Secondary Award Winners

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Secondary Award Winners 2024/25 Autumn - Details

Here's a quick summary of what secondary schools in Hertfordshire have successfully bid for so far in the autumn term of 2024. 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 monthly 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
Presdales	Ware	PE	6x portable handball goals and indoor/outdoor handball packs to allow the school to extend this popular sport out from just Y9. The portable goals will replace current fence markings, greatly helping with shooting/goalkeeping practice both indoor and outdoor to multiple classes and the new balls will bring them up to England Handball recommendations. There is already a very successful extra-curricular club and the new equipment will help extend and improve this as well as allowing handball to be offered as a GCSE PE sport.
Monks Walk	Welwyn Garden City	PE	6x wireless microphone system to facilitate constructive feedback and internal and external assessment of the leadership elements of examination courses. Camera filming of Btec and A level performance rarely picks up good quality audio and external assessors can only grade on what they actually see and hear and so have requested the school purchase microphones so they can fully reward student coaching/leadership activities.
Presdales	Ware	STEM	15x wireless temperature sensors for use by all pupils to replace out-dated/basic existing equipment. The new sensors will increase the accuracy and speed of readings and link up to Data Harvest EasySense2 software which will allow students to share, interrogate, manipulate and present their results which will allow for better understanding and access to higher examination grades.
Simon Balle	Hertford	STEM	A one-day presentation and workshop on forces and motion for KS4 where pupils work in teams to build and race vehicles. Students will investigate gravitational, potential and kinetic energy, building fan-powered cars and rockets which aligns with the GCSE Physics curriculum, which requires students to know about energy stores and how changes in energy occur. They plan for attending teachers to replicate the workshops in-house in future years.
Chancellor's	Hatfield	PE	Multiple pairs of running spikes, athletics vests and football shirts to kit out their successful girls and boys teams. Their current spikes, in particular, are old, and the new shoes will help their athletes perform to an even higher standard and expand the range of sizes they can lend out. All the new kit will also raise motivation and team spirit and allow more pupils to compete at the same time.
Croxley Danes	Rickmansworth	PE + STEM	A linked bid with STEM for the installation of an orienteering course, equipment and lesson plans which will not only benefit PE lessons across the school but also facilitate outdoor cross-curricular learning and revision and Duke of Edinburgh. In addition to the physical fitness benefits, orienteering activities will help develop student teamwork, problem-solving and resilience and the 1000+ lesson plans can be downloaded for future years and adaptation. Additional oudoor maths equipment (clinometers and tape measures) were also funded to facilitate hands-on, outdoor trigonometry activites in conjunction with the course questions.
Queens	Bushey	PE	A Promat roll-out gymnastics mat (12.8m X 1.83m) to finally complete their full gymnastics floor. As well as being used in curriculum PE, the surface will greatly benefit skills development and practice for their very successful cheerleading and gymnastics teams as well as their dance clubs and the KS 1 and 2 gymnastics clubs they host. The mats will also encourage more of their boys into gymnastics, capitalising on the popularity of parkour around the world.
The Reach Free	Rickmasworth	PE	5x freestanding netball posts to replace their current unusable posts (11 years-old) and so increase the number of matches/practices that can be played simultaneously. This will benefit not only curricular PE, but clubs, Y6 district competitions, district-wide tournaments and school income from "Back to Netball" lettings.
Katherine Warington	Harpenden	PE	24x heart-rate monitors to give a class set both for timetabled fitness lessons and examination lessons. They will be used to investigate areas such as the short-term effects of exercise, training zones and how lifestyle choices affect physical health. The monitors provide a great hands-on link between practical and theoretical aspects of the course and can also be used cross-curricularly in science.
John Warner	Hoddesdon	PE	22x athletics running spikes and 2x team football kit. The spikes will greatly improve grip and so help performance and will be used across the year groups in competitions, training and sports day. The football kits will also used across the year groups (one lower and one upper school) for matches and will help build team-spirit, pride and motivation.
Roundwood Park	Harpenden	STEM	A professional vacuum bag press system and 12x tenon saws. The bag system enables complicated shapes/items to be formed from thin wooden veneers and will be used throughout the school on such projects as building working model hovercrafts, bee housing, speaker casings and prototyping in examination classes. It exposes pupils to real-world industrial processes as well as improving and extending their workshop skills. The tenon saws are needed to prepare the veneer and formers and will also be used for many other workshop projects.
Queens School	Bushey	Learning to Learn	A day of study techniques workshops for Y11 and targetted groups and a revision evening for parents and students delivered by Glia Learning. The sessions will focus on alternative ways to learn and revise and will be aimed at various groups from pushing the higher achievers to helping close the achievement gap for PP, SEND and pupils with behaviour/motivation issues. 12 teachers will also experience one or more sessions and so continue to teach and practise the learning strategies after the workshops.
Queen's School	Bushey	STEM	3x Dynamics system and 6x light gates to be used primarily in years 8, 10 and 12 and science club to investigate such topics as motion, velocity, acceleration and gravity in a hands-on way in smaller groups. The system and attachable gates accurately gather and store data which will help students not only investigate and understand the theory but also facilitate higher levels of achievement in their requred course practicals.
Hockerill	Bishops Stortford	PE	A Concept 2 rowing machine to help equip a larger fitness suite to be used during curriculum PE lessons as well as during extra-curricular clubs and for boarder access. A similar successful grant last year has shown to promote not only physical fitness but mental health and encourages students to take charge of their own fitness as a life-skill.
Westfield	Watford	PE	Blazepod Ultimate Team Bundle of reaction pods to help increase reaction speeds in specific sports as well as in more general fitness lessons across the school. The pods will be particularly useful for Westfield's elite/team athletes as well as helping to motivate and engage those pupils who are resistant to traditional exercise activities.

