Hertswood Academy

🏃‍♂️ Yesterday, our fantastic Year 8 students and staff took to the top field for the 'Race for Life', completing a 5km walk or run to raise vital funds for Cancer Research UK. The weather was absolutely spectacular, providing the perfect backdrop for an afternoon of incredible determination and community spirit.

We are delighted to share that the event has already raised over £1,000 for a wonderful cause. Miss Jobanputra, Key Stage 3 Manager, expressed her immense pride in the entire year group, noting that the students participated enthusiastically and proudly left wearing their medals. We would like to extend a huge thank you to our wonderful parents, families, and friends for their exceptionally generous donations.

Events like this truly highlight the strength of our academy community. The donation page remains open until 1st July, so there is still plenty of time to support Cancer Research UK’s vital work in doubling cancer survival rates over the last 50 years. Thank you to everyone involved for making it such a memorable day. 🏅

https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/year8hertswoodacademy-giving-page-14

🖌️ Following the recent look at the incredible work from our A-Level Art students, we are delighted to now share a selection of the fantastic pieces created by our GCSE cohorts from this year's Summer Exhibition.

Our Year 10 and 11 students poured an immense amount of time, creativity, and dedication into their exam projects and coursework portfolios. The sheer variety of personal themes highlights the wonderful talent developing within the department.

We are incredibly proud of everything our GCSE artists have achieved and hope you enjoy this showcase of their hard work. Stay tuned, as we will soon be sharing the final instalment from our talented Photography students.

🎨 On Wednesday 10th June, our Art & Photography department held their annual summer exhibition. Our teachers are incredibly proud of all the work which students have produced this year, with a huge quantity of eye-catching pieces spread across three full classrooms.

Thank you to all of the students and families who attended to see the wonderful array of work on display. If you were not able to attend, we are excited to be able to share with you a selection of the incredible pieces which were proudly showcased. These pictures focus on the work of our A-Level Art students.

Look forward to us sharing more from the exhibition from our A-Level and GCSE Art students, as well as the outstanding work of our talented Photography students in the coming days. 📷✨

💡 Our Year 8 French students recently took part in an exciting six-week project with a distinct, hands-on approach to language learning. Run by Mrs Coutya, the project focused on gamification in education, using kinesthetic activities where students could physically touch and manipulate the language.

The learning journey expanded from a wide view of a whole town to focusing on a house, a specific room, and an local festival. Students physically put words together to construct sentences, checking their understanding in an active way. For their final piece, students produced a colourful display of writing about their town, home, and festival, even designing their own 'crazy crêpe'. Mrs Coutya praised the students, noting that "their writing was excellent, grammatically correct and they clearly understood the topic."

"Hands-on activities like this really help make the study of languages engaging and meaningful for students," added Mrs Vedanayagam, Head of MFL. "They play an important role in fostering a genuine love of languages and cultural appreciation. Mrs Coutya and the students brought so much enthusiasm to this project."

Join us at Hertswood Academy for our Art & Photography Exhibition, Wednesday 10th June from 4:30 - 6:00pm, to celebrate the incredible work of our GCSE and A Level students.

🤝 Last week, our Student Council gathered for their first meeting under the guidance of our new Sixth Form Senior Team and Council Chair. Representing every registration group across the academy, these elected students wasted no time in diving into discussions regarding our school environment and future academy events. The session also provided an update on exciting upcoming activities, including a highly anticipated Inter-House football competition.

In addition to internal planning, the council welcomed Faye from the Herts Sports Partnership. Our representatives acted as a student focus group, providing expert feedback on the free summer programmes offered by the partnership. It was fantastic to see our students so vocal and eager to contribute their ideas to help shape the future of both our school and local community.

👗👔✨ This week, Hertswood hosted a One-Stop Prom Shop for students to select from an incredible range of items generously donated as part of our Prom Attire Donation Drive. The response from the community was truly overwhelming, with donations including more than 100 dresses, 20 suits, 30 pairs of shoes, and 120 accessories.

The event offered a special boutique experience, complete with refreshments and tasty treats. Our staff members who organised the shop found it heartwarming to see the students enjoy themselves so much as they prepared for their big night. "It is a pleasure to be able to ensure that all of our students can feel their best at prom."

Headteacher, Mrs Gill, shared her pride in the Borehamwood community for pulling together to support our students. "We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to every family and community member who contributed to this cause. Your kindness has made a real difference." 🙏

🌟 As our Year 13 students take on their exam season, we are delighted to introduce the Year 12 students who will make up our new Sixth Form Senior Student Team. Our Head Students, Student Council Chair, and House Captains all earned their positions through a rigorous selection process, requiring them to demonstrate strong leadership qualities and a genuine commitment to improving school life.

As part of the application, each candidate presented their vision to every year group during assemblies, giving the wider student body an opportunity to hear directly about the priorities they would bring to their roles. Miss McFerran, Head of Sixth Form, noted how wonderful it has been to see them take on these responsibilities with such pride and enthusiasm.

The Senior Team are already turning their ideas into action, beginning with the organisation of a popular inter-house football competition. We look forward to seeing them grow as role models and lead initiatives that benefit the entire Academy throughout the coming year.

🚣‍♂️⛷️ Executive Headteacher, Peter Gillett, is once again championing fitness and philanthropy as he prepares for a new world record attempt. Following his successful 36-hour endurance rowing event in 2025, which raised over £6,000 for The Good Life Orphanage, Mr Gillett is now setting his sights on a 36-hour team record for non-stop skiing on the ‘SkiErg’ this June.

To celebrate the upcoming challenge, Mr Gillett has kindly donated his professional Concept 2 RowErg machine—the very one used in his previous record—to our PE Department. He joined Head of PE, Miss Tinsley, this week to test out the equipment, which will provide a fantastic resource for our students' fitness and training.

All funds raised from the world record attempt will go directly to The Good Life Orphanage in Mombasa, Kenya. This wonderful charity ensures that every penny donated supports the education and care of over 100 children. We invite our community to support the cause via the event's JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/page/eddie-dixon-7. 🌟