2023-24
St Peter’s Triumphs at Lord’s!
Our 1st XI win the National Cup
Keys for Life Gala Dinner
A fantastic evening in aid of bursaries
A Vision of Education
St Peter’s looks to a new chapter for 2027
Arkwright Scholars
We celebrate our most recent successful candidates
As we look back over some of the highlights of the year in ‘The Peterite’, it makes me even more proud than ever to be a part of this wonderful school.
In the academic sphere we continue to go beyond the syllabus. Three more of our pupils have been selected as Arkwright Scholars, astonishing given that, in most schools, to have one every few years is an achievement.
Pupils entered the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Olympiad competition where their efforts were rewarded with 10 bronze, five silver and two gold awards. One of our pupils won the National Gallery’s ARTiculation competition, our team made it to the national final at the Institut Français for the Joutes Oratoires debating competition and ‘Keystone’, the school magazine, won the award for Best Magazine Cover at the national School Media Awards.
Music continues to flourish at St Peter’s. The Orchestral Evensong in the Minster allowed us to celebrate the partnership between our two institutions with a wonderful service at Petertide, and a particular highlight was the Whole Foundation Concert, with 130 pupils forming a whole school orchestra and more than 200 singers in the choir across the age range. We also visited St George’s Chapel, Windsor for the first time to sing Evensong, and went on an exciting tour to New York in the Summer Term.
There has also been extensive activity in Drama where this year’s highlight was ‘Chicago’. The talented cast, crew and band of 51 pupils put on an astounding production which delighted packed audiences, and I was delighted to see a Lower Sixth production for the first time.
Sport has been even busier this year with new structures bedding in well, supporting both wide participation and the fostering of excellence. The summer of 2024 will go down as the finest cricket season in the school’s history – U18 National T20 Champions, U17 National semi-finalists and Dubai ARCH Trophy winners.
Peterites are always up for adventure, so congratulations to the CCF for winning the competition for ‘Best Contingent’ at Annual Camp. Also, to those involved in Duke of Edinburgh where, despite the often wet and blustery conditions, over 180 pupils have navigated their way through an expedition this year.
We have also travelled overseas in search of new learning and experiences. In October the Geography department took 48 pupils to Iceland to immerse themselves in the wonder of the landscape of fire and ice. Also in October, Sixth Form pupils studying Religious Studies and Classics visited Greece where highlights included Delphi and Olympia, with pupils giving talks based on their studies at the original sites.
Pupils’ mental health and wellbeing continue to be a top priority and where our mental health team provide support to pupils across 2-18. Increasing engagement from pupils has proven to be a success, and more pupils are now seeking support at the earliest opportunity. This has helped lessen the stigma which is often associated with mental health support, and is vital to the wellbeing of the whole school community.
Pupil voice is an important part of both dialogue and development, and I would like to thank all those who have represented their peers on the various Boarders, Food and School Councils and the Eco-Committee. Also, to the many pupils who have been involved in Social Action and the musicians who have performed in Chapel, as well as Sixth Form pupils who have led charity events, taken Chapels and spoken in Assembly about causes close to their hearts such as International Men’s and International Women’s Days and LGBTQ+ rights.
I am looking forward to all that lies ahead next year.
St Peter’s 8-13
Despite it having been one of the wettest years on record, the sports programme at 8-13 has continued to evolve, we grow, and thrive this year. More than 411 pupils have participated in upwards of 780 fixtures across more than eight different sports. As a school we aim to provide pupils with a lifelong love of sport as we all recognise the mental, physical, and social benefits that these opportunities provide.
Pupils have enjoyed learning opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom, with visits to the theatre, dissecting hearts in Science, making Syrian food including flatbreads and falafel and creating saleable products through the ever-popular Enterprise project. We saw more than 340 of our pupils compete in national maths competitions, and had five pupils representing the school in French, German and Spanish at the Foreign Language Spelling Bee national finals at Cambridge University.
We have also been fortunate to enjoy some trips, to Venice, Whitby and Folgarida among others. All year groups had an opportunity to be away from school together for a wonderful adventure and bonding experience.
Virtualosity has continued to be a huge success, our three ‘formal’ concerts were absolutely sensational and we also had an Electric Dreams Gig in May providing an opportunity for children who are pop singers, singer songwriters, in rock bands, play drum kit, bass or electric guitar.
What a fantastic year we have had at St Peter’s 8-13, full of exciting adventures for children and staff. This has been a sensational year.
St Peter’s 2-8
It’s been another memorable year at St Peter’s 2-8 filled with distinctive and varied learning adventures to challenge, inspire and ignite the children’s passion for learning. At St Peter’s 2-8 it is our aim to nurture amazing adults who have a great time at school, and this begins with our very youngest pupils.
Ensuring children spend time outdoors is a key element of our approach with all children accessing our Forest school each week, exploring our local area and going on a range of trips including a residential. Being advocates for our planet and school are also important features of a St Peter’s education with our School Council planning and implementing some effective recycling projects and having the opportunity to collaborate with the eco council at 13-18 to make our school more sustainable.
The children have benefitted from a term of drama this year with specialist teaching and the opportunity to use the drama studio to experience drama workshops and rehearse for performances. A record number of children take individual music lessons and performed in music concerts and the choir performed twice at the Minster, at the Christingle and at the Whole School Concert. The children have enjoyed sporting endeavours, including our annual sports day and the honour of representing the school in fixtures in hockey, tag ruby and netball. The swimming gala demonstrated the quality of our swimming provision, as well as the importance placed on this key life skill.
Having been at the school as the Deputy Head for a number of years it has been a huge privilege to become the Head this year and to be given the opportunity to carry on the fantastic leadership and tireless work carried out by Phil. I am also incredibly grateful to the staff at 2-8 for the care and dedication with which they work, continually striving to make St Peter’s 2-8 the very best it can be and offer the highest standards of education for our youngest pupils.
We are fortunate to be able to balance prudent financial planning with considered investment in our campus this year, such as a major refurbishment of the Dining Room over the summer and the successful completion of the major stonework restoration at the front of school. Major investment is planned for upcoming years, to create the best possible learning environment for our pupils and continue St Peter’s legacy as one of the best schools in the country.
St Peter’s has never stood still, and since its foundation in AD627 has been located in a number of locations in York, been structured in a number of formats, and at key points in time has made significant transitions that have made it the wonderful place it is today. As we move forward, we plan to move St Peter’s to a two-school structure, in order to provide the best flow of education through the school.
Head Master Jeremy Walker says “St Peter’s has been in existence for nearly 1400 years and one of the reasons behind our long and successful history is our ability to change, adapt and evolve to the world we live in. We are in a position of strength at the moment, with thriving pupil numbers and a justly deserved reputation for participation and excellence, whether in academics, pastoral care or co-curricular activities. However, the world has changed and the best time to make robust plans for the future is when we are in a position of strength. Whilst our three-school model has served us so well over the past decades, I am very excited about the new structure which will give the best possible opportunities to our own pupils and their families, and make the most of our wonderful campus”.
Achieved in 2023/2024
Repairing stonework
The front of the main school building in front of the Horseshoe has long been a recognised symbol for St Peter’s School. The building, which fronts the Memorial Hall, has a striking gabled centrepiece, complete with canopied niches, oriels with traceried lights, parapet, grotesques, and octagonal corner turrets with openwork at the top.
During the 2023 Christmas Term, we undertook much needed restoration to ensure that our iconic building looks its best. In April 2024 the new, secured and cleaned face of the school was revealed, looking, as one 2-8 pupil observed, much like a sandcastle.
A refurbished Dining Room
During the Summer of 2024, the Senior School dining room was completely renovated, opening up more space for tables and overhauling the equipment in the servery and kitchen to provide a beautiful space for our pupils to eat.
A new dance space
Over the summer, improvements to the wall bar gym at 8-13 to include a studio to enable more dance co-curricular options.
Working towards 2027
The plans for improvement to the school, its structure and its buildings continue. By 2027, St Peter’s plans to have two distinct parts of the school – St Peter’s Junior School and St Peter’s Senior School. In making the move to a two-school structure, our goal is to have the best possible flow of education and experience for pupils and their families across academic, pastoral and co-curricular.
Work will be taking place over the next few years to improve our campus for the enjoyment of our pupils and wider community. In September 2024, work will start on a new Health and Mental Health Hub at Burton Cottage, a space which will be accessible for all parts of the school, and a vital resource for many. After that, work will continue during the holidays to ensure updates across the campus, ready to move to a two-school structure by 2027 with minimal disruption to pupils.
How will the new school be structured?
St Peter’s Junior School
Educating children from Nursery to the end of Year 6, St Peter’s Junior School will be located on the southern part of the school campus, currently the home of St Peter’s 8-13.
Whilst the Junior School will have dedicated spaces for teaching, sports, performance, music, dining and much more, the school will also have full access to shared facilities for St Peter’s School, such as the swimming pool, sports pitches, outdoor amenities and specialist facilities, as it does at present.
Under the leadership of Mr Hardy and a dedicated Senior Leadership team, the school will continue to deliver an internationally recognised, innovative curriculum alongside a huge range of activities and wraparound care, including camps available for the majority of weeks in the school holidays.
St Peter’s Senior School
The Senior School will educate children from Year 7 to the Upper Sixth, located on the upper part of the school campus, sharing some specialist facilities with the Junior School.
All pupils at St Peter’s Senior School will continue to develop a love of learning with an enquiryled approach. The school will continue to be underpinned by academic challenge within a creative and collaborative environment. As always, we will place equal importance on pupils achieving outstanding academic results alongside discovering their passions and interests through an exciting schedule of academic extension and a huge co-curricular programme.
Lessons will be enriched with a variety of wider study, exploration, challenge and trips.
We will also be making some significant changes to the Senior School campus, enabling us to make the best possible use of our resources and invest in the facilities needed to strengthen the school for the future.
We are excited to reveal that by 2027, we plan to have a brand-new Sixth Form Centre which will have facilities such as a dining room and café, a lecture theatre/meeting room, study spaces, large indoor social spaces, outdoor social and study spaces, offices, meeting rooms and a Research Hub, the latter being a resource shared with the whole Senior School. Subjects taught only at Sixth Form such as Economics, Business, Politics and History of Art will also be located here.
Boarding in the new school structure
From September 2025 we will welcome boarders from the age of 11 into Year 7. We will have four senior boarding Houses, two for girls and two for boys, which will be split by Years 7 – 11 and Sixth Form. Dronfield will be for Sixth Form girls, The Rise for girls in Years 7-11, The Manor for Sixth Form boys and Linton for boys in Years 7-11. The idea behind this move is to provide a more seamless transition for the Sixth Formers into University, giving them more space and freedom in their House.
This year we filmed a new school video to showcase everything we have to offer. We decided to do the film completely unscripted, to find out more about what really makes St Peter’s who we are. Our pupils amazed us with how confidently they spoke about their experiences at the school, and our hearts were warmed by the way they all spoke about how much the school meant to them.
To create the film, we partnered with ELSA Film, who previously produced the ‘Project Yorkshire’ series. We had the owners of the company with us throughout the filming, one of whom has since become a parent at the school after seeing first-hand all that we have to offer our pupils, and hearing our teachers and pupils speak so passionately about their time here.
We couldn’t have done it without the willing participation of our dedicated teachers and brilliant pupils, so we wanted to say a huge thank you to them for taking part. You all did an incredible job at translating the spirit of St Peter’s to the screen.
If you haven’t yet had a chance to see the film, make sure you follow the QR below.
Wellbeing
Across the school, mental wellbeing is integrated into the daily life of our pupils. From the youngest to the oldest, their mental health is seen as a priority, and we continue to raise awareness and reduce stigma through education. Wellbeing reaches into every aspect of school life at St Peter’s for every child, every day. As a close-knit community of pupils, teachers and parents, we pride ourselves on the pastoral care we provide.
In St Peter’s 2-8, the children were excited to welcome a new Wellbeing Treehouse, situated now in the Reception playground in what was previously the Holly House. The Treehouse provides a safe and welcoming space for children to go to if they feel anxious or upset. The space is furnished to provide a calm space away from the hustle and bustle of school life. Cuddly toys, books and games allow for a cosy atmosphere which support our children’s wellbeing. Wellbeing sessions will be held in The Treehouse with our school ELSA and will include opportunities for sand and lego therapy and drawing and talking sessions.
In 8-13, pupils take a mindfulness course, known as .b (dot-be), which is provided by the Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) – the most established provider of mindfulness training for UK schools. The pupils are developing great mindfulness skills and are being encouraged to practise these at home. Lessons saw classes exploring how it is possible to train your mind, learning FOFBOC (where feet on floor, bum on chair, is used to help anchor the mind in the present moment) and using meditation to help manage worries and anxieties.
In November we had Anti-Bullying Week 2023. The theme was ‘Make A Noise About Bullying’. It is coordinated by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, which is based at the leading children’s charity the National Children’s Bureau. This Anti-Bullying Week we urged adults and children alike to come together to have discussions about what we mean by bullying behaviour, how we can tell the difference between ‘banter’ and bullying and how we can make changes to reduce bullying. We wore odd socks on the Friday to celebrate our differences and to remind pupils to be kind and empathetic to others.
We also had talks by Fintan O’Regan who educated parents and staff about neurodiversity and how we can better support pupils in our community with additional needs.
St Peter’s 2-8
On the last day of Christmas Term, the 2-8 children had their House Sing during the Christmas Assembly. Mr Hardy, Ms Opie and Ms Johnson were invited as the VIP judges to assign a worthy winner.
It was a fantastically festive show, which started with Micklegate singing ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’. The song opened with a brilliant piano solo from Zacariah for the opening lines of the song, before the rest of the House started to sing and dance with confidence. We had a wonderful singing solo from Elio, and the whole number was full of enthusiasm.
We then had Walmgate who sang ‘Rudolf’ in harmony. The judges were very impressed with the dance moves, and in particular the enthusiasm of Summer and Sophie in the front row! Monk House transported the teachers back to their youth with disco lights accompanying their rendition of ‘Are You Ready to Party’. The energy was spectacular as the whole house bopped up and down in time to the music!
Whilst the judges deliberated, the whole school joined in their annual ‘12 days of Christmas’ singalong, with each class assigned their own part. In the end, Micklegate were the worthy winners, and were congratulated by everyone.
Swimming Gala
Congratulations to all Year 2 and 3 pupils who took part in a variety of relay and individual races to compete for the overall House swimming trophy. The young swimmers took part in a variety of races to gain points for their House and after some fierce competition that showed tremendous skills, versatility and team building, Micklegate took first place.
The sun stayed out and the weather was extremely kind for the 2024 2-8 Sports Days this year. The children worked extremely hard on their practical skills in the last few weeks in PE and it was amazing to see them in action. The atmosphere was fantastic, and the pupils were all smiling and cheering on one another in their races.
Thank you to all the parents, grandparents and carers who came to spectate. You created a lovely, encouraging atmosphere in which the children could thrive!
On Friday the 28th of June, Conkers parents and grandparents were invited to attend our annual Nursery PE Showcase. The children, who have PE lessons with Miss Flockhart each week, rose to the occasion to demonstrate the skills they have been taught over the year.
In October, five houses in 8-13 took part in the House Computing Competition. Each House was given the same 10 puzzles based around computational thinking. Of these ten puzzles, there were two for each year group in the House. Some puzzles had one answer, some multiple answers. Finally, each House came together to answer 10 multiple choice questions about the history of computers. Congratulations to Elmet who won the title for the first time.
Congratulations to all five 8-13 Houses for their impressive performances at the annual House Sing competition. Our guest judge, Dr Elliott from York Minster, and Mrs Craven had the tough job of judging the performances, which were excellent across the board.
Elmet started the competition by singing ‘Greatest Day’ by Take That. The performance was rousing, with a very impressive use of two groups to sing different part of the song. York followed with ‘Human’ by The Killers, who showed that they had been very diligent with their rehearsing, making sure that they were all in time. Alcuin then followed with ‘Try’ by P!nk. Dr Elliott enjoyed their enthusiasm and said that they looked like they were all really enjoying themselves! Fairfax then sang a very jovial rendition of ‘Love Story’ by Taylor Swift, which made everybody smile. Of note was the dramatization of the Romeo and Juliet story by Edward and Tom, who performed a proposal on stage! Finally, Ainsty sang ‘Learn to Fly’ by Foo Fighters, who were perfectly together with their actions, and even included some rhythmic gym across the stage.
Dr Elliott and Mrs Craven thanked all the performers for putting so much effort into their songs. Dr Eliott particularly praised the diction of all Houses which really helped to tell the story of their chosen song. All deserved to be proud of themselves, but we are happy to announce the winners of each category:
Most Enthusiastic – Fairfax Super Conductors – York Excellent to Watch – Ainsty Best Smiles – Alcuin
The final overall winners were…. Elmet!
The House Sporting Calendar has also been a busy, with House rugby, hockey, cross country, netball, cricket, swimming and tennis having been closely contested. Elmet had a particular season of success in the J4 and J5 House events held in Easter Term where they won the senior netball, the senior boys’ volleyball and the senior boys’ hockey! In swimming, the winners of the senior competition were Ainsty and the winners of the junior event were York. Congratulations to the following pupils who broke House swimming records: Isla (50m Breaststroke), Joseph (50m Breaststroke), Charlie (25m Breaststroke), Olivia M (25m Backstroke) and Olivia A (25m Butterfly).
These events culminated in a fantastic Sports Day with all students who were able to participating, and those who were unable to making a significant contribution by supporting staff in organising events. The atmosphere on Sports Day highlighted exactly what we want sport to be about at St Peter’s 8-13 – supporting each other to be the best we can be, giving our all, and most importantly, thoroughly enjoying the benefits of physical activity.
At the start of the year, we welcomed our junior boarders back to Wentworth House with a busy week of fun and diverse activities. The glorious weather meant they were able to enjoy a beautiful evening BBQ, with some garden games, swapping stories about all the summer adventures and learning a bit more about each other. Miss McCrann’s treasure hunt really challenged their problem solving abilities and teamwork skills, while Mr Savage’s karaoke night was a highlight of the week with everyone taking part courageously, stepping outside comfort zones and supporting and embracing each other’s efforts. They got creative at Rainbows, painting some mugs ready for use in House for hot chocolate and tuck nights. The week’s finale was a pool party and water fight before tucking into pizzas, ice cream, and watching the opening of the Rugby World Cup.
St Peter’s 13-18
House Sing – School House wins!
During the Christmas Term, all Houses at St Peter’s 13-18 competed once again to be the winners of the esteemed House Singing competition. With fantastic renditions ranging from ‘Don’t Stop Me Now to You Belong With Me’ by Taylor Swift, each House truly gave their all.
Ultimately, the judges decided that ‘That’s What Makes You Beautiful’ was the most tuneful, entertaining and impressive performance, allowing School House to claim this year’s crown (and bragging rights!)
House Sport
House Rowing showed the school at its vociferous and team-working best! After much exertion the Third Form Race was won by Hope, the Fourth and Fifth Form Race was a win for The Manor and The Rise and in the Sixth Form Race, Clifton won after a thrillingly close race with Dronfield and Linton (with the lead changing hands several times).
Girls’ House Hockey saw Temple come away with both the junior and senior trophies. Boys’ House Hockey saw Hope win the juniors and The Grove were the victors in the senior competition. The Senior Girls got into the spirit of House Netball, with Temple winning first place.
House swimming was a great event with a mixture of boys and girls included in the same events. The atmosphere was brilliant with some superb support for Houses. The podium results of the Junior and Senior competitions showed Temple to be the victors with 228 points vs The Grove in second place with 180.
In House Squash we had experienced Squash players and pupils who have never played before, stepping up to compete for their Houses. Well done to all who helped make it a fun and successful event. The overall winners were The Manor and The Rise – their team of Alex, Sam and Wendi were unbeaten throughout all their matches. The Grove pushed them all the way and only finished runners up by eight points. The final match between Alex and John was a nail-biter with them both playing high-quality Squash.
Great fun and a wonderful atmosphere was on show in both our House Tennis events with the mixed format bringing out the very best in all of our students.
In the Junior event the top three houses were Temple (1st), School (2nd) and Hope (3rd). In the Senior event the top three houses were Clifton (1st), Temple (2nd) and School (3rd).
Sports Day
With the event moving to the end of the academic year to allow all students to attend on the penultimate day of school, it was great to see so many pupils and parents all in attendance on the same day.
Brilliant House spirit was shown throughout the day, and the rain managed to hold off enabling all events to go ahead as planned. Triple jump was added to the day so records were set at relative ages by Polly E, Eloise H, Chris A and Tristan M. There was only one record broken on the day which was by Alex P breaking the Senior Boys Shot Put record that had been standing since 1983.
Superb levels of athletic ability was shown during the event, and special mentions must go to Clare F and James G for winning the Victrix Ludorum and Victor Ludorum for best female and male athlete based on event results.
Boys’ Results Girls’ Results
1st Temple 1st Temple
2nd School 2nd Clifton 3rd Manor 3rd Hope
House Debating
The Interhouse Debating competitions foster friendly competition between Houses. This year, the winner of the Junior House Debate Final was The Rise who beat The Grove in a head to head arguing that THBT Young People are discriminated against in Britain. Both sides argued brilliantly, with Mr Walker describing it as the best he has seen.
In the Senior competition, School House came out as the victor. School skilfully managed the challenges posed by the well-prepared Linton team with all speeches being both engaging and hugely entertaining – a masterclass in teamwork and quick thinking.
End of the Year and Commemoration
St Peter’s ended the year on a high note with the annual Commemoration Service with Prize Giving at the stunning York Minster a resounding success. The choirs and ensembles delivered beautiful performances, and we had a motivating speech from Maggie Alfonsi MBE who spoke about resilience when achieving your ambitions, who then handed out prizes to the hardworking recipients for 2024.
Mr Walker delivered a rousing speech in the light of that day’s General Election results, which saw Labour voted into parliament where they have committed to introducing a 20% VAT on Independent Schools. Remaining positive about the school’s ability to weather any storm, Mr Walker said “I am looking forward to all that lies ahead next year, accepting the challenges with determination and quiet confidence in our great school. As we look to the future, we can take confidence from our past. Since our foundation in the 7th century, we have weathered any number of potentially existential crises. The Viking invasion of the 9th century. Black Death in the 14th century. The Wars of the Roses in the 15th century. The Reformation in the 16th century and the Roman Catholic Minster becoming an Anglican place of worship, not to mention the demise of Old Peterite Guy Fawkes at the start of that century. The English Civil War in the 17th century and last century, the First and Second World Wars, the devastating fire here in the Minster 40 years ago next week and this century the pandemic in 2020. Throughout all of this St Peter’s has adapted and pivoted when needed, all in service of remaining true to our community and vision of education.”
By Mr Whitehouse
Over the summer holidays 2023, we gave Dronfield a bit of a facelift, and as well as five new bedrooms, a new heart was created at the front of the building, serving as a vibrant hub for connection and activity beween the girls in the House.
A new pool table, seating areas, sound system, and a bright and colourful place to gather, were greeted with great enthusiasm on their return to school, an hour after the painters had finished their last brush stroke.
“We love the lively and friendly atmosphere the new social space creates in Dron. The layout of the new area allows us to relax with friends. Music and laughter in the social space makes Dronfield a bubbly House to be in.” – Islay
Whilst the smart newbuild may look very impressive, the true character of Dronfield this year hasn’t been in its walls or furniture, but in the warmth, laughter and chat shared by the girls who live within.
The team of Houseparents, tutors, domestic staff and our Heads of House, Scarlet and Meg have worked hard to offer guidance and support, fostering a safe, nurturing and community-focused environment where all the girls can thrive and truly feel at home.
“In Dronfield it is not only lovely to have the support from my friends, but also from the domestic staff, who are warm, kind and always up for a chat.” – Izzy
This year Dronfield has enjoyed a diverse group of girls from different countries. As well as being good for the boarding environment, this has helped our overseas boarders feel more comfortable and connected.
