Friday 16th May
Co-headteachers’ welcome
As the sunshine finally arrives, so too does the excitement and energy of exam season across our all-through school. From Key Stage 2 assessments to GCSEs, A-Levels, and vocational qualifications, students at every stage are working with determination, resilience and pride.
It is also heartening to see the strength of relationships between staff and students during this time. From revision breakfasts to one-to-one sessions and focused lessons, the dedication and care of our staff shine through. These moments reflect the shared commitment to helping each student achieve their very best.
This period marks not only the culmination of academic effort but also a time of celebration. Our GCSE and A-Level students began their formal exams following special leavers’ assemblies, speeches, and awards, recognising their achievements and contributions during their time at Simon Balle. These memorable occasions were captured in group photos, offering a snapshot of the journeys they’ve taken with us.
Year 11 marked the occasion with a celebratory trip to Ninja Warrior and tenpin bowling — a well-deserved reward for their hard work. Meanwhile, Year 13 celebrated in spectacular style, donning film and TV-themed costumes for their fancy dress day, followed by a silent disco. The creativity on display was exceptional , even our staff got into the spirit with costumes of their own. I even climbed into the loft and found an astronaut costume!
Our younger students in Year 6, who have shown great maturity throughout their SATs, are also looking forward to their own celebration with a residential trip to Sheringham, where they will no doubt make lasting memories, strengthen friendships, and develop their independence as they prepare to enter the next phase of their education. Adding to the excitement, on 16th May they were treated to the fantastic Wonderstruck rocket show — an inspiring and energetic display that brought science to life and left students wide-eyed with enthusiasm.
At Simon Balle, we are immensely proud of all our students as they prepare for their next steps, whether that be the transition to our secondary phase, further study in our Sixth Form or college, or beyond. This is a time to reflect, to celebrate, and to look ahead with optimism. We wish all our students the very best during this exam season and in the exciting chapters that lie ahead.
This week, we’ve also had the privilege of observing our Early Career Teachers (ECTs) in action across all key stages, from Key Stage 1 through to Key Stage 5. At Simon Balle, we are deeply committed to nurturing the next generation of teachers, ensuring that the quality of teaching across our all-through school remains exceptional. Each ECT is supported by a dedicated and experienced mentor, meeting weekly to reflect, guide and refine practice. This mentoring is complemented by a comprehensive programme of teaching and learning focus events. It has been a real pleasure to visit lessons and witness the thoughtful planning, strong subject knowledge, purposeful vocabulary, and skilful scaffolding in place. Even more inspiring is speaking to students about their learning, aspirations, and the impact their teachers are having. Teaching is a profession rooted in continual growth and reflection, and it is wonderful to see our new teachers already excelling in their journey. With outstanding facilities, including our new sports hall and modern languages block, we remain committed to providing the very best learning environment, powered by excellent teaching.
This same commitment to high standards and community voice is reflected in other areas of school life. We are pleased to share that Accent has been successful in retaining the catering contract, following a highly competitive process involving eight strong bidders. Over the coming months, they will be investing more than £100,000 into the catering service to enhance the quality and variety of food, improve dining environments, and refine the overall service experience. To ensure this investment reflects the needs and preferences of our community, surveys will be sent to parents, carers, and students to gather feedback on what is working well and what could be improved. We encourage everyone to take part, as these insights will play a key role in shaping the future of our catering provision. This survey also marks the start of a broader programme of engagement with students and families throughout the lifetime of the contract, and we look forward to working closely together to deliver a service that truly meets expectations.
We are always looking for ways to improve how we communicate and support our community. Recent additions to our school website include new pages on artificial intelligence, created for both students and parents/carers, complete with informative videos to foster curiosity and understanding. We’ve also launched a dedicated wellbeing and mental health section, offering practical resources and support. We hope these additions are not only informative but also reflect our continued commitment to a school community rooted in care, innovation, and ambition.
Exciting Times in PE – Our New Sports Hall is Open!
