Category : Headteacher’s Blog

Combining two areas that are important to us as a school, to mark World Mental Health day on Tuesday, students were invited to Drop Everything and Read as their teachers selected and shared a piece of writing that was important to them in supporting positive mental health and wellbeing. Mrs. Macadam read the opening pages of Du Maurier’s ‘Rebecca’, a book given to her as a gift from her first teacher trainee. He had handwritten the Rudyard Kipling poem ‘If’ on the inside page. She also read this to her Year 11 class, sharing a poignant note he’d added saying ‘never doubt yourself’ which was very fitting for the occasion.  Meanwhile, over in PE, Mrs Godsell-Wright and her Year 7 group sat in the changing room whilst she read the 10 benefits of exercise for mental health before they talked and asked questions about it. In the Pastoral area, Mrs. Broadhurst read some of the poems from her ‘Poems of positivity’ book whilst also looking through the mindfulness cards which turned into, she said, ‘a really lovely session’. To support this, the NHS Wellbeing in Mind team were based in the library with a selection of strategies and books to share with students.

On Wednesday morning, our Sports Leaders were involved in a Year 5/6 netball tournament hosted at Boroughbridge High School. You can see them here in their preparation session. They were involved in coaching and umpiring. It was an excellent tournament so much so that both of the Sporting Influence teachers who organise the events took the time to e-mail saying, ‘the young leaders this morning were amazing ambassadors for the school! They were friendly, helpful and welcoming to all the schools. The tournament was fabulous.’ and ‘The feedback from the schools has been really positive. They [BHS students] showed real maturity and confidence throughout the morning.’ We’re really proud of what this team of young people are achieving in developing their leadership skills and also recognise that, by working with students in Years 5 and 6, they are also helping with the transition of the next generation of Boroughbridge High School students.

This certainly set the tone for arguably the most exciting night on our school calendar – Open Evening. With preparations complete, more than 100 students across the year groups came back into school to welcome Year 5 and Year 6 students and their families. During the presentation in the Hall we shared our vision, values and commitment to ensure that everyone in our school community is safe, happy and successful. Then Year 7 students, Annabelle, Ava, Darcy, Jake, Matty, Phoebe and Thomas spoke with confidence and enthusiasm about their positive experiences of joining Boroughbridge High School. Families were then able to tour the school, visiting every department, speaking with many members of staff and students whilst also engaging in a wide variety of curriculum activities. In English, they joined the English Team at ‘Darkwood Manor’ for some creative writing inspiration, watched a rehearsal by the Key Stage 3 Drama Club and saw our Musicians in session. In Computing students could discover what was inside a computer and in Chemistry and Physics bubbles were being ignited whilst in Biology hearts were being dissected. Sports Leaders led challenges in the Sports Hall. Following a food theme, Halloween breads were being made and sampled in Food Technology whilst French vocabulary puzzles were completed with Modern Foreign Languages. There was also the opportunity to sample some of the school menu in the Library – the pasta pots were a hit! In RE philosophical questions were being asked, houses were located in Geography whilst bugs were sampled in the Bug Cafe and, in History, there were costumes galore and the opportunity to sample historical recipes. Artists engaged in clay work could be observed and colourful plastic coasters and blockheads were made in DT. Students demonstrated how the Intervention Room and its resources are supporting them with their learning and in enjoying being in school whilst the Pastoral Team outlined the impressive support that they give to students. And throughout, students were engaged in a challenging Maths trail. All in all, it was a fantastic, energising evening and it was lovely to be able to welcome new families along with those who have or have had older children in the school. We’ll look forward to welcoming Year 6 back into school for our three Induction Days in July!

With no time to recover, the first group of geographers set off on their GCSE fieldtrip to Hornsea on Thursday morning. The weather was amazing, the geographers were motivated and a really valuable day of data collection, discussion and analysis took place. Such was the pace, that the group were able to sample the local delicacy of fish and chips as part of their experience. The second group are there today and, whilst the weather has been less kind, we’re hoping that they’ll have had a similarly productive and enjoyable experience.

