Final blog of 2021/22

Well, we made it!

So, in the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the UK since records began, we marched on through the last week of term. The weather impacted on the activities that we’d planned as, one by one, all of the external providers who were booked to deliver a variety of sessions, cancelled; this included the much-anticipated ‘inflatables’ on Tuesday.

It feels like, because of the impact of Covid, two full lockdowns, several periods of isolation for many students, introducing Google classroom, and now this week’s extreme weather conditions, we’ve been battling forces beyond our control since 2020. Yet, despite this, we’ve got to the end.

New branding

We have done a lot of work on developing our brand in recent weeks. So far, after consultation with students, staff and the wider community, we have designed a new school logo, which features our new corporate colour: gold. We chose gold because of all of the positive connotations that go along with it including success, celebration, achievement and worth. These ideas reflect the school’s vision and values. The logo is a more modern representation of our current one, and still references the massively important relationships we enjoy with all of the BEV primary schools.

To go alongside the new logo, we are developing a new website. You will have to bear with us during this process while the new website is being built. It is an organic process and our current website will morph into our newly designed website a little at a time. We expect this to be completed in full by the end of the first half-term in October.

CCF Camp

CCF Combined Cadet Force

Students recently attended the CCF Annual camp trip to Altcar Military base with the 15 cadets we have on board. Although it has been a struggle to secure numbers at their pre-Covid levels, these students have persevered and shown their commitment by coming to CCF every Monday. Those who had the pleasure of attending the Annual Camp for a week were involved in a wide range of exciting activities such as live firing, paint balling, assault courses, blank firing exercises, camping and field craft, as well as developing relationships and friendships with other Cadets.

Well done to our dedicated and determined Cadets, who all displayed impeccable behaviour and were fantastic ambassadors for Blacon High. A special congratulations to one of our Cadets on her promotion to Sergeant and obtaining the Marksmanship badge.

Another trip earlier this year was to Fox Barracks for the weekend, where Cadets were introduced to the A2 rifle and completed a weapons handling test. Some were even able to join in a live firing session. Over the weekend, Cadets camped out, learned how to cook ration packs and completed some field-craft exercises.

The plan as we head towards the end of term is to recruit more Cadets ready to begin in September and a further visit from the Queens own Yeomanry will be arranged to boost that recruitment process. We also hope to have a permanent air rifle range set up in one of the containers in the top car park, which will be a boost for our contingent and will also help with retaining the number of Cadets we have.

Mini-Makery

One of the fun activities we did manage to run this week was ‘Mini-Makery.’

In this session, students were able to create images using a variety of ‘alternative’ resources. Here, we have some great pictures made from fruit and vegetables.

Shakespeare in Grosvenor Park.

Students in Year 10 enjoyed a stunning performance of William Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at the temporary, outdoor ‘theatre in the round’ in Grosvenor Park, Chester on 15^th July.

We were bathed in glorious sunshine for the performance, which was filled with drama, humour and music; it really illustrated to the students how much ‘fun’ there is in a Shakespeare play, even in a tragedy like ‘Romeo and Juliet.’

Being able to see the characters that students have studied come to life is so important in helping them to understand the plot and themes in Romeo and Juliet, which is one of the set texts for their English Literature GCSE.

A really valuable experience and great afternoon out at the end of the year.

Sponsored Walk

Fortunately, the temperature had dropped by Wednesday so the entire school set out on a 12 kilometre sponsored walk.

The route was very well signposted and every member of staff either walked with the students or were posted at key points along the way as marshals. Students set off in year teams or smaller groups for those who might benefit from individual or extra support. All students were kept well hydrated with the distribution of water at several points and ice lollies at the half way mark.

Our students behaved impeccably and were a credit to the school. The only incidence of a poor attitude came from a cyclist who felt it was appropriate to be less than polite. However, he was in the minority and several other cyclists commended our students, and the school, for a fantastic effort.

When we all got back to school, Kelly and the team in the kitchen had prepared a huge barbecue of sausages, burgers, chicken and vegetable skewers along with vegetarian kebabs.

The afternoon finished with a variety of activities on offer: a football tournament, rounders, or for those who were too tired, a film in the Hall.

Massive thanks go to Mr Lacey for organising the day, to all the staff for being marshals and for walking along with the students. Thanks also to our fantastic students for your excellent attitude and superb behaviour. Please enjoy a selection of images from the day at the end of the blog.

Summer Reading Challenge

Impress Your English Teacher in September!

Calling all Gadgeteers! Children under 12 can now join this year’s Summer Reading Challenge at their local library or online. Join the Gadgeteers to discover the amazing science and innovation behind the world around you including some of your favourite things.

Children who join will get a collector’s pack, stickers each time they read at least two books and a certificate and a medal when they’ve read six. Younger ones can join too with the Mini Challenge (Under 4s) and will get a special golden sticker when they finish.

The Summer Reading Challenge is a great way to enjoy reading, in all formats, over the summer holidays. Whether it be a book from the library or an eBook or eAudiobook from our digital collection, there's something to suit everyone's interests and reading abilities. And, if you need any help choosing something to read, just ask a member of the library staff or use the Book Sorter online.

Adults Read Two

Entrants just need to read two books between 9 July and 4 September. Choose from a library book, eBook or eAudiobook, to be in with a chance to win £50 of book vouchers through the prize draw at www.cheshirewestandchester.gov.uk/read or a pick up a flyer from your nearest library. 13–15 year olds can enter with parental permission and a winner will be chosen at random.

And finally….

Well, we got there.

As always, there have been so many fantastic events, performances, sporting successes and other achievements to celebrate this year, far more than I have had time to share with you via the blog.

This year, there are some really important changes to remember that you have already been informed about, such as the timings of the new school day, so please keep an eye on the school website, ParentPay and on social media. Also, the school office will be manned between 9.00am and 3.00pm each day during the holiday in order to respond to any queries that you may have.

As the school year finally draws to a close, please take our best wishes away with you. Take the opportunity to ‘reset’, have a wonderful, restful and enjoyable summer break and we look forward to welcoming you all back at the start of the new academic year in September.

Happy Holidays