Thursday 26^th saw our 3^rd annual Personal Development Awards and it was such a wonderful celebration of our students. It was a pleasure to see so many of last year's leavers receiving their awards alongside current students and for them to hear from our special guests; Sir Mike Griffiths, former NSB Head, spoke about the benefits of the House system that he initially set up here and presented the Sir Michael Griffiths House Cup to the well deserving winners, Brightwell. Our Guest of Honour, Alex Le Guevel, an ex-student of NSB who left in 2007, spoke about his love for the school and how NSB has given him the skills to drive forward in his chosen career.

Alex works for Matchroom Boxing and he spoke of World Domination for that organisation, however, he spoke about this meaning they had the ability to give something back and to use sport to make a difference, to offer communities opportunities and to turn the lives  of individuals around, improving their wellbeing and overall outcomes in life. He also offered advice about working hard, driving forward and not keeping yourself and your achievements secret, and to always be respectful to those around you - you never know when they might be the person who you are asking for a job or opportunity.    

The First XV have captured the hearts and minds of the country with prolific national media coverage in the build up to their Twickenham Showdown against Epsom College. The media have been following NSB's attempt to carry off an unprecedented triple of The Schools Championship / The Daily Mail League Cup and the National Cup and it is to the squad's immense credit that they put all the hype behind them to deliver a stunning performance, brimful of tempo, guile and physicality to outgun highly motivated and well drilled opposition by a 16-point gulf. After a relatively tight first half, the familiar high-octane NSB style of play – so well drilled by Coaches Hepher / Baker / Halsey and Director of Rugby Beaumont saw the boys in red and blue dominate territory to launch relentless waves of attack on the Epsom line, resulting in a 36 - 20 triumph which sent the huge NSB travelling contingent into raptures and full-on 'Shoe Army' mode! The team, already crowned in the media as the best in England can now rightly lay claim to be considered as one of the very best sides ever in the history of English School-Boy rugby.

Culture Week has been the constant theme throughout the last 5 days and we have enjoyed a wonderful range of activities celebrating the rich diversity of cultures and backgrounds of students and staff. Miss Adable reports:

The Staff Panto on Thursday was a raging success, expertly directed by Miss Bason with a stellar cast providing rich entertainment for the enthusiastic lunchtime and evening Cripps Theatre crowds - Miss Jackson and Mrs Greenaway delivered stunning solos in their lead roles (Snow White / Wicked Queen) with great comical support from members of the student leadership team, Mr Kneeshaw (Jnr), Miss Leinster Beloqui and Mrs Rice.

Last weekend our Big Band performed brilliantly in the National Concert Band Regional Finals coming away with the highest award - Platinum which propels them into the National Final in April.

On Monday, some of our top KS4 and KS5 artists enjoyed a series of professional workshops. Miss Clark reports:

On Monday this week, students in Year 10 and 12 had an exciting opportunity to work alongside a professional graffiti artist, in collaboration with the Royal & Derngate Theatre. The workshop was related to the upcoming play 'Top G's Like Me', which explores the theme of toxic masculinity. 

On Wednesday November 19th, the school community celebrated International Men's Day - our in-school focus was on positive male role models. 

We began our work for International Men's Day in PD week before the October half-term. Y7 explored gender inequality in the world, and Y11 explored gender in the media, and misogyny, which led to their own live 'round table' discussion with internal, and external, contributors. 

This week, all students listened to a 'round table' style discussion in PD from Heads of Year in the school - these included discussions on success, hardship, role models in school, and what it is to be a man in 2025 - or discussed a recent article about the opportunity within sport to provide positive role models for boys and young men. 

On Tuesday, the Sixth Form Student Leadership Group delivered the Remembrance Assembly to their peers, staff and Governors. They conveyed inspiring stories of hope, courage, selflessness and resilience, highlighting the importance of remembering all those who contributed to the war efforts; those who gave their lives, those who survived, those who supported in other ways such as medics, nurses and codebreakers and those on the home front who helped keep society and the economy functioning such as the Women's Land Army. Stories were told of courageous soldiers of the Empire and the unbreakable spirit of prisoners of war and those persecuted for their race or religion as well as acknowledgement that there are still modern conflicts ongoing across the world. 

Our annual Visual Arts Exhibition was held on Tuesday evening, showcasing Art and Photography work created by our students over the past year. The event featured a range of works including large-scale paintings, sculptures, printmaking and drawing, produced by students across all year groups in lessons and during extracurricular clubs. There were opportunities for visitors to watch Sixth Form students creating live work which proved incredibly popular; crowds gathered to have their caricature drawn by two of our brilliant Year 13 students. Attendees also enjoyed participating in a student-led printmaking workshop, famous artwork photo booths and an 'Art Takeaway' to finish off the evening. A big thank you to all the staff and students involved in supporting this event.

More photos can be found in the gallery here.

This was the last chance for some of our students to tread the boards on the Cripps Stage. Not only is it a chance to collaborate with peers and entertain friends, family, staff and students in a last hurrah but on top of all the usual things associated with putting on a show such as learning lines, songs and choreography we decided to add the challenge of doing it in 12 days from start to finish!!! The read through was scheduled on September 2nd through to the performance on the 14^th , which was the first day we were able to rehearse with a full cast! It is full on, it can be stressful, it can be tiring but it is so much fun and so rewarding - the students rose to the occasion and worked tirelessly together to create  a fantastic show  which brought so much joy and laughter. Their focus and energy was awesome; they were in the moment and enjoying every second. Their dedication was rewarded with a fantastic audience who whooped, cheered and clapped at every opportunity.

Last Saturday night was a wonderful evening of celebration for our Year 13 leavers who enjoyed their Prom at the Saints ground. Director of Sixth Form, Mrs Bradley -Brophy reports:

The school proudly observed the two minute National Silence yesterday as part of the nation's celebrations of the 80^th anniversary of VE Day. Students participated in VE Day activities in the morning PD slot with their Tutors and many students visited Mrs Thomson's wonderful VE Day related displays in the Library.

The 'Chemistry Race' is a new national competition for teams of 3-5 Post 16 students organised by students at the University of Cambridge and Rugby School. Last Saturday, 60 teams amassed at the University of Cambridge to race against each other in solving chemistry problems, with the team with the most points within the time limit winning! The NSB team of Bayley Northern, Petula Law, Elena Davies and Josh Obi performed impressively against similarly strong competition from 60 schools (largely private) and were great ambassadors for NSB and for the State School sector. 

On Monday, two of our students - Mihir Kandi (Y13) and Mason Huo (Y10)  represented the school at the West Northamptonshire Council Holocaust Memorial Day at the Guildhall, Northampton. NSB Governor, Morcea Walker reports:

The National Read2Dogs programme is a proven scheme which helps improve the literacy skills and wellbeing of SEND students, as well as developing general confidence, interest and enjoyment in reading for students with anxiety issues.