On Wednesday the 7th of March, a group of seven Year 10 girls travelled to Savoy’s Place in London for the Industrial Cadet Awards Ceremony. The team consisted of: Ayesha, Becca, Amelia, Phi, Talitha, Saidhriti and Evie. In the summer term of 2017, three Presdales groups participated in a regional competition (sponsored by GSK) where each team had to prepare a ten week project about worldwide issues e.g. energy resources. Each group had to prepare a team report about their project, a model of their idea and a presentation for the judges. Every participant received a nationally recognised bronze Industrial Cadet Award, for their hard work and contribution to the project. My team, Presdales Brilliance, chose the topic ‘Our Healthy School’ and created a website from scratch entitled ‘Think Aloud’. In the regional stage of the competition, our team won the award for Best Overall Project and so had the opportunity to meet the other regional winners from around the country.
Our team chose to focus the project on mental health as we believe it plays a fundamental role in our wellbeing, as well as having an important effect on our academic performance, which we thought was very relevant to students our age. The website is full of helpful information to spread awareness about mental health and what it is, as well as blog posts centred on a focus of the week, helplines, calming music and links to informative videos. The main aspect of our website is that it combines professionally sourced advice as well as personal experiences, in a way that is student friendly and enjoyable to read. Our website was made by students, for students and so we believe that Think Aloud is the perfect combination of professional and personal. Our aim is to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and promote its importance in a way that encourages people to discuss it. Our motto, ‘think allowed, think aloud’ says exactly this: we want to express that everyone should openly talk about and explore mental health and our website helps do just that. We chose to create a website in particular as it is easily accessible, can be constantly updated, has a low carbon footprint and is extremely cost-efficient.
After travelling through London, we arrived at Savoy Place and began to set up our display board. Throughout the day, our team had the opportunity to meet industry bodies through networking and promoting our project as well as meeting other winners and learning more about their projects and ideas. We also sat in on the awards ceremony to listen to speeches by the Prince of Wales and industry CEOs, encouraging young people to take up careers in STEM. As well as this, we each answered a recorded interview question regarding our Industrial Cadet experience. What I think was the highlight of the day was getting to have a private interview with His Royal Highness Prince Charles: we were one of two groups who had the opportunity to do this! We were asked questions about our project, our Industrial Cadet journey and plans for the future. Each member answered the questions confidently and we had all perfected our royal curtseys! After lunch, our group also attended an engineering and science lecture by special guest, Johnny Ball, who gave us an insight into some particularly interesting examples of engineering in action in today’s world.
Our team is planning on completing our silver Industrial Cadet Award, where we plan to incorporate the website into school life at Presdales; perhaps promoting it through assemblies, for use in form times or at home. I also plan on consulting the rest of the school council on their ideas on how to integrate Think Aloud into our school. In the future we are also considering developing a Think Aloud app and social media presence in order to further reach out to teenagers and improve accessibility.
I believe that the variety and diversity in our team was one of the main reasons that we worked so well as a unit; we could have rich discussions and make well informed decisions. From this experience, I have most definitely learnt knew skills: networking, teamwork and decision making, and the journey has inspired me to extend my scientific knowledge and experience and go into a STEM career in the future. Personally, the Industrial Cadet experience has allowed me to develop key skills that I have built during my time at Presdales. For instance, public speaking, opportunities like this and the Mock Trial in year 9 have really helped me grow these kinds of skills that will be vital for success in later life.
On behalf of my team, I would like to give a huge thanks to our GSK mentors, Steph and Kaye, for all of their guidance and advice through the journey, as well as Ms Walsh and Mrs Barnes for their help in getting us to London. Not to mention, Ms Walsh’s hard work behind the scenes to allow our team this opportunity of a lifetime!
Ayesha (Year 10)
On Friday 9th February we left school to head to Nendaz, Switzerland. The journey was good and it seemed to pass very quickly, most people slept very well on the coach. When we arrived at our hotel we were a little tired but very excited to see the snow, get our skis fitted and, most importantly, see our rooms!
The skiing was such fun, with plenty of laughter and some falls but so good to see everybody making great progress. The days flew by and we had lots of snow and sunshine (until the last day) which made the ski conditions amazing. We enjoyed some fun activities in the evenings, too, The Big Quiz is always a good one, plus this year we went bowling and to the Carnival.
I think that we were all sad to leave and face the long journey home but we had a fantastic time and will be able to talk about all the memories for years to come.
