Dear Parents/Carers
Despite being in lock down this is a bumper edition of the blog that really encapsulates our ethos of Enjoy, Respect, Achieve.
As I am currently writing a weekly update for parents my entry this edition will be mercifully short. I am immensely proud of how our community is dealing with the current International crisis and heartened by the continuation of day to day life including the many achievements, successes and stories of altruism seen across the country. A flavour of these, relevant to our community, are in this blog and help to keep us connected until we can all meet again in person.
Take care of yourselves, your loved ones and keep safe.
Best wishes
Adam Whitehead
While we fully appreciate the challenges to both students and their families who are stuck at home for the time being we have been incredibly impressed by the brilliant achievements our students have shared with us from home. From cooking and baking to art and yoga, our students (and staff!) have shown their creativity knows no bounds and that even during these testing times they have been able to enjoy new experiences and share these with our school community. In art, students have created some brilliant work while others have shared the delicious creations coming out of their kitchens. A huge thank you once again to parents and carers for supporting students to achieve their best from home.
On Tuesday 17th March the school celebrated its spring term ERA Day, with students enjoying a wider range of off-timetable activities both in and out of school. Year 9 students went to Lodge Hill to experience outdoor learning through exciting challenges including climbing and rope swinging. Year 10 took part in a series of STEM-based challenges in school, including Lego robotics, bridge building and helicopter design as well as a hospitality masterclass. Year 11 spent time practicing Science practical work while Year 7 students enjoyed Art, Dance and Music workshops as well as learning some basics in Spanish and Thai language exploration. Unfortunately due to closures resulting from Coronavirus, Year 8 students were unable to visit Marwell Zoo as planned, so they had a go at designing and planning their own zoo parks as well as researching ethical issues around animals in captivity.
Friday 13th March was Sport Relief day and as always BSW supported this excellent cause. This year students and some staff took part in a continuous relay race around the school grounds. The aim to rack up as many km as possible. It is estimated that students ran the equivalent distance of Worthing to Paris! Pupils had great fun, with many wearing some hilarious outfits, and raised money through sponsorship for Sport Relief.
BSW marked World Book Day (5th March) in typically enthusiastic fashion this year, with the English department and library putting on some great events and activities to celebrate reading. Students and staff celebrated by dressing as their favourite literary characters with everyone from Harry Potter to Gandalf making an appearance.
Some of our year 7 and 8 students were invited to meet the winning author M A Bennett who wrote the book S.T.A.G.S. She promoted the idea that when we pick up a book and open the front cover “a new door is opening”. This “door” can be related to all kinds of genres whether you are reading an adventure story, fantasy story or romantic story, reading is a great way of escapism and transforming yourself into another world.
During February half-term students from Year 8 and 10 headed off to the beautiful alpine resort of Sestriere in Italy for a week of skiing. Led by Mr Weedon, the group had an excellent time learning new techniques and practicing their skills on the slopes as well as enjoying a range of apres-ski activities such as meals out and even a disco! By all accounts students had a fantastic time and Mr Weedon commented on the brilliant conduct and great attitude shown by the students on the trip. Roll on ski season 2021!
We have been successful in our bid for a number of tree saplings from the Woodland Trust to support our Eco-School status as well as develop Outdoor Learning in school. A number of saplings were planted in the school grounds on Thursday 12th March, including ash, silver birch and hazel, which we look forward to seeing grow and making our outdoor space even more attractive.
Liquidesign a small design company in Brighton who provided the raw materials ready cut for assembly and design template for essential PPE masks for health workers treating coronavirus patients. A team of six BSW staff made 300 in one morning on site during the Easter break. Each takes about five and half minutes to build. Although originally designated for Brighton and Worthing hospitals in the end they went to East Sussex as the former received deliveries.
It was with some sadness that we had to announce that Thursday March 19th would be the last day for Year 11 in school. Owing to the unprecedented school closures enacted to keep people safe during the Coronovirus pandemic and the subsequent cancellation of GCSE exams this year, this was a premature farewell to our wonderful Year 11 cohort, who we had hoped to see through their exams in May and June. Mr Whitehead gave an assembly paying tribute to students’ success through their time at Bohunt, taking them back to their very first days in Year 7. This year’s cohort also have the distinction of being the first year group to pass through all 5 years of their secondary education at BSW. Staff bid their farewells to students and wished them the best, though we made it clear that this is not truly the end and that we hope to see all Year 11 students again. The prom planned for June has been postponed and we hope to mark this occasion with students as soon as possible.
Students in Year 9 who took part in the October ERA day have recently received the Discovery CREST Award for their amazing project work. The day was focused around the Rampion wind farm and using this technology as an example to model further windfarms on. The students across the year engaged via a google platform to create this project, also having the opportunity to build, test and evaluate their wind turbines. This volume of CREST awards is a clear reason for celebration. CREST awards are a nationally recognised Science award for students who engage with STEM activities. Well done Year 9!
We’re very happy to announce that several of our students have now completed stages of their Student Leadership Accreditation. Led by Mr White, this program aims to develop leadership qualities in students and allow them to take ownership of different elements of extra-curricular and subject based learning, sharing their expertise to improve the learning of their peers. We are pleased to announce that the following students have completed awards in Gold for Digital Leadership; Aman Rakesh, Corban Fletcher, Giacamo Marsh, William Neville, Christopher Minton and Adam Scott. Isaac Goodban, Luca Venditto and Lyla Brooker have achieved their Silver award. Ben Waterer has now achieved Silver in Eco-leadership while Cara Plassing, George Maynard, James Compton, Alfie Jones and Alex Broadhurst have achieved Silver in History leadership. The following students have now achieved their Silver in Drama; Emma Hill, Daniel Archer, Holly McManus, Eva Sadler, Ide Sullivan, Luca Venditto, Emi Lomberg, Lexie Benbow-Hart, Fyn Cooper, Phoebe Deutsch, Fergus Coogan and Imogen Swaine.
GCSE Business Studies took part in the Tycoon Enterprise Competition and set up stalls in school to raise money for their given ventures. At the Year 9 Parents Evening on Wednesday 11th March pupils sold cookies, phone case designs and more. Stalls also ran throughout the week in school.
We are delighted to share the wonderful news that Max Overington in Year 7 has been elected to join the West Sussex Youth Cabinet. This remarkable achievement means that Max will get to voice the views of young people in our community to make it a better place for children and young adults. A big thank you to all tutors for supporting this election process so well – the 95% voter turnout this enabled led to BSW gaining the Gold Democracy Award!
Congratulations to Toby Le Fevre in Year 7. He competed in the trampolining & DMT regional competitions and made it through to the South East Team. He’ll compete nationally in June in Birmingham. This will be the third consecutive year he has represented the South East
On Friday 28th February the inaugural BET Awards were held, celebrating the excellence of both teaching and non-teaching staff across the Bohunt Education Trust schools. We were very proud to see several members of staff both longlisted and shortlisted for awards and were delighted that BSW was awarded the Green Chicken Award for collaborative practice and spirit demonstrated by both staff and pupils. Our Assistant Headteacher Briony Palmer won the BET ERA Award but was unable to collect her award as she was self-isolating. Ms Palmer has also just been selected for a Teacher of the Year Award by Inspire Schools. A huge thank you to all of those who nominated and a big well done to Ms Palmer for her great work.
