NEWSLETTER
End of Spring Term 2026
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HEADTEACHER'S WELCOME
Dear Students, Parents and Carers,
Welcome to the Spring edition of our newsletter. As always seems to be the case, our students have crammed so much into their time at school, making a positive difference along the way.
Our biggest whole school highlight of the term was the extravaganza that was Legally Blonde Jnr. Our cast, crew and audiences all had an amazing time and it was fabulous to see our students performing in a proper theatre. The feedback we had following the show week was glowing and is testament to the hard work, dedication, and PHSG spirit shown by all involved. Legally Blonde Jnr was a sell-out show across 4 nights and a triumph. Thank you to everyone who came along to support our young people, they were thrilled that you all had a great time.
A number of our teams were super successful this term. The Netball and Hockey teams performed magnificently, our Thinking team won the Trust-wide memory quiz, and our very own Gwen M was elected by her peers to the Plymouth Youth Parliament. More details about these tremendous young people in the newsletter.
Our diversity lead, Zara, and her club celebrated the end of Ramadan with Eid al-Fitr celebrations. They also raised £196.20 raised in 15 minutes! It is important to us that PHSG is an inclusive and friendly school, and celebrating and recognising important World religious events is a big part of that.
Our new style careers fayre was a huge success. Students from all Years were able to discuss their future plans with a wide range of national and local employers, as well as post-16 and post-18 training providers. The fayre will become a fixture in the PHSG calendar which we hope will enable our students to be as ambitious as possible with their future plans.
We welcomed special guest visits from Navy chefs to judge the Year 10 culinary challenge. Our students very much enjoyed professional chefs being part of the competition.
Don’t forget to read all about what we did for World Book Day. The dressing up was great fun, and the visit of author Manjeet Mann helped us to promote the importance of reading in the National Year of Reading.
Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable break across the Easter period.
Very best wishes,
Simon Underdown
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02 Apr 2026
Rosie’s dedication to her music has led to a series of outstanding achievements worth celebrating
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27 Mar 2026
We are delighted to announce that Year 8 student, Gwen, has been chosen as a Member of Youth Parliament for Plymouth after a citywide vote
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25 Mar 2026
Year 7 student, Isla, reaches new milestone in her dancing journey, a recognition of her hard work
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13 Mar 2026
Year 7 student, Sophie, goes above and beyond for her local community
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11 Mar 2026
Year 11 student, Harriet, has been selected to travel to America and represent Team GB
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24 Feb 2026
A pre-dawn test of strength and spirit!
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23 Feb 2026
Celebrating sporting success following a local archery tournament this weekend.
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17 Mar 2026
High‑pressure cook‑off turns into high‑level praise in culinary challenge
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04 Mar 2026
A recipe for success!
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20 Mar 2026
Year 10 History students recently took part in a fascinating and thought-provoking visit to Shepton Mallet Prison, one of the oldest working prisons in the UK
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Maths Easter Challenges for GCSE and A level
Our A level mathematicians have collected a book with information about how to log on to 'Dr Frost'. On Dr Frost, they will find their 10 Pure Skills Tasks which it is highly recommended that they complete over the Easter break for short, sharp bursts of key skills. Students should have completed their Integral work and Dr Frost will provide new and unseen questions for them for every chapter to help them to revise.
Students in Year 11 have another Dr Frost challenge to complete over the 17-day break. The task is made of 17 very short sections, all for working towards a grade 7; the top 17 topics in terms of likelihood to appear in real examinations. We highly recommend completing this task. Students have been given a helpful clues sheet with a tick list (a copy has been emailed home).
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01 Apr 2026
Yesterday’s finals offered our U14s an exciting opportunity to showcase their skills against other top teams from across the region
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16 Mar 2026
PHSG girls delivered an outstanding performance at the Devon Hockey Finals
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13 Mar 2026
A week of outstanding teamwork and success from our PHSG sport teams
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* Important PE notice *
When we return from the Easter break, students who forget their PE kit will automatically be issued with a C2. Unfortunately, the PE department have had a lot of their spare kit go missing due to an increase in students borrowing items.
If you have any questions about this, please contact the Head of PE, Mrs Pickles. Thank you for your cooperation.
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Have you seen our brand new 'Reading & Literacy' webpage? You can check it out here!
