During January and February the Year 10 students have taken part in a CV and interview skills workshop, in place of their PE lesson. Sarah Gardiner from Services for Young People (SfYP) has helped them with their interview techniques and they were able to spend time working on their CV’s.
This is in preparation for their mock interview, ‘Big Interview Day’, on Friday 10th March.
This week we welcomed representatives from both Tesco and GSK into assemblies to speak to Years 8 to 11 about apprenticeship opportunities post-16 and post-18. Jo Drewitt, Head of Development Programmes from Tesco, and Kathy Freeman, the Early Talent Manager from GSK, and current GSK apprenticeship students gave our students information to consider regarding possible routes into apprenticeships.
For further information about Apprenticeships, please visit our Careers page on the school website or refer to Mrs Stephenson’s email of 6th February 2023 which had the following links:
https://amazingapprenticeships.com/parent-zone
https://www.apprenticeships.gov.uk
OUR U16 NETBALL TEAM ARE GOING TO NATIONALS!
Wow… girls we are SO proud of you! The girls were undefeated in the group stages progressing to the semi finals in top spot. They won 12-9 in the semi finals against The Perse, securing their place at Nationals. The final was another really tough game against Brentwood in which the girls lost their only game of the whole day 15-10. The way the girls play and flow together is amazing to watch and not only are they an amazing netball team but they are also amazing girls and the way they support one another and represent Presdales is a pleasure to watch. An emotional and exhausting day but wow… Bring on 11th March – NATIONALS!!!
Monday 30th January
Well done to the Senior netball team who participated in the district netball tournament.
The girls came 5th overall despite no training and some of them not playing competitive netball before. The team played really well and brought a good team spirit! Star player was Ashley Buckle.
Thursday 9th February
Congratulations to our Senior netball team who beat St Albans High School last night and are now through to the County Cup Finals!
The team were drawing in the first quarter, but then went down by a few goals in the second and third quarters. The girls really dug deep in the final quarter, especially as they had no subs and fought hard to win 34-32! Star players were Ashley and Cara.
Congratulations to the Year 8 Netball team who are through to the County Cup Final! The girls fought hard to beat a strong Heathmount team 22-15.
There were strong performances all over the court from defence through to attack. And the girls demonstrated great resilience to overcome a large and very partisan crowd in the middle 2 quarters of the match. It was close at the start, but the strength in depth of the team shone through and the girls began to pull away in the 3rd quarter.
Well done to all of the girls who played. Star Player as picked by Heathmount was Florrie Pidduck and the Star Player as picked by the coaches was Clemmie Fells.
Congratulations to our Year 10 team who beat St Albans High School last night and are now also through to the County Cup Finals!
We were down by a couple of goals in the first quarter but came back strong from the second quarter onwards to win 35-28! Star players were Tonye and Emily!
Well done girls and what an achievement to have all three age groups through to the County Cup Finals!
Well done to the ‘Fab 5’ who recently played a 7-a-side game against a mixed John Warner team. You were excellent girls, and it was so competitive even 2 players and a goal keeper down!
Well done to all of the girls who took part in the LVSSA District Indoor Athletics Champs!
We WON all 3 age groups as well as overall – beating the 2nd place team by over 40 points! GO TEAM!!
Special mention to the following who won their individual events:
Steph Winter – Junior girls shot
Ellie Bostock – Inter girls shot WITH A NEW MEET RECORD OF 13.85
Beth Botheras – Inter girls 300m
Lottie Fellows – Minor girls long jump
Olivia Holme – Junior girls 800m
Martha Ker – Inter girls 800m
Minor girls relay team
Junior girls relay team
Inter girls relay team
A very successful competition for Presdales, well done all!
Well done to our U12s who, on Monday 30th January, won the District 6 a-side tournament. The girls got off to a great start in their group winning both their first two matches 3-0 and then a 0-0 draw to top the group.
In the semi final, Presdales faced Broxbourne who also looked impressive in their group matches. Presdales dominated the match winning 2-0 with two well taken goals by Liv White. The first one was created by a defence cutting pass from Ava McManus that Kevin De Bruyne would have been proud of!
