Dear Parents and Carers,
Schools are first and foremost about people and as we reach the end of our academic year I particularly want to celebrate our students who are the quiet heroes of what we have achieved this year. As this latest edition demonstrates this half term our students have not just continued to progress in the classroom but seized a wide range of other opportunities.
We have metrics by which we can measure many aspects of the school – attendance, progress reports, ERA and behaviour points. Some of these are pulled together to inform the outcome of the house competition this year narrowly won by Franklin House. In overview our data describes a school that has had a very successful year despite the challenges we have all faced. The level of student engagement as measured by attitude to learning is up, more ERAs have been awarded than ever before and less behaviour points. Attendance has continued to be strong despite illness, the necessity to self-isolate at times, whole school lockdowns and understandable worries and anxieties. Progress in lessons and co-curricular activities, whilst at times different in delivery, for many has not been significantly interrupted or stalled and we have been able to fully engage with national support strategies such as one to one tutoring. Over 300 students across all year groups have participated in a range of tutoring programmes since last September.
Metrics tell you some things but equally important are the qualitative measures such as the sense of our culture that is lived and the atmosphere we experience across the school. What I have seen throughout this year is young people who have essentially understood the challenge the pandemic has presented, accepted the impacts it has had on their lives, both in and out of school, and in the vast majority of cases without fuss or fanfare brought positivity, commitment and enthusiasm to all aspects of their lives. Sure at times there will have been off days borne out of frustration at new twists, setbacks or the loss of specific opportunities, who hasn’t had these moments in the last year, but they have always bounced back and stepped up again to the next challenge bringing their boundless energy, smiles and humour to enliven our classrooms, corridors, playgrounds and other spaces of the school. It is this response which fills me with pride and the knowledge that they will be ok in the end. I would like to thank them all for the example they set and reiterate our commitment to keeping a watchful eye on them going forward, ready to offer our care and support when it is needed.
I am certain that the unfailing willingness of staff to repeatedly adjust to change, adapt our practices and improve what we do comes at its heart from the strength of their relationships with, their 100% commitment to and the passion for excellence that they have for our students. All staff have worked incredibly hard this year incorporating a range of very different models of schooling and guidance and I feel immensely fortunate to lead a team of such excellent professionals across all aspects of the school. At this time of year, we always have some colleagues who are moving on whether to promotions or new opportunities. As a school it is always bitter sweet when people leave – a combination of personal sadness for us as valued colleagues, and friends depart mixed with genuine excitement and support for them. Leaving us this term are: Mrs Blunt (PE), Mr Staples (food tech), Ms Timms (science), Ms James (English), Mrs Todorovic (Maths), Ms Wu (Mandarin), Ms Dugova (Science), Mrs Pownall (Maths). Whilst they have been here for varying lengths of time they have each made significant contributions to the school and I would like to thank them all for their hard work and support.
Lastly I would like to thank you, our parents and carers, for your unstinting support. The positive messages and thanks that so many of you have sent in across the year are always shared and provide a much needed boost to us all. When the adults in a young person’s life work together with a common set of values and beliefs we know amazing things happen. The holidays offer a chance for everybody to hopefully relax and refresh. We look forward to seeing you all in September and as always we will be in touch near the end of August with the plans and details for the start of the new school year.
Best wishes
Mr Whitehead
This summer we were really happy to see the return of ERA Week, one of the school’s most hotly anticipated calendar events. This also marked the first opportunities for extra-curricular visits as well as a chance to welcome some excellent external guests to run workshops in school. Across three days, students took part in some incredible activities on and off-site with an amazing variety of opportunities inspired by the school’s ethos of Enjoy, Respect, Achieve.
