July 2019 Edition

Welcome to the July edition of Highlife. I hope that you enjoy reading about what has been happening at this month. On this final day of the school year, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a good summer.

Sharon Japp, Headteacher National Finals of the Foreign Language Spelling Bee Competition

This month Year 7 pupil Isobel Pape (left in the picture) fought off all of the competition to become the BEST speller in German in the WHOLE COUNTRY out of the initial 33,300 that entered! A phenomenal achievement. The Spelling Bee is a long running competition created by Routes into Languages to encourage pupils to see, not only the purpose of learning languages but also the fun in learning them with a healthy bit of competition thrown in. All Year 7 pupils take part in the first round in which they have to learn the spellings for 50 words in the language that they are learning. They then have to spell as many as possible correctly in 1 minute. The winners then move on to the school competition, adding a further 50 new words into the mix. Our school winners then compete (with another 50 new words) in the Regional Finals against all those competition schools in Yorkshire and the Humber. The successful pupils then move on to the National Finals at Cambridge University, now competing against the very best of all those who initially entered. This year we had three competitors in the Nationals, Hallie Twidale, Isobel Pape and Angelina Huang. Amazingly we have 3 national German Spelling Bee winners in school, Isabel Pape 2019 winner, Edie Mayes 2018 winner and Hannah Wookey 2014 winner.

National Final of the Translation Bee Competition

This month Scarlett Harrison (pictured) took part in the National Final of the Translation Bee Competition at Cambridge University. The competition was tough, Scarlett had a tie-break in the first round but was then knocked out. This meant that she is the 5th best translator in French in the country out of a staggering 62,000 students that entered the competition! An amazing achievement. Translation Bee is a long running competition created by Routes into Languages to encourage pupils to see, not only the purpose of learning languages but also the fun in learning them with a healthy bit of competition thrown in. All Year 8 pupils take part in the first round in which they have to learn a set of translations in the language that they are learning. They then have to translate as many as possible correctly in 1 minute. The winners then move on to the school competition, adding a new tense into the mix. Our school winners then compete (with another new tense) in the Regional Finals against all those competition schools in Yorkshire and the Humber. The successful pupils then move on to the National Finals at Cambridge University, now competing against the very best of all those who initially entered. Well done Scarlett, your school is very proud of you.

Eurofest

This month two teams competed in Eurofest, a competition in which Year 8 pupils are encouraged to become potential business leaders of the future. Students design and make their own French or German inspired products which they then have to ‘sell’ to their customers in the target language. Each year we are amazed by the variety and creativity of all those involved, getting better and better each time. After a class competition it’s onto the whole school competitions and then those lucky winners go off to complete at against other schools in the East Riding. One of our teams, Connie Bennett and Clara Adams won two awards, one for ‘Best use of French Language” and the other for “Creativity”. Well done!

Sommerfest der deutschen Sprache at the German Embassy

In early July, Mr Young and Mrs Lawrence were invited to the German Embassy and the “Sommerfest der deutschen Sprache and National German Teacher Awards.” The two were invited by the German Ambassador, Peter Wittig for the work that they have done in setting up and establishing links and an exchange with our partner school Gymnasium Am Kothen in Wuppertal, Germany. As part of the event in London, Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, author and illustrator of ‘The Gruffalo’ spoke about how their love of languages stemmed from their lessons in school and from their pen pals and exchange partners. Mr Young and Mrs Lawrence were treated to a short production of ‘Der Gruffalo’ by Julia, Axel and others. A fabulous event to celebrate the hard work of German teachers across the country and pay thanks for their efforts in keeping Anglo-German links strong.

Paris Trip

In July, just before the end of the school year, a group of students and staff travelled to the ‘City of Lights’, Paris. An amazing trip which included an array of excursions and immersion onto Parisian life. The trip is jam-packed with activities and visits, the students have an amazing time and manage to fit in many visits including the Louvre museum, Notre-Dame Cathedral, Sacré Coeur and many more. The girls really enjoy a walk in the Catacombs, a series of underground tunnels lined with millions of skulls and bones! Girls experience shopping on the Champs-Elysées, a broad tree-lined avenue of luxury shops. We are always grateful for a rest in the Tuileries Gardens, as the weather is usually hot and sunny. A boat cruise on the River Seine provides the perfect opportunity to see many of Paris’ other famous sights from a different perspective. It is always rewarding to see and hear our pupils using their French and learning about and commenting on life in France and its customs.

