Thank you to parents and carers who were able to join us for Year 7 Form Tutor Evening last week. We were delighted to welcome Bonita Norris into school yesterday and I hope that everyone took something positive away from her presentation. Good luck to our Year 11 and 13 students in their mock examinations which take place from 1-12 December. Mr Mackenzie
We were thrilled to host record-breaking mountaineer, motivational speaker and bestselling author of The Girl Who Climbed Everest, Bonita Norris. As the youngest person ever to reach the summit of Mount Everest and the North Pole, Bonita understands the importance of mindset and teamwork in overcoming challenges. Students and staff enjoyed her impactful and emotive talk, packed with practical tools, advice and mantras, giving individuals the inner belief to achieve anything they set their minds to!
Year 13 Geographers enjoyed a five-day residential to Betws-y-Coed, gaining valuable hands-on experience to support their coursework. Throughout the week, students engaged in a range of physical and human fieldwork. Despite battling challenging weather on several days, the group showed resilience and determination. Spirits remained high and students made the most of the brighter moments, enjoying sunshine-filled sessions on Criccieth Beach and in Llandudno, and a glimpse of the Northern Lights! These opportunities not only enriched their field skills but also provided a welcome break between datagathering tasks. The students were great ambassadors for the school, working collaboratively, supporting one another, and collecting an impressive volume of high-quality data that will now form the backbone of their coursework. Well done to Year 13 for their hard work and enthusiasm throughout the trip!
Over 125 students were recognised for their dedication and sporting achievements at Sports Awards Evening. Over 60 achieved half-colours or full colours for their commitment to cricket, football, netball, rounders, running and trampolining, as well as awards for Player of the Year, Breakthrough Player and Endeavour. Our Year 13 Sports Leaders’ were recognised for leading activities for hundreds of primary pupils last year and Team of the Year was awarded to the Under 15 Netball squad. Junior Sportsperson of the Year went to Yvie Anderson (Year 10) and Senior Sportsperson went to Neve Barbett-Minott (Year 12). Our elite gymnasts opened the evening followed by a welcome from Deputy Head Girl, Izzy Prescott and we were delighted to host Red Rose rugby player and number 8, Daisy Hibbert-Jones, as our guest speaker.
Unfortunately our U13 footballers narrowly lost out on a place to represent Tranmere Rovers in the UTILITA Girls’ Cup finals. The squad battled hard until the end against some tough opponents, losing out on goal difference. Thank you to Miss O’Looney for training the squad and her continued support.
Our Year 8 rowers have been practising hard for their next indoor competition. Special mention to Muna Chidi-Odileke who achieved an amazing distance of 817 metres in the three minute time trial (which is about the same length as eight full sized football pitches!) and to LexieMae Jackson who achieved 650 metres. Keep up the hard work!
esilience Respect Reach Reward
Students from 8B enjoyed tennis coaching this week at Bidston Tennis Centre with coach, Vicky Basnett.
On a very chilly Saturday morning our U14 and U16 netballers played in the National Schools’ qualifiers at Wirral Grammar School. The squads faced some tough matches and, despite not progressing further in the competition, the students' resilience, teamwork and positivity shone! Resilience Respect Reach Reward
Miss Faulkner was delighted to attend a Boxing Activators’ course last week ahead of launching a new after school Boxing Club in January! More details to follow ...
Our U15 footballers played in the Merseyside Cup on Wednesday but sadly lost 0-3 to Wirral Grammar. Heidi Christiansen was voted player of the match, displaying a solid performance at right back. Although they will not progress further into the competition, Miss O’Looney is extremely proud of how the team played in the first few rounds.
On Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 January the Dance department will host their first Reach Dance Show, showcasing Year 7 dancers, GCSE and A level pieces and extra-curricular performances. Tickets will be available to buy next week via ParentPay costing £3 for adults, £2 for children and £8 for a family of four.
Congratulations to our BTEC Musicians who organised the Rise & Perform event as part of their BTEC course. As well as performing themselves, they coordinated musical acts from all groups and raised over £200 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
As part of our 6th Form Personal and Professional Development programme students are collecting donations for the Whitechapel Centre in Liverpool - the leading homeless and housing charity in the region. Donations from staff and 6th Form students will be very much appreciated and can be dropped off to the Upper Common Room or 6th Form reception. The deadline for donations is Thursday 11 December.
Sixth Form Learning Mentor, Miss Steventon was selected to perform in the Les Miserables 40th anniversary grand finale at this year's Royal Variety Performance! Miss Steventon, who is part of local amateur theatre group, BOST Musicals who performed Les Miserables at the Liverpool Empire earlier this year, joined ten amateur societies from across the UK to support the London and French casts of Les Mis and Michael Ball to perform a selection of songs at the Royal Albert Hall in front of Prince William and Princess Kate!
Year 10 GCSE Spanish students attended a viewing of the Spanish film 20,000 Species of Bees, a film detailing the life of a young trans girl in rural Spain. Students engaged in a workshop to discuss the key themes and characters of the film.
History Club has been focusing on Black History Month, creating zines which represent some of history’s famous individuals, including Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, as well as the plight of black people at the hands of the Nazi regime. Zines are small, handmade maga-zines which have been used by many different historical movements such as the Guerilla Girls feminist group. Students have used their knowledge and creativity to create some fantastic designs which will be displayed on the History corridor. New members are always welcome - students meet every Thursday lunchtime in B003 from 12.35pm - 1.05pm to put their history knowledge to the test!
Year 10 Food Preparation students baked focaccia bread, decorated with vegetables and herbs to resemble a garden with some wonderful results!
Resilience Respect Reach Reward
Earlier this month, Year 12 students attended a talk delivered by Keira Woods who is currently studying for a degree apprenticeship in electrical engineering at Cavendish Nuclear.
Students enjoyed hearing about Keira's journey into her apprenticeship, the pros and cons, application tips and the importance of work experience. The students were grateful to Keira for giving up her time to talk to them and promoting degree apprenticeships as a pathway after Sixth Form.
If you would like to explore more about degree apprenticeships, including expected salaries and local opportunities please use the following link to the Amazing Apprenticeships website; www.amazingapprenticeships.com/ higher-degree-listing/ which is published in October and January each year.
Recipe for Sweet Chilli Chicken
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
2 spring onions or 1 small onion
1 pepper
1tblsp cornflour
1 clove of garlic
100g sweet chilli sauce
Sesame seeds
Optional extra - 1 whole chilli
Method:
1. Cut the chicken into bitesized pieces.
2. Slice the spring onion and peppers into small pieces.
3. Finely chop the garlic.
4. Dip the chicken in the cornflour, shaking off any excess.
5. Heat the oil in the pan and cook the chicken until crisp and golden brown.
* do not stir the chicken as it needs to be cooked on each side before turning.
6. Once the chicken is cooked, transfer onto a baking tray and put in the oven to keep warm.
7. Return the frying pan to the heat, adding more oil if necessary. Cook the onions, garlic and peppers together.
8. Once cooked, add the chicken back into the pan followed by the sweet chilli sauce and heat through.
9. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced spring onion (optional).
10. Serve with boiled rice.
Enjoy!
esilience Respect Reach R