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Resilience has certainly been a key theme this year for our school community. We often talk about resilience as a core value, but this year has truly put it to the test. Despite the challenges, our collective determination, support for one another, and commitment to excellence have remained unwavering.

With that in mind, I am delighted to share some fantastic news - Mr Mann, our much-loved Assistant Headteacher, has started a gradual return to school following a devastating stroke last October. His return is a testament to his strength and determination, as well as the support of our school community. We are thrilled to welcome him back and look forward to his continued contributions.

This academic year has not been without its difficulties, particularly regarding staff absences due to personal circumstances, including operations, prolonged illnesses, and bereavements. Naturally, this has meant an increased number of cover lessons. However, I want to reassure you that every decision we make carefully balances maintaining high standards of education with supporting the wellbeing of our staff. Their health and welfare are essential—not only for them as individuals but also for the overall success of our school.

Yesterday, we were proud to host our annual Governor Visit Day. This invaluable opportunity allowed our governors to experience school life first-hand, speaking with students and staff to gain a deeper understanding of our strengths and areas for development. Their insight and challenge ensure we continue to move forward with clarity and purpose.

On a particularly exciting note, we are in the final stages of selecting our new student leadership team. The calibre of candidates this year has been outstanding, making our job incredibly difficult—but in the best possible way! As we move towards the final round of interviews, I am filled with pride at the ambition and leadership potential within our student body. While we know that some candidates will be disappointed, the strength of our applicants speaks volumes about the high expectations and aspirations nurtured at Harrow Way.

While this year has had its challenges, it has also brought many moments to celebrate. Through it all, the support and dedication of our students, staff, and families have been unwavering. Thank you for your continued encouragement—it really does make a difference. I look forward to all that we will achieve together in the months ahead.

I wish you all a restful weekend,
Mrs Dawn German

Assembly - Keeping Safe
This week's assembly from Mrs Woods focused on safety. The assembly explored how we keep ourselves and others safe and free from harm when in school, and also gave tips and advice on how to keep yourself safe when out in the community. This included planning travel, having a charged phone, letting people know where you are going, being alert to your surroundings, and crossing the road safely.

 

We Value Your Feedback
As per my letter to you last week, we are committed to working in partnership with parents and listening to your views. Last year, you told us you wanted better communication, more information about your child’s progress, and improved site security. We took this seriously and have implemented changes. You can also read the Strategic Plan that we created on our website. Your feedback helps us continue to improve, so please take a moment to complete this year’s survey and share your thoughts. Thank you to everyone who has filled it in so far. The survey closes at midday on Monday 17th March. Thank you for your time and support.

 

Celebrating Success - Staff

We are delighted to share that Mrs. Winnett has been selected for the Over-40s South Central hockey team. Following a series of training sessions and trials, she has earned a well-deserved place in the squad of 18. In preparation for the tournament in Timperley, Greater Manchester, on the weekend of 17-18 May, she will continue training and competing in matches to strengthen team cohesion. Mrs. Winnett’s dedication and determination embody our school value of aspiration, demonstrating the importance of setting goals and striving for excellence. We congratulate her on this fantastic achievement and wish her every success in the tournament.

Golfing Glory for Hollie in Year 9
Congratulations to Hollie in Year 9 on her outstanding golfing achievements! Recently, Hollie won the Monthly County Regional Stableford Competition, finishing 4 over par and beating 30 players, including adults. With a handicap of 7 and exciting events ahead, Hollie’s dedication and success are truly inspiring.

In 2024, she claimed victory in both the Peter Ellis Cup Under 18 County Match Play and the Ogbourne Down Junior Open. Hollie is also part of the Inter-County Golf Team and is currently leading the Ted Martin Heath Winter Series, with the final this weekend — good luck, Hollie!

Lost Property – Claim Your Items!
Parents, please remind your children to check with Mrs. Feek at Student Welfare if they have lost anything. There is a huge amount of unclaimed lost property, much of it unnamed.
We’d love to reunite as many items as possible before they are recycled at Easter—so please encourage your child to have a look!

Year 11 Parents - GCSE Summer 2025 Timetable
You can now access your child's GCSE timetable for Summer 2025 via the Bromcom My Child at School MCAS App by clicking on the Exam icon on the left.

Ways Forward - our weekly newsletter for Careers, Apprenticeship, College, Work and Work Experience.

This week's Ways Forward is a bumper edition, packed with information and hopefully something for everyone. Find out more about various careers including the 350+ different roles in the NHS, early years, astrophysicists, medical and dental, RAF and careers with Comic Relief (it's not just funny sketches and Red Noses)!

There are also two new editions of some useful Career magazines; one is aimed at Year 11, the other at parents and carers. Students interested in apprenticeships might like to attend a webinar about how to make a brilliant application.

Finally, our Labour Market Information section focuses on some local Hampshire statistics; do you know which sectors employ the most staff in the local area, and the sort of skills that Hampshire employers really value?

The team at National Book Tokens are running a competition to design a gift card (which will then be in circulation nationwide). There are 3 age categories for 8 to 16 year olds with the chance to win £100. More information here.

