Newsround - Issue 3

St Peter’s Catholic High School

news

1960

round Issue

3

In this issue

After a year of planning and months of construction, the new visitor’s entrance to St. Peter’s is open for business.

The new build comprises a conference suite, a meeting room, medical room as well as a large office and reception area.

Decorative art work from the pupils enhances the comfortable waiting area. Altogether this new suite of rooms ensures a warm welcome to all.

Art & Design Exhibition Malham Trip Staff Retreat College Careers Fair Spelling Bee Public Speaking Boulogne Trip Savio House Retreat Wigan Pier Workshop Leavers’ Mass Reception Mural Reuben’s Retreat Mall Galleries in London Notice Board Leavers’ Dinner

Tel: 01942 747693 Email: enquiries@admin.saintpetershigh.wigan.sch.uk

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Malham Trip The trip centred around five beautiful features in the Yorkshire Dales. These were Janet’s Foss, Gordale Scar, Watlowes Dry Valley, the limestone pavement and the base of Malham Cove. My favourite features were Janet’s Foss and Gordale Scar because of the wonderful waterfalls that flow through the middle of both places. To me, the scariest thing about Malham Cove is the limestone pavement that has Grykes (gaps in the pavement) all over it. These are made more interesting by human impact, also known as footpath erosion, which we create. Another thing that scares most people about the limestone pavement is the 300 foot drop on one side that leads to the base of Malham Cove. This factor appeals to rock climbers and rock scramblers because it doesn’t take very long to get to Malham Cove and there is more than one cliff face to climb up.

If you ask other members of St. Peter’s who have been to Malham Cove they will probably all say that the limestone pavement is very tiring to get to, because you have to walk up more than 300 steps!

But when you are up at the top you witness a very picturesque view of Malham Village. Unfortunately we did not have time to go into the village but we

The whole of Y8 were lucky enough to set out on an adventurous day full of exercise and beautiful sights.

We took a trip (organised by Mr Makin and Mrs Harvey) to Malham Cove where we were led to the top of the cliff face to see the naturally formed limestone features.

did drive through it and it looked like a very nice place to live.

Watlowes Dry Valley was my least favourite feature because it was very high up and a bit cold and windy, but it is still extremely interesting. This part of Malham Cove was the first to be formed and made the way we see it today and this is all thanks to the ice age that occurred millions of years ago. If you ever venture towards Janet’s Foss do not forget to hold your nose (unless you like the smell of garlic) because there are garlic herb fields surrounding the waterfall. Also Gordale Scar is another area were rock climbers are commonly found.

If you are ever in the Yorkshire Dales then why not take a trip to Malham cove to see these naturally formed limestone features. I am sure you will love your day trip out to Malham but don’t forget to take some food and drinks, unless you are lucky enough to be able to go into the village. Maybe you and your family would be able to decide which aspect of Malham cove is your favourite.

By Rebecca Grady 8.2

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Staff retreat to

St Joseph’s, Formby

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The second residential retreat for staff took place on a windy weekend in March at St. Joseph’s, Freshfield, Formby. We took the opportunity to spend some time together reflecting on the reasons why we teach in a Catholic school as well as making the retreat part of our personal Lenten preparation. We impressed ourselves by getting up early on Saturday morning to take a blustery walk in the sand dunes and we enjoyed a few lemonades in the local tavern on Saturday evening. A good time was had by all!

The centre looked after us extremely well and we will be booking again for staff and possibly children as well.

By Mrs Hunt

Some of our students putting Headteacher Mr McGlown through his paces

West Lancashire College Careers Fair On Wednesday 14th May all of the Year Nine pupils visited West Lancashire College to attend the careers fair that was available throughout the day for secondary school pupils to visit.

As this college was still open for their own students, the venue had quite limited space, therefore the B-side of the Year group visited in the morning (lessons 1-3) and the A-side visited in the afternoon (lessons 4-6). The aim of the careers fair was for pupils to understand all of the career opportunities that are available to them and to gain insight to the hard work that is required to pursue many careers.

