Friday 26th June

Co-headteachers’ welcome

At such an exciting (whilst hot!) point in the term, it is a privilege and pleasure to focus on our wonderful students and all that they are achieving. Celebrations are multi-faceted with our hugely successful Sports presentation evening last week; our formal academic awards ceremony on Monday 13th July to look forward to; the window of music instrumental exams which is now open (over 120 exams!); and opportunities a-plenty for our students to enjoy and to achieve within trips (from our Reception cohort at Hertfordshire zoo reinforcing learning related to Understanding the World, to our Year 10 historians in Berlin focussed on developing students’ understanding of twentieth-century European history, where the trip explores the rise and fall of Nazi Germany, the Holocaust, the Cold War and the division and reunification of Berlin through visits to significant historical sites and memorials). Many more enriching trips and experiences to come in the final four weeks of this term, each of which really does demonstrate the dedication of staff, the enthusiasm of students and the commitment of parents / carers – thank you to all. 

This fortnight, we are pleased to be in receipt of many (not yet all) of our primary academic outcomes, with KS2 SATs and secondary GCSEs and A level results to, of course, follow. We could not be more proud of the exceptional results to date, namely: 

• 87% of our Reception cohort have achieved a ‘good level of development’ which is a national benchmark reflecting on their achievements and readiness for Year 1 focussed on communication and language; physical development; personal, social and emotional development; literacy (reading and writing) and mathematics. The national comparator is 68% from last year, showing our cohort’s remarkable achievements. Progress from starting points will be celebrated and communicated with every family – thank you for our partnership with home! 
• 93% of our Year 1 cohort have achieved the expected standard within the national phonics screening check  – compared with a national comparator of 80% last year. We know how crucial this step is to securing fluency and joy in reading, opening up access to the whole curriculum in Year 2 and beyond – well done to all – as every child has, once again, made brilliant progress from their starting points. 
• In Year 4, our results in the multiplication check this year show that an average of 24.6 / 25 has been achieved across the cohort. Last year’s national average was 21.0 / 25. Additionally, 83% of the cohort achieved 25/25 compared with 37% nationally last year. Most importantly, every student has made exceptional progress! This forms such a solid foundation to maths in Years 5, 6 and the secondary phase beyond. 

We are unapologetic in our ambition to ensure that there are high aspirations for every student academically. We know just how much this matters in ‘creating tomorrow’s citizens today.’ Without bombarding you with too much data here, we would also like to share our focus on strong foundations when students join us in Year 7: 

• Our focus on reading has led to an average gain of 15 months in reading ages across Year 7, with the biggest jumps for those who needed this support most! Great!
• For those supported to make accelerated progress in reading in Year 7, their average comprehension age increase has been 3 years and 4 months in just 1 year – wow!
• Student voice around Gradu8 in year 7 has been exceptional, where students (96% of whom have attended twice weekly) value the gains they have made in reading, maths, collaboration and research, dependent on their personalised academic focus. 

At this point in the academic year we are just as excited about supporting the transition for every student moving to the next year group with us, as we are welcoming new cohorts into Reception, Year 7 and Year 12: in each year group we are ready to ensure that each student is well equipped to achieve, belong and thrive, academically and pastorally. 

One of the best measures of reviewing how well we are doing and considering next steps, is, of course, in our stakeholder feedback. We are delighted to have received over 320 responses to our parental survey which closed this Monday (22nd June). Thank you so much for your time and commitment to providing us with such valued feedback. We are delighted to share that, once again, you overwhelmingly fed back to us so many important strengths at Simon Balle, from the breadth and ambition of the curriculum (96% agreeing or strongly agreeing) to brilliant clubs and activities (95% agreeing or strongly agreeing). 

A standalone letter will be sent before the end of term related to this feedback so that you can all share in the positives and see how we are never complacent and always acting upon next steps. To end the newsletter introduction for this fortnight, though, please can we thank you for your overwhelming support: our partnership between home and school is so valued. To leave you with a few highlights, thank you for your comments which, time and time again, reflect the community that you and your children feel proud to be a part of: 

“Simon Balle has exceptional teachers… they go the extra mile.”

“Teachers’ expertise and knowledge is second to none and they are all experts in their own specialist field.”

“The teachers, leaders, teaching assistants, and admin staff are exceptional and we feel so grateful for all their hard work.”

“We LOVE our children’s school… All three of my children love going to school, they are excited about learning new things, they are inspired to learn and want to achieve.”

“They have thrived at the school, coming home and excitedly telling us all about what they have learnt that day.”

“My son has felt very lucky to move to the Sixth form and feel so welcomed. Definitely his happiest period of secondary school.”