Miss Clarke
‘The ski trip has and always will be an amazing part of my time at Presdales. Despite the long coach journey, our week in Switzerland was unforgettable. No one can describe the feeling of skiing down a mountain with your friends and teachers, admiring the blue skies, snowy mountains and warm sun. Thank you to Miss Clarke and all teachers involved for organising a spectacular trip!’
And from a parent
‘I would just like to thank you and all the teaching team that supported the girls on the recent Ski Trip, My daughter came home having had the very best of times. She really enjoyed the week, particularly the skiing. Kind regards and many thanks again,’
‘I was so nervous about skiing and especially about going on the chair lifts but I loved everything. I cannot wait to go again and hopefully I can get even better.’
‘The 2018 ski trip is something I will never forget….as it was AMAZING. All of the teachers really looked after us.’
I am very fortunate to have been able to go on the German trip, it was a great experience. I loved waking up every morning and looking forward to the fun filled day ahead. It was very interesting to learn about Germany’s culture. I also enjoyed spending time with my friends and meeting new teachers. Isabelle Gardiner (Year 9)
I had a really great time in Germany. One of my favourite parts was going on the river cruise. We travelled up the River Rhine. Inside the boat, we were served hot chocolate and cake! It was so nice as the temperature outside was about -2 degrees and we were all very cold! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Holly Yeoman (Year 8)
On Thursday morning we travelled to K?ln. We went to the Lindt factory. It had three floors you could see the chocolate being made and then heard about the history of the chocolate. On one floor there was a large chocolate fountain and you could dip wafers in it. Finally we went to the shop and bought presents for our family and friends. Freya Chandler (Year 8)
The Germany Trip 2017 was amazing! We experienced lots of different things, like their beautiful Christmas markets. Despite the cold, winter weather, I had so much fun going around trying new foods and buying little souvenirs. We also did activities such as going to a cathedral in K?ln which was the largest most beautiful cathedral I have ever seen. However, my favourite part of the trip was when we went to Phantasia Land. Phantasia Land is a big theme park with lots of different rides, including the fastest one in Europe! I had never been on a roller-coaster before, it was thrilling! We also went to see a spectacular light show; it was the best firework display I have ever seen! I would really recommend this trip and, if I could, I would do it all over again. Maisie Pryke (Year 8)
I loved Germany! It was fantastic, especially Phantasia Land. It was so fun. I went on the FASTEST ROLLERCOASTER IN EUROPE! It was scary but the adrenaline rush was definitely worth it. It swung you upside down, round and round. I’m not really sure how many loop the loops I did – I had my eyes closed the whole time. I loved the Lindt factory – the Germans sure do know what they’re doing with chocolate. The chocolate fountain was delish! Kirsty Thomson (Year 8)
On the trip we visited Cologne Cathedral. The building was amazing. It was so tall. 515ft to be precise. What surprised me was that even after two wars, it was still amazing. I really liked the stained glass windows as they were bright and colourful and didn’t stick to a certain theme like other cathedrals. Outside the cathedral were the Christmas markets. There were loads of stalls selling different things. Even though it was cold and started snowing we still managed to get loads of shopping done. I really enjoyed the trip because we did lots of fun activities. Amelia Gilmartin-Smith (Year 8)
On Wednesday 1st November, a cast of 27 Presdales students put on a thrilling 30-minute adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth at Hertford Theatre. The production was directed by English teachers Miss Chapman and Ms Hobbs, with the support of Miss Garrett.
The cast included an array of very talented year 8-11 students, starring Micaela Addison-Kemp (Macbeth), Emily Murphy (Lady Macbeth), Holly Davidge (King Duncan), Maddie Drake (Malcom), Anthe Beston (Macduff), Safi Sipi (Banquo), Evie Moorhead (Lennox) and Seona Colligan (Ross). Special mention should also be given to the three witches, played by Maddie Hunter, Madeline Watson and Emily Patrick, for their spine-tinging performances and superb characterisation of the three weird sisters.
If you did not get a chance to watch the performance, we are delighted to be performing a 15-minute extract of the play during the Creative Showcase on the evening of November 16th.
