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As we reach the end of this half term, I want to take a moment to reflect on our journey since January. It has been a period of both challenge and triumph, and I remain incredibly grateful for the resilience and dedication of our staff, the commitment and spirit of our students, and the unwavering support from our parents.

The start of the new year presented us with significant challenges, but what has truly stood out is the way our community has come together. The compassion, kindness, and care shown by everyone have been humbling, and I am proud of how we continue to support each other.

 

In tribute to Ryan, we have planted a tree in the front garden of our school—a living, lasting memory of a much-missed member of our community. We plan to install a plaque in his honour. Additionally, one of our talented Art teachers took snippings from the flower bouquets that were laid in his memory, pressing them and crafting four beautiful artistic tributes. These have been placed in my office, with his Head of Year, his tutor, and most importantly, with his family. These thoughtful creations serve as a poignant reminder of Ryan and the impact he had on our school.

On a brighter note, it has been a pleasure to celebrate our students’ many achievements. Just today, I attended a Rewards Breakfast in the Learning Resource Centre, where we recognised the hard work and dedication of our student librarians. Their service to the school has been invaluable, and it was a joy to see them celebrated.

I am also incredibly proud of the aspiration and ambition of our Year 10 students. I have received nearly 50 applications for our prefect roles, including candidates for our Head Prefect positions. This enthusiasm for leadership and service speaks volumes about the strength of this year group and their commitment to making a positive impact on our school. I look forward to reading their letters over the coming week.

 

As we approach the half-term break, I want to extend my sincere thanks to every member of our school community—students, staff, and parents alike. We truly do work together, and it is this partnership that continues to make our school a place of warmth, care, and ambition.

Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable break,
Mrs Dawn German

Year 11 PPEs This Week
Our Year 11 students have been exceptional this week: they have risen to the challenge of their PPEs (formally known as mocks). There are substantial benefits from this experience. These exams, as well as learning the routines and expectations surrounding public examinations, can also give students and their teachers some valuable information about current levels of performance, strengths and those areas that still need to develop in order for students to fulfil their potential in the summer. We are very proud of the way they have conducted themselves this week. The second half of the PPEs continues after half term, with predicted grades shared in March.

Year 9 Curriculum Information
Before the Parent and Carers Consultation evening for Year 9 students, we will share Curriculum Information the week before, on Thursday 27th February in order to give students, parents and carers the chance to read through our Options booklet and watch subject videos in advance. In this way, you will be able to prepare questions for and seek further information at the Consultation evening. As well as meeting teachers at the Consultation evening, Mrs Manning, our Careers Advisor, Mrs German and I will be available to answer any questions and provide further guidance about the options process.  Mr Reed.

 

Show the Love (for the Air Ambulance)
Our students have enjoyed wearing trainers and hoodies over their usual uniform today, a more relaxed dress for the last day of this half term. Currently, we have raised over £600 for the Air Ambulance... but a number of tutor envelopes have still to be delivered so the final total can't be confirmed just yet. An enormous thank you for all the donations.

Year 7/8 Valentines Disco

On Thursday, Year 7 and 8 shared the love at our joint year group Valentine's Day disco.

 

It was a delightful way to end the term, partying with lots of lovely students.  As you can see, staff also enjoyed the chance to join in the dancing!  

While we tried to inspire some friendly competition with a Year 7 Vs 8s dance off, actually they all came together to cheer and support each other, regardless of year group. This warmth and sense of community is what makes us so proud to work with these young people. Mrs Ford & Mr Massiah

Knife Related Crime

Unfortunately, there has been a steady rise in knife-related crimes being reported over the last few years across the country. Alongside, our in-school safeguarding procedures, personal development lessons, and working closely with Hampshire police we try to ensure that our young people are aware of possible dangers and have the skills to keep themselves safe. It is also important that parents are aware of potential dangers so below are some resources that you may find useful:

Important Reminder - Reporting student absence       
This is a reminder that if your child is absent from school, please ensure that you report the absence to us via the absence line or absence form. We aim to send the absent notification via the school app if your child is not present in school, and we have not been notified by 11am.

 

Additionally, we would like to remind you that you have access to the MCAS app, where you can view your child’s attendance records and marks.

If you have concerns about your child possibly absconding from school, whether due to mental health reasons or any other factors, please be assured that you can monitor their attendance and wellbeing through the MCAS app. If you have any concerns, we kindly ask that you notify the school as soon as possible.

 

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.

In Ways Forward this week, in our Labour Market Information (LMI) Spotlight, you can explore green careers and find out how choosing a green career can help you to have a positive impact on the environment through the work that you do.  This edition also covers music industry careers and how to become a stunt double.

