September 2019 Edition

Welcome to the September edition of Beverley Highlife. I hope that you enjoy reading about what has been happening at Beverley High School this month.

Sharon Japp, Headteacher

August Results Days

Congratulations to all of our last year’s Year 11 and Year 13 students on their fantastic GCSE and A Level results. We are delighted that you achieved the grades for which you had worked so hard. It was a privilege to share your results days with you. We wish you every success as you embark upon the next stage of your learning journey.

Welcome Year 7

We have been delighted with the way that our new Year 7 pupils have taken to life at secondary school. They all look extremely smart in their Beverley High School uniforms and they tell us that they are enjoying their lessons. It always makes us proud to see them finding their feet, meeting all their new teachers and, of course, making new friends. Parents have been very proud too. We have received a lot of positive feedback from parents delighted with the way their children have settled in and thoroughly enjoying their first few weeks of secondary school.

Welcome Year 12

The Beverley Joint 6th team has been delighted to welcome back over 100 students to Year 12. These students, who completed their GCSEs at Beverley Grammar School, Beverley High School or at other local schools, have made an excellent start to their 6th form studies. Lessons for them began on 4 September and teachers have already commented on the excellent attitude and fantastic progress of the students. Read about their team building day at Allerthorpe Lake on page 5. A group of Year 12 students will also spend the weekend in London at the end of November. We wish all the new Year 12 well as they begin their sixth form studies with us.

Welcome to New Staff

At the start of term we welcomed a number of new staff to the school. They are: Mrs J Laven, Assistant Headteacher; Mrs N Hogg, Teacher of Business Studies; Mr R Lees, Teacher of English; Ms S Grant, Teacher of English; Mr T Shepherd, Teacher of Maths; Mrs V Lunn, Teacher of Maths; Miss M Moore, Teacher of Science; Mr J Rohsius, Teacher of History; and Miss K Howarth, Teaching Assistant. We also welcomed back from maternity leave PE teacher Mrs Callen and Healthcare Advisor Miss Johnson.

Celebration Evening

Over 300 pupils returned to school one evening this month to collect awards relating to their achievements last academic year. In two awards ceremonies, one for last year’s Year 7 and 8 and the other for last year’s Year 9 and 10, they were awarded subject prizes, attendance prizes and special awards. Our guest speaker this year was Lizzie Jordan, CEO and founder of Think2Speak. Her mission it is to talk about what is important in life and empower people to make life decisions with confidence. In 2018 she was shortlisted for the Northern Power Women ‘Person with Purpose’ Award and in 2017 she was named in the NatWest Top 100 Women in Social Enterprise. Congratulations to all our prize winners.

Inspiring a Love of Latin

Congratulations to all the pupils from Year 10 and Year 13 who attended extra-curricular Latin classes last year on a Friday after school. They passed their respective level of examination with flying colours and many attained A* grades at GCSE. Mr Ryan, who teaches the students, was delighted with their attitude, application and enthusiasm. Beverley High School intends to continue to offer this additional class and Mr Ryan has been overwhelmed by the number of students who have shown an interest already this term.

Year 6 Open Evening

The school was buzzing last Wednesday evening when hundreds of Year 6 children and their parents and carers visited school for our annual Open Evening. They listened to students from Years 7 to 13 recount their experiences at Beverley High School in a journey through the school years and met with staff and students when they toured the school site. Special thanks to Lily Myers Year 7, Abigail Stewart Year 8, Maia Ruiz Pavia Year 9, Amy Larard Year 10, Sophie Demirkazik Year 11, Deputy Head Girl Catherine McEgan and Head Girl Caitlin Smithey for speaking so confidently in front of such a large audience and thank you to the many other pupils who returned to school to help out in subject areas.

German Exchange

Late September saw our return trip to our partner school, Gymnasium Am Kothen in Wuppertal, Germany. As part of the visit, our students were hosted by their exchange partner for a week in their home. As part of this trip we visited Wuppertal itself, including its suspension railway, Münster, Bonn, Wuppertal Zoo and much more. This is an amazing opportunity that many of our pupils will never forget, making life-long friends. This is the first year that we have completed the German Exchange and are already looking forward to next year!

