Where Learning is Fun!

Within the curriculum, teachers at Highsted recognise the need for young people to enjoy their lessons in order to develop a life-long love for learning. This page seeks to capture and share curriculum-based activities with a special twist.

Year 7 English Reading Aloud Competition

On Tuesday 4 February, three Year 7 students took part in the final of the English Reading Aloud Competition. The Year 7 competition required students to learn and practise a poem of choice, to coincide with their study of war poetry. A great variety of poems were performed, with the final choices being The Broken Chain, Sonnet 18 and the sorting hat poem from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Congratulations to the two runners up: Maisie S and Amelia A and to our winner, Olivia H. All three students read confidently in front of a very large audience. Well done!

Red Ribbons & Tiny Penguins win festive cake competition

Year 9 students have been working to create Christmas cakes this term as part of their Food & Nutrition course. All students were challenged to design, decorate and make a Christmas cake. This involved creating a rich fruit cake, making marzipan and creating hand-made decorations to finish it off.

As part of this project students had to study preparation, storing and cooking techniques, and on Friday 13 December, the cakes were entered into the annual Festive Cake Competition. This year’s joint winners were: Holly T (K3) for her cake decorated with holly and a bright red ribbon; and Isobel B (R2) for her cute penguin cake. Joint second place was awarded to: Beau G (S2) and Hannah T (F5).

The students have shown tremendous enthusiasm and produced some creative, imaginative and skilful designs, well done to all those involved.

Students Read Aloud: Years 7 & 8 Reading Competition

Students in Years 7 and 8 have competed in a new House Reading Aloud competition. The competition was matched to the Highsted English syllabus, with Year 7 students choosing a poem to prepare and Year 8 students selecting an extract from a classic text. The Year 7 finalists included Maisie S: The Broken Chain, Amelia A: Sonnet 18, Kaya T: Homework, I Love You and Olivia H, who read the sorting hat poem from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. The Year 8 finalists were: Madison S, Sean C and Alycea W, and they read extracts from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Lord of the Flies and A Christmas Carol. Congratulations to Alycea, winner of the Year 8 competition, and good luck to Year 7, who will be competing shortly.

The Great European Bake Off

Highsted students recently celebrated the European Day of Languages by taking part in a European cake baking competition. There were two categories: A Taste of Europe, where students were asked to bake a traditional recipe; and Look at Me, judged for decoration. In the Taste of Europe category, Lucy S won first prize with her German black forest gateau; Jess S came second with her German marzipan nuss torte and Anastasija M achieved third place with her Latvian cake. In Look at Me, Millie R and Kai B joined forces to win first place with their Belgian chocolate cake complete with a hot air balloon, Ella J and Olivia T teamed up to gain second place with their ‘World in Union’ cake; and trio Esther M, Maddie M and Imogen T were third with their French decorated cake including the national flag and traditional greeting ‘Bonjour.’

The cakes were showcased at Open Evening (and eaten!) by lucky visitors and parents. All the students involved did a fantastic job researching, creating and designing their culinary masterpieces and should be proud of their efforts. Well done to all!

Ecology Field Trip 2019

The A-level biologists carried out their required practical at Longbeech North Wood, just to the north of Ashford on Monday 1 July. They arrived by minibus to hot weather and lots of insects. The ecological work began with the collection of data for a Spearman’s Rank correlation, linking tree circumference with tree ring number and hence, tree age. They then went on to investigate how light intensity affected the number of Bluebell seed pods. This was followed by a BBQ lunch, cooked over open fires by Ms Coles and Dr Clapp. A range of food was provided – 18 rabbit tikka skewers, 28 bunny burgers and game burgers – all but two were eaten!

The students all worked extremely hard to complete their work. The trip succeeded in meeting all its objectives and the students thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Highsted’s Healthy Food Showdown

On Friday 7 June, Highsted was visited by the ‘Healthy Food Roadshow’ delivered by Chef Ian Rotherham from the Fun Food Company. The show details the importance of eating a healthy breakfast, what it means to have a balanced diet and how to put together a healthy balanced meal – with a focus on making better food choices. This year 150 Year 7 Highsted students joined together with 161 pupils from local primary schools: Eastling Primary, Milsted & Frinsted, Minterne and Sunnybank to enjoy the show.

