Dignity: The Fight Goes On - Save the Date

We are pleased to share an upcoming production celebrating Disability Pride Month 2026 and 25 years of Herts Inclusive Theatre.

Dignity: The Fight Goes On is a collaborative show featuring performers from the Ignite Stevenage and Activate Ware groups. Devised by participants themselves, it brings together acting, music, dance and poetry to reflect on lived experiences and explore how far Disability Rights have progressed since the original Dignity performance in 2012.

The performance will take place on Thursday 2nd July at 7:00pm at The Gordon Craig Theatre, Stevenage. This will be a relaxed, wheelchair-accessible performance.

Ticket details will be shared soon. If you are interested in attending, please the website here to be notified.

Catering Update from Culinera

Following the recent survey, our catering partners at Culinera have been listening carefully to feedback and taking action in response.

Students highlighted a number of key areas, and we’re pleased to share that several improvements have already been introduced. These include the reintroduction of the salad bar in both restaurants, along with new boxed salad options available daily to provide healthier choices. A wider range of meal deals has also been introduced to offer better value for money.

In response to feedback around dietary options, all meat (with the exception of pork items) is now Halal and clearly labelled at the counter. And, by popular demand, pain au chocolats have made a welcome return!

Culinera would like to thank everyone who shared their views. They remain committed to listening and continuing to improve, with the aim of making the canteen experience as positive and enjoyable as possible for everyone.

A Wealth of Reading Resources  

The LRC and our fabulous Display and Publications Department have been busy compiling reading booklets for each year group and these have been given out during Parent Consultation Evenings. Based on suggestions from each year group the booklets are designed to be a way into reading for those students and parents who are in need a bit of inspiration. As ever, our librarians are always happy to provide parents and carers with tailored lists and suggestions for students who might be stuck in a reading rut, or who might not enjoy reading. We can be contacted via sand-library@sandringham.aetrust.uk and are happy to provide suggestions.

Years 7-9  and 6th form booklets can be found here. We are currently working on years 10 and 11.

Debating the Big Questions

On Thursday 25th March, Yr 11 and 12 participated in a debate at St George's school in Harpendon. Each term had to deliver an opening speech, rebuttals and closing speech. The motions for debate were: 

• This house believes marriage is an oppressive institution - Joshua V and Oliver L.
• This house believes artificial intelligence will be humanity's last great invention - Conor K and Leah G.
• This house believes intellectual achievement is superior to sporting success - Diego D and Reuben M.  

Each team outlined some compelling arguments to support their side of the debate, whilst also demonstrating superb oracy and confidence. Extra congratulations are awarded to Joshua and Oliver who won their debate, with Oliver even scooping up 'Best overall speaker'. 

Ani K has written a great summery of the experience below:

'As part of the Parallel Histories club for GCSE and Sixth Form students, Miss Davies gave us the opportunity to participate, either as speakers or audience members, in a debate at St George’s School. Personally, I was an audience member, and seeing the debate was such a fantastic experience for understanding key debate structures while also broadening my views on the debate topics given. The three debates ‘Intellectual achievement is superior to sporting success’; ‘Marriage is an oppressive institution’; and ‘Artificial intelligence will be humanity’s last great invention’- were all so fascinating to watch and are very relevant to us now; these topics should be something that all of us should think about in our current society, considering whether we agree or not, and why? All of the debaters from both schools were extremely talented, especially during the Marriage debate, when Oliver Louis absolutely stunned everyone with his arguments and rebuttals, winning best overall speaker.

Overall, this was an amazing opportunity, and I would really recommend it to anyone with the chance. Debating is not limited to a subject sector and is a key skill everyone should have. '

Spanish Exchange 2026

Before half term, our students enjoyed a fantastic Spanish Exchange visit to Seville. After arriving safely, they were warmly welcomed by our partner school @europaschoolsevilla, and quickly immersed themselves in school life - starting with a morning of interviews led by primary students, who had plenty of thoughtful and interesting questions.

The trip also included an exciting day out exploring local culture and history, with visits to the Rábida Monastery, the Carabel Museum and Matalascañas beach.

Take a look at some highlights from the trip in the video below.

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 follow the link on your House Google Classroom (it will be posted on Monday at 8.a.m.) to fill out the Google Form. 

Good luck! Why not play at home and see who is the quickest to get the answer (unfortunately we can only accept answers from students).

Football Fundraising and Farewells

To celebrate Mr Gray’s incredible contribution to the school, we are organising a relaxed and friendly staff football match - yes, football (and Mr Gray has agreed!).

We would love to see as many staff involved as possible to help make his final months at Sandringham truly memorable. Students are also warmly invited to come along and support, with a small donation encouraged in aid of our school charity.

