Author Archives: Amanda Haggath-Smith

It’s been a busy couple of weeks in Forest School with students being fully engaged in all activities. Last week Mr. Woodward said, ‘“Won’t it sting my mouth?” is always the most popular question when you try to convince people to eat a hedgerow superfood which grows in abundance in the UK at this time of year. That’s right…nettles. These nasty little stingers contain vitamins A, C, K and several B vitamins, along with iron, calcium and magnesium. They’re packed with amino acids, beta-carotene and antioxidants. So, how to make them more palatable? Easy…light a campfire, mix up some self-raising flour, salt, water, curry powder and chopped nettles. Fry them in plenty of oil over the fire and you have some delicious curried nettle bhajis. Try it this weekend…I promise you you’ll be pleasantly surprised!’

And this week ‘The one thing you can rely on with May weather in Yorkshire is that you cannot rely on it. We were set up for a glorious, sunny session with bright blue skies and warm sunshine beating down as feather sticks were carved; however, within 15 minutes, the clouds were rolling in and the heavens opened! Thankfully, the students constructed adequate shelter under which they cooked their woodland pancakes.’

This week Year 9 girls were invited to a Power of Women event which was held at the Thalia waste recovery centre at Allerton Park. Power of Women aim to provide women in the North East of England with role models, inspiration, resources and information to help take control over the choices they have in life.

In the visitor centre, students explored a range of exciting career opportunities within the sector which included operations, human resources, accounting, social media, and environmental management. There was lots of interactive learning which included networking and a “Guess Who” exercise to find out the job role of each of the Thalia staff attending. Students also met one of the Thalia apprentices and learnt about how an apprenticeship works.

The visit also gave students the opportunity to see first-hand how Thalia Waste Management operates and learn more about sustainability. There was a guided tour of the facility and students saw how the waste is recovered, reduced, or recycled. Students demonstrated a good knowledge of Science in the questions they asked and showed confidence when talking to different members of staff.

Wearing their hi-vis vests and following all the safety instructions, the students were a credit to Boroughbridge High School.

Ms Mannion, Careers Adviser commented “I was very impressed to see how well our students were engaging with the Thalia staff ambassadors and they were clearly enjoying the event.”

I joined the event later in the afternoon and was so impressed with the confidence of our young people and the quality of the questions that they asked. Our thanks go to Thalia and Power of Women.

In Sporting news, you’ll remember that last week our Sports Leaders were in action being trained in Kin-Ball so that they can lead a session at the upcoming Wellbeing Festival at Dalby Forest run by North Yorkshire Sport. Here are the team who will be supporting other participating schools.

In Netball, Miss Robson reports, ‘Yesterday afternoon our Year 8 netball team travelled to Barlby High School for their final game of the season and a rematch! Our captain Amelia led by example, watching the ball closely to gain several interceptions as GK. They battled their way through a test of endurance, with 12 minute quarters! Barlby were a team not afraid to make their presence known and we felt the pressure from a few knocks in the first half. We held our own and kept turning the ball over. However, something to work on is our centre passes and delivery of our passes into our attackers’ free space. Overall a hard score line, 29-2. When isolating the second quarter the score was only 3-1 so there is potential there. Speaking with our opponents gave us insight into their training and has highlighted our need to consistently train weekly as a full team. Well done to India who was given player of the match.’

In Mr. Grierson’s assemblies this week, the theme was equality, recognising that every person deserves the same respect, the same opportunities, and the same chance to succeed, no matter who they are, where they come from, what they look like or what they believe. The students looked at individuals who had made a positive impact and changed the world including Emmeline Pankhurst and Nelson Mandela, reinforcing that one person can really make a difference.

There was a real buzz in the Hall for Year 7 Parent/Carer evening on Wednesday. It was lovely to hear positive conversations of progress made with a recognition of students’ increasing confidence confirming how well Year 7 have settled into Boroughbridge High School.

Looking ahead we have the Year 9 History trip to Beamish on Friday 5^th June.

With beautiful weather forecast, have a great Bank Holiday weekend and we’ll look forward to welcoming students back into school on Monday 1^st June.

