Keep up to date with all the latest news happening in school at the moment.

• Young Voices Concert rescheduled for Friday 23rd January

  Wed 21 Jan 2015
  Following our cancellation of the visit to Young Voices, due to the adverse weather conditions, am I pleased to be able to inform you that Young Voices have been able to accommodate us in their Friday concert instead.
  
  All arrangements for the visit remain the same as for today - we will leave school at 12:30pm and aim to return shortly after 10:30pm in the evening. The concert organisers have confirmed that any adult tickets that had been purchased for today WILL be valid on Friday. 
  
  I hope that most of the children will be able to come. If your child is unable to join us on Friday, please contact the school office, and we will arrange for them to remain in school, to return home at normal time of 3:30pm.
  
  
  I look forward to a super concert on Friday. Thank you for your understanding in this situation, it is vital that the right decisions are taken for the safety of our children, and I am delighted that we are still able to go ahead with the concert on the new date.
  
  Mr Phoenix

• World Snowman Day

  Fri 16 Jan 2015
  When the first snowfall of winter came on Wednesday 14th January, we took the opportunity to celebrate World Snowman Day with a mini-snowman competition at morning playtime!
  Have a look at our gallery pictures for the snowmen the children came up with. Well done to Hollie, Sam, Bella and Lucy: winners for their teamwork and great 'snowman family'!   

• £250 raised for Children In Need

  Tue 25 Nov 2014
  Well done and thank you to our school's CTA group. Our Year 6 children raised a fantastic £250 for Children In Need, by organising and running activities for all classes, holding a colouring competition (with entries animated in 3D on the ipads), and having a non-uniform day and cake sale. Their efforts were well worth it, not just in raising the money, but also focussing our attention to those children in the UK who are less fortunate and who we are glad to be able to help in some small way.
  Great work and thank you again CTA!

• Hampsthwaite goes global with Discovery Education!

  Wed 03 Sep 2014

  Following Mr Phoenix' very successful and informative week-long conference in Nashville, Tennessee, Hampsthwaite school is gearing up to work with International partners and schools in the USA, with a focus on enriching learning through new technologies, communication and networking. Over the coming year, we will be engaging in a wide range of activities, working with schools in the UK and USA, as we develop learning through ICT as part of the Discovery Educator Network (DEN).
  The first activities will centre on International Dot Day on September 15th; during this term classes will be starting to use ICT in new and innovative ways to share and develop learning in the classrooms, and we will be connecting our learning with schools in the USA. We will also be hosting teacher training sessions as the Discovery Network develops here in the UK.
  To see pictures of the DENSI conference in Nashville, have a look at our gallery page.

• Stray FM School of the Week

  Wed 11 Jun 2014
  With a visit from James and Sophie from Stray FM today, we had a great time recording items for Hampsthwaite School to be Stray FM's 'School of the Week'. To be broadcast later this week, our programme will include sports, interviews about school visits, fundraising, singing, our Y5/6 Fairtrade Rap and our School Song. As well as this, we have young reporters giving the Showbiz news, and two contenders in the Stray FM School's Quiz.
  We have had a super morning recording - make sure you tune in to the show on Friday at 3pm or Saturday at 12:00. The Stray FM website will also have an extended Podcast for Hampsthwaite School.  

• Ofsted Outstanding

  Thu 23 Jan 2014

  I am delighted to be able to announce the judgment from our Ofsted inspection on 22nd and 23rd January 2014... Hampsthwaite CE Primary School is an Outstanding School.
  
  The Ofsted report praises the outstanding strengths of the school in ALL areas – outstanding achievement, outstanding Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development, excellent behaviour, partnership with families, communication and leadership. The success of the school through pupils’ enjoyment of learning, their buzz of excitement and the excellent ‘rich and varied’ curriculum which ‘sets pupils’ learning alight’ is noted, along with the real sense of pride for our school, and the strength of governance and support from the community. High staff morale and strong teamwork were observed, where all staff work together to secure a positive direction, ‘guided by a deep Christian faith’.

   

  Throughout the inspection, the exceptionally high quality of teaching in all classes was praised, and it is this, along with consistently high standards of attainment sustained over many years, and clarity of vision and leadership to move the school forward through continuous further improvement, which has resulted in the Outstanding judgment. 

   

   

  I am incredibly proud of everything that everyone in Hampsthwaite School has achieved, and I am most grateful for all the support, encouragement and contribution given to the school by all the staff, pupils, parents, governors and the wider community. I feel genuinely privileged to be a part of the success of this school and to have been able to build on the excellent work of Mr Holmes that went before. This has enabled me to continue taking the school from strength to strength, building on a very strong foundation, developing and embedding solid aspects of policy and practice, whilst also introducing new ideas and developing new strengths in the school.  

   

  This is an excellent, and well deserved, outcome for the school, and I thank each and every one for their part played in making Hampsthwaite such a success and such a strong school family.
  
  Mr Phoenix

• Great performances in our Music Assembly

  Fri 17 Jan 2014
  Well done to all the children who performed so brilliantly in our Music Assembly. We enjoyed hearing the first notes played on recorder by our Year 1 and Year 2 children; some lovely harmonies and compositions on clarinet by all our Year 3 and Year 4s; along with superb drumming solos, a guitar duet and a great finale of African drumming by everyone in Year 5 and Year 6.
  We are so proud of all the musical talent at our school, and are very grateful to the children for their hard work and the practise they put in to learning and refining their musical skills.

• Brilliant Christmas productions from both KS1 and KS2 - have a look at our gallery pictures

  Fri 20 Dec 2013
  Children performed brilliantly in both our Christmas productions. The 'Starlight' infant nativity was a fun but thoughtful retelling of the birth of Christ, with good acting, clear spoken parts and beautiful singing, including a wonderful solo from 'Mary'.
  In the juniors, children wrote their own scripts based around Christmas songs for different countries in the world. Santa, busy and tired, inadvertently left a sack behind, and children discovered that within it were different objects that were linked to how Christmas is celebrated in different countries and continents. Wonderful dancing and song accompanied each group from around the world, as they told the children about their particular Christmas traditions. The final object was a stable scene, and just as the children were wondering where this might come from, Jesus appeared to them to explain that He is not just for any one country, but He is the light of all the World.

• Well done for a brilliant contribution of 47 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child

  Mon 11 Nov 2013
  Our donations of shoeboxes have now been collected - and what a brilliant response we have had. 47 shoeboxes have been decorated for Christmas and filled with gifts and essential items, to bring a real sense of Christmas cheer to children far away. This year's boxes are all heading for the Ukraine, and we send with them our every good wish for Christmas.

• Fire Fighters visit Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1

  Fri 18 Oct 2013
  All our infant and nursery children had a great time when our local Firefighters came to visit school. After a talk about fire safety, the children all had the chance to climb onto the fire engine, and have a turn at squirting water from the big hose! The children are all very aware of the importance of keeping safe, especially at this time of year, around Bonfire Night. And they have seen how helpful and ready-for-action our firefighters are. Thank you very much to our Harrogate Fire Service team for coming in to school and giving the children such a wonderful morning.