Newsletters

Spring Term - 6th March 2026

 

Welcome to our latest news update, including an update on our secondary transition offers day, highlights from World Book Day and information for Year 9 families to follow up on Options Evening from last Wednesday.

Secondary School Offers Day

At the start of this week, Year 6 families across the country were notified of their Secondary School places for September.

I was delighted to welcome Camden Councillor Anna Wright and local press into school on Offer Day to talk about Secondary Transition in the borough and the questions and concerns families have about such a significant change. The article will appear in next week's Camden New Journal.

We have already been in touch with the families whose sons will be coming to William Ellis next academic year and can't wait to meet them at the various events in our Transition Programme between now and September.

Families with a child soon to start secondary school, or close to beginning the application process, can view the New Year 7 page on our website for further information about the structure of our tailored support programme for children starting their secondary education at William Ellis.

 

International Women's Day

International Women's Day is celebrated annually on 8th March. There will be assemblies next week marking this event and instilling in our students the importance of gender equality.

On Wednesday, there will be a workshop delivered by Future Men, an organisation whose mission it is to empower boys and men to become positive, responsible, and fulfilled individuals through community, mentoring, and education, working towards a more inclusive future for all.

Year 9 Options

Earlier this week, Year 9 students and their families were invited to Options Evening, to learn more about the subjects they can study for GCSE in Key Stage 4.

We hope that this event helped with the important process of considering the educational pathway for the next two years.

The presentation from the evening and options booklet can be found on the Year 9 page of the school website.

The deadline for completing the options form is 18th March.

 

World Book Day

Staff and students dressed up for yesterday's World Book Day, with Greek Gods, Gauls, witches, detectives, Kings and caterpillars spotted roaming the corridors!

See if you can guess the characters (and the staff!) from the photos here.

Camden Foodbank's Spring Appeal

In the lead up to the Easter holiday at the end of this month we will again be supporting Camden Foodbank, a local charity we have collaborated with since 2022.

The foodbank helps local residents struggling with food poverty and last year supported 6260 local adults and children living in poverty with 3-day emergency food parcels.

If you feel able to help this cause you can donate food and toiletries from the following list, or make a contribution via the Foodbank's Just Giving page (please donate Gift Aid if you can as this increases donations by 25%).

Donated items from the list can be dropped off at the school office weekdays 8am-4pm until 26th March.

Eco Club Rewilding Project Update

Mr Mangham and Year 10 parent Jane, who organised the project, write:

Eco Club has been regularly travelling to Kent over the last few months to participate in a rewilding project.

During the last few trips, from December to February, the boys have learnt all about hedges and their importance as a habitat for so many species. The UK has lost a massive number of hedgerows, with estimates suggesting that around 50% of hedgerows have disappeared since World War II, primarily due to agricultural intensification. The loss has slowed since the 1990s, but about 60% of remaining hedgerows are not in good shape, either overgrown, damaged or cut too severely and with removal remaining a threat. As such, hedges are deemed still in decline in terms of ecological quality and function.

Hedgerows offer us many benefits. They form the UK’s largest wildlife habitat and have a crucial role to play in halting biodiversity decline and, through carbon absorption, tackling climate change. They also improve air quality, can cool our cities and act as flood defence.

Healthy hedgerows are teeming with life and vital for nature – of the 1,149 UK priority species, 130 are significantly associated with hedgerows. including lichens, fungi and reptiles. Many more use them for food and shelter during some of their lifecycle. Bank vole, harvest mouse and hedgehog all nest and feed in hedgerows alongside birds including blue tit, yellowhammer, turtle doves and whitethroat, while bats use them as ‘commuter routes’ for foraging and roosting.

As well as providing food and shelter, hedges help species to move through our landscapes from one habitat patch to another. These wildlife corridors are vital for species like the rare hazel dormouse, which struggle to cross large open areas. 

Armed with this knowledge, the boys headed out to plant a mixed hedgerow that included many UK flowering and fruit-bearing species such as hawthorne, blackthorne & Hazel. This new hedge will also eventually connect to an existing hedgerow, increasing connectivity within the site. An amazing effort by the boys to create this vital habitat.

In January, the boys helped to remove old tree guards from previously planted trees. They did a great job collecting these, removing lots of plastic from the land (which will be recycled) and freeing up the trees to continue their growth. 

