25 September 2026
25 September 2026
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Inspired to write ✏️
Inspired to write ✏️
Mrs Wood and Miss Myers
In a hot, hot country, ringed by mountains on one side and jungle on the other, lives a princess called Cinnamon. Her eyes are made of pearls, which means that she is blind. And - for reasons her parents the Rajah and Rani cannot fathom - she will not talk. So they offer a reward to anyone who can teach Cinnamon to speak. People travel from far and wide to attempt it, but nothing works. Until a mighty tiger, huge and fierce, prowls into their palace and announces that he is here to teach the girl-cub to talk.
Neil Gaiman's Cinnamon is just one example of the evocative and colourful books which we select to build pupils' confidence in speaking, reading and writing. And as you can see from these excerpts, Year 3 have truly excelled in their recent compositions, all inspired by the arrival of the man-eating tiger. Well done, girls!
Above: Mia's composition was highlighted for by Mrs Fowler CREATIVITY in this week's celebration assembly
Coming soon to Year 5!
Coming soon to Year 5!
Mr Cox
Purposeful study visits and field trips that combine exciting locations with memorable learning are a cornerstone of a creative curriculum - and our annual exploration of Shakespeare's Stratford upon Avon is just around the corner!
Next week, Year 5 will be off to learn about everyday life in Tudor England at the home of the Bard's grandmother, Mary Arden, which is now owned by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. With exclusive use of the whole farm, the girls will participate in a full-day workshop based on A Midsummer Night's Dream and hands-on activities to learn about 16th century construction techniques, food production, herbal remedies and recreation. There will also be a walking tour of Stratford, with a visit to the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company.
As well as the pastoral development opportunity that one night away from home with classmates offers, this will allow girls to work collaboratively, widen their social circles, extend their learning beyond the classroom, and visualise the settings and scenarios in their current English texts, Rogues' Gold and Diver's Daughter.
Year 6 were warned ⚠️
Year 6 were warned ⚠️
Mrs Bailey and Mrs Braud
As part of our progressive and practical PSHE and Citizenship curriculum, girls from Year 6 recently visited Warning Zone, a Leicester-based charity dedicated to teaching valuable life skills and safeguarding young people.
The visit focused on helping pupils to understand and assess risks in a variety of real-life situations involving road safety, the risks of fire, and the dangers associated with open water and ice. The girls also experienced a rail safety scenario, which highlighted the potentially life-changing consequences of unsafe behaviour near train lines.
Other important topics included peer pressure, anti-social behaviour and the consequences of poor decision-making, with pupils encouraged to consider how poor choices might affect themselves and others.
In the E-Safety Zone, 6K and 6B learnt about the dangers of the digital world too. Through a range of engaging activities, they explored the perils of sharing personal information online, the importance of consent for sharing photographs, phishing scams, and the risks associated with online grooming and cyberbullying.
Within the safe and supportive environment of Warning Zone, this was a great way to develop knowledge, confidence, critical thinking skills and informed decision making.
Well done, Year 6 - you were excellent ambassadors for our school, and you approached every challenge with curiosity and enthusiasm. Warning Zone's facilitators were especially impressed by your maturity, behaviour and manners! 👍
Sports report🏃🏾♀️🏃🏼♀️
Sports report🏃🏾♀️🏃🏼♀️
Miss Abbott
Well done to everyone who took part in our recent cross country try outs, running the distance that is expected at the Saturday league, GDST rally, City championships and Highfields invitational. I look forward to another year of excellent performance - possibly in the wind, mud, rain and snow, or maybe even sunshine!
This week we also congratulate HASTINGS who won our first House event of the year, the Years 5-6 pentathlon. Every girl performed well and they will now spend a year working on different aspects of fitness, with the objective of improved scores in the summer term pentathlon.
Freya, McKendra, Helia, Penelope F, Sophie and Emily W were the top three performers in their respective year groups - although having weighed in with some big scores, they now face the challenge of delivering even better results next summer!
Our first inter-school event also took place recently, with our Y5/Y6 relay team literally hitting the ground running on the Harvey Hadden's 400m track where they demonstrated their cardiovascular fitness by running as many laps as possible in 30 minutes.
Last year’s NGHS competitors for this team relay event had set the bar high by clocking up a record number of laps, however this year’s A and B teams also acquitted themselves with 18 and 17 laps respectively. Our 2026 A team came away as overall runners up with silver medals, and our B team collected gold wristbands for recording the highest number of laps ever by a B team!
Top marks for excellent teamwork and resilience go to Rosie, Millie, Chloe D, Cece, McKendra, Daphne, Sophie, Annabelle, Freya and Eva - on what turned out to be an unexpectedly warm afternoon!
Our Junior PE Wall of Fame in the Rainbow Room has its first photographs of the year from the Y5/Y6 pentathlon. This display celebrates individual and team achievements at House and inter-school events, with the aim of including as many girls as possible by the end of the year. Please do take a look whenever you are in school.
** New for this year **
Our Champion Challenge display recognises girls who perform well in PE lessons. The first champions on the board this year are Rosie and Millie (Y6) and Abigail (Y4), who all scored MAXIMUM points in their sprint and distance pentathlon runs - 100% is a fantastic achievement! 💪
** Dates for your diaries **
In collaboration with our Senior School PE Department, we will see the return of our hugely popular mums and daughters events on Monday 23 November and Wednesday 26 May - grannies, aunties and big sisters are of course welcome too!
