26th January 2022

GO TEAM DUNCOMBE!!! Our U11's netball team travelled to Ipswich today to compete in the @IAPS Regional U11 Netball Competition. The girls fought every minute of every game and never stopped giving the competition their all! After playing multiple schools, including local rivals, a nail-biting final saw #TeamDuncombe bring home the trophy!   We are very proud of them all and can’t wait to travel

24th January 2022

‘What a joy to see the children at play’ commented a visiting family this week whose children will be joining us soon. As a Headmaster and teacher for over 25 years, I have witnessed children at play several times a day across each week of my career- this parental comment made me stop and look again- and they were spot on. It really is a

24th January 2022

   

18th January 2022

Week Ending 14th Jaunary 2022 A purposeful week again here at Duncombe with significant endeavour both in and outside the classroom. Amongst a number of activities, I observed Upper School Maths this week and was greatly impressed with the level of challenge and application of skills the pupils received and showed. For example, whilst working on a fractions to percentages to decimal points challenge, some

14th January 2022

7th January 2022

Team Duncombe Treetops has kicked off the new term by becoming Entomologists with Proff from Labtots. Using specialist tools they looked for differences and similarities between the organisms they found on a bug hunt and looked at some interesting specimens including the red triangle slug, leopard slug & giant African land snail! As Entomologists use some very BIG words, the children used their phonics to

10th December 2021

The final week of the Autumn term has been extremely busy with a host of most enjoyable events. I have been extremely proud of our pupils and staff for providing such a range of experiences, performances and glad tidings! The excellent Treetops performances of last week were followed on by both our Lower School and Upper School Carol Concerts. Such beautiful singing, readings and prayers

10th December 2021

Congratulations to this pupil who was successfully graded this weekend and was awarded her purple belt in karate, achieving Distinction and was promoted to the rank of 5th KYU.   Here she is proudly receiving her award.   Well done from all of Team Duncombe

10th December 2021

Duncombe were treated to an Anthony Glenn Christmas special on Tuesday this week. The much loved performer delighted the children with a one man performance of A Christmas Carol and The Nut cracker. Some children were invited to participate with Anthony and showed off their thespian prowess wonderfully. What a super way to start the last week of the school term! Miss Morley, Head of

6th December 2021

 

6th December 2021

We are pleased to inform you that Hatfield are the winning House this term. This means that any child in Hatfield House can wear their House colours of red to school on Tuesday 7th December. They do not have to be completely dressed in red, but should wear enough to identify them as true members of the Hatfield community.   Well Done Hatfield!

6th December 2021

What a wonderful, wintry week! Team Duncombe has truly embraced the Christmas spirit with a flurry of yuletide themed events spanning across this week and next. As the children returned to school on Wednesday morning, they were in awe of the work of our industrious Christmas elves. Just like magic, the whole school had been dusted with winter wildlife displays, showcasing all our pupils’ artwork.

6th December 2021

Our magnificent Team Duncombe students have spent all their free time working hard to bring all Team Duncombe students the last news. Our Digital Captains and Heads of School have collaborated together, to create for the first time in Duncombe history, a student newspaper. I had the honour of presenting our first digital student newspaper, Duncombe News Team (DNT) to the Duncombe community, earlier this

6th December 2021

In March 2022, we are participating in the Microsoft E2 Education Exchange in March. The virtual event offers an unparalleled opportunity to learn together and celebrate the achievements of extraordinary changemakers for both leaders and educators who are working to ensure students can achieve more in their lives today and in the future. Two students from Duncombe (UK) and two from Pumahue (Chile) have collaborated

1st December 2021

1st December 2021

Our Year 6 Digital Captains have exciting news, they are representing Team Duncombe in our first international collaboration competition! But that’s not all, their teammates are 2 pupils from Cognita Chile! The competition is to work as a team and create a way of helping the elderly understand technology. The hope is this will then encourage the elderly to experiment with technology themselves.   TeamDuncombe’s

1st December 2021

It’s certainly cold outside! But the wheels of endeavour and hard work have certainly not ceased here at Duncombe this week. I have been observing several lessons across the week and continue to be so very impressed with both the pupils’ personal development and academic progress, allied to the excellent teaching and support provided by the staff. In Year 2 I observed our pupils tackle

1st December 2021

The Year 2 children had a giganticus day at the Roald Dahl Museum in Aylesbury on Thursday 25th November. We learned all about the real life of Roald Dahl, found out about the many books he wrote and had a razztwizzler time exploring the different areas of the museum. We played in the Fantastic Foxes’ underground tunnel, listened to sounds with the BFG’s big ears,

29th November 2021

Last week Team Duncombe’s Year 6 Digital Captain’s, together with Donna Shah, Cognita Digital Learning Adviser, led an Adobe Spark Workshop for Years 4, 5 and 6. Their objective was to demonstrate to all of Upper School that with this programme you can design anything from websites and blogs to post, videos and collages. Team Duncombe’s Señor Torres, Director of Digital Learning, was extremely proud

29th November 2021

Our second Music Assembly of this academic took place on a Friday 26th November, and even a cold November morning couldn’t dampen our spirits. We were treated to a range of performances on piano, guitar and flute, along with some outstanding singing. Our Music Captain, Ellis, opened the show with an outstanding performance of ‘Trade Winds’ from the grade 5 syllabus. This was a challenging piece

22nd November 2021

22nd November 2021

As another week has sped by, our focus here at Duncombe has been on anti-bullying week with the strap line ‘one-kind word’. In assembly on Monday Miss Cartwright led the school through the importance of kindness in our words and actions, who we can speak to if we are ever concerned and having the confidence to speak out when things are not right. This was

22nd November 2021

Team Duncombe’s Chef Manager,  Michael Goulston and 5 other members of the Thomas Franks family, including Frank Bothwell the founder of Thomas Franks, are taking part in a charity skydive planned, subject to the weather conditions, for the 18th December 2021. The team are raising money for a charity called The Burnt Chef Project. Launched in May 2019 The Burnt Chef Project was set up

22nd November 2021

On Monday, Year 6 pupils participated in a scriptwriting workshop with our Patron of Reading, Mo O’Hara. The children started by employing their drama skills, using actions to demonstrate the skill of ‘show not tell’, building to include dialogue that reflected the actions that their character was portraying. The session culminated in the children working collaboratively to develop a script, thinking about a character’s actions

15th November 2021

It has been an exceptionally busy week again here at Duncombe. We hosted our U11 5-A-Side Football Tournament with the U11A Team winning the trophy with a very impressive 5-2 victory over Manor Lodge, having earlier dispatched St Joseph’s in the Park 5-1. There have been further matches across the week and I was delighted when Mr Sopher shared a wonderful email from the Head

15th November 2021

15th November 2021

On Monday 8th November, Year 4 visited Holy Trinity Church, Bengeo. The Reverend Thompson welcomed us and explained the importance of symbols in Christianity. He also performed a mock baptism and wedding ceremony whilst explaining the importance of these sacraments in the Christian faith. The children learnt a great deal about the church and enjoyed exploring it before answering some very interesting questions. Mrs Micele-Jones

15th November 2021

  When we arrived, we lined up at the gate to enter the runway and hangars area and met with our guide. Firstly, 6M went into the Air Space Hangar where all the planes and war guns were, we even got to go into some of the planes. We also saw Concorde itself, some of us even got to go inside. Our first activity was

15th November 2021

  During the half term holiday, Year 5 were set an optional homework task. Their brief (if they chose to accept the challenge) was to create a piece of work demonstrating what they had learnt so far during our topic on Earth and Space or to extend their knowledge further by researching an area they found particularly interesting. They had the freedom to present this

15th November 2021

Music is Back! The somewhat gloomy weather could not dampen our spirits as we were treated to some amazing performances by talented musicians from throughout the school, many performing for the first time. Music Captain, Ellis opened the show, with a sparkling rendition of ‘Oh, What a Beautiful Morning’ from the musical Oaklahoma. A cheerful and uplifting performance showcasing his clear tone perfectly. Christopher played

15th November 2021

Team Duncombe's Eco Council have been extremely busy working towards the Eco-Schools Green Flag accreditation. As the children work through the ‘Seven Steps’, they are able to pick three of the ten Eco-Schools topics to work on. All the topics help young people engage with environmental issues that are important to them and their local community. They cover a huge range of sustainability issues including

15th November 2021

Team Duncombe’s Heads of School and Upper School Council recently had the privilege to take part in a Q&A session with Cognita’s new CEO, Frank Maassen, Global Director of Education, Fidelma Murphy and CEO Europe Stuart Rolland. The children asked a range of questions to our guests, such as, what has inspired them on their Cognita journey so far and what their favourite subjects at

