Category : Headteacher’s Blog

If you passed Boroughbridge High School on Monday, you may have wondered what was happening, well let us reveal all. Mr. Woodward reports, 

‘Arriving at school to torrential rain on Monday didn’t dampen the spirits of over 130 pupils as we embarked on the challenge of planting more than 200 saplings as part of the Woodland Trust Green Tree School Award. Students from all year groups took part, planting a mix of native hedgerow species such as blackthorn, hawthorn and dog rose alongside some wild-fruiting trees including elder, crab apple, rowan and hazel. Our hope is that these saplings will absorb CO2 as they grow to help have a positive impact in relation to climate change as well as create a rich habitat for local wildlife in our school grounds. We’ll be having another tree planting event in the spring, so if your child missed out this time there’ll be another opportunity to make a positive difference in just a few months!’

I’ve been able to mention this event in assemblies this week, when I’ve talked to students about ‘community’ and the contribution that they’ve been making to ensure that everyone within our school is safe, happy and successful before exploring how our students have been making contributions to our wider community. This includes activities such as our Sports Leaders working with primary school children from around the area and our fundraising for Children-in-Need. It’s also been good to talk to our young people about how the Town Council are working hard to secure funding from developers in our community to provide funding for a Multi Use Games Area ( MUGA ) in our recreation ground  which will be available to them. Students are filling in questionnaires with a deadline of Monday 4th December 2023 to give their feedback on the proposals. You can find out more about the proposal here.

If you’re visiting the St. James’ Christmas Tree festival this weekend, look out for our BHS tree. Mrs. Hunter has been using her artistic skills to design decorations with students adding messages of hope. 

Coming up next week is our second Fundraising Group meeting on Monday 4th at 6p.m. You’re very welcome to join us. On Wednesday 6th, the school’s Pop Choir will be singing at the annual Christmas lights switch on in Boroughbridge. They’ll be around the tree in Hall Square. On Thursday 7th at from 6p.m.-7p.m., we’ll be holding our Parent Information Evening on Attendance. At this we’ll discuss attendance for the first part of the meeting then you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions that you have about any aspect of school life. We’ve then got our Music concert on Tuesday 12th December at 6p.m. We look forward to seeing you at these events. 

We have a busy few weeks ahead!

Have a lovely weekend!

After weeks of preparation, Progress Exams for Years 10 and 11 started on Thursday. Our students have made an excellent start, very quickly getting into the routines and protocols of the exam hall. The timing of these exams enables both students and teachers to measure progress and is used by teachers to develop their planning to ensure that students’ knowledge gaps are filled and skills developed.

Supporting students through this time, Year 10 and 11 assemblies at the beginning of the week were delivered by the Wellbeing in Mind team focusing on strategies to support positive mental health during the exam period. There was also a further drop in session in the Dining Hall on Wednesday for students to have individual conversations with one of the Wellbeing in Mind team. Approaching  the same theme with Years 7, 8 and 9, Mrs Bloomfield explored anxiety, looking at how a certain amount of stress can help us to perform, along with helpful strategies and understanding when and how to seek support.

Year 7 Science Club on Thursdays is now well underway with students creating methane bubbles last week and fire writing this week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In sporting news, Mr. Field reports ‘The Year 9/10 boys football team made it to the final of the Harrogate & Craven Yr10 7- a -side football tournament yesterday evening.  They progressed through the group stages with a draw against Queen Ethelburga’s, a 2-0 victory of the hosts St. John Fisher, a draw against Nidderdale and rounded the group matches off with a hard fought 1-0 win against Rossett.  The final, against St Aidan’s proved a closely matched game with both sides having chances in front of goal.  As the prospect of a penalty shootout loomed, St Aidan’s scored in the last minute of play to take the spoils.  This proved to be the only goal the team conceded in the whole tournament which is testament to their resilience and efforts in attack.’ Congratulations to the team!

