Welcome

Welcome From the Headmaster

It is a pleasure to welcome you, once again, to this year’s edition of In Focus. Of course, it has been a year like no other, with the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic leading to over a third of the year’s education being delivered remotely. The disruption has been felt by everyone within our community, some gravely, but it has been a privilege to observe how the community has rallied around one another, and the School has remained ‘open’ throughout, teaching remotely, and continuing to provide the breadth of opportunities and individual pastoral guidance, from a ‘distance’, that are very much hallmarks of a Birkonian education. I could not be prouder of the positive attitude and resilience displayed on a daily basis by our students, their families and staff, and we have shown our true colours as a community, as I knew we would, under the most challenging circumstances.

The 2019–2020 academic year started on the back of strong external exam results, of which the A Levels were the strongest on Wirral. The School roll numbered approximately. 880 children and students, including a second successive 80+ roll into Year 7, and 8 new entrants joined our Sixth Form. Numbers have continued to increase throughout the academic year. A number of new staff joined Birkenhead School to continue to drive academic excellence for all and pass on that all-important wider outlook on life, but one outstanding servant to the School retired, Ian Allister, Classics teacher and Exams Officer for the last 39 years. A few words are mentioned about Ian on page 83. As a School, our vision remains to inspire each and every one of our students. We continue to believe in, and provide curriculum time for the teaching of wider skills, not just subject knowledge, to all ages, and new initiatives this year have included the ‘No Limits’ programme: record-breaking yachtswoman, Nikki Henderson, delivered this year’s inaugural set of workshops. The support of parents and Old Birkonians (OBs) continues to be central to our ethos. The Finance and Law Careers Conference in February, open to all students across Wirral, once again highlighted the depth of support within our wider community to provide advice and opportunities, and the work of our Futures Team has seen our students secure prestigious local and national apprenticeships alongside the more established diet of university places and exciting gap years.

Over the coming years, we will continue to drive forward our co-curricular programme, developing staff and facilities to support this growth. These wider opportunities provide so many of the building blocks for personal development that are key to our provision. One of the most significant impacts of the pandemic was the unfortunate curtailment of a number of these opportunities during the second half of the year, not least the musical production for Year 6, and the Seniors' performances of Les Misérables. The ability to celebrate individual and collective academic and wider achievements during Birkonian Week, which provided such an uplifting end to the 2018–2019 academic year, was also lost. We will merely celebrate with even greater joy when the opportunity arises in the future.

All that remains is for me to wish all our community an enjoyable read, especially the departing Upper Sixth who, along with the GCSE cohort, have experienced significant educational disruption and the removal of a ‘rite of passage’ so many of us will remember. They should take heart that their response to the unfolding pandemic, especially news of the impact on exams and their last few months ‘on site’, was quite exemplary, and showed that they have the requisite skills and resilience to leave Birkenhead School and succeed in whatever career path they follow. Like all our students, they continue to make us very proud.

Beati Mundo Corde.

Paul Vicars @Birkenhead_Head

From the Head of Prep

It is a great pleasure for me to introduce another wonderful issue of In Focus and to commend all the children and staff in Early Years and Prep for everything they have achieved during the 2019-20 academic year.

You will see from the pages ahead that the children were thriving in School during the Michaelmas and Lent terms, clearly enjoying the plethora of activities and opportunities on offer. I’ll mention just a few highlights: our Nursery building had a fantastic makeover and also opened a brand new facility – the Rising 3s Room, Pre-Prep learned all about “people who help us” and had inspiring visits from police officers, doctors, dentists and vets. The children in Little School enjoyed some wonderful school trips on themes as varied as “recycling” and “mini-beasts” and they also put on a truly magnificent Christmas Show, “There’s Something Amazing Going On!” You can read about Junior Prep’s involvement in British Science Week and Change a Child’s Life and you can also read a full round-up of this year’s sporting achievements. And World Book Day (in early March) was a truly memorable event with the whole of Prep and Early Years involved.

Of course, soon after World Book Day, the Government announced the lockdown and so the Summer term was a most unusual one for us all, but we were delighted with the way the children responded to remote learning and the way they engaged with their topics online, demonstrating ICT skills beyond their years. My heartfelt thanks to the teaching and support staff for their enormous efforts to adapt our programme in the light of the lockdown restrictions through their creative use of Zoom and video lessons, Firefly, Class Dojo and the Early Years YouTube Channel. The fact that co-curricular initiatives such as the House Art Competitions still went ahead epitomises the Birkenhead School spirit of resilience. And my ever-grateful thanks to our Prep and Early Years parents for their help and support at home during lockdown. This community is a truly special one, doing everything it can to ensure the children’s long-term success and happiness. In Focus provides a special memory for us all of a year we will never forget.

So, have a good read of this year’s In Focus and celebrate all that the children have achieved!

My very best wishes for the year ahead,

Harry FitzHerbert

Take a 360° Virtual Tour of the campus at:

www.birkenheadschool.co.uk/ admissions/360tour