It is Women's History Month so we have books, posters and information about notable women, with a different focus each week , across science, the arts, sport, activism and more. We have also been asking staff and students to nominate a woman they admire/are inspired by and Student Librarians are busy making a display of the responses. Students have also been invited to tell us what issues they would fix for women and girls. We hosted the Equality Group after school on Wednesday and enjoyed chatting to them about some issues important to them.

Year 9 Football - John Hanson 2 - 1 Harrow Way
Our Year 9 boys had their return fixture with John Hanson this week. The boys started strongly, creating a few chances and testing the keeper. However, a ball over the top caused some trouble, and John Hanson’s winger shot first time across goal and into the bottom corner to make it 1-0 to the hosts. Heads stayed up and we continued to play our football, but could not get the equaliser before the half time break.

Soon after the start of the second half, Neyo Furtado made a great solo run on the left hand side and managed to win a corner for the away side. The corner was swung in, and after a couple of deflections, fell to Piotr Osuch who smashed the ball home. The game became tense as it got nearer the final whistle, with neither team wanting to make a mistake. However, an inswinging corner from John Hanson made its way into the back of the net, which secured all three points to the home team. 2-1 the game finished, and that rounds up the season for the boys. Some exciting games over the course of the year, and they will be looking to better their results into Year 10!

KS1 Hockey Skills Festival
60 KS1 children visited Harrow Way on Tuesday for a Hockey Skills festival. It was a chilly but fun morning out on the courts. The children, most who had not tried hockey before, completed 5 different activities. The Sports Leaders were fantastic at teaching the children how to hold the hockey stick correctly so they could participate in skills such as shooting, intercepting, dribbling around cones and some 1v1 matches.

We finished the festival with some 2v2 matches where the children were able to put their newly learned skills into practice. They had a fantastic time and all went away more confident playing hockey then they were before they arrived. We are looking forward to hosting Reception Multi Skills on 25th March. 

Year 7 Netball: Harrow Way B 6-3 Winton
The score certainly did not reflect the game that took place on Wednesday. Harrow Way were dominant from the offset, and throughout the first half of the game the ball largely remained in our attacking half of the court. Unfortunately the goals were less free flowing, but we entered half time with a 3-0 lead.In the second half of the game Winton grew in confidence, managing to string passes together to create scoring opportunities. Hollie P and Amelia in defence played excellently, intercepting numerous passes. In the centre of the court Brooke and Heidi worked tirelessly moving the ball up the court and tracking back to defend. With the final score being 6-3, the Year 7 B team remain unbeaten with one league game to go
Player of Match - Hollie P.  Coach’s Player - Brooke.

Year 8 Netball Harrow Way B 19- 3 Winton
A brilliant match on the courts on Wednesday night, the Year 8 girls were excited for this postponed match against Winton. The girls got off to a great start scoring 5 goals in the first quarter. Erika was brilliant at getting into space and making herself available to receive the ball. The second quarter saw Harrow Way score another 8 goals to Winton’s 2, Ruby C was on fire with her shooting last night, working hard in the circle with Pops. The third quarter and fourth quarter continued in a positive way with Winton only scoring 1 more goal and Harrow Way scoring 9 more due to excellent defending from Willow and Talia. A great game finishing 19-3 to Harrow Way. 
Player of the match went to Erika and Coaches Player went to Erika and Ruby C. 

Year 8 Rugby 7’s
Match report by Monty Reid and Ethan Brown

On Wednesday the 12th of March, Harrow Way’s Year 8 rugby team went down to John Hanson for a 7’s tournament. Our first game was against John Hanson. Unfortunately, it was a rough start losing 7-1 but it was a good game considering that we had no warm up or pre-practice. Our second game was against Testbourne, winning 3 tries to 1 try. 

Our 3rd game was against Wellington, although they had some giants on their team, we won 6-1. Our final game was against Winton, unfortunately, we could only get a draw (4-4). We came joint second overall. Big well done to our team: Monty Reid as captain, Ethan Brown, Zack Dickerson, Abel Colliss, Harry Thomas, Lucas Owen, Kane Hickman, Romayne King, Gabriel Hewlett, Callum Rutherford and Max Scowen. Well done LADS, great Tournament!!!

Year 9 Rugby 10-a-side
On Thursday our Year 9’s took to the field in a 4 team 10-a-side tournament at Harrow Way.  The first match was the one that the boys were fired up for the most, the local derby with John Hanson.  It was closely contested and the HW boys scored a last minute try to win 3 tries to 2. They then faced a very powerful Wellington side, whose pace and physicality got the better of our boys in the first half.  However, they dug deep and managed the game well to get a couple of tries; the final score was 6-2 to Wellington.  The last game was an important one to win but this would not be easy.  Testbourne took an early lead with 2 quick tries.  We responded well making it 2-2 at half time.  Our intensity was great and through some quick thinking we managed to see out the game to win 4-3.  

Thank you to John Hanson, Wellington and Testbourne for coming over.  It was a very close tournament with really competitive games.  Overall winners were Wellington. 

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Harrow Way Community School,
Harrow Way,
Andover,
Hampshire.
SP10 3RH