Category : Headteacher’s Blog

I hope you had a lovely half term break. As we returned, our thoughts were moving towards our Christmas Fair on Saturday 30^th November. You’ll have received a letter asking for hamper prizes and if you’d like to get involved on the day, then please e-mail schooladmin@boroughbridgehigh.com.

Remembrance Day has been the focus of assemblies this week and we’ve been very privileged to welcome a wide range of people who have served or are currently serving in the Forces. With input about WWII and, in particular, D-Day, students have developed their knowledge along with an appreciation of the sacrifices which have been made by many.

Along with more than 500 other children, this morning eleven students from across Years 7 to 9 represented the school at the annual Service Children’s Remembrance Service at Ripon Cathedral. Deborah (Year 9) was the standard bearer for the Royal British Legion’s Military Kids Club. On Sunday, Head Students Ruby and Bertie will be accompanying me to the Remembrance Service at St. James’ before laying a wreath at the War Memorial. It’s a privilege for us to participate in these events in our community.

Sports Awards Evening on Thursday gave us the opportunity to celebrate the sporting achievements of our young people and acknowledge the commitment and attitude that it takes to excel in sport. Our thanks also go to parents for their support. Hosting the evening was Mr. Collings and presenting awards was ex-student, Pete Bielby, who secured his own sporting success in powerlifting. Our congratulations go to the many students who were presented with awards.

Parent Forum next Thursday (14^th) from 6-7pm will focus on attendance. Please e-mail schooladmin@boroughbridgehigh.com if you’d like to attend. Other upcoming events include Non-Uniform Day on Friday (15^th) when we’ll be raising money for Children-in-Need. Finally, a reminder that Wednesday 27^th November is a Professional Development Day so school will not be open to students.

Have a lovely weekend!

Our congratulations go to Henry, Izzy, Lucie, Phoebe and Theo who completed their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Qualifying Expedition last weekend. Dealing with changeable weather, they worked brilliantly as a team to follow their planned route exploring the Nidderdale AONB. Their Assessor commented on how impressive they were in their kit choices, campcraft at How Stean Gorge and keeping group spirits high throughout. The group were also sought out for guidance overnight by another school’s Bronze team!

On Wednesday evening we welcomed Year 7 and their parents to the Meet the Tutor evening. We’re delighted with the way in which Year 7 have settled into our school community and with the difference that they’re already making. It seems that parents think this too with 100 % of parents agreeing that their child has settled in well. (With 79% strongly agreeing!)

In sporting news, the week began with two netball matches. The Year 7 team, who are being coached by Hannah in Year 12, secured their second victory with an 8-2 score. Meanwhile Year 10, whilst not victorious, had an excellent match with a final score of 3-10. Year 9 footballers were back on the pitch on Thursday afternoon, securing a 5-0 victory. Still got it!

As the sun rose through the mist on Thursday morning, Year 10 and 11 Geographers were setting off for a day of coastal excitement at Hornsea. They measured, recorded, theorised and developed their fieldwork skills with enthusiasm. There were also stories of a seagull rescue but I suspect this may be a fieldwork myth!

Showing their support for others, last Friday Ellie and Lily (Year 11) had a cake sale, making everything themselves, to raise money for Leeds Mind charity. This week, the Sixth Form have taken up this challenge by organising a Cake Break Friday for staff and Sixth Form as part of their strategy to raise money for the Ripon and Knaresborough food banks and homeless shelter with support from the local Lions Charity and Social Services. At lunchtime today Abi, Rachel and Rhianna had their cake sale to raise money for the Marine Conservation Society.

And so, as this half term comes to end, I’d like to thank you for your ongoing support. Have a lovely half term break.

It’s been a week of celebration at Boroughbridge High School. Our week began with the count following the voting for our student leaders. I’m delighted to report that appointed to the position of Head students were Todd, Ruby and Bertie with Deputy Head Students, Emma, Harvey and Kirsten. We’re looking forward to seeing just what they can achieve in the coming months. The first opportunity for them to put their leadership skills into action came almost immediately at our Open Evening on Wednesday.