There were many different stalls at the careers fair which ranged from gardening to accountancy. My favourite stall was the apprenticeship challenge from ‘Walker’s’ which is part of the ‘PepsiCo’ company. We had to take part in a number of different maths challenges that the apprentices face daily. I really enjoyed this experience as I had never done anything like this before and it definitely made me consider apprenticeships in the future.

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the day as I learned a lot and I think that everyone else who visited West Lancashire College also enjoyed the day.

Eleanor Makin

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German Students Spell Out Success!

Friday 4th July saw the National Final of the Foreign Language Spelling Bee, held at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge, and has taken a long time to come round for our Year 7 finalists.

After performing so well at the Regional Final back in March, gaining first and third place, Hannah Lamb and Caitlin McGreevy travelled down to the prestigious city of Cambridge to compete on a national level and represent the North West in German. Accompanied by Mrs Kellaway, Miss Swindells and parents, the girls boarded the train in Manchester feeling very excited but nervous too.

After arriving and registering at the venue, the importance and pressure of the occasion hit… there were schools from all around the country; pupils practising their spellings, pronunciation and translation in every corner and anxious teachers.

To open the proceedings there was an introductory speech in the auditorium by the Spelling Bee creator followed by the Mayor of Cambridge who really stressed the importance and value of learning languages. Then it was time for the competition to begin!

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The German round was held in a large lecture theatre, with 36 participants and a total audience of about 130. Luckily, neither Hannah nor Caitlin were called up first, but the disadvantage was that they

had to watch the other competitors, nervously waiting for their turn. Both pupils performed with confidence and accuracy. They translated, pronounced and spelled out the words using the German alphabet expertly and with speed during each of their minutes. It was fantastic to see how far they had both progressed since the Spelling Bee was introduced back in January, when they had only been learning the language for 2 months!

The announcement was made that there was a tie for second place between 4 pupils and Hannah was invited back up for a second minute. Again, her performance was excellent but unfortunately she didn’t get through to the top 4 and came a very close fifth. Before watching the final performances by the French, German and Spanish winners, the team had a well deserved rest with doughnuts, sandwiches and coffee. The final rounds were exciting and although the team was disappointed, a good day was had by all. Many congratulations to Hannah and Caitlin for getting so far in the competition and setting a new St Peter’s Spelling Bee record! Also, many thanks to Tara McHugh who helped the team to practise at lunchtime and of course Mrs Kellaway (Head Coach!) who trained the two spellers so well.

Public Speaking 2 014/15 Wigan Rotary Club’s Youth Speaks programme for 2014/15 began in June 2014 when local High Schools competed at Standish High School.

Following a very successful year in Public Speaking last year, our presentation dealt with the issue of ‘Testing for 4 year olds’ and our team consisted of Chair, Jessica Ellison; Speaker, James Brownsey and Proposer of the Vote of Thanks, Hannah Lamb.

Our team were once again successful, proceeding to the next round of the event in the New Year and wish them every success in the competition.

Boulogne Trip After quite a calm ferry crossing we arrived on French soil and travelled the 30 minutes to our destination, Boulogne Sur Mer, a quaint but bustling coastal town near Calais.

First stop was the sea front café for our lunch.

With full stomachs, we then set off towards the Escargotière, the Snail Farm! After a slight hiccup of being sent to the wrong snail farm (yes…there are two!) we arrived in lovely sunshine at the home of a very hospitable couple. The lady took us to the farm where we learned some pretty interesting but unpleasant facts about our slimy friends! For example did you know that snail slime is used in the production of some make up and beauty products?

Snails have about 17 000 teeth? And that a snail is both male and female?! Wow! However, these impressive facts did not stop about half of us eating some when we had our tasting session! Two different snail canapés had been prepared; one traditional butter, parsley and garlic in an edible biscuit shell and one snail pâté on bread. These went down really well, with many brave pupils trying them for the first time and a good number having seconds! The few that were left were hoovered up by Carl the chaplain! This was washed down with cool lemonade and some homemade jam on bread.

