In a recent assembly, Seniors heard from Mr Barry Griffiths, Community Engagement Officer for Jimmy’s Cambridge

Seniors Hear About Homelessness

During this morning’s assembly Seniors heard from Mr Barry Griffiths, Community Engagement Officer for Jimmy’s Cambridge, a community-based charity providing both support and housing to people who are rough sleeping.  

The organisation began as a small shelter on East Road, and grew into a 24-hour service that provides housing to those who need it through 25 rooms, 10 supported houses and 26 modular homes. They also offer several different additional forms of practical support to help individuals on their journey toward independent living.

Mr Griffiths, who himself spent a period of time sleeping rough, spoke to the pupils about the factors that might contribute to homelessness; including the breakdown of family relationships, addiction, domestic violence, mental illness and more. The issue of homelessness extends beyond those who are sleeping rough, and also includes those who have been displaced from their homes and are depending on friends or other temporary housing. 

Jimmy’s provides 10,000 cooked meals each year to those they support; meals that provide opportunities for the staff to hear individual stories and experiences, and to build trust among a population who otherwise might have difficulty opening up to others. 

Heritage families can support the work of Jimmy’s by bringing in non-perishable food items or other household items into school over the next week. But, as Mr Griffith encouraged the pupils to remember, even more important than the items being donated are the thoughts and goodwill behind them toward those who are struggling.

Magazine Article Praises Heritage for Careful Use of Technology

In the September 2023 Schools supplement of The Spectator magazine, English actress Sophie Winkleman writes about her concerns around the increasing use of screens in schools. Ms Winkleman is a public figure and parent who has been outspoken about this issue, and is also a royal patron of many children’s charities.

The piece includes a number of comments from educators about the negative impact of technology in the classroom; for example, this observation of pupils by one assistant principal: ‘[The iPad] sought only to stoke their screen addictions and took away from the purest form of teaching: explanation. The goals of digital learning – to be more efficient, to increase independence, to reflect the real world and give students the tools needed when they leave school – largely fail on all accounts.’

In the article, Heritage is put forward as a positive example of a school using technology in moderation. The author writes, ‘Started by Jason and Fiona Fletcher in a little townhouse off Trumpington Street, the pupils go on nature walks each morning,* draw their bounty afterwards while listening to classical music, then begin a day of gentle but deeply rigorous screen-free lessons in the hands of wonderful teachers. The bar is raised high, and all the children reach it. As often with the best schools, it’s not ‘shiny’ (there are no gleaming IT suites, tennis courts and theatres); just a deeply thoughtful space created by passionate teachers with a vision. The pupils are calm, happy, reflective and eager for knowledge.’    

We applaud Ms Winkelman for adding her voice to the many who are increasingly concerned about this topic. The full article is available here: https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/my-fight-to-get-screens-out-of-schools

*Heritage Infants and Juniors go on weekly nature walks.

Excellent 2023 Exam Results for Heritage Pupils

We are pleased to announce our GCSE exam results for 2023. They are stronger than our most recent pre-Covid results (in 2019), and they continue to demonstrate that Heritage School delivers outstanding, value-added academic outcomes. This year, 55% of all results were awarded 9 or 8 (A*), and 70% of all results were awarded 9-7 (A*-A). 

Headmaster Jason Fletcher says: ‘Today, we are celebrating the achievements of our outgoing Year 11 pupils. They have done extremely well in their exams, each one achieving what they need to progress to their preferred post-16 school or college. 

This year’s Leavers are planning to go to Cambridge Academy for Science and Technology, Comberton Sixth Form, Hills Road Sixth Form College, King’s Ely, Millfield School, Parkside Sixth, The Perse School, The Stephen Perse Foundation, and West Suffolk College. 

We are very proud of our pupils for what they have achieved and for their contribution over the years to the Heritage School community. They are well prepared to step confidently into the next stage of their education and we wish them all the best as they do so.