The climax of the show was an exhilarating live ‘cook off’ between the chefs – both students and teachers were involved. Two teams Red Chillies and Green Peas used a range of fresh ingredients including vegetables, meat, pulses, herbs and spices to cook the best meal in just 15 minutes. The student audience adopted the roles of food critics, tasters and judges. This is the second time Highsted have taken part in the show and this year one team cooked a traditional meal including meat and vegetables while the other was challenged to go vegan and cook a meal entirely free from animal products.

Team Red Chillies, with Chloe Benham and Sofia Green and led by Mr Puxty, created a fusion of Chinese and Caribbean food with their chicken and vegetable noodle dish. Team Green Peas– led by Eastling Primary School made a spiced vegetable dish with lentils. Both dishes looked delicious and it was a hugely successful and fun event for all involved.

Cosy Christmas Robins wins Christmas cake competition

Year 9 students have been working hard to create Christmas cakes this term as part of their Food & Nutrition course. All students were challenged to design, decorate and make a Christmas cake. This involved creating a rich fruit cake, making marzipan and creating hand-made decorations to finish it off. As part of this project they had to study preparation, storing and cooking techniques, as well as research traditional British cakes for inspiration.

On Thursday 13 December, the cakes were entered into the annual Highsted Festive Cake Competition. This year’s creations were better than ever and showed a wide range of culinary and technical skills.

Winners of this year’s competition were: Amber O (C3) for her Cosy Christmas Robins cake; Ellie H (R5) for her Christmas Pudding cake; and Katie W (C5) for her amazing Hot Chocolate with Magical Floating Marshmallows design.

In addition to this, the 'Special Recognition Award' for outstanding effort throughout the project was given to one student in each teaching group. Special Recognition Awards this year went to: Olivia M (S3) for her Christmas scene themed cake; Charlotte R (C1) for her reindeer cake; Hannah D (K4) for her Nativity cake; Lauren S (C5) for her Christmas dinner cake; and Katie S (K5) for her snowman shaped cake.

Mrs Felmingham said: “Some of the most amazing creations I have ever seen this year - I am so proud!”

Charity Bazaar Raises Over £1100!

On Monday 19 November, Year 8 students staged the annual charity bazaar event in the school hall. Students were challenged to design a suitable stall for the bazaar, plan and prepare their activity and research and contact their chosen charity they would be supporting on the day.

On the day, the Year 8 pupils decorated their stalls to catch the eye of potential customers and then, through a combination of charitable spirit and good business acumen, raised impressive sums to support the work of organisations such as Blue Cross, RSPCA, RNLI, Water Aid, Asthma UK and the Kent Air Ambulance. A total of 26 charities were supported by the students.

Visiting students from Years 7, 9 and the Sixth Form were impressed by the event and came away with many purchases, full of praise. In total, the event raised over £1100 – well done to all involved.

Highsted’s Healthy Eating Week

On Friday 8 June, Highsted celebrated the arrival of Healthy Eating Week with a visit from the ‘Healthy Food Roadshow’ delivered by Chef Ian Rotherham from the Fun Food Company. The show details the importance of eating a healthy breakfast, what it means to have a balanced diet and how to put together a healthy balanced meal – with a focus on making better food choices.

The climax of the show was an exhilarating live ‘cook off’ between the chefs – both students and teachers were involved. Two teams ‘Red Chillis’ and ‘Green Peas’ used a range of fresh ingredients including vegetables, fruits, meats, pulses, herbs and more to cook the best meal in just 15 minutes. The student audience adopted the roles of food critics, tasters and judges. The ‘Red Chillis’ won both rounds of this event with Session 1 winners Miss Arden, Alexandra Herbert and Katie Stinger cooking a chicken stir fry and noodles; and Session 2 winners Mrs Faik, Natalia Faik and Hollie Knight cooking spicy rice and vegetables.

Monday 11 to Friday 15 June is Healthy Eating Week itself and the school will be participating in a range of activities throughout the week – all aimed at promoting healthy food. On Monday representatives from the Royal Marines are visiting the school providing Year 10 students with an opportunity to participate in team challenges involving healthy lifestyle choices. For the rest of the school, Monday’s lunchtime activities will focus on eating a healthy balanced breakfast. During the remainder of the week, each day focuses on a different aspect of health and diet: Tuesday’s aim is to get students to eat more fruit using a communal fruit bowl; Wednesday’s focus is keeping hydrated, so fruit infused water will be made available to students as well as a visit from the ‘waterman’ – a representative from Southern Water – who will be available to answer water questions and quiz students to see whether they are a ‘water hero’; Thursday is ‘Get Active’ day and aerobic sessions will be put on at lunchtime for all to join; and finally on Friday, all students and staff are being asked to make a pledge to have a healthy week every week.

