Friday 22nd May

Co-headteachers’ welcome

As half term approaches, it is an important time to reflect on how proud we are of all of our students in their start to public examinations. Whether KS2 SATs, GCSEs or A levels, we have seen determination and resilience in abundance, together with great positivity in our community as all support one another. The values of kindness and compassion fill every room, whether through breakfasts shared; staff support for revision and exam technique tips; reassurance through smiles and check-ins; and friendships across peers. As this incredibly important period continues, please know that we as staff are here every step of the way to support every young person. Small things, cumulatively, can make a huge difference now, so please do encourage your young people to continue to reach out to us with structured revision, marking and feedback, wellbeing support, and the all-important motivation to keep on going! Please do remember as parents that habits supported well and daily are just as impactful: revision timetables, eating, sleeping and a balance with rest and exercise at half term too. Now, and as we return in June, our focus is on every year group, so we wish the very best to our youngest students working towards a ‘good level of development’ in Reception, Year 1 phonics, Year 4 multiplication checks all the way to Year 10 internal assessments and Year 12 threshold exams. We are proud of our fourteen year journey of academia, supported so thoroughly with our enriching pastoral offer, and we cannot wait to celebrate with you all in due course. Thank you, as always, for your support as parents/carers – whilst how this looks changes with age and stage (daily reading embedded at home to flashcards tested and mobile phones removed!), we are never complacent as to the importance of our partnership with you.

On behalf of you as parents, and students, we would like to extend a public thank you to our staff at Simon Balle. You continue to tell us that every member of staff will go the extra mile to ensure that every young person belongs, achieves and thrives with us. It is important to acknowledge that with coursework, exams, moderation, the ongoing breadth and ambition of the curriculum in every year group, together with incredible trips, sports fixtures and music concerts, it is an exciting and unprecedentedly busy time. Collectively, we are always motivated by ‘creating tomorrow’s citizens today’ and Mr Moss and I are privileged, daily, to lead such an incredibly talented and dedicated staff team. Thank you for the time you take as parents to send on your personal, and often heartfelt, thanks to staff. Please know it is always appreciated. 

And so, to finish this fortnight’s introduction, a spotlight, if I may, on the Early Years, following that in our previous newsletter focussed on the sixth form. Whether you have a child aged 4 or 5, or if this feels a somewhat distant memory (!), I promise that visiting our Reception classes would bring joy to you all! I had the pleasure of visiting Reception last week and in this visit I was simultaneously greeted by children delighting in their writing progress together with children fully immersed in imaginative role-play. Wonderful fairy tales have the power to engage all, and, as a result, children when I visited were absolutely immersed in a ‘crime scene’ which Goldilocks had left behind in the outdoor area (I can only assure you all that finding and solving clues was of the utmost importance to so many!), and delighted to share their brilliant ‘Jack and the beanstalk’ writing indoors. The progress in writing, from fine motor skills to application of phonics; from motivation to write to detailed drawings; from retelling stories orally to having a sense of pride in one’s own progress – it was all there! Thank you to our wonderful Reception cohort, your support as parents/carers and to our skilled staff in creating such an inspiring environment in which to learn. 

Wishing everyone in our community a very well deserved and restful half term break. Our school will remain a hive of activity, from revision sessions for many, to the all important and ongoing work of our business teams. Yet, wherever you are, please do enjoy some time to connect with family and friends. Summer 2, recommencing on Monday 1st June 2026, promises to be a fulfilling half term ahead, with opportunities a-plenty across every stage: do please take a moment to ask your child what they are signing up for and engaging with, because this is the very essence of holistic success, the bedrock of what is to come in readiness for the next phase of education.

Year 4 Hokusai ‘The Great Wave’

Over the last few weeks year 4 have visited the secondary art department to create a mixed media piece responding to their learning about Hokusai’s  The Great Wave. They have learnt how to mono print, mix shades and tints, collage to create a relief and add detail using line and mark making. Their stunning artwork will be proudly showcased at this year’s Summer Art Exhibition on Saturday, 4th July.

