19 June 2025
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students/Annwyl Rhieni, Gwarchodwyr a Myfyrwyr
Farewell to Year 11 – laughter, nostalgia and a tinge of sadness
Thursday 19th June was a mixed bag of emotions for Year 11 as they celebrated the end of 5 glorious years whilst also navigating some feelings of sadness. Life is about to change in so many ways. I always say that this week is always a defining week in the annual cycle of our school. It is a week that invariably coincides with the longest day of the year. It is the week that sees Year 11 and Year 13 sit their final GCSE and A-Level exams and launch themselves with gusto into leavers assemblies and leavers dinners. And it is the week that we welcome Year 6 to come and meet their new form group and tutor. So, the circle of school life really does a full rotation.
The leavers assembly for Year 11 brought laughter mixed with nostalgia. We looked back at photographs of them from fresh-faced Year 7’s through those challenging middle years on the way to Year 11….
We look forward to seeing them at the Year 11 prom next Friday 27th June. In the meantime, we’ll be dusting off our dancing shoes for the Year 13 leavers ‘do.’
Here are Year 11 celebrating their final day together, signing shirts and celebrating…..
GCSE and A-Level Art that is destined for exhibition
Next today we are throwing ourselves into creative territory, starting with some wonderful examples of A-level and GCSE artwork which will shortly be appearing in the Cardiff Metropolitan University summer exhibition from the 25th June onwards.
The Art department is very proud to present this work by some exceptionally talented students, most of whom are going on to the next stage in the art education at either sixth form, art college, or university. We are proud to give you the first look at the collection.
Creative writing and a guest author!
Also this week, as part of our ongoing commitment to encouraging reading and writing for pleasure, LHS were extremely grateful to author Helen Comerford and Griffin Books for facilitating a creative writing workshop for our Year 8 and 9 students.
Helen held an engaging workshop on finding the ‘what if’ of your writing and plotting your story with sixty of our Year 9 students. During the session, they listened to a reading of a section of Helen’s fantastic book ‘The Love Interest’ (which was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie awards this year) and planned and began their own narrative. Year 8 and 9 produced some fantastic writing, and we look forward to reading their future short stories and novels!
Introducing our Criw Cymraeg in Llanishen High School!
Our students are leading the way when it comes to the promotion and celebration of our Welsh language and heritages.
The Criw Cymraeg are recruiting for more members in September. They are currently comprised of a mixture of Year 7, 8 and 9 students.
The Criw Cymraeg is a group of students who take on the responsibility of encouraging the school community to speak Welsh in everyday situations, both inside and outside the classroom.
They are responsible for organising activities, creating challenges, and leading by example. These students will play a key role in creating a lively, Welsh-speaking environment. It’s not just about language, though; it’s also about fostering a sense of pride and belonging in Welsh heritage. Through their efforts, the Criw Cymraeg help make Welsh an active, living language, not just something studied in class but a vital part of the school community.
Here are the group in action. If you are interested in joining the Criw Cymraeg, please see Mrs Jenkins for more details.
So, we’ve had some nostalgia, we’ve got our creative vibe going and we’ve shared an amazing opportunity to get involved with our Criw Cymraeg. Now we celebrate some incredible sporting successes from the week.
Last weekend Deacon Evans in Year 11 had to make more than one trip to the podium in the Welsh Athletics Championships! Deacon had to move up an age group as they did not have the U17s category. With the competition even more fierce, Deacon won gold in the hammer making him the U20s Welsh Champion. He also gained a silver medal in the discus. An amazing weekend Deacon. Congratulations from us all!
It was also a fantastic end to the season for Samuel Lewis in Year 7. Samuel captained Cardiff City U12’s in their end of season tour to Holland.
The boys came 4th out of 16, losing in the semi-finals to a quality PSV Eindhoven side. Samuel captained the side really well, delivering solid performances and a great team spirit. What a fantastic achievement and opportunity! Well done Sam!
Lost property!
Finally, as the weather heats up, it is essential to stay hydrated. These are just some of the refillable bottles that have found their way to lost property in Learning Support. If you recognise your lost vessel, please go and claim it.
Please do put your name on your water bottle. Any item that has a name on it will always be reunited with the owner.
Thank you for reading/Diolch am ddarllen,
Mrs Sarah Parry, Headteacher