With the first progress review point (tracking) almost upon us, assemblies this week have focused on our assessment systems and the progress flightpath that students take from Year 7 to Year 11. It was also an excellent opportunity to revisit our expectations around Behaviour for Learning, Attitude to Learning and Homework.

Coming up next week is the Year 7 Form Tutor Evening on Monday (16^th October). Appointments have been made online and we look forward to seeing you then.

Have a lovely weekend!

With six weeks to go until Progress Exams for students in Years 10 and 11, Mrs. Godsell-Wright has been talking to each Year 11 student about their Year 10 GCSE/BTEC results. They’ve discussed how they approached their exams and what they’ve learnt so that they can incorporate that into their revision and approach for Year 11. With futures in mind, the Year 11 Careers guidance interviews with Mrs. Morgan, our Careers Adviser, are continuing at pace. Post-16 Open Evenings are being held over the next few months, so we’re keen that our students are well aware of all of the options open to them. If you’re a Year 11 Parent/Carer, you will have received the Careers newsletter with information about these and our approach over the coming months.

Students in Years 10 and 11 have also had the opportunity this week to apply to be a prefect which is an important part of our Student Leadership structure. We’re looking forward to reading their applications and one of the first responsibilities of the newly appointed prefects will be to represent the school at our Open Evening. A reminder that school closes at 1.30p.m. on Wednesday 11^th October for Open Evening with many of our students returning to help out in the evening.

 It doesn’t feel like a year since we had our last Open Evening and, now that Year 7 have been here for five weeks, we’ve completed our Settling in Survey. We’re currently analysing the results. It’s good to hear the responses to the question asking what the best thing about Boroughbridge High School is, have included ‘There’s too many amazing things to pick one.’, ‘That there is a wide variety of different activities and lessons.’, ‘Being with my friends and learning new things.’ and ‘How nice everyone is, staff and students.’ We’ll be looking forwardto welcoming Year 7 parents and carers into school on Monday 16^th October for the Meet the Tutor Evening.

In assemblies this week, Mrs. Ennis, our Head of History, has been talking to students about Black History Month, the focus of which this year is ‘Celebrating our sisters’. Students were invited to take a closer look at the longer term history along with Windrush with 2023 seeing the 75^th anniversary of the HMT Empire Windrush arriving in Britain. They then explored the significant impact of prominent women including Mary Seacole who used her own money to set up her own hospital, the ‘British Hotel’, helping soldiers in the Crimean War and Dame Elizabeth Anionwu who, having put a substantial amount of her life into her work as a nurse, health visitor and tutor working with black and minority ethnic communities in London, established the first nurse-led UK Sickle and Thalassaemia Screening and Counselling Centre. Students are encouraged to find out more at https://www.blackhistorymonth.org.uk/

Have a lovely weekend.

You may remember that we had a Summer reading competition where students were invited to take a photo of themselves or a family member ‘in the act of reading (and loving it)’! Last week, in Year 8 assembly, the winners were announced. Showing an impressive level of creativity, here they are with Emily in 1^st place, Millie in 2^nd place and Theo and Lola in 3^rd place.  Well done to them all.

Our Sports Leaders have been in action again this week, leading a Football Festival for children from local primary schools.

In assemblies this week, Mrs. Godsell-Wright has been reinforcing the importance of safeguarding, reminding students of possible risks, how it’s important to report to members of staff and how we all have a responsibility to act in a way which ensures that everyone within our school community is safe, happy and successful.

As you’re aware, in response to our Ofsted inspection, at the beginning of term we introduced expectations for each aspect of learning in lessons; whole class work, group/pair work and individual work. This is already having a significant impact on the quality of questioning and student response in lessons along with creating the opportunities for students to develop their ideas and thinking. This has been one of the focus areas of lessons observations that have taken place across the school over the last couple of weeks as part of our Quality Assurance Cycle. Along with this focus on Climate for Learning, we’ve also been looking at Behaviour for Learning and have welcomed staff from our federated partner, King James’s School to carry out a behaviour review with us this week. We’re looking forward to a reciprocal visit in the coming weeks. I’ll be sending out a letter soon to update you on our progress.

