As the long Autumn term draws to a close and we look ahead to a well-deserved Christmas break, it is always nice to reflect on another fantastic start to the academic year at Montgomery. Our students have embraced a wealth of opportunities, from academic pursuits to extracurricular activities.
The first week alone was a whirlwind of excitement, with a diverse range of clubs and activities on offer. From sewing and reading to sports and chess, there’s something for everyone. We encourage all students to participate and develop their interests.
Our personal development program is central to our values of delivering a well-rounded education. Haven Holidays, our employability specialist, has been working closely with Year 7 and 8 students to help them identify their transferable skills and explore future career paths.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award continues to be popular, and we’re exploring ways to expand the program and offer even more opportunities to our students.
A group of talented science students recently had the privilege of attending a “Physics at Work” workshop at the prestigious Cambridge University. This incredible experience exposed them to cutting-edge research and hopefully inspired them to consider higher education.
Our annual Open Evening is always a highlight, showcasing the school’s vibrant community and wealth of educational opportunities on offer. Our students are always fantastic ambassadors, proudly sharing their experiences and inspiring prospective families.
Year 11 students are hard at work preparing for their GCSE exams. They
have just completed their mock exams over two weeks and we will use the information gathered to support them to improve further before the Summer. This support has already included revision sessions, masterclasses and guidance from post-16 providers to enable them to aim high.
The English department has been busy organizing exciting activities, such as specialist talks on “Wonder Boy” and a theater trip to see “A Christmas Carol.”
Our students excelled in the recent Town Sports, demonstrating their athletic prowess and school spirit. The team won the competition in many year groups.
October brought another exciting event: the annual careers event. This year, we extended the event to include lower school students, providing them with valuable information and opportunities to speak with employers, college representatives, and apprenticeship providers.
A group of 45 drama enthusiasts enjoyed a fantastic trip to London to see “Wicked” and participate in a Q&A session with the cast and crew. Our students also had the chance to compete in local pentathlon and ten-pin bowling competitions.
The BBC Bitesize Team visited the school to discuss careers and the importance of transferable skills. Haven followed up with Year 7 and 8 students to help them make the most of their time at Montgomery.
The annual Remembrance Event was a poignant occasion, honoring those who have sacrificed their lives for our freedom. Mr. Wade’s insightful assemblies provided historical context and encouraged empathy.
A group of English students attended a workshop at The Grand Theatre, learning the art of storytelling.
Year 9 students completed a mini-first aid course, equipping them with valuable life skills.
Our talented dance students participated in the annual Dance Festival at the Winter Gardens, showcasing their skills and representing the school with pride.
The drama department invited Blackpool Theatre Collective to work with KS4 students, providing them with valuable insights into the world of theater.
We have also offered two amazing trips to France this term. The first was a trip to Paris and the second this week was to the Christmas markets in Lille.
By offering a diverse range of opportunities, we strive to inspire excellence in all our students.
Please have a great Christmas break and we will see you all back on Wednesday 7th January when 2025 comes round. Merry Christmas!!
Mr. Careless
Uniform at Montgomery Academy
All items should have the student’s full name on them.
Main uniform- the following items are essential Montgomery Academy maroon blazer with logo
White school shirt (open necked blouses and polo shirts are not allowed)
Black full length regulation school trousers or a Montgomery Academy skirt. (Skirts should be no more than 2 inches or 5cm above the floor when kneeling down)
Plain black school socks OR plain opaque black tights. (No leg warmers or leggings)
Montgomery year group tie of the correct colour
Sturdy black school shoes (not training shoes) (No white/coloured soles, no stripes, no piping, no logos, no boots, no backless shoes or sandals). A student wearing other footwear for medical reasons should provide a doctor’s note. WE REGRET THAT A LETTER FROM PARENTS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. If a student is not in correct footwear then they will be expected to borrow some shoes from our stock in the standards room.
Outdoor clothing is not to be worn inside the dining rooms or classrooms
Hoodies are not allowed in school and should not be worn instead of a suitable outdoor coat.
