House Assemblies Week 

This week, students gathered for our first House Assemblies of the term. Stepping into the hall to their official house songs, everyone - from new students to returning veterans - got a fresh reminder of what our house system is all about: building community, teamwork, and school spirit.

Key Highlights:

• Leadership & Elections - Heads of House introduced this year’s House Captains. Elections for House Leaders (Years 7 - 12) are coming up soon - be ready to get involved.
• Trophies & Standings - The latest results and current standings were revealed for our three major trophies: the E-Praise Points Trophy, the House Events Trophy, and the Overall Trophy.
• Celebrating Top Achievers - Congratulations to the students who earned certificates for achieving the highest house points in their year group.

Get ready to support a great cause during the upcoming Austin and Elgar Charity Week - Look out for movie nights, cake sales, and much more...

Get involved, support your house, and help your team climb the leader board.

Support for Families - Workshop on Self-Harm & Recovery

We understand that supporting a child or young person through difficult times can feel overwhelming - Carers in Hertfordshire, supported by Herts Mind Network, are hosting a dedicated online evening session for parents and carers of young people who have experienced self-harm.

Date & Time - Tues 6th October - 7.00pm - 9.00pm

Online via Zoom

Session Details - The session aims to provide a clearer understanding of self-harm, share practical strategies to support young people on their path to recovery, and give families a safe space to ask questions.

To reserve your place, please visit the Carers in Herts Self-Harm Support Booking Page.

Spaces are limited to 30 participants to allow for meaningful discussion, with additional requests added to a waiting list.

Home Language Exams 2027

A reminder that every year we enter a number of students for a home language GCSE or A level exam. For example, if you speak Polish at home, you might be interested in doing the GCSE.

If you would be interested in completing a GCSE in your home language, please email into reception for the attention of Ms Baikie and Ms Bowman (Exams).

Students are only able to do the GCSE exam in Year 10 or Year 11, we do not enter younger students.

The deadline for expressing interest is Friday 9th October for entry in the Summer 2027 exams. No applications will be accepted after this.

Fireworks Tickets on Sale Now

Tickets are on sale for the Wheatfields Fireworks Extravaganza on Sunday 8th November.

Get your tickets today - Buy via Classlist or scan the QR code on school posters.

Volunteers needed - we will need help to run the event safely. If you can spare an hour, please email Kelly (kellyrothwell@outlook.com) ASAP.

• Set up: 2.40pm - 3.40pm
• Event Vol: 3.30pm - 5.40pm
• Clean up: 5.40pm - 6.40pm
• Mon Litter Pick: 7.00am - 8.00am

A big thank you in advance for all your support.

Spooktacular Halloween Fun at Church Farm

Join the spooky fun this half-term (24th - 31st October) for family-friendly Halloween adventures at Church Farm Ardeley.

Highlights Include:

Farm Trails & Play - Spooky farm trail, fairy door & scarecrow hunts, big bale play, and tractor rides.

Games & Goodies - Spot the pumpkin for sweet treats, Halloween activity packs, costume stickers for best-dressed kids and dogs, and spooky photo ops.

Extra Activities - Pumpkin picking & carving, Trick or Treating in the Spooky Wood (4 - 6pm), tractor rides, egg collecting, and goat walking.

Book your tickets via their website today - www.churchfarmardeley.co.uk

Headteacher Commendations 

Congratulations to all the students awarded Headteacher Commendations this week. A special shout-out goes to our many swimmers who represented the school so positively, as well as those recognised for their fantastic contributions.

Well done to everyone on a brilliant week.

Important Reminder - Medical Expectations for School Sports Fixtures

To ensure student safety, please remember that any student who requires medication - such as Inhalers or EpiPans - must bring it to ALL school sports fixtures, both home and away.

In some cases, students might not be permitted to participate without their required medication on hand.

Thank you for your support in keeping our students safe.