Posted: 16-Sep-2024 13:41

Major Award Winner 2024: Pinewood School Academy Trust

Major Award Winner 2024: Pinewood School Academy Trust

A range of strength and conditioning equipment for their fitness suite

There was just one Major Award available this year so applications were judged against projects in other categories (PE, STEM and Learning to Learn) as well as in their own focus area.

Pinewood are a MLD (Moderate Learning Difficulties) school. We often have a number of bids for fitness suite equipment in the PE category but what made Pinewood’s application really stand out was the effect of setting up a well-equipped gym would have on their particular students. As well as arguments for meeting curriculum demands and physical health, Pinewood also stressed how their pupils, all of whom have special educational needs and/or physical disabilities, need a safe environment to build their independence and confidence. The gym would help them develop these attributes which would be transferable to other aspects of their life during and post education. Many of their pupils can regularly feel frustrated and overwhelmed and they have found that physical activity often alleviates these feelings. Therefore, access to a familiar gym where pupils have developed specific routines would be an invaluable resource for both physical and mental wellbeing.

Judging

As usual, our judging process begins with a mark scheme (based on our standard criteria). This then informs our final discussions which also take into account the schools’ circumstances, needs and how much of a difference the project would make to their particular pupils. As always, it is up to each school to make us aware of all these factors.

We don’t publish the initial mark scheme to avoid bids being written “to the scheme” rather than giving a realistic assessment of the project and its benefits. However, as well as the explanation of our assessment criteria on the website, we have again decided to give our top 3 success hints based on this year’s applications in all three categories (which are much the same as last year).

Top 3 Feedback Points from the 2024 Major Award Applications

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

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 to their particular body of students.
Credit will be given if applicants address how their project will also meet the needs of specified groups of pupils and say how they have identified these needs.
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 from a supplier/provider website.

Commiserations to all the unsuccessful applicants – we appreciate how important your projects are to your school and thank you for the time and effort you put into your applications. Our secondary Major Awards for 2025 will open for submissions during the spring term of next year.

