Issue 10 • February 2016 What’s happening at BCHS with Crosshill
Head Over Heels
As Headteacher of BCHS with Crosshill, one of the best parts of my job is getting to watch our students grow and mature into hardworking and determined young people. I like to impress upon our students how important it is to aim high, have goals and follow their dreams. It’s important for them to ‘carpe diem’ or ‘seize the day’, to grab opportunities as they come their way. Our students shape their journey by the decisions they make and the opportunities they take. Our jobs as teachers, parents and family is to prepare them for their next steps, to support, help and encourage them along the way. It is very easy to take for granted all the positive and successful things that happen in a school, but this newsletter is an opportunity to reflect on some of these achievements. Last year our attendance was an outstanding 95%, which was above the national average, and for the first time since opening BCHS with Crosshill are now fully subscribed in Year 7, with only a few places available for mid-term transfers in Years 8, 9 and 10. In the sporting arena we have competed in the Blackburn with Darwen leagues for boys and girls football, netball, cricket, rounders and basketball with great success. Our Under-13s girls’ team won the Blackburn Rover tournament and we came second in the Lancashire Youth Games, which was another fantastic achievement. BCHS with Crosshill is at the heart of the community and represents diversity in a range of different events, such as the Physics Olympiad, Maths Challenge, Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) events, poetry competitions, and others. Our students and staff have worked to help the greater community by working on a community cohesion art project, hosted Interfaith Forums, and provided help for families who use the neighbouring Blackburn Royal Hospital. BCHS with Crosshill regularly host events for the women and elders of our extended community, and last year continued to organise many charity fund-raising events. The culmination of the last academic year saw some fantastic examination results; progress in English was significantly above the national average and Maths was in line with the national average. There were many successes including 100% pass rates in Additional Maths, RE, Urdu and Music; in addition many subjects exceeded the national pass rates at GCSE. This was a phenomenal achievement from students who worked tremendously hard to overcome barriers, and push beyond expectations.
Like you, I am proud of these achievements and results, the students made this happen due to their hard work, plus the support of families and staff.
- Mrs Atkinson Headteacher
2 Mock Exam Top 20 Communities Visit
In January our Year 11 students had an assembly BCHS with Crosshill recently hosted a visit from where they received their mock exam results. Anna Wojtowicz and Pasha Shah, Senior Policy The top 10 students who had achieved excellent Advisors at the Department for Communities exam results, and the top 10 students who and Local Government, and Ismail Hasham, had made better than expected progress were Cohesion Advisor for the Community Safety handed their results by Mrs Deaville, the Pastoral Team at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council. Manager for Year 11, in special golden envelopes in front of their peers. The theme of the visit was around integration, and was a good opportunity to discuss our vision, Congratulations to Aya, Sarah, Khadija, Ali, Dennis, British Values and Spiritual, Moral, Social and Ayesha, Wasim, Saarah, Farhana, Shoaib, Asma, Cultural development, as well as giving the visitors Yasmin, Tasneem, Haleemah, Fatima, Natasha, a chance to tour our award winning school building. Sufiyan, James, Faizah and Hadia. The Department for Communities and Local Government’s job is to create great places to live and work, and to give more power to local people to shape what happens in their area.
They are responsible for supporting local government by giving them the power to act for their community; helping communities and neighbourhoods to solve their own problems so neighbourhoods are strong, attractive and thriving.
The team from the Department for Communities and Local Government enjoyed their visit to Blackburn Central High School and were very impressed with how integrated the school community is, and our implementation of Spiritual, Moral, Social and Cultural development.
New Deputy Headteacher
We’d like to extend a warm welcome to Mr Braithwaite, who has joined BCHS as Deputy Headteacher.
The staff and students of BCHS with Crosshill would also like to wish Mr Ditta well on his new venture as Headteacher for the Tauheedul Education Trust, his dedication and commitment to the students and community will be missed. 3 BCHS Awards Evening
Blackburn Central High School honoured our former Year 11 GCSE students in November with an awards ceremony hosted at Blackburn’s King George’s Hall. Among the guests was Colonel Myszka Guzkowska, a senior officer in the Army Reserves and Deputy Vice Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University, who gave a speech about not being afraid to grab opportunities and finding balance in your life. Courtesy of Lancashire Evening Telegraph
In her speech headteacher Diane Atkinson said: “The awards evening is a very special occasion in the school year. It is an opportunity to focus upon and celebrate the achievements of the work of the students and the school as a whole. As your headteacher I have watched you grow and mature into the young people you are here before me.
