Headteacher’s Blog: 13th July 2018

It’s apparently the author Mark Twain who said ‘Find a job you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work a day in your life.’ At BHS, we strive to give students the accurate, independent advice that they need in order to make informed choices regarding future employment. The Department for Education have recognised the importance of information, advice and guidance in their new careers strategy which states that ‘Schools should offer every young person seven encounters with employers’. As you may be aware we’ve had a Year 11 Mock Interview Challenge day for a number of years and this year has been no different. So Year 11 have spent the last few weeks preparing by choosing a job to apply for, identifying their relevant skills, applying for the job and very importantly selecting their outfit. Today each student has been interviewed by one of twelve volunteers from the local community, many of them parents, who’ve come into school to share their expertise and give our students a real life interview experience. Thanks go to the volunteers and to Mrs Rainbow for making it all happen!

Future careers were also the focus last Friday when, as part of the NHS’s 70th Anniversary, Dr Mike Holmes who is Vice Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners came in to speak to students in Years 8 and 9. He outlined some of the opportunities that he’s had within the NHS as well as describing the opportunities which it may hold for our students.
Thinking of their futures, Year 13 have been starting their UCAS applications thinking about which Universities they’d like to apply for and what they’ve done that will make their personal statement get noticed above others.

Meanwhile Year 10, in a STEM Careers Day, have been exploring their future jobs through a series of decision making activities and this afternoon had the chance to hear from ex-student Steven James who’s made his way in the Gaming industry.

Challenge Day provided a range of activities for other year groups. Year 8 all clambered on to buses this morning. Destination? Helmsley and Rievaulx Abbey where they’ll be identifying the weakest point of defence whilst also taking in the country air. By the time you read this Blog, Year 9 will be fully trained in CPR and Basic First Aid and will have spent the afternoon exploring their own healthy living by participating in a Sports Tournament.

Towards the beginning of the week, we welcomed Year 5 students from Great Ouseburn who were engaged in the Music and Drama Day followed by students from St. Peter’s Brafferton and Dishforth Airbase who came to BHS for a STEM day. In the morning they explored electricity and magnetism in action. Using their mathematical skills they carried out a crime investigation and finally, entering the world of Computer Science, they learnt how to program using a visual language to create a simple game. We’ll look forward to welcoming them and their families at our Open Evening in October.

If you visited the Great Yorkshire Show when we were having our staff Professional Development Day on Thursday, I hope that you had a really good time. So with one week to go until the Summer holidays we have one last exciting week to look forward to with the Rewards Trip to Lightwater Valley on Monday and Sports Day on Thursday, weather permitting!

Have a good weekend.