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Term 1 - 19 September 2025
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Dear Parent/Carer
There's a definite nip in the air reminding us all that it's definitely autumn term but what a super start to the year it's been at the High School. I hope your child has found something on the extracurricular schedule to get involved in. I've been particularly excited to see our wide range of sports clubs getting going and fixtures taking place. You may be interested to read this report Sport Participation in Girls' Schools which concludes that
- Girls in girls’ schools have higher levels of sport participation on average. Girls in girls’ schools participate in 25% more curriculum PE than the national data.
- Girls in girls’ schools follow a similar trend nationally by age but not to the same extent. Between KS4 and KS5 there is 65% drop off in the time spent playing sport nationally. For girls’ schools this drop off is 25%.
In other extracurricular areas I've been really proud to see how our sixth form students and especially our subject prefects are leading activities for our younger students. Our student council members have been appointed too and their photo will be posted in the next newsletter.
Do follow us on Instagram and Facebook to see live updates of school events and student success.
Mrs J Smith
Headteacher
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Extra curricular clubs at KSHS - Click on the link below to see our offer
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Following the success of our recent Fresher’s Fayre, both students and parents should now have received an invitation from EVOLVE to register interest in one of our many exciting extra-curricular clubs. These clubs offer fantastic opportunities for students to explore new interests, build skills, and make friends outside the classroom.
From sports and music to STEM, MFL, and a wide range of enrichment activities, there is something to suit everyone. Joining a club is a brilliant way to boost confidence, develop teamwork, and add to the wider school experience.
To get involved, simply follow the registration link in your EVOLVE email. Please note that on some occasions this email may land in your junk or spam folder, so do check carefully if it hasn’t appeared in your main inbox.
We look forward to seeing many of our students taking part this year!
EVOLVEclubs
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Celebrating Cultural Diversity at KSHS
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Last year we started planning for the first ever KSHS World Fair – a student-led celebration of what makes us our school community diverse. It was fantastic to see students and their families getting so involved! We extended our planning into this academic year and are now happy to announce the
KSHS World Fair
World Inclusion Day – 10th October 2025
This event invites students to host and decorate a table to reflect their own cultural identities and backgrounds. We would like to celebrate the cuisines, clothing, languages, and traditions that contribute to our pupils’ lives beyond the school grounds.
How to get involved: Students should sign up via Evolve and then attend the planning meetings at 1pm in M9 every Tuesday before the event.
Many thanks in advance to family members who can encourage and support our students in participating in their first KSHS World Fair!
Ms A Natley
PSHE and Personal Development Co-Ordinator
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European Day of Languages
Friday 26th September is European Day of Languages and the Great European Bake Off for Year 7 is back! We would love Y7 students to bake a European themed cake or cupcakes and bring them in on the morning of Friday 26th (not earlier – we have nowhere to store them!) After judging and finding a winner, all cakes will be sold at lunch time for charity. This year we would like to donate the proceeds to a smaller charity so if any students have a charity that is special to them, please let us know!
Just a few requests…
- Please do not use nuts in your baking as we have students with allergies
- Include a list of ingredients with your bake to help anyone with allergies
- Bring your cake to the food room in the morning
- Please make sure your name and form are clear on your cake / container. We can’t award prizes if we don’t know who made it!
- You must collect your container at the end of the day – if there is any cake left over, you can take it home.
Thank you very much for your support.
Look out for lots more languages-related activities on the day!
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How to help your child wiht their MFL learning
Parents often ask us how to support their child when learning a language, particularly when they can’t speak it themselves. Surprisingly, the most helpful thing is extremely simple: Be positive! So many young people hear only negative things about learning languages, such as “they’re too hard”, “I was rubbish at languages at school” or even “why doesn’t everyone just speak English”. The best thing you can do is encourage them, praise them when they show off what they know and perhaps get them to teach you!
Another really simple way is to encourage them to use www.languagenut.com . We subscribe to this excellent website and each pupil has their own individual login. On there, they can practise vocabulary, grammar, phonics as well as the four different skills of reading, writing, listening and speaking. They have homework assignments on the website most weeks but can spend as much time as they want on there. If access to the internet is difficult at home, they can use the computers in the library at school. There is even AI chat on there now which can help pupils to improve sentences.