“I was so proud of how hardworking and determined you were to do your best. Many of you were in school late in the evening attending extra sessions including regular Saturdays. I admired how supportive you were of each other and how you came together as a group.
“When I first met you I remember telling you how important it was that you aim high, and have goals and follow your dreams. I made reference to ‘carpe diem’ ‘seize the day’ grab opportunities as they come your way, don’t let them pass you by.”
The last academic year saw some fantastic examination results: Moaaz achieved 9A*/A grades and a B, Sara, Asad, Maryam and Miryam all achieved 6A*/A grades plus some other grades. Their combined efforts have significantly improved the results at BCHS.
There were many successes including 100% pass rates in Additional Maths, RE, Urdu and Music. In addition many subjects exceeded the national pass rates at GCSE. This is a phenomenal achievement from students who worked tremendously hard to overcome barriers, push beyond their ceiling and expectations.
Bible Project Winners
Last term students from RE7a1 entered the Christian Bible Project; a competition where they were asked to rewrite a Bible story with as much detail and passion as possible.
This competition was very popular with entries from all over the country, and three students from BCHS were awarded with prizes for their high standard of work.
Congratulations to Zahra, Marcel and Yasmeen seen holding their prizes. 4 Junior Leadership Team Appoints New President
A huge congratulations to Rumana, who has been appointed as Blackburn Central High School’s Junior Leadership Team President for the academic year 2015/16.
Over the past few months, Ms Rathore and Mr Robertson have been challenging Rumana with a variety of tasks; testing her organisation skills, her ability to talk in front of peers (across different year groups), e-mailing teachers with a professional level of decorum and delegating given tasks to other Junior Leadership Team members to perform. I am pleased to say, Rumana handled each task with a maturity beyond her years and has been outstanding. She is extremely excited to begin her new role.
The following students were also successful with their applications, and are the Junior Leadership Team for 2015/16: Aaminah, Alenah, Alliyah, Anisa, Aya, Aysha, Charlie, Connor, Demi, Faheema, Farhaana, Farhana, Humaira, Julia, Kashif, Kasim, Khadija, Khadijah, Lara, Mohammed, Husnain, Naazima, Natasha, Raqiba, Raya, Rumana, Salma, Sanaa, Sanah, Shiraaz, Wassi, Yaseen, Yasmin, Zainab, Zuelekha.
The JLT represent the diversity of BCHS students as they come together to share and discuss ideas about their education whilst representing our students’ interests. The team will be provided with opportunities to display responsibility, develop leadership qualities and their understanding of citizenship, while acting as the main body of communication between students and the school’s Senior Leadership Team.
Shevington Grandparents Shevington High School Visit
As part of the National Grandparent’s Day Shevington High School welcomed some of our celebrations, a group of BCHS students visited Year 7 students into their school recently. BCHS Shevington High School in Wigan. students attended lessons with Shevington’s wonderful Year 7 students and then shared stories The Shevington students had been baking all over a delicious lunch. morning, so our students were presented with a lovely afternoon tea, consisting of scones and Their first lesson was a fantastic Maths lesson where cream, cakes, tea and coffee. All of the students pizzas were used to learn about fractions. The mixed with the grandparents of Shevington High students then enjoyed a PE lesson in the sports hall School and discussed their respective schools, and fitness suite, which they enjoyed so much they favourite lessons and hobbies. chose to do it again. Luckily the weather brightened up and there was time for a quick play outdoors The afternoon tea was followed by a musical after the amazing lunch, before heading home to performance by three talented Shevington Year 11 Blackburn. students, who played piano and sang a selection of Beatles songs. Our students made some very good friends and we plan many more exciting links between BCHS with The students from both schools enjoyed the Crosshill and Shevington in the future. afternoon, and were happy to make new friends; in the first of many planned opportunities to link with Shevington High School and widen our students’ experiences of learning from, and celebrating, other cultures.
