Hi, I’m Bella. I started Shrewsbury High School when I was only 15 months old (!) and have loved every minute (I must say I can’t remember everything from when I was 15 months old but what I do remember has all been fab!).
Making friends and socialising is very important to me and growing up at Shrewsbury High I have been able to do just this so easily. I have made lots of friends throughout and I also hope to make lots more with the new students who are joining the Sixth Form.
I have just finished my GCSE exams and found them a lot more stress free, even with Covid disruptions of the last few years, than I thought I would. This is because of all the help and support the teachers have given me throughout online lessons and especially when returning to school last September. The year 11 January mocks were also the perfect preparation for our GCSEs with lots of feedback from all the teachers and a good indication of where I need to go next. It now feels great to have finally finished and an exciting time to look forward to what’s to come for me in the next two years at the Sixth Form. I am hoping to study Economics, Psychology and Graphic Design.
Outside of academics at SHS, I really enjoy sport, especially netball which I played throughout Juniors and carried on throughout Seniors. I have also just finished my first year of rowing which I have very much enjoyed and has been a great break throughout GCSEs. I have shared many fun moments with my friends in the boat club and on the river (definitely doing the capsize test at the start). I hope to carry this on through next year.
Along with sport, I also enjoy the Arts. I took part in LAMDA for 5 years which has been great for my confidence and has allowed me to complete my GCSE speaking exam a lot more comfortably and will also hopefully help in the future with public speaking and future careers.
I have made so many amazing memories at Shrewsbury High School and I am so thankful for the opportunity I’ve had to come to this school and the amazing experiences I have taken part in. I’m very excited for Sixth Form and the new opportunities that are coming up.
Through netball here at Shrewsbury High I have been fortunate to be able to go on a netball tour to Disneyland and I will also be going on another netball tour to Malaysia next year with the school which will not only be great to play against many other teams but to travel and create many new memories with my friends.
Sixth Form
Hello, I’m Ruby and I joined Shrewsbury High school in lower Sixth Form. I took a gap year before going to the University of Bath to study Biochemistry. I studied Economics and Business, Chemistry and Biology at A level. However, this doesn’t even scratch the surface of what my school life included.
The idea of coming to an all-girls school seemed rather daunting to me as I had always previously attendant mixed school, but I was surprised at how quickly I didn’t even notice the absence of boys.I was also a bit worried about joining the sixth form as an external student as I knew that the girls here would already know each other and thought it would be hard to make friends.I could not have been more wrong! The girls were so welcoming and friendly and I settled in very quickly.
I was deputy head of house, a role which I would never of had the confidence to do before coming to the high school,which offered an amazing opportunity to gain leadership qualities and to immerse myself into school life and to get to know the girls in my house of all years. Also,being able to do an EPQ allowed me gain an insight into a biochemical topic, as my chosen topic was nanotechnology. Not only did it insure me that biochemistry was the course I wanted to study at university but also helped me build up my personal statement.
During lunch there is always a huge range of different clubs going on.I have been a keen runner for many years and having the ability to join the cross country in lunch was a perfect for me as it meant training during school and freeing up time after school as well us pushing one another. The High School was definitely the school for me providing everything I need to bring out my potential and joining in the sixth form didn’t hold me back in school life in any way.
Year 8
I first joined the school in Year Three and now I’m in year 8. Being in this school has made me happy. I love the clubs, my friends and having an adventure. I love to be in sports teams and playing for the school at rounders, netball and hockey. I also love playing football and cricket but I’m not such a fan of cross country! Another favourite subject is art, the art teachers teach us so many clever techniques and we learn about so many different artists. The art house is one of my favourite places in the school.
I loved the junior school and I’m loving senior school just as much. I kept lots of friends from juniors but also have made so many new ones who joined in year 7. I already knew the senior school well because we had a brilliant CSI day where we wore Hazmat suits and had to solve a crime and we played matches on the astro at seniors too. I find maths hard but it doesn’t matter if you get something wrong because you can learn from mistakes.