As the doors opened for the event, there were more than 100 student volunteers in position across the departments to show and share the learning that takes place at Boroughbridge High School. Newly appointed prefects were ready to take Year 5 and 6 students and their parents on their tours whilst, in the Hall, Year 7 and Year 12 students were ready to share their experiences as part of the Headteacher Introductory talks. Ruby and Harvey, both in Year 12, confidently talked about the wide ranging experiences that they’ve had during their five years at Boroughbridge High School, along with high quality teaching and incredible support. They were then followed by Year 7 students, Callie, Flo and Nathan who talked with clarity and enthusiasm about the smooth transition that they’ve made from primary school, clearly demonstrating how well they’ve settled into life at Boroughbridge High School. Following this our visitors had the opportunity to meet staff and students and get involved in a wide range of activities from making and tasting pancakes in Food Tech to creative writing in English, from setting fire to bubbles in Science to experiencing a rehearsal in Drama. School dinners were sampled and students searched for clues for the Maths trail. A good time was had by all and it was fantastic to see current and future students working together.

Still full of enthusiasm from the Open Evening, Thursday morning marked the point when the DfE released the provisional Progress 8 scores for schools. Progress 8 aims to capture the progress a student makes from the end of primary school to the end of secondary school. It is a type of value-added measure, which means that pupils’ results are compared to the actual achievements of other pupils with similar prior attainment. Our congratulations go to our Year 11 students of 2019, staff and governors who secured an ‘above average’ P8 score of 0.27 (against a national average of -0.03 and a North Yorkshire average of 0.1) thereby proving statistically that students at Boroughbridge High School make excellent progress and secure excellent results. Go to https://www.compare-school-performance.service.gov.uk/ if you’d like to explore the data further.

Events next week include the Year 7 ‘Meet the Tutor’ evening on Wednesday from 4pm when Year 7 parents will have the opportunity to discuss how well their child has settled in. Then there’s a Parent Information Evening about the Duke of Edinburgh Award for parents of students in Years 9 and 10 on Thursday (24^th October) at 6pm.

Finally, if you’re a Year 6 parent, reading the Blog for the first time, then welcome! We’re looking forward to working with you and your child in the future.

Have a lovely weekend.

Last weekend, whilst many of us would be relaxing, our Duke of Edinburgh students were braving the elements to complete their Practice Expedition as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award. Carrying their tents, stoves and food the group explored the Howardian Hills AONB, learning to navigate, cook for themselves and work as a team. Despite it being a very wet night, it’s reported that spirits stayed high throughout. The campsite owners, passing horse riders and their instructors all commented on the mature way in which the group performed. Our congratulations go to them all and we look forward to hearing about their Qualifying Expedition in Nidderdale, later this month.

The competition is underway in the Sixth Form for the prestigious positions of Head Students. The roles include not only being a representative at school and community events but also making an active contribution and taking the lead on Student Leadership across the school. The candidates started our week well by campaigning to staff in our Monday morning briefing. It was somewhat heart warming to hear of the skills and confidence that students have developed during their time at Boroughbridge High School and their commitment to give something back with ideas such as running lunchtime clubs and increasing the number of student listeners.

With a number of Progress points on the horizon, assemblies this week, delivered by Mrs. Bloomfield, have focused on what the tracking will show and what students need to do to make further progress.

Mr. Grierson and I, along with Year 8 students, have been visiting Year 6 students in some of our partner primary schools. We’ve met many of these students at our Year 5 Experience Days and wanted to take the opportunity to visit them in their schools before they join us next Wednesday for Open Evening. A quick reminder that we’ve invited Year 5 and 6 students and their parents to our Open Evening next Wednesday (16^th October) from 6-8.30p.m. School closes at 1.30p.m. on that day. Many of our students will, of course, be returning in the evening to play an active part in Open Evening.

As this Blog pops into your Inbox, Year 12 will be getting off the coach following their trip to the University and Apprenticeship Search Fair in Leeds where they’ll have had the opportunity to explore possibilities for the future.

Have a lovely weekend!

£222.32 was the sum raised for Macmillan by staff and students at the ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ last Friday. Thanks again for all of your contributions.

