School Blog and news
- Read MorePublished 29/01/24Can we remind Y11 pupils who wish to buy a leavers hoodie, do so by the 11th Feb 24. We cannot take any orders after this date. Click the link below and enter the school ID code:ID: 24868YR11From there you will be able to select your colour and make your purchase.Please note: The names you see on the website are just examples. These won't be the names featured on the hoodie you purchase.
- Read More
Chinese New Year
Published 26/01/24 - Read More
Camps International - Kenya expedition
Published 24/01/24Dear Parent/Carer,
We are delighted to be working with Camps International, offering our students the opportunity to join us on a 4 Week expedition to Kenya in July*, 2025.
Come along to our informal presentation evening where you can learn more and ask questions about this exciting opportunity. We expect the presentation to last around 45 minutes.
Date & Time: Wednesday, 24 January - 18:30
Location: Main Hall
To ensure you receive an information pack, please confirm your attendance online via this link.
https://register.campsinternational.com
Your School Code is 9016
Who are Camps International?
Camps International are award winning global leaders in ethical and sustainable school expeditions. They offer fully supported school expeditions, to industry leading safety standards, across Africa, Asia and Latin America, providing an authentic cultural experience for every travelling student.
Where will they be going and what will they be doing?
Embark on an adventure with real impact on one of East Africa’s most amazing destinations. Live and work alongside local people and get involved in a range of sustainable projects, from community development to environmental conservation.
Experience the warm and welcoming culture that Kenya is famous for on this immersive expedition. Spend your days working on sustainable projects with local people, helping to support the local community, wildlife and environment. Get to know the inspiring Mamas of the local village who will teach you traditional skills, meet the world-famous Maasai Tribe and experience the magic of a safari at Tsavo East National Park – one of Africa’s top wildlife destinations.What will they get out of the experience?
This fully supported expedition will provide our students with a unique opportunity to live alongside rural communities, broadening their perspective on the world. It will allow students to push boundaries and step outside of their comfort zone, embarking on a personal development journey. It will enable them to reach and exceed their academic and personal potential, develop valuable life skills and gain key extra-curricular experience highly regarded by universities and employers.
How much does it cost and how will we pay for the expedition?
This all-inclusive expedition costs £4330 and can be paid via scheduled payment plans. Payment plans facilitate both fundraising activities and financial management. All students are encouraged to fundraise the cost, teaching them important life skills such as money management, problem solving and event planning. If fundraising is new to you, then don’t worry, the Camps International
crew will support you and our students every step of the way.
We look forward to seeing you and your family at the presentation. Can't make it? Register anyway and we will send you more information. - Read More
Blog JANUARY 2024
Published 23/01/24Hi 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 15th 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 9th 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 24th 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 9th 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 25th 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.
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Winter Water Safety Message
Published 05/12/23RLSS UK offer safety advice for winter water safety, with simple steps to keep safe during the winter:
- Never go onto the ice to play, to retrieve an object, or a pet
- Never enter the ice to rescue somebody, call 999 and ask for the Fire and Rescue Service
What to do if you fall through the ice:
- Keep calm and shout for ‘help’
- Spread your arms across the surface of the ice in front of you
- If the ice is strong enough, kick your legs to slide onto the ice
- Lie flat and pull yourself towards the bank
- If the ice breaks, work your way to the bank-breaking the ice in front of you anyway
- If you cannot climb out, wait for help and keep as still as possible. Press your arms by your side and keep your legs together. Keep your head clear of the water
- Once you are safe, go to hospital immediately for a check up
What to do if you see someone fall through the ice:
- Shout for assistance and phone the emergency services – call 999 or 112
- Do not walk or climb onto the ice to attempt a rescue
- Shout to the casualty to ‘keep still’ and offer reassurance to keep them calm
- Try and reach them from the bank using a rope, pole, tree branch, clothing tied together or anything else which can extend your reach
- When reaching from the bank, lie down to avoid being pulled onto the ice
- If you cannot reach them, slide something which floats, such as a plastic bottle or football, across the ice for them to hold onto to stay afloat whilst help is on the way
- If the casualty is too far away, do not attempt to rescue them. Wait for the emergency services while calming and reassuring the casualty
- Read More
Blog NOVEMBER 2023
Published 05/12/23Hi…
Another busy few weeks with lots of exciting things going on in and around school.