Try out the 1875 Sports Centre's fitness suite with your daughter, take a dance class in our dance studio, or join in with a game of netball, rounders or badminton in the sports hall or Upnah Gym, or on the sports field. This is a great opportunity to experience the state of the art facilities which our girls use in PE lessons, and further information will follow in a future edition of SPARK.
We hear you, girls!
We hear you, girls!
Mrs Brown
Settling into Reception can sometimes feel like a big step, but my girls have taken it all in their stride! They have taken on new routines with ease and widened their friendship circles, and they are fast becoming wonderful members of the Junior School community.
I have loved getting to know my new pupils, discovering all their interests and personalities - and it has been a pleasure to meet their parents too.
Our Finding Our Voices activities have also helped the whole Junior School get to know RB, celebrating the unique individuals who make up the class ❤️
Hand-me-downs, please! 🙏
Hand-me-downs, please! 🙏
If your daughter has recently grown out of a balance bike, please would you consider donating it to our Nursery and Pre School garden?
These bikes help young children to naturally master two-wheeled balance, steering and coordination before transitioning directly to a pedal cycle without the need for stabilisers. Because there are no pedals or training wheels, riders learn to centre themselves on two wheels from the very start. Balance bikes also help to build core and leg strength, promoting confidence and independence with minimal adult intervention.
Please email me e.duce@not.gdst.net if you think you can help - donated bikes don't need to be in perfect condition, as we can ask our Design Technology colleagues for help with repairs and occasional servicing!
Recognition matters
Recognition matters
Mrs Fowler
I always look forward to hosting our weekly Celebration Assemblies, in which teachers shine a spotlight on girls who have recently demonstrated values from our our NGHS Juniors RECIPE for Success.
In the last ten days, we have applauded fabulous examples of resilience and creativity from Reception to Year 6. Last week, I was especially thrilled to nominate Iffah (5C) for an entry our Book of Excellence. As you can see from her recent work in English lessons, she has responded positively to Mr Cox's demonstrations and constructive feedback, which has resulted in accelerated progress in cursive handwriting. Great work, Iffah!
Before
After
"In Year 5, we work hard to develop girls' confidence in writing precise explanations which - especially in science and geography - often need to be supported by accurate and clearly labelled diagrams.
Well done also to Marni, whose write-up of this week's science experiment (demonstrated by a classmate, above) exceeeded my high expectations!"
Mr Cox
I have also enjoyed celebrating recent achievements in Year 4, where girls are now well into their Autumn Term topic of Life and death in ancient Egypt. It is always encouraging to collaborative activities in the classroom - it's one of the hallmarks of our girls-first approach to teaching and learning - so showcasing the work of Charis, Preetam and Tali in assembly was a real pleasure!
'Picture from memory' is a very challenging thinking skills activity. Working in teams, one girl carefully studied and memorised features on a map of ancient Egypt before describing them to partners - who then had to draw the map from any instructions provided.
What a fabulous way to develop teamwork, listening and processing skills, whilst thinking carefully about how to relay information precisely!
It was wonderful to see girls supporting one another, using accurate geographical vocabulary, and building confidence in their oracy and comprehension.
Mrs Crawshaw
Finding her Voice
Finding her Voice
Mrs Fowler
Finding her Voice shines a spotlight on the achievements of our girls beyond the classroom - moments where they’ve taken the skills, values and confidence nurtured at school and applied them in exciting, real-world ways, and then shared those high points with their classmates.
Whether it’s mastering a new hobby, showing leadership in their community or demonstrating resilience in a personal challenge, Finding her Voice is about celebrating how our pupils are growing into strong, capable young women. Each story reminds us that learning doesn’t stop at the playground gate - it continues wherever our girls choose to make their mark.
This week, we celebrate the swimming achievements of Holly from Year 5:
In at the deep end
From Holly's parents:
"Holly started swimming at nine months old, and can clearly recall 'monkey crawling' along the wall in her Puddle Ducks lessons. She then moved up to Carlton Forum Swimming Club (CFSC), continuing her weekly lessons - which very quickly changed to twice weekly - and eventually progressing to the swim squad.
At CFSC, official competing starts from the age of nine, and Holly's training commitment is now 3-4 times per week, as well as competitions which can sometimes be on both Saturday and Sunday.
As is normal for all children, Holly can experience pre-event nerves, however she shines and comes to life when she sees her friends at the pool and the races start!"
And a note from Miss Abbott:
"It was a pleasure to see Holly showcasing her swimming trophies and medals with such pride this week. Lots of hard work and determination lie behind these successes!
The Department for Education's statutory guidance is that by the end of Year 6, all children should be able to swim competently, confidently and proficiently over a distance of at least 25 metres - this means without stopping, holding on to the poolside, or placing feet on the pool floor. Girls should also be able to use a range of strokes effectively (e.g. front crawl, backstroke, breaststroke), and perform a safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.
Our Nursery to Year 6 curriculum covers all of these skills - but if your daughter is still not confident in water deeper than her own height as she approaches Years 5 and 6, please consider enrolling her in the extra lessons that are available at many City and County swimming pools. The ability to swim competently is a life skill, is great for fitness, and could one day safe a life."
If you have a recent FINDING HER VOICE story to tell, please email your daughter's form teacher with details and photos which you consent to being shared in class or in this weekly online newsletter.
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