In this week's Roundup:
Head's Welcome | The Week Ahead | Key Term Dates | Noticeboard | Photo of the Week
Nursery & Junior | Senior & Sixth Form | Submit a Story
A message from
Rich Jones, Head.
I have a funny relationship with Late Summer Programme trips.
I do love LSP—but there was a time when I wasn’t entirely sure that LSP loved me back…
Several years ago (some of you will remember this) I joined the LSP to France. For about eight hours.
The coach had turned up to collect the large III Group (Year 9), ready for the journey to Dover and then on to Calais, where another coach would be waiting. All was gleaming and efficient… until a colleague tapped me on the shoulder and said, “Rich, there’s a bit of an issue—there isn’t much room.”
How could there not be? It was a double-decker.
It turns out this particular double-decker had no storage space. At all. Not a single undercarriage hold.
Within an hour, I was bombing down the motorway in the old St Chris maintenance bus, diesel fumes filling the cab, every inch packed with over 70 backpacks and suitcases, wedged in like Jenga blocks. I coordinated the plan with the coach travelling from Calais, then made it…just…to Dover.
As I pulled into the port, a sign loomed: “Have your COVID certificate ready for inspection.” I didn’t have one.
Panic rising, I somehow ended up in the wrong lane for French drivers only and bumbled my way to passport control. I reached awkwardly right across the width of the van, promptly dropped my passport out of the window, and had to crawl around the van to retrieve it (partially stuck under a tyre). I handed it over; creased, torn, and worse for wear. The French passport officers looked at me with a perfect blend of contempt, pity, and suppressed amusement.
Then came the inevitable: “COVID certificate on phone, please.”
I muttered something about it being “in a bag… somewhere… in the back,” to which they finally rolled their eyes and said, “Just move the van. Go to France.”
My innate clumsiness, for once, worked in my favour.
The coach met me on the other side. No incident. No delays. Mission accomplished.
But that chaotic morning reminded me why trips and experiences like LSP matter so much. They give us adversity, choice points, and opportunities to adapt. Life will throw up obstacles, our job in schools isn’t to remove every single one, but to teach our young people how to meet them.
And this must be measured.
This year, we have more LSPs than ever before; Naples, Lundy, Boston, Metz, Yorkshire, Geneva, Paris, and Offa’s Dyke and for those staying on site, an equally thoughtful programme. It’s about challenge, but also choice. Some students are ready to leap into Southern Italy. Some need to take gentler steps. Both are fine.
The school will always support the individual. That is the point of our ethos. We’re not here to churn out uniform experiences. We adapt. We respond. We hold firm to the belief that young people are individuals, not cohorts.
I remember one Cornwall LSP where we swam with seals. Hollie and I took the first group, quiet, watchful and we were lucky enough to swim for half an hour with curious, gentle seal families. The second group; louder, rowdier, full of laughter went out a little later with Hollie and Mike. They saw no seals at all. The seals had made their choice too!
Difference. Balance. Challenge. Individuality. These are the threads that run through everything we do. Long may it continue.
And if nothing else, at least we’ve proved—once and for all—that clumsiness can be an asset.
