Bury Church of High School

CHRISTMAS IS COMING !

As the sound of the Bugle fades away from our remembrance events, I can report that Bury CE High School was able to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the First World War appropriately. Our Art Department provided the Parish Church with silk screen printed decorations on a remembrance theme for their services. The school invited members of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers to join pupils and staff for an Act of Remembrance. Pupils attended in the uniform of the school or of their uniformed organisation on the day. There were Scouts and Guides, cadets of sea, air and the army, members of the Boys and Girls brigades, Charity Ambassadors and members of St John’s Ambulance. We had the pleasure of a past pupil, Richard France, attending the service which was led by the Rector of Bury. Richard played a lament on the bagpipes as we paused to reflect on those who lost their lives in conflicts since the foundation of our school. As in previous years, the whole school paused for a two minutes silence which commenced when pupils, staff and guests played the last post at various points around the school site. As part of the remembrance events, we took part in the ‘There but not there’ national art installation. See through figures of soldiers were placed on chairs in our assemblies and silhouettes of soldiers were stood in the Hall and the entrance area to school. A giant poppy and a giant cornflower were evident, reminding us of the sacrifice of the British and French forces and reinforcing our partnership with College/Lycee Sainte Marie in Riom, France. Wreaths were laid in the Hall next to the plaques on the wall, remembering those who had fallen in conflict since the school’s foundation in 1748.

We are keen to link up with former pupils of Bury CE High School. To this end, the school has appointed Mrs Stedman to develop links with past pupils. This will allow the school to build up a book of remembrance for past pupils of the school who served in the military as well as developing a past pupil community. A recent visit by a past pupil who was at the school when it moved onto the Bury CE High School site from the Central Church School site in 1964 confirmed the importance of this work as we are regularly contacted by past pupils who want to know how their old school is doing. If you are a former pupil of the school or know of someone who used to come to this school, please contact Mrs Stedman at school so we can link up.

Pupils have been finding out about Pakistan on a Deeper Learning Day where Miss Croft shared her experiences of her visit and Mr Nabil Masih gave his story of being a Pakistani Christian. He then taught the pupils the Christian worship song ‘How great is our God’ in Urdu. A good time was had by all as Miss Croft’s group and Mr Warburton’s group competed in a ‘sing off’ to see who could sing in Urdu best. By the end of the competition, they were tied, 1.5 each. Pupils heard the story of St Denys School and were given the opportunity to write to pupils at the school. The best letters will be sent to St Denys through the Diocese of Manchester’s link with the Diocese of Lahore.

We held our Annual Presentation Evening on Tuesday 13 November 2018. Mr Alan Butler, the CEO of Worldshare presented the certificates and prizes to last year’s Year 11 pupils. He shared with them the importance of making a constructive contribution to God’s world, and not to be defined by their examination results but rather to see their results as a tool to allow them to make a positive difference in the world. He shared some examples of where the work of Worldshare has transformed lives for good and reminded those present that they had played a part in that process with Grace School in South Africa and Beginning of Life in Moldova. This theme was reinforced the following day when we presented to some of our Year 8 pupils their Archbishop of York Young Leaders Awards. Years 8 and 7 were present to see those pupils’ who had gained an award, receive it in front of parents and grandparents. Some of the projects that had been undertaken by pupils included tackling period poverty, raising awareness of a charity and raising money for it, and producing a video to help the new intake to the school feel reassured that all would be well with their transition to High School.

The Advent season is underway. We have had our Advent communions, lit our advent candle and begun our Posada. The Posada has already visited a number of homes in our school community. In each home, a picture of the Posada set up in the home is sent into school to be displayed the following day in assembly. The hosts then reflect upon the Christmas story and record their thoughts in the Posada book. We will then share some of these reflections at our Carol Service on the last day of term. Parents and friends of the school are invited to attend one of our two Carol Services, which are at 09:30 and 11:30 on Tuesday 18 December 2018 at Bury Parish Church. We do hope you will be able to join us.

As we move into 2019, Governors have taken the decision to change one of the holiday dates for the academic year 2019-2020. The Friday before the October half term, Friday 18 October 2019 will now be a school day and the Monday at the start of the summer holiday, Monday 20 July 2020 will become a holiday, meaning that school will break up on the Friday 17 July 2020. The new holiday pattern is attached to this edition of the grapevine. This change has been made because the authority wide training day on the Friday before the October half term did not take place this year and it is unlikely to take place in the future. In light of this, it seemed prudent to the governors to avoid a solitary Monday as the last day of the Trinity Term, thus leading to the move of the day’s holiday.

