Headteacher’s Blog – 29th April 2022
I hope you had a lovely Easter break with time to relax with family and friends. We’ve had a really positive start to the Summer Term. Thank you for your support.
In lessons this week, Years 7 and 8 have been taking on some challenging concepts in humanities. Mr. Woodward has been impressed in RE where students have been learning about the seven Deadly Sins and getting creative by designing skulls which each abstractly depict different vices to be avoided. This work has then led on to the consideration of questions such as: Can sin ever be good? Which sins are most difficult to avoid and why? Does the concept of sin have any use in countries like the UK where religious influence is decreasing in the general population? Pithy questions indeed.
Meanwhile, in History, Year 7 have been assessing the significance of Kings over time comparing Edward the Confessor, William the Conqueror, Henry II, King John I and King Richard II. They have been travelling through History mapping rates of change, assessing impact of the changes and deciding how to best represent these with hills, speed limits and all sort of vehicles. Miss Whiles reports, ‘There has been some really impressive analysis showing good historical understanding and an ability to think like historians.’
Ten of our Year 9 girls have been developing their Sports leadership skills and are now ready to complete the final practicals for their leadership qualification. This is part of an initiative to engage girls and to increase participation along with creating good role models. Mrs Godsell-Wright says ‘The girls have been fabulous embracing and completing all the theory modules ready for the practical delivery of sessions. They are fab.’
Next Wednesday (4th May) from 6.30p.m.-7p.m., it’s our BTEC Drama Performance. Entry is free and all are welcome to attend.
We say farewell today to Mrs. Johnstone, our Data Manager and Examinations Officer. Our thanks go to her for her massive contribution to our school community. Not only has she taken on a number of key roles in school but she has also skilfully navigated the challenges of the many changes to the exam systems over the last two years, during the pandemic, to support students in doing their very best. We wish her well for the future.
Mrs. Bloomfield has been working closely with Mrs. Johnstone and will be taking over exams for the Summer season.
In assemblies this week, Mr. Woodward has started with the figure 75.7 and the challenge for students to predict what the figure represents. As the assembly unfurled it was revealed that there is a wide evidence base to suggest that the increase in levels of anxiety and stress may be linked to the fact that we now typically spend 92.3% of our lives indoors meaning that if we live to the average age of 82, we’ll have spent 75.7 years indoors! Amongst many things, students were introduced to friluftsliv, the Scandinavian concept of getting outdoors, linking that to the fact that these countries often rate most highly in happiness surveys. There’s a body of research that suggests that the greatest variable in happiness is linked to our location with people being happiest when they are in natural, green environments. So, there’s a clear message there and, with that in mind, I hope you have some time during this Bank Holiday weekend to visit the great outdoors and have a lovely weekend.