Category : Headteacher’s Blog

We’ve had another productive week! In assemblies, Mrs. Godsell-Wright has been exploring the characteristics of having a growth mindset and the difference it can make to building resilience and resulting achievement. Students were asked to think about how they could act to ensure that they maximised every opportunity.

We’ve also had a Key Stage 3 and a Key Stage Rewards Celebratory Brunch for students with the most positive points in their year group.

Our congratulations also go to our 20 Year 10 and 11 students who completed their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Practice expedition. Whilst the weather was good in most parts of our region, our students had to cope with a night of camping in wet and windy conditions which certainly helped to build their resilience. Our thanks go to the accompanying staff team, Mrs. Murphy, Mr. Lough, Mrs. Cheeseman and Mr. Murphy.

On Tuesday evening we had the treat of the Drama and Music Showcase. With a hall packed full of staff and students we heard a number of superb solo performances along with those from the Keyboard Club and Pop Choir. Combined with this was ‘The Wrong Pantomime’ which kept us chuckling throughout. It was also the last musical performances for Charlotte (vocal) and Rosey (piano) in Year 11. Their rendition of ‘Birds of a feather’ and ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ leave us with very fond memories. It was also great to see our student technical team keeping the sound and lighting under control. Mr. Jackson and Mr. West were sincerely thanked by students for giving them this opportunity. Thank you to parents and carers for your support.

Wednesday saw our annual Year 7 Rocket car challenge. Science lessons have been building up to this highly successful event where, in teams, students design and develop a rocket car before competing to see whose is the fastest. The winners this year were Ava, Libbie and Nina in Dr. Lefley’s group whose car reached 81 mph – an amazing achievement.

In other news, Mrs. Cheeseman reports, ‘During this academic year, five Year 8 boys have been working on developing their gross and fine motor skills. This week they harnessed all of our school’s values; ambition, resilience and respect by taking part in a Karate taster session led by Austin in Year 9. He is a purple belt and competes regularly at regional and national competitions. The pupils learnt basic punching, kicking and stance movements. Thank you Austin for your time, the pupils loved it and so did I!’

In sporting news, Mrs. Cheeseman reports, ‘And that’s a wrap! The Netball season is finished for the academic year. Our final fixture was on Thursday against Ripon Grammar School. Two very strong teams to play but Boroughbridge were resilient and kept their heads held high with final scores of 31-3 (Year 9) and 23-2 (Year 8). Well done to our goal scorers, Bodie C, Ruby C and Ben A. What was lovely was the amount of pupils supporting the game and several played up a year group which was very ambitious. It has been a pleasure to coach the team and I hope to see them all coming along to Summer sports in the extra-curricular programme.’

 

 

Boroughbridge Lions are great supporters of BHS and, as you can see, they have an event coming up in May.  

With the Easter break now upon us, we wish all of our families a very happy Easter break and we look forward to welcoming students back into school on Tuesday 22^nd April.  

It’s been an intensive week for Year 7 as they’ve completed their first exam week at Boroughbridge High School. They’ve certainly risen to the challenge and very quickly picked up exam routines and expectations. They can now enjoy a revision free weekend. Meanwhile, students in Years 10 and 11 continue on their revision journey as they advance towards their summer exams.

As part of our Raising Achievement strategy, we’ve been focusing on different aspects of teaching and learning and, over the last four weeks, we’ve been trialling a new approach to written feedback. Teachers across the school are using our ‘BHS’ strategy, identifying in students’ work what they’ve done which is ‘Brilliant’ and ‘How to Improve’ before giving students an opportunity to act upon their feedback so that they can ‘Show me’ where they’ve made the improvement. This consistent approach across the school is supporting students to make greater progress.

 

 

 

Thanks again for your generous donations to Comic Relief. Our grand total was £598.

 

 

 

 

Last Wednesday we took a trip to Snozone. Mr. Field reports, ‘We saw another highly successful trip to Snozone at Xscape, Castleford, for Boroughbridge pupils to take part in skiing activities.  The vast majority of the 47 attendees were involved in ski lessons on the nursery slope whilst the experienced skiers in the group honed their skills on the main slope.  All of the pupils made fantastic progress and the Snozone instructors were very complimentary about the positive attitude and effort shown by those involved.  The additional highlight of the trip for a lot of the pupils was the social time with friends around the Xscape complex.  The food retailers were surprised but grateful for the amount of business that the pupils provided, a truly amazing feat seeing them consume so much food!  We hope to organise another trip soon so that more pupils can experience skiing on real snow at this amazing facility.’