5 Interfaith Conference Women’s Community Events
Blackburn Central High School was pleased to Ladies from the local community assembled at host an Interfaith Conference entitled “What does BCHS with Crosshill to participate in discussions Christianity and Islam teach us about charity?” about equality, diversity and how we can promote fundamental British values. They discussed how we are preparing our children for life in modern Britain, and how can we work in collaboration with the local community and our parents?
Participants discussed what we mean by British values, how we can help create economically active citizens of the future who will go on to promote the fundamental British values of democracy, rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. Participants were vocal in expressing their views We’d like to thank Derek Estill and Sadiq Patel and how they felt that working together with all from the Blackburn Interfaith Forum for giving agencies and stakeholders will drive forward our up their time to come into BCHS to speak to the vision. The group itself represented mothers who students about Charity in the run up to Christmas. came from diverse backgrounds and spoke a total We’d also like to thank the staff and students of twelve different languages. from Shevington who joined us for the amazingly educational Interfaith Conference. The diversity within school, the 40 languages that are spoken by our students and the celebration of Students from both schools asked fantastic different cultures ensures that barriers are broken questions which highlighted the similarities between down and the school community is united. For the two religions in their attitudes towards charity. more information about future women’s events We can’t wait to host our next Interfaith Conference. please contact Mrs Hussain, deputy headteacher.
National Grandparent’s Day
In October BCHS held a Grandparents’ Day for the elders of our community. Over twenty grandparents and their grandchildren attended the two hour event, where they enjoyed a selection of cakes, biscuits, tea and coffee within a friendly atmosphere.
We’d like to thank the students who gave up their Saturday to support the event by making cakes, serving tea and coffee, and leading tours of the school for members of the extended BCHS community.
It was a very positive event which promoted community spirit with many cultures coming together for a good old-fashioned British cuppa. The grandparents and community elders enjoyed the day, expressing positive comments about the staff, students and school, and hoping that it will become a yearly event: “I wish to express my thanks to the school for being so welcoming. The school was a credit to the teachers and wonderful pupils, a tour of the facilities gave me an insight to the opportunities available to the young people of Blackburn. Well done BCHS.”
6 Holocaust Learning Day Remembrance Day
Staff and students of Blackburn Central High We think it is very important that we give thanks School were very excited and thankful to for all that our community have done for us, welcome a very special guest into school. Year 9 whether it was yesterday or many years ago. It and 10 students heard testimony from Holocaust is for that reason that we remember the soldiers survivor, Joanna Millan, as part of a visit organised that sacrificed their lives so that we may live in a by the Holocaust Educational Trust. free and safe community.
The testimony was A number of BCHS students visited Blackburn Town followed by a question Hall on the 11th November to observe the two and answer session minute silence, and on Remembrance Sunday lay a to enable students to wreath at the cenotaph in Blackburn’s Corporation better understand the Park, to commemorate those who lost their lives. nature of the Holocaust and to explore its lessons in more depth; and a workshop where students were able to study the effects of the Holocaust in detail.
Joanna was born Bela Rosenthal in 1942 in Berlin, Germany. Bela and her mother were sent to the Theresienstadt ghetto, and shortly after Bela was orphaned.
After being liberated in 1945, Bela and five other Year 9 students have been reading stories about surviving orphans, were flown to England, where World War I and discussing their thoughts and Bela was adopted by a Jewish couple living in feelings about war. They decided that in order for London. They decided it would be better for the soldiers’ sacrifices to be remembered we must Bela to have a less German-sounding name so it reflect on their stories, experiences and memories, was changed to Joanna, and she was told not to and chose to write out words that summed up mention that she was Jewish and to pretend that something about war onto parchment. These she was their natural daughter. words were used as part of a display, along with poppies, and a heartfelt and beautiful prayer by Growing up hiding her identity was hard for Joanna, Samira, a Year 11 student originally from Syria. but she believes that the scale of anti-Semitism was such that Jews were discriminated against even in England. Joanna went on to marry a Jewish man and has three children and eight grandchildren.
Head boy Husnain commented that: “It was a privilege for us to welcome Mrs Millan to our school and her testimony will remain a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced.
“We are grateful to the Holocaust Educational Trust for co-ordinating the visit and we hope that we learn from the lessons of the Holocaust and make a positive difference in our own lives.”
