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27/03/24

🌟 Our amazing pupils showcased incredible 'Character (to)day' diving into a variety of topics & activities! 🚀 Year 7s showed immense Courageous Advocacy, delving into Bee habitats and acing the Big School litter pick! 🐝🗑️ pic.twitter.com/zt2ebNR4ea

27/03/24

Ahoy there! ⚓️ The Year 9 crew from HGA set sail today for the Maritime Museum in Greenwich. 🌊 Anchors aweigh for a character-filled adventure on the high seas! ⛵️🌟 pic.twitter.com/yTfUrlmJjh

26/03/24

🏐🎉 Incredible news! Our year 8 netball team has smashed their way to the Harris Cup semi-finals! 🌟👏 Big shoutout to our amazing players, especially the year 7 stars shining bright! 🌟✨ Let's cheer them on as they face ! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/E4mK2T0cAT

20/03/24

🚀 Kicking off Creative Careers 2024! 🎨 Students are diving into a world of possibilities, exploring diverse pathways in the creative industry. 📸#CreativeCareers2024 pic.twitter.com/otVpl4Ua0K

19/03/24

🌟 Thrilled to share moments from the Speak Out Regional Final! 🎤 Megan Farr and May Mbabazi shone brightly, representing Harris Garrard Academy with their powerful voices. A celebration of young talent and the magic of expression. ✨ pic.twitter.com/yI8GICW9uF

15/03/24

Off to the we go, with Year 8 in tow, to witness love's timeless tale in a contemporary glow. Thanks to ’s generous sponsorship, Shakespeare's words will leap and dip. 🎭💔 pic.twitter.com/ezNpvHdema

08/03/24

pic.twitter.com/6A3IurXrFK

07/03/24

📚✨ The halls of HGA have transformed into a literary wonderland as our secondary staff channel their inner bookworms, dressing up as their favorite book characters! From the whimsical to the wicked, can you guess the characters? 📸🎭 pic.twitter.com/y8azMifcNq

06/03/24

The yr5/6 Netball final took place between today.Both teams have done exceptionally well to reach the final & were undefeated in their league so we knew we were in for a close game

05/03/24

The yr5/6 Netball final took place between today.Both teams have done exceptionally well to reach the final & were undefeated in their league so we knew we were in for a close game

01/03/24

Just wrapped up another fantastic week at HGA, proving that even when the skies open up, we find our pot of gold in the learning of our students. 🌈 pic.twitter.com/jKjPQHPkQ2

01/03/24

HGA Sixth Formers' visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau was a powerful reminder of history's darkest chapters. Their solemn reflections will echo in our hearts and history classes. pic.twitter.com/k1CaBME2Ns

29/02/24

Excited to kick off day 1 of the Y12 Biology Residential! 🌿 Stay tuned for updates, insights, and all the fascinating discoveries we'll make together! pic.twitter.com/6nqWUWrZBE

27/02/24

We're looking forward to National Careers Week, 4th-9th March 2024. We will be using the many resources available, such as a virtual careers fair, films, talks and booklets to inspire our students about their future options and pathways. https://t.co/kTXTWlyLix pic.twitter.com/RyYS0u3HQR

20/02/24

🎉 What an inspiring afternoon at our Careers Fair! Students explored a world of opportunities with leading employers, colleges, and universities. Their futures look bright! 🌟 Check out the highlights 📸 pic.twitter.com/D5uRNqGvDW

09/02/24

Congratulations to everyone you have done yourselves, your school and your Borough proud https://t.co/AxU7Tsxvjc

09/02/24

Congratulations to everyone you have done yourselves, your school and your Borough proud https://t.co/AxU7Tsxvjc

09/02/24

We are officially through to the Sports hall finals. We finished inside the top 3 of todays qualifier and now will be one of 12 schools in the grand finals on the 19th March! This is the first time in the 3 years we have achieved this! pic.twitter.com/hw1DbJxEo1

09/02/24

We have officially arrived at for the indoor sports athletics London finals representing to team Let’s go Garrard!! pic.twitter.com/op0BNKu50R

09/02/24

Look what arrived in the post! These adorable handmade worry monsters were ordered from over a year ago. Big thanks to the talented knitters - they will bring comfort to many. Therapeutic tools for little ones. pic.twitter.com/r6GhmtALKl

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Latest News

Posted on March 18th 2019

Year 7 Seek Lost Mine of Phandelver (on Tuesdays)

DungeonsOur new Dungeons and Dragons Club, started by Mr Carr in January, is proving a big hit with our students. Mr Carr, himself a recent convert to the game, started the club after a friend suggested his students at Harris Garrard Academy might enjoy the game too.

“Dungeons and Dragons is collaborative story-telling,” said Mr Carr. “The children imagine themselves in a different world and together create the characters, a quest, and tell the story collaboratively as the quest unfolds. It’s really good to see the children getting excited, creating fictional characters and deciding what the characters should do.”

The HGA Dungeons and Dragons Club has created a rolling adventure in which they are together going on a quest to find the lost mine of Phandelver, which in the past was mined for magical content but the whereabouts of which is now forgotten.

Renaissance

Dungeons and Dragons has been around for decades but is undergoing a renaissance at present, partly due to it featuring in the Netflix series Stranger Things. “I think part of the appeal is that it’s non-digital and played with each other people face-to-face,” says Mr Carr. “It used to be thought a bit nerdy but now nerdy is cool!”

“There are no screens – just a dice, a character sheet, and barely even a board. Children are given a profile for their character, such as Goblin, Dwarf or Halfling. The children then flesh out a back-story for their character. It’s really interesting seeing the sorts of characters they create. Some want to stir things up and cause trouble in the story! Others want to be heroes and take on the enemy even against overwhelming odds. Other are more interested in the story and how it’s developing.”

Dungoens 8


Creativity

The game has a main narrator or Dungeon Master. For our group it’s Zack, Year 7, the only one of the children in the group to have played the game before. “One of the most special moments for me was when Zack was describing a battle scene so vividly that Jennifer, another of the players, asked the group: ‘Can everyone else just picture this in your heads too?’ The whole group agreed they could.”

The pleasure and creativity of story-telling is at the heart of what Dungeons and Dragons is all about. As Seun, Year 7, says: “The best thing about it is being a half dragon who breathes fire.”


Dungeons and Dragons Club takes place in Classroom 241 after school on Tuesdays. Everyone welcome.