BSW Blog – end of year special 17 07 2020

Dear Parents and Carers,

As we reach the end of what must be the most unique term in anybody’s school experience we wanted to put out a final BSW Blog to celebrate what has been achieved in these difficult times.  We should all be very proud of both the small and large achievements that have happened.  Collectively they have made a massive contribution to maintaining our community spirit, sense of purpose and commitment to each other.

There will be much to learn from the lock-down experience and there are a number of positives that have come out of it.  Many students, with the support of parents and staff, have shown an incredible ability to manage their work independently and produce high quality assignments either in response to academic tasks or other challenges we have set. Others have found it more difficult but shown great resilience in facing up to their individual challenges, and in many cases have learnt that asking for help is not a sign of weakness but actually an important step in developing higher self-esteem and confidence. Most impressively, there are numerous examples of people being there for each other, whether individually or in groups, striving for the very best and supporting each other along the way.

We have also learnt that with the right attitude we can achieve amazing outcomes in short periods of time. A really important part of our school plan for the future is to identify the many positive changes that the emergency situation has brought about and make sure we can incorporate them into the running of the school. 

As a parent of four teenagers myself, I know the whole experience has been a huge learning curve for families and not without its stressful moments.  It has also provided the opportunity for us all to increase the depth of our relationships and involvement with each other. I am sure the time will come when we might look back with some wistfulness at the enforced ‘quality’ time we had together and it is important that we find ways to create and preserve such opportunities in the future.  

None of our achievements would have been possible without the hard work of students, staff and parents. As a school we are hugely appreciative of the support parents have shown, the helpful advice and suggestions many of you have offered and the excellent communication you have maintained with us.  There are many further challenges ahead but as the content that follows shows, we are truly blessed and fortunate to be working with such talented young people and should face the future confident in the knowledge that we can collectively overcome any obstacles in our path.

Best wishes

Adam Whitehead

Enjoy

This year’s ERA Week was always going to be somewhat different to the one we’d been looking forward to. With trips on hold and the majority of students at home we were nonetheless able to provide some excellent extra-curricular experiences for students. Running from Monday 22nd – Friday 26th June and coinciding with some wonderfully sunny weather, ERA Week saw students in Years 7-9 undertake some brilliant challenges and develop some essential skills. One of tasks was to complete a walk of the equivalent distance from Worthing to Brighton Pier in the ‘Pier to Pier’ challenge. Stephen in Year 7 went one further and completed it all in one, rising at the crack of dawn and finishing in Brighton in time for tea! An awesome achievement among many.

Over the last few months we have welcomed a new and vital member of the BSW team who has celebrated the extraordinary talent and creativity of students. Bob (Best of Bohunt) has provided a weekly summary of what our students have been up to both in and out of school. Bob was even featured in the Worthing Herald, which featured a summary of the best Bob submissions and the positive ways in which BSW students have engaged remotely during a highly unusual few months.

Our very own Bear Grylls, Mr Cochlin ran a series of bushcraft activities on 8th and 10th July for some of our students on site. This made use of the outdoor garden area that our students have worked hard to clear and preserve and taught some essential survival and outdoor skills.

We were delighted to participate in the first Bohunt Education Trust Virtual Visual Arts Exhibition for GCSE and Art A Level (Years 11 and 13) on Friday 10 July. Our Year 11 students’ GCSE Fine Art work featured alongside work from Year 11 and Year 13 students from the other trust schools.

Despite the current restrictions, we were determined to find a way to display the amazing work by our Year 11 Fine Arts students. This exhibition was the first to showcase students’ stunning art and included a welcome from Neil Strowger, Trust Leader, and links to galleries on BET schools’ website pages, including Bohunt Worthing’s with a welcome from Miranda Palmer, our Head of Expressive Arts. Ms Palmer commented:

“Our students have worked tremendously hard, as always, to produce some truly outstanding work. They missed out on the opportunity to produce their final piece under exam conditions but have high quality work in their portfolios that we wanted to share. We are a proud supporter of the arts and were very sad to have to cancel our hugely popular Art Festival this year as part of the Worthing Open Artists, it involved work not just from our students but partner primaries and a live artist in residence on the day. Although we are unable to offer people the chance to visit our school, we are delighted to showcase our students’ fantastic achievements online. Well done to all our students for their hard work and thank you to all the parents who have supported children at home.”