Thank you to the parents and carers who have responded to the google survey with kind offers of support for the school. There’s still time to complete the form here and you can now complete it without a google account.

Have a lovely weekend!

It’s been attendance all the way in assemblies this week as Mr. Grierson talked to students about the importance of high attendance in securing good outcomes and resulting life chances. With the mantra ‘Every day counts’, students were helped to understand the impact that missing a day each month can have on learning across the year. You’ll be receiving an Attendance Update soon.

Students have been embracing the extra-curricular activities on offer with Mr. Field reporting that 130 students have accessed an extra-curricular activity this week. So that’s around 28% of our students giving some of their own time to get involved in sport. Well done!

Our focus this week goes on to Year 7 as the students who have joined us most recently. This week their studies have been broad and varied. In Food Technology, they’ve been developing their culinary skills, learning how to cut safely and add flavour with herbs and spices by making potato wedges. If you ask, they’ll be able to explain the difference between a herb and a spice. In Design Technology, drawing skills are the focus with students completing a 3-D drawing in oblique of their block head toys that they will be making.

In Maths, students have been involved with directed numbers (adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing) and rounding numbers. In Science, students have been looking at the effects of friction and water resistance in Science. To put it into context, they experimented with their shoes to find out which surfaces had the least amount of friction. Then they made different shapes out of plasticine to see which shape was the most streamlined. They’ve also been studying elements, compounds and mixture.

In English, students have been considering the character traits of archetypal heroes and villains whist reading Philip Pullman’s novel ‘Clockwork’.

In Geography, students have been looking at settlement locations. This has required them to think about what makes a good place to build a settlement and link this to real places around the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, in History, they’ve been looking into the Vikings asking, ‘When did they invade?’ and ‘What were they like?’ whilst also developing their historical skills including chronology and interpretations.

It was lovely to see so many parents, carers and students at the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Information Evening on Wednesday. Students need to sign up by 13^th October. They can collect a form from Reception or Mrs Murphy.

A reminder that it’s our Year 5 and 6 Open Evening on Wednesday 11^th October 6-8.30p.m. In order to prepare for the event, we’ll be closing school at 1.30p.m. We’ll then look forward to welcoming students back for the evening to carry out activities and share with our visitors what makes Boroughbridge High School a great place to be. We’ve already started to update our Prospectus and I thought you might like to see a couple of photos.

Have a lovely weekend!

Now that we’re on to Week 2 of the Autumn Term, we feel fully back into routine. In assemblies this week, following the success of last year, Mrs. Murphy talked to students in Years 9, 10 and 11 about next steps with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. There is an information evening next week for parents, carers and students at 6.30p.m. on Wednesday 20^th September.

The WellBeing in Mind Team led the Year 7 assembly on Friday. For those who are new to the school, the Wellbeing in Mind Team (WiMT) is a Mental Health Support Team (MHST) which is an NHS service that has been introduced as part of the national plans to expand mental health services for children, young people, and their families within schools and colleges. We are delighted that the team are based at Boroughbridge High School and work at schools across our locality. The Wellbeing in Mind Team aims to positively impact the mental health and wellbeing and we’re very much aware of how this service has benefited our students.

Thank you if you were able to attend the Expectations Evenings on either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday this week. It was great to be able to share in detail what we’re doing and developing in school and to answer questions on every aspect of school life including our recent Ofsted inspection. Your feedback is critical in shaping our plans. There were also many offers from parents and carers of ways to support the school which are appreciated. I’ll send out a GoogleForm early next week to capture how we can work together on areas such as fundraising.

Our sports leaders were in action again on Wednesday helping to lead a football tournament for primary children from local schools. The weather was glorious and it was a great event all round.