Congratulations Jessica

Jessica Wilson in Year 12 has achieved distinction in her Grade 8 double bass exam. A fantastic achievement, well done Jessica!

Marvellous Music

The music department ended another year of fabulous performances with the Summer Concert in St Mary’s Church and the East Riding Showcase Concert in Hull City Hall. 240 pupils perform in the school’s orchestras, bands and choirs including the Senior String Orchestra, Junior String Orchestra, Concert Band, Junior Wind Band, Brass Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Advanced Wind Ensemble, Chamber Choir, Lower School Choir and Year Seven Singers. All the young musicians should feel immensely proud of themselves for working so hard to learn difficult music and for performing it with confidence and assurance. Thanks to Miss Ward for leading so many activities.

Senior String Orchestra in the Summer Concert Junior String Orchestra in the Summer Concert

Members of the Concert Band in the Summer Concert Year Seven Singers in the Summer Concert

The Lower School Choir in the Summer Concert The Choir in rehearsal for the City Hall Showcase

Thirteen BHS students will accompany the East Riding Senior Wind Band and Youth Jazz Orchestra foreign tour to Belgium and Holland from 18-25 July. We hope that they have a wonderful time making music in Europe.

Sports Report

End of season Rounders

Our Year 9 & 7 teams competed in the East Riding rounders end of season competition and both teams performed really well. The Year 7 team came second overall only losing narrowly to ; the students displayed some excellent tactical awareness and superb hitting to come second – they are hoping to be the winners next year!

Annual Sports Day

Sports Day was a fantastic day with a lovely atmosphere and even the weather was perfect for us. In the field events this year two school records were broken: Year 7 Javelin by Z. Can and in the Year 10 Shot put by L Bailey- Dalton. The staff obstacle relay was a popular race again, one of the favourite events as voted by the students. Here are some of the achievements/awards from the day: Overall winning house was Norwood.

Students with the most athletic points from lessons: Year 7 – R. Nuttall; Year 8 – E. Harriott; Year 9 – L. Richardson; Year 10 – A. Thompson.

Pictured: Year 7 students with the highest points scored in athletics lessons

This year we introduced a new award – ‘Sports Superstar’ given to students who have shown an outstanding attitude to sport throughout the year. The winners were: Year 7 – K. Broom; Year 8 – N. Maniakowska; Year 9 – K. Burgess; Year 10 – N. Evison

Thanks to our GCSE PE students for all their help in running and organising the day, they were great role models for the other students.

East Riding Athletics Championships

On the last week of term, we had our annual athletics fixture at Costello Stadium in Hull. We took 27 students from Years 7-10 to compete in a range of track and field events & finishing with the 4 x100m relays. This year we had an amazing number of students finishing in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in their event out of 21 schools in the East Riding.

Overall we had five 1st place, eight 2nd place and eight 3rd place medallists.

Our 1st place winners were:

L Cockerill scoring 1m 23 in the High Jump (Year 7), H. Laycock scoring 3.94m in the Long Jump (Year 7), M.Hewick throwing 15.25m in the Discus (Year7), R.Preston scoring 7.79m in the Shot (Year 8) and I. Walby running the 1500m in 5.37 minutes. All the students were impeccably behaved and showed great determination, courage and team spirit throughout the day.

Individual Sporting Achievement

Gracie Wilson (pictured right) who, you may remember, featured in December’s Beverley Highlife winning a Silver Medal at the British Judo Championships has added another Silver Medal to her collection representing the Yorkshire and Humberside region at an International competition in Germany this month. Well done Gracie!

World Gymnaestrada in Austria We were very proud of four of our students who represented Team GB at the World Gymnaestrada (above) in Austria this month. Grace Johnson, Laura Goldberg, Tiana Hagues and Abbie Hope had a busy schedule performing their own Meridian Gymnastic club display as well as taking part in the country display of 800 gymnasts and then the world display. Well done!

Year 6 Transition Day and Evening

On Tuesday 2 July 152 Year 6 students from 12 primary schools, who will be starting at Beverley High School in September, enjoyed a day of lessons and activities as a part of the school's transition process. This started in May when Year Leader Miss Rogan, Assistant Year Leader Mrs North and Learning Support Manager Mrs H Butler visited primary schools and spent the time getting to know our new students. After this it was wonderful to welcome Year 6 to their new school.