“I was a bit nervous when I first arrived in Dronfield, as it was the first time travelling far from home in Shanghai. Meeting a Sixth Form girl, who I knew, really helped me to settle quickly, and go on to make new friends.” – Emily
Making connections within a boarding community can significantly contribute to everyone’s happiness by fostering a sense of belonging, support, and shared experiences. Being away from home can be challenging and emotional support from one’s peers can make a huge difference.
“As a new boarder I was apprehensive to what boarding life would be like, but as soon as I came to Dronfield I was welcomed with open arms and it felt like a home away from home.” – Ella
“With Dronfield being a smaller house, there is a collective understanding that everyone participates as much as they can. This creates a rather unique experience, as all the girls go into House events not just in it to win it, but rather enjoy the experience, and have fun.” – Jen
Each year, there is change in Dronfield. New girls have joined the house, while others have departed for university or work opportunities. This was the year of a very large Upper Sixth, and we said farewell to 18 girls in the house.
“At the end of Fifth Form I felt nervous when two of my closest Dronfield friends left the school. I felt anxious about the start of the Sixth Form and the arrival of many new girls. Now I have new friendships.” – Lucy
Dronfield has continued to be a special place, where independence is cultivated, and friendships have thrived.
Inter-House events have continued to create a sense of belonging and being a part of the team. One of the highlights was winning the inter-house Technology Challenge, which focused on creating a virtual escape room based on the boarding House. The most memorable victory was at the inaugural Tug-of-War event on Sports Day.
Spotlight on Lettings
Fran and Rebecca run our Lettings department at St Peter’s, which helps us to diversify revenue away from fees. As well as running our Holiday Clubs, they organise the rental of our facilities such as the Swimming Pool, Chapel, Sports Halls and larger event spaces for christenings, parties and clubs.
We caught up with Fran and Rebecca to find out more about what they do.
Please tell us about your current job
We manage all new enquiries about hiring space either for one-off events or long term regular hire and take them through the process of site visits, quotations, booking, checking H&S and safeguarding measures are in place and seeking agreement from other related departments where required. For larger more complicated events we pull together event schedules and floorplans for room set-up, arrange AV requirements and liaise with catering. We are also one of the first point of contacts, along with the Chaplain, for any OPs wishing to hold their wedding or christenings at the School.
Summers are very busy here. In the past we have welcomed choral courses, goalkeeping courses, musical theatre groups, rugby 7s, Yorkshire Diamonds and language schools.
Another aspect of our role involves assisting academic staff in organising holiday clubs and specialised academies during school holidays. We handle the bookings, trip arrangements and on-site facilities.
What are the best parts of your role?
At St Peter’s, you truly feel like you are part of a large family. We love being part of a school, particularly one with such a long rich history, and hearing what the pupils are up to.
We are proud that the income we help bring into the School goes towards funding the excellent teaching and co-curricular activities the pupils enjoy.
We also get huge satisfaction in helping local community groups and charities host events and their own fundraising activities.
Whilst we do not get involved generally in pupil/School events, one School Community event we are involved in is the Fireworks Display and we are very excited it is returning in 2024.
What piece of advice would you give to young people about to start in the world of work?
If you already know what you want to do, then that is awesome and helps give you a focus now in your studies. But if you don’t, then that is fine too, just focus on what you enjoy and what you are good at. You will find your path, make sure you make the most of any opportunity that comes your way and find your passion, you never know where this may lead.
Babs reaches 40 years at Wentworth Boarding House Barbara Cartwright, affectionately known as Babs, has been working at St Peter’s School for 40 years this year. She has been an integral part of Wentworth for this time, ensuring a home away from home for generations of junior boarders.
She has created lifelong memories for everyone who comes through Wentworth, and is loved and respected by pupils across all years. Congratulations to Babs for reaching such an impressive milestone, and the whole school would like to thank you for your commitment to our community and to our pupils.
Nora reaches 40 years of service at St Peter’s! Affectionately known as Mrs T having run our school Tuck Shop for many years, Nora’s is a face that many will recognise.
From her days in the School Uniform Shop, Tuck Shop, a parent of children in the school and now as an invaluable member of staff at 2-8 helping with after school clubs, Nora has had an impact on generations of pupils and staff across all three schools.
Returning OPs often ask after Mrs T when they come to visit or look round the school for their own children, and many share fond memories of buying bright blue ice pops, being told exactly how short the Uniform skirt should be, and the days when Freddos were still 10p.
St Peter’s School has been at the heart of York for almost 1,400 years and we are proud to support our local community.
As well as providing the best education that we can for our own pupils, St Peter’s seeks to act as a force for good to the great city of York and wider region. In doing so, we employ over 300 people, boost the local economy, provide extra learning opportunities for the community, and raise money for charities through pupil-led fundraising initiatives.
CHARITY SUPPORT
Leeds Children’s Heart Surgery Fund
In Christmas term, representatives of Leeds Children’s Heart Surgery Fund collected their cheque from 8-13. Last year, the charity was selected because its work has directly helped pupils in our community. The school raised £7673.33 through events such as its second handbook sale, grab a jar sale and the J5 Enterprise Project.
The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund wanted to thank everyone who got involved: “We are so incredibly grateful to everyone that’s got involved with St Peters 8-13 fundraising in support of CHSF. These donations will help us to continue our vital work supporting babies, children and adults affected by CHD.”
The pupils loved meeting a life-size version of the Katie Bear who gratefully accepted the cheque and will deliver support to those who need it most.
Breast Cancer Awareness
During Breast Cancer Awareness Week, St Peter’s pupils and staff chose a day to wear pink to show their support. Head of School, Minnie, spoke in assembly to tell her mother’s story of fighting Breast Cancer. She described her mum’s diagnosis and how she had a full mastectomy whilst balancing four children and a full-time job. She emphasised the importance of checking for lumps, no matter how big or small, in breast tissue and how breast cancer can affect men too.
The Brilliant Breakfasts
In the Christmas Term, St Peter’s 8-13 and St Peter’s 13-18 held their own Brilliant Breakfasts for parents and pupils at drop-off.
On Friday, pupils at 8-13 sold croissants and coffee in the main reception, much to the delight of parents on the early school run. The following day, St Peter’s Sixth Form pupils organised a similar breakfast for the parents at 13-18. Between the two events, St Peter’s was able to raise over £580!
The aim of the Brilliant Breakfast campaign is to raise funds to support young women to live, learn and earn. Money goes to The Prince’s Trust charity, which helps disadvantaged young women get into work, education or training which can help them turn their lives around.
Zarach
Last year, the 2-8 school charity was Zarach. In November we received a letter from the team there, thanking us for the final donation, which across the year including uniform sales amounted to an incredible £12,533.
International Men’s Day
Upper Sixth pupil Lucas gave a talk in assembly before International Men’s Day on Sunday 19 November. To further raise awareness that week, Mr McTurk gave a talk to boy boarders about mental health, a donut sale for York Mind was held at break, and Nick Stephen (OP) gave a talk in chapel. Throughout the week, the Sixth Form boys wore blue wristbands to spread the message: ‘It’s Okay Not To Be Okay’.
In March we celebrated International Women’s Day across the school. The theme of this year’s IWD was ‘Inspire Inclusion’, and it was the focus across the school from older pupils partnering with Yorkits, the York Rotary Club, and York Minster to make washable feminine hygiene products that some of our pupils will take to communities in Cambodia this summer, to Mrs Clarke being visited by some passionate Year 2 pupils who wanted to share their thoughts on how we ensure inclusion for girls and boys in our clubs and at playtimes.
Movember
St Peter’s once again took part in fundraising for Movember. The Sixth Form boys and staff are allowed to grow their moustache for one month to raise awareness and funds for men’s health. All pupils were welcomed to raise money in their own way, by Mo-ving for Movember. At the end of the month, we were proud to have raised over £2,000 for Movember.
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A pupil led 24 hour swim raised over £4,000 for the Better Lives charity with an astonishing 67 participants (19 staff and 46 pupils) and a collective 18,057 lengths swum which is the equivalent of 452km or 282 miles. Thank you to Sixth Form pupils Victoria, Oliver and Polly for organising.
FOSP Venetian Ball
In May, our 2-8 Friends of St Peter’s committee organised a fabulous Venetian Ball in the Memorial Hall. The drinks reception was held on the Music School Lawn, and was followed by a delicious three course dinner. Thank you to the 2-8 FOSP for organising such a wonderful event, and thank you to all who attended to raise money for FOSP and the 2-8 School Charity for 2023-2024, The Yorkshire Children’s Charity.
Easter gifts
Across 2-18 we collected Easter eggs and chocolates from our community, as part of a local charity initiative. Our helpful Easter Bunnies from 2-8 packed up a van full of treats for Grange Farm School in Leeds, with some guessing that we had collected between 123 and 6 million eggs, and worrying that the weight of them would pop the van’s tyres! Luckily, they all made it safely.
The York ISSP
The York Independent State School Partnerships (ISSP) continued to grow this academic year, and we remain incredibly proud to be a part of it.
Mr Walker has continued in the role as Chair for the second year and together with the Headteacher of one of our partner schools, Mr Eastaugh from Vale of York, represented the ISSP at the Partnerships Conference in London. This academic year, the ISSP programme delivered the annual Year 7 Breakthrough Event which was held at St Peter’s School with over 100 students from the 13 ISSP schools. The students watched guest speakers deliver what they perceive to be the greatest breakthrough by mankind in history and then worked in groups with students from different schools to debate and ask questions before the winner, voted by the students, was announced. This provided a great introduction to the ISSP for Year 7 pupils across the city. Mrs Grindley, Assistant Head of Classics & ISSP Coordinator at St Peter’s, delivered the winning speech on her topic of Aqueducts.
St Peter’s also hosted two of the ISSP 7/8 series of lectures delivered termly to inspire students in a range of different topics, and the Yr 7/8 Masterclasses saw a 33% partnership-wide growth from 22/23 and a 25% growth in the number of students attending from St Peter’s. The students experienced a carousel of masterclasses within their chosen category (STEM, Arts and Humanities and Creative). One of the masterclasses was led by St Peter’s teacher, Mrs McAleese.
The Yr 9-11 Masterclasses saw double the number of pupils visit us over three Saturday afternoons for their chosen masterclass. There were six classes to choose from and two of the masterclasses were led by St Peter’s teachers (Ms Middleton and Mr Parr).
We began the second year of the Business and Enterprise Project with 38 students registered partnership-wide. The project is led by three teachers including two from St Peter’s (Mr Battersby and Ms Rigby). They will be supported by a team of four local business leaders who will help mentor the students throughout the project culminating in a pitch event, where they hope to once again impress judges with their presentations, business acumen and communication skills. This project is supported and funded by the York Merchant Adventurers.
Other ISSP events have included the Maths Excellence Club (y=mx+c) which has been attended by four talented mathematicians from St Peter’s in J5 and Third Form, and the Year 7-10 2024 Summer School which was held at St Peter’s. Mrs McAleese (Head of Classics at St Peter’s School) led the delivery of the week itself on behalf of the ISSP which offered a record number of masterclasses including those delivered by teachers from St Peter’s.
Public Lectures
This year we had a jam packed schedule of public lectures, which are all organised by our Head of Politics Mr Fuller, some in partnership with the York Literature Festival. All events run through the public lecture programme are free to the St Peter’s community, and open to the public.
Thank you to Mr Fuller for organising another year of stimulating and enriching public lectures for the wider York community to enjoy.
Christmas Term saw the return of the programme, and we welcomed author and physics teacher David Hutchings to discuss the findings of his book ‘Of Popes and Unicorns’. He described the relationship between science and religion through time, including misconstrued stories about Galileo, Christopher Columbus and the library of Alexandria.
In October, we heard award-winning author of ‘Room’ and ‘The Wonder’, Emma Donoghue in conversation with writer and friend Fiona Shaw, discussing her new book ‘Learned by Heart’. The audience were captivated as Emma read an excerpt from her book which is a remarkable piece of historical fiction capturing the relationship between Yorkshire’s Anne Lister (or Gentleman Jack) and her first love, Eliza Raine. This fantastic event was quickly followed by author Rick Broadbent visiting St Peter’s to discuss his ‘biography of Yorkshire’. In conversation with our Head of Politics Ben Fuller, exiled Yorkshireman Rick shared stories about his own experience of his native county.
In the final instalment of the York Literature Festival for the term, St Peter’s hosted Professor Emma Smith in conversation with Rob O’Connor. Emma discussed ‘bookhood’, which is a definition which is referred to abundantly throughout her own work. She spoke about her recent book release ‘Portable Magic’ which offers a history of reading, the magic behind books and why they are so important.
In the Easter Term, we welcomed Caroline Quentin, who took us on a journey through her love of gardening, beginning with growing flowers in primary school. She described how the hobby allows her an escape from her sociable career and gives her a sense of agency which she does not have when acting. We were next joined by Iain Dale who spoke about his book ‘Kings and Queens’ which charts the history of England’s monarchy, and includes 64 essays by journalists, historians and politicians detailing every individual to have sat on the throne, as well as some who didn’t quite make it. As part of the York Literature Festival in March, Iain and his panel of contributors to the book considered the success and failure of different monarchs, what they tell us about British history and why our monarchy has endured.
In the next lecture, Chris Mullin, the celebrated diarist and former MP brought his trademark wit and keen eye for the absurd to the politics of the last turbulent decade. His new book, ‘Didn’t You Use To Be Chris Mullin?’, includes St Peter’s School in the index, after having visited the school for another public lecture previously. Our Head of Politics, Ben Fuller, discussed this book with Chris, and his newest, ‘Error of Judgement’.
Chris returned in the following lecture as he sat down with the award-winning political journalist Rafael Behr to discuss his personal journey from despair to hope that there is a better way for our politics. Admitting his generation was ‘lucky’ to come of age when they did, Behr gives his account of studying French and Russian at Oxford University and his work as a political correspondent abroad.
On the final night of the York Literature Festival Events hosted at St Peter’s, we welcomed the hilarious Natalie Haynes to talk about her passion for Greek mythology. Before the lecture, Natalie spoke to a group of classics students from St Peter’s and other schools as part of the ISSP programme. As an author with a degree in classical literature and stand-up comedian, Natalie then delivered an incredibly engaging talk that had the audience in stitches whilst showcasing her in-depth knowledge of the twists and turns of the myths and legends that fascinate so many of us thousands of years later.
Finally, in the Summer Term more than 300 attendees made it to the York Festival of Ideas sold-out event, In Conversation with Frank Gardner, hosted at St Peter’s. Frank, a bestselling author and BBC Security correspondent, took questions from Elly Fiorentini of BBC Radio York, entertaining the crowd with insights and stories from his incredible life and career as well as discussing his latest book, ‘Invasion’, a chillingly real, international thriller.
St Peter’s Christmas Science Lecture 2023 – ‘The Seven Ages’
In this year’s annual Science Christmas Lecture, the St Peter’s Science departments honoured the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s first folio. The lecture was based around Shakespeare’s words from ‘As You Like It’, about the ‘Seven Ages of Man’.
Physics began by explaining where the atoms come from that unite to eventually form a baby – Starting with the Big Bang – and showing some experiments from the very birth of science, including Heron’s Fountain. Biologists dramatized the process of fertilisation and discussed the origin of life, and four billion years of evolution, in just a few minutes.
Chemists demonstrated zinc fireworks and explained how this links to zinc reactions, which happen when an egg is successfully fertilised. We also saw lots of colourchanging chemistry and demonstrations of the use of smart materials in nappies.
A chemistry judge put Fritz Harber on trial for inventing the Harber process and its effects on crop production, and amongst other things high explosives, concluding with a beautiful Ammonia fountain demonstration.
‘The Soldier’ gave the physics department an excuse to demonstrate a confetti cannon and a vacuum cannon to dramatic effect. Then Biology and Physics joined forces to discuss the eyesight of the Pantaloon. Audience volunteers were challenged to experience the world as we truly see it, using upside-down goggles.
Concluding the lecture, Physics demonstrated the magical reverse entropy trick, to aid a discussion of the cyclic nature of the cosmos.
Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell opens the Bell Burnell Laboratory
On 29th January we were joined by distinguished astrophysicist Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, whose groundbreaking work in the field of radio astronomy has left an enduring mark on the scientific community. We were honoured to have her visit St Peter’s and officially reveal the re-named physics Bell Burnell Laboratory, which we hope will be an inspiration to aspiring physicists, especially female ones, for years to come. Our Head Master Mr Walker introduced Dame Jocelyn to the small crowd gathered to witness the reveal, which included members of staff, pupils, members of the local scientific community and pupils from the ISSP who study astronomy as part of the programme.
Later, we opened the Pascal building up to members of the public who came to see exhibitions from York University, the York Astronomical Society, the Institute of Physics, and St Peter’s teachers.
At 8pm, Dame Jocelyn delivered a truly fantastic talk, entitled ‘You are made of star stuff’, to our school community and members of the public. All 400 free tickets were claimed for the talk, which was a testament to the excitement at having such an esteemed guest to the school.
Head of Science, Mr Parr said: “It was great to see so many people here on Monday evening, from all generations, enjoying the wonders of Science, Technology and Astronomy. Dame Jocelyn was very generous with her time, chatting with many of our visitors and giving a real boost of inspiration to us all.”
Music Outreach
Music Outreach has been thriving this year, with Cross Keys choir rehearsing on Saturdays in term time and growing in numbers. Mrs Craven ran ‘Breakfast Beats’ with Burton Green Primary up to twice a term. They arrive at 9.30 for a hearty breakfast and then pupils spend the morning singing – all based on different themes. Mrs Hayden continued our partnership with Burton Green supporting their particaption in ‘Young Voices’. Our Year 2 pupils also took part in Musical Connections sessions in our local community. This is a charity we have worked with for years, running intergenerational music sessions around the city. Both our children and the local residents get so much out of the sessions making music together.
Maths in the community
We hosted our annual Year 6 Masterclass which saw 15 of our J3s joined by pupils from several local primary schools to tackle some engaging and challenging task on sequences and our Year4/5 team maths competition which saw two of our teams go head-to-head with pupils from local school. The enthusiasm and excitement were palpable.
Miss Fell, KS2 Maths Co-ordinator and event organiser, reported: “The children showed great enthusiasm, a real sense of wanting to know more and resilience when faced with an unfamiliar situation.”
Pupils said:
“So that’s what Pascal’s triangle is all about.”
“The pile of apples helped me to visualise cubic numbers.”
“It can’t be time to go already!”
Physics Olympics
St Peter’s hosted 27 visiting schools for the 17th annual Physics Olympics competition for Year 8 pupils. The team took part in an array of physics and maths challenges, problem solving and practical skills. There were five different laboratory-based challenges in all, and a very challenging Fermi Quiz! Our own team of J5s performed well and finished in overall Third place. The pupils were all superb ambassadors for the school. They encouraged and supported the visiting Year 8 children and helped them to have a brilliant day.
Mr Parr, Head of Science at St Peter’s shared his insights on the day: “The Olympics involved a huge amount of teamwork from many colleagues in science and other areas of the school. We also had lots of help from Lower Sixth physicists who were superb ambassadors for the school – my thanks go to all of them. My thanks also go to all the teams who attended this year and their teachers who organised for their visit today, and to everybody who helped to make this year’s competition a great success.”
In February, Upper Sixth pupil Lauren embarked on a 275-mile journey from Leeds to Edinburgh in seven days. She ran four ultra marathons and cycled 168 miles in order to raise funds for MND. Inspired by Kevin Sinfield’s seven in seven marathon challenge, Lauren pushed herself to the extreme to raise awareness and funds for both the Doddie Weir Foundation and Rob Burrow Centre for MND.
Lauren has grown up watching Scotland Rugby with her dad, following closely the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation and naming her cocker spaniel after Doddie. Since the rugby player’s death, figures such as Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield have continued to work towards a cure. Recently, Kevin Sinfield finished a leg of his marathon challenge at York Minster, where our pupils supported and collected donations for MND.
Despite a serious knee injury last year, Lauren was determined to make a difference and test her physical and mental strength. She committed to training hard, eating properly and becoming as physically fit as possible.
She completed 436.03km of running and cycling, beginning at Headingley Stadium and making it to Murrayfield Stadium by day seven. She was joined by various members of staff, including Head of Sport Chris McTurk, and Pastoral Deputy Head Tracey Mounter. With her for the whole journey was Peterite legend Paddy Stephen and her physio.
Day one saw Lauren run 43.94km (27.3 miles) from Headingley to St Peter’s. Day two included a 100.61km (62.5 miles) cycle from St Peter’s to Rockcliffe Hall, before running on day three, 42.73km (26.5 miles) from Rockcliffe to the Graham Sports Centre. The journey continued on bike to Otterburn, stretching 89.55km (55.7 miles) and on day five, Lauren reached Jedburgh on foot after 42.5km (26.4 miles). On day six, Lauren completed her final bike ride to Middleton, which took 73.98km (46.1 miles). On the seventh and final day of the challenge she ran 42.71km (26.5 miles) to Murrayfield Stadium before 4pm, ready for kick off of the Six Nations.
Lauren saw a huge outpouring of support from family and friends of the St Peter’s community. Some familiar faces have also wished her luck, including MND campaigner Kevin Sinfield, England football manager Gareth Southgate, former Lions and Scotland Rugby captain Gavin Hastings, former Scotland Rugby Union player Scott Hastings and England cricket player and Old Peterite Johnny Bairstow.
Lauren achieved her goal, entering Edinburgh Accies ground just after 1.30 on the Saturday. Many of the OP community and local businesses supported Lauren so that every penny raised on her Go Fund Me page will go to MND.
The message to Lauren from Rob Burrow puts the whole extraordinary team effort into perspective. Not only has she raised nearly £20,000 but she has also raised the profile of MND. We are so proud of Lauren and her incredible determination to complete this challenge in the name of such a brilliant cause.
Our pupils take an active interest in the world around them, and lead on tackling challenges to help us be a diverse, respectful, and sustainable school. It’s always inspiring to see what young people can achieve when they put their hearts into making the world a better place.
Great British Spring Clean
35 students from Third Form to Sixth Form joined the Great British Spring Clean over two days this year. They spent 70 minutes collecting litter in our local area to celebrate 70 years of the charity Keep Britain Tidy, clearing a total of four large black bin liners of discarded rubbish.
In the Summer Term at 8-13, a team of enthusiastic pupils joined the Modeshift club, which aimed to encourage as many parents and pupils as possible to travel to school in more active and sustainable ways. Led by Mr Mason, who is the school’s designated Travel Plan Coordinator, the pupils collaborated with the Modeshift organisation to create their own campaign to raise awareness of sustainable travel.
They started by designing their very own posters, creating characters for each form of travel they were encouraging our community to use. They then printed and put these up all around school, advertising that if a pupil travelled to school via one of their suggested ways on each Friday in June, they would receive a sticker and a free breakfast on the Friday of that week. They presented in assembly to raise awareness and created some healthy competition by announcing that the House that had the most stickers from travelling in actively would receive ice creams at the end of term. The uptake was fantastic, and we saw so many pupils getting really excited about the different ways they could make changes to travel more actively.
York House won the overall competition, and very happily tucked into their ice creams with the Modeshift team. They were so successful, that as a school we received the rating of “Good” from the Modeshift organisation, which is now proudly displayed as a framed certificate in school.
Remembrance Day
On November 11th we had our Remembrance Day service in Chapel, led by our Chaplin Daniel Jones, with wonderful address by Oliver Gardner – an Old Peterite and ex-serviceman. The choir sang ‘A Gaelic Blessing’ by John Rutter, there was a bible reading by Ella and prayers were led by Vinnie and Lexie before the last post was played beautifully by Bea. The school showed great compassion throughout the service, which was also attended by parents. The poppy collections across all three schools and Festival Tea raised over £1,000.
Mrs Watson organised a memorial walk for J3. Pupils learnt of the history of the memorial as well as taking part in a brief service there. Noah read the poem ‘Flanders Fields’ and Joe said a short prayer. Evie, Bella, James, and Hugo laid a wreath on behalf of the year group with the message “This wreath is laid for all those who fought for us, and our lives”. This was a rather poignant moment for J3 as they had studied World War 1 in History and the book ‘Armistice Runner’ in English. Students then had the opportunity to search for ancestors’ names on the memorial and pay their respects to all those who fought in the war. We returned to school walking along the river via the Memorial Gardens.
