A Joyous Summer Fete

Not even rain could dampen the spirits of those who attended the HCA Summer Fete, held on Saturday the 18th of June. From the Buskers Corner to Face Painting to Welly Wanging, there was plenty for all ages to do, see and enjoy. A special highlight was the dog show, with prizes being given for the best dressed, lookie-likey, waggiest tail, and best in show. Stiff competition took place on the Welly Wanging field, with Year 6 pupil Ore Ofe throwing a welly an amazing distance of 26.6 meters. Flagging energy was revived with delicious hot dogs from the BBQ and regular sugar infusions were readily available in the form of candy floss, ice cream, cakes, and sweets. But perhaps the most exciting moment of the day came with the opportunity to throw a sponge at Mr Fletcher; an activity that generated plenty of competitors, and which he endured with characteristic good humour. (Be sure to check out the gallery of images below.)

The day raised an impressive £2,259, which will go toward the purchase of a new piano in Panton Hall. A portion will also go to Amazing Grace School in Uganda. Thank you to Vicky Grebe, Ellie Stoneley, Rachel Bruins, Donal Lafferty and all of the HCA committee members, parents, and other members of our community who contributed their time and talents to create a wonderful experience for all. Special thanks to Cecilia and Tom Amies and family, who supplied the beautiful setting and did so much to ensure comfort and safety for everyone. And finally, thank you also to the following vendors who contributed goods for the silent auction:

Bread and Meat

Cambridge Tour Guides

The Raptor Foundation

Cambridge Science Centre

SUP Cambridge

Millside Canoe Hire

Emboracum Baroque Orchestra

Clip n Climb

Stem & Glory, Cambridge

Jack’s Gelato

Clayton Hotel, Cambridge

Cambridge Fudge Kitchen

Xtreme 360 Trampoline Park

The Heavenly Cake Company

Experience Days
(https://www.experiencedays.co.uk/charity-scheme)

Terrible Tours

Cook

Oliver Cromwell House, Ely

Shepreth Wildlife Park

Leech & Sons Butcher

Burwash Larder

Doppelganger Burger

Kettle Leaf Artisan Tea

Cryptx Escape Rooms

LiquidSkillz at Lake Ashmore, Hemingford Grey

The Wine Rooms, Cambridge

The Jockey Club, Newmarket Racecourse

Martha Rosie Bakes
(https://www.martharosiebakes.co.uk/)

Silver Oak Coffee, Ely

Rupert Brooke, Grantchester

The Retreats Spa, Burwash Manor

Oak Bistro

Salon 262 (Mill Road)

HCA Summer Fete
Photo Gallery

Alumnae Sophie Harvard Prize Book Featured Image

Alumnae’s Harvard Prize Book Award

Every year, The Harvard Club of the UK selects a book to award to an outstanding student at each of over 100 secondary schools. The Prize Book is awarded to ‘an outstanding student in the penultimate year who is academically excellent, exhibits exceptional personal qualities and makes a significant contribution to the school or community’. This year, alumnae Sophie Rudge  has been awarded the prestigious prize. Sophie, a 2021 Leaver,  is currently a sixth form student at the Leys where she is studying Maths, Further Maths, Greek and Latin. Well done to Sophie for this impressive honour.

 

Duke of Edinburgh Expeditions

In 1956, HRH Prince Philip launched a pilot for The Duke of Edinburgh’s  (DofE) Award. Today, the programme is available to any young person aged 14 to 24, with the mission of inspiring, guiding and supporting young people in their self-development and recognising their achievements. Young people choose a challenge under each section of the Award: Volunteering, Physical, Skills, Expedition and, for Gold participants only, Residential. These activities, undertaken over an extended period of time, lead to a Bronze, Silver or Gold Award. 

At Heritage, the Expedition sections of the Bronze and Silver Awards are delivered as part of our Outdoor Education Programme. During Senior Camp this year, Year 9 DofE participants finished their Bronze Qualifying Expedition while the Year 10s successfully completed their Silver Practice Expedition. Year 11s completed their Silver Qualifying Expedition in late June in the Shropshire Hills, walking from near Pontesbury to Llanfair Waterdine on the Welsh border. The expedition included medieval towns like Bishop’s Castle and Clun, as well as sections of Offa’s Dyke. Well done to all of those pupils who participated in this year’s Expeditions.

A Scenic Geography Trip

Year 10 Geographers spent a wonderful sunny day in Hunstanton recently conducting three coastal studies. First, the pupils measured the rate of longshore drift over a 20m stretch. This was followed by a beach profile study: investigating the different layers of the beach including the type of sediment, gradient, and cliffs. Finally, they investigated the effect of the groynes in Hunstanton, measuring the deposited sediment and more. All of the pupils worked very hard, and enjoyed their well-earned fish & chips and ice cream at the end of the day.

Year 10
Geography Trip

Fighting for our Own Attention

The bestselling book, Stolen Focus by Johann Hari begins with the author’s own  three-month experience of living screen-free and what he learned along the way. Here, Heritage parent Rachel Bruins shares her thoughts:

Stolen Focus made for a challenging read, rather relevant to Screen Free week! The statistic that university students are apparently only able to concentrate for 65 seconds, and adults for barely much longer at 3 minutes, is concerning. It reflects my own observation of myself. Hari addresses what has changed to shorten our attention spans and then goes on to suggest a number of ways we might ameliorate the situation. It is a fascinating book which the author has clearly well researched with numerous footnotes. 

If you’re like me, you probably blame your electronic devices for any declining attention span you see in yourself. Hari started there, but came to realise that is only part of the problem, which is deeper and transcends these gadgets. 

Spoiler alert: Additional factors the author points to include the way we short change ourselves of sleep, the negative effects of pollution, the fact we don’t let our minds daydream enough, our failure to undertake activities which absorb and distract us (such as doing a puzzle or painting a picture), apps whose developers are paid to make them addictive and ever present, and the fact we allow our children little freedom to play unsupervised these days. 

This book is well worth a read. Perhaps a good choice for Screen Free Week?

Rachel Bruins, Year 5 and 9 Parent and HCA Co-Chair