Spring Highlights

Halliford School Test site

The Halliford Test Centre

by Mr James Davies, Headmaster

The Halliford School Test Centre was created in record time to be ready to receive students and staff for mass testing to keep the Halliford School community safe. Whilst not needed for the first half of the Spring Term, it was ready for when we returned to school after the lockdown period on Monday 8th March.

Testing at home

A huge thank you to our wonderful parent volunteers who helped with the testing. We simply could not have managed without the help and support of the parent volunteers. It is a mark of our wonderful school community that they all gave their time so generously to assist us. One parent volunteer commented, “It has been an absolute pleasure volunteering to help the students with their lateral flow tests. I’m sure you already know this, but what a stellar group of boys and girls who were beyond polite and thanked me after I’d encouraged them through a quite unpleasant experience. I am actually very #proudtobeahallifordian parent.” With our array of Covid secure measures in place, we were so pleased that we did not report one positive case amongst our students or staff, as we moved to home testing, and I am so grateful to our students for continuing with testing at home as we do all we can to keep our community safe.

Lockdown Survival Kits

by Mrs Olivia Oakley, Marketing & Communications

As news came of yet another lockdown, it was clear that we would not be able to host our Examination Day in January as usual. We would normally welcome students to Halliford on a Saturday morning, where they would be split into small groups and taken by our teachers to their respective classrooms to sit their assessment. In their morning break, they would enjoy delicious treats baked by our school chef, Mr Murphy, and they would receive a Halliford goodie bag at the end of the morning.

As we could not host our Examination Day in person, we started thinking about how we could still bring some Halliford magic to our candidates. It can be a worrying time for students and parents, and we wanted to do all we could to set their minds at rest and bring some much-needed joy at this difficult time of lockdown. We decided on the idea of a personalised Halliford School Lockdown Survival Kit with branded earphones, a face mask, pen, and pencil, a bar of chocolate and a cookie baked by Mr Murphy. Lastly and most importantly, we included a Good Luck message from the Headmaster and a postcard from our Head Prefect. It was all hands on deck preparing the kits in time for our candidates to receive them for the Examination Day, with Mr Davies hand-delivering them to the Post Office. We had some amazing comments from the boys and their parents and were delighted that it brought some much-needed cheer at this tough time. One parent commented, “The boys loved everything, and the cookies vanished in front of our eyes in seconds!!!! The postcards were a very personal and welcome touch. As parents trying to steer our boys through the pre-test process, it would always have been tricky, but during Covid, it has certainly been different. We have had the benefit, I guess, of seeing how the different schools have adapted their processes as a result of Covid and we have been blown away by how much Halliford have kept the children’s wellbeing first and foremost. We know your approach is different and more nurturing than other schools and this has shone out very clearly in your adaptations of your friendly interview, exams and your survival kits. It has been noticed and appreciated! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

Haiku Poems

by Mr Joseph McElroy, Teacher of English

During the first week of the second lockdown, our Year 7 students were just getting started on our ‘Introduction to Poetry’ module. We began by discussing the effects that certain images can have on our emotions and how we can most easily see this in haiku poems that concentrate on presenting a specific idea through one image. As you can see, the students did a fantastic job of expressing themselves clearly and creatively. We went on to study other poetry by Seamus Heaney, William Wordsworth, William Carlos Williams, Walt Whitman, and Phoebe Stuckes, to name but a few.

Where humans hear music cats hear hideous screams while you have vivid dreams

By Jenson Waite, 7D

Birds flying in the sky. The sound of chirps following them as they flood the sky with colour.

By Torin Kirby, 7W

This dead tree outside of my house is so poor and deceived, just sitting there patiently waiting for their leaves to come to life.

By Ben Parker, 7D

The hum of nature the call of the birds the roar of humanity

By Ryan Mills, 7G

Snowflakes are our friends, they descend when winter comes making white blankets.

