www-hovepark-org-uk-v2

Year 11 After-School Revision Programme Spring Term 2024-25

Wed, 06 Nov 2024 11:15:00 GMT

Click here to download the Year 11 after school revision programme for the spring term.

Year 6 Hove Park Taster Sessions

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 12:32:38 GMT

Year 6 Hove Park Taster Sessions

Monday 7th October and Tuesday 8th October, 3.45pm-4.45pm

We are running a number of taster sessions for Year 6 students next week. It is a great opportunity for the children to experience what it is like to be a Hove Park Student, meet the HPS staff and see the campus in action.

Sessions are available for booking here- https://hovepark.applicaa.com/events/10
(Please book one session only per day as they all run at the same time.)

We look forward to seeing you next week!

GCSE Results 2024

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 10:31:49 GMT

Hove Park School students celebrate their GCSE results!

The staff at the school would like to congratulate our students for the hard work that has seen so many achieve success in their GCSEs. They can now celebrate gaining the qualifications that will take them on to the next stage of their education at sixth form or college!

Once again, the exam results of students at Hove Park School are in-line with the national average, with 67% of all grades marked as passes.

Head teacher Jim Roberts praised the hard work of both the students and staff. He said:

‘I am very proud of the students and their achievements. They have shown incredible resilience and determination in navigating the challenges of the last few years. These results are a true reflection of student commitment to their studies, high-quality teaching and caring pastoral support. We wish them all the very best and look forward to hearing about all their future successes’

Brighton and Hove Secondary Headteachers are jointly celebrating the achievements of our students.

We are thrilled to jointly celebrate the remarkable achievements of our students across Brighton and Hove. Through steadfast partnership and collaboration, our schools have collectively ensured that every child in our city has access to a high-quality education, enabling them to make significant progress.

We take immense pride in the exam results this year, which reflect fantastic levels of attainment and achievement across all schools in Brighton and Hove. These results are a testament to the hard work and resilience of a brilliant group of students, as well as the unwavering commitment of our schools to joint practice development and collaborative efforts for the benefit of every young person in our city.

The success of the 'Class of 2024' is a shared accomplishment, and we are extremely proud of each student. We wish them all the very best for their future endeavours and are confident that they will continue to thrive and excel.

Post 16 Results

Thu, 15 Aug 2024 11:54:47 GMT

Well done to all Hove Park 6th Form students who received their results today. Students’ next steps include continuing their studies at universities as near as Brighton and as far away as Chester. Our students will continue their studies in a diverse range of subjects such as Finance and Zoology. This is the final cohort to study at Hove Park 6th Form in its current format and we would like to congratulate them on their achievements.

Head teacher Jim Roberts said:

“Hove Park 6th Form has always been about supporting students to move forwards and take the next step in their chosen career path. I would like to congratulate all our students on their success and wish them the very best for the future. We are very proud of everything that they have achieved.”

Adur Languages Hub -Developing German Skills

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 08:54:00 GMT

Today, we had visitors in school supporting our German studies. The poet and polyglot Sophie Lau worked with Year 9 students of German on a poem written and delivered by a famous German singer, Julia Englemann. The workshops developed translation skills with students putting their skills into practice writing their own poems.

The visit also included drop-ins into classes by Pauline Wick of the Goethe-Institut London. This work with the Goethe Institut is core to the aims of our Adur Language Hub, aiming to promote the positive aspects of language acquisition in school and to promote German as a language key to business and career possibilities.

Parklife Issue 72

Sat, 21 Oct 2023 07:39:58 GMT

Hove Park's latest newsletter 'Parklife' is out now! > https://rpb.li/C4Rm

Cullum Centre - Open Afternoon

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 07:00:29 GMT

Cullum Centre - Open Afternoon

Wednesday 11th October 3pm – 5pm, Valley Campus.

An opportunity to meet staff and discuss the provision.

The Cullum Centre is Hove Park School’s onsite resourced provision; designed to help students on the autism spectrum get the support they need to thrive in a mainstream school setting.

Brighton and Hove LA have commissioned 20 placements at the Cullum Centre in Y7-Y11. Places are offered to students who have an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) with a primary diagnosis of autism and are allocated by Brighton and Hove LA after consideration by a multi-professional team.

For further info contact SENDManagement@hovepark.org.uk

Proud to be a Language Hub

Thu, 14 Sep 2023 14:24:36 GMT

We are delighted to announce that Hove Park School has been selected as one of only 15 schools nationally to have achieved the prestigious role as lead Languages Hub school for the National Consortium for Languages Education (NCLE). There was a highly competitive process during the end of the summer term ending in a final endorsement of the selected schools by the DfE. The focus will be to support a network of schools in the area and address the most important educational imperatives as the country works to meet the aspirations of a Global Britain.

The key aims of the Languages Hubs will be:

encourage high quality language teaching in schools
increase languages uptake at GCSE
support levelling up opportunities for disadvantaged pupils
address the performance of boys
better recognise and support the rich diversity of languages in addition to English spoken by one in every five of our pupils.

Hove Park has a strong track record of commitment to languages, home languages, equalities and cultural richness and this new national role with partners at primary, secondary and sixth form in our area will enable us to develop what we do best. At the core of our successful bid was communicating our celebration of our rich and diverse ethnic and cultural heritage and the numerous opportunities to travel and learn from other cultures across Europe and the world. We are a school that encourages the exploration and aspiration for learning different languages, meeting different people and experiencing different places.

Our strong links with schools and students in all the languages we teach and our innovative use of digital technologies have enabled immersive projects which have deepened cultural understanding and supported language learning. We have partnerships with German, South American, Spanish, French and Chinese schools. We are one of the few state schools with the Confucius Classroom Award and currently have over 60 students aiming to acquire a near fluent level of Chinese, as part of the Mandarin Excellence Programme. We feel proud to have been selected for this important collaborative mission with all the other schools and the organisation listed below at the heart of this 3-year adventure.

GCSE Results

Thu, 24 Aug 2023 07:52:58 GMT

This year Hove Park School are celebrating another set of excellent GCSE results!

The staff at the school would like to congratulate our students for the hard work that has seen so many achieve success in their GCSEs. They can now celebrate gaining the qualifications that will take them on to the next stage of their education at sixth form or college!

Once again, the exam results of students at Hove Park School are above the national average, with 71% of all grades marked as passes at grade 4 and above, compared to 68% nationally. The proportion of top grades at Hove Park is also above the national average, with 23% marked as grade 7 or above, compared with 22% nationally.

Head teacher Jim Roberts praised the hard work of both the students and staff. He said:

‘I am very proud of the students and their achievements. The discussion about falling GCSE pass rates across the country as a whole should not distract us from acknowledging and celebrating their success. These results are a true reflection of student commitment to their studies and high-quality teaching. We wish them all the very best and look forward to hearing about all their future successes’

Brighton and Hove Secondary Headteachers are jointly celebrating the achievements of our students.

‘Schools have worked in partnership, closely and collaboratively, to ensure that every child in our city has access to a good education and is able to make strong progress. We take collective responsibility for a set of exams results that reflect great levels of attainment and achievement across all schools in Brighton and Hove. Today’s results reflect the hard work and tenacity of a fantastic group of students, and an unerring commitment from all schools to joint practice development and partnership for the benefit of every young person in our city. We are extremely proud of the ‘Class of 2023' and wish them all the very best for the future.’

Post 16 Results

Thu, 17 Aug 2023 09:42:02 GMT

Our 6th form students received their exam results today and everyone at Hove Park School would like to congratulate them on their achievements! Their accomplishments will allow them to move on to the next step of their career pathways, whether that is university, an apprenticeship, or straight into the world of work.

Individual success stories include….

Bernadette – Has been accepted on a degree course at Brighton University to study English Language and Literature
Gracie – Has already started a Level 3 apprenticeship in childcare
Louisa – Has been accepted on a degree course at the University of Chichester to study History and Creative Writing
Nye – Has started a digital media apprenticeship with a local company

We are very proud of all our students hard work, but also the resilience they have shown over the last couple of years. Many students who took exams this year were unable to sit GCSEs in 2021 and so this summer’s exams were their first experience of external assessments.

Head teacher Jim Roberts praised both students and staff. He said:

‘I would like to congratulate all our students and commend them on their achievements. Our aim at Hove Park 6th Form is to help students move forwards and take the next step in their chosen career path. These results reflect our students’ hard work and the high-quality teaching and pastoral support provided to them by the school. We wish them all the very best and look forward to hearing about their future successes.’

Sports Day Programme

Tue, 11 Jul 2023 16:01:03 GMT

This year's sports day will be held on Thursday 13th July at Withdean Stadium, you can download a programme for the day's event here >

Hove Park School exam results are above the national average

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 09:39:21 GMT

The national school performance tables were published today, setting out the exam results for pupils who completed Year 11 this summer 2022. You can search for any school using the link below:

https://www.find-school-performance-data.service.gov.uk/

We are really pleased to announce that the performance tables show Hove Park students’ GCSE results are above the national average across all key measures and are significantly improved since the last time students sat public exams in 2019. To see the results for Hove Park School, please use the link below:

https://www.find-school-performance-data.service.gov.uk/school/114607/hove-park-school-and-sixth-form-centre/secondary

Head Teacher, Jim Roberts, has praised both students and staff for their hard work and effort and said ‘These results are a true reflection of student commitment to their studies, high quality teaching and pastoral support.’

To find out more you can visit our results webpage: https://www.hovepark.org.uk/results

Improved Progress

We are especially proud that our Progress 8 score in the tables is +0.13. The Progress 8 measure shows how much progress pupils at a school make between the end of primary school (key stage 2) and the end of secondary school (key stage 4), compared to other similar pupils nationally. Any score above zero indicates that pupils in that school make above average progress.

You can see our recent improvements on the chart below and also compare to the latest national figures:

Glossary:

Progress 8 - Shows how much progress pupils at each school make between the end of KS2 and the end of KS4, compared to other similar pupils nationally. A score above zero indicates above average progress.

Attainment 8 – Schools get a score based on how well pupils have performed in up to 8 qualifications, which include English, maths and science. Our score of 49.54 indicates an average grade in these subjects of approximately a 5.

% English and maths – The proportion of the year group who achieved a pass in both GCSE English and GCSE maths

% EBacc – indicates the proportion of students who achieved a pass in subjects included in the English Baccalaureate. Subjects include: English, maths, science, a humanity (e.g. geography or history) and a language

GCSE results

Thu, 25 Aug 2022 10:19:20 GMT

This year Hove Park School are celebrating their best ever set of GCSE results!

This summer we have seen our students’ results improve significantly compared with previous years. The staff at the school would like to congratulate all our Year 11 and 6th form students for the hard work that has seen so many achieve success in their GCSEs. After several challenging years, they can now celebrate gaining the qualifications that will take them on to the next stage of their education at sixth form or college!

Head teacher Jim Roberts praised the hard work of both the students and staff. He said:

"We are all incredibly proud of the students and their achievements. Against the backdrop of national trends and the challenges of the last couple of years, Year 11 students have delivered the best set of results in the school’s history. These results are a true reflection of student commitment to their studies, high quality teaching and pastoral support. We wish them all the very best for the future and look forward to hearing about all their future successes."

The GCSE results have improved since 2019, which was the last time students sat public exams in England. The results have also improved compared to 2020 and 2021, which were the Covid years when grades were determined by teacher assessment rather than exams; this contrasts positively with the national picture, where results as a whole have dipped across the country since the return of exams.

The main headlines include:

Improved results in all main subject areas compared with previous years

Better outcomes than the last set of published national average figures

An increase of 10% in the proportion of students achieving a GCSE pass of grade 4 or above in both English and maths since 2019

An increase of 12% in the proportion of students achieving a GCSE pass of grade 5 or above in both English and maths since 2019

An improvement in the proportion of students achieving pass grades in all the EBacc subjects (English, maths, science, languages and humanities). This year 73% of students took GCSEs in EBacc subjects at Hove Park School. This demonstrates the strength and breadth of our curriculum and compares favourably with the national picture where only 40% of students took Ebacc subjects in the last set of public exams.

Improved results for students for whom the school received pupil premium funding and also for students with special educational needs. In addition, there has been a reduction in the difference between these students’ results and the results of other students in the year group. This shows the impact of the work we do in the school to ensure equality of opportunity and ensure all students are supported to achieve their potential as much as possible

A note about Progress 8:

Progress 8 is the main headline performance measure for schools. It indicates how much progress pupils have made at secondary school, between the end of key stage 2 (Year 6) and the end of key stage 4 (Year 11), compared to other similar pupils across England.

Because this measure is comparative, the results of all schools in England are needed before it can be calculated and as a result we won’t find out our P8 figure until later in the autumn when the government share this data. In the meantime, however, our own estimate, based on the improvements detailed above, suggests we will see a significant improvement in our P8 figure this year and that it will be above the national average.

A message from all Brighton and Hove Secondary Headteachers…

Brighton and Hove Secondary Headteachers are jointly celebrating the achievements of our students. Schools have worked in partnership, closely and collaboratively, to ensure that every child in our city has access to a good education and is able to make strong progress. We take collective responsibility for a set of exams results that reflect great levels of attainment and achievement across all schools in Brighton and Hove. We are particularly proud of the ‘Class of 2022’ because of all that they have endured during their journey through Secondary School. Today’s results reflect the hard work and tenacity of a fantastic group of students, and an unerring commitment from all schools to joint practice development and partnership for the benefit of every young person in our city.

Post 16 Results

Wed, 17 Aug 2022 09:14:01 GMT

Hove Park School is once again delighted with the exam results of our 6th form students and would like to congratulate them on their achievements. They have worked incredibly hard and their accomplishments will allow them to move on to the next step of their career pathways, whether that is university, an apprenticeship, or straight into the world of work.

Many students who took exams this year were unable to sit GCSEs in 2020 and so this summer’s exams were their first experience of external assessments. The resilience they have shown over the last couple of years is remarkable and we could not be prouder of them.

Head teacher Jim Roberts praised the hard work of both the students and staff. He said:

‘We are all very proud of the students and their achievements. The challenges of the last two years should not distract us from acknowledging and celebrating their individual success. Hove Park 6th Form is about helping students move forwards and taking the next step in their chosen career path. These results are a reflection of student commitment to their studies, high-quality teaching and pastoral support. We wish them all the very best and look forward to hearing about their future successes.’

Individual success stories include….

Rob Almy – Is going on to University of Brighton to start a degree course where he will be training to be a PE teacher; he credits the PE team at Hove Park as providing inspiration for this future career!

Jessica Sturge – Is going to continue her Level 3 studies at Met College where she will be starting a visual merchandising course, with a view to going on to an apprenticeship in the industry, or a degree course, in the future

Mark Selby – is planning to start a 3-year degree level apprenticeship in the police force

Nikolai Valkov – Will be starting a foundation year studying psychology at University of Sussex

Melanie Gabriel – Will be starting a foundation year studying pharmacy at University of Brighton

Big Camp 2022

Fri, 01 Jul 2022 11:15:27 GMT

‘The Big Camp’ has become a Hove Park tradition for all Year 7 students, at the end of their first summer term. Our Big Camp breaks the barriers of students who get to do these types of activities. All students take part regardless of postcode, or parental income. All students access the same unforgettable experience.

This year it took place of Friday 1 ^st July, 2022 with everyone taking part in a range of forest school type-activities, such as; making camp fires, team building, obstacle courses, shelter construction and wood crafts, by Woodland Tribe ( www.woodlandtribe.org ). We even had an inflatable planetarium from The Observatory Science Centre, Herstmonceux giving students a sky at night experience. ( www.the-observatory.org )

This year over 250 students then camped out on the school field after dinner, which was provided by the Old Skool Bus & Kitchen ( www.oldskoolbusevents.com )

The students had an unforgettable time, with one parent emailing to say; ‘Please thank all the staff for me. You all went over and above to give them a truly amazing experience’.

Spending a night under the stars, is one of 8 themes that we challenge students to complete, by the time they finish year 8 and move to our Nevill campus. The other themes form part of our Every Child Should strategy, with students earning a coloured star badge, for each one completed

Contribute and feel part of their local community.
Spend a night under the stars.
Show an interest and understanding of the wider world, experiencing the vibrant, diverse cultures and languages.
Reflect the ethos of our shared values in the way that they participate in the life and community of the school.
Be captivated by live theatre, music or sport.
Make a commitment to a club or activity of their choice.
Show resilience in taking on a new challenge.
Take pride in representing their house and / or school in an activity or event.