Notices
Whole School
Staffing Update
We have a lot of staffing changes to let you know about which take effect at the end of this Academic Year and the start of next:
LEAVERS
Junior School
- Avril Harker – Teaching Assistant
- Corrine Toller – Teaching Assistant
- Debra Clabburn – Teaching Assistant
- Jane Drage – Teaching Assistant
- Vicky Watt - Teacher J Group (Year 1)
- Rebecca Simon - Teacher K Group (Reception)
Senior School
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Rhoanna Newman - Individual Needs Tutor
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Ed Commodore-Mensah - Head of Maths
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Adam Eldin - Head of Computer Science
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Eleanor Mulhall - Head of Politics and KS3 History
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Mia Hoskins - Art Technician
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Sarah Ben Dhaou - French Boarding Assistant
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Carolina Andrade - Gap Student
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Nicola Wilson - Swimming Teacher
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Thomas Aldred - Lifeguard
NEW STAFF (including very recent appointments)
Junior School
- Annette Keech – Junior School Teacher
- Yuliana Dimitrova – Early Years Educator
- Kayleigh Howell – Early Years Educator
- Laura Smith – LSA linked to EHCP
- Lihmarra Og – LSA linked to EHCP
Senior School
- Princess Curtis-Broni - Head of AI, Computer Science and Technological Innovation
- Angela Westwood - Autism LSA (started June 2025)
- Holly Tompkins - Inclusion Administrator (with responsibility for EHCP Co-ordination) (started May 2025)
- Lucy Valerio - SEMH Senior School
- Ines Holguin – Spanish gap student
- Lison (Lili) Gossare – French Boarding Assistant
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Erin Van Tam – School Nurse (maternity cover)
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Three new lifeguards: Josh White, Alfie Cartwright and Dillon Raja.
CURRENT STAFF CHANGES
Junior School
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Chloe Burton - internal promotion to SEMH Junior School LSA
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Shabana Butt – becomes a permanent, full-time, Junior School teacher.
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All Teaching Assistants are now Learning Support Assistants, bringing them into line with the Senior School - we will communicate more fully details of the new Inclusion Team at the start of the new Academic Year
Senior School
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Connor Vincent - becomes our Teacher of LAMDA/Performing Arts & Saturday Boarding Activity Coordinator; and continues as Resident Tutor.
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Flora Barton has been promoted to Head of Politics in addition to her current History teaching.
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Sarah Davies has been promoted to Acting Head of Maths (for one year).
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Anna Grady, School Nurse, will be going on maternity leave.
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Rebecca Twiston-Davies is stepping down as Head of Year UVI (Year 13); and consequently James See (current Head of LVI (Year 12) is promoted to Second in Sixth Form.
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Martin Goodchild, Director of Music, will be reducing his hours to 0.7.
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Helen Hunt, Lead Teacher of Biology will be reducing her hours to 0.8.
- Simon Cockle, Teacher of English/Film Studies, will be reducing his hours to 0.9.
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Becky Wilson, Teacher of English, will be reducing her hours to 0.2.
We thank our leaving staff for all their hard work during their time at St Chris and wish them all the very best for the future.
I am sure you will join me in congratulating current staff on their respective internal promotions; and that you will also welcome in all our new staff in September.
Sunday Community Swim: CANCELLED!
It appears that the intensive weather earlier this week has upset the pool heating systems which are now not operating. I'm afraid that both the air and the water systems have now failed and despite best efforts, we have not yet been able to get the systems running again.
Therefore the Sunday morning Community session (Sunday, 6 July) has been cancelled.
Sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.
Live to Love Cycling Fundraiser
Edwin Gruber (Director of Activities at St Chris, 1982-2011) recently revisited St Chris to talk to Senior School students about his upcoming 2,000 Mile Cycling Fundraiser across France to raise funds for Druk Padma Karpo School in Ladakh. During Edwin's latter time here, St Chris was very involved in raising funds for this unique and remote school nestled in the Himalayas - and our Sixth Form students trekked to visit - although the school was called Druk White Lotus School at the time.
You can read more about Edwin's amazing challenge here and if you would like to donate to his extraordinary cycling challenge you can do so via DonorBox below:
Senior School & Sixth Form
A Level Exam Results Day: Thursday 14 August
A Level Results will be available for students to collect on Thursday 14 August from 8.30 am until 4.00 pm. Staff will be available between 8.30-10.30 am to offer advice. Results can be collected in person or given over the telephone (01462 650850). Results not collected on the day will be posted first class. Details regarding the appeals process and access to scripts will be included with statement of results. Lastly, please note that if students wish another person to collect their results on their behalf (including their parents), permission for this needs to be given to the School beforehand by the student.
