Welcome to our first full Weekly Message of 2025-26. For new Parents/ Carers this is a regular update to keep you informed about life at The Hamble School. It is emailed (and text) to every Parent/ Carer at the weekend. You can also find the link on the website, social media https://www.facebook.com/thehambleschool/ and Class Charts.
We are absolutely thrilled to share that our students have made an excellent start in their lessons this year. Across the school, nearly 30,000 positive points have already been awarded, showcasing the enthusiasm, effort and determination of our young people.
Rewards & Recognition:
At The Hamble School, ‘rewards, positive recognition and celebrating success are important aspects of school life’. Our rewards system ‘gives students recognition for their efforts throughout the year, makes them feel valued, builds confidence, and motivates them to achieve’. Students are rewarded with positive points via Class Charts, and our system ensures that ‘students are able to benefit regardless of their age or ability’.
You can learn more about how we celebrate achievement by visiting our Rewards & Recognition page: https://www.thehambleschool.co.uk/rewards-recognition/
Our teachers are looking forward to meeting more new classes next week, continuing to build strong relationships and supporting every child to aim high from day one.
Thank you for your support as we embark on this exciting term together.
Next week is WEEK 2
Question of the Week
Please select your answer in the form below, all fields marked * are required and to help prevent SPAM this form is protected by Google reCaptcha v3.
Each week we will ask parents/carers a question in the Weekly Message – this will either be about a topic we are focussing on or an aspect of our school improvement plan. We would appreciate it if everyone answers it when reading the Weekly Message.
Events w/b 8 September
House Assemblies
Monday 8 September
Year 7 Curriculum Evening – 6pm in the Main Hall
Tuesday 9 September
Year 11 Curriculum Evening – 6pm in the Main Hall
Thursday 11 September
Year 8 Battlefields Trip Parents’ Evening – 5pm in the Main Hall
Future Dates
Monday 15 September
Year 9 Curriculum Evening – 5:30pm in the Main Hall
Tuesday 16 September
Year 10 Curriculum Evening – 5:30pm in the Main Hall
Thursday 18 September
Open Evening – 5:30pm
Please note that on Thursday 18 September the school close will close at 1pm to give staff time to prepare for Open Evening. If your child is a Prefect, Transition Prefect or has another Student Leadership position at school, we would ask that they ensure they are able to attend and support the school. All current students who are helping will need to be back in school by 4:30pm. We will send out a letter next week with further information.
Letters
You can find all letters sent home over the week here – https://www.thehambleschool.co.uk/letters-to-parents/
The canteen menus can be found here: https://www.thehambleschool.co.uk/food-and-drink/
Please check your child’s Attendance regularly on Class Charts. Year 7 Parents/ Carers and students will be emailed their new Class Charts logins on Monday.
Theme of the Week
Next week our school theme will continue to focus on new beginnings. It’s a fantastic time for a fresh start, whether your child is just joining us or returning for another year. Our school motto, ‘Achieving Excellence Together’ is more than just a phrase; it’s a commitment we all share. It reminds us that our collective effort—from students and staff to you, our Parents/Carers —is what makes our school community so successful. By working together, we can help every student reach their full potential.
Our Headteacher, Miss Cambridge, will lead assemblies for all students. She will be introducing and reinforcing our school’s shared values: We Care, We Aim High, We Learn and Achieve Together. These values are the foundation of our school culture and guide everything we do. They help create a supportive and ambitious environment where everyone feels valued and inspired to succeed.
Following the assemblies, tutor time will provide an opportunity for students to delve deeper into how they can actively live these values every single day, both in and out of the classroom.
Uniform and Equipment
Please can Parents/ Carers remind their children:
- Hair must be a natural colour
- False nails must be removed by Monday 8 September
- False eyelashes are not permitted
- The only piercings allowed to be worn are a small pair of earrings (one in each lobe of the ear)
- Jumpers are optional but blazers are compulsory
- Planners must be brought into school every day
- Students should have their school plastic zip wallet to put their exercise books in so that they don’t get wet or damaged whilst travelling to and from school. If they need another one, these can be purchased on Scopay
- No mobile phones or smart watches are to be visible (including through clothing) during the school day. These will be confiscated if seen.
If uniform is lent to students and not returned, a charge will be applied to their ScoPay account. If you need support with purchasing uniform, please email general@thehambleschool.co.uk in the first instance.
Mobile phones and Smart Watches
Mobile phones and smart watches must be turned off and in school bags during the school day.
There has been a lot of information shared in the media around the use of mobile phones in schools recently. While phones can offer educational benefits, it is recognised that they can also pose challenges related to distraction, cyberbullying, and safeguarding. We are already a mobile phone free school. However, we acknowledge that for students, the distraction of having a phone on them can have a significant impact on their learning.
The Hamble School is committed to providing a safe and distraction free learning environment for all students. As such, we are going to carry out a trial involving students not having access to their mobile phone each day. The trial will take place during Autumn Term 2 with a group of student and Parent Voice volunteers.
What is the purpose of the trial?
The purpose of the trial is to gather data around having a mobile phone in school. This data will be used to support future decisions around having a mobile phone in school.
How will the trial work?
The students who have volunteered will complete a survey with questions related to the impact of mobile phones on their learning and mental health. Once this has been completed, the students will start the trial. Students will be expected to hand in their mobile phone at the start of the school day and will have no access to it until the end of the school day. Throughout the trial, students will be asked to complete a journal tracking their feelings about not having any access to their phone and how this impacts their learning. At the end of the trial, there will be a second survey to complete which will be used to compare progress data.
