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  Term 6 Newsletter - July 2021  
  Message from Mr Humphreys, Headteacher  
 

It has been a sad end to a very unusual year with so many students unable to attend from last week and naturally, this has impacted on this week across the school. This is not how any of us would wish to
end the school year which we usually celebrate together in the Sports Hall in our much loved school assemblies, despite the hard sports hall floor! The coming together, the celebration, the inspiring messages are just not the same delivered by video - or at least I have not learnt the art of communicating inspiration on video.

However, our House Leaders have shared multiple weekly videos reflecting on the trials and tribulations of the weeks and terms, along with the school celebrating the House Championship - it was certainly a strange occasion for Mr Cook as he went through proceedings from his quiet PE office, hearing no reaction to the results! Well done to Turing House for taking the cup this year. Well deserved and Mr Thomas is left pondering the lost opportunities of some sports through this year - the year it got away!

We celebrated Malala Yousafzai’s Birthday last Tuesday and I hope all students at home and at school got an opportunity to view the lovely video from Yousafzai House students, narrating Malala’s journey and providing a point of reflection on how students value their education. We celebrated Emmeline Pankhurst’s birthday on Thursday with students learning about the origins of the suffragette movement and its legacy in the world - progress is ongoing. The successful tutor groups were rewarded with some truly stunning Pankhurst cupcakes, baked by our very own world class baker, Mrs Robinson.

Working with young people is a privileged position to be in and this year it has been tough witnessing some of the effects on young people. Our school counsellor, Mrs Fenton has shared some useful resources to help us continue to support our young people - please take a look. We know with great support all our young people will continue to thrive and September is a great new beginning for us all at St Katherine’s and we cannot wait to get underway.

Results Days
We look forward to celebrating results with students in August. Please can your child/ren take a lateral flow device test the night before to ensure you are not putting others at risk when collecting their results.

Looking forward to September with optimism and a new beginning for us all.

Wishing all our families a safe and restful summer break.

Justin Humphreys, Headteacher

 
 
 
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Duke of Edinburgh expedition

The Duke of Edinburgh Bronze expedition took place over the last weekend of June. Unfortunately due to restrictions students were not able to camp overnight but they certainly made the most of the experience on offer. 

They took part in two walks of 15km, one from Clevedon to Portbury and the second was a great loop of Beacon Batch, through Velvet Bottom and over Cheddar Gorge. At the end of the first day they pitched tents and cooked lots of rice and camping food, - some of it even looked half decent apparently!

Mr Hodgson reported: 

"It was a really heart warming experience, after the year we've had to see students outside, smiling, dancing and singing their way around the countryside. It was a challenge for all of them, either physically when climbing hills, figuring out how to work as a team or navigating independently. It was great to see them all persevering and they should be very proud of themselves and what they have achieved.

For some, the expedition was the final piece after months of hard work and commitment to volunteering, keeping fit and developing skills. The hard work that they have put in means that they completed their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. Lots of students are now looking at starting their Silver in September and taking the challenge even further! A massive thank you to the excellent staff who helped get the teams around the expedition."

Some feedback from our students: 

  • "I enjoyed being outdoors, spending time with my friends"
  • "The feeling of reaching Beacon Batch and knowing that I have completed, it's an amazing sense of achievement" 
 
 
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Good luck to our Olympian Amelie!

In our last newsletter we reported Y13 student Amelie Morgan's success in the Artistic Gymnastics European Championships in Switzerland, an Olympic trial event. We are so proud to share that Amelie is now in Japan and will be representing Team GB in the Tokyo Olympics this weekend!

We would like to wish her the very best of luck in the competition and are so excited to cheer on St Katherine's very own Olympian! You can follow her progress by watching these events, she will be competing in the team competition and will also be attempting to qualify for all round final and individual apparatus finals, with her strongest events being beam and uneven bars. 

Updates will be tweeted by British Gymnastics, @BritGymnastics, and we're sure Mr Cook will be retweeting at @StKathsPE You can read Amelie's profile on the British Gymnastics website and watch her recent training in Tokyo on YouTube (from 1.26)

GOOD LUCK AMELIE!!!!!


 

 
 
  Library news  
 

Keep reading over the summer - to make it even easier students still have access to the St Kath's eplatform, giving you hundreds of ebooks and audio books to choose from! Your local public library is also a great place to explore - and best of all, is completely free for students to use.