This year over 400 students have camped out overnight, as part of either our Big Camp, Valley Challenge or Bronze Duke of Edinburgh expeditions. This is an amazing achievement which can only be achieved with the support and commitment of Hove Park staff, that go above and beyond to make these experiences and opportunities happen.

Sister School Partnership

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 09:25:12 GMT

Today was a memorable day for Hove Park School and Zhejiang Longgang High School in China who agreed to a Sister School Partnership and signed a Memorandum of Understanding during an online meeting.

The official signing ceremony is the first step in establishing a long-term, meaningful partnership between the two schools that aims to raise cultural understanding and provide exciting learning opportunities for the entire school community.

As part of the programme, students and staff will use the Global School Alliance platform to manage communications, collaborate on projects and join live meetings. Both schools are excited at the prospect of meeting in person during a visit in Spring next year.'

Longgang’s principal Lv said:

"Distance doesn’t matter, and thousands of miles still make us neighbours. I hope that in the future, our two schools will continue to enhance understanding and mutual trust and continuously expand the field of cooperation. I firmly believe that the establishment of sister school partnership with The Hove Park School can expand the international vision of teachers and students, enrich the cultural connotation of the school, improve the school's running level, and lay a solid foundation for the creation of a modern school in Zhejiang Province."

Sizewell B Nuclear power station

Tue, 17 May 2022 14:27:00 GMT

On Monday, 30 students for Year 9 took an early coach to Sizewell B Nuclear power station in Suffolk on a joint Science/Humanities visit to look at the workings and the benefits of nuclear power as a green solution to help achieve Net Zero by 2050.

The photo shows the group getting ready to undertake the tour of the site on the North Sea coast, wearing protective clothing. The power station provides 3% of the electricity in the UK. A highlight was the enormous turbine hall, in which turbines, which are driven by a process of heat exchange through the nuclear reaction, revolve at twice the speed of sound to generate the electricity sent to the National grid.

Students were not sure about nuclear power as an environmentally friendly solution before the visit, but some had a more positive feeling about its possibilities because of its zero-carbon impact.

Student delivers speech to the United Nations in Geneva

Mon, 16 May 2022 07:08:46 GMT

This morning, Asal Latifi, a Year 11 student, had the honour of being one of the chosen speakers to deliver a speech to the United Nations in Geneva, as part of an international conference focusing on women who are ‘Inspiring Women a Peaceful and Sustainable Future’. Asal was chosen as a speaker partly due to the work of her mother, Angela Ghayour, who has received international recognition for her work in setting up an online school, (@HeratSchool), which helps young women in Afghanistan continue to receive an education despite the oppressive and deadly presence of the Taliban. The school has been a huge success and means that teachers from all across the world are contributing to the education of girls in Afghanistan.

Asal’s powerful speech details her experience as a refugee, explaining how her family had to escape her hometown of Herat in Afghanistan and flee on foot from the brutality of the Taliban. Making the dangerous journey over mountain ranges into Iran and then onto Europe, from Greece to Italy and finally settling in the Netherlands. Asal’s family then moved to Brighton in 2018 and she joined our school in Year 8.

Not only does her speech encompass her dramatic experience as refugee, but it also details her passion to continue to help her ‘sisters’ in Afghanistan: to fight for their right to freedom of expression; for their right to an education, like she has received in the UK; and their right to be women, who make their own choices about their own lives, without the murderous threat of the Taliban. Asal is an inspiring student and we are all incredibly proud of her achievements.

You can watch Asal's speech here > https://rpb.li/O5g (Please forward to 1h22m to see Asal).

Science and Technology Enrichment Day

Fri, 13 May 2022 07:05:49 GMT

Our fifth Enrichment Day of the year was a real success with students in Years 7 to 10 participating in a range of activities around the Science and Technology theme. Some of the sessions included a forensic mystery task, making solar ovens, planting hedges and other plants in our newly established Valley garden, a climate change focused treasure hunt and talks about gang awareness for our older students.

It was fantastic to see such a buzz around both campuses and we are all looking forward to the final Enrichment Day in July where there will be a cross-curricular focus. A big thank you to the Science team who contributed hugely to the planning and running of the day.

International food fair

Tue, 10 May 2022 14:29:32 GMT

Students from Equalities groups from Years 7 to 11 organised an international food fair today as a celebration of diversity and to raise money for our school prom. The variety of food on offer was nothing short of spectacular, and many students enjoyed wearing traditional clothing from different cultures.

The event was a really lovely way to mark the end of Year 11's last Equalities event at Hove Park. They have been a truly inspirational group of young people who have taken student leadership to new levels and should be exceptionally proud of the way they organised the festival and the way they conducted themselves. Hopefully, they will be back to visit for future events!

HPTV

Fri, 06 May 2022 14:36:47 GMT

Today, Hove Park School aired its very first, student lead, TV show! HPTV will be a celebration of all the amazing things that happen at Hove Park and will be shown monthly to all students during their Learning for Life lessons. If any students want to get involved, please contact Mr Sumner. Here you can see the intro clip from our very first episode.

Spring Concert

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 14:47:33 GMT

Hove Park students from Years 7 to 11 did a fantastic job at this year’s Spring Concert! Having not been able to perform this Christmas, the performers more than made up for this by entertaining the audience with a wealth of talent and creating a toe-tapping and fun atmosphere!

Deneb got the ball rolling with his quirky and entertaining announcements as compère for the evening and we started with some groovy pop tunes from the Year 7 and 8 Valley Bands. Next, some GCSE music performers took to the stage with pieces such as Pachelbel’s Canon and Give a Little Love, by Celeste. The second half kicked off with a rip-roaring Samba beat groove by the school Samba band which lead nicely into some heartfelt ballads from Asmara and some classic tunes by Michael Bublé and Marvin Gaye performed by other Year 10 and 11 students. The evening concluded with the headline Year 11 group, The Kicks. They blew everyone away with their cover versions of London Calling, She Said and Spice!

We look forward to the final concert happening later this year on July 13th.

Houses of Parliament

Tue, 26 Apr 2022 14:49:14 GMT

Forty-four students from Year 9 and 10 went on a Humanities Visit to the Houses of Parliament for a tour and a workshop on debating new laws with the Parliament education department. This visit was building on their learning about democracy in Philosophy and Ethics (PRE) in Year 9. The weather was fabulous. With an early start, students got to spend a long time in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, in which the business of Parliament takes place, as well as tour the stunning ancient 13th century Westminster Hall, the oldest part of the building. Students were introduced to the way new laws are made and how changes in society come through discussion and debate in the chambers.

After the tour students had a chance to do their own debating of new laws. Some chose to debate free transport for all young people and others had the challenging task of voting against them! Students from both sides argued very effectively and were a credit to the school throughout the visit. The group picnicked in Victoria Gardens in the sunshine while awaiting the coach home.

5K

Wed, 06 Apr 2022 15:25:17 GMT

Hove Park School's 5k fun run was held today, after an absence over the last couple of years. It was a sell-out event where 300 students, children and staff ran together to make this the biggest community event for some time. Raising money for Chestnut Tree House Children’s Hospice the students showed us just how unphased they were with the 45mph winds and lashing rain.

With two generous sponsors, a1carsearch.co.uk and Sunninghill Construction we were able to provide every student with a rather impressive goodie bag. Local supermarkets, Tesco and Waitrose supported us by giving Easter Eggs and apples. Our catering company, Innovate, also provided much-appreciated oranges and flapjacks. Cotswold Outdoor Store gave us some outstanding gifts to add to our already healthy spot prize list and the Hove Park maths department gave us some exam pencil cases to give away.

Matt Lambert, Personal Trainer, founder of Hove Hornets running club and co-owner of Hove Fitness and Squash treated the students to a fun warm up before the race. He then led the students down to the start line before starting the race and cheering everyone on. Matt also provided the two winners trophies!

Staff at Hove Park School, too many to mention, came together to make this a real community event. We were delighted to welcome Goldstone Primary School as well with a very strong group of young runners!

Even the two St John’s Ambulance staff want to cover the event again next year! Thanks, Brianna and Declan.

Our winners this year were Naomi and Rowan.

A fantastic way to end the Spring Term!

Watch this space for the total raised.

London visit

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 15:30:05 GMT

On Monday 28th March a group of Year 8 students visited London. The trip started at the British Museum to look at the Chinese section comprising of genuine artefacts and Chinese ceramics. The students really enjoyed this and took their time looking around the museum and taking it all in. Their objective was to find their favourite piece of Jade and also their favourite plate.

After the museum, we walked to Chinatown where the students had lunch at a Chinese restaurant, they had a go at eating with chopsticks (which most did really well!) and some even tried using their Chinese language skills. After the restaurant, students went for a walk through Chinatown, where they spotted Chinese writing and were able to decipher what some of it meant.

The day ended up with students getting either bubble tea or bubble wrap. One student commented that they had never seen Trafalgar Square and would like to see it, so on our way back to the train station we went through Trafalgar Square which the students loved as they got to take in the sights of London many hadn’t seen before.

Please see below what the students said about the trip –

"I really enjoyed today, we got to walk around lots of parts of London and we went to different shops, a Chinese restaurant and the British Museum. The thing I most enjoyed about today was the food at the restaurant (especially the steam buns) and just walking around taking in all the scenery of London. Overall I really liked this trip and would love to go again if I could!"

- Alexis

"I really enjoyed the food from the Chinese restaurant, it was all a really great experience"

– Eleanor & Isobelle

"The food was delicious and I really enjoyed walking around Chinatown."

– Yasmine

Enrichment Day - Haitian Revolution

Thu, 24 Mar 2022 16:33:38 GMT

It's Hove Park School's fourth Enrichment Day of the year - Haitian Revolution and the Caribbean! Students are taking part in lots of sessions including a lesson on why the Haitian Revolution is important, Caribbean Art, a steel drum workshop, sessions from the Black Curriculum, Caribbean Drumming and also a chance to play cricket in the sunshine. We were delighted to offer our Year 10s the opportunity to watch a drama performance from an outside company on issues around migration from Africa to Europe.

UCA All Stars International Cheerleading victory

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 16:42:54 GMT

Hove Park School student Rosabelle, with her team the Zodiac Allstars Shadow, recently won the UCA All Stars International Cheerleading competition held at Disney World in Orlando and have now achieved triple crown status which means they have won three of the biggest competitions in the USA (Cheersport, NCA and UCA). They are the first UK team (and first international team!) to achieve this so it is a really big achievement.

Rosabelle has been cheerleading with Zodiac Allstar Shadows for about 5 years now. She has competed in many competitions in the UK over the years. In 2020 the team had planned to go to NCA in Dallas (one of the biggest competitions in the USA) and The Summit in Orlando (another big competition) but unfortunately, Covid prevented the second part of the trip from happening. They did get to go Dallas and came first in their division which was a really big achievement.

Many people think of cheerleading as chants and pompoms but it is actually more of a team gymnastics with tumbling, stunts, pyramids and dance elements. It is very physically demanding and she trains for about 10 hours every week (more in the lead up to competitions) to be a part of the team.

Everyone at Hove Park School is very proud of Rosabelle's achievements. She has learned so much about team work and time management alongside the physical skills and fitness required for this sport.

Parent/Carer Governor Election

Wed, 02 Mar 2022 10:37:17 GMT

We have a vacancy for a Parent/Carer Governor to join the Hove Park Governing Board.

We welcome applications from all parents/carers who have a child registered at the school. We encourage all parents and carers to consider candidacy and are particularly keen to ensure the Governing Body represents the diversity of our school community.

We require a wide range of skills, experience and diverse thinking on the Governing Body so that we can strategically support the school for future success. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from parents/carers with professional experience and skills in safeguarding, SEND and accountancy.

If you are interested, please complete the nomination form (copies can be collected from the school office if required) and return to the school office at either school for the attention of ‘Senior Clerk to Governors’ or email to Chelle McCann, Senior Clerk to Governors at mmccann@hovepark.org.uk Below we have included some information about being a Governor including the time commitment, which you should consider carefully to ensure you can commit to the role.

You will be required to ask another parent to propose and a different parent to second your nomination. Both must be parents/carers of children who are currently registered at the school and not your spouse/partner. If we receive more than one application, we will hold an election. All applicants must complete a statement of between 150 and 200 words to support their nomination, so that parents can make an informed decision when voting. You should outline why you wish to be a Parent Governor and what you feel you can offer the school. You may include any information which you consider relevant – whether that be your work and life experiences, or your experience as a parent.

The closing date for the return of completed applications is midday on Monday 14 ^th March 2022. If we receive more than one application, the information on each nominee will be sent out on Tuesday 15 ^th March 2022 and parents/carers will be invited to vote for their preferred candidate until midday on Tuesday 29 ^th March 2002. Voting slips will be opened and counted on Tuesday 29 ^th March 2022 and candidates will be notified of the result on the same day.

If you have any other questions, please contact Chelle McCann, Senior Clerk to Governors at mmccann@hovepark.org.uk

Being a school governor is interesting, challenging, worthwhile and rewarding and we really hope that you consider applying.

Yours sincerely,

Chelle McCann

Senior Clerk to Governors

Being A School Governor

Time Commitment

The term for the elected Governor is four years. As a guide, we expect that the role will involve between 4-6 hours per month:

There are 4 full Governing Body meetings per year, which all Governors are expected to attend. The times and dates are set a year in advance.
There are also areas of responsibility which are assigned to individual Governors, such as Safeguarding, Curriculum or Health & Safety.
As well as attendance at meetings there are other time requirements, including school visits and participation in Task and Finish Groups.
There is a requirement for employers to give employees ‘reasonable time off’ to carry out their governor duties at maintained schools.

Training

You would be expected to complete the Governor Induction training course provided by the Local Authority that are run regularly throughout the year, with daytime and evening choices. There are also other training courses you can attend as required and there are online learning modules you can undertake in your own time. The local authority also provides advice and guidance by phone and email.

The Governing Body

Each Governing Body is made up of some elected members (parents and staff) and others appointed due to their skills and experience, e.g. Local Authority and Co-opted Governors. Governors contribute to the work of the Governing Body in raising standards of achievements for all pupils. This involves providing a strategic view for the school, acting as a critical friend and ensuring accountability.

Parent/Carer Governors

Parent/Carer Governors are not elected to represent all parents and carers, but to bring the voice of a parent/carer to the Governing Body. Although Parent/Carer Governors may be regarded as the official channel for parent and carer views, there are usually other methods for parent/carers to make their views known. In Governing Body meetings, Parent/Carer Governors vote after hearing the views of all Governors so they can make an informed decision.

Art Enrichment Day

Tue, 08 Feb 2022 11:10:09 GMT

Our third Enrichment Day of the year was themed around Art and took place on Tuesday 8th February. Students on both campuses took part in lots of activities including making masks based on the work of Sandra Silberzweig, digital street art using the students’ iPads and developing fantastic pieces of artwork in the style of Pacita Abad.

We aim to enrich our young people’s learning through these special days and it was clear to see that this was achieved by the way in which students were deepening their experience of the Art curriculum. A big thank you to all staff involved and in particular, the technicians and teachers within the Art department who all worked extremely hard in preparation for the day.

We would like to draw particular attention to the mural image which shows the first stage of our Hove Park School Values Mural. This first stage is titled ‘We are Proud’. A guest artist helped to develop this and each year we will build on this with different guests, adding the other values each time.

Hove Park continues to be a good school

Thu, 27 Jan 2022 10:59:59 GMT

I am pleased to share the final report from our Ofsted inspection in December 2021. The report will also be available on the Ofsted website within the next 10 working days.

The inspection team that visited the school last term confirmed that Hove Park School and Sixth Form Centre continues to be a good school.

In addition, I am pleased that the report also acknowledges the significant strengths of the school and the progress made over the last 5 years. The opening paragraph highlights everything we value;

Pupils are proud ambassadors of the school. There is a strong community ethos underpinned by positive relationships. Pupils of all abilities and backgrounds are valued. They appreciate the support for their welfare and well-being, including their mental health.

