March 2025

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Following the unprecedented success of “Adolescence”, the hit Netflix series, the pastoral team and faculty here felt only a fleeting moment of vindication and satisfaction in the knowledge that we had been ahead of the curve with the introduction of Yondr pouches. It is not an overstatement in any way to describe its impact as transformational. There have been so many benefits, many unforeseen - the biggest of which has been the sheer amount of “bandwidth” it has created for the boys in terms of their capacity to do what only humans can: speak, feel and enjoy in a more present way the joys of being a child. We have always had this sense that being “always connected” brought with it the crushing pressure of the absence of space to, as the psychologists say, individuate. It has certainly felt that the absence of phones in our school has created space for the boys to embark upon that journey as ancient as the inscription above the entrance to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi: “Know thyself.”
 
The sense of vindication and satisfaction was only fleeting, however; not just because of the small number of hours they are phone free - 7 out of 24 - but more because of the sense of the hidden, deep, silent dangers that lurk with constant availability and within immediate reach of our student body. It was also fleeting because as a community we realise that the issue is significantly bigger than social media. Indeed, the findings of a recent report by the Centre for Social Justice entitled “The Lost Boys” convincingly argues that the negative impact of social media and Andrew Tate’s ilk are the symptoms, not the cause. The report finds that the deeper truth is a call to action. It argues that as a society (and community of 1300 boys, 150 staff and their parents) we must urgently find a hopeful, positive vision for masculinity and work diligently and quickly to articulate and enact this vision. There are many statistics provided that support this viewpoint:
 
  • Since the pandemic alone, the number of males aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) has increased by 40%, compared to just 7 percent for their female counterparts.
  • Young men are now outearned by their female peers, including among the university educated.
  • Boys on average achieve half a grade lower than girls across every subject at GCSE exams and at A Levels they achieve on average a grade and a half less that their female counterparts across their best three subjects.
  • Boys and men are more likely to take their own lives, less likely to get stable work, and far more likely to be caught up in crime.
  • There has been a 257 percent rise in sextortion since 2023; 91% of the victims are male.
  • The numbers of boys grappling with eating disorders has risen from a statistically negligible number to 5.1% in 2023. Boys as young as thirteen are using steroids to enhance their appearance.
The lessons to be learnt by us as a school given this information and lived experience cannot just be simplified to smartphones and unrestricted access to the internet. To our mind, it reads as a loud call to action. The lesson for us as a community seems to be that we must be more intentional about masculinity and what this entails. It sometimes feels that unwittingly as a society in rightly driving out the traits of toxic masculinity we have created a vacuum relating to what it means to be a boy and a man. This is a vacuum that the likes of Andrew Tate have rushed to fill with their deeply malign and selfish goals. By only saying what we do not want them to be we have left them with questions and uncertainty; the “manosphere”, with its brash, empty but confident personas have sought and continue to seek to provide those answers. As a community, we have to speak with more clarity and compassion about our boys to drown out the siren song of social media.  
 
It seems then to us that as a school we must go further in our mission; to be far more than just “the boys’ school” and become more “a school for boys”. It means that we must fill the negative space that seems to exist around masculinity and talk more about it. It goes without saying that we must now more explicitly and intentionally take great pride in knowing how boys think, act, and develop - as individuals and in a group. We believe - and many studies confirm - that single-sex education offers students significant benefits, and that boys thrive when they are freed from narrow gender roles, posturing, and stereotyping. We must focus more on the total development of boys into men. We will continue to work to ensure that our teachers are familiar with the development stages of boys and how they learn best and are explicit in their instruction relating to this.
 
As a boys’ school, we will make the intentional choice to teach the whole boy: mind, body, and spirit, or in other words, head, hand, and heart. Teachers will craft lessons that celebrate all that it means to be a boy, creating a learning environment that promotes healthy competition, collaborative problem solving and discourse, and fosters moral decision-making and the development of meaningful relationships. We want our students, our boys, to grow into men of great character: compassionate citizens, ethical leaders, reliable colleagues, caring partners, parents, and friends. The boys should always feel known for who they are today and who they will be tomorrow; they should feel that they are cared for and encouraged to explore their full potential beyond the stereotypes of masculinity. Our PSE and Personal Development programme is central to this, and we are intentional in developing this. We also want our boys to have a clear path to a future for themselves wherever that may lead them; we want them to go out into the world fully aware of their capabilities and able to act with wisdom, engaging with society and contributing to it in a meaningful way.
 