The final was against Haileybury Turnford and despite numerous shots on their goal and not facing a shot on our own goal, the match went into 2 mins extra time and then penalties. Our girls bravely stepped up and scored the first 4 penalties beautifully. Turnford had to score to go to a 5th penalty but hit the bar with Presdales, deservedly so, becoming the District Champions.
This young Presdales team is extremely talented, playing some beautiful football. They are also incredibly determined and committed. I’m looking forward to seeing their footballing journey as they progress through the years at school. The whole team were Star Players!
Tuesday 31st January
Well done to the U13s football team who recently reached the semi finals of the County Cup with a 4-1 victory against Goffs! This is the first time Presdales has entered the U13s county cup competition, so all credit to the girls for going so deep into the competition. More to come I hope!
After a bit of a slowish start on a heavy pitch, the girls started to find their rhythm and began to create more chances. The breakthrough came just before half time through a lovely solo goal from Mia with an expert chip over the Goffs keeper. Our second goal followed soon after with a beautiful run and finish by Willow into the bottom corner on her weaker foot. Love to see that!
After half time, Goffs threatened a bit more trying to get back into the game but our defence was solid. Presdales went 3-0 up with Mia thumping an unstoppable finish into the corner. Goffs pulled one back but then the match finished 4-1 to Presdales with Amy producing a lovely one touch from a corner.
Player of the match, voted by Goffs, was Mia. Coaches Player of the Match was Willow. Lots of great performances and now onto your first County Cup semi final girls!
Friday 3rd February
Brilliant performance from our U13s last Friday night who played the Stevenage U14s academy team in a friendly. Presdales were absolutely outstanding winning the match 3-0! We have some wonderful talent at this age group and some of the football they played was truly breathtaking.
Annabel scored the 1st goal smashing in a left foot shot off the post, following a lovely through ball from Liv. The second goal was scored by Mia who nearly broke the net with the power behind her shot! Ava finished it off with a quite brilliant free kick curling it beyond the wall into the bottom corner.
So proud of all the girls. They were playing against some of the best talent in the area and played like a team that play together every week. The Stevenage coaches were very complimentary about the quality of our football. This was a a convincing win and an absolute pleasure to watch!
Friday 3rd February
Great effort from the U14s football team who lost 4-2 against John Warner in the district league on Friday. This was a mixed team compromised of Year 8 and 9 and they faced a strong John Warner team. Very proud of the girls for coming back from 0-3 down to ‘win’ the second half 2-1! A few tweaks to formation changed the dynamic with Presdales the stronger team in the second half. Outstanding commitment as always from the girls. Coaches Player of the Match was Georgia with a great defensive performance.
Monday 6th February
Well done to our U14s who won 4-0 against The Reach Free School on Monday to qualify for the semi final of the County Cup. The girls played well showing their usual commitment & determination throughout. Goals by Mia, Annabel x 2 and Willow gave Presdales a deserved victory. We now enter uncharted territory with our first County Cup semi final in this age group. The girls are understandably excited to reach this stage. Player of the Match, selected by Reach Free, was Lali and Coaches Player of the Match was Annabel. Well done to all the girls for a great team performance!
Fantastic performance from our U16s on Tuesday to best Broxbourne 3-0 in the County Cup Quarter Final. This means Presdales has achieved a hat-trick of semi finals with our U13s and U14s also reaching that stage.
This was a tough match against a strong Broxbourne team. The game was evenly matched, with a highly competitive midfield battle throughout. There was some lovely football played despite the heavy pitch.
Presdales deserved their victory enjoying more possession and creating a lot of good chances. The Presdales defence was combative and resolute, conceding very few chances on our goal.
The scoring was opened shortly before half time by Amber M. This followed some good work on the wing by Anastasia who created the chance. Amber skipped her defender and finished with a lovely controlled left foot shot into the corner.
Anastasia scored our second after great pressing and blocking their defensive clearance. Amber M made it 3-0 with a rocket from 20 yards into the top corner – a quite beautiful goal! Amber M then came close to securing her hat-trick hitting the bar.
