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ANNUAL SKI TRIP REVIEW

LETTER FROM THEHEADTEACHERA

The school contributes to support many localcharities through House fundraising but alsocontinues to offer support to more globalorganisations. Our ‘Red Nose Day’ charity runand Global Footsteps initiative involve staff andstudents in the wider aspects of helping peopleboth within and beyond our own community.My thanks go to all who organise, help andparticipate in these most valuable events.

Our successes on the sports field (or sportshall!) continue with congratulations to our Year8 Basketball team who were crowned ‘DistrictChampions’ – another piece of silver for thetrophy cabinet whilst our other teams continueto dominate the competition circuit.

Enjoy this edition of our newsletter but pleaseremember to catch-up with other eventsthrough our website or follow us on twitter. Iwish you and your family an enjoyable Easterbreak and look forward to welcoming everyoneback to school on Monday 20 April 2015.

Mr B HeeleyHeadteacher

Prepare Achieve Care Enjoy

Although relatively short,the spring term is probablyone of the busiest asstudents prepare for thesummer examinations. Thecompletion of ControlledAssessment work, subjectspecific development,revision and examination

preparation ‘set in’ to support all our studentsto achieve their best in the summerexaminations.

In amongst all this work the school continuesto offer a wide range of opportunities inschool and outside. This spring term edition ofthe newsletter highlights the many activitiesthat have taken place since the last editionand demonstrates how we endeavour toenable our students to widen theirexperiences. Our visitors to school haveincluded Baroness Walmsley, author Peter JMurray, Susan Sellars the High Sheriff ofChester and the Mayor of Ellesmere Port, CllrBrian Jones whilst our annual ski trip to Italysaw over sixty students and staff embark uponan exhaustive week of skiing and workexperience.

Towards the end of last term, we were allcaptivated by the wonderful talents of ourstudents as the traditional school perform-ance ‘hit the stage’. I am, extremely proud ofthe quality of all our productions but theschool’s interpretation of ‘Hairspray’ wasquite stunning. Five performances to a packedOverpool Hall again highlighted the talent andhard work of our students of all ages and ofstaff from many departments across theschool. Another fantastic success bringing TheWhitby High School community together.

POLITICS STUDENTSHONOURED BYBARONESS VISIT

On Friday 21st November, The Whitby High School hosted a talk with Baroness Walmsley from the House ofLords, to encourage students to engage more with political issues and the parliamentary process. BaronessWalmsley spoke to Sixth Form History and Politics Students about her position in the House of Lords, and whatlife is like at Westminster. Students were also given the opportunity to ask any questions they had, several ofwhich included discussion of gender roles in the House of Lords, and even questions that sparked politicaldebates, highlighting the political awareness of many of Whitby’s students.

A-Level Politics teacher John Simpson explained that Baroness Walmsley enjoyed her visit, appreciating the “highstandard of questions and interest” that the students showed. She also praised the school for its “outstanding”OFSTED rating in PSCHE, a subject in which Baroness Walmsley expressed great interest.

When asked about the importance of students’ participation in political discussions, Mr Simpson explained, “It isimportant for students, (and indeed people of all ages), to participate in political discussions. Sharing, discussingand arguing about political opinions and events helps people to gain a deeper understanding of them. If we didnot allow people to discuss politics we would be effectively living in a totalitarian dictatorship which wouldobviously completely infringe our rights and liberties. Discussion of political issues helps to overcome apathy,which is especially prevalent amongst young people who do not want to take any interest in subjects which they,(wrongly), think do not affect them. The discussion of political ideas also helps to combat extremism.”

Baroness Walmsley’s visit to Whitby High was arranged through the ‘Peers in Schools Programme’ which hasbeen running across the UK since 2007 and has so far involved around 50,000 young people. Mr Simpson said ofthe programme, “The Peers in Schools Programme is useful for History and Politics A-Level students because itgives them the opportunity to speak to a member of the House of Lords and gain an understanding of the workof the House of Lords. The programme brings the work of the House of Lords alive for students and takes itbeyond studying a textbook. Students also are able to quiz a Peer about their own beliefs and take on topicalissues.”