15th November 2021

    Reception Oak and Reception Apple recently went on a magical adventure to Bekonscot Model Village. When we arrived, the children were sprinkled with magic dust which made them grow so tall that the buildings in the model village were tiiiny! The children loved exploring the model village, playing in the playground and even dancing in the rain! They also enjoyed hearing all about

15th November 2021

The Year 3 trip to Celtic Harmony was an absolute delight. The day started with overcast skies and torrential rain. Unphased, we donned our wellies and raincoats on top of our Iron Age tunics and cloaks, we were prepared for anything! Much to our surprise and pleasure, our arrival to the Celtic Harmony site was met with blue skies and bright sunshine. We began our

15th November 2021

Year 5 had their first residential trip to Cuffley Active Learning Centre and a fantastic time was had by all. On arrival at the Centre, the pupils were in thick and fast, as they learnt to face their fears, grappling with the perilous climbing wall. It was certainly a big climb to the top, as all involved demonstrated their resilience to push themselves further and

15th November 2021

Thursday 30th September was an exciting day for all at Duncombe because it was Global Be Well Day. This year the focus of the day was on the Mental Contributors of The Global Wellbeing Charter; Connecting, Doing and Giving. The children have learnt how to connect to other people using empathy, by learning about a refugee from Afghanistan named Habib. Through his perilous journey he

15th November 2021

  Year 1 went on a trip to Audley End. We were very excited about going on the coach! When we arrived we walked up a long path past a very big house called Audley End House. Some of us thought the Queen lived there but later we learned that one of the families that used to live there were called the Braybrookes. The first

12th November 2021

Duncombe school were pleased to welcome our new Patron of Read, Mo O'Hara to the school on Wednesday. Mo and Alice presented a very special assembly, where Alice handed over the Patron of Reading baton to Mo. Mo is an established author, who has written many children's books, including 'More People to Love Me' and 'My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish'. See if you can spot

5th November 2021

On Tuesday Year 1 enjoyed a Light and Dark workshop at school. There was one tent that was made all dark so that we could not see; we had to feel our way to find a stone hidden in it. Everyone counted to see how long it would take. Then we made some kaleidoscopes and put some sequins in. The sequins made a pattern when

5th November 2021

1st October 2021

With a significant focus on Wellbeing this week we have spent assemblies and Global Be Well Day on Thursday looking at the Be Well Charter with a particular focus on mental wellbeing contributors of connecting, doing and giving. The role of Empathy and putting ourselves in the shoes of others was a central theme. Upper School pupils listened to Catherine Henderson from Herts Welcome Refugees

10th June 2021

Huge congratulations to this Team Duncombe Year 5 pupil, who won a Queenswood School competition entitled “Girls Who Changed the World”. This young lady choose Dian Fossey to research as she loved that she lived in the remotest mountains of Africa and spent most of her life protecting mountain gorillas from poachers. She decided to bring her findings to life by creating a vibrant, exciting and

10th June 2021

Cognita recently invited all pupils to take part in a ‘Lockdown Art Competition’ and here is Team Duncombe’s entry from Gracie in year 2. All entries will be displayed in Cognita’s Eastcastle office over the next academic year. We're looking forward to seeing #TeamDuncombe's entry in a frame!  

18th May 2021

A member of Team Duncombe in  Year 5 recently took part in a local leading Independent Secondary Schools baking competition and was awarded first place. Read all about her experience below.   The competition was to make an ‘Eggcellent Easter Cake’ and send them photos of the finished cake. I made two separate batters and put the mixture in two tins.  When they were baked,

13th May 2021

Normally a week with the National Youth Choir would mean staying away from home and meeting lots of new people, but because of lockdown, my first camp was online. I was amazed how much the choir managed to do in a week, we learnt how to beatbox with SK Shlomo, how to do body percussion with an actor who performed in Stomp, and along with

10th May 2021

Over the past 5 years our Year 6 pupils have received more than 50 offers of scholarships and awards from leading Independent Secondary Schools, including Harrow, Haileybury, Queenswood, St Albans High, St Albans School and St Edmund’s college. These achievements are a triumph for the pupils and a testament to their hard work and determination, from daily school life to entrance exams and coursework submissions.

9th February 2021

  Team Duncombe are very excited to share the launch of our ‘Starbooks Café’ for our children in Years 3-6, created by our Head of English, Miss Cartwright. Starbooks is our virtual library but in a fun café setting - somewhere to share book recommendations, sites to support reading in lockdown and to promote book discussions with the children directly. There is lots on offer

29th January 2021

One of our Year 5 children had the experience of a lifetime last week, when she took part in filming a TV drama. Read all about her day below.   “On Friday the 22nd of January, I went to a filming company called Warner Brothers to film an episode of the Sky TV drama ‘Ted Lasso’. Here is my story: I had to get up

12th December 2019

We have some very exciting news about former pupil Bethany, now at Queenswood School, we just have to share with you. In early 2018 Bethany decided to take up the sport of Clay Pigeon Shooting. Just two months later she entered her first competition and was crowned IAPS National Clay Pigeon Shooting U11 Female Champion. Having now developed an appetite for the sport, Bethany continued

17th October 2019

Lower School had a fantastic week learning about amazing astronauts, designing space rockets and writing about what they could see through their spaceship window. Year 3 created a space themed dance and Year 1, as a whole class, produced the most stunning rockets, in the style of Mondrian, if you get the chance go and have a look!   Upper School had numerous space themed

17th October 2019

On Wednesday 10th October, as part of our History studies, two intrepid Duncombe Year 3 tribes, the Wolves and the Snakes, travelled 2800 years back in time to visit the Celtic Harmony Camp. As soon as we arrived, whilst exploring a Celtic roundhouse, we learned that King Prastagus, Chief of the Iceni tribe, had died. Queen Boudicca, his wife and new leader of the Iceni

17th October 2019

Year 2 led us superbly in our Lower School and Treetops Harvest Festival. The festival was a true celebration of words and songs, focussing on how fortunate we are and how wonderful it is to be able to give something of what we have. The Year 2 children  took us on a journey around the world describing how different countries celebrate Harvest  and then acted out

27th June 2019

Pupils in Years 4 and 5 have recently been invited to submit entries to Queenswood's Annual Poetry competition. We received such an incredible array of fantastic poems based on the specified theme of 'Freedom'. These justly showcased the creativity of pupils at Duncombe as well as providing a variety of thought-provoking interpretations of this powerful theme. Well done to all who entered. Huge congratulations to

27th June 2019

A handful of Year 5 and 6 pupils, went to Queenswood this week, to listen to Kjartan Poskitt, author of the Murderous Maths series, speak about the exciting world of Maths.   The pupils learnt many of the Maths tricks from his books and were challenged to complete some problem solving activities which have not yet been published.  

27th June 2019

  As part of Financial Capability week, Year 6 created their own pop up business making lemonade, lead by ex parent Duncan Martin. They tasted products already on the market, wrote up a business plan and sold their product to the rest of the school in the afternoon.  

27th June 2019

Reception, Year 1 & 2 were thrilled to receive a storybook today from One Third Stories.   They are giving away books to children all over the country as a commitment to their mission to put  another language on every child’s bookshelf. They create monthly story boxes with books, games, flashcards and activities to encourage language learning in children. You can check them out at:

27th June 2019

Year 2 had a fabulous time in Southend this week. The sun came out when we were on the pier and we saw some jelly fish. We had chips and ice cream for lunch and were entertained by a singing waitress who got us all up dancing. After lunch we made sandcastles on the beach. What a wonderful day!

