Please click anywhere on the image of the front cover of the Newsletter for all the latest news from The Sele School
Stunning sunset
Another super photo from Site Manager Matt; a stunning sunset over Sele.
Road Safety Week
November 20 - 24 is Road Safety Week and in the interests of encouraging our students to walk or cycle to school, where this is possible, we support the 'Be Bright Be Seem' message - adding a bright or reflective item (such as piping or a reflective stripe on a school bag) can really help to make sure that you are visible to other road users.
We also support the Road Safety Week message to motorists; slowing down can help to encourage children to walk or cycle to school in safety. It also makes parents more confident about their children's safety when walking or cycling.
Independent active and sustainable travel is known to be great for developing self confidence and self reliance as well as being a healthy alternative to car travel. If you would like to know more about travel to school options, please visit our webpage for details.
Clear skies over Sele
Another image from our Site Manager; vapour trails in a clear November sky.
Dance performance for Assembly
Year 10 GCSE Dance students perform repertoire from Henrick H20 Sandy's 'Emancipation of Expressionism' in KS3 assembly
Sele Culture Day
In October students and teachers alike enjoyed an all nations Culture Day in which typical national costume and cuisine featured highly. A very enjoyable morning was spent sampling the traditional foods of a variety of nations and gaining a new insight into different cultural heritages. Photos are courtesy of one of our very talented students, to whom a big thank you for documenting this wonderful event.
Hertford & Ware Flyer - November Edition
An article about Post 16 Education at The Sele School can be found on page 17 of the November Edition of the Flyer, which also contains a wealth of local news.
October Newsletter
Please click on the image to read our Newsletter for October 2023
Before the clocks changed
More stunning photos of The Sele School from our talented Site Manager who has captured the last day before the clocks going back with a misty morning scene amongst the trees in our beautiful grounds, followed by a rainbow in the afternoon.
Congratulations to Dave
Many congratulations and thanks to Dave who makes sure our students can cross the Welwyn Road safely. He has been performing this vital function for ten years - something that has just been recognised with an accolade in the form of a long service badge.
BAFTA Winning Actor in Virtual Visit
On Monday 9 October the Drama Department at Sele, were given an amazing opportunity to talk to the BAFTA award winning actor and writer Steven Pemberton. GCSE Drama students from Years 10 and 11 were enthralled by Steven's inspirational chat about how he navigated his way through the industry with a drive to never give up.
Students were also given a masterclass on working collaboratively and devising drama. Our students hugely benefitted from Steven's professional dialogue and advice.
Steven Pemberton graduated from Bretton Hall in Yorkshire with a BA (Hons) in Theatre Arts. After leaving college Steven spent time producing and starring in small-scale theatre productions in London and working part-time for Variety as assistant editor of the International Film Guide.
In 1996 Steven and his college friends Mark Gatiss, Reece Shearsmith and Jeremy Dyson went to Edinburgh with their comedy show The League of Gentlemen, winning the coveted Perrier Comedy prize a year later. The group then went on to record a radio series and four TV series for the BBC as well as staging three live tours and making a film.
In 2009, Steven co-wrote and starred in the multi-award-winning black comedy Psychoville which ran for two series and a Halloween special. The acclaimed anthology show Inside No 9 began in 2014 and Steven was awarded with a BAFTA for Best Male Comedy Performance in 2019; the show also won BAFTAs for Scripted Comedy and Comedy Writing. As an actor, Steven has appeared in numerous guises; his credits include Whitechapel, Doctor Who, Benidorm and Shameless.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Steven for his time, encouragement and insight on what was a truly motivating afternoon.
Beautiful Sunrise over Sele
These two fantastic photos of a beautiful Autumn morning were taken at 07.04 and 07.05 on Friday 6 October 2023 by our talented Site Manager, Matt Martin
The Sele School in the News
There is an article about the trip to Japan enjoyed by some of our Year 13 Students on page 17 of the October edition of the Hertford and Ware Flyer.
Moonrise over Sele
An atmospheric photograph from our talented Site Manager, Matt Martin. Nearing the full, the moon rises at 9.30pm on 27th September.
Sele Students in Japan
From July 27th to August 6th 2023 a group of Sixth Form Students from The Sele School attended the Clifton Scientific Workshop in Japan. The trip involved some very long flights and very warm weather and all of the students enjoyed themselves tremendously.
Student Ivy, who kindly wrote this article about her experience of the trip to Japan, takes up the story.
'We started off in Tokyo, Japan’s capital and a centre of knowledge and innovation. We spent a hot day visiting Miraikan (the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation) and sightseeing in Tokyo guided by students from Rikkyo Ikebukuro High School.
Please click on any of the images below to see a small selection of our photos from this memorable trip.
Our second day led us to Iwaki where we met our Japanese counterparts. They accompanied us to Fukushima Aquarium where we had time to explore and to listen to a lecture on the Coelacanth.
The focus of day three was the Great East Japan Earthquake. We visited a Memorial Museum and TEPCO decommissioning centre before making our way to Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant. This day taught us more about the events and impact of March 11th, 2011 and has made all of us more aware of the scale of nuclear disaster and longevity of its impact.
On the final day before our projects began, we took a sightseeing ship from Shiogama to Matsushima before going shopping in Rifu. Without this time spent sightseeing and learning about the culture of Japan, we wouldn’t have become so close with our new Japanese friends; it allowed us to get to know them well and for them to know us.
Every evening we engaged in cultural exchanges, sharing games and activities as well as presenting information about our schools and local area.
From August 2nd to the 4th we all worked in our lab groups on different projects at Tohoku University ranging from earth science and tsunami prevention measures to radioactivity and biosensors. In our groups we worked hard to achieve results to present to each other and various members and students from Tohoku University.
After our presentations it was time to say goodbye (but not forever).
On the way to the airport, we took the Shinkansen (bullet train) a key example of innovation and the results of using science to improve efficiency.
The experience has been so otherworldly and unbelievable; we didn’t realise how much we would gain from this short trip. Over the course of the trip, we have had to think laterally to overcome challenges, improve our communication to convey ideas clearly and be open to new experiences. We have all had to adapt and this has made us better people in the global community.
We have a lot of people to thank for this wonderful opportunity:
Firstly to everyone who helped us fundraise; we wouldn’t have been able to do this without you and we are eternally grateful, so I should say a big thank you for their generous support to: Hertford Town Council, Herts County Councillors Bob Deering and Ben Crystall, Tom McMullen, Shepherds Estate Agents (Hertford), Hertford Rotary Club and the Newton Exhibition Foundation.
Thank you also to:
The Clifton Scientific Trust and Dr. Albone for realising the importance of investing in young people and global collaboration.
To Mary-Grace Browning and Kanazawa-sensei for all their hard work and complex planning involved in carting 25 teenagers across the world.
To Kikuchi-sensei for always taking photos which we will all look back on fondly.
To the UK teachers who accompanied their students for over 30 hours of flying and many stressful train journeys.
To the Japanese teachers for being so welcoming and helpful.
To all the hotel staff for keeping us well fed and rested.
To the bus drivers for driving us around Japan, even when some of us were not punctual.
To all the project mediators, university staff and students for giving up their time to aid us in our research.
To all the UK students, we wouldn’t have wanted to do this with anyone else.
And finally, to the Japanese students who were nothing but friendly; thank you for teaching us so much, your kindness is not forgotten we hope you’ll stay in touch.'
The first storms of Autumn
This was the view from the school at 17.30 on Wednesday 21 September as Autumn arrived with a bang! Taken by our Site Manager, Matt Martin.
Headteacher on Three Counties Radio
After reaching out to local businesses for sponsorship to ensure that we can continue providing the excellent education our students deserve, the Headteacher was interviewed on Three Counties Radio on the morning of Friday 8 September about this new initiative.
To listen to the interview please click on the link below:
The photograph below was taken by our Site Manager who is a talented photographer and who, as usual, arrived at school very early in the morning on the first day of the Autumn Term.
Hertford and Ware Flyer
Look out for regular snippets of news from The Sele School in the Hertford and Ware Flyer - for example on page 14 of the August edition - click on the image to go to the magazine.
The Sele School - July Newsletter
Please click anywhere on the front cover of the Newsletter for a great Summer read with masses of exciting news.
Sele Alumna playing at the Hertford Food & Beer Festival - Sunday 9 July
We're excited to hear that one of The Sele School's former students, Cedar Rose Johnson, will be playing at the Hertford Castle Food & Beer Festival next Sunday, 9 July, at 15.45 and 17.15 - why not go along to support? Cedar's brother Reed is also playing at the Festival.
Moon-rise over Sele
Bright moonlight and an interesting cloud formation come together in this stunning photo from our talented Site Manager.
Sele Newsletter - June 2023
To read the latest edition of The Sele School Newsletter; please click on the image below:
Duke of Edinburgh Practise Expedition
Students participating in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme were out in the weekend sunshine on 20 and 21 May as they put in some work ahead of their assessment expeditions later this term. With thanks to Miss Tait for some super photos.
Headteacher in University of Cambridge Video
Our Headteacher, Chris Quach on video for Cambridge University Postgraduate Course in Educational Assessment.
Flight Works Alabama forges first UK schools partnership with The Sele School
After establishing a network of over 100 schools across 11 states in the USA, Airbus and Flight Works Alabama has partnered with The Sele school to launch their first programme in the UK
Students will have a unique learning opportunity. They will work with 3D printing, hand and power tools, electricity, fibre optics, programming and coding amongst developing other skills
Flight Works Alabama is a joint venture between Airbus and the State of Alabama, and the Sele partnership has been made possible through the Airbus Defence and Space Stevenage site.
This innovative programme has been declared a career tech pathway by Alabama’s state Department of Education and embraces 21st century work skills. The programme called, WE BUILD IT BETTER (WBIB) is an all-inclusive 18-week, industry designed, educator-developed, curricular experience and has been adapted to match the educational curriculum in the UK.
Each WE BUILD IT BETTER classroom will become a fun, interactive workplace stocked with industry-grade tools manufactured by Snap-on. Students will embrace the product design process, ultimately becoming inventors and innovators, equipped with the skills for success. Meaning students have the skills ready to enter the workforce.
Flight Works Alabama is a non-profit aviation education centre located in Mobile, Alabama. The education centre is focused on three tiers of learning, generating measurable impacts for secondary school students. This programme will run as a pilot for students 12-14 years old in the UK education system starting in September 2023.
“To deliver on the UK’s economic ambitions, Airbus continues to explore new ways to engage the next generation, raising aspirations and supporting young people to reach their potential. I am proud to launch this pilot today and we plan to learn from its successes to look at rolling it out across many more schools in future.” said Ben Bridge, UK Chairman Airbus Defence and Space.
“This is a UK first and as part of the Sele community I am proud that we as a school are leading on this. In terms of this pilot partnership is about addressing the workforce challenges of the future, looking at creating pathways between school direct into industry. In the wider context this will support the Link to making the Comprehensive and progressive agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership [CPTPP] work by increasing productivity through the development of a future UK skilled workforce” said Headteacher at The Sele School, Mr Quach.
“For our students, this pilot, provides opportunities beyond the classroom, working with global industry experts. This will open up pathways that they will not have believed were possible”. Said Deputy Headteacher at The Sele School, Mr Gallacher.
Work on this programme begins in June with the training team at Airbus flying to the UK to train staff at The Sele School and other local Hertfordshire schools who will join the programme.
Spring has sprung at Sele
During the Easter Holiday some of the many blossom trees in our beautiful grounds burst into bloom. This one is in the quadrangle; photo courtesy of our Site Manager, Matt Martin.
The Sele School and Airbus - We Build it Better
On 29 March Chris Quach, Headteacher of The Sele School was delighted to be able to announce to parents a new project linking the school with Airbus; a link that will be of immeasurable benefit to our students and which is unique to Sele - the only school in the UK to be part of the Airbus, We Build it Better project.
Mr Quach wrote:
'Dear Parents and Carers,
I am delighted to inform you that The Sele School has signed a contract to work with Airbus and their partner, Flight Works Alabama. We will deliver their exclusive “We Build It Better” STEM programme which is running in more than 100 schools across 11 States in the U.S. and is recognised by the Alabama State’s Department for Education as a Career Tech Pathway. We are excited to work with Airbus to establish an engineering pathway from education into the workforce. We will be the first school in the UK to provide this programme and participation will be exclusive to Sele students at this pilot stage.
