We look forward to welcoming our students back to school on Monday 17th April.

The production not only gave students an opportunity to perform on stage, but it also unites them to share in their enjoyment for developing new skills, collaborate to achieve a shared challenge and build new relationships. By performing to an invited audience of primary schools from Croxby, Hallgate and Westfield, Year 5 & 6 students can experience what opportunities Cottingham High School will give to them when they transition to KS3.  The school will feel familiar to them when they attend, as well as being able to recognise the familiar faces of those students they saw perform in the show.

Modeshift STARS is the Centre of Excellence for the delivery of Effective Travel Plans in Education, Business and Community settings. The scheme recognises schools, businesses and other organisations that have shown excellence in supporting cycling, walking and other forms of sustainable active travel. Further information on Modeshift can be found here.

Throughout the year, Penshurst have created, developed and implemented a range of Effective Travel Plans to bring about a change in travel behaviour and to reduce the number of single occupancy vehicle journeys to and from school. This included The Big Walk and Wheel scheme, which the school developed to encourage their pupils to be more active and to walk, bike or scoot to school.

Rocksteady Music School offer in-school rock and pop band sessions to make learning music fun and to give children the chance to be in a band, perform songs they love and learn new skills.

The morning began with a whole school assembly. Tim, from Rocksteady, focused on demonstrating and discussing what the instruments are and how to play them. This was followed by two separate workshops involving KS2 pupils and KS1 pupils. For the first workshop with KS2 pupils, Tim had a more ‘grown-up’ approach with the children and used the well-known rock song, Livin’ on a Prayer by Bon Jovi, to teach them the basic tunes behind the song in a fun and interactive manner. For the KS1 workshop, Tim had to adapt for the younger pupils, making the tunes behind the song ‘Shotgun’ by George Ezra easier for them to learn and understand – and of course making it fun and very amusing!

Each year has a different theme to celebrate the important day, and this year’s global campaign theme is #EmbraceEquity. The campaign aims to encourage important conversations on Why equal opportunities are not enough and Why equal is not always fair.

Colleagues at the Trust shared a picture of themselves striking the IWD #EmbraceEquity pose.

Other Schools across the Trust have also 'embraced' International Women's Day, sharing images of their staff striking the #EmbraceEquity pose.

The event was first created in 1995 by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and copywriting; World Book Day is now a worldwide celebration across more than 100 countries. The mission now, is to promote reading for pleasure, offering every child in full-time education the opportunity to have a book of their own, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Penshurst Primary were particularly focused on this, giving their students and parents the option to dress their child as either a word or a character from their favourite novel. Michelle Preston, Penshurst's Head of School, gave us her view on how the school celebrated World Book Day.

With a bright and early start on Sunday 12th February, our staff and students prepared for their trip to Leysin, Switzerland, including a very smooth coach journey from France to Leysin where they stopped for a well deserved coffee/hot chocolate with a croissant for their breakfast!

On the evening of Thursday 9 February, staff and students prepared for their trip to Iceland and headed off to Manchester International Airport to board their flight to Keflavik International Airport. Upon arrival, the team took part in a guided tour of Reykjavik and enjoyed some free time for shopping on Laekjargata Street before heading back to the hotel for a well deserved rest.

Day two included a bright and early start, sightseeing and completing the Golden Circle Tour, visiting Gullfoss Waterfall and the Great Geysir, followed by a talk at the Hellisheidi Power Station. 

On day three, students continued their exploring and visited the South Shore to see the dramatic active volcanic landscape as well as visiting the Skogafoss and Seljalandsfoss Waterfalls. The Solheimajokull Glacier was the final stop for the amazing views followed by a visit to the Reynishverfi Black Beach which overlooked incredible views of sea stacks and Dyrolaey.

On the final day, before returning to the UK, Holderness staff and students had the opportunity to visit The Blue Lagoon which was definitely a highlight of the trip! Upon arrival, they received a complimentary towel, silica mud mask and a drink of their choice before heading into the pool. Finally, students explored some lava tunnels on a guided tour and experienced true darkness when the tour guide turned all the lights off!