We had a very successful fundraising Friday last week for Children in Need raising £448.60 in total from your kind donations, the fidget toy sales, cake and sweet sales and other donations. Speaking of which, we had a productive first parent fundraising group meeting last week with lots of ideas to take forward. There’ll be opportunities to get involved in activities and events and, if you’d like to like to join the group, please e-mail schooladmin@boroughbridgehigh.com We also discussed raising the profile of BHS on social media. I’m always really pleased when parents and carers get in touch to share our students’ achievements outside of school. If there is something that your child has achieved that deserves recognition then please send it in and we’ll make sure that people know about it!

We had a further visit from our county adviser this week and received positive feedback. As we move towards the end of the month, I’ll be sending out my regular letter to update you on our progress towards our Ofsted priorities and beyond and will include further feedback from the visit.

A reminder that next week we’ve got a Professional Development Day on Wednesday 29^th November when students do not attend school. Looking ahead there’s a couple of festive dates for your calendar. On Wednesday 6^th December, the school’s Pop Choir have been invited to sing at the annual Christmas Tree Lights ‘Switch-On late-night shopping. They’ll be singing around the Christmas tree in Hall Square from 5.50-7p.m. We’ve then got our Music concert on Tuesday 12^th December at 6p.m. We’ll look forward to seeing you at these events.

Have a lovely weekend!

The power of trees was the focus of assemblies this week with Mr. Woodward animatedly explaining to all year groups, in turn, the impact of climate change and where we, as a country, sit within those who have a good environmental record. Developing the theme that we can all make a difference, he then asked for volunteers to help to plant trees that he’s secured from The Woodland Trust as part of their ‘Plant trees with your school’ campaign. Needless to say, there were many volunteers so we’ll look forward to seeing the site becoming even greener in the weeks, months and years ahead.

Thinking of others has been at the fore today with our non-uniform day to raise funds for Children in Need. With their usual enthusiasm, our students have been ‘spotacular’, some taking the opportunity to come to school with Pudsey ears or dressed as a banana or Batman. We’ve also had a range of other fundraising activities including a bake sale and selling fidget rings. Mrs. Mannion and her student team have been making these over in S6 at lunchtime, preparing well in advance for this day. Thank you for your generous contributions. We’ll let you know the total raised next week.

It’s Anti-Bullying week so, with that in mind, the NHS Wellbeing in Mind team have prepared some resources for parents and carers which you’ll find by clicking this link NHS Wellbeing in Mind. Students also had the opportunity to speak with the team in the Dining Hall on Thursday.

The Catering Team were visited by an Environmental Health Officer this week who, we’re delighted to say, confirmed that we continue to have 5-star status for Food Hygiene and Quality. Our congratulations go to Mrs. Chittock and her team.

Year 8 students were using their powers of deduction last week when, in ICT, they were visited by PC Dan Fawkes who ran escape room activities. Mrs. Knock reports, ‘The students had to find clues to work out passwords and complete challenges. Through these activities they were learning the importance of strong passwords. They’ve loved it and asked if we can do this every lesson!’

We’ve now had both Year 10 and Year 11 Parent/Carer evenings with students in those years working hard as they approach their Progress exams which start on Thursday.

If you’re interested in supporting the school with fundraising, our first meeting for parents and carers is on Monday 20^th November at 6p.m. We look forward to seeing you there.

A reminder that we have one of our Professional Development Days on Wednesday 29^th November when students do not attend school.

Have a lovely weekend!

We returned from half term to a beautiful autumnal school site. On the final day before the half term break, Mrs. Macadam and her Year 7 class had been getting creative. Mrs. Macadam reports, ‘In addition to reading “Clockwork” and “Treasure Island”, Year 7 students studied an extract from the epic poem Beowulf (the poem that gave birth to Literature as we know it); students were invited to design and make a Beowulf battle shield as an extra homework project.  The response was fantastic and the quality of shields was so good Mr Grierson couldn’t pick a winner.’

 

On a similar theme, in Art over the last few weeks, Year 9 students have been developing their skills by transforming toilet rolls, fabric and yarn into impressive dog sculptures as you can see. Mrs. Hunter has been very impressed with their approach and the results.