We are thrilled to announce that our brand-new sports hall is now open and already buzzing with activity! It’s been fantastic to see a wide range of extra-curricular clubs making full use of the impressive new facility, offering our students even more opportunities to get active and try something new. Here is the link to the Sporting extra curricular timetable for this term: https://www.simonballe.herts.sch.uk/sport/secondary-sport/
During the week beginning 12th May, all secondary students will take part in taster sessions during their PE lessons. These sessions will give students the chance to explore new sports and enjoy the fantastic space and equipment the new hall provides.
The excitement continues in the week beginning 19th May, when our Larch students will take centre stage for their primary inter-house competition. All children will get the chance to experience and compete in a variety of fun, inclusive events using the brand-new facility. with the use of our new adjustable basketball hoops; perfect for all age groups and ability levels.
Looking ahead to the week beginning 19th June, we’re launching the secondary inter-house basketball competition. This event will showcase our students’ skills and house spirit in the lead up to sports day.
It’s an exciting time for PE at Simon Balle, and we can’t wait to see our students continue to thrive in their new sporting home!
County League Athletics
As the summer term began we started our annual county league athletics competition. Round 1 took place at Wodson Park athletics track and we had over 70 students representing the school from years 7-10. This event also included a few Simon Balle records being broken in the 100m and 200m.
The students have demonstrated fantastic resilience and commitment to the competition so far. This has helped each age group maintain an excellent position in the table against all other schools in the county; with the yr 7&8 girls in 10th place, the yr 7&8 boys in 1st place, the yr 9&10 girls in 7th place, and yr 9&10 boys in 8th place. All with a great chance of making it through into the final.
We wish all athletes the best of luck for our next rounds taking place on Monday 19th May, Tuesday 3rd June, and Wednesday 11th June.
Walk to School Week 19th – 23rd May 2025
We are excited to be taking part in Walk to School Week this May.
We all know the health benefits of walking so please help us this week to reduce congestion by supporting children in being more active and help reduce lower carbon emissions during this Walk to School Week.
We would like to encourage all our pupils to try and walk, cycle or scoot to school during this week. If it’s not possible to walk all the way, then it would be great if you could park 10 minutes away from school and walk or scoot the last part of your journey.
Each primary class will have a poster featuring a map of Hertfordshire and aim take a ‘virtual’ walk around Hertfordshire. Every time a pupil travels sustainably, a dot can be coloured in.
Following on from Walk to School Week, we will be supporting Clean Air Day on Thursday 19th June 2025, more information closer to the date.
This #WakeUpWednesday safety-on-the-road guide contains some excellent advice and reminders for students, and is particularly relevant to the those younger ones getting to ready to start walking on their own.
Old London Road parking permits
The Old London Road car park is an ideal site for dropping and collecting students. It is only an 11 minute walk from the school, and parking there significantly reduces congestion on Mangrove Road. Old London Road is also far more accessible than Mangrove Road, making it better for those parents that need to drive.
For younger students that need escorting to school East Herts District Council operate a scheme whereby you can extend the 30 mins free parking to an hour, giving parents plenty of time to walk up to school and then back to the car. If you would be interested in applying for one of these permits, please speak to Mrs Harding in the Larch office.
Please click here to read our latest Careers Opportunities Blog, which includes:
- Apprenticeship support for parents/ carers
- Marine Biology/Conservation virtual work experience
- AI Meets Banking Brilliance – Explore Your Future with Lloyds Banking Group
Larch Open Classrooms
As we near the end of the academic year, we would like to invite children to show their parents and carers their books from this year and their new classroom for September 2025. Specific dates and timings for this opportunity will be:
- Phase 1 & 2 (EYFS, Year 1, Year 2, Year 3 and Year 4): Wednesday 9th July 3.20pm – 4.15pm.
- Phase 3 (Year 5 and Year 6): Wednesday 16th July 3.20pm – 4.15pm.
Year 11 “Celebration day”
The Year 11’s celebrated their time here at Simon Balle last Friday with a fantastic celebration day. It began with an emotional and memorable award assembly where the students showed genuine joy for others and celebrated each individual award with cheers and applause, the support in the room was electric and so touching. The year 11’s then received their hoodies and yearbooks and postcards with messages of support from staff whilst signing each other’s shirts. A few students then went off to Stevenage for a competitive but friendly game of bowling and the rest to Chelmsford to prove themselves in Ninja Warrior. The afternoon was such fun and full of smiles and laughter. It was such a special day and fond memories were both recollected and made.
