I hope you and your families have an enjoyable and relaxing Easter break.

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Richard Hale School DOCTRINA CVM VIRTVTE 29 th March 2018 Dear Parents I wanted to thank all students and parents for the warm welcome I have received since starting in January.

1 Richard Hale School DOCTRINA CVM VIRTVTE 29 th March 2018 Dear Parents I wanted to thank all students and parents for the warm welcome I have received since starting in January. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the students and the school over the last term. I have been thoroughly impressed by the students both in their attitude in school and their commitment in extra-curricular. It has been my pleasure to attend such a variety of events such as Cabaret and House music. The talent of the students has been extraordinary. It has been great to see so many sporting achievements over the last term, so many teams showing their quality. The opportunities at the school are vast, as was demonstrated in Senior Colours Assembly this morning. So many students received awards for their contributions to school life. Many students are now working to the exams in the summer and it is important that over Easter they continue their revision. There are a number of resources to help them on the school website on the parental information tab/year 11 GCSE Information. However, it is also important that all the students get some rest so they can begin next term refreshed and ready for the challenges ahead. I hope you and your families have an enjoyable and relaxing Easter break. UK Maths Team competition On Tuesday 6 th March, Matthew Crosby and Toby Golding, both Year 9, and Henry Walden and Louis Roche, Year 8, took part in the UK Maths Team competition which was held at Bancroft s School, Woodford Green. The day consisted of four rounds a group round when all four worked together, a cross number round, a shuttle round and a relay round. Our team started really well with a good score in the group round, then moved on to the more challenging cross-number round, which contained some severe questions. They battled on in the afternoon, scoring well in the last two rounds, again working in pairs, and ended up in 9 th position out of 27 schools. A very creditable result, considering the stiff competition from private and selective schools. Basketball The U13 basketball team finished 2 nd overall in the county league table this year, which guaranteed us a semi-final berth at home vs. 3 rd placed Queens School. So far this season, playing against full-court pressure has been our Achilles heel, and the last three weeks of practice were dedicated to addressing this weakness. As expected, Queens pressured us all over the floor, but this time the boys coped admirably. They turned the ball over very little, evaded the over-stretched defense and created numerous easy opportunities to score. Headteacher: Ian H Hawkins Richard Hale School is a company limited by guarantee (company no ) and exempt charity registered in England and Wales at Hale Road, Hertford, Herts. SG13 8EN Tel: admin@richardhale.co.uk

2 Unfortunately, our finishing around the rim was poor and we were unable to create any separation from Queens. On the defensive end we did a great job of frustrating their big men. Unfortunately, our guards struggled to keep their men in front of them, and time-and-again Queens were able to convert acrobatic attempts at the rim. As we reached the 4 th quarter, the game was still very close. At this point, our guards really started to lock-in defensively and began funneling their men left, thereby forcing them to use their weaker hands. We contested their shots at the rim and rebounded with authority. On the other end, shots began to drop and we opened up a 7 point lead with 3 ½ minutes remaining. Queens then mounted one last furious charge and were able to convert some truly miraculous shots. However, it wasn t enough and we held our nerve to finish the game victorious, This win set up a County League finals match-up against St Columba s College on Wednesday 21 st March. In preparation for the game the team worked on their help-side defense and learned how to disrupt SCC s infamous stack out-of-bounds play. Unfortunately, nothing could prepare the boys for the speed and intensity of an SCC squad that also competes in the national schools competition. The opposition jumped out to a huge early lead and we ended the first quarter dazed and confused and down The boys could have easily crumbled at this point but they are a resilient group who learn quickly and play with great pride. As such, their help-side defense improved enormously as the game went on and by-and-large we were able to stop the bleeding, forcing SCC into long-range contested jump-shots instead of repeatedly allowing them easy drives. Clawing our way back into the game was always going to be tough though. In the final three quarters we coped brilliantly with their full-court pressure and repeatedly managed to get into our offense, whereupon we created around 25 fantastic opportunities to score, including a very large number of uncontested layups from around 3 feet. Of those shots we only managed to convert 10, and just like in the semi-final our inability to finish around the rim let us down. As a consequence, despite the boys never giving up and playing as hard as they could until the very end, the game finished in SCC s favour. Congratulations to the squad for making the finals of the competition, which is undoubtedly a fantastic achievement. Hopefully next year we can make the finals again and give SCC more of a run for their money. Football The last Saturday block fixture of the season saw 4 teams from 4 different year groups take on Roundwood Park. Results are below: Year 7 drew 2-2 Year 8 won 4-1 Year 9 won 4-3 Year 10 won 5-3 The 1 st XI also played Roundwood in their last league fixture of the campaign and won 3-2. The pick of the bunch came from captain George Smith who scored after 6 seconds from the kick off behind the half way line. Cup football has unfortunately seen the Year 9 District Cup Final postponed until after Easter. The Year 11 final is taking place this afternoon against Freman College.