May we wish you a ‘Merry Christmas’ and a ‘Happy New Year’. May God bless you over the Christmas period and into 2019.

OPAL COAST TRIP OCTOBER 2018

Our school trips to the Opal Coast in France have been hugely popular in the past few years, mainly due to bespoke organisation, beautiful French coastline and historic sites and monuments. These trips create an opportunity to experience real French culture and practice language skills. We visit a number of attractions in the area of Le Touquet, from a chocolate factory to a snail farm, from an authentic French Boulangerie to Nausicaa Sealife Centre, there is an abundance of excursions to look forward to. We had a successful trip to the Opal Coast in October 2018 with year 8 pupils. The accommodation was excellent and our leading teachers did a fantastic job of immersing our students into the French language and culture.

Here's an account from one of our students: “The trip proved to be amazing and I loved every minute of it! We left Bury at 2:45am on Friday 19 October by coach and headed down to the Ferry at Dover. It was an exhausting trip, but the ferry was really exciting, and we all enjoyed it! When we arrived in France, we drove straight to a Snail Farm- what an experience as we all got to have a taste of snails! They were actually quite nice to eat but a bit crunchy! Following this we drove to our hotel, had our evening meal and an early night! The second day of the trip we visited a chocolate factory – the chocolate tasted fantastic and lots of us bought some to bring home. Our next stop was at a French bakery and they showed us the oven where they bake the baguettes along with how they mix the dough. It all tasted really amazing. It was such a busy second day and we also got to have a look around a French supermarket. It was huge and had everything you could think of to buy in one place. The last day came around very quickly and we visited an amazing aquarium called Nausicaa. It was full of all kinds of fish and it was my favourite part of the whole trip. I think we all felt sad to be leaving France. We were not looking forward to the long journey home, but it was a fantastic trip and I would recommend everyone to go if they can!! Olivia ORIENTEERING CLUB

Last month, a team of Year 8 boys from Bury CE High School were surprised to find themselves on the podium at the British Schools Orienteering Championships recently held at Witton Country Park, Blackburn. Kieron, Mason and Adam had joined the school club for the first time last October and had participated in only two training events before their debut at the School’s Championships. The event attracts over 600 competitors every year from 80 schools as far apart as Aberdeen and Torquay. The boys completed their 3km course individually and their combined times put them into 3rd position, winning them a Bronze medal each. Team coach and teacher Mr Gray said “I am so pleased the boys were able to gain a medal at this event after all the effort they have put in to learn the basic map reading skills for orienteering.” A Year 7 girls’ team consisting of Brogan, Jessica and Harriet was also entered into the competition and they too managed a very credible 4th place. “ We are in a good position now to develop the teams and start recruiting for next years’ season of events.”

ARCHBISHOP OF YORK AWARD CEREMONY

On 14 November, Year 8 pupils who had successfully completed the KS3 Archbishop of York award were presented with their certificates and badges in the annual awards ceremony. Watched by Year 7, Year 8 and their parents and grandparents, the hard work and dedication of these pupils was recognised and celebrated. We saw examples of excellent projects that pupils had completed, including a project by Emily who raised money and awareness for The Red Box project and was featured in the Bury Times. A video created by Theo and Toby which introduced prospective pupils to our school and also the creative and innovative work of Ella who raised money for Annabelle’s Challenge, a charity devoted to raising funds for Vascular Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. There were too many excellent projects to feature all of them, however they communicate a very clear message was that our pupils are active in being the change that they want to see in the world, transforming lives for good and creating better communities.

THE POSADA AT BURY CE HIGH SCHOOL 2018

Posada is a tradition that came originally from the church in South America. The Posada Nativity Set has been travelling to the homes of staff and pupils in the run up to our carol service on the 18 December. This has provided an opportunity for pupils, staff and their families to reflect on the meaning of the nativity and record their thoughts in the Posada Book. This year, the image on the front cover of the book was designed by Emma in 7EY.

It has been yet again a successful journey for the Nativity, as it has travelled to different homes and Churches over the last four weeks. It will end its journey at the Parish Church for our final school gathering of 2018.

Some of the reflections written by pupils and staff have been very moving and included the following by Jocelyn:

“When Jesus was born, people gathered from far and wide to see God’s son and share His love. As they gathered together, we gather together with our family who may not live close by and we may not see very frequently. We share in our family’s love and in God’s love for us”.

