Secondary Parents' Bulletin 19.09.25

avantifields
Sep 19, 2025
5 min read

Head of Secondary's Message

We were delighted to welcome so many families to our recent Year 6 Open Evening. The event was a real success, with our staff and students showcasing the wide range of opportunities and experiences available at our school. The enthusiasm, commitment, and warmth shown by everyone involved left a lasting impression on our visitors, and we are proud of the way our school community came together to create such a positive evening.

I am also proud to share the success of our first cohort of students to complete the Duke of Edinburgh Award assessed expedition. The group demonstrated exceptional resilience and teamwork as they navigated their walk, camped overnight at Beaumanor Hall, and worked collaboratively to meet the challenges of the expedition. Their strong communication, leadership qualities, and determination shone through, and they should be very proud of what they have achieved. This milestone marks an exciting new chapter for the Duke of Edinburgh programme in our school, and we look forward to supporting more students on this journey in the future.

Warm regards

Ms N Kholia

Calendar Updates

Monday 22^nd September – Wednesday 1^st October: Navratri
Friday 26^th September: European day of Languages

Department / Students Updates

Celebrating the work of our Avanti Fields GCSE Art Students

The Art department are particularly impressed with the drawings made by Abhinav (Y11) for his current mock exam project on Gardens. We would like share his beautiful work with you.

Navratri Celebration

As Navratri begins next week Mr P Patel has kindly arranged daily Worship and Aarti sessions during lunchtimes in the Worship Hall. Students are warmly invited to take part in the Aarti and join us in celebrating this auspicious occasion together. Let’s come together in devotion and joy as we honour the divine energy of Navratri.

Importance of Navratri & Vijayadashmi

Hindus across world will observe and celebrate the grand nine-day festival of Navratri from Monday 22nd September to Wednesday 1st October. The celebrations conclude with Vijayadashami, (also known as Dussehra), on Thursday 2 October 2025.

Navratri is one of the most important festivals in the Hindu calendar, and is celebrated in different ways in different regions of India. From the iconic Durga puja in West Bengal full of rituals and celebrations, to Gujarat’s famous Garba dancing for nine nights, this festival brings together cultures and traditions all dedicated to the Divine Feminine energy (shakti) of The Absolute Truth.

Hindus worship Durga Devi in her various forms. From Amba in Western India, to Kali in Eastern India, each day is dedicated to a different aspect of the Shakti, feminine energy. The nine forms of Durga each represent a different phase of a female’s life. Each form mirrors life’s journey, and one can connect with her wonderful forms, and receive benedictions of strength and devotion to go through phases of their own lives.

Along with various rituals, pujas, and fasting, Navaratri involves nine nights of dancing with others in a circular motion with the accompaniment of music and devotional songs. In the centre of the circles is a ‘garbo’, a round, beautifully decorated clay pot with holes, some grains, and a small clay diya lamp within it. Garbo comes from the Sanskrit word ‘garbha’ translated as ‘womb’ which denotes life and creation. The Divine Mother (or shakti) is represented in the ‘garbo’ as a reminder about the importance of all shaktis in our lives, from our mothers through to our daughters. The lamp and the grains represent the soul, and what we need to sustain ourselves in this world. Circumambulating the ‘garbo’ with joyous music and dance is an act of worship.The nine days also marks the war between Sri Rama, and the evil king Ravana. The battle of good vs evil goes on for nine days, and on the tenth, Sri Rama kills Ravana. Hindus burn bonfires with effigies of Ravana, whose ten heads represent the evil vices with us, such as greed, lust, envy, etc. The killing of this ten-headed demon reminds us of the importance to battle these vices of evil within own lives, with the help of Lord Rama, who is easily accessible in this age, through His divine and beautiful names.

Written by Preyesh Patel, PRE Teacher.

Relationships and Sexual Education at Avanti Fields School

At the start of each academic year, we provide details of our Relationships and Sexual Education (RSE) curriculum to our parents.

Definition of RSE

The objective of relationships and sex education is to help and support pupils through their physical, emotional, and moral development. RSE is about the emotional, social, and cultural development of pupils, and involves learning about relationships, sexual health, sexuality, healthy lifestyles, diversity, and personal identity, appropriate to each phase of education. RSE involves a combination of sharing information and exploring issues and values. RSE is not about the promotion of sexual activity. Primary sex education is not compulsory in primary schools; AST primary schools will provide relationship education.

Aims The aims of the relationship and sex education policy (RSE) are to:

• Provide a framework in which sensitive discussions can take place.

• Prepare pupils for puberty and give them an understanding of sexual development and the importance of health and hygiene.

• Help pupils develop feelings of self-respect, confidence and empathy.

• Help pupils to develop skills to enable them to understand difference and respect themselves and others for the purpose also of preventing and removing prejudice.

• Create a positive culture around issues of sexuality and relationships. • Teach pupils the correct vocabulary to describe themselves and their bodies.

Statutory requirements

As a school in the Avanti Schools Trust (AST), we must provide relationships education to all pupils as per section 34 of the Children and Social Work Act 2017.

Please see the Avanti Schools Trust RSE Policy for further information: https://avanti.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Relationships-and-Sex-Education-Policy.Spring-24.pdf

Please click the link below to view up-to-date information about what we teach in the secondary RSE curriculum at Avanti Fields School: https://www.avantifields.org.uk/pshe-citizenship

Parents and Carers webinar

Please see link below the live parents and carers webinar for further information and registrations.

KS4 Careers Fair

Reminder: KS4 Careers Fair

Avanti Fields would like to warmly welcome you to the KS4 Careers Fair on Thursday 2nd October 2025.

The event will offer a wide variety of organisations, providing valuable insights to students to enable them to make informed choices Post 16.

There will be 2 sessions to choose from and only 65 tickets are available per session.

First session: 16:30 - 17:15

Second session: 17:15 - 18:00

Maximum of 3 people per ticket please.

PTFA Events

Please see link below for PTFA Newsletter:

Avanti Fields PTFA is excited to present upcoming events for parents/staff and entire school community. Tickets for Navratri are selling fast please book your tickets by scanning QR code.