Students will need an adequate school bag to carry exercise books, A4 folders, P.E. kit and equipment at all times.
Montgomery v neck jumper (optional) but must be worn under blazers and not in place of a blazer.
Hairstyles must be suitable for the academy environment
If hair is dyed -only naturally coloured dyed hair is acceptable - no other dyed colours or streaks.
Tramlines or shaved head designs are not acceptable
Plain simple hair bands or hair slides (no flowers/ no scarves).
Hijabs
Jewellery is
1
natural/nude in colour.
Students arriving at school with bright coloured nail varnish or inappropriate acrylics will be asked to remove them.
Make up
Make up must be minimal and natural, with no false eye lashes. Any students not conforming to this will be asked to remove their make-up.
Progress
Montgomery Academy Footwear
Science Sparkles at
Montgomery this Autumn!
On the back of some superb GCSE results in the summer, the Science department at Montgomery has enjoyed a very positive and vibrant start to 2024-2025. The aim has always been to motivate and inspire our students to share our passion for science and build an inclusive team ethos in the department; a culture that we believe will allow our students to reach their full potential. Enrichment continues to flourish and be a real strength across the team, and we have continued our collaborations with the Institute of Physics, the Ogden Trust and the Royal Society of Chemistry. We have also had another excellent term in terms of Seneca engagement, and this is helping us build more confident and knowledgeable scientists in every year group.
Welcoming our students back to Science
– The future looks bright!
This term our new Year 7 cohort have enjoyed using our state-of-the-art labs to earn their Bunsen burner licences whilst learning how to work safely and productively during science practical activities. In terms of growing on their science studied at primary, our Year 7s have loved studying the particles topic. Students have learned about the properties of solids, liquids and gases. They have then gone on to explore how particles link with density, diffusion and pressure.
Highlights have included seeing expanding marshmallows in a vacuum chamber and splashing water around whilst investigating density. All in all, it has been a fantastic first term for our Year 7s and we cannot wait to get going again in January with topics on separation techniques and cells. Year 8 have been learning about forces and motion where they have been stretching springs to investigate Hooke’s law as well as learning about the planets in our solar system.
The year 9 students have been learning ecology and inheritance where they have learned about how animals are adapted to different habitats. They have also been very creative in building models of DNA. It is great to see the hard work and enthusiasm from our scientists of
Science Team Changes...
Our amazing science team continues to grow and work well together.
Dr Hutchinson has stepped up to take the assistant head role full time and Mr Woodruff is the new curriculum area leader of science. Miss Hall is now assistant curriculum area leader alongside Mr Mistry and Mr Bradley. Mr Mistry also continues to support teachers across the school as instructional coach. Mrs Welch continues to do an excellent job as SENDCO to support our students with special education needs so that they can thrive in the classroom. Mrs King is the new progress leader for Year 10 so will support them during their important GCSE years. Miss Healey has now made the transition from experienced lab technician to now being part of the science teaching team and is doing an amazing job as we knew she would. Our lab technicians Mrs Bach and Mrs Ferreira continue to do an excellent job by preparing exciting practicals and demonstrations to give our students a valuable learning experience. All of our science teachers continue to plan and deliver every lesson with passion and enthusiasm.
Paper Tower House
This half-term there was a science house challenge where students used their knowledge of balancing forces and centre of mass to construct a paper-tower.
There was a lot of friendly competition to see who could get the tallest tower within the time limit. As soon as one group felt they were on top then the tower would come crashing down. It was great the see the resilience and teamwork of our students and some towers even made it to over 2 metres tall.
Science Reading Library
Our science reading library is now fully up and running with lots of exciting and engaging reading material for our students to sit back and enjoy
This can be found on the school website.
Thank you to Mr Dunn for populating this and for sending out information for recommended books that have been shared with students each week during tutor time. At Montgomery we love reading and we all know that reading and success in school are directly linked.
Dissection Club – Operation Theatre @ Montgomery
For the 4th year running our amazing dissection expert Mr Johnston is continuing to run the dissection club for students to enjoy.