By Rajveer Johal, 7R

The dashing car speeding past left a wet path

By Joseph Kalenderidis, 7D

In the dark wood ominous signs of dreary times

By Jonty Wright, 7D

Snow falling on my face like cold kisses the sun shining so happily

By Rocky Lehmann, 7D

The whisper of the poor the voice of the rich the command of the government

By George Dwyer, 7W

Showering the grass like a cold drink for flowers pitter patter sploosh

By Hugo Callington, 7G

Inter-House Challenges

by Mr Sean Slocock, Assistant Head Co-Curricular

Who would have thought that spring would have brought about the need for new lockdown challenges? However, in true Halliford Spirit, there were plenty of opportunities for students to throw themselves into and keep the Inter-House spirit alive. All in all, this lockdown saw an increase in the number of activities, challenges or clubs on offer with 59 different opportunities provided, an increase from the 52 offered during the lockdown last summer.

New external clubs had been planned for students to take part in at school. These included the introduction of fencing, expansion of golf training with a professional at Sunbury Golf Club and a further session of Self Defence. Unfortunately, these were put on hold. Mr Greggor remained his creative self, providing a weekly physical challenge and continuing with his Joe Wicks style exercise videos to help students (and parents) remain active. The winners of these challenges were:

Inter-House Challenges – Sit-ups

1. Lewis Mansey, 7R - 53 2. Ben Chapman, 7D - 48 3. Natty Schofield, 7W - 42

Inter-House Challenges – Press-ups

1. Frederico Polosa, 9G - 52 2. Archie Brake, 9W - 47 3. Sam Griffiths, 9D - 44

Inter-House Challenges - Keep ups Challenge

1. Felix Porter, 8R 2. Jamie Lamprell, 9G 3. Daniel Bootle-Wilbraham, 9D

Inter-House Challenges – Stork Stand

1. Felix Porter, 8R 2. Jamie Lamprell, 9G 3. Daniel Bootle-Wilbraham, 9D There were also new initiatives with Mr McElroy running a Reading Challenge. Students were encouraged to list all the books that they were reading and highlight genres and titles that they have completed. There were various categories, and points were awarded for each. The results were as follows:

Inter-House Reading Challenge

Winner: Jenson Waite, 7D Winning Class: 7D Winning Tutor Group: 9R Wining House: Russell – 209 points Desborough - 166 points Wadham - 5 points Greville – 0 points The weekly Lockdown Quiz returned on a Thursday morning during tutor time. Each week I sent out the Quizizz code to students and teachers, and parents were also invited to participate. The competition was hotly contested, with very little between the houses all the way through the competition. Students, teachers and parents were kept informed on the progress and weekly winners, but overall, the results were:

Inter-House Lockdown Quiz

1. Russell (140,642) 2. Desborough (137,495) 3. Greville (137,475) 4. Wadham (135,157) Following on from the successful photography challenges in the Autumn, we organised two different photography competitions. Ms Hetherington, once again, stood up as the chief selector and organiser of the events that saw many fantastic entries. A little winter snow allowed for the first competition as students provided outstanding evidence of the various snowmen they had managed to build, from one that was over 6 feet tall to others that had been dressed up. In the end, the results were as follows: 1. Liam Nicklette-Doyle, 7G 2. Kian McGrath, L6R (his snowman was 6ft 2in) 3. Joshua Turley, 9W Ms Hetherington enlisted the help of Sixth Former Sam Martin, to judge the main photography competition for the term, the ‘First Signs of Spring’ Competition. They were inundated with entries, and the competition was incredibly fierce. They were able to provide a shortlist which allowed the Headmaster and his team to choose the eventual winners:

Photography Challenge: First Signs of Spring

1. Jakob Holder, 8W 2. George Dwyer, 7W 3. Amar Ghotra, 9G The Prefect Team created further challenges during Spring lockdown that students were invited to enter. They produced video examples of their own challenges, and these were shown to the students to encourage participation. Each week provided a new challenge which included: • Mannequin Challenge – Chris Sanders and Nicholas Atherfold