We then headed to the Auberge de Jeunesse, the Youth Hostel, to check in and have a rest. After a lovely tea in the dining room, pupils explored their bedrooms and by ten o’clock were certainly ready for bed! So were the teachers…!

After a great night’s sleep and a fantastic French breakfast of croissant, cereal, cake and juice, we made our way back into Boulogne to visit the famous Saturday market. With the glorious sunshine, the market was full of colour from the fruits and vegetables, plants and flowers on sale and you could smell the freshness of the produce. Pupils really enjoyed looking around and comparing the experience to shopping in England… you can’t buy live chickens, rabbits or lobsters at Tesco! Then, we

visited the historic quarter of the walled old town which was full of charm and interest. Groups made their way around the ville fortifiée, along its narrow cobbled streets, surrounded by its impressive ramparts which provided great views of Boulogne.

We stopped at places of interest such as the incredible castle dating back to 1231, the beautiful Notre Dame cathedral and of course plenty of souvenir shops. It has to be said that the sweet shop was probably the most popular destination on the tour! After a short journey to collect our picnic lunches from Flunch, a French “Subway”, we arrived at the Boulangerie for our bakery visit. The group split in to two; one went to have a talk about bread and the other went to have a go at making croissants. The baker described her work; getting up at 4am to make the dough, not really being able to take holidays and the difficulty in recruiting experienced staff. Despite all this, she loved her job.

Pupils played with the dough and then went to meet the baker’s husband who was funny and scary at the same time! Pupils didn’t know whether to laugh or run away! We learned the ingredients and how to say them in French, then attempted to cut out triangles ready to roll them into the iconic crescent shape. We all had a lot of fun during this activity!

After a chance to buy things in the bakery, we headed off towards Calais for the ferry, loaded up with a croissant and pain au chocolat for everyone.

The ferry journey was smooth and sunny with a chance to go on deck with some of the teachers and despite a hefty delay on the motorway, we arrived back at school in high spirits. For many pupils this was their first taste of going abroad. They had a great time, absorbed the French ambience and had chance to practise some of the French they have learned in lesson. Many thanks to the staff who gave up their time to come on the trip!

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Year 8’s Retreat at

Savio House

Savio House in Bollington is a great place to spend 3 days on retreat. In February this year 37 pupils and 5 staff had a brilliant time enjoying the hospitality of the Salesian brothers and their lay helpers at their retreat house.

Our time at Savio was jammed packed with activity; we met together in small groups to reflect on the theme of the day, we walked in beautiful countryside, celebrated Mass and a service of reconciliation. Pupils played games inside and outside, had a disco, meditation time and tables were cleared and laid for meal times by the pupils. Much singing, laughing and prayerfulness was experienced during our time there. Pupils enjoyed time spent with friends outside of the school environment and the opportunity to celebrate our faith together was very precious indeed. This R.E. retreat is now firmly part of the St Peter’s calendar and pupils will have the chance to go to Savio when they are in Year 8.

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Extra-curricular Science Year 10 triple and set 2 science pupils were recently given the opportunity to ‘win’ a place at one or both of the science extracurricular events organised this term.

Pupils could compete to attend either the Genetics of Superheroes lecture at Winstanley College, or the ‘Aspiring Medics Day’ at St. John Rigby College. Pupils were asked to write a small science article of 300 words about an area of science they either find exciting, interesting or just plain newsworthy. The articles ranged in content from the philosophical, environmental, and astronomical to the autobiographical. My personal favourite however was a winning article by Hannah Porter in 10.4, enjoy............

Slugs inspire an adhesive that can change lives!