We’re now fully into exam season and we’ve been impressed with the approach of our Year 10 and 11 students who have been fully prepared and focused. They are certainly being ambitious and showing resilience. Our thanks go to you too for your support during this time. 

In assemblies this week, Mrs. Godsell-Wright has been focusing on good habits and avoiding bad habits (with a little help from Ed Sheeran!). Having looked at why bad habits are bad, students were invited to explore good habits that help us to live healthy lives in all ways. There are 10 good habits; sleep pattern, exercise, healthy eating, personal hygiene, listening to your mind and body, learning to manage stress, finding your passion, managing screen time, avoiding substances misuse and building healthy relationships. 

The May Music concert on Wednesday was a triumph with a wide range of excellent, enthusiastic performances. The Keyboard Club got proceedings underway and we had precise piano solos from Austin in Year 10 and Esmae and Freddie in Year 8. Freddie gave us an extra challenge to identify the countries in his national anthems medley which seemed very fitting as we approach Eurovision weekend! We had moving vocal solos from Larissa in Year 11 and Olivia in Year 9 and the Pop Choir made us all feel like singing with their performances which included ‘Don’t Stop Believing’. Our guitarists James in Year 11 and Jack C and Jack T in Year 10 certainly raised the volume with their intense performances. Well done all, a fantastic concert. Making it all happen were our student technical team, Conner, James and Stan in Year 11, Austin, Antonio, Bodie and Jack in Year 10 and Luke in Year 9. Our thanks go to them and to Mr. Jackson who was publicly thanked by Larissa who confidently talked about the difference that Music makes to our school community. A proud moment. 

Our congratulations go to James in Year 8 who was awarded a Talent for Writing Certificate of Merit from Young Writers following his competition entry last month. His work will be published in an upcoming Stranger Sagas 2026 and the competition winners will be published next month. A fantastic achievement! Well done James.

We’ve had two external visitors this week; one of our governors, Ian Yapp and our LA Senior Education Adviser, Jon Norden. They both independently commented on the calm and purposeful environment around school, positive relationships, ‘Interactions between students and with adults were respectful and courteous throughout.’ and the high quality of teaching and learning. 

This morning we welcomed Year 5 from Boroughbridge Primary School for a happy numbers session in Maths with Mrs. Valentine. Year 5 showed what excellent mathematicians they are, very quickly identifying happy numbers. We’ll look forward to welcoming them back later in the year. 

Our Sports Leaders have been in action today, both leading and learning. Having been invited to lead a Kin-Ball session at the Colour Run Wellbeing Festival in June our students took part in a training session before, in the afternoon, supporting with a primary school games event. Exciting times!

We’re looking forward to welcoming Year 7 Parents and Carers next Wednesday for their face to face Parent/Carer evening. 

Have a lovely weekend! 

Year 7’s Rocket Car Challenge was a triumph last Friday. Following days of preparation, team tactic discussions and precise construction, the cars were ready to race. They were set off one by one and, as they screeched towards the speedometer, highest speeds of 66mph were recorded. Our congratulations go to the two winning teams; Elsa, Sophie and Polly supported by Dr. Lefley and Lucy, Olivia, Abbie supported by Ms. Salter.

In assemblies this week, Mrs. Godsell-Wright has focused on our values of being Ambitious and Resilient and the impact that choosing a positive attitude can have. Students were invited to think about their own approach to challenging situations and how they can flip their thinking from ‘I can’t’ to ‘I can’. With inspirational quotes throughout such as ‘The future depends on what you do today.’, students left ready to take on the challenges of the day ahead.

Mr. Woodward reports, ‘This week in forest school, students developed their tool use skills, learning the thumb push grip and mastering the use of the folding saws to create a pot stand that could be raised and lowered over their campfire, allowing them to control the boil of the pot and effectively cook a pasta dish.’ 

Our Year 9 Sports Leaders were in action on Tuesday morning, supporting primary students from around our local area to enjoy an exciting morning of sport!

Our GCSE linguists took on their French speaking exams on Thursday whilst PE students were actively engaged for their GCSE PE moderation.