• Isolation Games • Gesture Challenge – Louis Mercer, Remy Matthews, William Cannell and William Bourne • Try Not to Laugh Challenge – Gallagher Dillon and William Wheeler • Crazy Golf Challenge – Mr Churchill The final challenge of the term was to raise money for charity. To this end, the Prefects wanted to select a charity that helped students from disadvantaged backgrounds to get access to technology that would help them during the lockdown. The Charity, Laptops for Kids, was chosen and, with the help of Mr Greggor, set the school a challenge to work together by adding together everyone’s totals and seeing how far they could travel, from Halliford School around the world! This was done by everyone in the Halliford community counting every distance they walked, ran or cycled. Some even entered swimming and skipping distances. These distances were multiplied by every family member who had taken part and the results were sent to Mr Greggor who kept a tally. In the end Halliford school raised a whopping £1,691.82, and the school community had travelled an incredible 14,133.15 km, with the Symons family leading the way. Well done to everyone who took part.

By Cosmo Sumner, 9R By Liam Nicklette-Doyle, 7G

By Joshua Turley, 9W By Lucas Bullen, 7W By Kian McGrath, L6R

Lockdown Bushcraft Club

by Mr Tom King, DofE Manager

With seemingly unending lockdowns and the resulting screen time, both students and teachers were craving fresh air. With that in mind, I started the Lockdown Bushcraft Club, designed to channel our students’ inner Ray Mears and inspire them to find enjoyment in the great outdoors. For as long as I can remember, I have been obsessed with bushcraft and outdoor adventures, spending as much of my free time camping and learning traditional crafts as possible.

I wanted to share this hobby with our students and hoped to transfer my enthusiasm for the topic into a newfound interest among the lads, as well as helping foster a respect and appreciation for the natural world. With the limitations of lockdown, I was confined to my garden and committed to sharing skills with the boys via a weekly live stream or lecture and created a new skills video each week. I loved running this club and sharing my love of adventure and woodcraft. In fact, it was the highlight of my lockdown and something that left me with a sense of achievement at how well they had all got on. The first week of the club focused on introducing the topic of bushcraft, where I demonstrated lighting a fire by friction (or rubbing sticks together) and discussed why this area of learning is so fascinating. Many of you are probably asking the same question as the students were on week one. “What exactly is Bushcraft?” The term bushcraft encompasses all outdoor or wilderness living skills, building upon essential techniques for surviving and thriving in a remote area such as woodland. By studying bushcraft, you learn to use the natural resources of the area to help make yourself comfortable whilst also staying sustainable and leaving very little trace of your presence. It teaches you to camp more traditionally, changing your perception and bringing you closer to nature. It includes crafts such as green woodworking, carving, basketry, shelter building, and so much more. As the weeks went by, we studied basic survival priorities, survival theories, bushcraft equipment, learnt important knots for camping, discussed shelter building using a tarp to shelter from the elements. With these skills covered, we progressed to fire lighting skills, including traditional flint and steel and solar fire, discussed using tools safely and carving, and even cook traditional ‘bannock’ bread over a campfire. The boys learned to identify some basic trees and understand the natural world

more intimately. The students did so well to rise to the challenge, with a cohort that continued to expand as lockdown went on. Many showed real engagement with the projects and lessons, some spending their pocket money on outdoor books to read around the subject, others putting up tarp shelters in their gardens, some filming outdoorsy videos of their own, and most trying out the knots and skills we studied at home. Seeing them loving learning and actively seeking knowledge was massively rewarding to witness, and I really hope some of them continue with this hobby after lockdown becomes a thing of the past. When asked about the club, the students were keen to comment on their learning and experience. Theo Maroussas, in Year 8, had this to say: “During each weekly meeting of the Bushcraft Club, my interest in bushcraft and survival skills has rapidly increased. Mr King’s love for bushcraft is extremely infectious, and his knowledge is endless. I have really enjoyed participating in this club and have learnt so many things, from the five C’s of survivability, to how to recognise a birch tree. It definitely made my lockdown a lot more interesting and enjoyable.” Another regular member of the club, Miles Cobley, had this to say: “I really enjoyed Lockdown Bushcraft Club! I thought it was really good to have Mr King as the teacher as he loves the outdoors, and we could tell this enthusiasm from the videos. I found each episode very practical and have already started using the skills we learnt. Following the guidance on making a birds nest, I successfully lit a fire for my family in the garden.”

