Challenge & Celebration Week
July 2022
As we near the end of a very busy week, we can look back with pride on what our students have achieved and experienced throughout Challenge and Celebration week.
Students have pushed themselves out of their comfort zones, from ambling in Ambleside to trekking in Nepal, with experiences and memories that will last a lifetime.
Students have certainly been offered a whole range of experiences and many have taken advantage of the trips, visits, activities and residentials including:
- 658 students on residential trips this week, including Paris, Krakow, CERN, Brathay and London;
- 299 Year 7 students on day trips including Leeds Sailing, Circus skills, ‘Walk the Wharfe’ and Flamingo Land;
- 33 Key Stage 3 students enjoying the Year 8 carousel, relishing in a whole host of activities from cooking to photography and team-building at Nell Bank;
- 51 Year 8 students and 57 Year 9 students taking part in the Year 8 and Year 9 carousel respectively, daring themselves to climb treetops at Go Ape, and enjoying the Pleasure Beach in Blackpool and Laser Tag and Bowling;
- 320 Year 10 and 12 students developing their work skills and looking ahead to their future careers while on fulfilling work experience placements;
- 2 life-changing World Challenge trips to Nepal where our students and staff are making a difference to local communities through their voluntary work.
While this has been a huge feat to organise, including 14 coaches and 2 flights for residentials, 32 coach departures for day trips, 8 minibus trips across 10 different day trip locations, we are immensely proud of our students.
Some have developed new friendships, consolidated long-standing ones, developed their knowledge, expanded their horizons, experienced new cultures, practised foreign languages, learnt new skills, found new hobbies and made memories that will be reminisced upon in years to come.
A few extra challenges certainly presented themselves to us, acting as a further test of our resilience, including the two hottest days of the year which our students managed with grace and a lot of determination, and staff managed expertly with carefully planned additional risk assessments and last-minute purchasing of the finest Argos fans in London to try to keep our students cool.
We have had the most enriching week and our thanks go to all the staff who have gone above and beyond to enable these opportunities to happen. We are already planning next year’s programme, so, as the saying goes, ‘watch this space’.
Carly Purnell | Headteacher
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