As we approach the Bank Holiday weekend some of our students and staff are setting off on their Silver Duke of Edinburgh Expedition. We wish them well.

A date for your diary! We’ll be having our Music concert at 6p.m. in the Main Hall on Wednesday 13^th May – we look forward to seeing you there.

Have a lovely Bank Holiday weekend!

Our school site is always glorious at this time of year and it has been great to see students taking the advice given in previous assemblies about the benefits on physical and mental health of spending time outdoors and appreciating nature. Lunchtimes have seen students enjoying a wide range of informal and formal sporting sessions making the most of our large playing field. We’re also aware that our mobile phone policy, ensuring that students have a social media free school day, is having a positive impact.

Some of our students were taking an active role in improving our environment by working on the raised beds in the Bungalow garden. A big thank you to Johnsons Nurseries, Kirk Hammerton who have generously donated compost which, as you can see, was put into good use immediately.

Staying on the environmental theme, Mr. Atkinson’s assemblies this week have focused on the need to think about sustainability which he’s skilfully explored by sharing the geographical jewels of his own global travels, the impact of humans and how actions can have positive and negative consequences. Students were left to think about the impact of their own actions.

Last weekend the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh students took on their practice expedition. Mrs. Murphy reports, ‘All 19 Bronze D of E students had a successful practice expedition, we were particularly impressed with their focus and determination on the walk.  They have learnt lots of new skills, especially at the campsite and are now starting to plan their routes for their qualifying expedition in June’.

The GCSE Art exam has taken place this week with students arriving on time and fully prepared to make the most of the available time. Our linguists will be engaged in their French speaking exams next week. With the exams upon us, the NHS Wellbeing in Mind team have been holding lunchtime sessions on coping with exam stress.

In Sporting news Miss Robson reports, ‘Success again in sport with a win at the Year 9 School Games Benchball competition at Thirsk School. We had enough students to split into two teams to take on Thirsk. Our Boroughbridge B team were unbeatable and won all 4 of their matches to be crowned the champions. The Boroughbridge A team placed third winning 1 match. Everyone was awarded a gold or bronze medal and well done to Evie, Lily, Nancy and Genevieve who were chosen to receive an additional medal for their effort and achievement during the competition. An afternoon of fun, sun and run(ning) after a netball.’

Year 7 have been involved in building and racing their rocket cars today! I’ll let you know more in the Blog next week.

Have a lovely weekend!

Year 10 and 11 were breathing a sigh of relief this afternoon following the completion of their final progress exam. The feedback that they receive over the next few weeks will form an important part of their preparation for the Summer exams.

In Forest School this week, Mr. Woodward reports, ‘Spring has sprung in the Boroughbridge High Forest School Woodland! Daffodils carpet areas of the floor, there’s frog spawn in the pond, the faint sound of croaking can be heard as our resident amphibians try to impress potential mates and we’ve moved activities away from the pond to ensure ducks and moorhens aren’t disturbed. In the spirit of new beginnings, a new group of students have begun their forest school adventure, with den building, team building and communication skills activities, slackline construction, knot tying, safe siting, lighting and extinguishing of campfires as well as developing the ability to light (without matches) and maintain a fire for long enough to boil water – a fundamental survival skill. 

With Red Nose Day on the horizon (Friday 20^th March) this has been the focus of assemblies led by Miss Robson and the School Council this week. You’ll have seen in the letter sent out this week that we have a number of Red Nose Day events which students can get involved in to raise money to support people in need in both the UK and across the world. These include a non-uniform day (£1 donation on Parent Pay) or students may wish to create their own Red Nose Day nose with the chance of winning a competition for the best design. We’ll also be having a bake sale along with a competition for the best Red Nose Day themes bake. (A reminder that all bakes need to be nut free.)

In Art, Year 9 have been demonstrating their skills with the completion of their dogs. They’re great, aren’t they?

In sporting news, Miss Robson reports, ‘On Tuesday our Year 9 girls football team got to play in brand new kit when they went King James’ for a friendly. The girls were very excited and grateful to have fresh t-shirts, goalie gloves and shin guards. Mili was the player of the match. She was formidable, saving goal after goal and also sending the ball up the pitch to strikers. Now we may not have scored during the match but we certainly had a good fitness workout playing on a full sized 3G pitch.’