In other sporting news, Mr. Field reports, ‘Wednesday saw the Yr8 boys compete at the York City Knights organised rugby league festival at Manor school, York.  The boys competed against our federated partners King James’s in the first game.  Despite being straight off the minibus the boys competed exceptionally well and secured a well deserved 12-12 draw.  The second game against York High was a closely contested affair with York High playing to strengths well in early exchanges.  As soon as some tactical changes were made the Boroughbridge boys started to make headway into the points difference.  The clock was against the team and they narrowly lost 12-16.  The final game against Sherburn High School proved to be the toughest challenge.  A well organised and experienced opposition forced the very best out of the Boroughbridge team, forcing them to show great resilience and teamwork to work through the strong defence.  The game finished 8-16 in the favour of the opposition but the boys were able to take valuable lessons from the game.’

We’re really proud of our uniform standards and appreciate your support with this. In our whole school uniform check this morning it was pleasing, as ever, to note that the vast majority of our students are in perfect uniform. We have, however, a very small number of students wearing stretchy flared trousers made from legging material – please note that these are not part of our school uniform.

 

 

 

You are warmly invited to our Drama and Music showcase next Tuesday at 6p.m. in the Main Hall.

Have a lovely weekend!

It’s been red noses all round today as the Student Council have organised our Fundraising day in aid of Comic Relief. With an impressive Bake Sale at break and lunchtime, selling of noses and non-uniform day, we’ve raised an amazing £593 in total. Thank you for your support and generous donations. 

In assemblies for Years 8 and 9 towards the end of last week ‘On the Verge’, in conjunction with the Police, delivered a session to raise awareness of County lines. Assemblies have moved aside this week for the Year 8 exams which are now finished and Year 7 are ready to start theirs next week. These exam weeks really help our students to get into good routines for exams, preparing them well for the years ahead.

Thank you for your responses to the Parent Governor election held recently. We were delighted to welcome our new Parent Governor, Kelly Ashley, to the Full Governing Body of the Boroughbridge High School and King James’s School Federation on Thursday evening.

An event for your diary – we have our Drama and Music Showcase on Tuesday 1^st April at 6p.m. We’ll look forward to seeing you there.

As you’re aware, we work closely with the Wellbeing in Mind team who are based on our school site, and they run a number of sessions to support our young people, parents and carers. Here are the details if you’d like to access their Online Sleep Workshop. 

We were very proud of Tyler in Year 11 on Thursday when, following an alert raised from the scene of an accident close to school, he ran to take one of our defibrillators to the scene as quickly as was humanly possible.

Have a lovely weekend.

We’re heading towards Red Nose Day next Friday and the Student Council have been planning their fundraising. Year 7 students, Paige, Mikayla and Libbie shared in assembly that we’ll be having a non-uniform day, encouraging the wearing of a red item of clothing with a suggested donation of £1 payable through Parent Mail. There will also be a bake sale. Donations of baking are welcomed and if there’s a red nose theme that’s even better. Finally, they’ll be able to purchase red noses for £2 during form time. Thanks in advance for your support.

It was lovely to welcome so many parents, carers and students to our Year 9 Options Evening on Wednesday. This is an exciting time as our Year 9 students further personalise their curriculum. We enjoyed sharing our ambitious curriculum, based around the EBacc, and thinking through possible future routes, looking at destinations of past students as inspiration. There was then the opportunity for conversations with teachers about progress being made in Maths, English and Science and visits to different subject stalls to find out more information before making a decision. The deadline for completing the Options forms is Tuesday 18^th March.

‘Positive Regard’ was the focus of our Professional Development Day yesterday with all staff participating in training. This complements our work with the Behaviour Hub, looking at how we can further develop our relational approach so that we can support our students, enabling them to maximise their learning opportunities. It will also form an important part of embedding our values, that we are ambitious, respectful and resilient.

