Dear Parents, Carers, Staff & Students

Welcome back to Autumn 2!  This is a hugely busy term, both academically and in facilitating the dynamic personal development of our students. 

Some key dates for your diaries: 

House Dance - Tuesday 7th November, Wednesday 8th November, Thursday 9th November - 7.30-9.00 pm.  Tickets are available for Tuesday & Wednesday via ParentMail but Thursday night has already sold out.

Diwali Celebration - Non-Uniform Day - Monday 13 November 

Sixth Form Open Evening - Wednesday 22 November 5.00 - 7.30 pm  

Sixth Form Open Morning  - Tuesday 28 November 9.00 - 10.15am 

Christmas Concert - Tuesday 5 December 7.30 - 9.30 pm - Tickets will be available shortly via ParentMail.

Carol Service with AGS at St Mary's Church in Aylesbury - Thursday 14 December 7.00 - 9.00 pm - All are very welcome

This week...

We welcomed back our Year 13 language students and staff from trips to Madrid (photo above) and Berlin.   Year 7 saw The Lion King in London and, despite an atrocious journey, had a great time!  Huge thanks to all our staff and students involved with these trips and to our parents/carers for their support also.

Our sports fixtures suffered from the appalling weather this week and have been cancelled/ postponed to another time.

Geography at AHS

We are continuing our interviews with Heads of Department to help parents get a flavour of our different subject areas.  Today the focus is on Geography and we have a catch up with Rachel Carbonaro, the Head of Geography.  Please also take this opportunity to look at the subject content summary for Geography which can be found on our website.

Can you give us an overview of the Geography curriculum at AHS?

Key stage 3 Geography starts with a skills based topic, looking at all the different continents of the world. We then move through a mixture of Human and Physical topics, such as Weather, Development, Ecosystems and Globalisation. This gives all students a strong geographical foundation upon which to study GCSE and A Level Geography, if they choose to. For GCSE and A Level Geography, we follow the AQA exam specifications, studying topics such as Hazards, Coasts, Urban Areas and Resource Management at GCSE and Water & Carbon and Population and the Environment at A Level. 

Why do you think this curriculum suits students at AHS?

Our curriculum at Key Stage 3,4 and 5 aims to stretch and challenge our students, giving them a strong geographical understanding of the world they live in to help them understand the physical and human processes that are occurring now and in the future. 

What are the recent developments in your curriculum and how have you decided on any changes you have made?

Recent changes in our curriculum have been where we teach different topics throughout key stage 3. We are currently in the process of changing the order that we teach topics, to make sure there is a balance between human and physical geography in years 7, 8 and 9 and that we are always building on the foundations laid in previous topics. We often change the case studies that we are teaching to be up to date with what is happening in the world.

How are students assessed in Geography?

At Key Stage 3, students are assessed through a range of tasks including written tasks, skills tests, presentations and google quizzes. In Key Stage 4 and 5, students are assessed often using past paper exam questions and exam style questions. These will be sat in the time that would be allocated in the exam to practise exam timings.

How does the Geography curriculum prepare our students for life beyond AHS?

Geography students develop a broad understanding of the world that they live in, allowing them to understand key processes that take place in our natural environment and human world, preparing them for both work and travel in the future. Geography also develops a large range of transferable skills, from reading different graphs and maps, working with statistics to reading a range of texts and weighing up positives and negatives to come to a conclusion.

What are the features of the Geography curriculum that you are most proud of?

Everything! We love that there is a balance between human and physical geography that looks at places all over the world.

How can parents help their daughter with Geography work?

There are a range of Geographical books and TV programmes that students can read and watch to develop their understanding of our world. Discussing the news to be up to date with what is going on in our world and how that links to what they have studied in Geography.

What co-curricular opportunities does the Geography department offer?

The Geography department runs a Geography club open to all students once a week at lunchtime. Geography club involves a range of activities from quizzes to making Geographical landforms out of play doh.  

What are you reading at the moment?

The Power of Geography by Tim Marshall. 

What do our students say about studying Geography at AHS?

Please see the video below.  Apologies for the sound quality & level which caused us issues so we have added subtitles.

Good luck Alice!

Alice in 12H will be travelling to Australia on Monday to represent Great Britain in the Pony Club Mounted Games International Exchange. The team is made up of 2 English, 1 Welsh, 1 Irish and 1 Scottish team member, so Alice has done incredibly well to be selected.  Well done Alice!

Buckinghamshire School Food Partnership

Our school is taking part in the Buckinghamshire School Food Partnership, because we want every student to have access to nutritious, appealing and affordable food at school.  

We'll be consulting the entire school community on how to make sure all people at our school have access to nutritious, appealing and affordable food options - we'll be speaking to staff, SLT, governors, the kitchen team and students. 

This survey aims to gather parents' and carers' views on food and drinks in school, so please be honest and provide as much information as you can!

AHS Parent BSFP Survey

Admissions Policy 2025 - Consultation Period

Dear Parents/Carers

We are required to consult on our Admissions Policy for entry into AHS in September 2025.  Please click on this link to read our Admissions Policy.  If you do have any queries or comments, please email my PA, Mrs Hilary Osgerby, at secretary@ahs.bucks.sch.uk

Wishing all well for a lovely weekend, stay safe in the wind and rain.

With thanks again for all support,

Marieke Forster