A new type of surgical glue that has been developed is based on the properties of slime; this surgical glue can mend heart defects such as a hole in the heart. This glue has many features that are based on the features of slug slime such as elasticity, so the heart can grow and develop and also beat, and water-resistance so that the powerful glue doesn’t come lose and can hold the heart together. Each year 40,000 babies in the USA suffer from heart defects and if they survive they have to have multiple surgeries throughout their lives. The glue works by ultraviolet light (UV) and provides an anti-bleeding seal within 5 seconds of the UV light application. The adhesive patch is biodegradable and biocompatible, so nothing toxic stays in the bodies of these patients. When the patch has broken down, the heart stays sealed. So this new technology can reduce surgery time and reduce the amount of times surgery is needed while also repairing and closing any defects. This changes the future of children who suffer from heart problems and possibly change the future of all heart surgeries.

“We went to Winstanley College to watch Simon Watts, the presenter of ‘Inside Natures Giants’ perform a lecture on the possibility of genetically engineering superheroes. Whilst there, we learned about some naturally occurring human mutations and their phenotypic effects. We learned how to ‘read’ the genetic code and took part in an interactive demonstration to show how genetic mutation occurs. We had a great time and found it all very interesting.”

Freya Waters and Tara Atkinson

“On 25th June we went to an Aspiring Medics Day at St. John Rigby. We were able to take part in a number of medical procedures such as taking blood from a fake hand, belonging to an arm affectionately known as ‘Andy’ and perform an intubation on a fake head called ‘Eddie’. We also carried out an ECG (electrocardiogram) on ourselves, and performed ultrasound scans of our neck to check blood flow. We got to experience the practical aspects of medicine which we don’t have the opportunity to do in school. We discovered that medicine is a very practical, hands-on science and requires a person to be more than a good reviser” Jessica McAteer and Abbie Boon-Pearce

Wigan Pier Workshop An unusually warm day in March saw 8 Year 10 and 11 pupils visiting Sunshine House in Scholes for the bi-annual Wigan Pier Workshops writing master class. Previous visiting writers have included John Hedley and Will Self but both pupils and staff alike were excited by the opportunity to work alongside one of the country’s most prolific children’s and TV writers, Anthony Horowitz.

“ Natural ability and sophisticated imaginations ”

After a warm up activity which involved creating a short story with pupils from schools across the borough, Anthony Horowitz led a question and answer session in which he described how he discovered his ability to create imaginative stories during his days at boarding school and revealed how he often includes people he doesn’t like as characters – who usually meet a grizzly end!

Lunchtime provided the highlight of the day as whilst eating our sandwiches in the garden, Anthony strolled outside and started to talk to us about Doctor Who, Alex Ryder and Shakespeare. After a request from Tam for a photograph, Mr Horowitz shared that the current trend amongst writers is to take a “shelfie” where authors sneak into book shops and take snaps of themselves amongst their books. The afternoon session afforded some of the group the chance to work with the man himself and all the pupils came away with a real sense of achievement that such a respected writer had commented on their “natural ability” and “sophisticated imaginations”.

Mrs Greaves

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Leavers’ Mass On the evening of Thursday 8th May, the work of our School Chaplain, various departments and pupils culminated in the Year 11 Leavers’ Mass in the Sports Hall. The expectation was for an emotional evening as the leaving Year 11s and their parents took their seats and the mass began.

The theme for the mass was ‘Let Your Light Shine’ and the décor of the Sport’s Hall definitely reflected the sentiment, with a number of controlled lights and banners placed around the Sports Hall adding to the atmosphere.

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The evening began with Mrs. Campbell, whose emotive speech as acting Head of Year reflected the feelings of the year team and also passing on the best wishes of Mr. Crompton, who sadly could not attend. A small group of Year 11 singers and musicians played hymns, such as Shine Jesus Shine, Walk in the light and many others with references to light. During the communion reflection, a group of five leavers, Chris Maguire and Molly Press as dancers and Anna Wilkinson, Chloe Taylor and Paige Moneypenny as singers performed a rendition of Wicked’s ‘For Good’, a song which greatly contributed to the emotional fragility of the evening.

