Year 11/12

Unfortunately, due to the viral pandemic we didn’t get to receive the graduation that we expected, but we did get some interesting memories instead: Year 11 look back on 2019-20 In October, the Historians travelled to Manchester to learn about political protest through the ages. We also visited the newly unveiled memorial to the Peterloo Massacre of 1819. I think I can say this on behalf of the history students that, although fascinated by the monument, we were all a bit distracted when Love Island’s Runners-up, Molly-Mae and Tommy Furey walked past us! In December, the Food group went on a fabulous trip to Slattery’s Pâtissier and Chocolatier and completed a chocolate making course. We made truffles and festive chocolate lollypops and took home bags full of treats. January - one of the biggest challenges we rose to was getting through the mocks. We had to study hard during the Christmas break and be really well organised as the exams came thick and fast. We were much better organised at checking our timetables and getting to the exams on time than the previous summer: no one likes exams but we thought it would be good preparation for May... little did we know!!! In February, we walked to Bolton Lads and Girls Club to enjoy an afternoon of down time, but also to find out about the NCS scheme that we could take part in. We had the opportunity to go on a residential with a group of pupils of the same age from other schools, as well as stay in University accommodation fending for ourselves and taking part in a volunteering project. It was quite a cold day so we were pleased that we could do sports activities indoors-the year group was very competitive when playing the team games, passing a ball over and under along the line as quickly as possible. Fifty-nine Year 11 students have been working hard to complete their Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award alongside their GCSE studies. They’ve made memories that they will never forget such as Madihah getting 4 punctures on the cycling expedition and Sofia falling in the canal twice. It was hard work but good fun at the same time. In the past two years we have learnt to listen to everyone’s ideas before making decisions and to make sure everyone can contribute in some way. Also, I feel as if we have probably learnt a lot of Swahili thanks to Mr Hepp shouting ‘HARAKAH’, ‘Wapi’, and even ‘Bonjourypops’ one odd morning. Although we were a very diverse year with lots of different personalities, we have learnt how to all get along. The ending to our school year was very different to the one I imagine we had in mind. School closures saw us having to adapt to working online for the final few months of Year 11. As a school we have been extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to continue to see our teachers for lessons and start our A level courses ahead of Year 12. We would like to gratefully acknowledge the contributions of our teachers in helping us to put our best foot forward in this crisis. The support staff at school are a massive part of maintaining a good learning environment and we are all very thankful for their contributions. Finally, none of this would have been possible, especially adjusting to the “new normal” and adopting new ways of learning, without Miss Hincks. So, thank you to every single person who’s had our best interest at heart and have helped us reach our goals. It’s been a wonderful few years, let’s hope the next two are just as good!

The Year 11 Prefect Team

Beat the Pathologist

Sanjana Patel won first prize in a ‘Beat the Pathologist’ competition in December of 2020. Organised by the University of Warwick, the competition challenged students to identify and annotate different types of tumours to give a diagnosis. Whilst the competition aims to demonstrate what pathologists do, it also showcases the significant advances being made in the area.

Diana Award

Victoria Wong received a prestigious Diana Award. Established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the award is the most impressive accolade a young person aged 9-25 years can receive for their social action or humanitarian work. She was nominated by Ms Teichman in recognition of her outstanding contribution to society through her work with St John’s Ambulance, BiteBack2030, as a Youth MP for Bolton, as a Chair of the AQA student Advisory Group and for her support of the mass Covid-19 vaccination programme. A delighted Victoria commented: “I feel immensely proud of myself knowing the hard work I’ve put into my community is being recognised. I also definitely feel a lot more inspired to continue my voluntary work, seeing the other recipients and what an incredible job they’ve all done too. “I think I won the award due to the commitment and passion I’ve demonstrated in my community work. In addition, I have insight into many different voluntary sectors, as I carry my work out in all aspects of the community. This includes working in the pandemic response, my local town, youth groups and health charities.”