We would like to take the opportunity to thank all those who hosted the Posada, and hope that it has brought a little Christmas happiness and some of God’s love into our homes.

God bless, Mrs Stedman and Miss Quinn BURY ENTERPRISE GAME DAY

Bury Enterprise Game Day is an annual event held at at which local schools compete against each other by playing the Enterprise Game. This game takes pupils through the exciting process of starting their own enterprise, making business decisions and taking risks to develop their enterprise, and (hopefully) making enough profit to take home the winner’s cup!

Our Year 9 pupils, Natasha, Lexi, Owen and Garrett, played voraciously against Tottington High School, St Gabriel’s High School, and The Derby High School. Our highest point scorer, Garrett, amassed a spectacular £1.2 million during the gameplay, which contributed to the team’s achievement of 3rd place.

The team thoroughly enjoyed the day and represented the school fantastically, particularly by upholding and being advocates for the Christian values of the school. Owen commented that he felt he’d gained a lot of business acumen and skills that he could use later in life. Natasha and Lexi spoke about how they’d got to know each other better, a point which Garrett wholly agreed with. Overall the day was a great success and the team of Year 9 pupils performed impressively. We look forward to attending again next year and hopefully returning with the winner’s cup!

REMEMBRANCE ARTWORK

The Art Department has worked on a number of projects to join in with the Centenary commemorations of the Armistice of World War One. Earlier in the year, pupils in both GCSE Art & Textiles were asked to produce a design for a logo to be used in the promotional materials of a trail of activities happening in Bury Town Centre. This was in conjunction with Bury Fusiliers and The Parish Church. A selection of Artworks from both Bury CE High School and other Bury schools were then displayed in Bury Tourist Information Centre. The overall winner across all the schools who entered was Holly R in our Year 11, so a big congratulations to Holly. These designs were then developed into Silk paintings which have been on display in the Parish Church.

The Art Department have also worked in liaison with the History Department as Year 9 Textiles students produced some mixed media textile pieces based on the poems written in History lessons, in turn inspired by World War One. These were placed on display in the school Hall, alongside other paintings and Textile pieces of work influenced by the theme of Remembrance. Holly also took further influence from her Logo design as she produced a textile sash inspired by one of her own family who fought in The Great War.

GIRLS RUGBY

In November, we took an U13s and an U15s team to the School Games at Broughton Park RU to take part in Grapple Rugby. The day was all about inclusion and giving girls the opportunity to get involved with real rugby experience. Also allowing for pathways into local Clubs. The girls really enjoyed it - especially getting into contact and tackling.

BURY CHURCH OF ENGLAND HIGH SCHOOL REMEMBERS

On 9 November at 10.30 am, members of the school and local community gathered to pay our respects to the fallen. In this the centenary year of the Armistice, members of the armed forces, along with former pupils attended the event along with pupils who are part of uniformed organisations, those involved in form worship, the Senior Prefects and also the Head Boy, Head Girl and their Deputies.

Current members of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers joined our service along with former members of the armed forces and also the family of a former pupil of the school who had served in the British Army. Sgt Eric White attended Church Central School 1955 - 1959. He joined the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers and served for 27 years. During this time he was stationed in Gibraltar and Hong Kong, he also carried out seven tours of duty in Northern Ireland during the troubles. During these tours he was awarded the military medal for bravery which was presented to him by the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately Eric died of cancer in 1997, aged 52. Eric's story has been preserved in our Book of Remembrance which we hope to continue to add to.

The last post was sounded in the Hall and also at different stations around school. This was sounded by a professional bugler from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers along with a retired soldier, Mr Battye and several pupils. A bagpipe lament was also played by Richard France, a former pupil of the school.

The logo pictured was designed by Holly R in Year 11. She has designed a logo which joins all the threads of the Bury Armistice Commemoration Trail and it has been used extensively in pamphlets and advertising linked with Bury's Remembrance Events.

Additionally, in the service, silhouettes from the national art installation 'There but not there' were seated amongst the congregation. The intention of this was to enable those present to reflect on the contribution and sacrifice made by the previous generation and also reflect on the impact that this would have had on the families and communities of those who served. The silhouettes provided a haunting reminder of the people who served in armed conflicts and gave their lives so that we might have a future, they also provided focus on the fact that many of those who died were from our own communities and had left a lasting legacy in our immediate vicinity.

