Posted on 11th March 2022
Dear Parent,
It has been a busy week for staff and students with more to come (!) as we reach the midpoint
of this half–term.
Looking after…
The Senior Prefect Team have put together a brilliant week of activities to support our
students, their community, and the world. Today’s non–uniform day was well supported and
over 700 items of clothing were donated to support the work of Harbour Place, in Grimsby.
House plays
Another reminder that the House Drama competition will take place on Wednesday 16th
March in the Town Hall (performed in the morning to students in Years 9 and 10 and in the
afternoon to students in Years 7 and 8). This will be an own clothes day for students in Years
7, 8, 9 and 10 with a minimum of a £1 collection on the door day and this will go towards
supporting relief work in Ukraine.
This will be followed by public performances of all of the House plays in the Town Hall on that
same evening, Wednesday 16th March at 7pm. You are most welcome to join us and the
event will finish at approximately 9pm. There will not be an entry fee but there will be a raffle at
the door. There will be a short interval at around 8pm. A letter about arrangements for
supervision of participants before the evening performance was sent to parents of participants
on Parentmail on Wednesday 25th February. For safeguarding arrangements, it is essential
that this form is completed by parents of participants. We look forward to seeing you on the
evening.
String Soiree
On Tuesday 22nd March at 7pm, the Music Department are organising an evening for junior
and senior strings. If you’d like to attend, please sign up via ParentMail. The event will be in
the Old Hall, so we will need to restrict numbers to 70.
Year 9 History Balloon Debate
It was a welcomed return to the normal format of the History Balloon Debate this year. Nine
finalists elected by their peers from their form heats, championed a place for their chosen
character’s historical significance in a sinking hot air balloon. The reward of House Points for
the winning trio and a cup at Awards Evening for first place hung in the balance. Students
showcased their speaking skills, powers of persuasion and aptitude in delivering well–crafted
arguments for their characters with stories and legacies of power, discovery, conviction and
compassion. Our returning guest judge, Dr James Greenhalgh from the School of History and
Heritage at Lincoln University was impressed by the high standard. Congratulations to all our
finalists and my thanks to Mrs Dowthwaite for running the competition.
The winning students were:
First place: Claire Tun (Hansard) as Karl Landsteiner
Second place: Noella Dollaway (Ayscough) as Sojourna Truth
Third place: Grace Gregory (Rawlinson) as Emmeline Pankhurst
Our other finalists were:
Charlotte Gothard (Rawlinson) as Ada Lovelace
Isaac Waterhouse (Rawlinson) as Charles Darwin
Zara Zafar (Ayscough) as Leonardo da Vinci
Kacper Wroblewski (Rawlinson) as Nikola Tesla
Grace Johnson (Hansard) as Malala Yousafzai
Tashif Jajja (Ayscough) as Johannes Gutenberg
Year 7 and 8 Public Speaking
The same afternoon as the Year 9 Balloon Debate, the English Department organised the
public speaking competition for Years 7 and 8. Thanks to Mrs Rachel Murray (trustee) and
Sapphy Dunn (Y12) who judged the speeches. The breadth of topics demonstrates the
cultural capital of our younger students.
Here are the winners, and participants, detailing the topics of the speeches:
BEST CHAIRPERSON: Jai Pathak (Y7)
BEST MAIN SPEAKER: Jayden Bluku (Y8)
BEST VOTE OF THANKS: Oli Burton (Y8)
BEST TEAM: Billy Bevers and Jayden Bluku (Y8)
Full list of speakers and topics:
7X
Chairperson/ Vote of Thanks: Jai Pathak
Main speaker: Tejas Prasad
Topic: Are there more humane options for slaughterhouses?
7Y
Chairperson/ Vote of Thanks: George Evans
Main speaker: Ryan Hailstone
Topic: The importance of health and fitness
7Z
Chairperson/ Vote of Thanks: Elise Chelotti
Main speaker: Emily Cooper
Topic: Are we doing enough to fight animal cruelty?
8X
Chairperson/ Vote of Thanks: Billy Bevers
Main speaker: Jayden Bluku
Topic: Is time more valuable than money?
8Y
Chairperson/ Vote of Thanks: Manpreet Padda
Main speaker: Darcy Powell–Howard
Topic: Neurodiversity and impact of dyslexia
8Z
Chairperson/ Vote of Thanks: Oli Burton
Main speaker: Liam Burke
Topic: What if you don’t fit the school system?
Thanks to Mr Harris and the English Department who coordinated the competition.
English Speaking Union Regional Final – University of Lincoln
Good luck to our English Speaking Union team of Megan Allison, Jack Attridge and Lara
Baugh (all Y11) who are representing the School at the University of Lincoln on Saturday.
Thanks to Mr McTernan who will be supporting the team tomorrow.
Complaints
The local authority has asked all schools to write to parents to make them aware of their
School’s Complaints Policy and the necessity of going through school channels, including
contacting school trustees, before referring any concerns to external agencies. You can read
our policy here. [link]
Congratulations to…
Henry Cullen (Y13) who came first in the Scunthorpe Park Run last Saturday, setting a new
PB of 15:45.
All good wishes for the weekend,
Alistair Hopkins
Headmaster