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20th December 2024


A message from our Co-Heads of School

The end of the year is always an excellent time to reflect on all of the  wonderful things that happen in the school every single day. This was typified in our celebration assemblies where students from across all year groups collected awards for modelling the values that we hold as a school. To summarise all the incredible things that our students have achieved in a few paragraphs is almost impossible, but we hope that below provides you a flavour.

We are proud to say that following the Department of Education’s release of last Summer’s GCSE data that once again Henley Bank performed exceptionally. The school was in the top 10% for progress nationally and improved other key metrics such as the number of students gaining a grade 5 or above in English and Maths. These results were achieved due to the hard work of staff and students combined with the fantastic support our students receive from their parents and carers. When we walk round the school the focus and hard work of our students in lessons is truly inspiring, this has been particularly true of Year 11 cohort who have fully embraced the challenge of their GCSE year. They have already achieved so much with a successful set of mock examinations, coursework completed in several subjects and practical assessments completed in others. This year group are on course to join the line of successful Year 11 cohorts and we are incredibly excited to see what they can achieve.

A landmark moment in Henley Bank History happened on September 4th when we welcomed our first cohort of Year 12 students to the school. The students have been a huge asset to the school firstly by modelling the Henley Bank values with their hard work in lessons and their dedication and focus during private study sessions.

Beyond this though they have had a huge impact, students volunteer in lessons supporting students in the younger year groups and six of our sixth formers now form the school leadership team.

Our sixth formers have risen to the challenge that we gave them on day one of becoming role models to the rest of the school, we are incredibly proud of them and are excited to see what they can achieve in the future.
Our co-curricular clubs are a real highlight of the school day. A large number of our students are now taking the opportunity to stay the extra hour and take up a new hobby or skill. Among the many highlights of our co-curricular offer is the British Sign Language club, seeing our students learn a new language really models the school’s huge focus on inclusivity. 

We are also delighted to have run our first 3 Legacy Ladder events, these events are part of our commitment to provide experiences to all of our students that develop Cultural Capital. It was a pleasure listening to the Year 7s discuss how much they enjoyed the pantomime, talking about Gloucester’s fascinating History with Year 8 after their walking tour and seeing our Year 9 students engaging with students from Japan and discussing their culture. These events continue to be a huge success and it is something we are so pleased we can offer to our students.

As we move into 2025 we will continue to improve and innovate all of the things that we do so that we can offer our students an even better experience. To support us with this we always appreciate the feedback that we receive from parents and carers and we would encourage you to keep contacting us with feedback.

Finally we would like to wish you and you families a restful and well deserved Christmas break and we look forward to welcoming the students back to school on Tuesday January 7th 2025.

Ms Bradbury & Mr Dakin

Co-Heads of School


Star Student: Nominated by their Head of Year 

Year 7: Dwayne B 

Dwayne has made a superb start to his time at Henley Bank. Dwayne exemplifies all of the things we value as a school. He has gained a huge number of praise points for his hard work, dedication and commitment to his lessons, modelling the school value of determination to make sure he always does his best. Dwayne models the Henley Bank High School value of respect exceptionally, he always has a smile, says good morning to his teachers and acts with kindness to those around him. 

Year 8: Jonathan D

Jonathan is an example to his peers with his positive attitude and exploring the various opportunities that the school has to offer. Jonathan is always polite to his peers and members of staff which is a great example of the many values we hold highly and want our students to portray. It has been an absolute privilege to see him flourish this term in his academic subjects as well as the co-curricular side of Henley Bank life. He has grown from strength to strength this term and I am proud to have him as a member of my year group.  I am really looking forward to seeing him continue to grow in confidence and thrive at Henley Bank.

Year 9: Bella G

Bella has made such a significant change this term from last academic year and has been highlighted for her mature attitude towards learning. Bella has made some great choices that have enabled her to flourish in lessons and be noticed by teachers for growing in confidence and really striving to achieve her very best. She always has a smile on her face.
A great start and a strong point to continue on her growing journey in Year 9. I am really proud of you - keep doing what you are doing Bella.