Reflecting on the importance of such an event Revd Watson said "The School has held a Remembrance Day service every year because we believe that it is important to pass on to the next generation the message that there can be no winners in war. Additionally, we want our pupils to reflect on the fact that members of our community sacrificed much in order to try to create a better world for them, so that we might in turn inspire them to create a better world which transforms lives for good and creates better communities." YEAR 11 GIRLS HOCKEY

Congratulations to our Year 11 Girls Hockey team who have played their last rally for Bury CE High School. This was at on Wednesday 14 November. Thank you for representing the school.

BURY CE HIGH SCHOOL - CHARITIES

‘Thank you for bringing in gifts in good condition, new toys, toiletries, note pads and books. We are donating them to the GAP HISTORY WEEK

Unit who work with asylum seekers in th th Manchester, the Salvation Army and our From Monday 5 to Friday 9 November History Week partner school St Deny's in Pakistan.’ took place in the Library. Each lunchtime pupils could Keira (7RY) take part in a different activity that was focused around the First World War. These activities included poppy ‘Charities have helped organise a staff making, a History quiz, a lecture about the Christmas pantomime on the 12 December 2018 and a Truce and a story telling session with extracts from novels Christmas Jumper Day on 13 December. set in WW1. Pupils and staff also raised an amazing They are both £1 to take part and all the £250 for the British Legion during the week with a cake money raised with be going to Grace’s sale. Many pupils baked and provided cakes for the sale Place.’ which was hugely popular. As well as this, staff and pupils could wear an item of red or black clothing to Cake Sale for Red Cross Disaster Fund symbolise the colour of the poppy during the Thursday of ‘In September as part of Charities we that week. Donations of 50p were required to take part decided to put on a bake sale to raise which contributed to the money raised overall. money for the British Red Cross Disaster Fund. We raised £150 to go towards people affected by the Tsunami in Indonesia.’ YEAR 7 CHRISTMAS CARD COMPETITION

Our Year 7 pupils participated in our annual Christmas Card design competition organised by the Art Department. The pupils were asked to design a picture based on the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ for the front of the Christmas Card. The competition was judged by Revd Watson Headteacher, Senior staff, Friends and Governors of the school. Once again the quality of designs was excellent, the pupils used a range of media including, pencil crayon, paint, felt tip and collage.

Mr Kneale / Mrs Manning

Fin Pope 7YY had his Emma Aitken 7EY achieved Matilda Unsworth 7UY achieved third picture chosen as the second place, her picture is place for her picture. winner, his picture will be being used on the used on our school front cover of our school Christmas Card. POSADA book.

AFRICAN DANCE AND DRUMMING WORKSHOPS

On Tuesday 30 October, our Music and Drama Departments welcomed professionals from the Education Group who ran a series of African Dance and Drumming workshops. The workshops, which took place in the Hall, were designed to complement the GCSE course as well as celebrating Black History Month.

Over the course of two one-hour sessions, pupils were introduced to the forms, structures and rhythms commonly found in African drumming as well as learning techniques for playing the Djembe drum. Pupils also created their own call and response patterns and played together in a group performance.

Later in the day, the one-hour dance workshop was lively and well attended (a keen eye could pick out staff members getting their dance on!). Accompanied by traditional African music, the session introduced pupils to the use of bold moves and gestures to tell a choreographed story. BURY CE HIGH SCHOOL RUGBY TRIP TO SALE SHARKS

Bury CE High School has been working closely with Sale Sharks as part of 'Project Rugby'. Sale Sharks came in to teach and coach boys and girls in Core PE for Years 9-11 and this took place last half term. Sale Sharks also organised and led an after school Rugby Union Club every Thursday for students in Years 9-11 and help to provide a pathway for our students to play Rugby Union outside of school. We hope this Rugby Club will continue next half term.

After school on Friday 2 November a group of 36 of our students went to visit Sale Sharks. Training and games took place next to the Sale Sharks AJ Bell Stadium prior to our students watching Sale Sharks v Saracens live on the Friday evening. This was a great opportunity for the students who attended and they all really enjoyed going to visit Sale Sharks.

Sale Sharks have also been leading the Year 9 and Year 10 GCSE PE Rugby practical lessons for this half term and it has been really beneficial for our students to have access to the excellent coaching that Sale Sharks have provided.

YEAR 9 RUGBY COMPETITION

Bury CE High School played Woodhey and St Gabriel’s in two Year 9 Rugby Union competitions at Bury Rugby Club on Tuesday 13 November and Thursday 22 November. In the first round of games in the first week Bury CE High School beat both Woodhey and St Gabriel’s. In the second week of games Bury CE High School beat Woodhey but lost to St Gabriel’s.