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Borrowing statistics

  • Borrowing totals: Year 7: 1970 books, Year 8: 1669 books, Year 9: 1062 books, Year 10: 191 books and Year 11: 20 books
  • 609 new books were added to the library stock
  • 182 book reservations were taken
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Reading statistics

  • 33 students became reading millionaires
  • 2408 Accelerated Reader quizzes were passed
  • 133,196,240 words have been read and quizzed

 

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Events

Despite all the Covid restrictions, learning@home and students self-isolating we have still managed to hold some fun events:

  • BookBuzz
  • Roald Dahl Day quiz
  • World Book Day
  • Carnegie Book Award

 

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New reading millionaires

Term 6 millionaires are:

Maisie (7S1), Ari (7S1), Matei (7T1), Jack (7T2), William (7T1), Corey (7S2), Taryn (8P1) and Hannah (7Y).

 
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  Pride - The Importance of being an ally  
 

What is Pride Month to you? Why is it important? For St Katherine’s, it is a time for visibility; for education; for celebration. 

Alongside our continued commitment to raising awareness of LGBTQ+ issues and support for our student-led Team Pride, St Katherine’s has been working alongside the Trust’s EDI group to run a comprehensive programme for celebrating our community. 

The Covid-19 induced lockdowns we have all had to deal with over the last 18 months have left many feeling alone, afraid and unseen. For many of our students, the return to school has been a continuation of this. Yet, by openly discussing the experiences of LGBTQ+ people within tutor times this month, we hope that the stories will resonate with our students, and make them understand that they are seen. 

June is also a month where our staff are visible. We have many proud allies, parents of LGBTQ+ children and queer staff, who are able to express their support for the community. The amazing Mrs Skeates has produced even more ally flags for tutors to place on the doors of their classrooms to show the students that it is a safe space. These spaces are where the students can openly express their identity, be understood and ask for support. 

A school, educating their students… ground breaking! Yet according to the Stonewall School Report, 41% of students say that their school does not discuss how transphobia is wrong. We want to be different at St Katherine’s. Throughout June, we have circulated resources and activities to help educate our students throughout their school day. We have compiled a list of lesson plans for Biology, History and PSHE to go alongside the amazing literature list composed by Ms Wyld, our librarian. These resources aim to support teachers in their discussion of these topics within their lessons. Normalising these topics within the lessons will go a long way to teach the students acceptance and understanding. As well as this, we have compiled a useful help sheet for staff on ‘How to be a Transgender Ally,’ aiming to advise all staff on how they can best support a Transgender child, navigating their way through life. It is as important that staff are educated about our diverse student community at St Katherine’s.

Pride is about visibility. Pride is about education. Pride is about celebration. Here at St Katherine’s we strive to celebrate the achievements of LGBTQ+ people throughout history, as well as our own students. On Friday 25th June, we held a Rainbow Day, which saw students celebrate Pride by taking over one of Mr Francis-Black’s large speakers, booming out Dianna Ross across the courtyard and Ms Jefferson showing the students some dance moves! 

With a group of successful Team Pride students heading off to university this year, we look to continue to celebrate our students. St Katherine’s is a place where students can express their identity freely, to have access to education and to continue to understand the wider world.

Mr James, Learning Support Assistant

 
 
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Rotary Young Chef Competition

Year 12 student Mortimer Hogg was the regional finalist of the Rotary Young Chef competition. Sadly because of Covid the National Final was cancelled so he was deprived of competing against the other regional finalists. There are normally 6500 students who compete nationally so to become a regional finalist shows exceptional skills and talent. At each stage of the journey Mortimer was applauded by all the professional judges.

As part of his winnings he was presented with a pressure cooker, a wet and dry grinder and catering implements. Shonaugh Evans, from Portishead Rotary Club, said "As you know Portishead Rotary Club was very proud of all your efforts and were equally disappointed that the final did not go ahead because your ability was well above most of the other competitors.  It should be remembered that usually 6500 students start out on the journey so to be the winner in the Regional final is a success in itself.  Then the final is usually about 10 students so to come within the last 10 is no mean feat." 

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Surfing in Westward Ho!

At the end of June Mr Hodgson, Mr Court and Mr Bates took a minibus through torrential rain and wind to Westward Ho! in North Devon. After a year of being cooped up indoors, it was great to arrive at the Pebble Ridge. The students suited up and got stuck straight into lessons with North Devon Surf School. After a short lesson the students were out, lots of amazing effort saw most standing up frequently. Some spectacular wipeouts and lots of fun later, they headed into Westward Ho! for sunshine, chips and the famous clotted cream ice cream. Despite the rain everywhere else, the sun shone on North Devon and a sleepy minibus full of surfers then headed back to Bristol. 