All staff and students at the school enjoyed Baroness Walmsley’s visit and the school hopes to be able toparticipate in the “Peers in Schools Programme” again in the future.

Eleanor Griffiths, Y13 A Level History student.

Year 7 Students celebrateWorld book day

Thursday 5th March marked the date for the annual World Book Day. Tocelebrate this the English Department organised a balloon launch forYear 7s during lunch.

At 12:40, crowds of excited students bustled in the playground eagerlycollecting their balloons. This was something extrememly different to anormal lunchtime, an alternative to the usual World Book Day fancydress.

Around 280 balloons were being held, each with a tag containing thestudent’s name and favourite book, and the school address. People whoeventually find the balloons could send them back. Who would win thisunusual race?

After chatting and trading (and some early releases) the time had come.The launch. With impeccable timing the sound of a classic whistlesignalled the release. The sky was filled with iridecent colours paintingthe cloudy sky.

Cheers filled the air as the balloons rose and joined the clouds. Theironce vibrant colours turning to silhouettes; the only trace of theirpresence being mere black smears on the blue canvas of the sky. A fewsighs of dismay were heard when several balloons snagged themselvesonto the cables and trees. As with all good things the time of theballoons had come and gone. As the bell rang loud the last stragglingballoon disappeared out of view. Will we ever see them again?

In previous years we have had tags returned from Ireland and evenfurther into the continent. What a fantastic event!

Tom Barley & Lewis Todd - Year 7

NEWS JUST IN! One balloon tag has been returned...from Belgium!

As the bell rang loud thelast straggling balloon

disappeared out of view. Will weever see them again?‘‘

Monday after school has been a busy time for the Globalfootsteps students. They have been using old pieces of woodthat would normally be scrapped and turned them intobeautiful T light candle -holders for the home. They have alsobeen making hanging love hearts too which will go on sale soon.

Their next project will be to work with T Bags to recycle theminto another wonderful home product. Many thanks go to MrsBarnes and Mr Gillam for their support in making this venturea huge success.

The Global footsteps Choir, which has running on aWednesday after school, have been recording a song by theScript @Superheros and they are also practising an Africansong. The choir will be collaborating with our twinned PrimarySchool Woodlands and Wade Deacon in Widnes.

Our other Global schools in Zimbabwe and South Africa areworking on the same musical project. All songs will be collatedtogether. A huge thank you to Mrs Rowlands, Miss Mitchell,Mrs Barnes and the very talented Becky Broadbere for leadingthese wonderful, inspirational students at The Whitby HighSchool.

GLOBAL FOOTSTEPSTEAM MAKE STRIDES

Four Year 9 students participated in the annual GeographicalAssociation quiz in December at Chester University.

They were Ben Griffiths 9TR, Nicole Clarke,  9Y, Kyle Straton-Symes 9WR, Charlotte Cameron   9WR

They came 5th out of 21 teams. The winning score was 66and our team got 57. They were a credit to themselves andthe school.  Thanks to Mrs Walker for organising it.

GEOGRAPHY QUIZ

CHILDREN’sAUTHORWOWS YOUNGREADERS

We were delighted to welcome Peter J Murray toThe Whitby High School for his third visit. This yearwas an extra-special year as Peter was not onlypresenting to our Year 7 and 8 pupils, but he wasalso our guest speaker at Presentation Evening.

Peter’s humorous and scary presence on stage hadour pupils enthralled! Peter shared some of hisstories from his spooky tales Moonwailer,Scabbajack and Ten O’Clock Caller and left us all onthe edge of our seats with his cliff-hanger ending,“If you want to find out what happens...you’ll haveto read the book!”

Peter’s words certainly hooked our pupils as thelibrary was full to the brim with pupils purchasingsigned copies.

We look forward to seeing Peter next year for hisannual talk!