7 BCHS Got Talent #TEAMBCHS
Thank you to everyone who supported BCHS Got Talent. The night was such a huge success Orienteering and the students showed incredible talent. We The BCHS under-14 orienteering team represented really weren’t expecting so many to attend. Blackburn with Darwen at the Lancashire Youth Games in Blackpool and came 2nd across the county, after winning the local heats.
The silver medal winners are Seamus, Bilaal, Faisal, Alex, Courtney, Sophie, Alix, and Rebeka.
Well done to the winners who were awarded VIVOs and trophies for their success: 1st: Heather 2nd: Rebecca 3rd: Ijaz Cricket Our under-13 cricket team competed in the Congratulations and thank you to all the students Blackburn with Darwen indoor cricket tournament who entered including: Kirsty, Mia, Chloe, Dorian, hosted at QEGS. Ammarah, Ashley, Tyler, Rebecca, Connor, Wiktoria, Yevhenya, Leanne, Casey, Zubaida, Hanna, Sana, The whole team performed brilliantly. We lost the Seema, Julia, Junaid, Mitchell, Kashif, Heather, first game against Tauheedul boys by just 8 runs, Wynkyla, Ijaz, and Rebecca. despite star batsman Junayd’s great performance. BCHS won the second game against Darwen Vale, A total of £473.00 was raised for the East Lancashire due to star bowlers Ijaz, Rehan and Umayr. Hospice, thanks for your generosity and support. The final game was against a strong St Bede’s side, unfortunately we lost by just 10 runs in a very close game. The team took the defeat on the chin and shook the hands of their opponents and walked away proudly with the amount of effort they put in.
8 BCHS vs Manchester United It’s About Time
Through links with Blackburn Rovers our Girls As part of their Baiter Sehat campaign One Voice football coach Andy Aspinall arranged a fixture and Specialist Nurse Deborah Vernon have been with one of the Manchester United Foundation using “It’s About Time” to raise awareness of satellite clubs, Swinton High School in Manchester. transplants among the BME community.
The girls travelled to play a tough match on Monday 21st September 2015 on a grass pitch for the first time against a strong Manchester side. The BCHS girls gave it everything with a number of standout performances but couldn’t make a break through.
Children in Need
We would like to thank everybody who made the Children in Need day a huge success. Team BCHS raised a spectacular £1,157 for Children in Need and the Northern Cleft Foundation.
This wouldn’t have been possible without the help of the “Champions of Change”: Charlie, Yasmin, Charlotte, Wynkyla, and Faaizah, who collected donations from staff and students during our “Bling Your Uniform Day”. Despite losing the girls came away muddy and exhausted but still in high spirits with their medals Other students also helped and a signed shirt from the away team. support these charities by taking part in games and events held in It was a fantastic opportunity for our students, the school during lunchtime, and and they’d like to send a big thank you to BRFC buying Pudsey treat bags and cakes community trust for organising the match, and to from Miss Cliffe, Mr Leathert, Miss Miss Cliffe for finding them enough football boots. Langford, and Mr Hamill.
Kickboxing Champ
Year 7 student Jordan has spent an exciting five days in Spain, where she competed in an exciting martial arts competition representing England.
Jordan has been a member of Ramsey’s Ace Kickboxing club for the last two years, and commented that she: “really enjoyed the competition, there were lots of people and it was very exciting seeing the wide variety of martial arts.”
After winning a gold medal and belt in the full contact ring, and a silver medal on the light contact mats, Jordan’s aim is to carry on improving her kickboxing and hopefully become a professional kickboxer. 9 Community Cohesion Art Work
We Are BCHS The painting with the umbrella on was made by students on our first “We Are BCHS Day”. The students threw paint-filled balloons against a canvas and stencil, with the different colours representing the different backgrounds within our school. Another activity involved making purple handprints which do not denote gender or heritage. We also learned to say “This is BCHS” in different languages.
Map of the World The pins show our students’ countries of origin. When someone joins us from another country, part of our welcoming process is to ask them to add a pin, as we photograph them doing so. We give the student the photograph to reinforce our school community ethos.
Making My Mark The shape of the BCHS building made up of fingerprints was created by our current Year 7 students during summer school.
Welcome to BCHS The collage has “Welcome” written in the many languages spoken at BCHS as a background, the students then drew pictures or symbols that represent their heritage/culture, which spell out BCHS.