“The pastoral care my son has received has been second to none and the teaching staff are so impressive both pastorally and academically.”

“They have been fantastic at recognising and meeting my daughter’s SEN needs … Everyone has been amazing. It is a whole-school approach and gives us a lot of confidence.”

“In our experience, the safeguarding team work extremely hard and to very high standards to ensure that the students are supported correctly.”

“We are blown away by all the opportunities they have; from music, sports to quiet areas when needed. We are proud of our school.”

“Outside enrichment like DofE and school trips have been brilliant for her growth as a young person.”

“Thank you to all the staff who make Simon Balle the wonderful school it is… We feel extremely lucky for our children to be students here.”

The Great Get Together coffee morning

Our Year 12 Politics students were delighted to be invited by Josh Dean MP, Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stortford, to attend a coffee morning marking the 10th anniversary of The Great Get Together. 

Inspired by Jo Cox’s belief that “we have far more in common than that which divides us”, the event celebrated the values and connections that bring communities together. It gave our students the opportunity to speak with their local representative about the issues that matter most to them and to engage thoughtfully in discussion about public life and community.

Taking time out of their final school Sports Day, our students represented Simon Balle brilliantly and were excellent ambassadors for the school in the local community.

Thank you to Josh Dean MP for the invitation and for hosting such a thoughtful community event.

Year 4- Litter Picking

Recently, Year 4 have been helping to care for our school environment by taking part in some litter picking. Armed with litter pickers and bags, the children worked hard to collect rubbish from around the school grounds and local woods. We found all sorts of litter, including wrappers, bottles, and even some surprising items! The children showed great teamwork and enthusiasm, helping to make our school a cleaner and greener place for everyone.

Mini-Police Fun Day

On Tuesday 16th June, Year 5 had their final session of the mini-police programme.  Throughout the Spring Term, the PCSOs delivered several sessions on various topics including anti-social behaviour, cyber safety and road safety.  Fresh from their final certification, the Year 5 students were treated by a team of PCSOs and PCs, to a Police drone display, fingerprinting, uniform and riot gear testing and speed boards.  Mr. Gregory was also handcuffed…

Year 3 Ancient Egyptian day

Year 3 enjoyed an exciting Ancient Egyptian workshop led by ‘Off the Page’. Dressed in fantastic Egyptian costumes, the children stepped back in time to experience life in Ancient Egypt. During the morning, they took part in a range of practical activities, including making bread, creating pendants, crafting perfume cones and playing traditional board games. In the afternoon, the children brought history to life through acting, dancing and miming a variety of Ancient Egyptian stories such as The Wax Crocodile and the Dance of the Nile all to impress the pharaoh. The day was both educational and enjoyable, helping the children develop a deeper understanding of this fascinating period in history. Thank you to all of the parents who volunteered their time to help and to all of the families who provided such wonderful costumes.

Double Win for the Elm Sports Centre

We are absolutely thrilled to share the news that The Elm Sports Centre was recently recognised at the prestigious Herts and Beds Constructing Excellence Awards, bringing home awards in both categories in which it was nominated.

The centre received the Highly Commended award for:

Building Project of the Year – Celebrating the outstanding design, construction quality, and modern innovation of the building itself.

Client of the Year – Recognising our school’s vision, teamwork, and dedication to creating a top-tier environment for our students and local community.

Being ‘Highly Commended’ in these competitive regional categories is a massive achievement. It highlights that the Elm Sports Centre isn’t just a brilliant place for our students to train, play, and compete but that it is also a benchmark for architectural and construction excellence in the region.

This recognition is a testament to the hard work of everyone involved, from the architects, project managers, design team and builders to our own project team who championed this vision from day one.

A huge thank you and congratulations to everyone in our community who supported this project.

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

DSPL3 coffee morning details can be found here.

DSPL3 Newsletter for Parents – Summer 2.pdf

Spurs Ultimate Training Experience

Please see details of Spurs’ Ultimate Training Experience at Hotspur Way on June 27 & 28th: SFD-PD-Flyer_A5

Girls’ Football Opportunity

Potters Bar Town FC are currently building a U16 girls team entering the Junior Premier League for the 2026/27 season and are still looking for players to complete the squad. Are you a player with experience, passion, and the drive to progress from local grassroots football into a higher level of competition? If this sounds like you, or someone you know, this is a fantastic opportunity to be part of an exciting new team pathway.

Busy Lizzies Summer Holiday and Sports Clubs

National Community Film Campaign Comes to Simon Balle

Community screenings of a novel and important new short film, the People’s Emergency Briefing are sweeping the country, and Simon Balle All-through School is delighted to announce that it will host a free screening on Friday, 10 th July at 7pm.

