STANWELL School has been very busy recently with plenty going on.

Three pupils, Sam Laity, Zac Dyer and Will Marsh, were the lucky winners of the WRU Community Partnership competition to get Wales versus Ireland tickets.

Save the Children sent the school a wonderful letter to thank them for all the support and donations they received from the school’s Christmas jumper day which was held in the autumn term.

The school wishes to thank all pupils, parents and staff that took part and made donations.

On Monday, February 2, Stanwell School was awarded the last Green Flag award. This places the school in the top 20 per cent of secondary schools in Wales to be recognised for the environmental awareness and commitment to make the school and area a greener one.

Congratulations go to all the pupils and staff supporting the initiative and members of Eco-Stanwell committee who worked enthusiastically over the last two years.

The school has the honour of welcoming Holocaust Survivor Eva Clarke on Monday, February 9.

During her visit Eva told the students her harrowing and inspiring story which was a privilege to hear.

GCSE and A-level students heard the story of Eva’s parents and their experience of the holocaust, finally resulting in Eva’s birth at Mauthausen Concentration Camp. A-level pupils then took part in a workshop with historian and writer, Nick Shepley.

Year 9 Geography pupils visited London for two days during this month to gain valuable fieldwork skills in preparation for controlled assessment assignments all the students are expected to complete as part of the GCSE course.

Pupils had a ride in the Emirates Cable Car to get an aerial view of the O2 Arena and other redeveloped areas along the River Thames; they also went to the Sustainable Cities exhibition and the Natural History Museum.

The second day involved a visit to the redeveloped Stratford area where the Olympic Park now shows evidence of the legacy of the 2012 Olympics and a study of why these games were described as the ‘greenest Olympics ever’.

Three pupils are now rehearsing with the Children’s Chorus of the Welsh National Opera for the forthcoming production of Hansel and Gretel. Isobel Adams, Year 7, Thomas Martin, Year 8 and Maddy Carver, Year 9, were selected after auditioning and currently spend three evenings a week rehearsing.

The annual Stanwell PTA quiz was a big success with a record number of teams competing.

Frankie Fish were the overall winners. A curry supper was provided by PTA members and their catering manager Mr M Robinson and special thanks goes to Mr Graham Lewis as quizmaster.

The school also supports the Discovery Project, a mentoring project organised by Cardiff University for young people on the autistic spectrum.

It runs fortnightly meeting every other Tuesday from 5.30pm until 7.30pm in the Bio-sciences Foyer, Sir Martin Evans Building at the University.

It gives young people a taster of university life through tours, meeting current students and discussing issues surrounding the transition to university life.