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 (6th 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 21st 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 6th March. Please e-mail schooladmin@boroughbridgehigh.com if you wish to attend.
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!
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!’

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
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 3rd with Harrogate Ladies College 1st and Ashville College 2nd.
In sporting news this week Mr. Field reports, ‘Wednesday saw a return to football fixtures for the PE department as the District Cup Competition gathers pace. The Yr11 boys, with assistance from some Yr10 boys, made the arduous journey to South Craven to play this round of the Cup. The long journey did not phase the boys and they started positively against the home team dominating early proceedings. A. Nunns opened the Boroughbridge account finishing well from some intricate passing play from the midfield. The home team were on the back foot after conceding as Boroughbridge pushed for the second goal before half time. South Craven worked their way back into the match and despite some fine defensive play they broke through the Boroughbridge ranks to equalise before half time. The home team started the second half with their tails up which soon led to them scoring a deflected goal giving them the lead. The game ebbed and flowed providing great entertainment for those on the sidelines. In the dying moments of the game I. Burland forced an opening and capitalised with a lobbed finish to draw the game level. The game entered the tense final minutes with penalties looming to settle the draw. The inevitable end to the game presented itself as penalties were needed to settle the tie. Boroughbridge started the shoot out positively netting the first spot kick, South Craven struck the woodwork handing the advantage to the visiting team. Both teams took some great penalties but it was the home team who managed to hold their nerve and secure the tie winning 8-7. The boys played some fantastic passing football and are hopeful for their next fixture before the exam season kicks in.’
I hope that you had a lovely Christmas break and we send our best wishes for 2025. We certainly returned with an icy blast on Monday and it was lovely to see how one of our students and his dad had been helping in the community. Settling straight back into routine, we had assemblies to reinforce our values (ambitious, respectful, resilient) and expectations ensuring a smooth start to the Spring Term. Uniform standards were high as usual and we thank you for your support with this. Mrs. Godsell- Wright has continued to reinforce our values in assemblies by thinking about the year ahead and how we can approach it to maximise impact.
Wednesday was a triumph of a day! The inter form Tug of War competition took place for different year groups throughout the day. Everyone was involved including those participating and those supporting. Mr. Field and Mrs. Bradford had taken on the serious Christmas challenge as you can see and Festive music was played throughout with an occasional moment where all in the year group came as one to sing and dance. Points were awarded for wins and the quality of the support, resulting in an excellent event where our school values of being ambitious, respectful and resilient were seen in action.
Finally, in the evening, it was our Awards Evening where we welcomed back the class of 2024. It was lovely to welcome ex-students and families back into school and to see what they’ve been up to since they left in June. Certificates were given out and prizes presented by members of our local community to students for their remarkable achievements.
As anticipated, the Christmas Concert on Tuesday evening was a great event with a range of fantastic performances. We heard solo performances from James (guitar), Charlotte (piano), Larisa (vocal) and Rosey (piano), before hearing duets from Charlotte (vocal) and Rosey (piano) and Olivia (vocal) and Darcy (vocal). Austin (Piano), Bodie (drums) and James (guitar) gave a band performance. The Keyboard Club showcased an Abba classic and the Pop Choir showed their ever increasing confidence with harmonies in a number of songs. The student technical team made sure that all ran smoothly and for the finale the audience was invited to participate in ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’ so we finished with joyous singing all round. Well done to the students who participated and we thank Mr. Jackson for organising the event.
Following on from Year 7 last week, Year 8 have received their Book Buzz books and, as you can see, they couldn’t wait to get started! The English team are looking forward to discussing their choices during lessons in the coming weeks.
In sporting news this week, Mr. Field reports, ‘Monday saw the Yr7 boys compete in their 7 a side football tournament at St Aidan’s school. The boys played 6 games against Queen Ethelburga’s, Ermysteds, King James’s, St Aidan’s, Ashville and St John Fisher. The boys showed great resilience throughout their matches as they found the opposition from the larger schools challenging. They did manage to find the back of the net but unfortunately not enough times to register a victory. The squad enjoyed their evening competing and are looking forward to future matches where they can showcase their talents.