We are aware that several of our students in Year 9 and 10 are studying additional languages out of school as native speakers and may be interested in sitting a GCSE or an A-Level in Summer 2025. Although the exact timeline of next summer’s exams has yet to be confirmed, we would be grateful if initial expressions of interest could be emailed to admin@sandringham.aetrust.uk for the attention of David Williams and the Exams office. Please clearly include the student name, tutor group, the language they are studying which they wish to be examined in and whether it is an entry for a GCSE or an A-Level exam.

The deadline for expressions of interest is Friday 18th October. After this date we will not be able to investigate entries for Summer 2025. Once we have all the requests, we will work with families to see if we can accommodate them. Thank you.

Sandringham are currently looking for:

• Exam Invigilators
• a Learning Supervisor

 to join our fantastic school. More information is available on our website here.

Please share with friends who may be interested.

Well done to all of our Year 7 students for braving the windy conditions for our annual Mob Race on Tuesday. With students competing from schools across St Albans, it was a great chance for Year 7 to represent their school for the first time and see old friends from primary schoo. Well done to Daniel K for coming first for Sandringham boys (and 3rd overall) and to the girls team for coming second overall. Students will receive a virtual badge on ePraise for taking part. 

In other Year 7 news, thank you to those parents who attended the Peak Information Evening last night. If you were unable to attend or would like to see the presentation again, this has been sent to students' email. Also please don't forget to complete the meal and t shirt choices sent in the email earlier this week.

This week’s whole school theme is Positive Thinking Day. Positive Thinking Day is on September 13th  on the National Day Calendar as a day to promote the power of positivity and the impact this simple act can have on your life.This theme was chosen to reflect our desire for all of our students to think positively about themselves and their futures. As a school we strongly believe that all of our students can be somebody and so we want them all to understand the incredible potential they all possess. This week students also received an excellent assembly from Head of School Mr Nicholls who reminded students the importance of positive thinking. 

Please note that the dates for the Parent Teacher Consultation Evening this academic year are as follows:

You will receive a letter nearer the time with details on how to book appointments.

• Monday 13th January 2025 Year 11
• Wednesday 5th March 2025 Year 9 
• Tuesday 25th March 2025 Year 8 
• Thursday 24th April  2025  Year 7 
• Thursday 22nd May 2025 Year 10

We recently heard some lovely news from two former students updating us about their achievements within the Arts. Daniel W and Dan B are currently on a UK & International Tour with The Book of Mormon. Daniel studied at GSA (Guildford School of Acting) and graduated with a First Class Honors last year. He made his West End debut in the new musical The Time Travellers Wife and then worked in Bulgaria in Phantom of the Opera. Dan studied at Arts Educational School London and graduated this year with a First Class Honors and will be making his professional debut with Mormon.

It is always lovely to hear from our past students so if you have any news that you would like to share with us, please contact holianm@sandringham.aetrust.uk with any photos and/or details. 

Hertfordshire County Council and the NHS are delighted to share with you the exciting and new Supporting your Neurodivergent Child handbook that has been developed for Hertfordshire parent/carers and professionals.  The  Neurodiversity Handbook has useful resources, support and signposting on a whole range of things relating to Neurodiversity. 

The resource is accessible to all regardless of whether a young person has a diagnosis or not, and can be used at any point during a young person’s journey.

Well done to Hepworth who lead the charge in house points overall with 870 in total. Johnson and Elgar are not far behind win second and third place with 861 and 854 points respectively. In terms of individual house points this week, the following students all gained 13 or more house points- a fantastic effort!

• Maia L (13E) 18 points
• Martin N (8H) 14 points 
• Alice G (10J) 14 points
• Ana M (9T) 13 points
• Finlay H (7E) 13 points
• Juliette D (7F) 13 points

House Elections – Year 7 & 12 only

Students in Years 8,9,10 & 11 will continue their role for another year. Year 7 & 12 will find out more on Monday/Tuesday about to apply for the role of house leader with applications closing by the 25th September. 

Mr Smith took on a challenge last year to run and/or cycle to almost 200 schools across Hertfordshire in aid of charity. After 9 months, 30 events and almost 350 miles he completed it, the day before we all returned to school. To read and/or support his event click here https://homestarthertfordshire.enthuse.com/pf/dan-smith. Well done Mr Smith on your epic challenge!

The Dance department are blown away by the number of students attending Tuxedo, SYCD, and TripleEdge auditions this week and the pure talent on show. You didn’t make it easy to choose!

The lists are on the board now and rehearsals start next week.

