End of Term Report - December 2019

As 2019 draws to a close, the Aldenham Foundation and Dame Alice Owen's Schools are reaching the end of the first term of the new academic year. We are pleased to be able to report on some of the successes so far this year.

Aldenham Foundation

Following a very pleasing set of exam results in the summer, which saw over 50% of GCSEs graded A*-B and a third of the A Level cohort achieve ABB or better, the Foundation has dived into the new term with a higher number of staff and enlarged pupil numbers in the Senior School, as well as very strong rolls in the Aldenham Prep School and St Hilda’s. Building work has commenced for a new Prep School building which will allow Headmistress Vicky Gocher and her team to enjoy the benefits of having their entire school in a purpose built, modern building by January 2021. Stepping down from the Governing Body this term are the Archdeacon of St Albans, the Venerable Jonathan Smith and Mr Tony Bingham, who chaired the Audit Committee for a number of years, and the Headteacher expressed his thanks for their support over the years.

Dame Alice Owen's School

The school has started the new year seeking to continue honouring its ethos and the OWENS way: providing ‘Opportunity for all’, and a ‘Window on the world’, striving for ‘Excellence in everything’, and to ‘Never stop learning’, within a ‘Supportive community’. The new Teaching Block, which was part funded by a grant from the Dame Alice Owen Foundation, opened for use by staff and students at the beginning of term and is already making a huge difference to everyone who is using it, with the bright and airy spaces for teaching and learning being much appreciated. School trips this term included a Year 11 geography trip to Swanage to carry out coursework, a visit to the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University and a Year 12-13 trip to Europe House, the epicentre of planning for the UK's departure from Europe.