Overall, Iceland was an unforgettable experience for both staff and students and the team would love to return in the future!

Justin Robert from Humberside Police supported the event and said, ‘The young adults were really well-prepared and clearly found the experience really beneficial.’

At the end of the mock interviews, students attended an awards assembly, where each of the companies nominated a student that they would ‘hire’ for the position they had been interviewed for, and they received a congratulatory certificate.

Carl Palmer from Humberside Police added ‘Students were really well-organised, and they got a lot from it. Most of the students deserved to have gained a position, given the amount of preparation they had done.’

Megan Hornby, who is currently a contestant on this year’s The Apprentice, was a guest speaker for the Year 11s and motivated students with her account of her experiences both at school and with her current career progression. Megan has successfully set up her own business and applied for The Apprentice to further her career as a young entrepreneur. She gave students advice on how to set up a successful business and said, ‘Building a positive relationship with everyone is key.’ The students were fully engaged with her life experiences and asked questions at the end of the session as well as taking the opportunity to get a photograph with her!

In the afternoon, students attended an engaging workshop with a guest speaker Moj from the company PUSH. The workshop was called ‘Making a life, not a living’ and it encouraged students to be confident and show resilience. One of the activities included getting a student to participate in front of the year group where they had the option to take a bar of chocolate or wait until the end of the session for a surprise. Student Jasmine chose to wait until the end of the session and was rewarded with a voucher. During the session, Moj also asked students to share their experiences of the day.

Carl Derbyshire, who ran the event, had this to say: ‘I am really proud of all the students who have attended our event. All of the companies really struggled to pick just one student for the job which shows how well they conducted themselves during the day. It has been a day both I and the students won’t forget!’

Overall, the day was a huge success and the students really enjoyed the experience!

The team have visited several schools in Hull and the East Riding, including Holderness Academy & Sixth Form College, to tell them about the £200m Yorkshire Energy Park development and jobs that will be created in the years to come.  

• Yorkshire Energy Park is an energy and technology business park that will drive economic growth, support the local community and help position the Humber at the forefront of the global transition to net-zero 

• It will bring £200m of investment and around 4,480 jobs to the region 

• A flagship development for the UK, the park and its education provision will help develop green and technology skills for the future. People will be able to access apprenticeship and training opportunities to help them get into the job market, as well as support for new business start-ups 

UKSTEM, a national organisation that aims to engage students in science, technology, engineering and maths by running workshops alongside industry, joined the team to talk about the onset of hydrogen as a renewable energy source and ran a session with students to build a hydrogen fuelled car. 

Cameron Wood, Junior Consultant at Shared Agenda, who is working on the Yorkshire Energy Park project said:

Julia Lovel, Lead Practitioner from Holderness Academy & Sixth Form College, said: 

Mike Cargill, Managing Director of UKSTEM, added: 

Once completed, Yorkshire Energy Park has the potential to create around 4,480 jobs, upskill local workers, create state-of-the-art community sports facilities and an educational campus in conjunction with the University of Lincoln. The project will attract investment in the energy, data, technology and manufacturing sectors to an area that has an abundance of skills and experience in these industries already. Combine all of this with YEP’s location within the East Coast Carbon Capture and Storage Cluster and the proximity to the UK’s “Energy Estuary”, and it is clear that YEP will play an important role in boosting jobs and investments in the region.

At Hessle, Scarlett Edwards achieved eight grade 9s and three grade 8s. She said ‘I’m very happy. I’m enrolling at The Consortium Sixth Form College as I want to continue the good relationships I have with my teachers. The school supported us with online lessons and we had a lot of feedback from teachers so I think my results are a combination of my own revision and the sessions in school.’

At Holderness, Ryan Harness achieved a 9 in English Literature, 8s in maths, science and English Language, D* in Cambridge Nationals for Business Studies and Product Design and D* in BTEC ICT.

At Howden, Martyna Wojcik achieved an amazing total of eleven grade 9s.