PETER J MURRAY

“Great cliff-hangers!”Tara Pritchard 7WR

“I want to read the books toscare my little cousin!” Lydia Williams 8WR

“Scary and fun!”James Anderson-Roberts 7H

“I love horror! Scabbajackreminds me of Doctor Who”Riley Sandiford 7H

During the performance, pupils were engaged in mid-show discussionusing forum theatre. This intervention allowed the audience to decidethe fate of the characters and what consequences they will face.

The key aims were to:● Raise awareness about the importance of being safe online.● Show the consequences of ‘sexting’ and social media misuse.● Present real case studies on sexual exploitation and

inappropriate relationships.● Address substance and drug misuse.● Highlight routes for support and advice for young people.● Engage young people in deciding the fate of each character

The performance was watched by the High Sheriff, member ofCrimebeat who funded the project and PC Elizabeth Stanton and thefeedback was very positive. Students thought that this theatre showwas the most effective way to address the issues of e-safety,inappropriate relationships, sex exploitation and substance/drugmisuse.

“It was really gripping and emotional. I liked the end bit where theyacted different scenarios.”

“It made me feel sad and it made me more aware how bad risks canlead to other things and what some people have to go through.”

“It made me think hard about my life.”

‘I was very impressed by both the level of engagement from the pupilsof Whitby High with the 2engage performance and the commitment tosupporting them through Mrs Worthington’s PHSE programme.  Theissues highlighted are real and the help available at School for students,if needed, is vital.’ - High Sheriff

2ENGAGEHIT HARDWITH‘RISKINGIT ALL’SHOW

On the 26th February, we invited the ‘2engage TheatreCompany’ to perform a hard-hitting drama to our Year 10students. The students had been doing work in theirPSHCE lessons on exploitative relationships and the dramabrought to life the issues that are hard to communicate, inreality, to young people.

There were three storylines, (based upon local case stud-ies), of local young people impacted by the following issues:e-safety, substance and alcohol misuse, sex exploitationand inappropriate relationships. This theatrical presenta-tion highlighted both the risks and direct consequencesyoung people face.

ANNUAL SKI TRIPAll groups made progress and pupils returned to themeeting point by the gondola station at 3 pmsatisfied. We had all found that the slopes were notbusy, which meant more time skiing and less timequeuing for lifts. Dinner was a tasty three course mealeach night, which we all needed after expending somuch energy skiing.

We departed school at 2:00 pm on Saturday 28th February,waved off by lots of parents, on our 2 Weardale coaches andthere was an air of excitement amongst the group. Mr Heeleycame to see us off – it was really kind of him to wish the staffand pupils a fantastic and safe trip.

The Whitby High School Ski Team arrived at Aosta ready forboot and ski fit at approximately 1:00 pm local time on Sunday1st March. We were met by our fantastic InterskiRepresentative, Ceri Rees who proved to be a great helpthroughout our stay. Then it was off to Hotel St Nicholas for thelast part of our journey. The proprietors, Roberto, Miranda andtheir team were all very accommodating and nothing was toomuch trouble. Our lunch was very tasty and filled withcarbohydrates to prepare us for the slopes the next day. Later,in the afternoon, we were all allocated our rooms and giventime to unpack and shower.

On Monday the pupils were woken up at 7:15 for a bigbreakfast and our journey down to Aosta to collect ourequipment. We then had a 15 minute trip in a gondola up tothe pistes of Pila. The groups met their instructors at 10:00 ambut the weather was a mixture of rain and sleet – not at allwhat we had hoped for! The instructors proved to be verypopular this year, particularly Matt, Lexie, Eric and Les. Theweather improved after a couple of hours and the visibility wasgood. Pupils had their lunch in one of the piste siderestaurants.

On Friday evening the instructors came to the hotel to awardcertificates and prizes. The instructors this year were reallyoutstanding and it was great to see how the pupils hadbonded so well with them. In addition Mr Millington award-ed prizes in many different categories. The pupils were alsovery keen to thank their instructors and staff for their efforts.

Saturday, our last day, proved to be another great day forskiing. It was the turn of the GCSE girls’ group to be filmedshowing their skiing techniques. As pupils said goodbye totheir instructors at 1:45, there were lots of sad faces andsome tears. It had been such a great learning experience.