Put simply, we want them to know that there is no single story of masculinity and there are infinite ways to be a boy and man, all of them worthy of nurture and all of them underpinned by what it means to be a “decent human being”: compassion, courage and connectedness.  This is our lesson and our challenge, to be more deliberate and intentional in helping your sons become strong and true. We would love to hear from you about what you, as parents and guardians of the next generation of men feel we could or should do more of in order to continue building Hitchin Men, so that we can more confidently say, you know a Hitchin Man when you’ve met a Hitchin Man!
 
Mr Ajagbonna, Deputy Head, Pastoral

Coming up

Over the next few weeks

House points

As of 26 Mar 2025

School news

Rugby Finals Update
Our 1st XI and U14 hockey teams had a great, if frustrating, day at the National Finals in Nottingham on Monday. The U14s battled against some of the top schools in the country, finishing 7th with a great 5-1 victory to end. They fought hard all day but it was a real learning curve and they gained a lot of experience to take forward to future competitions.
The 1st XI came very close to making the main final, but lost a key game and ended up finishing 6th. Again, many of the schools taking part are historically top independent hockey schools so it was a tough fight to get through. Head of PE, Mr Cornell, said: "I am really proud of the boys, who represented the school fantastically well all day". Well done to both teams for getting to the finals.
 

Both teams playes well at the finals

  • 25 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Comic Relief News
Last Friday, students came to school in non-uniform, wearing something red, in return for a £2 donation to raise funds for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day campaign. Students also entered into the spirit of the event by playing music and performing sketches from our recent musical 'Spamalot' in the Market Square in return for donations to the cause. All the money raised has now been totalled up, and we are delighted to have raised £2,360 for Comic Relief this year. If you would like to see what the boys got up to on the day in town, you can get a flavour of the day here.
 

Students played in the square on Red Nose Day

They performed songs from Spamalot

  • 25 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Music for Youth Regional Festival
On Sunday, band leader Paul Woodin took the school's Jazz Band to the Music For Youth Regional Festival in Northampton. This is a collection of festivals across the UK aimed to inspire musicians at every level of experience and across every genre of music. This collection of regional festivals forms the UK’s largest festival for young musicians. 30,000 musicians take part every year and many go on to perform again at the Music for Youth National Festival and Music for Youth Proms.

There were 21 performances across the day covering all music styles and groups from musicals to chamber strings and big bands to a clarinet choir. The thirteen HBS students involved smashed their set at the festival, with feedback replete with superlatives and words like ‘fearless’ and beautiful’. Special mentions were made to Ollie M for his wonderful drumming, Kit B for his scat solo, Oscar G for his work on the bari sax and to Eli M and Eliott D for composing ‘Step Aside’, the opening to the set. It will be a few weeks before they find out if they are through to the next stage so watch this space!
 

Thirteen students played in the band

They received great feedback

  • 24 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Easter Holiday Activities
If you are looking for things to do locally over the Easter break, there is a round-up of activities over on our intranet site here, including details of the Holiday Activity Program for Young People in North Hertfordshire, which is free for students entitled to free school meals. Codes to access the program have been sent out to eligible families, but if you have not received yours, please email admin@hitchinboys.co.uk. 

  • 24 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

History comes to life!
Last week, on a lovely sunny day, 7PA had a very exciting History lesson! The boys designed and created their own Saxon and Norman shields before taking part enthusiastically in a re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings, which took place in 1066. As the photos show, they had a great time!
 

Students head for the battlefield

The two sides met at the top of a hill

The king is dead?

