Redefining Leadership

Debating Digest

At the end of the academic year 2021-22, we were delighted to report that NHSG was the top debating school in the North East, after a successful year competing in Cambridge, Oxford, Edinburgh and Durham.

On Saturday 5th March, our Senior Debating Team won the Cambridge qualifying event (featuring 60 teams) outright, to gain a place at the Finals Day, a mere two weeks later.

On the weekend of 19th March, two girls from the Senior Team continued their run of Finals of the International Competition for Young Debaters (ICYD), the Northern Junior Debating Championships (NJDC), and Lancaster at Oxford, having a tremendous day at the Oxford Union coming 20th in an event comprising 100 UK and international top debaters. This was NHSG’s best ever result.

Meanwhile, our youngest debaters (Years 7 and 8) tried out their first ever event, an online ICYD qualifier, run from London (and judged by our very own alumna and ex-debating captain, Liv Urwin).

The following weekend, one half of the Senior Team trumped their Oxford success by winning the Edinburgh Schools’ event (a huge, prestigious competition; Scotland is noted for its strong debating tradition). Meanwhile, at the other end of the country, the other half of our Senior Team debated in person at the Cambridge Finals. These girls also far exceeded our previous best result at the mammoth Durham weekend by breaking the quarters, winning and only being eliminated in the semi-final, thus coming in the top 8 out of 128 teams.

This was NHSG’s most successful year of debating, and made us the North East’s top debating school. We are very proud of how hard our debaters worked to achieve this.

Our very own International Netballer

Our School Netball Captain, Gracie Larsen, Year 13, has recently been selected for the Scotland Under 19 Netball Squad for the 2022/2023 season. Gracie will attend training camps throughout the year as well as be in contention for international match selection. We wish her the best as her season gets underway.

Deputy Lord Lieutenant Presents Junior School Pupils with Forester Award

One of The Queen’s representatives came to Junior School in June to present every one of our pupils with a specially minted Queen’s Jubilee coin to commemorate their achievement of a Junior Forester Award.

The special visit was made by Mrs Sarah Stewart, Deputy Lord Lieutenant, Tyne and Wear, after we registered, and completed the requirements of a unique joint initiative between The Queen’s Green Canopy programme and the Royal Forestry Society. The Junior Forester Award included activities linked to The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, which marked Her Majesty’s 70 years of service.

As well as planting an English oak in the grounds of the Junior School for The Queen’s Green Canopy, the NHSG pupils got involved in a wide range of activities that provided an insight into the skills needed for a career in Forestry, as well as equipping them with the practical ability to assist in woodland management in their schools and local communities.

Our Eco Warrior representatives collected the awards on behalf of all pupils from Mrs Stewart at a memorable assembly, where, as well as congratulating the girls for their hard work, she also explained the role of the Lord Lieutenant in representing The Queen at special events. We were fascinated to learn that Lord Lieutenants were established by Henry VIII in order to raise taxes for the King and stand in for him on the battle fields. Fortunately the role is not quite so dangerous today; it now includes attending events and making arrangements for royal visits among other duties.

The Junior Forester Award has been a brilliant programme where the pupils have been able to focus on why woodland and forests are so important and how these can be protected in the future.

Girls from Nursery to Year 6 spent the eight week programme exploring the School’s extensive grounds to gain a greater understanding of our woodland as well as considering what they can do to protect woodlands. Our youngest pupils were encouraged to develop a real love for the outdoor environment by learning about the living creatures found in woodland, as well as considering how they can increase awareness about the importance of saving our planet. Older girls explored the special attributes of the woodland and the habitats as well as using their mathematical skills to survey the ages of the trees on the school site.

Congratulations to all the girls on their award; they are the next generation of eco warriors! Projects like the Junior Forester Award will ensure that they grow up wanting to take care of the environment, and we all know how important that is for the future of our planet.