#BEST Quiz Fundraiser Brings our School Community Together

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#BEST Quiz Fundraiser Brings our School Community Together in Support of Bishop’s facilities upgrade project!

The buzz is still in the air after last week’s fantastic Quiz Fundraiser, and what an evening it was! Hosted in support of the new school block, learning space upgrade and Sixth Form zone remodelling project, the event was a vibrant showcase of community spirit, friendly competition, and heartfelt generosity.

From the very first question to the last bite of the delicious buffet, laughter and camaraderie filled the room. Staff, governors, current parents, and even families whose children won’t be joining us until September were all in attendance — a wonderful testament to the strength and reach of our school community.

We were also thrilled to welcome back several of our unwaveringly supportive ‘Old Girls’, including some of the very first pupils from the 1960s. This alumni presence brought a rich sense of history and legacy to the event. We were also delighted to welcome back our much-loved former headteacher, Mrs Nickson — what an honour!

The quiz itself, brilliantly run by Mr Edbrook and an enthusiastic team from our Parents’ Association, staff volunteers, and our head girls, had teams racking their brains and bonding over tricky trivia and laugh-out-loud moments. Huge congratulations go to the winning team Men In Beige — a group of sharp-minded parents who managed to outwit even the senior leadership team!

A special thanks goes to one of our supportive parents, whose efforts to secure a fund-matching agreement through her employer will give our fundraising total an incredible boost. The final fundraising total will be announced soon — stay tuned!

If you missed out on this event, don’t worry. There’s more fun to come! Keep an eye out for our upcoming fundraising events, and be part of the joy, generosity, and team spirit that make our school community so special.

Alternatively you can also make a difference in other ways: – Donations via Wisepay or our JustGiving page (https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/bishopsbest) to help with our £25,000 target! – Sponsor a Room or Equipment – Join, lead or help with a fundraising activity, bringing in your expertise or simply share an idea – Take on a personal challenge: run, cycle, or get creative though our JustGiving page to raise funds while doing something exciting! – Ask your employer about their fund-matching scheme for our next event. Please email fundraising@bishophatfield.herts.sch.uk with your questions and suggestion.

For more information about the #BEST campaign and how you can support our school, visit: http://bishophatfield.herts.sch.uk/bishops-best

Mental Health Awareness Week 2025: A Celebration of Community

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A joyful celebration of kindness, gratitude, and connection, bringing students and staff together through creative activities, uplifting messages, and a powerful sense of community.

What a truly uplifting week it was! Mental Health Awareness Week 2025 brought warmth, colour, and connection to Bishop’s Hatfield Girls’ School. With the national theme “Community,” we focused on kindness, gratitude, and coming together – and our whole school community responded with heart.

At the centre of it all was our “We Are Stronger Together” display in the canteen. Students and staff filled the space with vibrant messages of thanks, encouragement, and recognition for one another. Whether it was a kind note to a friend, a teacher, or someone behind the scenes – every message mattered. By the end of the week, the display had grown into a powerful wall of appreciation, reminding us all that community is built on small acts of kindness. The display will stay up until the end of next week to give everyone a chance to add their voice.

Form time was another highlight, with activities focused on gratitude and connection. The Kindness Chain activity was especially popular, as forms created beautiful chains of uplifting messages, looped together to symbolise unity and care. Staff have been capturing photos and videos of their chains, which will be used to create a school-wide montage celebrating this collective effort.

Our lunchtime wellbeing activities offered moments of creativity and calm throughout the week. From chalk art and nature journalling to mindful meditation and colouring with calming music, students had the opportunity to pause, reflect, and simply enjoy the moment. These drop-in sessions were peaceful, positive, and beautifully attended – a huge thank you to all staff who supported them.

Meanwhile, the Wellbeing Bingo Challenges brought out our fun and competitive side: – Students completed a range of wellbeing challenges – from acts of kindness to mindful moments – with House Points to win. – Staff took on their own bingo boards, with tasks designed to encourage self-care and connection. Last year we had two – who will it be this year?

Staff wellbeing was front and centre too. Thanks to the fantastic team from Oaklands College, massage therapy students joined us on Friday to deliver relaxing staff massages. The session was fully booked – and as always, staff rallied around to support one another with cover and flexibility. A perfect example of what school community looks like.

Whether it was writing a note of appreciation, joining in lunchtime mindfulness, or helping a colleague, the spirit of Mental Health Awareness Week could be felt in every corner of the school.

As Mental Health Lead, I am incredibly proud of how our students and staff embraced the theme of community. Your kindness, energy and openness made this week more than just a celebration – it became a reminder that we are stronger, healthier, and happier when we lift each other up.

