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.