Year 11 are a fantastic group of young people, who I wish the best of luck to over the coming weeks. Now is the time to show everyone what I know you can all do.
Go smash it Year 11
Miss J Green
The UKMT Junior Maths Challenge.
On Thursday 1st of May, we had our largest entry into The UKMT Junior Maths Challenge to date, with over 330 students from year 7 and 8 taking part.
This isn’t the arithmetic or algebra you remember from school, but a whole step up in mathematical and critical thinking. With a big smile on their face, students reported that it was the hardest challenge they had ever faced. Watching them take part made us very proud. Especially the resilience shown, with most working right up to the end determined to work out just one more answer.
Fancy a go?
- Here’s the questions UKMT Junior
- And the video solutions UKMT Junior Ans
Science
This week, Year 10 students had the opportunity to take part in the National Scientific Thinking Challenge. Designed by university academics, this challenge offers an excellent way to test and encourage deep thinking skills within STEM-related contexts.
We are now awaiting the results and certificates will be awarded to the top-performing students in recognition of their outstanding achievement.
We look forward to celebrating their success once the outcomes are released.
Y13 Chemistry
Our Year 13 Chemistry students recently visited the University of Hertfordshire to attend talks on a range of analytical techniques, including NMR, ICP-OES, Mass Spectrometry, Gas Chromatography, and Infrared Spectroscopy. Students also had the opportunity to bring along their own synthesised Aspirin samples for analysis. It was an excellent day and a fantastic opportunity to deepen their understanding and experience real-world applications of their studies. A big thank you to the university for hosting us and providing such an inspiring experience.
Library News
Y9 timetable change
From Monday 2nd June Y9 will be starting their GCSE courses. The timetable has been rewritten to allow the students to have three hours per week in their chosen subjects: this head start on their GCSE courses helps to refocus them in the summer term and adds valuable time to learn new content and skills. Students should check their Arbor timetables carefully as they are likely to have lessons on completely different days.
SEND
If you would like to speak to a member of the SEND team, please schedule a virtual appointment of up to 15 minutes by using the following link: Virtual SEND Team Appointments
The Hertfordshire SEND Local Offer provides information about services and support that are available within Hertfordshire.
Please find attached the latest DSPL3 newsletter for parents and carers DSPL3 Newsletter for Parents – Summer 1
Wellbeing & Mental Health @ Simon Balle All-through school
https://www.simonballe.herts.sch.uk/wellbeing-and-mental-health/
Welcome to our wellbeing area where we aim to provide our school community up to date information about mental health support and wellbeing resources. Our Mental Health School lead is Mr Pooley who can be contacted on pooleyj@simonballe.herts.sch.uk
Next week we are planning a series of activities across the school to allow our students to connect and be active. We will also be using our wellbeing platform, bounce together, to gain an insight through surveys into students wellbeing.
A message from The Herts Haven Café:
The Herts Haven Cafe is a free drop-in space where young people (10-18 years old) can come for support and guidance with their emotional well-being. No referral is needed; our trained staff provide a safe, welcoming, and non-judgemental environment for young people to share their concerns and feel listened to.
Alongside being a sensory-friendly, playful, and creative space, we offer practical help for a diverse range of needs. If we feel that a young person may benefit from further support, we are well-equipped to signpost other services that could meet their requirements.
You can find us at Herts Haven Cafe in The Wellbeing Centre, The Warehouse, 14 New Road, Ware, Hertfordshire, SG12 7BS.
We are currently open every Wednesday, 3.30 pm – 6.30 pm, so it is ideal for an after-school visit. Parents/guardians are welcome to accompany their child during the session if they wish to.
Bullseye for Year 12!
Last week we launched our exciting new darts themed project supported by Harrows Darts with a thrilling Year 12 Darts Competition! The sports hall turned into an arena of focus, accuracy, and friendly rivalry as students took aim for glory. From bullseyes to bounce-outs, it was fantastic to see such enthusiasm, teamwork, and sporting spirit on display.
