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Learning 13-18
It has been another challenging academic year at St Peter’s, once again requiring our teaching staff to find innovative ways of delivering our varied and inspiring curriculum both remotely and in the classroom. The pupils have embraced new approaches to learning and their academic progress has been extraordinary despite the challenges they have faced.
Poetry Competition As part of our National Poetry Day celebrations, the St Peter’s Library and English Department organised a poetry competition for all pupils at St Peter’s 13-18. The competition was linked to the MFL Department’s activities for European Day of Languages and to the Lessons for Life Department’s work with World Mental Health Day. Congratulations to the winners Niamh, Max, Beth, George and Abigail. Booker Prize Debate Pupils and staff at St Peter’s School, York, hosted their own Booker Prize Debate on 17 November.
Upper Sixth pupils and staff members gathered in the Library to hear shortlisted books being heartily defended by Upper Sixth pupils and teaching staff. Each book was represented by two Upper Sixth pupils and a member of the English Department. Audience members were then asked to cast their vote to determine the winning book. This year’s winning book was Who They Was by Gabriel Krauze, defended by Issy, Khushi and Miss Todd. Issy and Khushi each received copies of the officially shortlisted titles to add to their own personal book collections. They also received copies of the novel Who They Was signed by Gabriel Krauze, after the author read about their success at the St Peter’s School Booker Prize Debate on Twitter! Lessons for Life Lessons for Life have been introduced this year, designed to better prepare our pupils for the next steps in life after school. Lessons for Life is a bespoke programme, both encapsulating but going beyond statutory PSHE provision. All pupils spend six weeks focusing specifically on Mental Health and Wellbeing, with a lean towards learning practical skills necessary to develop positive mental health themselves and identify the first signs of poor mental health in themselves and others.
Making every moment count Our Maths pupils have performed exceptionally well this year, making every moment count.
of all teams entering!
Jimmy and Thomas from Third Form have been nominated to join the prestigious York Mathematical Excellence Club in recognition of their mathematical skills. York Mathematical Excellence Club (y=mx+c) provides coaching and support for the most able young mathematicians in the city.
At the start of November, 52 of our most able maths pupils attempted the UKMT Senior Maths Challenge. 41 of those pupils achieved either gold, silver or bronze results, which places them in the top 60% of all participants nationally. Of those 52, the top 11 pupils managed to progress to the next round of either the Kangaroo or Olympiad round.
The results from last year’s Intermediate Maths Challenge further rounds have also arrived, after a delay due to lockdown. 3 pupils took part in the Grey Kangaroo, achieving one merit and two qualifications. 5 pupils took part in the Pink Kangaroo, achieving two merits and 3 qualifications. The best 3 intermediate pupils took on the challenge of the prestigious Olympiad round, which is reserved for the top 1,500 pupils in the country, obtaining one merit and two distinctions. Finally, in October a group of Lower Sixth pupils entered the annual Ritangle competition, hosted by Integral Maths. Ben, Hugo, Theo, Josh and Wilf successfully completed all preliminary rounds in October and worked throughout November and December to successfully complete 24 challenging maths problems. They performed exceptionally well and made it to the top 5% of all teams entering! School Trips School trips made a welcome return this year. Our Geography pupils returned to the field in the autumn term, exploring York and the Yorkshire coastline to collect data for an investigation they had designed. The pupils chose to investigate urban and coastal landscapes close to York, from Bootham to Bridlington. They investigated a variety of phenomena from pollution patterns in York to environmental damage on the sand dunes at Bridlington. Our Geography pupils also enjoyed trips to Dalby Forest and Bridlington in the summer term, a welcome opportunity to stretch their legs after the spring term lockdown.
In the summer term, our Upper Sixth English pupils ventured to Windsor to see
which places them in the top 60%
of all participants nationally 41 of those pupils achieved either gold, silver or bronze results
Hamlet performed at the Theatre Royal. They thoroughly enjoyed the play and the opportunity to enjoy one last trip together before leaving St Peter’s.
Biology Fourth Form pupils really got to the ‘heart’ of the subject in their biology lessons in the spring term. Every year Fourth Form pupils dissect lambs’ hearts as part of their GCSE biology curriculum, giving them an important insight into the anatomy of the human heart.
It wasn’t possible for pupils to dissect hearts at school this year due to ongoing lockdown restrictions. Instead, six willing pupils offered to dissect hearts at home whilst their classmates observed the dissections on Zoom. Pupils and parents liaised with their local butchers to source the hearts and the dissections took place on kitchen tables and worktops, instead of the biology lab. Following the lesson, a St Peter’s School parent commented: “I’ve been eavesdropping on the heart dissection lesson and I’ve never seen my son so engaged. Well done to Mr Stephen covering remote biology. Awesome job.” Laurentius Lectures We launched our Laurentius Lecture series this year with a series of fascinating lectures delivered by pupils in the Lower Sixth. The Laurentius Lecture series provides an opportunity for Academic Scholars at St Peter’s to share ideas on topics that are of interest to them. Pupils deliver a short lecture of fifteen minutes to their peer group, the Head Master, the Head of Scholars and members of staff with a particular speciality in a given area, followed by questions from the floor.
This year’s programme showed a breadth and variety of interests from Sustainability,
Neuroscience, Law, Artificial Intelligence and Veterinary science through to aspects of Music, Fine Art, Linguistics, History, Literature and Design. Bon Appetite! The Modern Foreign Languages Department delivered a series of cultural events for our pupils in the summer term. Our Lower Sixth pupils enjoyed a tapas-tasting session in May, our Third Form pupils participated in Zumba-style sessions to Spanish music, and our Fourth Form pupils indulged in a French picnic for breakfast. Fourth Form were also invited to a Spanish Cultural Evening in June, which included talks, salsa dancing and continental cuisine. Although foreign travel remains challenging, it has been wonderful to see our pupils engaging with different cultures through the curriculum.
Supreme Essay Writing Skills Lower Sixth pupil Justin was awarded second place in The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom’s Essay Writing Competition this year.
Justin chose to focus on ‘Does the law do enough to balance the right to religious freedom against the possibility of unjustified discrimination?’ He developed a clear thesis focused on two relevant Supreme Court cases, Bull v Hall and Lee v Ashers Baking Company, and his essay was judged by the Judicial Assistants who work at the Court.
Justin, who boards at St Peter’s School, explained how the unexpected lockdown gave him the opportunity to do more research than he could have done in normal school days. Justin spent a month and a half researching his chosen subject, formulating his arguments and writing the essay, alongside his A Level studies in English, Mathematics, Politics and Religious Studies.
