Year 10 Explore ‘Fun and Games’ with a Creative Burst of Colour
Year 10 have made a fantastic start to their GCSE Art course with a lively and imaginative project based on the theme Fun and Games. Using their own photographs of toy collections as inspiration, students have produced an exciting range of work—from bold, expressive paintings to vibrant mixed media pieces. Full of colour, energy, and personality, their outcomes showcase both technical skill and playful creativity. Well done, Year 10, on an outstanding beginning to your GCSE.
Mrs Page and Mrs Harmer
Year 10 Art Mock – June 2025
We’ve loved seeing the incredible creativity and imagination on display in the Year 10 Art mock exams. It’s been a joy to watch these ideas take shape, and we’re so excited to see the final outcomes.
There’s so much talent in this group – well done, Year 10! We’re so proud of all your hard work and dedication.
The Art Department
https://presdales.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG_7855-Copy-Copy.jpeg520593Presdales Schoolhttps://presdales.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/presdales-school-logo.pngPresdales School2025-07-11 11:32:432025-07-11 11:32:43News from Art
On Monday, our Year 12 Sociology Students had the opportunity to hear from Bruce Balden, a participant in the UP series, through Teams. Here are two student reports :
“The Up series was created in 1964 by Michael Apted, with the first instalment ‘Seven Up’. There were originally 14 participants, who were asked a series of questions based on proving the idea “Give me the child until he is seven, and I will give you the man”. The series continued every seven years with the last instalment in 2019 called 63 Up. When it comes to sociology it is an extremely important study, not only as it is a strong example of a longitudinal study but also as it explores the life courses of individuals from varied social backgrounds and how this has affected their opinions on social issues and their access to opportunities. Also the study can be used to explore how the media has changed over time and its changing effects on the participants. It has been recently announced that there will be one final episode of this series, being released in 2026, now that the participants are now 70.”
“As a class we were fortunate enough to talk to Bruce Balden and ask him questions about his time on the series. When he was first introduced on the series he went to a prestigious boarding school but aspired to help those less fortunate and become a missionary or a school teacher in disadvantaged areas. After graduating Oxford university, he went on to teach at a comprehensive school in London’s East End, he then moved to Bangladesh where he taught maths in a local school and helped develop their teacher training courses. The series explored his personal life and his journey getting married and having two sons but also his difficult relationship with his father who was living in Zimbabwe. When asked about his experiences on the Up series Bruce spoke positively and how he felt comfortable to be himself and answer honestly. When it comes to his time on the show he believes he was accurately represented and that in his opinion he can see the similarities between him at 7 and who he is now.”
https://presdales.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/sociology-Header-Copy.jpg520788Presdales Schoolhttps://presdales.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/presdales-school-logo.pngPresdales School2025-07-11 11:28:292025-07-11 11:54:02News from Sociology
On Monday 30 June, myself and fellow Year 10s visited Rothamsted Research for an organised tour. Our tour started with a visit to their Sample Archive where we saw hundreds of thousands of soil and crop samples over the years. There were some samples older than 180 years, and interestingly the samples from the war years were stored in dry milk tins instead of the usual glass bottles. Rothamsted’s fieldwork includes a giant specialised insect vacuum cleaner which collects insect samples to look at different insect species and the populations of each. I found the visit engaging and thought some of the research and technology they have at Rothamsted is very innovative. I especially enjoyed learning about the different kinds of genetic modification they do on plants to maximise food production and meet every kind of need. Overall, I’d say it was a very fascinating visit and I learnt about a whole area of research I hardly knew existed, and I’m glad I went on the trip.
