Foundation

Apple

This term in Design and Technology, Apple class has been exploring pop-up books. They have had great fun exploring how different pages work and how they are made.  Students have created their own pages that spring to life with their creations.

  

Cherry

​​Cherry class have been busy practising their catering skills. They have practised rolling, cutting, pouring and grating. All these skills are key when taking part in any catering lessons.

Primary

Pine

Pine Class visited the Milestones Museum in Basingstoke to learn about life in Britain during World War Two. They explored various shops, including a sweet shop where they used replica ration books to purchase a week’s worth of sweets. It was shocking to see how little they were allowed! Students had a great day out and learnt a lot too!

Willow & Oak

Willow and Oak enjoyed a fabulous day at Brooklands Museum, exploring different forms of transport including aeroplanes, buses and even Concorde!!

Elm

This term in English, Elm class have written their own mystery stories. They took inspiration from the story ‘The Curious Case of the Stolen Show’ where a guitar gets stolen from a famous singer! Elm class enjoyed planning out their stories, writing them and then adding some pictures, a front cover and a blurb to make it into a full story! The business admin students then kindly bound the books into readable stories! 

Beech

Beech is learning about electricity.

Beech class has finally completed their Roman Shield project. The children were learning about the Romans last term and that included learning about the Roman army and how much more advanced it was than the others. 

​Secondary

Earth

After a busy academic year for the students in the Earth class, they had the opportunity to unwind and express their creativity through a delightful diamond painting project. Over the course of approximately two weeks, students worked diligently to complete their vibrant, sparkling pictures. This activity not only provided a relaxing and enjoyable break from their academic routines but also enhanced their fine motor skills, concentration, and patience.  

English

From exploring captivating literature to developing creative writing skills, the Heathermount English classroom has been a bustling place to be. Here’s a snapshot of what each class has been working on:

Neptune and Saturn students have been deeply engaged in finishing "The Cursed Child" and exploring the fascinating genre of dystopia. These activities have sparked intriguing discussions about future societies and the nature of power and control. Additionally, Saturn students have begun writing their own podcasts, showcasing their creativity and narrative skills.

Pluto and Jupiter students have embarked on an epic journey through "The Odyssey" and a variety of Greek myths and gods. This exploration has enriched their understanding of ancient literature and mythology, sparking their imaginations and appreciation for classic tales.

Mars students have been diligently practising for Paper 1 and immersing themselves in the powerful play "To Kill a Mockingbird." Through these activities, they have developed their analytical skills and deepened their understanding of important social issues and historical contexts.

Our students have been actively using Sparx Reader, showing remarkable dedication to their reading assignments. We are proud to announce that we ranked 39th out of 670 schools for homework completion. This is a fantastic achievement, and we encourage all students to keep up the great work by continuing their reading over the summer.

Maths 

This term, Neptune and Saturn have been focused on constructions and number sense. They have started to develop skill in using a compass and ruler to create congruent triangles, using the main theorems of SSS, ASA, SAS, AAS and RHS.

Pluto and Jupiter started the term learning about The Data Handling Cycle. This included collecting data, analysing and interpreting the data and finally drawing conclusions about the data. The chicks played a big part of this topic and the students were able to see how weight is used to track the health of chicks and could infer how weight is used to check the health of children.  View photos of the students learning with the chicks in our Chicks and baby partridges news article.

In the final part of the term they focused on developing number sense which included mental strategies, estimation and solving time and calendar problems.

The GCSE Mars group has now completed over half of their GCSE curriculum. This term we spent time focused on working with number; indices, surds, and standard form. We also focused on equations, probability and transformations. While learning about transformations, the students used the large coordinate grid (the Maths shower curtain) to discover how shapes move with reflections, rotations and translations. 

We would suggest the students dip in and out of MyMaths over the summer, when the chance presents itself to maintain the memory links they have to the Maths curriculum.

It is always sad to say goodbye to the Year 11 group. The GCSE Mercury students have worked so hard toward this over the past years and still need to wait for their results. I would like to take the opportunity to wish them all well and success in their chosen future.

Science

Key Stage 3 students have been learning about energy and the Earth and atmosphere. Mars have still been busy completing their BTEC work! 

The Key Stage 3 students enjoyed a project week mid-term where they got to showcase what they had learnt and present it to the class. The students came up with such a lovely array of creative projects which had clearly been completed with a lot of effort. We had a Pokémon show, PowerPoint presentations, posters, and models presented as part of this project. Well done to everyone who participated and presented!

 

Computer Science

This has been another exciting year in Computing. The students have learnt a variety of skills in both Computing and iMedia.

Year 7 have enjoyed learning to develop animations using Adobe Animate, developing code to create colourful drawings using Python and developing programs using an interactive GUI using VB.net.