This unique curriculum introduces students to industry standard equipment and expectations. It will bolster and enhance the students’ knowledge across multiple subjects such as maths, computer science, physics, design and technology to develop an engineering mindset. The course will deliver career specific knowledge and concepts into the classroom such as health and safety and invent vs innovate. Students will be taught the importance of precision and accuracy in manufacturing and complete a range of programmes that start from concept to final product design.
Starting in September 2023, this programme will run across an entire academic year with an opportunity to visit the Airbus Space facility in Stevenage. Students from Key Stage 3 will be eligible to apply for this programme and further details will be shared in May 2023.
Mr Quach; Headteacher'
Sele Newsletter- March 2023
Please click on the image below to read the March edition of the Sele Newsletter.
Dance News
Early in March, The Sele School was lucky enough to have National Youth Dance Company, the Country's flagship Youth Dance Organization, visit to lead a two hour workshop with selected students.
Twenty-five boys and girls from Years 7 to 9 were chosen to take part in this exciting experience and the work they produced was truly amazing! The students first took part in a professional warm up before learning repertoire from Alesandra Seutin's 'Speaks Volume's' after which they created their own work in groups. The artists running the workshop were impressed by how quickly Sele students picked up the repertoire and how they worked creatively with ease.
Sele’s Dance Teacher said; ‘I was massively proud of the students’ behaviour and attitude throughout, especially because they were being pushed out of their comfort zone. We are hoping to show some of the work produced later in the year.’
The success of the National Youth Dance Company visit follows two Sele students being involved in a dance project with Hot House Dance following a workshop they ran at Sele in July. Both girls have been working hard creatively and so far have taken part in two performances at professional venues. We wish them continued success.
Thank you to the Hertford & Ware Flyer for publishing a report about this Dance Event in their May edition, follow the link to read the article.
County Champion
Congratulations to George from Year 11 who took part in the tri County Athletics Competition in March and took first place in the 800M. He is now County Champion in his age group - well done George for a brilliant result.
The last snow of the winter (we hope!)
Our talented Site Manager took these pictures of what we hope might be the last snow of the winter; highlighting our beautiful school grounds
Sunrise over Sele
Our Site Team are a hard working bunch - not content with being at work late enough to photograph the crescent Moon along with Jupiter and Venus on the way towards their early March conjunction, Site Manager, Matt Martin was at work as the sun was rising and took this stunning photo.
Celestial view from The Sele School
Doing his evening rounds of our beautiful grounds on Thursday 23 February 2023 our Site Manager, Matt Martin, captured this stunning image of the Moon with Venus and Jupiter.
February Newsletter 2023
Please click on the image below to access the school Newsletter.
School Play 2023
We are delighted to congratulate the cast, crew and production team on the outstanding success of the school production of Willy Russell's famous play - Blood Brothers. For a full review, please see the February Newsletter.
December Newsletter 2022
Please click on the image below to open the December Newsletter
Rally-driving success for Richard Warne
Former Sele Site Manager, Richard Warne was in action with his co-driver, Chris Deal at the Twyford Wood Stages Rally held near Grantham (Lincolnshire) in October. Both Richard and Chris are members of the Green Belt Motor Club and took part in the event in Richard's Ford Escort RS 2000 on a course consisting of rough concrete tracks on a disused airfield. Totalling 65 miles overall the event took place in eight separately timed speed tests and in spite of a couple of setbacks that cost the duo almost half a minute in total, they still finished first in the 2000cc car class and sixth overall. Congratulations to Richard and to Chris!
Former Sele Student and the Hertford Christmas Festivities
Former Sele Student Cedar Rose Johnson was one of the performers at The Hertford Christmas Market in Hertford Castle on Saturday 26th November. As well as playing some much-loved festive classics, Cedar's set also included her song My Open Heart, which debuted on BBC 3CR earlier this year. Having started on The Sele School stage, Cedar has since performed at festivals and events all over the UK.
Spring will bloom beautifully in Sele
Spring 2023 should be spectacular in Sele with an East Herts Council initiative to create new wildflower meadows coupled with a Network Homes and Sele Community Hub bulb planting project set to beautify the area for the human residents while improving biodiversity for the local wildlife. On Wednesday 30 November volunteers from the staff of Network Homes will be planting daffodils and crocuses at ten sites throughout Sele Farm, all of which have been approved by Hertfordshire County Council and East Herts Council. Any residents who wish to help are welcome to join them. The day is expected to result in at least 4,000 bulbs being planted - we look forward to a colourful Spring.
Free Concert in Sele
News reaches us of a free Concert taking place in Sele on Sunday 27 November at 12.00 to 12.30. Hertford Dramatic and Operatic Society will be performing out of doors to celebrate the completion of the new Ridgeway Natural Play Area. All are welcome.
October Newsletter
With the Autumn Term fast advancing we are pleased to publish the first Newsletter of the new academic year. Please click on the image below to go to the Newsletter.
July Newsletter
As we come to the end of the school year we are happy to bring you our July Newsletter, packed with stories from the Summer Term and looking forward to the next academic year. Please click on the image below to go to the Newsletter.
Underpass Art
Queens Jubilee Tea
Thank you to Ellie Coyle, our School Librarian, for this report on the recent Afternoon Tea at The Sele School, hosted as part of the Queen's Jubilee Celebrations.
As part of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Celebrations, The Sele School hosted an Afternoon Tea Party in our Library. A group of visitors from the local community and Calton Court, enjoyed sharing afternoon tea with a group of our Year 9 Historians, who also acted as waiters and waitresses for the event.
This Living Legacy event was funded by a special grant from East Herts Council and supported by Herts Catering Ltd, our school catering providers led by Clare Ponder. Tea was a splendid selection of sandwiches, quiche, sausage rolls, beautiful cakes and of course scones with strawberries and cream. Bunting and flags fluttered in the library and music from across the decades set the scene for the event.
The students chatted about their life experiences and compared them to those of our guests, sharing memories and laughter along the way. Councillor Mary Brady, who kindly supported our grant application and Councillor Bob Deering were in attendance and students also spoke with the Director of HCL, who had made time to join our celebration.
The day ended with the official planting of a legacy tree donated by HCL, who had prepared all the wonderful food. Events like this are a reminder that we all have much to learn from each other and sharing our time and a cup of tea with people, from different generations, is life affirming and so very enjoyable; it was such a privilege to take part in this wonderful event.
Rotary Club Charity Walk - Panshanger 26 June 2022
On a fabulously sunny June day the Rotary Club organised a charity walk in Panshanger Park to enable local good causes to raise money as they try and build back after Covid. Sele was delighted that four of our students volunteered to help on the day and that some of our staff members took part in the walk.
We understand that the day was a great success with the many participants enjoying the beautiful Panshanger Park countryside, encounters with a variety of local wildlife and conservation groups, goodie bags and finish certificates. We received very positive feedback from the Rotary Club about the help provided by the students and look forward to working with them again on future charity projects.
Pride Festival
In June, Sele celebrated in style with a Pride Festival that included special lunch time offerings, festive decorations and an outdoor musical event.
Sele Newsletter
Please click on the image below to access the May Newsletter
Queens Jubilee
To celebrate the Queens Jubilee students enjoyed a special lunch time menu with suitably royal connections!
Plant sale - Thursday 5 May 2022
Good news for any budding gardeners as The Sele School Year 10's will be holding a plant sale from 15.00 to 16.00 at the school gates on Thursday 5 May. There will be a selection of plants available for purchase, including lavender and sunflowers.
Photo by Gérôme Bruneau on Unsplash
Sele Newsletter - March 2022
Please click on the image below for the Sele Newsletter for March 2022
Thieves Lane Community Garden Project
This Sunday 3 April there will be a Visioning Workshop at which you can help shape the future of the Thieves Lane Community Garden - please use the contact details on the poster to register your interest.
Bugsy Malone
During March 2022 The Sele School was delighted to bring an interpretation of the famous 'Bugsy Malone' to a sell out audience at our two evening performances and to a Matinee audience of invited primary school pupils.
A review of the production appears in our Spring Newsletter but we are pleased to publish some of the comments received from audience members and hope that the students who took part will fully appreciate how much their tremendous hard work and achievement was enjoyed.
From one of our elected East Herts Councillors:
“I would just like to thank the school for inviting myself and the other East Herts District Councillor to tonight’s production. The students and the staff should all be tremendously proud of themselves for putting on such a thoroughly enjoyable play. There is obviously a great deal of talent in the school and the staff have been able to capitalise on it in order to produce such high quality performances as seen tonight. Thank you again for a memorable evening."
From one of our teaching staff:
“In a word: BRILLIANT!
It was nice to see all the moving parts come together as nicely as it did. After so long a wait, it is nice to see the community get involved. A lot of those students, well, I never knew they had it in them. It was great to see a different side of them.
Thanks to all the kids, and all of you for making this happen. It was wonderful. I appreciate all of the hard work that went into this. My son and his friend were singing long past bedtime last night. Inspirational stuff!”
From a Parent whose daughter took part:
“I just wanted to thank you for such an amazing performance last night. We thoroughly enjoyed it and so did our daughter performing! We're so proud of her for stepping out of her comfort zone to perform in front of a big audience, thank you for your support and encouragement. You've all worked extremely hard over the last few months, well done to all staff and students involved.
Look forward to next year!”
From one of our Year 12 Students:
“The experience with the 'Bugsy Malone' production was full of energy and completely captivating. It was mesmerising to see everyone conform to their roles and learn the ins and outs of their characters. Many in the cast had never done a production before; to see them learn and overcome the trials and tribulations was so heart-warming. Especially as they did it together as a unit.
No one in the cast saw themselves as any better than their peers and were so prepared to help them when needed. Backstage and lighting worked just as hard and constructed this production with hard work and consistency. There was such a warm atmosphere in rehearsals, and everyone was beyond prepared to take on acting tips and experiment.
The teachers involved helped create this excellent performance and bring the script to life with music and astonishing acting as well as dancing. They treated everyone as equals in theatre, constantly encouraging everyone to perform to the best of their ability. Performance nights created magic for the audience and the room was alight with energy.
Watching the cast turn the script into a unique interpretation was wonderful and I was very glad to be a part of this team”.
From another Year 12 Student:
“Bugsy Malone is a play about coming together, and uniting everyone, this is what the students did to put on this amazing performance. Everybody worked together to give the school a production for the first time in years. It was a pleasure to watch the students grow in confidence and acting ability, making memorable characters.
The dedication from the whole cast including backstage was remarkable, especially during such hard times. This was a fantastic opportunity to have a real insight into how such productions are put together and all the hard work that goes on in the background. I believe every student and teacher should be proud of the production and themselves for exhibiting a real display of the community we have here.”
Women in Science
News reaches us of the Women in Science programme offered to Year 11 Students by Pembroke College, Cambridge. There are opportunities to attend an online course on Tuesday evenings from 29 March to 19 April 2022 at 16.30 to 18.30 and to visit the college on Saturday 23 April 2022.
The course is for students who are thinking about continuing with the sciences to University and beyond. Attending the course will give the opportunity to meet current students, experience challenging academic sessions covering a range of sciences and find out more about the city and university of Cambridge.
The deadline for applications is 08.00 on Monday 28 February 2022. A link to the Pembroke College website can be found by following the link, which also gives access to an application form. The website gives details of the eligibility criteria; the course is free of charge for successful applicants.
Spring Newsletter
Please click on the image below for the Spring Newsletter
Former Sele Students star in Feature Film
News reaches us of five former Sele students who recently starred in a feature film - The Moment Trap; available on Amazon and Vimeo and rated 15 by the BBFC. Click on the image below for more details -
NHS Work Experience Programme - 5 February 2022
The following message was received from the NHS Allied Work Experience Programme on Tuesday 1 February 2022
We are delighted to announce that the NHS Allied Work Experience Programme is in full swing and available for your year 10-13 students.
All students will be awarded with a Work Experience Certificate for participating in the day. This is something that they can include in their UCAS and Apprenticeship Applications. The next Work Experience day is on the Sunday 6th February and will cover the following healthcare careers:
- Nursing - Midwifery - Paramedicine - Physiotherapy - Occupational Therapy - Dietetics - Radiography - Prosthetics and Orthotics - Speech and language therapy - Pharmacy
The virtual work experience day will take place through an online portal and run LIVE from 10am-5pm, following 2 patients from their initial accidents through to recovery. Students will see them interact with a variety of healthcare professionals listed above so that they develop an understanding of the multidisciplinary team as well as insights into their own chosen career.
