The Newsletter of Woodhouse Grove School
Winter 2023
News
Grow your own Cricket Bat
Andrew Crawford (1968-2023) In August we lost a cherished member of the Grove family. Andrew Crawford joined The Grove in 1991. He was a much-loved member of the Music and Maths Departments and was Head of Findlay House for many years. He was a loyal and supportive colleague and a good friend to many within the Grovian community. Both his funeral and memorial service at Halifax Cathedral were packed with former staff, pupils and parents, as well as family and friends from the many organisations with which he was associated. His passion for Music was contagious and the legacy he leaves on the school Music Department and many Old Grovians will be everlasting.
Director of Sport, Mr Bradburne with Senior Groundsman, Mr Wood with a WGS ‘grown’ cricket bat. Mr Wood, our Senior Groundsman, has been involved in planting willow whips on the school site for over 18 years. The whips take approximately 10 to 15 years to grow wide enough to be professionally cut and kiln dried to make approximately 12 ‘home grown’ cricket bats. These bats are specially labelled with WGS stickers and are given to pupils who have made a significant contribution to school cricket – usually 50 first team caps for boys and 25 for girls. Some of the willow trees that don’t make the grade are left to grow and we are hoping to plant more this winter. A lovely project combining green credentials with tradition.
Andrew Crawford 1968 – 2023 Woodhouse Grove 1991-2023
Anti-bullying Week Thank you to everyone who participated in anti-bullying week. A lot of activities, arranged by our pastoral team, took place throughout the week including; assemblies with each year group; ‘Odd Socks Day’ celebrating individuality; ‘Give a Shout’ speech bubbles in the Martin Hall; kindness notes that pupils found in their lockers; our very own antibullying video; and cup-cakes for lunch today with ‘make a noise about bullying’ messages on them.
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I am Grovian
News
STEM Day
Restart a Heart On the 16th of October we participated in Restart a Heart, aimed at increasing awareness of cardiac arrests and the number of people trained in lifesaving CPR and defibrillation. On Monday, pupils across the year groups attended a session to refresh or learn about CPR and what to do in a cardiac emergency.
Dare to imagine We are proud to announce that two of our Year 9 teams came 1st and 2nd at the University of Bradford STEM competition day, organised by The Smallpiece Trust, to encourage pupils into STEM. Pupils were challenged to build and programme a lego vehicle to navigate around a city with zero human interaction and respond to emergencies. The final part of the day required pupils to give a presentation about their product.
Alcohol workshops Y7 and Y8
Grove Poet Laureate This term we welcomed three wonderful performers from Smashed Project in to school to educate our Years 7 and 8 students about underage drinking.
Every year the school holds a competition to find our Poet Laureate. The competition is always fierce, which is a great testament to the amount of students in the school who are passionate about poetry. To enter, students had to write a poem based on the National Poetry Day theme, refuge, or the Black History Month theme, 'Saluting our Sisters'.
This project inspired pupils with their interactive theatre performances and workshops that are dedicated to educate in a way that doesn't shield from reality or scare the children with shock tactics. Thank you very much for coming, our pupils thoroughly enjoyed the experience!
Congratulations to this year’s Grove Poet Laureate, Ash Poplar, Year 10. The judges were really impressed with Ash’s poem entry. Well done to everyone who entered, it was a difficult decision with a huge variety and excellent standard of creative writing.
News From The Grove
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News
Cambridge Visitor 20 students from the Sixth Form attended a lunchtime talk delivered by Dr Matthias Dörrzapf from St John's College, University of Cambridge. Students were given an insight into life as an undergraduate at Cambridge as well as information on the application process. Students were fully engaged with the talk and asked some really thought-provoking questions.
School Investment We are incredibly excited that our new Sixth Form building is just months away from completion! If you follow our Sixth form Instagram page you will get regular updates on the progress along with the latest walkthrough video... @yoursixthform The countdown has begun and we can’t wait.
Leeds Youth Parliament Congratulations to Rakelmi Williams-Colley, who was shortlisted to be a member of the Leeds Youth Parliament, one of only six finalists.
Arkwright Scholarship Congratulations to Lucy Hanson, Year 12, who has been awarded an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship. This Scholarship programme is one of the most esteemed of its type in the UK, encouraging and supporting scholars into careers in the engineering professions. Scholars gain access to a wide range of extended learning opportunities, mentoring and networking which will set them apart from their peers as they progress into engineering-based courses and careers.