Assemblies this week have had a number of themes and outlined a number of opportunities! Members of the current Student Council talked to students about how they can become a member themselves and influence developments in school. Years 9 and 10 found out about how to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme. There’ll be a follow up information evening for Year 9 and 10 parents on Thursday 24^th October 6-7pm. Year 11 were congratulated on their exemplary behaviour at the ‘Skills Yorkshire 2019’ careers event at Leeds United Football Club on Wednesday morning. They returned with many free gifts (who can resist a fluffy bug and a wind-up torch?) and a much deeper understanding of the career opportunities available to them. They also received information in assembly about how to apply for the role of Prefect, a really important position for us at BHS, giving students the opportunity to represent the school both at our own events and in the wider community. We’re looking forward to receiving many applications.

Each and every assembly has also included the ‘big reveal’ where each year group has found out the form class which has earned the highest number of Reward Stamps over the last four weeks. As you’ll be aware, stamps are awarded to students who do something extra to support a positive Climate for Learning during form time, lessons or social time. The victors were 7AA, 8CL, 9PK, 10CI and 11SJ. They celebrated by sharing a tub of yes, Celebrations! All students were reminded, however, that there aren’t many points between the form classes so there will be further opportunities for rewards ahead.

Similarly to Year 11, Year 12 will have their own opportunity to explore possible futures next Friday when they go to the University and Apprenticeship Search Fair in Leeds. It’s never too early to discuss next steps and thanks to those parents who came to the Year 12 Information Evening on Wednesday.

Whilst many were watching the cyclists come through Boroughbridge last Friday, over in France, Maisy, in Year 9, was representing GBR as an individual rider in a Showjumping competition. Over the three days, she secured a 3^rd, 2^nd and 1^st place. Impressive indeed. Closer to home, our footballers were in action against RGS this week with the Year 9 team securing a 5-1 victory whilst Year 10 lost 1-0. Later in the week, Year 7 lost to Wetherby 7-5 in what Mr. Collings described as a ‘thrilling match’.

We’ve had our first planning meeting for the Christmas Fair which is our biggest fundraising event of the year. It’s on Saturday 30^th November this year and if you’re interested in helping either before or during the event then please contact us on schooladmin@boroughbridgehigh.com

A reminder that school will close at 1.30pm on Wednesday 16^th October for Open Evening.

Have a lovely weekend!

Influenced by the excitement of the World Cycling Championships this week, Mr Grierson’s assemblies have had a similar theme, looking at the success of people from the past such as Sir Bradley Wiggins, Sir Chris Hoy and Graeme Obree. Yes, I know, who? Apparently he broke the world hour record in July 1993 and April 1994 but is perhaps best known for the Old Faithful bicycle he built which included parts from a washing machine. What did they all have in common? Yes, you guessed it, the secret to their success was commitment, dedication, hard work and training.

Talking of such things, now that Year 7 have completed two cycles of their timetable, I thought I’d pop into a few lessons to see what they’ve been learning. Starting in Art, I saw students developing their self-portraits, mastering the skill of portrait proportion. In comparison to two weeks ago, when their work was beginning to take shape, portraits were now fully recognisable. The finishing touch is for them to add a facial expression to show how they felt in their first week at BHS. You’ll be pleased to know that many smiles were on display. Up in Science, the focus was Atoms, Elements and Compounds with students counting up to 20 in elements before singing the Elements Song to consolidate their learning. If you’d like to sing along at home, you can find it on YouTube. Over the corridor, in History, students were exploring Anglo-Saxon Britain examining areas such as place names, food and jobs before comparing it to life in Roman Britain. A couple of classrooms away, in RE, students were working in groups to identify people responsible for acts of atrocity. Much discussion was taking place.

Appearing in a Science lab soon will be the Safety Posters designed and developed by Year 7 over the Summer holidays following their Induction days in July. Judging has now taken place and our congratulations go to Niamh H for this fantastic poster.

Staff and Sixth Form students were raising money for Macmillan this morning by taking part in the World’s Biggest Coffee morning.  I’ll let you know how much we raised next week.

Enjoy the cycling and have a lovely weekend.