Getting to Know You: Welcome Miss Nicolaou

Name & Role/subject: Miss Nicolaou - PE Teacher

Background/previous school: I’ve recently moved back to the UK after spending the last four years teaching abroad. During this time, I gained valuable experience teaching in an international setting and working with students from a range of different backgrounds. I’m really excited to be back in the UK and looking forward to bringing the experience I’ve gained abroad into my teaching at Sandringham.

What you’re most looking forward to at Sandringham: I’m most looking forward to getting to know the students, building positive relationships with them and becoming part of the wider school community. I’m also excited to work alongside the PE department and contribute to the sporting life of the school.

Likes/favourite things outside of school: Outside of school, I enjoy keeping active. I also love travelling, going out with friends and family, and trying new restaurants and places. I’m a big football fan and enjoy following sport whenever I can.

One pet peeve or minor dislike: My biggest pet peeve is being stuck in traffic.

Fun/surprising fact about yourself: A fun fact about me is that I love travelling and exploring new places, and I’m always planning my next trip!

If you see Miss Nicolaou around the school or on the sports field, make sure you say hello, and make her feel welcome.

German Exchange Success 

German exchange students visited us from the Dietrich-Bonhoeffer Gymnasium in Quickborn (Hamburg) last week, and this is what a few students in 9J had to say about it:

It was a great experience - very interesting and fun for everyone. They arrived on Monday 21st September and we met them and learnt their personalities. On Tuesday they went to lessons with us to see what school is like in England. Then at session 5 they made cakes and saw what it was like in the food tech department. Then we watched Paddington in the sandpit. On Wednesday the German students went to the Harry Potter museum. Then on Thursday they went to Windsor castle to see where the royal family lives. After they finished, we all went bowling, which was very exciting. On Friday we walked into St Albans to reenact some scenes from the history of St Albans then we had lunch together.

In the German exchange, there are many things that you can do, for example, going to central St Albans, having lessons with your exchange, watching a movie, and anything you want to do with them on the weekends. You can also arrange things to do with the other exchange students, for example go karting. 

It was very interesting to find out what life is like in Germany, and it was very fun hosting the students and in our free time we did so many things, e.g. bowling with the class, go karting, and just playing together.

Mikhail, Oliver and Afonso - 9J

Student Highlights - Geography Field Trip

Welcome to our new Student Voices feature! This week, one of our students shares their experience and highlights from last week’s geography field trip. We love celebrating our students' work - if you are a budding writer, journalist, or photographer, we warmly encourage you to submit your own reports, reviews, or creative pieces to myself or any of your teachers for a chance to be published in The Sandprint.

Please enjoy Amulya's (Yr 11) write up below of last weeks geography adventure:

On Wednesday, we completed our human questionnaire in Shrewsbury town centre. We spoke to many different people and asked how they would improve congestion. Surprisingly, most people were open to answering our questions. It was a great way to build our social and communicatory skills, even if approaching strangers felt a little awkward at first!

On Thursday, we measured rivers, which was really interesting as we were able to put our knowledge from lessons into a real life experience. The hike there was definitely a challenge, but the views were amazing, and talking with friends along the way made it much more enjoyable!

In the evenings, we went over what we had learnt and looked through the data we had collected. It was interesting seeing all the different answers and thinking about how we could turn them into graphs to present our findings.

On Friday, we reflected on the information we had gathered throughout the trip, focusing on data collection and data presentation and looking at the clear differences between the two. Overall this trip was a blast, and has made me realise how much more there is to geography than what we learn in the classroom.

The Puzzle of the Month is a Mathematics challenge run monthly now. This months 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).

Movie Night 

Get ready for spooky cinema vibes - we are hosting Movie Night for Years 7, 8, and 9 next week:

• Friday 9th October
• The Sandpit Theatre - make sure you are in your seats for a 5:00pm start.
• Tickets are £7 each - every ticket purchase includes a free bag of sweets and a drink to enjoy during the film.

