A fabulous celebration of the expressive arts at Bishop’s.

On Wednesday 10th July, Bishop’s Expressive Arts Faculty showcased all of the wonderful talent on offer amongst its students. Art, Graphics, Drama and Music all came together to present an art exhibition, concert and play which were enjoyed by a full-capacity audience.

When visitors arrived they began the evening by perusing the impressive array of work within the exhibition which had been created by our GCSE Art, Craft, Design and GCSE Graphic Communication students. This included a range of portraiture, mixed media art work and still life from the Art students, and packaging design, book covers, posters and merchandise from our Graphics students. The level of talent on display was exceptional. The exhibition remained open for the next couple of days allowing the rest of the school to visit and appreciate the fantastic work on display- a real inspiration to some of our younger students wishing to choose these subjects for GCSE.

After they had enjoyed the exhibition our audience moved up to the school hall to take their seats for our concert. The concert showcased a real variety of material including a wide array of items from our Music department, a play performed by the Bishop’s Acting Troupe (BATs) and two numbers performed by the Musical Theatre Club.

Musical offerings included two beautiful pieces by our keyboard group, which opened the concert, accompanying Eva M as our singer. Orchestra performed two pieces with commitment and assurance, one of which was an arrangement by Em W in Year 10, which she conducted in the performance. Our ukulele ensemble gave a lovely rendition of A Whole New World, from Aladdin, and the Bishop’s Choir closed the concert with an energetic delivery of two songs, bringing the house down with their rendition of High Hopes. It was also wonderful to hear a range of accomplished solo performances from seven girls from year 8 to year 12, performing on a range of instruments including voice, clarinet, violin, trumpet and piano.

Performing either side of the interval was the Bishop’s Acting Troupe who performed Find a Partner! by Miriam Battye. The students from years 7 to 10 performed with real energy and vigour to produce an engaging portrayal of finding love in today’s world of reality TV. BATs meet weekly for an after school rehearsal and have been working on this performance since September 2023.

An exciting performance of Ex-Wives, from Six, and I know it’s Today from Shrek the Musical were delivered by our Musical Theatre Club. It was a perfect opportunity for the girls to be able to showcase their talents which they did with both commitment and enthusiasm. Mrs James was very proud of their performance on the night.

Congratulations to all the girls involved in the Expressive Arts Showcase 2024 who should be rightly proud of their achievements. It was fantastic to see so many students, over 180, involved in this event, showing what a vibrant and busy faculty the Expressive Arts Faculty is. Thanks also to all the members of staff who contributed to the event and without whom it would not have been possible.

Excellent effort from the Junior Athletics team in the County Cup Final 2024

After finishing 1st in our half of the County League in 2 of the 6 rounds this year and with some outstanding results in the other 4 rounds, the Junior Athletics team went one better and qualified for the County Athletics Cup Final.

This involved the top 1st- 8th placed schools in Hertfordshire and included some strong opposition including teams from Sandringham, Queenswood, Dame Alice Owens, Berkhamsted, Parmiters, St Michaels and Roundwood Park.

This team was a mix of Year 7 and Year 8 pupils, some who are brand new to the team this year and some who had County League experience from last year.

Particular mentions go to the following pupils – Bella M- 1st in the U14 Girls Long Jump with new Personal Best of 4.49m Favour N – 1st in the U14 Girls 300m with a time of 45.40 Isobel L – 2nd in the U14 Girls 800m with time a of 02:38 Aariya D – 3rd in the U14 Girls High Jump with a score of 1.28m

These results meant that the Junior team finished in joint 6th place alongside Sandringham School – a great achievement!

A big thank you and well done to everyone who has represented the Junior Athletics team this season – a fantastic season which definitely bodes well for the future!

A big thank you to Miss Cameron, Miss Nelson and Miss Rollings for all of their help with the Athletics this year.

Finally, a special thank you and goodbye to Mrs Waters who is leaving BHGS at the end of the year to enter retirement. Mrs Waters has been instrumental in the continued success and development of countless pupils across the Junior and Senior Athletics team as well as leading our Year 7 Indoor Athletics team to first place 11 years in a row plus our Year 7s to County Indoor Champions this year as well!

As a department, we have been extremely lucky and grateful to be able to ask your advice and utilise your extensive knowledge to support pupils of all abilities. It’s been a pleasure to be on all of the many late night and all day Athletics fixtures across your time here.

Good luck for the future Mrs Waters and come and visit us soon!!

