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I would like to start by congratulating our Year 11 and Year 13 students on their hard work, resilience and commitment that saw them through the GCSE and A level exam period. They applied themselves very well, and it was a great privilege to be at the Year 11 Prom and the Year 13 Leavers’ Ball and see them celebrating it style.

With Year 11 and 13 no longer attending school, we have started to look ahead to September. The Induction Day is taking place on 1st July, with the new Year 6 students arriving to begin their Hazelwick journey. Our current Year 9s have moved to use North canteen alongside current Year 10s as this will be where they go in September, and we are looking forward to welcoming our new staff into school in early July for their Induction Day before they start in September. I am delighted that we have made some excellent appointments of new colleagues for September and I very much look forward to working with them.

Before then, we have a clear focus on the remainder of this term, with 3 weeks to ensure that students continue to progress in every subject, setting themselves up as positively as possible for September.

Mr D Leadbitter

Headteacher

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Headteacher June Newsletter 2026 - Video Link

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As the table shows Sancho House had plenty of participation which led to a higher tally. If you don’t shoot you don’t score!

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We are very close to finding out who the winners of the House cup (and barbecue!) are. There are plenty of events that have taken place that have been adding lots of last-minute points before the final tally.

Years 8 and 9 took part in a basketball free throw competition which pitted our students to try to score 3 times in a row. We had plenty of successful students, but the standout was Taras Paliukh in 9EGR - the only student to score all 3 hoops. Well done!

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‘Game of the Month’ is a competition run by the Digital Leaders of Computer Science and IT. Each month, they will review games made by students at Hazelwick School, with the winner to be awarded house points and featured in the online newsletter.

Submissions must be emailed to Mr Lloyd with all the information listed below:

·         Title

·         Description

·         Link

Email: JLloyd@Hazelwick.org.uk

Good luck!

Congratulations to this month’s winner, Nathan Powell!

Title:

POKEMON UNITE

see less

Description:

An adaptation of the popular game: Pokémon UNITE.

“Nathan is a Pokémon Enthusiast, who loves everything Pokémon. He has a burning passion to make these amazing games openly available to those who share the same enthusiasm but cannot easily access such games.” – Digital Leaders

You can play Nathan’s game by searching for ‘POKEMON UNITE’ on Kodu Game Lab.

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Royal Holloway National Psychology Competition

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Royal Holloway National Psychology Competition

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Earlier this year 2 teams of Psychologists entered the Royal Holloway National Psychology Competition. The teams had to conduct their own research outside the curriculum to answer the question: “How can Psychology help us to make a better a community?”

The students had to create a 5-minute video presentation and an A1 poster showcasing their ideas. Last week, they attended Royal Holloway and presented their ideas alongside 60 other teams from around the country. They were judged by two independent judges in a market style presentation where they were able to see the efforts from other teams. It was brilliant to see them talk so confidently about their research and engage in academic discussion with students from other schools. They also attended a Cognitive Psychology lecture and heard about what life was like as a student at Royal Holloway.

Team ‘Criminal Minds’- Afia Hussain, Kayla Edwards and Abigail Flynn and Team ‘Telempathy’ Joanna Anith, Sienna Jivram, Stella Kakande and Neel Karuppiah should be really proud of their independent work they produced.

Ms Macgregor and Miss Barlow

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We are thrilled that so many of our students have successfully achieved their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award! After months of training, preparation, and determination, all students completed their qualifying expedition in Dorking. The expedition certainly put them to the test: relentless rain, hiking the highest hill in Sussex, and doing it all with a 12.5kg backpack.

Alongside the expedition, students have dedicated time to volunteering, developing new skills and participating in physical activities, demonstrating commitment across all sections of the award.

Each student should be incredibly proud of what they’ve achieved. Well done to all involved -You’ve made our school proud!

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One of my tips to students who are looking to challenge their pleasure reading is to use one or a combination of the shortlists for book awards to make a book list. The advantages of this type of book list will be the quality of the writing, new authors highlighted, and different settings and themes. I thought I would give a roundup of some of the book awards that celebrate writing for children and young people.

Seven books have made the shortlist for this year’s Branford Boase Award this year. The shortlist includes titles aimed at pre-teen, early teen, and Young Adult readers. This award is unusual in that it recognises the role of the editor in book publishing as it is given to the ‘author and editor of the year’s outstanding debut novel for children.’ The winner will be announced on the 8th of July.

https://branfordboaseaward.org.uk/shortlist-2026/

There are several categories for The British Book Awards, also known as The Nibbies. I am delighted that Michael Rosen and illustrator Helen Oxenbury have won the Nibbie for Book of the Year - Children's Non-Fiction & Illustrated. Their picture book ‘Oh Dear, Look What I Got’ was described by the judges as “a masterwork of undeniable artistry.”  It is a lovely story to read aloud, and I am sure it will become a bedtime favourite. The Children’s Fiction Winner was awarded to Suzanne Collins for ‘Sunrise on the Reaping.’ This is the prequel novel to the ‘Hunger Games’ trilogy and follows fan favourite Haymitch Abernathy's own participation in the Hunger Games as a young tribute. The novel also won the Waterstones Book of the Year for 2025. This link from the BBC includes all the Nibbie winners.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx21xqyndzwo

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In June, all Year 10 students took part in our Army Careers Activity Days, delivered in partnership with the British Army. The event began with an engaging presentation exploring Army roles, career pathways, and day-to-day life, before students moved on to a series of practical, team-based challenges.