17th June 2019

Our Head of English, Miss Cartwright is extremely passionate about creative writing. Inspired by the BBC 500 Words, we ran our own in-house creative writing competition   Miss Cartwright was so impressed with the standard of work, that selecting a winner was challenging. However, our winning entry was written by Torri in Yr6 and Duncombe arranged for the story to be brought to life by

14th June 2019

I am writing today as one super proud Science teacher. The Duncombe Haileybury STEM Challenge team worked together brilliantly through five challenges. Their thinking processes were amazing and their maturity in handling the equipment outstanding. They competed against 17 other schools and came first in the Chemistry and Technology challenge to design a water filter to deliver clean water to Mars! Unbelievable result and comments

20th May 2019

Year 2 have had lots of fun practicing conversation in a Spanish Cafetería this week. They had Spanish music in the background and really enjoyed practising their Spanish. Year 5 set up a Spanish restaurant and enjoyed  practising their Spanish to order their food and the bill. Miss Sands was invited to the Duncombe Spanish   Restaurant and said the service was outstanding! Well done to

20th May 2019

This morning we were treated to a musical recital by some of our talented performers from throughout the school. Georgiana F opened the show with a stunning clarinet performance of Talkin’ the Talk, a jazzy number full of contrasts between staccato and legato playing and showing off some exceptionally fast fingering. Hexia Y then played Who Said Mice? on the piano demonstrating good  movement over

20th May 2019

On Tuesday, Year 5 visited Rye Meads RSPB Nature Reserve as part of their Science learning. What a wonderful day it was! The weather was perfect for outdoor activity. The pupils enjoyed pond-dipping, bird-watching and observing nature at its best. They identified many different birds and pond creatures. Walking through the reserve the pupils made great use of their binoculars and even spotted a huge

20th May 2019

On a very sunny Wednesday morning, Year 4 were lucky enough to have a trip to Ware on the train, then travelled back to Hertford on the River Boat. The children learnt about the animals that can be found along the river and were lucky enough to see cygnets, ducklings and a family of coots. By the end of the river trip pupils discovered the

20th May 2019

On Thursday 9th May Year 3 went to Bushcraft. It was amazing! We participated in lots of activities such as going on a nature walk, making rabbit traps, building shelters and we even took part in a knife workshop. I really enjoyed the food especially the burgers because we cooked them ourselves. They were delicious! We were all sad to leave. It was the greatest

13th May 2019

Our four music scholars were guests of honour this Wednesday at our parent event: Music at the Heart of Duncombe. The children spoke from the heart, and with great eloquence, about the importance music has played in their lives. They followed this with an accomplished performance on their main instrument. We were all most impressed with their maturity in delivering their speeches and performances. Our

13th May 2019

Former pupil Bethany , who is in her second year as a clay shooter, recently took part in two shooting competitions. Bethany and her team achieved the highest score of the day in the first  competition and came 3rd overall in the second one. Bethany has been identified as a future talent and has been invited to join The Academy which is a shooting pathway

10th May 2019

Congratulations to Maddi B who continues her fencing success and has just become the U12 Girls Foil Fencing British Youth Champion 2019. Maddi was introduced to fencing when she was at Duncombe.      

29th April 2019

Lucas of Year 4 represented Duncombe at the National IAPS Chess championships recently. This involved a two day tournament hosted in London against competitors from across the UK. He played 9 matches in total, each of an hour in length and came out with 2nd place in the U9 section. This is a tremendous outcome and one which he can be rightly proud of. Our

29th April 2019

Four of Duncombe’s Upper School children took part in the recent  Haileybury Robotic Challenge.    Working as a team against the clock, Samantha, Solomon, Erin and Dominic built their own remote controlled robotic models, which would then go forth to compete in the arena battles against 13 other schools. The team worked together well and they all had a fantastic time. Thank you to Señor Torres

29th April 2019

As part of Year 3's Science topic ‘Animals, Including Humans’, they visited the Natural History Museum in Tring. The children had an opportunity to get up close and personal with a variety of animals and marine species. Their knowledge and scientific skills were enhanced during our skeleton workshop, whereby the children had to make inferences in order to identify which animal the skeleton belonged to.

29th April 2019

For our last Music Assembly we were treated to a wonderful display of musicianship from some of our talented young performers. Thomas H opened the show with Castanets on the piano.  This was a lively Spanish number with driving rhythms played with great skill.  Toby R played next, also on the piano, performing Asian Tiger with natural confidence and a great feel for the oriental

20th February 2019

Pupils in Upper School took part in a Live Lesson hosted by the BBC, to support the development of creative writing for the 500 Word writing competition.  Gathered together in Old Hall, we listened, captivated by the dulcet tones of author, Frank Cottrell-Boyce. With the creative juices flowing, pupils helped plan out ideas for a short story which, no more than 500 words in length, could showcase their

29th January 2019

During Monday's assembly, we celebrated our Writer of the Term awards, in recognition of pupils from every class who have shown a real commitment to improving their writing. It proved a very challenging decision for their teachers! Congratulations to you all

29th January 2019

On Wednesday, all of Treetops became engaged in our annual science day. Each class devised experiments themed around fairytales for the other classes to take part in. A few of the fun activities featured; frog slime making for 'Princess and the Pea', bean planting for 'Jack and the beanstalk', dissolving gingerbread for 'the Gingerbread man', carriage racing for 'Cinderella' and raft building for 'Billy Goat's

15th November 2018

We are very pleased to welcome the newest member of staff to the Duncombe Team, Chef Manager Michael Goulston. Michael joins with a wealth of experience, the title of 2018 School Chef of the Year and exceptional baking skills that he recently put to work helping to bake a birthday cake for Prince Charles' landmark 70th birthday.

27th September 2018

Our Year 6 U11 football team were putting in some last minute practice yesterday ahead of their appearance in the Independent Schools Football Association regional finals tomorrow. And who better to put them through their paces than Mr Granville, our ex-Chelsea UEFA Cup winner and football coach, who certainly knows a thing or two about preparing for big matches. Best of luck boys! [...]

27th September 2018

Our Year 6 U11 football team were putting in some last minute practice yesterday ahead of their appearance in the Independent Schools Football Association regional finals tomorrow. And who better to put them through their paces than Mr Granville, our ex-Chelsea UEFA Cup winner and football coach, who certainly knows a thing or two about preparing for big matches. Best of luck boys! [...]

21st September 2018

Larry the Guide Dog puppy popped into school yesterday to teach Year 1 about senses, and his role as a seeing dog for blind people. Ex-Duncombe pupil Sarah Robson (nee Lee) who works as a volunteer Guide Dog trainer, taking in puppies and training them to eventually become companions for blind people [...]

18th September 2018

Year 6 spent their Science lesson with Mrs Marrion learning about insects and the important part that they play in the world ecosystem this morning. The children were very enthusiastically answering questions about how pollenation and works and how insects of all kinds fit within the food chain. With STEM subjects being widely considered one of the accelerating forces for future economic growth across the UK, we are committed to ensuring that these subjects are fun and interesting for our children - something that Mrs Marrion is particularly good at, with her endless enthusiasm and knowledge [...] 

18th September 2018

Today, our Year 4s had a lesson in strategy and marking/passing skills in netball. Sport is a hugely important part of the curriculum here at Duncombe, not just in terms of children's physical development, but also for their emotional well-being. In addition, we focus on good sportsmanship and the importance of learning how to win and lose well and with humility - something that feeds back into the core values that we teach our children [...] 

17th September 2018

Early Kindergarten had been having lots of fun this week making faces on rice cakes using vegetables. This is part of the 'All about me' topic that they are working on this term where they have been learning about themselves and what makes each of us unique. And the best part of it is that at the end of making their faces, they got to eat the rice cake faces as a yummy and healthy treat during snack time [...] 

11th September 2018

Nursery had their first visit to the library over in the Main School building yesterday afternoon. Library visits form part of the weekly routine for Nursery children, and after listening to a story, they then get the chance to browse the books, and choose one to take home with them for the week [...]

11th September 2018

We were very pleased to see so many people turn up for the first Little Chestnuts toddler group of the Autumn term.  It's so lovely to see so many happy, smiley children come along to meet up, play and take part in our weekly themed activities [...]

11th September 2018

Year 6 have begun to study expressionism in art this term, and are currently producing their own versions of Edvard Munch's iconic 'The Scream'. In creating their own versions, they will be discovering how Munch created the effect of the piercing scream of nature through his use of colour and brushstokes, and how the two in combination can be used to express depth of emotion in painting [...] 

7th September 2018

The children of Duncombe School were delighted to see Duncombe Bear make an appearance during morning break today, and lead them in a whole school sing and dance-along to the Baby Shark song! None of the children knew he was going to be there, and there were great whoops and shrieks of delight as the music started and he began to do all the dance [...]

7th September 2018

Reception are getting stuck into the daily routine over at Treetops, and have been enjoying their child initiated play session this afternoon. Every Thursday they get to choose their own activities, which can include sticking, colouring, making, construction, reading and imaginative play [...]

31st August 2018

Ever wondered what teachers do during the school summer holidays? You might think that they would be having a nice lie down and a cup of tea once the busy summer term has finished, or something equally relaxing and quiet. Not Mr Sopher, it seems [...]

23rd July 2018

Ever wondered what teachers do during the school summer holidays? You might think that they would be having a nice lie down and a cup of tea once the busy summer term has finished, or something equally relaxing and quiet. Not Mr Sopher, it seems [...]

20th July 2018

We are delighted to announce that Labtots will be continuing to offer their exceptional pre-school science offering to our Kindergarten, Nursery and Reception children throughout the 2018/2019 academic year. 'The Proff' aka Sophia Mitchell has been running her exciting interactive science classes for our Treetops children since early in 2018, and the children have been swept away by her enthusiasm and have really enjoyed getting [...]