 

In Sporting news, Mrs. Cheeseman reports, ‘Tuesday evening saw our Year 7 girl’s football team play King James’s School. Again, for a few this was their first fixture experience and some had purchased fresh boots especially for the game! Player of the match chosen by the other team was Rova, she must have run the length of the pitch 100 times over! I also want to mention Lily for her numerous saves in goal, a great demonstration of resilience, and also Charlotte who kept putting pressure on her player to gain some key interceptions. KJS won 4-0 but it wasn’t an easy win for them… much improved from the last game against RGS.’

Mr. Fields reports, ‘The Yr7 boys took on Ashville in the Quarter final of the district cup on Monday.  The boys were excited for the game in the latter stages of the competition but unfortunately could not find the level of performance necessary to overcome an organised and unrelenting Ashville.  The game was won by Ashville but valuable lessons were taken onboard by the Boroughbridge boys and ambitions have been reset for next year’s cup competitions.

 

 

Wednesday saw the Yr10 boys compete in the York City Knights school Rugby League tournament at Fulford.  The group of players have shown great resilience over the past few months training after school to develop their gameplay.  The boys were straight into action against the host school and lost narrowly 8 – 4.  The much anticipated federation derby was next on the fixture list and the boys revelled in competing against KJS.  Tries were exchanged early in the game as both teams showed attacking prowess and defensive frailties.  Boroughbridge again narrowly lost the game 24-20 after a superbly contested match.  The final game against Joseph Rowntree school allowed the boys to display the full range of techniques and tactics and a tremendous display of rugby was rewarded with a 20-8 victory over the York school.  The boys showed excellent teamwork, discipline, respect and sportsmanship throughout, a true measure of their character.

 

Unfortunately, we’ve had to cancel the Friends of Boroughbridge High School quiz and Chilli night due to disappointing ticket sales. The tickets that have been sold will be refunded early next week.

The second series of Progress Exams have finished today and Year 8 take their turn next week with their Exam week.

Have a lovely weekend!

 

We’ve had a great time with World Book Day. Yesterday teachers across the school led ‘drop everything and read’ sessions where they shared with students an extract from a favourite book, article or poem which was relevant to their subject before having a discussion about why it is important to them. There was a great variety and the possibility of students being inspired to read further. Examples include the Maths team who shared Humble Pi by Matt Parker. If there was ever an answer to the question, ‘Why is Maths important?’ then this book is it. Students heard about the consequences of mistakes made in Maths, some funny, some ridiculous, some almost unbelievable but ALL true! Students heard how a drinks advertising campaign ended up in court when the company refused to give away a Harrier Jet, how a building in London set fire to things, how the deepest saltwater lake in Louisiana was created by accident and how a bridge between Germany and Switzerland didn’t meet in the middle!

 

 

Up in Geography, Mr. Atkinson shared with his Year 9 and Year 11 classes, a section of ‘Moving to Higher Ground’ by John Englander. The passage highlighted the importance of sustainability and resilience in order to better manage the impact of sea level rise and that “plastics in the oceans” isn’t the entire battle. It also helped our young geographers to understand the difference between Climate Change and Ozone depletion.

Mrs. Ennis in History used three poems ‘First They Came’ by Pastor Martin Niemöller, ‘Never Shall I Forget’ by Elie Wiesel and ‘Completion’ by Vera Schaufeld with Year 9 to explore the feelings of Holocaust survivors and the importance of challenging discrimination.

With Years 10 and 11, in History, Mrs. Town shared an extract from ‘The Spy who came in from the Cold’ by John le Carre. Students are studying the Cold War and this was written whilst based in Germany in an office overlooking the Berlin Wall. It’s particularly effective at recreating the atmosphere or tension and mistrust that the Cold War is known for.

 

 

 

Miss Bargewell, in English with Year 7, shared an extract from one of her favourite books, The Shadow of the Wind. In the extract, Daniel’s father takes him to visit the cemetery of forgotten books. The setting of the cemetery of forgotten books is a powerful symbol as it is a sanctuary where stories, even those deemed unimportant or forgotten, are kept alive.