GCSE Exam Results Day: Thursday 21 August
Please be advised that the GCSE results day is on Thursday, 21 August from 8.30 am until 4.00 pm. Results can be collected in person or given over the telephone (01462 650850). Results not collected on the day will be posted first class. Staff will be available between 8.30 - 10.30 am to offer advice. Details regarding the appeals process and access to scripts will be included with statement of results. Lastly, please note that if students wish another person to collect their results on their behalf (including their parents) permission for this needs to be given to the School beforehand by the student.
Save the Date! Students Vs Alumni Football Tournament
Friday 19 September 2025
Arrive for 3.30pm for a 4.00pm kick-off
We’re delighted to share an early heads-up for one of the highlights of our Autumn Term calendar – the return of the Students vs Alumni Football Tournament for those students leaving Sixth Form or V Group this summer.
Join us pitch-side as our current students face off against St Chris alumni in a friendly 7-a-side tournament filled with energy, team spirit, and a touch of competitive flair.
The event promises more than just football, with a barbecue, time to reconnect with old friends and staff, and all proceeds going towards our bursary fund, it's a brilliant way to celebrate the strength and generosity of our St Chris community.
Whether you're keen to play or prefer to cheer from the sidelines, we’d love to see you there.
Wellbeing Hub
At St Chris, we’re proud to empower our staff and families to support the mental health and wellbeing of young people through The Wellbeing Hub — an innovative online platform offering expert guidance and practical resources.
Parents and guardians are warmly invited to register for access via the button below. Once signed up, you'll find a wide range of support at your fingertips — including podcasts, online courses, live events, and Q&A sessions with leading professionals in the field.
To help you make the most of the platform, a monthly round-up will be delivered directly to your inbox, highlighting the latest and most relevant content.
For more details, please read the letter from Lizzie Hedderson, Assistant Head (Pupil Development and Wellbeing), linked here.
Register for the Wellbeing Hub
PODCAST: Week commencing 7 July: Tackling the SCREENDEMIC with Dr Sanjiv Nichani OBE, Consultant Paediatric Intensivist and Senior Lecturer at the University of Leicester
WEBINAR: Wednesday 16 July, 6:30pm
We all know that children are growing up in a world where technology is seamlessly integrated into their daily lives. From social media to online gaming and AI-powered learning tools, the digital space offers both opportunities and challenges for young minds. This webinar aims to teach you how to build a digitally healthy family culture and how to empower young people online. It will also provide you with practical strategies to help your child/young person navigate the digital world with confidence, resilience, and responsibility.
This session is FREE for all members of The Wellbeing Hub. A recording will be sent via email the next day and will be available on The Wellbeing Hub for one month afterward. Click the link below to register today. NB. Our webinars are run in Microsoft Teams - if you are prompted to 'sign-in' during the registration process, you simply need to enter a valid email address.
Barracudas Summer Holiday Camp!
Monday 28 July - Friday 22 August | For children aged 4½ to 14
Barracudas Holiday Camp is returning to St Chris this summer!
With over 80 exciting activities to choose from each week – including swimming, motorsports, archery, dance, drama, arts & crafts, an aqua slide and so much more – there’s truly something for everyone. Children can tailor their own day across six activity sessions!
⏰ Standard hours: 8:30am–5:30pm
🌅 Optional Early & Late Clubs: 8.00am–6.00pm
💥 Exclusive school discount: Save £20 on a full week or £4 per day with code HSCP25
🔗 Book now: www.barracudas.co.uk
Spaces fill quickly, so don’t miss out – a summer of fun awaits!
The Week Ahead
Nursery & Junior School
- Tuesday 8 July: Picnic in the Park
- Wednesday 9 July: J Group (Year 1) Morning Talk
- Thursday 10 July: Monte (Nursery) Pirate Party
- Friday 11 July: Last Day of the Academic Year - school ends at 1200 noon.