Rakelmi wrote a manifesto illustrating her ideas that the youth of today should have more of an impact on our political system and argued for more opportunities for children to get politically informed and involved. The final round consisted of a democratic vote for children aged 11 to 18 who live in or near Leeds. We wait with bated breath for the votes to be counted. Good luck Rakelmi!
Lucy has gone through a rigorous application process which included an exam geared towards problem-solving, and a demanding interview stage. This award is a real credit to Lucy’s hardworking approach and recognisable talent and we are very proud of her achievement.
Visit to Produmax This term, some Sixth Form students visited local precision engineering firm, ProduMax. The trip was very insightful, and included a tour of the factory floor and the opportunity to examine the aerospace components designed and made on site, and used by every single operational plane in the world! Students were also introduced to the range of apprenticeship programmes offered at Produmax.
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News
UKMT Senior Maths Challenge And the results are in!!! We are delighted with our results this year with 28 Bronze, 19 Silver and 6 Gold certificates being awarded across the three year groups. Best in school was Thomas Craven, Year 13, best in Year 12 was Charlie Wright and best in Year 11 was Jamie Roberts. All three, along with Philip Wright (Y13), Noah Melake (Y12) and Ruby Xiong (Y12), gained a gold award and have been invited to participate in the next round, the Andrew Jobbings Senior Kangaroo. Well done to everyone.
Mathematical Olympiad
Four of our senior mathematicians sat this challenge last half term. The Maths Olympiad for Girls is aimed at girls and young women across the UK and consists of five challenging problems where full written solutions are expected. Congratulations to Nicola Trimby, Eva Cheng and Abigail Lewis, who were awarded merits and to Rainie Ngai, who was awarded a certificate of participation.
Oxbridge Helpers Old Grovians Alex Dalton (2019 leaver), Abbie Nott (2020 leaver), and Lucy Hart (2022 leaver) visited the school on Tuesday to share their experiences studying at Oxford and Cambridge Universities with our Year 13 Oxbridge applicants. They discussed course and college selection, offered advice on personal statements and talked about balancing academic workload and extracurricular activities.
Futures Friday
Year 12 Teambuilding
In our most recent 'Futures Friday' session, we were lucky to have a guest speaker from Leeds Trinity University giving a talk to Year 11, 12 and 13 students interested in finding out more about careers in the Sports Industry.
Year 12 students spent a day in September at High Adventure Activity Centre in Cowling to participate in a day of team building. Students worked in small groups and took part in a series of different activities aimed at strengthening relationships, developing communication and team player skills.
If there is anyone that would like to speak to our students about careers in a certain industry, then please make contact with Mr Softley. (Softley.CL@woodhousegrove.co.uk).
Activities included low ropes, orienteering, bouldering and an underground labyrinth. A great day was had by all - it was fantastic to see students working hard together whilst having fun.
News From The Grove
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Performing Arts
Year 7 and 8 Spotlight Show At the beginning of November, our cast of super talented Year 7s and 8s braved the stage of the McCarthy Theatre, some of them for the first time! Presented superbly by Rebecca Chapman, the performance showcased the talent of singers, musicians, actors and a dancer. The students demonstrated the Grovian Values of being committed and resilient throughout rehearsals and the show.
Recording Studio Visit Our music technology students experienced life in a professional studio for the day, with legendary producer Simon Humphreys at The Chairworks in Castleford. They learned some of the arts and science behind studio recording and are now working over stems and stereo mixes - we are looking forward to the results.
On the West End Stage An exciting evening in October for Year 8 students Alma Monteverde-Amorim, Lily Richmond-Coggan and Matilda Fraser, as well as Emily Campbell and Katie McWilliams in Year 9, and Freya McDonald, Year 10, as they performed in front of 1,200 people in 'Across the Line' at His Majesty’s Theatre in the West End with PQA. Freya said, ‘It was my first time performing on a West End stage and I loved the atmosphere of the audience. My favourite part was first running out onto stage, it really got the adrenaline going!”
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Performing Arts
Remember Me This year’s Senior Production, ‘Remember Me’, provided students from Years 11-13 with the chance to take the lead, be creative and demonstrate independence as they wrote their own chapter in the history books. The title, ‘Remember Me’, had a double meaning. Firstly, representing the idea that the production was their opportunity to be memorialised for their talents; secondly, recognising their desire to remember significant figures from history, literature and their own life.