 

 

 

 

In the Intervention Room, with Mrs. Mannion,  25 students in Years 7, 8 and 9 made a fantastic display of the books that they’re currently reading using the ‘I’m reading’ website templates. They then enjoyed ‘The Wild Robot’ by Peter Brown, Chapters 1 to 11. This book was chosen by one of our Year 9 students. The main character has some autism traits and there is a theme of kindness. 

Years 10 and 11 have started the second series of Progress Exams today with the French speaking exams taking place earlier in the week. This all forms part of our Raising Achievement strategy. Thanks to the parents and carers who attended the Information Evening about Wellbeing and supporting students with exams. We’ll be sending out the information if you were unable to attend.

We had a visit from our Senior Education Adviser on Tuesday with a focus on teaching and learning across the school. He reported that ‘The school should be recognised for the positive impact of the improving behaviour strategy across the school. Behaviour across lessons was generally excellent. Similarly, there were no issues of pupils out of lessons and the atmosphere across the school was calm and conducive to learning.’ and our recent focus on questioning was also recognised, ‘Pupils were generally working constructively across all lessons visited. There were some excellent examples of teachers using a well chosen blend of volunteers and cold calling during questioning activities.’

 

In assemblies this week, we’ve explored future careers which has complemented the Options Taster sessions for Year 9.

In sporting news, Mrs. Cheeseman reports that ‘Year 7 netballers played Ripon Grammar School yesterday. This was another opportunity for some students to experience their very first fixture. The girls played 40 minutes of netball against both the A & B team from RGS. Although, we were not able to come away with the win, it was a great learning experience. The girls showed resilience and did get stronger throughout the game and started to make interceptions. The players of the match were Rova and Eliora and there was good effort from all.’

Tickets are on sale for the Friends of Boroughbridge High School, Quiz and Chilli night – Friday 21st March 7p.m. for a 7.30p.m. start. Please use this link https://www.pta-events.co.uk/boroughbridgehighschool/

You’ll need to create an account with PTA events and when you go to the ticket page remember to add a quantity for the tickets even if it is just 1 ticket – it’s not very clear sometimes! Thank you in advance for your support. We’d really appreciate your support with this as all proceeds come directly back to school.

A reminder that it is Year 9 Parent/Carer Options evening on Wednesday (12^th) from 6-8.30p.m. and then we have a Professional Development Day on Thursday (13^th March) when students do not attend school.

Have a lovely weekend!

Despite the mixed weather over half term, students returned sharing stories of how they’d made the most of their break. They returned with a positive attitude, prepared for the half term ahead and quickly settling back into routine.

We’ve been preparing for World Book Day (6^th March) in assemblies with Mr. Grierson talking with students about feedback from young people across the country. The national survey identified the things that young people find most challenging about reading are

• I haven’t found things to read that I like
• I get distracted by other things – like games and screens
• Adults want me to read things I don’t want to
• I’m not a good reader and
• I don’t like to sit still on my own

Some suggested solutions were to create a time of day to look forward to when you read just for fun, maybe at bedtime or first thing in the morning. Find quick and easy reads like comics, poems or blogs. Read while you’re on the go. Listen to an audiobook.  There was a reminder from World Book Day that ‘reading comes in many forms, from audiobooks to graphic novels, poetry to comics. It can be solitary or social. And you can read wherever you want!’ You’ll hear more of our event to celebrate World Book Day next week.

Year 9 prepare for the start of the next part of their educational journey next week when they have their Futures week. This includes opportunities to experience new subjects that they may wish to choose as options. During the following week, they’ll have their Parent/Carer evening before making those all important choices.

Students in Years 10 and 11 are preparing for their second series of Progress Exams which start on Friday where they’ll be able to see the progress that they’ve made since the first series before Christmas. We wish them well.

You can now purchase your tickets for the Friends of Boroughbridge High School Quiz and chilli night on Friday 21^st March at 7p.m. The website link for booking tickets is www.ptaevents.co.uk/boroughbridgehighschool

You’ll need to create an account with PTA events and when you go to the ticket page remember to add a quantity for the tickets even if it is just 1 ticket – it’s not very clear sometimes! Thank you in advance for your support.