Two lunch clubs have started this week, Science Club for Year 7 on Thursday with Miss Camy and Code Club on Wednesday for students in Years 7 and 8. Mr. Errington reports,

‘On Wednesday I started a code club for years 8 and 9. I loved programming as a kid and want to give our current students the opportunity to write some code that will be sent up to the international space station and run up there for the astronauts to enjoy.  Indeed their code will be “out of this world”.  The current competition is open to students aged up to 19 based in specific countries and organised by the Raspberry Pi foundation. The students are going to start with “Mission Zero” which offers young people the chance to have their code run in space. They will write a simple program to take a reading from the colour and luminosity sensor on an Astro Pi computer on board the International Space Station, and use it to set the background colour in a personalised image for the astronauts to see as they go about their daily tasks. If any more students wish to join in, then Wednesday lunchtimes in room B2 is the place to be.  More information can be found at astro-pi.org’

As part of our ongoing quality assurance processes, this week we’ve had two external visitors; our North Yorkshire Principal Adviser and a member of our Governing Board. During Wednesday morning they visited classrooms across the school, observed Year 9 assembly and spoke with members of staff. I’ll share their feedback in my next Headteacher Update letter.

With Remembrance Day on Sunday, Mrs. Ennis has led assemblies this week looking at the importance of Remembrance Day by exploring the meaning of service and reminding us of the sacrifices which have and continue to be made. In each assembly we’ve observed a two-minute silence. Our prefects have been selling poppies, raising funds the Royal British Legion who provide a lifeline for serving personnel, veterans and their families. This afternoon, a group of our Service students have attended the North Yorkshire Service Children – Festival of Remembrance at Ripon Cathedral and, on Sunday, we’ll be attending the service at St. James’ before laying a wreath at the war memorial. It’s a privilege to participate in such an important event in our community.

Upcoming events include the Year 11 Parent/Carer Evening on Wednesday 15^th November which is an online event. We’re also looking forward to our first meeting with parents and carers who are interested in supporting the school with fundraising. This will be on Monday 20^th November at 6p.m. All are welcome to attend. Finally, we’ll be raising money for Children in Need next Friday with a non-uniform day. You can make donations through Parent Mail.

Have a lovely weekend!

 

As we approach the half term break, we’ve been reflecting on a productive half term.

The Woodland Trust Group have been active with Mr. Woodward reporting, ‘Having achieved Gold level in the Woodland Trust Green Tree Schools Award last year, students have been working on the next challenge this half-term as we try to work our way to achieving the platinum award. Our focus has been the new “Green in 15” Challenge which asks schools to do at least 5 out of 15 activities designed to connect young people with nature and make the school a more eco-friendly place. Students have been involved in delivering presentations about natural objects they find inspiring, identifying different species of trees on the school site (we have 20+ different species, it turns out…not bad for a small school!) and creating natural artwork, inspired by artists such as Andy Goldsworthy and Richard Shilling. Next half-term we’ll see the arrival of almost 200 saplings which we’ll be planting around the school site to help increase biodiversity, improve habitats and help improve the air quality for our students.’

 

 

If you’ve got time for a half term read then you may be interested in the next two books that will be discussed at our Book Club after half term which is shadowing the Yoto Carnegie Medal Shortlist 2023. For students in Year 7, the recommendation is ‘Waiting for Murder’ by Fleur Hitchcock with the Book Club discussion taking place on Monday 20^th November at 1p.m. in the Library. For students in Years 8 and above the recommendation is ‘I Must Betray You’ by Ruta Sepetys with the Book Club taking place at 1p.m. in the Library on Monday 6^th of November.

 

 

 

Year 7 also have the opportunity of a Science lunchtime club after half term on Thursday lunchtimes. If they’re interested, then they should speak to Ms Camy.

 

 

 

 

To support students with their English Literature studies, on Tuesday night, Mrs. Macadam and Year 11 enjoyed a viewing of Macbeth showing the play as it was originally intended by Shakespeare.