‘Remember Me’ was a raw, powerful and emotional collection of scenes, performance poetry and musical performances which showcased the range of amazingly talented performers that we have. What’s more, many of the scenes were written by the cast themselves, including the powerful ‘I am the Fire’ by Lily Edwards, which marked the beginning of the show’s finale. The production also included a moving tribute to Mr Crawford, which came in the form of a beautiful rendition of ‘True Colours’, taken from one of Mr Crawford’s favourite musicals: ‘Priscilla Queen of the Desert’. There were so many wonderful performances, from Winnie Offland (Y13) performing the emotional ‘Where Does the Love Go’, which she wrote herself, to Abigail Lewis (Y13) as the brave Antigone, standing up to King Creon (Gee Dutton, Y12) as he sentences her to death for burying her brother. Yuliia Buhera (Y13) terrified us all as Medusa and we were wowed with a spectacular interpretation of ‘Six’ from the musical of the same name, starring Winnie Offland (Y13), Ruby Clarke (Y13), Maidie Jennings (Y13), Maia Robb (Y12), Poppy Freeley (Y12) and Scarlett Swinney (Y12). The show really highlighted the plethora of talent that we have here and the whole cast and crew are to be congratulated. We certainly will remember them!
Life of Pi Theatre Trip Earlier this term, 60 students were enthralled by Life of Pi at the Alhambra Theatre in Bradford. It was a fantastic and complex production that certainly gave our drama
students lots to analyse and evaluate in subsequent lessons. It was great to hear pupils debating about which of Pi's stories was the truth!
News From The Grove
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Trips
Around The Globe
Auschwitz-Birkenau Visit
It has been an amazing summer and autumn for travel. A number of our year groups had the opportunity to travel to amazing places with their friends…. from Iceland to South Africa, Poland to the Caribbean.
At the end of last term, students embarked on a history trip to Poland, on a profoundly moving journey that included a visit to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Amidst the sombre atmosphere, they had the privilege of meeting a remarkable Holocaust survivor who shared her personal experiences and resilience. The survivor's words and presence served as a powerful reminder of the importance of bearing witness to history and ensuring that such atrocities are never repeated. The trip to Krakow and Auschwitz was an educational and emotionally impactful experience that will stay with them forever.
Netballers in South Africa Our senior netballers went on an unforgettable tour to South Africa over the summer. In Durban, they played an exhilarating match against Durban Girls' School. Beyond the court, they delved into the South African culture, visiting a local cultural village. In Cape Town, the adventure continued as they traded netballs for surfboards, taking surf lessons. The pinnacle of their tour was a thrilling safari experience, encountering the fantastic wildlife found in the South African landscape. This netball tour was not just about competition but also an extraordinary cultural and adventure-filled exploration of South Africa's beauty and diversity.
Dorset Adventure In July, 70 of our current Year 8s enjoyed an activity holiday in Dorset, featuring a wide range of activities such as raft-building, axe-throwing, and zip-lining. For many, the highlight of the trip was the adventure park particularly the mud run and the inflatable course.
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Trips
Cricket in the Caribbean During the summer, some of our senior cricketers went on a cricket tour of Barbados and St. Lucia. The cricket displayed throughout the tour was outstanding - securing four impressive victories out of six games across multiple formats, including the excitement of playing white ball matches under the vibrant Caribbean night skies. The tour was an incredible, fun-filled experience that the cricketers will cherish and reminisce about for years to come.
Iceland Not one, but two trips to Iceland during the October half term. Due to Covid, our current sixth formers missed out, so our annual Year 11 trip was followed by one for sixth form. Year 11 enjoyed visiting the Blue Lagoon, a trip to a glacier, black sand beach and the Lava centre before finishing off with a visit to Gulfoss and Thingvellir National Park to see geysers and Volcanic craters!
News From The Grove
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Sport
Netball Area Winners Well done to our 3 netball squads who competed in the West Yorkshire Round of the National Schools Cup in November. Some strong competitive games for all age groups. Congratulations to the U19 and U14 squads who won their competition to qualify for the Regional Round in February.
Rhinos Academy Player of the Year Congratulations to Fergie McCormack for winning the Academy Player of the Year at the Leeds Rhinos presentation evening. A great accolade after a fantastic season.
Yorkshire Triathlon Success
Congratulations to pupils Eilidh Molloy, Oliver Goodison, Charley Clark-Taylor and Simeon Tedd, who have been selected for the Yorkshire Triathlon Academy and Talent Squad.
