Whitby was the destination for our Year 8 Geographers last Friday. Mrs. Gomersal reports ‘, ‘Year 8 students recently took part in an exciting Geography fieldwork trip to Whitby, where they investigated the key question: Should Whitby be protected from coastal erosion?

Blessed with glorious sunshine, the students carried out a range of fieldwork tasks including a land use survey, environmental quality assessments, and a field sketch—completed while sitting on the pier overlooking the River Esk and Whitby’s picturesque East Cliff.

Everyone showed excellent focus and teamwork throughout the day, with students behaving impeccably and showing great determination as they climbed the iconic 199 steps to Whitby Abbey.

 

To round off the day, everyone enjoyed a well-deserved ice cream in the sunshine—a perfect end to a successful and enjoyable field trip. Well done, Year 8!’

 

 

 

 

 

The weekend then saw our Bronze Duke of Edinburgh students on their qualifying expedition. Mrs Murphy reports ‘On Saturday 23 year 9 students commenced the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Qualifying Expedition. The weather conditions made the expedition particularly challenging, although not as hot as was predicted, it was very muggy and it made the walking hard work. The students worked well as teams and with all but one group having some navigational challenges it really tested their resilience and ambition to succeed. There was a little shower in the afternoon which helped cool the students down and everyone utilised the lovely showers at the campsite after a long day walking. The students were up pretty early on Sunday; the windy start to the day meant the tents were all dry, but it was a bit more interesting packing them away. All groups managed better on the Sunday and were very relieved at seeing the coach at the car park at the end of the day. A great success for all. A special thanks to Stan, who is a Duke of Edinburgh Young Leader and supported the participants throughout the weekend. He was absolutely brilliant helping advise and support the students and really helpful for all the volunteer staff on the trip. We also had a number of adults who commented on what lovely, polite and respectful students we had. Thank you to Mr Lough, Mrs Bauwens, Mr Groves and Mrs Webb for their support on the weekend.’ Our thanks go to Mrs. Murphy too, not only for the expedition but for her work on the Duke of Edinburgh award throughout the year.

 

 

 

We must also congratulate all our Duke of Edinburgh Award students for the amazing community contribution that they’ve made throughout this year with the recognition that they have, in total, spent 1144 hours volunteering between 1st April 2024 and 31st March 2025 with a social value of £7320. We are, indeed, very proud of them.

 

 

 

 

And so to this week where we’ve started our new school year with our new timetable. As usual, it’s created a high level of focus with classes meeting new groups and new teachers. GCSEs and BTECs have been started and new options begun. We have the opportunity to experience two cycles of the timetable before the end of term, therefore securing a smooth start in September.

In assemblies this week, Mr. Field has been looking forward with students to the excitement of Sports Day which, weather permitting, will be on Friday 11th July. Each form class will be choosing their team with the clear understanding that points are not just awarded for being placed in a track or field event but also for participating. The overall winners are usually those who work best as a team so we’ll see how our teams perform this year.

We’re also now taking payments for the Rewards Trip to the Great Yorkshire Show on Thursday 10th July where the vast majority of our students, due to their commitment to our values, being ambitious, respectful and resilient, have been invited. We’re looking forward to a great day out.

 

 

A date for your diary, it’s our Summer concert next week on Tuesday 8th July. All are welcome.Next week we look forward to welcoming our new Year 7 students and their parents and carers.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, we thought you’d like to see a Prom photo of the Class of 2025. A lovely photo capturing a great evening. We wish them well for the future.

Have a lovely weekend!