Following a very quick shower and a meal we all boarded thecoaches for the long ride home. We left the Alps atapproximately 6:30pm and had a very smooth journey. Thecoach drivers commented just how much they had enjoyedbeing part of such a well behaved and positive school group.

Everyone we spoke to was so complimentary about ourpupils. The ski trip was a really memorable experience for allinvolved. Well done to all pupils for being such determinedskiers and having so much positive energy! A big thank you

After dinner each evening, Mr Millington passed onnominations for ‘crash of the day’. The winner had towear a fluorescent bib for the next day’s skiing. MrMillington also passed on a ‘Sponge Bob Square Pants’costume to individuals as a result of having donesomething amusing! Mr Millington also passed on a dollto look after to individuals as a result of having beencareless in some way. Monday evening’s activity, ice-skating in Aosta, was great fun and we were the onlyschool on the ice rink, which gave our pupils lots of spaceto practise their moves! Several pupils stood out for theirskating prowess most notably Emma Jarman.

On Tuesday the beginners’ groups began to executecompetent snow plough turns and the intermediategroup worked on parallel turns and stops. The pistes werein good condition and the sun was shining. Tuesdayevening’s activity was the disco and it wasn’t long beforewe saw some great dance moves from the Whitby SkiTeam, most notably from Kai Howell and Elliot Craig, whoboth got up onto a mini stage.

Wednesday dawned a perfect, cloudless, blue day andthis was the day that every group really pushed on. It wasgreat to see all beginners’ groups make it up the cable caronto Grimod, an extensive blue slope up the mountain. At3 pm when we all met again the pupils were all delightedand excited by their day. The girls in Brian’s ski groupparticularly stood out as the most enthusiastic pupils newto skiing – they have really caught the skiing bug!The aprés ski activity on Wednesday was bowling.

There were some interesting bowling styles amongst thepupils! Oliver Bagnall really stood out as an expert, with 164points!

On Thursday staff noted that the 7:15 wake-up call wasgetting harder as the pace was beginning to show on pupils’faces. This was another great day for weather, although itwas probably a little too warm, which makes skiing moretiring. All groups pressed on, learning more new skills.Thursday evening was Pizza night and we made the journeydown to Aosta to an authentic restaurant.

The pizzas were delicious and everyone ate as much as theywanted. Liam Sparks particularly enjoyed his pizza slices andset a new record. Following pizza night, the yr 10 pupils spentsome time filling in their work experience diaries. Ceri talkedabout her roles with interski, as a representative, managerand ski instructor. Pupils were given the opportunity to askquestions and gain a greater insight into her work.

Friday dawned another great day for skiing. The sun contin-ued to shine and the snow conditions were good. This was theday the instructors graded skiing competency in their groups.The GCSE boys’ group was filmed by Mr Millington perform-ing the techniques they had learned, which will count to-wards their practical sport qualification.

Wow! A term has almost gone by since The Whitby High puton our jaw-dropping, show-stopping production of theBroadway hit musical, Hairspray.

Tracy Turnblad the lead role (Charlotte Heyes Y12 / SophieDutton Y10) has a big heart, big personality and big hair, so itwas only fitting that our school rose to the occasion with abig show to compliment this!

Over 80 pupils were involved in the production from actorsto dancers, musicians to tech crew, not to mention all thestaff and past students who all worked tirelessly together tobring this vibrant musical to life.

Each year, the talent demonstrated by our pupils blows usaway and this year was no exception with an incrediblystrong cast that had pupils from all year groups. The comedyduo Wilbur (Max Astbury Y13) and Edna (Curtis LedshamY13) had the audience crying with laughter.

Other main roles included heartthrob, Link Larkin (Kyle Hick-man-Germon Y13), Tracy’s geeky best friend Penny (AshleighWood Y11 / Beth Cox Y10), the cool and hip Seaweed (JordanBool Y11 / Jack Parry Y10), his equally cool mother Motor-mouth (Georgia Leach Y10 / Kaylea Stanton Y10). The showalso featured the horrible Velma Von Tussle (Sally PickeringY13) and her despicable daughter Amber Von Tussle (AmyLivingston Y13), TV show host Corny Collins (Jack MinchewY13) and wannabe dancer little Inez (Tanisha Adolf Y11).Once again, a great chorus of performers, without whom themusical would have only been half the show it was, support-ed the leads! It is encouraging when directing a show, to seeup and coming performers involved from lower school andwe look forward to seeing them as stars of our future pro-ductions!