How long will the trial last?
The trial will last from the start of Autumn 2 2025 and will end at the end of Spring 1 2026.
How will I know what the results of the trial are?
Any findings from the trial will be shared with students and Parents/ Carers in a timely and anonymised fashion.
How can I sign my child up for the trial?
You can sign up for the trial by clicking on the link https://forms.office.com/e/eS2dXZSawT The form will close on Sunday 21 September 2025.
Parents/ Carers and students who have signed up for the trial will receive more information in due course.
Home School Agreement
All student now have a new planner for this academic year. Parents/ Carers must sign the Home School Agreement in their child’s planner by Friday 12 September, please. If you would like to discuss this further, please email general@thehambleschool.co.uk in the first instance.
Safeguarding in School: A Partnership with Families to Keep Children Safe
At our school, the safety and wellbeing of every child is our top priority. Safeguarding isn’t just a policy—it’s a culture. It’s the ongoing work we do to create a safe, supportive environment where students can thrive emotionally, socially, and academically. That work includes clear procedures, consistent training, and a strong partnership with families. Together, we can build the understanding and resilience our children need to navigate the challenges of growing up in today’s world.
What is Safeguarding?
Safeguarding means protecting children from harm and ensuring they grow up with the best possible opportunities. It covers a wide range of areas, including:
- Protection from abuse and neglect
- Promoting health and wellbeing
- Ensuring safe online behaviour
- Educating about risks such as drugs, exploitation, and peer pressure
Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility—teachers, staff, parents, carers, and the wider community all have a part to play.
Education is Key
One of the most powerful tools we have in safeguarding is education. That’s why we train all our staff regularly to recognise signs of harm and respond appropriately. But it doesn’t stop there.
Our staff training is directly linked to our PSHRE and Personal Development programme. This means that as staff learn about key safeguarding issues—such as mental health, consent, online safety, and drug awareness—students are learning about them too, in an age-appropriate, thoughtful way.
This connection between training and curriculum ensures that safeguarding messages are reinforced throughout the school, in every classroom and every conversation.
Weekly Knowledge Boosters for Families
We understand that parents and carers are children’s first and most important teachers. You want to support your child, but you may not always feel confident knowing how to talk about sensitive issues.
That’s why, starting next week, we will be adding a Weekly Safeguarding Knowledge Booster for families. Each week will focus on a different aspect of safeguarding—such as managing friendships, screen time, recognising unhealthy relationships, or substance use.
We hope these boosters help you feel more informed and better equipped to have open, supportive conversations at home.
Curriculum Evenings 2025/26
At the start of every academic year, we invite Parents/Carers to attend a Curriculum Evening, relevant to your year group. These evenings will provide you with an overview of the curriculum you will study over the coming year, as well as provide you with other important information such as: assessment, teaching and learning, study skills, attendance and preferences (where applicable). The dates for each evening are below. A letter and online registration form was sent out for each evening. If you cannot access this, please email general@thehambleschool.co.uk FAO Mr Leonard-Rendell, who can assist further.
Year 7 Curriculum Evening – Monday 8 September
Year 11 Curriculum Evening – Tuesday 9 September
Year 9 Curriculum Evening – Monday 15 September
Year 10 Curriculum Evening – Tuesday 16 September
Year 8 Curriculum Evening – Monday 22 September
All evenings start at 6pm in the Main Hall. Students are welcome to attend with their Parents/ Carers.
Student Leadership Team
A reminder that our Student Leadership Team for 2025-26 was appointed at the end of last year. The team includes:
- Head Girl – Esme S
- Head Boy – George E
- Deputy Head Girls – Emily B, India B and Sophie J
- Deputy Head Boys – Benjamin W, Kristian G-R
Summer School Update
As we head into the new school year, we wanted to extend a final, huge thank you to everyone who made our summer school program such a resounding success. It was truly a fantastic week of fun, friendship, and learning for our incoming Year 7 students.
It was a joy to see over 45 Year 6 students daily, all enthusiastically taking part in a huge range of activities designed to help them build relationships with each other and our staff. A massive highlight was our ‘Play in a Day’ murder mystery, culminating in a brilliant performance for over 50 parents and carers. The confidence and teamwork on display were simply incredible!
The week was packed with adventure, including a thrilling afternoon of soft-axe throwing, archery, and an epic laser tag battle. Students also had the chance to flex their creative and technical skills through robotics and computer game programming. Our infamous egg-parachute drop brought out their inner scientists, while a variety of other STEM challenges made maths and science exciting and accessible.
The feedback we’ve received from both students and you, their parents, has been overwhelmingly positive. Hearing how much the students enjoyed the week and how much more confident they feel about starting secondary school is exactly why we run this program.
These students have already demonstrated that they are ready to live the values of The Hamble School: we care, we aim high, we learn and achieve together.
Extra Curricular Activities
We are currently consulting staff about clubs that they are prepared to run and provide a list in next week’s Weekly Message. Staff are not paid overtime to run clubs however we are very lucky that so many offer to support Extra Curricular Activities.
Support
If you or your child would like support with wellbeing, please check out the links of our website: https://www.thehambleschool.co.uk/student-wellbeing-support/
Celebrating Achievements
The students listed below achieved the most reward points this week – Well done to you!
- Year 7 – Rocco DP 7-7
- Year 8 – Megan P 8-7
- Year 9 – Finley W 9-5
- Year 10 – Jacob L 10-6
- Year 11 – Oscar B 11-7
