Dear Parents and Carers, 

To support students with their preparation for the upcoming exams, revision sessions will be taking place in school over the first week of the Easter/spring break.

There is no requirement for students to wear uniform when attending the sessions but the normal
standards of behaviour and conduct are expected.

Students attending revision sessions will need to sign in and out at the main reception. The diner will be closed so students will need to bring their own food and drinks for the day.

The timetable is as follows:

Mr Nick Scoltock

Deputy Headteacher                                          

There are two opportunities for an Apprenticeship in Pharmacy Services Level 2. One is based at the Blacon branch and one at the Kingsway branch. The start date is May/ June 2024 but this could be later if a current Year 11 student is interested in this.

The Apprenticeship is an excellent start to a recognised career path with opportunity to progress to Level 3 and 4 Technician status and the membership of a professional body. 

The qualification is recognised across the NHS and is transferable to the hospital setting. 

We are looking for a driven student with a pleasant and outgoing personality, hard working with good communication skills and who will be able to cope in a busy environment.  We require GCSE passes at grade 5 or above in English and Maths. 

It is ideal for someone who is perhaps looking for an alternative to University or College and wants to build a career. 

If individuals are interested, they could come into the pharmacy for a taster session or if students are currently in year 11 they can speak to Miss Thomas / Mr Hughes about this position.

Hi All and Happy New Year,

It’s great to learn that our students all seem to have had a fantastic Christmas and we are delighted to sat they have returned to school full of energy.

I always love the Spring term as it feels like everything is ‘on the  up,’ especially as the cold and dark nights start to fade away and it gets lighter, for longer, at both ends of the day; the daffodils will be out before you know it!

British Council Intermediate International Award

I reported that the school had been awarded the British Council Intermediate International School Award earlier in the school year and, on 15^th January, I was lucky enough to be invited to the Palace of Westminster in London to be awarded with the certificate on behalf of the school. Here I am receiving the certificate from the Deputy CEO of the British Council.

The award acknowledges all of the fantastic international initiatives that we ran at Blacon High School during the 2022\23 school year. We were involved in a variety of activities such as our annual exchange programme to Bulgaria for students in Year 10, fielding a team of talented sports boys and girls to represent the UK at the International Youth Games in Senigallia, Italy, and also, taking over thirty students on a Spanish language and cultural trip to Barcelona. In addition, during the year we hosted three large groups of foreign students, two from Spain and one from Italy who were taking part in language immersion trips. Also, we had a foreign language theatre group in school on two separate occasions who performed plays that were delivered entirely in French and Spanish to Key Stage 3 and GCSE Language students. This is just a flavour of some of the initiatives at Blacon High School that have an international focus.

This year, we are hoping to achieve full British Council International Accreditation, which is the highest level of the award. We have already had a number of events in school such as a range of activities and menus to celebrate European Languages Day. Our next event is on 9^th February when we will be celebrating the Chinese New Year. We have a representative from the University of Chester who will be leading sessions in Chinese calligraphy and sharing the significance of the Year of the Dragon. Meanwhile, the event will be supported by a host of other ‘fun’ activities in Drama, Art and Food Technology. Lunch in the Diner will offer a range of Chinese-themed dishes.

ESFA National Small Schools Cup

Our Year 10 boys team played the fantastically talented Moorfield School at home this week in a last sixteen, ‘EFSA National Small Schools Cup’ tie.

It was a tightly fought game with superb goals by Denis Kostadinov and Lucas Chao, both in the first half. The Blacon lads defended brilliantly in the second half and went on to win the match 2-1.

The win earns Blacon High School a place in the quarter finals and we are still waiting to find out who our opponents will be.

Historically, Blacon High School has done really well battling their way into the later stages of this competition on several occasions, and we look forward to cheering the team on in their quarter final match.

Congratulations to Mr Sabri and the Year 10 team.

Chester Schools Together Rowing

In collaboration with the Chester Schools Together partnership, a group of ten students from Year 8 have begun rowing at the King’s School Rowing Club.

Students are really enjoying mastering the fundamentals of rowing in the gym, and developing the basic skills and technique they will need to shape their rowing careers. They are excited to be rowing on the River Dee next week as they work towards the Warrington Indoor Championships, which will be held on Wednesday 24^th January where they will race both individually and in team relays.

Watch this space to see how they get on.

Cheshire International Links Association

As I’m sure some of you will know, there is a group called the Cheshire International Links Association that focuses on forging positive international links for the county of Cheshire around the globe. It meets once a month in the Town Hall in Chester. On 9^th January, Head of PE, Mr Cairns, and I were both invited to present at the meeting and, along with a group of students and their parents, we were able to share some of the huge range of events, trips and activities that have had an international focus that we were part of at Blacon High School during 2022\23.

Mr Cairns led a trip to Senigallia in Italy in July 2022, where Blacon High School students represented the UK at the International Youth Games; this is the fifth time that students from Blacon High School have represented the UK at this event. As well as taking part in mixed national teams in a variety of sporting events, they also enjoyed a range of cultural activities.

Mr Stockdale shared some of the wide range of other activities that the school has either led, joined or hosted, as detailed in the notes on the British Council Award above. Students find out such a lot about themselves on these trips, which offer amazing opportunities in terms of personal growth. Students develop cultural awareness, communication skills, independence, resilience and the power of compromise amongst other things. Perhaps more importantly, they make friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.

After the presentations, the audience were invited to chat with the students and their families about their experiences and what they had gained from the trips.

Well done Blacon High School students. You prove consistently that you can represent yourself, and your school, confidently in any forum.