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

Hugo Callington, 7G

I decided to come to Halliford because of the buzz and feel I got from walking around the school on the Open Day. The school felt very welcoming and impressive with its facilities and staff. I was quite nervous and excited on my first day, but everyone was so welcoming that it made me feel more comfortable with my surroundings. I was relieved to not get too much homework as one of my main concerns was keeping on top of my work, so it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I really enjoy Art and Drama because it is so free and creative and demands a certain skill. As well as the creative subjects, I have started to enjoy Maths a lot more, which I am happy about because I do find it quite hard. Halliford is so different from my previous school in many ways. The teachers and the overall hard work and drive of the school make a big difference. I have taken part in Art Scholars Club, Rugby after school and Conspiracy Club when I am able because of my piano and LAMDA lessons. I am mainly involved with Rugby but have been taking part in other sports in PE.

The Halliford February Half Term Challenge

by Mr James Greggor, Director of Sport

In February, I set an activity initiative to keep the Halliford community active over the half term period whilst in lockdown. The PE Department had already been very creative with online PE lessons, remote extracurricular clubs and a 5K challenge previously. However, we felt this would be a good way to focus the mind and get the Halliford community working together in a time with so many restrictions.

The challenge began on Saturday 13 February and ended on Saturday 20 February. The purpose was for students and families to log kilometres on a shared Microsoft form. Every time a student went for a walk, cycle or run, they would log the distance. By the end of the week, I calculated which destination in the world we had reached. The Headmaster and Mr Slocock also felt this would be a fantastic event to have a charity focus due to the hardship of the lockdown situation. Laptops for Kids was the selected charity. This felt like a very appropriate cause as throughout the pandemic, the media had expressed how many children were struggling to access education from home due to a lack of devices in their household. Laptops for Kids is an organisation that looks to provide electronic devices to those individuals who would not otherwise be able to afford them. A JustGiving page was set up as part of the initiative for families to donate if they could. I was extremely impressed with the Halliford community and the involvement of the students and their families. I posted a daily total and destination on the @HallifordSport Twitter page throughout half term. Following the first weekend, the school had travelled 2,521.14 kilometres to Istanbul. As the half term week progressed, we travelled to Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Port Ghalib, then to Massachusetts, Georgia, the Grand Canyon National Park, and Paraguay, finally completing our journey in Papua New Guinea. In total, 592 responses were entered on the shared Halliford community Microsoft form, in addition to some emails sent directly through to me. Achieving a final total of 13,612.79 kilometres was fantastic and something of which we should be proud. The outstanding contribution of the week goes to the Symons family, who took the challenge to the next level! As a family, Mr Symons and Mrs Symons contributed 632 kilometres and 458 kilometres respectively, and Lucas in Year 7 managed 317 kilometres. This is a truly remarkable achievement.

Oxford Schools Debating Competition

by Mr Ciaran Lee, Teacher of English

Two students from Lower Sixth and one Upper Sixth student represented Halliford School in the most prestigious schools’ debating tournament in the country.

Elliott Saunders, Dominic Rose, and Alex Donnelly competed against impressive teams from KCS Wimbledon, Brighton College, Putney High School and the City of London School for Girls in the Oxford Schools’ Debating Competition. Both debates forced the Halliford team to grapple with complex, topical and philosophical issues. In the first debate, our boys had to support the decision to ban Former US President Donald Trump from social media and, in the second debate, they had to make a case in support of unconditional love. While all our speakers spoke well and received high praise from the Oxford Union judges, we did not make it through to the finals on this occasion. The boys performed admirably and certainly gained valuable experience in what was a true ‘baptism of fire’ in the sharp end of competitive debating. They should be highly commended for their efforts.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

