Mrs Thomas has not stopped smiling since the start of the term thanks to a very special gesture from former Head of Field House, James Birch.

As James was approaching the end of his time at Hill House School, having been here for 10 years, he knew he wanted to do something to acknowledge the incredible support that he had received over the years from his Housemistress. Inspired by the recent programme, the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy, James decided that the best way to honour Mrs Thomas was to write to Her Majesty.

In his letter, James wrote about Mrs Thomas’ “devotion to the pupils under her care in Field House and her commitment to her Maths students across the school”. James was astonished to receive a reply from Balmoral Castle. He said, “I wrote the letter back in May so when we got to August and I hadn’t heard anything, I started to lose hope”. However, the Queen’s Lady-in-Waiting did respond to James, letting him know that the Queen had “heard with great interest of Mrs Thomas’ caring and committed service to the pupils in Field House”.

Upon hearing of the letter, Mrs Thomas said, “I was overwhelmed, stunned and totally speechless, I keep having to pinch myself. By far this is the nicest thing any student of mine has ever done for me and will forever be cherished. I feel totally unrewarding of it and am humbled by this amazing gesture. It has been an absolute pleasure to teach James and have him by my side as Head of House. Teaching is a vocation, not just a job, and when you can make a difference and help shape even one person's life, that is what makes it all worthwhile”.

James now goes on to study Biotechnology at Nottingham University and we wish him the very best for the future.

Pupils and staff at Hill House are celebrating this year after an outstanding set of GCSE exam results.

Despite concerns over how hard the new GCSEs would be to pass, our pupils earned a 97% rate at Grade 4 or above, with 42% gaining the top grades of 9-7.

Forty-eight of the prized grade 9s were achieved, with Hafsa Waseem being one of a select group nationally to earn a clean sweep of the highest grade! Ishan Khetan did amazingly well, he scored a full set of top-end grades, including 7 grade 9s.  Joseph De Mulder, Lizzie Tonge and Suhaib Mohammed were also successful in achieving the top-end grades (equivalent to As and A*s) across the board.

Some of our other outstanding performers include Maria Torstensson who secured 9 top-end grades, Amelia Bishop, with 8, and Tom Lilley, Jessica Dook, Rosie Eves, Kyle Bingham and Archie Hall getting 7 top grades. Jack Thomas earned a fantastic set of grades, including 3 grade 9s. Twins Louis and Thea Gwilliam scooped 18 good GCSEs between them, with Louis winning 6 grades 9-7.

Staff were especially pleased to see that their busy international sports’ stars were able to reconcile their budding careers with very good grades. England running star Joshua Dickinson achieved good GCSEs, while, Chloe Cotgreave combined her dancing career with gaining 9 top grades. Jasmine Azarang managed to combine an ice-skating career, having represented Great Britain for the past 2 years, with gaining 4 grades 7-9 from her 8 GCSEs. Charlotte Pettit weighed in with an impressive 8 GCSEs while also focusing on her European Cross Fit Championships.

Headmaster, David Holland, said “In what was expected to be a difficult year for GCSEs throughout the country, we are delighted to have seen an improvement in performance. With coursework being dramatically reduced, the pupils had to work especially hard to hit these grades in their exams. We are exceptionally proud of these children and everything they have achieved.”

Hill House pupil, Albert Atack, is over the moon to reveal that he will be joining the cast of ‘School of Rock The Musical’ currently playing at the Gillian Lynne Theatre in the West End of London.

Year 5 pupil, Albert, was invited to attend Rock School in December and since then he has been going to London every few weeks to practise singing, acting and jamming on the electric guitar. He attended multiple auditions before he found out he had the part of Zack.

Albert is already busy in rehearsals with the rest of the cast, preparing to make his stage debut at the end of August. Speaking of his journey so far, Albert says “I watched the show last summer and decided that I really wanted to be up there as Zack!! It’s amazing being amongst other children who enjoy rocking as much as I do. So far I’m finding it exciting and challenging, it’s an incredible experience. I am really lucky to have such supportive teachers who have encouraged and believed in me. Thank you especially to Mrs Lee, Mrs Bodman, Mr Webb, Mrs Mellors and Mr Laszkowicz.”