  • 21 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Library News
The library has been busy over the last few months. Some of the activities going on behind the scenes, like stocktaking, are not our favourite things to be getting on with, but necessary all the same. However…
 
We were thrilled to host this year’s North Herts Schools Book Award (NHSBA), with Robin Ince as our guest speaker (comedian, author, broadcaster). Our friends from Next Page Books were also there with titles from last year’s winners and this year’s nominations, as well as books by Robin himself. The shortlisted books are chosen by librarians from the participating schools in December and read by students through January and February – there are three in the younger category (Key Stage 3) and three for the older category (Key Stage 4). Here’s the link to our webpage on Browns for more details -
 
 
Ms. Hetherington welcomed staff and students from eight local schools to judge the winning book from each category, and what an absolutely fantastic time we all had! The students had a brilliant time chatting to each other about the books and deciding on a winner. Before the big announcement, it was time for a break and book buying, followed by the wonderful Robin Ince. Robin spoke about reading the books that you want to read, not what you think you should be reading or what you’re told to read. And then, rather controversially, Robin said if you want to write, just write, and don’t worry (too) much about spelling and grammar! Those things can be fixed afterwards but the most important thing is to be creative.
 
This year's winners were Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell in the younger category and Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald in the older category. Thank you to Mr Root for all things audio visual; the site team who made sure the Hall was in tip top shape; Reception, who are beyond amazing; our wonderful sixth formers – Dylan, Isaac, Ollie, Oscar, and Sam; and all our colleagues who provided support on the day.
 
World Book Day
The one day of the year when we celebrate all things bookish! From our favourite characters, to our favourite book covers, to our favourite sayings and quotes (always know where your towel is), we took on WBD25. The student librarians decided our theme this year would be Tolkein characters. Mrs Baugh was Bill the Pony and Mrs Rushton was part of a family of hobbits. Sadly, our lovely Year 11 student librarians couldn’t dress up as they had their mocks. Mrs Baugh devised a cunning WBD quiz, and we had representatives from every year group taking part. We have plenty of WBD vouchers in the library – pop in and grab one (or a few!) and get a free WBD book or £1 off a full priced book at participating booksellers. For further information, visit  https://www.worldbookday.com/books-and-tokens/
 
We’ve combined Blind Date with a bad book with our end of term competition – read a book that has had a really bad review on Amazon or Goodreads, complete the review slip, return the book and the slip by Tuesday April 1st to be in with a chance of winning an M&Ms easter egg! You can read more than one book – the more you read, the more chances you have to win!!
 
Students from all year groups can take part in the Excelsior! Award, but we focus on the blue and red awards – suitable for Key Stage 3 and 4. All titles are available in the library to read and rate and we send off all the responses – the students choose the winners, which are announced in June. Graphic novels and Manga are hugely popular at HBS and the Library now has a Graphic novel champion – Morgan from year seven, who shares his passion with fellow students. You can find out more about the Excelsior! here: https://www.excelsioraward.co.uk/
 
Our Brilliant Book Club (BBC) have been taking part in the Carnegie Shadowing award for a number of years now, and this year will be no different. The shortlist was announced on the 11th March and shadowing will begin in earnest before the end of term. 
 
 
Mrs Baugh and Mrs Rushton, HBS Librarians
 

Robin Ince was guest speaker at the NHSBA

Mrs B as Bill the Pony

Excelsior Award Blue shortlisted books

Excelsior Award Red shortlisted books.

Students from local schools came to the NHBSA

  • 20 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Science Week round-up
This year’s British Science Week was packed with hands-on activities for Key Stage 3 students, sparking curiosity and teamwork across different year groups. Year 7 took on the challenge of constructing a model Channel Tunnel and Eurostar train, racing to transport precious cargo safely and efficiently. Year 8 explored aerodynamics by designing and testing sail cars, with the longest-travelling vehicle taking the prize. Year 9 focused on thermal insulation, building model houses to see which design best slowed heat transfer in a creative ice cube challenge.
 
We also welcomed Dr Whisper Maisiri from the University of Portsmouth London, who spoke to our Year 7s and Year 9s about engineering a sustainable future, and how STEM had the potential to save the planet. He gave a fascinating and interactive talk to the boys, which included a quiz where the lucky winners walked away with some great prizes! Thank you to Dr Maisiri for giving up his time to come and talk to the boys about such a valuable topic. 
 
The week was a fantastic opportunity for students to apply scientific principles in a fun, competitive way—well done to everyone who took part!  
 