Elijah Wilkinson, 7W

I decided to come to Halliford School because everyone seemed warm and welcoming on the Open Day, and it had a really nice atmosphere. I didn’t feel that I did very well on the entrance exam and thought I wouldn’t get in, but I did. The moment I got that letter was amazing. I was extremely nervous on the first day and week. It took me a little while to really feel settled in, but it felt good after the first term. Doing some of the lunchtime clubs helped because I was keeping busy. I enjoy my Latin, English and Drama lessons, and I was relieved not to get too much homework because I had heard that you get loads at senior school. It took me until the second week to make my first friend because I was shy and kept to myself.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

Ethan Jansen van Rensburg, 7R

I decided to come to Halliford because it is a very sporty school and a lot of my friends were coming too. It is also very good for dyslexia. I visited the school’s Open Day, and I really liked the school because it is not huge. I felt like the entrance exams went well in Maths but not in English as it is not my best subject. When I started at Halliford, I felt excited and nervous because it is the start of a new school. I made quite a few friends in the first week, and the teachers didn’t give us too much homework so we could get used to the school. I enjoy Maths as I find it fun and not too difficult and I also enjoy PE and Games as I like athletics. The biggest difference between here and my old school is that Halliford is a bit larger and sportier. The worst thing about online learning was not having all the after-school clubs. The best thing was not having to wake up at 6:55am. I tried to keep fit a healthy by walking and going on 5k runs every other day.

Planter Project

by Mr Sam Watson, Teacher of Design & Technology

As part of their Design & Technology lessons, our Year 7 students were tasked with doing a planter project. They were asked to turn items that were destined for the recycling bin into planters to grow plants or vegetables at home. This was a great project to encourage the reuse and repurpose of items no longer needed, and to give our students the valuable experience of growing plants and vegetables from seed. Mr Watson commented, “It is great to see the Hallifordian value of creativity coming through with these amazing designs by our Year 7 students.”

Andrew Razza, 7D

Harry Jennings, 7R Ewan Hill, 7W

Hugo Callington, 7G Felix Armes-Ward, 7R

Jack Crichton, 7G

Jack Giddens, 7D James Dow, 7R

Joseph Kalenderidis, 7D

Richard Baker, 7W Lucas Bullen, 7W

Rory Cantouris - 7R Jenson Waite, 7D

Omar Eldemerdash, 7W

Jakob Holder, 8W - First Place

Inter-House Photography Competition

by Ms Hetherington, Head of Art

Photography Club remains a huge success and continues to grow in popularity. Led by Sixth Form student Sam Martin, the boys sharpened their photography skills using a DSLR camera and developing their photographic capabilities and techniques. They took some stunning photos through a series of games, activities, competitions and group work.

Students got snapping and entered our annual photography competition. The theme was ‘First Signs of Spring’, which was interpreted by each photographer very differently. After careful consideration, Sam awarded Jakob Holder from Wadham House as the winning entry, followed by George Dwyer in Wadham House who took second place, with third place going to Amar Ghotra in Greville House. Special recognition went to James Dow and Alfie Saunders. Well done to everyone that took part. The winning entries were published on the school website and displayed around the school.

George Dwyer, 7W - Second Place Amar Ghotra, 9G - Third Place

Alfie Saunders, 7D

Jakob Holder, 8W Laurence Hodson, 8G

James Dow, 7R - Special Mention

Josh Hawksley, 8G Louis Clark, 8G Jake Fernandes, 11R

Oliver Hume Year 11 ABRSM Grade 5 (Distinction) Piano Riley Whittington Year 11 ABRSM Grade 5 (Distinction) Alto Sax

Music Exam Results &

Presentation by Mr Alastair Wright, Director of Music

We were absolutely delighted to present our music students with their exam certificates in March. 13 students took exams in trumpet, piano, alto sax, trombone and singing with six passes, five merits and two distinctions.

It is truly outstanding to see two Year 11 students receive their Grade 5 awards in piano and alto sax with distinctions. Just brilliant and testament to the strength of our Music Department here at Halliford School. Congratulations to all the boys that passed their ABRSM and Trinity music exams last term. It was fantastic to get a 100% pass rate, with two distinctions at Grade 5. These results are especially impressive given the challenges we have faced in music for the last year. Well done to all. Mr Davies, commented, “As a fellow musician, it is splendid to be able to see our boys today in person and to present them with their ABRSM and Trinity College London music certificates. It has been a difficult time for many but I know that enjoying their musical instruments has kept these boys going and it was a real pleasure to be able to accompany many of them for their examinations in the Autumn Term. I look forward to seeing them continue to develop their exceptional music potential.”