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MFL Clubs
We have several clubs available in the languages department, both for fun and to help improve your languages. For KS3 there is the Languages and Culture Club run by our wonderful 6th Form linguists where you can try out all sorts of language and cultural activities.
For KS4 there are Thursday lunchtime clubs for both French (Mrs Ellison) and German (Mrs Samworth) where the aim is to increase confidence in speaking and improve grammar and vocabulary in preparation for GCSE exams. Come along – our most regular attendees last year achieved two grades above their targets!
Mrs L Samworth
Subject Leader - MFL
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Sleaford and District Twinning Association
Did you know that Sleaford is twinned with Marquette-Lez-Lille in Northern France and with Fredersdorf-Vogelsdorf near Berlin in Germany? The Sleaford and District Twinning Association have asked us to let you know all about what they do and how you can get involved.
What does ‘twinning’ mean?
The twinning association organises visits to Sleaford’s twin towns and stays with families in their homes. It offers opportunities to make new friends, have fun, experience the French and German ways of life, try French and German food and improve your French and German language skills. The Twinning Association is very keen to encourage young people (14 years onwards) to travel with them when they visit Germany and France. This year and last year, seven pupils from Sleaford schools travelled to France, six of them returning to travel again in April this year. Three pupils travelled to Germany. All who travelled reported on what an enjoyable time they had had. Pupils who travel receive a 50% reduction in the travel cost on their first visit. For further information please see their Facebook page - Sleaford and District Twinning Association. They also have a page on the Sleaford Town Council website.
When are the next visits?
Visits to France and Germany will take place next year and visitors from France and Germany will be coming to Sleaford in October half-term (30.10.25 - 02.11.25). They will also be staying with families in and around the Sleaford area. There are adults, young people and under 18s travelling to Sleaford and they are always grateful if there are people from Sleaford and the surrounding area who are able to accommodate them. If you are interested in hosting, you can contact the association for further details at sleafordtwinning@gmail.com.
How can you get involved?
- Speak to parents/carers about going on a visit with the twinning association
- Families are welcome to come on the visits
- Host a German or French person when they visit Sleaford
- Write to a German / French young person
- Volunteer to help out when the Germans and French visit Sleaford
Find out more:
www.sleafordtwinning.co.uk
or The Sleaford and District Twinning Association Facebook page
or Sleaford Town Council Website
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If you want to do something positive for the community, KSHS’s Interact Club would love you to join us! We are linked to Sleaford Rotary Club and we are always delighted to welcome new and old members from all year groups, especially those with lots of ideas and enthusiasm!
We were busy at the end of the summer term; our Year 7 members organised a collection for the Sleaford Food Larder and were pleased to send off a car boot full of tins, cereals, pasta, milk and other useful items. A particular mention should go to 10HB and their form captain Hattie who organised a whole food shop!
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The Year 9 members once again organised the popular teachers’ rounders match. It was another sweltering day but 14 brave teachers (and Evie!) turned out for a very competitive match. Mrs Gibson’s team were eventually victorious. Many thanks to everyone who took part, £80 was raised in aid of local charity Rainbow Stars.
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We now have a busy term ahead of us. We hope to recruit even more members and we will be electing a new President when Katie steps down to focus on her GCSE studies. Thank you to her for all her hard work!
We have lots of ideas for between now and Christmas. We will organise another collection for the Sleaford Food Larder to help them stock up for winter; please do add an extra item or two to your shopping if you can as every little helps! We will also have our Shoebox Appeal where we aim to fill shoeboxes with little gifts for those who otherwise might have very little at Christmas and then our famous Senior Citizens’ Christmas Party in collaboration with the Food and Music Clubs.
Watch this space for all our news!
Mrs L Samworth
Subject Leader – MFL and Interact lead
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Internet Safety Reminder for Parents and Carers
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This week in Personal Development sessions in form time, our students have been focusing on online safety. As part of this, we want to keep parents and carers informed about some current online risks and how you can support your child at home.
Online “Challenges”
Dangerous trends such as the Salt & Ice Challenge are circulating again. This involves placing salt on the skin and pressing ice on top, which can cause serious cold burns, scarring and even require hospital treatment. Young people may not realise the harm until the damage has already been done.