Mr Honess, Lead Teacher, Physics
 
 

Students took part in hands-on activities

Year 7 constructed a model Channel Tunnel

Year 8 designed sail cars

Year 9 built model houses

Dr Maisiri talked about engineering a sustainable future

  • 20 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Local Parent Information Event
North Herts DSPL are holding a Parent Information Event tomorrow, Thursday, 27 March. It is an all day event but parents and carers can drop in at any time or stay for all or part of the day. The line up of speakers is on the attached flyer and there are 20 local support services joining them. Refreshments provided through the day.
Although booking is not essential it will help with catering: Parent and Carer Workshops - Book Information Event for Parents and Carers.
 

DSPL Parent Event

  • 19 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Debating Matters
Congratulations to all those who recently took part in the Regional Rounds of three prestigious international debating competitions online:
 
Oxford Schools – Kaiser Quinlan, Daniel West, Elias McGuffie, Thomas Ward.
ICYD (International Competition for Young Debaters, run this year by Cambridge University) – Noah Todd, Lucas Holland, Amir Taziny, Uzair Syed.
Cambridge Schools – Euan Thomas, Daniel West, Elias McGuffie, Thomas Ward.
 
None of these students has much experience of debating, so to enter and take part in these competitions at all, against many selective schools, was a tremendous achievement of which they should all be proud. Although none of our teams managed to qualify for the Finals Day, one of our teams in the ICYD competition won one of their rounds, and one of our Cambridge teams came within a whisker of qualifying. Many thanks to all of them, and to their parents and guardians for supervision on the day, and to Mr Ajagbonna, for his invaluable coaching and supervision.
 
Some of the most recent Debating Society debates took place on Friday 7th March – ‘This House believes that the Irish Republic should be part of the UK.’ The Against side won 6-5 with one abstention, and on Friday 21st March – ‘This House believes that political violence is never justified.’ Unfortunately this debate had to be abandoned before the vote due to a fire alarm.
 
Everyone is welcome to attend the Debating Society, whatever your age or ability level. You can take part in debates, ask questions and vote, or just sit and listen. We meet in H4 at 12.45pm on Friday lunchtimes.
 
Mr Newham, History and Politics Teacher
 

Come along to the Debating Society!

  • 19 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Sixth Form students visit GSK
A group of Year 12 and 13 chemists took a trip to Glaxo SmithKline in Stevenage recently, where they heard about all the different career opportunities that the company offers. They also had a lecture on drug development and tours of the chemistry and biology labs. In one of the labs, they had a go at using some of the different equipment as well as hearing from students who had joined the company through different pathways such as apprenticeships and degree placements. They all found it to be a very useful afternoon.
 
Mr Warman, Head of Science
 
 

It was a very informative visit

  • 18 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Alumni - can you help?
Students leave HBS at the end of their school career to pursue a range of opportunities, from degree courses to apprenticeships as well as employment and training. We are often asked by our current Sixth Formers for guidance in these fields and whilst we do our best to provide comprehensive information, nothing can replace advice from those currently in the role.
If you are a former student of HBS and feel you could offer support to a current Sixth Former, we would be very grateful. There a range of ways to do this, from simply providing some contact details for the student to get in touch and ask questions through to visiting the school to present to our boys. If you feel you can help, please complete the short form here and we will be touch. 
 

Could you help our current students?

  • 17 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Apprenticeships Update
This month's Choices Magazine has a SEND focus, featuring inspirational apprentices who have shared stories of how they have overcome different personal challenges. Explore the Tesco Stronger Starts programme, follow a day in the life of a Microsoft apprentice, and more. The February edition features an inspiring case study from T Level student, Fernanda, who progressed into an apprenticeship with Lloyds Banking Group, as well as exploring apprenticeships with FCDO Services, UK Parliament and Dunelm.  To read both editions, please click here. 
 
Amazing Apprenticeships run a series of webinars and workshops for parents and students on a range of topics, including how to impress in the application process and preparing for assessment centres. You can sign up for any of them online here.
 
Earlier this month there was a programme for sixth formers on degree apprenticeships, as part of National Apprenticeship Week. The Sixth Formers' Guide to Degree Apprenticeships is available to watch via this link.
 
You can also still download the free guide to National Careers Week produced by 'The Parents' Guide to...' for NCW 2025 here.
 