Christmas Trees at the Minster
In December, the 2-8 School Council took part in the Christmas tree decorating festival at York Minster, where they took handmade decorations made by pupils across 2-8 and carefully hung them on our own tree. The decorations this year were paper folded angels and stick Christmas trees which were chosen for the children to learn new skills and to understand the need to re-use materials. The School Council were respectful and very well behaved throughout the trip and were very excited and proud to see their handmade decorations in York Minster!
Raising the Wreath
2-8 pupils had another opportunity to go to York Minster, to take part in the “raising of the wreath”. This was a wonderful moment for the children, as they gathered to help the York Minster team add the advent candles and then lift the stunningly huge Advent Wreath as if by magic to hang above their heads! Children took turns to add the candles in groups (which were taller than most of them!), before calling “Up, up, up!” as the wreath was hoisted into place.
Holi Festival
St Peter’s Reception ended the Easter Term with a celebration of the Holi Festival, covering themselves and others in a colourful paint powder and running around happily with their friends.
Ramadan
In assembly at 2-8, pupil Adam assisted Mrs Clarke in telling his fellow pupils all about Islam and his faith. Pupils learnt all about Ramadan and Eid, and Adam showed them his prayer mat and his prayers. He delivered his assembly with such confidence and clarity, and all the adults and children were so interested and impressed. A big thank you to Adam and to his family for helping him to prepare.
St Peter’s 8-13 spent a week celebrating World Book Day. It was fantastic to see the pupils getting into the spirit of things by taking part in all the activities.
The “Redesign and Recommend” competition, where pupils redesign the cover of a book they have enjoyed on a blank postcard and write a recommendation for it on the back, had an avalanche of entries. They also had a “Teacher Trackdown” on World Book Day itself, where brave members of staff volunteered to be hunted by pupils throughout the day to find out which of the ten favourite books on a sheet was theirs, and why it was one of their favourites. It was wonderful seeing so much book chat between students and staff. There were many recommendations shared, and many eyes opened to new books and new possibilities.
The Scholastic Book fair earned £1,710, which got the school to the 60% rewards target –the highest level! – and means they earned back £1,026 worth of books for the 8-13 library.
In 2-8 the children all dressed up as characters from their favourite book. We saw some amazing outfits in the playground, including Emmeline Pankhurst, the little girl from ‘Paper Dolls’ with her tiger slippers, and a wonderful Sam from ‘The Other Side of the Mountain’, complete with a peregrine falcon and an outfit he helped sew with his mum. In Nursery, the children were treated to “The Tiger Who Came to Tea” afternoon tea, with sandwiches and biscuits they helped make in the morning.
National Poetry Day at 8-13
On National Poetry Day 2023, a number of 8-13 pupils and staff performed poems in the 8-13 library. Some of these were their own work, whilst others chose their favourite piece. It was fantastic to see the confidence in our pupils from J1 to J5 in practising their public speaking.
Curiosity leads the way in St Peter’s 2-8, as the thematic approach to learning gives each class an exciting new theme each term and can be shaped by the interests and passions of the pupils. We try to immerse students in their theme and let them explore every aspect, becoming ‘experts’ as the term goes on.
Fire Engine Visit to Acorns and Conkers
During the Christmas Term, firefighters visited our nursery and showed the pupils their kit, truck and ladders. They answered many questions and may have inspired some potential future firefighters.
Hatchlings at 2-8
In March, our Reception classes were lucky to receive duckling eggs, which quickly turned into five very cute little ducklings! The children showed the birds
love and care, being very gentle with them and even making them a cosy sofa to sit on. They continued their learning by taking a trip to the Birds of Prey Centre, where they heard lots of interesting facts about different types of birds and saw a huge golden eagle and falconry display.
Nursery were also excited to receive some chicken eggs, which hatched into little chicks. Acorns pupils learnt the chick song, practised walking like chickens and
even pretended to lay their own eggs! As the chicks got older, they were able to handle them gently, and feed them.
Sam’s Safari
Sam’s Safari brought some interesting creatures for the children at 2-8 to learn about in May. Pupils met Tony the bearded dragon, as well as a whole host of reptiles and invertebrates! The children loved the opportunity to learn about where these creatures came from.
The annual STEAM week is held to inspire the children and promote Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths and demonstrate the links between these key subjects, and particularly that creativity and the sciences go hand in hand. Leonardo da Vinci – artist, inventor, engineer and architect – summed this up in his famous quote, “To develop a complete mind: Study the science of art; Study the art of science. Learn to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else.”
St Peter’s 2-8 began the week with a special guest – Poppy, Jack and Charlie’s mum Rachael who told the children all about her job as a design engineer for the Google Pixel phone. The children were fascinated hearing about how many different skills and people collaborating it takes to create a phone, and that a person of any gender can do any job. This is a great message for encouraging both girls and boys to be interested in STEAM.
Throughout the week the children enjoyed a series of STEAM challenges, including making their own water clock and creating a time lapse video, plus a task to design, build and test a way of moving tomatoes without squashing them. In addition, the children had a go at becoming non-fiction book illustrators. Many thanks to Mrs Johnson, Mrs Hall, Mr Allen and Miss Carless for organising such a fabulous week of STEAM activities.
Outdoor Learning and Forest School
Outdoor learning continues to spark joy at 2-8, with opportunities to explore in abundance at our 50-acre campus. Our children have free opportunities to spend time in nature every day. From bug hunts to mud kitchens, den building to imaginary play, they’re constantly exploring, creating and discovering. Each class also continues to spend a session a week down at Forest School, which is an amazing resource we are lucky to share.
The class assemblies that took place to parents and pupils at the end of the year were hugely impressive, with Mrs Clarke commenting: “The assemblies have shown that children at 2-8 are authors, scientists, mathematicians, engineers, innovators, historians, geographers, performers, artists, composers, poets and more, but most importantly are creative thinkers, problem solvers and collaborators. I was incredibly proud of all of the children who shared their learning from the term and teaching me plenty of new facts.”
As pupils move through 8-13, we maintain a focus on trying new ideas, interests and challenges and learning from mistakes to grow our knowledge and skills. Building resilience, collaboration and critical thinking at this formative stage in their education journey sets them up for a successful future both as individuals and as a part of a team.
HISTORY ACROSS 8-13
The J1s all enjoyed their special themed Anglo-Saxon and Mayan Days – an opportunity to dress up and spend the day first as Anglo-Saxons then as the Mayan people. They cooked flat bread, made clay brooches, decorated masks, and created brightly coloured headdresses, all enjoying the immersive experience.
The J2s had an exciting Egyptian day to celebrate the end of their fun topic. The corridors were bursting with a rainbow of brightly coloured children. Some of the children dressed up in dazzling costumes of Egyptian pharaohs and queens. J2Z wrote: “We wrapped our friends up to look like mummies – The Egyptian ones! It was hilarious as we pretended to be terrified as the mummies came after us!”
In February, pupils at 8-13 took part in NSPCC Rocks. This required children to correctly answer as many multiplication and division questions as possible, to give their class and school the best chance of winning. The competition was fierce, with 85,849,445 questions answered collectively by 277,437 pupils from more than 3,870 schools and 22,268 classes around the country!
Our school stats were astonishing too. On average our top class answered 519 questions correctly per pupil, with the best performing pupil answering an amazing 2,890 questions correctly in total. Our top class was Mrs Godley’s J2 maths group and the top three performing pupils across the school were Max (J2), Norman (J2) and Anu (J4).
UKMT Junior Maths Challenge
More than 130 pupils across J4 and J5 took part in the UKMT Junior Maths Challenge this year. This is an interesting and challenging national maths competition providing pupils in J4 and J5 with the opportunity to apply their mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and
fluency. Around 200,000 students take part every year, which is around the top 20% of Year 7 and 8 in the UK. Of these, the top 25% in the UK received a bronze certificate, with only the top 16% awarded silver and the top 8% awarded gold.
We are delighted to have been able to present an impressive 23 gold awards, 18 silver awards and 51 bronze awards. Alex A’s result was the best in J5 and the school and Jake E’s was best in J4.
UKMT Junior Kangaroo and Junior Mathematical Olympiad
Around the top 10,000 pupils in the country are invited to take part in the Kangaroo, and 12 of our pupils across J4 and J5 entered on 11 June, and only the top 1,200 pupils in the country are invited to take on the Junior Mathematical Olympiad, of which we had two pupils enter. They all worked so hard to answer a range of challenging and difficult maths problems. Huge congratulations go to Jake (J4), Eren (J5), Bryn (J5) and Ivana (J5) who all secured a Certificate of Merit which is only presented to the top 25% of entrants. We also celebrate Jake who secured the accolade of best in year and Eren who performed best in school. Bertie (J3) achieved a silver award for
J3 have enjoyed studying some history that supports their English texts this year. In the Autumn term, they learned all about the Great War whilst reading the Armistice Runner. In the spring, they explored the Tudor world, developing an understanding of the context for Shakespeare’s plays whilst studying ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’.
J4 had the opportunity to think about the question “What is history?” before embarking on their study of the Medieval World and doing brilliant research projects on Mughal India.
J5 studied the birth of the modern world, exploring the Industrial Revolution, the growth of democracy and the rise and fall of the British Empire.
competing in the MA PMC bonus round which saw just under 800 pupils nationally recognised at this level. What a wonderful reward for all his preparations and endeavours.
Alex’s Maths Success
During Easter term Alex in J5 joined pupils at 13-18 to take part in the UKMT intermediate maths challenge. His performance this year was nothing short of excellent. He had 60 minutes to answer 25 multiple-choice questions which encourage mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency. Alex scored an impressive 106 in total which was the joint highest score in the school and earned him a gold certificate.
He then went on to the UKMT Cayley Olympiad which took place in March where he achieved the Yorkshire and Humber Best in Region. Alex was the highest scoring student in each UK region. This is an exceptional achievement, well done Alex.
Pi Day
The Annual Pi Day was once again a source of huge excitement for the children, with a plethora of activities across the year groups getting them excited about the number Pi. The main event was of course the lunch time Pi recall competition, which had grown in numbers once again! Seventeen pupils entered this year, with an overall average of Pi recalled to 78 places, and the highest number being Pi recalled to 201 places! That is 27 more places than last year.
Overall junior winner and best in school: Edmund F
Overall senior winner: Alex A
In Computer Science, learning has centred around programming. J4 has learnt more Python and J5 have moved on to programming graphical user interfaces. All J4 and some J5 took part in the Bebras computing challenge, with more pupils than ever getting distinctions this year. Special awards go to Alex in J5 and Isla
in J4 who got ‘best in school’. J4 and J5 have also been doing the iDEA award, a digital certification where they completed badges on different computing topics. Many achieved their bronze award, and two pupils completed the silver award.
In February, a team of J4 and J5 pupils competed in the VEX robotics competition. They built a good robot to collect and store blocks, coming mid table in their regional qualifier and just missing out on going to the regional finals. This was our first attempt at the competition, and they learnt a lot which they can take into next year’s competition. Well done to Alex, Chan, Matty, Alexander, Eren, Oscar, Fionn and Magnus for their work at the competition, and also to Bryn and Jake who could not make the regional finals date but played a key part in building the robot.
In J1-3 pupils have been doing more media-based projects, creating 3D houses and designing videos. Some of the best spreadsheet work yet has been completed by J3 learning about functions and conditional formatting.
Author Alex Foulkes visit St Peters 8-13 Children’s author Alex Foulkes visited St Peters 8-13 to the delight of pupils and staff alike. In the morning, J1-3 were joined by Years 3-5 from Burton Green Primary to hear Alex talk about her spooky, funny, and exciting book series, ‘Rules for Vampires’.
Albert in J1 said: “It was really exciting because we got to meet the author and have some conversations with her!”
York Book Award
During World Book Week, pupils from Senior Book Club who had taken part in the York Book Award were invited to enjoy two workshops from Jason Cockcroft, one of the York Book Award shortlisted authors. They enjoyed a writing and illustration workshop. Miss Paver, who was there with them said:
“It was wonderful to see the students engaged and curious about illustration as an art form, and I was really impressed with the questions they were inspired to ask.”
At the end of the week St Peter’s 8-13 hosted the York Book Award prizegiving ceremony. Pupils from seven schools across York joined us in the Shepherd Hall to celebrate the joy and creativity that can come from reading.
We were honoured to be joined by the Mayor of York the Reverend Councillor Chris Culliwick, the Lady Mayoress Mrs Joy Culliwick, the Sheriff of York Sue Hunter, and her consort Nigel Patrick Goodwin, who took part in the award by announcing the winner of the Student Review Prize and giving the closing statement.
We were also joined in person by Ann Sei Lin, last year’s winner and this year’s host, and shortlisted authors Jason Cockcroft (author of ‘Running With Horses’) and Frances Hardinge (author of ‘Unraveller’), who each told us a little about their books and answered questions from students. We were also joined by Robin Stevens (author of ‘The Ministry of Unladylike Activity’) and Andy Ruffell (author of ‘Lily Grim and the City of Undone’) on Zoom and watched a short video from Simon James Green (author of ‘Finn Jones Was Here’). The afternoon ended on a high as Jason Cockcroft was announced the winner with his marvellous book ‘Running With Horses’.
The pupils had a brilliant time listening to the authors and appreciating the Student Creative Prize entries which were on display in the Foyer. Stella in J5 was announced the overall winner of the Student Creative Prize for her beautiful sculpture of a heron, and Isla (J5), Amara (J5) and Lucy (J5) were all also awarded commendations for their reviews and creative entries.
English across 8-13
The J3s have loved tackling Armistice Runner in the Christmas term and spending time with a drama for writing expert looking at flashbacks, as well as visiting the York war memorial near the Minster on Armistice day itself. J1 and J2 visited the theatre in Leeds in January to see Oliver and have loved the opportunities created to bring their English work into a range of other subjects. J2 were busy inventing a new Mr Men or Little Miss story in Christmas Term. The J2s then read their stories to some of the Year 3’s including a few younger brothers and sisters.
J4 tackled ‘Macbeth’ which they really threw themselves into and did some incredible work comparing different versions of the play and exploring characters; they were able to also travel to Leeds Playhouse and see a phenomenal performance of the play which was incredibly inclusive. Alongside this, the year group attended a screening during the Aesthetica Film festival as inspiration for writing film reviews. J5 took on some Gothic literature with ‘The Woman in Black’; this was a great opportunity as the West End show was on tour, so they all went to be slightly scared in January!
They also learnt about Syrian food and made some flatbreads and falafel, inspired by the novel ‘Other Words for Home’, and are finishing the year on a media project: designing, storyboarding and filming adverts, websites, letters and linking up with the DT and ICT departments for their final half term project of Enterprise.
YCT Public Speaking Competition
Bella O and Ella S-J represented the school in the YCT Public Speaking competition. The girls exhibited great bravery and courage speaking in the prestigious Merchant Adventurer’s Hall and truly embodied St Peter’s learning habits of collaboration, resourcefulness and resilience. The pair presented themselves
as confident, polished and articulate public speakers against what proved to be fierce competition. A huge congratulations to the girls who did themselves, and the school, proud!
We’ve had another very exciting year in Classics and Latin lessons with a wide range of topics covered, ranging from Odysseus and his encounter with the oneeyed giant Cyclops, Orpheus’ foray into the depths of the Underworld, and the Roman invasion and conquest of Britain to the thrilling, action-packed fights of the gladiators in the Roman Colosseum.
J2s enjoyed their Roman learning Day by welcoming their parents to school with a performance that entertained and brought the past to life. A dramatic opening signified the march of the Roman Empire, and the performance ended with a trip to the gladiatorial arena which provided an exhilarating conclusion. After the performance, the children joined their parents in the dining room for a few Roman delicacies. A tour of the form room and an opportunity to look over the children’s books rounded up the afternoon.
The Foreign Language Spelling Bee
The J4 pupils demonstrated their vocabulary knowledge and spelling prowess as they took part in the first round of the national Foreign Language Spelling Bee. Every pupil was asked to learn 50 words in their two chosen languages and was then given the opportunity to show how many of these words they could spell in one minute. Overall, it was very gratifying to see how well our pupils had prepared for the challenge, and the new vocabulary gained will prove very useful in their future language learning. The competition also saw some fantastic performances,
with the top six scorers in each language going through to the second round. The following pupils deserve particular recognition for the time and effort they put into reaching the next stage of the competition: Anu, Arthur, Bea, Emma, Daniel, Heidi, Isla, Grayson, Joanne, Magnus, Mandy and Oliver.
The next stage saw the top six pupils from stage 1 in each language having 150 words to learn to spell accurately and they did a superb job. The speed and accuracy of spelling was the fastest we have ever heard. The very deserving winner in each language then had 200 words to learn ready for the Yorkshire and Humber finals in the spring. The Regional Finalists were Bea (French), Joanne (Spanish) and Arthur (German).
The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators
In March, after focused preparation in class on the unique skills required for creatively translating texts from Spanish, French, German and Mandarin into English, several of our J4 and J5 students submitted strong, independently completed entries to a national translation competition for 11-to-18-year-olds. This competition, The Anthea Bell Prize for Young Translators, is run by Queen’s College at Oxford University.
Hope C (J5) was selected as the area winner for her age category in French. This prestigious competition saw more than 16,000 participants this year, making her achievement even more impressive. Her translation was thoughtfully crafted and stood out among so many.
French and Spanish Reading Competition
Our annual and much-anticipated J5 modern languages reading competitions once again showcased the superb speaking progress of the linguists. The French and Spanish competition took place first and
all pupils performed with lovely effort and focus. We were treated to delightful accents, excellent pronunciation and authentic intonation and the texts being delivered aloud certainly posed some tricky challenges in places! The class winners had stiff competition, but the judges were proud to nominate the below pupils as having particularly outstanding language speaking skills.
French Class Winners: Lily-Anne, Hope, Grace, Edward, Henry
Spanish Class Winners: Sophie, Aimee, Isla, Eren, Analupe, Bruno (Outstanding achievement award).
PSHE
Pupils in all year groups have once again shown their maturity and thoughtfulness in exploring issues connected to their own personal development and becoming the best versions of themselves that they can be through their PSHE programme. J4s enjoyed interactive and informative nutrition workshops with Vanessa
Quarmby, consultant dietitian. They discovered the proportions of each food groups that make up a healthy diet and took part in a sugar quiz which highlighted how much sugar was in a pack of jelly babies. They were all happy to hear that all foods can be enjoyed in moderation!
J4 and 5 looked at the legal side of consent with speakers from the Schools Consent workshop which were led by lawyers. Activities included tearing up a piece of paper and spreading it around the group to show how fast images can spread on social media and role playing a persistent ice cream seller trying to get us to buy certain flavours of ice cream to show we have the right to say no.
To tie in with the General Election, J3-5 looked at democracy and the political system in the UK. They looked at the manifestos of the main political parties and decided how far they agree with them. The following week they had the opportunity to listen to the mock election candidates from the St Peter’s 13-18.
At St Peter’s 13-18 we encourage pupils to be ‘sparky’ by discovering new interests and boosting their learning outside of the classroom. Whatever their passions, pupils have the opportunity and support from teaching staff to pursue them.
The Booker Debate
On Wednesday 22nd November, pupils in Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth gathered in the library for the annual St Peter’s Booker Debate. In teams of two, with a supporting member of staff, pupils delivered expert speeches on why their book, taken from the official Booker longlist, should be voted the best of the year. After listening to brilliant comments on the value of literature and the importance of storytelling, the audience were asked to cast their vote. This year, Tassy and John, along with Ms Jones, were voted the winning team with their book ‘This Other Eden’ by Paul Harding.
Chemistry Olympiad Competition
Once again, pupils entered the Royal Society of Chemistry’s Olympiad competition where their efforts were rewarded with 10 bronze, five silver and two gold awards.
Royal Society of Chemistry’s ‘Top of the Bench’ Quiz
The team of four chemists from St Peter’s came fourth in the Royal Society of Chemistry Top of the Bench Competition held at the University of York. The pupils came together as a team brilliantly and communicated with one another to solve problems, tackle logic challenges and
comprehension tasks. There was much excitement in the lab work sessions with our team managing to ‘pop the top off the canister’ in the reaction of acid with carbonate before it was placed in the cage!
A great experience and many thanks to the University of York for hosting it again.
Les Joutes Oratoires and MFL Debate
St Peter’s hosted the North East rounds of the MFL Sixth Form Debating Competition this year, welcoming more than 30 teams from schools across the region. Competing in French, German, and Spanish, students tackled thought-provoking topics including “everyone should be vegetarian”, “the voting age should be lowered to 16”, “celebrities are a bad influence on young people nowadays” and “online school is better than in-person school”.
The atmosphere was intense yet friendly as participants stepped out of their comfort zones and skilfully debated in a language they are learning at A Level. We entered six teams, each showcasing remarkable performance under pressure. Three of our teams made it to the final round, with representatives in each language category. All of our teams deserve a huge well done for their efforts on the day with a special mention to the German team of Charlotte and Zara and Spanish team of Cris and Ollie, who secured overall second places and our French team of Evie and Bea, who emerged victorious, securing a spot in the prestigious Joutes Oratoires national final that was hosted by the Institut Français on 12 March in London. Congratulations to them for making it to that stage.
The Upper Sixth Spanish pupils travelled to London to see the Spanish play ‘La Casa de Bernarda Alba’. It is written by the famous Spanish author Lorca and was their set text that they study for their A level. We went to the Teatro Cervantes and saw the play brought to life by a group of Spanish actors – all in Spanish. A fantastic opportunity and helpful for their Spanish studies.
On Friday 21 June, our Fourth Form Spanish pupils were treated to a Spanish Cultural Evening. The event got off to a great start as pupils socialised with churros and chocolate!
This was soon followed by a talk by three Old Peterites: Lottie McKelvie (Spanish and Arabic studies at the University of Durham), James Hanson (French and Linguistics graduate from the University of Oxford) and Tim Burgess (German and Russian at the University of St Andrews). The OPs spoke candidly about their varied and valuable experiences of studying languages at university. They also shared their insights on their own study and work opportunities abroad, from Germany to Jordan and Paris. They stressed the importance of communication and analytical skills in the modern world and explained to our pupils how well regarded those with languages are by the business community.
Katie and Isobel from Lower Sixth travelled to Newcastle to compete in the regional final of the National Gallery ARTiculation Competition. This competition involves students choosing a work of art or architecture to speak about. Both speakers were commended for the detail of their research, the quality of their visual materials, and their enthusiasm.
Excitingly, Katie went through to the next round with her talk on Yayoi Kusama. She then travelled to London to compete in the national final, which was held in the British Library. This was the first time St Peter’s has advanced to this stage of the competition. Katie presented and went on to win, which is an incredible achievement for a competition that attracted more than 1,000 participants.
Award-winning author Jessie Burton congratulated Katie for an inspiring and thorough span of the artist’s life and the deep messages of her practice, delivered clearly and passionately. “It was an enormous pleasure to hear Katie speak and we all hope that she is feeling very proud of her amazing achievement.”
Keystone Magazine
The Sixth Form-led school magazine
‘Keystone’ has once again been recognised at a national level in a media competition organised by the Stationers’ Shine School Media Awards. This year, pupils were shortlisted for an incredible five awards which included the best overall digital content, best print and design, best cartoon, best photograph and best fiction writer of the year. Shortlisted pupils Izzy, Lottie and Sherman were invited to meet industry experts at a prestigious award ceremony in London held at the Stationers’ Hall on Monday 1 July. The editing team of Scarlet, Bea and Meriel were all recognised for being ‘committed to giving their peers a voice’, and Keystone was the 2024 winner of the ‘best magazine cover’.
