BHGS Sports Day 2023

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Hadid take the House Trophy in 2023!

On Monday 17th July, the PE department organised and held our annual Sports Day event. Heats had taken place in the weeks previously to allow for all the finals to take place in Years 7-10. This was the first time in 2 years that all 4 age groups still in school had been able to take part together due to the unexpected heat and change of dates last year so it was certainly an event to look forward to!

The weather tried to put a dampener on things first thing and the track events needed to be delayed until after breaktime to allow the grass to dry out. However, the field timings still ran as normal which meant that some events were underway first thing.

The rest of the school came out to join the PE department in the sunshine and allowed a fantastic day of sporting competition with pupils giving it their all to win the last valuable House Points.

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 long day of competition the results were as follows:

Year 7 – Forms in rank order 1st – 7 Hadid 2nd – 7 Franklin 3rd – 7 Parr 4th – 7 Austen 5th – 7 Seacole

Year 8 – Forms in rank order 1st – 8 Seacole 2nd – 8 Hadid 3rd – 8 Parr 4th – 8 Franklin 5th – 8 Austen

Year 9 – Forms in rank order 1st – 9 Hadid 2nd – 9 Seacole 3rd – 9 Parr 4th – 9 Franklin 5th – 9 Austen

Year 10 – Forms in rank order 1st – 10 Parr 2nd – 10 Austen 3rd – 10 Seacole 4th – 10 Franklin 5th – 10 Hadid

Junior Relay Winners – 8 Seacole Senior Relay Winners – 9 Hadid

Track Cup – 10 Parr Field Cup – 10 Parr Track, Field and Relay Cup – 10 Parr

Ellie Bandy Trophy Winners (most points scored overall on Sports Day) joint winners – Libby Porter (10Au) and Daniella Okoye (10Ha)

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 Esterhuizen, Miss Rollings and Miss Nelson) for all of their time and efforts in the organisation before and on the day.

A Cultural Celebration to Mark the End of Term

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Pupils celebrate the cultural diversity of our school at the end a busy school year.

To mark the end of the school year, Bishop’s hosted a Summer celebration which explored the beauty of the different cultures represented in our school. Pupils came in wearing the colours of their flag or in clothing showing their cultural heritage. In the afternoon, everyone took part in traditional games and activities designed and hosted by each Form and even by some of the staff for other students; for example, sweet pong, guess the card, glitter tattoos, face painting, a Broom Game and much more !!! Overall, it was a fun and unique experience which we really enjoyed as an end of term activity and would like to see repeated!

Alysha J

We also had live music being performed in the dining room. Two lively sets were played by our African Drumming Troupe, who performed original compositions they had been working on during their weekly lunchtime rehearsals. We were also treated to energetic performances from some of our Year 9 classes who shared some Samba music which they have been studying in their latest unit within their music lessons. Well done to all performers, you really embraced our school ethos of responsible risk taking and added to the atmosphere of the event. Some of your audience even commented that it felt as though they were “at a carnival”!

Mrs McKinnel

Y7 Anti-Bullying Competition

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Year 7 make a noise about anti-bullying

On Tuesday 11th and Thursday 13th July, the five Year 7 forms gathered at lunchtime to present their perspectives and thoughts on bullying and how to stop it.

As well as participating with my own form (7Au) I was able to watch other people’s performances and I must say: they were all amazing! This competition was aimed at Year 7 and marked the beginning of our Anti-bullying initiatives in the lead up to Anti-bullying Week in November 2023. There were a variety of very different presentations such as Powerpoint presentations and performances/drama pieces. I was very pleased with the effort and contribution of all the forms that participated. I asked to introduce this competition to Year 7 to help pupils improve their understanding of bullying. The competition asked pupils to look at different types of bullying e.g. cyberbullying and how we can find ways to combat this.

Just after Easter 2023, BHGS appointed some pupils like me as Anti-bullying Ambassadors. This new group is made up of a representative from each Form, from Year 7 all the way through to 6th Form! The Anti-bullying Ambassador’s role is to help others speak out if they are a victim of bullying, work with pupils in other schools on Anti-Bullying and help to shape our Anti-Bullying Policy to ensure people know how to report bullying and get the support and help they need. Mrs Mansfield, the Head of Pastoral Care, has been there to guide us and help us expand our knowledge for the role. She has worked very hard to train us and to get other staff to also help, so this competition and role wouldn’t have happened without her lead.