Students will also have the opportunity to interact with the healthcare professionals via a LIVE Chat function and polls throughout the day
The cost to attend is £10/student per session, which is just an administrative cost to cover the set-up of individual portals, personalised certificates, safeguarding, the technology on the day, such as our servers and chat functions.
We look forward to welcoming all potential healthcare students onto this national virtual work experience programme.
Best wishes The Allied Healthcare Team
Channel 4 Junior Bake-off seeks budding bakers!
The following message was received from Channel 4 and has been sent to the Parents and Carers of Students in Years 7 and 8 on Tuesday 1 February 2022.
My name is Conor and I’m a Casting Assistant Producer at Love Productions; the company behind The Great British Bake Off, The Great British Sewing Bee and The Great Pottery Throw Down.
We are delighted to say that we have recently opened applications for the 8th series of Junior Bake Off; a Channel 4 programme that celebrates the culinary talent and ambition of the younger generation in Britain.
We are looking for young budding bakers between 9-12 years old.
Filming would take place from July 2022, but our applications close on Sunday 13th March 2022.
The school celebrates Chinese New Year with a festive menu
To celebrate Chinese New Year the canteen will be serving a special menu on Tuesday 1 February; the start of the Lunar New Year and the first day of the Year of the Tiger in the Chinese Zodiac.
Exciting opportunity from the Engineering Development Trust
News reaches us of exciting opportunities for February half term from the Engineering Development Trust
For Yr9 and Yr10 students
Virtual Routes into STEMcourse offers an opportunity to explore college, university and apprenticeship routes, tour a variety of institutions virtually, work on exciting projects and have access to live career sessions and mentor panels with STEM employers. If you are enjoying your Tech, Design, Maths or Science subjects and would like to know what exciting future these subjects could lead to, then this course will help you discovering where your interests could take you. While on the course you will get an opportunity to:
take part in exciting projects for example, Tempest Cockpit Design challenge by BAE Systems, Biopharm challenge by GSK, Flight challenge by University of Cambridge, Let’s go Fission challenge by Babcock… and more!
access live sessions from Cambridge, Birmingham, Hertfordshire, Plymouth universities etc.
hear from Engineer and Software graduates, Mechatronic apprentices etc at Becton Dickinson, Babcock, BAE Systems and many more about early careers, apprenticeships, and pathways into the industry.
be inspired by professionals in STEM, - Cyber Investigator at GE, CEO at New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering to name just a few!
gain Bronze Industrial Cadets award, a highly regarded industry led accreditation that was inspired by His Royal Highness Prince of Wales.
The EDT (Engineering Development Trust) has arranged an insightful local course over the February 2022 half term (15th, 16th, 17th), collaborating with Oaklands College, University of Hertfordshire and Mitsubishi, a multinational automotive manufacturer, to deliver our face-to-face Routes into STEM course for the first time in two years. For details and the application form please see the information below.
What is face-to-face Routes into STEM?
Routes into STEM is an innovative 3-day local non-residential experience that provides young people in Year 10 with an understanding of the amazing opportunities offered by STEM based careers (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). The course allows students to engage with acollege, a university and a companywho have put together an interesting agenda to showcase STEM courses, apprenticeships, degrees, and careers, giving students the best chance to make informed decisions and to meet role models.
Day 1: Oaklands College – 15th February 2022
Day 2: University of Hertfordshire – 16th February 2022
Day 3: Mitsubishi – 17th February 2022
Benefits include:
Experience of a real-world application of STEM subjects with hands on STE(A)M activities
Practical taster sessions of STEM courses at College and University helping with decision making
Visualisation of future STEM career opportunities and how to access them through apprenticeship & graduate schemes
Course cost, bursaries & other support: £150 for all 3 days towards the cost of administration and the Industrial Cadets Bronze Award.Pupil Premium/free school meal students should speak to their teachers for any school support available. Bursary places may be available for this course, please indicate your interest on the application form.
Lunch & travel arrangements: Students are responsible for their own travel. Lunch is sometimes provided for the course, and this will be confirmed along with all other details in the Course Joining Instructions.
Weare delighted to bring you our festive Newsletter for December 2021 - please follow the link for a round up of all the latest News.
Hertfordshire Orienteering Club
On Saturday 8 January 2022 The Sele School will be working with Hertfordshire Orienteering Club to help bring this exciting sport to Panshanger Park.
Virtual Winter Concert 2021
We hope that you will enjoy our Winter Concert 2021
Race for Life
Congratulations to staff and students who raised over £800 for Cancer Research UK in their Race for Life on the last day of term.
A message from the Hertfordshire Road Safety Partnership
We recently received an important message about e-scooters from Hertfordshire Road Safety Partnership who have concerns over the illegal use of privately owned e-scooters.
E-Scooters are readily available to purchase and sales are expected to increase over the festive period. However, it is currently against the law to ride a privately owned e-scooter on a public road, cycle path or pavement. Private e-scooters can only be legally used on private land (with the landowners permission).
Illegal use of e-scooters can lead to a Police warning or seizure of the e-scooter. E-scooter use on pavements, cycle paths or roads can lead to serious injury for pedestrians, scooter riders and other road users.
There is a short animation highlighting the e-scooter safety message.
Don't forget to wear your Christmas Jumper with pride on Tuesday 14 December - a £1 donation is all it takes to secure your chance to look Christmassy in school, with all monies raised going to the East and North Herts Hospitals Charity. If you don't happen to own a jumper covered in leaping reindeer or snowy Christmas trees etc. then another jumper will be fine - just please make sure it is suitable for school, no offensive slogans, logos etc permitted.
Sele Community Garden - Logo Competition
Selections Watercolour Course
Places are still available on our Selections Watercolour Course, which runs for another four weeks before the Christmas Break. If you are interested in joining, whether for the rest of the Autumn Term or in the New Year, please contact sbruton@sele.herts.sch.uk or go to the course page for more information.
A member of staff at Sele, Angie Chabauty, started the course in September and has spoken about how much she has enjoyed learning new techniques and painting new subjects. We are grateful to Angie for sharing images of her paintings from the first two weeks of the course.
Week One of the Selections Watercolour Course produced a beautifully watery image, as did Week Two - below.
Movie Night
Students in Key Stage 3 are in for a treat on Thursday 25 November as they look forward to a Movie Night organised by Mrs Adams and supported by generous sponsorship from Asda. Students will enjoy Cruella a crime-comedy based on the character Cruella de Vil from Dodie Smith's famous 1956 novel, '101 Dalmations',which so impressed Walt Disney that in 1961 the eponymous animated film was released.
Cruella is an origin story for the villain of 101 Dalmations and is set in 1970's London, so expect a great sound track.
Wear it Pink Raffle Winners
We thank all participants including students, staff, parents, carers and members of the local community, who took part in our Wear it Pink fundraising drive both for their generous donations and for all the hard work they put into the event. We had masses of winners in the Tombola, who collected their prizes on the day and are delighted to be able to notify the following that they were winners in the Raffle:
Mrs B Bixby, Miss G Tait, Mrs J Adams, Mrs J Woodhouse, Miss A De Biasi, Mrs A Pearce, Mrs H Kirby, Mr R Gallacher, Ms E Coyle, Mrs N Wragg, Ms A Adams, Mrs A Chabauty, Mrs J Lee, Miss S Lyons, Lily Clark, Brooke Mills, Daisy Corbett, Curtis Storey, Grace Carbery, Jamie Cohen, Chloe Rocha Silva, George Anderson, Corben Serafinowicz, Poppy Parcell, Amber Baird, Chloe Barron, Tianna-Mai Williams, Chloe Trundell, Katie Muncer, Molly Clark, Ruby Howells, Ava Hayden Prince, Joshua Reed, Kristyianna Amaqui, James Maghie, Teddie Roberts, Melissa Culver and Alfie Horlock
Wear it Pink Fundraising update
Friday 2 October was Wear it Pink Day at The Sele School, with staff and students taking part in the many pink activities planned for the day. Organised by Mrs Walsh, who was ably assisted by the Sixth Form Charity Committee the event was a huge success as Mrs Walsh explains:
'A huge Thank You to all the staff, students, parents and local companies for your help and support in making Wear It Pink Day such a huge success. Whether you donated prizes for the raffle or tombola, bought tickets, or paid to wear non uniform, your kindness and support helped us raise a staggering £760.
This is the biggest success for a charity we have ever had, and it was so lovely to see everyone getting involved!
In addition to this I have raised £740 (so far) for my 100 miles challenge and so that’s £1500 raised for such a worthwhile charity.
I would like to say an extra special thanks to the Sixth Form Charity Committee, Charlea, Daisy & Curtis for their help, who done a fabulous job.
I could not have done this without all the support
Have a great Half Term!!'
Wear it Pink Raffle
As part of the fund raising drive for Breast Cancer Now the Sixth Form Charity Committee and Mrs Walsh are running a Raffle. We would like to express our thanks to the local businesses who donated prizes to the Raffle for their generous support for this excellent cause.
A report on the final total raised by our October fund raising drive will follow. We thank students, staff, parents and carers for their enthusiastic participation.
October Newsletter
Wear it Pink
On Friday 22 October 2021 Students and Staff at The Sele School will 'Wear it Pink' in aid of the charity, Breast Cancer Now. Making a minimum donation of £1 to participate in the non-uniform day, students will wear their own, appropriate clothing, including one pink item. The charity day is being organised by Sixth Form Students to mark the fact the October is Breast cancer Awareness Month.
In addition to Wear it Pink there will also be a tombola, with a range of pink prizes, a community raffle, the Big Pink Quiz and the Pink Guess How Many game.
In addition Mrs Walsh is continuing her heroic push to walk 100 Miles during October to raise money for Breast Cancer Now. The latest update sees Mrs Walsh at the 56.2 mile mark, having raised £715.00 to date.
Soul Food Menu
To help celebrate Black History Month, our school caterers, Herts Catering, will be offering a special Soul Food Menu on Thursday 21 October.
Subway Art Gallery
The Sele School is proud to be involved in the Hertford subway Art project, with items submitted by students from Sele, Richard Hale and Simon Balle now on display in both the London Road and St Andrews Street subways; the art works featured in an article in the Hertford Mercury on October 14 2021. The subway transformation is part of Hertfordshire County Council's drive to encourage cleaner, greener, active, forms of transport - such as walking.
Getting out and about on foot is especially good for shorter journeys where the car could be left at home; with pollution levels inside cars higher than those experienced by pedestrians there are several potential health benefits to active travel. If you want to find out about travel to school by active or sustainable means, please see our Travel to School page.
Open Day at the Sele Farm Community Centre
Volunteer it Yourself
During the Summer Term 2021, the school was contacted in connection with the refurbishment of the Scout Hut in Glenfield Court, Hertford. No longer in use by the Scouts, the building was being transformed into the Hertford Wellbeing Hub with input from Active East Herts, who The Sele School have worked with on a number of projects, such as Sele Cycle Week.
The good news was that not only was the building being brought back into use with a focus on providing sport, physical activity, mental and social wellbeing opportunities, but one of the organisations involved in the refurbishment was ‘Volunteer it Yourself’ (VIY) a Community Interest Company that specialises in mentoring young people aged 14 – 24 to learn trade and employability skills while helping to fix local youth and community facilities that are in need of essential repairs and improvements.
As the work was going to take place during the summer holidays VIY wondered whether any students at Sele might like to volunteer – especially useful for those thinking about their future, since work experience opportunities have been relatively limited during the pandemic. Also the trade skills taught by the experienced professionals providing mentoring can act as credits towards awards such as City and Guilds.
One of the young people from The Sele School who took part had this to say about the experience:
‘VIY helped me to gain new skills while meeting many great mentors and learners along the way. It has helped me develop the skills of carpentry and painting and decorating, and has helped me see the health and safety side of things a lot better than I used to. I would like to thank VIY for boosting my confidence and helping me learn these skills. I cannot thank VIY enough and I would definitely like to go to another one of their projects!’
At the recent re-launch of the building the excellent work of the volunteers and mentors who contributed to the refurbishment was clear to see with the building having been transformed into a light and airy space, ideal for a range of activities, with new wooden benches and planters having been built so that the small garden area can be used. An excellent summer of volunteering, resulting in something that will be a great asset to the local community.
100 Mile Walk - progress update
Mrs Walsh is walking 100 miles in October to raise funds for Breast Cancer Now - in the first ten days Mrs Walsh covered 31.3 miles and has raised £510 so far. Congratulations on that fabulous achievement - keep walking..........