Year 10: Flora H

Flora has made an amazing start to GCSE's and it's no surprise why! Her relentless attitude to do the best she can shines through in everything she does in and out of lessons. In addition to her dedication to her education Flora has also shown fantastic ambition and confidence in school events and raising money for the Sri Lanka trip. Keep it up Flora! 

Year 11:  Grace O

This term, we are thrilled to celebrate Grace as our Year 11 Star Student! Grace exemplifies everything we value in our students—kindness, charisma, and unwavering respect for those around her.
Grace’s positive energy brightens every classroom she steps into. Her kindness and support towards her peers create an inclusive and encouraging environment that allows everyone to thrive. She approaches challenges with determination and has demonstrated an incredible work ethic in her pursuit of academic success. From her thorough preparation for PPEs to her consistent efforts in her coursework, Grace is laying the foundation for a bright future.
Grace’s respectful and caring nature is a credit to her character, and her ability to balance academic ambition with kindness and humility makes her an inspiration to her peers. Congratulations, Grace—we are so proud of all you’ve achieved and excited to see what’s to come!

Year 12: Lacey 

Lacey has encapsulated one of the most important characteristics of our A Level students - hard work. From the first day, Lacey has been trying her best and producing some excellent work. Lacey deserves a big congratulations for being top of the class in two of her three subjects and achieving superb results in all her snapshot assessments. Keep it up, Lacey!


Messages from our Heads of Year:

Year 7

What a term it has been for our year 7 cohort! They have made us all so proud with the way they have shown confidence in throwing themselves into Henley Bank life.  Year 7 have the best attendance across the school showing determination and resilience in keeping this as high as possible. It was also fantastic to share a celebratory donut with all of the students who had 100% attendance. Year 7 have also showed fantastic commitment to co-curricular clubs being confident in engaging with students in older year groups.

In their lessons, teachers from across the school have told me how brilliantly the students have pushed themselves to achieve excellence. I am so excited to see how well they do when their assessments come around next half term.

A highlight of the term was the trip to see the pantomime Aladdin at the Everyman theatre. It was wonderful to see Year 7 share in the magic of this event. There was an incredible feeling of team spirit and community on this trip which will be one that lives long in the memory for all the staff and students who went on it.

We are excited to see Year 7 get even better after the Christmas break.

 

Year 8

This term has been a term full of success stories
for Year 8. A new mentality shift of no longer being the youngest members of Henley Bank is an important transition for all students and they have taken this role fantastically well.
 
They have been working on the value of 'Ambition' this term and the importance of making the most of every opportunity presented to them. The Year 8's have taken this in full stride with a huge number of students signing up for co-curricular offers, in addition to seeing the sheer amount of praise points and awards handed out this term for showing the value of ambition. Both of these are great examples of how seriously Year 8 students are taking their new role within the school. 


One of the many highlights this term was seeing the huge success some of the Year 8 Girls had in the District Football Event, becoming back to back champions for the first time in our history and not conceding a single goal on route to victory. Another highlight I would like to mention was the positivity on the History trip of Gloucester, where students really embraced the challenge of finding out more about our wonderful city and making connections with the local community. 
It has been a delight to see how much progress the Year 8's have made in such a short space of time. I am already looking forward to welcoming them back in the New Year ready to hit the ground running once more.
Every Year 8 student deserves a well earned break and I wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
 

Year 9

This term has been a great start at the top of Key stage 3. Year 9 have embraced the vision of Believe, Achieve, Celebrate and Grow with great enthusiasm. I've loved hearing them chant it at other teachers and take pride in what it stands for. We have had a memorable visit from a Japanese group of students, who taught Year 9 some Japanese language, origami and how to write their name. They have demonstrated great service to the school with Year 9 being the main tour guides for our open morning and evening events. We have had a considerable uptake of the Duke of Edinburgh awards and Ten tors, I look forward to hearing about all the work they are doing to go towards achieving this.
The Year 9 girls have had great success with football this term and having won the Gloucester district are moving forward to the next Gloucestershire district competitions. 
As part of our year's vision, I asked students to create a video of themselves teaching others a skill or sharing a talent that they have. We have seen a couple and would love to have more handed in so we can aim to achieve or celebrate the work/skill.

