Junior School News
This week we are very excited to announce the Junior School House names. All pupils from Reception to Year 5 voted for one of three sets of House names that were nominated by pupils, parents and staff that had with links to York, the school’s history and the surrounding area. Votes were counted by School Council and our local rivers were the stand out winner.
Pupils really engaged with rivers as House names and there was a lot of excitement during the vote count. Millie Paver, Art Technician at 8-13 has created the below images inspired by our local rivers theme which we are delighted to share with you. We researched the rivers as a starting point and have used the fauna and flora to choose the house colours, although all the colours have been used in the past to represent Houses at either 2-8 or 8-13.
Calder
The River Calder meets the Ouse after flowing through a series of canals. Still water bodies near the Calder are homes to the Great Crested Newt. These newts have distinctive orange bellies, inspiring the house colours. They are a protected species and have been described by the Wildlife Trust as “mini dinosaurs”.
Derwent
The River Derwent flows into the Ouse at Barmby-on-theMarsh. Otters in the Derwent are a conservation success story, they were reintroduced in the 1990s and are best spotted in the North York Moors. Yellow Cowslips, the inspiration for the house colour, grow along the banks of the River Derwent, especially in floodplain meadows, and can be spotted in early Spring.
Foss
The River Foss joins the Ouse in York city centre. Kingfishers can be seen year round in the city but are easier to spot throughout the spring and summer. They have a distinctive blue colour. The Foss is also crossed by the Blue Bridge, at the point where it meets the Ouse making blue the obvious choice for this houses’ colour.
Ouse
Flowing right through York and, eventually, out to sea the Ouse is a tidal river whose name was first recorded in 780. The remaining population of Tansy Beetle, a jewel green colour, live in the Ouse. You can see them year round but they are incredibly rare.
Swale
The River Swale joins the Ouse via the Ure. Badgers, often featured as wise characters in children’s literature, are commonly found in the countryside surrounding the Swale. For the black and white badger we have chosen historical house colour purple, a colour also associated with wisdom.
The River Wharfe flow through Bolton Abbey and Tadcaster before joining the Ouse at Cawood.
Previously extinct in England, Red Kites are a common sight over places like Bolton Abbey. You can spot them soaring above fields with their huge 1.5m wingspan. We have chosen red for Wharfe house in their honour.