Halloween Disco
To celebrate the end of half-term, The Sele School is holding a Halloween Disco for Years 7, 8 and 9. Year 13 Students will be assisting in organising and running the event with school staff in attendance to supervise.
The cost of attending the event is priced at £3.00 which includes free squash, sweets and a glow stick. The event is fancy dress and prizes will be awarded for the best dressed student; we encourage students to be creative - use old clothes – no need to buy anything new and if students prefer not to come in fancy dress, they don’t have to!
MacMillan Bake Sale
On the Friday 24 September, The Sele School joined thousands across the nation in running a MacMillan Cancer Support delicious bake sale. The Sixth Form and teachers were busy baking (and buying) cakes to sell in order to raise money to help the charity continue its vital work in supporting people living with cancer.
We had cakes, brownies and doughnuts to sell to students during lunch time. So far, we have raised just under £200 from the event and would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated.
Scroll down for full details of the next charity event at The Sele School - Wear it Pink on Friday 22 October where it is hoped to raise funds for the Breast Cancer Now Research and Care Charity. Students will be able to come in wearing a pink item of clothing and/or accessory and take part in fundraising events throughout the day. Events will include a Tombola to win pink sweets and chocolate and a quiz on all things pink!
Dance success for Ballet School based at The Sele School
During the summer holidays, Sele was open for business for a variety of activities, including some extra coaching for promising young dancer, William Davolls. After training with Carter School of Dance for seven years, William, who is from Watton at Stone, has spent the last two years full time at Elmhurst Ballet School, working with staff from the Birmingham Royal Ballet.
With an opportunity to appear in a BBC Dance Competition on the horizon, William took on some additional work during the summer, coached by Carter School of Dance Principal, Caroline Crowley. Sadly, in spite of all the hard work William ended the selection process for the BBC as first reserve; still a significant achievement in a competitive selection process; we wish him well for the future.
School Choir - join us in song
We are delighted to announce that the school choir is now back in rehearsal. All students are welcome; every Wednesday from 15.30 - 16.30 in the Music Room.
Bike to school week 27 September to 1 October 2021
Bike to school week is a week-long event across the UK intended to encourage staff, students, parents and carers to cycle to school. It's a way to celebrate the benefits of active and sustainable travel to school, enabling students to arrive at school feeling energised and ready to work, while helping to protect the environment, both locally and globally.
Why not make this year's Bike to School Week the starting point for switching to healthy and sustainable travel as part of your daily routine.
Non-Uniform Day on 22 October 2021
New club at The Sele School
We are pleased to announce the arrival of a new sport at The Sele School with a Boccia Club on Tuesdays 5.00 - 6.00pm commencing on 28 September. Boccia is similar to bowls but with the players seated and rolling, throwing or kicking the ball are all permitted, as is the use of an assistive device if needed.
The objective of the game is to attempt to get as close to the target ball (jack) as possible with players relying on skill, rather than strength or stamina. Novice players are very welcome.
New classes at the Hertford Wellbeing Hub
We are pleased to bring you news of new classes at the Hertford Wellbeing Hub in Sele - booking details are on the posters below:
Careers in Technology Opportunity
We are pleased to draw students' attention to an opportunity to join an online Careers in technology evening on Wednesday September 15 from 17.00 - 19.00 Please follow this link to register https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/Technology-15th-September
Parking problems
Hertfordshire Police have asked us to please
remind parents, carers and other users of school
premises to please park safely in the vicinity of schools.
Details of alternative means of travel to school can be found on our website.
Travel to school
We are pleased to announce that we have been awarded Bronze Accreditation by Modeshift STARS for our School Travel Plan.
The Travel Plan focuses on encouraging students and staff to travel to school by sustainable means where possible.
Selections bids farewell to popular Pottery Tutor
Students and colleagues were sorry to learn that popular Ceramics Tutor, Debbie Bent, had decided to hang up her potters wheel so to speak - at least at The Sele School. After working as a Selections Tutor since January 2013 Debbie has built a very well attended and well regarded Pottery class that always has a waiting list.
Asked to comment on her time as Selections Pottery Tutor, Debbie, who also works with Courtyard Arts In Hertford said:
'Courtyard Arts asked me if I would like to do some outreach at The Sele School in 2012. The gathering of interested parties took some time and we started evening classes on Wednesdays in January 2013. At the time a friend from University was teaching Art at Sele so we worked together using equipment and tools and sharing the kilns.
The classes were quiet at first but soon gathered momentum and a lovely warm, sociable group began to emerge. I continued to teach up until July 2021 when the class was full with a bulging waiting list.
When I started www.madewithclaystudio.com in October 2021, I realised I was struggling to teach all my classes elsewhere and luckily I had a colleague at Courtyard Arts - Teresa Morton who I knew I could ask to take over my Selections role and who would I could rely on to nurture their wonderful imagination and resourcefulness. I was very sad to leave Sele but I plan to stay on the group chat so that I can see them flourish, as I know they will.'
GCSE Results
We are delighted to be able to celebrate some wonderful performances by our Key Stage 4 students in both GCSE and vocational qualifications! Sele results continue to go from strength to strength.
As with every year, there have been some truly outstanding individual achievements by our remarkable students, all of whom have had to overcome the huge disruption caused by lockdown and the various restrictions when students were allowed back.
It has been a privilege to have worked with thistalented group of young people and to see how that our students and the wider school community worked together to overcome such adversity as we have witnessed these past two years further demonstrates the strength and resolve of our community.
The grades achieved by Sele students in 2021 were a fair and honest reflection of the hardwork that theyand staff have put in over the past two years. This cohort did so well because they are motivated, hard-working and diligentyoung people, who should give all of us hope for the future.
From the Senior Leadership team at Sele
A Level Results
Head of Sixth Form - Mrs Jane Lee writes:
This year’s results are a testament to the hard work and dedication shown by the students coupled with the support and guidance of their teachers over the last two years.
Despite the huge challenges that the pandemic had thrown at us all, personally and professionally, this year yet again all of our students who wished to go on to university successfully secured their place at their first choice university.
We are so proud of all of our students who are either going into the world of work or are off to university to study an array of subjects across the country. The subjects that our students will go on to study include Physics, Mathematics, Environmental Geography, Criminology and Sociology, American Studies, Sport Studies, Engineering, Accounting and Finance, Sports and Business Management.
A special mention to the superb achievement of Josh Ward, who achieved A*, A*, A* in Maths, Physics and Chemistry. Josh is off read Physics at Durham University. Also, our Head Student, Will Quinton, achieved a brilliant A, A, A in Maths, Physics and Chemistry and is now off to read Mathematics at Lancaster University.
I’d like to take this opportunity, on behalf of all staff, to say a very big well done to all of our students and we wish them all the very best in their future careers.
Year 12 Sociology and Finance Results
Head of Sixth Form - Mrs Jane Lee writes:
Very well done to our Year 12 students who achieved qualifications in AS Sociology and in the LIBF Certificate in Financial Studies. Your hard work and patience along with the support and guidance of your teachers has led to your success and we are very proud of you all.
A special mention to the excellent achievement of our newly appointed Head Student, Khalid Ali, who achieved an A in Finance and a B in Sociology.
I’d like to take this opportunity, on behalf of all staff, to say a very big well done to all of our students for rising to the challenge of Level 3 study in these extraordinary times and we look forward to working with you again in September.
Enjoy the rest of the holidays!
Summer School
We are looking forward to a thrilling Summer School with exciting activities for our incoming Year 7 students to enjoy during the first week of the school holiday - the timetable is below.
Summer School at The Sele School - from 26 to 30 July 2021
“From inspiration comes aspiration - start your learning journey now.”
Monday 26 July 9.00 - 3.00pm
Mysterious Monday
Drama lesson with Mr. Roberts, Music lesson with Mr. Maundrell, Fabscience.
Tuesday 27 July 9.00-4.00pm
The Young Film Academy
Workshops 9.00 - 3.00pm, Oscars 3.00 - 4.00pm
Wednesday 28 July 9.00 - 3.00pm
Left Brain versus Right Brain
The Happy Puzzle Company, Printing lesson with Ms. de Biasi, IT workshop with Ms. Coyle
Thursday 29 July 9.00 - 3.00pm
Carnival
Capoeira, Freestyle Football, Latin American Dance with performers from Redpandagency.Com
Friday 30 July
Last but not Least... 9.00 - 2.30pm (parents arrive at 2.00)
Food Technology with Ms. de Biasi, Beatbox Workshop and African Drumming with Redpandaagency.com.
Parents are invited to join us for refreshments and to sample the lovely food that students will have made. 2.00 - 2.30pm
Summer Read
On Monday all students will receive their gifted copy of “When Life gives you Mangos” by Kereen Getten.
Contact Ms. E Coyle – ecoyle@sele.herts.sch.uk
Summer Newsletter
Please click on the image below to access the Summer Newsletter
Job Opportunities at The University or Hertfordshire - hospitality department
Summer Holiday News - Sele is hosting Fit, Fed and Read
We are pleased to confirm that we will be hosting Fit, Fed and Read during the Summer Holiday from Monday to Thursday 10.00 to 14.00 starting on 2 August and ending on 26 August; see flyer for details.
Year 9 Plant Sale - Thursday 1 July; 15.00 - 17.00
Following the success of the recent initiative by Year 9 and their teacher Mrs Adams to bring the school greenhouse back into use, they have now reached the stage where they have plants for sale. On Thursday 1 July from 15.00 - 17.00 plants will be on sale at the school gates with a percentage of the profits going to the Hertford charity, Mudlarks.
On sale will be herbs, flowers and hanging baskets with prices pitched for affordability - small pots 50p, more mature plants at £1.00 and planted hanging baskets £2.00.
Year 9 are rightly proud of their work transforming the greenhouse - scroll down for pictures from the start of the project; they have made amazing improvements.
Herts County Council Anti-idling Campaign
For the remainder of the Summer Term, The Sele School is supporting the Herts CC Anti-idling Campaign. Switching off engines while waiting is good for your vehicle, saves money, improves your health and is better for everyone because it helps to achieve cleaner air for all.
We ask that parents, carers, visitors and after school users of The Sele School please help support the Anti-idling campaign and get into the habit of switching off their engine when stationary.
Love to Fitness - new classes at The Sele School
We are pleased to be working with Saracens Foundation to bring a new fitness class to The Sele School - please contact Saracens Foundation direct to book a place.
A heartfelt thanks must go to The Ocado group (@Ocado Group) for their generous donation of 20 Raspberry Pi computers. We are currently in the process of giving out the devices to our students. Raspberry Pi is a leading device which allows students to code their own computer programmes and apps.
We are now able to offer our very own Coding Club which will allow our students to develop their computer literacy in a fun and exciting way. This is all down to the support of Ocado and Raspberry Pi. If there are any students or parents/carers with an interest in this area please speak to Mr Millar.
Greenhouse gets a makeover
One of our Year 9 students writes about an exciting project being undertaken by her form to bring the school greenhouse back into use. We are tremendously grateful for the kind assistance we have received with materials to enable us to get this project off the ground.
The project is in it's infancy and we will hope to bring updates in due course. Our student writes:
The students from Project Greenhouse would like to say a huge thank you to all those individuals and companies who have supported us.
Project Greenhouse was set up by students from class 9AA at The Sele School, Hertford with the help of our fabulous form tutor Ms Ann Adams. The goal of the project is to raise funds for the Hertford Food Bank and have enough left over to put back into Project Greenhouse.
Further aims of the project are firstly, to make the greenhouse useable again for growing plants. The second aim is to give us an introduction to the responsibility of growing and caring for plants. Finally, the project helps us to acknowledge to importance of eating healthily – we will even be supplying some of the herbs and vegetables we grow to school kitchen for use in school meals.
Everyone involved would like to thank each and every person who donated time or money to the project. We would especially like to thank our sponsors: Hertfordshire Catering Ltd, Wickes of Hertford, Tesco's of Hertford, Asda of Ware, Rochford's Nursery, Leafy Oak Nursery, and Van Hages Garden Centre.
Sele Cycle Week
Sele Cycle Week is fast approaching and will offer a range of cycling activities in Sele Farm from 31 May to 1 June 2021. Make sure you are following @ActiveEastHerts as they bring you more information on the sessions available and how to book on. #SeleCycleWeek #SCW
Hertfordshire County Council wants to hear your voice!
Have your say on how COVID-19 has affected young people in Hertfordshire.
Our friends at Hertfordshire County Council are working hard to share the latest updates and information you need to keep you, your friends and loved ones safe - but they need to hear from you to make sure new campaigns and communications reflect the needs of residents.