Da Vinci Decathlon
A digital version of the magazine can be found here
On the 12 March, two teams of St Peter’s senior school students took part in the 2024 edition of the da Vinci Decathlon at Ampleforth College. The da Vinci Decathlon is a multi-event competition testing students on their English, Science, Art & Poetry, Code Breaking, Engineering, Ideation, Cartography, Maths & Chess, Creative Drama, and Legacy general knowledge ability. After a gruelling day of competition, St Peter’s Team A were crowned overall winners. Congratulations to the winning team: Connie, Oscar, Constantin, Alex, Sophia, Helena, Otis and Eva.
Intermediate Mathematics Challenge
This challenge is targeted at the top third of pupils in English schools. The question papers are designed to make students
think by using mathematical techniques to solve non-standard problems. In January, 70 of our lower school pupils sat the onehour UKMT intermediate maths challenge paper along with Alex from J5. Fourteen pupils including Alex were awarded a Gold Certificate, 24 a Silver and 26 a Bronze.
Intermediate British Mathematical Olympiad and Kangaroo
Due to their excellent performance in the Maths Challenge, Hannah, Johar, Naomi, Alistair, Ethan, Danny, Tom, Blake, Charlie and Sophie were all invited to sit the European Kangaroo paper. The questions involved thought-provoking situations requiring the use of logic as well as mathematical understanding, and pupils from more than 40 countries in Europe and beyond usually take part. Hannah performed particularly well, achieving a merit.
Alex A and Jian were invited to sit the prestigious United Kingdom Mathematics Trust Intermediate Maths Olympiad following their outstanding performance on the Intermediate Maths Challenge. This national competition sees the best mathematicians in the country attempt incredibly tough questions in a two-hour sitting. Jian achieved a merit and was only three marks away from a distinction.
Senior Mathematics Challenge
This challenge encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency in using mathematical techniques.
In October, 50 St Peter’s Sixth Form pupils took part, along with Fifth Formers Charlie and Tom. Seventeen received Bronze Awards (including Tom), 15 gained Silver, and Gold Certificates were awarded to Chihiro, Jack, Will, Lisha, Haoyu and Amber.
Senior British Mathematical Olympiad and Kangaroo
Each of the pupils awarded a Gold Certificate in the UKMT Senior Maths
Challenge achieved sufficiently high marks to be invited to take part in a higher round of the competition. Amber’s outstanding result meant that she qualified for the Olympiad paper, while the other pupils qualified for the Andrew Jobbing’s Senior Kangaroo.
Year 10 Mathematics Feast
In March Jian, Nash, Will X and Will G competed in the Further Maths Support Programme Year 10 Maths Feast at Bootham School. Maths Feast is a fun educational challenge for Year 10 students which combines mathematical, communication and teamwork skills and offers students another way to express and develop their enjoyment of mathematics. The four pupils worked extremely hard on the set tasks and were praised for their teamwork during the event.
Ritangle Competition and M3 Modelling Challenge
Between October and December, some Lower Sixth pupils took the opportunity to take part in the National MEI Ritangle Team Challenge which involved solving 30 questions which were released at regular intervals and required a range of mathematical and computational skills to solve. Will and Chihiro participated and a team of three pupils (Tristan, Amber and Roman) performed very well indeed, managing to reach the final round. They received an honorary mention on the website alongside other teams who had made it to the final question.
This group added two more to their team (Andy and Harry) to be the first ever St Peters team to take on the international M3 Modelling Challenge in March. This involved investigating the title of ‘A Tale of Two Crises: The Housing Shortage and Homelessness’, developing their own mathematical models to analyse the data and find conclusions to specific questions. This all had to be done within a 24-hour time frame, concluding in a document of more than 30 pages. This involved mathematical graphs, computer coding alongside detailed written analysis. The team did not win but were considered for the technical computing award for their programming skills.
We celebrated another set of fantastic GCSE results this year. Forty six per cent of all grades awarded were 9 or 8 (previously A*), over two thirds were at 9 to 7 (previously A* and A) and 81% of grades from 9 to 6 (previously A* to B).
There were outstanding individual performances with 17 pupils achieving at least 10 grades at 9 or 8. Isabelle collected an extraordinary 12 grade 9s including GCSEs in both Latin and Greek and still found time to sing in the school choir. Boarding room mates Rachel and Maggie achieved 10 and nine grade 9s respectively, inspiring each other not just to study but to take well-deserved breaks to enjoy all of the activities on offer to boarders. Lewis also achieved an amazing 10 grade 9s whilst taking lead roles in school drama productions and the public speaking team. Tom and Sophie both bagged 9 grade 9s each, with Joss, Henry and Taras all receiving eight grade 9s.
Rising cricket star Alex achieved five 9s and five 8s at the same time as being part of the First XI who won the National Schools’ Cup at Lord’s this summer. Eleanor and Millie achieved 13 grade 9s between them whilst playing pivotal roles in the school sports teams.
Creativity is flourishing at St Peter’s with 73% of Music grades and 71% of Art grades at 9 to 8. Bea, Emily and Maggie received commendation from the Art examining board for being amongst the top performers nationally. In other subjects, 72 pupils received a 9 or an 8 in Mathematics as did over half of all pupils who took History GCSE. English Language, Drama and Science all saw strong results this year.
Head Master Jeremy Walker said:
“Huge congratulations to all of the pupils who achieved wonderful results today and to their teachers too. We are so very proud of them for all they have achieved, and they should be thrilled with their results today. This group of pupils makes an enormous contribution to the school, not just in academic success but in sports, drama, music, art and so many other activities to bring spark and enjoyment to school life. They also offer each other a tremendous amount of support, building strong friendships which I hope will last a lifetime.”
“I repeat my thanks to my dedicated colleagues who provide inspirational teaching and unwavering support to every pupil. I also thank parents for working in partnership with us to support their children, together as a strong community.
“Our talented pupils have already made a valuable and diverse contribution to life at St Peter’s School, and now they are taking their next step to Sixth Form when they will be joined by new pupils from other schools. We look forward to seeing their skills, values and interests develop even further.”
At A Level, 82% of grades were at A* to B with 48% at A* to A, with over a quarter of the cohort achieving three or more A Levels at A* to A. St Peter’s has also seen an increase of grades at A* to A and A* to B from last year.
STEM subjects across the board have had a very impressive year, with subjects such as DT, Maths and Physics securing over half of their results at A*/A. Our most popular A Level this year was Mathematics, with 48 pupils in the cohort and 65% achieving an A* or A and all those taking Further Mathematics achieving A* to B.
Art also saw an impressive seven A*s, and 100% of pupils achieving A* to B, and two pupils, Alice and Nadia recognised as national top performers. Modern Foreign Languages saw 80% of grades at A* to A.
The school is proud of the achievements of all pupils, and amongst the excellent results overall, there have been some outstanding individual performances.
Amelia achieved A*A*A, as well as being an accomplished musician and actor, and confirmed her place at the University of Cambridge to study Theology, Religion and Philosophy of Religion.
Ethan received A*s in DT, Mathematics and Physics, and an A in Chemistry. An exceptional STEM student, this year Ethan entered his DT A Level coursework into the National Technology, Design and Innovation competition and will be studying Mechanical Engineering at Durham.
Max secured three A*s in Drama, English and Religious Studies.
Oliver was very pleased with his results of three A*s in Maths, Physics and Biology, another set of very impressive STEM results. Oliver will be attending Durham University to study General Engineering.
William W received his three A*s in Economics, Maths and Physics. He will now go on to study Economics at the University of Edinburgh.
A previous winner of the prestigious Arkwright Scholarship, Scarlett received A*AA in Chemistry, Maths and Physics. She is planning to study chemical engineering in London.
In addition to winning the St Peter’s Award this year, Will M-K gained an impressive four A Levels and one AS, comprising A*AAA and A in Economics, French, Mathematics, Music and Further Maths. Will is a true St Peter’s all rounder, consistently achieving incredible academic results (including 12 9s at GCSE) whilst performing at the highest level in music. Will was BBC Young Chorister of the Year, and holds a Grade 8 in singing, trumpet and piano, and his excellent A Level Music anthem
was performed at the School’s Commemoration Service this year.
Chihiro received A*A*AA in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Chemistry and will be continuing her studies at the University of Edinburgh in Physics.
Cris G-L was thrilled with his AAA results and acceptance to Durham University, which he achieved alongside competing with the school team for the School’s National Cricket Final this year. The players balanced their studies with intense training, and it’s an incredible accomplishment to leave the school with both brilliant grades and a national title.
Such strong results have meant pupils are moving onto excellent opportunities with well over two thirds going to Russell Group and other highly competitive universities in the UK and overseas. For the first year, we have seen Durham University as the most popular choice for our pupils, with an impressive 15 pupils gaining a place there in September.
Jeremy Walker, Head Master says:
“I congratulate all of our Upper Sixth pupils on their results.
“The pupils and their teachers should be proud of the work they have put in over the last two years, and the results they have achieved.
“Alongside achieving excellence in their academic studies, life at St Peter’s is about so much more, and the vast range of co-curricular interests and achievements in sport, music, drama, journalism and debating this year have been exceptional.
“I would also like to express gratitude to all my colleagues who work tirelessly every year to uphold the highest academic and pastoral standards.
“As our new Old Peterites take their next steps, whether that be into further education or elsewhere, I have confidence that the friendships they have made, the skills they have acquired and the values and interests they have developed during their time at St Peter’s will lead them to make a positive impact in the world.
“I wish them all the best of luck for the future and look forward to hearing of their many successes.”
See our full set of results here
The St Peter’s campus is never short of outstanding art and design, displayed proudly in our classrooms, art gallery and shared spaces. Our inspiring team of Art and Design and Technology teachers help to bring the students creative ideas to life and we are constantly amazed by what they produce.
St Peter’s 2-8
Art and Design plays an essential role in fostering children’s creativity, imagination and understanding of the world around them. In the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), children focus on exploring materials and developing basic skills through hands-on activities like drawing, painting and sculpture. They experiment with various tools and media, building fine motor skills and using art to express their ideas. This stage encourages creativity, allowing children to explore shapes, colours and textures while learning about the world around them.
Children build on these foundational skills throughout Years 1-3, learning more about techniques like shading, blending and printing. They explore a wider range of materials and start to create more detailed and intentional artwork. Children are introduced to the work of famous artists and art from different cultures, fostering an appreciation for diverse artistic traditions. Collaboration and reflection are key elements, with children working together on projects and discussing their own and others’ work.
Our art and design curriculum at St Peter’s 2-8 plays a significant role in supporting children’s development by offering them opportunities to express themselves, engage with their surroundings and explore different materials and techniques. These experiences provide the foundation for further artistic growth in later years.
We have achieved tremendous success in the Art department this year, incorporating a variety of techniques and materials. Supported by a skilled team of specialist teachers, pupils have explored lino cutting, printing using the printing press, and ceramics that were both diverse and reflected current trends.
Instruction in Art encompassed both three-dimensional and two-dimensional approaches, with a strong emphasis on leveraging emotions and feelings to enhance expression while developing confidence in formal elements. In their weekly art lessons pupils have explored and taken risks to develop their understanding of the art making process.
Design Technology had a bumper year working in a more expressive, end user centred manner where pupils were encouraged to come up with their own varied designs which were reflective of a wider range of ideas.
They incorporated more technology in terms of using the brand-new laser cutter and Adobe Software to elevate computer-aided design and manufacturing, always keeping true to aesthetics and functionality. It has been a fantastic journey where pupils were encouraged to take risks, make mistakes and enjoy the adventure.
With the Enterprise project, they worked on chocolate moulding and pupils made their own designs which they laser cut and then vacuum moulded. They tempered the chocolate, then poured and packaged the chocolates using the amazing packaging pupils designed. The products were based on the Enterprise group’s designs and they stayed true to York’s chocolate heritage incorporating the same ethos of making welldesigned products which were consumer friendly and very tasty!
ART
An exhibition of Third Form work went on display in February in the Whitestone Gallery in the Art Department, which was open to parents and the community. All members of the Third Form were represented. The exhibition includes painting, drawing, prints and ceramics.
Summer Art Exhibition
The opening of the annual art exhibition ‘Imagine 24’ was a great success with all members of the current Upper Sixth and Fifth Form represented. Despite significant flooding in the Art Department earlier in the term, the show succeeded in showing the breadth and quality of work across both age groups. The evening was very popular with parents, staff and current and former pupils eager to see what’s been happening in Art this year. Thank you to all our aspiring artists for their incredible work this year and to all who attended.
Manufacturing and Technologies Association Tecnhnology, Design and Innovation Awards 2024
The summer of 2024 saw unprecedented success on the engineering front, with both GCSE pupil Anton and A Level pupil Ethan making it to the National Final in the Manufacturing and Technologies Association’s Technology, Design and Innovation Awards. Anton’s small scale hydroelectric generator impressed judges with its practical applications. Ethan’s spacesaving photovoltaic array was highly commended for its marketability and the design of his compliant hinges. After securing A*s in DT, Mathematics and Physics and an A in Chemistry, Ethan will study Mechanical Engineering at Durham University.
DT Exhibition 23-24
This Easter saw the return of the Design and Technology Exhibition in the Whitestone Gallery which showcased work from all year groups, including work from our Technology, Design and Innovation Award finalists. The prototypes demonstrated the breadth of talents from our GCSE and A Level pupils as they explored the contexts including ‘Climate change’, ‘Playing games’ and ‘Securing or storing personal possessions’ alongside MAKERSPACE Co-curricular Projects.
Visit to Ginetta Factory and Work Experience in Engineering
This year saw the return of industry visits in Design and Technology with our Lower Sixth Product Design pupils taking a tour of renowned British heritage race car brand Ginetta’s 75,000 sq. foot facility. With many of the components for the road and race cars being manufactured on site, there was a wealth of learning opportunities on offer. Pupils gained insight into both fabrication of traditional steel framed ‘body in white’ and carbon fibre monocoques, and were lucky enough to visit Research and Development and Quality Control Departments on invitation from the Managing Director – Old Peterite, Amy Tomlinson. William H also undertook work experience with Ginetta following the visit.
TEach year, schools tend to submit up to four applicants a year and are encouraged to identify those with the best chance of success. Only when a school has an outstanding year group will it submit more than four.
Of the 320 awarded so far, the scholarships go to 37% of the scholarships have gone to female pupils. In 2023, 1,391 hard-working students applied in 2023, with 622 reaching the final interview stage.
At St Peter’s, our recent scholars have included this year’s Lower Sixth pupil Tristan C and Upper Sixth pupils Will and Scarlett, who were featured in the Peterite last year.
first-class Mechanical Engineering degree from Loughborough University and won undergraduate Female Engineer of the Year in 2021. She is now working as an Operations Graduate for a consultancy firm outside of Oxford.
This year, of the eight St Peter’s pupils that sat the exam, four went through to interview stage, and at the end of Summer Term 2024 it was announced that THREE of our pupils were awarded the coveted prize. This is the most Arkwright Scholars we have had, and is a true testament skill of the pupils and the expertise of the wonderful DT and Computer Science departments.
Tristan P’s specialism is in Design Technology, and he is an aspiring aerospace engineer. He impressed with his DIY Skills after constructing a work space in his shed, and submitted his DT NEA Prototype for the scholarship, which is a wall mounted storage rack for a range of tennis equipment. For his next steps after St Peter’s, Tristan is
undecided between an apprenticeship with Boeing or the aerospace engineering course at Bristol university.
Taras’ specialism is with computer science. He is an aspiring machine learning engineer and would like to study Artificial Intelligence at Manchester University. Taras submitted a darts program that eliminated mental score keeping and advised players on the best strategy going ahead, and spoke in his interview of his humanitarian work helping the Ukranian refugee effort and leadership skills as Lance Corporal in CCF.
Anton’s specialism is in Design Technology and is an aspiring electrical engineer. Anton has created a hydro electric generator as part of MAKERSPACE, our afterschool co-curricular club in DT. The system aims to generate power in remote locations such as allotments, using a pelton wheel scaled to fit standard downpipe dimensions. He aspires to study Mechanical Engineering at Oxford.
In September we saw Tristan awarded with the Arkwright Scholarship for 20222023. Tristan is the first pupil with a Computer Science specialism to pursue the award from the school. Tristan ultimately wishes to specialise in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and is currently applying to study Computer Science at Cambridge.
Two of our recent Old Peterite Arkwright Scholars have gone on to achieve fantastic things at a higher education level. Martha (OP 2023) is studying engineering at Cambridge, having been Head of School in her final year. Georgina (OP 2019) recently graduated with a
What is the Arkwright Engineering Scholarship?
Arkwright Engineering Scholarships exist to identify, inspire and nurture future leaders in Engineering. The accolade, which is widely recognised and respected by academia and industry, supports scholars with a financial award to optimise their studies towards a career in engineering. Every Scholar will receive financial backing from a sponsor, alongside a dedicated engineering mentor, Industry-based Connect Days and potential work experience opportunities. It is the most esteemed scholarship of its type in the UK, designed to inspire students to pursue their dreams and change the world as an outstanding engineer of the future.
In a world where university selection processes and entry-level jobs are demanding an ever-increasing list of qualifications and experience for students to stand out, an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship is an opportunity to gain a real insight into what it takes to be an Engineer.
We offer more than 80 co-curricular activities which continues to grow and thrive every year. Pupils can get involved in clubs and societies from chess to juggling.
St Peter’s 2-8
2-8 School Council
Our 2-8 School Council is a nomination-only club run by teacher Mrs Franey. Teachers elect pupils from each class who have shown an interest and passion for the environment, and the club then spends the year focusing on making our school and the world a better place.
During the year, the School Council presented an assembly the school on using a short film by David Attenborough. It then went on to explain ways everyone can help look after our world using information they had gained from visits by Mr Swales and Mrs Hall in 13-18. These included switching taps off while cleaning teeth which saves up to 20l of water, reducing how much we buy and use, repairing items, reducing use of single use plastic, recycling and not leaving litter after picnics.
School Council visited Mrs Hall who teaches geography in St Peter’s 13-18. She explained to the group how important recycling is to help look after and protect our world. She runs the eco club at 13-18 and arranges for special terracycling waste to be collected in school and taken to a special household waste unit in York called St Nicks.
Following the meeting, School Council launched the new ‘special recycling’ collections to help Mrs Hall, saving ground coffee bags, crisp packets and plastic pens.
Kirsty, a parent, said: “I have been impressed by the work of our School Council, of which my son is a member, in empowering the children of St Peter’s to take action and make changes for a better school and wider world.
“Since joining School Council, he has been more interested and enthusiastic about what we are doing to save the planet both at school and at home such as recycling, saving water by not letting the tap run whilst brushing his teeth and switching off lights when you leave a room.
“He has been inspired to make a difference in the world and educate fellow students in the importance of environmental responsibility and sustainability.”
Pupil Zachary said: “How we deal with our rubbish can change the whole world!” Pupil India said: “I think it’s important that we recycle and don’t waste things. If we don’t recycle the world will be full of rubbish.”
Despite busy schedules, a record-breaking 49 students signed up for the Junior and Senior Duke Award this year! This program helps them develop valuable life skills like independence, confidence, resilience, and self-motivation.
This year, four pupils have achieved a Silver Award, three Gold and an impressive five have reached Platinum and one Senior Silver Award has been presented!
Each Duke Award level has a selection of challenges across different categories, like skills development, volunteering, and physical activity. Pupils learn some skills in school, but most challenges require dedication and effort outside of school, often with friends and family. The commitment and creativity on display have been outstanding. Five students received special Certificates of Merit for their exceptional Junior Duke journals. Isla, working on the Senior Gold Award, even received a special message from the program founder for her indepth work on drink safety.
The ever popular knitting club had a fantastic year with pupils who had never knitted before creating scarves, mice and bunnies by the end of term. We were sad to say goodbye to Mrs Matkin at the end of term who led the club so brilliantly, but we wish her a very happy retirement.
Eco Club
Eco club proudly displayed all of the impressive vegetables they managed to grow this year! From courgettes to pumpkins, our team worked together to grow and harvest this year’s yield.
Animal Projects Club
In Animal Projects Club this year, pupils have enjoyed the opportunity to learn about a wide variety of animals, and undertake lots of different craft projects. The highlight of the year was the visit from Smudge, the Siberian cat.
Chess
The junior chess club at St Peter’s 8-13 is well attended with 55 pupils signed up and is held every Tuesday lunchtime. It had three under-11 teams and four under-9 teams and aims to have at least three girls in each age group.
The popularity of chess continues to grow in the school, and it has been great to see so many people participate and develop their skills, whether in a social (but still competitive) game or in an actual competition.
The pupils went to QEGS and played in the HMC chess competition at U9 and U11 level. The U9 and U11 A teams won a triangle competition against QEGS and GSAL and they hosted an ESPCA competition which they also won.
And finally, they competed at the York Junior Chess tournament hosted at Fishergate school. St Peter’s Junior School won the primary title with a team of Bertie, Max, Zac and Arthur. They narrowly held off St Peter’s B team, and a team of ‘all-stars’ from a variety of York schools to win the Simon Benedictus shield, named for a strong supporter of junior chess whose legacy has helped fund the competition.
Prizes were awarded by International Chess Master and editor of ‘Chess’ Magazine, Richard Palliser.
Theatre Club
Theatre Club organised two shows chosen and run by the pupils: ‘Cluedo’ in March and the ‘Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’ in June.
Debating – The Christmas Sprout Debate
St Peters 8-13 much-loved Christmas sprout debate returned! The teams argued the motion ‘This house believes that Brussel sprouts should be removed from Christmas dinner’, with pupils arguing for and staff against. The staff sported sprout-covered clothing to show their support!
by Mr Whitehouse
For many young people who choose to work towards a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, the expedition is the highlight of the programme.
The DofE expedition season at St Peter’s started with a two-day Gold level practice for our 32 Lower Sixth, in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The practice reminded everyone that it’s important to be prepared for anything. Rain, sun, wind, you name it – mother nature threw all kinds of weather at the teams, and lessons were learned for the qualifying expedition later in the summer term.
With clear skies, we were reminded of the beauty of the glaciated valleys of Crummackdale and Chapel-le-Dale, an ideal location to appreciate the beauty of the Yorkshire Dales and view the varying bands of limestone that make up the ‘Great Scar’.
Peat Rigg Outdoor Centre is the perfect base from which to run the Duke of Edinburgh’s Bronze expedition, and early in the summer term 83 of our Third Form spent two days navigating their way around the spectacular lowland areas of the National Park and the North York Moors. The Peat Rigg instructors supported our pupils, with their local knowledge and expertise. They received excellent training on site, before being assessed out on the Moors on what they had learned.
As we approached half term the Fourth Form started to pack their rucksacks, ready to head off to the North York Moors for their two-day Silver practice expedition.
Our pupils planned a variety of routes, including the Esk Valley Way, passing through Egton Bridge, Grosmont and Ruswarp. Walking in open moorland and riverside pastures, the five teams successfully navigated, camped and cooked their way through two tough days. All our expeditions provide a safe environment of support and challenge for our pupils across the year groups, that grows as they do. The DofE expeditions offer our pupils the chance to strive for achievement, overcome obstacles, and set their minds to a personal challenge.
The final venture of the summer term involved the Fifth and Sixth Form, who had all previously completed their practice expeditions. Having planned their three- and four-day, qualifying expeditions respectively, they set off across the North York Moors.
For the young people setting out on their qualifying expedition, there is this brilliant, hardto-describe feeling when everything starts to click, especially when you’re working as a team. The staff supporting these teams we were able to observe the growth in confidence and capability of the pupils. They all showed incredible resilience, initiative and a spirit of adventure and discovery by planning, training for and completing an adventurous selfsufficient journey as part of a team.
Our satellite trackers served to reassure those monitoring the teams on the Moors that we knew exactly where they were, even if they were a little off-route on occasions. Things don’t always go to plan, and getting lost on DofE becomes a rite of passage for some teams. It’s not so much a question of if you get lost, but when. The important thing is how you respond, and all the teams proved their worth and successfully completed their qualifying expeditions.
It was an exciting year in Debating with many pupils across the whole school getting involved in learning to debate with confidence and openness to alternative ideas, developing life-skills of listening, agreeing and disagreeing with respect and logic.