It reinforces the importance of our vision to provide a whole education for every student;

The school’s ‘Every Child Should’ strategy supports the development of the whole child, beyond the formal curriculum. This is highlighted through a wide range of activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme. It is also supported through enrichment days focused on topics such as equalities, music and the arts.

and acknowledges the strength of the curriculum and teaching staff;

Leaders have planned an ambitious curriculum that builds knowledge and skills from Year 7 to Year 13 in a logical order. Most pupils study the English Baccalaureate qualification, ensuring breadth and balance. Leaders have a clear vision for the curriculum. They ensure that the curriculum caters for pupils’ academic and personal development.

Teachers have good subject knowledge. They are skilled in using assessment to identify where pupils have missing knowledge. They use assessment well to present their subject in exciting and interesting ways. This helps most pupils to know more and remember more.

In the last couple of years, we have made significant changes to the way we organise learning across the two sites and the curriculum that is taught. I am incredibly proud that the impact of this work has been recognised by Ofsted as being of high quality and making a positive difference to both student learning and their overall educational experience.

As with all reports there are areas for us to improve and develop and we will continue to focus on the themes that have been identified as we drive the school forward.

Best wishes. Jim Roberts

New catering provider

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 17:01:37 GMT

Hove Park School is delighted to partner with our new catering provider - Innovate https://rb.gy/vknhfn . Innovate's aim, along with Hove Park, is to provide all students with an exceptional catering experience. Their very talented Executive Chef and the fantastic catering team will be serving exciting menus packed with healthy ingredients, that are full of variety, and with loads of interesting new things to try. To find out more > https://rb.gy/l5og8y

Fame the musical

Tue, 11 Jan 2022 16:59:16 GMT

Hove Park School is pleased to introduce this year's school production. On Wednesday 2nd and Thursday 3rd February, our students will be performing Fame The Musical! Please support this wonderful event, tickets can be purchased here > https://rb.gy/er2lmf .

New sports hall!

Thu, 06 Jan 2022 17:03:09 GMT

What a start to the new year! Our brand new Nevill Campus Sports Hall was completed and is now being used by our students. This really is a wonderful addition to our facilities and our community. Watch this space for more photos of the new gym area which is having mirrors and new screens fitted as we speak!

Music Enrichment Day

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 11:55:32 GMT

Our second Curriculum Enrichment Day was themed as Music from Around the World. Students participated in a range of workshops from external companies on genres such as the music and dance of China, African drumming and samba. There were also many classroom-based activities such as using the app Garageband to create music and the Year 7s enjoyed making their own rap music. Our very own Mr Miles and Mr Barbour also organised and led sessions to whole year groups, which students clearly found both fascinating and engaging. Mr Miles’ session, for example, was a very loud samba extravaganza!

Students really enjoyed the day and were fully engaged in these enrichment activities which are designed to supplement the breadth and depth of our curriculum offer. The curriculum days later in the year will look to develop these areas, as well as a focus on supporting other areas of the Key Stage 3 curriculum.

Christmas Market & Ice Rink

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 13:58:04 GMT

Thursday 2nd December - Hove Park Valley Campus - Christmas Market & Ice Rink Book your Ice Skating tickets here > www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/192260194417

Hove Park School for the first time ever, will have a 10m x 10m synthetic ice rink at our annual Christmas Market, complete with music, lights and a snow machine to add to the fun!

Tickets are £6 per adult or child, for 20 minutes skating (price includes skate hire). There are 3 penguin aids available per session for our younger skaters, these can be reserved on a first come first served basis for an extra charge of £2.50. To book visit - www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/192260194417

If you would like to advertise your business, we are selling advertising space around the ice rink’s barriers – please contact ksalter@hovepark.org.uk with your advertising enquiries.

If you would like to run a stall contact dwillard@hovepark.org.uk

All profits from our Christmas Market and Ice rink will be going to The Sussex Cancer Fund.

Equalities Enrichment day

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 16:32:38 GMT

All students in Years 7 to 11 enjoyed a range of activities and learning experiences outside of their normal timetabled lessons on Friday 15th October. This was the first of our Project Days this year and the focus was on Equalities. We had a variety of external agencies and companies who presented to the students on topics around Equalities and Diversity including Disability in Sport, Race and Racism, LGBTU presentations including a talk from Sophie Cook, who presented on trans-gender themes. At the Valley Campus some of our students also participated in a talk about the refugee status of people who enter the country at Gatwick airport. This talk was really interesting as it highlighted the situation and context of many of these refugees, including their welfare, human rights and many other issues. Our aim is for the annual Equalities Day to supplement the thorough and comprehensive education we offer around the Equalities Agenda in Learning for Life sessions.

In future editions of Parklife lookout for information about our upcoming Project Days, where we will be focusing on key aspects of the curriculum, including Music Around the World and other Creative Arts themed days.

Latest building developments

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 12:10:52 GMT

After several months of building we are delighted to share the latest developments at Hove Park School.

Our floodlit 3g Astroturf pitch, Cullum Centre on our Nevill Campus, photographic studio, brand new Nevill canteen, refurbished music room and Nevill library are all complete. The newly created science wing on our Nevill campus provides outstanding facilities and an environment that students are already starting to use and benefit from.

Most other projects, for example our brand new sports hall, new fitness suite and refurbished Valley dining hall and reception will be finished by half term with our new Cullum Centre on the Valley campus completed by April 2022.

It's an exciting time to be part of Hove Park School.

Open Evening 2021

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 17:49:54 GMT

Hove Park School’s Open Evening will be on Tuesday 5th October from 6pm. We are planning for this event to be in person, however I am sure you will appreciate that this may be subject to change.

We are also hoping to host both Open Mornings and Year 6 taster sessions. Details and dates regarding how to book onto these will follow shortly.

GCSE results

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 09:49:02 GMT

The staff at Hove Park School would like to congratulate all our Year 11 and Sixth Form students today for the hard work that has seen so many achieve success in their GCSEs. After what has been another challenging year, they can now celebrate gaining the qualifications that will take them on to the next stage of their education at school, sixth form or college!

Our students have shown great resilience in coping with the huge disruption to their learning caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite the uncertainties about exams and how grades would be determined, our students were committed to their learning throughout the year.

Head teacher, Jim Roberts, praised the hard work of both the students and staff. He said:

"We are all very proud of our students and their achievements. The challenges of the last year should not distract us from acknowledging and celebrating their success. These results are a true reflection of students’ commitment to their studies and resilience. They were also supported by staff that have gone above and beyond to provide high quality teaching and learning. We wish the our students all the very best and look forward to hearing about their future successes."

Sixth Form Results

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 09:39:19 GMT

Hove Park School is delighted with the results of our A-level students, who have worked so hard this year to achieve success.

In Year 13 there were excellent results in subjects such as Law, Biology, Chemistry, English Literature, Maths, Psychology, Sociology, Graphics, Health & Social, Tourism, and History.

The accomplishments of our students will allow them to move on to the next step of their career pathways, whether that is university, an apprenticeship, or straight into the world of work.

These achievements are the result of the hard work put in by the students, but also by Hove Park School teaching staff. Students leave Hove Park School having benefitted from our programme of support and career guidance, designed to ensure students will be successful in whatever they do.

Head teacher Jim Roberts was delighted with the results and praised the hard work of both the students and staff. He said:

‘We are all very proud of the students and their achievements. The challenges of the last eighteen months should not distract us from acknowledging and celebrating their success. These results are a true reflection of student commitment to their studies and high-quality teaching. Hove Park 6th Form is about helping students move forwards and take the next steps in their chosen career path. We wish them all the very best and look forward to hearing about their future successes.’

Individual success stories include….

Aya– achieved A, B, B in English Literature, Art and Sociology and is taking up a place at Bath University to study Sociology

Danyal– is going to Sussex University to take a Business degree incorporating management, economics and finance after taking A’ Levels in Business and Biology and the CTEC Sports course for which he achieved a Merit

Jess– is going to study Sociology with Criminology at Chichester University after achieving success in Sociology, Business and Law

Miriam – is also going to Sussex University to take a Law degree with International Relations. Miriam achieved successful results in English Literature, Sociology and Law

Al – has already started a 15-month apprenticeship in insurance at Brighton Met following a successful set of results in Tourism, Art and Maths

DofE Expeditions

Tue, 20 Jul 2021 08:16:32 GMT

Avid explorers from Year 9, 10 and 11 took part in their Duke of Edinburgh expeditions this term. Year 9 and 10 underwent the Bronze Award, with Year 11 coming back to school for their Silver Awards.

The Duke of Edinburgh award is one of the leading awards for achievement outside the classroom which demonstrates that students have many life skills and abilities.

Students went out on day expeditions rather than camping, due to the restraints of COVID. As a result, the navigation was over a greater distance and students met the challenge of completing the routes of up to 18km in a day. Both Bronze and Silver teams got to see a lot of the fantastic countryside - mainly the South Downs just outside Brighton & Hove and they demonstrated their camp craft by cooking lunch on Trangia stoves in all weathers!

Sixth Form Taster Day

Tue, 13 Jul 2021 07:56:10 GMT

Following on from a previous Valley Campus day experience, a group of Year 10 students spent the day experiencing life as a Sixth Former. A light breakfast at the Sixth Form Snack Shack, followed by a choice of three subject-based sessions, gave students the opportunity to look at what content is offered in A-Level courses, how the lessons are run and a chance for students to ask the Sixth Form staff and teachers any questions. Activities on the day included a Photography project, a Graphics task, Maths puzzles, Chemistry and Biology experiments, as well as introductions to other subjects such as Law, Computer Science and Sociology. Students were able to select the subject sessions they were most interested in before the day, which would give them the opportunity of trying out an A-Level course before committing to it on applying to college next academic year. Many of the students commented they have now decided on their A-Level choices based on the taster sessions they attended, and some have got difficult decisions to make after being inspired by a subject they had previously discounted. Students enjoyed the facilities of the Sixth Form area, which is exclusive to HP6 students only, including a suite of classrooms, ICT facilities, private common room seating area and toilets, Snack Shack kitchen and the fully equipped mezzanine study area.

Year 10 students produced some exceptional work on the day, and many staff members commented how mature and focussed they were in every session. The feedback received reflected the ethos of Hove Park Sixth Form - the students enjoyed the smaller class groups, a more personal approach to education, teachers that show they care, a nurturing and supportive atmosphere. The overwhelming majority of students said they would choose HP6 as their first or second college choice overall.

Update on the Mandarin Excellence Programme 2021

Mon, 12 Jul 2021 13:02:58 GMT

For Hove Park School students on the Mandarin Excellence Programme the usual China trip was not possible this year, so the programme team came up with an innovative solution: a virtual China trip.

Year 9 and 10 students have been taught intensively by teachers from a Chinese university and were interacting directly with Chinese students. There were also exciting live events where they get to interact with experts on pandas, business people and people involved in China’s upcoming Winter Olympics. The Year 10 team came second out of 75 schools with a superb promotional video for Brighton and Hove in Mandarin (see below) and the local Tourist Board wants to use it on their website! Congratulations to Deneb, Jimmy and Peter on the winning team and to all the other students whose videos were also of excellent quality.

“This was a really intensive language learning experience, and over the course of two weeks, students make great progress in Mandarin and get exposed to some fantastic cultural content and get to practice with a range of native speakers”, said James Sandford, Head of Languages at Hove Park.

Hove Park School is one of the 75 schools nationwide enrolled in the prestigious Mandarin Excellence Program (MEP) which aims to put students on the road to fluency in Mandarin. Students in all year groups have recently been involved in year-end MEP activities. Year 7 and Year 8 have just successfully finished their MEP exams and have shown how much they have learned in a short period of time.

Class of 2021

Wed, 07 Jul 2021 11:11:31 GMT

Year 11 were welcomed back to the Nevill Campus today for their final farewell. Around 175 students attended to collect their yearbooks and get the opportunity to sign their school shirts, take photos with their year group and enjoy a breakfast brunch. It was fantastic to see the students back at school, we wish them all the best for the future and look forward to seeing them again on Results Day. #Classof2021

Big Camp 2021

Mon, 05 Jul 2021 10:15:14 GMT

On 2nd July the weather held off and Year 7 students at Hove Park swapped their usual routine for a day of forest-school type activities. It was a full day of events for the adventure-lovers with activities such as building shelters, woodland crafts and making fires. The students also had to navigate a tough obstacle course before an alfresco dinner.

Many thanks to Big School Camp, Woodland Tribe, The Observatory Science Centre - Herstmonceux, the Old Skool Bus & Kitchen and of course Hove Park staff!

Peter Kyle MP visit

Thu, 17 Jun 2021 21:00:38 GMT

Shadow Minister for Schools, Peter Kyle MP visited Hove Park today to tour our campus and talk to staff and students about education.

Peter discussed his role as an MP and his priorities as Shadow Minister for Schools, with staff and a keen group of Year 9 and 10 students. The students asked a range of thought-provoking questions including topics such as; mental health in schools, the current exam system, uniform, disadvantaged students, counselling and students being world ready in a global market.

Peter was particularly impressed by how excited our students were to be back at school, he said:

"It's great to see how ambitious and excited the students are about the future. These are kids that will not be held back by current challenges and it's our job to keep up"

Head Teacher Mr Roberts said:

“It was great to welcome Peter back to Hove Park. During the day he had the opportunity to speak with staff and students to help shape his understanding of the challenges facing schools moving forward, but also to acknowledge and celebrate how our community has supported each other over the last year.”

Year 7

The most joyful picture - Aneurin

Hove Park wins first prize in national Mandarin Speaking competition

Sun, 23 May 2021 19:54:40 GMT

A Year 9 team from Hove Park School recently entered the annual Mandarin Speaking Competition organised by the British Council. This is a prestigious national competition, and this year over 200 students from some 70 schools competed. Illango Bogschutz, James Cox, Fintan Crean, Katie Galloway and George Stevens wrote, practiced and performed an original script in Mandarin, which was expertly filmed and edited by Dylan Barker.

The judges liked the creativity of the script, based on a news broadcast. The Hove Park School team was delighted to learn that, against intense competition, they had won first prize in their category. They will receive a £100 book voucher plus a digital workshop or tour for their Mandarin class.

Head of Languages, James Sandford said:

‘Winning this element of such a prestigious competition is a very public recognition of all the hard work that both the teachers and students put into the study of Mandarin at Hove Park School. We are very proud of all of our languages being taught this year in school and we continue to buck the national trend of disengagement in language learning. What I’d like everyone to recognise is that all these high standards have been maintained over not one, but two lockdowns! Amazing effort by everyone.’

Year 7

The most joyful picture - Aneurin

New building works update

Wed, 19 May 2021 11:25:57 GMT

Exciting footage from Hove Park School's current building works. Here you can see the new floodlit 3g astroturf pitch being built and the foundations to an exciting new addition to our Valley campus - our new Cullum centre. These are just two of a host of new building developments currently in progress at Hove Park School.

Together We Achieve.

Year 7

The most joyful picture - Aneurin

European Championships

Mon, 17 May 2021 07:14:40 GMT

Issy, Year 11, has been recently selected to represent GB in the Rhythmic European Championships this coming June in Varna, Bulgaria! Issy, along with 5 other girls from the i-star academy, will be competing in the group event due to take to the competition floor. This will be the first time a British group has competed at the European Championships since 2012!

James Thomas, British Gymnastics Performance Director, said: "Congratulations to all of the gymnasts and coaches selected for what will no doubt be a fantastic event in Bulgaria. It’s a testament to the hard work the gymnasts - supported by great coaches and clubs - have shown throughout what has been a difficult period without competitions.

Everyone at Hove Park School is immensely proud of Issy and wish her every success. Watch this space for the results.

Year 7

The most joyful picture - Aneurin

Mixed Football Form Tournament

Thu, 13 May 2021 07:29:18 GMT

On Tuesday 11th May, 56 Year 8 students took part in the Year 8 Mixed Football Form Tournament.

An eight team form tournament saw a competitive group phase. The top two from the two groups then met in the Semi-Finals of the Champions League. The final was contested between 8R & 8O. 8R had been the form team winning all four games leading up to the final but it was 8O that took home the title, winning late on in a dramatic sudden-death penalty shootout.

