Duke of Edinburgh – Silver Award Practice Expedition

May 8, 2025/in Duke of Edinburgh, Events, General News, Trips & Visits /by Presdales School

During the first week back after Easter, 68 of our Year 10 students went on their practice expedition for their Silver DofE Award. At the start the weather was wet and cold so their waterproofs were immediately put to the test but the students maintained bright smiles and greeted their instructors with enthusiasm and excitement which was lovely to see. They set out on their day one routes and easily managed the more complex navigation which is required at Silver level, finishing at the campsite in good time to enjoy cooking by the fire and some fun time.

Day two began bright and early but this time in sunshine! Participants completed their routes in good time and were able to enjoy cooking their supper in some warm evening sun followed by a quiz, singing songs and dancing and toasting marshmallows on a huge bonfire.

Year 10s teamwork and ‘can-do’ attitude was brilliant and their approach towards all of the challenges that Silver brings was outstanding. They showed resilience and made a huge effort to remain positive and motivated throughout.

Anyone who has participated in the DofE Programme knows it’s an invaluable experience that teaches young people essential life skills for their futures and we are so pleased so many students at Presdales take part.

Presdales is on LinkedIn!

April 28, 2025/in Events, General News /by Presdales School

presdales-school-ware

News from Careers

March 12, 2025/in Careers, Careers Trips, Careers Week /by Presdales School

Bugsy Malone The Musical

February 14, 2025/in Drama, Events, General News, Music /by Presdales School

New Bluetooth Data Loggers

January 17, 2025/in Chemistry, Events, General News, Science, Student Success /by Presdales School

Using grant funding already received from EdufundUK Ltd and the Royal Society of Chemistry, Presdales’ Science Department are currently in the process of updating their range of Data Loggers.

New Bluetooth Data Loggers communicate wirelessly with bespoke software installed on students’ own devices. Their ease of use allows them to be utilised in a wide range of experiments through all year groups and with data saved on the computers it can also be recalled for homework and for cross-curricular use, increasing the depth of learning gained by students.

Replacement of all of the data loggers will cost around £8,000 of which £3,000 has already been funded and the decision on a £3000 application to the Royal Society is pending.

A further application to the Tesco Community Grants Team for their Blue Token scheme has resulted in our project going live in the Ware store this week. With the opportunity of gaining £1500 funding Presdales would sincerely appreciate you taking the time to drop a token in the box whenever you are there. Please share this request with your friends and family too.

Alternatively, if you are in a position to be able to support the purchase of any of this equipment by way of a charitable donation/sponsorship our Grants Officer would love to hear from you and can be reached at nalbone@presdales.herts.sch.uk.

Speech Day 2024

January 14, 2025/in Events, General News /by Presdales School

On Monday 16th December, we were delighted to invite our amazing ex- year 11 and 13 students to celebrate their fantastic achievements and superb exam results. It was lovely to see family, friends and teachers come together to celebrate all the hard work of our students.

The ceremony opened with the senior sixth form team summarising the academic year and the school’s many achievements, including trips ranging from school exchanges to a Lion King theatre visit, offering students a wealth of new experiences.

This year’s inspiring speaker was Katie Forbes, a former Presdales student who is now the Chief of Staff at KPMG. Filled with enthusiasm and joy, Katie inspired students with advice on perseverance, seizing opportunities, and embracing failure as growth. Katie’s optimism was infectious, she finished by emphasising that positivity, enthusiasm and willingness are key to success.

Speech day was finalised with a speech from former head girl and deputy head girl, Adesola Jinadu-Adewale and Gracie Cook, who looked back fondly on their time in Presdales. Adesola reminisced saying, ‘Although I’ve left Presdales, Presdales hasn’t left me’. As the event drew to a close, the heartfelt speeches served as a reminder of the lasting impact of the Presdales experience. It was a day filled with pride, gratitude, and hope for the future, leaving everyone inspired to carry forward the spirit of Presdales in all their endeavours.

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: Reviewed by Eloise Bundy

: Reviewed by Lucy White

: Reviewed by Constantina Nichola

Bar Mock Trial 2024

December 20, 2024/in Bar Mock Trial, General News /by Presdales School

Last Saturday (7th December), as the forces of nature were doing all they could, outside, to destroy the country, the forces of justice, in the form of several Bar Mock Trial teams, were doing their best, inside, at the University of Hertfordshire at Hatfield, to make the country a better place.

Fifteen members of Presdales Year 12 (names below) were using logic, evidence and their considerable powers of persuasion to either convict or acquit:

Leigh Hinton (a security guard) charged with assault causing actual bodily harm and Vim Speed (a professional track cyclist) charged with possession of a Class B controlled substance

Faced with considerable opposition in this roleplay from schools from all over outer-London, and from 6th Form Colleges able to select from up to 1,000 students (versus our c.135 per year group) the Presdales team did brilliantly, in F1 parlance, to “podium” – coming in a superb 3rd place. All the participants deserve huge congratulations!

Group 1: Dee Cole, Martha Ker, Jacob Colligan, Alice Lynn and Emily Lock

Group 2: Cynthia Kasonde, Amelia Johnson-Hart, Charlotte Appleford, Martha Brown and Jess Collins

Group 3: Imogen Warhurst, Sai Siddantham, Sophie Carter, Neive Reid and Olivia Karahasan

Bugsy Malone The Musical

December 19, 2024/in Events, General News /by Presdales School

Tickets on WisePay NOW!!

