It has been a really strong start to the term!
It’s been a really strong start to the term.
In almost thirty years of teaching I really think that this week has been the strongest start to a term that I can remember. Our students returned to school following the Easter break and by 8.31am on Monday, you could hear a pin drop across the school. Students were back in lessons and on it immediately. Whilst I’m not saying it shouldn’t always be like that, somehow it felt different and the staff knew it. The importance of culture is something that is never far from my mind and this week reminded me that there is nothing more important in any organisation.
Just before the holiday I celebrated the various achievements of our students via this blog. I love that our young people are doing amazing things both inside and out of school. They deserve to be celebrated wherever and whenever possible. So here are a few more.
Will, in Year 10 has continued to make astonishing progress in his rugby all season. He is an incredibly talented young man who enjoys both codes of the sport, Rugby Union and Rugby League. In Union, Will was one of 4 Keighley RUFC boys to gain a place on the Yorkshire DPP - the player development pathway for the county. He was then selected for county training and has enjoyed that level of representative rugby all year. In League I mentioned in a previous blog that Will was seen by Bradford Bulls scouts whilst playing for his club team Siddal, towards the end of last season. Following a successful trial period Will was offered a scholarship and just before Easter made his debut against Warrington and did very well. We are all delighted for him and feel that with hard work, alongside his natural talent, he could do special things in the game of Rugby.
Also in Year 10, Charlie has begun the new cricket season with more fantastic news. Over the Easter holidays he attended some trials which resulted in his selected for the West Yorkshire region U15 squad. He was also successful for the England Indoor Cricket Emerging Player Pathway U17s which is in effect the first step towards potentially representing England at the 2026 U17s Junior World Series which is a huge achievement. Charlie is another impressive and very humble young man who has an admirable determination and almost steeliness about him. He has a big cricket season ahead of him and we know that he will enjoy every minute regardless of who or where he is playing. We wish him well.
In other student related news, two Year 12 students, Holly and Katie, have secured a place on the Lessons from Auschwitz (LFA) Project. This project is run by the Holocaust Educational Trust and involves a one-day visit to the former Nazi concentration and death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland. Auschwitz-Birkenau was the principal and most notorious of the concentration and extermination camps established by Nazi Germany to implement its Final Solution policy. More than just a visit to Poland, the course is a journey of learning and exploration, about the history of the Holocaust and about the world we live in. Both are excited about the opportunity to learn more about the Holocaust and to then share their learning and experiences more widely across our school upon their return. They are two phenomenal students who will gain a great deal from this opportunity but, more importantly perhaps, will make a difference to the lives of our students and others as a result of their experience. Well done Holly and Katie.
Finally, we had an external visitor to school on Monday as part of our determination to make sure our safeguarding, behaviour and 
pastoral work is of high quality and the best it can be. The consultant spent the day with us talking to staff, students and looking in depth at our systems and policies. Whilst we await the report, I want you to know that he loved our school and the work we are doing to look after our students. I know I remind you all regularly that I know we are not perfect but we are getting so much right here every day and that will not change. If anything, the audit only served to make us even more determined to be a world class provider of support at such a critical time for many of our young people.
Take care and Eid Mubarak to all our staff, students and families who celebrated Eid this week. I hope you had a very special time with family and friends.
Simon Wade, Headteacher
