22nd March 2024
It is the Easter holidays but what an incredibly successful half term
There is so much to share at the end of a short but busy half term. My blog this week is a little longer than usual, mainly because I wanted to share a blend of student successes and school-based activity and events.
I would like to start with a flavour of what our students have been getting up to beyond school because it is important to celebrate our young people whenever possible.
Starting with Lauren in Year 10, she attended an athletics meeting in Sheffield last week which was part of the British athletics calendar. There she won 3 golds with 3 new personal bests in Shot Putt, Long Jump and Sprint events. Present was a GB talent scout who took the time to speak with Lauren and give her some performance related advice especially in Shot Putt. It was whilst in Sheffield that Lauren was made aware that she will be attending a training camp for British athletes. A day later Lauren headed for Manchester where she again performed brilliantly and managed another personal best in Shot Putt. We are immensely proud of her and wish her well for the season ahead. It promises to be an exciting time for her and her family.
Continuing with Athletics, Josh in Year 8 recently went through classification to compete as a para-athlete in Laser Run which is part of the modern pentathlon. As part of the competition Josh took part in Swimming and Laser Run coming runner up in his classification. His qualifying time resulted in an invite to represent team GB and participate in the European Championships later in the year. Josh is an amazing young man and he will always do his best regardless of the challenge presented to him. He absolutely loves all things sport and this recognition is very much what he deserves and we are thrilled for him.
In dance, two of our students, Emily and her sister Lucy, have been selected as part of the English Youth Ballet and will perform in Halifax as part of that group later this summer. It is an incredible thing to have that talent but even more so to have the dedication and determination to reach the level they are at to be selected as they have been. They are wonderful young people who will do amazing things in their lives and we wish them well for the weeks and months ahead.
In team sport our Year 9 girls have been brilliant in their ongoing football tournament for the last 3 weeks. They went through the entirety of the competition undefeated conceding a mere two goals. They ended as joint winners with one other school which we are delighted about. Each student has been a pleasure to work with and they have so much to offer as individuals and as part of a collective. Ms. Walshaw is a proud teacher not just because of their performances but also because they are a great group to spend time with and be around. They are Savannah, Lily, Eva, Frances, Niamh, Daisy, Poppy and Melody.
Switching the theme to music, on Wednesday the Beckfoot Senior Band performed as part of the Bradford Proms at St Georges Hall. The group performed a rendition of the 80's hit Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics. They sounded incredible and blew the audience away with their exciting and energetic performance.
As well as being members of Senior Band, Freya and Megan performed as part of the Bradford Youth Orchestra. Megan was a featured soloist for the group and she performed with maturity and outstanding musicianship. The feedback from far and wide has been lovely to receive.
Debating and Mock trials is next. Last week Ms Lowde and Ms Sharp took three Year 12 students to the regional finals of the English-Speaking Union's MACE debate. The students were Halima, who delivered the opening speech for the opposition, Lilia who was the 2nd speaker for the opposition and Ruby who was the summary speaker for the opposition. The girls won their debate about physician assisted euthanasia against St Peters of York. However, we placed 2nd in the entire heat, with Yarm School in Teesside being the overall winner. Despite missing out on a place at the national final, the achievement and success of the girls is incredible. They have beaten countless teams across the north of England. To take part in the regional finals and to place 2nd at this level is huge. The feedback for our students was brilliant, with the judges of the view that our students debated with integrity, grace and confidence. Their knowledge and arguments were described as excellent and informed. Their suggested improvement for next time is to be fiercer in the debate. I do not think that will be a problem for them next year when we hope to go one better.
Last week also saw us take part in another heat of the Mock Trial competition. Much to our delight we won through to the final alongside Ripon Grammar which will be sometime in May we hope. The University of Bradford staff and students, who have been involved in running the competition, thanked us for all the hard work put because it was so abundantly clear how much effort each student made. They are also convinced that our students will make great Law undergraduates at university if this is the direction they wish to take.
In other news we have featured in the SSAT journal this week which is a national publication that is part of a network of schools spanning over three thousand in number. From time to time we are approached by SSAT to make contributions at national conferences about our work at Beckfoot. We also support them in many other ways including writing articles about our work in school that they feel is leading and should be shared more widely. This time they asked us to share our work around student leadership. Ms. Senyk wrote the piece and I could not be more thrilled that Beckfoot is, once again, being highlighted on a national stage. The link to the journal is here SSAT-Journal-24-Spring-2024.pdf (ssatuk.co.uk) I hope you enjoy the read.
Last week was also Red Nose Day and a stunning example of student leadership at its best. The students organised everything from start to finish and managed to raise almost £1000 for those less fortunate. It is always a joy to see our student leaders (plus their friends) come together on such days; their professionalism and commitment always amazes us and long may that continue.
As we near the end of the spring term we held a wide variety of Red Carpet events this week. These events are a small thank you to our amazing students for their ongoing attitude to learning and attendance since Christmas. To qualify for them is not easy yet over 70% of students in years 7 to 10 took part. The activities they chose included watching movies, taking part in additional sport, arts, IT, cooking and so much more. I love that our students are being recognised for getting it right every day. For those that missed out we start again in April as we look forward to the big end of year trips. The key is to get to school every day, make a difference in your learning by being proactive and contributing to lessons brilliantly and always getting involved in our wider school. Thankfully, we have an abundance of the most amazing young people and our ambition remains that each child attends at least one (preferably three) red carpet events each year. My thanks to Mr Midgley and Mrs Wintersgill for making this week happen.
Also, this week we held our second Iftar with our Sixth Form students. It was such a lovely event and will now be an annual part of our school calendar. Forty five staff and students gathered in our hall to break fast and pray as part of their religious observance during the holy month of Ramadan. They organised everything themselves and I thoroughly enjoyed being in their company for a few hours. It is always special to be able to support our community in any way we can and last night was testament to just how special our school community is.
For year 11 and 13 students the Easter break marks an opportunity to take a little break from school, get some rest but also to really knuckle down to revision to be fully ready for the challenges of the exam season. Being prepared fully will allow them to show off their knowledge but also to be calm and collected as they ready for each exam. These holidays need to be viewed as additional time to study, do past papers, create flashcards and so much more. It is not easy I know but it is a rite of passage and time that should never be wasted. Doing the hard yards now will pay off hugely when May and June come. We know each year that those who out in the work get the results. We also know that it is entirely possible to improve grades by one whole grade or even two with the right approach from now on. That should be more than enough incentive to finish for the summer knowing they have given their all and done the absolute best they can.
Finally, the link to our Buzz magazine is here. It is a great read and provides an insight into what life is like at Beckfoot day to day. I hope you enjoy it and I am incredibly grateful to the student leaders who made this possible from start to finish.
Have a wonderful, safe and peaceful few weeks away from Beckfoot and we look forward to seeing everyone again on Monday 8 April.
Take care and Happy Easter.
Simon Wade, Headteacher