There are so many things to get involved in at school and I like to go at nearly everything – and I’ve discovered over the last couple of years that actually some of the subjects I didn’t think I’d be good at, I really enjoy! All the teachers are so friendly and helpful and they’re all a lot of fun so it makes the days a lot of fun too!
Year 12
I joined Shrewsbury High School mid way through Year 9 and I was slightly worried that most friendship groups would already be formed and I might find it harder to mix in with other girls. However, the girls at SHS were very welcoming and I soon settled in.
I was introduced to the new canteen and love all the different food options and am really enjoying taking advantage of all the extra things we get to do on top of normal lesson time. I joined Shrewsbury High so I could have new opportunities which would set me up for life and have enjoyed exploring all the sports, academic subjects and extra curricular activities that have been available to me here at SHS.
I am now in Year 12 and have been chosen as Head Girl for my final year here at Shrewsbury High. My new role means that I am a central point between the other students and the teaching staff, and I hope to be there to help any of the younger girls who have any questions about any aspect of school.
I am currently studying Chemistry, Biology and Psychology for A Level and next year I hope to go and study medicine at university.
Year 13
I joined Shrewsbury High School for Sixth Form! I chose the school because I felt that it would give me the support I needed. It definitely has!
I was obviously nervous because I was new but everyone made such an effort! It’s just a super welcoming community. I’ve been here a year now and I feel very settled.
Me and my friends all have different ambitions, I want to study veterinary sciences whereas they are interested in crimonology and social anthropology. Teachers at the school help us all to prepare for our future, whether that’s work experience, personal statements or career advice.
The nice thing about school here is that you don’t have to do just one thing! I enjoy netball, rounders and choir! There are loads of great opportunities. For example, we worked on EPQs (research projects) with other GDST schools from the North. It definitely feels like there’s a big family of schools.
Above all, I feel like I’m treated as an adult. The teachers work with you, not against you – they definitely want the best for us. Like, the new Head of Year emails us daily; he doesn’t just go to parents. We all feel respected.
Outside of school, I love equestrian sports and ride every weekend. I was really proud to be picked for the Great Britain team for the mounted games. I went to Colorado to represent the country and came second – it was such an amazing experience!
To see more about Lara’s story, take a look at her profile on the GDST Sixth Form website:
Sixth Form
I had an absolutely brilliant Sixth Form. I was Managing Director of our Young Enterprise team, “Carried Away” with a group of 9 SHS girls. We decided to create re-usable hessian bags, that we locally sourced and then painted different local skylines onto. We also managed to get into 3 local business, including Planet Doughnut, Philpott’s and Bonbons. It has been an amazing journey and we have learnt so much and come so far as individuals. We were extremely lucky to win 3 awards at the Shropshire Regional Event, including Most Profitable Business, Entrepreneurship Award and Best Managing Director.
I also won one of only two GDST places on a Careers Insight week with Jupiter Asset Management. I travelled from Birmingham to London everyday with very early starts, however it was completely worth it. I met lots of people from throughout the asset management world in Jupiter, from equity analysts to the marketing team. A highlight of my week was meeting Edward Bonham Carter, and being the only name he could remember in the room!
It has really given me an idea of what I could do in the future and we received a lot of advice about universities, CVS and interviews. I would definitely recommend it, I met some amazing people, both from the company and other students. Sabrina and Amy were so amazing for running the whole week and I cannot thank either of them enough for this opportunity.
Year 6
Hello! I’m Amelia and I joined this school in year 3. I love this school because of the facilities for sports and drama how many friends you can make. Junior school has recently moved from old Roman Road to Town Walls and I think the new site is fantastic. When I move up to senior school I want to remember 28 and 27 Town Walls, but also want to take in a lot of the new senior school.
I am so exited to meet the new teachers and make loads of friends. I have been given a magnificent drama scholarship and I think you could guess what I love doing? DRAMA!! I also adore sports my favourite sports are netball, swimming, cricket, rounders and most of all TENNIS!
