Episode 5 of KWS talks is available to listen now on Spotify and Youtube. It involves Becky and Tristan talking to two year 12 students about what their first year as sixth formers has been like.
If you would like to listen, please click the links below:
What an incredible fortnight it has been for our House Charity Week! As many of you will have seen splashed across our school social media channels, our houses have been buzzing with a diverse range of activities, all in support of our new school charity, Macmillan Cancer Support.
We are incredibly proud to be supporting Macmillan Cancer Support for the next academic year, an organisation that provides invaluable care and support to people affected by cancer. Your enthusiasm and contributions this week have laid a fantastic foundation for our fundraising efforts, and we can’t wait to see what more we can achieve together for this incredible charity.
Stay tuned for the final fundraising total and more updates on our ongoing support for Macmillan!
This year, we’ve been thrilled to see our school house system thrive with some exciting adaptations designed to offer even more opportunities for pupils to contribute to their house’s success! Our goal is to foster a stronger sense of community and healthy competition, and we believe these changes are truly making a difference.
We’ve broadened the criteria for earning house points, now taking into account a wider range of pupil achievements and positive contributions. This includes:
These new metrics mean that every pupil, regardless of their strengths, has a chance to play a vital role in their house’s standing. Whether through excelling in Academics, demonstrating exemplary behaviour, or shining in a quiz, there are now more avenues than ever to support your house! We’re already seeing fantastic engagement and enthusiasm from pupils across all houses.
And what a nail-biting finish to the year it was! The competition for the coveted House Cup was incredibly close, with just one point separating first and second place. After a year of incredible effort, teamwork, and dedication from all our houses, we are delighted to announce that this year’s overall House Cup winner is Nightingale! A huge congratulations to Nightingale house for their outstanding achievement!
Final standing were:
Thank you to the over 250 people who attended our first Outdoor Cinema event last night. The evening was a great success, and thankfully, the weather held out for us. The event has raised over £1,000 in profit to support the school.
We held two showings of The Greatest Showman and Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy.
Thank you to our food vendors provided by Amro Catering, Really Awesome Coffee and Lollie Dollies.
Thank you also to our sponsors who helped make the event a success – Taylor Walton, Harpenden Building Society and Savills.
In case you missed it, please find our end of term KWAF Newsletter here to find out more about the £17,700 we have raised this year. Thank you for all your support.
Summer is officially here! And there’s no better time to get stuck into a good book, or two, than when the sun is shining and you have time on your hands. You can take print books out of the library for the summer, and use the ePlatform, which is available every single day of the year and filled with treasure just waiting to be discovered.
And, don’t forget the local public libraries too, in Herts and Beds (www.herts.spydus.co.uk/ www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/libraries). These are a wonderful resource all year round, but they really come into their own over the long six week holiday, when the school library is closed. It’s free to join the Herts or Beds library, you can order a specific book via their website, and they also have magazines and newspapers available, if preferred. Borrow Box (www.borrowbox.com) is a free library app, which has thousands of books and audiobooks, which are all free to access.
Once again both Herts and Beds Libraries are running their Summer Reading Challenge (www.summerreadingchallenge.org.uk) to encourage children and young people to read over the holiday. This is the country’s largest reading campaign, and each summer around 700,000 children take part. Sadly, a dip in literacy levels is often seen after the summer holidays, when children and young people take a break from the classroom. Taking part in a reading challenge can really help to ward this off, and it’s an enjoyable way to fill your time.
You can join the Summer Reading Challenge online, and you can read a print book, an online book, or listen to an audiobook. There is the option to either pop into your local library to sign up, or you can join online. If you bring your certificate to Mrs Yates in the KWS library, in September, you can earn 5 recognitions. What a way to get the next academic year off to a great start!
So, all that remains is for everyone here in the KWS Library to wish you all a wonderful summer holiday. We look forward to seeing most of you again in September, and to those off to pastures new, we wish you all the very best. Keep reading everyone!
Girls’ Cricket
After the recent success of the U13s girls’ cricket team winning the Hertfordshire Cricket Cup, Miss Mountford and Mr Alexander had the pleasure of taking the squad to the Regional Finals at the Essex County Cricket Ground, involving the winning schools from Norfolk, Essex, Cambridge, Suffolk and Bedfordshire. The girls performed brilliantly throughout. The squad, led by Jessica K, included Sophie K, Poppy D, Georgia R, Sophie T (Year 7), Lucy H, Anna M and Joanna R. They all played their part in winning the group stages with 2 wins out of 2, which meant they progressed to the final against Notre Dame High School, from Norfolk. After a disciplined bowling performance that restricted our opponents to only 65 from their 40 balls, the girls replied with some scintillating batting. Joanna and Anna set the team on their way with a solid start to the innings, before some big hitting from Sophie K and Lucy H made the performance comprehensive. All batters were faultless throughout – with not one student getting out. The girls ended up winning by a massive 52 runs.