We had our Professional Development Day on Thursday where the key session was around adaptive teaching which is about removing barriers whilst maintaining ambition, not lowering expectations. This, of course, mirrors our school values and is one of the factors which helped us to secure our significantly improved exam results last year. A key part of this is questioning to check knowledge so that the lesson and learning can be adapted in response to student answers. It’s as important when students don’t get the correct answer as when they do. And, around school this week questioning has been at the fore. In GCSE lessons, questioning has been used to support revision. In English the question, ‘Why does Shakespeare use imperative commands as Macbeth addresses the witches?’ was posed whilst in Business, students were asked to explain how an increase in interest rates would impact on a car manufacturer and to describe the link between economies of scale and production costs. In Geography, students were asked to discuss the factors affecting, ‘Does everyone have equal access to food, energy and water?’. In MFL the ‘mistake of the week’ display was used to form a weather phrase, correcting an earlier mistake. In Maths, questioning was used to ask students to describe the next steps in solving linear equations, whilst others were asked, in the context of bank statements, about credits, debits and balances. In Music having retrieved prior knowledge by sharing key features of rhythm, timbre, metre and ‘The Blues’, students were asked questions to get them to compare their responses with those on the board. In Art students were asked to consider what they needed to make a drawing look ‘finished’ to the highest level, considering tone, texture, contrast and accuracy of line. In Food Tech students were asked what they would do to check whether chicken was cooked correctly and safe to eat. In Physics, students were asked how to rearrange the hardest equation in GCSE Physics; making v, a and s the subject.

In RS, students were considering the question ‘Does the ‘set’ nature of the Lord’s prayer encourage worshippers to tune out from its true meaning?’.

Coming up next Wednesday (18^th March) is our Year 9 Parent/ Options evening from 6-8.30p.m. and then our Silver Duke of Edinburgh students will be starting their practice expedition on Friday evening returning on Sunday.

Have a lovely weekend!

Our students returned from their half term break full of conversations about what they’d been doing and it was lovely to see the school site beginning to show real signs of spring. This was particularly apparent for the Forest School students. Mr. Woodward reports,

‘With snowdrops fully in bloom and the first hints of yellow daffodil flowers emerging, the woodland was starting to hint at the end of winter as the current forest school group completed their last session. Woodworking and knot tying skills were utilised to cut notches into hazel lengths to allow the students to successfully attach cord to their newly created bows. They then moved on to arrow creation; stripping sticks of bark, carefully splitting one end and inserting a flight before lashing the end to make a notch that would allow the arrow to sit securely on the bow string. Then it was off to the field for target practice!’

We’ve also started our new mobile phone policy this week. As ever, our students have responded positively and we are already seeing many benefits of this approach. Thank you for your support.

In assemblies this week with Years 10 and 11, with Progress Exams on the horizon, I’ve been talking with students about our value of being ambitious and showing how that can be translated for them at this stage in their school lives. It was lovely to welcome parents and carers of students in Years 10 and 11 to the information evening on Wednesday where they were given information about the processes and practices of the exam season with information on how to support our young people as they move through this potentially challenging time.

For Years 7, 8 and 9, Miss Bargewell was thinking ahead to World Book Day, examining the evolution of the written word with a strong encouragement of the power of reading.

In sporting news, Mr. Field reports, ‘The Yr11 Rugby squad revelled in their last opportunity to represent the school playing rugby and had high expectations of securing a coveted tournament victory.  The boys were straight into action after exiting the minibus and took on Huntington and were quickly out of the blocks with some ferocious tackling and ruthless ball carries. The Huntington team were stunned by the ambition shown by Boroughbridge and were respectful in their defeat by              28-20.  Boroughbridge next faced the host school Joseph Rowntree and although weary from their previous game still produced some fantastic rugby.  The tactics changed slightly as fatigue started to set in, this showed another facet of the boys as they used their guile to ensure they secured a narrow 28-24 victory.  The final game and the game the boys needed to secure a clean sweep was against Manor school who were already reduced to low numbers through injuries.  A cobbled Manor team containing some Joseph Rowntree players tested the Boroughbridge boys as tired legs and minds caused a few errors.  The game ended a 20-20 draw but importantly for the Boroughbridge team, it ensured an overall victory.  The most pleasing element for the boys was that Mr Richardson upheld his word to wear the unicorn ear muffs (kindly supplied by Taylor) in the team photo.  The boys were joyous in their victory and proudly rounded off their Boroughbridge rugby career in fine style.  Well done boys.’