My most memorable lesson was probably in French when Mr Carter taught us some french words, all of the fruits and the one word that made me cry with laughter was ‘pamplemousse’. Do you know what it means? It means grapefruit – you learn something every day! My hobbies are going outside, listening to my music, acting, and fashion designs.
Year 11
I’m Freya and I’m in Year 11. This will be my twelfth year at SHS, that’s more than a decade at Shrewsbury High!
I’ve chosen my GCSE subjects. I love maths, science and technology, so they feature on the list of subjects I’m taking. I’m also passionate about Art and I go to Art Scholars club on a Tuesday.
Away from the classroom I really enjoy sport. I play hockey and netball in the winter and my favourite sports are tennis, cricket & rounders in the summer. I’m always keen to play in matches and I go to team practice at lunch times.
Since joining the Senior School three years ago I’ve become a lot more organised and independent, we are encouraged to think for ourselves and take on responsibility.
Friendships at school are important to me and I’m lucky to have so many fantastic girls with me every day. A lot of them have been my friends since we were 4! I’ve also really enjoyed getting to know the new girls who joined in the senior school.
Last year I went on an amazing school trip to Italy, we flew to Sicily and climbed Mount Etna later we got an overnight ferry to Pompeii, we crammed in so much, had lots of fun and learnt a lot too. I’ve also taken part in sports tours including a hockey weekend in Bath (where we met an Olympic hockey player) and a GDST cricket tournament at Queenwood (where we won the plate). There was also a netball tour to Disneyland Paris!
Our four Houses, Apollo, Jupiter, Mercury & Neptune, are big part of school life. I was put into Apollo because my mum was house captain of Apollo when she was at Shrewsbury High School, (in the last millennium!) There are lots of house competitions such as Sports Day, House Maths, House Netball & Hockey, House Debating, and House Drama. I’ll admit, I’m not the best at drama, but I went out of my comfort zone and participated in the house drama this year. I worked with lots of the other girls in all the year groups and really got to know my house as a whole.
In September, I’ll be moving up to Sixth Form and I am really looking forward to my new adventures at Shrewsbury High.
Year 1
Hi, my name’s Tabitha and I am in Year 1. My favourite things about school are playing horses with my friends, swimming, drama with the Sixth Formers and being a dog in the Nativity. I love forest school and trips and am looking forward to going to Carding Mill Valley. My favourite subject is English because it helps me concentrate. I enjoyed doing poetry from The Ugly Five.
Learning about Africa and the different places and animals has been really fun in the Creative Curriculum. My favourite part of school is our classroom and the comfy carpet.
The new hall is nice and big and you can play a lot of games and climb on the apparatus.
Sixth Form
My name is Ela and I joined Shrewsbury High School when I was 4 in Reception. I am currently in Year 13 studying English Literature, Sociology and Religious studies as well as doing an extra A level of Turkish. I am bilingual and I felt doing Turkish would be good for me to do to fall back on to in the future. I am looking to go to University and study Law as it is a subject I am passionate about and also feel suits me best.
In Year 12 I really stepped up as a student and person and joined more and more activities such as the Big Sisters programme where I act as a mentor to the Year 8s and help them with any problems they face, from friendship stress to school stress. I also have improved my grades significantly. I became English prefect which was a big step up for me both academically and also for myself as I feel like I am constantly improving skills such as leadership and public speaking skills which are of course two skills needed to become a lawyer.
Year 12 was a big change for me, and I feel like this is because of my decision to stay at the High School where I have had the help and support I need from both my teachers and my peers. I also feel that because of the decision to stay I have seen a major improvement in my studies, and I have become more motivated to do well in my future. I am thankful for the High School for allowing me to become a confident, independent student and I feel like SHS has been the best place for me to do this as it has allowed me to grow as an individual whilst also ensuring I am staying on track and fulfilling my potential.