28 Tachwedd 2025
Croeso
Welcome to this week’s update from Castell Alun. We’ve had a busy and exciting few days filled with learning opportunities, enrichment activities and outstanding achievements across the school. From academic progress and parental engagement, to cutting-edge STEM experiences, exceptional sporting performances and whole-school initiatives, our students continue to make us proud. We hope you enjoy reading about the fantastic things happening across our community.
Year 12 Parents’ Evening
Yesterday evening, we welcomed Year 12 parents to our Parents’ Evening, providing an important opportunity to discuss students’ progress, achievements and next steps with subject teachers. Parents were able to gain detailed feedback on academic performance, ask questions about course content and assessments, and explore strategies to support learning at home. The evening fostered positive communication between home and school, ensuring that both students and parents are well-informed and supported as Year 12 learners continue to prepare for their qualifications and future pathways.
Looking to the Stars
We are proud to be the latest school to join the Wales Schools Meteor Camera Network as part of Cardiff University’s Deep Space to Deep Impact (DS2DI) project, an exciting Curriculum for Wales STEM initiative that explores comets, meteors, asteroids, and potential threats to Earth. Working alongside Cardiff University, the school has installed its first MeteorCam, which has already begun capturing live data through the UK Meteor Network, recording meteors, fireballs and meteor showers above the night sky of Hope.
This real-time data gives Castell Alun students a unique, hands-on opportunity to apply physics and maths by calculating meteor trajectories, predicting impact sites, and identifying radiant points of meteor showers, making their learning more meaningful and engaging. The installation forms part of a wider Wales initiative that began in 2023 and has expanded thanks to the DS2DI partnership, involving Cardiff University, Swansea University, the National Museum of Wales, and several leading scientific organisations. Castell Alun is excited to use the rich new classroom resources being developed from this live meteor data and looks forward to inspiring the next generation of astronomers and scientists through this cutting-edge project.
To read the full article: https://britastro.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/2025-Issue-04.pdf
Hands-On Science at Xplore
This week, a group of our Year 7 learners visited Xplore Science Discovery Centre in Wrexham for an exciting day of hands-on learning. Pupils explored a range of interactive exhibits, discovering how science shapes the world around us and connects to everyday life. They also took part in two practical workshops: one on coding, where they built and programmed their own robots, and another on fire safety, where they learned about different methods of extinguishing fires and even had the chance to try these techniques themselves. It was a fantastic day that inspired curiosity, teamwork and a deeper enthusiasm for science.
Engineering Workshop
We are delighted to share some wonderful feedback from the engineering workshop that took place this week. A group of Year 10 and 11 students took part and truly shone, demonstrating impressive engineering skills as well as maturity and enthusiasm throughout the session.
The company delivering the workshop was incredibly complimentary, describing our students as “absolutely amazing and a credit to the school” and even noting that this was “by far the best school they have worked with so far, as the students were so engaged and well mannered.” The facilitators commented that they enjoyed the experience just as much as the students.
We are extremely proud of every student who took part. Their conduct, commitment and curiosity exemplify the high standards we expect at Castell Alun, and they should be very proud of themselves.
Sporting Update
Football
Year 11 Welsh Cup
Our Year 11 boys delivered an incredible comeback, turning a 3–0 deficit into a 4–3 victory against a strong Connah’s Quay side. They now progress to the last 16 of the competition—an outstanding achievement!
Year 8 Boys
A brilliant 4–3 win over Elfed in Round 3 of the Welsh Schools Cup. Bendigedig, boys!
Netball
Year 7 & 8 Girls – Utilita Tournament, Wrexham
The girls topped their group and made it to the semi-finals, narrowly losing out to Rhosnesni.
A huge congratulations to Ava (Year 7) who was named Player of the Tournament!
Special thanks also to Seth (Year 10) who volunteered his time to referee—diolch yn fawr!
U16 Netball – Wales Netball Ann Smart Schools Competition
Our U16s are the North East Wales Champions! They will now represent the region at the National School Finals in February. Da iawn, genod!
Sixth Form Netball
Our Sixth Form team competed in the Flintshire round of the Wales Netball U18 Presidents Cup at Mold Alun, finishing as runners-up—a fantastic effort.
Year 10 Netball – URDD Championships
Llongyfarchiadau to our Year 10 team on becoming Champions at the URDD Year 9/10 North Wales Championships in Bangor! Da iawn also to Mold Alun, who finished as worthy runners-up.
Year 7 & 8 Netball vs The Queens School, Chester
Despite the cold weather, our teams showed great resilience and commitment in their fixtures.
None of these achievements would be possible without the dedication of our brilliant PE staff who not only support teams during competitions but also give their time after school for training and coaching. Diolch yn fawr to the whole department for your hard work and enthusiasm.
Upcoming Events
CAFA Christmas Trees & Wreaths
You can collect orders from the school on Saturday 29th November.
Hope Community Council is running its annual Christmas Lights Competition, encouraging residents to decorate their homes and gardens to spread a bit of festive magic. There are prizes to be won! All of the details — including how to enter — are available on the Council’s website here.
Entries close on Wednesday 18th December 2025, so get your lights ready and brighten up the community this Christmas!
New Lost Lost Property
To make it easier for students to get their lost items back, we’re introducing a new lost property system. Each Friday, photographs of all unclaimed items will be taken and shared in two ways. The first is here on the School Blog for parents to view, and on Google Classroom for students to check. Students can then email their teachers to arrange collection during registration or at another suitable time during the day. At the end of each half term, any remaining unclaimed items will be donated to charity. We hope this new system will help everyone reunite with their belongings more quickly and easily!
In Closing
As we move through the term, it is wonderful to see our students embracing every opportunity—whether in the classroom, through workshops and trips, or representing the school in sporting competitions. A huge thank you to our dedicated staff, supportive families and, of course, our brilliant pupils for their continued energy, commitment and enthusiasm. We look forward to sharing more successes with you in the coming weeks.
Diolch yn fawr am eich cefnogaeth barhaus / Wishing you all a restful and enjoyable weekend.
Safeguarding
If you have any safeguarding concerns, please contact our Designated Safeguarding Officers: Mr Ellis, Mrs Davies or Mr Stewart. You can reach them via the School Office or by using our Contact Form.