Below is a letter from The National Emergency Briefing (NEB) with more information.

By following the format of the popular Gogglebox TV show the 50-minute film is designed to reset the national conversation on what we can do about climate change and nature loss. We watch along with a wide variety of ordinary Brits – and some celebrities too – as they view snippets from expert briefings originally given in Westminster to an audience of more than a thousand MPs and influential people. Intermittently we hear their reactions in conversation with Chris Packham who

fronts the film. Then the local audience continues the conversation after the film ends by engaging in a 45-minute facilitated discussion of their reactions and thoughts on what should be done.

The film skilfully joins the dots between a wide variety of societal impacts of unabated climate change and nature loss. The resultant picture is both a stark warning and a more hopeful call to action to us all to protect our children and what we all love about life as it currently is.

Entry is free and you can just turn up at the door, but places are limited so to guarantee yourself a seat reserve your spot now by visiting The National Emergency Briefing’s website and clicking the SELECT TICKETS button.

If you can’t make the date, other nearby screenings can be found by visiting the NEB’s screening map. The map is nationwide so if you know someone in another part of the country whom you think will be interested they too will be able to find screenings near them.

A trailer for the film is available on YouTube. Everyone aged 16+ is welcome. Feel free to bring a friend, relative or neighbour.

Parent Staff Association

Slice of Summer – volunteers needed!

We hope to see lots of you at our summer fair, the Slice of Summer on 4th July.  Our Larch dancers and choir members are busy practicing for the fair and while you are there, why not visit the incredible all-through art exhibition too.

To make the Slice of Summer a success, we need a huge number of volunteers to get involved.  This is becoming more challenging every year, please help for an hour if you are available.  Secondary students may fill slots with friends, primary students are welcome to volunteer under their adult’s supervision.  Please take a look at the slots that need filling and sign up today: volunteersignup.org/YKLP3 

1st July – Larch Summer Accessory Day

To support the Slice of Summer, Larch students are invited to take part in the annual Summer Accessory Day on Wednesday 1st July.  One summer accessory can be worn with school uniform in exchange for a bottled donation. Please ensure bottles are full, sealed and in date.  From prosecco to pop, gin to juice – anything bottled will be well received.  Please see poster for further guidance.

4th July – Summer Raffle

20 raffle tickets will soon be sent home with all Larch students.  Secondary students will soon also be able to bring packs of 20 tickets home.  Sales online are now open via our website, simply complete your details online then return your counterfoils to any school office by Friday 3rd July. Maybe you will be the lucky family to win £100 in vouchers of your choice.  Or a jeroboam of champagne!  See website for prize list.

If you are able to donate to our raffle, please get in touch: volunteersignup.org/WT7KY

Larch Frozen Friday @ Explorers

Thanks to our wonderful volunteers including Duke of Edinburgh volunteers, we are able to extend our Frozen Fridays to Explorers. Frozen treats will be available at 4.30pm from the Larch hall and a selection will be taken to the Explorers cabin afterwards.  If your child stays for Explorers Extra and would like to buy a frozen treat, please send them in with £1- preferably in an envelope. 

We are still looking for help with Frozen Friday after school. Sign up today to support the sale: https://volunteersignup.org/WT7KY

Soft toys, games and toy collection

Our Teddy Tombola is always a popular stall at our summer and winter fairs. If you have any soft toys, games or children’s toys that are in clean, complete, working order, please drop them to the Larch office between Monday 29th June and Friday 3rd July only. Thank you in advance.

£12 unlimited inflatables use SoS wristbands

This year, we have a bigger and better offering and are pleased to share our unlimited use wristband deal.  For £15, your child can have unlimited use of the inflatables for the duration of the fair.  If you purchase by 3pm on 3rd July, the price is reduced to £12!  Wristbands can be collect from the inflatables station on the day of the fair where they can also be purchased for £15. If this option is not for you, you can pay as you go on the day with 3 tokens for 5 minutes.

To purchase your wristband ahead of the fair, saving £3, visit our website!

Dates for your diary

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

• Tues 30th June: Y8 MFL trip departs
• Wed 1st July: DofE Y11 departs
• Wed 1st July: rescheduled EPQ presentation evening
• Thurs 2nd July: Y6 residential departs
• Fri 3rd July: Art exhibition
• Sat 4th July: PSA Slice of Summer
• Wed 8th – Fri 10th July DofE Y9/10 trips
• Thurs 9th July: Transition day
• Fri 10th July: Larch Sports Day
• Mon 13th July: Awards evening at All Saints Church
• Tues 14th July: Rewards trip
• Thurs 16th July: Music tour departs
• Fri 17th July: End of term (early finish)