Albert is no stranger to the stage, having played numerous roles in various productions at Hill House School. Head of Drama, Mr Ross, said, “Albert is a fantastic talent! Over the years he has taken on many characters with an ability and maturity far beyond his years. It has been a joy to see his career progress through school and beyond. He will, undoubtedly, prove a success on the West End and we could not be more proud of him as he takes his first steps from the stage of Hill House to treading the boards of The Gillian Lynne Theatre, London”.

Congratulations Albert, we look forward to seeing you on stage soon!

Pupils lit up the stage with their incredible performances in our summer production, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, a romantic comedy that sees seven empowered frontier women take charge of their destinies, and their men, in 1850s Oregon.

As a whole school production, the cast ranged from 7 to 15 years old. And, with 14 main parts, lots of children embraced their chance to shine, wowing audiences with their singing, acting and dancing skills.

The cast, comprising of over 70 children, took inspiration from the Croft House Theatre Company who had very kindly invited our young pupils to watch their production of ‘Seven Brides’ at the Sheffield Lyceum Theatre in March. Repaying the favour, the Croft House cast came to see the Hill House production that ran for three sold out nights and were amazed by the level of talent on display.

Production coordinator, Mrs Lee, said, “We knew that ‘Seven Brides’ would be ambitious as the pupils had to take on complicated dance routines, American accents and intricate musical arrangements but they have worked really hard since Christmas to produce a truly outstanding show. I am incredibly proud of them all.”

The pupils now look forward to next years’ productions – ‘Twelfth Night’ for the Seniors and ‘Mary Poppins’ for the Juniors.

Hill House Bursar, Mrs Kidney, was delighted to get the opportunity to dine with two of our Senior School parents in our wonderful Dining Hall.

Having enquired as to what their boys were eating at lunchtime, and how much, Mrs Kidney invited them to experience a Hill House lunch for themselves.

Enjoying a roast beef dinner followed by apple crumble, Mrs Drohan and Mrs Blanchard were able to observe the lunchtime service and speak to Head Chef, Matthew Hewitt.

Discussing menu development, lunchtime logistics and pupil expectations with Mrs Kidney, both parties came away with a deeper understanding of what parents and pupils want, and what the school is trying to achieve.

Balancing healthy eating and food education with providing hearty meal options that all children will enjoy is a fine art and one that Mrs Kidney and the catering company, Wilson Vale, work hard on a daily basis to get right. Already engaging with pupils through Food Committee and questionnaires, in order to gauge pupil opinions and ideas, Mrs Kidney thought the time was right to involve parents and to demonstrate the wide variety of options available to our children.

Both parents agreed that the food was delicious, with the apple crumble a particular hit. Mrs Blanchard, parent of Simon in Year 7, said, “I cannot fault the food, it was lovely.”

Mrs Kidney said, “Listening to parents is so important for us to ensure that we are working towards a common goal. For both ladies to get the chance to see the incredible work that the kitchen staff put in to feeding over 700 children in two hours is fantastic and it was great to listen to their feedback and ideas.”

As part of the school’s ongoing commitment to providing a healthy, varied and interesting menu, we are introducing our “Taste Buddies” to lunchtimes. These “Buddies” will learn about and taste some of the more unfamiliar ingredients or elements of our dishes before sharing this with their peers and encouraging them to try something new.  

Year 5 were fortunate to receive a talk in school from David Thirwell who runs the historical educational workshops at Murton Park.

Mr Thirwell is a long time friend of the school and has been visited in various guises over the years - Roman Centurion, Guy Fawkes and in this case an air raid warden!

Year 5 have been studying World War II in their History lessons and they were taken on a journey from the start of the war to its conclusion. Mr Thirwell told them some hard truths and the pupils realised that they would have found it very tough had they been children during that period of time.

Mr Lawrie, Year 5 teacher, said: "It is always a pleasure to welcome Mr Thirwell along with his props and artifacts. History is always one of the children's favourite subjects and today they sat mesmerised and listened intently to every story Mr Thirwell told them."