13th July 2018

Year 6 tried their hand at flower arranging earlier this week with the help of local florist Jane Maples, and produced some beautiful arrangements which were on display for Speech day this morning [...]

9th July 2018

The children have been very busy over the summer months with tending to the plants in the Secret Garden, which as you can imagine have required an enormous amount of watering. It really is a joy to see the beautiful plants, which are a haven for wildlife including bees and butterflies [...] 

3rd July 2018

As part of their Enrichment Program, Year 6s was visited by members of the Hertford Magistrates court. The children were informed about what goes on inside a court room, and the specific procedures that the court follows. They also had a chance to ask questions about the process and what it's like being in a position of authority and the responsibility that entails.  To conclude [...]

2nd July 2018

Duncombe's pupils are showing that the sky really is the limit when it comes to sporting success as Maddi (6S) brought home a gold medal in the Under 11s category at the prestigious International CEP Circle of Parisien Fencers competition in Paris recently [...]

29th June 2018

Mrs Marrion and her young scientists have been learning about matter and how physics, chemistry, maths, art and technology work together in 3-D printing [...]

28th June 2018

Year 6 performed their full dress rehearsal of their play Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to an enthralled audience of Lower School pupils this morning. It’s all starting to come together, from the stage positions to the songs and costumes [...]

27th June 2018

Year 2 had a fun packed visit to Southend-on-sea; starting with a trip on the Pier tram; enjoying traditional seaside fayre of chips and ice cream for lunch and ending with building sandcastles on the beach! We were delighted when the restaurant manager exclaimed that our children were the best behaved school group who had ever visited his restaurant. Well done Year 2! [...]

25th June 2018

At Duncombe, we believe that building the character of each of our pupils is an essential part of their education. Skills such as problem-solving, diligence and perseverance are critical in developing them as people, and create firm foundations that remain with them for the rest of their lives [...] 

22nd June 2018

Huge congratulations to our ballet pupils who all passed with High Merits and Distinctions. The girls put lots of work into their preparations and really rose to the challenge of the examinations. It is lovely to see our pupils reap the rewards of their hard work. Well done all of you! [...]

19th June 2018

Our Treetops children were very pleased to welcome their Dads to play last week. The children were really excited to show all the Dads their classrooms, and to involve them in their craft activities and little experiments [...]

19th June 2018

As part of Financial Capability week, Duncombe’s Upper School children have been learning about money and finance, from the history of the concept of money, through to the finer details of stocks and shares, and also the ins and outs of financing a (lemonade) business [...]

19th June 2018

The school enjoyed another exciting Sports Day, which is for some the sporting pinnacle of the Summer Term. Excitement, nerves, preparation, and competition day luck all came into play in the array of races and field events such as the obstacle race [...]

19th June 2018

On Wednesday 13th June Year 6 had a visit from the Birds of Prey Centre. Carly (the lady who visited our school) brought in 4 unique kinds of birds. They first one was called Accio and he was a Southern White Faced Owl. He had piercing orange eyes and he was an elegant shade of grey. He spends 70% of his life perched.

12th June 2018

Our Reception class were very excited to be presented with their School House badges on Friday morning from Miss Sands. Duncombe Bear also took time out of his busy schedule to come down and congratulate each of the children, who were very pleased to have him there on such a momentous day in their Duncombe School journey [...]

12th June 2018

Huge congratulations to Mrs Marrion and her husband, who took part in the Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer walk at Audley end this weekend. Such an important cause, and one that is close to Mrs Marrion's heart. On behalf of all of us at Duncombe - very well done! [...]

12th June 2018

The 100 year anniversary of the end of World War 1 takes place this year, and as part of their study of this momentous event in world history, Year 5 went an information packed visit to the London RAF Museum [...] 

7th June 2018

Mr Phelan was very pleased to welcome Duncombe Bear to school this morning. DB is here on some very special business this week and will be dropping into classes to say hello to all the children [...]

4th June 2018

Treetops Pre-school – our specialist early years facility for children aged 2- 4 years - has received a smart new sign put up over the half term break [...]

24th May 2018

Warren restaurant looked like it had been transported straight into the streets of Guadalajara  as today's lunch theme to lead us into half term was Mexico. There was beef chilli, roast pepper quesadillas, and stuffed bean patties fragrant with mexican herbs and spices, all served a sweetcorn and tomato salsa, tortilla chips and sour cream. Delicioso! [...]

24th May 2018

Treetops was in the pink for breast cancer this morning with their pink themed dress up day and bake sale. Here is just a small sample of the pink delights that they have brought in to enjoy at snack time today [...]  

24th May 2018

Reception had lots of fun this morning meeting some very friendly firemen from the Herfordshire fire and rescue service [...]

24th May 2018

Year 5 had an immersive time putting their Spanish language skills into practice last week. Senor Torres transported them to a small village cantina [...]

23rd May 2018

We have some beautiful mature trees in The Dell, our Victorian sunken garden Forest School setting, including Field Maple, Elder, Ash, Sycamore and Holly, and the children have been learning about the different trees and their foliage and producing some rather wonderful fabric prints [...]

22nd May 2018

Picasso said “art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” If that's the case, then our souls are cleansed every time we walk pass these beautiful displays of our students' art around the school[...]

22nd May 2018

Year 3 had a wonderful time camping in the forest last week. Here’s how some the children summed up the experience: “Bushcraft is one of the best camps ever! [...]

22nd May 2018

The sunny weather and early spring rain have helped the plants in the school's Secret Garden to grow, and today, we even had salad made with kale grown in the Kitchen Garden bed[...]

22nd May 2018

Mr Granville's footballing credentials were put to the test at Chelsea FC's home ground, Stamford Bridge last Friday night. He was one of the players who had served under the great Ray Wilkins who were invited to play in a charity match to raise funds for the Chelsea foundation. He joined fellow esteemed teammates Gianfranco Zola, Frank LeBoeuf, Graham Le Saux and Andriy Shevchanko against[...]

21st May 2018

If it's been a while since you were last in 3rd Form Latin and you're looking at the headline scratching your head, check in with your children - they will be a Latin expert after Ms Cartwright's fantastic Latin Challenge Day this week[...]

21st May 2018

Our Year 6 football team took time out earlier this week to pose for a team shot in their smart burgundy hoodies, which this year were sponsored by Golden Boy coaches[...]

15th May 2018

The Duncombe trophy cabinet is going to need another shelf after the weekend, when Maddi brought home the Gold medal in the U11 Girls' Fencing[...]

14th May 2018

Congratulations to Mrs Takawira, who joined over 15,00 other marathon walkers in London last night for the 2018 Moonwalk to raise money for breast cancer research. Such an incredible achievement[...]

14th May 2018

The children have been reading Elmer stories and on Wednesday they had great fun going on an Elmer’s day parade in The Dell. In mathematics they have been learning about patterns and created their own pattern tabards for the parade. They also had a muddy time making an Elmer world using natural resources from The Dell[...]

10th May 2018

Duncombe's IAPS U11 National Clay Pigeon Shooting Champion has had her inspirational story picked up the The Hertfordshire Mercury[...]

8th May 2018

Congratulations to Bethany, who is the IAPS National Clay Pigeon Shooting U11 female champion [...]

8th May 2018

Treetops were having lots of fun in the sunshine during break time[...]

4th May 2018

Nursery and Reception had an exciting adventure today with 'Jungle Sam' from Perform Drama4All. We packed our back packs, jumped on the jungle jeep and journeyed through the jungle meeting all kinds of animals and having lots of fun[...]

4th May 2018

This weekend, Maddi will be competing in the IAPS Fencing Championships. Fencing is one of the oldest official Olympic Sports, and the tip of the fencing foil is said to be the one of fastest moving objects in all of sport.  Maddi is no stranger to competing, and already has a very full trophy cabinet. Here's hoping she adds an IAPS medal to her hoard. Best of luck Maddi! [...]

3rd May 2018

Last Thursday Year 5 went on a wonderful trip to the RSPB Nature Reserve at Rye Meads. We were very lucky with some glorious weather and enjoyed travelling without our coats and jumpers! [...]

3rd May 2018

Good luck to Bethany, who will be representing Duncombe at the IAPS clay pigeon shooting event this week. This is the second time that Bethany has represented Duncombe at an IAPS event, after being part of the team who helped see our school ranked in the top 10 IAPS schools in U11 netball[...]

3rd May 2018

Early Kindergarten had lots of fun in The Dell last week during their Forest School session as they went hunting for The Gruffalo [...]

3rd May 2018

Despite the snow and rain, the Spring Term blossomed with opportunities for the children to write creatively. Therefore the teachers across the school, found it extremely difficult to select their 'Writer of the Term' [...]

