School News and Head's Blog
Posted on: 4/07/2025Weekly News - Friday 4th July 2025
Summer Arts Evening
Thank you to all of the families who joined us for the St. Helen's College Summer Arts Evening at the Winston Churchill Theatre on Tuesday evening. It was a magical evening of creative expression and a glimpse of just some of the stunning work the children achieve here at SHC.
The art exhibition featured pieces from every single prep school child in Years 2 - 6, and displayed the enormous variety of techniques and materials the children are lucky to explore in their lessons.
Following the exhibition we were treated to an evening concert where the children took centre stage to perform solo, choral and instrumental musical pieces, poetry recitations, LAMDA pieces, group ensembles and more. The children gave outstanding performances, and should feel extremely proud for working so hard at their artistic endeavours.
House TED Talk Competition
This term the children in Years 2 - 6 have participated in a TED Talk Competition to win precious points for their Houses. The children were tasked with entering an approximately two minute long TED-style talk about an area of interest to them, in order to inspire their audience.
There was a wide variety of entries and it has been extremely interesting to hear the pupils present their TED talks in House assemblies over the past few weeks. One finalist was chosen from each House in the categories of Middle School (Years 2/3) and Upper School (Years 4/5/6), and the finals were held on Thursday this week. Every pupil listening then took part in a blind vote to choose the winner!
The Upper School finalists were:
Gurdaya J (5R) - Hibernia
Mahi B (5R) - Caledonia
Rayhan R (5G) - Windsor
Rania Q (5R) - Cambria
The Middle School finalists were:
Hadi Q (2C) - Windsor
Shivansh P (2S) - Hibernia
Nikita M (3B) - Caledonia
Pavleen J (2C) - Cambria
The overall winner for Years 4-6 was Rayhan, with an exceptionally well-prepared and well-delivered talk about Egypt, and the overall winner for Years 2-3 was Pavleen, who delivered an interesting and inspiring talk about 'The Word Why' with style and confidence. Very well done to everyone who entered this super competition and especially to the finalists and winners.
Ducklings Sports Day
On Thursday afternoon our very youngest pupils at Ducklings participated in their first St. Helen's College Sports Day which took place in the grounds on site. The children participated in a variety of fun sporting activities including sprints on the lawn and an obstacle course to challenge their agility and coordination. The children were delighted to win rosettes and medals for their efforts! Thank you to all of the parents for joining us, it was a lovely afternoon.
Y1 Visit to Mad Bess Woods
Year 1 enjoyed a marvellous visit to Mad Bess Woods in Ruislip on Wednesday, where they were hosted by Mrs. Hunt and had a chance to visit the gardens of her house! They had a wonderful time exploring the beautiful surroundings there and were excited to find all sorts of minibeasts in the woodlands, including spiders with egg sacks. They were also treated to an ice cream from a visiting ice cream van and Mrs. Hunt even got to ride in the ice cream van!
Reception Trip to Whipsnade
On Thursday, our Kingfishers and Owls Reception classes enjoyed a fun outing to Whipsnade Zoo. The day began with a fascinating workshop all about African and Asian animals, where the children were especially impressed to see the skull of a lion! They had a terrific time exploring the zoo and were lucky enough to see several very young animals, including a ten day old baby giraffe, a baby elephant, baby rhino and meerkats. The day was rounded off with a fun train ride around the park. The children thoroughly enjoyed the trip and it was a fantastic learning opportunity to support their classroom topic work.
Year 6 Bikeability
Well done to Year 6 who have this week completed their Bikeability training. Bikeability is the government’s national cycle training programme which helps children to learn practical skills and understand how to cycle safely on today’s busy roads. Throughout the week they have mastered the basics of bike control and safety at Level 1 and have gained further competence at Level 2, riding out on the roads surrounding school. The children have gained the skills and confidence to negotiate parked cars, other road users, roundabouts, junctions and crossroads. We hope to see Year 6 putting their new skills into action from now on!
Basketball Success
In their very first basketball match, St. Helen's College delivered a stunning performance, overpowering Ryefield Primary School with a commanding 36–8 victory. The team played with confidence and cohesion, setting the pace with sharp ball movement and relentless defence. Their ability to control the game at both ends of the court left Ryefield struggling to find rhythm or scoring opportunities. By half time, the lead was already substantial, and St. Helen’s College continued to dominate in the second half, showcasing impressive depth and discipline for a debut outing. Huge congratulations to the team!
Wimbledon Tennis Visit (selected Year 5/6 pupils)
On Tuesday a group of children visited the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and enjoyed a super day discovering the club and watching exciting games on Court 2 and the outer courts. This was a lovely opportunity for some of our sporting pupils to visit an iconic sports venue and watch inspiring sports players in action!
London Fire Brigade Visit Reception
Today the Reception children had a thrilling visit from the London Fire Brigade to support their topic work all about people who help us. They listened intently to a short talk from firefighters who explained the important work that they do. Afterwards the children had the opportunity to explore the fire engine outdoors! They had a fascinating tour of the vehicle and asked lots of interesting questions.
Music Lessons
Individual music lessons are offered at school taught by our team of specialist music teachers, many of whom work professionally in the music industry. From Reception, children can learn the violin or the cello, and from Year 2 children can learn a wider variety of instruments including flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, violin, cello, piano, singing and guitar (NB: guitar can be learnt from Year 3).
There are currently spaces available to begin next term for the following instruments: trumpet, trombone, flute and cello. The waiting list is open for all other instruments and allocations for September will be made shortly. To request lessons or to be added to a waiting list please complete this Google form and Mrs. Fawbert will be in contact if a space becomes available. For any queries please email: cfawbert@sthelenscollege.com.
Parents' Evening
Thank you to all of the parents who attended the Ducklings and Nursery Parents' Evening on Tuesday. We very much value an open dialogue with families to review your child's progress and we hope you found the meetings useful.
Library Summer Reading Challenge
A magical Story Garden was unveiled as the theme of the 2025 Summer Reading Challenge! Rebecca Knight from Oak Farm Library visited SHC for a special assembly to invite all pupils to take part in the challenge to collect magical stickers and earn a medal and certificate. Children will need to visit the library four times over the summer, you can find out more information about the challenge here. To discover libraries in the Hillingdon area (all of which local residents are able to use) click here. Enjoy and good luck everyone!
Next Week
Monday 7th July - Y1-5 Move Up Morning
Monday 7th July - New Y1 and New Y2 Parent Meetings
Tuesday 8th July - N/R Move Up Morning
Tuesday 8th July - Y6 Coffee Morning & Project Exhibition
Tuesday 8th July - Tennis Competition Y3/4 Final
Tuesday 8th July - Parents' Evening Ducklings and Nursery
Tuesday 8th July - Y6 Prizegiving
Thursday 10th July - Y6 Final Assembly
Thursday 10th July - End of Term 11.50 (Ducklings & N); 12.00 (R); 12.10 (Y1,2); 12.20 (Y3, 4); 12.30 (Y5, 6)
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