Brilliant from all the girls who played as a proper team and not just a group of individuals. Coaches Player of the Match goes to Amber M for her two outstanding goals and overall performance. Well done girls. Now onwards to the semi final!
Well done to all those swimming on Monday at John Warner! You were all excellent!
Well done to Oliver Hobdell (Year 12) who competed in the County Cross Country at Westminster Lodge on Saturday. It was a strong field and a tough course and he performed excellently!
On January 20th, 32 Year 13 Psychology students flew to Poland for a short but feature-packed trip to the beautiful city of Krakow. However, this was not a sightseeing trip; we were there to visit the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, which was the scene of horrific atrocities during WW2, witnessing the systematic execution of over 1 million people: a dark time in recent human history, known as the holocaust.
Friday in Poland began with a traditional Polish street food style lunch of Zapiekanka; a delicious open sandwich with a vast array of fillings to choose from. Our tour guide Monica, took us on a walking tour round the Jewish Quarter, Kaziemierz, who gave us an insight into what it would have been like as a Jewish person living in Nazi occupied Poland, having to hide in fear of being caught or being sent away from your home and family.
She revealed that 65,000 Jews from Kraków alone were killed in the Holocaust. The figures were damning, but the reality of the situation really hit the following day, when we stood in the grounds of the work and death camp, Auschwitz.
The tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau was insightful as much as it was harrowing. It was an experience we were grateful to have had as it’s important to try and understand why these sorts of events happen and how we can try to prevent them from occurring again. Piles of children’s shoes, locks of women’s hair and rows of black-and-white photographed faces, identified by numbers on striped pyjamas, stared back at us as we followed a tour guide. The three-dimensions of the memories of who stood there before brought home the shocking reality of just how many families were unjustly torn apart. We learnt of one man in particular who volunteered to take the place of another prisoner who had been sentenced to death, a selfless act of many in a camp that was so unforgiving. We looked into the links to social psychology, with theories of obedience and prejudice explaining how and why such a terrible thing may have occurred. In particular, we can look at agency theory, which explains that the Nazi soldiers became ‘agents’ to their superiors, and therefore did not feel responsibility for their actions. Another psychological factor is the identification of in-groups and out-groups, which leads to prejudice. As the Jewish population was so segregated and isolated from society, it was hard to view them as anything other than ‘the enemy’, despite no real motive.
As some light relief following on from the day’s events, we ventured into Kraków Old Town for some free time to explore the large market square, taking in the beautiful architecture and local stalls. The snow and cold weather added a magical edge to the city. Finally, a dinner of soup, chicken and potatoes and apple pie was served at a traditional Polish restaurant, and we retired to bed in good spirits.
Our final day was going to be harrowing – meeting a holocaust survivor. The lady we met talked about her experience of having lost her parents and been sent to a convent, before finally being adopted and given a new identity. Her parents had shown courage and self-sacrifice, risking everything to keep their 8 month old daughter safe. They had trusted their instincts to give their baby girl to a neighbour and bravely wrapped up a doll to take on their final journey to the death camps, as the German soldiers saw them as nothing more than numbers. She ended her piece by telling us all that she hopes we never feel sad, and related the wartime experiences to the current affairs of war and persecution in Ukraine. It was a very emotional experience, but also uplifting, as she had such a positive mindset which helped her cope with the sadness she had experienced and make peace with her past.
On the journey home on Sunday evening, we all reflected on just how much we had gained from this experience, and I think we can conclude that it was a trip that none of us will easily forget.
Róisín Hurley, Lizzie Green, Erin Leigh and Emily Sanders
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w/c Monday 17th
Italian Trip
Year 11 Food GCSE practical exams
Thursday 20th
Year 10 Learn4Living Day – Glia Learning study skills
Glia learning parent/carer session (Evening)
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Presdales School
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Ware
Hertfordshire
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Tel: 01920 462210
admin@presdales.herts.sch.uk
Headteacher:
Mr Warren