For this competition, our panel of judges was made of Mrs Mansfield and Mrs Gillham with prizes of chocolates and lots of House points for the winners and the runners up. It was a very hard and tough decision to make as all the Forms did brilliantly but the top 2 winners were… in 1st place, 7Au and in 2nd place, 7 Parr. Their performances were very different but both got the message across really well. One was a drama performance and the other was a presentation with great oracy and many factual points about bullying. Other forms also got some additional House points for participation. It was great to hear Year 7 ‘Make a Noise about bullying!’

Ebun A

Expressive Arts Showcase Dazzles

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Students share amazing work and performances at the Expressive Arts Showcase.

On Thursday 6th 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 drama performance which was 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 which was 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 and drama performance. The event showcased a real variety of material including items from our Music department, Drama department and a medley taken from our very successful musical which performed earlier on this academic year.

Musical offerings included the inaugural performance from our new school orchestra who really did themselves proud performing arrangements of Make you Feel my Love and the challenging Hoe-Down from Copeland’s Rodeo. We also had memorable performances from our African Drumming Troupe, the Keyboard Ensemble and the Bishop’s Choir who closed the concert with two songs, bringing the house down with their rendition of Happy which saw the audience clapping along. It was also wonderful to hear a range of accomplished solo performances from seven girls right from Year 7 up to Year 13, performing on a range of instruments including voice, clarinet, violin and piano.

At either side of the interval, the Bishop’s Acting Troupe performed Act One of Our Day Out by Willy Russell. The girls from Year 8 and 9 performed with real energy and vigour to produce a humorous and engaging portrayal of a group of students on a school day trip. BATs meet weekly for an after school rehearsal and they did really well to be able to deliver such an accomplished performance given that they had only been rehearsing the material since May.

The Matilda medley was delivered by the cast of our fantastic musical which ran earlier on this academic year. It was a perfect opportunity for the girls to be able to showcase their talents once more, and their slick performance was enjoyed by all.

Congratulations to all the girls involved in the Expressive Arts Showcase who should be rightly proud of their achievements. Thanks also to all the members of staff who contributed to the event and without whom it would not have been possible. Finally, thank you to our Parents’ Association for providing refreshments and to the families and carers of our pupils for consistently supporting them and us.

Thought provoking themes at the Science Fair

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Key Stage 3 Scientists displayed and discussed their group topics to a panel of judges and their peers at this year’s science fair.

Year 7 and 8 scientists displayed their Science projects and discussed their work to a panel of judges on Wednesday 5th July as part of the Science Faculty’s science fair. Each science class presented proposed projects to their peers and their science teacher and the winning group worked on their project and displayed it at the science fair. Judges included members of staff, Alumni members and governors. Projects were judged on their numeracy and literacy skills, depth of research and overall presentation. Year 7 and 8 also voted for their favourite project. Students also listened to Dr Dayla Marks, associate professor of public health and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, who talked about her career and the importance of public health in today’s society. The afternoon ended with the awards. In third place was ‘Plastics in the Ocean’, second place was ‘All things Cardiac’ and the winning project was ‘Is food better if it is more expensive?’. This project encompassed a practical tasting session for the judges to see if they could spot the difference between brands for 3 types of food. Their analysis was detailed and they evaluated their work and stated how they would move it forward. All groups received a badge of participation and had a lot of fun during the event.

Poppy G

Industrial cadets excel at the EDT Awards

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Year 9 scientists win awards at the Industrial cadets bronze awards in Watford.

On Tuesday the 4th July, we had a fantastic day at the Industrial Cadet Awards Ceremony at Watford Boys School. It was an amazing opportunity to present our ideas to other schools who also entered the Industrial Cadet competition. Our 2 teams looked around at all the other projects that were made by other schools and saw how brilliant and ingenious everyone’s futuristic ideas were. Collectively, we were all fascinated by other Bronze award projects, and there were even some Gold Award sixth formers also presenting their projects as well. They were very inspiring, especially to some of us intrigued about beginning a career in the STEM field. At the start of the day, we were introduced to three people, working in the STEM field, and they talked about their career paths and ideas for their future in STEM. We had the opportunity to also ask questions about their feelings and experiences they have had whilst working in the STEM field. Afterwards, we were able to socialise with other Year 9 Bronze competitors and we learnt about their unique ideas and incites they have expressed in their projects.

Both of our BHGS teams had created some amazing projects, including; The Pollution Bot, The Homemaker Bot and Hydraulics used to tackle climate change in the near future. After lunch, we had an award ceremony to congratulate the successes of the teams competing. The awards that were to be handed out were; the Teamwork award and Project of the year award. Out of 46 schools competing, the BHGS Team 1 won the Teamwork award! And the BHGS Team 2 were the runners up for the Project of the Year! So overall, our teams have performed amazingly during the last few months. During the time that we have dedicated hard work to our projects, we have developed key life skills, such as teamwork, time management and researching. We believe that the Industrial Cadet journey has really given our Industrial Cadets an incentive to work in STEM. We have all really enjoyed this experience and it has made us all look at STEM in a different way.