We have 48 flags on display in the heart space, each one representing the country of birth for a student, and in reception we have a digital display showing these flags with the word “Welcome” in all 40 languages.
Community Wall BCHS art students worked with an urban artist to create a design for a Blackburn community wall.
10 Year 11 Art Mock Exam Gallery
Roomana Sabirah
Kareem Hadia Junaid Ammaarah
Safa Ayesha Kaleb
Alia Dennis Katelyn Wasim 11 Women in Policing Syrian Refugee Appeal
The Big and Little Sisters at BCHS attended an With the crisis of the Syrian Refugees on the event celebrating 100 years of women in Policing. news we decided to run an emergency short term appeal to help. We asked for items to make The Girls Out Loud party spent time with female up “comfort packs”, which contained toiletries, officers from specialist units, including an amazing a soft toy and messages from the students at female Sergeant of the Armed Response Unit, who BCHS offering warm thoughts and support to talked about her role and the equipment she used. the stricken families.
They also got to meet some extra special members The response from staff and students and their of the force, a police horse and its rider, a sniffer families was phenomenal, within a fortnight we dog and a German Shepherd. Members of the were inundated with generous donations. We took force took time to explain why and how the police these to the ARC project in Blackburn, where they use animals; they even demonstrated one of the were distributed and shared with those in desperate dogs defending an officer from a staged attack. need, many miles from their original home.
The Big and Little Sisters loved every minute of Some of our students attend the Muhammad the day, and on the journey home many of the girls Bayt Academy, on Cherry Street after school and talked about wanting to be a police officer. they also sent boxes, some beautifully decorated with uplifting messages written on them. We have copied the letters the students sent and put them in a book in reception. Please have a read of them the next time you are in.
At BCHS, we have 48 different nationalities and 40 different languages spoken in our school community, and we celebrate this. We are proud of our diversity and learn so much from each other. A common belief across the school is the importance of charity and helping others. Throughout the school year we have raised awareness of local charities and supported them, always helped by the generosity of parents, staff and students.
Additional Needs Update
Each student on the register has set themselves targets on their Pupil Passport, which is copied in their planner. Reading tests have also taken place so we can monitor students and make provision for intervention.
In November the Year 8 Nurture group went to the Great British Bake Off in Manchester. The students had been cooking during their Nurture sessions, and also went to support our Food Technology Teacher, Mr McCrone, who had submitted a Poppy Seed Stollen in the Bake Off.
We also held a coffee afternoon for parents of students on the Additional Needs register. This gave us a great opportunity to meet parents, and for parents to raise any worries or concerns they had. The event was a real success and we had lots of positive feedback.
12 Academic Mentoring Launch What are ‘British Values’?
Last term targeted parents were invited to All maintained schools must promote the spiritual, attend the launch of the Academic Mentoring moral, social and cultural (SMSC) development of Programme. The purpose of the programme is their students, and demonstrate they are actively to identify students who may be vulnerable to promoting fundamental British values. underachieving for a whole host of reasons. This was a model to include parents, the child and the BCHS with Crosshill actively promote the values of school in moving the child towards succeeding. democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs. Students are encouraged to understand that while different people may hold different views about what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’, all people living in England are subject to its law.
On the evening itself, the Academic Mentors comprising Pastoral Managers, Achievement Leads, Assistant Headteachers and other members of staff who have strengths with particular students, attended the evening where the vision of Academic Mentoring was launched.
Parents commented that they felt privileged their child had been chosen and they were grateful that Democracy: the weekly one-to-one interaction would really • Following democratic process. support their child in making sure that they were • Voting for a person or answer. going to not only achieve academically but be able to • Sharing of tasks for fairness. develop themselves as an individual and contribute in and out of school in a more positive way. The Rule of Law: • Follow the rules of our school and country, including uniform, homework, and behaviour. Chef of the Month • The difference between right and wrong.
Congratulations to Omaar, Raeesa, Hannah, Leo Promotion of Self-reliance and Hadiqa on being awarded Chef of the Month • Students setting an example for others. in Food Technology last term. • Teachers setting examples for all students. • Freedom to voice opinions. • Responsibility for your actions. • Encourage respect for outside institutions.
