Following the success of our Year 7 and 8 TIPS Week (Thinking Innovatively and Problem Solving), which has now been running for nearly a decade, we have been delighted to hold our first ever Year 9 TIPS Week this year.

By pushing our boundaries and stepping outside of our comfort zone, TIPS gives us a chance to express ourselves in ways that normal time at school doesn’t. A carefully curated week made by the amazing teachers gave us a once in a lifetime opportunity and filled us with inspiration.

The FHS Earthshot Competition was launched with a brilliant talk from a company called Notpla, last year’s Earthshot winners, who have made biodegradable packaging out of seaweed. We also had a workshop to develop our public speaking skills which came in handy for when we presented out solutions for the Earthshot competition to the teachers.

We had beautiful morning doing Art in the Park on Tuesday. Ms Edgeley has review this below:

“The rain stopped in perfect time and Year 9 headed to Battersea Park for a wonderful morning of Art! Working with charcoal, students created a landscape study of the dramatic view of the Thames and Pagoda. The English flower garden provided further inspiration for studies in oil pastel, inspired by Fauvist artwork and the paintings of Etel Adnan and Georgia O’Keeffe.” 

This was followed by a magnificent trip to Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. We were also lucky enough to have a fascinating talk by Miss Boon and Mr Calvet on World War II on Thursday morning.

This week has opened us up to a world of innovation, creativity and intellect. It has been truly spectacular and was a really great way to end this year.

Yasmin Aldiyar, Year 9