9 October 2026
9 October 2026
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Open Mic Breakfast - Friday 16 October from 7.50am in the Dining Hall - all welcome!
Click on the GALLERY below to see highlights from previous years:
The big walk! 👟👟
The big walk! 👟👟
It's time to dust off those walking boots or trainers, ready for our annual whole school sponsored walk in aid of Children in Need on Friday 13 November!
In this year's BBC Countryfile Ramble, we will return to the waterways of our great city. Nottingham Express Transit (NET) will provide free tram travel for over 100 pupils and staff - demonstrating that it's possible to go for a good walk locally without the need for a car or crossing lots of roads - and Binks Yard will be the host venue for our lunch break.
For Years 3-6, the first leg of our 2026 walk will start at the Gregory Street tram stop, following the Nottingham Canal to Binks Yard in the Island Quarter. Their return leg will continue on the canal towpath to Meadow Lane Lock, then along the River Trent's Victoria Embankment to the City War Memorial and a tram ride back to school from Meadows Embankment.
The whole walk is on flat footpaths, with just two small road crossings at the start and finish. Depending on year group, pupils will walk up to five miles - with girls from Reception to Year 2 joining the ramble from the Nottingham Station tram stop shortly before Binks Yard.
Sponsorship details will be sent to families shortly - please give generously to support this great British charity and to encourage the girls in their joint endeavour. Thank you.
Year 5 embrace Tudor life
Year 5 embrace Tudor life
Mr Cox, Miss Abbott, Mrs Astill, Mrs Eggington
What a wonderful forst residential study visit of the academic year! Last week, Year 5 spent two busy days in and around Stratford upon Avon as guests of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. Thursday’s itinerary included an action-packed drama workshop centred around A Midsummer Night’s Dream, culminating in a confident performance of a potted version of the play which included lines from the original script. Then came a visit to the Royal Shakespeare Company, taking in an exhibition of costumes and props from the RSC's archive. Finally, the girls enjoyed a walking tour of the town, taking in The Bard of Avon’s family home and school - as well as opportunities to compare authentic Tudor buildings with later replicas.
Friday involved an even deeper dive into the primary historical evidence that can inform our learning about past lives. Hands-on workshops at Mary Arden’s Farm - the childhood home of Shakespeare's mother - involved making wattle and daub screens, quill writing, exploring Tudor interiors, meeting farm animals common in the Elizabethan era, making rosemary bags, learning about butter making, creating a painted wall hanging and taking part in a group dance.
Congratulations, 5C - you worked incredibly hard over two days, and you really did yourselves proud!
Click on the Instagram post for highlights 👉
A message from Mrs Crawshaw🎄
A message from Mrs Crawshaw🎄
Calling all aspiring artists! The GDST Junior Christmas Card Competition for 2026 is now open to entries.
This year, we would like girls to submit an A4 piece of artwork with a festive theme, using paint, pastels, felt tip, pencil or collage. Entries should be given to form teachers by 9am on Friday 6 November, with name and class written clearly on the reverse.
Two entries (from Nursery to Year 2, and from Years 3-6) will be chosen for the GDST shortlist, with Chief Executive Cheryl Giovannoni then selecting the overall winner who will receive a £50 gift voucher and honour of her design being featured on the GDST website and in digital communications.
Good luck, everybody - and remember, you have to be in it to win it!
Above - in 2021, Emily D (now in 5C) was the overall winner, with her wonderful painting of a snowman. Fingers crossed for this year, NGHS Juniors ...
A day of discovery 🔎
A day of discovery 🔎
Mrs Wood, Miss Myers, Mrs Crabtree, Mrs Crawshaw, Mrs Astill
This week, girls from Years 3 and 4 visited the University of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum, Pitt Rivers Museum and Museum of Natural History.
For Year 3, this was an opportunity to explore the Ashmolean's impressive art collection to support their Incredible India topic. Having compared the styles and materials to be found in exhibits from different eras, the girls then participated in an artefact handling workshop at the nearby Pitt Rivers Museum - this included using their senses to work out the purposes of mystery objects! The final highlight of the day involved a Javanese puppet experience, based on the Diwali story of Rama and Sita.
