Secondary Award Winners

Over £400,000 donated to Hertfordshire Secondary Schools since January 2018
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Secondary Award Winners for 2023/24 (Reference)

This table is primarily to check if your school has already been awarded any of the 3 awards for this academic year.

Click on the "Y"s for more details on the awards granted to each school

 

School PE STEM EL/L2L   School PE STEM EL/L2L
Knightsfield   Y     Onslow St. Audrey's Y    
Monks Walk Y              
                 

Secondary Award Winners - Autumn Term 2023 (Details)

Here's a quick summary of what secondary schools in Hertfordshire have successfully bid for so far in the autumn term of 2023.   Each academic year, schools can bid for up to £1000 in each of our focus areas (PE, STEM and Learning to Learn) subject to our termly budget (the current balance is displayed on the applications page).  Applications have to pass our criteria which you can find here.

We wish all the award recipients good luck with their amazing projects and we are very pleased to have helped them "achieve a lot with a little".

School Location Focus Project
Monks Walk Welwyn Garden City PE An orienteering permanent course, survey/mapping of the school site and lesson plans and resources to widen the PE offering and build leadership, teamwork and communication skills.  Nearby primary and secondary schools will also be given access to the facility.
Onslow St. Audrey's Hatfield PE 2x indoor table tennis tables and 6x bat and ball sets to expand their popular table tennis provision and give more access to KS3, GCSE and A level students.  The tables will also help their regular district teams to have more table-time.
Knightsfield Welwyn Garden City STEM 2x microbit v2 Starter Kits and a Crumble class kit bring coding and control lessons to life.  The equipment will help foster design and evaluation skills with reference to the intended final users and help children become familiar with integrating a range of electrical components with computer programing.

2023 £10,000 Major Award Winners

Overall

Once again, we had a good selection of bids this year, with PE and STEM applications proving popular but the new Learning to Learn category just pipping them to the post for most applications.

As we do every year, we reviewed our judging process beginning with a mark scheme (based on our standard criteria) which then informs our final discussions.  We don’t publish the actual mark scheme to avoid bids being written “to the scheme” rather than giving a realistic assessment of the project and its benefits.  However, there continues to be a strong emphasis on applicants explaining and evidencing the expected benefits of their projects which we add to our own judgements on how each project will enhance learning and motivation.

We also thought we would help future applicants with our top hints from this year’s bids:

 

Top 3 Feedback Points from the 2023 Major Award Applications

 (“Project” refers to whatever products, training, workshops etc you are applying for)

  1. We make a judgement ourselves on the learning benefits of projects but we are not experts in all subjects so it is up to the applicant to explain how the project will bestow the learning benefits.
  2. Credit will be given if applicants address how their project will meet specified pupil needs and say how they have identified these needs.
  3. Extra credit is given if the applicant evidences any stated benefits – this might be from e.g. research findings or school experience of similar/related initiatives. Any research, including provider/supplier claims, should be explained and applied to the particular needs of the applicant’s school and not just pasted into the application.

 

And now, on to the winners…

 

Stem Major Award Winner 2023:  ST. MARY’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL (Bishops Stortford)

Greenpower F24 Electric Car chassis and a wide range of associated tools/machinery

 This application had many strengths with one of the strongest being the “awe and wonder” of designing and constructing their own electric vehicle and building on current engineering competitions to raise the subject’s profile and popularity even further.  On top of this was the huge range of STEAM skills that the project will develop including graphics, design, engineering, performance testing and data analysis.

Issues of longevity (what happens when the car has been built?) and numbers benefitting (how many pupils can actually be involved with the construction etc?) were addressed well by the application as the long-term usefulness of the high-quality, precision equipment beyond the car construction was explained as well as the cross-curricular opportunities of the project.

 

 


Learning To Learn Major Award Winner 2023:  WATFORD GRAMMAR SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

Two Years’ CPD provided by Thinking Matters plus 15x Visualisers

Thinking Matters are one of a number of learning to learn providers that schools have been integrating into their minor and major award applications to us.  A particular strength of Thinking Matters’ core program from our point of view is the embedded nature of their core program involving setting up a Drive Team to lead the integration of their learning strategies across the whole school over an extended period of time and spaced-out training days for staff with time to apply the methods learned in between.

One of the many strengths of this application was extensive research on the effectiveness of some techniques already being trialled in school to identify areas of weakness and argue for the likely success of this program.  The enthusiasm and commitment of staff and the existence of a learning team also helped us make our choice. 