3rd May 2018

Our Early KinderGarten children have been getting fruity this week squeezing their own healthy juices and making veggie kebabs. Yummy! [...]

30th April 2018

The children in Year 2 had a phizz-whizzing time at the Roald Dahl Gallery on Tuesday. We explored Jame's Giant Peach, the foxes tunnel and Matilda's library among other activities [...]

30th April 2018

HUGE congratulations to Rosie, who took part in the National Swimathon challenge to raise money for Marie Curie and Cancer Research UK and raised a staggering £850 including gift aid! [...]

30th April 2018

Class 3FH were very excited on Thursday as they were having their very first Science lesson in the Science room. They really looked the part with their white lab coats on and were full of enthusiasm and interesting questions [...]

30th April 2018

Treetops have been channeling Jack from the fairytale Jack and the Beanstalk this morning, as they learned about the lifecycle of plants in science [...]

30th April 2018

It's lovely to have a bit of colour in a garden, and not just from the plants. Yesterday a team of Upper School gardeners were outside upcycling old wellies making drainage holes and filling them with soil and plants [...]

30th April 2018

During Book Week, Years 1-6 were given the opportunity to write creatively, describing their very own 'Imaginary World'. The children were given the freedom to use their own ideas to write a setting description. Overall we were very impressed with the high standard of work produced[...]

24th April 2018

Our Duncombe footballers were very excited to meet footballing legend Phil Neville last night [...]

24th April 2018

Hatfield House were very proud to present the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance with their charity donation of £1,066.10. They have worked hard during the last term organising charity events to raise money such as a movie night, a cake sale, a colouring competition and a dressing up day [...]

24th April 2018

Best of luck to our Yr6 footballers who play in the ISFA National Finals today. You've all put in an enormous amount of time and effort, and we are all very proud of you [...]

20th April 2018

Preparation for the ISFA National Finals has been underway this week as the Year 6 footballers step up their training schedule ahead of next week's deciding matches [...]

19th April 2018

We are very excited to see some little kale seedlings beginning to shoot up in the Kitchen Garden bed in the Secret Garden [...]

19th April 2018

Huge congratulations to Jaxon, who put on a legendary performance on the badminton court at the English National Badminton Championships on the 15th April [...]

17th April 2018

Congratulations to Mr Le Tissier, who ran the Brighton Marathon this weekend for Cancer Research - a cause close to his heart.

29th March 2018

This year our topic was 'The Seaside'. The children became explorers for the day and learnt about water, ice, sand, floating and sinking, fossils, shells, sea creatures and the sounds of the sea[...]

29th March 2018

Kindergarten Blossom experienced a taster session in learning Mandarin last week. The children were very excited as we listened and answered Clara the crocodile, we learnt to say: ‘hello’ and ‘how are you’ in Mandarin and even had a go at singing some nursery rhymes! [...]

28th March 2018

Congratulations to Torri H (5S) who competed in the East Counties Acrobatics Championships in Milton Keynes last weekend. Torri won gold in the Grade 2 trio category with her fellow team members Brooke and Paige [...]

20th March 2018

Reception had an exciting time learning about volcanoes this week with the 'Proff' from our pre-school science partner Lab Tots [...]

5th February 2018

It was wet and chilly on Saturday morning, but this did not stop the determination and excitement of Duncombe’s girls’ football team, pulling out all the stops for their first ever football tournament. The girls gave the tournament everything they had winning two matches and drawing and losing one, resulting in 3rd place overall. On top of this fantastic result, one of our girls also [...]

15th January 2018

Congratulation to Grace (Yr5) who took part in the Championships of 2018 Ballroom & Latin Nationals competition last weekend at Blackpool. This was Grace’s first National competition and she made the Semi-Finals in Ballroom and Round 2 in Latin. Congratulations also to Jaxon (Yr 5) who won gold in the U11 Badminton doubles and silver in singles last weekend. Well done to both of you! [...]

15th January 2018

Nursery had a squirrel fun-filled experience in the Dell this week. The children were excited to don their special forest school all-in-ones and they had lots of fun. First they played a squirrel-themed hide and seek by seeking out different numbered squirrels amongst the trees. Then they put their artistic talents to good use by creating stunning masterpieces using brushes and forks to paint to [...]

15th January 2018

The Knebworth charity team would like to say a BIG thank you to everyone who contributed to the chosen charity last term. Across the term they raised a fantastic £1,093.20 for SSAFA. This term the Hatfield charity team will be raising money for Essex and Herts Air Ambulance. They provide a life-saving service to the people of Essex, Hertfordshire and surrounding areas. Last month they [...]

15th January 2018

We are delighted to be able to share the wonderful news that Treetops have successfully been awarded ‘Millie’s Mark’, a Quality Mark for Nurseries where employees working directly with children are trained in paediatric first aid. This has been awarded by National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) in association with Department for Education and Millie’s Trust. Over the past 6 months as a school we have[...]

15th January 2018

After reading a variety of phenomenal writing, the winners of the 'Coming Home' writing competition were announced at the end of the last term. The children wrote to an extremely high standard that selecting just two winners proved to be extremely difficult. A huge well done to all the children for a fantastic effort! The worthy winners were awarded their prizes during a wonderful celebration[...]

8th December 2017

The National Association for More Able Children in Education (NACE) has named Duncombe School the 409th school to be accredited with the NACE Challenge Award. There are over 24,000 schools across the country and Duncombe School are now placed in a select group of just 1.6% of schools across the UK, achieving the NACE Challenge award. The recognition of this award to Duncombe School is

17th November 2017

Our Treetops and Lower School children had some very exciting visitors on Wednesday morning. The children were visited by ‘Nite Owls’ and were mesmerised watching the fantastic owl display. The children marvelled at the six different types owls that took flight in the New Hall, from Tango the smallest ‘ Little Owl’ to Oscar the ‘Arthonis Eagle Owl’.  They learnt some fascinating facts about these

10th November 2017

As we build towards Remembrance Sunday this weekend, Duncombe have certainly been reflecting on how we can help those around us in a number of different ways. Upper School Assembly, held at Holy Trinity Church on Monday, focused on William Wilberforce the great Abolitionist and the lesser known supporter Thomas Clarkson. The whole school then experienced a wartime themed lunch on Wednesday. The restaurant was

3rd November 2017

On Monday the Senior Choir joined other local primary schools for a wonderful day of singing at Princess Helena College. The children learned an incredible six new songs, some of which were in two, three or even more parts. They sang a traditional Hungarian folk song 'Stome', all about being strong in the face of adversity. They sang this with great conviction and      managed it

3rd November 2017

On Tuesday 31st October, Year 4 went on a Science trip to Paradise Wildlife Park. What an amazing day we had. Such a diverse wildlife park with animals from all continents and animal groups. The children particularly focused on the Rainforest environment and animals. They had a Rainforest talk where they learned about the different levels of the Rainforest and the animals that live there.

19th October 2017

Harry Potter fever has swept across the school in preparation for the PA's Harry Potter party. J.K. Rowling's popular books have inspired a wide variety of genres; the children have penned poetry, recounts, setting and character descriptions as well as fact files all within the theme of wizardry. Not only has the 20th year celebration of the well-loved series stimulated learning in English lessons, the children have also taken

19th October 2017

Duncombe Bear and Mrs Tramontano took some time out of their busy schedules to discuss their recent summer adventure to Borneo. Rosie and Grace from year 5, had the pleasure of interviewing the intrepid explorers. We were desperate to find out all about DB’s latest escapade. As DB was feeling slightly tired from the trip, Mrs Tramontano kindly answered all our questions.   Grace: Where

28th September 2017

Four days on from a successful tournament win at the Year 6 Football Tournament at Forest School, Duncombe have won another tournament!

28th September 2017

Last week Year 5 had an exciting week in Devon on their PGL residential trip. Although it was a rather wet week, the rain could not dampen their spirits and they took part in an amazing array of activities

25th September 2017

Duncombe took part in the Year 6 Football Tournament at Forest School on Saturday morning and the boys triumphed over a variety of local prep schools. The team managed to finish first in their group, conceding just one goal along the way, before winning 2-0 in the semi-final and 1-0 in the final.  What a great Saturday morning. Huge congratulations to all of the team members, you thoroughly deserved your

19th September 2017

On Friday 15th September, Kindergarten had their first science visit from ‘Prof’. Prof (Sophie Mitchell) founder of Lab Tots, will be visiting Kindergarten throughout the autumn term and using the back drop of Science to create a truly unique learning experience. Prof and Lab Tots will be introducing scientific principles & concepts to the children though easy to understand games, experiments and real life metaphors.

