Headteacher's Bulletin - Friday, May 2nd 2025
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Today, we say goodbye to our Year 13 students who are embarking on Study Leave before their A levels / BTECs. They have been a wonderful year group and outstanding role models for the younger students and we wish them the very best of luck for the exams and their exciting futures. Year 11 move from their normal timetable to a structured in-school revision programme from next Tuesday.
We enjoyed a wonderful final school Music Concert on Wednesday with some exceptional performances throughout the evening, not least a mesmerising solo from harpist Elizabeth Groves which was double counting as her A level recital piece. The quality performances were a fitting tribute to Director of Music, Mr Druker, who leaves us at the end of this year after a fine ten years in post.
On the music theme, huge congratulations to the three ensembles - NSB Big Band - Metalworks and Sax Pistols who have all qualified for the National Music Youth Finals to be held in Birmingham in Term 6. To have three groups selected from the Regional Heats is a standout achievement with selection for the Royal Albert Hall School Proms now only one step away.
The school were delighted to welcome Lucy Rigby MP today, who gave a richly informative talk in the Theatre to the Sixth Form Politics students. The presentation sparked a flurry of well thought through questions and Lucy's insightful responses really helped bring classroom theory to life.
We were also delighted to welcome best selling sportswriter and author Dan Freedman to NSB on Wednesday. Mrs Barlow and the Library Team report:
On Wednesday 30th April, we were thrilled to welcome the inspiring author and football journalist Dan Freedman to school to engage and entertain Year 7 and 8 students with his career highlights and footballing encounters. Dan delivered a motivational assembly to both year groups about the power of reading (particularly his own love of reading football reports!) and writing and the many opportunities in the sports industry for people with all sorts of talents and skills.
The extensive queue to meet Dan and to ask him to sign copies of his books was testament to how fascinating and exciting his talk had been and how delighted the students were to have the opportunity to meet an author (and someone who had met Cristiano Ronaldo)!
Students were also given an opportunity to ask Dan a question about his writing, career or football experiences, and Dan had many tales to tell; Rowan (year 7) and Meet (year 8) were lucky enough to win a Premier League football for their thoughtful and incisive questions.
Mrs Thomson, Mrs Rutherford, Mrs Morrell and Ms Child did a fantastic job of organising and arranging the day and truly do a splendid job of inspiring a love of reading and writing in our students. We hope the many students that bought a book enjoy their reading!
We were delighted to also receive Dan's feedback on what was a really inspirational visit for our students.
It was an absolute privilege to visit NSB to help celebrate the joys of reading and writing with the students. I’ve been lucky enough to visit over 2000 schools around the world, but this was right up there with the best I’ve ever experienced. All the work that Mrs Thomson had put into arranging the event was evident from the moment I stepped through the door. I couldn’t have hoped for a better day - the whole event was such a positive experience. I thought the sessions went really well and it was very impactful to see how many students wanted to ask a question! The students were a great combination of enthusiastic, interactive as well as being very polite and listening well.
We discussed the power of reading and writing - and how sport and stories allow us to make bonds and build friendships. We also talked about resilience and how real-life stories can be weaved into fiction. Plus we explored together all the varied and incredible career opportunities that are available within football.
It was a pleasure to speak with the students and I was particularly struck by how the school really values the positive power of physical books and reading in the overall development of the students. Big thanks again to Mrs Thomson and all the staff for inviting me to your vibrant, thriving school and organising such a great day. I hope the experience encourages the students to Go For Their Goals.
Many congratulations to three Year 12 students who have excelled in a number of key activities outside of the classroom recently:
Ethan Streeton pushed his endurance limits to the maximum in the London marathon on Sunday completing the race in an excellent time. An exceptional achievement to conquer the course for a young athlete.
We are incredibly proud to share that one of our Sixth Form students, Summer Maradzika, has been elected as a Public Governor for the Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT). Mrs Bradley-Brophy reports:
Summer has shown outstanding dedication and passion for improving healthcare services for young people in our community. As a representative for South Northamptonshire and Daventry, she will be playing an important role in shaping the future of local healthcare, ensuring that young people's voices are heard and their needs are met.
This is a fantastic achievement, and we know Summer will make a real difference in her role. If students have questions or ideas about healthcare in our area, Summer is eager to listen and share them with the Trust. Well done, Summer.
Many congratulations also to Andreea Evtodiev (Y12) who recently competed in the Alicante International Wrestling Championship in Spain where she took the silver medal after winning 4 of her 5 matches. The tournament acts as a qualifier for the European Championships.
Finally our 18B football team and U16 Basketball team are gearing up for their National Finals on Tuesday and Wednesday next week respectively. The football game is being streamed live with professional commentary (Tuesday - 3.30pm kickoff) and the link will be put on the football Instagram account / NSB Sports Twitter when it is released.
Richard Bernard
Headteacher