Miss Rajdev

Year 10 Geographers Explore Town Life and Coastal Landscapes

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Data collection in Swanage and Cley-next-the-Sea

On May 16th, Year 10 students took part in an exciting two-day geography fieldtrip to Sheringham, a traditional seaside town on the North Norfolk coast. This hands-on experience was a great opportunity to put classroom theory into practice, exploring both human and physical geography in a real-world setting.

Day One – Urban Geography in Action

Thursday was all about understanding how Sheringham works as a town and tourist destination. Our main focus was to investigate how busy different areas of the town are and whether the seafront is the busiest part.

Armed with clipboards and stopwatches, we spread out across various locations around Sheringham and completed 10-minute pedestrian counts. From the high street to the promenade, we collected data on how many people were in each area. We also carried out a land use survey, recording the different types of shops and services, from touristy ice cream parlours and souvenir shops to everyday places like pharmacies and banks.

After a busy day of data collection, we headed to the Sheringham Youth Hostel to relax. Dinner was a hit – burgers or jacket potatoes, followed by delicious waffles with cream for dessert. Later in the evening, we gathered for hot chocolate at 9pm and enjoyed some free time before lights out at 11pm. The hostel had a great atmosphere, and it was fun spending the evening together.

On Friday, we travelled 20. minutes west along the coast to study Cley-next-the-Sea’s coastal landscape. Our aim was to investigate pebble size and shape, as well as the profile of the beach.

We used callipers and Powers Index cards to measure and classify pebbles, collecting samples from different points along the beach. It was interesting to see how the size and roundness of pebbles changed further from the sea, giving us clues about coastal processes like longshore drift and wave action.

To measure the beach profile, we used ranging poles, clinometers, and measuring tape to record changes in slope and height. Despite a bit of wind and sand in our shoes, it was a fun and practical way to learn about coastal erosion and deposition.

Overall, the trip was a great success. It gave us a chance to apply geographical skills outside the classroom and understand the connections between people, places, and physical processes. Plus, we had a lot of fun along the way!

A Tasty Term in Food Lessons

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This half term, our food students have explored the flavours of Victorian London, mastered practical cooking skills and confidently created a variety of healthy and creative dishes, showcasing impressive growth and enthusiasm in the Food Room.

This half term, our food students have enjoyed a truly flavour-packed journey in and out of the classroom.

A highlight for our year 10 GCSE students was the exciting trip to London, where students took part in the Walk, Eat, Talk, Eat food tour. They explored the rich culinary traditions of Victorian London while sampling an array of dishes from diverse cultures. It was a delicious way to step back in time and taste London’s history.

Back in Bishop’s, our students began learning about the world of food science and preparation. They’ve been hands-on with learning about primary and secondary processing of meat—jointing whole chickens and transforming them into mouth-watering chicken escalopes. A true test of skill and precision.

Our Key Stage 3 students have ended their food rotations positively, taking part in themed challenges such as designing meals for teenagers and creating healthy dishes using fresh ingredients suitable for the school canteen. They’ve embraced the challenge with enthusiasm, taking positive culinary risks by trying their hand at stir-fries, pastry-making, pizzas, pies and pasta dishes.

It’s been fantastic to see their cooking skills develop so confidently, with creativity and teamwork shining through in every dish.

Well done to all our students for your hard work and enthusiasm.

Mrs Wright

The Debate on the Thatcher Years

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Parallel Histories On-line Debate Club takes on the Thatcher Years

Like Marmite, in her day, Margaret Thatcher was loved and loathed by many. She stood out as a politician that created high levels of emotion and extreme actions during her decade in power. Our Year 12 historian debaters got their “teeth into ” the debate on whether Thatcher was a great leader. Our debating challengers this time were a local school – Sandringham – as we form a nationwide network of debating teams on historic and political issues. As ever, our team of six delivered great reasoning and use of historic evidence and sources to back up their arguments. Rebuttals at the end were reasoned and relentless, developing the art of the debate. Skills such as active listening, critical thinking and clear articulation are being developed which are all useful for future public speaking and constructing an effective history essay.

Fancy joining our Parallel Histories Debate Club? It is open to Years 9, 10 and 12 and takes place every Thursday after school. More on our Enrichment Clubs here:  Enrichment Clubs

Mrs Higgings

Bishop’s Team shines at North Herts Young Enterprise Final

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Bishop’s Young Enterprise Team, Coasters and Co, win Best Teamwork Award!

On Monday 12th May, 15 Young Enterprise teams from across North Hertfordshire came together to compete in the Regional Final of the Young Enterprise Student Company of the Year. The event was a celebration of innovation, teamwork, and entrepreneurship, with each team presenting their business journeys to a panel of expert judges.

Teams were interviewed about their products, the challenges they faced, and the lessons they’ve learned while running their student companies. It was an inspiring event, full of creativity and passion, with businesses offering everything from sustainable gifts to wellbeing products.