The two teams in each group that finished 3rd & 4th then played two competitive semi-finals in the Europa Cup. The Final was eventually won by 8H who had signed a few extra players at the start of the tournament.

Huge congratulations to all that took part. It was such a great success that the tournament may run again in the coming months. Rumours suggest it could be billed as a World Cup tournament.

W. Ford picked up the Player of the Tournament award for leading 8R to Champions League glory.

Both trophies are now on display in the Year 8 trophy cabinet in the north corridor.

Well done to all that took part.

Year 7

The most joyful picture - Aneurin

The Children and Young People’s Mental Health Conference 2021

Thu, 06 May 2021 14:50:34 GMT

Ms Pinney will be speaking at The Children and Young People’s Mental Health Conference 2021 today at 3.30pm - https://cypmhconference.co.uk/

The talk will be about implementing a whole school approach to mental health, specifically the impact on academic performance by investing in pupil mental health and wellbeing.

Hove Park is heavily invested in the emotional wellbeing and mental health of all our young people. The work we do to identify mental health needs and the packages of support on offer at Hove Park has resulted in local and national recognition.

Find out more here > https://www.hovepark.org.uk/mental-health-and-wellbeing

Year 7

The most joyful picture - Aneurin

Children's Parade At Large

Sat, 01 May 2021 14:23:22 GMT

The spectacular Children’s Parade traditionally marks the opening day of the Brighton Festival. On Saturday 1 May, there will be an online fanfare. The creative minds behind this iconic event, Same Sky , have encourage schools across Brighton and Hove to get involved across virtual platforms in an event that had been dubbed the Children's Parade At Large ( 1 - 31 May 2021).

Art groups from year 7 have been creating flags for the event inspired by this year’s theme ‘CARING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT’. They have created some fantastic flags

Thanks to 7Ead1 and 7cad1 for your incredible creative output!

Year 7

The most joyful picture - Aneurin

Our Prom

Mon, 26 Apr 2021 14:53:33 GMT

The Year 11 Prom has become a wonderful celebration of a student’s time at Hove Park School. Pangdean Barn is the perfect location for this special event to take place, which is why we have gone back there for the last few years. However, we are fully aware that the ticket price together with everything else that goes with it, will sometimes make the total cost a barrier to attending the Prom.

If you know/own a business that would be willing to offer a discount for students, that we could advertise as part of an OurProm Package.

Hairdresser
Nail Bar
Transport
Dress/Suit hire
Anonymously sponsoring a student to attend (the ticket price is £35).

If would like to make a contribution to the OurProm fund

Please go get in touch with me should you wish to discuss any of the above suggestions – mstreeter@hovepark.org.uk .

Year 7

The most joyful picture - Aneurin

Chinese language video festival

Tue, 20 Apr 2021 14:11:56 GMT

The first ever Chinese language video festival was launched today to celebrate this year's United Nations Chinese Language Day.

The event, organized by UNOG (the United Nations Office at Geneva), the permanent mission of China to the United Nations office at Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, and CMG (China Media Group), is open to all foreigners worldwide interested in the Chinese language.

Deneb, Year 10, Fintan, Year 9 and Luna, Year 8 have made their own version of Chinese poetry videos by recalling their own stories or narrating any memories related to springtime to celebrate the virtual event

Year 7

The most joyful picture - Aneurin

Pupils learn Arabic as part of language programme

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 12:48:42 GMT

Pupils at Hove Park School are taking the opportunity to learn Arabic as part of a language programme funded by Qatar Foundation International (QFI) and managed by the British Council.

The Arabic Language and Culture programme introduces students to the language, history and cultures of the Arabic-speaking world. It aims to counter the negative stereotypes often portrayed in the media and to make Arabic a realistic language choice for secondary school pupils in the UK.

Students from all years with their families started learning Arabic this term, joining pupils at seven other schools across the UK that are participating in the programme.

Head of Languages, James Sandford said: “ “The addition of Arabic into our language offer is an interesting development and is a great fit to the many cultural backgrounds in school. The aim is to encourage students and families at home to participate into a new language and deeper appreciation of Arabic culture. We are hoping to extend this into lessons for those in school with an existing experience of Arabic and a hope to move towards GCSE mentoring for these students and ideally A Level in HP6 as an option if there are the numbers and interest. ”

Arabic is spoken by more than 400 million people all over the world and is one of the official languages of the United Nations. It is recognised as a valuable skill for young people in the UK to acquire, with the British Council ranking Arabic in its top ten Languages for the Future due to demand from business, trade, diplomatic and security sectors.

Carine Allaf, senior programmes advisor at QFI, said: “We’re delighted that Hove Park is joining a global network of more than 60 schools that have benefited from QFI's funding for Arabic language programs. An understanding of Arabic and the Arab world will give its pupils a significant advantage as they navigate post-secondary school decisions, when they enter into the jobs market, and simply as global citizens in today's world.”

Vicky Gough, schools advisor at the British Council, said: “The chance to learn Arabic is an incredibly useful opportunity for pupils, both personally and professionally. This programme will introduce them to the cultures of the Arabic-speaking world, equip them with sought-after language skills and open up new future career paths.”

Year 7

The most joyful picture - Aneurin

World Book Day - Share a Story

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 09:30:57 GMT

All this week, as part of World Book Day (Thursday, 4th March), we will be sharing Hove Park teachers reading their favourite stories, you can catch up with each story by following our facebook account .

First up it's Mr Mack reading Danny Champion of the World by Roald Dahl!

#WorldBookDay202 1

Year 7

The most joyful picture - Aneurin

Chinese MEP students celebrate the 2021 Chinese New Year

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 19:14:06 GMT

Hove Park Chinese MEP students celebrated the 2021 Chinese New Year during last week's half term holiday. The students really enjoyed the activity which brought them new hope and positivity for the year.

Year 8 student Rosana said, “to celebrate Chinese New Year, I made fortune cookies. I thought they looked so cute and professional and my whole family agreed that they were delicious. To make the experience more exciting, I wrote little fortunes and put them inside with help from my sister. We wrote things like: you will age with grace and beauty, you will have luck in the near future. We even included a few funny ones like: it's about time I got out of that cookie!”

Year 10 Deneb said that the activity was “delicious and a lot of fun!”

Year 7

The most joyful picture - Aneurin

Duke of Edinburgh Award Diamond Fund

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 17:26:30 GMT

Hove Park School is delighted to have been awarded an £800 grant from the Duke of Edinburgh Award Diamond Fund to train staff. This training is essential to the safe running of DofE expeditions. Many teachers are already qualified in many of the skills needed to lead outdoor expeditions and this will support others in training.

'This will ensure we can run expeditions ourselves, with the high levels of safety expected.' Mr Hunting, the DofE Coordinator said, 'It will help the school to become more self-sufficient when it comes to running expeditions. This has always been one of our goals for the school because it means expeditions are more affordable so that everyone at Hove Park can be encouraged and supported to undertake at least the Bronze award'.

Hove Park school is about 'Achieving Together' and providing students with the opportunity to develop rounded skills and experience the benefits of outdoor education, and this Diamond Fund Award really helps us to do so!

Jim Roberts Head teacher said ‘The Duke of Edinburgh award is an important part of our Every Child Should strategy in which we have identified 8 themes that we want all children that come to Hove Park to have experienced in their time with us, including spending a night under the stars. Mr Hunting and his team have done an incredible job in developing our Duke of Edinburgh provision and ensuring it is accessible to all students. We are looking forward to a time when we can re-start the planning and get children enjoying the outdoors again.’

Parent support workshops

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 20:22:12 GMT

An opportunity to reflect on parenting and supporting young people in these uncertain times.

Dear Parents/Carer,

Hove Park School have been thinking of their parent population and how they can best support you all in such uncertain times. The school recognises how hard this is for parents, with GCSE exams being cancelled and dealing with young adults in their home environments day after day whilst also juggling their existing demands.

We have partnered with an external consultancy, True Reflection Partnership who specialise in Coaching and Counselling Services, to see how we best offer our parents and carers an opportunity to reflect in a safe environment.

We have created sessions that will enable parents to share how they are feeling in a network with other parents only. The sessions are interactive, supportive and aim to help navigate the complexity of being at home constantly, home schooling in the same environments with an opportunity to download their thoughts in a confidential space and group. No judgement, just a place to chat freely.

In developing these sessions we recognised the unique challenges faced by students in Year 11 and have dedicated 2 sessions to allow parents and carers to explore supporting young people who are experiencing unprecedented uncertainty.

Children are not allowed to attend the sessions and there will be no teaching staff.

The main content of the session will cover:

An opportunity to reflect on how home life is going within their own environments, what are the difficult conversations with their children and how are the parents feeling?
An opportunity to share any concerns they may have with their young adults.
Offer supportive measures for talking to young adults. How to listen without reaction or judgement.
The sessions will be run by Clare Sandman, Trainee Psychotherapist and Paul Adams, Accredited Performance & Team Coach.
Each session will start at 8pm for an hour. Maximum of 15 adults per session and will be run on MS TEAMS, you can sign up to one of the events using the links below.

Year 11 Parent Support Workshops

Monday 8th February

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/138610928017

Wednesday 10th February

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/138612316169

Parent Support Workshop

Tuesday 9th February

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/138613250965

Thursday 11th February

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/138615236905

Friday 12th February

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/138616185743

Details of how to join the Teams call will sent via email on the day of the event.

Art Department launches Instagram page

Mon, 01 Feb 2021 09:26:06 GMT

We are thrilled to announce the launch of our HPS Instagram page @hoveparkschoolartdept . We receive so many examples of fantastic work from our students in Art and Photography at Hove Park School and we want to be able to show them to a wider audience. The page will feature some of the highlights of our students work in KS3, 4 and 5 Art and photography, as well as highlight artists we are studying and exploring in our curriculum, and tips and techniques for creating artwork.

Currently, the students have been hard at work creating incredible pieces of art and refining and developing their skills, demonstrating resilience, independence and sheer hard work throughout lockdown and we wanted to share them with you to appreciate too. "

Latest Instagram posts

Lockdown lunches and meal plans

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 08:45:48 GMT

Change4Life have created recipes and shopping lists for families which can be used to create lunches for around £15 each week. For all the tasty recipes and further information head over to https://www.nhs.uk/change4life/recipes/lunch/cheap-lockdown-lunch-ideas

Students meet with Councillor Samer Bagaeen

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 08:55:56 GMT

This morning Philosophy & Religious Education classes met online in a teams meeting with Councillor for Hove Park Ward, Samer Bagaeen. The session was organised by the Politics Project, a charity which links up schools in live online meetings with classes in schools. Undaunted by the challenges of lockdown, we brought the classroom into the home. Cllr Bagaeen answered questions from many students about getting into politics, the bicycle lane on the Old Shoreham Road, other green issues, and how to tackle the Covid crisis. He in turn asked them for their views on some of these issues and heard views about the value of the cycle lane to students. A big thank you to Politics Project and Cllr Bagaeen for the opportunity and to the all students who participated especially by asking questions or sharing views.

Below you can see questions asked to Cllr Bagaeen from Hove Park students Kyle & Marianne.

Bedrock Vocabulary

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 09:15:36 GMT

Bedrock Vocabulary has a simple mission: to narrow the word gap that exists between different groups of students and improve outcomes across the curriculum for all students. We are pleased to be using Bedrock remotely for all Year 7 – 10 students. From next week all pupils will be accessing this remotely. They can access the programme through their iPads and also through this link > https://app.bedrocklearning.org/

Wrap Up Brighton & Hove

Wed, 02 Dec 2020 13:45:31 GMT

This Christmas Hove Park School has teamed up with Brighton and Hove Soiree Rotary Club to support Wrap up Brighton & Hove. This involves asking our school community for their pre-loved, warm and/or waterproof coats for children and adults, which will be collected and distributed to local charities that support vulnerable people including the elderly, homeless, women’s refuge, children and low income families.

The link below will take you to further information about the Wrap up Brighton & Hove campaign. All donations should be dropped off by Friday 11th December 2020, the Rotary Club will collect all items on Monday the 14th December 2020

https://buff.ly/37oU8cb

Christmas hampers for all

Fri, 27 Nov 2020 11:21:37 GMT

I am fully aware that this year has been difficult for all of us. But as I highlighted in a recent letter to our parents the response of our school community has been one of care, kindness and support. We know however that Christmas for some families and wider members of our community will be particularly hard.

Following discussions with students and staff we are planning to deliver Christmas hampers for families who we know are going to struggle over the festive period. If you would like to contribute you can either donate money on our go fund me page https://www.gofundme.com/f/christmas-hampers-for-all (the money will be used to buy food and/or items to go in the hampers) or you can donate specific Items for hampers;

Christmas food with long sell-buy dates e.g mince pies, Christmas cake, Christmas puddings, chocolates
Packed foods such as stuffing, gravy mix, cranberry sauce, stock, custard
Toiletries e.g bubble bath, bath bombs, shower gel, deodorant, gift sets
Festive crackers, mini party games, Candles
Crackers, biscuits, crisps, nuts

Items can be dropped off at either school reception.

Many thanks and wishing you a lovely Christmas.

Jim Roberts - Hove Park School Head Teacher

Crawley STEM Fest

Tue, 24 Nov 2020 11:34:03 GMT

Over the last week students have been engaging in #crawleystemfest and were given an insight into future career opportunities. Thank you so much to the scientists that gave up their time to share potential apprentice routes at Edwards Vacuum in Burgess Hill and what it is like to be a geoscientist working for CGG.

Equalities Day

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 14:01:12 GMT

This term Hove Park celebrated our annual Equalities Day, with a whole day of workshops and lessons focusing on how we can create a fairer and more inclusive community and world.

Students in Years 7 & 8 took part in online talks from Allsorts and LGBTQ+ champions, Mx Burgess and Mr Napper, before making pledges on how they will support equalities. Students on the Nevill Campus looked at the root causes of racism, participated in an online workshop from the Gatwick Refugee Project and listened to an inspiring talk from author and broadcaster Sophie Cook, on mental health and her experiences as a transgender woman.

Mr Roberts said “Thank you to everyone that contributed to making our Equalities Day such a big success. We’ve had lots of positive feedback from both staff and students about the quality of the sessions. Despite the challenges we should all take collective pride in the way we have ensured our Equalities day has been able to continue and provide students with some important messages and learning.”

We Are Poppy

Mon, 09 Nov 2020 17:08:25 GMT

Students from Hove Park School were recently featured on the Imperial War Museum's website and BBC Radio Sussex and Surrey for their moving project 'We Are Poppy'.

We Are Poppy, was set up by Make (Good) Trouble CIC, and has a team made up of Mental Health and Wellbeing Champions from Hove Park School and the East Sussex Youth Cabinet, and local volunteers. It is supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

There has always been a huge focus on men and shell-shock in World War 1, but scant little information about the effect of the great war on the lives and mental health of women. ‘We are Poppy’ aimed to change that. The young people created a webpage and made a podcast which was then aired on BBC Radio Sussex and Surry on Sunday the 8th of November called ‘Dear Poppy’ and a pack of resources for schools to use.

You can read more about Project Poppy and listen to the podcast here: https://buff.ly/2In68CL

And learn more about their journey on the Imperial War Museum Blog here - https://blogs.iwm.org.uk/.../we-are-poppy-guest-blog-post...

Special shout out to Arielle from Year 10 for her unwavering commitment to the project during school closures! She has been awarded a Cities of Learning Digital Badge for the huge amount of work she put in to creating these resources.

#remberanceday

Sixth Form Virtual Open Evening

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 07:35:01 GMT

This year we will be hosting two virtual open evenings where parents can see a presentation by our Head of Sixth Form and have the opportunity to ask live questions to the Sixth Form Team. For further information and to book a place please visit > https://www.hp6.org.uk/open-eve-2020

Student plays in Carabao Cup for Brighton & Hove Albion

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 07:22:33 GMT

Brighton and Hove Albion footballer and ex Hove Park student Haydon Roberts update!.. Hayden recently played in a 2 - 0 victory against Preston in the Carabao Cup! Well done Hayden!!!