England U18 Representation
Following a long and highly competitive process the following students have been selected to represent England Netball Franchises on the England Performance Pathway programme. This is an outstanding achievement and is the equivalent of County representation. Leeds Rhinos - Summer Anderson (U19), Grace Ross (U19), Georgina Rayner (U17), Lexie Cadman (PDP), Cleo Hainsworth (U14) Manchester Thunder - Bella Strudwick (U14) There has also been individual success for Jessica Strudwick who has been selected for the U17 Wales Team and Grace Ross who is playing in the National Premiership League 2 for Leeds Athletic Netball Club; this is the 3rd highest Netball league in the country!
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Congratulations to Alfie Longstaff, who was capped for England U18 in the summer and went on tour to South Africa with the U18 squad. He has been joined by Archie Hurford, Tom Rowe and Callum Hyland Dugbo at various points this year, who have all been invited to train with the England U18 rugby squad. Alfie said, “At the camps we split time between forwards and backs so we can focus on set pieces. This is valuable time as we get a lot of coaching points on how to improve technique. Mako Vunipola came to one of the forwards camps, where he gave us tips on scrummaging, which was great!”
I am Grovian
Sport
Rugby News Our 1st XV have posted some great victories this term with wins against Durham School, Barnard Castle, Harrogate Grammar School, Lancaster RGS, QEGS, GSAL and St Peter's (putting them in the quarter finals of the Cup). Congratulations to our U15 rugby squad, who were crowned plate winners at the Langley Festival in October, beating RGS Newcastle in the semi-final and Brighton College in the final.
Kickboxing British Champion Our U12s are also playing well, with wins against RGS Newcastle and Barnard Castle and a victorious appearance in the triangular tournament against Aysgarth and Dame Allan’s. They thoroughly enjoyed the experience of playing at Loughborough University under lights as a curtain raiser for our 1st XV in September.
Carey Armstrong in Year 7 has recently competed in her first kickboxing competition. Carey is now officially the WKO British Champion for her age and weight category. Carey only started kickboxing a year ago but has already achieved her blue belt. She trains twice a week at a local club and has started helping out with the younger classes too.
The Cabin In September, we were excited to fully open The Cabin offering a wide selection of refreshments as well as toilet facilities for spectators supporting our weekend fixtures.
Cross Country teams going to the Nationals
Catering Manager, Mr Caroleo, said, “We are delighted at how well this service has been received. We have had plans to offer a modern catering facility for spectators for some time, so to see this come to fruition has been very satisfying.”
Football Our U13 boys football team are through to the quarter finals of the IFSA Bowl which takes place in January. They beat Bootham School 6-1 in the first round and then Dame Allan's 3-1 in the second round.
Congratulations to all our students who ran in the local and regional rounds of the English Schools' Cross Country Cup. Following the regionals in November, our Inter Boys, Inter Girls and Senior Boys teams all qualified to run at the National Finals in Suffolk. There were individual podium finishes as well with wins for Charley Clark-Taylor and Archie Peaker and a 3rd place for Maisey Bellwood.
News From The Grove
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Brontë News
School Council
Brontë & The Grove Research Trip!
A fantastic effort from all pupils across the school has gone into our candidate campaigns. The children have thought long and hard about why they believe they are perfect for the role and how they could help to make our school even better. It was a very difficult decision to make! Congratulations to the following school councillors. Head - William Moffatt, 1B - Mia Z, 4B - Scarlett C 1H - Parsan S, 4H - Ace C, 2B - Sienna E, 5B - Hisham H 2H - Dawud H, 5H - Betsy HL, 3B - Arthur B, 6B - George L 3H - Claudia B, 6H - Georgia L
Anti-bullying Week
Year 13 English language students have been exploring different theories about children's written language development. The debates they have been exploring are whether creativity is more important than accuracy; whether it is beneficial for young learners to be able to use metalanguage and if it improves their grammatical performance; and how important the role of a 'more knowledgeable other' is to help children to improve their writing skills. We had a wonderful morning with Year 1 at Brontë House where the Year 13 students had prepared a range of writing activities for the students to complete in small groups. The Year 1 students worked so hard and produced some fantastic writing, which will be really useful for our A-level students to use and develop their analytical and evaluative skills through their research.
Thank you to the ABA
On Monday 13th November, we marked the beginning of Anti-bullying Week with Odd Sock Day, which is a national event all about celebrating what makes someone unique. It is to symbolise that we are all different and that children should be themselves, accepting of one another and celebrate difference. This year’s theme for Anti-bullying Week has been ‘Make a noise about bullying’. We certainly made a noise in assembly! Our focus has been kindness. The children had to design their own odd sock and, on the back, write down an act of kindness they were going to carry out. The children did a fantastic job, and the socks are now on display in the front entrance. The Anti-bullying Ambassadors lead our assembly confidently and are ready to take a stand against bullying and ‘make a noise about bullying’ alongside everyone at Brontë House!