Photographs are taken by Anna Thompson (Year 13)
The Russian trip in October half term was an absolutely amazing experience. As a year 12 student studying A level Russian, I found the history and culture we learnt about extremely interesting, and relevant to the course which I am studying. The highlight of the trip for me was the overnight train from Moscow to St. Petersburg as it was a completely new experience for me and something I would definitely like to do again. St Petersburg is an architecturally older city than Moscow and contains so many beautiful palaces; however, I preferred the more modern architecture of Red Square, St. Basils being a beautiful structure. I would really recommend the trip to anyone who gets the opportunity to go, whether they study Russian or not.
Claudia Holmes, Year 12
Going to Russia was probably one of the coolest things I’ve done. The trip as a whole was brilliant whilst being super cold. Personally, I had a clear favourite part, visiting the local school in Moscow. It was an insight into the lives of a different culture and a chance to use some of the Russian I had learnt. We talked to one another in both Russian and English and trying to break the language barrier cracked me up. I had other highlights such as: the circus, the night train and the folk show. It’s a great trip and I’d recommend it to everyone.
Shauna Concoran-Snowden Year 11
On Wednesday 11th October, 36 textiles students and 3 teachers travelled to the Textiles exhibition at Alexandra Palace, London. We all arrived with our shopping list for future projects and we were not disappointed by the wide selection of fabrics, decorative textile components, wools, sewing machines and patterns. In fact there were 400 stalls for us to view and collect ideas.
Once we had purchased our fabrics, we visited the exhibitions from 20 professional textiles artists, which this year included a collection of unique designer handbags embellished by a leading embroidery company “Hand and Lock”. The work by graduate students and their sketch books allowed us to see the amount of work involved in textile degree courses. Some of the work was amazing.
We viewed the latest trends in knitwear on the fashion stage and were able to develop a wide range of skills via the expert tuition available on stalls. Some of us tried to learn to knit but need a bit more practice before we can start knitting a jumper! We had a great day and collected lots of ideas for future projects.
On Friday the 29th of September the Year 12 Government and Politics students visited the Houses of Parliament. The trip allowed students to bring our studies to life and fleetingly experience what we have been learning in one of our A Level units about the British constitution and the powers of Parliament.
After a short train journey we arrived at Westminster, greeted by the familiar buildings we’ve seen on the news (and in textbooks!). We were then given some time in small groups to explore, eat and compete in a challenge of which group could take the most (and to some extent funny) photos and tweet them to the politics department on twitter (@PresdalesPols). Through this light-hearted challenge, we got to visit a variety of sights, including Downing Street, Big Ben, the Supreme Court and multiple offices such as the Cabinet Office.
After posing with an assortment of notable individuals (unfortunately in statue form) we reconvened to be given a tour around the Houses of Parliament. We were able to view the two different chambers, along with the Queen’s robing room, the lobbies and more. In doing so, we were quizzed on our knowledge from class along with learning more about the history of Parliament and the different duties of the Houses. Following our tours, we attended a debating workshop and learnt about the essentials of debating in Parliament; to put this in to context, we split into two groups and debated the question of ‘Should school uniforms be banned?’ seeing some very passionate responses from each side.
The day was both fascinating and enjoyable, leaving some students with the hope of someday working in Westminster. Consequently, we’d like to thank Mr Spurgeon and Miss Powell for organising such a fantastic trip and hope to see next year’s cohort enjoy it too!
Katie Adamson and Maisie Mautterer, Year 12
Presdales School is very proud of the 2017 cohort. The last two years have seen this cohort study and be examined in the new English and maths GCSEs. Whilst there have been unknowns about the exams and grade boundaries throughout the course, the students have successfully completed these two new GCSEs to a very high standard.
90% of our students achieved a 4+ in English, compared to the national average of 70%, with 80% achieving a 5+, compared to 53% nationally. We are equally proud of our students’ achievements in maths, where 87% of students achieved a 4+ and 63% a 5+, compared to 71% and 50% nationally.
Overall, 85% of students achieved a 4+ in both English and maths and 34% of all grades were at A/7+.
Whilst we offer a wide and varied curriculum for our students, many will follow subjects that are in the EBacc. We are very pleased that 67% of students achieved a C/4+ in all of their EBacc subjects.
The students in this year group worked incredibly hard to achieve the grades they did and they now have the opportunity to continue their studies in the sixth form or at college. We would also like to thank the staff and parents who worked tirelessly to support, challenge and nurture our girls through their exams.
*All national and school % are provisional
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Presdales School
Hoe Lane
Ware
Hertfordshire
SG12 9NX
Tel: 01920 462210
admin@presdales.herts.sch.uk
Headteacher:
Mr Warren