Students have been asked to make their mark in assemblies this week by taking part in the annual Make your Mark ballot, the largest consultation of young people in the country. Students were asked to choose from UK wide topics such as protecting the environment, votes at 16 and improving mental health services before identifying issues closer to home. The outcome of the vote will determine what is debated by the UK Youth Parliament in the House of Commons in November.

In preparation for Open Evening on Wednesday 16th October, Miss Flowers has been using her photography skills to capture daily life at Boroughbridge High School for our new prospectus.

On Thursday afternoon, with the sun still shining brightly on the playing fields of Boroughbridge High School, Year 7 boys were embarking upon their first football match supported by parents and friends. Following a fast-paced game, the score was 3-2 as the final whistle blew, with BHS the victors. Over on the netball courts, the newly formed Year 10 Girls’ Netball team were taking on their opposition with increasing confidence. Despite their 10-6 defeat, they demonstrated that we have much to look forward to in the coming months.

With another week of reward stamp collection, a quick reminder that you can view your child’s rewards, attendance and behaviour log on My Child at School.  If you are a parent of a Year 7 student then you’ll be receiving your log-in details at the Year 7 Tutor/Parent Evening on Wednesday 23rd October. If you would like your log in details before then, please contact Mrs Johnstone at djohnstone@boroughbridgehigh.com.

A final reminder that we close at 2.30pm next Friday (27th September) for the UCI World Championships.

Have a lovely weekend!

Showing that they’re still on form, the Year 9 Football Team started the week well with a 7-0 victory on Monday evening. Year 7 boys began their lunchtime football practice this week with their first match next Thursday. Watch this space!

Just as the Year 9 football team were returning to school on Monday evening, Mr Grierson and I were on our way to the Service of Institution at St. Andrew’s Church, Aldborough to welcome the Reverend Karen Gardiner into our community.

Assemblies for Years 7 to 10 this week have focused on making a positive start and maintaining a positive attitude. Delivered by Mrs Godsell-Wright they’ve not surprisingly had a sporting twist with students being encouraged to think of the finishing line, identify what they need to do to get there and accept that a certain amount of resilience will be needed. This morning, as part of our Careers Programme, Year 11 found out from Mrs Rainbow about the visit that’s planned for them on Wednesday 2^nd October to Skills Yorkshire at Leeds Football Club where they’ll be able to think of the future by finding out about a wide range of companies, colleges and organisations. Letters have gone out on ParentMail.

In classrooms this week we’ve had Year 7 creating veggie burgers in Food Technology before separating sand and salt from water in Chemistry and developing basketball skills in PE. Year 8 historians have been learning about Henry VIII whilst Year 9 were exploring mean, median and mode in Maths and preparing a python program using a simple while loop in ICT. Over in Science Year 10 were calculating density of materials, remembering to use the all important units in their answers whilst writing Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde essays in English. Across all of the year groups, it has been particularly pleasing to see an increasing number of Reward stamps as the week has gone on, recognising the positive contributions that our students are making.

As temperatures start to fall a little, a quick reminder that if students would like to wear a jumper underneath their blazer (jumpers are optional, blazers are not!) then it should be a plain black knitted V-neck jumper. Round necks and sweatshirt type material are not allowed. We don’t have a school branded jumper in order to keep uniform costs down.

A reminder that we close at 2.30pm on Friday 27^th September for the UCI World Championships.

Have a lovely weekend!

Following a very successful summer with both A-Level students and GCSE students securing excellent results, we’ve had a focused and positive start to our new term. We welcomed back many of our students into Year 12 who are now well underway with their A-Levels. We also welcomed our new Year 7 students who have made an impressive start to their time at Boroughbridge High School.

Assemblies this week have focused on our Standards and how our everyday actions enable us to operate as an effective community where we are safe, happy and therefore successful. I was also able to introduce our new Rewards Stamps which will run alongside the existing reward strategy. All staff have a stamp and students will be rewarded when they do something extra to support a positive Climate for Learning during form time, lessons and social time. Watch out for the stamps in your child’s planner and weekly totals will be added to My Child at School each Monday.

