It has been an excellent start to 2026 for the Holland Park School sports teams. Our students have been representing us across a range of disciplines, showcasing their talents against local competition. As part of our ongoing partnership with @englandhandball - Holland Park hosted four handball tournaments for Year 7 and Year 8 students. Our boys’ team showed resilience to bounce back from an early defeat against Ealing Fields, turning things around with wins against Instituto Vicente Cañada Blanch and Burlington Danes. Similarly, our girls’ team secured victories over Elthorne Park High School and Instituto Vicente Cañada Blanch before falling to a strong Putney High side. Overall, both the boys’ and girls’ teams finished third in the final standings. In basketball, our U16 boys played their first fixture of the year against St Thomas More Language College. The match ended in a narrow defeat, as injuries hampered the side in the final quarter. Our U14 girls participated in the Community Basketball League finals. After an early setback, the team showed great character to secure important wins and finish the tournament in third place. Finally, in football, the Year 10 boys suffered a hard-fought 2–0 defeat against The Hurlingham Academy. The team controlled possession for long periods but were unable to convert their chances into goals. Meanwhile, the Year 8 boys defended an early lead in rainy conditions to secure an impressive win against Hammersmith Academy. #hollandparkschool #educationwithcharacter #unitedlearning #englandhandball #youthsportslondon #schoolsportslondon #englandhandballassociation

Can your reaction times match that of a Formula One driver? Our STEM Racing Club have been out testing their vehicles at the STEM Racing Centre. The programme challenges participants to design, build, and refine a Formula-style race car powered by a CO₂ canister. Students engage in the full engineering process, exploring aerodynamics, materials, testing, and iterative design while developing teamwork, project management, and problem-solving skills. The club mirrors real-world engineering environments and provides meaningful exposure to STEM pathways. @stemracinguk #hollandparkschool #unitedlearning #educationwithcharacter #STEM #STEMRacing #STEMRacingUK #formulastudent

"Notre sortie de français au British Film Institute a été la meilleure sortie de sixième que j’ai faite jusqu’à présent, avec un bon équilibre entre le plaisir et l’apprentissage. Nous avons regardé plusieurs extraits de films français de différentes époques, puis nous avons participé à une discussion avec le public. C’était très intéressant d’entendre du français authentique et de voir comment la langue est utilisée dans des situations réelles, en dehors de la classe, ainsi que de découvrir l’avis d’élèves d’autres écoles. L’événement s’est déroulé entièrement en français, ce qui m’a d’abord un peu inquiété en tant que non-natif. Cependant, à ma grande surprise, j’ai compris pratiquement tous les mots. Avoir l’occasion d’écouter du français authentique pendant une longue période m’a permis de voir combien mes compétences de compréhension orale ont progressé. C’était le meilleur moment de la sortie pour moi" - Thuraya, Year 12 "Our French A-level trip to the British Film Institute has been the best sixth form trip I have been on so far, striking the perfect balance between fun and education. We watched several clips from French films spanning different time periods, which were then opened up for public discussion. It was fascinating to hear authentic French and observe how the language is used in real, non-A-level contexts outside the classroom, as well as to learn how the films resonated with students from other schools. The event was hosted entirely in French, which initially made me apprehensive as a non-native speaker. However, to my surprise, I practically understood every word. Being given the opportunity to sit through such an extended period of authentic spoken French, and therefore realising how much my French listening skills have improved was undoubtedly the highlight of the trip for me" - Thuraya, Year 12 @britishfilminstitute #hollandparkschool #educationwithcharacter #unitedlearning #mfl #alevelfrench #gcsefrench #britishfilminstitue #bfi #bfiflare #bfilondonfilmfestival