Poppy was the DJ for the drive home and ensured the music playlist fitted the celebration with a great rendition of Sweet Caroline. A huge well done to the squad on some outstanding cricket, but also being an absolute delight throughout the day. Thank you for making it such a great way to end the school year! Thank you also to Miss Mountford for all her time in running training sessions throughout the term.
Trampolining
Well done to Matthew P in Year 9, who participated in the English Trampoline Championship finals in the Silver 15-16 age category, placing 5th out of 14 gymnasts. Great effort and an impressive achievement!
Sports Day
Well done to all those that participated so fantastically during our annual Sports Days. There were a total of 20 individual events for students to score points on, including the traditional athletics events such as 100m, javelin and shot put, but also other events such as Beat the Goalie, Netball/Basketball Shoot and various fitness tests. Kurling, Archery and Ten Pin Bowling also made an appearance this year for the first time too! Then, Friday afternoon, also known as Finals Afternoon, saw the whole school out on the field watching the final of the House Tug of War competition, in addition to witnessing the fastest students in the school competing in some highly competitive racing for 100m, 200m and 800m. We then concluded with a hotly contested, and hugely controversial, staff relay race! Well done to all race winners and participants. For the individual events, the following students finished in the top 3 for their year group:
| Individual Overall Sports Day Winners | ||||
| Year 7 Winners | ||||
| Girls | Boys | |||
| 1 | Violet R | 1 | Ethan R | |
| 2 | Hannah D | 2 | Archie S A | |
| 3 | Heather G | 3 | Harry C | |
| Year 8 Winners | ||||
| Girls | Boys | |||
| 1 | Sophie K | 1 | Elliott G | |
| 2 | Poppy D | 2 | Daniel P | |
| 3 | Anna M | 3 | Thomas B | |
| Year 9 Winners | ||||
| Girls | Boys | |||
| 1 | Amber T | 1 | Finlay | |
| 2 | Jessie T L | 2 | George | |
| 3 | Ella P | 3 | Max T L | |
| Year 10 Winners | ||||
| Girls | Boys | |||
| 1 | Darci M | 1 | Oscar C | |
| 2 | Matilde F E | 2 | Simeon E | |
| 3 | Heidi P-S | 3 | Bobby S |
Keller were crowned overall house winners of Sports Day for the first time in their history. Congratulations to everyone who contributed towards their win and to such a huge amount of students that participated brilliantly in the event!
Sports Awards
Thank you to all students and parents who attended our KWS Sports Awards evening and well done to all our nominees and winners. It was fantastic to celebrate your successes in sport this year. Throughout the evening we celebrated the achievements in 8 different sports. Unfortunately, we were unable to invite all students that represented the school so well throughout the year, due to capacity.
Special mention to Diya K for winning the Excellence Outside of School Award, after winning a recent International competition in Croatia, playing up an age group. We also wanted to acknowledge Heidi G and Thomas C in Year 9 for winning Young Sport Personality of the Year and Emily B in Year 11 and George G-H for winning the overall Sports Personality of the Year for Key Stage 4 & 5.
The PE department wishes everyone a fantastic summer and we look forward to being even bigger and better next year.
On Friday 4th July, our Year 12 students hosted the school’s first ever Community Tea Party for older members of the local community – it was a fantastic occasion and a real pleasure to welcome so many guests.
Guests included local residents as well as grandparents of our students, who were treated to table service provided by our Sixth Formers. Tea, coffee, and a selection of snacks and cakes were enjoyed, along with some entertainment including a game of Bingo and a lovely performance from the school choir.
It was great to see different generations chatting, laughing, and spending time together. It was a lovely way to round off the term, and we hope to build on its success in the future with more opportunities for our sixth formers to connect with the wider community.
Year 12 students have now completed their end-of-year exams, and reports were sent home this week. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate students on some excellent individual subject results. Many have demonstrated real progress and are firmly on track as they head into their final year.
While the summer break is a well-earned chance to rest and recharge, it also offers a valuable opportunity for students to begin preparing for the year ahead. Year 12 into 13 bridging work has been set by subject teachers to help maintain momentum and support a strong start in September.
A reminder that Year 13 mock exams will take place during the week commencing 8th December. We encourage all students to use the summer period to reflect on their progress so far and to continue building towards a successful final year.