Next week we have our Parent/Carer information evening which has a focus on Wellbeing and supporting students with exams. This will be particularly relevant to parents and carers of students in Years 10 and 11. It takes place at 6p.m. on Thursday 6^th March. Please e-mail schooladmin@boroughbridgehigh.com if you wish to attend.

Have a lovely weekend!

Year 9 breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday afternoon as their exams came to an end. Not only will the exams demonstrate student progress but the whole process including revision, preparation and the exam helps students to develop the skills that they’ll require for their GCSEs. After half term, they’ll be starting to think about their Key Stage 4 curriculum and the options that they would like to take.

Thank you for your responses to the behaviour survey which show improvement in all areas. This feedback forms an important part of our evaluation now that we have completed our work with the DfE Behaviour Hub. It will also help us to shape our future work with Positive Regard as we continue to drive forward our standards.

Over 90% of parents and carers agreed or strongly agreed that they regularly checked MCAS. Over 80% agreed or strongly agreed that they were clear about behaviour expectations, understood the school’s behaviour policy, knew where to find the school’s  behaviour policy, supported the school giving out sanctions when their child had not met behaviour expectations and knew who to contact if they wanted to get in touch about behaviour. Over 70% of respondents felt that on a typical day behaviour was good or very good. The lowest scorings are related to understanding how rewards work in school.

This feedback forms an important part of our evaluation now that we have completed our work with the DfE Behaviour Hub. It will also help us to shape our future work with Positive Regard as we continue to drive forward our standards.

This week in sporting news, Mrs. Cheeseman reports ‘On Wednesday, eleven Year 7 girls played King James’s School in a football fixture at home. I was very impressed with the organisation and intuition of the girls to get ready and warmed-up for the game promptly. I have to commend the girls’ resilience and ambition shown in only their second football fixture, compared to a well-rehearsed opponent. KJS dominated the game from the start with a win in the end but I do have some positives to report. Firstly, well done to our two players of the match, Mili and Genevieve. Mili made a cracking save where she jumped at least her body height off the ground in an almighty stretch for the ball! Genevieve really came alive in the second half supporting the attacking play. Secondly, overall the whole team was significantly more cohesive, determined and fluid in their play compared to their last game. After the half term, there will be a KS3 girls only lunchtime extra-curricular football club on a Tuesday.’

 

 

Meanwhile the Year 8 boys forced a 2-2 draw against Rossett. Mr. Field said that they played really well and showed great resilience throughout the game.

 

 

 

A reminder that the Friends of Boroughbridge High School are organising a quiz and chilli night at BHS on the evening of Friday 21^st March. Teams of up to 6, bar and raffle. Further information on how to buy tickets will follow shortly.

We hope our students have a great half term break and have a lovely weekend!

 

Last weekend was an incredibly successful one for Austin (Y9) who, competing in the English Karate Childrens and Veterans Championships in Sheffield secured a fantastic Silver and Gold medal. What an achievement!

Keeping a focus on success, in assemblies this week Mr. Scott (Head of Science) has been exploring with students future opportunities and the likelihood that, due to the development of technology, our students will have jobs that don’t exist at this moment in time. Therefore, he talked about the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects and the addition of an ‘A’ for ‘Arts’ to make STEAM which encourages students to think critically and creatively and to use engineering or technology in imaginative designs or creative approaches to real world problems. Students were left in no doubt of how their current learning would link to their futures.

Over the last few weeks our Year 11 students have been thinking beyond GCSE, visiting local post-16 provisions in Harrogate and York and, this week, a group went across to King James’s School for the Taster Day where they met staff and students and experienced lessons across the post-16 curriculum.

It was great to welcome so many people to the Year 8 Parent/Carer evening on Wednesday.  Along with lots of productive conversations around progress, it was good to have many general conversations about the positive experiences that Year 8 are having at Boroughbridge High School.

