A Trip to Hunstanton

Our Year 11 Geography pupils enjoyed a two day trip to Hunstanton at the start of the term. They conducted three studies. The first was a sand dune eco-system study, looking at the progression of sand dunes away from the sea (species identification, sand ph, infiltration rates, % vegetation cover etc). The second study involved coastal management, assessing the effectiveness of Hunstanton’s coastal defence schemes. This included interviewing local residents and tourists about their opinions of the management schemes. Finally, the students conducted a beach profile study, measuring the gradient of the slope, the size and weight of beach sediment, and linking this to the characteristic beach zones. After all of their hard work, they earned some very tasty fish and chips, a game of mini-golf and lots of rock candy!!


The Launch of Heritage Forest School

We are delighted to announce the launch of Heritage Forest School, to be led by Mr Catley (an expert in this field) as part of our Enrichment programme. Every Thursday afternoon for half a term, one class will be going to Abington Woods to learn forest based activities and crafts. Y4 will be our pioneers this half term with other year groups to follow.
Heritage has always placed a high priority upon getting pupils outdoors, to appreciate nature and engage with the real world. To these ends, Forest School is an extension of our regular Nature Walks and Annual Camps.
It will continue whatever the weather, (pupils will only require their school waterproofs and gumboots,) and we hope it will provide enormous fun. Our goal is to share with the children a delight and an enjoyment of nature, together with a new set of skills and a growing sense of responsibility for the great outdoors. We hope these values will stay with our pupils well beyond their school years and for the rest of their lives.

IGCSE and GCSE Results 2018

Our third class of Year 11 leavers (a class of 18 pupils,) received their exam results yesterday.

● 48%​ of all results were awarded A* (or 9 – 8).
● 69%​ of all results were awarded A* – A (or 9 – 7).
● 87%​ of all results were awarded A* – B (or 9 – 6).
● 8​ pupils achieved 9​ or more A*s (or 9 – 8).
● 3​ pupils achieved A*s or 9s in all of their subjects.
● 95%​ of pupils achieved 5 A* to C (or 9 – 4) grades.
● 65%​ of all grades were above what standardised tests predicted to be ‘most likely’ –
demonstrating Heritage School’s unique ability to help pupils exceed expectations.
● All​ pupils achieved the grades they need to progress to their first choice of college or
sixth form. The majority will attend Hills Road Sixth Form College and Comberton Sixth
Form. Other destinations include Netherhall School, The Stephen Perse Foundation,
The Perse School, Monkton Combe School and Cambridge Regional College.

Jason Fletcher, our Headmaster said:

“Once again, we are encouraged for our pupils and proud of all they have accomplished and of
who they are as people. Heritage School is consistently delivering what we set out to achieve
when we started the school in 2007: pupils leaving us at age 16 mature and balanced, and well
equipped for the opportunities ahead of them.”

Magic was in the Air!

Magic was in the air as Year 6 entertained and surprised us in equal measure, with their outstanding performance of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ on the final night of term.

Puck, a mistress of magic and muddles, made us perpetually laugh with delight as she flitted her way through the play, accompanied by Megan’s fabulous solo of “Puck Magic.” Well done to Abigail, who interpreted her part so beautifully. Bottom, played by Padraig, was hilarious. He delivered his lines eloquently and with just the right amount of ‘pantomime,’ that would have delighted Shakespeare and his audience.

The four lovers were well played by Adelaide, Madeleine, Max and Edmund. They had a phenomenal amount of lines to learn, yet every line was delivered with perfection. The stroppy scene between Helena and Hermia, with additions from Lysander and Demetrius, was particularly memorable as insults were hurled across the stage with panache! Titania (Emma) also did a great job of being pretty furious with Oberon, accompanied by her backup team of supportive, if slightly chaotic and lively fairies! Well done to the fairies for really getting into their roles.

Fortunately Oberon (played expertly by Taylor) managed to restore the situation and everyone went home happy. Every child worked hard and with enthusiasm to make the play a truly magical performance. Congratulations to every child and thank you for a wonderful ending to the year.

What do Heritage Parents think about the ‘Screen Free Challenge’?

While the use of smart phones in schools continues to be hotly debated up and down the country, the challenge of Heritage’s ‘Screen Free Week’ last term, gave many the chance to review their use of screens at home.

Around 1/3 of Heritage families told the School Office that they took the Screen Free Challenge – there may have been more. Feedback was varied, some found it impossible, others found it harder than in previous years, some faced opposition from their children and other families were thankful for it. We have shown below a handful of testimonies.

(1) ‘For me, it was a real change. I would love to simply throw away my phone and laptop for good (if the world allowed it!) They take my attention away from the children – who really feel it and don’t like it. So, to be able to tell friends that I was having a screen free week and wouldn’t be replying to non-urgent emails, was very freeing. (Although, some of my friends didn’t like it!)’

(2) ‘We found we rediscovered the library, which we had got out of the habit of visiting. When our daughter received homework … we would have usually used the internet to answer this. It was fun to go to the library again, I checked out a few books and read beyond the homework references. Certainly a lot gained from not just looking the answers up on the internet.’

(3) ‘All in all, a slightly tougher screen free week than previously, if I’m honest! (Admittedly, we relented with the football and a couple of other things over the weekend.) An observation was that I worked harder midweek, than when not on screen free week… keeping going with jobs seemed easier than reading…’

(4) ‘The screen free week was more challenging than expected. Having said that, we managed to have some quality family time playing Monopoly & various other games. I would like to say thanks to all the speakers who gave such enlightening teaching during the Parent Information & Discussion Evening. It was an eye opener.’

(5) ‘Screen Free… was good! I deleted facebook on my phone and was more present at breakfast time and the end of the day… We found cbeebies radio (on bbc radio iplayer app) and youtube famous five audio books, helpful… and I read books to the boys at the dinner table! We are thankful for the week to rethink our patterns and habits!’

(6) ‘Our boys love to come home on a Friday and watch their favourite programmes after their swimming lesson, but last week they were delighted to make giant ice-cream sundaes and construct an enormous den in their bedroom instead!’