On Thursday, I visited the LSE for their open day. The site was very modern and easy to navigate, with all the buildings I visited being within walking distance. The first place I visited was the library, and I was impressed by the large spiral staircase in there. I then walked around the site, visiting various study spaces, all of which were very modern. At this point, I stopped at an ice cream van and picked up an ice cream which they were providing for free! I attended a talk on studying abroad and heard about the different options available, then spoke to a few different people on the stalls in the Marshall Building about accommodation and language learning. I also popped into the Student Union, which had a gym and cafe. After this, I headed to the subject specific talk, where they covered the layout of the course and also held a mini taster lecture. Throughout this, I got to speak to current students to ask them questions about their experiences and what life’s like at the LSE. Overall, I had a great time, and would recommend visiting if you get the chance
Becky D – Year 12 Student
Have you ever stood in a crowd of thousands, each person buzzing with the same hunger to shape their future? On the 15th of July 2025, I had the privilege of attending the Young Professionals Summer Conference at the Indigo at The O2. As I stepped off the train from Luton Airport Parkway to London Bridge and hopped on the tube to North Greenwich, I could
feel the anticipation building within me. Arriving outside The O2 at 1pm, I joined a crowd of nearly three thousand young people eager to learn, network and discover the career paths that could shape their futures. It was more than just a queue; it was a line of hope and ambition, each person ready to invest in themselves and take a step toward the future they have imagined.
The doors opened, and we were welcomed into an early networking session filled with some of the biggest names in the world of work. Amazon, BDO, the Royal Air Force, Goldman Sachs, Lloyds Banking Group, UBS, Rothschild & Co and many more were present, each offering a glimpse into the opportunities that could one day be ours. It felt empowering to be in a space where young people were seen and valued, where we could ask questions, share aspirations and learn from professionals who had once stood where we are now, uncertain but ready to take a leap into the world beyond school.
We were welcomed by Dan Miller, the CEO of Young Professionals, a company supporting young people aged 16 to 25 as they build their careers. His energy set the tone for the day, reminding us that ambition paired with action can open doors we once thought were closed. We then listened to two panels, the first on senior leadership with speakers from Grant Thornton, the NHS and the Royal Air Force. Each speaker shared lessons about resilience and vision, but it was Akin from Grant Thornton who left me thinking deeply when he said, “Think about what your personal vision is and understand that now.” The second panel focused on apprenticeships and graduate routes, with representatives from UBS, Grant Thornton, Freshfields and S&W, who shared insights about the competitive but rewarding journey of securing degree apprenticeships, a path many of us in Year 12 are now considering.
The highlight for me was hearing Dan Miller’s personal journey of building Young Professionals. As someone who has attended virtual YP events in the past, it felt like a full-circle moment to hear the story live. Dan founded the company at 17 while in Year 12, travelling across the country to pitch his idea and secure partnerships. Nine years later, Young Professionals now partners with the Big Four firms, top finance and law firms, and thousands of schools across the UK and Northern Ireland. I even had the chance to ask Dan what he believes makes a great leader. As a senior house captain, I am always eager to learn from leaders who have turned their visions into reality, and it was inspiring to see that the drive and consistency he spoke about are qualities that we can all begin to develop right now.
Before the day ended, we had more opportunities to network, and I spoke to representatives from Lloyds Banking Group, Goldman Sachs, UBS and Amazon, sharing with them a Python
project I had built, a music recommender that suggests songs based on users’ favourite genres and artists. If you are taking GCSE or A-level Computer Science or even learning programming in your free time like I am, you will know the excitement of sharing your work with people who appreciate its potential. Overall, attending the Young Professionals Summer Conference was a thrilling experience, and to all my fellow Year 12s, Year 10s and incoming Year 12s reading this, I encourage you to get on LinkedIn and attend Young Professionals’ virtual and in-person events. They will give you insights, confidence and a clear vision to step into your future, ready to turn your dreams into your reality.
– Jerel U – Year 12 Student
The school is keen to reward good attendance and has incentives to promote positive attendance.
This year, students who had 97 – 99.9% attendance for the school year September – July were entered into a prize draw and five lucky students received a £5 Amazon voucher.
Students who have at any point 100% attendance in the autumn, spring or summer term receive an email from Mr Martin and are entered into a grand summer prize draw to win Amazon vouchers ranging from £10 to £50. Attendance of 100% over the whole three terms means their names are entered into the prize draw three times, increasing their chances of winning.
All our lucky winners were announced in assembly today.
We also recognise the form with the best attendance every half term who receive some sweets from their form tutor (allergies & intolerance taken into consideration) and extra house points for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.
Our winners for the top form for the whole school year are: 3rd place – 8 Armstrong, 2nd place – 7 Nightingale and the winners in 1st place for the fourth time are 7 Ali
Congratulations to everyone!
Attendance awards start again from scratch in September. We will be including early lunch passes, free school meals and inclusion into the summer grand prize draw giving all our students the opportunity to take part when school starts again in the autumn.
Chrissy Dicks & Katrina Linehan
Attendance Managers