Year 4's current topic is Life and death in ancient Egypt, so this was a chance to see and handle artefacts from up to 5,000 years ago. Mummified cats, birds of prey and crocodiles drew gasps of wonder, as did the bandaged contents of cedar coffins which had been painted thousands of years ago - bringing to life what the girls are learning in class. 4JC and 4SC were especially captivated by articles from everyday life and funerary objects, including models of boats and farming scenes which reveal much about ancient Egyptian life beyond palace walls.
The two classes also enjoyed an exciting self-guided afternoon tour of the university's Museum of Natural History where there were opportunities to find out about the skeletons of creatures past and present, capping off a wonderful day of discovery.
Click on the GALLERY below for more highlights of Years 3 and 4 in Oxford:
Harvest Appeal 🌾
Harvest Appeal 🌾
This year's NGHS Juniors Harvest Appeal supports the work of The Meadows Foodbank & Pantry, one of the largest foodbanks in Nottinghamshire which provides three-day emergency parcels for those in genuine need and in receipt of official vouchers from registered partners.
Our annual appeal often presents opportunities in class for girls to discuss the ideas of charitable giving, kindness and empathy with their teachers, and we are always encouraged when we hear that these conversations happen at home too.
Between now and the end of October, we will be grateful for the following non-perishable donations which have been specifically requested by the foodbank:
Biscuits and crackers (nut-free)
Crisps (nut-free)
Preserves (e.g. jam, marmalade, honey)
Powdered drinks (e.g. hot chocolate, cup soup)
Granulated white sugar
Instant coffee
Washing-up liquid
Please give generously - thank you
What's the story? 🦁
What's the story? 🦁
Mrs Bailey, Mr Cox, Miss Abbott
On Wednesday, girls from Year 6 rose to the challenge of two fast-paced workshops at The Story Museum in Oxford, using role play and illustration to explore settings, sequencing and situations. There was also an opportunity to see the real-life locations that are thought to have inspired C.S. Lewis when he wrote the Chronicles of Narnia.
This study visit - which supports the girls' Autumn Term study of The Magician's Nephew (the prequel to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) - included a tour of the museum's immersive galleries, all with the aim of providing inspiration for future reading and writing. This was an enjoyable and purposeful day of activities, and we were very impressed with the creativity, confidence and curiosity displayed!
Left: See our Instagram feed for highlights 😀
Below: Applying what they learnt about authors finding inspiration in everyday life and routine situations, the girls explored the lane along which CS Lewis walked en route to church on Sundays ...
A faun above a porch - inspiration for the Narnia's Mr Tumnus?
A traditional gas lantern - a curious object to find in a Narnian forest!
A lion's face carved on a front door - is it Aslan, the creator of Narnia?
Sports report🏃🏾♀️🏃🏼♀️
Sports report🏃🏾♀️🏃🏼♀️
Miss Abbott
Our second pentathlon of the term took place with Years 3 and 4 competing to set their base line standards and do their best for their Houses. As newcomers, Year 3 took the event in their stride and worked well with Kaia, Mia and Ophelia filling the top three places. Gracie, Anya and Neve took the honours in Year 4.
Across the board, individual scores were very high so we will have to see how much girls can improve when we repeat the event in the summer! On the team front, it was an emphatic win for BOLTON, beating Hastings by 48 points. Can the Houses better their scores next year? We will have to wait and see!
Our first competitive fixture of the season saw teams from Years 4, 5 and 6 playing hockey against our near neighbours.
Despite every match presenting a very steep learning curve, NGHS Juniors played hard and demonstrated plenty of RESILIENCE. And although I witnessed real improvements as the games progressed, alas this was not enough on the day and we succumbed to defeat. Next time, girls!
In other news, huge congratulations go to our athletics pentathlon team who were runners up in their City heat at Harvey Hadden Sports Village this week; this was an event in which they competed against both boys and girls, so their result is especially good.
This was an excellent showcase of collaboration, determination and team spirit, and we can now look forward to the finals in December! 🤞🏻
*** GOOD LUCK! ***
This coming weekend, our Y5-Y6 cross country team will compete in the first Saturday league race of the year at Berry Hill Park.
Pupils in Years 3 to 5 have been set a cardiovascular challenge for the month of October, with the aim of completing five daily exercises and then shading the corresponding segment on the Cardio Challenge sheet provided. I hope to see lots of colourful mountains returned to school in November, as a visual guide to the amount of exercise completed - or not!