Here, some of our students and parents are pictured after the event with the Deputy Lord Mayor of Chester – Razia Daniels.

And finally…

It is still only January but we are really busy, both in and out of school, as we strive to offer the young people of the Blacon community the best academic experience that we can.

We are looking forward to welcoming Year 11 parents on Thursday 25^th January for the first Progress evening of 2024, and would ask that you complete the online appointment form to avoid queuing.

As always, we need to thank you for your continued, ongoing support; we really appreciate it.

Hi…

Another busy few weeks with lots of exciting things going on in and around school.

International Links – Bulgarian Exchange Programme – English Leg

On Thursday 2^nd November, we were delighted to welcome our Bulgarian friends and colleagues as they joined us for the English leg of the Bulgarian exchange programme that we run each year; you will remember that a group of students went to Karlovo in Bulgaria in June of 2023. Our guests joined us for five nights, returning on 7^th November after a fantastic, packed itinerary. Not even the dreadful British weather, mostly heavy rain, was able to dampen everyone’s enthusiasm.

During their stay, students completed the work for this year’s joint project, which was called ‘Overcoming Diversity’; this topic was approached from different angles. The Bulgarian students focused on the response to some serious flooding in their local area that left several villages under water, clearly a response to global warming, while Blacon High School students focused on the huge range of support and additional measures that we have in place in order to overcome barriers to education and support all of our students to succeed.

After the work was completed, over the next few days we visited Chester, Liverpool and North Wales. A special thank you must go to the Lord Mayor of Chester who hosted our guests at the Town Hall in Chester, where they enjoyed a perfectly pitched presentation, and were able to see all of the civic regalia. Additionally, the Lord Mayor supplied tickets for all of the students and staff to attend the Lord Mayor’s Fireworks Extravaganza at Chester racecourse on the evening of Saturday November 4^th.

The visit culminated in a Leavers’ Dinner in school, when our guests were treated to a very typical dinner of roast beef and Yorkshire puddings, followed by apple crumble and custard.

As always, there were lots of tears as we said our farewells and we look forward to renewing our relationship, which began in 2016, next year.

‘Annie’ Production

Leaping Lizards! Chester will ‘stick up its chin, and grin, and sing - Tomorrow, Tomorrow!’ when Blacon High School performs Annie JR at the Storyhouse Garret Theatre.

Based on the popular comic strip and adapted from the Tony Award-winning best musical. ‘Annie Jr’ tells the story of a spunky, depression-era orphan who is determined to find her parents. ‘Annie is a heart-warming show with an important message about the true nature of family. In the show, we see how a plucky little girl transforms her entire life by making the most out of every moment’ say Cohen. MTI would like to applaud the students from Blacon High School for all of their hard work on their production.

Tickets are on sale now! Please follow the link below or scan the QR code on the attached poster.

Date: Wednesday 6^th December at 5.00pm and 7.00pm.

Venue: Garret Theatre, The Storyhouse, Chester

Tickets: £5.00 and £3.00 (concessions)

International Links – Swedish Drama Students

We recently welcomed a group of five trainee teachers on an international placement that took place between 6th and 8th November. Kristoffer, Emma, Tjark, Lara and Mimmi made a huge impact on the cultural education of our students with their creative storytelling, their understanding of good teaching practice, and their immeasurable enthusiasm.

From the moment they arrived in school, every member of the group was impeccably professional and completely absorbed with the project. The students experienced a short tour of the school and engaged in brief lesson observations across a range of subjects, identifying a variety of pedagogical approaches around the school. They also engaged in lesson observations in the Performing Arts Department for both Drama and SMSC (Social, Moral, Spiritual and Cultural education), engaged in Q&A sessions with Year 7 students about Swedish culture, education and experiences, and designed and delivered engaging and captivating workshop sessions to three groups of students (two Year 8 groups and one in Year 9) with creativity and a high level of acting skills as Teacher-in-Role.

The workshops were well-paced, with appropriate timescales for students to pause, think and recall information. A range of questioning techniques were used to establish students’ understanding of the task, facilitating opportunities for all students to create, develop and perform their work. Pedagogical practice was carefully considered and applied to ensure an engaging, creative and exciting experience for our students here at Blacon High School. Staff and students found opportunities to meet our guests and engage them in conversation. Our students enjoyed their workshops and are still talking about their experiences.

It was an absolute pleasure to have hosted Kristoffer, Emma, Tjark, Lara and Mimmi. They asked pertinent and professional questions relating to our curriculum, pastoral care, behaviour policy, SEND provision and teacher responsibilities. I observed, and thoroughly enjoyed, their approach and experiencing their work ethic, which were, in both instances, outstanding. We would like to thank them for their creative contribution to the Performing Arts Department at Blacon High School and wish them all every success in their future careers.

Special acknowledgement goes to Mrs Salisbury, Head of Performing Arts, for arranging the visit.

Year 11 Anxiety Management Workshop

Some of the time, not everything goes to plan and we need a little extra support. We do our best to support all of our students to be successful, whatever their needs.

As such, we held two sessions by the Mental Health Support Team who ran two, one hour workshops for Year 11 students on the topic of Anxiety.

The initial drop in was held on 15^th November and there was a further workshop on 27^th November from 2.10pm – 3.10pm.

The workshop was an opportunity to learn more about what anxiety is and develop new coping strategies for managing anxiety.

And finally…

Please support all of our students but, at this time, Year 11s need to be revising all of the time as they are in the midst of their mock exams. If you would like any tips on how to support your child with revision, please contact the school and we will be only too happy to help.

As always, we thank all of our parents and carers for their ongoing help and support.