18th July 2017

We moved away from Duncombe’s annual MasterChef competition this year and held our first ‘Great Duncombe Bake Off’ and wow, what a contest! The competition has been running throughout the year with heats for both Lower and Upper School running each term. The level of skill and attention to detail was apparent from round 1 when we saw (and tasted) an array of fabulous cupcakes from

19th June 2017

Recently a team of Year 5 children participated in the STEM challenge at Haileybury. 15 other schools took part in the challenge and we’re pleased to share with you that Duncombe won the ‘Scientific Design and Computing Challenge’. The theme was space related and involved Chemistry, Maths, Biology, Physics, scientific design and computing challenges. The children tested fuels for a rocket launch, filtration systems, folding

16th June 2017

As part of their Science enrichment, Year 6 have been to visit the RSPB centre at Rye Meads. They had a wonderful day and an excellent hands-on experience of bird-watching, pond-dipping and learning about habitats and the natural environment of all living things. They were able to identify many different bird species from wet land to dry land. A super day in beautiful surroundings.

19th May 2017

Our first ever tennis tournament took place at St Edmunds on Friday.  Due to the unknown there was a little bit of nervousness but that was soon brushed aside as the first matches got underway.  The tournament started with girls doubles and boys singles then was followed by boys doubles and girls singles. Every match was fought hard for and we 'aced, smashed and volleyed' ourselves

19th May 2017

Our teachers Miss Micele and Mrs Galaska, decided a change of scenario would beneficial to our Yr6 children ahead of next week’s SATs exams. So the children picked up their revision equipment and ventured over to our lovely tranquil Dell.  The revision session started with a warm up game, which was swiftly followed by and a SPAG (Spelling Grammar and Punctuation) trail. Who said revision

19th May 2017

Two weeks ago all the children planted runner bean seeds and sunflower seeds. Over the course of the next four weeks we will be using our observational skills to record all the changes that happen to the seeds. We hope that they will all grow!! After half term the plants will be sent home with the children so that the plants can be planted out.

19th May 2017

This morning Yr1 children were working alongside their Yr6 buddies. They were all involved in a maths workshop put together by Mrs Takiwara. They used their prediction skills to guess how many giant footsteps long the running track is, had fun measuring the capacities of containers using water and they were also challenged to work out a variety of number puzzles . All the children enjoyed the experience

19th May 2017

On Thursday 11th May, in preparation for our trip to York, we took a train ride to Ware. Even though the train journey was over in a few moments, we thoroughly enjoyed relaxing on the train and catching a few sights of the beautiful Hertfordshire surroundings. When we arrived in Ware we walked beside the river to the boat which would return us to Hertford.

11th May 2017

Last weekend one of young ladies, Maddi in Yr5, became the ‘British National Under 10 Girls Foil Champion 2017’ in The 2017 British Youth Championships. Maddi, her family and coach Acland Bryant traveled to Telford, where she was up against 24 other entrants. We’re told the competition was tough and intense, yet Maddi persisted and endeavoured to do her very best. As a result of

5th May 2017

Congratulations to Boris who made the cast for the "Wizard of Oz" show produced by Q Youth Theatre and MGM. Break a leg Boris!”  Congratulations to Archie and Jake who went on their first football tour to Selsey, Chichester for their U10 7 aside team. They played 5 matches over 2 days undefeated to reach the final. They remained undefeated and won the tournament 4-0,

5th May 2017

Reception had a special visitor this week at their Turkish morning, Mrs Lewis one of our lovely mummys. Mrs Lewis came into the class and spoke to the children about Turkey and shared lots of interesting factors. At Duncombe we enjoy leaning in different way, and so Mrs Lewis brought her visit to life as much as possible with a show and tell which included

4th May 2017

Kindergarten ventured off to the Dell during Forest School to make mud porridge for the Goldilocks and the 3 bears! Daddy Bear said our mud porridge was too cold, Mummy Bear said our mud porridge was too lumpy but Baby Bear loved it. Kindergarten love porridge as well, so much that we’re going to have it for our snack this afternoon.

28th April 2017

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28th April 2017

This week saw the first of hopefully an annual ‘Duncombe Puzzle Challenge Day’ in association with NACE. Ahead of our ‘Whole School Puzzle Challenge Day’, on Wednesday evening our parents had the opportunity to apply their strategic thinking, riddle solving and logic to a number of challenge based activities as our NACE representative Anne Nelson unpacked the NACE programme and its manifold benefits for Duncombe

28th April 2017

On Tuesday, Year 5 went on a Science field trip to Colchester Zoo where the children had a very interesting minibeast classification workshop and exploration time of the zoo looking at different vertebrates and invertebrates. They were able to get up and close to some animals including hand feeding the giraffes and elephants. Some children handled a Giant African Land Snail in the Discovery Centre.

28th April 2017

Hi Guys, it’s me DB. Now that we’ve nearly recovered from the London Marathon on Sunday, Mr Le Tissier and I wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of you for your amazing support both before, during and after the race. The training was hard at times, but when we crossed the finish line after only 3hrs 42mins (we came in 7,102 place out

13th April 2017

This week I have been enjoying an 'overseas' training camp with Mr Le Tissier. I've been on trains, planes and automobiles! To be honest, I was fairly underwhelmed with my first flight on an aeroplane - 20,000 ft just doesn't cut it when you've been to space! I did get to see a nice sunset though. I finally arrived in Guernsey, an island between England

6th April 2017

Hi guys, DB here hope you’re all having a great Easter break! As you can see, Mr Le Tissier and I have embarked on a few more training runs for the London Marathon since the last post. We’ve been pounding the pavements and taking in some scenic views, perfect running weather! But as the race becomes closer, we’ll start to dial down the distance of

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9th March 2017

At Duncombe School we’re proud of our close links with the local community and so we're extremely pleased to announce that Hertford Rugby Club is Duncombe's new ‘home ground’. It's been a fantastic few weeks of Rugby at Duncombe School. We’ve held 4 home matches and we remain unbeaten on home turf and on [...]

9th March 2017

A BIG congratulations to our U11 footballers who managed to reach yet another final last week. The team played some quite breath taking football throughout the tournament and the skill, passion and effort that was on show was nothing short of superb. Very well done! Mr Sopher

9th March 2017

An early start on Monday morning led to Year 6 visiting the Houses of Parliament. The engaging and informative guides told us all about the House of Commons, the House of Lords as well providing us with a whistle stop tour of the history of Great Britain. During the afternoon we explored the [...]

7th March 2017

Over 100 countries took part in ‘World Book Day’ on Thursday 2nd March, but Duncombe went one better and we held our first ‘World Book Week’ and what a success it was! Our Head of English, Miss Micele devised a whole week’s worth of activities that every year group have [...]

2nd March 2017

As part of our science work we tested a variety of materials to see which would make a good umbrella. Thick and thin fabric, tin foil, plastic  were all tested. The children were asked to predict, based on their knowledge' which material would not let the water through. Once predictions were [...]

1st March 2017

It’s the beautiful smell of freshly baked cupcake. Yesterday afternoon saw the launch of our ‘Duncombe Bake Off’ and in this first round 9 Upper School children were set the task of creating 6 identically filled and iced cupcakes. It was very difficult to say goodbye to 3 of our bakers, [...]

28th February 2017

  We love to read here at Duncombe, but more importantly we love to help each other learn. And so this morning Year 4 did some buddy reading with Year 2 and Year 6 got to catch up with their buddies in Year 1 and read stories to them. Everyone [...]

28th February 2017

  Our current Year 5 pupils really shone last week when they invited their parents in, and hosted Come Dine with Us. The menu was delicious; beef or vegetable lasagna, accompanied by a crisp, green salad and crunchy garlic bread, all followed by a sumptuous banoffee pudding, of bananas, toffee [...]

27th February 2017

Today our Year 4 children have been transported back in time to the 1870's to experience what life would have been like as a Victorian school child. They are being taught the 3 R's Reading, aRithmetic and wRiting, as well as getting to grips with writing on a slate using [...]

24th February 2017

Science day in Treetops was a very wet affair this year. The children moved around the building to explore and investigate water. Did you know you can make a bubble big enough for a child to stand inside? Well the Treetops children did! And they loved making cube shaped bubbles [...]

23rd February 2017

Our Year 5 children are learning the art of climbing in PE this year. Haileybury have very kindly allowed our children to go along and experience their climbing wall as part of this year’s PE curriculum. Who knows we may have the next Alex Honnold in our classroom.

21st February 2017

Our Year 1 children recently had the opportunity to make their own paper. This formed part of the children's work on Materials. They were all very excited. The paper had been soaking over night and resulted in a delightful mushy paper pulp, rather like rice pudding, one child said!!! All the [...]

9th February 2017

Meet Speedy Speedy is 8 years old and has been part of the Duncombe family for a number of years. He’s lived in various classrooms around the school, but his current home is with us in Reception. We have two 'snail monitors' each day and we check the temperature and [...]