Holidays are often a good time for folk to spend some time reading. Reading and literacy are always central to everything that we do at PHSG. You might have seen in the news that 2026 is the National Year of Reading. Mrs Heard, our Librarian, has organised many exciting events through the library, such as World Book Day, author Manjeet Mann’s visit, and ‘blind date with a book’. Staff have also been thinking about broadening what they understand by ‘reading’ and engaging in activities such as recording their '26 (types of reading) in 26'. Some have read aloud stories for students to hear during the Wednesday Week A tutorial time, and others have shared their ‘bookshelves’.
Below are some links that might be of interest:
Six reasons to pick up a book today (Reading Level 4-5) - The Day
The Guardian view on Poems on the Underground at 40: public art to be proud of | Editorial | The Guardian
The National Year of Reading celebrates the ‘joy’ of books. But let’s not forget they can also be deeply troubling, too | Charlotte Higgins | The Guardian
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International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month fall in March. It’s an opportunity to shine a light on the achievements of women past and present. We have lots of fantastic books featuring trailblazing scientists, activists, athletes, artists, and everyday heroes who inspire us.
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Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a time dedicated to appreciating the many ways people think, learn, and experience the world. In the library we have books written by neurodivergent authors as well as stories featuring neurodivergent characters, helping students see themselves represented and discover new perspectives. From characters who navigate the world with autism, ADHD, dyslexia or other forms of neurodivergence, to authors who draw on their own lived experience, these books remind us that every mind is unique and that diversity in thinking strengthens our whole community.
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World Book Day saw a week full of reading-related activities. There was a quiz, scavenger hunt around the school and activities in the library. The character costumes were amazing again this year. We have such imaginative and creative students. The highlight was a visit from author Manjeet Mann.
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Congratulations to Mimi S, 7T who has been awarded with a Silver 'achievement in reading' badge. She has read and reviewed 25 library books. Excellent work Mimi!
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2026 is the Year of Reading, where we are inviting everyone to ‘Go All In’ and rediscover the joy of reading, helping children build confidence, imagination, and essential literacy skills at a time when national reading enjoyment is in decline. Don’t forget about our ‘26 in 26’ challenge. There is still plenty of time to get involved.
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It was of course the highly anticipated end of term Gym & Dance Festival on Thursday 2nd April. Our talented students did themselves proud with their energetic performances, with some breathtaking (and hilarious) highlights! Photographs and a full write-up will be available soon, so do keep an eye on our website!
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31 Mar 2026
A buzzing atmosphere filled St Matts Church last week as students explored exciting possibilities for their future
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30 Mar 2026
Jubilee and 150th merchandise rediscovered - get yours while they last!
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27 Mar 2026
Our students have achieved outstanding success in this year’s Trust-wide Memory Quiz, showcasing exceptional knowledge, teamwork and resilience
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23 Mar 2026
A heart‑warming day of shared traditions, community, and student‑led celebration
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12 Mar 2026
Months of hard work paid off as PHSG students deliver a triumphant run at the Barbican Theatre
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27 Feb 2026
Students build biodiversity‑boosting bug boxes
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Prom 2026 - Save the date!
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03 Mar 2026
Get ready, Year 11!
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Student & Class of the Week
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31 Mar 2026
Student of the week: Grace S, Year 11 for showing considerable and consistent improvement in her chemistry studies and in her assessment outcomes. Her revision is amazing and she is preparing so well for her GCSEs. Nominated by Miss Joynes.
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23 Mar 2026
Student of the week: Delilah H, Year 8 for taking the time to explain the drama lesson synopsis to a student due to join us in Year 9 who was on a tour. She was approachable, friendly and very welcoming. Nominated by Mrs Gill.
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16 Mar 2026
Students of the week: Harriet H and Darcey H, Year 10 for their hard work in supporting 7K and 8K to choreograph their gym and dance pieces in preparation for the festival. Nominated by Mr Goodchild.
Group of the week: Neive A, Martha C, Lamara H, Elizabeth J, Annabelle L, Orlaith M, Megan...
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10 Mar 2026
Student of the week: Abbie D, 8T was noted by a supply teacher for being very helpful, showing her where rooms were. The supply teacher was impressed enough to let Miss Roughton know at the end of the day. Nominated by Miss Roughton.