Our new L2L criteria (changed from Effective Learning in January 2023) does not allow equipment to facilitate more effective learning to be a major part of applications (Major or Minor Awards).  However, it was well argued that the fifteen visualisers (under 25% of the bid) were an integral part of delivering the learning skills to pupils and so they enhanced the application.

 


PE Major Award Winner 2023:  PRESDALES SCHOOL

A range of strength and conditioning equipment for their fitness suite

 We often have a number of bids for fitness suite equipment and some major influences on our choice of winner are how well the school has identified the need for the equipment by different pupil groups and how well they have researched, argued for and evidenced the specific benefits the items will bestow.   Presdales’ bids are always well constructed and this one covered these points very well as well as explaining the wider benefits of enhancing their fitness suite such as motivating reluctant PE learners and generating income from lettings.

Another of the strengths of this project was the plan to train sixth-formers in the safe and effective use of the equipment and then utilise them as leaders in the suite, thus building their leadership and coaching skills.

 

Secondary Minor Awards - Summer 2023 (Details)

Here's a quick summary of what secondary schools in Hertfordshire have successfully bid for so far in the spring term of 2023.   Each academic year, schools can bid for up to £1000 in each of our focus areas (PE, STEM and Learning to Learn) subject to our termly budget (the balance is displayed on the applications page).  Applications have to pass our criteria which you can find here.

We wish all the award recipients good luck with their amazing projects and we are very pleased to have helped them "achieve a lot with a little".

School Location Focus Project
Chancellor's Hatfield STEM 16x ammeters and voltmeters and other electricity apparatus to enable students to work in pairs on practical experiments for more hands-on experience e.g. with circuits/resistance investigations fromY8 to Y13 and to better prepare students for the practical elements of examinations.
The Reach Free Rickmansworth L2L Elevate Education Year 10 ACE Your Exams workshops for all of Y10 and access to their online portal for planning and revision resources.   The strategies taught include highest value revision tasks, finding/fixing mistakes, time allocation and managing stress in exams.
John Warner Hoddesdon PE A triple jump and a high jump mat and speed-bounce wedges for sports hall athletics to greatly expand access to indoor athletics, particularly during the autumn and spring terms, both in curriculum time and clubs and summer school activities.
Knightsfield Welwyn Garden City STEM 2x wireless, mechanical arm visualisers to enable students to see the build up and explanation of model answers as they are formed, observe precise detail of demonstrations, tools and manipulatives and enable the teachers to support and extend learning with visuals and diagrams that can be annotated in real time and in response to student’s needs.  This will be particularly effective as their pupils' deafness sometimes means they rely on visual support.
Chancellor's Hatfield PE A wide variety of cricket equipment to resource their relaunch of cricket across all key stages with increased amounts and better quality equipment which will facilitate enhanced performance and enthusiasm.
Parmiter's Watford PE Outside experts to deliver a variety of workshops including dance, wheelchair basketball, badminton and fitness.  This will form part of a National School Sports Week program of events and competitions to engage students in alternative sports activities which will include teachers and raise the profile and appreciation of the value of sport across the school community.
Herts and Essex Bishop's Stortford STEM Architecture day-long workshop for all Y8 students to build skills,  highlight related careers and inform option choices.   Skills developed will include: Design technology, Fine & Gross Motor Skills, Imagination, Listening Skills, Maths, Problem solving, Science skills and Teamwork & Cooperation.
Parmiter's Watford STEM A one-off purchase of digital copies of the Collins KS3 textbook, teacher book and teaching resources which can be used for around 450 students each and every year.  This will support student revision and help teachers, especially those teaching outside of their specialism, to deliver a robust and consistent curriculum. 

