This school year has seen excellent attendance at Chess Club, with students from all Years taking part in friendly games, followed by knockout tournaments. The Year 7 tournament was won by Neha in Year 7 and the Year 8 upwards tournament by Saswathi in Year 10.

On Tuesday 14^th November, we were excited to launch our Widening Horizons programme for the 2023-24 academic year. Parents and students of girls in Years 3-5 who are in receipt of pupil premium (free school meals), service premium (children with a parent(s) in the British Armed Forces) and who live in our designated area and children in care or previously in care attended an Information Evening at Kendrick School.

Following on from National Poetry Day, students were invited to submit poems based on this year’s theme of ‘refuge’. We were highly impressed with the quality of the poems we received interpreting this theme in a wide variety of ways – many students wrote with great empathy and sensitivity about the plight of refugees around the world, but other poems reflected on how refuge can be found in other people, places and books.

Students from all year groups showcased their creative flair on National Poetry Day by writing haiku (a Japanese poetic form comprising three lines and seventeen syllables) and placing them in the English Department’s Haiku Box. A total of 179 haikus were submitted on subjects ranging from nature and the seasons to disability awareness to the canteen at lunchtime!

Over the summer I had the opportunity to take part in a month-long German language scholarship, run by the Pädagogischer Austauschdienst (educational exchange service) and fully funded by the German government. After the application process, which included essays in German, I was one of ten students from the United Kingdom selected to take part. 

After a 5-hour journey with a quick pit-stop at Cardiff West Services, we arrived at Dale village. We made our way to Dale Fort on foot, accompanied by scenic views of the ocean.

On arrival, we were greeted by the amazing staff and briefed on safety, the role of Dale Fort as a Field Studies Centre, and a timetable for the next few days. We were then given a short break to settle in our dorms and collect any waterproofs we may need. We then made our way down to Castle beach, where we had the opportunity to explore the different organisms that inhabit these shores. There was particular excitement over a jellyfish that was found!