Tickets are on sale now via ParentPay, so be sure to secure your ticket early so you don't miss out.

Coffee and Cake for Charity 

A brilliant MacMillian Coffee Morning took place in the staffroom on Monday with lots of members of staff baking delicious treats such as lemon drizzle cakes, Galaxy chocolate cup cakes and Millionaires shortbread.

The coffee morning has so far raised £300 for this very worthwhile cause, so a huge thank you to those that baked, and those that donated.

School Attendance

As the term continues, we are keen to maintain the excellent level of attendance currently being recorded across all years.

As outlined during the information evenings, attendance plays a central part in a student succeeding as a part of the school community and the government are clear about the expectations they have of schools with regard to this issue.

The graphic below makes clear that a cough, cold or sore throat is not in itself a reason to miss school so we would encourage all families to follow these recommendations when deciding if their child should attend school.

Coram Family Lives - Autumn Term Workshops

Coram Family Lives is running five 2 hour online parenting workshops this term, designed to offer practical guidance, strategies, and support on key family challenges.

There are still spaces available across all sessions. All workshops take place online via Microsoft Teams and are free for parents and carers to attend.

Upcoming Workshops:

Anxiety around ADHD - Wednesday 21st October 9.30am - 11.30am

Sibling Rivalry - Monday 9th November 9.30am - 11.30am

Reducing Conflict - Wednesday 25th November 7:00pm - 9:00pm

It’s a Dad’s Life - Thursday 26th November 7.00pm - 9:00pm

Navigating the Storm (Teens) - Wednesday 2nd December 9.30am - 11.30am

To secure a place on any of these workshops, please complete the online application here.

We’re Hiring!

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

- Teaching Assistant 
- Exam Invigilator 

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.

School Social Media Channels

A reminder to all parents and carers - in order to keep up to date with all the activities, events, trips and news going on throughout the school, then please follow our social channels to make sure you're not missing out on any updates. This does include arrival updates on all trips, and this will be the main source of information, so it's recommended to download Instagram if at all possible.

• Main School News: @sandringhamsch1
• PE & Sport: @sand_pe
• The Arts: @sand_artsteam
• Trips: @sand.trips

Give us a follow so you can see what our students are getting up to.

German Exchange Highlights

Last week, we were excited to welcome students from the Dietrich-Bonhoeffer Gymnasium in Quickborn, Hamburg, for our annual German exchange - Mikhail, Oliver and Afonso in 9J have written about their experience below:

The German exchange was a great experience, very interesting and fun for everyone. They arrived on Monday 21st September and we met them and learnt their personalities. On Tuesday they went to lessons with us to see what school is like in England. Then at session 5 they made cakes and saw what it was like in the food tech department. Then we watched Paddington in the sandpit. On Wednesday the German students went to the Harry Potter museum. Then on Thursday they went to Windsor castle to see where the royal family lives. After they finished, we all went bowling, which was very exciting. On Friday we walked into St Albans to reenact some scenes from the history of St Albans then we had lunch together.

In the German exchange, there are many things that you can do, for example, going to central St Albans, having lessons with your exchange, watching a movie, and anything you want to do with them on the weekends. You can also arrange things to do with the other exchange students, for example go karting. 

It was very interesting to find out what life is like in Germany, and it was very fun hosting the students and in our free time we did so many things, e.g. bowling with the class, go karting, and just playing together.

Looking ahead, we are thrilled that nine of our A-Level German students will be heading over to Hamburg in February for the return visit next term - we look forward to hearing all about their experiences over there.

HOUSE POINTS

Johnson have made their entrance into the top 3 this week, closely chasing Newton who remain in second place.