Hove Park students probe Democrat Member of United States House of Representatives

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 07:26:53 GMT

Religious Studies GCSE students in Year 11 had a video link-up today with Graig Meyer, Democrat member of the House of Representatives (like an MP) for North Carolina In the USA. The video link-up -9am USA time- was part of their course in Human Rights and Social Justice. The opportunity was set up by the Politics Project who organise Digital Surgeries for schools with politicians- usually UK ones, but this was an exciting experiment we were able to take part in because of the US election.

The Year 11 class shared a Zoom call with three other schools and were able to ask personal questions as well as ones to do with the course, and the US election. Because North Carolina is a swing state it was fascinating to hear Graig’s view on the polls.

The event was chaired by the Politics Project. Tyla Shirley asked an excellent question for Hove Park about what Graig thought ‘equality‘ meant. Graig said he saw equality as the outcome, but equity- giving each person what they need (which may be different) as what is necessary to achieve that outcome.

We hope that many more students in Year 11 will have a Digital Surgery organised by the Politics Project this year as part of their studies in Social Values in PRE, (Philosophy, Religion and Ethics).

Open Evening 2020

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 14:50:09 GMT

I am sure you will appreciate that this year’s open evening and open morning events will not go ahead in the usual way. However, we have been working hard to find an alternative that will provide parents with an opportunity to see our school and hear from our wonderful students and staff.

We are now pleased to confirm that we will be hosting virtual open evenings & mornings, where parents can see a presentation by our head, have the opportunity to ask live questions to staff and students and take a virtual tour of our campuses.

For more information and to book a place please visit our open evening page .

GCSE Results

Thu, 20 Aug 2020 09:41:30 GMT

Hove Park School would like to congratulate our students today for the hard work that has seen so many of them do so well in their GCSEs. They can now celebrate gaining the qualifications that will take them on to the next stage of their education at sixth form or college!

Our students have shown great resilience this year in coping with the huge disruption to their learning caused by the Covid-19 crisis and also the uncertainty over how they would be issued grades and what their progression to post-16 study would involve.

Head teacher Jim Roberts praised the hard work of both the students and staff. He said:

‘I am very proud of the students and their achievements. The challenges of the last few months and the recent announcements about the process of grading should not distract us from acknowledging and celebrating their success. These results are a true reflection of student commitment to their studies and high quality teaching. We wish them all the very best for the future and look forward to hearing about all their future successes. I hope all students, parents and carers will take a moment to watch the short film below that has been made to recognise an extraordinary year group.’

Sixth Form Results

Thu, 13 Aug 2020 09:55:50 GMT

Hove Park School is delighted that so many of our A-level students have deservedly done so well with their results! All of the students have worked hard and their accomplishments will allow them to move on to the next step of their career pathways, whether that is university, an apprenticeship, or straight into the world of work.

In Year 13 there were excellent results in Business Studies, Product Design, Graphic Communications, English Literature, History and Tourism. This is testament to the hard work put in by the students, but also by Hove Park School teaching staff.

Students also leave Hove Park School ready to succeed and thrive in their future endeavours having benefitted from our programme of support and career guidance, designed to ensure students will be successful in whatever they do.

Head teacher Jim Roberts was delighted with the results and praised the hard work of both the students and staff. He said:

‘I am very proud of the students and their achievements. The challenges of the last few months and the recent announcements about the process of grading should not distract us from acknowledging and celebrating their success. In most cases, these results are a true reflection of student commitment to their studies and high quality teaching. Where students have not achieved what they were hoping for, we will be supporting them with their next steps. Hove Park 6th Form is about moving students forward in their chosen career path. We wish them all the very best for the future and look forward to hearing about all their future successes.’

Individual success stories include….

Anni Keskinen, who achieved A*, A*, A* in English Literature, Law and Psychology. Anni will take up a place at Surrey University to study Law with Criminology.

Yezin Abu-Hilal, who achieved A, A, A in Business Studies, Law and Sociology and now goes on to study Business Management at Surrey University. Yezin’s sister Maise (studying for her 3 ^rd year) also gained an A grade in A-level History to add to the grades she achieved at Hove Park last year and she now goes off to study Psychology at Brighton University.

Usha Salwa, achieved B, B, C in Biology, Chemistry and English Literature and now moves on to study a medical degree at University of Sussex.

Megan Culpeck, who joined at the beginning of Year 13 having previously gone to a different college, successfully achieved B and C in Biology and Chemistry, which are the grades she needs to study British Sign Language, English and Linguistics at York St John. As well as successfully managing a mid-college switch during her A-levels, Megan also had to overcome a variety of other challenges during her studies and these results are testament to the hard work and “never give up” attitude that Megan always showed.

Results Days

Mon, 03 Aug 2020 20:41:34 GMT

Our results days this summer are taking place at the following times:

A’ Level– Thursday 13 ^th August 2020, Valley Campus, 9am-1pm
GCSE - Thursday 20 ^th August 2020, Nevill Campus, 9am-1pm.

So that we can maintain social distancing and manage students visiting the site safely, you will need to book your child a time slot for their results collection via the parents’ evening booking system. This can be accessed here: https://hovepark.parentseveningsystem.co.uk/ .

Full details about the results days and how to book collection times are included in these letters.

Instructions about how to use the parents’ evening booking system are also included. Please note, that once you have logged-in to this, ‘Clubs & Events’ should be selected in order to make the booking, rather than ‘Parents Evenings’.

The booking system will be open throughout the summer holiday. Our main office will be closed after 17 ^th July, so any support required with accessing the system and making your booking can be obtained by emailing ITSupport@hovepark.org.uk .

500 words: Black Lives Matter

Wed, 01 Jul 2020 09:44:51 GMT

Calling all Year 7 and Year 8 students!

Your words have the power to change you and the world around you. People can make a change based on their actions – you’ll already have encountered examples of this.

We want you to use your imagination and draw on your own thoughts and experiences when it comes to Black Lives Matter and some of the changes we are seeing in 2020. Then, write a creative short story in no more than 500 words.

Remember, it’s the way you tell your story that makes or breaks it. Over ten years, we’ve read all kinds of stories from magic beans to war and conflict.

The descriptions, the adjectives and the imagery that you use shape your story. Still, you only have 500 words! That means that while you’re writing, you need to make your key moments stand out with similes and metaphors, without taking away from the plot. Your story might be hopeful, inspiring, fun or angry. Have fun making your characters come to life!

You might start, and restart, and come up with many ideas that you whittle down to one…this is all part of the fun!

Lastly, don’t enter to win…enter because you want your voice to be heard and enjoy storytelling in a way only you can. Everything can give you a creative spark that fires a story. Be unafraid and see where your ideas take you!

Send your 500 words to your English teacher or shaque@hovepark.org.uk by Friday 3rd July 2020 to enter this competition.

What everybody wants to read is an amazing story. Good luck!

Virtual Sports Day

Mon, 29 Jun 2020 09:35:57 GMT

With so few sporting opportunities at the moment we thought it would be a shame to miss out on Sports Day this year, so we have created a 'Virtual Sports Day' which will take place on Monday 13th July.

Our 'Virtual Sports Day' is an exciting opportunity for students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 to compete individually to gain points for their House. The virtual activities will incorporate adapted athletic and fitness events, which require little or no equipment and can be completed both indoors and outdoors. We have selected 10 events covering a range of fitness components and students need to pick and complete any 7 to make their personalised heptathlon.

Details of the events and how to do them, will be shared via a video on our firefly app the week prior to the day in case students wish to practice. Students should take a look at this events video on how to execute and measure the performance effectively before deciding which 7 events they would like to do from the list below.

1. Sit ups in a minutes

2. Agility run

3. Standing long jump

4. 1k run

5. Standing triple jump

6. Alternate wall ball test

7. Plank hold

8. Shuffle taps in a minute

9 Wall sit

10. Around the world balance

Students will be sent a link via firefly on Monday 13th July to input their results for each event they have participated in, they must only enter the 7 events they complete and N/a for the 3 events they do not. We appreciate that measuring the events may be difficult, but we expect students to follow the guidance on how to do this in the example video.

We hope as many of our school community get involved in completing the virtual heptathlon. Results will be published and all students awarded house points for taking part with 5 house points for each completed event and 10 house points for any top 8 performance within each year group.

Proposed works

Wed, 17 Jun 2020 09:21:43 GMT

Hove Park School has a raft of new, exciting, building works that will positively impact the lives of our students and also make new facilities available for the wider community. On top of the many recent site refurbishments, including a new dance and drama studio, a new ICT suite, remodelling of science rooms and a new photography studio to name but a few, we are pleased to highlight some bigger notable projects below.

Valley Campus entrance & dinning extension

The new entrance and dining extension will provide a 36m2 increase of space to the existing dining hall, it will have two full length windows, which will extend over the new roof and create a “light well”, maximising the potential of natural light. The entrance extension will provide a new focal point that is visible from Hangleton Road, drawing visitors’ attention towards it. The full plans can be viewed on the council website, we welcome all comments and suggestions.

The Cullum Centre

The new Cullum Centre will provide a specialist multi-use space for our ASC students. It includes two therapy rooms and a classroom, as well as an open plan kitchen space. The Cullum Centre will provide a purpose built space for students to access the mainstream school, but with some additional support from our specialist staff. The proposed design and full plans can be viewed on the council website, we welcome all comments and suggestions.

11-a-side 3G pitch

Located in the south west corner of our Valley Campus, our new, floodlit, 3G pitch will be suitable for a variety of sports including; hockey, touch rugby and football.

Nevill campus canteen

Already constructed and in use, our new Nevill campus canteen is an amazing facility for our students. The next step is to build a canopy for each side of the canteen, which we are hoping to install during the summer term.

Nevill Campus sports hall

Planning permission has now been approved on this significant project. Nevill Campus will see a new sports hall extension and refurbishment. The design will include a new fitness suite, a new 2 court sports hall suitable for all sports including; badminton, volleyball and basketball and new changing facilities.

“It is a really exciting time to be part of Hove Park. The new buildings will provide state of the art facilities for our students and the community for generations to come.”

Jim Roberts, Head Teacher

Webinars – interactive online learning

Tue, 02 Jun 2020 20:47:26 GMT

A webinar is a live, educational event that is delivered online by a teacher using audio and visual communication. Students can access our webinars on a desktop, laptop, or mobile device such as an iPad or phone. The webinars are managed by the school for e-safety. Full details about how to log-in will be sent to parents and carers direct via email in advance of the webinars.

Over the course of the last few months we have run webinars for all year groups in English, Maths and Science. This term we have scheduled more webinars for Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 and these will be focusing on Humanities (History and Geography) and Languages.

For further details and to view the webinar schedule click here >

Inside the Food Hub

Mon, 18 May 2020 20:44:21 GMT

Did you know that our Valley Campus has been transformed into a food hub? The Brighton & Hove Food Partnership have taken over the site for their work processing hundreds of emergency food parcels and other urgent food deliveries.

Over 3,000 food parcels now go out across the city each week, supporting almost 5,000 people including 1,000 children. Prior to the crisis, food banks were giving out 420 parcels a week. The use of our site has made a huge difference to the team who are working to support those in need right now. If you want to find out more or support this work you can see the citywide crowdfund campaign here > https://buff.ly/2zIaGyR you can also watch a behind the scenes video of the food hub here > https://buff.ly/3bG0Fj8 .

Year 10 Online Webinars

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 21:40:28 GMT

We are running Online Webinars for our Year 10 students

English – Wednesday 1st April, 11.15am

Maths – Thursday 2nd April, 11.15am

Science – Friday 3rd April, 11.15am

Check your school email account for log-in instructions!

- Live online learning

- Teacher support with your studies

- Log-on at home on a desktop, laptop, iPad or phone

- Interactive – ask questions, give feedback

- Recorded – so you can go back through it at any time

Hove Park School and Caterlink donates to Sussex Homeless Support

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 21:36:24 GMT

On Wednesday Hove Park School contacted Sussex Homeless Support to donate 50 sandwiches and boxes of fruit and crisps for the homeless of Brighton and Hove.

Jim Dearn who runs Sussex Homeless Support came to our Nevill Campus and collected the food donations that our catering contractors Caterlink had prepared. Jim was very grateful in these difficult times and was heading straight out to take the fresh food down to the Clock Tower in Brighton where the homeless gather to receive food and essential supplies.

Top Tips for managing your time at home

Mon, 23 Mar 2020 12:56:21 GMT

1. Structure your day

The idea of being at home and staying in your PJs all day might sound quite appealing at first, but sticking to a routine can really help maintain a sense of normality.

Making yourself a timetable of what you’ll do every day will help you keep on top of school work and stop you from getting bored. We’ve suggested a timetable that you will have been sent home. You might want to add extra activities into your day that make you feel calm, but try to keep to your daily schedule as much as possible.

Don’t forget the basics like having a shower and cleaning those nashers, and be mindful of the amount of screen time you’re having, whether that’s for school work, social media or gaming.

2. Sleep at regular times

We might think of ourselves as resting when we’re sleeping, but whilst you’re catching zeds and dreaming of being the first person to win both Britain’s Got Talent and the Nobel Peace Prize in the same year (what?! it could happen…), your body and brain are doing some essential maintenance work.

You should be getting roughly 8-9 hours sleep a night.

Getting to sleep isn’t easy for all of us but making sleep part of your routine will help you keep that sense of normality. Check out this article from the NHS about how to get a good nights sleep: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/sleep-and-tiredness/sleep-tips-for-teenagers/

3. Be Social

Try and talk with your friends every day. But take note: talking to your friends is not the same as getting drawn into group chat dramas or 5 hours of TikTok. Pick up the phone and just chat. Chat about the weather, or what you’re watching on Netflix, or what you’re having for tea, or if you’d eat a Witchetty grub for £500 - it doesn’t really matter! Talking and connecting with others will help keep things in perspective.

Remember to reach out to people who might find it harder to get in contact with others.

4. Move!

Exercising is essential. It keeps up physically fit and is good for our mental health too. Exercising might be more difficult at home, especially if you’re use to being part of a football team or something. But now’s the time to get creative! Why not make yourself an exercise circuit in your front room, take part in a online yoga tutorial or you can work out with Joe Wicks https://youtu.be/d3LPrhI0v-w

5. Hobbies, Hobbies, Hobbies

You’ll have lots of school work to do and that will keep you pretty busy, but engaging in something creative you find exciting and interesting is really good for your wellbeing. Maybe you’ll master knitting, baking or painting.

6. Stick to the facts

Fake news, panic, toilet rolls - keep the toxic vibes away. Be a smart, critical consumer of the things you hear and see online. Stick to reliable news sources such as bbc.co.uk/news

7. Acknowledge this is tricky

None of us have ever really had to do anything like this and to be fair, it all feels a bit weird. You might be feeling worried about what’s going on, sad not to be seeing your friends, or even a little bit excited about all the changes. We’ll all have our own way of responding to this and that’s totally ok. Remember to stay connected, keep things in perspective and manage those routines. Young Minds have published this brilliant advice about coronavirus:

https://youngminds.org.uk/blog/what-to-do-if-you-re-anxious-about-coronavirus/ and Childline have online support you can access 24/7 https://www.childline.org.uk/get-support/

For more wellbeing news follow us on IG @hpsmental_health

Together with our community

Tue, 17 Mar 2020 18:27:46 GMT

Dear All,

These are challenging times for all of us. In these difficult times however it is important that we look out for, and look after the most vulnerable members of our wider community. With this in mind we have been in contact with the charity Time to Talk. You may remember we worked with them on our Together at Christmas event.

Time to Talk are an award winning intergenerational befriending organisation that support members of our community tackling all types of loneliness through engagement, connection and friendship. I know that food and other household items have been in short supply however, in the spirit of kindness and looking out for others I’m asking that if you are able to donate items from the list below we will be putting together small packages to help vulnerable members of our community, at a time of need. We will also be getting students to write cards to show we are thinking of them and that in this current context of social distancing and isolation people still care.

2 x toilet rolls
Hand soap
Tinned soups and baked beans (with ring pulls if possible)
UHT long life milk
Biscuits and cakes
Tinned fruit, custard, rice pudding (with ring pulls if possible)
Tinned fish and meat (with ring pulls if possible)
Pasta and jars of sauces
Jam
Tea bags, coffee and sugar
Bread
Instant porridge sachets and cereal
All items can be dropped off at either campus, to the main school office.