At Winifred Holtby, former Head Boy Cameron Docherty will now begin his training at HETA and says he is looking forward to the future, both educationally and representing Scotland in rugby.

At Wolfreton, Harmony Loader achieved seven grade 9s and three grade 8s and will go on to study Biology, Chemistry and Maths at The Consortium Sixth Form College, with plans to study Medicine at university. She said ‘It’s been a lot of hard work but it feels brilliant!’

Many of our students will now go on to study post-16 courses at The Consortium Sixth Form College and we wish everyone continued success whatever their chosen future pathway.

At Cottingham Campus:

Charlie achieved a B in Business, B in History, and an A in Criminology which will allow him to progress onto an International Business course at the University of Liverpool. Abbie achieved an A* in the Extended Project Qualification, A in History, A in Geography and A in English Literature. She will study English and History at the University of York. Jemima achieved an A in Geography, an A in Maths, an A in Politics, an A* in the Extended Project Qualification and a B in English Literature, which has secured her a place at the University of York to study Law.

At Hessle Campus:

Marius achieved grades A*AAC and is going to Manchester to study Physics and Maths. Two of Hessle’s Head Students, Rose and Nick, both achieved A*AA, with Rose going to York to study English Literature and Nick going to UCL to study Comparative Literature. Ella achieved grades A*A*D and is moving on to a Fine Art course at York St John.

At Holderness Campus:

Amelia achieved an A* in English Literature, As in History and Music, and a B in Psychology and will go on to study English at York. Connie achieved an A* in Art, Bs in Biology and RE and a C in Chemistry and will study Forensic Anthropology at Dundee. Brandon achieved D* in BTEC ICT, A in Maths, B in Physics, C in Further Maths and will study Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology at Lancaster.

At Wolfreton Campus:

Law was a popular choice at Wolfreton. Rosie achieved an A in Law, A in Politics, and a B in English Literature and will study Law at Sheffield; Lewis achieved A* in Law, A* in Geography, and an A in English Literature and will study Law at York and Jess achieved an A* in Law, A* in English Literature, and an A in Geography and will study Law at Leeds. Oliver was delighted to be progressing onto an apprenticeship with the NHS and Joe anticipates training as a paramedic.

We wish all of our students lots of luck and happiness as they progress down their chosen pathway. 

Year 9 learners at Cottingham have been lucky enough to take part in two street art workshops in the summer term. They have been experimenting with new skills: working in an outdoor space and creating large scale outcomes. These workshops have been held by Steve Dixon AKA SD Art, a local street artist. He is passionate about inspiring others and introducing them to alternative creative processes. Steve is also the creative force behind the beautiful portrait of Marlowe that now sits in pride of place at Cottingham, providing a constant reminder of the continued impact Marlowe has on both learners and staff alike.

Croxby - Celebrating Achievements

Croxby are celebrating the achievements of two members of staff who have recently completed their degrees and are progressing professionally within the school. Michelle Skerrett, Art Lead, has completed her degree in Education Studies with the Open University and QTS at Hull University. Catherine Oldale will return in September as a class teacher after achieving First Class Honours. Catherine said “It is a fantastic feeling to have finally graduated. The Croxby team have been a great support during the course and through both my placements. Both Jade Rehman and Ally Hickey were very supportive mentors and deserve recognition.” Michelle Skerrett explained she is “eager to continue our fantastic work and to take the curriculum even further. I intend to pick up on my previous work with metacognition, and I would also like to build my coaching skills with the intention of eventually being part of the curriculum, teaching and learning team.”

Holderness - Stunning Murals

Throughout the term, ex-student Emily Dodgeson has been returning to Holderness to produce a range of stunning murals in the hallways and classrooms with Dream BIG Studios. Emily joined Holderness Academy & Sixth Form College in 2000 and was a student from Year 7 to Year 13. Emily explained that Holderness was the place where she first developed aspirations towards a career as an artist, especially in Sixth Form. She created a calming and relaxing sunrise scene for the Well-being Room as it is representative of new beginnings, fresh starts and hope. The beach and ocean evokes calming thoughts of waves washing over the beach, gentle breezes in the grasses and soft sand.