Year 8 have enjoyed learning to design structured digital artefacts and implementing them in Adobe Photoshop, designing an interactive multi-page website and implementing in Adobe Dreamweaver and developing programs using an interactive GUI using VB.net.

  

History

Students have been learning about Mary I's and how her reign was characterised by severe measures to enforce her religious beliefs, which led to numerous deaths and widespread fear, justifying the nickname "Bloody Mary".

In one task, half of the class argued that Mary does deserve the name Bloody Mary whilst the other half argued that she doesn’t.  Students had a lot of fun during this somehow 'controlled' argument and used this knowledge during their historical trip to Hampton Court Palace.

Geography 

Year 8 students have been learning about the history and impact of immigration to the UK, exploring how different waves of immigrants have contributed to British society and culture. They have studied key events and policies that have shaped immigration, such as the Windrush generation and the introduction of the Immigration Act. Additionally, students have discussed the social, economic, and cultural benefits and challenges that immigration brings to modern Britain.

Drama 

In Drama students have been looking at a script called The Stones. This script is all about how peer pressure and influence can lead us to make bad decisions. They have been exploring and debating consequence and how to recognise and speak out against peer pressure and bad influences. These are some images of the students in their first lesson creating their own tableau's of 'leading up to a bad decision', 'the bad decision' and 'the consequence'.

   

Music

In June Primary students were treated to some music from visitors from the Berkshire Music Trust. 

They entertained the children with lots of songs including songs from Disney films and shows. The children loved listening to the singers amazing voice and many of them joined in and sang along.

PE

Students in Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 have enjoyed a range of sports such as cricket, rounders and athletics. The students have thoroughly enjoyed rounders and developed their skills such as catching, throwing, batting, decision-making, teamwork and communication. We have been thoroughly impressed with their understanding of the game and how to use a range of tactics effectively. The highlight of the summer term was the staff vs students rounders match which saw (never in doubt) the staff win comfortably. The students will get a chance to redeem themselves next year and I’m sure it will be closer next time (at least the students think it will be). 

Students have been preparing to showcase their skills at the Heathermount Olympics and have been practising their Javelin, Shot Put, Sprinting, Hurdles and the Relay. They have displayed an excellent attitude towards improving their results and having some healthy competition to be the best in the class. 

The Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 students this term have been developing their racquet/bat skills within cricket, tennis and rounders. Some students have found this difficult but their resilience, as always, has been amazing throughout. We have also been doing a number of different invasion games to help the students with their understanding in different activities and developing their turn taking and listening skills. Some students have also displayed some excellent work in their critical thinking and are showing a good understanding of gameplay in different games.  

With the exams taking place over much of May and June, finding a suitable time to get some sporting fixtures in with other schools was a challenge. However, we managed to squeeze in a friendly with our local rivals Fernways. We fielded both our A and B team with a debut for Joshua who settled in really well, and was voted as a deserved player of the day by his peers. In terms of results the A team had 2 draws and a loss, whereas the B team did slightly better with 2 draws and a win. Both schools displayed excellent sportsmanship and we look forward to more fixtures in the new year. 

We also have 3 students who have completed their sports course this year and shown a real passion for the course. In June the students were doing their last assessment which required them to plan and deliver their own lesson to another class. This was a huge ask for our students and I was blown away by their enthusiasm and commitment to their work. They have been helping throughout the year in primary sessions and I have seen real progress in their all round confidence, communication and teamwork. So I would like to give a big shout out to Saarim, Oliver W and Oliver G.

PSHE

As one of our enrichment activities for the academic year, students in Pine, Elm and Beech class went on a trip to The Courtyard Cafe in Sunninghill. As part of the PSHE curriculum they have been working on travel training, being part of a wider community and communication skills. In Key Stage 3 they have been working on their speaking and listening skills by doing assemblies and presentations to their peers, to be able to receive constructive feedback, and to work on the confidence with public speaking. Key Stage 4 have been concentrating on careers this term and have been out on work experience and doing volunteer work for a local charity.

Business Admin

The students from Mercury class have worked really hard this year and at the end of term staff celebrated their success with them over a slice of cake and a drink.  Read about the Enterprise Reward Trip in our web article.

Catering

Students have been hard at work in catering.  Read about the healthier cakes they baked in our web article.

Construction

The construction students have been busy working on their plumbing assessments, the task was to install the plumbing for a kitchen sink for a customer.  They used specialist equipment like pipe cutters and pipe benders.  In September there is a chance of pipe welding coming up! The students have also begun completing their assessment paperwork, they are all dedicated and working very hard to gain the highest level possible!

Horticulture & Forest School

In Horticulture, students have been caring for the plants that are growing, this included, lots of watering, tying them up to support their growth, feeding them, and harvesting them when they are ready.

In Forest school, students have tried a variety of vegetables that have been ready to harvest, watering the plants and observing how they are growing.  Students also looked into lifecycles, studying the lifecycle of a dragonfly and the life cycle of a tomato plant.