7th February 2017

Our Nursery superheroes showed no fear when they faced the rain and a number of superhero challenges to win their superhero medal. The children had to show a range of powers and qualities to gain their medal. They demonstrated supersonic speed, eye sight, bravery, balance and strength. All of the children [...]

7th February 2017

Year 2 had a very eggciting day when as part of their Science topic on materials they had to create a capsule to protect an egg. They were given 7 different materials as a group and had to predict which one would stop their egg from breaking when dropped from [...]

6th February 2017

Duncombe prides itself in the provision and guidance allocated to pupils and parents on the hot topic of secondary school selections and entry. To this end, there was a “Future Schools Evening” held on Thursday 26th January. Parents had the opportunity to hear from the Deputy Head, Head of Learning, [...]

6th February 2017

It would appear the whole of Duncombe School had their baking hats on yesterday, ahead of today’s animal charity bake sale for ‘Blue Cross for Pets’. We have been amazed by the cake creations from the children and have seen everything from penguin and lambs cakes to unicorns and sausage [...]

3rd February 2017

Well done to all our performers today. You all controlled your nerves well, remembering to do everything your teachers taught you. Our year 3 recorders began the concert, thank you to Mrs Sutton Muldoon for her direction. They all played splendidly, keeping in time and reading the music well. Our brass players [...]

2nd February 2017

and they want Duncombe's children! Year 3 are studying English in an exciting new way this term, using Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone as the stimulus. Last week, children were invited to attend 'Hogwarts' as pupils and wrote complex sentences about Quidditch! They also looked at non-chronological reports and planned [...]

31st January 2017

The annual 'Battle of the Brains' competition took place yesterday at Princess Helena College. The battle was extremely well competed by our bright young team. We came away from the competition having won the most amount of rounds. However, when it came to the final we came second to a [...]

31st January 2017

Blue Cross for Pets This charity provides support for pet owners who cannot afford private veterinary treatment, helps to find homes for unwanted animals, and educates the public in the responsibilities of animal ownership. Our Knebworth representatives have lots of exciting fundraising activities planned, starting with an animal themed bake [...]

30th January 2017

Today we had a special visitor to Kindergarten and Early Kindergarten. Mrs Zhou came in to give our children a special talk about Chinese New Year. Her daughter Serena also modelled a beautiful Chinese outfit. We learnt about the year of the Rooster, and how the animal of the year [...]

27th January 2017

This week Kindergarten's topic has been on the dentist. We have explored tooth brushing in the messy play, sequenced tooth brushing routine, made smiley mouths, talked about healthy eating and how to look after our teeth. We also had a visit from the dentist who shared tips on looking after our [...]

26th January 2017

This week in Nursery the children have been learning all about the Chinese New year. They have learnt about Chinese writing, the year of the rooster, the different animals in the Chinese zodiac and they have tasted some Chinese foods, the firm favourite was the prawn crackers!

23rd January 2017

Exciting times at Duncombe today as we were shooting for our new marketing material. We're looking forward to sharing the outcome with you very soon.

22nd January 2017

Learning outside the classroom with Forest School was at its peak on Friday. Year 2 were giving the squirrels a helping hand by making them an assault course, which included a swing and a bridge wide enough for the squirrels to cross in pairs.

22nd January 2017

Flying bikes and umbrellas for dogs were just a few of the ideas Year 5 were trying to gain investment for from the ‘Duncombe Dragons’ in class today. Similar to the popular TV show, the children had to research an invention, present to the class (some in rap music form) [...]

19th January 2017

3C this afternoon have been talking about different types of foods and sorting them into groups of what’s healthy and what’s not so healthy.    

18th January 2017

The icy wind and a sheet of snow may have forced PE lessons inside today but it certainly did not stop learning at Duncombe School. Pupils in Year 6 could be found inside busily discussing the principles of leadership as they continued to work towards their Sports Leaders Award.

18th January 2017

In Kindergarten they not only sing about rainbows, but they can make their own rainbows with an amazing science experiment!

18th January 2017

Our 3 and 4 years olds welcomed each other in French and shook hands. we believe it is so important to get children trying out a variety of languages as early as possible. Our nursery children love their weekly French lessons.

15th December 2016

With this being our last day of term, today is Duncombe’s ‘Christmas Day’. The day started with the children (and staff) laughing so much their tummies hurt, watching some of our wonderful members of staff perform their take on ‘The Night before Christmas’. Then as with any Christmas Day, there [...]

13th December 2016

Our Year 4 choir have been practising extremely hard over the last few weeks in preparation for their carol service at ‘The Dell Residential Home’ in Hertford. The children visited ‘The Dell’ along with their Music teachers Mrs Turner and Mrs Sutton and sang an assortment of traditional Christmas carols [...]

13th December 2016

Seeing your child take part in their first Christmas sing-along show at school always brings a tear to the eye. So there were tears of Christmas happiness over in Duncombe Treetops this morning. With our children in Early Kindergarten dressed as Christmas Puddings, Stars and Snowmen and Kindergarten rocking their [...]

13th December 2016

On Monday, EKG, KG and Nursery headed to Springtime Nurseries to visit Father Christmas. An extremely excited coach of children were treated to a magical train ride around the Christmas displays, where we saw a Polar Bear band, Santa's elves and much more before arriving at Santa's grotto. The children [...]

12th December 2016

Duncombe’s Self Defence coach, Mr Boddy attended our assembly this morning. He handed out awards to an array of children for progress, focus and concentration and for a willingness to be committed to learning whilst attending the Self Defence course at our after school club. Mr Boddy has been part [...]

12th December 2016

We could not be more proud of our budding thespians. Nursery and Reception told the story of Christmas this week. They performed firstly to the whole school and then to their parents and grandparents and they didn't show any nerves at all. They sang beautifully, remembered their lines and most [...]

8th December 2016

Back in September, Year 6 wrote some exciting animal adventure stories after visiting Paradise Wildlife Park. The stories were entered into a competition which was judged by a large panel including local author, Tamsyn Murray. Both Mrs Galaska and Miss Micele from Duncombe were extremely impressed with the high standard [...]

8th December 2016

Year 6 had a fantastic visit to the Natural History Museum in London. They took part in an Evolution workshop and were incredibly confident with their knowledge. The Scientist taking the workshop commented to both myself and Mr Le Tissier how amazed he was at the children's advanced Science thinking and [...]

8th December 2016

Anthony Glenn, the one man show of ‘the Nutcracker’ entertained Duncombe’s Years 3 to 6 pupils with the enchanting tale. The show proved to be a resounding success, as budding Duncombe performers assisted him in retelling the story. A cracking start to the festive season! Here are some comments from [...]

8th December 2016

On Monday, Year 5 and 6 Choir went to sing at the Mercury and Observer Community Awards Ceremony at Hanbury Manor. It was great fun and we sang many songs. The soloists sang beautifully and everyone listened intently. Alastair Readman sang a beautiful version of Silent Night in German and [...]

11th November 2016

Lottie G and George M from Year 6 are this years sports captains and they recently interviewed our very own Duncombe Games Teacher, sports star and ex-professional footballer Danny Granville. Name: Danny Granville Job: Arsenal Youth Coach, Duncombe PE & Games Coach. Ex-Professional Footballer. Nationality: English. Premier League Football Teams [...]

11th November 2016

Ahead of the American Presidential Election, some of my Year 6 pupils were discussing who would win. Freddie declared, rather confidently “If Donald Trump wins, I’ll give Mr Le Tissier a pineapple!” True to his word, on Thursday morning Freddie presented me with a pineapple. In class I thought I [...]

4th November 2016

What an exciting morning for all, with rapturous applause to welcome home the returning hero that is our very own Duncombe Bear, Space Explorer!  Pupils and staff then sang a rousing chorus of  “Ground Control to Major Ted, Take your sandwiches and put your wellies on . . .    Can [...]

21st October 2016

'Ground Control to Major Ted'... School Mascot launches into space! It was mission control at Duncombe this week as our school mascot was launched into orbit and then tracked by video on a tour of space. Duncombe Bear or DB as he is being affectionately called, headed to the outer stratosphere [...]

14th October 2016

This week Year 5 visited Bhaktivedanta Manor near Watford as part of their Religious Education studies on Hinduism. The Temple was established in 1973 by His Divine Grace A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.  Our pupils had a fun packed day; touring the main house including the temple, theatre and the founder’s quarters [...]

7th October 2016

There has been much written in the press about 'nature deficit disorder' and the benefits of children learning in a variety of environments is plain to see; last week Year 6 pupils visibly flourished as they performed outstandingly in their class assembly and I put this down to a particularly congenial [...]