Mr Hodgson, Outdoor Education Lead, said "the Year 13 students last trip with St Katherine's. Having been a tutor to some of them in Year 7 and then again in Year 13, it was a real privilege to surf with them all for one last time. Hopefully, they will keep getting outdoors and getting involved in the next step in their lives. I wish them all the best for the future!" 

A massive thank you to North Devon Surf Club, Mr Bates and Mr Court and all the administration team for helping out with this trip.

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Good luck Jessica-Jade!

This weekend Jessica-Jade, 7P, will be competing in the VIP freestyle disco dance competition at the iconic Blackpool tower ballroom, the same ballroom which hosts the Strictly Come Dancing finals! Jessica-Jade trains with Precision X Dance Academy in high energy dance and at VIP will be competing against the best freestyle dancers in the country - we're looking forward to hearing from how she gets on!

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Sixth formers students get creative

A group of Year 12 students made some beautiful garden lights from recycled glass bottles as part of their "Tenner Challenge" project. They sold these to members of St Katherine's staff and raised £100 for Greenhouse, a local charity which supports young people.

 
 
 
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Trailblazers

We are excited to be running Trailblazers next year which is a great opportunity for your child to consider a musical instrument along with the joy and benefits this brings to young people. Full details
below:

● A letter introducing the scheme
● A video from Mr Nicholls, Director of Music Specialism across the CST Trust
● Some demo videos from some of the instrumental teachers

The scheme is open to students who will be in Years 7 and 8 in September 2021, register here.

Our plans for concerts and events next year are underway and we are really looking forward to putting these events back on the calendar.

 
 
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Ask Apprenticeships

In June we welcomed Junior Saunders from Ask Apprenticeships to St Katherine's for a second time. During his initial session Junior explained to Year 12 all about the different types of apprenticeships, in the follow up session he advised them all of where they could find and apply for them. Junior showed students how to sign up to create an account to start searching for placements.

Junior was inspiring, engaging and motivating for a Monday morning and many of our students are now looking into applying for apprenticeships. For information about apprenticeships please look here.

 
 
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  Sixth Form Update  
 

We’ve made it. We are at the end of the most bizarre and unpredictable year in our students’ educational lives. Surely, next year will be a little more … normal. 

Term 6, as it always is, has been a chance to reflect on and celebrate what has gone, and to look ahead to new beginnings. The final day of Term 5 was a joy; Year 13 Leavers’ Day was full of laughter, gratitude, stories, emotional farewells, silly awards, terrible/excellent singing (depending who you ask) and inflatables. It really was an honour to say goodbye to this incredible cohort. We only wish that we could have had the final swansong of a Sixth Form Prom. However, we took the difficult decision that, in the interests of the wellbeing of staff and students, it would not go ahead. The next landmark for our outgoing Year 13 is results day. We can’t wait to welcome them back to St Katherine’s, perhaps for the last time. 

With Year 13 gone, Year 12 have had an action-packed few weeks, completing mock exams whilst also frequently going above and beyond. Huge congratulations to Bethia Brown, Mortimer Hogg, Grace Newby and Edith Powell who took part in the English Speaking Board assessment, the highest qualification available for public speaking and listening. What an achievement, then, that all four achieved a Merit grade or above - a fantastic experience and qualification which will serve them well in the future. 

In the wake of the shocking scenes witnessed during Denmark’s opening game of Euro 2020, our aspiring medic Filipe Costa offered a CPR workshop for students who were eager to know what to do if they found themselves in a first response situation. Thank you Filipe - you were patient and knowledgeable, and offered real peace of mind. 

And with the sun glaring down on us, we took some time in the final week of term to gather together on the field and have a good old-fashioned game of rounders. It was so lovely to get together and enjoy each other’s company before breaking up. Yes, some students got a little too competitive (you know who you are) but the most important thing is that my team won both games. It’s good to show them who’s boss. 

So there it is. Somehow, we’ve made it. All of the Sixth Form team wish our students and their parents and carers a restful, happy summer - no one could deserve it more.