A big thank you to the ABA this term who have kindly raised funds for these fantastic wigwams and also held a series of ‘Pizza and Pyjama Parties’ to raise more funds for the school. Thank you for your continued support, it is very much appreciated.
Year 5's focus for anti-bullying week was designing some great odd socks! They have made a pledge on the back of them to undertake a kind act. Examples ranged from helping a friend to learn their times tables, to making sure that everyone is included in their playtime games.
Reception on The Move
in the main Brontë House building. They will be located in the current Year 1 form rooms on the ground floor.
We were delighted to welcome our Nursery families and prospective Reception families for September 2024 entry to our Information Evening. The night included key information about the school and all the opportunities that are available to our Reception, and indeed all our children. We were also able to share the news that, from September 2024, our Reception children will be taught
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Hot off the press…we will also be creating a brand new ‘Reception only’ outside play space in front of these classrooms. We appreciate you may have further questions on this and how this change may impact other year groups, and we look forward to sharing this with you in the New Year.
I am Grovian
Brontë News
Classroom
Sound in Science Year 4 have been learning all about sound in science and made quite a racket in the science room with the percussion instruments! They went on to understand pitch, by make their own glass xylophone. The children set up an investigation to find out whether different amounts of water in the bottles changed the pitch of the sound. They used a variety of different activities to establish the relationship between the size of the vibration and the volume of the sound produced.
To conclude their ‘Portraits’ topic in art, Year 1 moulded clay to create a self-portrait. They worked carefully, rolling, cutting and carving the clay. They also learnt the 'scratch and slip' technique to ensure the features stayed in place once dry. In their art topic, Year 1 are studying portraits. First they looked in a mirror and talked about what they could see, then followed step by step instructions to draw their facial features using sketching pencils.
Year 5 science so far this term has been all about the solar system. They have shared some fabulous solar system facts; used a variety of fruit to produce a scale model of the planets; and made a scale model of the solar system using toilet roll to represent the distance of each planet from the sun. Year 1 have also been learning about what toys would have looked like in the past. The children enjoyed playing and exploring with the old toys and enjoyed having a look at our railway room! Year 2 have been completing a number of challenges this week, including building a bridge across the river for the Billy Goats Gruff, reading books to a reading buddy and performing the Billy Goats Gruff story using puppets.
Christmas Craft Club In Christmas Craft Club the children had great fun getting creative and decorating lolly pop sticks. They made festive Christmas trees and decorated them with buttons, sequins, gems and foil stars!
Club News Year 3 and 4 Photography Club captured some beautiful images of the remaining flowers on our grounds. Amazing work. A bit early but our talented knitwits have knitted purple poppies this year. The purple poppy is a symbol of remembrance in the UK for animals that served and died during wartime, particularly in the First World War. They also knitted miniature pumpkins for Halloween!
Brontë Gardeners Our enthusiastic team of Brontë gardeners enjoyed harvesting corn!
News From The Grove
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Brontë Trips
Year 4
Year 5 - Flamingo Land This week Year 4 have been learning about Henry VIII and his six wives. They have been studying Tudor portraits in art and learning about one of the greatest 16th century portrait painters, Hans Holbein. They visited Temple Newsam last week, as part of this Tudor History Topic. Here they are doing their best impressions of very serious Tudors! We all had a super day, and they were a pleasure to take.
Despite the intermittent rain showers, Year 5 had a super day out at Flamingo Land zoo earlier this term. They got to see and handle some rainforest creatures, including snakes, and learned about their adaptations and habitats. They also enjoyed the sealion show.
Year 6 - Wildlife Park
Year 3
Year 6 enjoyed a super day at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. This trip complemented their English and Science Work on conservation and adaptation. They had a great time seeing all sorts of animals, such as snakes and polar bears!
Year 3 have also been out this half term visiting the Leeds City Museum looking at ancient Egyptians. They took part in a mummification workshop with Ellie, the museum's Egypt expert. During the workshop the children learnt the customs involved in mummifying a body and spent some time in the gallery where the Egyptian artefacts are displayed. Ellie was very impressed with Year 3's knowledge of all things Egyptian.
He’s behind you! Children in Reception to Year 3 had a super morning in November at Harrogate Theatre watching the Dick Whittington pantomime.