3 The pick of the games this week was the Year 7 County Cup Final vs Beaumont. Having already won the District Cup the previous week the team went into this final full of confidence. They started the match brightly and were 3-0 up at half time, with a 25 yard Gabriel Chapps freekick being the pick of the goals. Beaumont came out second half with a point to prove and scored two early goals to make a real game of it. After some inspired substitutions, Astin Brace came off the bench to assist one goal and score another to clinch the match 5-2. A special mention to James Rowswell who was awarded MoM by the match officials after a superb performance in midfield. An outstanding achievement by all of the Year 7 boys involved this year to win both the District and County Cup. Mr Williams has asked me to pass a massive thank you to the parents who have supported the team throughout the season. U12 County Rugby 10 s Richard Hale were drawn in Pool B with Rickmansworth, Bishop Stortford High School, QE Barnet and Watford Grammar. Game 1 Lost 1-0 vs Watford Grammar Game 2 - Lost 2-1 vs QE Barnet Game 3 - Won 3-1 vs Rickmansworth Game 4 - Won 2-1 vs Bishop Stortford High School Richard Hale were placed 3 rd in their Group and met Berkhamsted for the 5 th /6 th playoff which RHS lost 3-1, and 6 th place overall. All the squad should be pleased with their efforts. Some fantastic rugby played in difficult conditions, always looking to move the ball and play free flowing rugby. Great team effort but in particular Archie Nicklin, Ollie Wheeler, Luke McCutcheon and Matt McGinty who all had outstanding performances throughout the entire tournament. Swimming The School swimming squad once again served us well earlier this week in their efforts to clinch the honours at this year s District League Swimming Club final held at John Warner pool. Our six senior swimmers Ollie Jackson and Ben Williamson, both Year 11, Neo Metz and Josh Purcell, Year 12, Will Charles and Miles Osterberg, Year 13, finished the season in true style, sealing first place in all four individual 50m events and both relay events. A perfect score with Hale victorious in every senior event, once again securing their place as overall senior district champions. Not to be outdone, our Junior squad equalled the performance of their senior counterparts, emerging victorious in all six of their races as well with our youngest swimmers from Years 7 and 8, Jake Williamson, Callum Cox, Joe Reynolds, Sidney Thompson, Connor Sullivan and Finn Menich delivering some excellent times and clearly keen to follow in the footsteps on their elder mentors. Although our intermediate team were depleted in numbers this time around, young Finn Menich stepped up as he swam up to give fellow swimmers Dan Ireland, Year 9, Dougie Grayling and Joshua Hollan, Year 10, a fighting chance of glory which they comprehensively delivered with their excellent tally of four first places overall.

4 As a testament to the impressive times recorded by our seniors, those of you old enough to remember the original Tarzan films may know of Johnny Weissmuller who not only played the lead role, but was also an Olympic gold medallist in the 100m freestyle event. Albeit almost 100 years ago, his Olympic gold medal winning time of 59.0 seconds would have been rivalled by our very own freestyle swimmers today, who regularly turn in 50m times of 26 seconds. 4x4 National Final The 4x4 team competed in the national final last week at the British Motor Museum; the competition was over two days and the boys showcased their improved car, as well as an interactive pit display. The team walked away with a trophy for best verbal presentation and were given lots of positive feedback from the judges. Not only did the competition provide the boys an opportunity to develop quality engineering skills, they are now eligible to apply directly for a place at a Jaguar Land Rover Apprenticeship Scheme Assessment Centre, bypassing the short listing process. Well done to Kieran Gunn, Tom Plummer, Miles Hickman, Louis Lappage, Josh Houghton and Oliver Brady on another successful event. Musicians of the Month Congratulations to the following students who have been awarded Musician of the Month for their achievements in March. Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12/13 Jotham King Edward Barrow Finley Morgan Naveen Vatti Adam Vithaldas Chloe Watson Woodwind Evening On Wednesday evening our woodwind players gave an excellent, informal concert to parents and peers in the Recital Room. For many this was their first ever solo in front of an audience; some of them had only been playing for a term. We were also treated to performances by our more experienced players, several of whom took grade exams last week or will be examined tomorrow. The woodwind ensemble and flute group also performed pieces they had been working on this term. Well done to all who took part. FAME, the Musical at Hertford Theatre Four students from Richard Hale School will be appearing in a production of Fame at Hertford Theatre in May (16 th -19 th ). Joshua Langley, Harry O Hare, Charlie Gates and Reuben Chandisingh will be treading the boards and taking part in the musical, which is organised through the Hertford Dramatic & Operatic Society. Tickets are available via the Hertford Theatre website. We wish them every success with this fantastic opportunity. Haileybury Model United Nations Conference Last weekend, a group of 9 students attended the Haileybury Model United Nations conference, with two of our number - Will Tyrer, Year 12, and Ben Nicholls, Year 11, getting