That’s why we’re asking for a little bit of your time, to speak to Hertfordshire Council about COVID-19 and the messages you’ve been hearing on how to protect yourself and those around you. They want to know which messages you like, which you don’t, and share with you some campaign ideas for your views and feedback.
Interested? Take one minute to fill out this quick form and they’ll be in touch if you are a good fit for a short focus group that they are hosting. In return, you will be reimbursed with £40 for 90 minutes of your time.
Fit, Fed and Read at The Sele School - Easter 2021
During the Easter Holidays we were pleased to be able to host Fit, Fed and Read a health and well-being initiative for primary age children. During the two weeks of the scheme a total of 14 children from five different primaries took part in a variety of exciting activities which included a talk from Hertfordshire Constabulary about the role of a police officer and healthy eating sessions from Herts Catering Ltd with the added fun of a smoothie bike.
There was also a fire safety session from Hertfordshire Fire Service, resources and free books provided by Hertfordshire Library Service and an interactive session on the 5 ways to Well-being from Herts Mind Network. The children also took part in Learn 2 Ride and Bikeability sessions, delivered by Herts Disability Sports Foundation, with some of the participants riding a bike for the first time.
In addition the children had lots of opportunities for fun games making their holidays entertaining and enjoyable.
Fit Fed and Read is a school holiday activity programme delivered by Herts Sports Partnership. The programme received funding from the National Lottery Community Fund for Easter and Summer delivery in 2020, 2021 and 2022. The programme works in partnership with Herts Catering Limited and Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, having previously been delivered from Fire Stations across Hertfordshire.
The Sele School would like to thank our Site Team for their support in making this holiday programme possible.
Sele School Newsletter - March 2021
Or click on the link to open the Newsletter as a pdf
We shall be sitting comfortably when term begins!
There was a nice surprise in store for staff and students at The Sele School when fully on-site learning resumed, thanks to the kindness and generosity of pharmaceutical company MSD (Merck, Sharp and Dohme (UK) Limited). Formerly based in Hoddesdon, MSD has relocated its Head Office to London and has donated surplus furniture and office equipment to schools, this has enabled us to make a number of significant improvements throughout the school.
Areas that have been brightened up and improved include our Reception area, which has benefitted from new seating and a second display screen, with new seating in our Reception Meeting Room and our Conference Room allowing us to welcome visitors in greater comfort. Several classrooms have new computer monitors, there are new office chairs and tables, a ‘pod’ for the Sick Bay, comfortable seating in the Library and the Sixth Form Block has smart new seating for their IT Suite.
There are also improvements out of doors, with café style tables and chairs which will allow our students to enjoy lunch alfresco, when weather permits, in the delightful arboretum area of our grounds. Experiencing ‘nature awe’ while enjoying lunch – what could be better?
Not only were MSD tremendously generous in donating the equipment but they also provided the transport from their site to the school, plus they hired help to move things into place once they arrived at Sele and to install the Video Conferencing Units. We would like to give a special thank you to MSD staff for their kind help with the project and to thank Ann Adams and the Sele Site Team for their help in arranging things with MSD and coordinating arrival and distribution on site.
Ann Adams comments that ‘the new furniture, monitors and displays have already made an incredible difference to our school’. We thank MSD again for their very public spirited donations and for their help in arranging delivery and installation.
Easter Holiday Programme from Herts County Council
We have heard from Herts County Council that they will be delivering an Easter Holiday programme for young people who are aged 13 - 16 years and in receipt of free school meals. The programme will be delivered along with their partners and the Hertfordshire Community Foundation by YCH Services for Young People and will be free of charge.
Sessions are designed to be fun and interactive, with workshops led by YCH SfYP youth workers to explore physical fitness, healthy living and emotional wellbeing, as well as sports, games and activities to get young people active and having fun. Every participant will also enjoy afree, hot and healthy midday meal.
The programme will be delivered in-person at two Covid Secure venues in East Herts:
Ware Young People’s Centre (Marsh Lane, Ware, SG12 9QB): 29th March – 1st April 2021, 11am – 3pm.
Bishop’s Stortford Young People’s Centre (14 Northgate End , Bishop’s Stortford, CM23 2EU): 29thMarch – 1stApril 2021, 11am – 3pm.
Places are limited and booking is essential; families can self refer by clicking on the link which will take you to the YCH website.
Mental Health and Well-being Event with Dr Alex George
Students in Years 11, 12 and 13 may be interested in joining a Mental Health and Well-being event on Monday 29 March from 17.00 - 18.30; details below.
Young Professionals are proud to be hosting a wellness session exclusively for school and college students in partnership with EY.
EY Apprenticeships and Your Wellbeing, istaking place on Monday 29 March 2021, from 5:00pm - 6:30pm. We're excited to announce that we'll be joined by A&E TV Doctor, Dr. Alex George, who will be talking to us about the importance of looking after our mental health. Dr. Alex has recently been appointed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson as Youth Mental Health Ambassador, so this is a topic he's truly passionate about. We'll be running this session as a Q&A and taking questions from the audience. We'll also cover a quick introduction to EY and then hear from some of our current apprentices about how they manage their wellbeing at work, with tips on how they stay resilient.
Staff and students were pleased to learn that the two Christmas Jumper Days held in the Autumn Term were successful in raising £317.37 for the East and North Herts Hospitals' Charity. We were delighted to receive a letter from the charity confirming receipt of the donation; the charity supports local patients and families treated at East and North Herts Hospitals by helping to fund the best kit and equipment as well as helping to fund research, training and improvements to their sites.
The Sele School is delighted to have been able to make a donation to this very worthwhile charity and thanks all of the staff and students who participated in the fund raising Jumper Days.
Digswell Place Riding for the Disabled - Art Competition
Digswell Place RDA are on the look out for talented photographers and artists to enter their competition, which challenges you to create an artwork inspired by horses, pets or wildlife. There are separate categories for artwork using traditional materials and for photography along with five age groups ranging from three years old to adult.
A small entry fee applies and there are great prizes for the winner of each age group in both categories. For details of how to enter go to Digswell Place RDA website.
National Careers Week: 1 - 6 March 2021
As part of National Careers Week we are delighted to pass on the following invitation to students from Adastral Park with three special online sessions to access.
Following the success of the young people’s Covid-19 webinar last year, Hertfordshire County Council and Public Health Hertfordshire have arranged another follow-up session. Hertfordshire’s 11-19 year olds are encouraged to take part in thisfreeevent onWednesday 17thFebruary, 11:30am-12:30pm.
This is an ideal opportunity for young people to listen to reliable information from the panel members below, who will be talking about some of the anxieties many people are experiencing and answering questions and concerns raised by young people living in Hertfordshire:
Councillor Terry Douris:Cabinet Member for Education, Libraries and Localism
Dr Alison Frater: Public Health Consultant
Liz Shapland:Deputy Education Services Director (Secondary), Herts for Learning
Tania Rawle: Head of School Standards and Accountability, Education, Children’s Services
There will be a chat function during the webinar, so questions can be submitted and answered live. You can find more information and also register for the eventhere.Or, if you have any queries, please contactJustTalk@hertfordshire.gov.uk.
Art and wellbeing
Art isn't just for those taking it at GCSE and A level. It can be for everyone and below you will see three initiatives that are currently running to try and keep the nation creating.
The Sele School will be taking part in Team GB and Paralympics GB's virtual Travel to Tokyo challenge and we're encouraging the entire school community to join in too!
We have turned the school into a Travel to Tokyo team and they will be making a 47,349 kilometre virtual journey around the world to reach Tokyo in time for the 2021 Olympic and Paralympic Games. All you need to do is get active as a family and record your activity on our easy-to use Log Activity page.
You can get started by trying some fun Travel to Tokyo activity ideas. All the physical activity your family does will count towards our team journey. You don’t need lots of equipment or space – playing in the park or having a dance off to your favourite song – if it gets your heart pumping, it all counts!
There will also be great prizes to win, like Fitness Trackers and Games Hampers for the whole family.
Form groups in Years 7 and 8 will be competing against each other to see who is able to log the most activity.
You can keep track of our team's progress and check out the weekly prize on our School Dashboard. Select their team to see their journey across the world!
The link below will take you to our school page to log your activity and track our progress.
The Sele School Annual General Meeting will take place on Monday 7 December starting at 18.30. Due to CV-19 on this occasion the meeting will be held remotely.
This is a public meeting. If you wish to attend please email Clerk@sele.herts.sch.uk so that an invitation to join the virtual meeting can be arranged.
The Sele School and Herts Welcomes Refugees
Christmas is known as a time for giving and for thinking of those who find themselves in difficult situations and with this in mind this year staff at The Sele School arranged an appeal amongst themselves to donate toys and other gifts for refugee children in Hertfordshire. We are pleased to hear from the charity 'Herts Welcomes Refugees' that donations from The Sele School and Morgans Primary School have helped the charity to reach their target of having enough gifts for all of the children in the county.
Former Sele student releases Christmas song
News reaches us that former Sele student Cedar Rose Johnson has released a Christmas song - Santa's Beard. Follow the link to listen , or go to our Alumni pages to read more about Cedar.
In amongst all the problems that have beset the world this year, we thought a good news story might make a really nice change. This story is both from very far away (Mongolia) and close at hand (Cambridge) and it encompasses some key issues of the times - the importance of education, the need to conserve the environment and how people can make a living in a sustainable manner.
Imagine being the first in your family to do something really challenging - this story is about someone who was the first in her country; a person who has taken the lessons learned and applied them in a practical way to make things better in her homeland. It demonstrates that knowledge can be used to not only improve our own circumstances but also the environment and how a nation prospers from its natural resources.
Sele students need to know they can be the first in their family, or their street or the first in Hertfordshire to achieve........that space could be filled with any goal or target - maybe as big a target as being the first person from your country to attend Cambridge University? They also need to know studying a range of subjects allows them to make connections between domains that may seem divergent but are intrinsically intertwined. A broad education, such as studying a modern foreign language, allows them to pursue adventures abroad and be a force for good in their community and their nation when they return.
Talented mother of Sele Student releases first album
We are excited to hear that the mother of one of our Year 8 students has released an album; another amazing success story from the Sele Community. We look forward to welcoming Mrs Jenny Salmon into school to discuss her career with students who are studying music and to explore where this fabulous subject can take you.
At Sele we are a community of scholars and relish the fact that every area of study contains its own unique knowledge to be acquired and developed into mastery of the subject.
After contacting Jenny for more information about her history and development as a musician it was interesting to learn that she started learning to play the guitar at the age of nine and co-opted her pianist elder sister into learning some songs they could perform together in talent shows. Once their younger sister joined them 'The Salmon Sisters' were often to be found gigging at live music venues all over the UK, when Jenny was still only 13 years old.
The Salmon Sisters played together for ten years, backing some of the big names of the time and appearing on TV, before deciding to pursue new careers, which saw Jenny become a solo artist. Five years living in New Zealand saw Jenny studying and gaining a diploma as a music teacher at the same time as pursuing a successful solo career.
After moving back to the UK and re-joining the music scene here, this summer Jenny finally achieved her lifelong ambition of writing and recording her own music, with lyrics by her partner, David White. Their album 'This Time' is now available on Amazon Music, iTunes and Spotify.
Congratulations to our fund raisers
Congratulations to the Fund Raising Committee for Children in Need; the final total raised was £460.40.
GCSE Drama - postponed
Please note that GCSE Drama Rehearsals and Examinations have been postponed. New dates will be advised ASAP.
The Sele School is delighted to have been invited to take part in an Underpass Art initiative, turning this usually plain space into an informal Art Gallery. Linking St Andrew's Street to Gascoyne Way and likely to get a lot more foot traffic with the recent opening of a new supermarket, the underpass has been lined with art works from local schools and showcases four works by our talented students.
NHS Cadets Programme launches in Hertfordshire
This September NHS England along with NHS Innovation, St John Ambulance and local providers, will launch their new national programme: The NHS Cadets.
The Cadet programme aims to support vulnerable young people aged 14-16 to access meaningful volunteer experiences within a healthcare environment while enjoying relevant training and development opportunities.
The NHS understands that there are numerous barriers that can prevent younger vulnerable teens volunteering within health care, not least because of their age and by the time they are old enough to do so, they may no longer be interested. The NHS also understands that many people believe the only job opportunities within the NHS are for highly qualified health care professionals.
The NHS Cadet and Summer Cadet Programmes are fully funded and open to all young people aged 14-16; the programme is particularly relevant to students who may be feeling quite lost in terms of academic options.