We would like to thank Dr Lota, Dr Bune and Mr Short for supporting us along our Industrial Cadet journey. We would really recommend that future BHGS students would also take part in this STEM project.

Mia J

Athletics Success for Bishop’s at the County Plate Final

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More Athletics success for our Junior and Senior teams

On Monday 3rd July, Miss Cameron, Mrs Waters and Mrs Wright took the Junior and Senior teams to attend the Hertfordshire Athletics County Plate Final. Both the Junior (Years 7 and 8) and Senior (Years 9 and 10) teams had qualified for this competition as a result of the total number of points scored across the 6 rounds of the County League competition. This final competition pitted the schools ranked 9th – 16th in Hertfordshire against each other and therefore both teams knew the standard of competition would be very high.

Both teams did very well, in difficult conditions when the rain seemed to come out of nowhere and then sunshine would appear and disappear as quickly as it had arrived.

Notable performances included –

Junior Team – Ruby Euesden Day – 3rd in Junior Girls Javelin with a best throw of 15.36m Isobel Lofty – 3rd in the Junior Girls 800m with a time of 02:48:80s. Anneliesse Agbanyo – 1st in the Junior Girls 23.84m Favour Nwoka – 1st in the Junior Girls 100m with a time of 14.1s Natu Kamara – 1st in the Junior Girls 300m with a time of 48.2s

Senior Team – Evie Jackson – 3rd in the Senior Girls Shotput with a best throw of 8.07m Arabella Ashby – 3rd in the Senior Girls Discus with a best throw of 20.28m Ella Claxton – 2nd in the Senior Girls 100m with a time of 13.7s Daniella Okoye – 2nd in the Senior Girls 200m with a time of 29.0s Daniella Okoye – 1st in the Senior Girls Triple Jump with a best jump of 10.06m Ella Studholme – 1st in the Senior Girls Javelin with a best throw of 24.02m

Overall this left both the Junior and Senior teams finishing in 3rd place out of 8 schools – our best ever finish at the Plate Final and certainly no less than both teams deserved. The PE staff have been incredibly impressed with the pupils determination and commitment to training which has undoubtedly paid off at both District and County level. A fantastic end to a brilliant season for both teams – well done everyone!

A massive thank you to all of the staff who have helped the PE department over the course of the Athletics season both at training and hosting the events.

Finally, a big thank you to all of the PE staff – Miss Cameron, Mrs Waters, Miss Esterhuizen and Mrs Newberry – who have given up their time at enrichment clubs and after school with late finishes to ensure the pupils have the opportunity to showcase their talents on the District and County stages.

We look forward to getting the Athletics teams up and running again to continue this level of success (and more) next year!

Upcycling Tyre Flower Pots

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Save the World Club recycle and upcycle to create vibrant flower pots

The Environment Agency donated some B&Q vouchers to be used to help us enhance our school outdoor environment. Students attending Save the World Club have had fun since May half term, repurposing old tyres by painting them to create amazing raised flower pots. We purchased paint in lots of vibrant colours and have carefully designed and created a minion at the front of the school, a ladybird near the steps to the field, and have nearly finished a frog to go next to the school pond. The flowers are looking beautiful and are attracting insects to our school gardens, essential for pollinating the flowers and vegetables grown by the Green Club students.

We are planning to plant crocuses in the Autumn and sow wildflower seeds to provide flowers through out the year. Come and join the eco-team in September so that we can tum more old tyres into creative, beautiful flowerpots for our school grounds!

The flowerbeds next to the pond have also been lined with the eco-bricks that Save the World Club and Green Club have made over the past 2 years. We are passionate about recycling materials and giving them a new purpose. Come any enjoy our beautiful school grounds!

District Athletics Success

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Bishop’s athletes show their talents at District Athletics

On Friday 30th June, Miss Cameron, Mrs Waters, Miss Esterhuizen and Mrs Newberry took the Athletics teams in Years 7,8,9 and 10 to the District Athletics Competition at Ridlins Athletics Stadium in Stevenage.

It was a fantastic day full of excellent individual and team results in surprisingly good weather (compared to last years unexpected washout which left us looking like drowned rats for most of the day!).

Notable performances below –

Year 7 Favour Nwoka – 200m – 1st place and District Champion with a time of 29.2 seconds. Favour Nwoka – 100m – 2nd place with a time of 14.3 seconds (1st place also got 14.3 but track judges deemed the Dame Alice Owens athlete to have just beat Favour with the dip at the line) Ruby Euesden – Day – Javelin – 2nd place with a best throw of 19.61m and a new PB Isobel Lofty – 800m – 3rd with a time of 2:51.4 seconds

OVERALL – The Year 7 girls placed 3rd out of 12 schools with 40 points.