5 prestigious Highly Commended Awards for their committee work. This was a weekend consisting of debate and solutions to major world issues, from tax havens to reducing missile tensions. Leading up to the event, the delegates thoroughly researched the topics for discussion in their committees, wrote resolutions and held practise debates, led by sixth form students and Mr Brownlee. The conference began on Friday evening, where our delegates started building support for their resolutions with other students from all across the UK and abroad. Resolutions were debated on Saturday and Sunday morning where our resolution calling for the regulation of cryptocurrency was passed by the economic and financial committee by an overwhelming majority. Sunday ended with plenary sessions, where committees merged and debated the best resolutions from each one. We are now looking forward to hosting our Richard Hale MUN in November. House Quiz Competition The Inter-house quiz competition has been taking place this half term. The quiz was in the style of University Challenge, with starter questions followed by bonuses. Each of the houses put forward a team of four, a student from years 7 and 8, another from Year 9 and 10, a Year 11 and a Sixth Former. Cowper lost to Croft in the first round, Hale lost to Kinman in the second round, and Page beat Wallace in the third round. Hale went through to the semi final as the highest scoring losers. Losing was short lived for Hale as they beat Page in their semi-final, and as Croft beat Kinman in theirs this all accumulated in a final between Croft and Hale which took place on Tuesday lunchtime. The final started very closely until Croft managed to get ahead and then start to build on their lead finally beating Hale, 340 to 190 points. Well done to the Croft team of Captain, Max Wilkinson, Year 12, Jack Johnson, Year 11, Oliver Talow, Year 10 and Louis Roche, Year 8. Thank you to all the teams for making this very first Inter-house quiz a success. Thank you also to Mrs Farr for organizing the competition and providing the questions and to Mrs Highet for keeping score. Charity Fun Run We are staging our third annual charity fun run on the 24 th April with students and staff invited to run, jog or walk for 5km on behalf of two good causes: Prostate Cancer UK and Youth Concern Trust (YCT), which offers counselling and therapeutic support for young people in Essex and Hertfordshire. Application letters will be handed out at assemblies next week. At a mere 5 to enter we are looking forward to a big turnout next month. Progress Reports Progress Reports for Year 11 will be available on the Parent Portal today. If you have any problems accessing the system please online@richardhale.co.uk. Please note all reports will be uploaded by 3.30pm on the date of issue. Would parents please sign inside the front cover of your son s planner to confirm having seen the report. Parent Forums Thank you to all the parents who have accepted the invitation to attend the parent forums being held next term. If you would still like to attend, please let Karen Dart know.

6 The two dates for these are: Year 7 and 8 Year 9, 10 and to 7.30pm on the 24 th April to 7.30pm on the 1 st May. I will be arranging a third forum for Key Stage 5 and the date for this will be confirmed after Easter. Ian Hawkins Headteacher Forthcoming Events March Friday 30 th Friday 13 th April Monday 2 nd Monday 16 th Tuesday 17 th Thursday 19 th Monday 23 rd Easter Holiday Year 12/13 German Work Experience to the 5 th Summer term begins Year 11 & 13 Photographs Year 11 History Mock to Friday 20 th Year 8 exams to the 26 th GCSE MFL Oral exams to the 27 th Tuesday 24 th Year 13 Gold DofE planning meeting 1 Thursday 26 th Year 13 Gold DofE planning meeting 2 Junior Maths Challenge Friday 27 th PA Quiz Night Year 12 French Exchange arrive at RHS Saturday 28 th Bronze DofE Practice Expedition 1 Monday 30 th A Level French Orals Forthcoming Weeks Easter Break Monday 16 th April Week 1 Monday 23 rd April Week 2 Monday 30 th April Week 1 Tuesday 8 th May Week 2 Monday 14 th May Week 1 Monday 21 st May Week 2 Half Term Monday 4 th June Week 1 Monday 11 th June Week 2 Monday 18 th June Week 1

7 Monday 25 th June Week 2 Monday 2 nd July Week 1 Monday 9 th July Week 2 Monday 16 th July Week 1

Chairman of Governors: Mr S Towe CBE

Chairman of Governors: Mr S Towe CBE LYTTELTON HOUSE Bromsgrove School Worcester Road Bromsgrove Worcestershire B61 7DU Tel: +44 (0) 1527 579679 Fax: +44 (0) 1527 576177 Email: mgiles@bromsgrove-school.co.uk Dear Parents, On the eve of beginning