Year 10 Students Make a Difference with Prince’s Trust Community Project

/in /by

Year 10 students successfully complete their Prince’s Trust Community Project Award by creating and donating handmade natural dog treats to the local RSPCA animal shelter

Our Year 10 students have been busy working with Mrs Wright on their Prince’s Trust Community Project Award this term, making an important impact in our local community.

With their own creation and ideas, they crafted natural dog treats from fresh ingredients, designed a beautiful logo, and meticulously packaged their creations for the local RSPCA animal shelter. Their hard work culminated in a visit to the RSPCA, where they proudly donated their treats and celebrated completing their award.

This project has been an incredible rewarding journey for our students, encouraging independence and teamwork.

Expressive Arts Showcase 2024

/in , /by

A fabulous celebration of the expressive arts at Bishop’s.

On Wednesday 10th July, Bishop’s Expressive Arts Faculty showcased all of the wonderful talent on offer amongst its students. Art, Graphics, Drama and Music all came together to present an art exhibition, concert and play which were enjoyed by a full-capacity audience.

When visitors arrived they began the evening by perusing the impressive array of work within the exhibition which had been created by our GCSE Art, Craft, Design and GCSE Graphic Communication students. This included a range of portraiture, mixed media art work and still life from the Art students, and packaging design, book covers, posters and merchandise from our Graphics students. The level of talent on display was exceptional. The exhibition remained open for the next couple of days allowing the rest of the school to visit and appreciate the fantastic work on display- a real inspiration to some of our younger students wishing to choose these subjects for GCSE.

After they had enjoyed the exhibition our audience moved up to the school hall to take their seats for our concert. The concert showcased a real variety of material including a wide array of items from our Music department, a play performed by the Bishop’s Acting Troupe (BATs) and two numbers performed by the Musical Theatre Club.

Musical offerings included two beautiful pieces by our keyboard group, which opened the concert, accompanying Eva M as our singer. Orchestra performed two pieces with commitment and assurance, one of which was an arrangement by Em W in Year 10, which she conducted in the performance. Our ukulele ensemble gave a lovely rendition of A Whole New World, from Aladdin, and the Bishop’s Choir closed the concert with an energetic delivery of two songs, bringing the house down with their rendition of High Hopes. It was also wonderful to hear a range of accomplished solo performances from seven girls from year 8 to year 12, performing on a range of instruments including voice, clarinet, violin, trumpet and piano.

Performing either side of the interval was the Bishop’s Acting Troupe who performed Find a Partner! by Miriam Battye. The students from years 7 to 10 performed with real energy and vigour to produce an engaging portrayal of finding love in today’s world of reality TV. BATs meet weekly for an after school rehearsal and have been working on this performance since September 2023.

An exciting performance of Ex-Wives, from Six, and I know it’s Today from Shrek the Musical were delivered by our Musical Theatre Club. It was a perfect opportunity for the girls to be able to showcase their talents which they did with both commitment and enthusiasm. Mrs James was very proud of their performance on the night.

Congratulations to all the girls involved in the Expressive Arts Showcase 2024 who should be rightly proud of their achievements. It was fantastic to see so many students, over 180, involved in this event, showing what a vibrant and busy faculty the Expressive Arts Faculty is. Thanks also to all the members of staff who contributed to the event and without whom it would not have been possible.

Amazing Achievements in Food

/in /by

Our students have had an enriching term developing their culinary skills, exploring food science, mastering international recipes, excelling in practical exams, and gaining hands-on experience at the Simmons bakery factory.

We take pride in celebrating the remarkable achievements of our students in Food and Nutrition across various year groups in the food room. Their journey has been one of growth, learning, and culinary exploration. Our Year 7 students have embarked on building confidence and honing their basic kitchen skills. Their enthusiasm and dedication have been truly inspiring, laying a solid foundation for their future moving forward to Year 8.

In Year 8, students delved into the fascinating world of food science. They explored the intricate processes that underpin cooking, whilst advancing their practical skills. This combination of theory and practice has positively expanded their knowledge.

Year 9 brought a taste of global cuisine to our classroom, as students mastered the art of making samosas and various festival foods. These culinary delights offered a window into diverse cultural traditions, enhancing their understanding and appreciation of international flavours and techniques.

Our Year 10 students rose to the challenge of their practical food exam with enthusiasm highlighting the skills they have learnt so far. Their creations, inspired by the rich heritage of Asia, showcased their growing expertise and creativity. From intricate starters to delectable desserts, their dishes were a testament to their hard work and dedication.

The last trip of the year was to the Simmons bakery factory tour, a memorable experience for our GCSE students. This visit provided an invaluable insight into the production of a wide array of breads, cakes, pastries, and pies. Students observed the intricacies of a working bakery and gained a first-hand understanding of the business aspects of food production. The hands-on experience of filling donuts and icing cupcakes added a layer of practical learning, making the tour both educational and enjoyable.

Scratch Competition Winners

/in /by

Pupils explore the world of programming by creating outstanding Scratch games

Scratch is the door to the world of “big programming”. It is a high-level, block-based visual programming language and website, aimed primarily at pupils as an educational tool, with a target audience of ages 8 to 16. Users on the site can create projects on the website using a block-like interface. Our annual Scratch game programming competition sets out to bring out in our pupils the skills and passion to become future developers and innovators.

We are thrilled to announce the winners of this year’s Scratch game programming competition, some of whom might take their skills even further!