Hertfordshire MIND Network - live Q&A for young people
Hertfordshire MIND Network are hosting a live Q&A session for children and young people on their Instagram platform (@hertfordshiremind), on Tuesday 14th July between 11am – 12pm. They will be discussing tips on how to manage boredom, adapting to change, and promoting ways to help manage our mental health, as well as answering any questions live!
For those who would like to remain anonymous or not on Instagram, MIND are encouraging people to send through questions to cyp@hertsmindnetwork.org and will provide answers to these individually and as part of the live chat. Deadline for questions sent in advance is Monday 13th July at 12pm.
Please join the live chat and/or send in your questions! MIND also be answering any questions that come through the Instagram story for the rest of that afternoon – follow them at @hertfordshiremind. The session will be recorded and available for people to watch later.
Coronavirus Monologue - the print version
This is Evie's monologue - you can still listen to the recording by scrolling down and clicking on the link:
Stay inside, save lives. Saving lives by staying inside. Quarantine, it’s like prison but with no bars, a week went by. Stories everyday about people being infected. I noticed something though. New case: 68 year old dies from corona virus! New case: 78 year old dies from corona virus! New case: 89 year old dies from corona virus! “People with underlying health issues, weak immune systems and old people are most at risk!” they said. I’m just a kid. My friends are just kids, we can go out. We won’t die. Our immune systems are perfectly fine! So that’s what we did, a group of us, meeting up everyday for a week. We’re just kids, it’ll be fine! Until I got a message one night ”Guys, I feel ill, I can’t go tomorrow, I’ve been coughing, a temperature and feel like i can’t breath, it’s probably just my asthma though maybe another time.” That sounded familiar. Symptoms of covid-19: lack of breath, temperature, dry coughs. No, that’s not possible. It can’t of been. We’re just kids. That’s not fair, we have our whole lives to live. Test results: positive. Week after week, day in day out, she was kept in hospital, we didn’t know it was that serious.
It frightened us, made us realise how fragile life can be. When you're young, you think you're invincible! You're not! During the time when she was in hospital, I became overwhelmed with emotions. Thinking we might lose her. I felt angry with the world and upset, so upset. I remember crying and crying and I couldn't stop myself. Why would any god allow this to happen in our world? She had never done anything to deserve this. I felt empty. Speaking to her parents was the worst, you could hear in their voices that hope was fading. I've never seen an adult cry, my mum and dad always show me positives. Try to protect me from the harsh realities of life. I get it! BUT then how do you learn to deal with difficulties? No child should be in hospital battling for their life. That phone call I will never forget. It was on Thursday 16th April 2020, that phone call which gave me the biggest sense of relief. She pulled through. Fought this invisible evil. I have so much admiration for her. She is so strong! She did it! She did it without her parents being able to hold her hand, to visit her. She didn't give up! She is my super hero.
I've been inside for 4 weeks now, only seeing a glimpse of the outside world through my window. Anyone can get it, anyone can be a carrier. Stay inside, save lives, it doesn’t matter if you’re just a kid.
Covid-19 has definitely tested us all here. I don't know if we will ever look at the world the same, but maybe that's a good thing. The media is full of images of nature replenishing. Human nature has become selfish, self-absorbed. Is this a way of it telling us to stop-that there is something bigger than us? I know, I will definitely look to the little things more-value my family and friends-not take anything for granted. How much a hug means. Look after each other, really look after each other. One day we will be learning about this in schools in the future, the History of the world and we will all be able to say we lived through that. I am sure I will tell stories to my grandchildren about what life was like but one thing I hope for the future is that we reflect and learn from this devastating experience to create a better world.
Competition - Visions of a world after COVID-19
What is your vision for the world after coronavirus? The global pandemic has raised many questions, both on a personal level and about how society is organised, how public health challenges should be met and how economic uncertainty can be tackled.
Given the thought provoking nature of the situation, UCL and openDemocracy would like to hear the views of young people and they invite you to have a say - putting forward your best ideas for what should come next by entering this competition.
The competition, run by UCL and openDemocracy is open to school and university students (aged 14 and up) to share their vision of the future, with prizes of £200, £100 or £50 in book tokens plus the chance for personal mentoring from the panel of some of the world's foremost thinkers and some fantastic work experience with either UCL or openDemocracy.
Entrants can submit either a written article, a short video or image that describes their vision for the world after the coronavirus crisis has passed. For further info, please click on the link: World after COVID-19
Covid-19 Monologue
Talented Year 10 GCSE Drama Student has written and recorded a brilliant monologue about the devastating personal and public effects of the Covid-19 Emergency. Click here to listen: Corona Virus Monologue
The piece is fictional and was inspired by what Evie had heard about other people's experiences; it was written to be showcased in the Mayor's Celebrations this year. The character Evie has imagined and who speaks, is a 15 year old girl from Hertford who has experienced the worry and fear of having someone close to them hospitalised due to CV-19; she talks about the feelings this provokes and the consequent changes in her outlook and values.
We hope you enjoy this moving and thought provoking example of a young person's viewpoint of the current situation.
Just launched is a new and exciting opportunity for students in Years 7, 8 and 9 at The Sele School, a sizzling short story competition with the theme 'Summer 2020'. We know our students have fabulous creative writing talents and plan is to launch a virtual anthology of their work.
As well as seeing their work in print there will also be prizes for the best story in each year group. Please click on the link to see the rules and some ideas to get you started: Summer Sizzler KS3 Creative Writing Competition
Want to expand your horizons? The Headteacher recommends:
Head teacher, Chris Quach, suggests that students wanting to expand their horizons or to understand the world from a different perspective, the following podcast run by two young women exploring human themes through the literary lens would make interesting listening.
Literary Friction is a conversation about books and ideas, hosted by friends Carrie and Octavia. Each month we interview an author about their book and build the show around a related theme.
Congratulations to Former Sele Students
Huge congratulations go out to former Sele School student, Alex Harris, who has, this month, achieved his Doctorate in Medicine from Cambridge University.
We are extremely proud of you and your tremendous achievement, Dr Harris, and wish you every success in a long and distinguished career in medicine.
'Happy as a Happy Thing' is how we feel about our extremely talented former student, Cedar Johnson, who has written, performed and produced this emotional and humbling song and video summing up our lives at the moment in this time of uncertainty and unknown. Please click on the link to visit Cedar's website to watch and hear this excellent production: Happy as a Happy Thing by Cedar Rose Johnson
CRY Testing Event at The Sele School
At the end of February, The Sele School was happy to host a screening event run by CRY in conjunction with Bengeo Tigers FC. CRY is a charity - Cardiac Risk in the Young and the screening was intended to help give advance warning of any undiagnosed heart problems that might exist amongst the 110 young people who attended the session.
After the screening session the following message was posted on social media by Karen Blease, whose son Mathew passed due to a heart condition; the fund that Karen and her husband started in memory of their son helped to fund the event:
Cardiac Risk in the Young Screening Event
On Saturday 29th February Bengeo Tigers FC hosted their first Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY) heart screening event for 14 to 35 year olds at The Sele School, Hertford.
The private event was funded from the Mathew Blease Memorial Fund held by CRY.
Myself and my husband Steve started the fund in memory of our son who died at the age of 13 through viral myocarditis. The same year there was also another pupil aged 14 at the same school that died through an undiagnosed heart condition, both were football players. We need to prevent this from happening to other children.
There was a positive atmosphere on the day and I spoke to many of the parents and those who were being screened, before and after the event. the feed back was very positive.
We screened 110 youngsters on the day which is fantastic.
A big thankyou:
To the CRY team that made the screening happen
To everyone who made a donation to replenish the Mathew Blease memorial fund this will help us to fund another event in partnership with Bengeo Tigers FC.
Bengeo Tigers FC, Committee, coaches, parents and players for their support.
The Sele School who provided us with the rooms for the screening.
Thankyou to Matt the caretaker for his assistance on the day.
Statistics show there are 12 young people die a week of undiagnosed heart conditions. We need this message to reach everyone.
Good Citizenship demonstrated at The Sele School
On Tuesday 11th February students at The Sele School participated in a Drop-Down Day where they participated in Citizenship lessons. Each year group focused on a different theme.
In Key Stage 3 the Year 7's looked at the Rights and Responsibilities of Citizens; Year 8 investigated what makes up a community and Year 9 examined the Criminal Justice System. Meanwhile, in Key Stage 4, Year 10 considered Human Rights and developed their understanding of the topic, while Year 11 looked at the Global Community, which included examining the role of the UN and of the EU and considering the impact of Brexit.
Our Sixth Form Students demonstrated the role of leadership by supporting the Lower School in their lessons and taking a lead in group tasks. The students were engaged with the variety of tasks they undertook during the day.
Tasks included; designing community centres, carrying out surveys/questionnaires and participating in role plays and debates. Students at Sele gained a good understanding of how these topics are vital in preparing them for their future as ‘Global Citizens.’
Volunteering in India
We are delighted to announce that Lily, one of our Year 13 students, has qualified to take part in an exciting volunteering adventure with Project Trust. To qualify, Lily had to independently travel to the Isle of Coll, Scotland, via train, ferry and road to complete a physically, mentally and emotionally challenging week in order to demonstrate to the charity she has what it takes.
Lily is now busy raising the £6,000 required to pay for her flight and lodgings for the year that she will spend in Hyderabah, India; working at a school for blind children. Lily is passionate about becoming a teacher for children with special needs and therefore has deferred her university offer while she takes this gap year.
We are immensely proud of Lily for taking on this huge commitment and all the volunteering work she currently does at Myddleton School, Ware alongside her A Level studies.
Thanks to Tesco, Hertford - Performing Arts Fundraiser
Thanks to Tesco, Hertford Key Stage 3 students will be able to enjoy drinks and snacks when they attend a special - for one night only - fundraising Movie Night at The Sele School on Thursday 13 February. Aiming to raise money for Performing Arts Equipment, Mrs Adams has arranged a series of fundraising events, of which this is the first.
Showing - Jumaniji: Welcome to the Jungle we hope that students will have an enjoyable evening and would like to thank Tesco, Hertford for their generous support of the event.
Update on the Japan Trip Fundraising drive
We are now pleased to be able to acknowledge the generous donors who have enabled us to reach the current total of £2,900 towards the costs of the trip to Japan to be taken later this year. As previously reported our students have been working hard to achieve the funds needed to enable them to participate in this once in a lifetime opportunity and have enjoyed the support of Sele Governor, Stephen McEnally throughout the process.
In addition to grants gratefully received from the Newton Exhibition Foundation, Hertford Town Council, Hertfordshire County Council's Locality Budget and the Rotary Club of Hertford, the four students and their teacher would like to give particular thanks to Tom McMullen (Joint Managing Director of McMullen's) for his very generous personal donation.
Hertford Town Council supports Sele students
We are pleased to be able to confirm that Hertford Town Council, through their Community grant scheme, has generously supported our fund raising drive to enable four of our Year 12 students to travel to Japan this summer. Recognising the fantastic educational opportunity offered through the Clifton Scientific Trust's UK-Japan Young Scientist Workshop Programme, the Town Council's Finance, Policy and Administration Committee voted to award The Sele School £1,200 to enable our students to participate in this prestigious scheme.
Grants were also awarded to three other local organisations and good causes. The Chairman of the Finance, Policy and Administration Committee, Cllr Bob Deering, said “The Town Council are extremely pleased to be in a position to award grants to such a range of good causes in the Hertford area. It is such a wonderful start to the New Year and it is hoped that this additional funding will make a difference to these organisations that carry out excellent work in the community. These initiatives will help provide some positive cultural additions to the town and the community and support the Hertfordshire Year of Culture 2020.”
Julia Bateson, Chair of Governors at the Sele School added “This grant is a major boost for the four students who are currently involved in fundraising a total of £10,000 towards the trip to Japan. We are overwhelmed and delighted that the School has been chosen as one of only five schools across the UK to participate in this prestigious international Young Scientists Workshop and we thank Hertford Town Council for their generous contribution.”
Further details of the planned trip to Japan are in the News item below and for a full report of Hertford Town Council's local grant awards please go to their website.
Sele students heading for Japan
Four of our Year 12 Science Students along with one teacher, will be heading for Japan in July at the invitation of the Clifton Scientific Trust. The Sele School is privileged to have been offered a place on this prestigious scheme for the third time, as this opportunity is only open to five schools nationwide.
