Category : Front Page News

With the summery weather upon us, it was the perfect time for Year 9 to embark upon their trip to Bewerley Park. Mr. Grierson reports, ‘39 intrepid young adventurers and 4 enthusiastic staff members enjoyed 3 action packed days at Bewerley Park Outdoor Education Centre.  Resilience and team work were the order of the day as the students were given the opportunity to squeeze through the tightest spaces as they scaled Brimham Rocks.  MrsMurphy successfully navigated the ‘cheese press’ and Mrs. Cummins the ‘leap of faith’!  As the scorching weather continued throughout the week, the students took every opportunity to cool down in the local rivers and ponds whilst kayaking, canoeing or paddle boarding. The ghyll scrambling was a particularly popular activity as students climbed up a stream, dived into plunge pools and slid down natural inclines. For those with a head for heights there was the High Ropes activities including a leap of faith to catch a trapeze high up in the summer sky. In the evenings there was a walk through the stunning countryside, orienteering and Mr Field’s nightly rounders games.  Students acquitted themselves well, doing themselves and school proud.’

There’s been excitement in the school this week with Mr. Woodward reporting that ‘The Woodland Trust Green Tree Award Group spent some time in the woodland area on the school site putting their photography and observation skills to the test. Their challenge was to take photos of nature from different perspectives. We discussed how looking at the same place from a myriad of different viewpoints can reveal entirely different experiences and how often we can find a much more interesting and inspiring view of things not by going somewhere new but by looking at the familiar in a different way (a good metaphor for life in general). Students were then free to explore the woodland with them lying on the ground, climbing trees and getting up close with plants, trees and fungi to see things differently.’

We currently have vacancies for two parent governors and are seeking nominations for an enthusiastic and committed parent or carer to join our governing board.

Across the Boroughbridge High School and King James’s School Federation we value positive and purposeful partnerships with parents, understanding the benefit that this brings to our students. One of the most significant ways in which parents and carers can contribute to the strategic direction of the school is to volunteer to be a parent governor.

Parent governors are valued members of the team and play a vital role in contributing towards the strategic direction of the Federation

For World Book Day at Boroughbridge High School we’ve taken a DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) approach with teachers, for a couple of lessons in the day, choosing an extract from a favourite book or article relevant to their lesson, topic or subject and reading it aloud to the class before discussing it. So looking at a sample across school, in the Maths Department, Mrs Bloomfield read a passage to Year 7 from “The Number Devil – a Mathematical Adventure” by Hans Magnus Enzensberger which is a fun journey through the world of Mathematics through the eyes of a 12 year old boy who hates Maths but ends up dreaming about it!

In Mrs. Murphy’s Year 7 Maths lesson, student either read or wrote a short story involving a fraction. They then listened to the short stories, lots of food was mentioned in some really imaginative stories. Year 8 had a starter matching up descriptions with graphs. They were then shown a different graph and asked to write a short story that could be represented by the graph. Mrs. Murphy commented that ‘They all had a go and produced some stories that defied gravity.’

In Year 9 History, Mrs. Town read Chapter 1 of ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’ as they are starting to study the Holocaust.

In GCSE, Mr. Field shared an article tilted ‘Lizzy Yarnold: GB’s two-time Winter Olympic champion calls for stop on high-carbon sponsorship deals’ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/winter-sports/64785138 which linked two topics that he has significant interest in; snowsports and the environment. The article also linked perfectly to the specification as it covered topics that students are about to learn about in GCSE PE, Commercialisation of sport.

Mr. Errington and his class read pages 52 to 55 of “Surely You’re joking, Mr Feynman” by R.P.Feynman. Mr. Errington says that ‘Richard Feynman was arguably the world’s greatest theoretical physicist and when I first read his books when I went to school in the 80’s, he inspired me to keep learning and my love of physics.’

In MFL, Y9 students looked at the bilingual (French & English) edition of ‘Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’ and heard excerpts in both languages. Madame Bailie reports that ‘They were very pleased with themselves to recognise some of the French vocabulary!’

Mr Woodward reports that in RE, ‘I read (in a slightly dramatic fashion) extracts from the Book of Job in the Bible to Y9 students as we analysed the Biblical response to the existence of unfair suffering in the world and then, during Lesson 5, extracts from Damian Hall’s “We Can’t Run Away From This” were shared in our exploration of the issue of climate change.’

So, not only did students get the opportunity to read and get an insight into their teachers’ reading but they may also have some ideas for future reading.

In December, our Year 7 students were involved in a creative writing competition organised by the English Department. Mr. Cockerill reports that ‘The creative writing competition was organised by the English Department in response to reading a selection of short stories from the Iridescent Adolescent anthology, published by the English and Media Centre. The quality of work submitted was of a very high standard. Winning students received a certificate, a writing journal and some chocolate. Some students submitted book cover designs too, for which there was a separate prize. Because of its success and popularity, we’re planning to run another competition again next term on the theme of a ‘journey’.’

Here are some of the competition winners receiving their certificates,

The Readathon has also been completed with students taking the opportunity to read whilst raising £75 for charity.

Congratulations to Year 11!

It’s been a day of celebration at Boroughbridge High School as students collected
their GCSE and BTEC results, many of them joined by their families. Students
have shown remarkable resilience over the last two years learning both within
school and remotely, working hard to gain some outstanding achievements and
securing their chosen destinations.

Notable achievements of students achieving top grades include:
Toby Naish (8 Grade 9s, 1 Grade 8)
Melody Neale (8 Grade 9s, 1 Grade 8)
Phoebe Hartley (5 Grade 9s, 5 Grade 8s)
Emilia Little (5 Grade 9s, 4 Grade 8s)
Grace Timoney (4 Grade 9s, 2 Grade 8s)
Will Frankland (4 Grade 9s, 2 Grade 8s)
Kiera Brocklesby (3 Grade 9s, 6 Grade 8s)

All are going on to study A Levels.

Headteacher Kathryn Stephenson said, ‘It has been an absolute pleasure to
congratulate students today on their excellent achievements. We are incredibly
proud of the way in which they have approached the challenges of the last
couple of years, showing great resilience throughout. The results also reflect the
commitment of the staff team and the continued support of our parents, carers
and governors. We are delighted that our students are now able to move
confidently into further study, apprenticeships and employment and we wish
them well for the future.’

Students are celebrating their A Level success with destinations including the University of Chester, Edge Hill, Glasgow School of Art, University of Leeds and York St. John. 66% of grades awarded were A*-B and 89% A*-C. Students have shown great resilience over the last few years and we are incredibly proud of their achievements. Our congratulations go to them and we wish them well for the future.

On Thursday 14th July, 57 girls from across the year groups went to Dalby Forest for the inaugural Girls’ Well-being Colour Run. The event, hosted by North Yorkshire Sport, created an excellent opportunity for girls to complete well-being and physical activities with their friends. They heard inspirational talks from leading sportswomen before completing the 2km Colour Run course set within the forest, starting at Adderstone Field, with obstacles and challenges to complete. The theme throughout was enjoyment and, as you can see from the photos, there is no doubt that it was achieved!

Year 11 students celebrated their time at Boroughbridge High School with a Prom Event at The Bridge Inn on Friday 24th June. A variety of modes of transport, including a tractor and a stretch limousine, brought students to the venue and it was a great way for students and staff to mark the end of an era. We wish the class of 2022 well for the future!