Year 11 History Trip to Berlin: Friday 18th October to Monday 21st October 2024

December 6, 2024/in Events, General News, History, Trips & Visits /by Presdales School

Friday 18th October

Early on Friday the group met, bleary-eyed, at Stansted Airport at 5am ready to commence the trip. As soon as we landed we were transferred to the hotel to quickly turn around again to go into the centre of Berlin to meet with our guides for a brief walking tour. Some of the sites included: Courtyard of German Resistance Museum, the site of the Von Stauffenberg Bomb Plot, Rosa Luxemburg Memorial and the Victory Column.

Some of our route was cordoned off due to the unexpected visit of President Joe Biden of the USA. However, the weather was kind and the students were getting used to the geography and transport system of Berlin. Eventually we made it back to the hotel for dinner and well-earned rest after a very early start.

Saturday 19th October

After a fulfilling breakfast and a good night’s rest the group departed the hotel for a full day in the centre of Berlin with Miss Workman as the tour guide. Visits included the following:

Unguided visit to Topography of Terror.

External View of Reichstag Dome.

Soviet War Memorial, Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial, Site of Hitlers Bunker, External View of Checkpoint Charlie, Bebelplatz.

Unguided visit to German History Museum.

After having walked some 10 miles or so, we trudged back to the hotel for a rest before going to the Cinema in the evening. We went to see Beetlejuice 2.

Sunday 20th October

Today was a somber day and one of reflection in terms of the level of persecution and murder committed by the Nazis. Ploetzensee Memorial – our first visit was to a now youth offenders’ prison but the site of the execution of any people who opposed the Nazi regime and in particular those who were implicated in the attempted assassination of Hitler in July 1944. Afterwards we then ventured to the site of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, situated in the former British sector during the Cold War, and we had a very informative tour led by volunteers who work at the stadium. We then had lunch at Remus Restaurant. This would have been in the former Soviet zone and some of the decor resembled what it might have looked like during the GDR. After lunch we were then met by our guides who gave us a tour of Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. The guides were very informative and interesting and were keen to tell us that the Concentration camp was mostly for political prisoners during the Nazi regime and not a death camp, although there was a site of a furnace used to burn some Jews who died or were killed there. To finish off the day we ended at Platform 17 or the Deportation Memorial Track – the site of where trains left Berlin destined for concentration camps and death camps in the East.

We returned to the hotel for a rest, dinner and then we went bowling.

Monday 21st October

After checking out of the hotel we ventured to Bernauer Strasse, a memorial to the Berlin Wall and its construction in August 1961. From there we then travelled across Berlin to the site of a Stasi Prison – in operation in the GDR and part of our Cold War study. The tour was chilling and demonstrated how prisoners were treated by East German secret police. To end our tour we had lunch and free time for shopping before heading back to the airport to catch our flight home.

In sum total we walked a mere 37 miles and we saw so many historical sites that have brought our study of the past, and Germany in particular, to life. It was certainly a memorable tour.

Thank you to the History department for organising it.

Year 13 Psychology Trip

December 6, 2024/in Events, General News, Psychology, Trips & Visits /by Presdales School

Year 13 Psychology Trip to Krakow, Poland

Last month 30 Year 13 psychology students visited Krakow, Poland visiting the site of one of the largest Nazi concentration and extermination camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau and learning more about the politics and social history during the time of the Nazi invasion of Poland.

Our first day in Krakow 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 took us on a walking tour round the Jewish Quarter, Kaziemierz where we visited a beautiful synagogue. She gave us an insight into what it would have been like to live 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.

The tour of Auschwitz-Birkenau on Day 2 was insightful as much as it was harrowing. 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 vast array of physical memories of who had been there before brought home the shocking reality of just how many families were unjustly torn apart. The students were confronted with stories of incomprehensible cruelty, hardship and the strength of human spirit in the face of adversity and they were able to use their psychological knowledge and understanding to help them make sense of all of these aspects of humanity. One particularly poignant story was of a priest who volunteered to take the place of another prisoner who had been sentenced to death; one selfless act of many in a camp that was so unforgiving.

As some light relief following on from the day’s events, we ventured into Kraków Old Town where we were shown some of the main sights including the castle (with the famous dragon – which actually breathed fire!) and St Mary’s Basillica where we were able to sit and admire the beautiful architecture and reflect on our experiences from the day. Students were then given some free time to explore the large market square, soaking in the beauty of the surroundings and looking at the array of stalls before we headed to a local Polish restaurant to experience traditional food, folklore and dance.

On our final day, we had the opportunity to listen to a story of strength and resilience told by a lady who’s immediate family had been impacted by the holocaust. We learned about the suffering experienced but also how the Jewish community recovered and healed in the years following the war.

It was a particularly poignant time to visit ahead of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and the students embraced every aspect of the experience with humility and maturity, taking away memories that will last a lifetime.

‘Visiting Auschwitz was a shocking and emotional yet fascinating experience that will definitely stay with me forever’ – Lola Gardner

‘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.’