Secondary Minor Awards Granted in 2022/23 (Reference)

This table is primarily to check if your school has already been awarded any of the 3 awards for this academic year 

Click on the "Y"s more details on the awards granted to each school

 

School PE STEM EL/L2L   School PE STEM EL/L2L
Chancellor's Y Y Y   Simon Balle   Y  
St. Georges   Y Y   Chauncy   Y  
Hemel Hempstead   Y     Haileybury Turnford Y Y Y
Knightsfield Y Y     Katherine Warington Y   Y
Hockerill Y Y     Roundwood Park   Y  
Rickmansworth   Y     Westfield Y   Y
Goffs Churchgate     Y   Robert Barclay Academy   Y  
Dacorum Ed. Support Centre     Y   Presdales Y Y Y
St. Mary's Catholic Y Y     The Reach Free Y   Y
Croxley Danes Y Y     Bishop's Hatfield Girls     Y
The Highfield School Y       John Warner Y    
Parmiter's Y Y     Herts and Essex   Y  

Secondary Minor Awards: Spring 2023 (Details)

Here's a quick summary of what secondary schools in Hertfordshire have successfully bid for so far in the spring term of 2023.   Each academic year, schools can bid for up to £1000 in each of our focus areas (PE, STEM and Learning to Learn) providing there are enough funds left in our termly budget (displayed on the applications page).  Applications have to pass our criteria which you can find here.

We wish all the award recipients good luck with their amazing projects and we are very pleased to have helped them "achieve a lot with a little".

Please Note:  The Effective Learning criteria has changed to Learning to Learn from January 2023 so some of the previous EL awards may not have passed under this new category so do read the re-focussed criteria and look at the L2L bids as examples.

 School   Location  Focus  Project 
Robert Barclay Hoddesdon STEM A range of science equipment to enable pupils to work in smaller groups which will improve practical confidence and competency at all levels in a broader range of topics and maintain motivation in the subject overall.
Goffs Churchgate Cheshunt Learning to Learn INSET for all teaching staff in critical and higher order thinking to help develop students as more independent and metacognitive thinkers.  This training is provided by JMCinset, covers such areas as visualising thinking, reasoning, higher order questioning and digital tools and is an initial step towards becoming a Thinking School.
Presdales Ware STEM A Holzstar DB100 wood turning lathe to support the increase in DT KS 4 and 5 numbers with a machine that will increase the range of practice and coursework projects available and produce more detailed and professional pieces of work and hence, higher grades.
Presdales Ware PE A set of 12 barbells and weights and storage rack to provide enough equipment to enable whole class gym based fitness sessions, rotating through the machines, free weights and free plyometric exercises to gain a full body workout.   The equipment will be especially useful for exam groups and G+T students.

Katherine Warington Harpenden PE High jump stand and lathe and crash mat to extend athletics facilities.  The crash mat will also be used for indoor gymnastics to get maximum use from it.
Dacorum Ed. Support Centre Hemel Hempstead Learning to Learn Phonological processing and reading efficiency complete testing kits tailor to better facilitate individualised interventions, teach specific skills to address areas of weakness such as dual coding and targeted reading practice, and identify and apply for exam access arrangements.
The Reach Free Rickmansworth PE Golf equipment pack for 24 pupils to enable golf to be offered on the PE curriculum and as an after school club, expanding pupils' experience of sports and developing coordination skills for all years and Y6 summer school and transition program.
St. Mary's Catholic Bishops Stortford STEM A CNC router, precision measuring instruments and tooling for a manual lathe to enable students to produce precision parts on a manual machine and learn to use industry-standard software on the router.  This will also allow an increased range of resistant materials to be produced and increase quality.
St. Mary's Catholic Bishops Stortford PE 2x Indoor table tennis tables to add to their existing tables which will allow them to put table tennis on the PE curriculum and run clubs at lunchtime across all year groups.  Staff will also benefit as part of the sports element of mindfulness during CPD days.
Croxley Danes Watford PE Athletics vests and running spikes to ensure students have equal opportunities when running against other pupils and schools who have spikes and to help boost NEA (practical element) results as well as engendering a sense of pride and belonging in the school.
Bishop' Hatfield Girls Hatfield Learning to Learn A mix of 1-day and 1/2 day workshops for all Y9 pupils on developing oracy/confidence/presentation skills with extra time given to disadvantaged students.  Skills taught include delivering a persuasive talk using the PEEEP structure (transferable across the curriculum - verbal or written),  reasoning and self-confidence and attending teachers will cascade the training through other year groups.
Croxley Danes Watford STEM A ripple tank, rheostats and gas syringe holders to facilitate hands-on practical work in small groups/pairs across the year groups, especially the rapidly expanding A level science groups across chemistry, physics and biology.
The Highfield Letchworth Garden City PE 2x Easifold Deluxe indoor table tennis table to afford greater access to the sport within the curriculum and in extra-curricular sessions.  These high-quality tables will last longer than others they have tried and increasing the stock allows more table-time and thus skills development.
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