They will be learning about the chambers of the heart and how the circulatory system works. Also, they can see inside lungs and learn about how they are adapted for respiration. Those who dare can even see the inside of a rat and much more. Thank you again to Mr Johnston for continuing to run this popular and engaging activity for our biologists and surgeons of the future.
Cambridge University Visit
For the 3rd time we gave eleven of our more able year 11 students an opportunity of a lifetime by taking them to the physics at work exhibition at Cambridge University.
They travelled down, had a delicious 2-course meal and then stayed overnight in the student accommodation. The next morning, after a full English breakfast, they had a tour of Cambridge and saw the amazing sites and scenery. In the afternoon they experienced exhibitions
from Domino printing, Atomic and optics physics group, atomic weapons establishment, materials science, chemical engineering and biotechnology, theory of condensed matter. It was an amazing 2-day trip and the students all had an excellent time and learned a lot of exciting physics. We hope to take more students again next year!
Seneca in Science & Google Classroom
We have been using Seneca for the past four years, but this term, we have further embedded its usage across all year groups and have also updated our own GCSE Science Google Classrooms.
Our Google Classrooms are designed to inspire and motivate students to drive their own independent revision and early feedback on them this year is very encouraging indeed. Seneca is an intelligent learning programme that uses multiple choice micro-quizzes to build knowledge, boost confidence and reduce exam stress. Content is broken down into bite-size chunks and tailored to each user as the platform works out what students know and more importantly where they need to focus more to achieve outstanding results. This online learning package is now being used by all year groups. Our students deserve great praise for completing these Seneca learning sessions. It is clearly having a massively positive impact on student progress in science and so we look forward to its continued usage and success in 2025.
Institute of Physics & Ogden Trust – Building better Physicists
We are delighted to announce that our longstanding collaboration with the Institute of Physics and its stimulating physics network has continued this year.
In the past few years this amazing collaboration has given some fantastic opportunities for our students such as hosting a planetarium for 2 years in a row, physics roadshows involving liquid nitrogen and whoosh bottles, trips to Lancaster university where students have built wind turbines and solar powered Lego cars. Every year two students receive the KS4 Physics and KS3 science award at the award ceremony as well as any awards from competitions such as “surviving in space” posters and “Save the planet” leaflets, etc.
We look forward to seeing what more amazing opportunities this collaboration will bring for our students again this year.
This Term’s House Charity Challenges: Highlights and Upcoming Events.
This term, students have participated in various house charity challenges, with each week featuring a new challenge led by a different department.
Each day, a specific year group takes part in these activities, competing for house points in increments of 100, 50, 25, or 10 points. An up to date count of total can be found outside of the L Block Dining rooms, where tokens represent the total points for each house. House captains, elected by students at the start of the year, have taken on responsibilities such as photographing events, recording results, and planning fundraising initiatives for their house charities. Additionally, students have managed weekly deliveries from the rewards store in ClassCharts, fostering a sense of leadership and teamwork.
NOMINATED CHARITIES
After resolving the IT systems issue, house challenges have resumed their regular schedule, with all subjects actively participating.
Each tutor group has the opportunity to select representatives they feel are best suited for the week’s challenge, aiming to score the most points for their house.
At the start of the year, students chose their house captains and nominated charities to support throughout the academic year. This year, the chosen charities are the RSPCA, Brian House Children’s Hospice, and Hugo’s Small Animal Rescue.
Completed challenges so far include:
A whole-year Tug of War event, where year groups gathered in the sports hall to demonstrate their strength in the first house challenge of the year. The overall winners were:
Year 7: Orange, Purple, Green, Blue
Year 8: Orange/Blue (Joint Winners), Purple, Green
We’ve
also had STEM and Maths Challenges, with each house competing to build the tallest paper tower. The results were as follows:
Year 7 Year 8 Year 9 Year 10
Green Green/Blue (Joint WiNners) Green Green Blue Purple Orange
Orange Orange Blue Purple Purple Orange
In celebration of National Maths Week, Mr Diver led a prime number challenge. Looking ahead, this half term will feature the History Challenge, the “102 Historical People” Challenge, and the Design a Christmas Card Challenge, where winning cards will be sent to local care homes. Additionally, the RE department will host a “Recreate a Buddha in Playdough” challenge to celebrate the Buddhist holiday, Bodhi Day, in December. There will also be a new PE challenge for the entire year group.