Howden - Holderness

On Wednesday 13 July, Howden School held a charity event in aid of Teenage Cancer Trust in honour of Luke Stevens, a Howden learner who recently lost his battle with cancer. The “A Shining Light” event raised £6847.00 with more than 200 people in attendance. The event was kindly sponsored by Wren Kitchens and The Luke Stevens Award for Inspiration was presented to the Howden learner showing the most determination to succeed

Penshurst - Penshurst Positivity

The first week of July was Well-being Week at Penshurst. Head of School, Jo Spencer said “It has been a pleasure to see all pupils from Nursery to Year 6 being taught by different teachers and using the outside area to its full potential. Nursery yoga was a highlight! There have been a number of different activities throughout the week which the children have accessed on a rotation to ensure they participate in all events.”

Keyingham - A Smoothie Bike Ride!

Keyingham Primary School pupils thoroughly enjoyed a lunchtime of fruitful fun with our caterers, ABM and their Smoothie Bike! A selection of pupils were invited to take their pick of healthy treats to make a smoothie and were tasked with blending the mixture with the power of peddling! Children from all year groups got involved to learn about the importance of healthy eating and staying active.

Hessle - A New Home at Hessle

June saw the arrival of Hessle High School and Sixth Form College’s first two Ukrainian learners. New Year 8 learners, Mira and Miroslava were joined by their parents at the school gates. They looked immaculate in their school uniforms and delighted to be able to resume their schooling after a terrible period in their lives. Headteacher, Vince Groak said “A great deal of work has already gone into preparing for their arrival - thankfully, we have members of staff in school that can speak Ukrainian, Russian and Polish and these language skills have been invaluable in helping us to understand the needs of the children and their families so that we can get them settled into school.”

Winifred Holtby - A Fabulous Farewell

Winifred Holtby Academy said farewell to their Year 11 leavers on 24 June with a spectacular Prom held at the MKM Stadium. The grand evening was organised by Matt Anderson, Claire Smithson, Gemma Coulson and Anita Hoy who chose an “I’m a Celebrity – Get Me Out of Here” theme, complete with palm trees and neon lights. The night was an all-round success and it was fantastic to see how much learners loved every minute of it after all of their hard work over the last five years.

Wolfreton - Tomorrow's Global Leaders

Year 10 learners from Wolfreton got a taste of the working world as part of a visit by staff from Donaldson, who are global leaders in their industry and are also Wolfreton’s Enterprise Advisors. Learners were set a task to move a production cell from Poland to Hull and then produce a job advert for one of the roles needed to run the cell. They had to consider what factors were needed for the successful transfer such as a Project Plan, Budget/Costs, Health & Safety, Location/Transport and Staffing /Training. They then presented their plan to a board of judges. In the Autumn term the learners will visit the Donaldson's site for a tour of the premises and see how their project fitted into a real working environment.

Students at Cottingham High School achieved 3 Gold, 5 Silver and 34 Bronze certificates in this year’s UKMT Junior Maths Challenge. Raphael So in Year 8 achieved the Best in School certificate and Oliver Sison was awarded the Best in Year 7. Raphael So and Ann Cheng, both in Year 8 will take part in the Junior Kangaroo follow-on competition. Congratulations to all of our students.

Respect

Year 6 pupils from all three Trust Primary Schools- Croxby, Keyingham and Penshurst- joined forces when they embarked on their exciting residential trip to Kingswood together. The children enjoyed activities such as climbing “Jacob’s Ladder”, building campfires and Laser Tag. Even though they were interacting with many new children that they hadn’t met before, they showed a tremendous amount of respect and teamwork when doing activities together.