7th October 2016

Nursery were very lucky to be visited by Megan's Grandma this week. She worked for many years as a radiographer and came and spoke to the children about her job. We learnt all about the human skeleton, x-ray machines and we even met a 'Granny with no bones' (a balloon [...]

30th September 2016

How lucky are we at Duncombe to have the wonderful sunken outdoor space that is the Dell.  And, what a fabulous assembly “The Time-travelling slide”, held in the Dell this sunny morning by 6LT all about what their futures might hold… “stand on your left leg, hold your nose with [...]

30th September 2016

UPPER SCHOOL ART COMPETITION  We have been invited by local estate agent Steven Oates to draw, paint or colour, using your wildest imagination, on A4 landscape what your futuristic house would look like.   A Prize of a £50 gift voucher with the winner’s  artwork to be featured on the [...]

22nd September 2016

You should all be receiving a copy of the eagerly awaited Master Chef entry form attached to this weeks newsletter, or download a copy here. There are two categories which are Lower School (Years 1-3) and Upper School (Years 4-6) with 12 children in each group going into the first [...]

20th September 2016

Duncombe pupils started their Year 5 experience with a bang, splash and wooosh!   Off they sailed to the very sunny Isle of Wight on the 12th September as part of their enrichment/ sport program. This trip is aimed to encourage them to gain in confidence, to participate and experience life away [...]

9th September 2016

On Speech Day Jeremy spoke of the development of the Duncombe Forest School learning experience and how this is going to expand through KS1 and 2 over time. We know, as a school that has used Forest School learning with our youngest pupils for quite a while, that there are [...]

2nd September 2016

We are delighted to announce all ninety-seven candidates from Years 3 - 6 have passed their LAMDA Speech & Drama examinations.    Pupils in Years 3 and 4 achieved healthy Merits and some exceptionally high Distinctions. Indeed, all 33 year 4 pupils gained Distinctions which is a record across any one [...]

24th June 2016

Yr 5 Mayze and Josh enjoyed their visit to the Leaf Cafe on Wednesday 22nd June. They expressively read some fun tales to some very interested and attentive toddlers. Some of their favourite stories included the exciting Yeti with Spaghetti and the fun adventure Hairy McLary-Sit. Both parents and children were very [...]

21st June 2016

Year 5 Science Group came a brilliant 4th out of 24 schools at the Science Challenge Day at Haileybury Thursday 16th June.  They competed against 23 other schools in three challenges Physics, Biology and Chemistry.  The Physics challenge involved investigating thermal energy, the Biology challenged involved finding out how much [...]

10th June 2016

On Wednesday morning, Maddie and Max Yr5 visited The Leaf Cafe. They were faced with the challenge of reading out loud and remembering to show the toddlers the illustrations! Both did a fantastic job, using plenty of expression and sound effects in their delivery to engage their audience. Some of [...]

19th May 2016

Duncombe Senior Choir performed at the Barnardo’s Young Supporters’ Concert at the prestigious Royal Festival Hall in London on May 18th.  A beautiful massed Choir concert of some 600 primary aged pupils, with dancing and solo performances thrown in.  As is tradition for these events, artwork is submitted in advance [...]

18th May 2016

I am delighted to announce that Miss Nicola Sands has been appointed as Deputy Head Pastoral from September 2016. Miss Sands joins us from Brighton College Prep School, Abu Dhabi, where she is currently the Deputy Head Pastoral. As shared earlier this term, the field was exceptionally strong and I [...]

13th May 2016

We have greatly enjoyed a Picnic in honour of the Queen’s 90th Birthday today with traditional sports day games and activities along with a cake, ice cream or lolly we toasted Her Majesty’s good health in a fine fashion. Each pupil has been given a commemorative bookmark in recognition of the [...]

22nd April 2016

Before the Easter Break, Reception had a lovely visit to Mill Green Mill and Museum. The children were very excited to see a working waterwheel and took part in the Little Red Hen Workshop, listening to the story and joining in with the animal noises while wearing masks. They also [...]

18th March 2016

Thursday saw the arrival of the Science dome which took up the whole of the Old Hall.  Children from Nursery through to Year 6 experienced a wonderful journey through space, learning about our solar system and beyond. The excited chatter from all the children was lovely to hear and has inspired [...]

11th March 2016

Here at Duncombe we are getting EGGs-ited about Easter and invite our Toddlers to our EGGs-taordinary Party where they are sure to have an EGGs-ellent time!  

4th March 2016

We have registered to enter the WIN A GARDEN competition being run by Van Hage and Mercury and Herts Observer this month.  Please do collect the tokens and hand them into the school office – please ask neighbours, grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, colleagues  . . . . to collect on [...]

1st March 2016

An outstanding THIRTEEN scholarships and awards have been offered this year to pupils at Duncombe. In addition, all Duncombe’s Year 6 pupils who sat entrance examinations have secured a place at the Independent school of their choice.    This is a real testament to the hard work and commitment of the [...]

12th February 2016

  We held Internet Safety Day this week and an informative talk to parents, thanks to all that could attend. We were pleased to receive this feedback from Mrs Brady who attended the evening: "I thought the session was interesting and informative. It was extremely helpful to get some tips on how [...]

5th February 2016

Once again the Old hall was full to the rafters with budding musicians, anxious but proud parents all eagerly anticipating a glorious music concert. We were not disappointed with recorders, pianists, a cornet, flautists, violin, guitarists and some beautiful vocals. A huge thanks to all who were involved

29th January 2016

1D took us on a wondrous journey through the Chinese New Year. A cultural trip that was both colourful and exciting!  The props, storytelling and pupils’ art work really made for a wonderful experience. As ever, the pupils projected well and the growing sense of self confidence was extremely evident.

19th January 2016

Treetops classes were fortunate to have a special visit from one of our parents, Mr Choudhry, on Wednesday. Mr Choudhry is an optometrist and, as part of our topic on 'people who help us', he came in to talk to the children about the importance of looking after our eyes, [...]

11th December 2015

This week Nursery and Reception put on their Christmas performances. Nursery performed ‘The Angel Express’ and were all in full chorus. We all enjoyed the news clips and hope we have some budding reporters in the making! It was clear to see the progress the children make when moving through [...]

13th November 2015

Treetops enjoyed a day of nursery rhymes today to celebrate ‘National Nursery Rhyme Day’. We all dressed up as our favourite nursery rhyme characters from Little Miss Muffett to a Bakers Man, A fun day was had by all.

11th November 2015

Reception and Nursery children were very excited to have a special visit from Hertfordshire County Council who came to talk to the pupils all about road safety. The pupils enthusiastically named all the different types of vehicles they need to look out for on the roads. We learnt the STOP, [...]

11th November 2015

Early Kindergarten and Kindergarten celebrated Diwali on Wednesday with a special visit form Mrs Pettengell. We spoke about the story of Diwali, the festival of light , lanterns and Divas, offerings of gifts, outfits and traditions. The children enjoyed looking at the special clothes; which were model so beautifully by [...]

9th November 2015

We have had a thank you letter from the Hertford and District Foodbank saying how grateful they are for our very generous food donations. You will be pleased to hear that the food totalled an amazing 492.72kg which is enough to feed approximately 31 people for 3 days. The clients [...]

6th November 2015

Mr Phelan was delighted to welcome pupils to his office this afternoon to celebrate their successes having been nominated for a Headmaster’s Award. Well done to Leah, Louie, Edward, James and Rupert D. A lovely moment and one which we will continue to look to celebrate over the coming weeks [...]

2nd November 2015

Welcome back to all our children and parents, we do hope you all had a lovely half term break and took the opportunity for some rest and relaxation. We’re looking forward to the second half of the Autumn Term and as always we’ll be extremely busy, but we already have [...]

1st November 2015

To Oliver who played in a competition for Essendon Golf Club on Sunday 1st November with nearly 30 other children and won! Oliver beat much older children including his brother Jack! Well done Oliver.

20th August 2015

The last week of term saw our finalists go head to head to claim the 2015 Duncombe’s MasterChef title. For the first time in the history of Duncombe’s MasterChef we saw three  Year 3 children competing for the Lower School title and three Year 6 children for Upper School. Guest [...]

20th August 2015

Treetops was home to a very special celebration today, ‘Receptions Graduation’. Wearing graduation hats, each of the children came up to the front of the stage to be presented with their graduation certificate by Mrs Copeman in front of friends and members of staff. The children will move over to [...]

20th August 2015

As we come to the end of another school year we’ve been looking back at all the wonderful things everyone here at Duncombe has achieved and been part of this year. We’ve shared the amazing celebrations of our 75th anniversary, various charity events raising thousands of pounds, sports days and [...]