Tom Wittke Year 13 ABRSM Grade 4 (Merit) Singing Ruaridh Bell Year 8 ABRSM Grade 4 (Pass) Trumpet

Joshua Turley Year 9 ABRSM Grade 3 (Pass) Singing

Oliver Hill Year 9 ABRSM Grade 3 (Pass) Alto Sax

Sam White Year 8 ABRSM Grade 1 (Merit) Piano

Dominic Rose Year 12 ABRSM Grade 3 (Pass) Piano

Jivraj Singh Year 10 ABRSM Grade 2 (Merit) Piano

Jonty Whelan Year 8 ABRSM Grade 1 (Merit) Jazz Alto Sax

Charles Moria Year 8 ABRSM Grade3 (Pass) Flute

Cosmo Chippindale Year 10 Trinty Grade 2 (Pass) Trombone

Hamish Greany Year 8 ABRSM Grade 1 (Merit) Trumpet

Virtual Easter Concert

by Mr Alastair Wright, Director of Music

As we entered another lockdown after the new year, students at Halliford continued with their music-making from home. Whilst it was not possible to run the instrumental ensembles online, the Barbershop and Key Stage 3 Vocal Group admirably persevered with online rehearsals. Peripatetic lessons also continued, and students were encouraged to send in performances of the pieces they had been practising.

These videos inspired the Virtual Easter Concert. The majority of the performances were from home, recorded by a willing family member on a mobile phone, with a couple of audio performances from those who were less confident appearing on video. Nicholas Atherfold commenced the concert with a joyful rendition of Mozart’s Der Vogelfanger, before Nathaniel Kinmont in Year 7 treated us to more Mozart, this time on the violin. The Year 8 music scholars, William Dobby and Henry Crowther, were hard at work preparing for their Grade 5 singing exams, and both sent in accomplished performances of their exam pieces. The (severely depleted) Key Stage 3 orchestra gave a touching performance of Can You Feel the Love Tonight, which was the one performance that was recorded in school. Brass was included in the concert, with Daniel Bootle-Wilbraham and Will Shanley jazzing it up on the trumpet and trombone, bringing an end to the ‘classical’ part of the concert. The more rock and pop half of the concert included some very accomplished drumming from Oscar Wort and Josh Guild in Year 10, displaying great technical skill. Ben Wittke gave a moving performance of Elton John’s Your Song, and Arya Shafighian gave a wonderful performance of the extremely challenging Portrait of Tracy by Pastorius. Lastly, Jules Wain mastered the guitar solo to Hotel California and performed this with typical flair. We finished the concert with the Halliford sea shanty, Spanish Ladies. Sea shanties became very popular during lockdown owing to the work of Scottish postal worker Nathan Evans. Members of the Barbershop group, along with cameos from First Mate Shales and Quartermaster Slocock, donned sailor outfits to put together a rousing rendition of the British Naval song. Well done to the students involved in making the virtual concert a success and thank you to the parents and siblings who helped with the recordings.

The Woodward Building

by Mr James Davies, Headmaster

We are delighted to announce that Spelthorne Borough Council have approved our plans for an ambitious new building on our school site and the Governing Body have therefore given approval for the scheme which will be at the centre of the School’s Centenary plans in the forthcoming academic year.

