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The return to school this week has been marked by a profound sadness following the tragic loss of Ryan, one of our Year 11 students, over Christmas. Ryan was a wonderful young man, full of kindness, laughter, and potential. His loss has been felt deeply by our school community.

On the first morning back, both staff and students shed tears as we faced this heartbreaking reality together. To support our young people through their grief, we began the day with a special assembly for Year 11. This was, without a doubt, the most challenging assembly I have ever had to prepare and lead. Together with heartfelt tributes from Mr. Cole, Mrs. Blair, and Ryan’s former tutor, Mr. Bowry—who kindly travelled back from Wales to join us—we shared memories of Ryan and reflected on the many ways he touched our lives.

During the assembly, we talked openly about grief, recognising that it affects each of us differently but that talking and sharing can help us process our feelings. Following this, students returned to their tutor groups, where they were given the space and opportunity to express their emotions or simply be together. In Ryan’s memory, we have begun creating a memory book, a collection of messages, tributes, and happy memories shared by students and staff. This will serve as a lasting tribute to Ryan, capturing the joy and warmth he brought into our lives.

When the rest of the school joined us after break, we transitioned to lessons to provide a sense of normality and routine. At the end of the day, Year 11 students gathered once more for a candle-lighting ceremony—a poignant moment to honour Ryan and show our respect. I shared with the students that lighting a candle represents a promise not to forget, a way to keep Ryan’s light shining.

Throughout the day and the week that followed, our pastoral team has worked tirelessly to support students who are struggling. I have been moved by the resilience, compassion, and unity shown by our school community. Parents, staff, and students alike have come together during this difficult time, proving once again the strength and care that define us as a school.

Amidst this challenging start to the term, we are also reminded of the importance of growth and change at the start of a new year. With that in mind, I am delighted to welcome several new members of staff to our school community. We have Mrs Amy Semple in Maths, Mrs Zoe Wildman in Personal Development, Mr Callum Paxton in Music, Mrs Sam Feek, Welfare Officer and Mrs Rachael Davis, SEND support. They have already begun to settle in and bring fresh ideas and energy to their roles. I am confident that they will make a significant and positive contribution to the life of our school, and I know you will join me in extending a warm welcome to them.

I wish you all a restful weekend,
Mrs Dawn German

Assembly to Years 7, 8, 9 and 10
Throughout the week, I spoke in assembly about Ryan and the deep sense of loss we all feel as a community. We lit candles in his memory, a powerful symbol that we will never forget him. I reflected on how candlelight, with its beauty and purity, stays true to itself – a quality we can aspire to in our own lives. 

I also talked about the tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions, noting that while these often aim to make us happier or better, there is much about our ‘old’ selves worth keeping. Drawing on a poem about joy, I shared that life’s imperfections help us appreciate the good times – and that small, achievable goals, like eating fruit daily or being kind to a sibling, can lead to meaningful change. I encouraged students to create their own plans for the year, reminding them of their unique worth and the importance of staying true to themselves, just like the candle.

 

Year 11 Revision
We have statistical evidence for our students that shows the more the students engage in the revision process the more successful they are in their final exams. The secret is to start early and keep going. GCSE Exam preparation is a marathon and not a sprint; it can be a true test of resilience and determination as well as hard work.

In order to enable our students to prepare for success in all their courses, we have reviewed what is on offer to students. Accordingly, we believe that we have devised an effective programme that will ensure rigorous preparation for the examinations next May. 

Information was shared with parents before the Christmas break. Please see Mr Whitworth’s letter here for more details. In addition morning interventions are taking place for students in other subject areas including History and Design Technology.

We are fortunate to have teachers so willing to give up their own time to run these sessions. Please encourage your child to take full advantage of every opportunity given to them.

Year 11 Parent Consultation Evening
We are holding the final Year 11 Parent Consultation Evening on Thursday, 16th January. This in-person event at school provides an invaluable opportunity to meet with your child’s teachers, discuss their progress, and identify areas for improvement ahead of their upcoming PPEs, which begin just before half-term.

We strongly encourage students to attend alongside their parents or carers, as these discussions are instrumental in helping them achieve their full potential.

Booking information has already been shared, but if you need any assistance in arranging appointments, please don’t hesitate to contact the school.

Soaring to Victory: Celebrating Our New Competitions Cup!
In addition to our Attendance Cup, Sports Day Cup and, of course, the House Cup, this year our students are battling it out to win the new Competitions Cup - a prize awarded to the House that earns the most House Points from the many and varied competitions we run throughout the year. In the Autumn Term alone, students earned points through the Halloween Costume competition, the Christmas Card competition, the Countess of Brecknock Rudolph Run, the Christmas Bake Off, the Christmas Fair and countless competitions run by our wonderful library team.

The House that earns the most points per term also wins a Dress Down Day (non-school uniform day) for all the students in that House and, last term, the House that earned the most points was the brand new Kites House.

As a result, all members of Kite House were allowed to come to school in their own clothes or, if they prefer, their normal school uniform plus a pair of trainers and a hoodie or other comfy jumper today to celebrate their success. 

Absence Notification via Bromcom/MCAS
We are pleased to inform you that we have transitioned to the Bromcom system to streamline communication regarding student attendance.

From now on, if your child is absent without a reason, you will be notified via the MyChildAtSchool (MCAS) app. For the time being, if you have not yet downloaded the app, you will receive the notification through email instead. To ensure you don't miss any important updates, please download the MCAS app at your earliest convenience. 