After the mass, the congregation began to file out of the Sports Hall in the direction of the Art rooms for the exhibition and Drama Theatre and Canteen for refreshments, whilst the musicians proclaimed ‘au revior’ to the rest of the Year group in their own way with ‘A Little Help from My Friends’ by the Beatles.

The Year 11s now had to look forward to their exams, finishing coursework and the Leavers’ Ball in more than a month’s time.

Creating the ‘Welcome to St Peter’s’ Clay Mural A group of Year 9 pupils were asked to create a piece of art work which will welcome visitors as they arrive at the new reception area of St Peter’s.

The aim is that the piece will incorporate the key values of our school and highlight some of the unique qualities that St Peter’s has as a community. Taking inspiration from St Peter himself and his role as a ‘fisher of men’, it was decided that water and waves should be used as the key imagery for the piece. We looked at the work of Eric Gill and Sandra Cinto to help with the designing of the work.

Teams of pupils were given specific tasks in the creation of the piece. The first group were responsible for designing exactly what the clay mural will look like. They worked collaboratively to draw out the overall design onto huge sheets of cardboard. Several drafts were made before the final composition was agreed upon. The goal was to create a real sense of movement throughout the piece, through the many layers of varied wave shapes.

This was then cut into a series of stencils for the next groups to use. Some pupils prepared the clay and began to cut the large wave shapes out. Later groups were given the task of carving the detail into each wave. Key words, which the group feel describe the special qualities of our school, have also been carved into the design.

“When I started work on the waves pieces, they had already been cut out. I smoothed the edges of all of the waves to make them neater and fit together nicely. Then we added lines to the waves to create the effect of them flowing. Some people in my group added words related to school and what they think of school life like, ‘friendship’ or ‘community’. They were engraved into the waves to make them blend in but so that they are still able to be seen.” Ellie Ashcroft 9.4 The final part of the process is the glazing of each of the individual waves. This has been done by Cerys Buckley and Rhianne Foley as part of the Skills section of their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award.

We look forward to seeing the result after the final firing in the kiln! The work will be displayed in reception for the start of the new school year.

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Year 8 Charity Reuben’s Retreat Year 8 had lots of good ideas for a chosen charity, but in February a lady called Alison Rothwell came into assembly to talk about a charity that very few had even heard of, Reuben’s Retreat.

The story of Reuben is a sad one. Reuben Michael Graham went on holiday with his mum, dad and elder brother to Devon. Whilst on holiday he fell ill and so his mum and dad took him to the doctor. He was then sent to hospital and within one week he had tragically died of a brain tumour. Little Reuben Graham never returned home from his holiday in Devon. He was only 23 months old when he passed away. His devastated parents wanted to do something positive to help other families who might find themselves in a similar situation, and that was how the charity was founded on 23 August 2012.

The aim of the charity is to create a retreat in the North West of England countryside, a place of quiet and calm and a place to relieve the distress of families and close friends who have suffered the loss of a child or have a child with a life limiting or life threatening illness. Within 2 years the charity had

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Three Year 10 GCSE Art pupils have had their work selected to be part of the twelfth Annual National Student’s Art Exhibition at The Mall Galleries in London; a showcase of the best students art work from throughout the country.

Year 10 Art work selected for exhibition at the prestigious Mall Galleries in London ‘Vivid Wood’ by Isabelle Elston 10.6, ‘Forever’ by Libby Langham 10.1 and ‘The Reaching Wood’ by Freya Waters 10.1 were all submitted to be judged by a panel which included senior members of the Royal Society of British Artists. All three pieces were selected and have been exhibited as part of the highly prestigious exhibition.

This is a huge achievement and something that the pupils should feel very proud of. The opening ceremony of the show took place on Tuesday 8th July and Freya, Isabelle and Libby were all invited to attend. They travelled to London with Miss Gaskell and Mr Taylor and were able to see their own art work exhibited alongside other students work from around the country, in the impressive gallery on The Mall.