Healthy Eating Week is organised by the British Nutrition Foundation and over 4300 schools and nurseries across the UK are taking part this year – meaning over 1.8 million young people are participating. Roy Ballam, Managing Director and Head of Education at the British Nutrition Foundation said, “We’re delighted that Highsted Grammar School is joining in BNF Healthy Eating Week, providing pupils with the opportunity to have fun and learn valuable lessons about food and nutrition. Schools play a vital role in helping to shape pupil health and wellbeing.”

Highsted’s Marvellous Book Day 2018

On Thursday 8 March, Highsted celebrated World Book Day with staff and students celebrating the life and works of Roald Dahl by wearing costumes for the day to raise money for charity.

During the day students participated in a range of Roald Dahl themed activities in lessons including: ‘Describe your own Nightmare Headteacher’ in English – inspired by Miss Trunchbull from ‘Matilda’; ‘Willy Wonka Accused of Sweatshop Practices’, looking at working conditions and workers’ rights in Business Studies; ‘Roald Dahl Designs’ – creating key rings and jewellery in Design & Technology; ‘Dahl Translations’ in French; ‘Calculating Breakfast’ in Maths – inspired by ‘The BFG’; and ‘Socialisation and Functions of the Family’ in Sociology – inspired by ‘Matilda’.

Student costume winners: Alfie the Tortoise; The Giraffe, the Pelly and Me; and Matilda.

At lunchtime, the Year 7 Drama Club (run by Year 12 A-level Drama students – Emily C, McKenzie F and Jess S) performed scenes from the musical of ‘Matilda’ in the school hall to the delight and applause of their peers. There were some incredible dramatic and musical performances, including wonderful duets sung by Evie F, Abbie I and Rachel S.

It was great to see the whole school come together as a community to share in their love of reading and raise money for ‘Readathon’, in partnership with Roald Dahl’s Marvellous Children’s Charity, which raises money to provide mobile libraries and arranges for storytellers, famous authors and artists to visit hospitals; as well as taking books and reading performances to children staying in hospital long term. This year the sponsored read ran from Friday 2 February until Monday 12 March and the school managed to raise an amazing £368.19.

The costumes from both staff and students were fantastic again this year and it was hard to choose winners as all the outfits were so unusual and different. Winners of the costume event were: Millie P – dressed as Alfie the Tortoise from ‘Esio Trot’; Branwyn H and Darija A – dressed as the Giraffe, Pelly the Pelican and Billy from ‘The Giraffe, The Pelly and Me’; and Soraya P – dressed as Matilda from ‘Matilda’. The staff winners were: Miss Bradford as Mrs Fox from ‘Fantastic Mr Fox’ and Mr Hodges as Willy Wonka from ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.

Once again the event was a huge success and the total amount raised was £661.86 for the Readathon charity.

'Walking in the Air' wins Christmas Cake Competition

Year 9 students have been busy creating Christmas cakes this term as part of their Food Technology course. All students were challenged to design a fully coloured and annotated Christmas cake, make a quality rich fruit cake, make marzipan and create decorations to finish their cake. Part of this unit also involved exploring traditional British food products and considering how food choices relate to religious and cultural beliefs – for those who celebrate Christmas in different ways.

The cakes were entirely hand-made and decorated by the students and were boxed to make them look as professional as possible. On Monday 18 December, the cakes were entered into the annual Highsted Festive Cake Competition. As always, the cakes were beautiful and showed an impressive level of baking and decorating skill.

Winners of this year’s competition were: Lucy S (S4) for her cake inspired by ‘The Snowman’, Daisy H (F2) for her excellent Father Christmas sitting next to a Christmas tree cake, and Cerys E (K4) for a cosy looking red brick fireplace, complete with Santa’s legs and some tell-tale footprints.