Players of the match in Week 1 were Harrison and Waqas. Player of the match in Week 2 was Garrett.

Well done to all the students who played and it was great to see some students who have never played Rugby for school before representing school in these games.

SALE SHARKS - DEVELOPING PLAYER PROGRAMME

Bury CE High School put forward some Year 9 players for the Sale Sharks Developing Player Programme. This is the next level of Rugby Union after playing at a local level. The standard of Rugby Union on the Developing Player Programme is really high and students had to attend a number of local trials and training sessions against a large number of other boys from around the North-West of England.

The PE Department are pleased to report that Will, Harrison and Garrett from Year 9 made it on to the Sale Sharks Developing Player Programme and school are really proud of these achievements. Well done to Will, Harrison and Garrett on this fabulous achievement and good luck in the future.

YEAR 7 FOOTBALL COMPETITION - WINNERS

Bury CE High School beat Derby 1-0 Bury CE High School beat Tottington 1-0 Bury CE High School beat Woodhey 2-0 Bury CE High School beat St Gabriel’s 1-0 Bury CE High School beat Elton 2-0 Bury CE High School came top of the league with an unbeaten record and won the competition. Well done to all of the who played on the Year 7 Football team and Mr MacMahon who manages the team.

Player of the competition was Kyle who was outstanding throughout the competition.

NETBALL RESULTS V ELTON

Bury CE High School won 10-3 against Elton at Year 9 Netball. Abbie was the player of the match. Bury CE High School won 25-9 against Elton at Year 10 Netball. Olivia was the player of the match.

YEAR 10 BASKETBALL

The Year 10 Boys Basketball league started after October half term. Bury CE High School played Parrenthorn in the first game of the league and won 42 points to 27 points. Player of the match was Callum.

Bury CE High School then played an incredibly strong team from Philips in the second game of the season. Bury CE High School lost 67 points to 34 points but credit must go to the team who kept going until the end of the game. Player of the match was Harry.

Bury CE High School drew 42 points to 42 points with St Monica's in what was an excellent game that was incredibly close throughout. Well done to all the students who played but a special mention must go to Marcus from Year 9 who played up a year and Liam from Year 11 did an excellent job at refereeing. Player of the match was Luke.

Bury CE High School beat Broad Oak 46-34 in a close and competitive game. Well done to all the students who played. Player of the match was Adam who scored a large number of the Bury CE High School points.

YEAR 8 BOYS JUNIOR NBA BASKETBALL COMPETITION WINNERS

Well done to the Year 8 Basketball team who are the Bury Schools Basketball Champions following a competition at Philips on Monday 21 November. Bury CE High School were in a group with Castlebrook, Woodhey and Parrenthorn. Bury CE High School won all three games and so won the group to set up a final against Philips. Philips are a incredibly strong team who have a large numbers of players who play out of school. Bury CE High School came from 4-0 down to win the final 8-6 and this is a fantastic achievement. Well done to all the students who played and for winning the competition. The team from Year 8 was as follows:

Josh, Ryan, Lewie, Charlie, Adam - Player of the Competition from Bury CE High School, Jefferson, Mikyle and Noah

YEAR 8 BOYS BASKETBALL COMPETITION V ST GABRIEL’S

Bury CE High School played some half court games and full court games against St Gabriel's on Monday 26 November. This was in preparation for the Junior NBA games. The scores from the half court games were added together and finished Bury CE High School 45 and St Gabriel's 31.

The full court game finished Bury CE High School 11 and St Gabriel's 6. Player of the competition was Josh. BURY SCHOOLS CROSS-COUNTRY

The annual Bury Schools Cross-Country took place at Heaton Park on Tuesday 20 November. It was an incredibly cold and wet day for Cross-Country but the students from Bury CE High School adapted really well to the conditions. The majority of high schools in Bury entered this competition.

The results were as follows:

Year 7 Girls: 3rd Overall in Bury Year 7 Boys: 4th Overall in Bury Year 8/9 Girls: 4th Overall in Bury Year 8/9 Boys: 2nd Overall in Bury Year 10/11 Girls: 3rd Overall in Bury Year 10/11 Boys: 4th Overall in Bury

YEAR 10 BOYS FOOTBALL V THORNLEIGH IN THE GREATER MANCHESTER CUP

Bury CE High School played a really strong team from Thornleigh in Bolton in the Greater Manchester Cup. The game was 3-3 after normal time with Bury CE High School conceding two very late goals. The game went to extra time and penalties. Bury CE High School won 5-4 on penalties with Adam making a great save on a penalty. Man of the Match: Callum who was excellent and scored the winning penalty for Bury CE High School.