Celia Viudez-Calzada (Year 10)
https://presdales.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/science-Header-Copy.jpg520792Presdales Schoolhttps://presdales.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/presdales-school-logo.pngPresdales School2025-07-11 11:25:532025-07-11 11:25:53News from Science
German Partnership Exchange – Return visit 1st to 5th June 2025
Earlier this term we were able to welcome 20 students to Presdales for the second time, from our German Partnership school ‘Gymnasium am Neandertal’ (Gymneander for short!). They were with us for 5 days experiencing life in an English school with a full programme of events both in and out of school. The visit began with a joint visit to London, when we showed our visitors the major attractions, picnicked in Green Park and spent some time in Covent Garden. They also experienced a normal school day with lessons at Presdales, a visit to Scott’s Grotto, and a Town trail in Ware. Our parents generously donated items for the traditional cream tea, including large numbers of scones, clotted cream and jam as well as home baked Victoria sponge cake. A highlight this year was when our German partners visited their partners in their homes for tea on one evening. We said our final Good Bye this year at a Pizza and pool party in our own pool. The weather was kind and we had lots of fun.
It was lovely to see our students taking good care of their partners, who they had already visited in Germany, and friendships developing with our students across the school. Thank you to parents and carers who have supported this partnership, which we hope will continue to develop and grow. The photos and the comments below from parents and students convey the real exchange of ideas and experiences.
‘We just wanted to send you a quick note to thank you for the wonderful exchange programme. It was a fantastic opportunity and our daughter has gained a lot from both the trip to Germany and the reciprocal visit here. The opportunity to connect with her partner beforehand was very beneficial.’
‘It was a delight to meet ……….who graciously answered all of our questions from ‘what was covid lockdown like for you in Germany’ to ‘has it hit the news in Germany that Peppa Pig has a new baby sister’?
‘I just want to say how nice and polite the boys are. They have just gone over to the park to play football with my little boy, who is 10 and is football mad like the boys.’
‘I tried to speak some German to my partner and learnt a few new words like Marienkäfer which means ladybird. The trip to Germany helped with my independance and confidence as I was in a new environment and had to use my German vocabulary skills.’
‘I really enjoyed every part of the trip, it was the best school trip I’ve ever been on, my favourite part about the trip was just having the partners as we became really good friends and we have kept contact with each other and are planning on visiting each other, I really liked the homestay as it showed us how they spent some of their time outside of school like going to the park or going to get ice cream, I also really loved going to the rowing club as it was one of the best things as we got to eat some German food with our partners and we got to try rowing at their local rowing club, another thing I really liked was Phantasialand as we got to spend most of the day there with just our friends and go on all the rides, eat lunch and just generally have the best time.’
‘We tried to practice German with our partners while they were in England and at the homestay we were teaching them English tongue twisters and they were teaching us German ones.’
‘I spoke some German and only heard the partners speaking it to each other. I liked how it helped the German partners learn more about England and what British people are like.’
‘I would definitely recommend the exchange to other students as you have a lot more independence on this one than you do in other trips. It was also very eye opening to speak to my partner and learn more about German culture and what it would be like to live there. It was definitely worth the money and I really enjoyed it and made memories that will last forever. One piece of advice I would give to someone would be to not worry about the language barrier as they do speak a lot of English and will not judge you if you test out your German on them.’
‘I liked going to my partners house as it was cool to learn more about her and what she likes to do for fun.’
https://presdales.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/german-Header-Copy.jpg520800Presdales Schoolhttps://presdales.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/presdales-school-logo.pngPresdales School2025-07-11 11:25:312025-07-11 11:25:31News from German
On Thursday 19th June, Year 8 and Year 9 Industrial cadets attended GSK Ware to celebrate their achievements.
Students have been working hard over the past few months on their innovative Industrial Cadets Bronze projects. Year 8 students designed a wellbeing garden and year 9 students designed sustainable theme park.
Each team had the opportunity to present their projects in person to a panel of GSK assessors, and they truly wowed the room! The event also featured a talk from EDT CEO Julie Feest, an inspiring Q&A with a GSK panel, and a networking session.