Individual Liberty
Mutual respect for all and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs
Behaviour that goes against tolerance and respect is challenged
Promotion of the local community
13 BCHS.CO.UK Term Dates 2015-2016 We’ve made a few improvements to our website Spring Term 2016 in the interests of keeping students safe online. Opens Tuesday 5 January 2016 We’ve added a button at the bottom of our website Closes Friday 12 February (after school) so that students can report concerns to CEOP, Opens Monday 22 February who help those who are being sexually abused or Closes Thursday 24 March (after school) are worried that someone is trying to abuse them. Summer Term 2016 Report abuse to CEOP Opens Monday 11 April 2016 with this button May Day Monday 2 May (closed) Closes Friday 27 May (after school) Opens Monday 6 June We’ve also launched Whisper, an anonymous Closed Tuesday 5 July or reporting service for students, families and the community connected to BCHS with Crosshill. Thursday 7 July (TBC) Clicking the button at the top of the website allows Closed Wednesday 6 July visitors to send a confidential message to specially- Closes Friday 22 July (after school) trained staff who deal with any concerns.
The safety and well-being of our students is something that we strive hard to ensure and we Term Dates 2016-2017 provide ways to help you tell us if you or your family Autumn Term 2016 have any school problems or worries such as Opens Thursday 1 September 2016 (phased) bullying, peer issues, and schoolwork. Reporting issues is a very effective way to enable us to deal Closed Monday 12 September (TBC) with risks before they escalate into harm. Closed Tuesday 13 September (TBC) Closes Friday 28 October (after school) There are already methods of reporting that help Opens Monday 7 November us create a safe and reliable environment for your Closes Thursday 22 December (after school) child, but understand that telling us about these issues is not always an easy thing to do; It could be something that you need to bring to our attention Spring Term 2017 without wanting to identify yourself. Opens Monday 9 January 2017 Closes Friday 10 February (after school) Clicking on the Whisper button on our website will Opens Monday 20 February let you send a message anonymously. Whisper does not collect any information to identify a Closes Friday 31 March (after school) sender unless they choose to leave it. Summer Term 2017
Report a concern to Opens Tuesday 18 April 2017 BCHS with this button Closed Monday 1 May (May Day) Closes Friday 26 May (after school) Opens Monday 5 June You can also send an anonymous text starting with Closed Monday 26 June (TBC) our school code BLA to 07860 021 584. Again, Closed Tuesday 27 June (TBC) Whisper will not store any personal information if Closes Friday 21 July (after school) you use this service.
14 BCHS with Crosshill Uniform • Shorts/Skort – Compulsory plain black shorts/ skort with a purple BCHS logo on the left side. We firmly believe that having high expectations • Tracksuit bottoms – Optional plain black of uniform and personal appearance helps create tracksuit bottoms with a purple BCHS logo. a greater sense of equality and personal high • Socks – Purple football socks with black hoops. standards amongst the student body. Hairstyles & Make-up • Grey Blazer with purple piping. Purple BCHS logo the left chest. Flaps on the pockets. • Should be sensible and of a natural colour. • Purple Jumper with grey stripe around the • High fashion/extreme styles or unnatural neck. Grey BCHS logo on the left chest. colours are NOT allowed. • Shirt – Long or short sleeve plain white formal • No lines shaved in eyebrows. school shirt with collar. • Tie – Clip on purple & grey tie. Additional colour Make-up stripe for each year group. • No make-up may be worn in Years 7-9. • Trousers – Grey trousers with a purple BCHS • In Year 10 & 11- Minimal eye-liner may be worn. logo below the left waist band. NO other make-up, foundation etc is allowed. • Skirt – Purple & grey tartan, knee length, • The use of FAKE TAN is NOT allowed. stitched down box pleated skirt. Worn with either opaque black tights (minimum 80 denier) Jewellery or plain black ankle socks. • Students may wear one pair of small earrings – • Head Scarf – Optional 2-piece. Purple inner & studs or sleepers and 1 small ring. outer, plus year badge to be worn on top left lapel of blazer. • We DO NOT allow nose studs, tongue studs, eyebrow piercings or any other piercings. • Shoes – Plain black flat formal shoes. No boots. • Students may wear a wristwatch. • Sensible school bag to fit A4 folders. • No other jewellery is allowed.
PE Kit Outdoor Clothing • Rugby Top – Half sleeved purple and grey quarter rugby top with black collar and a black • Scarves, hats and gloves are permitted for logo on the left side. outdoor use and can be of any dark colour. • Plain dark coloured coat or BCHS Cagoule.