International Links – Bulgarian Exchange Programme – English Leg
On Thursday 2nd 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 7th 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 4th.
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 6th 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 15th November and there was a further workshop on 27th 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.
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Ofsted inspection 28th / 29th november
Published 28/11/23We are currently being inspected by Ofsted. Please click the links below to view a letter informing parents and carers of our Ofsted Inspection & the second link is to a survey which we would encourage you to complete before 3pm on Tuesday 28th November.
Letter - https://buff.ly/3ZWokq7
Survey - https://buff.ly/3Gkdcu4
- Read More
Apprenticeship Accelerator
Published 24/11/23There's still time for your students to register for the Apprenticeship Accelerator! 98% of students who attended last year's event said they would attend in the future:
“The event really helped me get a grasp on what doing an apprenticeship is like.” - Previous attendee
Broadcast live online from 5pm on Thursday 30th November, it's essential viewing for any year 10-13 student who would like to hear from current apprentices and the UK's best apprenticeship employers.
Please see the attached event guide for further details and how to register.
Sign up link: https://apprenticeshipaccelerator.ratemyapprenticeship.co.uk/?dm_i=7BMZ,4Y9G,1QDMBE,K2G0,1
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Blacon High School supports the mental health of young people with The Wellbeing Hub from teen tips.
Published 23/11/23Blacon high school supports the mental health of young people with the wellbeing hub from teen tips.
Blacon High School have subscribed, for a year in the first instance, to The Wellbeing Hub. We encourage all of our Parents and Carers to sign up for free to this new website and all our students will also have an account, automatically being registered with their school email. The Wellbeing Hub offers you a wealth of information regarding Mental Health and Wellbeing, including;
- Weekly Podcasts and articles
- Live Q&As
- Webinars
- Top Tips
- The A-Z of Wellbeing
- Parenting Courses
Introductory video - https://teentips.co.uk/club/
- Parents and Carers will register themselves using a URL link which will be sent to their Edulink app / ParentPay. Please look out for this information.
- The link MUST NOT be shared on any social media as this is for Parents/Carers of Blacon High Students only and the capacity is limited to 800 user accounts – please only create one user account per family.
- *Please note that the large majority of resources are included in your subscription but there are paid services like personal counselling that aren’t covered. We are NOT promoting these services in any way – we have subscribed you to the content which will be of no cost to you*
Any requirements to use the further paid services are NOT covered in your Blacon High School subscription.
Please find below links to The Wellbeing Hub across several Social Media platforms so you can follow them and be aware of the weekly new content.
https://twitter.com/WellbeingHubTT
https://www.instagram.com/thewellbeinghubteentips/?hl=en-gb
https://www.facebook.com/TheWellbeingHubTeenTipsLtd
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-wellbeing-hub-teen-tips/
Blog October 2023
Published 13/11/23Hi,
Well what a busy few weeks it’s been. It’s hard to find the time to keep up with everything. We are already well into the second half term and, with Christmas looming, we also need to remember that mock exams are also on the horizon.
Apart from that, there is, as always, a lot to share and celebrate so here goes…
Remembrance Assembly
On such an important occasion, Blacon High School joined schools across the nation in paying respect to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the fight to ensure freedom and democracy for all of us.
We held a very moving assembly with readings and poems delivered by members of the Student Leadership Team and members of the Student Parliament. ‘The Last Post’ was played by a representative of the Cheshire Wind Band before the school observed two minutes silence at 11.00am.
The assembly was live-streamed to all classrooms; a fitting and solemn tribute to all who have served.
Link to Remembrance Assembly: https://youtube.com/live/GaYwHXaBOvw
Lest we forget!