Friday 20 June 2025

Headmistress' Introduction

Dear Parents and Carers

I hope this letter finds you well.

On Monday, some of our Year 9 students started a Sleep Research Project run by Royal Holloway, University of London, more details below.  

On Tuesday, we held the Summer Art Exhibition, thank you to all who made this possible, students, parents and carers, and particularly Mrs Hartwell, Mrs Gayler and Mrs Taylor.  

On Thursday, Year 12 students started their Summer Assessments; we wish them the best of luck.  

Public exams finish next Tuesday and we wish all our Year 11 and Year 13 students, and their families, a super relaxing summer following all their hard work.  

On Wednesday next week, our Year 11 students will be attending their Prom.  We wish them the most wonderful evening and look forward to seeing the photographs!

AHS - AGS Year 11 Prom - Urgent help needed!

The countdown is on for one of the most anticipated events of the school year — the AHS & AGS Year 11 Prom!  Our students have worked incredibly hard, and now it’s time to give them a night to remember. But we can’t do it without you.

AHSA - PTA is looking for parent volunteers to help on Wednesday 25th June from 4pm to 8pm at the Aylesbury Rugby Club, Weston Turville.

Volunteering at the Year 11 Prom is more than just lending a hand—it’s a chance to be part of something special.  You’ll play a role in creating a memorable evening for more than 250 students. It’s also a great opportunity to meet other parents in a relaxed and social setting.

Please message: 07714412045 or email: ahsa@ahs.bucks.sch.uk if you are able to help.  Thank you very much.

Bronze DofE Expedition 14-15 Jun 2025

Last weekend, 77 students took part in the second Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Expedition.  We had beautiful weather and the students really enjoyed themselves.  Each day they spent 6 hours completing the route they had planned during their training weekend, and thinking about the project goal they had set themselves.  Ellesborough Guide Camp provided the perfect private campsite for the groups to relax in the evening, having set up their tents and cooked their evening meal.  They were all up bright and early keen to complete their Expedition on Sunday.

Well done everyone!

Mrs Hamilton
External Visits Coordinator and Duke of Edinburgh Manager 

Art & Design  

On Tuesday we celebrated our wonderfully talented students at the Summer Exhibition. This was an opportunity to see the art work from GCSE and A Level looking at art and textiles. The students have worked so hard over the duration of the course and it was a lovely evening to see this work on display. It was great to see students from different year groups and talk to parents and our wider community about the work and ideas behind pieces. It was a lovely turn out and there was a real buzz in the air. Thank you to all who came especially in this wonderful weather we have been having. We hope to exhibit a collection of the work in the new term at the Queens Park Art Centre so please do watch out for further updates in the next academic year. 

Mrs Hartwell and Mrs Taylor

KS3 Reading Trial

You may remember that before 1/2 term we did a 3 week reading trial with Years 7-9 where we introduced 5 minutes of reading at the start of lessons. It was super to see so much reading happening across the School and it has been fantastic to see so many students reading more around the school site, e.g. during break times. We've had some feedback from staff and students and are looking at how we want to approach reading next year. In the meantime, it is up to teachers whether there will be allocated reading time during their lessons.  Form time reading will still continue, and students may also be invited to read for the occasional cover lesson or, for example, if they finish an assessment early and are waiting for the class to complete it. A reading book will continue to be a required piece of equipment, so students should make sure they always have a book in their bag ready. If they have finished their allocated book for this term, they should return it and select another from the library.

Summer Reading List

As the summer holidays approach, if you are looking at ways to encourage your daughter to read more at home, check out this summer reading list from Common Sense Media.

https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/summer-reading-list

Sleep Project

This Monday, thirty of our Year 9 students began a 5-week research project piloting the use of a new app aimed at improving adolescent sleep and device use, with the goal of boosting memory, attention and mood in the classroom.  The project, run by Royal Holloway, University of London, in collaboration with the University of York, builds upon existing research which suggests that sleep duration drops by almost an hour between Year 7 and Year 9, leading to negative impacts on memory retention. Students participating in the project are nudged to complete daily diary entries on sleep and screen time with cash incentives and prize draws, but we hope that they will also be motivated to know that they are the first students in the country to participate in this project and that their feedback really matters!   

Mrs Jayatillake
Head of Psychology

The Orwell Youth Prize Writing Competition

Each year, our Year 10 students participate in the Orwell Youth Prize writing competition as part of their English lessons.  Their participation in the prize allows them to develop their transactional writing and journalistic skills while exploring issues that are important to them. This year, the theme was 'Freedom is...'

Amongst over 1000 entries from young people across the UK (a record-breaking number of submissions for the Prize!), four of our students have been shortlisted and their pieces are now up for final judging by writers Anthony Anaxagorou and Manveen Rana, and Oxford Lecturer in English Education, Gary Snapper. 

Congratulations to Vivienne L, Alys W, Bea G and Ziyana K for this massive accomplishment! 

They have been invited to the Orwell Prize ceremony in London on 25 June, where the winners and runners-up will be announced.  We wish them all the best of luck!

Miss Hussey

Teacher of English

Vacancy

Afternoon Cleaner  - Closing date:  30 June at 0900

Wishing all well for a very happy weekend.  As ever, thanks for your much appreciated support for our School.

Marieke Forster