clews at jclews@noadswood.hants.sch.uk and Gordon Lewis at glewis@noadswood.hants.sch.uk. Thankyou.
Year 11 History Visit to Longford Castle
On 23 April, 30 Year 11 students enjoyed a fantastic curriculum visit to Longford Castle as part of their study of Elizabeth I. Built in the late 16th century by the Gorges family, the castle’s striking triangular design and rich history brought the Elizabethan era to life. Students were particularly intrigued to learn that its construction was funded using treasure recovered from a sunken ship linked to the Spanish Armada. They also discovered the important role of Helena Snakenborg, a close attendant of Elizabeth I who later led the Queen’s funeral procession. A highlight of the visit was exploring the castle’s impressive art collection. Students learned how to interpret symbolism in Elizabethan portraits—for example, how objects such as flowers could convey hidden meanings about the subject. The trip was a memorable and valuable experience, and it has been wonderful to see students continuing to share their enthusiasm and knowledge back in the classroom.
AWESOME ALUMNI Nicole Putt 2016 – 2021
Since leaving Noadswood I have attended a dance focused college studying musical theatre getting to perform at places like Move It. From college I auditioned for universities and now attend Chichester University, and I am currently in my last year of study in BA Musical Theatre Performance, getting to participate in multiple shows. Alongside Uni I’m taking on professional work in Choreography, setting shows and having work in a creative role. I additionally work at a dance school teaching the new generation and sharing knowledge and bringing smiles to people. Noadswood aided me from my GCSE in dance, drama and art to this place by giving me creative freedom. Amazing teachers like Miss Costa have demonstrated amazing teaching and I hope I carry that on from her too. My English teacher at Noadswood has also helped with creativity and more Shakespeare work. I was lucky to have so many opportunities at Noadswood that have pushed me towards higher education and achieving work of my dreams!