Senior School & Sixth Form
- Monday 7 July: LSP Week
- Tuesday 8 July: LSP Week
- Wednesday 9 July: LSP Week
- Thursday 10 July: LSP Week
- Friday 11 July: Last day of the Academic Year - school ends at 1200 noon
- Saturday 12 July: IV Group - Lower Sixth (Years 10-12) Golf LSP from Boston returns
Autumn Term Diary
- Monday 1 September: Staff INSET Day
- Tuesday 2 September: Staff INSET Day
- Wednesday 3 September: I Group (Year 7), Lower Sixth (Year 12) and new pupils' induction/conference day
- Thursday 4 September: First Day of the new Academic Year
- Thursday 11 Setepmber: Lower Sixth (Year 12) Bonding Trip
- Friday 12 September: Lower Sixth (Year 12) Bonding Trip
Full Autumn Term 2025 Diary Events will be communicated at the beginning of term
Gouldstone Prize
It’s been another excellent year for our annual St Chris Creative Writing Competition. Once again, our students have amazed us with their imagination, talent, and dedication.
This year’s entries – spanning four categories: I & II Group (Years 7 & 8) Short Fiction, III & IV Group (Years 9 & 10) Short Fiction, Poetry, and Non-Fiction – showcase not only a deep love for language and storytelling, but also a powerful sense of voice and originality.
The quality of the work submitted has been outstanding. From thought-provoking essays and vivid poems to gripping short stories, each piece in this anthology reflects the hard work, courage, and creativity of our young writers. Their ability to express complex ideas, emotions, and perspectives through the written word is truly inspiring.
This e-book is a celebration of that creativity. We are proud to share these pieces with our wider community, and we hope you enjoy reading them as much as we have.
Congratulations to all our writers – your words matter, and your voices deserve to be heard.
Have a wonderful summer!
Careers Newsletter
Edition #16
Our weekly Careers Newsletter has a different theme and excellent links to further information to help students explore careers they might be interested in. It features up to date Labour Market Information, an Employer Spotlight and a University Spotlight. We encourage you to explore this resource with your child to help spark careers conversations at home.
If you have any further questions about Career Related Learning at St Chris, please contact Lizzie Hedderson.
Nursery & Junior
What a wonderful week it’s been at St Chris Junior School! With plenty of sunshine and a real sense of adventure in the air, our students have thrown themselves into learning with curiosity and energy. From dramatic dinosaur rescues and pirate maps to thoughtful nature observations and food chain exploration, each class has brought their own spark to the week. Here’s a look at what’s been happening:
| Nursery |
|---|
| Despite the heat, Nursery students had a lovely morning in Forest School keeping cool in the shade. With the paddling pool providing some much-needed relief, they chose calm and creative activities. From taking off their shoes to cool their feet, to butterfly-spotting and cooking up imaginative apple stews using fruit fallen from the trees, it was a beautifully calm and nature-filled session. Well done to all for staying cool and curious! |
| K Group (Reception) |
|
It’s been all about pirates this week in K Group. Students created treasure maps, aged them with teabags and coffee, and added a dramatic final touch with carefully supervised singeing using matches. In Forest School, the children explored their creativity through rhythm, invention and experimentation. From homemade swings to self-initiated science experiments, the orchard was alive with thoughtful play. Students harvested carrots, built hoists, and performed a 'banging show' complete with rhythm rehearsals and audience safety zones. K Group also cooled off with a visit to Ashwell Springs, where they built dams, made chalk paint, and balanced across stepping stones and fallen logs. |
| J Group (Year 1) |
| J Group spent their Forest School session in the cool shade of the orchard. After a clapping rhythm warm-up, they hunted for bugs using white sheets and magnifying glasses. The students showed fantastic focus and care in identifying insects and understanding how to explore nature respectfully. They also took responsibility for watering the thirsty trees, showing excellent awareness of the natural world. |
| H Group (Year 2) |