Mr Davies, Head of Sixth Form

 
  Celebrating house birthdays  
 
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Turing

On 23rd June we celebrated Alan's Turing's 109th birthday. Students watched a video Mrs Price had made to explain Turing's achievements and legacy, and then took part in the inter-house Turing's Battleship Competition - battleship via Google Meet! 

Year 8 Turing students wanted to share key messages with the school community about the achievements and legacy of Alan Turing. They produced incredible chalk art and writing at locations around the school to celebrate both Alan Turing and Pride month.

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Yousafzai

12th July was Malala Yousafzai's 24th birthday. Yousafzai students created a video recreating Malala's life story which was shown to the rest of the school during tutor time. Students from across the house also explained how Malala has inspired them and what it means to them to be in Yousafzai House. The video was followed by a live quiz (including a Malala round!) which had been put together by Yousafzai students.

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Pankhurst

Emmeline Pankhurst would have been 163 years old on 15th July. To mark the occasion there was a Pankhurst Birthday Assembly during which Mr Murdoch, Head of Pankhurst House, gave a presentation on Emmeline Pankhurst's achievements and how she inspires members of the house. After the assembly students from across St Katherine's took part in a quiz; well done to 8Y2 who won a prize of themed cupcakes baked and decorated by the talented Miss Robinson - Pankhurst's very own star baker!

The entrance to the Student Support Office was decorated with green, white and violet balloons, Pankhurst tutor groups used chalk paints to create positive Pankhurst-related messages at key locations around the school and a ‘smashed window’ template to decorate a window with positive slogans linked to voting and equality between the sexes.

 

 
  Headteacher commendations for term 6  
 
 
 

Key Stage 3

Year 7: 

Caiden Smith, Tyler Watkins, Ella Bartovsky, Faisa Ismail, Poppy Butler-Wheatcroft, Maisie Bobby, Ari Westerberg, Matei Achim, Jack Atkinson, William Juchau-Nash and Corey Walters.

Year 8:

Victor Achim, Riley Bristol, Naomi Burr, Christopher Rogers, Evie Roberts, Roxie Garrett, Macy Curthoys, Emily Creese, Supriya Kaur, Cameron Mclean, Taryn Perkins and Emily Sell.

Year 9: 

Hamza Hamami, Alfred Gisborne, Phoebe Oakman, Sophia Harper, Maida Warsame, Leah Wardingley and Abbie Smallwood.

 
 
 

Key Stage 4 and 5

Year 10: 

Olivia Ring, Louis Gaskell, Kyla Hunt, James Wamulo, Bradley Tanner, Yusra Ahmed, Mia Melias, Edie Church, Polly Allen, Muhammed Zain-Ul-Abdeen and Luke Welsby.

Sixth Form:

Lauren Schofield, Millie Sweeney, April Steadman, Rose Giles and Filipe Rodrigues Costa.

 
 
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  House Championship - TURING DO THE DOUBLE!  
 

Congratulations to Turing House on their emphatic victory in both the House Championship and the Sports Cup. Turing's consistency and tenacity proved unbeatable and they are very worthy champions. A huge well done to all members of Turing House, the students, the tremendous Turing tutor team and their very proud Head of House, Mrs Price. 

It was with disbelief and a real sense of sadness that we once again presented the St Katherine's School House Championship online. We had hoped to be able to gather together to celebrate our achievements this year but unfortunately once again we could only meet virtually to review our year and announce the winners for 2020-21. The House Championship has had to cope with lots of Covid interruptions this year but looking back, we were able to acknowledge that in many ways we have managed to continue to showcase talent, celebrate our unique and diverse community and compete and have fun in so many ways. Therefore myself and the Heads of House share a real sense of pride in how our community has shown resilience and determination through this really challenging year.

Whether we were in school or Learning@Home, our Fun Fix Friday competitions continued to be an important part of our championship. They provided a welcome relief when life felt really serious and gave students the opportunity to shine in the most unusual ways. How quickly can you get an After Eight from your forehead to your mouth without using your hands? Ever played rock, paper, scissors hoop? What about the water balloon challenge? Our Fun Fix Fridays have brought us together when we were having to stay apart, taught us how to win and lose well and given us some fantastic memories.

Highlights of this year's House Championship also include lots of opportunities for students to showcase their creativity through competitions such as our first ever 'trashion show', our beautiful winter card design and our Anti-Bullying Week poster design competitions. When our students are asked to paint, draw or create, Yousafzai House are the ones to beat and they proved this year that the arts are a real strength for them. 