The dances, a number of which were choreographed bydance students (Georgia Jones and Robyn Farrington Y10)overseen by Mrs Witcher, were energetic and fun and reallysuited the style of the performance.

The innovative set design, which incorporated theband playing live on stage on a (very high) platform,was absolutely fitting for a show of this calibre. Thiswas enhanced by vivid lighting (Joe Miley Y11 andMr Ball), which added to the overall effect alongwith the range of bright 60s style costumes. OurStage Manager (Sophie Knapman Y13) and her teamensured that the right things happened and theright props were on stage at the right time!

The first production meeting for our next show isjust around the corner and auditions will be takingplace in the near future, so watch this space...

“Just to say how much we enjoyedlast night – well done to everyonewho took part”

“It was one of the best productionsI have watched in years in avariety of schools. It has been thehighlight of this academic year forme. It had passion and soul!”

PERFORMINGARTS

On Thursday 12 February, Daniel Boyle 11TR gave a small charityconcert during Tudor Assembly to raise money for our charity,The  Muscular Dystrophy Foundation.

Tudor House have raised £160.00 so far this year. Well done!

LAMDA 2015A number of Drama students from Year 10, 12 & 13 have embarked onthe extracurricular Drama qualification LAMDA again this academicyear. Students are now preparing their monologue’s for performanceand are regularly reviewed and coached throughout the year. LAMDAhas been running since 2008, it gives Drama students fantasticopportunities to independently extend their performance skills andtechnique, allowing them to gain an accredited qualification, whichalso contributes to UCAS points for University.

ABLE GIFTED AND TALENTEDAble, Gifted & Talented drama students have been attending extraworkshops periodically on a Thursday 3pm-5pm. The students have anopportunity to work with different students of all age groups todevelop their devising skills, knowledge and understanding of dramaand will be working towards a project later on in the year.

New A, G & T workshops will be coming back on a Wednesday 3pm-5pm after Easter Break, updates will be on our Drama Twitter page andvia school email. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible.

A big Red Nose Day well done to the studentss and staff whoturned up to take part in the annual Red Nose Day mile run.

The red wig’s and wacky clothes were out to do their bit forthis important charity event and it was nice to make acontribution to the amazing £1 billion raised around thecountry for worthy causes in Britain and around the world.

WHITBY STUDENTSHAVE A NOSE FORCHARITY FUN

RED NOSE DAY

Our Annual School Presentation Evening tookplace on Thursday 20th November. It was a fullhouse with not only current studentsattending but also some of our ex-Year 13students returning from University after theirfirst term to be presented with awards fortheir excellent achievements in the summerA-Level examinations.

Our special guests were Peter J Murray,children’s author and his Worshipful theMayor of Ellesmere Port, Cllr Jones.

After Mr Heeley gave the audience a review ofsome of the past academic year’s highlightsthe audience were privileged to hear Peter JMurray’s inspirational talk about hisbackground, growing up in Yorkshire and hissheer determination to succeed against allodds. He gave our students a loud and clearmessage that hard work and determinationdoes pay off.

After congratulating ninety students on theirachievements and endeavours Peter carriedout a book signing.

The successful evening was attended by ahuge number of family and friends.

PRESENTATIONEVENING 2015

It is always a tense affair but the 2015 National SchoolsFinals in Ellesmere Port was laced with drama from the startto the finish. Grey skies and a chilly breeze welcomed the 54competing teams to the north-west on Saturday morning;however, the action on court was red-hot from the firstwhistle in a fiercely competitive renewal.

Group stages

In the U14 category it was Hulme Grammar who impressedin Section A, securing eight straight wins with an impressivedefensive display. Wellington College joined them in thesemi-finals as they took seven victories, only losing to thetable toppers. George Salter were an unlucky third placeafter losing a winner-takes-all encounter with Wellington.