In addition to these spectacular creations, a new ‘Special Recognition’ award has been introduced this year to recognise one student in each teaching group who has shown outstanding effort throughout this project. Special Recognition this year goes to: Josie H (E5) for her gingerbread man themed cake, Amy G (E5) for her penguin cake, Bethany H (R1) for her traditional baby in a manger cake, Hollie K (R3) for her unique cake in the shape of a mug of marshmallow filled hot chocolate, Nancy M (R3) for her cake depicting Santa sitting on a snowy house roof and finally Grace H (K3) for her cake showing various animals sitting under the Christmas tree.

All the students involved produced some amazing work and can be rewarded for their efforts by eating their cakes!

Citizenship Week 2017

Highsted Citizenship Week is a three-day event that gives students a chance to try a range of activities and engage in tasks they may not have thought about trying before. In this way, they are also learning new skills that can benefit them in the future. Students can improve their teamwork, gain confidence, develop skills, and make new friends through interacting with other students.

This year, the theme is ‘Discovery’. Students have an opportunity to discover a new interest or hobby that they can continue in their own time. The wide range of activities available means there is something for everyone to discover such as: geocaching, rocket making, creative writing, vegetable growing, creating mosaic totem poles, and the chance to travel outside school to participate in jam-making, by picking fruit from local Chilten Manor Farm, or take part in the mysterious Panic Room, a puzzle activity similar to ‘The Crystal Maze’, before designing their own.

Activities will be led by teachers and sixth-form students, which will teach them organisation and time management skills. Students will also make up the Showcase Team, which means they will organise the whole Showcase Day, and also have the opportunity to take part in activities themselves.

Highsted School of Witchcraft & Wizardry

This week at Highsted we are celebrating World Book Day 2017 across the school through various events and activities. 2017 sees the arrival of several literary anniversaries and we have decided to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the publication of the first Harry Potter book – Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. During this week students will be participating in:

A Harry Potter themed costume day on Thursday 2 March (World Book Day)

A sponsored read run through ‘Readathon’

Reading activities during lessons and form time.

Harry Potter activities during lessons on Thursday 2 March.

A Harry Potter themed costume day on Thursday 2 March (World Book Day)

A sponsored read run through ‘Readathon’

Reading activities during lessons and form time.

Harry Potter activities during lessons on Thursday 2 March.

There will also be competitions run this week and opportunities for students to win prizes for both costumes and for participating in the sponsored read.

Year 8 Charity Bazaar

This year's Charity Bazaar was an event run by the Year 8 pupils in order to raise money for various charities including: Breast Cancer Care, WWF, Make a Wish Foundation, Meningitis Now, Refuge, Parkinsons UK and Stonewall. Each stall had something very unique about it, whether it was the products it was selling, the decorations or just the atmosphere of the stall. Everyone there, whether they were running the stalls or just looking around, seemed to be having a lot of fun and everyone was clearly enjoying themselves.

There was much diversity in the number of different and unique charities that the Year 8 pupils were raising money for, and no two stalls were the same. Girls ran events ranging from raffles and lucky dips to tombolas and photo booths. There was also a huge variety of products on sale such as badges, stress balls, beauty products, bracelets, toys and key rings.

Overall the event was able to raise an impressive £1465.84 for charity, with the winning group (led by Daisy H) raising £147.49 for their chosen charity of Great Ormond Street Hospital. All those involved did a fantastic job.

We wish you a Merry Cakemas!

As part of the practical requirements of their Food Technology course, pupils in Year 9 were given the opportunity to design and make a full sized festive cake, which included marzipan and icing. During this unit pupils learned skills including how to prepare and make a rich fruit cake, how to decorate and ice and were able to reflect on how such produces are prepared, cooked and presented by major retailers.

To make the cakes look as professional looking as possible they were displayed on boards, had ribbons and the cakes went home boxed. All cakes were designed, hand-made and hand decorated by the pupils in school over the course of six weeks. The pupils’ cakes have been entered for the first ever annual Highsted Festive Cake Competition which promised to be a sumptuous event for both the eyes and the taste buds!

Congratulations go to TJ K (Franklin) and Rachel C (Eliot) who came joint third with their cakes designed as Father Christmas and a group of hand iced gingerbread men. Second place was awarded to Emma C (Seacole) for her beautiful blue creation including two very cute hand-sculpted penguins. Finally, first place was Isobelle J (Seacole) who’s fantastic cake included individual models of a Christmas tree, a gingerbread house, wrapped presents, a sack and a string of Christmas lights. All the students worked extremely hard throughout the six weeks and should be very proud of their achievements – and hopefully they will enjoy eating them as much as they did making them!