Everyone at St Katherine's is a reader and the House Championship recognises this. Pankhurst House showed their love of literature and their commitment to reading every day by performing best in the accelerated reader and reading log competitions. 

However, it is our ethos competitions that ultimately decide the House Championship and we place huge significance on attending school every day, arriving on time and behaving in a way that models our core values of respect, resilience and responsibility. Stephenson House should be congratulated for the improvements they have made to their attendance this year and they were able to apply the pressure on Turing by being the house with the best attendance this year. Ultimately however, Turing's lead was unassailable and despite an incredible athletic performance in term 6 from Stephenson House, they were unable to catch Turing House who led the House Championship for much of the year. 

We look forward to the forthcoming academic year in the anticipation that the House Championship can return to a more normal way of life and hope to be able to celebrate together soon. I must take this opportunity to convey my heartfelt thanks to the Heads of House who have led their Houses and supported their students so well through difficult and unpredictable times. Their ability to be flexible and adapt and overcome has been remarkable. Their endless positivity and their pride and passion for their House has shone through and I know they are excited to work with their newly elected House Leaders next year. 

Mrs Crocker, Assistant Headteacher

 
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  Pankhurst House Update  
 

It’s the end of a year of two halves for Pankhurst where we disappointingly finished bottom of the House Championship (again!). Terms 1, 2 and 5 were excellent but we were let down by our performance in 3, 4 and 6. The reality was that we weren’t good enough and we will seek to improve our performance across the board next year. 

That said there were lots of reasons for celebration. Emily Sell set a school record for praise points with 1379 and we had three out of the top five praise earners in the school with Hannah Green gaining 1252 and Ryan Rice 1085. This is a stunning achievement and has set a really high bar for next year.

I was also really proud to have won the Accelerated Reader competition this year after finishing bottom last year. We read more words, quizzed more books and won more points than all of the other houses and this is something to be inspired by as we try to improve our overall position in the House Championship next year. With regard to the house competition, whilst we finished bottom there were some successes to build upon including some signs of sporting improvement. We’re excited by the opportunity next year brings.

Within the house I was delighted to award the tutor group of the year to 9P as they have been consistently excellent this year and have shown real progress from year 7 when they were not consistently excellent… 7P and 8P1 take note! Daisy Medder in year 10 won student of the year and this was perhaps the most difficult decision I had to make as there were some very strong candidates. Daisy has consistently made a positive contribution to the house since year 7 and has shown a real strength of character throughout. It’s a well deserved award which I hope she enjoys.

I’m really looking forward to the opportunity next year brings to improve on this year. We will all register together as a house in the English block which brings with it the opportunity to pull together as a team. Next year… we’ll win the cup!

Mr Murdoch, Head of Pankhurst House

 
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  Stephenson House Update  
 

We have finally reached the end of the academic year, and despite the disruptions and restrictions that have been placed on our students, I can honestly say how proud I am of Stephenson House. Our motto “from adversity comes progress” is definitely true of how students have shown determination in everything they have done this year.

The House Championship was a great spectacle and to come second this year is a true testament to the students for participating in competitions and playing a big part in the life of the house. I am equally proud of the fact that we have the best behaviour ratio of all the houses and the highest attendance which is something that we focus on and strive to do our best in.

The summer term brought success for students in Stephenson House on the sports field with overall victory in the softball and rounders competitions. It is great to see teamwork and cooperation being shown as well as our value of respect whilst participating in these events. A big shout out to the year 7 boys, year 8 boys and girls and year 9 girls who won their respective competitions.

In the Super Six athletics events we did equally well with Stephenson finishing in second place overall just behind Turing. A big thank you to all the students for representing the house in these events. A particular well done to Charlie Topp, Oscar Topp, Ruby Gray, Arthur Cleaver, Abdulrahim Yusuf who shone in these athletic events.

It was lovely to be a part of the celebrations of birthdays for the other houses this term and to learn about their stories in making a positive difference to our society. Our value of equality linked to all of these inspirational leaders and we took time out to celebrate these amazing people!

We have also chosen our house leaders for next year and I would like to say a big well done to Jonathan Kambu and Dannielle Cameron who I know will represent our RED values of Respect, Equality and Determination. It was lovely to hear how they are inspired by Paul Stephenson to make a positive difference and how they want to be able to do this through being positive role models in Stephenson House. I am looking forward to working with them next year with the support of Safa Culusow who will play a big role in mentoring of our younger students.