For year 10 we highlight a work experience opportunity working with animals and for year 11 we have three new apprenticeship vacancies that you could apply for now: Tesco Stronger Starts Retail Apprenticeship, Apprentice Engineer with Konecranes, and a Customer Adviser Apprenticeship with Scania.

Those interested in exploring higher education (university) might like Unifrog's 'Meet the students' virtual fair coming up soon. See inside for more details.

This week we marked both Safer Internet Day and International Women and Girls In Science Day with books and information. There are so many notable female scientists so it was great to showcase some of these to inspire our young women.

We also held our first LRC Rewards Breakfast and Mrs German joined us. This was to recognise Student Librarians, some of our most prolific borrowers and our most engaged NatterReads Book Group participants. Also, for 2 students who previously had their writing published and for one who gave up her time to volunteer to support Primary age readers in the Public Library. Wonderful!

On our return from half-term, we will be making final plans for our World Book Day activities and competitions as well as National Careers Week, British Science Week and more.

During half-term, students can continue to access the online platform, SORA , and find books, comics, magazines, audio books for both Primary and Secondary school students. Link here or get hold of the free app. 

Year 8 Boys 6-a-side Football Development Tournament
Our Year 8’s took part in a 6-a-side development tournament this week at Testbourne. These tournaments are played to give an opportunity to some students who may not always play during the traditional league fixtures. Harrow Way took two teams along and were up against 8 other teams.

On what was a cold evening, the boys played some nice football throughout and really bought into the spirit of the event, with each team supporting each other from the sidelines. Harrow Way 1 finished 8th overall, after creating some great chances but just struggling to get the ball in the back of the net. Harrow Way 2 faired a bit better, winning their playoff and finishing 3rd overall. A nice evening was had and some more great experience for some of our players.

Netball
Year 7A 18 - 3 Wellington
The girls have massively grown in confidence since their last game and came away with a resounding victory against Wellington Academy on Wednesday. Following a quiet first quarter where the scores were 2 a piece, they ramped up the intensity with some lovely passing play, putting what they had practiced in training into effect beautifully. Alani and Hollie had little to do in defence, but kept any attacks at bay.

Poppy, Riya, Natalie and Lily played excellently in the centre court, distributing the ball accurately and into space and supporting the shooters. Darcie and Isabelle played off each other excellently, opening up the defence with their movements and shooting very well.
Player of the Match - Isabelle, Coach’s Player of the Match - Lily.

Year 8A 15 - 0 Wellington
A steady start by the Year 8 team put them 2-0 up after the first quarter. With a change in the shooting line up, the girls then found their feet with Laila scoring the next 5 goals to put them in a strong lead at half time.

Nicole and Lexi prevented Wellington from making any progress with the ball, making numerous interceptions. Ivy and Ruby N improved their spacing as centre court players to enable slicker passing to be made in the goal third. Sophie and Ruby S contributed to the tally during their stints as GS - an overall excellent team performance!
Player of the Match - Ruby S & Nicole. Coach’s Player of the Match - Laila.

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
You can find our February newsletter HERE.

Family First Magazine
New Issue out now. Click here to view.

Free Climate Leadership Training for Young People
 
Calling all 9-12-year-olds who would like to find out more about the climate crisis and what you as a young person can do about it to take action and make your voice heard! 

Thursday 20th February 9am – 5pm, Harmony Woods, Andover

More infomation on our website here.

Step Back in Time with Andover’s Time Traveller’s Trail! – Saturday 15th – Sunday 23rd February 2025
 
This February half-term, families can embark on a fun-filled adventure with the Andover Time Traveller’s Trail, a free interactive experience that brings local history to life! Organised by InAndover from Andover BID, the trail uncovers fascinating stories from Andover’s past, from Viking connections and famous rock bands to mysterious town jail tales and Agatha Christie’s detective genius. Designed to entertain and educate, this exciting activity is the perfect opportunity to get out of the house and learn a bit about the history of our town!

Families can pick up a free trail booklet from Andover Leisure Centre, Riverside Activity Zone, Odeon Cinema, The Lights and a few cafes around town or download it online at www.inandover.co.uk/events/time-travellers/ The trail will guide participants through key locations in Andover town centre, where they must solve clues and complete tasks to uncover a secret word.

To enter this competition and be in with a chance of winning some fabulous local activity prizes (Cinema Tickets, Laser Tag or Clip and Climb!), take your completed form to the Andover Library and pop it in the post box on the reception desk or send a photograph of all of your answers to:  events@andoverbid.org.uk

The Solihull Approach 
Free online courses for ALL parents, parents-to-be, carers, grandparents and teens living in Hampshire. Plus courses for professionals working with children.

Holiday Activities and Food Programme - Easter 2025

Bookings will be available in early March, but eligible parents / carers are encouraged to register their children for HAF to receive their booking code. Registration can be done by providing very simple information at the following weblink: 

Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF) registration

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