1. Elgar 3,949
2. Newton 3,741
3. Johnson 3,640

Special mentions this week:  

• E White (7N)- (18) - Most points this week
• T Van Schie (7S) - 57 Highest scoring Year 7
• I Eliasu (8H)- 60 - Highest scoring Year 8
• N Scales & W Malone (9F) - 42 - Highest scoring year 9
• J White (10N) - 43- Highest scoring year 10
• A Kenward, A Atilganer & A A-Rahman -24 - Highest scoring Year 11
• J Daly (12N)- 17 - Highest scoring Sixth Former
• Newton for most points this week - 722
• 11E for the highest quiz score total - 38/40

Community Harvest Festival

Join this lovely, free community event on National Harvest Day.

• Sunday 4th October 2.00pm - 4.00pm
• Spencer Sports Centre, AL4 9DD
• Free entry (small donations welcomed for refreshments)

Activities on the day:

• Produce Competition - Prizes for Biggest, Funniest Shape, and Best Produce!
• Harvest Collections - Bring surplus home-grown fruit & veg for local emergency food boxes.
• Activities - Seed swap, free growing workshop, crafts with Chris Blanch, games, tea, and artisan bakes.

Come along for what's sure to be a lovely afternoon celebration.

Mr Cracknell Conquers the Berlin Marathon

A huge congratulations to our very own Mr Cracknell, who ran the Berlin Marathon last weekend. He crossed the finish line in an astounding 2 hours and 51 minutes - a phenomenal achievement and a true inspiration to all our students. 

Congratulations on an incredible run - we're sure there is some kind of Iron Man challenge awaiting you next...

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger.

Sophie is a Telepath, and can hear the thoughts of everyone around her - something that she's never spoken about, even to her own family.

But everything changes the day she meets Fitz, a mysterious boy who also reads minds. She discovers there's somewhere she does belong, and staying where she is will put her in grave danger. In the blink of an eye, Sophie is forced to leave everything behind and start a new life in a magical world.

But not everyone is thrilled with her "homecoming". There are secrets buried deep in Sophie's memory, secrets that other people desperately want

Reviewed by Alyssa K, Yr 7:

'A fantastic novel of a young girl who found her place in an Elvin community and would do everything to protect her community, her friends and unravel the mystery around her existence. But all that researching leads her to depths of bigger problems: like mysterious plans and a dangerous rebel group...'

Banned Books Week

Banned Books week runs from 4 - 10th October and champions the freedom to read without censorship. Throughout history some of the best known works of literature have faced challenges due to the ideas they hold and libraries across the US (and increasingly the UK) are facing co-ordinated challenges to reading material.  A small selection of these classic texts are on display in the LRC and include:

Judy Blume: Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret

JK Rowling: Harry Potter series

Lois Lowry: The Giver

The week raises interesting questions about ‘book banning’:

• Sometimes objections are connected to beliefs. Should someone be able to request a book’s removal if it goes against their beliefs?
• If the library only had books everyone agreed on, what would it be like? 

We look forward to hearing from our  students…..!

French: acariâtre

German: quengelig

Spanish: quejumbroso/a

Thinking Question: How does understanding a word’s original emotion change how you view its meaning today?

Q is for Querulous (adjective)

Definition: Complaining in a rather petulant or whining manner

Example: The querulous customer complained about every aspect of the service.

Synonyms: Complaining, whining, petulant, grumpy

Antonyms: Content, satisfied, uncomplaining

Etymology: From Latin 'querulus' (complaining), from 'queri' (to complain)

1st XV: A tough game against Beaumont this week in the National Vase as we lose 55-26. An even first half as both teams threatened the try line on multiple occasions. The second half proved a different story as Beaumonts strong runners took advantage of the space and they pulled away. Hill, Griffiths (2) & Ulucay go over with Matthew’s converting. 

A lovely afternoon spent at Marlborough for the U16 District Competition. Despite coming up against very strong opposition, our boys played well and enjoyed representing the school. Well done to you all.

Yr 9 Boys: Basketball season began with a 48-22 victory in the District League. Plenty of positives, and plenty to work on!

Yr 9 Boys: A comprehensive win against Monks Walk in the first round of the County Cup this week. Goals shared among the team as we look to reach the final again this year. 