The pupils’ work looked amazing and many comments were made by members of the public about the quality of their work.

bought a big old property in Derbyshire and is now trying to raise the money to refurbish and redecorate it so that families can go and stay there.

After a couple of meetings with Mrs Makin where around fifty pupils came to discuss possible activities, for the first two weeks in June year 8 focused on raising as much money as they could for the charity. Every day volunteers from the year group sold Reuben’s Retreat wrist bands and raffle tickets for a £20 gift voucher. In addition to this they invited pupils and staff to guess the number of sweets in the jar, with the hope of winning the jar itself! The sale of ice pops at lunchtime also raised a good amount of money. On the Friday of the second week all year 8 had the privilege of a non-uniform day as a final boost to the funds. In total a remarkable £450 pounds was raised, with still a couple of events to follow at a later date, such as Mr Cunliffe’s sponsored Wigan 10k run in September.

the office for their donation of the prizes. Finally, congratulations and a huge thank you to year 8 pupils whose kindness, hard work and involvement helped to make our fundraising such a success.

David Little and Ryan Little 8.4

Thank you to everyone in school who supported the fundraising and particular thanks go to Mrs. Houghton and Mrs. Shacklady from

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“We went on a trip to The National Student’s Art Exhibition in London, at the Mall Gallery, to see our art work displayed. When we sent our work off we didn’t think much of it and certainly didn’t think we would be in London the Tuesday after.

It only hit us when we saw our work on the wall in the Mall Gallery that what we had done was a big achievement. On the day we also had the opportunity to go to The National Gallery, into the centre of London and out for a meal. The day was a great experience and we feel privileged to have been chosen.”

By Libby Langham and Freya Waters 10.1

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St. Peter’s Notice board

CARJ Conference Liverpool Hope University July 10th -12th 2014 rational conference Year 10 students have just returned from an inspi (CARJ). Students run by the Catholic Association for Racial Justice about the great from all over the country joined together to learn g something to need for justice in our world and to commit to doin to keynote speakers make it real. The programme included listening ceremony to the Frank Cottrell –Boyce who co-wrote the opening Stokes and Olympics, John Battle former MP for Leeds, Lord to various Stephen Twigg MP. The pupils also took part in visits the whole group in charities and activities which were presented to a concluding celebration on Saturday morning. es of people who Our pupils were presented with the personal stori enged regarding have suffered from injustice and they were chall seek Asylum, those their attitudes towards the homeless, those who tal illness. The who suffer from dementia and other forms of men etimes less than perceptions we own are often formed by the som truthful media. rence, they had St Peter’s students were new people after the confe to work for a better, realised how lucky they were and they pledged a common more just society in the knowledge that we share to a global family. humanity and are brothers and sisters belonging

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arm afternoon on Thursday 26 the Sports Hal th June, the sc l for the annual hool gathered celebration of Mass, a chance in Saints Peter an to celebrate m d Paul ass on the day preparation had of our Saint, P been ongoing eter. The for a number o PowerPoint, fo f days with the rmat of the mas readers, s, instruments an setup of equip ment, musical d rehearsal of the music org Chaplain and anised by the Music Departm school ent.

Before the mas s began, the gr oup of Year Te Up’ by Primal n musicians pe Scream with ly rformed ‘Mov ric al hook of ‘My said by Father in’ On light shines on Dominic who ’. The mass w am ong other role Liverpool and as s, works with this was to be the hospitals in his first time sa theme of the m ying mass at ou ass was ‘Dare r school. The to be a Discipl Dominic discus e’ and during the sed that even Homily Father th ou gh St. Peter w he was human as a disciple, he like everyone wasn’t perfect, el se and we coul Throughout th d strive to be th e mass, the th e same. eme was repres with a numbe ented in the hy r of banners lo mns and read cated around During the com ings, the hall, echoin munion reflect g the theme fu ion, a group of beautiful rend rt her.