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and I look forward to our next term where it will be busy with option choices and more opportunities, giving more chances for us to grow.

Year 10

A fantastic start to the year from all of Year 10 taking a number of new challenges in our stride. As a cohort we have been striving to make small changes to have a big impact over time and this has been so evident all around the school! So many students have been involved in gaining valuable experience for the future with events such as: Ten Tors, touring our Japanese visitors, teaching languages to primary students and success in sports! So many positives already, and I can't wait to see how much progress and development Year 10 makes as the year continues!
 

Year 11

As we approach the end of another term, I want to take a moment to reflect on the incredible journey our Year 11 students have embarked upon over the past few months. Their hard work and dedication have truly shone through in every aspect of their studies and preparations.
The attitudes displayed during this term’s Pre-Public Examinations (PPEs) have been nothing short of exemplary. Students approached each assessment with focus, determination, and resilience. Alongside this, their efforts in completing their BTEC Tech Sport PSAs and coursework for Non-Examined Assessments (NEAs) have been exceptional. These achievements highlight their readiness for the challenges ahead and their commitment to achieving great outcomes.
It’s important to recognise not just their academic efforts but also the gratitude and respect they have shown towards their peers and staff. This term, they have embodied the mantra of “being here, being present, and being together,” demonstrating unity and mutual support. Well done, Year 11—your hard work is inspiring! You have been here, been present and you have definitely been together.
 


29 Nov 2024
Sixth Form applications for September 2025 are now open!
For more information and to apply please click the below button
Read more
13 Dec 2024
Year 10 Girls Rugby Kick Starts
Our year 10 girls showed true ambition this term by asking us to put on a Girls Rugby Club. We are lucky to have an ex-pro player as part of our teaching staff, so we were able to fulfil this request. 
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12 Dec 2024
Wonka Set Building Club
Set club were putting all the finishing touches to the Wonka set this week!!
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12 Dec 2024
Equestrian Club Art
We finished the term doing some equine art in equestrian club this week!
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11 Dec 2024
HBHS Eco Council Wins Green Flag Award
HBHS have been awarded a Green Flag Award. The Eco-Council at HBHS have been working hard all of last school year to make this happen.
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06 Dec 2024
Legacy Club Launch
Mr Boyle has been launching our co-curricular offer for next term.
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29 Nov 2024
A Level Science in action
Science in action! 🧪🔥
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22 Nov 2024
Year 8 Music Success
Fantastic work with Year 8 and their minimalism compositions this week.
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22 Nov 2024
Best breakfast Club Award
Kellogg's Best Breakfast Club award for the South West Winners
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06 Nov 2024
Pumpkin Competition
We had a huge number of entries this year for our annual Pumpkin Competition
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25 Oct 2024
Year 10 Languages Visit Brockworth Primary
Yesterday a few of our Year 10 studying a language volunteered to go and teach some French and Spanish to Year 2 at Brockworth Primary.
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Christmas holidays
All Day
From 23 Dec until 03 Jan
23
December
Inset Day
All Day
06
January
Careers week
All Day
From 15 Jan until 21 Jan
15
January
Year 7 - 10 Assessments
All Day
From 20 Jan until 07 Feb
20
January
Ten Tors Navigation Training Day, Llanbedr Hill
All Day
26
January
Year 11 Parent Information Evening
6:00pm – 7:00pm
10
February
School Production
All Day
12
February
School Production
All Day
13
February
Last day of half term
All Day
14
February
Half term week
All Day
From 17 Feb until 21 Feb
17
February
All student return
All Day
24
February
Year 11 Pre-Public Examinations
All Day
From 24 Feb until 07 Mar
24
February