Section B was dominated by Millfield who went through thegroup stage unbeaten, only dropping points in a 9-9 drawwith second placed Ripon Grammar. Chrisleton High nar-rowly missed out on a semi-final spot when they lost 10-9 toRipon and had to settle for third place, finishing a pointbehind their opponents.

Fallibroome Academy were imperious in the U16s Section C,securing a maximum 40 points. The most dramatic climax tothe group stage was saved for this section, with GuildfordHigh School losing out on a semi-final spot by a single goal.

Instead it was Grammar School at Leeds who progressed tothe knock-out stages.

The two sides finished level on 32 points and althoughGuildford had the superior goal difference, it was the York-shire side who moved through with a goal average 0.05superior to their rivals.

THE WHITBYHOST NATIONALNETBALL FINALS

Another side with a 100% record was Beaconsfield High in Sec-tion D. They were joined in the next round by Tonbridge Gram-mar who secured an impressive seven victories. Higham Lanecompleted the top three but failed to make the semi’s.

Greenhead College swept to first place in Section E in the U19stournament, securing an unbeaten record of seven wins and onedraw in the process. Tunbridge Wells Grammar got the better ofMillfield in the battle for second spot.

In a copy of the other U19 group, Section F saw Hartpury Collegeprogress with the same record of seven wins and a tie. GuildfordHigh School eased the heartache from their U16s with a solidsecond place finish, Wellington College occupied the unfortunatethird position.

Finals

In the semi-finals of the U14 competition, Hulme Grammar con-tinued their fine from with a convincing 15-4 victory againstRipon Grammar. They were joined in the final by Millfield whowere equally impressive in their 11-3 success over WellingtonCollege.

The latter did manage to pick themselves up and take third placefollowing a 12-6 win in their play-off with Ripon. A passionatefinal unfolded in front of a vocal crowd and it took extra-time todecide a winner. Finally crowned U14 Champions were HulmeGrammar who outlasted Millfield 12-11.

The U16 semi-finals continued the trend of highdrama with Grammar School at Leeds overcomingBeaconsfield High 11-8 and Fallibroome Academysqueezing past the challenge of Tonbridge Gram-mar by a narrow 10-9 score line.

It was more one goal heartache for Tonbridge inthe third place play-off as Beaconsfield picked upan 8-7 win. The final saw some home delight asCheshire based Fallibroome Academy capped aperfect day with a 13-9 victory over GrammarSchool at Leeds.

Extra-time was required in the U19 semi-finals asHartpury College held their nerve to secure a 14-13 success against Tunbridge Wells Grammar.They would contest the final against GreenheadCollege who were 12-8 victors over Guildford HighSchool.

Tunbridge got the better of Guildford to take thirdplace with a 14-12 win. The final was a hard foughtcontest but the slightly fresher legs of GreenheadCollege took them to a 13-9 victory against Hart-pury to complete a good day for the northernbased sides.

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Awards

Three additional awards are given to the best per-forming teams throughout the group stage. Thegoals trophy was collected by Guildford HighSchool U16s who managed to net 128 times ineight fixtures. The defensive trophy was picked upby Beaconsfield High U16s as they conceded just36 times in the group stage.

The Endeavour award, which is given to a team orindividual who had shown fantastic levels ofsportsmanship and endeavour throughout the day,was won by Oakham School from the U19 section.

England Netball would like to congratulate andthank all of the competing players, coaches, um-pires, spectators and a wonderful group of volun-teers for making the 2015 National Schools Finalsa fantastic event for all who attended.

Year 8 team CrownedBASKETBALL District champs

On Wednesday 11th March TheWhitby High School’s year 8 basket-ball team travelled to Neston Acad-emy to take on their fellow finalistsin a tense match up.

Captained by Malakai Siteine ourboys continued their unbeaten runwith yet another convincing displayby beating the home team 36-16.

Well done to the lads in overcom-ing a potentially difficult match indefeating the opposition in theirown school.

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