Best wishes,

Jim Roberts

Head Teacher

Year 7 Rugby Friendly Vs Blatchington Mill

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 20:53:40 GMT

Year 7 were involved in a fixture against Blatchington Mill yesterday. The boys have made massive progress over the course of the year and played brilliantly against a team who has won the town tournament league. The match ended 6 try’s to 2 in Blatchington Mills favour but superb spirit was shown throughout from the Hove Park side.

Many thanks to the Blatchington Mill coach Mr King who is also the Hove RFC U12 coach. We hope that any keen students not playing at club are encouraged to join Hove RFC now they know the coach of the side.

Code and Rescue!

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 20:44:50 GMT

This week at jr STEM club, students continued their work on coding using the ‘code and rescue’ pack. This included using sensors to detect water for a life jacket which activates when submerged and sending messages via morse code.

We were really impressed with how students showed initiative, worked well in teams and helped each other to complete the challenges. Well done you were brilliant.

Mr Hamblin and Mrs McCutcheon

National Cheerleading Association Championships – National Champions Success!

Thu, 12 Mar 2020 08:04:34 GMT

In addition to being the most prestigious in the industry, NCA All-Star Nationals is the largest All-Star Cheerleading National Championship, hosting over 25,000 participants and 38,000 spectators each year. This year, the NCA Nationals attracted 1,418 teams from 45 states in America and 8 countries from around the world.

Two of our students – Jamie, Sixth Form, and Rosabelle , Year 8 – travelled to Dallas, Texas with their squad, Zodiac Allstars, to take part in this prestigious event. They competed in the Junior Level 1 Division with their individual team ‘Shadow’ at the end of February. The team works extremely hard to make themselves competition ready and the training/rehearsals are pretty grueling. Their overall squad, Zodiac Allstars, are one of the leading competitive cheerleading squads in Sussex based in Lancing and Eastbourne.

Team Shadow put out a tough performance, having had some points deducted for a mistake. Through the tears, the 23 girls aged between 10 and 16 learned that despite the error they were still going through to Finals Day on Sunday 1st March, ranked in 1st place out of 7 teams. Sunday’s final performance had to be perfect and that certainly is what Team Shadow went out and delivered. With one of the highest scores of the competition, the girls smashed their routine to tremendous support and applause with a score of 99.85%. A further tense couple of hours to wait for their final awards but the girls were announced in 1st place as National Champions! They were also awarded the innovative Choreography Award.

Over 1400 teams were entered this year in various different divisions. The girls’ team had the third highest points score from all the teams entered, which is an awesome achievement.

The group are exhausted but exhilarated with winning these Awards. However, there is no time to rest, as they are off to the ESPN at Disney Resort, Florida in April for another National competition.

We wish them the very best of luck!

Year 7 Girls win against Newman

Tue, 10 Mar 2020 20:58:25 GMT

On Monday 9th March the year 7 girls continued their good form by beating local rivals Cardinal Newman at home. Both teams played some excellent football but Newman were unable to stop our strong attacking side and the Hove Park girls came away worthy 4-0 winners. Goals from Sophia, Amaya and Darcie (2). Woman of the match went to Winni for her fine defensive display. Well done to the whole team for another great win.

Brighton University ambassadors

Mon, 09 Mar 2020 19:07:45 GMT

On Friday 6th March we welcomed the Brighton University ambassadors who have been assisting our HPA (High Prior Achievers) students complete their extended project (EPQ = equivalent to a 50% A level in terms of content) work in English, Maths and Science. Feedback has been very positive:

“This work has taught me how to research and work with people who are already at University. It’s made me want to go more. It’s the first time at school I feel I have been able to stretch my imagination.”

Students have been liaising with their mentors from University on the Brightside mentoring app run by Brighton. It was great to see the students learning key study and research skills with the guidance from the university teams.

More such projects are in the pipeline!

£363 raised by Waitrose fundraising scheme

Wed, 04 Mar 2020 08:07:46 GMT

Amazing to see Mr Frimpon receiving £363 of fundraising through the Waitrose fundraising scheme! All the money will go to our Big Camp. Waitrose will also be supporting us with fresh pastries to hand out to students throughout the year!!!

Sussex STEM’s Ricardo’s Antweight Challenge

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 08:11:55 GMT

Hove Park School was fortunate to be invited to participate in the Sussex STEM’s Ricardo’s Antweight Challenge along with 12 other teams. The contestants had a number of task to complete over the day from designing to building a Robot.

The robots then competed in two tasks, firstly robot football and then robot sumo. Hove Park entered two teams, throughout the day we accumulated enough points to secure second place!

Our teams comprised of studnets from Year 7 to 9. It was an immensely proud day for our students as they rose to each challenge and as always their behaviour was exemplorary.

Anthony Nolan Trust assembly

Mon, 02 Mar 2020 08:16:52 GMT

Last week, Hove Park Sixth Form students had an introduction from the Anthony Nolan Trust in assembly, then followed up with a recruitment session in the common room.

The Anthony Nolan Trust matches incredible individuals willing to donate their blood stem cells or bone marrow to people with blood cancer and blood disorders, who desperately need lifesaving transplants.

Students learned about how they can support the lives of other people by signing up as a potential donor of blood, stem cells and organs. Student interest was high with nearly 30% of the Sixth Form signing up on the day, and a similar number of students taking applications forms away to complete.

Hove Park Sixth Form are proud to continue to support the Anthony Nolan Trust and have organised for an annual registration event to take place from now on. Well done to our students!

South East regional final of the 2020 Robotics Challenge

Fri, 28 Feb 2020 09:27:55 GMT

Hove Park hosted the South East regional final of the 2020 Robotics Challenge today. Run by Tomorrow’s Engineers, the event saw 11 schools taking part from all over the South East.

Students had to design, build and program robots to complete a number of tasks. They also faced a number of panels to discuss their robot and presented how robotics could help various humanitarian issues.

Hove Park students were exemplary and took all challenges in their stride.

St Crispins school won overall and are through to the grand final at the NEC.

We have a new Nevill Canteen!

Thu, 20 Feb 2020 09:30:59 GMT

Hove Park School's new Nevill Canteen was officially handed over today and will be ready for our students to use on the first day back after half-term holidays. This is an amazing facility for our students, it really will be lovely to see them enjoying it! The next step is to order a canopy for each side of the canteen which we are hoping to install during the summer term.

U15 England Squad at St. George’s Park

Fri, 14 Feb 2020 10:27:01 GMT

This week, Year 10 student, Tommy joined up with the U15 England Squad at St. George’s Park.

Tommy, who is a goalkeeper with Brighton & Hove Albion FC, spent four days with the squad at the National Football Centre. The programme included the squad playing two fixtures against Belgium, three training sessions and a series of workshops, including nutrition for sports performance and a guided tour of St. Georges Park.

There was also time in the programme for Tommy to keep up with his studies, with the final workshop being delivered by the Senior Team Manager – Gareth Southgate – on the England Player, Leader and Person. Well done Tommy!

9 to 5 was an absolute delight!

Thu, 13 Feb 2020 11:03:34 GMT

Hove Park’s production of the world famous musical 9 to 5 was an absolute delight, filled with musical talent and sensational acting!

The production, based on a 1980s movie starring Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda, is a truly inspirational story of workplace inequality where Doralee Rhodes and Violet Newstead are tired of being treated differently and overlooked for promotion because of their gender, but finally decide to take action after they meet new girl Judy Burnley - and they do so in the most hilarious way.

Mr Roberts, headteacher said: “I left feeling genuine pride in our school and students and in awe of the depth of talent we have at Hove Park,” and went on to congratulate, the show’s director, Miss Holt, as well as commenting on the brilliantly entertaining production.

The choreography by drama teacher Miss C. Holt was sensational throughout the show with a particularly impressive opening number.

There were also many brilliant individual performances. Sofia as Doraleewas, in a word, fab-u-lous. Not just because of the superb acting but also her singing voice is just incredible. Keira wowed us with her witty and sharp portrayal of Violet the ambitious supervisor desperate for career progression.

Toby acting of the vain, sexist, egotistical boss Franklin Hart Jr. was equally amazing, perfectly balancing the humour of the show with the sexist, bigoted personality of this horrible CEO. Aimie was both charming and comic in the role of the meek Judy who transforms into a force to be reckoned with. Kiera also put in fantastic performance as the over-the-top office gossip and snitch Roz Keit.

Overall, the show featured many extremely polished performances from this talented cast, who clearly put their heart and soul into acting, singing and dancing to make this a real toe-tapping spectacular. The costumes and set design added authenticity by capturing the 1980s style superbly with skillful stage lighting to set the mood.

By Barnaby, Bailey and James

Human augmentation

Wed, 12 Feb 2020 11:06:07 GMT

Last week Year 8 Jr STEM were investigating human augmentation and created a model of a bionic hand!

Well done to all involved.

Ms Buckingham

Jr STEM Egg drop challenge

Wed, 12 Feb 2020 09:38:23 GMT

This week, students were exploring forces and how to reduce the impact of an egg falling 9m onto the concrete floor! Students had lots of different designs and had fun building and testing their structures. Luckily the eggs were hard boiled in the testing stage! Team ‘Winford’ were clear winners with their parachute opening nicely, gliding safety to the ground with the egg intact. Well done to all involved.

Mr Hamblin and Mrs McCutcheon

Back to Back Wins for Year 9

Tue, 11 Feb 2020 11:39:33 GMT

The Year 9s played Patcham on Wednesday 5th February at home, in their final group game of the Town Cup League Phase.

It was a very competitive match throughout. Hove Park managed to score a well worked team goal, seeing out a tough but well-earned 1-0 victory. This win completes the group stage, and a full house for the team, with Hove Park winning against Dorothy Stringer B, Cardinal Newman, PACA & Patcham. They progress through into the next round in fine form.

Then on Monday 10th of February the team travelled to Worth School, East Grinstead to play in the County Cup Shield. A place in the Quarter Final was on offer. Hove Park raced out of the blocks into an early 2-0 lead. However Worth managed to re-organise themselves and it became a tight match. Eventually late into the second half Hove Park scored the match clinching third, Worth scored a consolation late on. 3-1 to Hove Park.

Hove Park have now progress to the Quarter Final in the County Cup Shield, with the opponent still to be confirmed.

Well done to the whole team.

Mr Lowrie

Young Writers Hunted Competition

Mon, 10 Feb 2020 11:45:48 GMT

5 of our Sixth Form students (A-Level English Literature) submitted entries to the Young Writers Hunted Competition and all of them have been chosen to have their 100-word stories published in a book called Hunted - Amazing Adventures which is due to be published in March!

The students are Anni, Annasimone, Naomi, Harry and Usha well done to you all!

Jr STEM - Spheros part 2!

Thu, 06 Feb 2020 11:49:11 GMT

This week it was part two of using the robotic Spheros. Students had to complete an obstacle course which included ramps, avoiding obstacles and splashing into water. We discussed ideas around water resistance and density.

Well done to all involved.

Mr Hamblin and Mrs McCutcheon

Sussex Schools Table Tennis

Mon, 03 Feb 2020 12:06:00 GMT

Huge congratulations to Deniz who represented the school last week in the Sussex Schools Table Tennis competition at Sussex University. Amazingly strong competition from around the county pushed Diniz hard through her pool games, but she did superbly making the final and taking second place overall. A huge well done to her, certainly one to watch in the future!

Spheros at Jr STEM

Fri, 31 Jan 2020 12:09:38 GMT

This week at Jr STEM, students got to explore the amazing world of robotics. Using Sphero SPRK, a robotic ball, and a simple app students got to explore the basics of coding. Students were set a variety of challenges to navigate courses and even climb ramps!

Well done to all involved.

Mr Hamblin and Mrs McCutcheon

Miss School Miss Out

Wed, 29 Jan 2020 12:21:48 GMT

As part of the Local Authority attendance information and guidance, 'Miss School Miss Out', the Local Authority commissioned a video entitled ‘What I like most about going to school is ....’ The video was made at Hove Park last term featuring only Hove Park students and their incredible creative talents.

Latest TV

Wed, 29 Jan 2020 12:16:02 GMT

Two groups of Hove Park students visited Latest TV studios this week and experienced making their own programmes promoting Equality. The first group wrote their own scripts for sketches challenging LQBQT+ stereotypes, and acted them out in an extremely professional manner, ably directed by Will. Wren and Nansy also interviewed local volunteers about their experiences. They handled this with real sensitivity and maturity.

The second group discussed their cultural backgrounds, really demonstrating the fantastic diversity we have at Hove Park school. The students had incredibly interesting stories to tell and spoke with real passion, confidence and enthusiasm about their cultural heritage. The students have been working hard rehearsing for weeks, and they really were a credit to themselves. Next stop, Hollywood!

Wellbeing Award for Schools 2020

Mon, 27 Jan 2020 12:23:50 GMT

Hove Park School is pleased to announce it has been awarded the Wellbeing Award for Schools.

It has taken 2 years to achieve the Wellbeing award. During this time the school has developed policy and practice to ensure the wellbeing of our whole school community is put at the forefront of everything that we do. The external assessor commented

Evidence provided at the verification visit was comprehensive and clearly demonstrated that EWMH is a main priority at Hove Park. I am delighted to recommend that the school be awarded the Wellbeing Award for Schools for a period of three years.

Head teacher, Jim Roberts said

As part of the assessment day the verifier spoke with staff, students, parents and carers to discuss the ongoing impact of the schools work in this area. It was lovely to receive the comments and feedback that reinforces how far we have come. There is still more to do and we acknowledge we don’t get everything right all of the time but we listen and importantly act on feedback in the best interests of our school community.

Staff said that MH is at the forefront of SLT’s priorities and that staff are really supportive of and care about one another. There is an open door; you can talk to anyone if you’re having a bad day; they don’t judge; people are kind.

Students report that relationships with staff are excellent. The ‘Yourspace’ email – where students can report concerns - is checked every day by wellbeing staff and students say that responses are quick and supportive. Student champions also signpost peers to support.

Parents praise the support they and their children receive from the school. They deal with issues tactfully, there is a lot of support for students and parents. They appreciate the work the school does on conflict resolution - it is very restorative, friendships are repaired, it is treated as a learning opportunity. Head teacher, Jim Roberts said

There is no better example of our school vision statement ‘Together We Achieve.’ We should all take collective pride in this award. In many ways this achievement only reinforces what we already know – that as a school community we look after and care for each other. It is however, very special to have that acknowledged and celebrated.

Jr STEM club circulatory and respiratory system

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 12:26:11 GMT

At year 8 Jr STEM club, students were exploring how our bodies work with a focus on the circulatory and respiratory system.

Students got to see the relative positions of the lungs, trachea and heart as they witnessed a pluck dissection. This was a fantastic opportunity for students to learn about the inner workings and see how it’s very different from those classic diagrams or animations. It was then the students turn to dissect a fish head and look at various parts under the microscope, amazing!

Badminton news

Thu, 23 Jan 2020 12:31:14 GMT

A huge congratulations to the boys' badminton teams who came 3rd and 5th in tonight's tournament at BACA playing against local secondary schools.

A brilliant event organised by Emma Greenough and Badminton England where students played solidly for nearly two hours. Congratulations to the Kings team who won the event and move on to the Sussex league tournament later this month.

jr STEM get all stressed

Wed, 22 Jan 2020 12:45:23 GMT

This week at Year 7 jr STEM it was all about stress and methods to reduce it.

The session started with a good discussion about the causes of stress and some methods of managing it. It was then time for students to make their own stress-relieving products including glitter jars, fluorescent putty, stress balls, alka seltzer lava lamps and zen gardens. Well done to all involved.

Spanish reading

Tue, 21 Jan 2020 13:26:32 GMT

Yesterday a group of Spanish GCSE students from year 9 spent an afternoon reading books to primary students in Spanish.

The students learned more Spanish vocabulary and pronunciation themselves and are keen to return to share a love of learning Spanish with the Bilingual primary students again. They enjoyed being teachers to younger students and at the end of the day took part and helped in a Year 3 Spanish lesson about Spanish grammar. Tay and Berrow worked with reception students, Florence and Isabel with Year 4 and 1 reading Room on the Broom in Spanish and Fidel and Samuel read Cat in The Hat to Year 6.