The final assembly of the year allowed us to thank and celebrate the success and hard work of students in Stephenson House. A big well done to Felix Heurtas in 7S1 who amassed an amazing 973 praise points this academic year!

  • Felix Huertas, 973
  • Ari Westerberg, 935
  • Evelyn Staley, 901
  • Joshua Healy-Hart, 900
  • Jack Palmer-Givan, 873
  • Victoria Reid, 870
  • Benjamin Palmer, 856
  • Charlie Topp, 819
  • Sam Andrews, 794
  • Corey Walters, 793

Also a big well done to all students who have represented our RED values and have been awarded a Stephenson Star of the week:

Felix Huertas, Tyler Cavalho, Eva Hayes, Charlie Topp, Fin Skeates, Ahmed Hassan, Ben Mortlock, Lilly Cox, Casper Delve, Keely Semple, Angel Chinn, Jake Ralph, Jordan-Lee Hatherall, Lilly Stenning, Shayma Jibril, Ezekiel Pinkney, Noah Pearson, Archie Woolnough, Ali Butt, Ben Lumoso, Maisie Bobby, Daisy Lewis, Abdulrahim Yusuf, Zach Page, Harvey Niemczyck, George Skeates, Amelia Fletcher, Tehseen Ahmad, Khalid Bulaleh, Jack Palmer-Givan, Ruby Gray, Cruz Mead, Safa Culusow, Ollie Page, Annie Skeates, Jessy Brackstone, Daniel Grace, Milly Marlow, Maddie Price, Pearl Westerberg, Dylan Murray, Joel Kambu, Ava Hocking, Reuben Peacock, Charlie Thoburn, Sam Peacock, Scarlett Newby, Eve Griffin, Zachary Garbutt, Ashton Taylor, Aidan Api, Charlie Topp, Monty Faulkner, Danielle Cameron, Sasha Lynch, Zuzana Vinklerova, Afifa Jagwe, Victoria Karczewska, Ayman Zaghdane, Ahmed Hassan, Joseph Newby, Filip Maciol, Oliver Belcher, Ellie Baker, Polly Cole, Ali Mahmood, Tia-Mai Wass, Bella Lyons, Chloe Patten, Sophie Hicks, Hamza Hamami, Molly Dasfield, Reuben Hawkesby, Archie Lowe, Sam Wright, George Skeates, Evelyn Staley and Lucas Gainard.

I would like to say a big thank you to parents and carers for all the support you have shown to the school and your young people this academic year. Although it has been a rocky road at times I believe our students have shown huge determination to succeed. Have a lovely summer, hopefully enjoy some sunshine, and come back in September, raring to go for next year. Hopefully winning the house championship in the process!!!

Mr Thomas, Head of Stephenson House

 
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  Turing House Update  
 

I hope the final newsletter finds you all well and looking forward to the end of another turbulent and challenging year. I would like to thank all of you and the students for your help, support and resilience whilst facing the challenges presented by Covid. Not only have Turing House members survived, they have come through stronger! 

It is with gratitude that I would like to thank the wonderful Turing Tutor Team for their dedication and hard work. Your dedication, commitment and pastoral care to your tutees allows each young person to flourish and develop. Thank you!:

Miss McInerny, Mr Arden, Mrs Cavanagh, Mrs Robinson, Mr Cook, Mr Court, Mrs Collins, Miss Whalley and Mr Simmons. Turing House is lucky to have you. 

One of the highlights of this term and the year was our celebration of Turing’s Birthday. 8T decorated the school with positive phrases of Turing’s achievement and legacy, the school was educated about a great icon of the 20th century, and we honoured his involvement in the saving of lives by shortening the World War II.

As we look forward to next year, Mr Court and I had great pleasure in choosing the Turing House Leaders for next academic year: Tacie-Ann Fracis and Maida Mohamed. I know that with these two outstanding students leading the way, we will continue to evolve as a house and unite in all that we do. 

It is customary at the end of each term to recognise the Tremendous Turings of that Term and highest praise earners. For Term 6, I would like to congratulate the following students for their tenacity and determination:-

Year 7: Alex Caveille, Lola Bevan-Petrucco, Brooklyn Brown, Jay Jay Lincoln, Grace Jenkins, Erin Reeves, Ella Bartovsky, Jack Atkinson, Leo Wolsencroft and Nolan Vass.

Year 8: Daniel Falconer, Riley Bristol, Olivia Stanley, Grace Baker and Alice Clarke.

