Hill House School went all out for a Disney themed charity day, aiming to raise lots of money for Children in Need.

In the morning, Junior School pupils were delighted to be able to take revenge on their teachers, all in the name of a good cause. Head of Juniors, Mr Hall, and Year 6 teacher, Mr Marsh, were put in the stocks while pupils armed themselves with wet sponges. Look North came along to film and throwing practice seemed to have paid off as the pupils repeatedly hit their targets! The rest of the Junior School teachers made sure they did not miss out as they took revenge on their boss, skipping the sponges and going straight to pouring buckets of water over Mr Hall’s head!

The fun did not end there though, Hill House Sixth Form pupils played their parts as Disney characters to have breakfast with the younger pupils. The children loved tucking in to pancakes whilst chatting to Mickey, Minnie and the gang before the whole school came together for a Disney singalong assembly.

A sweet sale, a teddy bear swap and more fun in the stocks meant the day was jam packed with fundraising events.

There was still more to come as a selection of Hill House pupils spent Sunday with some very special visitors. Former Head Girl, Paige Miller, brought along some friends from the West End, Nicholas McLean and Scott Hunter, all Mountview Academy alumni. Another former Hill House pupil, Conor O’Hara, who is also currently studying at Mountview Academy Theatre of Arts, joined them in conducting workshops during the day, working the pupils hard to get them ready for a concert in the evening.

Parents were treated to a wonderful evening of entertainment, with songs from West End shows performed by the professionals, the pupils and accompanied by Hill House School’s very own Jazz Orchestra.

Overall, the total raised over the two days was £4000, an amount Hill House Charity Coordinator, Mrs Lee, is extremely proud of, “Every year we try to put on a special event for Children in Need. In the week building up to it, all of our assemblies were based on the work of this incredible charity and why it is so important for us to support it. This brings our total raised for Children in Need over the past 10 years to a whopping £34,000! I am so thankful to our parents, pupils and staff who have given so generously over the years”.

We were once again overwhelmed by the generosity of our parents and pupils at our annual Harvest Festival celebration. Donations of food, clothes and toiletries came pouring in and the volunteers from the Friends of Hill House spent Wednesday morning creating a beautiful display from these donated items.

Parents were invited to join us for our celebration of Harvest and it was wonderful to have so many families join us for this event. Led by 6H, the whole of Junior School played their part with songs, hymns, poems and even a rap!

Nursery and Reception opened the show with their song, ‘Dingle, Dangle Scarecrow’. This was followed by poems from Years 1 and 2, ‘Little Seed’ and ‘The Scarecrow’. Year 3 celebrated all things Autumnal with their song, ‘Conkers!’, and their poem, ‘Fireworks’.

Year 4 switched things up with their vegetable rap while Year 5 wowed us with their song, ‘Beautiful World’. Year 6 performed a thought provoking mime entitled ‘Rainbow People’ and the whole of Junior School came together to end the day with a rousing rendition of ‘The Harvest Hymn’.

Donations were divided this year to help two wonderful, local charities, The Trussell Food Bank in Doncaster and St John’s ‘Given Freely, Freely Given’ initiative. Our Year 6 House Captains hand delivered the donations on Thursday, for which each charity was very grateful.

A huge thank you to everybody who donated and supported this incredible event.

Over the summer, the Jazz Orchestra embarked on their first tour abroad, taking in the wonderful sights and sounds of Austria.

This year's World Challenge expedition saw the group of young explorers travel to India for an incredible, once in a lifetime experience. Here, our World Challenge leader, Mrs Frisby, talks us through their trip. 

Sixth Form students are celebrating today as they receive a record set of A Level grades, despite recent reforms designed to make A levels harder.

The pass rate at Hill House School was 100%. A record 66% of exams were graded at A* to B, with 31% attracting the top A*/A grades.

Star performers included Charlie Spruce and Faraaz Anjum, who both achieved 3A*s and 1A. Faaria Shahzadi got 2A*s and 2As, while Georgia Marsh scored 1A* and 3A grades.

Milly Everatt, who combined academic studies with her career as Miss Lincolnshire, achieved 2 B grades, while Head Boy Joe Orme managed to gain A*BB while also pursuing a career as an acclaimed guitarist at the Royal College of Music. Well-known local musician Daniel Thomas gained A*AA, as did Bessacarr’s Ella Broadbent. Twin brothers Joseph and Tom Kell managed to acquire AAB and ABB between them.

Headmaster David Holland was delighted with the successes, saying ‘this reflects a lot of hard work and talent from both students and teachers. We are especially pleased that results are improving as examinations are getting harder; for two thirds of A levels to be A or B grades is a splendid achievement for all concerned, and therefore the great majority of our Upper Sixth are going to top universities on competitive courses.’

Year 5 pupil Greta Highfield capped off a fantastic biathle season by storming to victory in the British Biathle Championships, following it up with a fantastic showing at the European Championships in Germany.

The British Championships, which is a continuous run-swim-run, involved swimming in the Salford Quays next to Media City. Greta’s swim was the key to her victory as she used her strength to force herself to the front of the group, which ensured that she got out of the water first and transitioned swiftly into the final run.

Year 7 pupil Olivia Martin also had brilliant race, finishing in second place. Once again it was a fantastic swim which put her in an excellent position for the final run. Both girls qualified for the Great Britain squad which will go to the World Championships in Egypt in October.

Year 5 pupil William Payne finished in 10th place and improved on his performance from the previous year. William's transitioning skills have been excellent this season and a fast transition coupled with a quick run ensured he made a strong finish.

Greta and Olivia’s strong performances saw them earn a place with Team GB at the European Championships which took place last weekend. Greta worked hard for her place on the podium, taking second place in the Youth E Girls. She was the first British girl home, helping the team to achieve their team gold!

Olivia was 8^th in the Youth D Girls. A top ten finish is a fantastic result in what is a very competitive age group!

Mr Lawrie, who runs the school's swimming club, said, "Both girls have had a fantastic season and their sheer strength and determination during the race was clear to see. Thank you for Howard Jones from Pentathlon GB for his organisation and Gregan Clarkson from Yorkshire Biathle Club for your support in mentoring these outstanding athletes."

Well done all!