Students were highly engaged throughout and approached each activity with enthusiasm, demonstrating excellent teamwork, resilience, and communication skills. It was fantastic to see so many students stepping outside their comfort zones and supporting one another to complete the challenges.

Overall, the event was a great success and provided valuable insight into a wide range of future career pathways, as well as the skills required for a wide range of careers.

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Congratulations to our Under 12 Boys' Cricket Team, who recently represented the school at the County Finals of the Street Cricket Competition.

The boys performed exceptionally well throughout the day, demonstrating excellent teamwork, determination, and sportsmanship against some very strong opposition from across the county. Their hard work and commitment were rewarded with a fantastic third-place finish, an outstanding achievement at such a high level of competition.

The team should be incredibly proud of their efforts and the way they represented the school.

Well done to all involved!

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A group of our students recently had the opportunity to attend an inspiring careers event at Stonehouse Farm, organised by the Dare to Dream team. The day was packed with hands-on activities and opportunities to meet professionals from a wide range of careers, including farming, engineering, architecture, veterinary work, and ecology.

Students took part in activities such as tree planting, building projects, and meeting animals, as well as enjoying an impressive bird of prey display. The event helped to broaden their understanding of future pathways and the variety of careers available to them.

Feedback from students was overwhelmingly positive. One student shared, “Planting trees was our favourite activity… it felt rewarding to know that we were making a positive difference.” Another commented on how it helped their learning, saying it would support their Geography studies in the future.

Overall, it was a fantastic and memorable experience, and we are very grateful to the organisers for providing such a valuable opportunity for our students.

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It has been a fantastic season for our U13s cricket teams so far.

Our U13 team have been crowned District Champions after an outstanding campaign in which they defeated every school in our locality. Every player has made a valuable contribution, whether with the bat, ball, or in the field, demonstrating the strength and depth of the squad. The team now progress into the county cup quarter finals. The students should be extremely proud of their achievements and the way they have represented the school.

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Year 7 Trips to Boulogne- 5th and 12th June 2026

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Year 7 Trips to Boulogne- 5th and 12th June 2026

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Our Year 7 students spent a day in Boulogne-sur-Mer on 5th or 12th June. They were all very excited to board the coach at 5.45am for an early start and take the ferry to Calais. Our first visit was to a traditional French village bakery where they watched a bread making demonstration and listened attentively to the baker giving lots of information about how to make the perfect baguette. The students were tested on their listening comprehension and the new vocabulary that they had learnt along the way, including which ingredients are needed to make bread, before having a go themselves and sampling some delicious pains au chocolat.

After a short drive to Boulogne, the students had the opportunity to use their French skills buying some souvenirs and exploring the historic old town.  It was a long day but thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Mrs Hay and Mrs Burke

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Year 7 Geography trip to the i360 and Upside-Down House in Brighton

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Year 7 Geography trip to the i360 and Upside-Down House in Brighton

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Year 7 students enjoyed an exciting trip to Brighton, where they visited the Upside Down House and the Brighton i360.The day began at the Upside Down House, where students explored rooms in which everything appeared to be flipped upside down. Students enjoyed taking creative photographs that made it look as though they were walking on ceilings and hanging from furniture!

After this, students headed to the Brighton i360. We were lucky to have two clear days which allowed students to enjoy the panoramic views of Brighton and the Sussex coastline.

As part of the visit, students also completed a geographical investigation into urban microclimates in Brighton. Working in groups, they collected data from different locations, helping them to understand how factors such as buildings, open spaces and proximity to the sea can influence local weather conditions.

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Congratulations to year 13 student Samuel Davis who has been awarded the Tony Dyer Athlete of the Year trophy by the Hazelwick PE department.

Samuel has been a regular and reliable competitor in the middle distance events throughout his time at Hazelwick school. He has always demonstrated the commitment and drive to train, improve and compete. Samuel has benefitted from his work with Crawley AC where he has been a member and trained for a number of years.

In 2025 Samuel competed for the school in cross country and athletics. He won the Sussex Schools 400m and 800m (senior boys). He represented Sussex on the track at the English Schools and last weekend qualified again for this high level competition. He has an impressive set of personal bests including 51 seconds for the 400m and 1.52 for the 800m.