Year Ten girls ition of ‘I See performed a the Light’ from acoustic guita Tangled, perfor r and four voca med on a solo lists singing in harmony.

The end of the mass was cele brated with ‘W performance fr alk in the Ligh om a Year Ten t’, followed by gr oup singing ‘F returning to th a ix You’ by Coldp e idea of light lay again as the school vacated the ha ll.

n io it t e p m o C s ic t le h t igan Schools’ A

ls a cohort of 55 pupi uesday 24th June llage Vi ts or to Leigh Sp Y7-Y10 travelled up s ol One Wigan Scho mpete in Division ing and The sun was shin n. io tit pe m Co s ic et e yed competing. Th thletes really enjo e m ho d we returned ls did really well an . ts en s in a variety of ev numerous medal

ed to school we actually return is th of lt su re a ys’ Wigan As ols’ Champions, Bo ho Sc an ig W s’ irl hools’ as G Overall Wigan Sc d an s on pi am Ch Schools’ evement so a is a fantastic achi Champions. This competed. to everyone who ne do l el w ve si as m Miss Lynn

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Leavers’ Dinner On Friday 27th June 2014, pupils and a number of staff gathered at The Pines in Chorley for an understandably emotional evening, celebrating the five years that the departing Year 11 have spent at St. Peter’s Catholic High School.

Arriving at the venue, the room looked magnificent, decorated with the theme of James Bond. The ‘007’ emblem could be found throughout the room, from banners with the silhouettes of the Year team on the wall to the individual place names on aptly named tables such as the ‘Diamonds are forever’ table and the ‘View to a Kill’ table. The hard work of a number of staff was clearly demonstrated and as the Year 11s began to arrive, a fantastic evening had begun.

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great success in the future. The Head Boy, Matthew Collins and Head Girl, Charlotte Halliwell spoke to the Year group about their time at St. Peter’s and thanked all the Year 11 Team publicly, presenting them with gifts and applause.

The Year 11s arrived in their various (and creative) modes of transport, including double decker buses, limousines, ice cream vans and tractors and they were perfectly happy to pose for photographs on arrival with their friends. At this point, a lot of the staff were struggling to recognise the same individuals from whom they have been chasing coursework for the last two months, but after the general meet and greet in the entrance area, everyone was ushered to their seats for the dinner to begin. The pre-selected three course meal was excellent and looking around the room you could see a lot of satisfied and contented faces.

Following the speeches, the audience watched a special video message from the form teachers on the Year team.

This was a chance for the form teachers to (briefly) share their fondest memories with the members of the form, wishing them goodbye and good luck in the process.

The last video saw Mrs. Campbell bidding adieu to the Year group as she sadly couldn’t attend the evening.

After a moving speech, Mrs. Campbell concluded with the words, “Let me take a selfie” leading into the top-secret video project undertaken by the form teachers. The secret project consisted of a music video of pupil and staff ‘selfies’ with lyrics re-written and re-recorded by the form teachers, again sharing some memories with their forms.

Mr. Stead then began his speech by welcoming everyone to the special evening and wishing them a fabulous night to remember. He then introduced Mr. Crompton who gave a passionate speech about his dedication towards the Year Group for the last five years, his pride in their achievements and how he wished them

The leavers’ then headed to the dance floor whilst a few members of staff joined them (at one point, climbing onto the stage for YMCA). A great night was had by all who attended and many feel it was an excellent send off for the Year group. We wish the departing Year 11s good luck and all the best for the future.

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St Peter’s Catholic High School

Howards Lane, Orrell, Wigan WN5 8NU Tel: 01942 747 693 Fax: 01942 747 694 Email: enquiries@admin.saintpetershigh.wigan.sch.uk Web: www.saintpetershigh.wigan.sch.uk

Website: www.saintpetershigh.wigan.sch.uk