As we wrap up another fantastic and highly successful school year, it is rewarding to reflect on the incredible experiences and the many achievements of our pupils that have marked our school’s journey over the year. Reading through the blogs from last September (and with the keen awareness too that they only just begin to describe or encapsulate all that has occurred), it is clear that our pupils have much to celebrate and be proud of.
Speaking of celebrations, it was an honour to receive an award on Sunday 14th July from the Cabinet Secretary for Education at the annual Professional Teaching Awards Cymru, which this year took place at the beautiful Soughton Hall in North Wales. This recognised the work of both individuals and the whole staff team at Bishop Vaughan in relation to promoting learners’ engagement in school. While the first-place award in this category went to another establishment, we were nevertheless delighted to be one of three national finalists for this award, particularly given that there are well over 1500 eligible schools and colleges nationally! Many pupils were interviewed by the judges and filmed as part of the judging process. Their shining attitudes, positivity and their appreciation of the experiences available to them impressed the judging team and it was lovely to hear of the impression that they made upon them. While we never take for granted the fact that we serve exceptional young people, it is always gratifying nevertheless to see the impact that they have upon others when they visit the school, and to see the messages they take back with them about the wonderful pupils that make up the Bishop Vaughan community.
This recognition is of course a testament also to the dedication and creativity of our staff in providing reasons, daily, for the pupils to engage in school life: to walk through the gates each day as evidenced in the high attendance levels, the engagement in the Learning Zone after school, their participation in the extracurricular activities programme and much more. Collectively, the staff strive to make education at Bishop Vaughan a welcoming, dynamic and vibrant experience for every student. The award also recognises the engagement of the parent and carer community and their own commitment to ensuring that their children access all that is available to them in terms of educational and enrichment opportunities, living “life to the full” in line with the school’s mission statement.
“Life to the full” could certainly have been the motto for the last two weeks of term! If (as referenced in last month’s blog), June saw no ‘winding down’ towards the end of the academic year, then the final fortnight of the year actually saw a foot-on-the-accelerator whirlwind of activity! Sports Day was a highlight of the term, bringing together pupils from throughout the school for a day of excitement, competition and camaraderie. The event showcased the athletic talents of our students, with various track and field events, team sports and fun races. The spirit of sportsmanship and teamwork was evident as students cheered each other on and celebrated their achievements. I was particularly impressed by the determination displayed by our participants and the enthusiastic support that they received from their peers as spectators. The day, as it always does, not only promotes physical fitness but also fosters a sense of community and school pride. Congratulations to all our athletes and a big thank you to everyone who helped make the day a resounding success.
During the last week of the term, we held our week-long Festival of Culture as described in the blogs for April and for June. The week began with a fantastic concert programme for Year Ten from the Phoenix Choir, a male-voice choir with links to our school community. From the Welsh language songs to the musicals medley, pupils were engaged from the outset. While different year groups had access to different events, according to the availability of contributors, the week was packed with more than twenty-five events and all ‘normal’ lessons were suspended for the duration of the Festival, providing our pupils with some truly enriching experiences prior to their summer break – a school version of the Hay Festival, no less!
As previously stated, this Festival represents a broadened version of the Festivals of Literature with which we have ended the academic year for the last few years. It allows us to offer music, theatrical and academic-focused events alongside that literary offering. Literature certainly remained a focus, however, with author workshops and readings from the fantastic Sam Stewart and our writer-in-residence, former Children’s Laureate for Wales, Eloise Williams. Both of these authors inspired our budding writers, offering valuable insights into the creative process and the world of literature.
Given the specialisms of the contributors who came forward to support our Festival, we gave the Festival the broad theme of ‘Deep Time to Ancient History’, with pupils learning about the Big Bang, and then about the Red Lady of Paviland. The talk on the latter from Dr. Matt Smith, a local academic and campaigner, deepened our pupils’ connection to our local heritage as they learned about a skeleton found on the Gower coast that is over 33,000 years old! Pupils were able to handle archaeological finds ranging from 8,000-15,000 years old and they asked lots of great questions, demonstrating their interest in this topic.