Scorers in the game were: Leo, Aidan and Stephen. Penalty scorers were: Bertie, Harry, Connor, Declan and Callum.

Well done to all the students who played.

YEAR 7 GIRLS FOOTBALL COMPETITION

The Year 7 girls team made their first outing for Bury CE High School with a trip to Elton High School to play the host team, The Derby and Parrenthorn.

The girls first match was against Elton. It was unfamiliar rules to some who had not played a competitive football match before and for others a change to the normal rules they play on a weekend. Whilst they adapted they found themselves 2-0 down, but soon re-adjusted and brought the game back to 2-2, with fabulous goals from Olivia. With seconds to go Elton just stole the game 3-2. It was very pleasing to see the girls take on board instruction and apply it quickly.

The second game was against The Derby High School. This was the girls best performance by far. They were organised and moved the ball well. And in just a short 8 minute game of football Olivia scored a further 3 goals and Cienna got on the score sheet with 2 of her own. It was a great 5-2 win for Bury CE High School.

In the last game, we knew we were likely to finish second and with this in mind the girls rotated on and off the pitch to ensure everyone got to play plenty of minutes. Olivia scored another 2 before being substituted off.

Bury CE High School finished 2nd overall. A very pleasing result. Girl of the tournament was Olivia. A special mention to Ellie in goal, who saved a penalty. And to the rest of the team, Lucy, Leah, Cienna, Rosie, Lois, Matilda, Polly and Millie who showed great skill and determination.

Well done to all the girls who played in the competition and a special thanks to Mrs Golding who organised and coached the team.

GIRLS RUGBY UNION FESTIVAL

Bury CE High School girls played Rugby Union against a number of other schools from the Greater Manchester area. This festival took place at Broughton Rugby Club in Salford. It was great that a number of Key Stage 3 girls who have never played Rugby Union before got involved and played against a number of schools who had been training regularly. The Key Stage 3 girls played really well and won their final two games. The Key Stage 4 girls played well in full contact Rugby against some strong opposition. The girls who went were all excellent and a credit to the school.

PRIMARY SPORTS FESTIVAL - THURSDAY 29 NOVEMBER

Bury CE High School hosted a 'Primary Sports Festival' for Year 3 and Year 4 students from a number of local Primary Schools. The focus of the festival was inclusion and sport. The festival was organised by the Bury Schools Games Organisers and Bury CE High School provided over 20 of our Sports Leaders who helped out at the festival. Our Sports Leaders were absolutely brilliant throughout and were really positive role models to the younger primary students. Well done to all the students who helped out of this festival.

GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY PROJECT

It’s always a delight to be able to report the good work some of our pupils at Bury CE High School do within our Community through groups they’re involved in outside of school.

Jessica, Bella, Jessica, Edie and Jenny have all been busy this year taking part in community events as part of the group ‘The Young People of St John with St Mark’.

We are involved in a group called ‘The Young People of St John with St Mark’ it’s run by adult volunteers who bring children together from as young as 4 years old to take part in shows such as pantomimes, musical reviews and singing as part of a choir at events within the community. We have been involved with this group for over 8 years.

This year has been a little different as we took part in two funding projects run by The Greater Manchester Police and Bury Council. We had to present a pitch about who we are, what we do and perform a song from one of our shows in front of a judging panel and an audience made up of other groups taking part and members of the public. To be able to take part you had to show the differences your group has and how it will continue to make a difference to the wider community, everyone attending had to cast a vote to find a winner who would receive funding for their group, we were very successful coming first in both events winning funding that would benefit our group so we can continue performing shows and the wider community who use our facilities and come to watch our shows.

Since taking part we have continued to work closely with the Greater Manchester Police and Bury Council appearing on radio Lancashire, working on a video for GMP all about the project, took part in planting a tree to commemorate WW1 and we’ve sang in many community events.

Although it’s been a busy year everything we have done has been amazing and so much fun, we are currently rehearsing for our next Pantomime Production ‘Cinderella’ which takes place in January where we are holding a ‘Giving back to the community’ charity evening for Bury Hospice. Mrs Cooper