Integrity

Year 12 Cottingham Sixth Form Media Student, Chloe, recently took part in a day of work experience at Blab Digital, a marketing agency in Hessle. Blab spoke incredibly well of Chloe's time in the team and said, “It’s been great to have bright-eyed work experience students with us recently working on fictitious briefs and showing us what they’re made of. We’re consistently impressed by their talent and enthusiasm; the team thoroughly enjoy having them on board for the day.”

Responsibility

Howden School has been working with the East Riding Sustainable Transport Improvement Programme. The school has recently been accredited with the Bronze award in recognition of their efforts to support sustainable transport, healthy habits and promote well-being and positive mental health.

Loz Wilson and I set off from school during the Easter holidays heading for the Polish / Ukraine border with a minibus full of donated aid for Ukrainian refugees.

After a round trip of 3000 miles we successfully delivered the aid to three different organisations to take it over the border to the areas in the Ukraine where it is most needed. On our return journey we drove 10 refugees from the humanitarian aid centre at Medyka to start a new life in Leipzig, Germany. The photo sums up the reality for these people. This is the total worldly goods of ten people who have left their homes, jobs, family and life behind, not knowing where they are going to. Many thanks to all who donated, sponsored and supported us to make the trip happen.

Deb Harrison, Food and Childcare Instructor - Winifred

What a fantastic turn out for our ‘Cinco De Mayo – Mexican cook off’! With 19, yes 19! teams, made up of one student and one staff member per team, the competition was strong. This was evident in the quality of food produced. I can’t decide who were the most competitive, the students or the staff! The judging was the most difficult bit. Well done and thank you to all who took part. Congratulation to our winners!!!

James Green, Teacher of Creative Arts

Friday 13 May saw the return of the ever popular art department residential visit to London. Mr Green, Mr Cotson, Mr Pearson and Mrs Abbotts took an excited 31 art and design students from Year 9 - Year 13 on a journey that began early morning at Hull railway station. After dropping our bags off at the hotel, our first stop was 35 floors up in the Sky Garden, where students got the chance to see London from a completely new perspective. Visits to Tate Britain, the National Gallery, the Natural History Museum, Leake Street graffiti tunnels and Camden Market gave students an array of valuable 'learning outside the classroom' experiences to inspire them.

Simon Hopkin, Teacher of PE - Howden

The Year 9 Sports Studies and GCSE students had a trip to the Eco Power Stadium, home of Doncaster Rovers and Doncaster Rugby League team on Thursday 5 May to learn a bit more about how the sporting world worked. They had a tour of the stadium, including changing rooms, press room and physiotherapy area. They were then treated to a question and answer session with ex rugby players, rugby coaches and the media department of Doncaster Rugby League. The trip finished with a rugby coaching session and mini tournament on the training pitches.

Lucy Richardson, Operations Manager - Keyingham

It was with great pleasure that we welcomed our "artist in residence" this term to help transform our school library. Emily Dodgson, of Dream Big Studios, created this beautiful indoor forest in just a week - much to the children's delight and wonder. We love spending time in this space now and everyone from Nursery to Year 6 have dedicated sessions with staff and pupil librarians. The tree branches are stocked with books that reflect our curriculum and are changed by our librarians regularly - the monarchy and our royal history is their current choice. Book Club takes place in the library every week now too on a Wednesday lunchtime and is a truly popular choice with the children.

Rebecca Wright, Cirruclum Leader - Croxby

Croxby Primary entered a royal Jubilee card competition following an invitation by the HM Lord-Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire. Each year group used a variety of print-based techniques and added their own creative flair. The Year 6 classes created their own tonal island stencils to print over their base silhouette of the Queen, replicating similar techniques of their recently studied artist Banksy.

Toni Bullock, Specialist LA - Hessle

Myself, Samantha Hodgson and Michelle Edwards took three students to the Active Humber Special Olympics held at Costello Stadium, we had a fantastic day. The event was really well organised and the Youth helpers were very supportive of our girls and encouraged them to try a number of different activities including curling and tabletop cricket. We received a free rucksack with PE equipment that had been used throughout the event. The girls arrived back at Hessle High sporting their games t-shirts and lots of smiles.