Official BCHS Cagoule Available from Schoolwear For Less
BCHS with Crosshill have teamed up with Schoolwear For Less to produce a lightweight BCHS- branded purple cagoule, that students can wear over their blazers during rain showers on their journey to and from school.
The optional cagoule is available from Schoolwear For Less for £7. As always other coats, scarves, hats and gloves are permitted for outdoor use and can be of any dark colour.
15 BAE Systems & RAF Education Roadshow
Last term Year 7 and 8 students were treated to an Education Roadshow by BAE Systems and the Royal Air Force as part of a STEM activity day.
The STEM programme was devised because there is a shortfall of ‘home grown’ scientists and engineers to meet the needs of the United Kingdom. The Roadshow consisted of various performances and demonstrations featuring lasers, gyroscopes, sensing technology, dynamos, virtual reality, magnetism and sound pressure.
Vanessa from BAE said: “The quality and behaviour of students was absolutely spectacular. We all had a lovely morning and the students really enjoyed themselves and got stuck in when it came to going up and volunteering for activities.”
Another successful STEM day took place earlier in the year, where students had an enjoyable day filled with lots of exciting and inspiring hands on activities. Year 8 students took on the task of constructing the following three water related structures: a water pump, a reservoir, and a turbine.
Students worked in groups of five or six with each member of the team having a particular role. The task required students to use their mathematical skills along with their constructional and imaginative ideas. The winning team was the one that had all three structures working in the most economical way. A fantastic day overall, well done to all that were involved as well as Roxanne from BAE systems who delivered a truly inspirational and exhilarating day.
Foodbank Coffee Morning
On the run up to the school holiday we received BCHS would like to say a massive thank you to an urgent request for donations from the everyone who made cakes or donated raffle Blackburn Foodbank, as their stocks were running prizes for the last coffee morning. The grand precariously low. During the holidays children total raised was £1115.23, an amazing amount are not able to access their free school meals, and on a par with last year’s total. This shows how putting extra financial strain on their households. generous we are as a school.
We’d like to say a massive thank you for all of the food donated by students, parents and staff; we provided 300kg of food, enough for 715 meals. Special mention goes out to progress group 7B who donated 30 bags of food. A fantastic achievement!
16 Calderdale Project Trip Girls Night In
The aim of the Calderdale Project is to develop Last term we had a students’ writing skills by providing experiences fantastic evening here at for them to write about. BCHS with a ‘Girls Night In’. Fifteen students from Year 9 brought in their female relatives and indulged in some mocktails on arrival. This was followed by a workshop of baking fairy cakes and topping them with constellation On a sunny Sunday last term BCHS staff patterns. volunteered to take 36 of our Year 7 students to Alton Towers for the day. The morning after the An Astrophysicist lecturer visit the students had targeted English lessons came to do a quick talk on where they wrote about their experience. what kind of opportunities are available after doing a The students had a fantastic time as was physics or science degree. demonstrated through the work they produced The evening ended with a the next day. Our results show that the majority of fantastic planetarium show students improved their writing by at least 1 sub for the students. level. One students work had improved by a whole level - 3 sub levels of progress.
Physics Olympiad Primary STEM Day
Safwan, Raqiba, Wynkyla and Zain took part Blackburn Central High School collaborated with in an exhilarating Physics Olympiad at Queen teachers from Audley Juniors School to run a Elizabeth Grammar School. They took part in STEM Day for the different primary schools in some exciting activities such as making a timer, a Blackburn. balloon powered car, a torch and also identifying a material by calculating its density. The primary students made paper bridges, burned magnesium and even witnessed screaming jelly The BCHS representatives worked fantastically in babies! To finish off an amazing day, the students a team and shared some amazing ideas to get to designed and tested a parachute which carries a the end products. Our students made us proud raw egg from the top balcony down to the open by coming second in the Physics Quiz towards the heart space at the centre of BCHS. The students end of the day! It was a fantastic day with lots of really enjoyed this but there was lots of cleaning up great people working together. to do! 17 Adult Learning at BCHS with Crosshill
Please find below a list of courses starting from January 2016. To book a place or for more information please contact Bank Top NLC on 01254 581175 or Audley NLC 01254 507720.