It’s the launch of our Book Club next week so, if they haven’t already, your child still has time to read ‘The Blue Book of Nebo.‘ before Monday when they can go along to the library at lunchtime to discuss it.

Have a lovely weekend.

I hope that you and your families have had a lovely Summer. We had a successful Summer at Boroughbridge High School, celebrating with Year 13 and Year 11 students as they collected their results and shared with us the many destinations that they are going on to. We wish them well for the future and look forward to welcoming them back to our Awards Evening at the end of the Autumn Term. Because of our Stage not Age approach, Year 10 also got two of their GCSE/BTEC results. Their results, along with the experience of completing their two qualifications, puts them in a strong position to embrace the challenges of Year 11.

Having an incredibly successful summer was Sid in Year 8 who you may remember from an earlier blog was in training for the 8^th World Dwarf Games in Köln in Germany which is an event specifically for people with all forms of dwarfism, held every four years. The event took place over 10 days of competition and Sid was one of over 520 competitors from 29 countries. In an all-round inspiring competition, Sid did his country proud and returned home with a remarkable 8 medals from both team and individual events; Gold individual breaststroke, Gold individual backstroke, Silver individual 100m IM, Silver team sprint relay, Silver team football, Silver team basketball, Bronze individual freestyle and Bronze individual discus. Our congratulations go to him.

We’ve had a really smooth start to the term, helped by the fact that we start our new academic year in June so the majority of students had already experienced four weeks of their new timetable before the Summer break. It’s also been great to welcome our new Year 7 students who are settling in well following their three Induction Days in July with many also attending Summer School.

We’ve taken the opportunity of a new term to reinforce our expectations. A key focus has been on Behaviour for Learning, introducing our expectations for the three different elements of learning: whole classwork, group and pair work and individual work. Thank you for your support in ensuring that your child has returned to school in full uniform – it’s appreciated.

On Monday, we were delighted to welcome to the staff team Mr. Atkinson (Head of Geography), Ms. Gogoi (Maths), Mr. Jackson (Music), Miss Kelly (English), Ms. Llaurado (MFL) and Mrs. Wright (GTA).

Looking ahead, next week students in Years 9, 10 and 11 will have assemblies on the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme with an information evening for parents/carers and students at 6.30p.m. on 20th September.

A reminder that next week ‘Expectations’ Evenings will be held for Parents and Carers at 6p.m. on Monday 11th September for Year 7; Tuesday 12th September for Years 8 and 9; and Wednesday 13th September for Years 10 and 11 where you’ll also have the opportunity to ask any questions that you have about our recent Ofsted inspection. Please e-mail schooladmin@boroughbridgehigh.com stating which evening you wish to attend.

Have a lovely weekend.

Flamingo Land was the destination for the Rewards trip on Monday. Two hundred excited students enjoyed rides, ice creams, visiting the zoo and spending some quality time together as a reward for their consistently high standards throughout the year. 

Following inclement weather conditions last Friday, all our hopes were resting on a fine day on Wednesday for one of the absolute highlights of our school year, Sports Day. With field events taking place across the last couple of weeks and during the Wednesday morning session, the whole school congregated on the field for the track events. Accompanied by Mr. Cockerill’s own particular style of DJing with tracks from the 80s to present day, teams across the year groups showed great speed, resilience and teamwork as they battled to score points for their form group, cheered on by their peers. Just as the final baton was passed in the relay, the raindrops started which was indeed perfect timing. Students then had to wait, in eager anticipation, to hear the winners announced at our whole school assembly today.

Yesterday the Woodland Trust Group had a great day at ‘Hackfall’. Mr. Woodward reports, ‘The Woodland Trust group had a “tree-mendous” day out at Hackfall Woods near Grewelthorpe where we did some leaf identification which revealed a wide range of species in the woodland. We also took part in some Shinrinyoku, the Japanese art of forest bathing, a meditative practice which translates as “absorbing the forest atmosphere”. Having stilled our minds and become “at one” with the forest, students then listened to “The Peace of Wild Things”, a poem by Wendell Berry and set about writing their own version in the presence of the trees. It wasn’t all work, though. We had time to build a dam (and deconstruct it afterwards so as to not disrupt the flow of the water!), explore the woods and play a multitude of games including “Forest Fire”, “Creeping Coyotes” and “Predators”. A wonderful and wild time was had by all; the perfect end to a busy term!’