The group also learnt all about the magical mistletoe plant, and carried out a mistletoe survey on part of the site. This data will feed back into a national citizen science program that ends in February. The trailcam was checked, this time we saw lots of species, including a roe deer, a fox, the new Manx sheep and a badger. 

Year 11 Art Trip to Kew

Ms Madsen writes:

On Thursday the 26th of February the Year 11 Art and Graphics groups went to visit Kew Gardens. Everyone was grateful as this visit was funded by WESPA.

Kew Gardens was holding its annual Orchid festival and this year it was themed around Chinese culture. The students were amazed at the Orchid festival – it was held inside the tropical plants exhibition and included animals from Chinese culture. The Orchids were a welcome sight of bright colours during February.

Students also visited the Marianne North Gallery which shows the astounding range of work by this botanical artist who travelled the world and documented what she saw in beautiful paintings.

The art and graphics students produced drawings and were very inspired when they saw her work. The work will contribute to the students' exam project, so we look forward to seeing what they make in the summer.

AI: Beyond the Code – Empowering Camden Students for an

AI-Driven Future

Shout Out UK, in partnership with the London AI Campus, is hosting an interactive session for students in Years 10 to 13 attending schools within the London Borough of Camden. This workshop moves beyond programming to explore the ethical and societal realities of Artificial Intelligence.

During this one-hour session, students will tackle critical questions such as:

• Digital Literacy: Developing the skills to identify and spot deepfakes.

• Ethics and Power: Investigating the ethics of AI and how it functions in the real world.

• Future Readiness: Discussing how the rapid evolution of AI will impact their future careers and lives.

Date: Tuesday, 24th March 2026 Time: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Location: London AI Campus, Charrington Street, NW1 1RD

Open to students in Years 10, 11, 12, and 13 in Camden schools.

Register here or by scanning the QR code below.

 

Consultation - Preventing Violence Against Women & Girls 

Camden Council is developing its first Preventing Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Strategy for 2026 –2029, and are inviting partners to take part in the consultation.

This strategy builds on years of commitment and tireless work across our borough to make Camden safer for women and girls. Ending violence is not something any single organisation can achieve alone. It requires a united, coordinated, and community wide effort. Partnership is central to this work, and through this strategy Camden aims to deepen connections, strengthen collective response, and lay the groundwork for a fully shared partnership strategy from 2030 onwards.

The insight and experience of Camden residents are essential to shaping the ambition, priorities, objectives and outcomes of this first strategy. Coproduction with the community is vital to ensuring the strategy reflects the realities, needs and aspirations of those it aims to serve.

Consultation details:

• Open from: 23 February – 22 March 2026

• Purpose: To gather feedback that will inform the final Strategy

• Output: A publicly available consultation summary will be published alongside the final Strategy at launch

• Support: The survey includes information on how anyone experiencing violence or abuse can access help

Camden want to hear from you so please share your views by completing the consultation survey: https://camdenvawgstrategy.commonplace.is/proposals/v3/vawg-consultation-survey  

 

Free online bystanding training for adults – keeping our communities safe 

Delivered by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, this 30-minute online course for over 18s will show you how to recognise harmful behaviours and intervene safely and effectively when witnessing potentially harmful situations, including prejudice, discrimination and sexual harassment. The online training is on Thursday 26 March, 12 noon to 12.30pm and is part of Camden’s ongoing work to make the borough a safer place for everyone, particularly women and girls - calling on everyone to help tackle inappropriate behaviour.

This is a free course for anyone who works, lives or studies in Camden. Sign up for the training here.

 

Camden Private Renters’ Week (16 to 21 March) 

From 16 to 21 March, Camden Council are bringing together a range of housing-related advice and support options for local renters. 

· Your tenancy is changing on 1 May 2026, what does this mean for you?

· Understanding rent increases for private renters

· Supporting students in private rented accommodation

· A guide for private renters – repairs, responsibilities and your rights

· Your rights as a private renter – discrimination, rental bidding and pets.

Residents are invited to attend an in-person advice and support fair on Saturday, 21 March 2026 from 11am to 4pm. The fair will be a drop-by event held at the Crowndale Centre, 218 Eversholt Street, NW1 1BD, with a programme of speakers.

More information and details can be found on the Camden Private Renters webpage.

Yours faithfully,

Izzy Jones

Headteacher