I would also like to acknowledge our teachers for their professionalism and tireless efforts on behalf of our pupils. Their calibre and kindness make Heritage Senior School the exceptional learning community that it is, enabling our pupils to achieve more than they otherwise would have done.’

A summary of our 2023 results can be found at www.heritageschool.org.uk/information-for-parents/exam-results.

Alumna’s Art is Inspired by Nature

In a time when digital art is on the rise, Heritage alumna Chloe Chapman prefers to make things with her hands. One of the first Leavers from the class of 2016, Chloe has just finished a degree  in Fine Arts from Norwich University of the Arts, earning first class honours. Her latest work was recently included in the university’s Grad Fest, an art show consisting of work done by graduates. In her work, Chloe will often source natural materials, such as wood or clay, and create pieces that are drawn from nature. Included in this exhibition were six beautiful wooden hand-held sculptures painstakingly carved from found pieces of wood using chisels, sanding bits, sandpaper, and a tiny drill.

The final pieces—gleaming, hefty objects with soft surfaces—were made to be held and are suggestive of natural elements  such as pollen grains or ripples in a pond. Often taking heavy inspiration from the block of wood itself, Chloe would start the process of chiseling and follow the wood to ‘see what popped out’.

At times, in carving the pieces, imperfections were revealed which simply became part of the sculpture. ‘Wood isn’t a perfect material; it’s from nature, so I’m dealing with imperfections,’ she explains. ‘For me, it’s all about God’s creation.’

Also included in Chloe’s exhibit was a ‘Curious Collection’; glass vials filled with natural objects that she has  been collecting since the beginning of lockdown. The foundation for this concept came from the nature tables at Heritage. She recalls collecting a leaf or branch during a nature walk,  identifying it, and then painting it with watercolours. Now when she’s out collecting, she says,  ‘I’m picking up these things; some of them I recognise, but others I don’t have the foggiest idea what they are. I put in my research, and sometimes I find out what they are and sometimes I don’t.’ Chloe chooses not to label any of the vials, preferring the questions that naturally come when people examine them closely. ‘That’s what makes it art; people are intrigued, confused, interested, curious. It’s not a museum because I don’t painstakingly label each one. It’s quite a personal collection.’

When asked to point out some of her favourites, she immediately picks up a vial of miniscule sea urchin tests (the internal skeleton of a sea urchin), which she found while visiting family in Kenya. She also pointed out some more local objects that many Heritage students will recognise; beautifully displayed vials of lichen, seed pods, and galls. 

Chloe has some excellent advice for Heritage pupils who want to create. First: ‘Ask your mum and dad for a few jam jars or a shoebox, or a little shelf in your bedroom, collect all of the interesting rocks, next time you go to the beach, collect a cool shell; it might be something nobody else finds interesting—it could literally just be a pebble that fits in your hand nicely. Or it could be a really fascinating and weird bone, or a strange seed. Bring it home, and surround yourself with things that bring you joy and make you want to create.’  And also: ‘Just get into the habit of making stuff; not for the final product, but for the joy of making it, because it’s fun to take a potato and cut it in half and carve a little stamp in it and mix it in paint and get messy.’ She continues, ‘Let yourself go a bit wild; make some weird art, make some abstract art, make something that doesn’t make sense to other people. Don’t feel like your work is bad; just that you’ve made it makes it good. And if you want to make better work, the only way to get better is to make more. The more familiar you are with the material, the more you’ll figure out how it works and you get better at it without even noticing.’

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Infant Choir Recital

Monday’s after-school Infant Choir have been working hard on their music this term. As their teacher Mrs Shore told parents, ‘The sessions have a very positive vibe, the pupils are working together effectively, enjoying a variety of musical styles and beginning to pay more attention to finer details such as dynamics and phrasing.’ Families of the pupils were invited to a performance by the choir during the last Monday of term, and were treated to a short but truly delightful programme of musical numbers that the children have been practising during their sessions. Well done to Mrs Shore and to each member of the choir.