Year 9: Belle Fey, Tom Stancliffe, Emily Earle, Evie Jarrett, Jack Heptinstall, Henry Fairholm, Maddy Thomas, Nahla Mengoud and Kiran Glen-Sawlan.

Year 10: Luke Welsby, Maida Mohamed, Yusra Ahmed, Kanye Christie and Sumeya Maxamuud.

Highest praise earners in Term 6 . Well done to all of you for receiving the most praises during Term 6  :-

Cerys Voisey (7T1) 131, Ella Bartovsky (7T2) 238, Evie Roberts (8T) 126, Michael Sirrell (9T2) 132, Gabbie Marcovitch (9T1)101, Adam Britton (10T) 63.

I would also like to recognise the top 10 highest praise earners across Turing House for the whole school year. There are some impressive totals, in particular Ella Bartovsky in 7T2 who managed to break the 1,000 mark. An incredible achievement by you all:- 

Ella Bartovsky 1099, Michael Sirrell 988, Marcus Perry 921, Manon Herzog 920, Phoebe Oakman 903, Owen Moss 894, Luke James 870, Hope Roberts 862, Hannah Lange 855, Winnie Fey 841

As members of Turing House, we should always look to better ourselves in all that we do.  Therefore, I am delighted to highlight the students who have made the greatest improvement in their behaviour during Term 5-6, and my challenge to you all is to come back in September and raise the bar again. Huge congratulations to:-

Brooklyn Brown (7T1), Kanye Christie (10T), Lola Bamborough (7T2), Rwanda Dahir (10T), Amrit Gill (10T), Maida Mohamed (10T), Lola Bevan-Petrucco (7T1), Macy Curthoys (8T), Ryan Bundy (10T) and Layla Clarke (10T)

I now turn my attention to the “Unsung Heroes” of the Turing tutor groups for the year. Each tutor had the mammoth task of identifying one student who has demonstrated our house values of ‘determination’, ‘unity’ and ‘acceptable’ consistently. These students have shown strength of character and kindness, as well as resilience in what has been another challenging year. Therefore, I would like to congratulate the following  ‘Magnificent Turings’:-

7T1 Cerys Voisey, 7T2 Jackson Burbridge, 8T Evie Roberts, 9T1 Grace Lowther-Harris, 9T2 Henry Fairholm and 10T Luke Welsby.

Last, but by no means least we come to the House Championship……CONGRATULATIONS Turing House, you did it again! We have regained the cup and retained the sports cup for a third year running. Throughout the year individual Turing students have stepped up to faculty competitions, and joined together in team competitions to show unity and commitment. I want to thank every single student who has been involved in the house competition, because without you, we would not be House Champions. Our values and ethos are a ‘golden thread’ in all that we do. As your Head of House I couldn’t be more proud. 

Finally, I would like to wish you all a fantastic summer break, so that we can return refreshed and ready for the new challenges of 2021-2022.

Mrs Price, Head of Turing House

 
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  Yousafzai House Update  
 

And just like that, the school year is over! 

I would like to start off by saying how proud I am of Yousafzai House and of all the individuals in it. They are an absolute delight and it is a real pleasure and joy to be their Head of House. Despite the challenges of this year, we have still managed to make the most of it and had a great year! 

The most recent highlight was celebrating Malala Yousafzai’s birthday. With a run up to the 12th July, we held a birthday card design and a birthday cake competition. Leah Wardingley won the card design and cards were made using her design for all of the tutor groups to sign and we have sent them off to Malala herself! Naomi Burr made an incredible birthday cake including the quote - One teacher, one child, one pen can change the world. Across the house, students came together to make a video to tell the story of Malala so far and to explain how she has inspired us and what it means to be in Yousafzai house. This was shown to the whole school so they could understand more of who Malala is and what we stand for as a house. We celebrated in tutor time by hosting a quiz, congratulations to winners 10P2 and 8S. Malala Yousafzai is truly an inspirational young person who has taught us to make the most of every opportunity that we are given and so it was great to be able to celebrate her for the day! 

Also in recent news, we have appointed our new house leaders. Will Stratton in 10Y2 and Amani Islam in 10Y1 are Yousafzai’s new house leaders. They are two exceptional students who have high expectations of themselves, will work hard to achieve them and will also strive to look out for others - all qualities that we look for in Yousafzai students. I have no doubt that they will lead the house brilliantly next year and I look forward to working with them - making Yousafzai the best house it can be. 