Student of the week: Ruby D, 11L who...
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02 Mar 2026
Student of the week: Freya H, Year 8 - "Freya is a student librarian whose allocated day is Thursday lunchtime; however, she comes to the library most days and asks if there are any tasks that need completing. She is consistently helpful and dependable. Recently, she independen...
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HOME SCHOOL COMMUNICATION
Students may contact staff if they have queries, firstly by visiting them in their department area, and only contacting them using school email system if they really can’t see them in person.
Parents may wish to contact staff. The following outlines what the Headteacher regards as important considerations regarding home/school communication, particularly by email:
¨ All communication must respect the dignity of the recipient.
¨ Within 48 hours: receipt of an email will be acknowledged by school either by the person contacted, or the most appropriate person able to deal with the issue (term time only, not after 5pm nor over a weekend).
¨ Within 5 working days: school will provide a response to the email by telephone or in writing, or e-mail. This may include informing the sender that more time is required to provide a full response. If this is the case, staff should indicate a time frame for a response.
¨ Staff will not be expected to monitor or respond to emails outside their normal working hours (nor at weekends and published school holidays).
Whilst this is extremely rare, if a member of staff receives an e-mail or call which is of an aggressive tone, sets unreasonable demands or could otherwise be interpreted as harassing, they will refer this to a senior line manager in the school, who will decide if consideration needs to be given to dealing with further communication under our Complaints Policy.
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PARKING
Out of respect for our neighbours and for health and safety reasons there is NO PARKING on the school site or for collecting/dropping off students on the double yellow lines outside our school gates.
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STUDENTS LEAVING SCHOOL DURING THE SCHOOL DAY
For safety reasons if your daughter has to leave school during the school day, and you are unable to collect her, she must have a note in her planner with clear instructions that you give permission for her to leave unaccompanied. Without your express instructions to this effect we will not allow any students to leave school unless they are collected by an adult from reception.
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NUT ALLERGY
Please be aware that we have students who are severely allergic to nuts and we would, therefore, appreciate where possible that you try to avoid putting nuts into packed lunches.
Although we are not going completely nut free, we have stopped selling packets of nuts as snacks in the canteen to try to reduce the risk to them and appreciate your support.
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SOCIAL MEDIA & ONLINE SAFETY
Our Children are spending more and more time on their mobile phones. Making them aware of the dangers of social media, and protecting them from these dangers can be very challenging. These are some of the better known sites that pose risks to children—are they on your child’s phone home screen?
To help safeguard your child please regularly take the time to talk to them about the way they use their social media apps:
Do they always know who they are engaging with?
Do they share their passwords?
Do they feel comfortable with what they are seeing and doing?
Do they feel pressure from “friends” to do/say things they don’t want to?
For more information please regarding online safety, please visit our website: www.phsg.org/
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20th April: First day of Summer Term
23rd & 30th April: Year 10 parents' evenings (online - appointment only)
4th May: Bank Holiday (non-school day)
22nd May: Last day of term
1st June: Back to school
Exam season!
20th April - 1st May: Year 12 mock exams
29th April - 1st May: GCSE Art - exams
5th - 7th May: Year 13 Art exam
7th - 22nd May: Public Summer 2026 exams
22nd May: Year 12 mock results event (students only)
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Calendar Term Dates 2025-2026
Term
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Starts
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Ends
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One
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3rd September (Year 7 & 12 only)
4th September (All Year Groups)
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16th October
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| Autumn Half Term |
20th October |
31st October |
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Two
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4th November
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19th December
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| Christmas Holidays |
22nd December |
2nd January |
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Three
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5th January
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13th February
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| Spring Half term |
16th February |
20th February |
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Four
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23rd February
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2nd April
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| Easter Holidays |
3rd April |
17th April |
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Five
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20th April
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22nd May
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| Summer Half term |
25th May |
29th May |
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Six
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1st June
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17th July
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| Summer Holidays |
20th July |
2nd September (Year 7 & 12 only)
3rd September (All Year Groups)
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Curriculum Enrichment Week
6th July - 10th July
Non Pupil Days 2025-2026
1st September
2nd September
17th October
3rd November
4th May 2026 (Bank Holiday)
20th July 2026
21st July 2026
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