In footballing news, Mr. Field reports, ‘Thursday night saw the Year 10 boys play in the County Cup quarter final against Manor High School from York.  The display by the boys was a significant improvement on the previous outing and showed great resilience in their endeavours.  Despite conceding four goals in the first half the effort shown did not wane and rewards were reaped when King acrobatically flicked on a corner for Chowdhury to prove his goal poaching credentials and poke home for the Boroughbridge boys’ first goal of the season.  The boys were beaten 1-7 but lots of positives were taken from the game as they look forward to more opportunities in Year 11.’

Next week is Year 9 Futures week where students will have the opportunity to experience new subjects which they may want to choose for GCSE. Exciting times!

Have a lovely weekend!

Over the last few weeks, we’ve had a number of activities to support students with their thoughts around possible futures as part of our CEIAG programme. Last week, Matt, Julia and JayJay from Ardent, a local company based near Roecliffe, visited Boroughbridge High School to deliver an assembly to the Year 9 students. They spoke about Ardent and the work the engineering company does, alongside sharing their own career journeys and the different routes that led them to their current roles.

The session offered useful insight as students begin to consider their GCSE choices and future pathways, and provided an opportunity to hear first-hand experiences from professionals working in a local business.

On Thursday, a group of our Year 11 students were welcomed by our federated partner King James’s School for a taster day so that they could experience a day in the life of a Sixth Form student. They had a great day.

In Forest School this week, Mr. Woodward reports, ‘Another cold week with biting winds but students warmed themselves with a new addition to our Forest School kit: Kelly Kettle storm kettles; these ingenious inventions make warming water and cooking outdoors in poor weather conditions easier, especially when dry tinder and fuel are hard to come by on a damp February afternoon!

In sporting news, Miss Robson reports, ‘Last Thursday we ventured over to Barlby High School for a friendly Year 8 netball fixture. I’m not sure what the girls enjoyed more, the game or the minibus karaoke. 9 players meant we had options allowing players to come on and make an impact on court. The first quarter was hotly contested with Barlby narrowly leading 5-4. We became a little unsettled with a few offside calls and a couple of ‘not received in the centre third’ when taking the centre pass. This was a result of making decisions under pressure, a feeling completely different to when we play in lessons and club. Having said that, the girls couldn’t have worked any harder. I was astonished at how well they caught hard passes being fired at them by their team. The final score was 15-8 to Barlby. This is the most we have ever scored in a game so credit does go to the shooters, India and Eliora, as well as the whole team. Well done, Rova, player of the match and Amelia, Barlby’s PE Teacher’s player of the match. Rematch incoming…’

Interestingly 190 students have taken part in extra-curricular activities this week – that’s almost 50%!

It was great to see Year 8 and Parents and Carers on Wednesday evening. There was a positive buzz in the Hall with students’ progress being discussed along with ways to make further improvements.

In assemblies this week, I’ve talked with students about our commitment to ensuring that all in our school community are ‘safe, happy and successful’ and how learning can support positive mental health. We made links to Mr. Woodward’s assembly on ‘Less screen time and more green time’ and looked at resources provided by Compass Phoenix on the benefits of learning. In the final part of assembly, I talked with students about mobile phones and the newly published Dfe guidance that states that ‘All school should be mobile-free environments by default’. We looked at our current ‘never seen, used or heard’ policy for Years 8-10 with Year 7 currently handing phones in at the beginning of the day.  We then discussed the options moving forward to ensure that we comply with the new guidance. All students were asked to share their opinion and I’ve invited students to talk to me if they have any questions or want to share their views. I’m delighted that many of them already have and their feedback will help us to shape our new approach, the details of which we’ll share with you next week.