Work Experience Placement in Germany

Charlotte Marsay, Year 13

Heritage Open Day 2019

As part of national Heritage Open Days, we opened the doors of our historic Edwardian building to visitors. On Friday 13 September we welcomed over 70 visitors. It was wonderful to see our former students reminisce and recount tales from their school days. Those that were here during World War 2 certainly captivated the room explaining that carrying your gas mask down the corridor was normal practice.

This year’s theme was ‘People Power’ and our Year 11 students did a fantastic job leading tours and explaining how Moses Roper and The Pilgrimage of Grace connect to this theme . Thank you to Libby Palmer, Maddy Davison, Lucie Thorpe, Grace Weerakoon, Tali Stonehouse, Emily Nuttall, Yasmin Souyad, Olivia West, Amy Wood, Talia Andrews, Lauren Dickson and Alisha Hammond for making it a really special day.

Duke of Edinburgh Award Expedition

On the weekend of 14/15 September a group of Year 10 pupils set out on their assessed expedition for the bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. All had worked hard to prepare themselves for the difficult task of navigating themselves from Sutton-Upon-Derwent to Allerthorpe Lake, where they camped overnight, cooking their own evening meal and being entirely self-sufficient. On day 2 of the expedition pupils packed away their equipment and started on the final leg of their journey to Shiptonthorpe. All groups made it to the finish line and we are incredibly proud of their achievement. Well done! Thank you to the staff who volunteer and make it possible to offer the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme at Beverley High School.

Flamborough Trip

Fifty two students from Year 8 enjoyed a trip out to beautiful Flamborough this month. They enjoyed seeing the dramatic coastal landscape, including caves, arches and a stack, all carved by the sea. They learned about the impressive wave-cut platform and explored its rock pools, with no wet feet incidents thankfully! After Flamborough it was off to Mr Moos at Skipsea who provided us with a tasty picnic lunch and of course, ice cream! The day was rounded off with a visit to Hornsea to see the coastal erosion and sea defences, where the girls were interested and a little

shocked to see the effects of the waves on the cliffs. The girls conducted themselves superbly at all times and the Geography department Ms Hancock, Mrs Thatcher and Mr Evans were very proud of them all.

Allerthorpe Lake Trip

On Wednesday 25 September all students in Year 12 spent the day at Allerthorpe Lake taking part in a series of team building challenges. The day was designed to allow Year 12 students to get to know each other, to develop their leadership and team working skills and to spend time together out of the classroom. The activities ranged from building a flag pole, kayaking on the water to collect mystery objects and trying to work out how to open a mystery box. The highlight for many was the chance to spend time on the large inflatable aqua park in the centre of the lake and at lunchtime many enjoyed sampling the delicious cakes and food from the lakeside café. Thank you to Year 12 for their fantastic participation on the day.

Effective Study Skills

This month Year 10 and Year 11 looked at the evidence behind effective study in a study skills session led by Beverley High School’s Research Leads, Miss Lewis and Miss Butlin. Pupils learned about memory, condensing, spaced practice, interleaving, memorising, retrieval, application, questioning and elaboration and were also given tips for healthy sleep.

Most Successful School Event of the Year Award

This month we learned that Beverley High School has been awarded a Humber Careers Hub Award for Most Successful School Event of the Year for our 2019 Employment Fair. Congratulations to Careers Leader Miss Brownell who organised the event, which featured in the January and February 2019 editions of Beverley Highlife.

Macmillan Coffee Morning

On Friday 27 September colleagues gathered together to enjoy a cuppa and indulge in a slice of cake in support of the Macmillan World’s Biggest Coffee Morning. One in two of us will face cancer, and the money raised at these events will help people with cancer to live life as fully as they can.

Each month Beverley Highlife introduces you to an alumna of the school who will tell us about their life since leaving Beverley High School.

Name: Jo Price-Green

When did you leave Beverley High School?

1984

Can you tell us about your profession?

I have been a Police Officer now for 23 years and have worked in numerous roles including patrol, firearms and public order. I currently work from Beverley Police Station in the Intelligence Department. My role is about developing information given to the Police which covers a range of things but usually relates to a person's criminality. I do not always have the full facts and have to identify the missing links but when I do this makes my job rewarding.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Don't be afraid to be who you are and what you want to be.