20th June 2025
Our newsletter aims to keep parents and carers up to date with school news, activities and key information throughout the year.
Don’t forget to visit our website (www.highfields.derbyshire.sch.uk) for more news and information.
Thank you for taking the time to read our news and for your support.
A Marsh Headteacher
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We are now approaching the end of the public examinations season but we still have the Highfields traditions running at full tilt. Here is our biology A level team seeing off their students into their final exam representing animal and plant biology (I’m guessing).
Last Friday we said our school good bye to Y11 in their leavers’ assembly. As tradition dictates they had scrawled their names onto each other’s shirts and looked an absolute shower. These students are usually more than ready to get out of school at this time of year but, as you would expect, it is somewhat different from my viewpoint. I always feel a bit bereft when a bunch of young people who you have seen every school day for five years suddenly disappears…
And on Thursday night we said a further goodbye at their Prom, wonderfully organised by the Y11 team including Amy Hollinrake pictured. It never fails to amaze me that, no matter how well you know students, they seem to look completely different in prom outfits; especially the girls. Goodbye Class of 2025…and good luck.
What do you know about Artificial Intelligence? Whatever we staff know about it at Highfields, it appears to be less than our students who are already using it pretty extensively. Maths teachers are exasperated because some of their students are asking AI to do homework for them which results in them learning absolutely nothing. This becomes immediately obvious when the teachers ask them to solve similar problems under examination conditions. As a Trust and as a school we are currently evaluating the benefits and risks of AI. I have started using ChatGPT and it has me pretty much staggered. I, for example, explained to it the details of my domestic building disaster (rogue trader) late one night when I couldn’t sleep. To my surprise Chat GPT unravelled what is a horribly complex series of events, summarised my position before writing Letters of Intent citing relevant law and case law to a number of the stakeholders involved. It also generated this image of me and my kids as superheroes…which made me giggle in the midst of a difficult week.
Stay cool and have a lovely weekend. We are Highfields.
Mr Marsh, Headteacher
Monday 23rd June
Tuesday 24th June
Wednesday 25th June
Thursday 26th June
End of year Exams Year 9 (All Week)
DofE Silver Qualifier 23-26th June Y12 Induction day
Y13 Leavers Assembly Y13 Prom
Friday 27th June University of Birmingham Open day
Term 3: 6 January 2025 – 14 February 2025 (Holiday 17 February – 21 February)
Term 4: 24 February 2025 to 4 April 2025 (Holiday 7 April – 21 April)
Term 5: 22 April 2025 to 23 May 2025 (Holiday 26 May – 30 May)
Term 6: 2 June 2025 to 24 July 2025
Monday 30th June 2025
2024-25 provisional school events (TBC - further details will be issued prior to each event)
Y11 Prom Y13 Prom
School Musical Berlin Trip Thursday 19th June Thursday 26th June
Work Experience
Year 10 Work Experience
Year 12 Work Experience
16th June- 20th June Exam sessions
External Exam Season Commences GCSE Exams A Level Exams
12th May – 27th June 2025 2025 exam results days: A Level exam results: 14 August 2025 TBC GCSE exam results: 21 August 2025 TBC
Parents Evening
Term 1: Monday 8th September 2025
Year 7, 9 and 12 will start/return to school Tuesday 9th September School Opens for all year groups (Holiday 27 October – 31 October)
Term 2: 3 November – 19 December (Holiday 22 December – 2 January)
Term 3: 5 January – 13 February (Holiday 16 February – 20 February)
Term 4: 23 February – 27 March (Holiday 30 March – 10 April)
Term 5 - Monday 13 April - Friday 22 May (Holiday: Monday 25 May - Friday 29 May)
Term 6 - Monday 1 June 2026 - Thursday 23 July
Thursday 4th September 2025 Friday 5th September 2025 Friday 24th October 2025 Monday 1st December 2025 Friday 26th June 2026
