
We hope you all had a restful and joyful Christmas holiday. As we begin this new term, we are excited to see everyone return refreshed and ready to embrace the opportunities ahead.
To those in Years 11 and 13 who are amid their mock exams and Year 12 who are sitting assessments, we wish them the very best of luck— their hard work and dedication will surely pay off. We have reminded them in school to take care of themselves and seek support whenever needed, which of course goes for all of our students, no matter their age or stage.
As we look ahead, there’s so much to be excited about, from engaging lessons and activities to new opportunities for growth and achievement. We are busy preparing the much-anticipated Winter Dance at the Theatre Severn in February and the calendar is packed with something for everyone, from Chocolate Challenges to the Articulation Competition, and from visits aplenty for Junior girls to Open Mic events and musical soirees and much more in between.
For now, we wish you a restful weekend and look forward to welcoming parents into school for many an event over the coming weeks.
Kate Millichamp, Head of Juniors and Deputy Head (whole school)
Darren Payne, Head
Key Dates
Spring Term 2025
- Saturday 18th January – 11+ and 13+ Entrance assessment
- Mon 20th – Thurs 24th – 11+ and 13+ Specialist Scholarship Assessments
- Friday 24th January – Friends of SHS Burns Night
- Wednesday 29th January – Junior Open Mic Night
- Monday 3rd February – Year 7 Chocolate Challenge
- Tuesday 4th February – Year 11 Parents’ Evening
- Tuesday 4th February – Bake Sale
- Wednesday 5th February – An Evening with … Clare Balding
- Friday 7th February – Ready, Steady, Girl ‘Cool Creators’
- Monday 10th & Tuesday 11th February – Winter Dance @ Theatre Severn
- Thursday 13th February – Year 13 Parents’ Evening
- Friday 14th February – Year 8 Take Your Daughter to Work day
- Friday 14th – Sunday 23rd February – HALF TERM

Friends of SHS Burns Night

An Evening with ... Clare Balding

Whole School Open Day - Thursday 13th March
We are delighted to be hosting a Whole School Open Day in March. Please do feel free to share with families who may be interested in joining us.
Pupils join us across all year groups and throughout the year, so whether you are considering a September start, or an earlier start this academic year, it is well worth a visit.
Our Whole School Open Day in March offers a different view of the school, taking place during a normal, mid-term, school day.
Join us to explore the school, meet the staff and pupils, and understand the ethos of our school.
Please see the Events page to register.