This is just the start of our darts journey – Harrows will be supporting us with equipment and expertise as we grow this exciting new sport in school. Whether it’s at lunchtime or after school, we’re aiming high!
Huge thanks to Harrows for backing this brilliant initiative and well done to all the competitors – the future of school darts starts here!
Parent Staff Association
Experience Fleetwood Mac by Candlelight!
Join us for a magical evening with Lumos Live and enjoy a Fleetwood Mac candlelight concert at the beautiful All Saints Church, Hertford on Saturday 28th June. Choose from two performance times: 7–8pm or 9–10pm.
By purchasing your tickets through our affiliate link, you’ll be supporting fundraising for the PSA, at no extra cost to you!
Don’t miss this unforgettable night of music and atmosphere!
Larch Frozen Friday
We’re excited to announce that Frozen Fridays will be returning to Larch soon. To make sure the sales can go ahead each week, we’ll need 4 volunteers each Friday. We would love to be able to offer Frozen Friday to the children that attend Explorers too. Are you available at 4.30pm on Fridays? Please sign up below!
While the sale is open to all of Larch, we kindly ask that families help out when it’s their year group’s turn to run the sale. Of course, if you’re happy to volunteer for other year groups as well, that would be wonderful too!
Here’s the list of dates and which year group will be running each sale:
https://volunteersignup.org/WT7KY
- 6th June – Year 6. 3 volunteers needed
- 13th June – Year 5. 3 volunteers needed.
- 20th June – Year 4. 4 volunteers needed.
- 27th June – Year 3 (full)
- 4th July – Year 2. 3 volunteers needed.
- 11th July – Year 1. 2 volunteers needed.
- 18th July – Reception @ 12pm, last day of school year. 4 volunteers needed.
Thank you so much for your support — we can’t wait for a summer of Frozen Fridays!
Slice of Summer – Saturday 12th July, 12-4pm – Volunteers Needed!
Calling all Larch families. We need just 4 volunteers per year group to run games this year. Can you help? Our VolunteerSignUp link is now open!
- Reception Game, Hook-a-duck – (FULL)
- Year 1 Game, Captain Hook’s Rings – (1 of 3 filled)
- Year 2 Game, Buried Treasure – (2 of 3 filled)
- Year 3 Game, Teddy Tombola – (FULL)
- Year 4 Game, Splat-the-rat – (1 of 4 filled)
- Year 5 Game, Human Fruit Machine (1 of 4 filled)
- Year 6 Game, Nerf Fruit Splat (0 of 4 filled)
Secondary families, we need you too! Can you help run the bar, candy floss, admissions desk?
Secondary students, can you help to serve ice cream or run the Boba Bar or inflatable archery?
Sign up to a volunteer slot BEFORE Friday 2nd May to benefit from FREE entry and FREE tokens to redeem anywhere at the fair, on PSA operated areas. 1 token per volunteer, per slot.
This offer is open to all staff, parents, carers and students of the all-through community.
Inflatables offer
This year, we are offering £10 wristbands that give the user unlimited use of the inflatables during the Slice of Summer. We have a limited number of wristbands available. To purchase, or find out more, please visit the PSA website.
Hertford Children’s Choir
Hertford Children’s Choir is a choir led by Rachel and Sam Chaplin for anyone aged 8-13* who loves singing and wants to develop their musicianship. Rehearsals are on Fridays 5.30-6.45pm at St Andrew’s Church Hertford and there are termly performances.
www.tinyurl.com/
Dates for your diary
A full calendar of events can be viewed on the school website.
- Mon 19th May: Walk to School Week
-
Mon 19th May: Y6 Sheringham Information eve (6pm)
- Mon 2nd June: Y5 BMX day
- Mon 2nd June: Y8 Colchester Zoo trip
- Mon 2nd June: Y9 timetable changes
- Thurs 5th June: Reception trip to Hertfordshire Zoo
- Mon 9th June: Y12 threshold exams
Wishing you all the best for the week ahead
Mrs Rachel Kirk and Mr Michael Moss (Co-headteachers)