Winning teams for awards were:
Presdales School Team 1: Teamwork Award
Presdales School Team 2: Innovation Award
Well done Presdales, a fantastic celebration of young talent, collaboration, and creativity. Huge thanks to GSK for hosting and supporting this initiative!
Year 10 and Year 12 students attended a careers trip to Sky Studios where they worked in 3 teams to produce a film trailer in their state of the art XR studio. The experience allowed students to operate cameras, digital editing in post-production roles and perform live for screen complete with props and costumes. The students created some impressive short films that were then screened, they had a studio tour where Jurassic World and Wicked have recently been filmed. Students got to play a careers game which revealed the vast amount of jobs available in the film and tv industry, it was very inspiring and the students took a huge amount of knowledge and inspiration away from the tour. Massive thank you to Mrs Gray for arranging this experience for our students.
https://presdales.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/processed-40D3C4FD-02CF-4079-BB16-E79D3CD61F0F-1-Copy.jpeg313800Presdales Schoolhttps://presdales.herts.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/presdales-school-logo.pngPresdales School2025-07-11 11:17:082025-07-11 13:23:22Careers Trip to Sky Studios
DofE Gold & Silver Expeditions – An Unforgettable Adventure
As the school year drew to a close, our Year 11 and 12 students took on the final major challenge of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award: the Silver and Gold expeditions. With a combined total of over 100 participants between the two levels, these expeditions were a true test of endurance, teamwork and determination – and our students more than rose to the occasion.
Gold Expedition – Snowdonia Challenge
This year’s Gold expedition doubled as a practice for our Year 11s and the qualifying expedition for Year 12 students – a demanding yet rewarding five-day adventure in the rugged beauty of Snowdonia.
Fifty students set off, and an impressive 45 completed the full journey, covering tough terrain with daily hikes lasting up to 8 hours. Routes took students to heights of 890 metres with punishing inclines, challenging even the fittest participants. Blisters, aching limbs and early starts were par for the course – but spirits remained high.
Each evening, groups plotted their next day’s route, using compasses and Sharpies to navigate the mountains ahead. Despite the midges (which were, at times, relentless!), students embraced the camping experience. Campfire games – including Codenames, MöLKKY, and even frying-pan rounders – brought much-needed laughter and camaraderie after long days of hiking.
The Gold groups showed tremendous grit, good humour, and mutual support – all qualities that lie at the heart of the DofE Award.
Silver Expedition – Fun in the Chiltern Sun
Meanwhile, our 68 Silver participants completed their three-day qualifying expedition in the Chiltern Hills this week, experiencing a very different challenge – high temperatures and blazing sun, with some days reaching 30°C.
Students trekked for 7 hours a day across open countryside, with every single participant successfully completing the expedition. Evenings were full of laughter and energy, despite the exertions of the day – from sleeping bag races down hills to a spontaneous and now-legendary water fight.
The spark? Dec’s water balloon catapult. What followed was a full-scale showdown: instructors, campsite owner Colin, and Dec himself versus the students. The hillside echoed with squeals of delight as students ran free, phones forgotten, creating memories that will last long after the sunburn fades.
As the sun set on the final evening, casting golden light over the Chiltern landscape, there was a strong sense that something special had happened. Not just an expedition completed, but a shared experience of resilience, friendship, and joy.
A True Reflection of Presdales Spirit
Across both expeditions, our students were exceptional. They tackled extreme terrain, unpredictable weather, and physical exhaustion – and still managed to lift one another up, stay positive, and show outstanding teamwork and resilience.
These expeditions were not just a test of endurance; they were a celebration of character. We are incredibly proud of every student who took part. Whether reaching the summit in Snowdonia or cooling off with water balloons in the Chilterns, they demonstrated what it truly means to be part of the Presdales DofE community.
We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
Essential Website Cookies
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, you cannot refuse them without impacting how our site functions. You can block or delete them by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website.
Google Analytics Cookies
These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.
If you do not want that we track your visist to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:
Other external services
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
Privacy Policy
You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.