Tate Modern Gallery

Mon, 20 Jan 2020 13:31:11 GMT

Sixth Form Photography students had a day out in London on Monday, 20th January, to visit the Tate Modern Gallery. The weather was sunny but cold (thank goodness for respite from the recent rain!) and the group had a great day out, including a boat trip on the River Thames. Such a great opportunity as some students had not visited London before.

Spanish Bilingual School lessons

Thu, 16 Jan 2020 10:07:22 GMT

Melanie Reyes, Head of Spanish from the Spanish Bilingual School, visited us today to deliver lessons to former bilingual school students and native Spanish speakers. The students were engaged in interactive activities and enjoyed working together with their former teacher.

Maths & English challenging

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 09:54:25 GMT

A group of Year 10 and 11 students visited Brighton University on Wednesday 15th January, accompanied by Mr Skilton-Day, Miss Caudle, Mr Adnett and Ms Gale. They had been invited to take part in a challenging Maths or English project working with the support of the university. During the afternoon they received advice about researching sources from a professional Librarian and a brief tour of the campus. Small groups then met up with a student ambassador from the university and began the planning process. They will be keeping in touch with their ambassadors who will support them over the coming weeks.

Forensic fun at Jr STEM

Wed, 15 Jan 2020 09:29:35 GMT

This week at jr STEM students got the opportunity to be forensic scientists. Someone has been forging cheques! Working in small teams, students had to analyse evidence gathered at the crime scene to identify the forger from a pool of suspects. This included examining fingerprints, using microscopes to look at fibres and using chromatography to figure out which of the suspects pens matches the ink used on the forged cheques.

The students were brilliant, worked well as teams and got the correct decision after thorough forensic analysis of the evidence. This club is growing and it was great to see some new faces.

Well done to all involved.

Mr Hamblin and Mrs McCutcheon

Land, Sea & Air Project

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 10:13:18 GMT

Hove Park welcomed back serial technologist James Hannam today to continue our Air, Sea & Water Challenge with GCSE Computer Science Students. Embedding the use of iPad in STEM subjects, today we were coding with Sphero land based drones.

Cross country news

Thu, 09 Jan 2020 12:27:26 GMT

On Wednesday the 8th January, Hove Park took 50 students to the Brighton & Hove Cross Country Championships at Waterhall.

Hove Park again had the highest number of athletes at the competition, with an opportunity for all students to take part, no matter of ability.

It was a tough 3km run, in muddy and damp conditions.

All our athletes managed to get round the challenging terrain . There were some very high finishes in the Year 7 boys race with Tom M winning the race with brother Freddie M right behind him finishing in 3rd. In the Year 10/11 girls race Ella M finished 4th & Bertie B finishing a strong 8th.

Everyone tried their very best on a very challenging course. Congratulations to all our students who took part.

Mr Lowrie & Mr Mack

Winter Music Concert

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 09:59:08 GMT

A great night to end the term this week with the Winter Music Concert and so many amazing performances. Well done to Mr Barbour, Miss Hinze and Mr Miles for giving so many talented performers a stage! Miss Hinze from the music department said “We are so pleased with how the evening turned out. Thanks to all the effort put in by all involved. I have not worked with such enthusiastic music students ever before, so I’m super excited about what 2020 has in store.”

City-wide rugby tournament

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 09:05:31 GMT

The year 7 Rugby team took part in the city-wide Rugby tournament at Cardinal Newman on Tuesday 17th December.

Hove Park played in two matches against Cardinal Newman & Dorothy Stringer. There was a huge improvement in Hove Park positional play. In both matches, Hove Park were tenacious with their tackling against very strong runners. Hove Park lost both matches by two tries but were incredibly proud of their performances against two of the cities strongest teams. The games were played on very muddy pitches, in driving rain and poor light. The team performed extremely well in these challenging conditions.

Strictly 2019

Fri, 20 Dec 2019 09:05:09 GMT

Strictly 2019 was a sparkly success! Thanks to all the teachers for putting on their dancing shoes to entertain us at the end of term, to the 4 judges, Ms Gaywood for organising this important event in our school calendar and finally well done to Mrs Hunt and Mr Alexander for winning with their scintillating Samba!!

Jr STEM slime time

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 07:47:22 GMT

This week at Jr STEM club students explored the three states of matter, properties of each and how substances change from one to another. Students were shown the sublimation of iodine crystals, which when heated change from a solid to a gas, without going to a liquid. Students went on to make a grinch mask and carefully follow a method to make their own slime.

Well done to all involved.

Mr Hamblin and Mrs McCutcheon

Year 7 girls team beat local rivals Cardinal Newman 3-0

Mon, 16 Dec 2019 09:05:13 GMT

In their final football fixture of the decade the year 7 girls team beat local rivals Cardinal Newman 3-0. The Hove Park girls fought hard against a very good Newman side with the game being played at a fantastic tempo. Some outstanding goal keeping from Livvie stopped a number of attacks from the visitors and some superb finishing from Sophia (2) and Mila gave our girls a convincing win.

Well done to the whole team.

Livvie, Amaya, Mila, Evie S, Evie B, Sophia, Rita, Holly and Matilda.

Jr STEM club explore of microscopy

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 13:08:50 GMT

This week at Year8 Jr STEM club it was the exploration of microscopy. Students looked at stomata, salt and copper sulfate crystals. They then investigated the effect of caffeine on the heart rate of Daphnia, a common water flea.

Christmas market 2019

Fri, 06 Dec 2019 08:03:13 GMT

What a wonderful evening!

Last night Hove Park School hosted our now annual Christmas Market to raise much-needed funds for local mental health charities - Grassroots , Samaritans and Winston's Wish . It was a delightful community evening, with plenty of festive cheer.

Many thanks to all those who helped organise the market, to the sellers and your amazing stalls, and the local community who came to support us and grab a bargain or two!

Jr STEM Update - Balloon Rockets

Wed, 04 Dec 2019 13:12:31 GMT

The session started with a discussion about rockets, forces and one of the most influential scientists of all time; Sir Isaac Newton. The focus then turned to pressure and Newton’s third law ‘for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction’. Students learnt how balloon rockets work and It was then time to design and build their own. Students worked really well in small teams with the winning rocket travelling over 5 meters!

The session finished with the classic ‘whoosh bottle’ demo to show a combustion reaction. Only this time the drum was attached to a trolley!

Well done to all and we hope to see more year 7 students next Wednesday.

Mr Hamblin and Mrs McCutcheon

Year 11 Revision Webinars

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 13:15:30 GMT

On Monday evening, Year 11 students were able to access Hove Park School’s first ever webinar!

A webinar is a live, educational event that is delivered online and includes audio and visual communication between a speaker and attendees.

Our first webinar was for Year 11 students taking the math higher paper mock exam this week, to help them with their revision. It was delivered by Ms Boraster, with technical support from Ms Hunt and Ms Mulvenna, who answered the questions sent in by students during the live broadcast.

Our next webinar is being delivered by Ms Martin on Thursday 5th December. This one will provide revision support for the English Literature mock exam taking place the next day.

One bit of feedback from a student: ‘why wasn’t it longer - it was fun!’ .

Head Teacher, Mr Roberts said ‘I think it has the potential to make a significant difference to students in helping them to prepare for their exams’.

Young Writer’s competition

Mon, 02 Dec 2019 13:21:30 GMT

Two of our students are to be published in a book after entering a poem for the Young Writer’s competition, Through Their Eyes!! Congratulations to Winni, Year 7 & Leila, Year 9

An Inspector Calls

Fri, 29 Nov 2019 14:07:05 GMT

100 year 11 students travelled to see ‘An Inspector Calls’ at New Wimbledon theatre this week.

Students reported it was an excellent production and very useful for seeing characters and quotations brought to life! Wednesday’s trip went well without any problems. However Thursday’s trip hit a slight snag when the coach’s tyre burst after the show, leaving 50 students and 5 teachers to sit in KFC for three hours whilst they waited for the mechanic to fix the problem. Mrs Bevan applauded the students’ patience and high spirits despite the delay and they were soon back on the road and back home for 9. Thank you very much Ms Schofield and Ms Bevan!

Sports Leaders

Fri, 22 Nov 2019 16:34:07 GMT

On Wednesday 20th November some of our Sports Leaders Assisted with running the Brighton, Hove and Portslade schools cross country championships at Waterhall.

Everyone was full of praise for the year 10 girls. From the event staff, to the volunteers from the local athletics clubs to the primary school teachers and their children.

The girls marshalled the course and supported the 1,197 children from 43 different primary schools to complete the course safely and with lots of smiles on their faces! They all did a great job making sure that all these children got round safely and enjoying cross country!

Well done to Maddie C, Maddie R, Rotana N, Charlotte K, Molly K, Georgina C, Linda D, Emily F, Flo D, Iona H and Eloisa L.

U14 Girl's Football update

Thu, 21 Nov 2019 16:51:11 GMT

The U14s travelled to Cardinal Newman for their 2nd round town cup tie on Monday. The team, who were assisted by some year 7 girls, played some of the best football we have seen from this side. They came away with a 6-1 win but could easily have been double figures. Goals from Ava, Emily, Macy and hat trick hero Sophia. Well done to all for a superb performance.

Year 8 rugby update

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 14:58:16 GMT

The year 8s were in action tonight with the Brighton Schools Rugby Festivals.

The side is really going from strength to strength and had games with Dorothy Stringer and BACA, Both of which ended in a 5-5 draw. After losing every game last year this is an immense achievement and down to their cohesion as a group, dedication to training and recruitment of new players who have joined after enjoying rugby in lessons. A huge well done to all who played.

Year 9 Return to Winning Ways

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 14:04:52 GMT

The Year 9s were in action against local rivals Cardinal Newman A, In the Town Cup on Tuesday 19th November.

After a disappointing County Cup exit to Dorothy Stringer, it was vital the team bounced back.

The defence had two of the regular back four out, however this didn’t affect the team's overall performance.

It was a very tight first half at 0-0.

Hove Park started the second half with a very high press, using their two strikers and wingers to close down their centre backs & full backs. The quick start paid off with Dylan G finishing off a great move.

Joe K then smashed in a free kick from 25 yards.

The fast start had knocked Cardinal Newmans confidence. The tireless Dylan G then went and helped himself to another, chipping the keeper. The team then switched formation, adding in some more defensive players, closing the game out with a moral boosting clean sheet.

Full time Hove Park 3-0 Cardinal Newman A

Dylan G- Two

Joe K- One

Player of The Match- Joe.K

Hove Park have won both of their Town cup matches. They are now favourites to win the group with ties against PACA & Patcham to come.

Well done.

Jr STEM Update

Wed, 20 Nov 2019 13:33:02 GMT

We are really pleased to announce that after the success of last year, Jr STEM club has grown and we now have a separate club for year 7 and 8 students. Year 7 club will be run by Mr Hamblin and Mrs McCutcheon and the year 8 will be run by Mr Alexander and Miss Buckingham.

Netball Update

Thu, 14 Nov 2019 16:54:20 GMT

This week the Year 11 team, boosted by two year 9's, played Downlands in a friendly game. The standard of netball was incredibly high, with HPS taking an early lead. Downlands finished strongly, winning 20-12 but a great performance by the Hove Park team.

Last week, a newly formed Year 10 team travelled to Cardinal Newman for their Netball Tournament. Despite, playing together for the first time, the team gelled really well and won two of their matches. This meant they placed third overall, which was a fantastic result.

The Year 9 team played their tournament at Dorothy Stringer just before half term. In a high energy tournament, the team showed their talent and ended up placing 5th out of 16 teams from Brighton and Hove.

Charity Week’s Annual Dinner

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 17:02:27 GMT

On Saturday, 9th November, Faizah & Anikah attended Charity Week’s Annual Dinner, representing Hove Park Sixth Form. The young ladies won an award at the evening in being recognized for their hard work successfully fundraising in their first year for the Charity Week organisation.

Imperial War Museum

Mon, 11 Nov 2019 08:22:17 GMT

On the 7th November a group of year 9 students visited the Imperial War Museum where they were saw a vast array of sources related to WW1 WW2 and the Cold War. They were also taught the key skills needed to create a documentary before creating their own. For some of our students it was their first time visiting the museum and said they would definitely be returning.

The students had lots to say about the experience:

“The Imperial War Museum was such a positive experience and we had a brilliant day. We learnt about art and music at the time of WW1 and also many facts about a modern battle and the Cold War. Although it was a long journey it was worth every minute. A particularly exciting activity was creating a documentary on an artefact from WW1. This allowed us to be creative and interpret the theme in our own way. If you ever get the opportunity to do a similar trip you must jump at the chance as it really is an incredible experience. Although you are not in usual lessons you learn so many intriguing facts”.

Year 9 Students- Tay and Bebel

Amsterdam trip

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 15:56:57 GMT

50 students from years 9, 10 & 11 spent the first weekend of Half Term exploring the art and culture of Amsterdam.

After driving through the night staff and students arrived in Amsterdam at mid-day on Friday 25th October; straight into a whistle stop tour of the Van Gogh museum where we got to see some of his most iconic paintings, followed by a canal cruise of the city for some perspective before finally making it to the hotel for some much needed sleep!

Day 2 was spent at The Kröller-Müller Museum, a national art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands. The weather was glorious, the sun was shining, it was the perfect place for us to stretch our legs, admire the art and get some group photos!!

From there, we went back in to Amsterdam to visit the Anne Frank House.One student said that it was “an incredibly enlightening and moving experience.” !

Our last day began with a visit to the MOCO museum, an independent museum located in Amsterdam dedicated to exhibiting modern and contemporary art. The museum was founded with the mission of attracting broader and younger audiences, and of making art accessible to the public.!

We then had some time for waffles and shopping before the coach trip home.!

Many thanks to all the students that came on the trip for being such positive role models for the school and to the staff that helped provide this opportunity.!

Amsterdam trip

Tue, 05 Nov 2019 08:27:04 GMT

50 students from years 9, 10 & 11 spent the first weekend of Half Term exploring the art and culture of Amsterdam. After driving through the night staff and students arrived in Amsterdam at mid-day on Friday 25th October; straight into a whistle stop tour of the Van Gogh museum where we got to see some of his most iconic paintings, followed by a canal cruise of the city for some perspective before finally making it to the hotel for some much needed sleep!

From there, we went back in to Amsterdam to visit the Anne Frank House.One student said that it was “an incredibly enlightening and moving experience.” !

We then had some time for waffles and shopping before the coach trip home.!

Many thanks to all the students that came on the trip for being such positive role models for the school and to the staff that helped provide this opportunity.!

German Exchange with Matare Gymnasium

Sun, 03 Nov 2019 15:54:56 GMT

This year’s year 11 German trip to our exchange school in Meerbusch near Düsseldorf in Germany successfully returned on the last Sunday of half term.

The group comprised some quite nervous students at the start. Some were staying in home stay families and some residing in the youth hostel in the city centre of Düsseldorf itself. They returned after 5 days with a real sense of having overcome these initial nerves and many found it quite a wrench to leave their German student buddies and there was a real sense that everyone left with a deeper and more rounded understanding of German culture, family life and language.

The trip comprised a series of cultural as well as linguistic challenges, now in its tenth year. The initial day was spent in our large partner school in Meerbusch, Matare Gymnasium where we started the day with a very heart welcome from the head master Herr Gutjahr-Doells. The students joined their buddies at the start of the day and worked on presentations of sites in the target language. Our students then went into town on the following day and presented each of the sites to us all as if they were a tour guide – many received high praise indeed for their communication skills. There was a rather wet and cold day in Düsseldorf itself on the Friday, but the Saturday saw the sun again and the group headed to Bonn for a really interesting tour around the Haus der Geschichte (Germany’s Museum of Post-war German history) followed by a visit to Cologne and the delights of a Brauhaus lunch, packed with sausage and sauerkraut! The final morning we all ascended the Rheinturm (the tall tower that is an imposing height over the river in the city centre) and were blessed with lovely sunny views over the Rheingebiet.

All returned tired but secure in the knowledge that we had all appreciated the opportunity to learn more about a language, culture and people we all have grown to love. Many thanks to Miss Gibb for having organised this with our partner Herr Vonk in Germany. The German students join us in the middle of November in school.

Equalities Day

Fri, 01 Nov 2019 15:49:39 GMT

Friday 25th October was Equalities Day at Hove Park School.