Ready Steady Girl - Cool Creators
Forthcoming Events
Attendance and Absence
When your child is absent due to illness, we ask that you:
• Telephone the senior school on 01743 494000 (choose the absence option) or the Junior School on 01743 494200 to report or;
• Email senioroffice@shr.gdst.net / junioroffice@shr.gdst.net before 9.00am on that day.
If the period of illness is extended the office should be informed of this on a daily basis.
Where medical/dental appointments must be made in school time, please notify the school in advance.
Any requests for absence for other reasons must be made in advance to the Head via email to head@shr.gdst.net
As explained at the start of the autumn term where a family requests a leave of absence for a holiday, the Head is unable to grant permission. If the student does go on holiday, this will be recorded as an Unauthorised Absence.
Junior staffing news
Congratulations to Mrs Griffiths and Mrs Blenkinsop who are both expecting babies later this year. Mrs Griffiths will be leaving to commence her maternity at the end of the Spring Term and Mrs Blenkinsop will begin hers closer to the May half term break. Details of maternity cover will be provided in due course.
Italy Ski Trip
50 SHS girls and five staff spent the week before Christmas enjoying the biennial school Ski Trip in the Italian Dolomites. The snow conditions and weather were good, and the girls were amazing all week. Everyone improved their skiing as well as partaking in the evening activities with enthusiasm. It was lovely to see the girls challenge themselves, make new friends, and organise themselves really well.
Highlights of the week included the great ski instructors, outstanding Dolomites scenery, delicious Italian pizza, the ice-skating and Karaoke evenings, hot chocolates on the slopes and après- ski dancing.
We were treated to a very special end to the week with heavy snowfall on Thursday night making for an excellent evening snowball fight and a wonderful last day with full sunshine and 30cm of fresh powder snow!
The next ski trip will be at Christmas 2026 and there are still paces to join this term’s ski lessons at Telford Ski Slope on Friday 17th & 31st Jan, and 7th & 21st March. The 4 lessons are open to all senior girls and cost £60. Please contact Ms Cook j.cook@shr.gdst.net if interested.
Photos of the trip can be found below.
Golf Day
We are delighted to be launching our first Golf Day fundraiser to be held at Arscott Golf Club, Arscott, Pontesbury, Shrewsbury SY5 0XP
Start time: 9.00am Bacon Baps and tea/coffee available
Tee Off: 10.00am Shotgun Start, Texas Scramble, teams of 4 players
After completion of the rounds, a delicious two course lunch will be served in the clubhouse.
Prizes will be available for closest to the pin, longest drive, etc plus a prize for the winning team.
Prices: £60 per player / £200 for a team of 4 players
We are also looking for sponsors for each hole and raffle prizes.
If you would like to enter a team or might be interested in sponsoring a hole (or have any questions), please contact events@shr.gdst.net
Winter Bugs and Viruses
Due to the seasonal increases of contagious bugs and viruses in the wider community, please can we ask all parents to remind their children about regular handwashing and the use and safe disposal of tissues.
In the event your child has vomiting or diarrhoea, please can you follow the Gov.UK policy for schools which asks that you keep your child at home for 48 hours from the last episode of either.
The policies are in place to reduce the risk of cross infection within our school community, and we appreciate your support.
Prayer Group
SHS Parents’ Prayer Group meets with the permission of the Head to pray for our daughters and for the life of the school. Next Wednesday we will be joined by Chair of Governors Dr Sara Short.
This term’s meetings:
Wednesday 15 January 12-1pm – Venue: Orchard Café, Town Walls.
Wednesday 26 February 12-1pm – Venue: Orchard Café, Town Walls
Wednesday 19 March 12-1pm – Venue: Orchard Café, Town Walls
Requests welcome (no names needed).
ALL WELCOME!
Further details from: Ian Peake – jamiemccrimmon@hotmail.com or Katriona Wade wadefamily@talktalk.net
Interested in a career in Fashion?
Sixth Former Flora Steele from Royal High School Bath would really like to set up what she is calling the ‘Girls Fashion Collective’ (GFC) across the GDST. Flora says “I believe that will be an incredible way to utilise the one-of-a-kind network that the GDST offers to give the small numbers of those studying fashion, access to a bigger network of peers.”
The purpose of The GFC:
For GDST fashion students to learn and collaborate with each other.
To learn from GDST alumna who have gone into the fashion industry.
To help each other with portfolio and application advice.
To develop a network.
To demonstrate the benefits of collaboration over the competition which often arises between individual designers.
The idea would be for the group to meet every 4-8 weeks via Zoom, with the potential for an annual visit somewhere. Meetings would be used to discuss current school work, industry innovation, uni open days / applications etc. Flora would also like to invite alumna and other people in the industry to speak to share advice. The group could even eventually meet in a central city and go to a museum if there were interest. This initiative could be truly special and a great way for students to support each other on the journey into this highly competitive industry.
In the first instance, please register your interest via here. https://forms.gle/JoXeX5Vc12YbdiGp6
Careers News
Careerstart Online: Competitive Applications, applying to Oxbridge
21 January 2025 19.00 to 19.00 on Zoom
Hosted by Bromley High School
A fantastic opportunity for students and parents to find out more detail about the application process to Oxbridge, benefit from tips and advice from the speakers, and learn more about the everyday experience of undergraduate study at these prestigious universities.
We are delighted to be joined by Dr Sam Lucy, Director of Admissions for the Cambridge Colleges from 2016-2023 and alumnae currently studying at Oxford and Cambridge.
Junior Ambassadors for Severnvale’s Young Learner Programme
Severnvale Academy are looking for Shropshire students to join them as ambassadors. As an ambassador you will take part in excursions and activities alongside their international junior students who are with them to learn English across 6 weeks of summer 2025. Their students are from all across Europe, aged between 13 and 17 years old with a wide range of English levels. The role you have can be used on future applications to Universities or might lead to other work experience opportunities. You will also benefit from taking part in a wide range of organised excursions and activities. To take part you must:
Be aged between 13 and 17
Have an interest in speaking to people from different countries, cultures and backgrounds
Encourage the use of the English language and share your experience of British life
Be presentable, well-mannered and be able to follow direction
Be able to set a good example of behaviour
Be available for summer courses running 30th June to 10th August 2025, open to wide range of nationalities, 80 to 130 international students a week
Have your parent’s/guardian’s written permission to attend.
Host Families
There is also an opportunity for families to become hosts for international students taking part in the visits. Families are paid per student, per night and are supported by trained staff.
For more details and how to apply, please see the documents below.
Severnvale Host Details
2024 Italy Ski Trip Images




















This week in photos...

