Whole Year Reading
Students have been set a Reading Challenge to read ten books across listed categories between September 2024 and July 2025. Winners will receive a prize for their dedication, and students are encouraged to write a review of each book they read and submit it to E11 or their English teacher.
HOUSE REWARD
Students are now competing for a rewards breakfast as we approach Christmas. The winning house will enjoy a special treat in recognition of their hard work and achievements throughout the term. Students gain points each week for the house with the most Ambition points each week and for their participation in the house challenges! Good Luck everyone.
House Captains
Year 7
Orange Jack W (7MHE)
Aria M (7MHE)
Zac W (7ACI)
Elsie C (7ACI)
Green Lola G (7KHO)
Frankie P (7KHO)
Tyler G (7MFR)
Phoebe S (7MFR)
Alexis K (7RDU)
Deacon A (7RDU)
Year 8
Shilan S (8DMK)
Curtis D (8DMK)
Max R-R (8CDA)
Sienna Mae T (8CDA)
Olivia L (8JLE)
Holly B (8JLE)
Emma M (8NAI)
Evie -Mai M (8NAI)
Cameron K (8LHR)
Rowan G (8LHR)
Joey B (8AHL)
Sienna H (8AHL)
Year 9
Jayden T (9RBD)
Harrison M (9RBD)
Cohen T (9CLU)
Chloe S (9RFE)
Travis D (9RFE)
Sophie B (9GHO)
Gabriel B (9GHO)
Darcy K (9EPG)
Courtney G (9EPG)
Year 10
Scarlett D -T (RMI)
Abbie W (RMI)
Wallis P (10MCX) Jacob D (10MCX)
Kerim A (10CFE) Callum F (10CFE)
2024-2025
BIG THANKS
Purple Bobby P (7JHO) Jess B (7JHO)
Millie S (8AMA) Natasha B (8AMA)
Alea H (9LBA) JJ B-C (9LBA)
Ben P (10JWA) Oliver F (10JWA)
Three students from each house have been working with Mr. Wade to identify as many historical figures as possible.
Mr. Wade’s classroom features 102 pictures of historical figures, and students were tasked with identifying as many as they could in the time given to them. Well Done to Purple House for achieving the highest score for this challenge, followed by Blue, Green then Orange!
Jack: 10/10.‘I like the diversity of what we do. It’s fun and interesting.’
Ellie: 10/10 ‘I would recommend it to everyone. You make friends while doing work at the same time.’
STEAM Club is run by Mr Byrne (Higher Level Teaching Assistant) and Mrs Bach (Science Technician) with support from Mrs Ferreira, our Science Department and Senior Leadership Team.
The club activities are curriculum based; mostly practical, taken at an easy pace in a calm learning environment, run specifically for our SEMH students (and fellow travellers!)
Colin: 10/10.‘I like the activities, they are awesome and they can help build skills.’
Canaan: 10/10 ‘I like STEAM Club for its fun and it is actually fun! I also like the chill people, they are all nice.’ way. Improvise.’
Sam: 9.5/10 ‘It is fun and you learn about things in a creative way – it is more relaxed; you can make mistakes and try your own way. Improvise.’
Since returning in September we have learned about...
Air powered rockets
Trench Periscopes
Christmas Baubles & Soap
Cartesian Divers
Lava Lamps
Drama Games
Recycled Poppies
Marshmallow Monsters
Vacuum Pump
Nathanael (Yr.7): I’ll give it infinity/10 because I just like everything we do and I’ve made friends there!’
Balloon Powered Racing Cars
Autumnal Birdfeeders
Christmas Soap
Nathan P Yr.10:‘You get to do a lot of interesting things. I also like to help out the Yr.7’s
Elephant’s toothpaste: ‘I remember it was Mrs Bach’s Birthday –she was 60 and we made Marshmallow Monsters… she showed us the Elephant’s toothpaste experiment!’
