
Snowballs flew through the air (all in good spirits and risk assessed, of course!), snowmen popped up across the grounds with creative flair, and snow angels dotted the fields as the girls threw themselves into the magic of the moment.
Amid their hard work and achievements, it’s moments like these that remind us how important it is to hold onto the spirit of childhood. Seeing our students, full of energy and excitement, reminded us all that fun and play are just as essential as ambition and growth.
We also welcomed our prospective Year 7s into school this week and their sense of fun and enthusiasm was infectious as they spent the day experiencing cooking, languages, computing, and a Period X walk in the snow with Alfie.
As we head into the weekend, where possible, we should all try and embrace our inner child and find opportunities to laugh, play and have lots of fun with our friends and families.
Darren Payne, Head
Kate Millichamp, Head of Juniors and Deputy Head (whole school)
Key Dates
- Wednesday 27th November – Friends of SHS Wreath Making (sold out)
- Thursday 28th November – Y7 Parents’ evening
- Wednesday 4th December – Y9 Parents’ evening
- Thursday 5th December – Bah! Humbug Junior performance 2.30-3.30pm & 5-6pm
- Tuesday 10th December – Junior Pantomime Trip, Theatre Severn
- Tuesday 10th December – Junior Carol Concert, Shrewsbury Cathedral 5-6pm
- Thursday 12th December – Senior Carol Concert, St. Chads, 6-8pm
- Friday 13th December – End of Term (12.30pm)
- Friday 13th December – Alumnae Carols Round the Tree

An Evening with ... Clare Balding

Art Competition
As part of our ‘140’ celebrations we are excited to be launching an art competition and would love you to get involved.
Pupils, parents and alumnae are invited to submit a piece of work that sums up Shrewsbury High School for you. This could be in the form of a literal depiction of the school building or even a representation of how you perceive ‘sisterhood’, in any medium – there really is unlimited potential as to what you can create.
The deadline for entries is Friday 31st January 2025 and the competition will be judged by head of creative technologies Mr. Millichamp. Please drop your entry into the Junior or Senior Front Office.
The winning submission will feature as our 140th celebration artwork and will be reproduced to feature on all of our 140 merchandise.
Good luck!

Junior School Carol Service
Please join us at Shrewsbury Cathedral for an afternoon of rosy cheeks and festive cheer on Tuesday 10th December, as we celebrate Christmas with our junior girls.
Mulled wine and mince pies will be on offer from 4pm in the Old Hall, Town Walls, before we move across to the cathedral for our annual celebration of Christmas with our junior pupils and their families.

Friends of SHS Burns Night

Schoolblazer Flash Sale!
There will be 20% off ALL in-stock items online at schoolblazer.com during the sale period, while stocks last.
With the days getting colder, this might be a perfect opportunity for you to purchase the new SHS branded winter coat along with the school scarf and winter hat if required!
Forthcoming Events
Well Done Year 11!
Well done to all year 11 students who have been sitting their Sixth Form scholarship assessments this week, whether they be academic papers or interviews with our specialist Heads of Art, Music, Drama and Sport. Next week the girls will have their interviews with Head Mr Payne and Director of Sixth Form Mr Allan and offer letters will be sent out in December.
GDST Space Tech Diploma trip to Harwell Space Cluster
Our recent school trip to the Harwell Space Cluster was an incredible experience! Students had the unique opportunity to witness cutting-edge space technology in action. We visited Astroscale, where we saw satellites being made to clean up decommissioned satellites in space. Additionally, we explored an innovative antenna system developed by Oxford Space Systems.
The trip also included engaging group programming activities, where students learned how to turn the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to keep the bottom side facing the sun, so as to protect the delicate scientific instruments on the other side! This hands-on experience was both educational and fun, allowing us to apply our coding skills in a real-world context.
A highlight of the trip was the inspiring keynote speech by Dr. Meganne Christian, a reserve astronaut and Exploration Commercialisation Lead at the UK Space Agency. Dr. Christian shared her experiences, education background, and insights into the future of space exploration, leaving us all motivated and excited about the possibilities in the space industry.
Thank you to Catapult Satellite Applications for hosting the event and to Dr Alexandra Read, Frances Sparrow, Nicola Buttigieg, Bina Mistry, and Cris Turple from the GDST for arranging this amazing opportunity!
Photos of this fabulous day can be found in the photo grid below.
Are you a Shrewsbury High alumna?
With the 140th anniversary of Shrewsbury High School just around the corner, and with so many of our parents former pupils themselves, we would love to make sure we know exactly who you are as we have some special plans to celebrate with you this year. So, if your daughter is currently at Shrewsbury High and you were also here, and maybe your mother was also here, please do let us know. Email alumnae@shr.gdst.net – we would love to hear from you.
Ready Steady Girl! Festive Forage
The early years team are hosting yet another of their delightful Ready Steady Girl events to get us all in the festive spirit! If you have, or have friends who have, girls aged 3-4 who might enjoy these gorgeous events, please see the events page for more information.
Careers in Aviation
The GDST CareerStart Talk ‘Careers in Aviation’ is fast approaching on 27th November 2024 7.00-8.00pm.
GDST Newcastle alumnae Kaye Ballantyne, a British Airways Boeing 777 Captain, will be speaking, as well as Tatiana Paris a First Officer with Jet2.com & Jet2Holidays, and Charlotte Swinyard who is currently training to become an Air Traffic Controller with NATS. We will also have Squadron Leader Lauren Stewart joining us.
The next GDST event will be Careers in Dentristy, hosted by Shrewsbury High. The event will be online via Zoom and take place from 7.00-8.00pm. To sign up, please follow this link .
Message from the nurse
Please can I remind parents not to send medicines, including cough lozenges, into school with your child. We supply honey lemon and glycerine natural lozenges in school, which the children can request if they are needed. In addition, we provide basic homely medicines to help your child should they become unwell during the school day.
If a child needs a prescribed medicine given in the school day a Mediform should be completed and the medicines sent in their original container with the pharmacy label in situ. These should be handed into reception or to the school nurse on your child’s arrival in school. The school policy is in place to keep all children safe, and we appreciate your help with this.




















Sport
Tues 26th
U12 hockey v TTS (A) leave 3pm, return to school 5:30pm.
U18 netball v Oswestry (H) 4pm start.
Thurs 28th
**NETBALL CLUB (yr 8&9) CANCELLED** – due to year 7 parents evening.