Michelle Preston, Assistant Head - Penshurst

This year, our Penshurst allotment has gone from strength to strength. The pupils, supported by Mrs Smith, recently created a raised bed from the Eco Bricks that we made in collaboration with our sister school, Dryden Street Primary in Cape Town. Watch this space for more wonderful structures made from these innovative bricks.

Andy Richardson-Medd, Subject Leader Art - Wolfreton

A big but bittersweet highlight was seeing our amazing Year 11 Art and Photography students completing their GCSE courses after months of hard work. We received many thoughtful cards from our students before their final lessons with touching messages of appreciation for the last five years of learning Art at Wolfreton. We wish them luck in their exams!

Connie Watson, a Year 13 Art Student, has written a brilliant report on her time in London:

“Students develop exceptional character - this statement is at the top of all of our school vision documents and, of course, it is very difficult not only to deliver, but also to measure. And yet, in a world full of change and worry, an individual’s character is arguably of far more value to young people than any bagful of qualifications that we might help them to secure.

Which is why the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme is such an important arm of what we do at Hessle Academy. This was reintroduced to our school in 2018, but it has been under the leadership of Art teacher, Kate Moore, since 2019 that this has really blossomed.  Before, and throughout Covid, Kate (and Michelle Edwards) have been quietly building up this program and carefully making minor adjustments to it to ensure it can still be delivered regardless of the pandemic. And now it is a genuine strength of our school, providing unique opportunities for some of our more vulnerable students and giving them a real opportunity to shine.

On a weekend in mid-March, it was time for the practice expedition for the Bronze Award cohort. 48 students in Years 9 and 10 walked for around six hours each day (a total of around 28 kms) around our area as well as practising their campcraft skills. As you would expect, there were many tired and blistered feet by the end of the Sunday hike, but all were deeply satisfied with what they had achieved. This would not be possible without the voluntary support of so many of our staff. 

In early April, many of these colleagues will be doing it again, this time to support our Year 11and 12 students who are camping out for their Silver Award. It is remarkable that so many of our staff are prepared to give their precious weekend time to support our students and we are very grateful to them.''

If you can, please bring the following items to Cottingham, Hessle, Winifred Holtby, Wolfreton or Central Services reception areas:

• Dried food
• Pasta
• Tinned goods
• Sweets
• Packet rice
• Madication
• Bandages
• Plasters
• Children's paracetamol
• First aid kits
• Children's small toys
• Cuddly toys
• Doll
• Colouring books
• Crayons
• Picture books
• Small jigsaws
• (No large plastic toys please)

Thank you in advance for your kind donations.

Worldwide, 129 million girls are out of school. Poverty, geographical isolation, menstruation and pregnancy, gender-based violence, and traditional attitudes about role of women, are among the many obstacles that stand in the way of women and girls fully exercising their right to participate in, complete and benefit from education. 

When girls participate in education at a rate equal to boys, the benefits are felt individually and nationally. The lifetime earnings of girls dramatically increase, national growth rates rise, child marriage rates decline and child and maternal mortality rates fall. 

Hessle’s Year 12 A Level English Literature class have incorporated International Women’s Day by preparing to start their coursework and looking at different female stereotypes in Literature through the lens of Disney princesses 

Cottingham had visits from female professional in the fields of Theatre Studies, History, Biology and Business Studies about their career paths and striving for equality in their fields. 

These visits included Tamar and Jo, a Hull based dance company, who came in to talk about careers in theatre and dance with Year 12 and 13. 

Holderness’ Sixth Former wore green and purple and took time to recognise local inspirational women. 

World Book Day, a charity event held annually in the United Kingdom and Ireland on the first Thursday in March, was an opportunity to celebrate and take part in creative activities and indulge in a world of imagination and reality through printed words leading them on a journey of discovery.

Learners from all of our secondary schools across the Trust have taken part in the democratic process and voted twice, firstly having listened to video manifestos from candidates hoping to be elected to the Youth Parliament and then secondly for Make your Mark.

What do you think we can do to help save the planet?