With the support of Sele Governor, Stephen McEnally, students have been working hard to obtain sponsorship and raise money to enable them to participate in this chance of a lifetime. To date the magnificent total of £2,900 has been raised and the students concerned wish to thank all of the donors and sponsors who have contributed for their generous support.
We look forward to further fundraising efforts by FOSS and by the students, as they work towards the total they need for the trip. We will report on their experiences of meeting international students and spending time in Japan later in the year.
Sele students in Hertford Dramatic and Operatic Society Panto
Later this week (Wednesday 15 to Sunday 19 January) three Sele students will be taking part in the HDOS Traditional Pantomime, Sleeping Beauty, at Hertford Theatre. Our Head Boy will be taking a role in the back stage organisation that makes the performance run smoothly, while one of his fellow Sixth Formers has multiple roles as a dancer, zombie and sprite.
Meanwhile one of our Year 7 students will be helping out with props while also taking a role in the chorus and appearing as a rat and a ghost. We hope that they all 'break a leg' as the saying goes.
Tickets for the pantomime are available from Hertford Theatre box office.
Democracy in action at The Sele School
It was a Liberal Democrat victory for Joe Thomas in Sele’s very own mock election. With the real elections upon us, it was the perfect opportunity to mirror such an influential event for the entire country, giving students an insight into the procedures and the importance of a general election.
Five Sixth Formers took on the role of candidates for the main political parties and along with their campaign teams, researched their policies and wrote their campaign speeches. Candidates and their teams promoted their parties in various ways across the school, ranging from leaflets and posters to campaign songs, campaign videos and interrupting assemblies to promote their message.
Behind the scenes other members of the sixth form were busy preparing the polling station; collating the school’s electoral role; producing the ballot papers and every other job that ensured a successful running of events.
Finally, the big day arrived - Thursday 12th December 2019. The school was eagerly anticipating the long-awaited speeches from each candidate: Tom Gilbert (Conservative), Naomi Jay (Green Party), Joe Thomas (Liberal Democrats), Regina Vargacz (Labour) and Renee Walters (Brexit).
Every speech was well researched and delivered, with a huge focus being on the Education, Health and Environmental Policies each party had. Each candidate also had a fair bit to say about the other parties’ policies, as well as Brexit!
However, there could only be one winner and after a day of student and teacher voting, the Liberal Democrat candidate, Joe Thomas, was declared the winner of The Sele School 2019 elections. Joe gave a very professional and inspirational speech that ensured a landslide victory with 212 votes (55%). Joe was very surprised at his victory and thanked his opponents and his team for all their hard work. He also thanked the voters for recognising the qualities he had as a candidate.
The prize for the best campaign team was awarded to the Liberal Democrats who had spent hours producing very professional videos, leaflets and posters and who were leading the campaigning around the school. They had also taken over the school canteen’s cakes with their Liberal Democrat flags! Prizes were also awarded to the most organised team, which was the Conservative Party, led by William Quinton.
With the results announced and the speeches over, it was time to thank each candidate for participating, as well as the rest of the sixth formers who volunteered to be a part of this important Citizenship event. The whole school was involved in the election and students were able to see that every vote really does matter!
Sponsored read
Congratulations to Erin Morgan of 7JD the winner of our sponsored read who enjoyed a magnificent eight hours and 40 minutes of reading.
FOSS - Raising Funds for Performing Arts Equipment
We have a wonderful Christmas Hamper donated by FOSS on display in Reception at The Sele School and tickets are on sale from Tuesday 10 December.
Further details are on the 'Letters sent Home' page.
Summertime Special Olympics Fundraiser
The summer seems a long time ago but Sele was delighted to host a netball tournament, earlier this year, to help raise funds to enable Special Olympics East Herts to send a team to the National Games, due to be held in Liverpool in 2021. England and Saracens Mavericks star George Fisher attended to help raise funds for this very worthy cause.
Sele Open Day - Biscuit Brilliance
At our recent Open Day visiting children learned about religious symbols and were tasked with recreating them using only biscuits and icing; there were some excellent results.
Jeans for Genes Day - fundraising for Genetic Disorders UK
On Friday 20 September 2019, the Sixth Form Senior Student Committee will be holding a ‘Wear Your Jeans Day’ as part of Jeans For Genes. This initiative will raise funds for Genetic Disorders UK which provides services for families with a member who has a genetic disorder.
In order to support this cause, students will be allowed to wear their own jeans to school on Friday 20 September 2019 instead of their school trousers or skirt. They must, however, wear the rest of their uniform including their blazer, shirt, tie and school shoes on that day.
We ask that every student taking part and wearing jeans to school on Friday 20 September donates a minimum of £1. This will be collected in on the morning of Friday 20 September, during form time.
Thank you for your generosity and continued support.
Dementia Cupcake Day - fundraising for the Alzheimer's Society
The Sele School will be holding our cupcake day on Thursday 19th September. The objective is to raise funds to help with the costs of pioneering research, crucial support services and vital care.
The Alzheimer's Society say that in the average time it takes to bake a batch of cakes, six people in the UK will develop dementia, which is now the leading cause of death in England and Wales. Dementia has overtaken both cancer and heart disease to be the UK's biggest killer; unfortunately, no cure for dementia has been discovered as yet.
We hope to do a little to help, with members of staff and students joining in the school's fundraising efforts.
Year 10 Maths Enrichment Day at the University of Hertfordshire
In July Mrs Lee, Mathematics Teacher, took 11 students from Year 10 to the University of Hertfordshire for a day packed full of fun and challenging mathematics.
Throughout the day, the students participated in multiple activities which included a workshop that required them to create a pyramid with a regular hexagonal base using just a 20cm square piece of card. The challenge was to draw a net and construct a polyhedron that would give maximum volume from the small piece of square card supplied!
There was also had a workshop discovering the mathematics in magic. The students were taken through some magic ‘tricks’ and then introduced to the algorithmic nature of many of the tricks which relied on the properties of number in order for them to work. The students had great fun and then satisfaction when they could understand how the ‘magic’ happened!
After lunch the students were given a talk on ‘The Creation of Number’ delivered by Ben Sparks from the University of Bath. He discussed and put open to debate whether numbers are created or discovered. This debate expanded into the wider philosophical reaches of the ideas of mathematics and made the students think about the fundamental concepts that build up our understanding and application of the complexities of mathematics today.
Sports Day
After really bad luck with the weather caused Sports Day to be run in stages while dodging the summer downpours, we finally have a result:
Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Overall Points
1st Bayley Bayley Castle Castle Bayley 1265
2nd Castle Castle Bayley Bayley Castle 1217
3rd Shire Shire Shire Shire Shire 1066
Sele in the News
It's always nice to get a mention in the national press and earlier this year we were delighted to be name checked by former Sele Student Emma Liu when she was interviewed in the Financial Times weekend magazine. Now the Leverhulme Research Fellow in Volcanology at Cambridge University's Department for Earth Sciences; Emma's research involves the measurement of the metals in volcanic emissions. When asked about her early education, Emma referred to attending The Sele School, followed by studying Earth Sciences at Oxford then a PhD in Volcanology at Bristol University.
Our other mention in the national press came in the Saturday magazine of The Guardian when a 'Let's move to' article featured Hertford and listed The Sele School as being 'good' in accordance with our most recent Ofsted report.
University of Hertfordshire Pathfinder Day
Students in Year 9 recently visited the University of Hertfordshire to take part in a Pathfinder Day. The aim of the Pathfinder Days to introduce pupils to University life and inspire students to succeed.
Student took part in quizzes and discussion about University life as well as taking a tour around campus to see how students live on site. The day was summarised with them taking part in a group challenge to display what they had found out from the day by showcasing not only their knowledge but creativity and presentation skills.
The students were engaged and worked really hard giving the staff a tough job to pick a winning team Here is what some of the students had to say about the day:
“I liked the fact that they showed two point of views of the different accommodation there; living away from the uni or living on campus”
“I liked how the University showed us different careers we could pursue and what life on campus would be like if we went there.”
“Today started with some games including quizzes. I was put into the blue team. This was the start of a point scoring, which ever team got the most points through the day would win.
Next we had a break followed by a presentation on essentials of university life. This was followed by a tour of the university. I found this interesting as I could see what was on offer at the university.
After the tour we had lunch.
Lunch was followed by having to estimate the amount of budget for living in university. This gave me an insight into just how expensive it could be.
The winning team was announced at the end of the day, the blue team won. We were given a bag of random gifts.”
Sele Students raise funds for Charities
Year 11 students at The Sele School in Hertford presented cheques to representatives from three different charities during their assembly. Each of the charities were chosen after a vote by the students when they were lower down the school.
11 Castle supported Keech Hospice a local charity;
11 Bayley supported Mind, a national charity and
11 Shire supported The Smile Train which is an international charity.
The form captains promoted their charities during their time at school by delivering assemblies to raise awareness about the work of their charity and arranged a fund raising event. The students arranged for students and staff to participate in a hoody day, where for a donation of £1.00 students were able to come to school wearing a hoody instead of their school blazer.
This was a popular event and a total of £375.00 was raised. All donations were distributed between the three charities and presented at the assembly.
Sharn Tomlinson accepted the cheque on behalf of Keech Hospice; Sally Patterson accepted the funds raised on behalf of Mind in Mid Herts and Ian Vallance collected the donation on behalf of The Smile Train. Each representative spoke about what the money could do for their charity; Sharn Tomlinson exclaimed "We were very impressed with the school; it was a pleasure to meet the young people."
Elaine Buxton, Head of Years 10 and 11 who arranged the initiative, said "It is fantastic to see our young people so engaged in choosing and supporting these causes. It has been so successful that we hope to repeat this in the future with up and coming year groups."
New Mini-Bus for The Sele School
The Sele School is delighted to have been able to purchase a new mini-bus recently, with both students and teachers now looking forward to travelling in style. We are very grateful to The Friends of Sele School (FOSS) who kindly donated £4,000 towards the cost of the new vehicle and would also like to thank Councillor Bob Deering who arranged for the school to receive a further £1,000 towards the purchase from the Herts County Council Locality Budget Scheme.
Should you be interested in becoming involved in FOSS details of who can join and how to get in touch are on the FOSS page of our website.
Year 8 PGL Trip to Wiltshire
On Friday 17th May, 45 students and five members of Staff set off for Liddington in Wiltshire.
The weather for the weekend looked promising with no forecast of rain. Although it was a bit drizzly on arrival, it didn’t dampen our spirits and over the weekend the weather got warmer, with the sun eventually coming out on Sunday.
On our first day we took part in Raft Building and Giant Swing. Raft Building ended up with everybody getting very wet in the lake as the rafts we made with barrels and rope unfortunately did eventually fall apart.
Giant Swing is a huge swing for two. With the help of the group the ropes are pulled making the swing go as high as possible; the chord is then pulled, causing the swing to fall and then rock forward and backwards.
Saturday was another busy day enjoying Zip Wire, Orienteering, Crate Challenge and Course Challenge. Ending with dancing the evening away at the Disco!
Sunday was an early start, up at 6.30am, with rooms to tidy and breakfast in the restaurant, before finishing our weekend with Sensory Trail and Abseiling.
The coach journey home was a very quiet one and although most of the students were very tired they all agreed that they had enjoyed a great time away.
Year 7 Castle Challenge
Year 7 student Niamh writes enthusiastically about a recent history project.
'Year 7 took part in a fun project where we had to design & build a castle. We had to choose a location and think carefully about the population, movement of people and goods as well as ensuring that the castle could be easily defended. Then we were tasked with writing a letter to the builder, detailing what we wanted to be in our castle and how we wanted it designed. Next, we were given a castle shopping list and told that we had 130 shillings spending limit, making sure that we had the necessary structures for a well-defended castle. These included: a keep, portcullis, barbican, towers, curtain wall, moat and many others.
We had to complete two drawings – a side view and a floor plan. These had to be labelled and have everything drawn on. In order to succeed in preventing our teacher from attacking our castle, we had to match everything up. The floor plan, letter to the builder and the budget sheet had to show all the same items.
The final task was to bring the castles to life. This could have been done as a drawing, model or it could have been a virtual castle. Building a castle was challenging because you had to follow the plans exactly. So if you had made your plan complicated, then it would be a harder job to create it. Creating the castles was also fun because it was a task that encouraged us to be creative.'
The winning castles, judged by Mrs Winship were as follows -
1st: Harry and Niamh, 2nd: Leonie, 3rd: Natasha, Honourable Mention: Lilly, Virtual Castle: Gareth, Students' Choice: Lola and Most Creative Media: Amy.