• Date: Wednesday 6th May 2026
• Venue: Sandringham 3G
• Kick off: 3:30pm
• Finish: 4:30pm

If any staff would like to take part in any capacity, please get in touch with Mr Keenleyside via email - you know you want to!

Let’s come together to give Mr Gray the send off he truly deserves.

On Monday 23rd  March, we welcomed in families and students for the KS3 English Celebration Breakfast. This was to acknowledge and celebrate the hard work of students in their English lessons over the Spring Term.

We would like to congratulate:

Year 7: Armaan R, Chloe L, Christian G, Gracieanna B, Isla E.

Year 8: Elizabeth, Duvanette D, Ryan D, Isabelle C, Leo K.

Year 9: Rebecca R, Clara W, Arunima A, Mustafa S, Freya P.

Thank you to parents and students for coming in bright and early for the celebration. We look forward to hosting again in the Summer!

London Marathon Support 

A reminder that on Sunday 26th April, Miss Lennox will be taking on the London Marathon in support of St John Ambulance, a charity whose lifesaving work supports communities across the country. She is incredibly proud to be running on their behalf and would be grateful for any donations, no matter the size, to help further their vital work.

There is still time to contribute, and your support would be sincerely appreciated - please click here for the Justgiving page where you can donate directly.

Good Luck Miss Lennox!

Sports Tour 2026

Our Sandringham sports tour travelled to Valkenburg in the Netherlands to take part in an action packed week of football, basketball and excursions. 111 students attended which comprised of 8 different teams. We had 3 basketball teams and 5 football teams complete two training sessions and play two fixtures against local club sides. Our students visited some incredible club set ups to play their games in some high class venues. The hospitality of all Dutch and Belgian clubs was incredible and the sports matches themselves were very competitive. 

Whilst some teams won their matches convincingly and others came up a little short, all students worked hard, enjoyed themselves and represented the school brilliantly. The final day of tour brought a football tournament for our 5 teams with our girls finishing runners up. Our basketball teams faired similarly, with some mixed results for those 3 squads but it was great to see a large number of students represent the school on tour.

Alongside the sport, our students got the chance to experience some fantastic excursions including tobogganing, laser tag, cave bounce and a water park. Our students were incredible throughout the trip and a credit to the school, it was a pleasure to spend a week away with them.

I would personally like to thank the staff that attended the trip who were proactive, fun and brilliant role models to our students'.

Celebrating Musical Excellence

Congratulations to Sofia B(9S), who has achieved an outstanding Grade 8 in Violin with Merit.

Sofia began learning the violin at the age of six, with Grade 8 set as her first major milestone - making this achievement particularly special. Alongside her individual success, Sofia is an active member of the school’s musical community, regularly performing with both Sinfonia and the String Ensemble.

She is looking forward to continuing her musical journey both in and beyond the classroom at Sandringham.

A fantastic accomplishment - well done Sofia!

HOUSE POINTS 

As we start the summer term, there is no change in the top 3 spots - can Shakespeare hold out until the end, that is the question?

1. Shakespeare 21, 028
2. Turing 18, 680
3. Fawcett 17, 732

Special mentions this week:  

• C Stavropoulou (7J (14) – Most points this week
• T Tearle (7S) 283 - Highest scoring year 7
• M Altiganer (8F)- 238 - Highest scoring Year 8
• T Somers (9S) - 241 - Highest scoring year 9
• G Birkin (10s) - 174- Highest scoring year 10
• L Jones (11H) - 57 - Highest scoring year 11
• B Stevenson (12S) 55 - Highest scoring sixth former
• 12S - Highest quiz score - 170/195
• J for most house points this week - 243

We’re Hiring!

Come and be part of our fantastic team here at Sandringham. We’re currently looking for:

- Theatre Operations Manager 

If you, or anyone you know would like to be part of our passionate and dedicated team, please visit the website here for more information and to apply.

Sociology

The Sociology faculty have been supporting ‘Our Year of Reading’ this week by sharing some fantastic book recommendations with all their classes.  Teacher recommendations have included The Power by Naomi Alderman and Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver.  Both are brilliant novels which include some pertinent sociological themes including the role of women, power, poverty, addiction and ‘big pharma’. These recommendations have given students the opportunity to discuss with their peers the books they like to read.  As ever, we hold a wide and varied stock of books in the LRC and would welcome all students to borrow books and request any that aren’t currently in our collection. Thank you to Ms Roskilly and Mrs Coy for supporting our Year of Reading this week.

Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver

The Sociology Department have provided their recommendations as part of Sandringham’s year of reading this week and we are shamelessly stealing Demon Copperhead, by Barbara Kingsolver as our book of the week. This re-invention of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield is part of our senior collection here in the LRC and is not an easy read. If younger students are wishing to read a book that does tackle some of the themes covered in the book then the following might be worth a look:

No Fixed Address: By Susin Nielsen (homelessness and poverty) A moving, but heartwarming story about people who slip through the cracks in society

Perfect Parent Project: By Stewart Foster (fostering) A heartwarming story that follows a boy’s search for the perfect family

A Kestrel for a Knave: by Barry Hines (class system) A gritty portrayal of a child’s life in a northern working class area in the late 1960s

Smart; by Kim Slater (homelessness) Follows the story of a boy that few seem to care about as he tries to solve the death of his homeless friend.

French: Inciter à faire quelque chose

German: engañar para

Spanish: täuschen

Thinking Question: The word of the week has been ‘borrowed’ from French. Can you think of any other words we have borrowed from French?

B is for… beguile [verb]

Definition: To charm or enchant someone, often in a deceptive way.

Example: She beguiled the audience with her mysterious smile and graceful speech.

Synonyms: Charm, Enchant, Deceive

Antonyms: Repel, Disgust, Offend

Etymology: From Middle English, via Old French beguiller, from be- (thoroughly) + guile (trickery).

Senior Boys: The boys 1st XI seal another District Cup Final to make it 5 out of 6 for the boys with a 5-3 victory over Roundwood Park this week - 2 great goals with a very well worked goal for Holgado from KO and a goal from well inside the half with the last kick of the game from Ajaegbu.

After what was hopefully a well earned Easter break, we’re back and ready for the Summer Term. With athletics and cricket aded to the schedule, it promises to be a busy and exciting few months ahead.

Sports Tour Awards 

During the recent Sports Tour to the Netherlands, a number of students were recognised with football awards for their outstanding attitude, effort and leadership.

These awards were selected by the tour coaches following two training sessions and two competitive fixtures, with students demonstrating excellent commitment both on and off the pitch.

It was fantastic to see such positive representation of the school throughout the tour, and all those recognised should be incredibly proud of their achievements.

Well done to everyone involved!

NBDA's Time To Shine 

Join us for an unforgettable day of dance as our talented students take to the stage in Time to Shine. Featuring a vibrant mix of styles and performers of all ages, this uplifting showcase celebrates hard work, creativity and the joy of performing. Come along and support our dancers as they step into the spotlight!

Get your tickets here.

NBDA has been established for over 60 years and is based in Welwyn Garden City. They are a friendly, all inclusive dance school offering a wide range of classes for children aged from 21/2 in ISTD Ballet, Pointe, Tap, and Modern. We also have Hip-Hop, Musical Theatre and Ballet technique classes, along with dedicated Adult Tap (for beginners to advanced) and Adult Ballet. They welcome all new dancing stars, where children make friends for life and whether they dream of the stage or simply love to dance, encouraging every student to be the very best they can. Email nbdastayingintouch@gmail.com for more information 

Excel in Dance!

The talented students from Excel Performing Arts perform in their brilliant spectacular annual show Excelocity. 

Excelocity will be an exciting and entertaining mix of performing arts including ballet, tap, lyrical, contemporary dance, jazz, commercial street, hip hop dance as well as drama and singing. With dazzling costumes and fantastic choreography, Excelocity will be a show where the most amazing, special memories are made.

SIGN UP FOR WAITLIST TICKETS IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO FIND TICKETS FOR THIS PERFORMANCE. 

Tickets will be allocated based on demand so we may not be able to offer more than 2 waitlist tickets per person. Regularly check your emails for updates regarding these tickets.

CMG Arts Present Dream Big 

Join us to celebrate their youngest students from CMG Arts as they take to the stage with their big dreams and spectacular stage presence.

Sunday 14th July - 11:00am and 3:00pm 

Book your tickets here.

Best Theatre Arts

What happens when the lights go out? At a technology-free wilderness camp in the middle of nowhere, young people from three very different schools must learn how to live in a new, uncertain future. They’re disconnected, alone, and afraid. But don’t worry, it’s not the end of the world…

Created by playwright Megan Jenkins and composer Rob Castell, The Flare is an original, cutting-edge contemporary musical designed to inspire honest conversation between generations. Commissioned by Best Theatre Arts and Tip of the Iceberg Theatre Company, this groundbreaking, genre-defying project explores adulthood, nihilism, hope, and retribution, all guided and informed by the real experiences, fears, and opinions of today's young people as they navigate growing up in an ever-changing and sometimes terrifying world.

Running from 25th - 26th April 2026 - get your tickets here.