Course Title Day & Time Start Date Duration Price Introduction to Cake Decorating Monday 6-8pm 25/01/16 6 weeks £24 Event Planning for Voluntary Orgs. Wednesday 6-9pm 03/02/16 One off Free Japanese Yoga Workshop Tuesday 10am-1pm 16/02/16 One off Free Family Cupcake Decorating Thursday 6-8pm 18/02/16 One off Free Be Clear on Cancer Thursday 6-8pm 25/02/16 One off Free Ready, Steady, Cook - Italian Cuisine Tuesday 6-8.30pm 15/03/16 One off Free Inclusive Voluntary Orgs. Workshop Tuesday 6-9pm 22/03/16 One off Free Dementia Friends & Mental Awareness Wednesday 6-8pm 27/04/16 One off Free
Free Court Activities
Did you know that if you are aged 16 or above and have a beeZ card you can play badminton, short tennis, table tennis, cricket or football for FREE? At the Heart of our Community For more information on times and availability or to get your free beeZ card please call 07730283721 or 01254 680012. Equipment hire Blackburn Central High School with Crosshill is open charges may be incurred and child prices are for the whole community. There are a wide range of applicable. activities available including: fitness classes, gym, sport facilities, astroturf, adult learning courses, conference facilities, private room hire, and more!
Opening Times: Monday to Friday 6.00pm – 9.30pm Saturday 9.00am – 1.00pm Sunday 10.00am – 2.00pm Our community use membership is just £15 For more information about Community Use at a month on a direct debit. This includes gym Blackburn Central High School contact: facilities and group fitness classes at several sites including BCHS with Crosshill, Pleckgate Duncan Carmichael (BSF Community Use High School, Darwen Vale High School, and Operational Manager) on 01254 680012 or Witton Park High School. It also includes the [email protected] gym facilities and classes at Shadsworth Leisure Centre and Audley Sports Centre. Information can also be found at: www.blackburn.gov.uk/blackburncentral-cu We really are ‘The Affordable Way to Exercise’ so come down and take a look at any of our sites or or visit us on Facebook at ‘Community Use at for more information please contact the beeZ Blackburn Central High School’ office on 01254 708080. 18 Simply Fitness at BCHS with Crosshill
Gym Time
Monday to Friday 6:00pm - 9:15pm
Saturday 9:00am - 1:00pm
Sunday 10:00am - 2:00pm Standard price: £3.70 Simply Fitness / Gold Members: Free All gym users need an induction - contact 07730 283721 for information
Fitness Class Day Time
Yoga Tuesday 7:30pm - 8:30pm Standard price: £5.65 Simply Fitness / Gold Members: Free beeZ member price: £5.10*
Activity Price List *beeZ Member Non Member
Badminton or Short Tennis (per hour, per court) £8.05 £8.90
Table Tennis (per hour, per table) £5.30 £5.90
Cricket (per two hours) £66.00 -
Indoor Football (per hour) From £45.70 -
Astroturf From £23.10 -
Free re:fresh activities (beeZ card holders 16 years plus) Time Activity For a free activity beeZ card must be presented
Monday 7:00pm - 8:00pm Netball Coaching
Tuesday 6:00pm - 7:00pm Badminton Coaching
Tuesday 7:00pm - 8:00pm Badminton/Table Tennis
Thursday 7:00pm - 8:00pm Football
Sunday 12 noon - 1:00pm Badminton/Table Tennis Equipment hire charges may be incurred and child prices are applicable, all courts are subject to availability. Refresh sessions are subject to change. *beeZ membership £10 annually.
To book a class, gym induction or activity please call 07730 283721
19 Blackburn Central High School with Crosshill Details Haslingden Road Blackburn BB2 3HJ
Phone: 01254 505 700 Email: [email protected] Web: www.bchs.co.uk Twitter: @BCHS_uk Facebook: BCHS with Crosshill
...... Headteacher: Diane Atkinson (BCHS & Crosshill) Contacts Chair of Governors: Mufti Hamid Patel (BCHS)
Deputy Head: Neil Blower (Crosshill) Chair of Governors: Philomena Keigher (Crosshill)
...... Visits to the school can be arranged by contacting Deputy Visit Us Headteachers: Shanaz Hussain or Simon Braithwaite
Phone: 01254 505 700
......