News from French

January 30, 2026/in Other lang information /by Presdales School

La fête des rois

To celebrate the Epiphany, a number of Year 7 groups found out about the tradition of “la galette des rois” during their French lessons. As many of our students now know, “La galette des rois” is enjoyed by French people on the day of the Epiphany and a “fève” (a sort of charm/coin) is hidden in it. Whoever gets the slice with the “fève” is crowned King or Queen for the day. The recipe was shared and many Year 7 students have been busy this week creating crowns and making the galette at home.

The many impressive crowns that Year 7 created to accompany the galettes were fine examples of their creativity.

Christel Ainge

Orla Tucker – La galette des rois

HOUSE : Badminton

January 30, 2026/in House /by Presdales School

House Results: Incredible effort from all involved. Well played!

Important Information – Issue 158

January 30, 2026/in Important Information /by Presdales School

Wired

January 30, 2026/in Science /by Presdales School

Presdales Grants Officer has successfully applied to the Electrical Safety First charity for a grant for two class sets of wire strippers, along with plugs, wire, fuses and screwdrivers, to improve the delivery of the Year 10’s annual electrical plug safety workshops in their Physics and Science lessons. These workshops involve: stripping electrical wire, learning the roles of each wire, how to correctly change a fuse and how to wire a standard UK electrical plug.

Rewiring a plug teaches our students about the principles of mains electricity, including the role of each of the three wires, the properties of conductors and insulators and the function of a fuse. This workshop will reinforce the concepts of circuit completion studied in previous years as well as the importance of electrical safety, the dangers of electric shock and about electricity in the home and using it safely.

Whilst accepting no liability, we hope they may be able to put their new skills to use at home in due course!

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: Reviewed by Lucy White

: Reviewed by Constantina Nichola

News from PE

January 30, 2026/in Sport /by Presdales School

Netball

U15s Another fantastic game for some of our U15s in the County Cup semi-final against a strong STAGS side.

The first quarter was tightly contested, with STAGS showing great defensive pressure and work rate, making it a real battle to settle into our rhythm. Credit to them for challenging every feed and keeping the intensity high, which pushed us to dig deep and refocus.

From here, we found our flow and showed great composure and teamwork throughout.

Presdales 41 v STAGS 18

County Cup Finals … here we come!

OPOM Lottie and CPOM Sophie

Year 9 Well done to the Year 9 netball team who recently played against Chauncy in county league match. The girls worked hard throughout and showed great versatility and movement throughout the court.

Presdales 45 – 10 Chauncy

OPOM Sophia CPOM Amelie

Year 8 Well done to the Year 8 Country League team who travelled to St Margaret’s Bushey last week in very wet conditions! The girls started off strong 7-2 up in the first quarter and they continued to dominate as the match went on winning 29-10. Well done girls – some fab playing, team work and determination for a just under 3 hour round trip!

A well deserved Star Player to Scarlet playing centre!

On Monday, the Year 8 Netball team played in a friendly district tournament against all the local schools! They all played amazing netball in chilly conditions! A special mention to the blue team who won all their games so went on to win one half of the tournament!

Football

U16s Congratulations to our U16s football team who recently progressed in the County Cup with a convincing 6-1 win against STAGS. The girls showed why they are such a formidable team, playing some fantastic football and showing great togetherness.

The win is even more impressive as many of the girls were nursing injuries or felt unwell throughout the match. We had the bare 11 players with no subs so a huge well done to all the girls who soldiered on to secure the victory.

Coaches PotM goes to the whole team today as it truly was a team effort with everyone playing their part. Well done girls, you all played brilliantly! We now look forward to the Qtr Final against Dame Alice Owens.

U12s Well done to the U12s Football Team who beat a talented Edwinstree team 8-1 to reach the Semi Final of the County Cup.

In a closely contested match, the girls played some great football creating a lot of chances and showing fantastic tenacity in defence. Some work to be done to improve in some aspects before the semi final where the girls will face either Herts & Essex or local rivals Chauncy!

Coaches PotM going to Isabelle I who scored a ‘double hat trick’ in an incredible performance!

Congrats to all the girls!

Indoor Athletics

Well done to all of our athletes who recently competed at the LVSSA Indoor Athletics Championships at Lea Valley.

As always, it was a great event where the girls held their own against a high level of competition against 14 other schools!

Special mention to those who placed in their individual events:

Year 7 :

Peony 2nd 60m Hurdles

Amelia 1st Long jump and 3rd 800m

Year 8/9 :

Sophia 3rd 60m Hurdles

Tami 3rd Shot

Amelie 1st Triple jump and 3rd 800m

Lottie 1st 300m and 1st Long jump

Skye 1st 200m

4 x 200m relay 2nd

Year 7 Team came 6th overall

Year 8/9 Team were overall WINNERS!

Thank you also to our Sports Leaders who helped officiate the triple jump throughout the day.

News from Careers

January 30, 2026/in Careers /by Presdales School

News from Art

January 16, 2026/in Art /by Presdales School

Year 10

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: Reviewed by Lucy White

: Reviewed by Constantina Nichola

A fantastic effort from Year 10! Their first paintings show excellent colour-blending skills, and their wonderful cakes and biscuits were just as impressive.

Important Information – Issue 157

January 15, 2026/in Important Information /by Presdales School

Tickets on sale now!

January 15, 2026/in Drama, Events, General News /by Presdales School

Tickets on sale now!!

News from Italian

January 15, 2026/in Other lang information /by Presdales School

We welcomed Presdales alumna Polly Watson back to school this week to share her experiences of learning languages at university. Students from Year 10 upwards attended her lunchtime talk and found it very useful and interesting. Polly described her journey from Presdales to the University of Bristol, where she is studying French and Italian in her fourth and final year. As well as explaining some of the differences between language learning at school and university, she told us all about her year abroad, where she studied in Toulouse, France, and Palermo, Sicily. Polly is really passionate about promoting languages and inspired our students to consider where their language learning might take them. Year 12 Italian students also enjoyed a presentation given by Polly about festivals in Sicily, to link in with the A Level curriculum. We are so grateful to Polly for giving her time and sharing her experiences with us.