13 March 2025
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students/Annwyl Rhieni, Gwarchodwyr a Myfyrwyr
This week we bring you a literary and cultural feast for the eyes! It was also a feast for the ears, as all who attended the Eisteddfod will confirm.
Celebrating World Book Day 2025
This year, we are yet to award the accolade of ‘best staff costume.’ Will it be Old McGrimstead and his farm animals? Or will it be the 3 little pigs? Or Ratatouille, Gangsta Granny or Willy Wonka’s golden ticket? It’s hotly contested!
Despite appearances, the staff weren’t the only ones having fun. There was plenty of activity through the week that engaged our students and there was certainly a real buzz around the school about reading. Lessons and form time activities were adapted to focus on reading and Year 7 threw themselves into the scavenger hunt with great gusto.
Here are some snaps from the art and books session that was held in the library. Students created characters and wrote a diary entry for a day in that character’s life.
We also welcomed poet and author, Luke Palmer to run a creative writing workshop. Luke is a poet, author and secondary school teacher and Grow is his first novel. His second novel, Play, was published October 2023.
The students involved took part in an engaging and creative workshop where they had the opportunity to demonstrate their vivid imagination and beautiful written work. Destruction was the theme of the session and each student thoroughly enjoyed destroying, exploding and smashing their phones, iPads and sentimental belongings within their writing.
All students involved were engaged and represented our school community beautifully. They were an absolute credit to the school and Mrs Medlicott was so proud of them all.
World Book Day was also an opportunity for us to ask some of the staff for some reading recommendations. This year, we focused on works that had the most profound influence on staff and perhaps changed their perspectives on the world. Here are a few of those recommendations.
For Miss Lockwood it was The Colour Purple by Alice Walker that shaped her perspective on life.
“The Colour Purple completely changed my perspective and understanding of the levels of inequality that were at play in the world.
I studied it for my undergraduate dissertation and have recommended it to many of my A-level students.”
For Mrs Medlicott, it was Blood Brothers by Willy Russell that packed a punch.
“My passion for musicals and theatre began when I read and studied the play, Blood Brothers, as a pupil.
The songs, characters and storyline took my breath away and it is still one of my top five favourites.”
For Miss Lewis, it was Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe that inspired.
“Things Fall Apart is a profoundly moving book. It was the first book I read by an African writer telling a story from an African perspective.
It made me aware of the impact of colonisation, more arrestingly than typical history texts, and how different cultures have different value systems and beliefs.
It’s also a gripping read and you get totally absorbed in the main character’s plight.”
For Mrs Hazeltine Rees, it was a modern reworking of a classic.
“My recommendation is Demon Copperhead. A modern reworking of Charles Dickens‘s David Copperfield, with the characters transported to the Appalachian Mountains of America.
Demon is born in a trailer to an addict mother and soon ends up in foster care. I loved the protagonist Demon who has a strong spirit of survival despite a difficult upbringing.
As a Dickens fan, I enjoyed the way the characters were loosely based on those and David Copperfield and I felt emotionally attached to Demon by the end of the book.”
For Mr Mee, it was an all-time favourite that is most people’s top ten, To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee.
“Protagonist Atticus Finch’s unwavering dedication to upholding justice and fighting for what is right, and his high moral integrity, inspired me.
I had great admiration and respect for the way that Atticus was brave enough to do the right thing, even when it threatened his own safety.”
Our final recommendation comes from Miss Evans and is Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid.
A striking novel and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a black babysitter, her well intentioned employer, and a surprising connection.
“This book challenges a range of prejudices via which characters you are showing empathy for.”
Thank you to all the staff who contributed with their recommendations.
As well as thanking Mrs Hazeltine-Rees and Mrs Medlicott for organising so many activities around World Book Day, we would also like to thank Mr Burrows for the fantastic art work he has produced for the library.
We will sign off with a farewell from us all here, and a further Planets reading challenge. All who complete will be invited to a rewards session in the summer term and there are merits and reward notes to gain along the way.
Eisteddfod 2025
Meanwhile, the roof was raised in the West Wing Hall as Year 7 and 8 embraced our Welsh culture with equal gusto.
Congratulations to all of our Eisteddfod winners and a huge thank you to the Welsh, Music and Drama teams in particular for making it such a success. The individual and group performances were extremely entertaining and really celebrated our Welsh culture and heritage. The choir were exemplary and the orchestra made the hairs on the back of your next stand up!
Above is some of the amazing work produced by Year 7 and 8 students in the Eisteddfod off-stage competitions. Below are a few more snaps from the musical performances and poetry recitations. They all loved singing the national anthem at the end.
Super Scholars!
From our youngest scholars to our senior crew.
Enjoying a well-deserved Mr Whippy after their phenomenal Scholars Programme results (with none of the 12 achieving less that a 2:1 and over half achieving a 1st class pass grade) the Year 12 Scholars team spent the day at Bristol University, attending academic talks and having tours of the university’s many departments. The Engineering department was even equipped with a wind tunnel and an earthquake room!
Ibrahim and Shiva spoke fantastically on the team’s behalf about all they had learned on the programme and all our brilliant Scholars then graduated and received their certificates. They thoroughly deserve them. The school look forward to continuing to work with the aptly named Brilliant Club to give our most-able students opportunities to test themselves, completing work at undergraduate level. Well done everyone!
Sportshall success!
Congratulations to all students who competed with a great effort at the Sportshall (Welsh) finals last week, where the Cardiff and Vale U15 girls team claimed the gold medal, with LHS providing half the team! Well done to Amelie Edwards, Maja Mach, and Abbie Beadle!
The U13 boys repeated the feat, with George Garner representing LHS.
The U13 girls claimed Silver. Well done to Summer Beadle and Maisey Lillywhite.
The U15 girls and U13 boys will proceed to the UK finals next month. This will be the first time that Cardiff and the Vale have had two teams progress this far.
Great stuff!
Next collection for Cardiff Foodbank
The next collection for the Cardiff Foodbank will be Wednesday 19th March between 5-6pm on the bus bays. As always, any donations are welcome at school reception in advance
The most needed items as of 19/02/2025 are: cooking sauce in jars, jam, long-life juice, rice, sponge puddings, tinned custard, tinned meat, tinned potatoes, tinned tomatoes and washing powder.
I look forward to bringing you more news and updates next week.
Thank you for reading/Diolch am ddarllen,
Mrs Sarah Parry, Headteacher