Moving on several thousand years (swiftly!), pupils also benefited from a loaned mini-exhibition of displays from Swansea’s Egypt Centre with activities for us to facilitate workshops for all year groups, and from some great optional talks. These included Professor Emeritus Alan Lloyd, renowned Egyptologist, speaking on how hieroglyphs work, and pupils were astounded to see Professor Lloyd reading from and writing in hieroglyphs as rapidly as you or I might in our first languages! They also had the chance to learn about the Ancient Greek language from Maria Oikonomou of Swansea University and about archaeology and Medusa myth from Dr. Fritz-Gregor Herrmann, also of the University’s Classics Department. We are grateful to all for their time and their kindness in offering our pupils these special and enriching experiences.
In addition to activities linked to the Festival’s theme, we were also able to offer music workshops thanks to the support of the wonderful Swansea Music Service. These provided pupils with hands-on experiences in various instruments and styles, from African drumming to ukulele orchestra and with much more besides. There was also a guitar and vocal performance to end the Festival events for some of our year groups, while others benefited from music workshops offered by Swansea Arena.
Swansea Museum offered an engaging talk on ‘A History of Swansea in 20 Objects’ and local artist Jeff Phillips kindly brought along a large number of artworks which formed the backdrop to his talk on his work in capturing Swansea life and landmarks in his paintings. Our own pupils’ artistic talents were certainly in evidence too, during the sessions with Heidi Lucca-Redcliffe, artist, and with their entries for a competition which had run in the weeks preceding the Festival being displayed in an exhibition and winners judged courtesy of visitors from Swansea’s Mission Gallery.
During the week also, several trips took place, these including Heatherton Adventure Park, the cinema and other venues, the former encouraging them to step out of their comfort zones and build confidence, and the latter offering opportunities for pupils to bond outside the classroom. Board games sessions provided a relaxed, social atmosphere for students to enjoy and the presence of an ice-cream van on site for two days of the Festival certainly brought smiles to everyone's faces and added to the Festival atmosphere! Running throughout the week also, there was the BVS Inter-Tutorial Quiz, which fostered a healthy (and admittedly sometime fierce!) sense of competition, with the cup being awarded – following the final round on Thursday – to worthy winners 10A!
No Festival of Culture would be complete, of course, without a theatrical offering, this drawing together literature, dance and music, and this came in the form of our school production of ‘Oliver, Jr.’! The exceptionally talented cast performed several shows throughout the week, including matinee performances for pupils of Bishop Vaughan and our primary schools, as well as three nights of evening performances! With vocal talents and choreography that would be worthy of a professional production, our pupils should be very proud of this incredible show (and I speak as someone who watched it at least five times, and who would be delighted to watch it many more times!). Without doubt, one of the true highlights of the show was the fact that the cast included performers from all four of our cluster primary schools, St. Illtyd’s, St. Joseph’s Clydach, St. Joseph’s Cathedral School and St. David’s. It was a privilege to watch these talented young performers and we look forward to welcoming them to Bishop Vaughan when they join us as pupils.
As always, there is far more that can be said about the past month than I can begin to capture here, and I encourage you to read our summer newsletter which can be found here, though this too represents just a fraction of all that goes on in Bishop Vaughan. Suffice to say, it has been – as stated previously – a whirlwind of activity in these final weeks of a most busy, rewarding and successful school year. I wish all of our pupils and their families a truly restful, relaxing and enjoyable summer break. You carry our prayers with you as you embark upon this summer holiday, that it may be filled with joy and good health; in addition we hold those collecting examination results next month in our prayers, wishing them every success, and we pray that the pupils in Years 7-12 returning to us in September do so healthy and refreshed, ready for another year of flourishing in all aspects of their lives.
Mrs Pole
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