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

This week's edition of Ways Forward includes lots of information to help those in Year 10 still searching for a work experience placement including a few exciting opportunities to do work experience on a residential week with the army.

If you have a child in Year 11 that is looking for an apprenticeship, there are several new local vacancies including an Apprentice Engineer with Konecranes, a Heavy Vehicle Technician Apprenticeship with Scania, an Apprentice Travel Consultant with Hays, and several vacancies with the RAF. If you see a vacancy that interests you, please apply now rather than waiting until the closing date; speak to Mrs Manning if you need help making an application. If anyone is interested in engineering apprenticeships, then SETA's engineering apprenticeship jobs fair would be well worth going along to, see inside Ways Forward for details.

There are lots of activities taking place in the LRC during January - see the poster.

A reminder that all loans need to be returned - more than 150 items are overdue and must be returned next week - thank you.

Swimming Success!
Grace Collins has been selected to represent Andover in the Girls 14 & under Freestyle and Medley Relay, at the Hampshire County Relay Championships on Sunday 12th January.  This reflects Grace's hard work, dedication and hours spent in the swimming pool training. Her times are county qualifying and we hope Grace and her team enjoy the experience.

Key Stage 3 Basketball
Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 girls competed in the KS3 District Basketball tournament at Testbourne on Thursday.  This is always a lovely tournament and our girls played really well.

The Year 7 team won all of their games convincingly to win the Year 7 tournament.  The Year 8’s played really well and throughout the tournament got stronger and stronger after losing their first game by 1 basket.  They finished second overall behind Testbourne.  The Year 9’s were equally as strong and only lost one of their games as well by one basket to finish second behind Wellington. 

Lateness 
If your child is late to school, please write a note in their planner or call the school with the reason for lateness, to prevent unnecessary sanctions being set. The sanction will be a same-day lunchtime detention for all Years.  Failure to attend this detention will result in an after-school detention and further sanction will be applied for persistent lateness. Thank you for your support with this, it is very much appreciated.

Website Medical Page
We have an updated Medical Page for parents on our website.  Parents can access forms to keep us updated on all things medical for their child, such as:

Prescription Medication

Returning to school on crutches or with an injury

School inhaler

School Autoinjector

Updating medical information  

Students Feeling Unwell in School
Please remind your child not to contact home in the first instance if they feel unwell. They should go to the school nurse, who will then contact home if necessary. If you send your child into school knowing that they are under the weather, we feel you have made the decision that they are well enough for school and we will stand by that decision unless their condition deteriorates.

School Nursing Team
The school nursing visited recently, they highlighted how parents can support their child's well-being through the teenage years, here are some useful websites and services that they shared with us:

Hampshire Healthier Families

Sleep Charity

Back to Basics - Hampshire CAMHS

Young Minds - Parents' A-Z Mental Health Guide

Community
If you are looking for a new venue for your club/organisation Harrow Way Community School offers fantastic facilities at competitive prices. To view what we can offer please visit our lettings website. We now have a Facebook page. You can find it here or by searching for Harrowwaycommunity

Aluminium Recycling
We have teamed up with Magpie Community Recycling on East Portway Industrial Estate. This local service supports people with learning and physical disabilities and has provided us with a bin so we can collect foil, drink cans and aluminium food trays. There is a collection bin in our Main Reception for the aluminium to be deposited. Please send in any aluminium products you have - this will be collected by Magpie Community Recycling every 2 weeks. Thank you for all your support.

Lost Property
Is your child missing a water bottle, coat, blazer or their shoes??!  Please get them to check at student reception as we have several of each item waiting to be reunited with their owners.

Check out the latest news, fundraising initiatives and upcoming events from the PTA here - harrowwaypta.charityhive.co.uk

This will be the home of PTA news, raffle and event details so please sign up, check out what we are up to and if you have any thoughts, feedback or if you are interested in helping out in any way please get in touch!

The HWCS Parent Teacher Association continues to look at future fund-raising and enrichment opportunities to benefit students and would love to hear from you if you have ideas or experience to share. You can email us here for information or to express an interest. In order to continue, we do need volunteers so hope to hear from you. 

Andover Athletic Club
Happy Advent and welcome to the December edition of the Andover Athletic Club Newsletter. Did you open a door on your advent calendar this morning?  Was it chocolate or sweets? Or perhaps something luxurious? The range of different advent calendars is astounding and yet I struggle to find one that is tailored for athletes.

This bumper edition includes the winners of the Club's Presentation Evening, but the competitive calendar has been quiet, particularly at the hands of Storm Bert, so not a lot of results to report. Enjoy. You can find our December newsletter HERE.

Andover RFC U13’s - We are looking to recruit enthusiastic players to our U13 team (School Year 8). Training is held on Wednesdays and Sundays at the Goodship Ground.

Being a parent has never been easy. There are no manuals for it, and previous generations may not be able to provide the insight you're looking for. The family unit is more dispersed than ever, with some families existing hundreds of miles from what may be called a 'core unit'. The rapid pace of societal change in the UK rapidly outstrips the knowledge of the immediate past. The result is that many parents may find themselves lost in a maelstrom of contradictory advice. For adults, time has never been more compacted. Family Lives has produced a series of online parenting courses, to make this challenge a little easier. If interested please follow this link.

Family Lives offers a confidential and free* helpline service for families in England and Wales (previously known as Parentline). They can be contacted on 0808 800 2222 for emotional support, information, advice and guidance on any aspect of parenting and family life. Their website is also a rich source of useful support and advice.

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