In sporting news, Mr. Field reports, ‘The Year 8 boys took on King James’ School on Thursday night in the much anticipated 2nd round of the District Cup.  The boys were eager to put the recent exit from the ESFA Small Schools Trophy competition behind them with this local derby.  The start of the match did not unfold as intended with the boys not showing the ambition that they had shown in abundance in previous games.  There were flashes of attractive football which showed that they still had an ample skillset to take on the federated opposition.  The first half ended with the boys 4-1 behind, a nice lobbed goal from A. Farnworth instilled some belief as they came into the break.  A refocusing of mindset during the half time team talk proved to be very beneficial as the boys played with ever growing confidence and started to take the game to their rivals.  Wave after wave of Boroughbridge attack poured pressure onto the King James defence forcing them to concede a large amount of corners.  Unfortunately the pressure did not come to fruition and the game ended with the King James’ team progressing to the quarter final winning 5-1.  Valuable lessons were taken from the performance with an understanding and belief that, as a team, they are very capable of causing any team problems and the importance of focusing on their performance to ensure they play at their very best.’

Year 7 girls were involved in a Bench ball tournament this week. Mrs. Cheeseman reports ‘On Wednesday eleven Year 7 girls travelled to Thirsk School to take part in a Benchball tournament. Well done to, Alice, Ruby, Josie, Charlotte, Matilda, Maddy, Lyla, Benedita, Amelia, Esmae and India. The school games event was aimed at providing an opportunity to increase wider engagement and participation in sporting competitions. We placed 3rd and all who took part got a fancy medal to celebrate. A special mention to Maddy, who was awarded MVP (most valuable player) for her nifty defending skills and to Josie, who was awarded an additional medal for her enthusiasm and determination displayed in the games. Lastly, I want to highlight how brilliant Charlotte was, she was getting interceptions left, right and centre!’

A reminder that we’re currently collecting feedback about the progress that we’ve made with behaviour as part of our work with the Behaviour Hub programme. It’s helpful for us to have as many responses as possible as this gives us a more accurate picture. The survey will remain open until Monday so you still have time to give your feedback. You can complete it at https://forms.gle/pq8bMxFgEbrYGu8h8 Thank you if you’ve already done so.

Next week Year 9 have an important week ahead as it’s Year 9 exam week. We carry out exams with each year group so that they get used to the rules and regulations of the exam room in preparation for their GCSEs.

A date for your diary, the Friends of Boroughbridge High School are organising a quiz and chilli night at BHS on the evening of Friday 21^st March. Teams of up to 6, bar and raffle. Further information on how to buy tickets will follow shortly.

Have a lovely weekend!

With our current focus on aspects of Teaching and Learning as part of our Raising Achievement Strategy, questioning has been at the fore this week. Staff have been using questioning sequences to assess student progress, provoke thinking and deepen understanding.

Examples of this across the curriculum include Miss Bargewell’s Year 7 English class who were involved in Travel Writing. Miss Bargewell reports ‘Students were asked to agree or disagree with the statement ‘this advert would persuade me to go on holiday’ after watching ‘Simon the Ogre’ from Thomson. Through whole class questioning, all students offered an initial response to the statement. By using a combination of cold calling and probing, students developed their initial ideas and also built on the answers of others, sometimes challenging another student’s point of view! The general consensus was that the advert was not as effective as it could be because it ‘didn’t really have any words, only images’ which was a perfect introduction to writing our own advert voice overs.’

In Year 8 PE where students were playing volleyball, Mrs. Cheeseman reports ‘ Questioning with hands down approach was used to retrieve knowledge from previous lessons. We had covered dig and set hits in volleyball previously. Students were selected to tell and show key teaching points of the hits. Where appropriate they were asked to explain why they had given that answer. When introducing a new element of the game, serving, they were given time to discuss prior knowledge with a partner and then hands up was used to gauge confidence levels and prior knowledge.’

 

In Year 8 Art, Mrs. Hunter reports ‘Students were asked to look at the illustrations of Tim Burton before describing his style using keywords initially as individual work. Wider questions were then asked about similarities across several media showing his work both stop motion animation characters and his simple sketches. Students were asked what type of mood his work created. We then discussed how to achieve the same effect in our own work and broke this down into a 3 part simple process. We then discussed techniques and simple tips in which to achieve this in their own work. Individuals were targeted initially but then opportunities were opened up for those that felt we had missed anything additional in our summing up.’

 

 

In Year 8 DT where students were looking at mechanisms, Mr. Groves reports that he discussed with groups the uses of mechanisms in the wider world. Students were asked to give examples of where mechanisms might be used and how they would be used in those devices, machines or structures. The responses were wide ranging and thoughtful.