Posted: 09-Jul-2024 13:25

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	L2L	School	PE	STEM	L2L
Knightsfield	Y	Y		Onslow St. Audrey's	Y		Y
Monks Walk	Y			Roundwood Park		Y	Y
Dacorum ESC	Y			Barnwell			Y
Presdales	Y	Y		Hemel Hempstead		Y
Hockerill	Y	Y		Katherine Warrington	Y
Parmiter's	Y	Y		Bushey Meads		Y
Croxley Danes		Y		John Warner	Y
Westfield Academy	Y	Y		Chancellor's	Y	Y	Y
Kings Langley	Y			The Reach Free	Y
Rickmansworth	Y			The Highfield		Y
Verulam	Y	Y		Sandringham	Y	Y

Posted: 22-Apr-2024 13:34

Secondary Minor Awards - Summer 2024 (Details)

Here's a quick summary of what secondary schools in Hertfordshire have successfully bid for so far in the summer term of 2024. 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 monthly 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
The Reach Free	Rickmansworth	PE	A variety of tennis and badminton equipment to set up a racket academy to give pupils coaching and an opportunity to play at lunch times and after school in their "Stay and Play" sessions. The project has been set up after a pupil voice survey and successful trial sessions and they will use the new equipment to expand their provision to pupils and offer taster sessions to their feeder schools.
Hockerill College	Bishops Stortford	PE	A RowErg, Concept 2 rowing machine for their fitness lessons which all students are scheduled to take part in. The machine will also benefit theoretical learning in GCSE and IB PE programs in topics such as body physiology and adaptations to training. Boarders will have access to the machine as will pupils undertaking community projects such as fundraising through "rowing the Atlantic".
Chancellor's	Hatfield	STEM	6x visualisers to better show practical demonstrations in science, analyse students' work and work through questions in class. Also 5x drawing tablets to allow teachers to save diagrams and workings instead of rubbing them out and share them with pupils, particularly SEND pupils who may struggle to copy work accurately or remember it.
Parmiter's	Watford	STEM	19x stop clocks, 16x mass balances and 16x voltmeters to facilitate more hands-on investigation as they have increasing class sizes and aging existing equipment. The equipment will be used many times throughout Y7 - Y13 each year and also benefit extra-curricular science clubs and summer schools that include many Y6 students preparing to move up to secondary school.
Chancellor's	Hatfield	L2L	A 3-day, in-person course on how to implement instructional coaching and train other coaches across the school. As the training is cascaded down across the school, the first focus of the coaching techniques will be on instilling routines to ensure classrooms become calm, productinve and fully inclusive places for learning. This will eliminate low-level disruption and enable teachers to take more risks in teaching/learning activities such as disccussion tasks and group work.
Westfield Academy	Watford	STEM	A roof-top weather station to be used cross-curricularly in science, geography, IT, maths, PHSE. The station will be an exciting and real-world resource to develop data gathering, interpretation and presentation skills in many subjects and also projects focussing on e.g. climate change and conservation. All years will have access to the equipment and it will also benefit their successful Eco Club and have data reported on the school website.
The Highfield	Letchworth	STEM	A range of voltmeters, ammeters and powerpacks to facilitate smaller groups for practical work, especially in "A" Level physics which has doubled in size recently. As well as enabling more pupils to have hands-on engagement with practical work, the new equipment will also facilitate much higher accruracy in investigations and make difficult concepts easier to understand.
Rickmansworth	Rickmansworth	PE	9x rucksacks and 3x 2-man tents, to enable the school to expand into gold award D of E By using their own equipment they can make taking D of E Awards cheaper for their pupils and so access the Physical section of the award which has students spending 3 to 6 months working towards a specific fitness or sporting goal. In addition the award develops students' problem solving, leadership and team working skills amongst many others.
Verulam	St. Albans	STEM	A Clifton Unstirred Water Bath to control the temperature of reactions in science throughout the school including GCSE and A Level required practicals. This will add to their existing bath to allow more pupils to have hands-on experiment experience and easily adjust and maintain required termperatures.
Sandringham	St. Albans	PE	2x Basketball hoops to allow them to extend their current indoor basketball provision to their new outdoor multi-use games surface. This will increase the numbers who can access this popular sport, especially during the summer months when the indoor facilities are often unavailable due to examinations. The hoops will also be used at break and lunchtimes and by primary feeder schools and community groups.
Sandringham	St. Albans	STEM	A sustainable studio injection moulding machine to give D+T students hands on experience of turning recycled plastics into usable products. This will facilitate an exciting and memorable method or demonstrating the recycling process and will not only be used as part of the curriculum in lessons but also by clubs and in house activities.
Onslow St. Audrey	Hatfield	L2L	2x Study Skills days with Glia Learning for all students in Y11 and Y13 and for selected small groups in other years. The sessions upskill their study skills, motivation and memory techniques in exciting and interactive ways delivered by an experienced speaker who overcame his own dyslexia to gain a PhD from London's Institute of Education and become a Chartered Psychologist.
Verulam	St. Albans	PE	Implementing a Fit Kidz Go! programme for all Y8 pupils and PP students in Y9/10. The program aims to develop motor skills, physical fitness and cognitive concepts related to movement as well as improving social and cooperative skills. The four-week program involves individual and team challenges using functional fitness equipment, learning bodyweight exercises and develops understanding of the muscle groups activated. The school has allocated funds to purchase their own equipment after PE staff have observed the activities and so allow the school to deliver the program in-house in future years.