We found out today that we’ve been awarded the Woodland Trust Gold ‘Green Tree School’ Award. Congratulations to Mr. Woodward and Team!

And so, to mark the end of another productive and successful year, we all made our way to the Sports Hall today for our end of year whole school assembly. We started with in house musical entertainment then students clapped and cheered as they watched photos of the wide range of activities that they’ve participated in across the year. Subject awards were next on the list with students being given certificates acknowledging the excellent work that has been produced and high standards achieved. Sporting awards followed and then came the moment that we’ve been waiting for since Sports Day on Wednesday – the big reveal of the winners. Here they are, 8JW, 9SF, 10DR and 11JF. All in all a great celebration of all that we value in our school community. 

A reminder that, a good Summer read would be ‘The Blue Book of Nebo’ by Manon Steffan Ros, shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal, which we’ll be discussing in our first Book Club for students and staff in September.

With the Summer holidays now upon us, on behalf of the staff team, I would like to thank you for your ongoing support and wish you and your family a great Summer break. Students return to school on Tuesday 5th September. 

With a somewhat mixed weather forecast, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award Qualifying Expedition could have been thwarted but the resilience of our young people made sure that the expedition was a great success!

Mrs. Murphy reported that ‘All the students did brilliantly with a rather testing weekend.  On Saturday they were given false hope, with a lovely sunny start, but within 2 hours it had started raining, with thunder at times and it didn’t let up for another 5 hours!  Luckily it did stop in time for everyone to get to the campsite, so tents were pitched in the dry.  They cooked their food and had a relaxing evening by the tents chatting, no energy for sports this time.  Overnight there was rain, thunder and lightning but everyone stayed dry and it was brighter with clear skies in the morning.  The walking conditions were much nicer on Sunday, but we had lots of sore shoulders, backs and feet to contend with! The groups worked really well together, keeping up their morale and finished in good time.  A fantastic achievement, completed by all the 21 students who started!’

As a reward for the excellent contribution that our Sports Leaders have made to young people in our local primary schools and for representing the school in sports teams, on Tuesday, they went on a trip to Manchester City Football Club. They had the experience of ‘A day in the life of a professional footballer’ which included visiting many parts of the stadium, home and away dressing rooms, media conferencing, executive hospitality, the stands and match day gym facilities for the players. Throughout the tour the psychology behind all decisions was explained.

They watched video clips of the players talking about their routines as well as having the explanation of the psychology behind the different parts of the stadium such as the colour of the dressing rooms and the entry points of the different teams. The day was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

As part of their GCSE, the Key Stage 4 Geographers went on fieldwork on Wednesday or Thursday to Leeds, where they investigated the urban environment. The focus of the day was to study how the quality of housing and the environment varies between different areas of the city and how the waterfront area has been redeveloped. They were two incredibly productive days with high quality primary data being collected and staff praising students for their enthusiastic, focused approach. In the Autumn term, they have a trip to the Holderness Coast, where they’ll investigate coastal processes.

In assemblies this week, Mrs. Godsell-Wright and Mr. Grierson have talked with students about Summer safety, looking at the 5 ways of wellbeing to ensure that students look after both their physical and mental health whilst they’re aware from school.

You’ll be aware that we had originally scheduled Sports Day for today but with wet weather forecast, we’ve postponed it to next Wednesday which appears, looking at the rain bouncing off the windows, to have been the right decision!

So we’re three weeks into the new timetable and, with one week to go to the Summer break, we’ve got lots to fit in including the rewards trip to Flamingo Land, Sports Day, an EcoGroup trip and a whole school assembly. We’ll certainly make the most of the final week.