Jaden (Yr.7)‘I like the experiments best.I have fun there and usually work with Harvey’10/10
Ava (Yr.7) ‘The best bit about it is that it is very interactive!’ 9/10
Harvey (Yr.7) ’The best and most fun for me was getting involved in the Drama games!’ 24/10
Teighlor(Yr.8):‘Same for mebecausethereisalways somethinginterestingtodo andyes,it’struewelearn things!’10/10
CYBER SECURITY
At the end of the first half term, our Year 10 Computer Science students had an exciting opportunity to engage with our Cyber First partners, KPMG, in a special workshop focused on cyber security.
During the hour-long presentation, two expert speakers from KPMG led an informative and interactive discussion. They emphasised the critical need for students to keep their social media accounts private, not just for their current safety, but also for protecting their future career opportunities. The speakers highlighted how careless sharing online can have lasting implications in the job market.
Students learned about the importance of creating complex passwords, recognising spam and phishing emails, and identifying smishing (SMS phishing) text messages. These practical skills are vital for navigating today’s digital landscape safely. To reinforce these lessons, the speakers actively engaged the students by asking questions throughout the session, ensuring that everyone grasped these key concepts.
Overall, the workshop was a tremendous success, sparking thoughtful discussions and encouraging students to think critically about their online presence. We are grateful to KPMG for their partnership and commitment to fostering a culture of cyber awareness among our students. We look forward to more collaborative initiatives that empower our young learners in the digital world!
Year 11’s
An Inspiring Visit from Local Artist Alistair Parker!
Recently, our Year 11 GCSE Photography students enjoyed an inspiring visit from local artist Alistair Parker, based in Poulton-le-Fylde. Alistair, a seasoned artist and photographer, shared stories of his journey in the visual arts, which began at age 13 when he developed his very first photograph.
After retiring, Alistair rekindled his passion for photography, diving into competitive photography at the Poulton Photographic Society and selling many of his pieces at art fairs around the country. His iconic works focus on Blackpool and its surroundings, capturing local landmarks and vibrant street scenes that reflect the area’s unique character. Some of his pieces have even been acquired by JD Wetherspoon, with some proudly displayed in their Blackpool pub! Alistair’s work is rooted in street photography, which aligns perfectly with our Blackpool Photography Topic.
Students also had the chance to learn about Alistair’s creative process, including his methods of digitally editing images and then transferring them using a special adhesive to reveal a vivid, textured piece of art.
Here are some examples of our students’ work inspired by Alistair’s visit:
GCSE PHOTOGRAPHY GCSE Photography
The Montgomery Chess Club has gone from strength to strength this year.
CHESS club
We have had plenty of interest from the new year 7 students and our older students have been more than willing to help coaching, nurturing and being all round role models to the new cohort.
We concluded the summer term last year with another tournament, this one just between members of the club. One of our newest members managed to beat a veteran to get to the final, showcasing the strength of competitors coming through! These competitions are always greatly enjoyed by the group and everyone is very supportive, shaking hands after every game.
The picture is a handshake before the final between Dylan. A and Jayden. N. Dylan triumphed after a hard fought final and Jayden was very gracious in defeat, a fine example of the sportsmanship we like to promote. We will be holding two more of our in-house tournaments at the end of the winter and summer term, respectively.
I wanted to give the students as many opportunities to play chess against people outside of the club as possible. With that in mind, we have entered the National Schools Chess Championship which is organised by the English Chess Federation. This competition initially takes place on an online platform with students connecting from around the country. The business end takes place in person on actual boards, like we use in school, with the final, should we make it, being held at Nottingham University! It is a great opportunity for our students and shows how far we have come as a club to be taking part in such a prestigious national tournament.
Here’s hoping that the year continues to bring more competitors and more success to Montgomery Chess Club
It has
been a busy start
to the academic year for the PE department.