Wear Red for Comic Relief
Sele Students were literally seeing red on Friday 15 March when the 2019 Comic Relief challenge was to exchange an article of their school uniform with something red instead. Articles of red clothing could be accessorised with a red nose for those who didn't mind being partially 'red in the face'.
Students rose to the challenge, paying a small fee for the privilege and raising over £200 for Comic Relief. We congratulate them on their sometimes imaginative interpretation of the 'wear red' brief and on their fund raising efforts.
Year 7 PGL Trip to Wiltshire
Between 8th and 10th February, Year 7 students went to PGL in Wiltshire where they took part in all sorts of activities. One of the firm favourites with the group was the very exciting giant swing and zip wire where students wore safety harnesses and were clipped on to a metal bar.
As well as a variety of sporting activities, there was also evening free time fun, which included a disco and several rounds of party games. One student stated “My favourite part of the night was when we played Splash; in the game, we had to wrap up a water balloon in cardboard boxes and tape to protect it and then test if it would pop when being dropped from a high height.”
Overall, the trip was an adventurous and exhilarating expedition that the students would love to do again.
Maths Club
One of our Year 9 Students writes about the enjoyment and challenge of Maths Club.
Every Tuesday after school from 3pm to 4pm the school’s Year 11 mathematicians run our Maths Club. Students from Years 8 to 11 who are very able in mathematics are invited to attend the club where we learn and practice problem solving skills with various types of puzzles like crossnumbers and relays and we race to see who completes the most problems in the hour. We also play maths games like Chess, Otrio and Mastermind or we complete Tarzia maths puzzles.
This is all practice to prepare for the national UKMT mathematics competition which takes place at Cambridge University each year. There are only four members per team so we work hard in order to be chosen to represent the school. I attended last year and I hope to be chosen again this year.
Race for Life - 14 December
One of our Year 9 Students writes about our annual fund raising Fun Run - the Race for Life.
Every year, the PE Department holds a Race for Life at the school, where everyone is invited to take part and raise money for Cancer Research. We are encouraged to get sponsored to do the run and we can even wear fancy dress on the day!
The race itself is three laps around the perimeter of the school’s fields; which is a lot more challenging than it sounds! Most teachers took part in the race and the others are placed along the course cheering you along the way, however, if you are like me and jog the whole route, you won’t have much breath to talk back!
At the beginning of the race I wanted to walk, but when we were encouraged to jog at least some of it, once I’d got started I didn’t want to stop jogging. When I finished, I realised some of the others I had just gone past still had one more lap to go, which made me feel even better about what I had accomplished.
I managed to achieve 3rd place in my year and in the first fifteen of the whole school! I then also enjoyed cheering my friends on to the finish.
Year 7 Trip to Verulamium
One of our new Year 7 students writes about a school field trip to the historic site of the Roman town of Verulamium.
In the first term of Year 7, we went on a trip o St Albans to visit the Verulamium Museum. After arriving in St Albans, the year was split into five groups and we explored the museum.
At the beginning we watched a video about the history of the city. We then were given a worksheet, full of questions about the information displayed about the many items on display in the museum and gradually we all completed the worksheet.
We were took part in a workshop with the museum staff where we learnt more about the artefacts and even had the opportunity to touch and hold them! It was great fun and we all really enjoyed the day.
Sele triumph in the VEX Robot Rumble 2019
At the VEX Robot Rumble, held at the University of Hertfordshire in January, The Sele School Year 10 Robotics Team beat fifteen other schools to win the overall competition. This was the culmination of nine months of weekly sessions spent designing, building and programming the robot and was a first time win in this Tournament for The Sele School.
One of the team reports that the Sele robot had four wheels and a claw that operated with brutal force but it seemed as though the team might be down and out when the claw stopped functioning while the team was lying in third place. However, there were alliances to be made and by working together with John Warner School and both teams playing to their robots respective strengths there was a points bonanza propelling the Sele robot through the quarter and semi finals and into first place.
Congratulations to Izzy who built the robot, Callum the programmer, Bruno the strategist and to Tom, Josh and Megan who drove the robot through 14 challenges to take the title. We congratulate them all on this fantastic achievement.
Sixth Form Enrichment Day 2018
Head Girl, Gemma reflects on a recent visit to Tate Modern
On the 24thOctober 2018 The Sele School Sixth Form travelled to the Tate Modern in London for a day of modern art. We split up into smaller groups allowing us to better investigate the various art installations that were within the converted powerhouse. For the A-Level Art students it gave them a chance to take photos to help with their portfolios and, for the rest of us, it was a day away from school where we could view art that we wouldn't normally see.
One of the first rooms that we explored was a room with nothing in it. It was an exhibition that took a slightly different form to the art that you would normally expect to see. The room had been filled with an organic compound designed to make us cry. Its goal was to have you think about the immigration crisis currently impacting the world, to think of all those that had been displaced by the various wars. The organic compound was certainly overpowering and some did cry. Many of the pieces throughout the galleries were designed to be thought provoking, forcing you to stop and think for a minute. Others were simply demonstrations of the amount of time, dedication and effort people have to put into their work. However, there were also some that were just peculiar, including a Sainsbury’s receipt for a transaction amounting to just over £53.00.
This Enrichment Day certainly had been interesting and we all came away from the day better informed.
For more images of the Sixth Form visit to Tate Modern please see Galleries.
Sele Science Students experience Japan
Two sixth form students from the Sele school, accompanied by teacher, Robin Atkins, spent ten days during the summer taking part in a prestigious UK - Japan cultural and scientific exchange. The school was selected for the second year running by the Clifton Scientific Trust in Bristol, as one of only six schools in the UK to be invited to the 2018 exchange. After a rigorous selection process Victoria and Jordan were invited to represent the school in Japan.
This year the trip was centred in Sendai a city in the North of Japan at the renown TÅ?hoku University. Here the students attended workshops where Victoria investigated cellular viability using fluorescent probe technique and Jordan researched and produced innovative science supported defence and avoidance strategies in the wake of natural disasters. The science workshops culminated with each workshop presenting their findings to their peers, university professors and sponsors representatives including Tetsuya-Kodama, Chair of Barclays, Japan who addressed the presentation event.
The exchange also included a full cultural programme of visits and activities. There was a trip to Tsuruga Castle and visits several sites in near Sendai affected by the Tsunami caused by an earthquake of the Pacific coast in March 2011.
There were newly constructed Evacuation mounds 11 metres high as the tsunami of 2011 had reach a height of 8m and penetrated 5km inland. Alongside the new defences was a memorial to those who had lost their lives in the tragedy. At these Millennium Hope Hills Victoria said, “I have felt inspired by how the Japanese work as a community to restore their lives and prevent future devastations.” Adding “Japan is a very beautiful country and I have loved every second, so I am very grateful for this opportunity.”
This part of the itinerary culminated at the Yuriage Junior High School where over 800 people sheltered from the tsunami on the top floor school roof. Whilst the first two floors were inundated by water and debris.
Having left Sendai on the Shinkansen “bullet” train the students travelled to Tokyo for an overnight stay and a day of sight-seeing. Here the Sele students accompanied by teacher Mr Atkins visited the Tokyo Skytree, one of the world’s tallest buildings at 540m, the Pokemon Mega Centre in Sunshine City and a shrine dedicated to Benzaiten.
Reflecting on the trip Jordan said “Japan is beautiful. That first bus journey was an awesome showcase of the natural beauty of Japan: green, glowing, healthy rice paddies as far as the eye could see. Meeting the Japanese students was nerve wracking but looking back the trip has been one of the most influential starting points for any event of my life so far.” Neil Dunn the Head of The Sele School is confident that his students will once again be invited to participate in the 2019 exchange planned for at both the UK workshops in Cambridge University and the Japan workshops in Kyoto city, the ancient capital of Japan.
Sele Students visit the Big Bang Fair
Recently Mrs Lee took a group of Year 8 and 9 students to The Big Bang Fair regional event held at the University of Hertfordshire.
The Big Bang is a UK-wide programme led by EngineeringUK to bring science and engineering to life for young people.
The students had a great day exploring science, technology, engineering and maths! They dipped into the Heavy Metal Mayhem of the Marine World in ‘The Blowfish’ seminar. They attended the ‘Night School’ presentation by Professor Richard Wiseman where they explored the new science of sleep and dreaming. In The National Space Academy lecture they explored the ideas and concepts of space and what it is like to be an astronaut. In the ‘From Cradle to Grave’ dynamic and interactive presentation, engineers showed how engineering improves our quality of life from before we are born!
Ivy from 8 Shire said I really liked the Night School because it was talking about how your brain reacts to different things and we got to look at illusions and we learnt more about what happens in your brain when you’re asleep.
Eni from 8 Shire said I found the Royal Veterinary School information station really interesting because I like how the people informed us about the different animal bones and organs. We held sheep’s brain, pig’s brain and giraffe toe! I also held a horse jaw! The station was fascinating and the Vet at the stall was telling us about her research. It was great.
Sele Students meet Prince Edward
There was delight and excitement when five students from The Sele School were invited to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award exhibition at the University of Hertfordshire, which took place in June. The event was run especially for Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, who was there to see the excellent work that schools from Hertfordshire are doing for the Award.
The Prince, who has taken over as patron for the Duke of Edinburgh Award, took a keen interest in the students’ performance. After watching The Sele School students perform a dance which was based on the values of the Award; challenge, teamwork and independence, he then spent a few minutes speaking with the dancers about their experiences of doing the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
Frejya Coltman-West, one of the Sele dancers, said ”We had an amazing experience performing in front of the Prince; it was an occasion I will never forget”. Josh Mockridge, Brooke Mills- Ward, Teagan Fossey, Freyja Coltman-West and Daisy Corbett, who are all doing their Bronze award, produced a flawless dance routine, which they had spent many weeks preparing under the guidance of their dance teacher Erin O’ Dell and with the support of Richard Eversley, Design and Technology teacher and Duke of Edinburgh leader, Richard Eversley.
For more images of the Duke of Edinburgh Exhibition Event please go to Galleries.
Totalling 65 miles overall the event took place in eight separately timed speed tests and in spite of a couple of setbacks that cost the duo almost half a minute in total, they still finished first in the 2000cc car class and sixth overall. Congratulations to Richard and to Chris! 
A review of the production appears in our Spring Newsletter but we are pleased to publish some of the comments received from audience members and hope that the students who took part will fully appreciate how much their tremendous hard work and achievement was enjoyed. 
Week One of the Selections Watercolour Course produced a beautifully watery image, as did Week Two - below.
The good news was that not only was the building being brought back into use with a focus on providing sport, physical activity, mental and social wellbeing opportunities, but one of the organisations involved in the refurbishment was ‘Volunteer it Yourself’ (VIY) a Community Interest Company that specialises in mentoring young people aged 14 – 24 to learn trade and employability skills while helping to fix local youth and community facilities that are in need of essential repairs and improvements.
Not only were MSD tremendously generous in donating the equipment but they also provided the transport from their site to the school, plus they hired help to move things into place once they arrived at Sele and to install the Video Conferencing Units. We would like to give a special thank you to MSD staff for their kind help with the project and to thank Ann Adams and the Sele Site Team for their help in arranging things with MSD and coordinating arrival and distribution on site.
In July Mrs Lee, Mathematics Teacher, took 11 students from Year 10 to the University of Hertfordshire for a day packed full of fun and challenging mathematics.
teacher from attacking our castle, we had to match everything up. The floor plan, letter to the builder and the budget sheet had to show all the same items.
At the VEX Robot Rumble, held at the University of Hertfordshire in January, The Sele School Year 10 Robotics Team beat fifteen other schools to win the overall competition. This was the culmination of nine months of weekly sessions spent designing, building and programming the robot and was a first time win in this Tournament for The Sele School. 
2011 had reach a height of 8m and penetrated 5km inland. Alongside the new defences was a memorial to those who had lost their lives in the tragedy. At these Millennium Hope Hills Victoria said, “I have felt inspired by how the Japanese work as a community to restore their lives and prevent future devastations.” Adding “Japan is a very beautiful country and I have loved every second, so I am very grateful for this opportunity.” 
Having left Sendai on the Shinkansen “bullet” train the students travelled to Tokyo for an overnight stay and a day of sight-seeing. Here the Sele students accompanied by teacher Mr Atkins visited the Tokyo Skytree, one of the world’s tallest buildings at 540m, the Pokemon Mega Centre in Sunshine City and a shrine dedicated to Benzaiten.