Year 5 BMX

On Thursday, Year 5 took part in an exciting BMX workshop led by Mike Mullen. Throughout the session, the children enjoyed a range of fun bike-control challenges, as well as practising small jumps and tricks.

The pupils performed brilliantly and showed excellent perseverance, with many determined to master some of the more challenging tricks by the end of the workshop. Their enthusiasm, resilience and willingness to keep trying were fantastic to see.

In the afternoon, pupils from Years 3 to 6 were invited to a special assembly where Mike shared more about his journey as a BMX champion, including the hard work and dedication needed to achieve success. He also amazed the children by demonstrating even more impressive BMX tricks, which inspired and entertained everyone in attendance.

Year 1 Sports Development Day

On Wednesday the Year 1 Badgers class visited Sele School for a Sports Development morning. The children had a fantastic time taking part in a carousel of activities led by a range of sports coaches and organisations. Activities included practising football skills, javelin, tennis, cricket and athletics including relay and hurdling. The children were a real credit to Simon Balle, demonstrating our school values throughout the morning, especially perseverance when we were caught in the rain!

River Lea Bench Competition

Huge congratulations to Elliette, Verity year 7 and Carolina year 12 for winning the bench design competition chosen by East Herts District Council!

Inspired by Jade Dawn Designs, their winning artwork will be featured along the River Lea Art Trail. The art team is set to receive the bench soon, which will then be hand-painted by the students before being permanently installed along the River Lea towpath.

Keep an eye out for the finished masterpiece!

Supporting Links Parental workshops

This week saw the 3rd and final in-person sessions from Supporting Links. We will be planning more face to face sessions next academic year but wanted to share with you the fully funded online courses available to you.  

FREE Courses for Parents: Bookings are being taken now for Autumn Term Courses

All of the information and flyers can be found on the Supporting Links website: https://www.supportinglinks.co.uk/whatson.html. These are all funded by Herts County Council so are free for parents to attend.

Year 3 Gaudi Workshop

On Friday 15th May, Year 3 took part in a brilliant Gaudí workshop delivered by Mrs Ledster and Mrs Smilie from our Art Department. The children created mosaic artwork, following a pattern that will form The Six Rivers, all inspired by the wonderful work of Antoni Gaudí. It was a pleasure to see how engaged Year 3 were and how much enthusiasm they showed during the workshop. The artwork created throughout the morning will be displayed in our ‘Gaudí Garden’, forming a permanent installation in our school for years to come.

Attendance Success!

We are so proud of our school attendance rates which demonstrate the great sense of belonging our students have here. We know how important it is for the development of the whole child to attend as regularly as possible in order to thrive. Our Whole School Attendance is currently 95.6% which is far stronger than national averages. As a school we set our target at 97% and with your help we can continue to build towards this.  

A reminder that we use a platform called A Star Attendance to help staff track, monitor and intervene, helping to remove barriers to learning when needed. If you receive communication from thai platform then it is an official school communication. 

Thank you once again for helping our students attend so well. Please see the following awards the school has received in the Spring term:

Raffle donations

SEND

If you would like to speak to a member of the SEND team, you can book a virtual appointment of up to 15 minutes with a member of the SEND team using the following booking link: Booking link

HCC – Welcome to SEND News – May 2026

In this issue:

• Hertsmere Mencap’s 9-week employment programme (ages 18+)
• Supporting your young person with exam and revision stress (ages 15+)
• Mental Health Awareness Week 11-17 May: Online support groups (ages 7-19)
• Introducing Best Start Family Hubs (all ages)
• Updated Autism and ADHD assessment referral forms (ages 0-15)
• Events

You might notice that our SEND Newsletter looks slightly different to normal.  We’ve changed the way we send out the newsletter and are now using Dot Digital in line with other services in the Council. We hope it will make it a more user-friendly experience for you.