During the day I welcomed Year 6 before they found out their new form groups. Following this Head of Music, Miss Ward met each tutor group and introduced them to the wonderful tradition of music at our school. Staff from the English and Maths Department delivered lessons showcasing some of the learning activities which take place in school. Year 6 students also spent quality time with their new form tutors and familiarised themselves with the canteen and school site. The day was superbly supported by our current student helpers from the current Year 7.

In the evening Year 6 parents came in too, and took time to meet the Senior Leadership Team and their daughter’s new form tutor. We hope this means that the girls and their families already feel part of our Beverley High School community.

Lakeside 2019 Between 26 and 28 June 59 Year 8 students had an early start to YMCA Lakeside on the edge of Windermere. After a long journey we arrived to see spectacular views and beautiful sunshine, a total contrast to the rain we had left behind. The groups took full advantage of the opportunities available to them to push themselves as individuals. They spent plenty of time on the water as they experienced kayaking, canoeing, building a raft to race and the relaxing fun of a group canoe. On land they pushed themselves with a climb and abseil as well as the challenge course, orienteering and archery. They worked extremely hard for the full 3 days and we arrived back pretty exhausted. Thank you to all the staff who so readily gave up their time to support this residential trip and who nurtured those in their groups.

New Head Boy/Girl Team The new Head Boy /Girl team was elected earlier this month - congratulations to our new team of Will Johnstone, Caitlin Smithey, Tom Ryan and Catherine McEgan and well done to all those who stood in the election.

Year 10 Futures Day Year 10 students from Beverley High School and took part in Futures Day on Thursday 18 July. The day gave all students the opportunity to experience what learning beyond Year 11 involves. Some students spent time at completing taster sessions in areas as wide ranging as Hair and Beauty and Public Services before going on to hear talks from representatives from the armed forces and . They also had the chance to meet an apprentice to hear more about what day to day life as an apprentice is like. Students who had chosen to pursue the A level route spent the day following sixth form style lessons in subjects such as Theatre Studies, English Literature, Chemistry and Photography. A representative from Leeds University also talked to the students about how to make A level choices.

HE Plus Summer Conference It was a delight to take a group of Year 12 students to the summer conference which was arranged and funded by the University of Cambridge, its Colleges and regional schools and colleges. Students had the opportunity to attend master classes in Biomedical Science, English Literature, History, Law, Maths, Medicine and Natural Science. Each session was delivered by professionals in the field encouraging students to look outside of the box with a real emphasis on thinking critically and following their interests.

Sixth Form Induction Days Over 100 students attended two days of A Level taster lessons in preparation for joining us as Year 12 students in September. It was exciting to see them all together for the first time as a year group and we look forward to seeing them again on Results Day and supporting them as they begin their A level journey next term.

Graham Stuart MP We were delighted to welcome Graham Stuart MP to talk to our Year 12 students as part of the Speakers for Schools initiative. William Reed, one of our Year 12 students, chaired the event and some challenging and interesting questions were put to our local MP.

Year 10 Drama Performance Evening

On Friday 12 July Year 10 GCSE Drama students performed their devised exam pieces which constitute 20% of their final GCSE grade. The students created their own stylistic pieces of Drama based on a range of stimuli. The pieces explored topics such as the after effects of trauma, the role of a 1950s housewife and the moral debate surrounding the death penalty. The class performed for next year’s GCSE Drama group during the day in order to receive constructive feedback. In the evening they then performed for family and friends and were officially assessed. Every performance was elevated in the final performance and the students really did themselves proud with some fantastic performances!

International Day

On the last day of the summer term Beverley High School celebrated International Day. On this day, each year group focussed on one country that Beverley High School has some connection with: Year 7 - France; Year 8 - Sri Lanka; Year 9 - Japan; Year 10 - South Africa. Each year group began the day by learning key information about their country before undertaking three specific lessons that connected to an aspect of its culture. These workshops ranged from exploring the influence of the fashion industry in France, to technology and robotics in Japan. The day is designed as a celebration of different cultures and will end with a competition, with prizes awarded to one form group in each year for producing the most thoughtful pieces of work during the day.

Beverley High School Jets beat local rivals

Following their brilliant race day at the Greenpower Hull street race in April, the Beverley High Jets raced their two cars against tough competition at Blyton Park racetrack in North Lincolnshire on July 11.