First Aid advice if it happens:
- Cool the area with lukewarm running water for at least 10 minutes
- Do not apply ice, creams or fluffy dressings
- Cover with clean cling film or smooth plastic
- Seek medical help if the burn is deep, blistered or extensive
Upsetting Videos on Social Media
Alongside challenges, we are also aware that disturbing or violent videos are sometimes widely shared online. These can be distressing and may spread quickly among peer groups.
If your child sees upsetting content:
- Encourage them to talk to you or another trusted adult straight away
- Remind them it’s okay to stop watching, block, or report the content
- Support them in using the platform’s safety and reporting tools
How Parents & Carers Can Help
- Keep open conversations about what your child is seeing online
- Reassure them that they won’t be in trouble for talking about it
- Remind them: “Not everything online is safe to copy or watch”
Together we can help young people make safer choices and protect their wellbeing online.
Mrs A Kopsidas
Assistant Headteacher - Behaviour and Culture
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Introducing New KSHS Staff.....
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Mr S Sheppard – Subject Leader Mathematics
My name is Mr Sheppard, and I am delighted to have recently joined the school as Subject Leader of Mathematics and form tutor for 7A. I have been teaching for 11 years in Bourne, in the south of the county, where I spent the past five years as Head of Mathematics.
Outside the classroom, I’m passionate about the outdoors, whether that’s hiking, road running, or cross-country. Once I’ve settled into my new role here, I’m looking forward to supporting the school’s endurance running and cross-country activities. Alongside my love for maths and running, I also enjoy cooking, a wide variety of sports, chess, and other board games.
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Miss E Colley – Teacher of Design & Technology
Hello, my name is Miss Colley and I am so excited to be joining KSHS as a Design & Technology teacher and tutor of 7F.
Before training as a teacher, I worked in the clothing and fashion industry and ran my own luxury clothing business. I am really looking forward to sharing my experience and passion for creativity with the students here at KSHS.
Outside of school, I have two young children who keep me very busy! As a family, we love spending time on the farm, going for walks, camping, and getting stuck into all kinds of arts and crafts. In my own time, I enjoy dressmaking and exploring different creative projects.
I am thrilled to be starting this new chapter at KSHS and can’t wait to get to know my students and help them develop their skills and creativity.
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Miss S Ellis – Teacher of PE
My name is Miss Ellis and I am excited to join the Kesteven and Sleaford High School PE department, whilst Mrs Hunt is on maternity leave. I am very passionate about sport and exercise and the positive impact it has on our physical and mental wellbeing. I am a keen cricket and hockey player but love being involved in any sport. It has been great to return to education after spending just over 2 years working and travelling in Australia and America. I am looking forward to supporting our students throughout this year to build confidence, overcome challenges and reach their potential in PE. As well as teaching PE I will support 10AH as a tutor.
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Mr J Raper – Science Technician
Hello, my name is Mr Raper. I'm excited to join the Kesteven and Sleaford High School science departments as the new Apprentice science technician. I come from a background in maintenance, so I love doing all things practical, with a passion for learning, especially anything science related. Having recently been a student myself, I've gained an insight into the importance of growth and the value of learning.
In my spare time, I can often be found doing various gardening and DIY projects, with a passion for nature.
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18 Sep 2025
Staff are invited to nominate students who have demonstrated a Growth Mindset in the past few weeks. This might have been in lessons, in clubs, tutor time or simply around school. Please note we already award bi-annual subject badges and merits for good academic work, effort and improvement. Th...
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Extra-curricular PE clubs
Please refer to the email sent home regarding Evolve and signing up for PE clubs to see when they are offered.
Come and play at lunchtime! Turn up at 1.40pm and just change into your trainers. Clubs finish at 1.10pm
After school clubs – skill development and an opportunity to develop competition knowledge with a focus on representing the school in inter-school fixtures. Clubs run from 3.30pm to 4.30pm.
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Cricket Success
Well done to a number of our students who have excelled in Cricket this season.
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Last weekend Anya played for the MCC U14’s North team to play the South at Lords Cricket Ground, London. She did incredibly well, opened the batting and top scored for her team.
Well done, Anya!
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Chloe has been selected to play for Lincolnshire County Cricket team – well done, Chloe!
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Well done to Jemima, Sophia, Tilly, Sophia, Poppy and Chloe. All play at Caythorpe Cricket Club and were awarded medals and trophies at their presentation evening.
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20 Mar 2025
We are looking to appoint Cover Supervisors
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