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Brontë Sport
Cross Country Races
Sports Round-up In September, 15 Brontë House students joined 30 Woodhouse Grove students to run in the Bingley Schools' Cross Country race. Our Year 5 Girls, Year 6 Boys and Year 6 Girls all took second place in their team events, with Year 5 Boys placed 5th. Congratulations to everyone who took part.
Football started for our girls in September and, after a few sessions of training, we were delighted to see our Y3 and Y4s travel to Gateways to play a friendly to get the fixtures started! The U9 boys hosted a Rugby Festival at The Grove in September. We entered a tag and a contact team. The boys all played well and Mr Waterhouse was delighted and excited at the potential he saw for the season ahead. They then headed to GSAL in October where they put in many tackles and scored lots of tries.
It was a beautiful morning in October for the second Leeds Cross Country meet. Some good results on a tough course, with a number of children showing real improvement since race 1. Our two Athletics captains did us proud, winning the U11 girls’ and boys’ races. It was another bright day for our House Cross Country and lots of excited pupils gathered on the school fields to take part and represent their house. The numbers participating were excellent and some of the performances were very pleasing to see, but the main thing was that all pupils had fun, represented their house with pride and gained points towards the House Trophy. An excellent event that clearly was enjoyed by those gathered to spectate. Thank you to all parents and pupils who came to watch, spectate and participate. We look forward to seeing you all again for the next sporting event soon.
The U10 and U11 rugby teams went to GSAL at the end of September for a mini-festival. By all accounts there were lots of great tackles made but more importantly, lots of fun had. In mid October we headed to an HMC rugby event at Bradford Grammar where, despite a mixed set of results, our B team were awarded the ‘Spirit of Rugby’ award, as voted for by the other teams! Well done boys! Since October they have travelled to St Peter's and faced Hill House School at home. Year 3 Netballers have played Richmond House School and Bradford Grammar away and welcomed Westville to play us at home; this has been such a good start for these players as they represent the school for the first time. Our Y4 netballers headed to Moorlands at the beginning of October and it was great to see so many girls representing the school. They had a great day and were very proud of the results! They have had a great run of wins and have so far also played Richmond House, Bradford Grammar and Westville. The Y5 and Y6 girls have also had a great start to the season playing Richmond House (twice!), Moorlands, Bradford Grammar and Belmont Grosvenor. They are such a pleasure to watch and we look forward to seeing their skill levels increase over the season.
News From The Grove
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Brontë News
West Yorkshire Netball After a trial process in a very competitive field, we are delighted to congratulate three of our Year 6 girls, who have been selected to join the West Yorkshire Netball Performance Pathway. A great achievement and we look forward to following their progress and supporting them at future games.
Climbing Club
Climbing, baking and leaf collecting! At Ashdown, our small nursery is fortunate to have access to not only specialist music and sports staff, but also a variety of facilities dedicated to our Ashdown Lodge pupils. From a covered sand pit to a climbing frame, baking area and digital learning equipment, our children have a wealth of resources at their fingertips. These facilities offer exciting learning opportunities from as young as 2 years old, stimulating their senses and nurturing their independence, curiosity and inquisitiveness. One of our students, George in Pre Nursery, eagerly looks forward to the baking lessons on Friday mornings. He loves to assist the staff in preparation, especially when they bake cakes and sweet treats. However, sandwich week left him a little disappointed as it didn't involve his beloved baking!
Our Year 5 and 6 Climbing Club visited the new Climbing Hub facility in Bradford yesterday to try their hand at bouldering - without harnesses. All returned in one piece, with many children scoring the maximum 200 points across the 10 different courses.
Ashdown Lodge Birthday Diary Dates Spring Term 2024 Boarders return Sunday 7th January from 6pm Term begins Monday 8th January at 8.30am Half term begins Friday 9th February at 4pm Boarders return from 6pm on Sunday 18th February Term recommences Monday 19th February at 8.30am Term ends Wednesday 27th March at 4pm
Summer Term 2024 Recently, we celebrated Ashdown's 30th birthday with great joy and excitement. The children not only enjoyed birthday celebrations and birthday cupcakes but also learned about the rich history. It was a day filled with fun activities, including a rendition of Happy Birthday to Ashdown!
Boarders return Sunday 14th April from 6pm Term begins Monday 15th April at 8.30am School closed on May Bank Holiday Monday 6th May Half term begins Friday 24th May at 4pm Boarders return from 6pm on Sunday 2nd June Term recommences Monday 3rd June at 8.30am Term ends Friday 5th July at midday