In school, students took part in a variety of workshops, activities and challenges. Our Year 9 and 10 pupils completed a carousel of careers guidance sessions with a variety of guest speakers. From university life to producing a great CV, these sessions marked National Careers Week and got our pupils thinking about life beyond BSW. Elsewhere, our younger cohorts enjoyed ‘Duke of Edinburgh’ in a day, with some amazing activities that took in the core elements of the DofE Award including volunteering, skills and physical challenges. From team-building and sports to photography and art, these activities gave a glimpse of what a DofE might entail and will hopefully have inspired many of our pupils to consider signing up for DofE next year or beyond.
Our Year 8 and 9 pupils also took part in the Sponsored Walk, trekking 12km up to the South Downs and back in some wonderful sunshine as they raised money for two local charities, Safe in Sussex and Superstar Arts. They managed to raise an incredible £971 through their fundraising. A special mention for the highest fund raiser, Scarlett Andrews in year 8AME, who managed to collect over £150! Fantastic work!
Finally, our students also got the chance to spend a day at a top theme park for thrills and spills! Pupils in Years 7 and 8 headed to Windsor for a brilliant day out with their friends at Legoland while those in Years 9 and 10 visited Thorpe Park to ride some of the UK’s top rollercoasters. After a challenging year in which students have demonstrated real resilience, it was fantastic to see them let loose and enjoy a day of pure fun!
This years Sports Day took a slight change to the itinerary with an afternoon of competitive races. Students represented each of their houses in 100m, 200m and the tutor replay where both staff and students demonstrated speed, passion and commitment to getting the baton over the line. Students across the school supported and celebrated one another’s achievements creating a victorious atmosphere.
In addition to our sports afternoon the PE department held a “Festival of Sport Week” where all students were able to participate towards the house cup. During their double PE lessons students competed in the following 3 events: Shotput, Frisbee Golf and The Lap Challenge. All results were collated as a house to give an overall winner. All students demonstrated fantastic spirit and determination when representing their house, along with excellent teamwork and courage to compete. This highlighted some Bohunt Game Changers who went above and beyond showing some fantastic leadership as well as excellence. The final results from both the Sports Afternoon and “Festival of Sport” meant that Mandela were victorious.
There is nothing like letting off some steam at the end of summer term. Mr Robinson’s Year 7 tutor group were given the opportunity to settle some scores with their tutor during registration on Thursday 22nd July. Pupils got the chance to sponge and face cake Mr Robinson as he stood helplessly in the stocks. Well done to the students in 7ARO for persuading Mr Robinson to be such a good sport and literally take it on the chin.
As part of ERA Week students in Years 7 and 10 spent a day marking the annual Diversity Week by exploring LGBT+ rights, culture and history. From writing their own LGBT+ song to creating an LGBT+ History timeline, students learned about the incredible contributions made by LGBT+ to society as well as reflecting on the importance of acceptance and tolerance within the school community. The school building has been transformed by the hanging of PRIDE Rainbow Flags, created by members of our community. They are now hanging proudly in the Atrium, the central hub and heart of the school.
We had 63 hardy Year 9 students completing their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award Training and Qualifying day walks over the South Downs during the weekend of 16th-18th July, covering over 50km in three days. They showed great determination and stamina to cope with the high temperatures and gruelling conditions over the three days, displaying strong team work and navigational skills. They now have their final activities to complete before all receiving their full Bronze Award, with this group representing the highest number of Bronze participants since we started offering the Duke of Edinburgh Award at Bohunt Worthing. Well done all!
On Monday 5th July we welcomed a very special visitor to speak to our Year 9 students over Zoom. Ruth Barnett MBE, a Holocaust survivor, author and former school teacher spoke to Year 9 students from across our Trust schools about her experiences during the Second World War when she travelled to Britain from Germany as part of the Kindertransport. Ruth’s fascinating and moving story was really important for our students to hear, and she reinforced the message of tolerance and acceptance through her tragic story. Students were able to ask questions at the end to find out more about Ruth’s extraordinary life.
Students in Year 8 and 9 Science have been very excited to have corresponded with a true national treasure. Led by Mr Shackleton, students completed a biodiversity recording activity where they had to photograph and identify local wildlife in a competition with other classes. Pupils recorded around 50 different animal species.