We had a host of fascinating and thought-provoking guest speakers, sessions and workshops throughout the day covering a wide range of equality topics. From equality in sport to breaking the stigma around mental health.

Upcoming building works

Thu, 24 Oct 2019 15:02:07 GMT

Exciting times ahead for Hove Park.

Hove Park School is pleased to unveil a host of exciting upcoming building works.

Our Valley campus will see:

- A new 3G 11 a side floodlit pitch

- Remodelling of the main entrance

- An extension to our dining area

- A new Cullum (SEN) Centre extension

Our Nevill campus will see:

- Increased sports and science accommodation

- A new Cullum (SEN) Centre

- Remodelling of the existing library, ICT, Fitness Suite and changing room spaces

- New security fencing and gates

These building works will make a tangible difference to the learning environment on both our campuses. We will share more detailed plans over the coming days.

CERN trip

Fri, 20 Sep 2019 09:57:08 GMT

At four in the morning fourteen year 11 students set off to Gatwick to catch a flight to Geneva for a day visit to CERN, the world’s biggest science experiment and main centre for the study of particle physics and credited with the discovery new particles such as the Higgs Bosun, which help us know more about the nature of the universe and the Big Bang. After a short bus and tram journey, we arrived at the Swiss part of CERN, and our tour began with a visit to two exhibitions about the work of CERN, with up to date interactive displays, films and materials used in experiments.

We then went for lunch at the CERN canteen mingling with the research staff in the Swiss September sunshine. Next, we were lucky enough to meet a real Dr of Physics, Dr Eduard Simioni, who has been working with and at the centre since 2005. He answered questions, shared his life experience and introduced us to the main achievements at CERN. The day was interspersed with excellent audiovisual presentations, but then the real substance of the tour began: firstly, a visit to the synchrocyclotron, one of the first particle accelerators which started being used in 1956 and was accelerating particles using magnetic and electric fields until the 1990s. So heavy is the structure that rather than dismantling it, they have just built new offices around it and it now forms a fantastic display about the early experiments.

We then went on a 20-minute bus ride into France to the other side of the 27km circumference Large Hadron Collider, (LHC) to visit the CMS detector. This is an all-purpose detector with a muon focus sitting 100m underground. Since it is undergoing maintenance, we were able to go down in the lift to see the detector itself, a marvel of engineering, which made the synchrocyclotron seem tiny. Many students even went into the control room, as although there are no particle collisions taking place they are still testing the detector using natural cosmic rays.

We drove back into Switzerland and took the bus and tram back to Geneva airport to take a plane back to Gatwick and conclude what Will, one of the students, said was a very long yet fascinating day!

Bronze Duke of Edinburgh

Tue, 16 Jul 2019 13:25:29 GMT

Thirty nine intrepid year 9 students completed their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh assessed expedition on the South Downs over two days, camping overnight at Hillside, the scout camp at Small Dole. On Sunday, from the beginning they successfully navigated their way independently in teams from Cissbury Ring, working together and supporting each other to get to their overnight destination. They cooked meals and pitched tent for the night, with stunning views of the South Downs and lovely countryside around. Apart from a few drops of ran at the beginning, the day was perfect for walking, with sunshine breaking out as the day progressed.

The next day the teams walked up onto the South Downs ridge, climbing the 105 metre ascent of Edburton Hill with full packs, along to the Dyke, then Saddlescombe, then to finish at Waterhall. Bright Expeditions who organised what was an extremely successful expedition, said all the groups had passed their assessment well, and they were impressed by their organisation, behaviour, teamwork and competence at camp craft and navigation.

Thank you to Bright expeditions for their excellent work and to all the staff who helped on the trip and the support staff who helped to make it happen or covered lessons on the second day (Monday).

Annual Art and Photography exhibition

Thu, 11 Jul 2019 10:07:45 GMT

Wow what an evening! Hove Park's annual Art and Photography exhibition was a huge success and a testament to our hard-working students and staff. Well done to you all and thank you to our local community for joining us on such a lovely evening.

Goodwood Greenpower Race 2019

Wed, 03 Jul 2019 23:00:00 GMT

A group of 13 students took our electric race car to Goodwood to race other schools and colleges. It was the biggest event we have been to yet.

Although we hadn’t made any alterations to the car this year we still came two thirds of the way down the leader board at 49th place. Super teamwork show by the students working together to make sure everyone got to drive at least a lap.

Duke of Edinburgh update

Fri, 24 May 2019 13:21:36 GMT

South Downs Way practice expedition for year 9 students

Forty-two year 9 students set of on their Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition for their Bronze award this bright Thursday morning! They left in seven groups from the Valley Campus and walked out of the conurbation to join the South Downs way in the sparkling May sunshine. They have journeyed in groups up and down on footpaths to the village of Pyecombe where they are stopping for lunch. They are continuing to Ditchling where they will camp for the night, accompanied by Hove Park Staff and Bright Expeditions, who are training them in micro-navigation in preparation for their Assessed Expedition, in July.

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze expedition

Tue, 14 May 2019 13:24:16 GMT

Over last weekend (12/13th May) 43 of the year 9s took part in the practice Duke of Edinburgh Bronze expedition to improve their navigation and map-reading as well as their camp-craft, in preparation for their assessed expedition. They had a very wet Saturday, walking for six or more hours in the rain, putting up tents and cooking in the rain, too, and facing a unseasonably cold night while trying to keep the inside of tents dry! These were challenging conditions, but the year 9s proved themselves extremely resilient and high-spirited and well able to cope! They will all progress to their assessed expedition in July. Well done to them and thanks to those who volunteered to help plan and carry out the expedition!

The verdict is in: Legally Blonde is a smash hit!

Fri, 15 Feb 2019 20:48:27 GMT

“Omigod you guys!” From the opening number students of Hove Park got its audience in the pink with their vibrant, all-singing, all-dancing infectious production of the musical “Legally Blonde”. The romantic comedy with an edge was just the ticket for Valentine’s week.

The show, which played to a packed house for three nights, tells the story of a college sweetheart and homecoming queen Elle Woods (Keira Osborn-Adams) who does not take no for an answer. When her boyfriend, Warner Huntington III (Ollie Hawes), dumps her for someone more ‘serious’ she follows him to Harvard Law School to win him back. While at Harvard she realises she has her own interests and intelligence and is actually an impressive and very capable person in her own right.

The musical opens on a high note with the irresistible and sassy sorority sisters (Alicia Abdalla, Grace Maclean, Francesca Gibb, Sofia Hill) sashaying around the stage singing the catchy number “Omigod you guys!” Keira plays an engaging bubbly, Elle Woods, whose strikingly powerful vocals bring depth and quality to the role. It is her ability, however, to convince the audience of Elle’s transformation from a ditsy airhead to a formidable lawyer that shows the extraordinary quality of her acting ability.

Alfie Jukes’ excellent comic timing is well cast as the Emmett Forrest the quirky, sensitive law student who takes Elle under his wing. Daisy Seaborne as Paulette, the funny owner of the local “Hair Affair” gave a polished performance and was able to belt out a powerful rendition of ‘Ireland’ which matched her personality. Ollie Hawes has the charm and charisma needed for the role of Warner Huntington III. Mai Bolingbroke is an assured and strong intellectually driven stuck-up, wealthy law student Vivienne Kensington.

There are also many other outstanding individual performances too including Ronan Doyle who is aptly cast as the handsome Kyle B. O’Boyle the smooth-talking, Irish dancing, hunk of a UPS deliveryman. Toby Lloyd a very believable pompous and manipulative Professor Callahan who is able to turn from charismatic academic to a shark in a flash. Aimie Eckworth-Jones is dynamic in her role as Brooke Wyndham leading a clear voiced energetic troop of skipping prisoners in an aerobic tour de force.

The Geek Chorus, Delta Nus, Harvard Gang and the People of Boston ensured that the staged buzzed with energy and colour.

Special canine guests Tetley Cash as the cute ‘Rufus’ and Ollie Farah as adorable, beastly “Bruiser”.

Jim Roberts, Head Teacher said: “This was an amazing and uplifting performance by a talented cast and crew - and dogs - which was full of fun and a powerful reminder that ‘staying true to yourself never goes out of style’.”

The production, directed by Drama Teacher, Ms Chloe Holt, who “Whipped [the cast] in to Shape” which paid dividends on stage as the performance was tightly polished, with brilliantly-slick choreographed numbers.

Full of upbeat, catchy songs, jaw-dropping dance moves and a wardrobe of vibrant costumes, backstage support, lighting and sound made this school production a real stage spectacular worthy of the West End.

Reporter: Mia Hollis, Head Girl

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News from Barcelona!

Tue, 16 Oct 2018 23:00:00 GMT

13 of our students from Year 9 to Year 11 flew to Barcelona on Saturday 13th October for a full immersion trip. Our host families gave us a warm welcome and students have settled well with their new families.

Day one was spent in Barcelona where a guide took us on a tour of the city, as well as to other beautiful sites away from the hustle of the Catalonia capital.

Day two was the first day spent at our local Spanish school. After some initial fear about not being able to understand lessons, all our students came back buzzing and no longer daunting the long school day. Lessons finish at 5 pm here, followed by after school activities.

Partnership with Legal & General

Thu, 27 Sep 2018 23:00:00 GMT

Hove Park is pleased to announce our community partnership with Legal & General, Hove. It means we will be working closely with Legal & General to give our pupils the chance to get involved with lots of activities connected to the world of work, sport, wellbeing, IT and the community. To start the partnership, pupils will be joining Legal and General volunteers for Children in Need where they will help on the night in the call centre.

Other planned events include a Dragon’s Den-style project where L&G leaders will judge the best idea and we will also be getting the pupils involved in an annual Community Games event. Legal and General will also be sponsoring our annual Big Camp, Valley Challenge and Valley 5K events.

As part of our new partnership, they have agreed to open their staff exercise sessions held in Hove Park on Thursday evenings to Hove Park staff.

Karan Martin, Hove Location Director, said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be going into a community partnership with Hove Park School. As part of our L&G in the Community initiative, I was keen to explore how we could give something back to a school in our area. We believe Hove Park is a great school and, being just down the road from our Hove site, it seemed like a perfect opportunity. We have lots of exciting activities planned which we hope will be really meaningful for pupils while giving them an insight into life after education through the interaction they gain with our colleagues.”

Goodwood Greenpower Race 2018

Thu, 14 Jun 2018 23:00:00 GMT

It was an amazing day at Goodwood, the sun was shining and the atmosphere was electric. Despite a break down during practice we were able to find a replacement part and we were up and running again. All of the students worked really well together to make the driver changeovers and swap the batteries very efficiently. Every student managed to compete and we eventually placed 40th out of 78, our highest ever ranking. Bella T from year 8 managed the fastest lap at 6 minutes, 39 seconds. We’re looking forward to next year’s Greenpower race, and hope to do even better.

Hairspray is a Big Bouncy Bouffant of a Hit Show

Thu, 08 Mar 2018 20:51:31 GMT

Bright, colourful, energetic and uplifting was the Hove Park’s production of Hairspray. Full of upbeat, catchy songs, jaw-dropping dance moves and a wardrobe of vibrant costumes, make it a real stage spectacular which made you want to get up and out of your seat and dance along.

Jim Roberts, Headteacher said: “The students have put on absolutely fantastic show. An amazing performance which delivered the serious message of integration and understanding whilst remaining upbeat and full of joy. Well done to all involved - cast, crew and technicians. I felt like I'd had a night in the West End!”

The show is set in Baltimore in 1962 where, against the odds, overweight teenager Tracy Turnblad lands a role dancing on her favourite TV programme, The Corny Collins Show. She uses her new-found fame to fight for integration of black and white dancers on the show, putting her own future at risk for what she believes in.

Helen Davies, Chair of Governors said: "Wow! What a fabulous evening. So many talented young people, who had obviously put in many hours of rehearsals. And such dedication from the staff who were behind it all. It was so uplifting."

The production, directed by Drama Teacher, Ms Chloe Holt, was tightly polished, with brilliantly-slick choreographed numbers. There are also plenty of outstanding individual performances too.

Daisy Seaborne is a natural Tracy Turnblad. There’s a sparkling quality to her performance. Cate Bailey is wondrously villainous as Velma Von Tussle, producer of The Corny Collins Show, who will go to any lengths possible to see her daughter Amber (the vivacious Ruby Cooper) succeed.

Mya Dorman’s vocals are powerful and her performance is strong and sassy as Motormouth Maybelle who is the owner of the downtown record store and host of Negro Day. Alfie Jukes brings just the right mix of confidence, hesitancy and stereotypical jock to the part of Link.

Francesca Gibbs is outstanding in the comic yet touching role of Penny Lou Pingleton. Safwan Elaattaoui's energy and sharp wit brings the hip and hop together playing Seaweed J. Stubbs.

There are some brilliantly comic moments courtesy of Alex Scott who plays Wilbur Turnblad, Tracy’s father, and Alfie Martin as her mother Edna (the part is traditionally played by a man in drag).

The chorus vocals provide the pizazz and drive that really bring out the feel of the 60’s.

Mai Bolingbroke

Year 10

School show celebrates 'magic of the musicals'

Thu, 09 Feb 2017 20:54:05 GMT

Earlier this month Hove Park School was proud to present a show that celebrated the school's performing achievements over the last six years.

By reviving songs of musicals performed in the past it reminded us of how students have enriched our community. The first half of the show consisted of songs from Oliver (2012, Les Miserable (2016) and Little Shop of Horrors (2013). There was an array of solos, duets and company numbers that continued into the second act.

This second act focused on musicals that have yet to hit the West End, Hamilton, which swept the board last year at the Tony Awards, is a sensational musical, the cast certainly embraced this with a moving performance of the opening song “Alexander Hamilton”.

Both Acts finished with foot stomping crowd-pleasers, the school rock band and orchestra accompanied “I want It all” in the first act while “Everybody Needs Somebody” finished the evening.

The whole evening was presented by two year 8 pupils and the sound, and lighting were also operated by pupils.

This was a truly a whole school event with all year groups represented in front and behind the scenes. Well done to all who took part!

Hove Park stages spectacular performance of Les Misérables

Fri, 05 Feb 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Yet again Hove Park has blown the roof off with another spectacular school show; Les Mis.

It was a formidable performance that left me in awe as well as a fountain of trickling tears. Mesmerising and simply brilliant – Hove Park students enthralled the audience of parents, friends and teachers with a stunning performance of the Victor Hugo’s epic tale.

Set against the backdrop of 19th-century revolutionary France, Les Misérables tells a gripping story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption. Max Bower, played the long suffering protagonist Jean Val Jean with fiery intensity. Alfie Jukes, in the role of young student Marius, is poised, passionate, yet gentle and convincing in his performance, playing superbly alongside his stage love, perfectly-pitched voice of Amy Page, in the role of Cosette.

Providing the emotional torment of unrequited love, Eponine, played by Lily Sitzia, brought the audience to tears. The chemistry between the three of them were exemplary and you could feel the tension surrounding their dysfunctional love triangle. James Fahy's gripping performance of the ruthless policeman Javert created a powerful and sinister air to the tragic tale. The perfect balance to this was Hari and Phoebe's outstanding and hilarious interpretation of the comic roles of corrupt, scavenging innkeepers , showing remarkable skill and excellent comic timing. The chorus was superb and sang with confidence and ease; from the rousing ‘ Do you hear the people sing’, and ‘One day more’, to the mood-changing and melancholic ‘Drink with me’.

The orchestra was well led by Ms Ede, Ms Lloyd and Mr Miles, whose interpretations of the familiar, haunting, often spine-tingling and stirring pieces merely enhanced the sheer drama of the show. Special mention must go to the wardrobe department, the costumes were superb and reflected the period faithfully. Slick choreography ensured the smooth and seamless transition between performances.

Altogether performances were from all the cast was faultless; the key emotions of the story made all the more powerful by the sheer youth of the cast. It’s a very grown up, sobering, and wretched story for such a young group of performers.

Mr Reed, Headmaster, said: “I was staggered by the jaw-dropping, mesmerising and polished performance of these brilliantly accomplished teenagers.” Well done Mrs Woodbridge and the Music and Drama Department!

By Student Reporter, Saffron Collicott