15 May 2025
Dear Parents, Guardians and Students/Annwyl Rhieni, Gwarchodwyr a Myfyrwyr
BBC NOW comes to LHS!
A very sophisticated start to the blog this week! On Friday 9th May we swung open the Drama Studio doors and welcomed members of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales to Llanishen High School. Over the course of the morning the combined orchestra, which also included students from Thornhill Primary School, were treated to rehearsals led by the engaging conductor Ellie Slorach. There was time for a Q and A with members of the BBC NOW, and some of our students even had a go at conducting the orchestra themselves!
The collaboration culminated in a lunchtime performance, where the orchestra performed ‘In The Hall Of The Mountain King’ by Edvard Grieg and an excerpt from ‘Mars’ by Gustav Holst, to parents and special members of our school community. We were also treated to the BBC NOW performing ‘Habanera’ by Georges Bizet and ‘Ride of the Valkyries’ by Richard Wagner. This was an incredible experience for our orchestra to perform alongside the country’s best classical musicians, and for some of our students it was their first ever live performance. We are so very proud of them.
This project was a consequence of our exciting Year 7 instrumental project, where 63 of our learners have experienced a term’s worth of small group music lessons on the trombone, double bass and guitar. These sessions have been delivered in conjunction with the County Music Service, as well as guitar tutoring from Ethan Bateman, Rob Melkonian, Oscar Smith and Oscar Power in Year 9. The funds we raised at the Christmas concerts has ensured that our students will have the opportunity to continue these lessons into Year 8. So, we are hugely grateful for the support of the school community.
Our special thanks go to Mr Grimstead and Mrs Cumpstone for organising such an extravaganza! The care and time that they invest behind the scenes is exceptional and has such a profound impact on so many of our students (and staff).
The Expressive Arts department have now got their engines in high gear, racing towards our summer production of Made in Dagenham. Details will be appearing on the school social media very soon! Watch this space. Until then, we’ll leave you with a final few snaps from last Friday.
From the BBC Now orchestra to Madama Butterfly
Before we depart from the Performing Arts arena, we are delighted to share this photograph of Ellie Paton in Year 8.
If you don’t know Ellie, take our word for it – this is a phenomenal transformation!!
Ellie had a walk on part in Madama Butterfly in the New Theatre this week. This was with her Stage Coach drama class.
A fabulous opportunity and a stunning ensemble!
Keep us posted on future ventures Ellie!
Our turn to host and treat our Spanish amigos!
Last week we exclaimed ‘Hola amigos’ (far too many times) as we hosted Spanish students and staff from Colegio El Ope in Murcia for the return leg of our cultural exchange facilitated by Taith Wales and International Links Global.
Our Spanish friends had a fantastic time and were blown away by the sights and experiences that Wales has to offer. Mr Mann kicked off their exchange on the Bank holiday Monday with a guided tour of Cardiff Castle!
On Tuesday the students experienced a day of lessons in LHS. They compared the school and learning experiences against their own and learnt some language skills along the way.
On Wednesday they had the opportunity to get out in the beautiful sunshine to see the great Welsh landscape. They took up a hike up Pen Y Fan and rounded the day off with a dive into Welsh history at St Fagan’s.
On Thursday they were back in LHS to get to work! They helped to plant some crops in our school garden (just as our LHS students did when they visited Archena) before taking on a Welsh baking challenge in the afternoon. Their skills were a roaring success as they mastered the Welsh speciality of Teisen Lap! A delicious afternoon.
Finally, on Friday, Ms Koops toured the visitors around Cardiff Bay via the Aqua bus. The Spanish students were able to gain an insight into the industrial past of the city and the devolved powers exercised in the Senedd.
Throughout the week, they were extremely well looked after by our LHS students. In particular we would like to commend Tabitha Aubrey, Jack Bancroft, Sami Cross, Ben Howells, Adds Matthews, Jamie Reed, Benjamin Stafford, Liam Ward and Matilde Ibanez Fuentes. In addition to Matilde, they were also very grateful of the Spanish language skills of Hope Morgan in Year 12 and Ricardo Moreira Goncalves in Year 13! Some great and lasting friendships are well and truly formed!
Warmed up and ready to race!
The big day has arrived for our elite athletes who are raising money for a very special charity, the Little Princess Trust. On Friday, May 16th at 9am, students and staff will be participating in a couch to 5K, running, walking, skipping, hopping, and rolling their way to the finish line.
Your encouragement and contributions will make a real difference, and we truly appreciate any support from friends and family. Thank you for helping us make this event a success!
Please see the below link to our fundraising page. Any contributions will be most welcome for this amazing charity. We start from the top of Roath Park at 9am if anyone is able to come and cheer us on. https://www.justgiving.com/page/couchto5kfundraiser
Here’s the gang psyching themselves up!
Year 7 and 8 girls are storming the football!
Mrs Birch-Hurst, the PE department, and the entire school are so behind our amazing girls football teams. We are so proud of our Year 7 County Football Champions and our Year 8 Plate runners up, as well as Second in County for our B teams! Girls – break the ceiling! We know there are great things ahead for this bunch.
Learning Support ‘Star of the Week’
The Learning Support SOTW is back and this week we have 2 stars to celebrate. We commend Lorna Ndegwa from Year 11 on her outstanding Art piece. Also, Tyler Macdonald from Year 8 for the new found confidence that’s continuing to grow. Well done both, we are all really proud of you.
We have just one more week to tackle and enjoy before we pause for the May half-term break. We finish on Friday 23rd May and look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday 2nd June.
I look forward to bringing you more news and stories next week.
Thank you for reading/Diolch am ddarllen,
Mrs Sarah Parry, Headteacher