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A huge thank you to everyone who joined H Group’s Morning Talk – the students were beaming with pride as they shared their learning. In Forest School, the group dodged the showers and dove into a morning of discovery. A grass snake skin sparked conversations about native wildlife, and from dayflying moth hunting to barefoot water runs, the students showed wonderful independence and curiosity. Apple-based experiments and creative concoctions added even more fun to the mix! |
| G Group (Year 3) |
| Dinosaurs took centre stage in G Group this week! Students began with a STEM challenge: designing and building dinosaur dens from spaghetti and play-doh – with some adding watchtowers too. In the afternoon, they launched paper stomp rockets to 'rescue' dinosaurs across the playground. From food deliveries to tranquiliser rockets, the student ideas were wonderfully inventive. Their lunch roll-ups also got rave reviews – a creative and tasty day all round! |
| F Group (Year 4) |
|
F Group have continued to impress with their Enrichment Task presentations, introducing the class to an amazing variety of figures including David Attenborough, Maya Angelou, Dua Lipa and David Beckham, to name a few. In science, the class recapped the digestive system and then explored food chains across different habitats, learning scientific terms like producer, consumer, predator, and scavenger. A fantastic effort from everyone! |
| E Group (Year 5) |
| E Group enjoyed a creative Forest School session, with clapping sticks, discussions about plant reproduction, and the chance to observe a real grass snake skin. Students then launched into independent exploration: barefoot wandering, water collecting, tool use, imaginary play and hoist-building. |
| D Group (Year 6) |
| D Group had a very special week as they embarked on their trip to France! It was an amazing experience full of cultural discovery, shared laughter and memories that will last a lifetime. |
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Senior & Sixth Form
Letchworth Comic-Con
Last Saturday at the new Letchworth Comic-Con event, five of our Sixth Form Community Service volunteers joined their teacher, Lizzy Anstice-Brown, and helped out as official event photographers. They had a great time and put all their talent and skill to work! Mike Li from St Chris also organised a green screen and was helped by another group of talented St Chris students with running that stall. A big thank to all of them and to Suzy Holden, the organiser, for inviting us.
I Group (Year 7) Research Chocolate!
Over the past two weeks, the English, Food and Science departments have joined forces on an exciting cross-curricular project with the I Group (Year 7). Students began by exploring the fascinating properties of chocolate through scientific research and hands-on experiments during their Science lessons. In Food technology, they then applied their creativity by designing and crafting their own unique chocolate bars, complete with personalised packaging. Meanwhile, in English, students honed their persuasive writing skills by creating and delivering compelling PowerPoint presentations to showcase their creations to the class.
It has been truly inspiring to witness the students working so effectively in teams. Their chocolate bars were not only inventive and delicious but also visually stunning—a testament to their hard work and collaboration.
Golf vs Knights Templar School
Last Friday, 27 June our two Golf beginner teams, led superbly by Alex and Massimo, did a great job playing the full length Academy course. Both teams came in 4 over par - a great achievement with some having only played golf a handful of times! There was encouraging and effective coaching from Alex and Massimo and Alex's team all getting very near the pin on Hole 6.
We played the KTS teams and it was great to have a win on our last game! Well done to all and hoping we'll get some more fixtures in September.
Culture Day
On Monday this week, we celebrated our first Culture Day at St Chris. There was a range of activities, such as dancing, playing music and sharing different foods.
Some of the food dishes brought in was: sushi from Kai, snacks from Nigeria from Ariola, paneer canapes from Jasbir who is Punjabi, cornflake crispy cakes from Bea, Ukranian cakes with fruit and poppy seeds from Veronika, Irn Bru from Lyn McGregor, who is Scottish, and jam tarts from Lizzie Hedderson, who is English.
A music playlist was created by suggestions from a MS Form that was sent out to the school last week. There was dancing in the courtyard, a world map that people could mark where they were from; and outfits from football shirts to traditional dress.
This is the first of many Culture Days to come, and we hope to expand this event next year.
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