Well done, Samuel and good luck for the rest of this season.

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On Monday 8th June, 15 EPQ students from Year 12 travelled to Sussex University. This was to introduce students to a reference library, giving them access to numerous books and articles that will help them in their research to successfully complete their research projects.  The Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) is an independent research-based qualification, roughly the equivalent of half an A Level in UCAS points. Students can either write a 5000-word essay or create an artifact, e.g. a play, and write a 10,000+ word report. Sussex University has published research from around the world, either as physical copies or online, and Hazelwick Students have been given membership of the library so that they can continue using it for the period of their research.

Mr McIver and Mrs Thornton

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Guinness World Record Success for Eva Stephenson

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Guinness World Record Success for Eva Stephenson

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Congratulations to Eva Stephenson, who recently took part in a successful Guinness World Records attempt for the Most Backup Dancers to a Singer.

The record, which involved an incredible 1,123 backup dancers, was achieved during a special event featuring singer Sigala at Bradford Bulls Rugby League Football Club in Bradford, on 20 March 2026.

Eva represented KC Dance School and taking part in a Guinness World Record event is a fantastic accomplishment and a memorable experience for Eva.

Well done, Eva, on being part of this record-breaking success!

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In May, over 90 Year 7 students had the chance to visit Hever Castle in Kent to take part in a variety of activities. They had a tour of the castle (the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII) and had the chance to see some artefacts linked to her family’s time living in the castle, as well as what happened to it when she dramatically fell out of favour with the king.

Students also found out more about general Tudor life (for both rich and poor people) including the kinds of clothes they would have worn and the food they would have eaten.

We also got a chance to enjoy the beautiful grounds and, for those who went in the better weather, to have an ice cream!

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This month, Year 12 Health and Social Care students attended a talk by visiting speaker Darryll Lamb from Diabetes Group Crawley. He spoke about his experience of living with Type 1 diabetes and the impact it has on his daily life. Students found the talk particularly interesting as it provided valuable insight into the real-life experiences of people living with long-term physiological conditions.

Mrs Banbury

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Tuesday 30th June

Year 12, Higher Education Meeting

Wednesday 1st July

Year 6, Induction Day

Wednesday 1st to Friday 3rd July

School Production – High School Musical

Monday 6th July

New Intake Parents’/Carers’ Meeting

Monday 6th July

Year 12, UCAS Day

Tuesday 7th July

Town Sports

Tuesday 7th to Saturday 11th July

Year 12, Exeter University Residential

Wednesday 8th July

The 109 – GCSE and A Level Art & Photography Exhibition

Friday 17th July

Year 12, Progression Advice Day

Wednesday 22nd July

End of Term (1.25pm)

Awards Evenings

Year 8 - Wednesday 8th July

Year 9 - Tuesday 14th July

Year 10 - Thursday 16th July

Year 7 - Monday 20th July

Sports Days

Year 7 – Wednesday 8th July – 8.45am to 11.20am

Year 10 – Thursday 9th July -  8.45am to 11.20am

Year 9 – Friday 10th July – 8.45am to 11.20am

Year 8 – Friday 10th July – 12.20pm to 3.00pm

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1. FREE NEW TO/ BACK TO HOCKEY sessions (ages 16+) on Thursdays from 2nd July to 30th July 2026, from 6:30 – 7:30pm : 5 Sessions Join us for our FREE NEW TO/ BACK TO HOCKEY sessions

2. FREE WALKING HOCKEY session Wed 12 Aug, 7pm-8pm:  Summer Series - Walking Hockey

3. JUNIOR HOCKEY SKILLS MASTER CLASS sessions (7-15-year-olds) on Thursday evenings from 2nd July to 13th August 2026, 6pm – 7:30pm : 7 sessions JUNIOR HOCKEY SKILLS MASTER CLASS SESSIONS

4. JUNIOR HOCKEY CAMP (7-15-year-olds) on Wednesday 19th August 9am to 3pm  Join us for the CRAWLEY HOCKEY SUMMER CAMP!

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The next event was House Hairdressing, which was run for Years 7, 8 and 9. It was well attended and enabled students to express their creative styling and skills. Attached are photos of some of the entrants along with the styles they went for.

A huge congratulations to all teams and individuals who participated. In the end Sancho ran out winners of total house points for this event.

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The final event for this month was Biscuit Balancing for Years 7 and 8. The event was so popular and well attended that biscuits ran out after 22 minutes! Luckily there was time for our students to impress with their ability to get a biscuit from their forehead to their mouth. Success earnt students 400 points with several winning students. The final totals show a commanding victory for Lovelace house!

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We have a few events ongoing until the end of June - the Pride Month quizzes being run in form time alongside the Pride Month Flag Hunt. Make sure you continue to contribute to get points for your house!

Here is the current house points table. It is still very tight with Sancho just out in front. Keep participating right to the end!