Alice is awarded ‘Inspirational Eco Teen’ 2024

Nomination for Alice Pinto for Inspirational Eco Teen for the ‘Little Green Change’ magazine:

Alice is a valued member of the Green Club since she joined Bishop’s Hatfield Girls’ School 2 years ago. Alice has attended every weekly meeting, no matter what the weather, rain, snow or sunshine. She loves to care for the environment and look after the school garden area. We can always depend on Alice turning up and getting stuck in and have a go with no fuss whatsoever, whether the job be clearing the nature pond (a rather smelly and cold job, I must say); planting spring flowering bulbs for the first insects of the year, in the pouring rain; or working inside making bird feeders or nest boxes, we can always count on Alice being there and giving 100%. She loves sowing vegetable seeds, caring for the seedlings and planting them out to grow beautiful courgettes, peppers and tomatoes, as she is strongly aware of the need for food security and sourcing food locally to reduce the carbon footprint and take a small action to reduce the impact of climate change.

Over the past 2 years in the Green Club Alice has taken part in many of our projects including the upkeep of our gardens, always keeping in mind the benefits for our local wildlife, as well as looking good for our community, building and looking after hedgehog houses, bird feeders, bird nest boxes and our very popular bug hotel (Bishop’s Bugs). She is also passionate about the upkeep and improvement of our nature garden (some may say bramble patch), but Alice can see the larger picture of the enormous benefits this little area has, not only to our school, but also to Hatfield in general.

Alice recently took a lead role in a joint international project with partner schools in Poland and Northern Ireland, highlighting the need to reduce food waste and how to reuse leftover food. She came up with the snappy headline ‘Bringing Leftovers to Life’. Her passion for conserving resources and protecting and conserving the environment was infectious and she led a group of her peers in pitching the group’s ideas on producing an educational e-book. This is a lovely example of Alice taking a small action to combat climate change and persuading her peers to do the same!

Alice also has an appreciation of the larger national and global scale and the importance of caring for the environment and considering how she and her peers can make a difference to combat climate change. She attended a KS3 Climate Change Summit at the University of Herts on 11/6/24 and contributed some excellent ideas on developing public transport so that our country reduces its dependence on fossil fuels and work towards the move to renewable energy alternatives.

Alice has to prioritise her time so that she can devote time to green issues as well as school work and leisure time. This can be a challenge, but her passion spurs others on and she is a fantastic inspiration to her peers!

A moving service of remembrance of the D-Day landings 80 years ago

‘When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today’.

On Thursday 6th June 2024, we were honoured to be invited to join a small group of dignitaries and members of the public to remember the D-Day landings 80 years ago. The service started with the music of a bag piper which set the tone of the event. Fr Darren Collins led the service which included readings and prayers. Hatfield Town Mayor, Councillor Shirley Asare read a poem which was followed by a two minutes silence. The service finished with prayers and the national anthem. Annie Brewster JP, High Sheriff of Hertfordshire spoke to us after the service and explained the rich history behind the role, which she will hold for 1 year. She said: ‘Your pupils were a complete delight and are enormous credit to you.’ Lord and Lady Salisbury also spoke to us and were interested to hear about the school and were very impressed with our students.

58 Year 9 participants at Bishop’s Hatfield Girls’ School conquered the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award expedition with teamwork, resilience, and a touch of nature exploration.

We are thrilled to celebrate the fantastic achievement of our Year 9 cohort, who recently conquered the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award expedition! Over a glorious weekend filled with sunshine and adventure, 58 students embarked on a challenging yet rewarding journey, navigating their way between Wymondley Wood Campsite, Hitchin, Stevenage, and Letchworth.

This two-day expedition tested not only their navigational skills but also their teamwork and resilience. There were moments of excitement (and perhaps a healthy dose of map-checking!), but the girls persevered with great spirit. Their determination truly shone through, making the accomplishment all the more rewarding.

The expedition wasn’t just about reaching the destination. Our budding explorers turned into nature enthusiasts along the way, discovering new and interesting plant life to document. The spirit of adventure wasn’t limited to the terrain – the girls captured countless memories through photos, creating a lasting record of their journey.

Their accomplishment is even more impressive considering they cooked their meals for Saturday’s dinner and Sunday’s breakfast themselves on Trangia’s, putting their pre-trip planning and culinary skills to the test!

But what truly sets an expedition apart is the camaraderie. Throughout the challenges, the group supported and encouraged each other, filling the countryside with laughter and song. This collaborative spirit is a testament to the strong sense of community we foster at Bishop’s Hatfield Girls’ School.

We are incredibly proud of our Year 9 students. They have not only conquered the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award but have also gained valuable life skills in teamwork, problem-solving, and perseverance. This experience will undoubtedly stay with them as they continue their 7-year journey at Bishop’s Hatfield and beyond.

Congratulations once again to our amazing Year 9 cohort!

Mrs Hurley