The year started with our York Civic Trust Public Speaking competition. Well done to Connie and Charlotte who represented the school on the topic ‘York is a city of the past, not the present or the future’.
Our Senior Christmas Debate was on the motion ‘This house believes that children should reimburse Santa through elf-service’ prompted some lively debate on air traffic control, if we should be spending 400 hours on thank you cards and whether 40 minutes of lessons a week would teach children to make high quality toys and electricals. Will and Evie won the debate and were awarded with some chocolate Santas!
In January our Mace team braved the storms to take part in the next round of the ESU’s National Mace Competition. Alice, Will and Bea were logical in their argument to abolish the House of Lords, (learning a lot about the British parliamentary system along the way) and fully engaged with the opposition’s arguments against this.
The second round of the ESU Public Speaking competition took place in Leeds in February. The St Peter’s team of Moses, Lewis and Christabel put in an excellent performance and Christabel was judged the best Chairperson of the evening.
The team progressed to the regional final, which took place in March, and our BP team of Alice and Bea broke to the Finals of the Cambridge University competition.
The CCF has enjoyed a successful year, with highlights including our expedition to the North Yorkshire Moors, range days and Exercise Thunderclap. Taras proved to be the best shot in the contingent, achieving the top marksmanship award on both 25m and 100m. Exercise Thunderclap involved a full platoon attack on Strensall Common, with accompanying blank fire and pyrotechnics.
This year’s summer camp took place at the Queen Elizabeth Barracks at Strensall. The cadets undertook a wide variety of fun and challenging activities, including adventurous training, fieldcraft, team challenges, and rifle shooting.
The CCF Contingent Dinner took place in February, an opportunity for cadets to celebrate what they have achieved in the CCF this year and reflect on shared experiences. Special thanks to our Head Cadet, Lucy, and her Sixth Form team for their work in organising the evening.
Jimmy was appointed Head Cadet for the coming academic year – we wish him good luck in carrying out this role.
In the York Chess Competition this year, St Peter’s came third in the secondary school division, closely behind Scarborough College in second place whilst Fulford Secondary School retained their title for the third year running. Congratulations to our team members Lewis, Tristan, Roman and Fred. A special mention must go to Lewis and Tristan who received special awards for their strategy and skill.
From workshops to stage performances, pupils love using creativity and expression in their Drama. It is wonderful to see their confidence and ability grow throughout the year as they master new techniques, and ultimately put on an amazing show for families and the community.
St Peter’s 2-8
Christmas performances
School was buzzing with excitement as all the children shared their Christmas performances with family and friends this year. Years 1, 2 and 3 started the week off brilliantly performing in the Memorial Hall. Year 1 delivered their lines so confidently in ‘It’s a Party’ and their singing was fantastic.
Year 2 entertained the audience with ‘A Midwife Crisis’, with great acting, clear speaking from the narrators and some great sheep dancing too! The children sang two of their songs in two-part harmony which is an incredibly tricky thing at such a young age. A special well done to Ellen for her beautiful singing in her solo as the star.
Year 3 finished off the performances in the Memorial Hall with ‘Hoodwinked’. They all acted so confidently, remembering where to stand and to deliver their lines loudly and clearly. There were lots of humorous moments, not least the scene where some of our archers had a couple of sticky moments with where their arrows landed! The whole year group sang beautifully throughout, navigating their way through tricky verses which slightly altered each time to singing in three part harmony as a year group. Mrs Hayden said “We had three fabulous solos from Elio, Esme and Ellie. Well done to you all, you overcame your nerves and sang your hearts out, definite stars to watch out for in the future.”
We also had an exciting day where our Acorns and Conkers put on their Christmas jumpers and performed a selection of Christmas songs to a very packed Rayson Room. There were happy tears from the parents as the children sang their hearts out.
Reception performed a wonderful story of the Nativity. They wowed everyone with their clear narration, complete with singing, and brought the house down with their fabulous dancing. All the children performed beautifully, having worked so hard in Music learning the different songs, words and actions.
Our Lower Sixth Theatre Studies Group visited St Peter’s 2-8 in June to perform and deliver a drama workshop on the Greek gods. The Year 1 pupils have been learning about Greece and the history of the Olympics which the Lower Sixth used to devise a workshop and performance to everyone’s delight.
Much fun was had by all with one pupil in Year 1 commenting: “This is the best day ever!”
Hamlet
This year, the J5s enjoyed rehearsing and performing ‘Hamlet’ at Leeds Carriageworks in February. The excitement of performing to a paying audience in a professional theatre is not to be underestimated and remains a highlight.
Here’s what a few of them said about it.
“During the Hamlet play I was Stage Manager, which meant I helped Ms Veasey and Leona who co-directed it, watching from the wings and the front of the stage. This meant I could see all the progress being made. Rehearsals were always so enjoyable, playing games but getting things done at the same time. The performance to the J4s and J5s was nerve-racking, and we did make some mistakes, but everyone kept spirits high, and we all enjoyed the show day at the theatre in Leeds. The night was perfect and couldn’t have gone any better. I would say we were very cheery on the day, and everyone had an amazing, lively time. There was never a moment of dullness, and I loved it. I would 100% recommend for J2s and J4s who, next year will be working with Ms Veasey and her wonderful ways.” Annie – Stage Manager
“Being in Hamlet was a great experience. It helped improve my confidence as I had never done anything like it before. I really enjoyed it.” “On the day it was amazing to perform on such a large stage. The whole thing was a blast, we had the best time.”
“The group got on really well and we’ve made some excellent friendships. Great memories.” “Recommended for J4. YOLO!” Ed, Juliette Rose, Henry and James – actors
The Jungle Book J3 have all been involved in a production of ‘The Jungle Book’; this has a double cast to give as many opportunities for speaking parts as possible, with the entire year group all making up the dancing and singing chorus.
Mrs Veasey said: “With 71 children participating it was certainly a noisy rehearsal room and a busy stage, made much easier by double casting. J3W and J3Y performed the first half and J3X and J3Z performed the second. Mrs Suckling coordinated some wellknown and some new songs, many of which were quite complicated, and required the cast to split into different groups. Family members have been very positive about the qualities of the production, and everyone certainly left humming a tune, with a smile on their faces and a spring in their step.
Thanks to all staff who supported, the students from Senior School who volunteered, and the pupils themselves.”
J1 put a huge amount of effort into their end of year show which is also a musical called Face Value written by Mrs Spencer. This was a real highlight to the end of their first year with 8-13.
Class drama continues with one lesson each week and the pupils have loved exploring a range of different styles, skills and scripts over the year. J4 created their shadow stories which they performed to other classes, based around a song.
Live theatre continues to be a priority for drama in 8-13 and their aim is for pupils to experience live theatre each year. Where possible this links to English but can be for the pure joy and theatre experience. This year J1 and J2 all visited Leeds Playhouse to watch ‘Oliver!’; J4 saw ‘Macbeth’, and J5 ‘The Woman in Black’.
J4 Once Drama Workshop
J4 took part in drama workshops led by Peter Kennedy based on the book ‘Once’ by Morris Gleitzman. Harry K (J4) said “J4 has taken part in a workshop related to our book Once, a wonderful but rather dark and disturbing book about the Holocaust and our main characters trials and tribulations. Peter, the host of our workshop began by playing some games to get to know each other, which helped him to familiarise himself with our class and our customs. Soon after he put us into pairs and made us sum up the book in one word. This was a very thought provoking task as it was challenging to find the right word to round the whole story as one package. Later, we were tasked to take five locations from the book and place them in chronological order. Once put in order we were tasked with taking one of those scenes and turning it into a drama piece. This ranged from Felix our main character leaping off a moving train to him being chased by a rapid Nazi soldier. This was a very fun and enjoyable activity as it got you to all work as a group and be coordinated. Overall, this was a great workshop to help the themes of Once sink in.”
Thank you for your view Harry!
St Peter’s 13-18
A Level Devised
This year’s A level group performed a stunning, thought-provoking and technically challenging piece called Liminal which explored what could happen in the moments after a person has died.
The GCSE groups performed eight varied and clever pieces of theatre. These had an eclectic range of styles and subject matters, from a futuristic company that can delete the memories you don’t require, to a financial stock market crisis, to a psychiatric ward to Ukrainian refugees. It is an examination, but also a public performance which adds to the cultural life of the school.
Five Star Reviews for GCSE Drama!
In February, GCSE Drama pupils performed eight varied devised pieces. For most, it was their first GCSE exam which took place in front of a very full studio audience. Pupils worked collaboratively in small groups to create a completely original piece of theatre from various pieces of stimuli, most of which they had sourced themselves.
The groups were given a series of images of artwork as a starting point and then used their initial ideas to source further stimuli from which to devise. One example was an interview from Radio 4’s ‘Life Changing’ which was used to devise a piece around the story of a woman who had killed her friends in a car accident. Another group used an image of the brain to create a disturbing and dystopian piece which detailed how a drug called Oblivimol could destroy bad memories and create better, false ones. Others were inspired to explore themes such as adoption, schizophrenia, a family’s embittered response to a stock market crash and the painful experiences of a Ukrainian refugee. There was a very wide range of different theatrical styles from highly physical and abstract pieces to wonderfully truthful naturalism and hard-hitting verbatim, which resulted in highly effective and moving drama. All pupils showed the ability to work collaboratively to create meaningful artistic intentions and it was wonderful to see all their hard work come together in such thought-provoking devised pieces.
The performance, along with the accompanying portfolio, was worth 40% of their final GCSE grade. Congratulations to all involved!
Chicago!
This year, we had the run of ‘Chicago’ (Teen Edition) in school. This is one of the greatest musicals ever written, with foot-tapping tunes and Bob Fosse inspired choreography, set amidst the backdrop of Chicago during the ‘jazz age’ of the late 1920s. This was a brilliant experience for all the cast, who produced outstanding performances across both the principal and ensemble roles, supported by a great crew of pupils backstage. Many congratulations to everyone involved.
The sold-out production of ‘Wonderful World of Dissocia’ by Anthony Neilson, which took place in the drama studio on two consecutive evenings, was a resounding success. Originally meant to be a one-time only show, the summer play featured an alternative a version of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ where Lisa falls down a rabbit hole of mental illness into a fantasy world of strange people and settings. The play was directed and performed by Lower Sixth pupils and is the first completely student-led Lower Sixth play involving 25 pupils. Well done to all involved, a big achievement.
Curiouser and Curiouser…
In the final week of the Summer term there was a surreal and fascinating performance of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in the Drama Studio to two sold-out audiences. Twenty-one talented cast members from Fourth and Third Form played an abundance of quirky and madcap characters taking the audience on a mesmerising trip down the rabbit hole. Five talented cast members multi-rolled as Alice to show her meeting with a sleek Cheshire Cat a horrendously bossy Red Queen before joining the Hatter in her phantasmagorical bazaar tea party, before which she was entertained by the hilarious Tweedle brothers. A crew of five Third and Fourth Form were responsible for the lighting, costume, sound and stage management of this highly visual and entertaining production. There were many wonderful comic moments, but special mention goes to the hilarious Will G as Humpty and Jacob W as a very unnerving and manic Cook. Issy was suitably strange as the Hatter. What made this task even more fantastic is that the cast and crew put it together in just two days. Thank you to Miss Burns for our wonderful set and very importantly to the whole talented cast and crew that made this production so special.
LAMDA
Huge congratulations to all LAMDA students who sat their exams last year. The Distinction and Merit scores showed a high calibre of learning.
A special commendation goes to Fourth Former William who received a Distinction for his Grade 7 Silver Medal Acting Solo. William was one of the youngest students in the country to have sat the Grade 7 Silver Medal. LAMDA teacher Ms Simon said “It has been a great pleasure teaching William over the last five years. He has always taken the craft seriously, has been eager to learn and worked very hard.”
Students at Peter’s 13-18 also sat Public Speaking exams and Devised Drama exams and received Distinction scores. Well done to Olivia and Emily who were awarded Distinctions for their devised Drama exams at Grade 6. Both learners were required to perform two prepared scenes of their own devising, based around a contemporary issue and around the sense of taste. They chose the subject of Post-Natal Depression for their contemporary piece and to explore the sense of taste they devised a scene set in Russia in 1920 at the height of Famine. Their creative writing skills and sophisticated discussion based on the research they had undertaken impressed the examiner.
Music is the heartbeat of life at St Peter’s, and beautiful melodies can often be heard as you walk through the campus from choirs, ensembles or individual music lessons.
Class Assemblies
Year 1 performed their own dragon compositions, inspired by Hans Zimmer, with such confidence. They began with a shimmering opening using handheld percussion instruments, led by their own class conductors (Ava, Oscar and Arthur), before moving into a four-note piece using different words from their key text TellmeaDragon. The children all played with a real sense of ensemble, keeping time with each other, working hard to follow the music they had composed. Great work Year 1!
2C set the bar high with the first of the Year 2 assemblies. The children studied Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’, inspired by how he wrote music which match each of the characters in the story, and set about composing music for Ratty from their key text ‘Wind in the Willows’. Each group came up with a set of descriptive words which formed the rhythm to the composition. They then thought about how to write a tune to best match Ratty’s character on the chime bars. All of Year 2 did a great job performing their compositions to their families, there were a few tricky tunes to play!
Year 3 invited their parents to join them in a special performance of the ‘Blue Danube’ by Strauss on boomwhackers. It was so lovely to share the experience of performing with everybody, and children particularly enjoyed the parent’s dancing skills in the middle of the piece! The children also demonstrated their African drumming skills on the djembe drums. Mrs Hayden said: “I was so impressed with the children’s concentration – it is really tricky to play in time and both classes had a great sense of ensemble. I think everyone enjoyed the big drum roll finish”
In May, we saw how our pupils’ musical skills have developed over the term, with individual and group performances of beautiful music! Pupils played the recorder, guitar and piano. Year 3 were started off by our wonderful choir who sang two songs in three parts, and a third old favourite from Young Voices. We had confident soloists on lots of different instruments, violins, drums, guitars, piano, clarinet, cello and cornets followed by a performance from our ukulele group.
Year opened their concert wowing the grown-ups by singing the alphabet backwards, followed by a combined song with recorder accompaniment. Our fabulous recorder players then took over with lots of group, duet and solo performances. The children were so brave and played with such confidence. The recorders finished off with ‘Pineapples are Juicy’, a firm favourite at 2-8! Zackaria gave a very special performance on the piano, playing the duet ‘Playground Fun’. The whole year group finished the concert with ‘When You’re Smiling’, which they all certainly were!
Finally, Year 2 had their time to shine. The choir started the concert off and were followed by over 40 children playing solos. Many instruments were represented – violins, cellos, piano, guitar and recorder. For many it was their first concert playing their instrument and they certainly didn’t let their nerves get in the way!
A huge thank you to all our amazing visiting music teachers who work so hard preparing the children for these events, and many thanks also to our wonderful audience and parents who support the children at home.
St Peter’s 8-13
It’s been another busy year in music, with some old favourites returning to our concert schedule, and new events happening.
Virtualosity
Virtualosity, our silver lining in the Covid cloud, has continued to be a huge success. The concert series runs every Monday at 12.40pm and each week, 8-13 see up to 15 performers of every standard from total beginner to post Grade 8, performing together. It has been wonderful to see children coming to watch to support their friends. In the four years that it has been running (in every guise from online, hybrid, bubbles to now), there have been well over 1000 performances. Mrs Craven said: “I believe that this is an offer that no other school does with such regularity, and I strongly believe that it gives many children a performance opportunity where otherwise there would be none.”
Chinese Music Workshops
It was wonderful to welcome students from the University of York to lead workshops with J1 as part of their Chinese Music topic. They played games, learned about Chinese instruments and had a go on an Erhu and a Guzheng. It was amazing to see them so inspired by the experience.
Concerts
Our three ‘formal’ concerts this year have, once again, had themes – ‘Santa Claus is coming to town’, ‘Journey to Space’ and ‘Round the World in 60 minutes’. These generally feature ensembles; Sinfonia, our advanced orchestra, performed the opening to ‘Also Sprach Zarathustra’, and ‘Mars’ from the Planets in the Space concert in the Memorial Hall, and it was wonderful to hear a combined orchestra of over 70 children performing ‘Jupiter’ together.
Electric Dreams
We welcomed back our Electric Dreams Gig in May. This gives an opportunity to children who are pop singers, singer songwriters, in rock bands, play drum kit, bass or electric guitar. A more informal concert, it is a musical highlight for many.
The Carol Service
The Carol Service was a wonderful experience. Chapel Choir led beautifully – a stunning ‘Once in Royal’ solo from Isla kicked proceedings off beautifully. The choir sang two anthems by themselves and joined with the Minster Choristers for another. This is, for the choir and choristers, a real highlight. They love combining forces, and what a sound they all make!
Individual Musicians
In terms of 1:1 lessons, 256 pupils take instrumental lessons each week in school. Thirteen children learn three instruments in school and 73 learn two instruments in school - taking us to 342 1:1 lessons a week; an outstanding number. This year we have had children taking up the organ,
bassoon, French horn and oboe. Mrs Craven said: “I believe the huge uptake in music lessons is down to the wonderful visiting music staff who throw themselves fully into the musical life of the school.”
Ensembles are well attended: we offer cello group, two wind ensembles, two brass ensembles, two rock bands, jukebox choir, chapel choir, sinfonia and Sinfonietta (our orchestras), mini jazz band, breakfast strings, a piano trio, a senior string ensemble, as well as three theory sessions to work towards children taking Grade 5 theory.
Music Exams
Two years ago we implemented a strategy whereby, after taking an exam, children had at least one term where they worked on technique and repertoire rather than moving onto the next grade immediately. Parents have been overwhelmingly on board with this and it has allowed the children to explore new genres, different styles and a wide range of composers – we are aiming, after all, to create well-rounded and creative musicians.
In ABRSM exams, over the past two terms, there have been 75 entries, with 28 distinctions, 34 merits and 13 passes. Notable achievements include merit at Grade 6 singing for Edward in J5 and distinction in Grade 8 piano for Oliver in J4.
The Trinity exams were taken in the Easter term, with a handful of children achieving Merits and Distinctions in these.
Mrs Craven said: “It is wonderful to be part of a school where music is so supported, encouraged and developed at all stages, and from leadership down, and I thank the SLT and governors for their investment in terms of time, resources and budgeting for enabling it all to happen!”
York Minster Choristers
By Mrs Craven
The choristers have been singing very well this year! They have worked hard on a new transition for probationer choristers, so they now join the main choir in the Easter term for some morning rehearsals, before joining the choir for all weekday rehearsals and evensongs in the summer term. This should give them a much better lead in to chorister life.
This year, the choir have recorded a CD, and we await the launch with bated breath. Events such as ‘The Messiah’, the Advent Procession, Carol Concerts, Carol Services and Easter Services have all brought lots of work but equal amounts of enjoyment, and they are working well as a team together.
This year, the Choristers also had their Choral Evensong on Wednesday 12 June broadcast live on BBC Radio 3.
Archbishop of York Unseated by a Chorister Bishop – just for one day This was an ancient tradition originating in Medieval times, the ceremony was an important annual tradition in many cathedrals. On the 6 December, the Feast of St Nicholas, a chorister was elected bishop while others acted as canons carrying out all the offices. The ceremony was restricted in many cathedrals in the later Middle Ages but at York Minster, the Chorister Bishops retained wide powers throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, collecting monies from around the Diocese and distributing gifts to the poor.
Lists of the ‘young bishops’ exist from 1416 until 1537 when the custom was suppressed by Henry VIII. The Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell was unseated from his throne at York Minster’s Saturday Evensong Service by Edward S, who was appointed as the cathedral’s Chorister Bishop for 2023. Edward succeeds Eliza H who in 2022 was installed as the Minster’s first Chorister Bishop since 1537.
St Peter’s 13-18
Christmas Concerts
Our festive concerts featured a wide range of our talented ensembles. Flute Choir performed arrangements of the ‘Carol of the Bells’ and ‘Ding Dong Merrily on High’, we enjoyed renditions of ‘Silent Night’ and ‘We Three Kings’ from the Swing Band, to name but a few. We ended proceedings with the School Choir entertaining us with a Christmas Medley arranged by Will Robinson (OP, 2008).
Autumn Concert
We had a very promising Autumn Concert in the Chapel and Memorial Hall. This featured large choral and instrumental ensembles, such as the Chapel Choir, Wind Band, Swing Band and String Orchestra, as well as several small ensembles, such as the Clarinet Choir, Saxophone Ensemble and Flute Choir. There were also some lovely solos from our Sixth Form. Repertoire ranged from Haydn through to Herbie Hancock with many styles and periods of music featured. The evening was once again a beautiful showcase of the 13-18 music department. A huge well done to all performers for such a splendid evening.
Senior Music Festival
After 75 performances in the preceding weeks, the Senior Music Festival finished with a virtuosic final. Our finalists performed their pieces for adjudicator Dr Elaine King. Mr MilesKingston said a huge congratulations to all performers, explaining that the music festival is a fantastic way to assess all pupils’ musical skill over the term.
The final was once again a great success, and showcased the musical talent across the top three years. Our adjudicator provided great, constructive feedback, and was very impressed with the consistently high standard in all rounds, and encouraged our pupils to keep up the good work. Congratulations to all section winners!
Winners:
Girls’ Singing: Classical: Sylvia
Girls’ Singing: Pop and Musical Theatre: Mia (Highly Commended: Grace)
Strings: Amelia
Boy’s Singing: Loïc (Highly Commended: John and Will)
Woodwind: Joint, Sam and Fred
Piano: Jimmy Brass: Will
Electric Guitar: Loïc
Overall Winner: Fred
Northern Lights Acapella
We hosted the Northern Lights a cappella group from Durham University for an evening in the Easter Term. They ran a workshop for our barbershops, and this was followed by a fantastic concert in the evening, with repertoire from Madonna through to Taylor Swift. It was great for our singers to see a cappella singing at this level and to welcome back OP Rupert Walker.
Junior Music festival
The Junior Music Festival Final was a great success and showcased the burgeoning talent in our Third and Fourth Form. Dr Elaine King returned to provide constructive, valuable feedback for our young performers, and was one again very impressed with the high standard across all disciplines and encouraged our pupils to keep up the hard work. Congratulations to all section winners!
Winners:
Percussion: Seb
Piano: Hannah
Woodwind: Moses
Girls’ Singing: Classical – Arina; Musical Theatre – Bea
Strings: Ethan S
Boys’ Singing: Classical – Joint: Nash and Arthur; Musical Theatre – Richard
Guitar: Chris
Brass: Ethan W
Overall Winner: Ethan S
Orchestral Evensong
For the annual Orchestral Evensong, our Chapel Choir sang jointly with the Choir of York Minster, which was once again a resounding success. With orchestrations from York Minster Organist Emeritus Philip Moore, and players made up from our own Visiting Music Teacher cadre, the service was beautifully sung, and received compliments from parents, congregation and clergy alike.
Cabaret
The long-anticipated highlight of the year for our students! We were treated to two wonderful nights of solo and ensemble music; the performances providing a welcome source of entertainment in the business of the last weeks of term.
Our Upper Sixth Form soloists sang and played with confidence and were supplemented by the Swing Band, School Choir, Little Big Band, Boys’ and Girls’ Barbershops, and the Chamber Choir. The students put on a memorable and exciting show and once again highlighted the high standard of musicianship across the school.
Whole Foundation Concert at York Minster
The Whole Foundation Concert took place in York Minster this year and it was a wonderful event, involving 215 pupils across 2-18. Sincere thanks to all the pupils who performed and to the staff who supported them. The repertoire featured orchestras and choirs from all three schools, and we finished with joint orchestral and choir pieces. The 2-18 orchestra playing Mars from the Planets by Holst was a particular highlight, with 130 children playing, and the 2-18 choir featured over 200 singers singing ‘The Spacious Firmament’ by Richard Shephard.
This was a very special evening, warmly supported by a large audience of parents and friends of the school.