Pack your trunk for the Hogwarts Express and make your way to platform 9 3/4. Sandringham School presents Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ‘secondary school edition’ this November (Thursday 14th-Saturday 16th Nov) Tickets go on sale Monday 16th September at 9am. Whether you are a long time fan of the Harry Potter series, or a newcomer to the franchise, this Secondary School Edition is sure to be another unforgettable show. Tickets go on sale Monday 16th September at 9am here. Be quick as you don't want to miss out

This week we feature Lauren P in Year 13 who has recently competed in the adult national underwater hockey championship Nautilus at with St Albans. They competed against teams from across the whole of the Uk from Glasgow to the Isle of White and came back with the Gold medal. Lauren was proud to have scored the first and last goals for St Albans in the tournament. She has now also been selected to trial for the U24 ladies GB team for the world games and has a place on the European tournament in October. What a fantastic achievement Lauren! We are very proud of you!

If you would like to nominate someone for the Student Spotlight next week, please contact holianm@sandringham.aetrust.uk with any details and/or photographs. We would love to hear from you.

The Puzzle of the Week is a Mathematics challenge run weekly. This week's puzzle is shown above. For every entry you will receive 1 house point, if you answer correctly you will win 2 house points and if you are the fastest person to answer the puzzle correctly then you will win 5 house points!  To enter, simply scan the QR code and fill out the google form.  Good luck! Why not play at home and see who is the quickest to get the answer?

We are pleased to say that the Year 7-12 individual photographs, and Year 11 and 12 class photographs, are now ready to view on the VanCols website. Parents who have already registered using the QR code given to students on the day will receive an auto notification informing them their images are ready to order. The online cut-off date for orders to be placed for free postage back to the school is 1st October 2024

If your child's proof cards has been lost, please contact the admin email address and we can provide the code needed to place orders. You will not be able to receive the code through VanCols as the email address requesting the code needs to be checked by Sandringham that it is registered to each student.

Springpod offers fantastic careers webinars on a variety of roles, as well virtual work experience opportunities.  It is possible to select the appropriate age group and session for your student and there are videos suitable for students in year 7 and above, which can be watched outside of school time.  Take a look here to find out more.

Following the ‘positive thinking’ theme this week BOTW is Positively Teenage by Nicola Morgan.

Full of practical, proven strategies for physical and mental health, Positively Teenage will show you lots of ways to flourish physically and mentally - from doing things you enjoy to learning new skills; looking after your diet, exercise and attitude to being healthy online; getting great sleep to understanding your personality - allowing you to take control of many areas of your life. It encourages readers to stand tall, stretch their arms wide, take a deep breath and say 'I can do this!'

Please pop along to the library and chat to your friendly librarians if this sounds like a book that would interest you. 

B is for ... brusque [adjective]

Definition: Abrupt or offhand in speech or manner.

Example: She could be brusque and impatient.

Synonyms: Abrupt, Sharp, Terse

Antonyms: Polite, Courteous, Tactful

Etymology: Origins of the word are 17th century French ‘lively’ and from the Italian brusco ‘sour’.

Congratulations to Liberty D, who has been offered a place in the Hertfordshire Player Development Group for Rugby. After attending 3 trials, she was selected out of 85 other girls to earn her place, being a year young and having only played for 5 months. A star of the future! Well done Liberty 

Please see above for our upcoming fixtures. Good luck to all of the teams involved!

A competitive game in the first round of the National Vase v Roundwood Park ended in a 26-14 win this week. Some good play with lots of debuts from the Year 11’s.

Following the fantastic success of ‘Hansel and Gretel’ & ‘Rapunzel’ our creative team are back with a Brand New pantomime adventure based on the classic tale.

 Puss In Boots and the Pea Green detective agency are ready to save Pantoland from a terrible threat!

The Hickory Dickory Dock clock has been stolen and someone is messing with the pantomime timeline. The police are struggling to sniff out a suspect and things are getting stranger by the hour! Join Puss In Boots on their epic quest to bring the time thief to justice. This sword-swinging, paw-scratching, time-stopping pantomime is an action packed treat for all ages!

Tickets are on sale here and cost from £10.00

Time for dancing, drinking and the search for true love. The club's getting hot but out in the cold the Bouncers are ready for anything. Meet Ralph, Judd, Les and Lucky Eric as they relive a night in a London disco in the 80s in an outrageous celebration of the UK nightclub scene.

This production of John Godber’s ‘Bouncers’ has seen huge success at multiple Drama festivals across the UK. Most recently at the UK’s largest festival, the National Drama Festival in Coventry. Previously, the show has seen multiple awards at the Welwyn Youth Drama Festival, placing first and winning multiple awards for elements of the show, as well as sold out performances across Hertfordshire. Now, the Bouncers are on their way to St Albans.

Tickets are on sale here and cost from £12.50