We’ve received significant funding through Lancashire Active Lives, which has allowed us to purchase pickleball equipment, acquire two additional trampolines, and renew our trampolining qualification.
This will enable us to reintroduce trampolining to the curriculum and offer a trampolining club. We are also continuing to build a partnership with Fylde Rugby, and Montgomery was selected to be part of the Curriculum+ programme.
This initiative has provided us with coaches to deliver lessons and run a rugby union club after school.
In addition to our in-school provision, we have been busy with our extra-curricular programme and fixtures.
This term, we’ve offered afterschool clubs in badminton, netball, football, dance, and rugby union, with over 100 students attending weekly sports sessions.
Furthermore, our Year 10 and 11 GCSE PE and
Girls’ Football
The Y7/8 girls team played their first match together away at a strong LSA, where they were defeated in Round 1 of the ESFA.
Our Y7 girls have upcoming fixtures in both the ESFA and Lancashire Cup before Christmas. They are a highly motivated group, eager to make a positive start to their Montgomery football journey.
Sports Studies students have been taking part in climbing assessments at WestView Leisure Centre, Preston, in partnership with Outdoor Education North West. During these sessions, they have bouldered,
climbed, and belayed, gaining valuable experience and achieving strong climbing scores, which will contribute to their GCSE results.
The Y8 girls are awaiting their next opponents in the Lancashire Cup after a 1-0 victory over Unity, Burnley in Round 1.
The Y9/10 girls are waiting for the draw for their upcoming ESFA competition.
The Y11 girls faced a tough challenge against last year’s Lancashire champions, the very strong OLCHS from Preston, and were unfortunately defeated in the ESFA.
Year 7 Football
The Year 7 football team has made a strong start at Montgomery, securing victory in the Blackpool North Schools League at Unity.
The final is yet to be scheduled, where they will face St. George’s, winners of the Blackpool South League.
including call-ups to the U21s and some influential performances, she was honoured with the opportunity to play for England U16s. Lucy spent a week at St George’s Park, where she represented England in a doubleheader against Switzerland. It was an incredible experience for Lucy, and she impressed the Lioness coaches. We continue to support Lucy in her ambitious goals, as she is incredibly driven to succeed!
In the Lancashire Cup, they were placed in a challenging group alongside St. George’s, Lytham St. Annes High School, and Hodgson. The team performed exceptionally well, narrowly missing out on topping the group on goal difference, although they did manage to beat group winners Hodgson.
In the English Schools Playstation Cup, the team played admirably but were narrowly defeated 2-1 by Lytham St. Annes High School.
Year 8
Football
The Year 8 football team has won the Blackpool Schools North League and is set to play in the final against St. George’s, with the date still to be confirmed.
In the Lancashire Cup, the Y8s were unfortunate to lose a closely contested match at Archbishop Temple in Preston. Despite dominating the game, they couldn’t find the winning goal and were defeated 4-3 in a penalty shootout.
In the English Schools Cup, they were eliminated in Round 2 by a very strong Cardinal Heenan school from Liverpool, who were last year’s finalists.
Year 9 Football
The Year 9 football team achieved success by winning the Blackpool Schools’ North League and are now awaiting confirmation of the final match against South Shore Academy. In the Lancashire Cup, the team received a bye in the first round and will face St. Augustine’s School in the second round. Meanwhile, in the English Schools Cup, they secured a 4-2 victory over Lytham St. Annes High School and are set to compete against Queen Elizabeth School from the Lakes in the next round.
Year 10 Football
The Year 10 football team triumphed over all opponents in the Blackpool North League, earning a spot in the final against St. George’s, with the date yet to be confirmed. They remain in contention for the Lancashire Cup after a 3-1 victory over Our Lady Queen of the Peace and are set to face Brownedge St. Mary’s in the next round. In the English Schools Cup, the team secured a narrow 1-0 win against Formby High School but were narrowly defeated 1-0 by Birkdale High School in a match they dominated but struggled to convert into goals.