Those pupils that went the extra mile and recorded the most varieties and species were invited to sign a letter written to Sir David Attenborough about their appreciation for and understanding of local biodiversity. Sir David replied to pass on his congratulations to our pupils for their fantastic effort and commend their contribution to local wildlife identification and conservation. The students below were those who recorded the most species.
Y8: Albin Biju, Harry Brown, Samuel Elphick, Millie Sneddon, Lottie Williams
Y9: Jamie Busson, Blair Fraser, Bella Murphy, Lily Palmer, Oscar Pharoah, Imogen Turner
In Art, Year 8 art students have been using mixed media collage and screen printing to express how they feel about a range of issues. They were inspired by the American street artist Shepard Fairey and they are really powerful.
House Cup Winners
On Tuesday 20th July students sat down for morning tutor time and eagerly awaited the final results of the House Cup competition for 2020-21. Mr Whitehead gave a virtual assembly in which he explained how students achievements in everything from attendance and behaviour to attitude to learning and engagement all contributed to the points that their house had accumulated over the term. With both the Autumn and Spring term cups won by Franklin House, it remained to be seen if they could claim the title a third time and indeed the overall House Cup for the year. While Turing House claimed victory for the summer term the overall points across the year saw Franklin take the ultimate prize! It was a very close draw with all houses doing very well and reflecting the excellent achievements of all of our students. On Thursday 22nd July students from Franklin House enjoyed an afternoon off timetable, playing a variety of games, getting stuck into the inflatables over on the manor and enjoying a free ice cream in the glorious July sunshine. Well done Franklin House and good luck to all houses for the next academic year!
On Wednesday 7th July we were lucky enough to welcome four guests to speak to a group of our Year Ten students. All the members of the panel have had a successful career in a field that has English Literature or English Language at its core. From the Head of English at Sussex University to a internationally recognised publisher, the talks were varied, engaging and inspirational and left the a lot of the students interested in pursuing our subject further.
All the speakers were impressed with the student’s engagement as well as interested in each other’s stories- so much so that they have all offered to return next year!
Lexia is a literacy app that supports students with developing their reading skills while also promoting a love of literature. The app gives students the chance to engage with literacy outside of their lessons and supports any reading they are doing outside of school. We are delighted with the progress that our Year 7 students have made and as way of congratulating our Lexia Gold certificate winners, these pupils won a golden ticket which gave them time out of lessons to enjoy snacks and games, as well as a tricky literacy quiz..
On Monday 19th July a group of our most academically able students in Science took part in a virtual visit to St John’s College at Oxford University to learn about studying at one of the world’s most prestigious universities. Students received an introduction to the university, a virtual tour of St John’s and a Q&A session with current undergraduates. We hope that this will inspire some of our most excellent scientists to consider how university might help them achieve their goals.
We are delighted to be able to share our an Online Art Exhibition for the class of 2021. We are incredibly proud of the work that they have produced in the most challenging of circumstances. Good luck for the future!
Way back in 2019 BSW won a BET Award for being BET ‘Green Chicken‘ school, which means we are the shining beacon, an excellent example of a school that has fostered a collaborative working relationship with all of our other Trust schools. The prize (alongside our beautiful trophy) was a visit from a very special ice cream van, with delicious ice creams served by none other than Neil Strowger, Trust Leader of BET.
Working for Bohunt Education Trust – Governance
On our website vacancies page, we are sharing two roles for the Trust – both are working with in the Governance area, the Trust are looking for a clerk for our local governing body and also a Governance Coordinator to join the team. The deadline is 20th September 2021 to start ASAP.
| Friday 23 July | Last day of term – early closure at 1.40pm NB. no clubs this afternoon. |
| Friday 3 September | First day for Y7 and Y11 – more details to follow |
| Monday 6 September | First day of term for Y8, Y9 and Y10 – more details to follow |
Our final message for this blog, and this year, is to wish you all a safe and sunny summer and we look forward to seeing you all in September!