It is a source of great pride that sees us name this building in honour of our Chair of Governors, Mr Ken Woodward. Ken has served as a Governor for twenty years and has led the school successfully as Chairman for the last eight years. His son attended Halliford School, and Ken has always sought to give so much back to the school community and so it now seems entirely fitting to name this building in recognition of all he has done and continues to do to secure the future of Halliford School. It is especially significant for Ken as the building will be placed at the rear of our Sports Hall and will look over Ken’s treasured allotment site. The Woodward Building will enable us to create a vibrant new Learning Resource Centre on the ground floor, which will offer our students the very latest in collaborative working spaces and superb Library facilities. Above this and overlooking our sports field will be six bright and spacious new classrooms and associated staff offices. The building will also house some much-needed further washroom facilities for the school. The building will be constructed using the latest modular techniques, and so it will be built in a relatively short time frame for a building of this size and scale. Work will commence mid-May, and the building is due to be opened as the school returns from the October half-term break. To keep disruption to the school and our local residents to a minimum, the main sections of work will take place during the May half-term and the Summer holidays. We are extremely excited about the opportunities this amazing space will offer to our students and the space it will free up across the site for future projects.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

James Grant, 7R

I chose to go to Halliford School because I had seen that everyone was friendly and supportive on the Open Day. In my opinion, the entrance exams went well, and they must have done, as I was offered a place at the school. On my first day, I met my teachers and peers. I was nervous and excited, but I was helped along the way by my teachers, and soon the nervousness had gone. The lessons I find most enjoyable are History, Geography and Science. The most significant difference between Halliford and my previous school is the food. The Halliford food is much better than that at the school I went to before. Lockdown was a bit of a surprise! The worst thing about online learning was that my internet connection was horrible! I kept dropping out of meetings. I managed to keep myself fit and healthy by going on a walk most afternoons.

A Symbol of Hope

by Mr James Davies, Headmaster

At the end of the Easter Term this time last year, we gathered together for the last time as a school on the fields, and I sent each of our students away with an Easter Egg as we contemplated what a lockdown actually meant.

I wanted our students to have hope and courage to face whatever lay ahead, and with our Hallifordian values of Resilience and Teamwork coupled with our enduring ability to be Warm-Hearted, I knew that each individual would be incredibly brave and rise to the challenges that lay before us all. To say that they have surpassed themselves over the last year would be an understatement. It has been an absolute honour to see our community truly blossom during this time as staff and students have maintained contact in new and exciting ways and shown true creativity in blending technology and good old-fashioned manners to make the very best of the two periods of remote learning. As we arrive here a year on though from a time when none of us knew what a Lateral Flow Test or an Asymptomatic Carrier or even a Teacher Assessed Grade was, I recognise that all of us have been on the most amazing journey of discovery and learnt so many new skills and so much about ourselves. As Headmaster, I am determined to continue building on this rich skill base as we move forward. We will continue with new and exciting methods of online working and collaborative approaches to further develop our students’ digital skills. At the end of term, as a mark of the amazing work our students have undertaken this year, I once again went and purchased Easter eggs for each of them. The egg is a symbol of hope and new life at Easter. In a world where we have not seen a great deal of hope over the last few months, I believe that we are now finally turning a corner and have much for which to be hopeful. The Easter message spreads hope for a new life beyond this one, and we have a chance as we head into our Easter holidays to give thanks for all that the last twelve months have taught us and how we have all not just survived but thrived in so many ways.

As I handed out Easter eggs at the gates, I gave them to young people who are not a lost generation as the press would have us believe, but instead to individuals who are braver than we could ever imagine and equipped now with the skills and abilities to think differently that will last them a lifetime. You are a generation who survived something so much bigger than yourselves, supported by the values we hold at the very core of what it means to be a proud Hallifordian. It was our pleasure to be able to donate our remaining Easter eggs to Bags of Food, a scheme run by Jubilee Church in Shepperton which helps families in crisis. They distributed our donation to 15 families in the local area before the Easter weekend.

MY HALLIFORD SCHOOL STORY

Lewis Mansey, 7R

I decided to come to Halliford School because I wanted to keep playing sports. My Open Day experience was cool as I got to see around the whole school. On the first day of school, I was introduced to my tutor Mr McElroy and the other Boys in 7R. After that, I had a lot of fun meeting my new teachers and making new friends. The lessons I like here the most are Maths and P.E. because they are challenging. It is different to my old school because there are lots of opportunities to play different sports. During the lockdown, I was prepared for my routine to change for a little while. I got up at 8am and sat at my desk, ready for registration at 8:30am with my Microsoft Surface Go. The best thing about online learning is that I studied and worked very hard and had FaceTime calls with my friends. I exercised as normal and did after-school rugby and football training. I have really enjoyed some of the clubs and societies here, like Conspiracy Club and Chess Club. Overall, I am happy I came to Halliford School because I like the sports on offer, and I have made great friends.