A reminder that school will close for the Summer break at 1.30p.m. on Friday 21^st July.

Have a lovely weekend!

We’ve now completed the second week of our new timetable and if you think the pace is slowing as we move towards the Summer break, you’d be wrong! Tuesday was an important day for our new Year 11 students who continued on their post -16 careers journey at the Careers Networking event. Students certainly looked the part as they arrived wearing business clothing. Following an assembly and lesson exploring different careers and skill requirements they took part in a ‘Meet the Employer’ event where they interviewed local, national and international employers to find out about a range of different careers and employment sectors. Along with learning a great deal, students had the opportunity to think seriously about their next steps and also thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Whilst the Careers event was taking place, over in the Assembly Hall, Year 8 had gathered with the English Team to reveal the winners of ‘The Joy of Reading’ photography competition. It was a great opportunity to celebrate two passions and the quality was so high that there were two winners in 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place! So in 1^st place were George and Abdullah, in 2^nd place, Amelia and Millie and in 3^rd place, Edith and Laila, and Ben. Very impressive indeed.

For those who just missed out, the next challenge is going to be a Summer Reading Photo competition. We’ll look forward to seeing the entries.

Staying on the creative theme, our Year 11 Art students were delighted to be invited to Boroughbridge Primary School on Monday to use their skills to transform a Library space. They thoroughly enjoyed the experience and created artwork which will be hopefully be enjoyed by many for years to come.

It’s also been an exciting week, welcoming Year 6 students to our school community to prepare them for their start in Year 7 in September. We were delighted to welcome parents and carers along with their children on Monday so that they could meet their Form Tutor and find out more about the school, before starting the first of three Induction Days on Wednesday. Students have experienced a wide range of subjects, met with lots of staff, familiarised themselves with classroom routines and discovered what an amazing food range we have available at lunchtimes! Older students have formed an important part of the Induction Days, acting as guides to make sure that everyone knew where they were going. We’ve had a great week and are looking forward to welcoming students back for Summer school before the Autumn Term starts.

With vaping widely reported as being an issue for young people, in assemblies this week Mr. Grierson has been sharing the facts about the possible dangers both in the short and long term of using vapes.

We’ve had 50 responses to our question around having online or face to face Parent/Carer Evenings next year. There’s still time to respond so if you’d like to share your views, please go to https://forms.gle/R83beU84FzosVLrw7. The deadline is Monday 12^th July.

This weekend students in Years 10 and 11 will be carrying out their Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze Award Qualifying Expedition and we’ve got a number of trips to look forward to next week. Next Friday afternoon will be our Sports Day and further information about this will follow next week.

Have a lovely weekend!

Oh what a night! As you can see, the Year 11 Prom last Friday was a great success. With sparkles and smart suits, the evening gave staff and students alike the opportunity to celebrate. Students arrived in tractors, a pick up, tractor units, a caravan, a Mustang and a Lamborghini. After a lovely three course meal, everyone danced the night away. Our students, as ever, were polite, considerate, thankful and happy which was great to see. Our thanks go to Mrs. Godsell-Wright for organising the event and to The Bridge Inn for making it a special evening.

This week has marked the start of our 2023 – 2024 timetable with students quickly becoming familiar with new classes and, at times, new teachers. The focus of assemblies this week has therefore been on reinforcing our school standards with our collective responsibility to act in a way which ensures that all are safe, happy and successful. In particular, we explored how students maximise learning when they Arrive on time, Be prepared, Contribute, Develop thinking and Engage with learning.

I was delighted to receive some new artwork for my office produced by Freya, Annabel, Kiki and Oliver, four of our Year 9 students. This impressive dystopian art was inspired by SweetTooth and their own English work.

Last night the Summer Sounds concert became a lovely Open Mic night where parents, carers and students were treated to a range of performances including piano, guitar, flute, drums, vocalists and the school choir. Well done to all.

We have another exciting week ahead as we welcome our new Year 7 students for their Induction Days from Wednesday to Friday.

Have a lovely weekend!