Over 20 competitors had entered the 2 ninety-minute endurance races. After a good problem-free practice, the Beverley High Jets managed to qualify both cars in the middle of the pack. Race 1 looked to be exciting as last year this track proved to be unlucky territory for the Jets when they failed to finish both races due to mechanical problems. Also, their local rivals including Longcroft and The Market Weighton Schools looked as determined as ever to beat us. Throughout the year, the Jets have been working really hard to overcome any mechanical failures, tweaking the cars to get the most out of the motors and batteries to complete the greatest number of laps over ninety minutes to win the race.

Race 1 went along without any problems for the Jets, with both cars avoiding crashes with trigger happy competitors. However, in lap 15 disaster struck, BHS Jets 1 had to pull over due to electrical problems and terrible tyre degradation. This was the end for BHS 1. After a few minutes of disappointment, the team decided to revert to using the simpler electrical set-up for the afternoon race and corrected the toe-in in order to preserve the front tyres. Meanwhile, BHS Jets 2 fought through the field lapping the 2 cars from Market Weighton to finish safely in 9th position.

After a quick rest, the team were ready again for Race 2. Both cars had been checked and prepared to see if they could finish the gruelling ninety-minutes. Race 2 also started without incident. All the Beverley High Jets drivers were confident in their ability, they now know the track well and started overtaking competitors. Driver changes went smoothly, both cars performed well and all the drivers managed to get the most out of the motor and batteries output. BHS Jets 1 finished 5th-200 meters behind 3rd place-the team suspects that they were overtaken in the pit lane. BHS Jets 2 finished 9th.

This is the best result for the High School Greenpower Engineering club. The cars completed a much greater distance than at any other previous races. The team was ecstatic; they could see that the improvements on the car had paid off. BHS jets finished ahead of their local rivals and could claim the unofficial title: East Riding Champions! The team is keener than ever to improve for next year’s races- bring on the 2019-2020 season!

All members of the Greenpower Engineering club - the Beverley High Jets would like to thank: Mr Rod Bentley & Mr David Powell for volunteering their time, support and expertise; Mr Bateson surely the most amazing technology technician; Mr Finer for bringing the cars to the race; and Dr Cosquer for leading the club over the year.

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: Ellie Keightley

When did you leave Beverley High School?

I attended BHS 2009-2014 and I left Sixth Form in 2016. I really enjoyed my time in the sixth form especially and I was sad to leave it behind.

Can you tell us about your profession?

I am currently a third year veterinary student at the University of Liverpool. Liverpool is an amazing city, there's so much to do and I don't think anyone could ever get bored there (I still miss the Yorkshire countryside though!). Vet school is pretty much 9-5 five days a week, with most of the time being spent in a mix of dissections, animal handling classes, lectures and lab practicals. In the holidays, we spend our time on placement in vet practices and farms, working with real cases and practising clinical skills. It can seem like a lot of work, but I have had so many great experiences including delivering lambs and bottle-feeding them. It can get quite busy, but I love my course and I wouldn't change it for the world!

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Work hard, play hard! Learn as much as you can and work hard, but remember to have fun doing it along the way.

Farewells

The last afternoon of the summer term is traditionally reserved for a whole school assembly in the Sports Hall where we celebrate our collective achievements over the year, thank everyone for their involvement in school life and bid farewell to the staff and students who are leaving us. This year the following staff are leaving: • Teaching Assistant Miss Griffiths will start her PGCE at Hull University in September to train to become an English teacher • Maths teacher Mr Ibbetson, who has worked at BHS for a year, is leaving to travel • Maths teacher Mrs Lees, who has worked at BHS for 2½ years, is moving to teach part-time at • Physics teacher Mr Burnley is retiring after 5 years at BHS • English teacher Mrs Tiplady, who has worked at BHS for 9 years, is moving to TEAL as a Director of Curriculum Research • Head of Business Studies, Ms Jukes, who has worked at BHS for 11 years, is moving to TEAL as a Director of Curriculum Research • Assistant Headteacher Mrs Howarth, who has worked at BHS for 11 years, is moving to be Senior Assistant Principal at the Ron Dearing UTC

I would like to thank them all for their contributions to the school and wish them all well in their future endeavours. In the next edition of Beverley Highlife I will introduce the new staff who will start in September.