Virtual Open Events

by Mrs Olivia Oakley, Marketing & Communications

We thoroughly enjoy welcoming prospective parents to Halliford so they can experience what makes our school so special and unique in person. However, to keep our Halliford community as safe as possible during the pandemic, the Headmaster took the difficult decision to continue hosting virtual open events throughout the year.

Our virtual events have been a great success with record attendees, and superb feedback from prospective parents about how inspiring and informative the online sessions were, with comments that the school is clearly very nurturing and well-rounded. We are delighted that we could showcase our wonderful school despite being only able to host virtual open mornings and evenings for our Sixth Form. Our virtual tour prepared by Venue View, which showcases the amazing facilities we have at Halliford, has been viewed nearly 9,000 times. A key part of our virtual events for prospective families is hearing from our students. Our thanks go to the Prefect Team, William, Louis and Gally, Year 9 student Ed, and Charlie and Richard in Year 7, who all gave so generously of their time. We are also grateful to their parents, who helped on many occasions too.

Despite not being able to host our events in person, we were delighted that registrations for Year 7 places for 2021 were up 31% as Halliford continues to grow ever more popular in the local and surrounding areas. Before the start of the school day, the Registrar, Mrs Clatworthy has hosted personal single-family tours to over 50 prospective families. As a direct result of these tours, we have already received registrations for Year 7 students looking to join us in September 2022. Mrs Clatworthy has received some wonderful feedback from her tours:

“Halliford is the best school I have seen so far for our son. I love the friendly and down to earth atmosphere, and the first impressions of the staff too. I can see our son would be happy there and make lots of friends. He would particularly like the sport, drama and music facilities. I think he would find his niche and thrive there.” “A huge thank you for your time today. I appreciate how hard it must be to accommodate all the children who are keen to take a look at the school. We loved the way you directed the tour to our son, rather than just the parents, and it speaks volumes about the culture at the school.”

We have also received greater interest from female students wishing to join our Sixth Form, and we are excited about welcoming five new Lower Sixth girls this September. At Year 9 entry, we have had countless enquiries and have an extensive waiting list for Year 9 2022 and 2023. So, despite the challenges the pandemic has posed, we as a school community have pulled together and truly shown what makes Halliford so special.

Noisy Cities: A Mental Health Freddie Humphreys, 9W Drawing and Collage Workshop

by Ms Tamarind Hetherington, Head of Art

The Year 9 students took part in an online workshop focused on drawing and collage run by the artist Daksha Patel and Rhiannon Thompson, a PhD student at Imperial College London.

Rhiannon is working as part of the SCAMP (Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones) study, investigating the impact of pollution on young people’s mental health. Rhiannon teamed up with Daksha Patel to discuss her work and explore how the creative process and artistic techniques such as mark-making, abstract expressionism and collage processes can reveal our embodied emotional response to the physical stressors of city life. As part of the workshop, students engaged in discussions concerning the impact of environmental change on wellbeing whilst creating abstract expressionist cityscapes. The students found this workshop interesting and enjoyed learning new skills. After creating their abstract cityscapes, they created a series of abstract landscapes that linked with their Google Earth project. A selection of their work can be seen below. Olly Betts, 9D

Cassidy Wyeth, 9G

Tom O’Grady, 9D Amar Ghotra, 9G

HALLIFORD LIFE

Gifts from our Wonderful School Parents

Halliford in the Snow

Mrs Crosbie’s Maths Class

The Halliford Hound

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HALLIFORD LIFE

The Headmaster & Hallifordian staff wearing our branded face masks

Toby Hill in 8R enjoying Mr Bruno’s D&D Club

Pop Art by Hugo Callington, 7G

Year 7 Drama Challenge