The Choices magazine can be downloaded above

  • 17 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Music Competition results
The annual music competition took place earlier this month, with awards in a number of categories. Congratulations to this year's winners:
 
String cup: Alfie Fitzgerald
Brass Cup: Kit Bottomley
Percussion Cup: Eli Morris 
Woodwind Cup: Oscar Galliford
Guitar Cup: Remy Sargent
Singing Cup: Kit Bottomley
Piano Cup: Taylor Abrook
Composer's Award: Joint between Eli Morris and Eliott Debort, for a piece they collaborated on
Junior Cup (best performance in KS3): Orin Salmon
Overall winner: Taylor Abrook
 
On Saturday 29th March, HBS will be taking part in World Piano Day performances in the Market Square, raising funds for the Garden House Hospice. We are on at 1pm so please come along and support if you can!
 
Mrs Strachan, Subject Leader: Music
 

Students will be performing at World Piano Day

  • 17 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Supporting Links courses
Supporting Links have been awarded further funding to provide courses and workshops to the parents and carers in Herts for the summer term. They are running 6 online courses and 1 in-person group:
 
Talking Additional Needs (1 online course and 1 Dacorum in-person course)
Talking Families (2 online courses)
Talking Teens (2 online courses)
Talking Dads (1 online course) 
 
More information on each course can be found here. All the courses can be booked via email or phone at bookings@supportinglinks.co.uk, or call 07512 709556. 
 

There are several courses available

They run between April and July

  • 14 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Tree planting improves habitats
Thank you to the parents and students who turned out on a sunny Saturday morning to help Mr Waterman, our Sustainability Lead, plant 420 tree saplings as part of our commitment to enhancing the school’s biodiversity and green spaces. Over 40 volunteers planted the saplings along the Fishponds Road boundary to help strengthen the hedgerow, provide vital habitats for wildlife and improve our school’s natural environment.
 

420 saplings were planted

  • 14 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Traingle Community Garden
If you are feeling inspired to get outdoors following our tree planting session, the Triangle Community Garden Hitchin are holding a 'Triangle Tribe – Bushcraft for Wellbeing for families with teens' session on Friday 4th April from 6.30 - 8.30pm at their site in Hitchin. The session will include bushcraft, foraging and survival skills for families with 12-16 year olds, and offer an opportunity to get outside, learn new skills, meet new people and spend some intergenerational time in a different setting. It is led by forest school specialists CultureWood CiC. This and other events they have planned can be booked via this link: https://trianglegarden.org/events/
 

Bushcraft sessions at the Triangle Community Garden

  • 14 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Drum masterclass
At the end of February, four students took part in a drum masterclass with professional drummer Olly Sarker-Samuels. Olly took the students through various aspects of their drumming technique and also spoke about studying music at a conservatoire. There was an audience of around 25 students, most of whom were drummers, and they were given the opportunity to ask Olly questions about how to improve their playing. Well done to Thomas, Archie, Eli and Ollie for taking part!
 

Four students took part in the masterclass

  • 13 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Y7 Maths Challenge
On Monday 3rd March, eight of our top Year 7 mathematicians took part in the Year 7 Herts Team Maths Challenge. They pitted their best problem solving and estimating skills against some of the finest minds in the county. Unfortunately we didn't make it through to the grand final, but we held our own against some stiff competition, including some highly prestigious schools. Well done to Victor, Hysan, Abel, Nate, Chester, Alex, James and Tom.
 

Eight students took part in the challenge

It was a tough competition

  • 13 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Disability Cricket at Hitchin Cricket Club
Hitchin Cricket Club are hosting an initiative by the Lord's Taverners to launch free inclusive cricket sessions for children aged 8 - 16 with a disability. The sessions will take place on Saturday mornings at the club in Lucas Lane, from 9.30 - 10.30am starting on Saturday 3rd May. For more information, please email luke.heskett@hertscricket.org 
 

New inclusive cricket sessions

  • 13 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope

Looking for an NHS dentist?
Are you looking for an NHS dental practice for your son? Is he aged 16 or under? If so, Shephall Dental Practice in Stevenage is currently accepting new NHS patients aged 16 and under. Dental care for children is FREE and vital for maintaining good oral health. To book an appointment, please call Shephall Dental on 01438 351556.
 
For more information on caring for your hildren’s teeth, please visit:

  • 12 Mar 2025
  • Mrs C Hope