We ended the year with our celebration of achievement assembly. At each assembly, two individuals are nominated by their tutor for having an outstanding term. This term, our Malala greats are:

  • 7Y - Faisa Ismail and Samuel Jones
  • 8Y1  - Ikran Issa and Logan O’Donnell
  • 8Y2  - Joe Brooks and Charlie Lane
  • 9Y - Leon Essam and Sienna Mccleary
  • 10Y1 - Edie Church and Amani Islam 
  • 10Y2 - Will Stratton and Megan De Wet

We celebrated as a house this term as we had the best behaviour ratio across the school. Ethos competitions are really important for Yousafzai house as our behaviour and attendance show people what we are and how much we value our education. Yousafzai have worked really hard this term on their behaviour so it was brilliant to win that house competition.

In terms of the whole house championship, we finished in third place. It has been a close race for second with Stephenson house - they pipped us at the post and won a deserved second. Huge congratulations to Turing house for winning overall - they have held that sport cup for most of the year and a big well done for securing it at the end. Well done to Pankhurst too for winning almost everything in the last couple of terms. The house system is brilliant at St Katherine’s - whilst there is a good amount of competitiveness, it has really added to the community of the school - and it is a pleasure to work with Mr Murdoch, Mr Thomas and Mrs Price and all of their students. We will come back in September, ready to take the trophy back - we will focus on having the best attendance, behaviour, reading and making sure that there is an entry for every competition. 

7Y have now finished their first year at St Katherine’s! A huge well done! It has not been the year we were hoping for you - but you have showed real resilience in overcoming the challenges and we hope your year 8 will be a little more normal! We think of year 10 who are about to embark on their final year of St Katherine’s and whilst they have a big year ahead of them, I have no doubt that they all will work extremely hard and we will be celebrating in style next year! 

And finally - Yousafzai House - like I said - it is such a joy to be your Head of House. Thank you for being excellent! Have a wonderful six weeks off - rest well - and come back ready and raring to go in September.

As always, thank you to all the parents and carers for supporting our young people and Yousafzai House this year. Have an incredible summer break and we’ll see you soon! 

Miss Andrews, Head of Yousafzai House

 
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  PE and Sport News  
 
  • We have been back in competitive action against other schools in term 6 and are really pleased that we've been able to give more students more opportunities to represent the school in what has otherwise been a bit of a barren year.
  • We've seen more athletics records tumble in PE lessons despite students having not done any school outdoor athletics for more than 2 years!
  • Students have been busy making the most of their last opportunities to attend our revised morning, lunchtime and after school clubs. Our clubs programme will change again next year and it has been great to see so many making the most of the opportunities available to them. We've seen more than half of the students in the school choosing to take part in activities in addition to their PE lessons which is definitely something we are keen to keep going next year!
  • We were delighted that we were able to put on a Sports Week for students this year - unsurprisingly this is our favourite week of the school year so we were really looking forward to giving lots of students lots of opportunities to enjoy some extra PE and school sport.
  • Sports Week 2021 involved 35 hours of activity across five days and hit 545 of the students who are currently in our school community - we had everything from house competitions to laser agility run festivals to taster sessions which included a huge mobile climbing wall, students spending time in bubbles (only these bubbles are tangible and much more fun that the bubbles we've been used to all year long) as well as some axe throwing.
  • As always, there is far too much to tell you about in a few short bullet points so to read all about term 6, get yourself signed up to our termly PE newsletter. You can do that by filling in this form.
 
  Term 1 dates for your diary  
 
  • 10 August: A Level results day
  • 12 August: GCSE results day
  • 02 & 03 September: INSET days
  • 06 September: Staggered start to term (See arrangements)
  • 06 September: Year 7 Virtual Parent/Carer Information Evening
  • 22 September: Year 8-11 Virtual Parent/ Carer Information Evening
  • 23 September: School Open Evening, 6-9pm
  • 01 October: INSET DAY
  • 14 October: Year 7 Parent/Carer Evening, 4-7pm 
  • 14 October: Parent Association meeting, 6.30-7.30pm
  • 22 October: END OF TERM
  • 01 & 02 November: INSET days
  • 03 November: Students in school for Term 2
 
  Keep in touch  
 

There isn’t enough space here to showcase the huge variety of student experiences and achievements this term. Keep up to date by visiting the ‘News and Events’ section on the school website, check the school Facebook page or follow us on Twitter (@stkathsschool)