This year, we have joint first-place winners, Aishani B (Galactic Assassin) and Heather A (Frogger), who both impressed the judges with their creative and engaging games, blending complex coding with delightful user experiences. Aishani: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1041771250 Heather: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1041184972

Second place goes to the team of Katya S and Sonam S (Geometry Dash) for their innovative and well-designed game that showcased impressive mechanics and graphics, while Caoimhe T (Catch Bishop 360) takes third place with her imaginative approach and captivating gameplay. Katya and Sonam: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1044884087  Caoimhe: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1042591370

Honourable mentions go to Hailey C, Eden W and Siena-Maria MH for their outstanding entries.

Congratulations to all participants for their exceptional talent and dedication. We look forward to seeing more incredible Scratch creations next year!

Mr Webster

 

Out in the real world

/in , /by

Year 10 were treated to a careers day with key local employers

A group of keen Bishop’s Year 10s joined schools from the local area to find out from key local corporates what future local roles they might have available and what they were looking for in a new recruit! Tesco, Paypoint and Morgan Sindall, regular supporters of Careers events at Bishop’s, invited a group of Year 10s to their Head Office sites to see and hear about the roles and type of work available with them. This trip was designed to demystify the world of business and show our pupils the range and skills needed to work in a business environment.

Tesco hosted the event, along with the ever popular Meal Deal lunch treat! Tesco fielded a range of teams to explain to the Year 10s the types of jobs this employer of hundreds of thousands worldwide provide. Creative teams explained social media campaigns, IT development teams showed them the world of retail innovation and strategy and HR was unveiled to our intrepid career investigators – all this encouraged their research skills.

Pay point, the cutting-edge financial solutions business, got our teams working on promotions for student Freshers Week to get them to understand the fundamentals of marketing and the skills of creativity and teamwork. Morgan Sindall, the property and No.1 construction/property management giant, engaged the pupils in fun matching exercises – with prizes up for grabs – to reveal the range of skills needed in the workplace from problem solving to communication.

This was a pilot trip for BHGS which will hopefully take place again next year – especially as it received great feedback from our attendees, with Prudence C commenting: “We learnt a lot about what goes on behind the scenes” and with a meal deal to “boot” it was a good careers day out!

Senior Team in Hertfordshire Athletics County Plate Final 2024

/in /by

Senior Athletics Team through to the 2024 County Plate Final

After a successful 6 rounds of the County League Athletics competition, the Senior Athletics teams found out they had qualified for the Plate Final. This involved the top 9th -16th placed schools in Hertfordshire and included some strong opposition including teams from Presdales, St Albans High, Leventhorpe, St Clement Danes, St Georges, St Michaels and Royal Masonic.

The team was missing a number of Year 10 pupils who had been competing in the County League this year due to Work Experience but this meant lots of new opportunities for pupils in Year 9 to represent the Senior Athletics team too.

Particular mentions go to the following pupils:

  • Georgia Wharton – 4th in the U16 Girls Long Jump with new Personal Best of 4.45m
  • Zoe Atsutse Asamoah – 4th in the U16 Girls 200m
  • Natu Kamara – 2nd in the U16 Girls Triple Jump

A big thank you and well done to everyone who has represented the Senior Athletics team this season – a great achievement!

Sports Day 2024

/in , /by

House Hadid retain the Sports Day trophy for a 2nd year in a row!

On Monday 8th July, the PE Department organised our annual Sports Day supporting by staff across the whole school. We kept our fingers crossed for good weather as it looked to be the only day this week where it could be held and luckily, the rain held off (…..just!) to allow the competition to take place in full.

Sports Day Heats for Years 7-9 last week and with the Year 10 Heats taking place a month ago, before their exams, pupils were ready and raring to go to represent their Form/House and earn some valuable House Points ahead of the end of the academic year next week.

There were some very impressive performances across all year groups particularly from our District and County League athletes and the spectators really helped to cheer everyone on in their respective events.

After a tough day of competition, the results were as follows:

Year Winners ( in place order) Year 7 – * Joint 1st Place – 7 Seacole and 7 Parr * 3rd Place – 7 Austen * 4th Place – 7 Hadid * 5th Place – 7 Franklin

Year 8 * 1st Place – 8 Hadid * 2nd Place – 8 Parr * 3rd Place – 8 Austen * 4th Pace – 8 Franklin * 5th Place – 8 Seacole

Year 9 * 1st Place – 9 Hadid * 2nd Place – 9 Seacole * 3rd Place – 9 Franklin * 4th Place – 9 Parr * 5th Place – 9 Austen

Year 10 * 1st Place – 10 Seacole * 2nd Place – 10 Hadid * 3rd Place – 10 Franklin * 4th Place – 10 Austen * 5th Place – 10 Parr

Junior Relay Winners – 8 Hadid

Joint Senior Relay Winners – 10 Hadid and 10 Seacole

Track Cup – 8 Austen

Field Cup – 8 Hadid

Track and Field Cup – 8 Hadid

Ellie Bandy Trophy Winners (most points scored overall on Sports Day) – Arabella Ashby (10Hadid) Finished 1st place in the Year 10 High Jump, Year 10 Discus and was part of the Year 10 Hadid A Team Relay Team.

OVERALL HOUSE WINNER – HADID

Thank you to all of the pupils and staff for their support and participation in this event. Finally a big thank you, as ever to the PE department (Miss Cameron, Mrs Waters, Miss Nelson and Miss Rollings) for all of their time and efforts in the organisation before and on the day.