Our musicians enjoyed a very exciting tour to New York in the Easter holiday. They were fortunate to sing sacred music in the three most famous churches in the city, St Patrick’s Cathedral, the Cathedral of St John the Divine and St Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue. The Choir, Concert Band and Swing Band also performed at the Intrepid Museum and Liberty Science Center in New Jersey, with a programme of pop and jazz.
Alongside the performances, the tour party engaged in a packed itinerary of sightseeing including the One World Observatory, Radio City, the Empire State Building, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the ferry ride and walk around the Statue of Liberty. Meals included dinners at the Hard Rock Café and Ellen’s Stardust Diner.
The party of 46 pupils and eight staff had an incredible time, with some fantastic performances. A particular highlight was the Festal Eucharist at St Thomas Church Fifth Avenue on Sunday.
Atrue love of learning goes beyond the classroom, and at St Peter’s we encourage pupils to explore the world around them, learn key skills and gain independence as they experience new things. We aim to help shape well rounded, interesting individuals who can thrive when they leave school.
St Peter’s 2-8
Ian’s Mobile Farm
The St Peter’s Nursery and Reception had a very muddy day with Ian’s Mobile Farm in March. They brushed horses, met a tortoise and ran around and around with Meg the sheepdog!
Bolton Castle
In October Year 2 visited Bolton Castle, after learning in school about Medieval food, clothing and art. In lessons they looked at ‘The Arnolfini Portrait’ by Jan Van Eyck, making careful copies of the painting, and made medieval bread using honey instead of sugar.
During the trip to Bolton Castle, learning continued as Master Dave and Good Wife Susan taught them dancing, spear drills, and how to make plague bags.
Filey Beach
On Wednesday 26 June, Reception went to Filey beach and went paddling. The children’s clothes might have got a bit wet but they had a lot of fun!
Clemmie, Hugo and Pheobe said: “Some of us built a volcano, some made sandcastles and lots made an alligator, a mermaid, a tortoise and a boat! We went in a beach tent and some children had fish and chips and some children had nuggets and chips. It was a brilliant day!”
London Trip
On Wednesday 11 June, the Year 3 children went on their annual adventure to the capital. There were a lot of very excited children aboard the train bound for London. Their first task was to navigate to the British Museum. It’s an incredible place to visit with over four-and-ahalf million objects spanning two million years of history from six continents. The children were fascinated to explore the Egyptian galleries complete with hieroglyphics, canopic jars and of course mummies having learned about Ancient Egypt as part of a previous theme. They were so knowledgeable, and it really brought their learning to life. Next it was off to discover the culture and civilisation of the Ancient Greeks and learn more about the ancient Olympic Games, Greek mythology and architecture. The children particularly enjoyed the exhibition of vases, jewellery and sculpture depicting competition in ancient Greece. After a quick lunch, they travelled on the Underground to watch the West End smash hit Wicked The children were captivated by the performance and were looking forward to learning some of the songs to perform a Wicked medley in the End of Year Review and Celebration. Our final journey on the Underground took us to a restaurant for pizza before we hopped back on the train and headed home to York.
The J5s looked at Syrian cookery in Easter Term, which complements the work they did in English on the novel, ‘Other Words for Home’. The novel is written in free verse poetry and follows the life of a Syrian girl who must leave her home, her father and brother and move to America for safety when war breaks out. Mrs Herman worked with the groups to look at some of the traditional foods and spices from the region, and the pupils made (and devoured) flatbreads!
The J5 team-building day is an opportunity for the whole year group to work together in their Enterprise teams and learn a bit more about each other and how to work well together. The day was a huge success and the J5s were fantastic at embracing the tasks and challenges set. For each challenge there was a chance to win ‘teamwork’ or ‘positive’ tokens... or have some taken away for poor examples.
After counting up and reading the evaluations where they told us what they had found out about each other.
Trip to the Wonderlab
J2 enjoyed a trip to the Wonderlab at the National Railway Museum. They watched an exciting show called ‘Streamlined by Design’ and then had some time to explore the Wonderlab. The interactive exhibits meant that they learned a lot of science in a fun and engaging way.
Residential to Whitby
A very excited group of nine staff and an even more excited bunch of J3s embarked on a super adventure to Whitby for three days.
They had actioned-packed itinerary of exploring the historic fishing town, hunting for fossils, unlocking their artistic sides on the beach and seeing Whitby from a different perspective from the ‘Big Yellow Boat’. The objectives of the trip were to further their geography and science knowledge with some hands-on learning, build independence and resilience, work on their learning habits, particularly collaboration and flexible thinking, but most importantly to have a brilliant time and spend time with friends both old and new.
Trip to Carlton Lodge
In September, J4 travelled to Carlton Lodge to take part in team-building activities. They enjoyed a whole host of activities including raft building, climbing, canoeing and bushcraft.
October Sports Trip to Venice
Children in J5 experienced an outstanding trip with many cultural experiences. They visited both the well-known sites of Venice and the lesser-known areas of Burano and Murano, where they watched a Venetian glass blower create vases and many other pieces of Murano glass. The boys and girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves playing their hockey fixtures and it was fantastic to see them enjoying the after-match hospitality with their opponents, making many new friends from another country.
Folgarida Ski Trip
At 3am on the first day of the Christmas holidays 65 pupils, 22 parents and 7 staff met to travel to Newcastle airport for the start of their journey to Folgarida in the Dolomites, Italy.
Throughout the week the pupils progressed quickly in their skiing lessons, and it was great to see them pushing themselves out of their comfort zone. On any school residential it is also wonderful to observe the pupils developing skills such as independence, resilience and cooperation with one another. Most importantly everyone had a tremendous amount of fun and thoroughly enjoyed themselves on this fabulous trip. This was aided by the majestic Dolomite scenery, the quietness of the slopes, great snow conditions, blue skies and fantastic camaraderie between pupils, staff and parents. The evenings were enjoyable with many activities, including the infamous Max Factor Karaoke.
Trip to Yorkshire Museum
The J2s visited the Yorkshire Museum to complement their study of the Romans. It was great to see their motivation to find information and their curiosity to ask questions. They saw the Ryedale Hoard and handled replicas of these. They placed their hands on quern stones and reflected on how Romans made their bread. They gained insights into Roman life as they traced their fingers over carved Roman lettering, sections of stone colonnades and images of Roman gods. They learnt that York was set up as a Roman fort known as Eboracum in 71AD and discovered what life was like for everyday people, soldiers and slaves. There were interactive opportunities to dress in Roman robes, wear Roman shoes and to walk on the four seasons mosaic. The pupils also enjoyed taking coin rubbings and rearranging tesserae to create their own mosaic designs.
“I enjoyed looking for the answers on the worksheet.” Edmund
“I learnt lots about the Romans on my trip. I like the mosaics and walking on them.” Tamsin “It was a very cool Trip.” Tilly
Murton Park
The J1s visited Murton Park in January to experience life as a Viking settler. They worked in the Viking settlement doing housework, grinding wheat for flour and gathering firewood. They honed their skills as craftsmen making clay oil lamps and they learned to play a popular Viking game for those long evenings in the longhouse! Keeping the settlement safe meant training as a guard was very important to protect the settlement from raiders. The day finished with stories around the hearth in the longhouse before returning to the 21st century.
Trips to end the year
To end an exciting year at 8-13, all year groups headed out on a trip. J1 head to The Deep and take part in a wonderful talk about Extreme Climates. J2 and J3 went to Lightwater Valley to test their nerves on some thrilling rides. J4 went to the North Yorkshire Water Park and tried four different activities there – two wet; two dry.
J5 went to PGL in Lincolnshire as part of their end-of-year fun. They took part in a wide range of activities including highlights such as axe throwing and rifle shooting!
J4s also explored London for the day – all 103 of them which is quite an operational undertaking! They visited The Globe, Tate Modern and the Tower of London before eating at Zizzis and heading home.
This year we have welcomed variety of speakers into school as part of the Lessons for Life program.
Mock Legal Trial
In January, the Fourth Form took part in a Mock Legal Trial with Knights plc. Each class were given a side in a case for a non-molestation or occupation order. In groups, they were provided with only one side of the case and had to decide how to act on behalf of their ‘client’. Pupils had to decide whether to accept the non-molestation order, agree undertakings or contest the application for an order.
The Family Law Mock Trial is part of the Lessons for Life programme. In their LFL lessons pupils have been examining different types of relationships and the characteristics of healthy relationships in all contexts (including online) including trust, respect, honesty, kindness, generosity, boundaries, privacy, consent, and the management of conflict, reconciliation and ending relationships. They have also looked at how some types of behaviour within relationships are criminal, including violent behaviour and coercive control.
Women in Tech Talk with OP Lydia Hawthorne
The Sixth Form girls had a visit from Old Peterite Lydia Hawthorne (2010) who presented her talk on ‘How to Impress Yourself and be Your Own Mentor’. The talk focused on how often young women can make decisions based on the approval of others, instead of being led by their own values. They spent some time in the session thinking about what their values might be and defining them so they can use them as guidelines when facing big decisions. Lydia works in the tech industry, so went on to explore the different type of roles in tech that require broader skills than just knowing how to code. Her hope is that by explaining how values like creativity, ambition and helping others make up a huge part of tech roles, and by increasing awareness of these opportunities she can encourage more young women to consider a career in tech and take advantage of the many benefits they have to offer.
Relationships, Consent and Sexual Expression
The Third Form found out more about equal relationships and tolerance and took part in sessions with Sexpressions Leeds exploring ideas surrounding gender, identity and sexual expression.
The Fourth Form worked with Schools Consent Project. The project sends lawyers into schools to teach students the legal definition of consent, aiming to normalise conversations about consent and enabling young people to make sensible and informed decisions. This fits into the Relationships and Sex education curriculum that runs throughout all year groups in school.
Pupils in the Sixth and Fifth Form heard from Emma Cole from Positive Voices. Emma has been diagnosed as HIV positive since 1991 and has chosen to speak out about living with HIV for the last 32 years. The pupils were then able to ask their questions freely and without judgement.
In the Summer Term, Lower Sixth pupils learnt about festival safety with our Health Services Manager, Mr Mason. They learnt how to stay safe in hot weather, discussed safe sex, discovered how many units are in different alcoholic drinks, learnt about drug safety and demonstrated some basic first aid.
Mock Elections
In preparation for the UK’s General Election, St Peter’s 13-18 ran a mock election with 14 candidates from the Fourth Form to the Lower Sixth representing six parties. On Thursday 20 June we had an informal lunchtime husting with all the candidates taking questions from 13-18 pupils in the Memorial Hall. On Friday 21 June, the Head Master’s Assembly became our version of BBC Leaders’ ‘Question Time’, with each party’s lead candidate taking questions in front of the whole school and Evie and Victoria taking the role of Fiona Bruce.
The Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Greens, Reform UK and the Yorkshire Party were all represented. Our party leaders addressed the most pressing issues of our time, making the case as to why they should be elected. From the best ways to tackle budget deficits to addressing climate change, the representatives battled it out with wit, grit and determination – and lots of banter in between.
Lower Sixth Exploration Week
In June, Lower Sixth pupils got involved in the annual Exploration Week. This programme offers a range of activities to stimulate wider thinking and exam-free, exploratory learning. Pupils were able to choose from a range of university-level lecture-style presentations and practical sessions, given by the staff at St Peter’s School. Activities ranged from a Marine Biology trip to The Deep, rat dissection, a university survival course, potions making, forensic psychology and self-defence.
The Ski Trip
By Mr Gwilliam
In December 2023, 67 pupils and staff enjoyed an excellent ski trip. This year they visited Bormio and Santa Caterina, places they had last been to in February 2018. Both snow conditions and the weather were excellent and they were in the very fortunate position of having nearly all the resort open, with none of the queues that can occur at peak periods.
Bormio will host the Men’s Downhill race in the 2026 Olympics and our skiers were all, by the end of the week, able to ski this challenging course and with some able to complete the peak (3000m) to creek (1225m) run as well. The beginners made superb progress, the most we have seen from any beginner’s group over the years. They were on chairlifts on the afternoon of day one and on genuine red runs by day three! For our more experienced skiers our local guides were able to make use of the fresh powder and take them safely off-piste and provide the challenge of skiing through fresh snow. Great fun was had by all doing this.
The evenings were full too, making the most of the beautiful town and its facilities. It was a great way to end the Christmas term and I am sure the pupils returned home for Christmas with a real buzz of excitement. They will have been tired too!
U6
On Sunday 21st January, pupils from the Upper Sixth travelled to London to see a matinee performance of Ibsen’s ‘Ghosts’. As part of their A-Level course, English Literature pupils study ‘A Doll’s House’ and so seeing this production was an excellent way of widening their understanding of Ibsen’s ‘world’. The performance took place at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, based at The Globe, and the candle-lit stage was a wonderful backdrop to a brilliantly acted, chilling performance.
World Challenge
Thirteen brave Lower Sixth pupils headed off to Cambodia for a two-week expedition over the Easter break. They learned about the history of Cambodia, spent time with the friendly locals, completed trekking in the heat and contributed to the Better Lives project too. Trekking 35km over three days in the Cambodian sunshine was certainly a challenge! The reward of lazing in hammocks next to a waterfall in the afternoon was well received by all. They didn’t escape without seeing a few frogs and a snake but it all added to the adventure. An evening by the fire ahead of a night sleeping in hammocks listening to the sound of the jungle was a unique experience for everyone.
The project, for which we had completed various fundraising events including the 24 hour swimathon, was very rewarding. It was wonderful to spend time with the local community, attending a church service, leading on games with the local children each evening and enjoying a final night dancing and singing karaoke too. The heat got the better of a few, but they still managed to build three toilets, a vegetable garden, a shelter for a local playground and create a lot of compost.
The final few days of sightseeing from their base in Siem Reap were a welcome break at the end of the trip. Seeing Angkor Wat at sunrise, travelling around in tuk tuks and having the chance to pick up souvenirs from the local markets were all highlights.
The group kept each other positive throughout, supporting in the tough times and sharing the joy of the rewards.
During the Easter Holidays, our French A Level students embarked on an enriching journey to Rouen and Paris, immersing themselves in French language and culture.
In Rouen, they enjoyed varied and challenging French lessons, explored historical sites and indulged in local delicacies. Highlights included a guided tour of the city, the historial de Jeanne D’Arc, l’Aitre Saint Maclou as well watching Les Choristes at the cinema, which had been rereleased to celebrate its 20 year anniversary, and an escape game challenge. Each evening was spent with host families, using their French skills to build relationships and gain an invaluable insight into French culture.
Transitioning to Paris, they marvelled at iconic landmarks such as Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and the Arc du Triomphe, capturing memories along the Seine and enjoying free time to admire the city on what were beautiful sunny days.
The trip fostered cultural awareness, linguistic confidence, and lifelong memories shared with friends.
On the first Friday of the Easter term, the Fourth form Geographers headed to Malton to collect data for their coursework on land use in urban areas. This town, although right on our doorstep, is often overlooked and whilst the destination was new for some, others learned to look at it with new eyes. The sun, thankfully, shone after a long, wet winter and although the wind was chill, we enjoyed a bright, spring day in Yorkshire’s Food Capital. The specialist food stores were a particular draw at lunchtime with pupils enjoying warming chips, artisan pizzas from Pizza on the Square and enormous ice creams from the Groovy Moo!
During the day, pupils mapped the commercial, industrial and residential areas across the market town as well as recording traffic patterns and making a sketch of the Market Place as the ‘Malton in Bloom’ team prepared it for the summer tourist season. On return to school, the pupils wrote up their findings into an investigation to see if Malton’s land use patterns match published models of other UK and American urban areas – a project that earns them 27.5% of their GCSE grade.
All of the pupils worked hard, walking considerable distances and exploring public areas to gather data and understand the historic little town, voted one of ‘The Sunday Times’ best places to live.
At the beginning of the Christmas holidays Mrs Houghton, Mrs Baxter, Mr Ogram and Mrs Madgewick accompanied a group of 30 Third, Fourth and Fifth Form pupils to Berlin to immerse them for a few days in German culture and to enable them to learn more about the history of this unique city.
With the help of their knowledgeable tour guide, Nick, the history of the city was brought to life through visits to the East Side Gallery, the Brandenburg Gate, the Holocaust Memorial, the DDR museum, the TV tower, the Reichstag and KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens), one of the largest department stores in Europe today.
The trip was made even more magical by the visits each evening to the atmospheric traditional Christmas markets where pupils enjoyed buying souvenirs and presents for their families. The pupils were impressive not only in their behaviour throughout the trip, but also in the interest, respect and attentiveness they showed when visiting the sights of such historical importance.
Mrs Houghton said: “I could not have wished for a more delightful group for my final school trip as I approach my retirement. In the short time we were there we really only scratched the surface of what the city has to offer and I am sure that many pupils will want to return to this amazing city at some point in the future.”
Cricket Trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Written by Jasmin L6
During the Easter Holidays, 26 pupils and four members of staff travelled to Dubai and Abu Dhabi for an eight-day cricket tour. Both the 1st and 2nd team played in a range of conditions from Dubai city to the desert with camels as spectators.
Some of the non-cricket highlights of the tour included a visit to the Dubai mall, souks, desert safari and camel riding, Kite Beach, and the Waterpark in Abu Dhabi.
We won our first game against Uppingham, boosting morale for the team which we carried through to the rest of the week. Before we knew it, we met early for breakfast and were shortly back on the bus heading to Dubai College for our second game of the tour. With talent throughout our batting order with some spectacular innings from lower order batsmen, including a special innings from Alex who scored a century, we were once again able to come home with a well-deserved victory over a strong Dubai College team.
We then played three more games. The next one was located in the Dubai desert where the players were kindly greeted by camels as we drove into the ground. After another long, hot, and arduous day, we then managed to win our third game. We then made our way to Abu Dhabi where the extreme infrastructure, huge buildings and an array of supercars was a huge shock! We were fortunate to play our next game at the Zayed Academy, which was located next to the Sheikh Zayed stadium where international games were often held including the Abu Dhabi T10 league.
After spending a couple of days in Abu Dhabi, including visiting waterparks and relaxing on the hotel’s private beach, we all headed back to Dubai for the final game of the Arch Trophy.
Our last game was played at the same venue as the first game, so the setting was familiar to us. We comfortably beat Kings College Wimbledon in the final, claiming the trophy on the last day of the tour, on the same pitch we started on more than a week prior. This made for a fantastic ending to an even better trip. Our sincere thanks to Mr Sharp and Mr Grant for their support and guidance on tour both on and off the field.
The 2nd team had a great mixture of matches across the tour supported by Mr McTurk and Miss Wilson. All of the matches were against tough opposition with a mixture of Emirati teams and other touring sides. While the results were varied, they finished on a win on the final day at the 7s ground in Dubai. A major highlight was playing in the desert surrounded by sand dunes and the occasional camel against a talented academy team from India on the outskirts of the city. All of the players took valuable learnings from the differing style and approach of the teams and had some great interactions with the other players and coaches.
Girlguiding Creator Collective Panel
Third Form pupil Saphire has been picked, along with nine other guides from the UK, to be part of the Girlguiding Creator Collective Panel. This involves reviewing and contributing to Girlguiding’s social media across different platforms, meeting influencers and TikTokers. She will get an all-expenses-paid trip to Girlguiding HQ in London to do some social media training and will be part of the panel for a year! Girlguiding has 10 million members in 150 countries and it has helped her learn valuable life skills, have fun and make friendships for life.
Designing for Northern Diamonds
A huge congratulations to Alice from 8-13 who has designed the new Northern Diamonds kit. Alice took part in the Yorkshire Vikings and Northern Diamonds ‘Design a Shirt’ competition, which received hundreds of entries. Following a public vote, Alice was announced as the winner for her design of the Northern Diamonds shirt.
Mia Interviewed on BBC Radio York
Lower Sixth pupil Mia was joined by Mr Spencer at BBC Radio York to discuss her love of performing, her song-writing and her cousin’s performance as Amy Winehouse in the film ‘Back to Black’. Mia was incredibly articulate, spoke with confidence, and even impressed the presenter by singing acapella on air. Mia has, among other achievements, played Velma in St Peter’s production of ‘Chicago’ this year, is part of Barbieshop, and received full marks in her GCSE performance of ‘Prima Facie’. Her passion for musical theatre thrives in our Music and Drama department and we look forward to seeing what she does next.
St Peter’s is renowned for its excellent Sports department, and we are lucky to celebrate many individual and team successes across the year, but it’s the large number of fixtures played at all levels and encouraging participation for all that really chimes with our values.
At St Peter’s 2-8, physical education aims to develop the fundamental movement skills of all the pupils. We aim to do this by creating a fun, inclusive environment where children can explore and enhance their physical abilities. Activities include running, jumping, hopping, throwing, catching, and basic coordination drills, all designed to improve gross and fine motor skills, spatial awareness, balance and coordination.
As children move into Year 1 and Year 2, the foundation laid in the early years is expanded. They are introduced to a broader range of physical activities and begin learning basic techniques and rules for specific sports and games. The children explore various movement patterns and start working cooperatively with their peers. Activities during this phase include team games, athletics, dance, gymnastics and basic ball skills such as dribbling and striking. The lessons also aim to promote social skills and positive communication between the children.
In Year 3, physical education broadens further to develop competence in a wider array of sports and physical activities. Children continue refining their movement skills while learning more advanced techniques and strategies for particular sports. The children participate in team games, as well as individual activities. Lessons also incorporate elements of fitness, health and well-being, encouraging an active, healthy lifestyle. Year 3 students are also encouraged to take on leadership roles, solve problems and work collaboratively in group settings.
Year 3 continue to enjoy their double games lessons – we are lucky enough to use the 13-18 facilities each week as well as the expertise of a number of senior school coaches who help to deliver the comprehensive games programme to Year 3. The children also enjoyed their trip to the Grammar School at Leeds where we engaged in a netball and rugby workshop. The afternoon enabled the children to co-operate with others as they started to understand how participating in sport can have a positive effect on them socially, as well as physically.
Trophies awarded 2023-24 year.
Athlete of the Year – This award goes to the child who has shone in PE and Sport all year round. Leading by example with their behaviour and acting as a role model to the rest of the children in their year group.
Rita Resilience – Our Rita Resilience award goes to the child who we feel never gives up and works extremely hard to become the best version of themselves in all aspects of Sport and PE. Sportspersonship award – Our sportspersonship award is given to the child who we feel has displayed excellent values throughout the year, from helping others, congratulating the opposition in defeat or cheering on their house on days like this.
Reception
Summer and Sebi – Athlete of the Year
Grace R – Rita Resilience Award
Hugo S – Sportspersonship Award
Year 1
Martha and Taymour – Athlete of the Year
Lailah – Rita Resilience Award
Seb C – Sportspersonship Award
Year 2
Heidi and George R – Athlete of the Year
Toby M – Rita Resilience Award
Rosie – Sportspersonship Award
Year 3
Melanie and Oliver P – Athlete of the Year
Ellie B – Rita Resilience Award
Alfie S-D – Sportspersonship Award
Team GB Workshops
We had an incredible and inspirational week at St Peter’s 2-8 with the visit of Joel Fearon and Antony Cotterill from Athletes for Schools providing a memorable and amazing experience for the children.
Antony Cotterill, a Paralympic wheelchair tennis player, told the children about his love of sport as a child and how becoming a paraplegic following an accident in his twenties did not stop him from pursuing his dream of a career in sport. He has had an incredibly successful 19-year career which has included competing at the Paralympics in Rio and Tokyo and becoming a gold medal winner at the World Championships. The children were enthralled listening to him tell them about his journey and they had a fabulous time in the workshops which included learning how to manoeuvre his specially designed wheelchair that he uses for competing.
Joel, a sprinter and bobsleigh athlete, was so entertaining. The children listened with such interest about his career as a sprinter and the children were amazed to hear that he can run at almost 30 miles per hour! He has represented Team GB at both the summer and winter Olympics. Due to his speed and power, he was persuaded to take up the bobsleigh and in 2016 won a bronze medal for Team GB. He brought his medal to show us all and it was incredible to see a real Olympic medal up close!
