Dear Parents/Carers,

Week 27 – End of Spring Term

A busy Spring Term comes to an end tomorrow. There were many highlights such as our recent World Book Day with our first ever SNS LitFest, hosting author visits and workshops from Ashley Hickson-Lovence, Miriam Gold, Ben Tomlinson, and Romola Garai. Students listened intently to their stories and writings. The event highlighted the importance of reading for pleasure.

A group of our Year 12 Maths Students won the Senior Team Maths Challenge at the London Excellence Academy, beating many independent schools and specialist maths schools including Kings College Maths School. This demonstrates how our creative approach to teaching, not just in maths but across all subjects, really develops students’ problem-solving skills. Well done to the Team!

Eighty Year 11 History students visited Belgium to support their learning on World War 1, enhancing learning outside of the classroom. Students visited Sanctuary Wood Museum (Hill 62), The Menin Gate and finished with a trip to the local chocolate shop. Tour guides noted that students behaved impeccably and were a credit to the School.

You can read about all of these wonderful events and much more in the Spring edition of Spotlight – our termly school magazine, enjoy!

Welcome from our new Chair of Governors, Ndidi Edozie-Ansah

I am honoured to be introducing myself to you as the new Chair of Governors at SNS. I have been a Governor with SNS for almost two years now and have observed how tirelessly and passionately staff and parents work to ensure the best outcomes for SNS pupils, in line with the school’s values and ethos. I step into the role as Chair in both challenging yet exciting times: we are in the hands of a new government and at the cusp of several education reforms within a social backdrop of geopolitical and financial unrest.

These are tougher times to navigate, but such times bring with it numerous opportunities to innovate and to build. I am thus committed to working with the rest of the governing board and leadership team, to reinforce the school’s creative curriculum and to raise the bar for ALL our children, so that we can better equip them to face whatever the future will bring. It is my desire to work collaboratively with you to reinvigorate our efforts and inject new energy into the system. To this end, I look forward to our partnership and to the positive impact this will have for our pupils and our community at large.

Support During Holiday Period

During school holiday periods, we understand it that there may be financial strains and an impact on families & young people’s mental health. Do know that there are points of support in the community such as Hackney Foodbank. Please be aware of the helplines that are available:

Preparation for Summer Term

With bank holiday on Monday 21st April, we look forward to welcoming students back on Tuesday 22nd April at 8.25am.

All students must be fully equipped for their timetabled lessons, with stationery and dressed in full school uniform. You can find a reminder of our uniform and equipment requirements using this link.

Hackney Easter Activities

Information for activities taking place in Hackney over the school holiday is attached to your latest email from us.

SNS Language of the Month - Bengali

We are pleased to announce that the language of the month for April is Bengali, chosen by class 7W and their tutor, Ms Elphick. Students have put together informative and creative posters showcasing various aspects of Bengali culture and interesting facts. These posters will be proudly displayed in the foyer. We encourage students and parents/carers to share their ideas to help promote languages and cultures worldwide. Please send your suggestions to community.languages@sns.hackney.sch.uk

Student Fundraising

Two of our Year 12 students are joining a team and preparing to take on what is considered one of the most dangerous and gruelling open water swims in the world – the English Channel. They will be raising money for Cancer Research UK. The route is infamous for unpredictable currents and tides, cold water and jelly fish, and to be an official channel swimmer you have to do all of this without a wetsuit! Few adults ever attempt this and to do this as a teenager is remarkable.

Their team will attempt the crossing at some point in late June, depending on weather conditions.

To help them reach their target of raising £7,500 for cancer sufferers, please click on this link.

Community Evening – Thursday 22nd May 2025

This year, as every year, we will be celebrating our community during Community Evening on the Thursday 22nd May. We are looking for parents/carers and members of our community who can bring food and perform music from our different communities to be part of this exciting evening. If you would like to get involved in any way, please contact Ms Reyes Barrios at Ana.Rey@sns.hackney.sch.uk. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Term Dates 2025 – 2026

Please see our confirmed term dates for 2025 – 2026 using this link.

Key dates

Please see a link to our school calendar here. You can also find our webpage which is regularly updated.

With this week’s theme focused on new beginnings, students in 7G shared the following quote by actress Mary Pickford;

“You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down.”

We wish you all a restful enjoyable holiday, and hope the warm weather continues. We look forward to seeing students back in readiness for the Summer Term.

With best wishes,

Zehra Jaffer