Year 11 Football
Unfortunately, the Year 11 football team fell short of completing a clean sweep for all age groups in the Blackpool Schools North League, finishing as runners-up to St. Mary’s. However, they have performed impressively in the Lancashire Cup, advancing to the third round with victories over Accrington Academy and Hodgson. They will face Park High School in the next stage. In the English Schools Cup, the team has also excelled, securing wins against Formby High and Queen Katherine from the Lakes, and they are set to play William Howard School in the next round.
NETBALL TRAINING
RUBY D
Netball training has been in full swing, with regular sessions on Mondays and elite training on Wednesdays as they prepare for their upcoming Lancashire competition.
In the Blackpool Schools’ tournaments held weekly at Stanley Park, our teams have delivered outstanding performances:
Year 10&11: 2nd place
Year 9: 1st place
Year 8A: 1st place
Year 8B: 1st place
Year 7: 3rd place
Fantastic results all around— well done to all the players!
HOLLY M
Lancashire Netball Selection
Success for Holly, Ruby D and Ruby C
In October, three of our exceptionally talented students competed in the Lancashire netball trials, striving for a place on the Under-13 squad. Holly M (Year 7), Ruby D (Year 8), and Ruby C (Year 8) were all successful and have earned their spot on the team!
RUBY C
This is a remarkable accomplishment, and we couldn’t be prouder.
Climbing
Our Year 10 and 11 GCSE PE and Sports Studies students have begun honing their climbing skills at West View Leisure Centre in Preston, guided by Outdoor Education North West.
A huge well done to everyone who took part in the sessions! The students demonstrated excellent teamwork, supporting each other with belaying and tackling challenging climbs. Climbing is a demanding sport that tests muscular strength, core stability, and power—no wonder there were some sore muscles in the days that followed!
Sports Studies Leadership
A big congratulations to all the Year 10 students who have successfully completed part of their final Sports Studies grade by leading sports sessions.
The quality of leadership was outstanding, with students excelling in sports such as football, dance, netball, badminton, boxing, and gymnastics. We were incredibly impressed with their efforts and are thrilled to see such positive progress, with everyone surpassing their target grades. Well done!
DANCE FESTIVAL
On Wednesday, November 27th, the annual Blackpool Schools’ Festival of Dance took place at the Winter Gardens.
This year’s theme, Back in Time, inspired our powerful interpretation, The Boy in the Striped Performance. The piece began with a poignant reading by Niamh, setting the tone for an emotionally charged performance that told the story with precision and grace. The execution was flawless and utterly captivating— so much so that you could have heard a pin drop. It was truly a breathtaking showcase. We now turn our focus to preparing for the Lancashire Schools’ Dance Competition in April 2025.
Careers Tour 2024-25
Dear Parents & Guardians,
You may be aware that we recently visited your child’s school as part of our BBC Bitesize Careers Tour - we really hope they enjoyed the session. The Bitesize Careers Tour aims to visit 125,000 secondary school students across the UK in a bid to inspire young people about their future job prospects and forms part of a wider remit of the BBC to inform, educate and entertain
As part of the event, your child will have been introduced to three panellists from a variety of job sectors in your local area, which has hopefully sparked their imagination with regards to what might be achievable for them in the future In addition, one of our well-known BBC presenters will have led the session and offered their own input into their career journey Please do ask your child about the event and whether or not they managed to catch our infamous rugby ball!
How can Bitesize Careers help?
Schools are often a starting point for your child to think about their future, but BBC Bitesize is also here for them every step of the way You may be familiar with the wide range of educational content on offer via BBC Bitesize, but there’s also a huge amount of content available to them with regards to careers Please do explore our site when you get a moment, as it might help spark a conversation with your child about their future career. It’s never too early to start thinking about this!
Please follow the QR code below to visit BBC Bitesize Careers - and a huge thanks to your child’s school for facilitating our event.
Mr Hayes and Mr Wallbank from the SSC took students along to the Moore Park Arboretum for the dedication of the bench to the Fijian Soldiers that perished in various conflicts throughout the world.
The students were also given a tour of the Arboretum by a local Veteran.