These 'habit trackers' come in a variety of forms. Habits don't always have to be physical, and they are a great visual way of tracking progress towards any goal. You can also download trackers for a whole year!
Please encourage your daughter to use her tracker right through the Half Term break, and perhaps consider joining her in the challenge?
A grand day out 🚌🚂
A grand day out 🚌🚂
Miss Duce
What a wonderful end to Nursery and Pre School's transport topic! Our youngest pupils thoroughly enjoyed their recent visit to the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre, where they saw a train and lots of buses.
Every girl had a chance to sit in the driver's seat, enjoying the idea of travelling to all sorts of interesting places - including a zoo! Venturing upstairs on a double decker bus was especially exciting, and it was also interesting to see what buses looked like in the past.
This lovely sunny outing was capped off with a picnic lunch and fun in the play park - what fun!
Musical scores 🎷
Musical scores 🎷
Mr Rolfe
On Wednesday, talented musicians from Years 5-6 took to the stage for our annual Windblowers Cup House Music Competition. For many girls, this was a significant milestone which gave them an opportunity to experience the thrill of delivering a solo performance, showcasing both instrumental and vocal skills.
Our guest adjudicators - Mrs Emily Lawson and Mr Nick Millburn - were impressed by the outstanding standard of music making and the meticulous care taken over every note. In their comments, they offered valuable advice to entrants, reminding them not to dwell on minor slips and emphasising the importance of thorough preparation and practice.
After much deliberation, Mrs Lawson and Mr Millburn have selected the performers who will now go through to the grand final showcase of EXCELLENCE in the SquirePAC on Wednesday 4th November at 5:30pm. We join them in congratulating every pupil who has demonstrated POSITIVITY, RESILIENCE and CREATIVITY thus far!
HOUSE POINT TALLY AFTER ROUND ONE
Luxton 35
Skeel 45
Bolton 50
Hastings 60
2026 FINALISTS
Chloe Sheppard 6B
Luxton
Most promising Year 6
Etta Bennett 6K
Skeel
Voice
Emily Dewar 5C
Bolton
Drums
Imogen Robertson 6B
Hastings
Guitar
Isabelle Stockham-Hirst 5C
Bolton
Wind, brass and strings
Penelope Froch 6K
Luxton
Voice
Rosie Green 6B
Bolton
Drums
Lannae Attenborough 6K
Hastings
Piano
Marni Mahal 5C
Hastings
Wind, brass and strings
Erin Henshaw 5C
Hastings
Most promising Year 5
Jasmine Smith 6B
Hastings
Guitar
Florence Best 6B
Skeel
Piano
2026 RUNNERS UP
Tilly 5C * Neve 6K * Chloe 6K * Millie 6B * Saffron 5C * Sophie 6B * Hattie 6K * Isla 5C
Annabelle 6K * Orissa 6B * Helia 5C * Hamna 6B * Kiara 5C * Eva 6K
GDST Maths Conference 🧠
GDST Maths Conference 🧠
Mr Elkington
Six intrepid mathematicians recently presented NGHS Juniors at the 2026 GDST Junior Maths Conference, hosted by the University of Oxford's Mathematical Institute.
This year's programme for Year 6 included a Mathematical Magic interactive activity, followed by a paper folding and problem solving workshop led by keynote speaker and inspirational mathematician, Zoe Griffiths.
Well done to Chloe S, Flo, Daphne, Yilin, Sophie and Hattie B who were selected for this challenge and who were fabulous ambassadors for our school. 👍🏼
A world of trees on our doorstep 🌳
A world of trees on our doorstep 🌳
Mr Elkington
As part of their geography topic, Year 6 recently enjoyed a hands-on outdoor learning experience at Nottingham’s Arboretum - this was our city’s first public park, opened in 1852. Originally designed as a botanical collection and a peaceful retreat, the Arboretum is now home to over 800 trees across 65 species, making it a perfect setting for outdoor learning.
During this visit, 6B and 6S used maps to locate and identify nearly thirty different trees. Back in the classroom, they will now research each species and plot its origin on a world map, linking local fieldwork to global geography.
This was a fantastic morning of discovery, creativity and connection with nature - all whilst deepening our Year 6s' understanding and appreciation of the natural and built environments that surround them.
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