In assemblies this week, Mrs. Godsell-Wright has been exploring personal characteristics that are valued in all aspects of life. Many students shared their ideas showing that our young people have a good understanding of how to make an active and positive contribution to their communities. The assembly ended with students being given Rewards certificates to recognise those who have consistently achieved Excellent or Good for their Behaviour for Learning, Attitude to Learning and Homework in their tracking at our first Progress Review Point. Many students were invited to the front of the Hall to collect their certificates. Well done to them all.

The Year 7 Geographers have shown remarkable resilience this week as they’ve battled with the elements to carry out their fieldwork in Boroughbridge. On Thursday rain caused an early return but Mr. Atkinson remarked on the positive attitude of students on their visit. Mrs. Gomersal and I are hoping for drier conditions for our groups today!

You will have received the letter earlier in the week with an update on the measurable progress that we’ve made including how Ofsted priorities are being addressed. We thank you for your support with this and we will be returning refreshed after half term to continue to drive forward on our identified priorities.

Upcoming events include the Year 10 Parent/Carer Evening on Wednesday 8^th November with Year 11 Parent/Carer Evening on Wednesday 15^th November. Please book your appointments online. Both events are virtual. We’re also looking forward to our first meeting with parents and carers who are interested in supporting the school with fundraising. This will be on Monday 20^th November at 6p.m. All are welcome to attend.

Have a lovely weekend and half term!

 

You may have seen some of our Year 7 geographers in Boroughbridge this week as they carried out their geographical enquiry exploring the hypothesis, ‘The function of Boroughbridge is a resort town.’ Primary data collection is taking place with traffic and pedestrian counts and a land use and environmental survey which students will analyse on their return to the classroom. Further trips will take place next week.

Thank you to Year 7 parents and carers for your attendance at the Meet the Tutor evening on Monday. It was great to be able to welcome you into school and to hear how well our young people have settled into the Boroughbridge High School community. If you’re a Year 7 Parent/Carer, you’ll have received a link to a ‘Settling in’ survey. Thank you to those who have already completed it. There is still time for you to do so. Your feedback will be used as part of our evaluation and areas to be developed built into our future planning.

One of our development plan areas this year is to continue to increase our wider and extra-curricular opportunities for our students linking with our aim to ensure that all students leave our school, not only with the qualifications they need to access the next stage of their education or career of choice, but with the skills and confidence to make an active contribution to the communities to which they belong. Therefore, we’re delighted that again, this week, we’ve had more than 25% of our students involved in after school sport and that we have 26 students have signed up to the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award and 10 for silver. Year 10 also heard of a further opportunity this week, to be part of a Young Enterprise team which Mrs. Mannion spoke to them about in assembly. They still have time to sign up and just need to let their Form Tutor or Mrs. Mannion (who’s in S6) know that they want to participate.

Mrs. Murphy has recently been appointed as our Service Children Champion and had her first meeting with our 36 service students (almost 8% of our school population) to talk about how she’d like to work to support them.

Now that we’ve completed six weeks of the Autumn Term, in assemblies this week, I’ve talked about the measurable progress that we’ve made as a school community, sharing feedback with students from recent e-mails sent by members of the public praising our students for their social skills, exemplary behaviour and enthusiasm. We also recognised the fact that within school the introduction of the expectations around the three phases of learning has had a marked impact on the quality of learning as evidenced in lesson observations and governor visits. The high standard of uniform has also been noted. Our focus now is to embed this whilst also driving forward on our next areas for action.

Following our first Progress Review Point, tracking data for students in Years 10 and 11 has been sent out this week. In response to parental feedback at the Y10/11 Expectations Evening, you will also have received a Revision Guide which will give parents and carers the information that they need to have conversations about the different subjects, requirements and what to revise for the November Progress exams. Thank you for your support with this.

We break up for half term next Friday (27^th) and it is our Year 10 Parent/Carer evening on Wednesday 8^th November. This is an online event and you should have received a letter and information about how to sign up for appointments. Please get in touch if you need any further information.

Have a lovely weekend!

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!