In Year 10 English where students were studying Act Two of ‘Macbeth’, Mrs. Wellock reports that ‘This week, we have been considering: How does Macbeth’s internal conflict and Lady Macbeth’s influence escalate following Duncan’s murder? Closed questions were used to retrieve key information from the play and a range of open ended questions including the key question above were used to deepen our understanding of the play.’

Finally in GCSE Business Studies and Computer Science, Mrs Sands reports that ‘As part of retrieval, students were asked to respond to a range of written questions which link to their forthcoming practice for the mock. Prompts were given for students who needed support and students were selected to give information before further questioning challenged students to answer in more detail.’

As part of our Quality Assurance, on Tuesday, one of our Governors visited and went into classes across the school to see questioning in action.

To mark Holocaust Memorial Day on 27^th January 2025 with the theme this year being ‘For a Better Future’, Mrs. Ennis has led assemblies with all year groups. Having shared information about the Holocaust, Mrs. Ennis talked about more recent genocides which have taken place before exploring how our young people can create a better future by challenging prejudice and discrimination and how they should never underestimate their capacity to make a positive difference.

In sporting news this week, the Year 8 boys football team played Ashville College with BHS finally winning on penalties with a BHS penalty converted and one of Ashville’s missing. The boys demonstrated excellent team commitment and spirit and showed great resilience as they came back from behind and secured the win!

It’s Year 8 Parent/Carer evening from 4-6.30p.m. next Wednesday (5^th February). We’ll look forward to seeing you there.

Have a lovely weekend!

We were incredibly grateful to the First Responder Team who came into school on Wednesday for our ‘Restart a Heart’ day. Years 7, 8 and 9 participated and with Years 10 and 11 carrying out the training last year, our school community is now fully trained in CPR. You can find out more about it at https://www.bhf.org.uk/how-you-can-help/how-to-save-a-life/how-to-do-cpr

As part of our Raising Achievement Strategy, we’re systematically focusing on aspects of Teaching and Learning.  We’re currently looking at questioning in classrooms which also links into our Phases of Learning. We’ll be talking with students of the value of questions in checking understanding and supporting students’ thinking and how this enables teachers to adapt their teaching to move the learning on. It also gives students an opportunity to show their ‘Ambition’ by actively participating and contributing in lessons whilst also developing ‘Resilience’.

Years 10 and 11 have had feedback on their progress at our Parent/Carer evening on Wednesday. Thank you for your attendance. We also took the opportunity in Year 11 assembly on Friday to present students with their Progress Exam results as if they were receiving them in August so that they can reflect on the approach that they need to take in the coming months.

In Assemblies this week, through our value of ‘resilience’ Mr. Grierson has focused on peer pressure looking at both the positives and negatives. He explored the factors that make groups behave in certain ways and shared strategies that students can use to support them in making positive choices.

In sporting news, Mrs Cheeseman reports ‘This week we had two fantastic football opportunities for Year 7 & 8 girls. For many it was their very first fixture representing the school. On Monday, Boroughbridge High School hosted the indoor area Year girls 5-a-side tournament. All teams participated excellently well demonstrating high levels of skill. All games were low scoring and extremely close. The BHS team came 3^rd with Harrogate Ladies College  1^st and Ashville College 2^nd.

Wednesday saw two teams travel to Ripon Grammar School to play in a Year 7 and 8 fixture. This is the first time both teams have played together. They showed an immense amount of respect for each other. Well done to Alice, who scored a goal in the Year 7 game and player of the Year 8 match, Ava. I was particularly impressed with the girls’ resilience to preservere even when the score was against them. A highlight was the ‘carpool karaoke’ (I’m not joking) on the way home. Thank you very much to the Boroughbridge Community Care Minibus team and our driver Nic for providing us with transport to the game.’

It was also lovely to see our Year 9 Sports Leaders stepping up to the mark on Wednesday supporting a cross country event for our local primary schools hosted at BHS.

Coming up in the next couple of weeks is Year 8 Parent/Carer Evening on Wednesday 5^th February and Year 9 exams begin on 10^th February.

Have a lovely weekend!