The children loved the workshops where they learnt all sprinting skills and had the opportunity to race against Joel!
Despite it having been one of the wettest years on record, the Sports programme at 8-13 has continued to evolve, grow and thrive this year. Over 411 pupils have participated in upwards of 780 fixtures across more than eight different sports.
The pupils have, as always, continued to impress us with the commitment and effort they have shown, and it has been heart-warming to see the range and number of pupils out enjoying training and playing on a weekly basis. As a school, we aim to provide pupils with a lifelong love of sport and we really do hope that the coaching, training and matches they throw themselves into with such enthusiasm here at St Peter’s 8-13 puts them in good stead to continue to enjoy physical activity for the rest of their lives. We all recognise the mental, physical and social benefits that these opportunities provide.
The U11 girls’ and boys’ hockey teams both won bronze medals at their respective qualifying tournaments this year, whilst the U11 girls’ netball team narrowly missed out on national final qualification after a gripping semi-final against Prestfelde that went to golden goal. The J3 team also performed impressively in the Warwick 7s tournament, finishing in the runners-up spot. In cricket, the U11 mixed team were runners up in the DC50 Repton tournament. The U13 girls’ hockey team were Yorkshire Finalists in the IN2Hockey competition, whilst the boys’ team won a bronze medal at the IAPS qualifying event and were runners up in the North finals of the IN2Hockey competition. In Rugby 7s the J4s were plater winners in the Millfield tournament, whilst the J5s won the cup in the same competition! Our U13 and U12 A and B teams all emerged victorious in their respective York & District netball tournaments, with the U13Bs conceding only one goal throughout the day.
Our swimmers have had a fantastic season with girls crowned overall HMC champions and the boys placed fourth. The U10 girls were also runners up in the IAPS Swimming competition. Four girls, Iris R, Immy E, Olivia M and Olivia A qualified for the English Schools National Relay Championships in Sheffield. They performed superbly in the finals and ended up ninth and 12th in the entirety of the country, and ultimately, the fastest team from the North of England. The event was open to all primary schools in England, of which over 400 entered, so to finish ninth and 12th is quite an achievement, and has topped off an amazing year for 8-13 swimming this year.
Mr Maycock, Head of Swimming: “I am very proud to see the girls compete at such a level, and not only hold their own, but outperform many top schools from around the country.”
In January a group of students who were selected following the York Schools Cross Country Championships, competed in the North Yorkshire Schools Cross Country event over in Whitby. Despite the cold conditions, they all worked with impressive effort and resilience to achieve some impressive performances. Huge congratulations to Bertie L, Will L and Lucy R.
We hosted several tournaments at school this year, including numerous rounds of the In2hockey competition, the York and District U12 Netball Tournaments, HMC Rugby tournaments, a number of Rugby 7s tournaments, HMC Cricket Tournaments, the Super 8s and the IAPS Cricket Finals. We also hosted a fantastic workshop for U11 Tennis with schools travelling from the North-East and Lincolnshire to have some coaching and play in a wonderful U11 Mixed Doubles tournament. We continue to try to develop links with local schools and have worked hard to develop a programme of sporting tournaments which they can also access.
Our J5s learnt to row, ready to move up to the programme at 13-18. From having never sat in a boat to being able to independently scull up and down the river outside of the boathouse, it’s been an amazing journey. In June we invited their parents and guardians to celebrate the children’s progress. This wouldn’t be possible without the support of our 13-18 rowers, particularly the Third Form, passing on their skills at every session along the way.
We have continued to develop our sporting programme to provide opportunities for all pupils to participate in sport at a level that develops their confidence and engages them. Sport is for every ‘Peterite’ and it has been fantastic to see the range and depth of participation and enjoyment across all of our teams and sports. On one of the busier Thursdays this term, we had 10 fixtures out for J4 and 5 on the same afternoon: a fantastic display of the breadth and depth across sports.
Rowing by Mr Gunn
The Boat Club has had a good year, with 90 pupils representing the school, and 79 event wins across all year groups.
A new and successful innovation this year has been the Senior Group 1, which enables Fifth and Sixth Formers who enjoy rowing but do not want to do the extra training required for the ‘big events’ to stay in the sport and to race locally.
With the river flooding so much, more time was spent rowing around the rugby pitches than on the Ouse itself. One of the highlights of the Easter Term was all of the Third, Fourth and new Lower Sixth rowers attending the National Junior Indoor Rowing Championships (North) in Leeds. This exciting event featured more than 900 children from 50 schools and clubs allowed many St Peter’s rowers to compete for the first time.
Individual success came for U17s Sam C, who won a very well judged gold medal, Lila who hung on for a silver, Year 10 Charles T (bronze) and Year 9 Arina (also bronze). In the Team events, our senior boys won a very impressive gold and our senior girls and Year 9 girls came away with bronzes.
The top end of the club has been discovering the standards required at national level, gradually improving in Rowing’s major events with the boys’ quad winning the B final at the Junior Sculling Regatta, and our girls’ double qualifying for Henley Women’s Regatta.
At the National Schools Regatta, five out of seven crews all made it through to the side-byside racing, a big step forward from last year. The Fourth Form boy’s quad were third in the C final after a very close race (coming 15th overall). The senior girl’s quad came third in the D final. The senior girls’ double (Imogen and Islay) won their C final, as did Tom S, competing in Championship Singles (against 54 others). The Senior boys Quad raced well to make the B final but were then frustrated by a below-par row to finish eighth.
Charles T, Tristan P and Alexa were selected to represent Yorkshire in the Inter-regional championship.
Special mention to Andy and George who qualified for the GB U19 trials. Racing over 5000m at Boston, they came 32nd and 44th respectively out of 60 scullers.
Netball by Miss Wilson
This netball season at St Peter’s School has been distinguished by exceptional success, with participation reaching new heights, with more than 100 girls from Third Form to Upper Sixth proudly representing the school. Netball is valued not just as a competitive sport but also for the enjoyment it brings, with the intramural league competing every Saturday for team points. As each team progresses, their experience transcends mere victories, establishing a solid foundation for what it means to be a netball player at St Peter’s School.
The U14, U16, and U19 teams all triumphed in the area round of Nationals School’s competition. The U19 team advanced to the prestigious Regional Round of the tournament, where they faced 10 intense end-to-end matches against some of the strongest teams in the region.
The 1st VII exhibited remarkable unity and cohesion throughout the season, with every player bringing something invaluable to the court and working together seamlessly. Their teamwork was evident in their flawless synchronisation during play, from well-
timed interceptions that disrupted opponents’ momentum to precisely executed passes that advanced their own game with fluidity and purpose. This level of coordination and sharp instinct on the court didn’t happen overnight – it was the result of rigorous training, shared goals, and a commitment to continuous improvement. While individual skills were certainly on display, the players’ ability to anticipate each other’s movements, communicate effectively under pressure, and maintain composure in tight moments highlighted their bond and mutual trust. They built a style of play that was fast-paced and strategic, wearing down opponents with both skill and endurance.The 1st VII’s offensive power was undeniable, as they scored an impressive 578 goals across 12 matches, averaging 48 goals per game. Securing an unbeaten season for the second consecutive year is a rare accomplishment.
A special mention goes to Sophia W, whose leadership as captain of the 1st VII this season was exceptional. Despite being sidelined by injury, Sophia continued to lead her team from the bench, providing constant support, strategic insight, and encouragement. Her commitment and presence were instrumental in guiding the team to success, reflecting both her maturity and deep understanding of the game.
The 2nd VII developed a strong and supportive team culture by consistently training alongside the 1st VII, which allowed them to adopt high-level strategies and refine their skills under challenging conditions. Their growth was evident in their impressive season record of eight wins out of nine matches, highlighted by a commanding 36-24 victory over Sedbergh. This decisive win showcased their resilience and adaptability, as they skilfully applied the techniques and discipline gained from training with the 1st VII.
The 3rd and 4th VII teams took on some of their strongest competition yet, frequently going up against other schools’ 1st teams and meeting the challenge with skill. The 3rd VII, building on the foundation laid last season, emerged as a tightly knit, solid unit. Their teamwork and tactical play earned them impressive wins against teams like Woodhouse Grove and Newcastle High, demonstrating their growth and consistency on the court.
Meanwhile, the 4th VII established a reputation for formidable defence, allowing an average of only 13 goals per game. Their solid defensive structure and strategic positioning made them challenging opponents, often frustrating their rivals and effectively limiting scoring opportunities.
The U15A team demonstrated remarkable growth throughout the season, evolving both in skill and strategic understanding with each match. Their season highlight came in a fiercely contested game against Sedbergh, where they secured a narrow one-goal victory. The U15B team also enjoyed a successful season, using each match as a stepping stone to gain experience and sharpen their skills. Competing regularly helped them develop greater confidence and familiarity with the game’s demands, preparing them well for their upcoming transition to senior netball.
The U14A team showcased their potential in an exceptional performance against Harrogate Grammar, emerging victorious in a game that underscored their ability to compete at a high level. This standout match highlighted the team’s growing tactical awareness, and it promises a future filled with further growth and success.
The U14B team had an extraordinary season, going undefeated and scoring an impressive 82 goals over the term. This level of success is particularly notable for a team of their age, reflecting both their strong offensive capabilities and their dedication to consistent, highquality play.
The U14C team also demonstrated considerable skill and enthusiasm, particularly in their match against Harrogate Grammar. They rose to the challenge with excellent linking play through the midcourt, moving the ball fluidly and creating scoring opportunities.
A special thanks goes out to all the coaching staff for their unwavering dedication, expertise and hard work throughout the season. Their commitment to developing each player’s skills, fostering team spirit, and guiding the teams through both triumphs and challenges has been invaluable. The success and growth witnessed across all age groups this season would not have been possible without their support, encouragement, and passion for the game.
Hockey by Mr Owen
It has been a hugely successful year for the St Peter’s Hockey programme. It has grown in participation and continues to be the largest in the North of England. The success of putting out four senior XIs and A and B teams in junior age groups for both the girls and boys goes against the trend that school sport is struggling to engage students in Saturday afternoon sport and the commitments that come with that through the week. The success has also been seen through magnificent team results, individual accolades and so many students pursuing the sport outside of school with club, county, and England Talent Academy squads.
The 1st XI girls had an unbeaten regular season, breaking both the goalscoring and defensive records. They scored 77 goals and conceded nine in 16 matches. Wins against Sedbergh and RGS Newcastle were the standout results, as was retaining their Rugby School Invitational Trophy. They also had a magnificent cup run, which ended in the quarter-finals against Loughborough with a narrow loss. The team can be proud of their achievements; having an unbeaten season at 1st XI is exceedingly rare, but it is the attacking intent of their hockey which has stood out all year. The team was well led by Charlotte H and Lauren W, who were both awarded caps for their commitment over the past five years, with Esme as their dependable vice-captain. The top scorers were Olivia with 19 goals, India 14, and Violet 12.
The 2nds, 3rds and 4ths also embraced the attack-minded philosophy, scoring plenty of goals and the girls committing fully to each other. The 3rd XI lost just once in their nine games. The 15A and 15B developed quickly and played with passion throughout, and there is no doubt that this year group will add plenty of strength to the senior squads next year. The 14A team have excellent team spirit, and had a wonderful season winning all but one of their matches. In the cup they lost narrowly in a play-off to go to the national finals. The future is certainly bright with the quality and depth of the talent in the younger year groups.
The Boys’ Hockey Programme remains fully inclusive, and it was a pleasure putting out a 4th XI this year in the senior program. Numbers have never been healthier. Due to this, fixtures have been plentiful and the opportunity for competitive hockey open to all. The highlight of the season from a results basis was the fantastic cup run of the 14A in the England Hockey Tier 2 Championships, where they made the National Finals. A fourth place finish in the country was superb. They were one goal away from making the National Final and played superb hockey throughout the tournament, impressing with their sportsmanship. In their regular season fixtures they won all but one of their games.
The U15s also had an impressive season and were crowned Yorkshire Schools Champions, without losing a game. They were also runners-up in the Manchester Grammar School Powerplay Tournament, which featured 24 schools from the North and the Midlands.
The 1st XI had a development year. Younger players were trained and results fluctuated wildly, as did our intensity at times in training. It was pleasing to finish the last three weeks of the season so strongly and to come together as a squad. In the National Cup the team had an outstanding performance against Scarborough College. A 2-2 draw was followed by a tough loss on sudden-death penalty strokes. Ben B was outstanding all year and finished as top scorer, testament to his work rate and intelligent movement, Harry G marshalled the defence well and the team was led passionately by Noah. The 2nd XI had a slow start to the season. Cohesive hockey was elusive up until half term; however, persistence from the boys resulted in them only losing two of their final nine games and playing with freedom and flair. The 3rds always had to play other schools 2nd XIs to get fixtures. They rose to the challenge and won six matches and lost just once. It was so pleasing to have enough hockey players to have a 4th XI.
Individually there are many accolades to celebrate. The school had 15 students representing their clubs at the National Club Finals days. There are 26 students representing the county at various age groups. Congratulations also go to Cora, Alice, Eleanor, Polly, Ethan, and Oliver for their selections to the England Hockey Talent Academy Championships in July. Cora also made the final 30 for England U16 selection, and Oliver captained the UK Lions to their invitational tournament in The Netherlands and won the tournament.
I would like to thank all the coaches and students for their passion, expertise and consistent positivity throughout the season. The girls’ and boys’ hockey programmes are busy, but a great amount of enjoyment is always had.
Rugby by Mr Fradgley
As the final whistle blew on the 23/24 rugby season, it’s clear that it was filled with pride, determination, and unforgettable moments. From intense tackles to last-minute tries, players across the school have demonstrated exceptional skill and teamwork both on and off the field. As we reflect on the highs and lows of the season, it’s not just the results that stand out, but the spirit of camaraderie and growth that defined our journey.
Following a successful and memorable tour to Australia, the 1st XV boys were eager to hit the ground running in September, with a great feeling of camaraderie amongst the whole senior group. September saw the boys deliver four strong performances, including a last-minute win against QEGS, which meant a lot to the group and to all the supporters too! We had the opportunity to support Kevin Sinfield in the first of his ‘7 in 7 in 7’ ultra marathons, with the boys’ theme for the rest of the term being them being the best team-mate possible. The season finished with a convincing performance away to Pocklington, with the boys demonstrating the pride they have in playing together as a group, and in representing the school.
With lots of changes to players/coaches the 2nd XV boys could have been forgiven a slow start to the season, but routine wins against RGS and Hymers got them off to a strong start. Barnard Castle at home was from a coach’s point of view the best performance of the season. Structure fluidity and skills all brought together by a great team spirit. The second team by its very nature has a high turnover of players, with players moving up and down between the teams. This could be cause for disruption, but the way the squad trains together and has the very same ethos throughout made these transitions almost seamless.
In the face of a challenging winter season, the 3rd XV rugby team displayed unyielding resilience and unwavering team spirit throughout their four matches. Despite formidable opponents and tasting the bitterness of defeat, the players showcased remarkable growth in skills and unparalleled teamwork. The season’s pinnacle was an intensely fought, narrow loss to Ampleforth 2nd XV, underscoring the team’s tenacity.
It was a hugely competitive season in which the U16 squad of players took on 17 fixtures all of which were against tough opposition. The strength of the squad was their adaptability and willingness to learn, and every player was better at the end of the season than at the start. The U15s have made great progress over the season. Although they lost a few games, they have all been by a few points and they have always been in a position to win them. The attitude of the boys to training has been exemplary from the start of the year and they have improved every week. Their ability to kick and play territory as a team is developing well and they are starting to understand defensive and attacking strategies. Throughout the term the U14 boys have worked hard, improving their basic skills and responding to the coaching. Their self-belief increased and although victories were scarce there were many successes.
Representative Honours
Yorkshire Rugby Academy – U18 Academy League Squad – Lucas, Anesu, Aiden, Rob Yorkshire Rugby Academy – U18 Extended Squad – Archie
U17 DPP – Harry R, Oliver S Yorkshire Rugby Academy – U16 Player Development Group – Cormac, Dawson U16 DPP – Archie, Toby, Will T U15 DPP – Colm, Will I, Zach, Rory, Ben
This season has been a testament to the 1st VII boys unwavering commitment, exhibited by every player. This commitment was shown in excess in our first tournament, which saw an undermanned squad travel up north to Newcastle. Post half term, we went straight back into fixtures, first being Ripon 7s.
With high morale and lots of momentum building from previous weeks we prepared for our biggest challenge yet, the pinnacle of schoolboy rugby, Rosslyn Park. Our first match was against a highly skilled side, we played quick and direct rugby which led to us coming away with a narrow victory. This was followed by two huge 50-point wins and us topping our group. We then played an elimination game to get through to day two where we pulled away at the end for a 36-14 win.
On day two, we started slow off the mark, but we started the second half on fire, playing some of our best 7s yet, winning the game in the final seconds 26-24. Unfortunately, we could
not continue that momentum into our next game, coming away with a loss. Comfortably winning our next game saw us competing for the bowl. Entering our next two games we knew competition would be difficult. We started strongly playing some of the best rugby all season, however despite scoring five tries and only conceding four we fell on the wrong side of the score line losing 28-27. Our next game was a special one for the Upper Sixth as it would be their last time putting on the brown-and-white shirt. The boys wore the badge with immense pride and played relentlessly throughout the two days. I could not be prouder of how the team developed through the season, coming fingertips away from winning silverware at Rosslyn Park.
The U16s started their 7s season off at Durham back in early February. Due to the large numbers attending training, the decision was made to give everyone a chance to play in one of the first two tournaments. We left the tournament with some strong performances and important wins, to build some momentum towards Rosslyn Park. In the first game we started slowly, but finished up pulling away in the second half. Our next game would be the group decider and needing a win to progress. The final score flattered the opponents, in what was a frustrating performance from us. We had one last game to finish the tournament and deliver a full 14-minute performance. In the second half, we pulled away further, playing our best 7s of the season at a high speed. The boys capped a good season off in a strong way, and should be proud of their efforts.
A term disrupted by wet weather meant the U15s only had the opportunity to play in three tournaments. In the first tournament at Yarm, the group displayed resilience and determination throughout, with the team adapting well to the wet and boggy conditions to show some great progression and development. On to Ampleforth, which was again a muddy affair! The squad continued to develop and improve throughout the day. A huge effort across the day in eight matches saw us play in the Plate final. A narrow loss to a bigger physical team on a muddy pitch, was something to be proud of. In the final tournament at Bradford, the boys delivered their best performances in the group games. An emphatic win against QEGS was the highlight of the day. The boys should be proud of their efforts and be excited for the opportunity of Rosslyn Park 7s next year.
The U14s had a mixed term with the aim of making day two of Rosslyn. Throughout the term they have played some very good 7s moving the ball well but being unable to capitalise from opportunities and gaps that they had created. On day two in the Plate we struggled to capitalise on opportunities that we were creating on some shorter pitches. A good season where great progress was made.
Tennis by Mr De Vries
Another busy Summer Term saw tennis remain extremely popular with our Senior School pupils, notably from Year 11 upwards. As ever the school offered a host of external fixtures, LTA cups and internal competitions for our pupils to enjoy. Based on achievements over the past 12 months the school is currently ranked 12th in the UK Schools rankings (girls’) and also in the top 25 on the boys’ side.
With a number of Senior Boys 1st team players leaving for University last summer, this year afforded the opportunity to a new crop of tennis players to challenge for a place in the 1st team. National competitions started in January where a team of four travelled to the North East to play Yarm and Newcastle School for Boys in the LTA Youth Senior Students Competition. The team enjoyed the challenge of playing against some experienced competitors although they did not progress from the group stage
Once the Summer Term got into full swing the Senior teams had frequent fixtures and enjoyed regularly competing. A competitive National Cup match with QEGS Wakefield early in the Summer was excellent. St Peter’s also hosted the popular Tiebreak 10 tournament for the second time. This exciting and innovative competition is well received by our players and visiting teams from across the region. This year our 1st pair of James G (Captain) and Rob performed well to finish fourth overall out of 16 competitors.
Due to their willingness to listen and act on advice, the performances of the junior boys’ groups improved throughout the term. In our U14 Road to Wimbledon event, George emerged as the winner and went on to perform exceptionally well at the Road to Wimbledon regional event later in the summer holidays.
The previous year was a record-breaking one for our Senior girls’ tennis team, resulting in the current ranking of 12th in the UK.
Captained superbly by Anna, the team enjoyed a great deal of success, again going undefeated in regular school fixtures throughout the summer. The 1st team of VI also won the Senior Girls Tennis Festival hosted at the end of April by winning all six of their matches. In the LTA Senior Students competition a team of four enjoyed a busy day of competition when completing the league stage in one afternoon. After two close matches with QM and Yarm the team missed out on progressing to the Regional Finals after a 2-4 defeat to a strong South Hunsley team.
Once again, the team made good progress in the National Cup competition, progressing against Scarborough College, Whitburn Academy and Ampleforth. In the final match of the regional round the team played BGS with a place at the National Finals the reward for the winners. The two teams met at the same stage last year but this time it was BGS who got the win; winning five of the six rubbers. There were a brilliant number of junior girls choosing tennis in the Summer Term. With 50 girls playing at least three times a week there was a lot of activity including fixtures, festivals, House tennis and also a Road to Wimbledon event for the U14s.
The season saw our teams enjoy many friendly fixtures on the school circuit and every pupil was given the opportunity to represent the school at some stage. On the first Saturday of term St Peter’s had two teams competing in the Chapman Cup, both teams played well with the 1st pair finishing third and the 2nd pair winning the B team event.
In our Junior Girls’ Festival, the team had the chance to play singles and doubles on a glorious June afternoon which saw us welcome some top Yorkshire players. The players learnt a lot and enjoyed the challenge, finishing 3rd overall.
The school ran a Road to Wimbledon event for the U14s which saw all the players that had opted for tennis compete in a singles competition, with a place at the Regional event, and ultimately the opportunity to play at Wimbledon, on offer for the winning player. Congratulations to Naomi who won the event, beating Sophia in a well-matched final. In the U15 girls’ age group we had over 30 girls playing tennis every week and all of them were very keen to take part in fixtures. Winners of the U15 Girls’ Tennis Festival in June, our team of VI were unbeaten all afternoon. St Peter’s strong level throughout the team of VI proved to be the difference between them and the visiting teams.
In LTA League tennis our 1st team won their division which meant that they progressed through to the Regional Knockout stage. The team progressed further when they beat St Aidans from Harrogate before losing to Glasgow Academy, the best team in Scotland, in the final round.
As in every year, our best players competed in our annual singles competitions with Millie winning the Shepherd Cup and Rob retaining the Alcuin-Shread trophy.
At the end of the term we took a selection of our best players down to Eton College for the ISTA Championships. This fantastic event is always a highlight of the year and a real test for our tennis players.
In the U15 boys’ event the school had two pairs competing (Sam and George, Finnan and Pietro). It was the first time they had played at a tournament of this scale and they performed admirably, picking up some good wins along the way.
In the U15 girls’ event (Leah and Clara, Saffy and Hettie) the pairs approached the challenge with bravery and enthusiasm, getting some marvellous results across the weekend. Leah and Clara had a brilliant competition, winning all five matches on day one and ultimately progressing to the semi-finals of the Springthorpe Cup.
Our Senior boys team of four was made up of Rob, Will, Art and Oscar. The boys were delighted to compete and enjoy such a good experience, they had a tough draw against a strong Bradfield side in Round 1 after which they took on d’Overbroeck’s, who had players heading to America on tennis scholarships, which shows the standard on show at the tournament. Although they lost both matches it was some of the best tennis they played all year.
Our U19 Girls’ teams have performed well at the ISTA Championships recently and this year was no different. Anna and Millie played as our first pair and progressed through their first group stage and beat St George’s 6-1 6-0 in the first round of the main draw, an outstanding performance! In the last 16 of the competition the girls played Repton, who earlier in the week were in the National Semi-finals. A great showing from St Peter’s who achieved a great deal over the weekend and represented the school brilliantly.