Posted: 22-Apr-2024 13:30

Secondary Minor Awards: Spring 2024 (Details)

Here's a quick summary of what secondary schools in Hertfordshire have successfully bid for so far in the spring term of 2024. 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
Presdales	Ware	PE	A freestanding junior goal package to help lower school students improve their accuracy and goal keeping skills as interest and participation in football continues to grow at the school.
Roundwood Park	Harpenden	L2L	A one-year subscription to Educake learning platform for all students in KS3 and KS4 as well as after school clubs. The package will enable the setting of high-quality home learning tasks and individually targetted revision and also be used integrate with class learning using the pupils' Google Chromebooks. If proven to be effective, the subscription would be funded by the science budget and a small parental contribution in subsequent years.
Parmiter's	Watford	PE	A half power rack for the gym to allow students to undertake squats and bench presses. As well as being used in core PE, the equipment would greatly benefit the school's athlete development program led by an external strength and conditioning coach and help expand provision for their current 8 weekly clubs which are all at full capacity.
Bushey Meads	Bushey	STEM	3x quadcopter drones and accessories to help students grasp the fundamentals of Python by seeing their programs played out in exciting real-world equipment. The use of programmable drones will also help develop problem-solving and teamwork skills and not only benefit the school's own STEM club students but also those in the trusts two primary schools and so facilitate smooth progression between the two stages.
Croxley Danes	Rickmansworth	STEM	A bacterial transformation kit, 3x potometer, 5x microscopes and 6x syringe holders to add to existing equipment due to this new school more than doubling its Y12 A level science students and begining their first year of Y13 sciences. The access to equipment is vital for coursework and bringing the subjects to life as well as introducing new topics such as genetic engineering in a practical way.
John Warner	Hoddesdon	PE	15x sprint hurdles to enable hurdling to be taught across the whole school with the additional benefits of improving bone strength, flexibility, balance and coordination. The hurdles can also be used by feeder schools in their taster sessions, local primaries in district athletics competitions and during summer school activities.
Westfield Academy	Watford	PE	Kit and equipment for football and netball including girls kit to promote inclusivity and gender equality. The new kit and bibs will enhance motivation, effort and team spirit and enable more teams to practice and play simultaneously.
Chancellor's	Hatfield	PE	16x hurdles, 8 javelins and tape measures to allow more students to access hurdling and javelin training and competitions and encourage more participation in after-school clubs. Year 6 induction classes and outside clubs will also benefit from the new equipment.
Kings Langley	Hemel Hempstead	PE	A selection of football equipment including target goals, balls, gloves and shin pads exclusively for girls football to enable the expansion of this activity both in the curriculum and in clubs and competition. The exclusive kit will also engender a sense of importance and pride amongst girl players and capitalise on student-voice research showing rapidly growing enthusiasm for girls' football.

Posted: 16-Jan-2024 10:37

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