Respect

It goes without saying that NHS and care staff have been in our thoughts throughout the last few months, alongside the many people receiving treatment and care in hospitals. Mr White and the amazing Student Council sent messages of compassion and hope to Covid-19 patients on the Broadwater Ward at Worthing hospital. This was later rolled out to all students as well as staff and messages were also sent to the dedicated staff working on the ward. PALS Team Manager Jo Yearsley sent Mr White a reply;

”Thank you so much for the wonderful messages. I know these sentiments made a few of us quite teary and so very proud of the kind people at Bohunt School.  I shared your messages with one of the Matrons who delivers to Broadwater ward and she said it made her feel so special and how wonderful people are to think of staff as well.”

On Monday 6th July the school celebrated Pride with an assembly by Mr Pearson and Ms Todorovic looking at the importance of Pride and the LGBTQ+ community within our school and in the wider world. Eadie in Year 8 created an amazing Pride banner which has been used by teaching staff in their Google Classroom classes.

So many of our staff have gone the extra mile during these last few months to do the best for our students under trying circumstances. While it has sometimes seemed like our school community is spread far and wide, small acts of dedication have ensured that we remain closely linked. Ms Warrington and Ms Brugnoli from the English department delivered books to students to enjoy over during the lockdown period. Mrs Batchelor embarked on a creative courier service to deliver art packs to our Year 9 GCSE students so that they could complete their final piece. These are just two examples of the brilliant things our staff have done to ensure the best learning for their students.

Achieve

While the school has been open to some students, including those whose parents and carers are key workers, it was not until Monday 15 June that BSW was able to open its doors to students from Year 10. Following government guidance, the school saw the first arrival of staggered groups of Year 10 pupils in their first week back since March. Whilst this was already a momentous day, it was made all the more exceptional by having a BBC News crew cover the event and being featured on that evening’s BBC News at 6pm. As well as an interview with Mr Whitehead, the BBC spoke to our very own Ella as she returned to school. You can watch the clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Pf3Vr-GklU&feature=youtu.be

Art has been a vital source of comfort and connection for many people during the pandemic. BSW Art students have displayed some incredible talent and creativity and Miss Large has shared some fantastic examples with diverse and spectacular work on show.

While our students have made brilliant use of the 1:1 iPad scheme during the home learning and have used technology brilliantly, it is important that all pupils spend some of their learning time away from a screen. We have therefore introduced a series of weeks across each department where students complete tasks that do not involve as much screen time. Maths ‘away from the screen’ week was a Trust wide Mandala competition. hundreds of entries were narrowed down to the best 5 in each class. Harry in Year 7 won and Evie, Imogen and Sophie in Year 8 and Daisy in Year 9 were runners up as best in school. They now go into the trust competition.

We cannot wait to properly meet our new Year 7 cohort in September. Like so many things, transition day was always going to be different this year but nonetheless a range of activities and materials were made available to our new starters to help them initiate into life at BSW. On July 1st new students were able to take part in a series of virtual taster sessions and parents and carers were provided with all of the essential information needed for September. On 9 and 10 July we opened our doors for our newest Y7 cohort as part of our ‘Click and Collect’ event! It was great to meet so many new students and their families. For those who couldn’t make it to collect their packs, Mr Pearson and Mr Dummer hit the road to deliver them directly to their doors – A-Team style!

Despite sports fixtures sadly being all but nonexistent during the last few months, BSW students have nonetheless demonstrated their sporting excellence through the fantastic Sussex School Games. Led by Mr Weedon and the PE department as part of a county wide initiative, the Sussex School Games events have given students a different challenge to complete each week, with expert demonstrations to help them. With different sports being represented by skills challenges in everything from hockey to football, there has been something for everyone to have a go at. With the final results yet to be published, will give a full report on how BSW performed in the next blog. It has certainly been great fun taking part!

Key Dates

From all of us at Bohunt Worthing we wish you a wonderful summer!