If you have any feedback on the newsletter, we’d love to hear from you.  Email us at localoffer@hertfordshire.gov.uk

Library news

Strive & Thrive and Aspire & Achieve home learning support sessions

As part of our ongoing commitment to providing the best support for our students, we are continuing to offer our home learning support sessions in the form of ‘Strive & Thrive’ for our students in Years 7-9 and our ‘Aspire & Achieve’ for students in years 10 and 11.

These sessions offer fantastic opportunities for our students to complete revision or home learning in a calm environment in order to build confidence, develop positive study habits and encourage independent organisation skills. This can be done individually or why not bring a friend along!

Strive & Thrive (Years 7, 8 and 9) takes place Monday to Thursday 3:15pm – 4:15pm in G1.

Aspire & Achieve (Years 10 and 11) takes place Wednesdays 3:15pm – 4:15pm in the 6th form learning centre.

All students who attend will be recognised with house points and we are looking to celebrate those students who are building positive study habits and attending regularly in the weeks ahead. 

We very much hope to see more new faces accessing this opportunity through the remainder of this term and beyond!

Please click here for our latest Careers Opportunities Blog, which includes:

• Unifrog webinars for writing personal statements and searching Universities 
• Apprenticeship opportunities
• Careers in Education

PGL Kids’ Camps – offer

Many of you will know PGL from school trips. They also run holiday camps for children aged 8–16, offering a range of outdoor activities that build confidence, teamwork, and independence.

As part of our school community, families can receive 30% off PGL Multi-Activity Kids’ Camps during May half term, summer, or October half term (book by 31st May, travel by 31 October 2026).

For full details and to claim the discount, please visit www.evolveadvice.co.uk/loyaltylocker-pglkidscamps

The offer also applies to UK Family Adventure breaks.

Road Safety

Hertfordshire County Council Survey

Hertfordshire County Council are hoping you can assist us with gathering the views of parents, carers and your school community by promoting a survey (link below), either via an e letter, newsletter or email please.

The survey is linked to a new Road Safety Strategy in Hertfordshire and asks about routes used by children, traffic speeds and includes what would make journeys to school feel safer for those who chose to walk or cycle. The strategy itself has a goal to cut serious injury collisions involving children by 70%.

To assist with this Hertfordshire County Council welcomes the views of the whole school community – teachers, parents and carers. These views are important to us; therefore, we would be grateful if you could take a few minutes to complete and help distribute the survey as far as possible to assist with helping to shape safer school journeys for children.

Thank you very much, it is greatly appreciated.

Road Safety Strategy consultation | Hertfordshire County Council

Car park safety improvements

We will be installing fencing to prevent access to the car park from the White Lodge Entrance. This is to increase pedestrian safety in the area around the swimming pool, and prevent unauthorised vehicle access to the school site during the times when the barriers are in operation. The work will take place towards the end of June: more detailed information will follow.

PSA

Larch Frozen Friday – Summer term

Each year, after the May half term, Larch families look forward to an ice cream sale after school, every Friday. We are looking for one or two people that are willing to take on the role of Frozen Friday Organiser.  You will be responsible for ordering and organising stock each week.

We also need a number of volunteers to manage the weekly sales after school.  If you are able to help, please complete the sign up sheet as soon as you can so that we can see if the sales are able to go ahead again this year.

Organisers and helpers will be shown what to do, if you are new to helping with this. Thank you in advance – without your help, we are unable to offer Frozen Friday.

https://volunteersignup.org/WT7KY

Dates for your diary

A full calendar of events can be viewed on the school website.

• Mon 1st June: Y10 Art and design practicals start
• Fri 5th June: larch Spurs workshop
• Mon 8th June: Y10 exams start
• Tues 9th June: Y8 Spain trip
• Sun 14th June: Y12 Biology residential departs
• Thurs 18th June: Y8 science trip
• Thurs 18th June: Sports presentation evening
• Fri 19th June: Secondary sports day
• Fri 19th June: Wonderstruck event for Y6