We are thrilled to announce that Bishop’s Coasters and Co were awarded the Best Teamwork Award! The judges were impressed by how well our team supported each other, worked collaboratively throughout the year, and stayed committed to their goals.

The team proudly received a trophy and were delighted to be recognised for the positive, supportive, and hard-working dynamic they’ve built. Their beautiful, eco-friendly jesmonite coasters and keyrings have been a hit with customers, showcasing both sustainability and style.

We’re incredibly proud of Coasters and Co – not just for the award, but for everything they’ve achieved this year. Their dedication, creativity, and teamwork have truly stood out.

Come and Support Us! If you haven’t had a chance to see their products yet, Coasters and Co will be selling at the Year 8 Parents’ Evening on Thursday 22nd May. It’s a great opportunity to support our talented YE team and pick up a unique, handcrafted gift.

Well done to the whole team – you’ve done Bishop’s proud!

Year 9 Practice their DofE Camping Skills at School

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Year 9 students develop their skills ready for their expedition, as part of their Duke of Edinburgh bronze award

Year 9 students enjoyed the sunshine this weekend whilst practising their camping skills ready for their Duke of Edinburgh expedition. On Saturday the students set up their tents and cooked pasta and rice dishes as well as planning their routes for the following weekend’s expedition. Students returned on Sunday to trek around Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City, getting used to carrying their equipment and reading Ordnance Survey maps in order to avoid becoming lost. ‘It was great to practise’ said Ashley. ‘We didn’t realise how heavy our rucksacks were but this has prepared us for our big expedition next week – I will bring a few more plasters though!’

 

Barcoding Biologists Master Micropipettes and Mini-gel Electrophoresis

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The DNA barcoding biologists continue their project with mastering micro-pipetting and mini-gel electrophoresis

As part of the DNA barcoding project, Year 10 biologists need to develop expertise with micro-pipetting and DNA gel electrophoresis.

‘We have mini- gel tanks’ says Lily. ‘We need to place our DNA in the gels and separate it on the basis of size so we can send our samples to the Wellcome Genome Campus for sequencing. To make sure we know how to do this we have practiced using dyes with the gels. Agarose gels are like a mesh and large pieces of DNA (or large sized dyes) will move through the gel slowly but smaller sizes will move faster and thus further. We used micropipettes which measure volumes in microlitres, 1 microlitre is a thousand times smaller than 1 millilitre! We then used our micropipettes to add dyes to the agarose gel. These coloured dyes moved through the gel when electricity was applied. Placing or ‘loading’ the dyes in indents in the agarose gel was very tricky but it was good to practice so we can eventually load our DNA and not lose any in the process’.

The biologists are now ready to extract their DNA from their insects.

Netball Superleague Trip

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The best game of the season – a must watch!

Bishop’s Hatfield Girls’ School went to watch London Mavericks v Cardiff Dragons in Round 8 of the Netball Superleague on Saturday 3rd May at Hertfordshire Sports Village. Our pupils were able to stand courtside and cheer Mavericks on as they entered the court ready to begin. Our very own Birthday Girl Catherine had the privilege of delivering the ball for the first centre pass ready to start the game.

The game was intense throughout as London Mavericks fought continuously and pulled it back from an 11 goal deficit to finish at full time with a draw. With the introduction of the new rules, this meant that the game had to go to extra time. London Mavericks stormed ahead and the won the game 72-61.

At the end of the game our pupils had the opportunity to have their photo taken with the squad. It was an amazing experience for the pupils to see some elite netball and watch some live sport.

We hope to be back next season!

Miss Nelson

 

Networking – Alumni Plant the Seeds for our Futures

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Learning the Power of networking from our own Bishop’s Alumni Network

Networking is about planting the seeds of relationships for the future – to build and extend throughout your career. With this in mind, in a recent Year 12 Careers event, we planted our Alumni contacts firmly into Bishop’s to grow our students’ professional networks. Year 12 had a morning working with the Bishop’s Alumni and some local professional volunteers, finding out how they have built and strengthened their networks and how they can be used by our current sixth formers. The Future First Alumni agency came to deliver a morning of activities including the “elevator pitch” – a useful tool to develop when wanting to make a speedy impact on future contacts! Our Alumni came from varied sectors from architecture to publishing – all had stories to tell, tips to give and offered access to their networks!

We would love to hear from any past Bishop’s pupils to join our Alumni network – attendance at events and/or advice to our students is always welcome and truly valued. Register here: https://www.futurefirsthub.org.uk/register/bishophatfield

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Tel: 01707 275331
Email: admin@bishophatfield.herts.sch.uk

Headteacher:
Mr A Wood
BA (Oxon), MBA, NPQH