Headteacher's Update 9 May 2025

Dear Parents and Carers

A lot has happened in school this week. We have now completed all of the art exams which I know is a very intense time for both staff and students and yourselves as you have supported your young people to get to this point. We also had our first public exam yesterday with the drama GCSE and English Literature and all things Shakespeare and Dickens. While no one really relishes exams, I am sure that Year 11 will be happy that their exams have finally started.

Yesterday students spent time considering and reflecting on VE day during their PSHE lesson and observed the National 2 minute silence impeccably, before enjoying a Great British Menu from the canteen. In the afternoon we welcomed 6 primary schools (140 students) to take part in an orienteering competition where our Year 9 students were the perfect sports ambassadors. And then last night, Year 8 parents got the chance to talk with teachers about their young people. It is always good to see how well these events are supported.

What’s going on in school:

Artwork produced by some of our students is now greeting passengers as they disembark the train at Hope station, giving them a sneak peek of what the Hope Valley has to offer. Students entered their artwork into a competition organised in conjunction with High Peak Hope Valley Community Rail Partnership, Park Designs and Northern Trains.

Y7 and Y8 boys hosted rugby teams from Glossop school on Tuesday this week. They played valiantly against a strong Glossop team but unfortunately did not secure a win. Well done to all involved.

Our Wednesday Tennis Club got off to a great start, with students from Key Stage 3 taking part and benefitting from coaching provided by Bamford Tennis club, to support and promote girls’ tennis.

Our excellent student-produced magazine/newspaper, HaVoC, has been running, off and on, since the 1980s. The 21st century HaVoC is a bit more technical than its forbears, but it is all the work of the students and a credit to their hard work. HaVoC 6 has been released this week and can be found by opening Hope Valley Student Sharepoint (chorustrust.sharepoint.com) and selecting the HaVoC logo. Please have a look, have a read and send us your feedback - we'd love to hear what you think of it!

The first Y9 outdoor activities climbing session took place last week at a hot and sunny Burbage North. Students climbed two routes, the first called 'StepToe' a 1* Moderate and a harder route called '...and son', a Difficult route. All students did brilliantly, and quickly learnt some key climbing techniques, such as 'smearing', 'heel hooks' and 'mantling'. The grit was pretty hot as an added challenge!

Well done to Charlie in Y8 who competed in the British cycling B<X National series in Scotland last weekend. Out of a field of 50 riders in his age category, Charlie made it on to the podium in 3^rd place!! Fantastic!!

Yesterday we held an amazing Orienteering event for local Primary Schools. The children were brilliant and had great fun finding the controls and using the electronic dibbers! Our Sports Leaders were fantastic, teaching, coaching, organising and supporting the younger primary students.

Extracurricular Activities

Attached is our Extracurricular provision booklet for the summer term. Please have a look through this with your young person. They should speak to the relevant member of staff if they wish to join any of these activities.

Year 7 Subject Evening – Tuesday 20 May

The Year 7 subject evening will take place in school on Tuesday 20 May. This is an opportunity to talk to teachers about progress, attainment and attitudes to learning.

End of Year Assessments Years 7, 8 and 9

As we shared a couple of weeks ago, students in Years 7, 8 and 9 are working on end of year assessments with their class teachers. They have all been given advice on how best to revise and their teachers have explained to them what each assessment will cover. More information about what the assessments involve is available on our website: www.hopevalley.chorustrust.org/exam

DofE May 15 - Ready, Steady, Cook!

A reminder that Y9 DofE students are cooking their own food on Thursday 15 May from 3.30pm as part of their training for their DofE Expedition. Students should bring their own food to cook for this session.

The practice expedition is coming up on the weekend of 5-6th July. We will be organising DofE expeditions groups in the coming weeks!

Year 8 Biology Fieldwork

During the week beginning 19 May our Year 8 students will be carrying out some biology fieldwork in the river next to the school field. Students will need to bring a waterproof jacket, warm clothes, sun cream and wellington boots. If your child does not have wellington boots, an old pair of trainers would be sufficient to be able to cross the stream, but they will not then be able to carry out sampling in the water. They will also need normal shoes and a change of socks. If the weather on the day is too bad, or the river is too high, the fieldwork will be postponed. The dates for each class are shown in the table below.

Class	Date
8H	Wed 21/5
8O	Tues 20/5
8P	Fri 23/5
8E	Fri 23/5

Careers Fair

Our annual Careers Fair is taking place on Friday 11 July 2025 (afternoon only). Building on last year's success, we are keen to hear from any parents who would like to hold a stall and promote their employer or industry to our young people. If you would like to volunteer, or if you have any useful contacts, please email our school careers adviser, Geraldine: gbrannelly@chorustrust.org

Job Vacancies

We are recruiting for cleaners to join our site team and an admin assistant to join our busy admin team. For more information, please see our website: Hope Valley College - Vacancies

Nut Allergies

A reminder that nuts should not be brought into school. Please refrain from including items that may contain nuts in packed lunches or snacks. Could we also ask you to be vigilant with cosmetic products that may also contain nuts. We have a number of students in school who suffer from nut allergies. Thank you in advance.