As we started our academic year in June, lessons have started at pace this week with GCSE Food students crafting cheesecakes, Year 7 drawing self-portraits in Art, grappling with number puzzles in Maths and learning the names of countries in MFL. Year 8 scientists have been examining food and digestion whilst working with estimations, averages and circles in Maths. 3D Pythagoras has been the Maths focus for Year 9 students whilst they’ve been programming around the big track in DT. Year 10 have been examining Jekyll and Hyde in English whilst looking at the impact of natural disasters in BTEC Travel and Tourism. Year 11 have been completing mock exams in Science. So, all in all, a very productive week!

Our congratulations go to Miss Whiles who had a healthy baby boy during the summer break. Both are well.

As little jerseys appear across Boroughbridge in preparation for the UCI World Championships (I even managed to knit a few myself over the summer), you’ll have seen in the newsletter we will be closing at 2.30pm on Friday 27^th September, in order to enable students and staff to get home before road closures or to have the opportunity to watch the race with their families.

In other sport, our congratulations go to former BHS student Craig MacGillivray who has been called up to the senior Scotland football squad.

Have a lovely weekend!

Last week ended noisily with an excellent performance of ‘We Will Rock You’. With 15 cast members and a substantial band the audience were subconsciously invited to relive their youth as the next generation sang all of our favourite Queen songs cleverly crafted into a dramatic narrative. Well done to all.

It was a beautiful sunny day on Tuesday as our students with top rewards points, boarded the coaches bound for Flamingo Land with the promise of rides and a zoo experience. Our thanks went to Harron Homes for paying for the coaches and, speaking to the students on their return, it was clear that a good time had been had by all. There were tales of Cliffhanger and Velocity along with sightings of giraffes, camels, hippos and yes, of course, flamingos! This is just one of the ways in which we reward students. In September, we’ll be adding to our Rewards strategy so watch this space.

Wednesday was our final Challenge Day of the year. Year 8 went on a historical journey visiting Helmsley and Rievaulx Abbey whilst Year 9 were involved in Healthy Lifestyles starting with their own, having a rounders tournament. They also learnt how to save lives using CPR as part of the British Heart Foundation Restart a Heart campaign. Year 10 were ‘Living Dangerously’, exploring possible risks that young people face and how to deal with them. They had input from the Police around keeping safe, explored social norms, discussed mental health and wellbeing and the impact of substance abuse along with participating in an LGBT workshop with Barnardo’s. Meanwhile, Year 11 arrived at school in business dress, ready to engage with a range of employers in a Speed Networking activity with the support of NYBEP. Ready with their wide ranging questions they discovered what different employers are looking for in employees along with the range of career options available to them. To follow up they created their own CV and personal statement. Sixth Form students were developing their own personal statements to be used for applying for University, apprenticeships and future employment.

Keeping up the challenge in RE this week, Mr. Woodward has been getting Year 8 to use their creative heads. He reports, ‘We’ve studied the character of the person of Jesus and explored modern artistic representations of his physical form. Students have debated why artists have depicted Jesus as, amongst other things, a gang member, a woman, a gay man, the Buddha, various races and also, oddly, Ronald McDonald. Having had some in-depth, and often abstract and analytic discussions students created their own images to metaphorically represent the person of Jesus as seen through the life events mentioned in the Gospels.’

So, as you can see, there’s no such thing as a slowing of pace in the final week of term!

As has become our custom at Boroughbridge High School, we finished the term today with a whole school assembly, bringing together the whole community in one space to celebrate our progress and achievements in the last year. With photo slideshows, form tutor and pastoral team awards, special awards and musical performances it was a great event culminating in the big reveal of the Sports Day winners. This obviously brings out great competition in both staff and students alike. So I can now reveal that the winners in each year group were 8JW, 9AS, 10SC and 11NC with a special award going to 9PK for being the best supporting team. They had banners and everything! There was also a very poignant moment in the assembly as we applauded staff who are leaving as a way of marking our thanks for the massive contribution that they’ve made to Boroughbridge High School.

And so another year comes to an end. It’s been an absolute pleasure for me to share in the Blog the weekly happenings and the achievements of your children at Boroughbridge High School. I hope that you and your families have a lovely summer break.