Year 8 Connie Dykes – Hurdles – 1st place and District Champion with a time of 13.3 seconds. Huri Kamara – 300m – 1st place and District Champion with a time of 46.3 seconds. NEW DISTRICT RECORD Anneliesse Agbanyo – Discus- 2nd place with a best throw of 19.65m Georgia Wharton – Long Jump – 2nd place with a best jump of 4.24m Connie Dykes – High Jump – 2nd place with a best jump of 1.31m Georgia Wharton – 200m – 3rd with a time of 31.5 seconds Huri Kamara – Triple Jump – – 3rd with a best throw of 8.36m 4 x 100m relay team (Connie, Huri, Zahra and Georgia)- 3rd place with a time of 57.1 seconds.

OVERALL – The Year 8 girls placed 3rd out of 12 schools with 56 points.

Year 9 Arabella Ashby – Discus – 1st place and District Champion with a best throw of 20.60m. Arabella Ashby – Javelin – – 2nd place with a best throw of 18.22m Dyllis Osei – Agyemang – High Jump – 1st place and District Champion with a best jump of 1.37m Dyllis Osei – Agyemang – Long Jump – 1st place and District Champion with a best throw of 4.53m Evie Dixon – 100m – 3rd place with a time of 14.5 seconds Jolana Hewitt – 300m 3rd place with a time of 49 seconds 4 x 100m relay team (Erin W, Jolana, Dyllis and Zoe)- 3rd place with a time of 57.5 seconds

OVERALL – The Year 9 girls placed 2nd out of 12 schools with 64 points

Year 10 Daniella Okoye – 200m – 1st place and District Champion with a time of 28.9 seconds. Lucy Claridge – 800m 2nd place with a time of 2:56.2 seconds Evie Jackson – Discus – 2nd place with a best throw of 19.77m Ella Studholme – Javelin – 2nd place with a best throw of 23.68m Daniella Okoye – Triple Jump – 2nd place with a best jump of 10.34m Gracie Kirby- Long Jump – 2nd place with a best jump of 3.90m Libby Porter – Hurdles – 3rd place with a time of 14.3 seconds Libby Porter – Hurdles – 3rd place with a best jump of 1.35m Ruva Rusike – 100m – 3rd place with a time of 14.2 seconds Erin Munday – 300m – 3rd place with a time of 49.3 seconds Anna Stewart – 1500m – 3rd place with a time of 05:55.3 seconds

OVERALL – The Year 10 girls placed 2nd out of 12 schools with 60 points

This left us with an overall score of 220 points and finishing in 3rd place behind Queenswood in 2nd and Dame Alice Owens in 1st place.

A fantastic day of competition and excellent effort, teamwork and resilience shown throughout. Well done to all of the pupils in the District teams! Thank you to Mrs Waters, Miss Esterhuizen and Mrs Newberry for coming along on the day and to all staff who allowed pupils to miss their lessons to attend.

International Law Firm Welcome Year 12 Lawyers

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Year 12 A-Level Law students enjoyed a day trip to London to visit Clifford Chance and meet partners and in-house lawyers from Wells Fargo, one of Clifford Chance’s clients.

On Wednesday 28th June 24 A Level Law students travelled to London to the offices of international law firm, Clifford Chance. The morning started with a tour of the impressive building, featuring a hairdressers, gym, and swimming pool overlooking Canary Wharf.

The students then participated in a careers carousel where they had the chance to interview a range of lawyers from Clifford Chance, from trainee solicitors to partners, about their current roles and how they got there. They also got to meet in-house lawyers from Wells Fargo. This was an opportunity to ask questions about a legal career and appreciate the many different options for study prior to becoming a lawyer, including not only a law degree but degrees in subjects as diverse as history and engineering.

The trip concluded with a talk by the head of Graduate Recruitment and a discussion of the skills and characteristics that employers are looking for. This included resilience, enthusiasm and the importance of researching the employer before drafting your application to them. A final talk by a trainee solicitor gave an additional chance for the students to ask questions and appreciate that if you work hard, you can achieve your goals.

The students then enjoyed a light lunch in the Clifford Chance offices overlooking the Thames. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zVv01k4xZJmxZ2dxMjcnmOQLUDf30R2g/view?usp=sharing

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Tel: 01707 275331
Email: admin@bishophatfield.herts.sch.uk

Headteacher:
Mr A Wood
BA (Oxon), MBA, NPQH