Izzy and Ailsa were representing us as our 2nd pair in the Senior girls event, and formed an excellent partnership. A close defeat to Cranleigh meant they finished third in their group and moved into the plate competition. From here the team won four matches in a row to sail through to the quarter-finals where they lost a good match with SHSK.
The senior students that were selected for this tournament were lucky enough to enjoy a trip to Wimbledon after their efforts at the ISTA tournament! The school were delighted to be able to take them and reward their efforts, and the pupils were very grateful and suitably inspired after seeing the best players in the world in action!
Thank you to Mrs Whitehead
This Summer we said goodbye to Mrs Whitehead who has had a tremendous influence and impact on so many tennis players coming through St Peter’s over the years. Always popular with the students, she has been one of the main drivers of tennis at the school over her 99 terms of service and will be sorely missed by pupils and staff alike. We wish her all the best for her retirement!
Squash by Mr Bridson
It was a very good year for Squash at St Peter’s school, with a record number of pupils playing Squash throughout all the weekly sessions. The new Junior club session for Third Form on a Wednesday proved very popular, which then led to starting a weekly team session for them on a Tuesday, which culminated in a 4-1 win against Sedbergh school U15s.
The first team continued to compete in the York and District men’s league, recording some impressive performances against local league clubs’ men’s teams. In the National Schools competition, we reached the second round and missed out on the finals, for the top national eight schools only, on a points countback.
Main highlights were our 5-0 win against Sedbergh school and Alex V reaching the handicap trophy final at York Squash Club.
Well done and thank you to all pupils who help to continue the growth of Squash at St Peter’s school and our Director of Sport Mr McTurk and Head of Enrichment Mr Gwilliam for their continued support for Squash at St Peter’s.
Swimming by Mr Maycock 2023/2024 was a hugely successful year across the full range of swimming age groups. In the primary ages, the U9 girls, U10 girls and U11 girls became NE Champions, with Olivia breaking a 17-year-old event record while the U9 boys were runners up. National accolades were won by Charlie (U11) who was IAPs national champion, as well as Olivia claiming a bronze medal. The entire U10 girls team won national silver medal at the same event at the London Olympic Pool. There were a total of 14 students who qualified for this national finals event. Later on in the year, the girls qualified for the English Primary Schools national finals in Sheffield, finishing 10th of over 350 schools.
Further up the school, there was more success at the English School individual events, with Charles T and Zach F claiming 12 medals between them, a fine effort. In the U18s, both the boys and the girls teams became the Yorkshire schools cup champions in its first year, as well as becoming ‘world schools swimming champions’ after two days of brilliant team and individual racing at the London Olympic pool. The girls also brought more silverware home from the Bath and Otter Cup, with a brilliant bronze medal. Six of the age group teams had an unbeaten season in regular fixtures, a particular mention to the U18 boys who have now gone eight years unbeaten since the reintroduction of the boys’ team swimming. Huge well done to our leavers, Freddie, Eliza, Rachel and Becky on a fine St Peter’s swimming career.
Cricket
In cricket it was great to have girls progressing through many stages of National Cup rounds. The biggest achievement of the year though has to be the 1st XI Boys winning the National Cup. Indeed, the summer of 2024 will go down as the finest cricket season in the school’s history – U18 National T20 Champions, U17 National Semi-Finalists, Dubai ARCH Trophy winners, and a season rundown for the 1st XI – played 28, won 23, lost five and drew one. Read more about it in the next feature.
By Wills, Monty, Joe and Alex
National Finals
After an unbeaten trip to Dubai, with many notable performances, the boys were raring to get going in the UK. Unfortunately, the weather was not so eager. Despite incredible efforts from the grounds team, unfortunately our first two fixtures were called off, but the grounds-team stayed persistent and got out third game on vs Lincolnshire U18. Playing on a July-like pitch, St Peter’s won easily with player of the match (POTM) shared between Harry G and Alex for an opening stand of 120. The fine form of the batters continued, with credit to an excellent, newly introduced winter program which allowed all batters to get in high volume and improve significantly. We moved into our next fixture, Sedbergh (A). The boys started exceptionally and chased 150 with ease. POTM Wills for his 71*.
Soon after, we continued our form by beating Ampleforth in the first round of the T20 national cup by 93 runs. POTM to Harry R for his match-winning 43 off 27.
We then played QE in the next round. After a shaky start, we finished with 161 off 20, and restricted QE to 104. POTM shared between Archie (42 off 25), Alex (48 off 20) and Monty (3-1-6-2). With Half Term soon approaching, we moved into our third cup game vs Woodhouse Grove. We started well, setting 207 off 20 overs, and finished well by bowling Woodhouse out for 135. POTM to Wills and Alex for their 59 off 34 and 55 off 26 respectively.
The North East round robin final vs NSB and Scarborough, at home, was on the last day before Half Term. We played Scarborough first, posting 196 and restricting them to 129. POTM to Wills for his 95 off 55. We then moved on to NSB, knowing that a win got us to the last eight in the country. We posted 219 off 20 overs, with Alex hitting 71 off 29 balls. An excellent fielding and bowling display, topped by Archie’s 3-07-4, restricted NSB to 74ao.
On a beautiful Saturday the boys started exceptionally in the T20 quarter final vs Myerscough. Posting 192, we fielded and bowled exceptionally well, bowling Myerscough out for 72. POTM to Archie for his 3-0-5-3. Valuable lessons were learnt in season fixtures, and good conversations were had ahead of our home semi-final vs Shrewsbury. After the same team losing out to Shrewsbury in the U17 quarter final the previous year, there was revenge to be had. Another beautiful Saturday set up the perfect semi-final. Wills got the boys off to a flier, hitting a now professional bowler for 4 first ball. We posted 170, a par score. An exceptional fielding and bowling performance followed, bowling Shrewsbury out for 126.
We were off to Lords!
Preparations began and buses were organised. More thanr 200 pupils were coming to Lords on the following Friday, where we would meet Millfield in the National T20 final. What followed was truly incredible.
For the first time in the long history of St Peter’s cricket, the boys’ 1st XI reached the final of the Under 18 National T20 Cup. The boys aimed to top off what had already been a fabulous season playing 27, winning 21, losing five and drawing one, by creating history in front of a large St Peter’s contingent who had made the long journey down to London. The Cup run had seen the boys beat all the top cricketing schools, working as individuals and as team to win games along the way. Togetherness and belonging were the key features of the team’s success.
The magnitude of the Final continued to build for the whole group through the week, but with clear messaging, calm and considered training and match preparation, and some helpful work with a Performance Psychologist on visualisation and mindfulness, we went into the game fully prepared, and full of confidence.
Staying down the night before, everyone enjoyed a team meal at the Lord’s Tavern, whilst wishing our brilliant coach, Mr Sharp, a happy 40th birthday. The huge occasion had begun to set in when the boys received positive and heartfelt messages from friends and family, which put smiles on our faces and gave us some added encouragement and made us feel that we could achieve history and take home the trophy. When we woke up all the boys were hugely boosted by an individual handwritten message from Mr Sharp, which demonstrates the care, support and belief he has for us all.
After enjoying a lovely breakfast at the hotel with views of Lord’s, the boys made the famous walk through the Grace Gates and into the famous old pavilion and through the Long Room, where we were welcomed by our attendant who walked us into the Home Dressing Room. This was a surreal experience, sitting where all England greats had done before us, including our very own Jonny Bairstow – this spurred us on even more to attempt to emulate some of their achievements. We then went to the Nursery ground to make use of the brilliant net facilitates. Before too long it was time to make the long-awaited walk onto the hallowed turf to begin our warm ups and preparation for the game.
After losing the toss and being put into bat, St Peter’s got off to the perfect start with the first ball being pulled for six into the stands which was met with a huge cheer from the travelling fans, who surely outnumbered Millfield’s by at least five to one. This extra support hugely helped the boys throughout the day. St Peter’s start began to look shaky as the sense of the occasion and first-time experience of the venue meant that we had lost some early wickets to tension. However, everybody managed to contribute in some way to get us to our total of 154. There was one standout who stood up to the occasion and delivered an incredible knock of 97. Wills’ innings consisted of five fours and a staggering nine sixes, giving him a strike rate of just under 200 and his destructiveness saw the Millfield boys’ heads drop. The other milestone reached by the St Peter’s boys was a 50-run partnership between Wills and Monty, which helped to stabilise the innings and created the platform we needed batting first.
Our mid-innings talk from Mr Sharp delivered a simple message. All season the message he had been saying in each round leading up to the final was ‘show them how good you can be’. However, on this occasion he said ‘show them how
good you are’. This boost, combined with the St Peter’s fans’ amazing atmosphere created the energy and belief for us to go and get what we deserved.
The first ball of the game emulated ours when Archie pulled the ball for four. After a passionate exchange between Archie and Noah, captain Hugo had a stroke of genius by changing the field, and the next ball was hit out to Archie on the square leg boundary who held a strong catch in the deep. Their leading run scorer struck back with a huge six after some mind games from Monty the ball before. Hugo once again impacted the game by running out the highest scorer in the competition leaving Millfield three wickets down in the first four overs. Monty and Cris combined for three wickets in consecutive overs, swinging the momentum back in our favour with the crowd well and truly behind us.
Our fielding on the day was something special, given all the work we had collectively put in since October. We understood that we could not be complacent and that we had a real chance of winning. This, to the surprise of the not so complementary Millfield commentator, meant that we were the steelier of the two teams and very much ‘in the fight, and loving the competition’ as Mr Sharp would always say. By the end of the powerplay Millfield were struggling at 40-4. Wills managed to get the best bowling figures of 2.3-0-3-17. Archie with the help of Alex behind the stumps was able to combine for a great stumping, rounding off a brilliant day from Archie with the ball. As we kept piling on the pressure, Millfield did not seem to have the answers. Before long, they were suffering at 81/9, until their biggest partnership of the innings which kept the fans eagerly waiting until Wills took the final wicket to seal the game.
This moment will live long in the memory for all the boys as one of the best days of our lives, especially for those who were putting on a St Peter’s shirt for the last time. It was a huge achievement too for the school, its first ever cricket National title; and what a place to do it.
Huge thanks to Mr Sharp, Mr Grant and Mr Wood, and all of those who supported the 1st XI. A further thanks to fellow pupil Anesu for his commentary throughout the match which was much enjoyed by the Peterite community tuning in to follow the match on the radio, and to OP captain/ scorer Pete Rivis.
Wills is Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year
St Peter’s Sixth Form pupil Wills has achieved another fabulous accolade for his cricketing career. Gray-Nicholls has awarded Wills the 2022 trophy for the Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year Award, in view of his fantastic achievements throughout the 2022 season. This award is based on his contributions and performances at County and Regional Level, but also at the 2022 Bunbury Festival.
Wills is honoured to have been awarded this trophy and reflects on his season below: “During the 2022 season I represented the school in the First XI throughout and helped to contribute to a successful year for the school. I was also honoured to have captained both Yorkshire U15s and North of England at the famous Bunbury festival. It was an honour but also a brilliant experience which I learnt a lot from, and I hope that in the future I can use the experience to further pursue my cricketing aspirations. In the coming years I hope to continue to represent the School and I aspire to continue playing and see where it takes me, with the eventual goal of becoming a professional.”
Alex’s National Cricket Collective Award
Enormous congratulations to Fifth Form pupil Alex, for his National Cricket Collective Award in the category of ‘Rising Star’. Awarded to a young volunteer making a difference in the game, the accolade recognises Alex’s hard work as Head Groundsman of Kirk Hammerton Cricket Club.
“I’ve never known someone as young as Alex become a Head Groundsman, and not just [an] assistant groundsman. Not only has he learnt how to become a groundsman in the last 18 months or so, but he’s now showing real leadership qualities.” Andrew Wager, Kirk Hammerton CC.
Alex told us: “I’m delighted to win this award to show the hard work that myself and other volunteers do in the cricketing world.”
We look forward to seeing his achievements both on and off the pitch in the coming years.
Elliotte’s trampolining success
Fourth Form pupil, Elliotte has seen great success in the recent English Championships for trampolining, winning her age category in this year’s TRI League 2. She has been training in trampolining for six years, after starting out in gymnastics.
Elliotte trains three times a week for two to three hours. These training sessions include practising routines and new skills in preparation for competitions. Each routine must include 10 moves and trampolinists are ranked on height and accuracy of landing. Well done Elliotte, and good luck in your future competitions!
Leavers Day 2024
In May our Upper Sixth cohort said goodbye to their daily life at St Peter’s, as they headed into exam period. Pupils celebrated the fantastic time they had at the school with their friends, with a final leaver’s chapel service, followed by games and activities. Fourteen pupils who had been at the school since Nursery even took a before and after picture! We wish the class of 2024 huge success in their lives beyond school, and hope many decide to continue to visit us again over the years.
Mr Walker said: “To the Upper Sixth, a very talented and enthusiastic cohort. Thank you for all you have contributed and, as you go from this place, make sure you use your skills, interests and talents to live lives full of meaning and fulfilment. Not just for yourselves but for others.
“There will no doubt be challenges ahead but face them with confidence. Remember, always do what is right not what is easy. More importantly there will be plenty of great times and opportunities too. In all of them a sense of quiet confidence along with your mischievous, playful sense of humour will stand you in good stead. Just as St Peter’s seeks to be a force for the good, make sure that you are agents for the good and may God bless you all. Go forth, smash it and crack on!”
Esme Adcock University of Nottingham Microbiology
Edward Adekanmi University of Nottingham Medicine with a Foundation Year
Leila Aston Manchester Metropolitan University Interior Design
Lucy Atkinson Newcastle University Ancient History
Minnie Axon Cardiff University Criminology and Sociology
Alexander Baroni Durham University
Archie Barrett Northumbria University, Newcastle International Business Management
Grace Batty Loughborough University Architecture (with placement year)
Halle Bayston Newcastle University Agriculture with Farm Business Management
Thomas Bedford Gap year
Will Bettison Newcastle University Mechanical Engineering
Benjamin Binns Gap year
Freddie Brook University of Bath
Thomas Brown Durham University
and International Relations
and Management
William Browne University of Nottingham Aerospace Engineering
Jonathan Burgess
Eliza Butters University of Birmingham
Orane Cabral Gap Year
Sum Ki Natalie Cheung
Fiza Chowdhury UCAM, Murcia
Eva Coates University of
Anna Coggrave Durham University
Conroy
Stanley Cope
Thomas Councell Newcastle University
Grace de Planta de Wildenberg University of Leicester
Matthew Debnam Bath Spa University
Georgina Deverell
Bohdan Dudko Imperial College
Poppy Edwards Manchester Metropolitan
Zara El Dabi University of Manchester
(Professional Placement Year)
Scarlet Ellis University of Exeter Sociology
Claudia Enoch University of Birmingham Psychology
Marks Evarts The University of Edinburgh Economics with Finance
Alice Falconer The University of Edinburgh History of Art
Jemima Field Northumbria University, Newcastle Product Design
Rosanna Flowers University of Southampton Music and Business Management with a Year Abroad 2024
Nadia Furlong UCL (University College London) Architecture 2025
Lanzhen Gao King’s College London, University of London Digital Media and Culture 2024
Tess Gilbertson Oxford Brookes University Marketing Management 2024
Henrie Gilman Gap Year
James Gold University of Bristol Psychology 2024
Harry Green University of Exeter Finance: Investment Banking 2024
Zoe Greenwood University of York Business and Management 2024
Beatrice Gugliuzza University of Glasgow Politics (SocSci) 2024
Cristofer Gwilliam Lopez Durham University Business and Management with Study Abroad 2024
Natalie Hamilton Degree Apprenticeship 2024
James Haw University of Glasgow Economics (SocSci) 2024
Charlotte Henebury Oxford Brookes University Business and Management 2024
Amelia Hunt University of Cambridge Theology, Religion, and Philosophy of Religion 2024
Maggie Hutchings University of Nottingham Natural Sciences 2024
Elizaveta Iagelskaia King’s College London, University of London Management and Modern Languages with a Year Abroad 2024
Chihiro Iizuka The University of Edinburgh Physics 2024
Ethan Ingram Durham University Engineering (Mechanical) 2024
Arabella Johnston University of Bristol Mathematics with Study Abroad 2024
Jack Jones Cardiff University Business Management 2025
Muntasir Kabir University of Nottingham Biotechnology 2024
Charlise King University of Liverpool Communication and Media 2024
Alfred La Valette University of Reading International Business and Management 2024
Daria Lapina Goldsmiths, University of London Arts Management 2024
Sophia Leigh-Hunt University of York Biochemistry 2024
Megan Lenton-Brook University of Exeter Law 2024
Annabel Lim UCL (University College London) Arts and Sciences with Study Abroad 2024
Hei Lui UCL (University College London) Architecture
Rachel Mackenney University of Chester Bioveterinary Science
Jack MacNeill University of Southampton
Jelizaveta Macujeva University of Leeds
Viren Mangharam University
National Careers Week
National Careers Week was kickstarted with a bang, thanks to our annual Futures Fair on 4 March. More than 500 pupils, parents and community members flocked to St Peter’s to meet with 30+ exhibitors and hear from four inspiring speakers.
The event was a resounding success, with overwhelmingly positive feedback. We’re excited to build on this momentum and make next year’s Futures Fair even bigger and better, with plans to host it in the Pascal Building.
Mentoring
Over the past academic year, we have welcomed 14 Old Peterites to mentor our Lower Sixth pupils! The pupils were paired with Old Peterites to understand more about the choices ahead of them and the world of work. A huge thank you to all who gave up their time to speak to our Sixth Form. The programme is a great way for St Peter’s pupils, past and present, to connect with one another and hear how a St Peter’s education equips alumni with skills for life. Whilst the programme is usually delivered online, we were delighted to welcome Fiona and Lydia to our school for a session to talk to other pupils in person.
We are always looking for new mentors for future sessions. To be a mentor you will need to commit to four 30-minute sessions spread over a month, to talk with a group of up to 10 pupils over Zoom. If you are interested in becoming an OP Mentor next year, please email careers@stpetersyork.org.uk.
Thank you to the mentors who helped us this year:
Dan Conaghan – (Queens 1987) CEO at Conaghan and Company
Lydia Hawthorn – (Dronfield 2010) Delivery Director
Maj Georgina Blenkinsop MBChB FRCR – (Temple 2005) Army Radiologist
Rebecca Saddler – (Dronfield 1996) Director of Clinical Governance
David Noyes – (Temple 1980) Non-Executive Chairman and Director
Ellie Caley (Queens 2017) Senior Workplace and Wellbeing Consultant at ART Health Solutions / Business Psychologist
Peter Cunningham (Linton 2001) Head of Data Services, Analysis & Research
Mark Heywood (Manor 1982) Human Rights and Social Justice Activist
Brogan Grant (The Rise 2014) Design Manager at Kier Construction
Laura Field – (Grove 2013) Travel Writer
Dr Fiona Lattimer – (Temple 1997) Child Psychologist
John Readman – (Queens 1994) Digital Marketing and AI
Richard King – (Queens 1991) Chief Operations Officer at Vitesse PSP
George Ingall – (Linton 2017) Carbon Consultant
Keys For Life Campaign
In November we launched our Keys for Life Bursary Campaign to our school community. In school the pupils were invited to find a selection of keys hidden around the site. This followed assembly and chapel services where they learned about bursaries at St Peter’s and were reminded of how a St Peter’s education equips them with their own ‘Keys for Life’.
“We know St Peter’s is more than just a school; it’s a vibrant and diverse family. Like a beautiful mosaic, each one of us is a unique piece. By opening our hearts and our doors to friends from diverse backgrounds and circumstances through bursaries, we expand our mosaic, adding more colours and shapes. The result is a richer, more vibrant, and more inclusive community where every individual is valued for their unique contributions. We want our school community to mirror the wider world because it’s not just about embracing differences; it’s about celebrating them. It’s about learning from each other, growing together and becoming compassionate, understanding and open-minded individuals.”
Extract taken from Chapel assemblies 27 and 28 November 2023
After many weeks in the making, we launched our own Keys for Life webpage and fundraising film and were touched by the support for the bursary campaign as people made their donations.
You can view our webpage and film at www.keysforlife.org.uk.
Keys for Life Gala Dinner
On Friday 24 November we hosted our very first Keys for Life Gala fundraising dinner at The Minster Refectory in York. Our school community came together by contributing superb auction items, buying event tickets, and bidding enthusiastically for auction lots on the night, ably encouraged by our host for the night, YO1 Radio’s Jonathan Cowap. We were joined by OP and former bursary recipient Hannah Perry who gave her own moving account of how a bursary had touched her life. Hannah told those gathered: “I will be forever grateful for the many doors that have been opened to me due to the generous donations of those who see the value in giving opportunities to those who otherwise wouldn’t have them.” Hannah Perry (Dronfield 1997)
For the first time we were able to open the auction to the St Peter’s Community across the world with our new online fundraising platform. The grand total from all bids, sales and donations at the end of the night was a fantastic £29,596!
Special thanks go to all who attended, bid and donated our superb selection of auction lots.
Donor Thank you Party
In June we held our annual thank you party attended by over 80 of St Peter’s valued donors and volunteers. For the first time we welcomed five bursary pupils and their families who enjoyed speaking with those gathered about their time at St Peter’s.
Watch our film and photo compilation
Our brilliant Alumni Team work with the Old Peterite community to strengthen the connections they have with each other and the school. Each year they have drop-ins, events with the opportunity to network with OPs across the years and reunion meet ups.
OP EVENTS
OP Day 2023
“The sun shone and the Old Peterites won!”
Well done to everyone who took part in the 2023 OP Day. With the school competing against Old Peterite teams in Rowing, Hockey, Tennis, Netball and Rugby, the day was full of sport as well as the extra activities on site for families.
A special thanks to our pupil and archive volunteers for leading School tours for visitors on the day. Our Old Peterites can enjoy a walk down memory lane with a guided school tour on OP Day, a particularly special day for tours as the boarding houses open their doors to visitors.
It was wonderful to see children delighting in an ice cream with all the trimmings in the sunshine, while parents made the most of the warm weather and the bar! Facepainting and bouncing went on throughout the afternoon for children, with a circus skills workshop on the Clifton Courts.
OP Christmas Lunch and Drinks
This year, we invited OPs to the Memorial Hall, to enjoy the nostalgia of a St Peter’s Christmas lunch. With 40 leavers from 2020 to 1957, our Alumni enjoyed catching up with old friends and then headed to the Nine Lessons and Carols service at York Minster, followed by a mulled wine at The Exhibition in York.
At The Exhibition, complentary drinks of mulled wine and cider were hosted by the Alumni Team, ensuring that everyone warmed up from the weather inside the old stomping ground of many an Old Peterite. The community wished each other a Merry Christmas on the last day of the school Christmas Term.
Phoebe Hall OP Talk
Phoebe Hall, OP (2018), visited to talk to the Sixth Form about her career after University and after St Peter’s. Phoebe was on tour, having recently released her new single ‘Pulling Me Back’ with Larkins Band. She was signed by Fear Records in Manchester last year and has played many events such as Latitude Festival in 2022 and All Points East, as well as supporting Larkins on their 2023 UK Tour.
The Sixth Form filled the Memorial Hall as Phoebe discussed her own time at St Peter’s, her involvement with Choir and Barbieshop and how she moved into The Rise at just six months old when her parents became Houseparents. Phoebe also treated us to performances of her older and newer songs.
Sam Dickinson wins Bronze in the Paris Olympics
During the summer, Old Peterite Sam Dickinson performed superbly in the triathlon mixed team relay in the Paris Olympics. He maintained the lead for Great Britain during his leg of the race, despite pressure from Germany’s Lasse Luehrs. Dickinson successfully tagged in Beth Potter with a lead, setting up a thrilling finish for the team. Great Britain ultimately secured the bronze medal. We are looking forward to welcoming Sam back to the St Peter’s community next academic year.
School Office, St Peter’s School, York, YO30 6AB
Tel 01904 527300
Email enquiries@stpetersyork.org.uk
www.stpetersyork.org.uk