Year 8 Boys: Our Yr 8 boys team got their National Cup campaign off to a good start with a 2-1 win v's Verulam this week.

Goals from Joseph. O & Callum. L who also picked up MoM - well done all.

Year 10 Boys: The National Cup round 1 brought a tough test against Finchley Catholic High school. An even first 20 minutes, with both teams creating chances, set it up to be a good cup game. However, once the away team found their rhythm they starting to dominate. Sandringham went in 2-0 down at the break. We battled hard in the second half but were unfortunately second best, eventually losing 5-0. We exit the National Cup and focus now turns to the County Cup.

MOM - Harley-Bentley & Macdonald 

Yr 7 Boys: A good performance from Sandringham results last weekend, with a 3-2 win v Samuel Ryder. We defended brilliantly, secured the ball well at rucks and ran hard whilst SRA moved the ball excellently and will feel hard done by not to get a draw. Lots to work on but with only 3 boys with rugby experience before Sandringham, so it will take a bit of time. Well done on another win - 2 in 2.

Yr 9 Boys: A tough morning last weekend for our Yr 9 boys as they face a well organised SRA team. A lack of availability this morning meant our boys tired, and options in attack were limited. Cordery and Howitt scored our tries. We go again this weekend against Sir John Lawe. Well done to SRA.

Year 11 Girls: A strong performance from our U16 girls sees them through to the next round of the County Cup coming away with a 5-0 win against St Clement Danes.

POM - K. Riddell

and another strong performance from this team later on in the week, playing in the National Cup against a strong SJL side.

POM - B. Bailey for her defensive efforts 

Year 7: What a brilliant first game for the U12A netball team, securing a fantastic 8–3 win against KWS! Lots of potential in our Year 7 squad, with many enthusiastic and talented students attending training.
A huge well done to:
Opp Player – Maria M
Players’ Player – Pippa C
Coaches’ Player – Freya H
Fantastic effort from everyone involved!

Year 9: Well done to our U14 girls for their efforts this week. A tough game and a great opportunity to prepare for this weekend’s tournament. Plenty to take away and work on as we continue to develop!

Year 11: Final preparations for this weekends county tournament against a well organised STAHS side. Was good to see what we’ve been working on in training take to the court! Well done!

POM - M. Wright

CPOM- B. Silveria

Senior B Team: A great game for the Senior B Netballers, who showed great spirit and determination against SRA this evening. Despite losing, there is a lot to celebrate! OPM Jemima CPM Ava

Verulam Cross Country

Well done to the 17 runners we had representing the school this week.

Standout performances:

P. Smith finishing 1st in the Junior Girls

T. Smith finishing 2nd in the Junior Boys

L. Kennedy finishing 2nd in the Senior Girls.

All runners should be very proud

Limitless Academy of Performing Arts

After 2025's smash-hit, Sweeney Todd, Limitless Productions returns to St Albans with something a little more sweet!

Step into a world of pure imagination with Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: The Musical - a dazzling stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s beloved classic.

When young Charlie Bucket wins a golden ticket to the mysterious Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, he embarks on a fantastical journey filled with astonishing inventions, mischievous competitors, and life-changing lessons. Bursting with catchy songs, colourful characters, and magical surprises, this heartwarming musical celebrates imagination, kindness, and the joy of dreaming big—perfect fun for audiences of all ages. 

This amateur production is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International. All authorised performance materials are also supplied by MTI: www.mtishows.com.

Tickets are available on the Sandpit Theatre website

Whole School Show 

This year’s Whole School Show is Alice in Wonderland

We can't wait to see what curious encounters unfold as Alice embarks on her extraordinary journey. Join her on her quest to meet a frantic White Rabbit, a mysterious Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter, a tyrannical Queen, and countless other peculiar characters along the way.

Tickets are available now via The Sandpit Theatre - don't miss out on what promises to be a magical performance.