A message from Ms. Bauwens, our Exams Officer, ‘Year 9 exams start on Monday and run all week.  Please could you make sure your child has all the equipment they need: a calculator, pens, pencils, a ruler and a rubber.

The next set of KS4 progress Exams run from Friday 6th to Friday 13th March.  In order to help you understand the exam process and better support your young person through these and the Summer exams we will be running a Student Wellbeing & Exams Parents Information evening on Wednesday 25th February at 6pm.  During the evening we will outline exam regulations, how pupils can prepare as well as providing practical guidance on how to help your child with stress management. We look forward to seeing you there.’

Have a lovely weekend!

There was an air of eager anticipation as the Year 9 football set off in torrential rain on Tuesday. Mr. Field reports, ’The Yr9 boys continued their ESFA Small Schools Cup journey this week with a quarter final clash against The Priory Belvoir Academy from Nottinghamshire.  The weather posed challenges for the hosting of the fixture with the decision made to relocate the game from Boroughbridge to York St. John University Sports Fields complex.  A special mention to the help and support from staff at Boroughbridge and York St John University for making this possible for the boys.  The facility was a fitting venue for the quarter final and the boys rose to the challenge of this important fixture.  The focus of the team was evident from the kick off, a driven, resilient mindset was shared by the Boroughbridge boys and the team started to control the game in the early exchanges.  As both teams weighed each other up, confidence grew in the Boroughbridge ranks as they peppered the Priory Belvoir goal.  ‘Hatrick Patrick’ opened the Boroughbridge account with a fine poacher’s goal, prodding in from close range after the goalkeeper spilled another shot on his goal.  Shortly after Priory Belvior equalised through a quick break catching out the Boroughbridge defence.  At half time, refuelling on Mrs Godsell-Wright’s Jelly Babies, the team talked through the game plan to secure the tie.  The plan was executed expertly and soon into the second half Farnworth added a smartly dispatched goal to the tally.  Boroughbridge continued to dominate possession and the wave of attacks continued to ask questions of the opposition defence.  The added pressure paid dividends as the game was drawing towards its conclusion, ‘Hatrick Patrick’ evaded the opposition defenders and calmly slotted home past an advancing goalkeeper. The Boroughbridge team saw out the remaining minutes still pushing forwards to further extend their lead, not allowing even a hint of complacency to set in.  At the final whistle both teams congratulated each other on a fittingly competitive quarter final, staff from Priory Belvoir were very complimentary about both the performance and conduct of the boys who fully deserved the accolades.  Boroughbridge now progress to the semi-final stage of this national competition, we await the draw to find out our next challenge.’ We are all very proud of both the team’s achievement and their approach. We’ll be wishing them well for the next round.

In Forest School this week, Mr. Woodward reports, ‘It’s January, it’s cold and you have hours ahead of you outside with a biting wind chilling you to the bone. What is your priority? Shelter. 

Students excelled today, quickly crafting notched tent pegs from branches using a combination of knife techniques, including baton, forehand and thumb-push grips. These were then used to construct an effective waterproof and windproof single-pole tipi-tent from a tarpaulin sheet. Once inside, the students quickly warmed through as their body heat was trapped and the wind blocked out.’ 

In assemblies this week, Mrs. Godsell-Wright started with the theme of waste and talked with students about what they do when they throw away their rubbish and the care that they can take to be sustainable. Students were invited to share their opinions with many of them doing so. Mrs. Godsell-Wright then related this approach to relationships and friendships and the characteristics needed for successful ones. Students had the opportunity to reflect on their own actions.

We were delighted to welcome back Dishforth Church of England Primary School on Wednesday, this time to carry out exciting Science experiments separating mixtures with Dr. Lefley. The experiments went well with many skills being developed and accurate conclusions drawn.

Next Wednesday is Year 8 Parent/Carer evening. We’ll look forward to seeing you then.

Have a lovely weekend!