House Summer Rewards Activity
Over 300 students were invited to attend the Summer Rewards Activity which was an inflatable funfair! These activities are put on at the end of every term and are normally for students who achieve over 100 House Points during that particular term. However, this time in order to make the event more accessible for all year groups, we have allocated the top 20% of each Year group in terms of House Points and those students were invited to attend.
As you can see from the images the students thoroughly enjoyed the activity that was put on.
Well done to all students who managed to secure a place!
German Trip the Goethe-Institut
A group of 24 German students from Years 9 and 10 recently travelled into London to visit the Goethe-Institut. Located in South Kensington and surrounded by a range of cultural sights, the institute is the central hub of German language and culture in the UK. During our visit, students took part in a German escape room (Fluchtraum), using tablets with augmented reality to scan for clues. Working in teams, they solved puzzles in German to find codes for various combination locks, with the aim of tracking down and catching a German hacker. Miss Roderick and I, as well as the staff working at the institute, were impressed with their understanding of German and their problem-solving skills. All students received some (vegan) Gummibärchen for their efforts and some German badges too. Despite train delays, our students remained positive and enthusiastic and we had a great day out!
Mr Bowman, MFL
Young chef competition
In June, Birchwood saw the return of the . It has been four years since this has been able to run and students from Birchwood, Hockerill, Herts & Essex and St Nicholas were very keen to show off their skill and talent. The students competed against each other to produce a three course meal for two with a tight budget of £20. They only had two hours to prepare, cook and present their tables which were judged by local experts. These included a college lecturer, the head chef at Novotel Stansted and the owner of Host.
Mr Kadlec worked extremely hard with our team of Year 9’s, Rebecca Bedwell, Amber Owen and Kiaya Payne, practicing at lunchtimes and after school to prepare for the event. They prepared an outstanding meal of duck dumplings, chicken and butternut squash curry with accompaniments and finished off with espresso cream filled profiteroles and they took the top spot, winning the senior category. Congratulations too to St Nicholas for winning the junior competition and the overall young chef.
It was a great afternoon for all and the judges highly commended all the students for their calmness under pressure and the skills they have shown. We can’t wait to defend the title next year!
Hot House Dance
Today two practitioners, Kate and ‘Damo’, came in from Hot House Dance and taught a workshop to year 8, 9, and 10 dance students as part of enrichment week. The students took part in a difficult cardio warmup and various technique-based exercises focused on training and strengthening them in order to benefit their movement skills and performance. This included performing tendu, swings, and contractions to benefit them in later classes. As well as this, the young dancers also learnt a challenging contemporary routine to ‘Louder Than Words’ from ‘tick, tick... BOOM!’ in which they performed to their peers at the end of the session. All students were focused and produced an amazing performance, proving how talented the dancers at Birchwood are.
The two teachers from the organisation Hot House, Kate and Damon, focus on the positive powers of dance and the creative processes to improve every individual. They both expressed how much they enjoy teaching classes at Birchwood and specified how great and engaged the dance students were.
Bletchley Park Trip
For the first time in three years, the Birchwood Maths Faculty organised our trip to Bletchley Park, the home of the World War 2 codebreakers. This year, we also teamed up with
Technology to incorporate a visit to the National Museum of Computing next door.
Over 130 Students took part in a ciphers workshop where they deciphered challenging codes to learn the identity of a Russian spy who worked at Bletchley during the war. They were also given a tour around the site by one of the park’s knowledgeable guides, and had time to explore the huts where Alan Turing and his team would have worked.
At the National Museum of Computing, students saw a collection of computing equipment from the 1940’s up to the early 21st century. They were able to see first hand the world’s
oldest working computer in action, and they were able to try out some “vintage”
computer games that will be familiar to many of their parents and teachers such as Lemmings, Pacman and early Simpson’s game. It was a very enjoyable day for the students, and we are looking forward to taking the current Year 8 to Bletchley next year!
Mr Summers, Maths
Board Games
Board Games for PLC.
If you are having a cupboard clear out over the Summer PLC would love any old boards games you no longer require, especially any of the ones pictured to the left.
Mrs L Jackson, Head of PLC
Summer Reading Challenge
Over the summer holiday we will be asking students (and staff) to send in photographs of themselves reading books in weird and wonderful places. The more obscure the better.
If you find yourself reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on a visit to Cadbury World, Messi at the Charity Shield match or Billie Eilish – From E-Girl to Icon at a music gig simply take a selfie and send it to Mrs Gibson in the Library jgibson@birchwoodhigh.org.uk.
The best photo as chosen by a panel of independent judges will win a bag of goodies including a £10 Waterstones voucher.
BB is pictured reading his favourite book ‘A Boy and a Bear in a Boat’ by Dave Shelton, whilst on holiday at Birchwood High School.
Mrs Gibson, Library Resource Manager
Read, Review, Reward competition
Congratulations to Molly-Sue Wedgbrow from Year 10 who was the lucky winner of last half term’s ‘Read, Review, Reward’ competition. Molly read and
reviewed a selection of books from the reading list – one of her favourites was ‘Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me’ by Mariko Tamaki which she rated 4 out of 5.
Mrs Gibson, Library Resource Manager
GCSE and Level-2 BTEC Results - 25 August 2022
Despite the stormy weather and flooded local roads, excited GCSE students and their respective families collected their long-awaited GCSE results. Despite all the turbulence of the last two years, there was a real sense of achievement and pride.
Principal, Dr Chris Ingate said:
“These GCSE results are a huge testimony to the students and staff at Birchwood, mirroring the strong performance of A-Level students last week. Whilst there was a significant number of individuals who achieved level 8 or 9 across the board, we need to remember that some students have had a difficult journey and struggled more than they might have if they had been in school for the last two years. The credit should go to all our students, their families and their teachers who have supported them over the last couple of years – they should be proud of their achievements. We have worked hard to ensure that everyone is able to move on to their chosen Post-16 provision including a record number enrolling into our Sixth Form – for hopefully a far more settled next couple of years.”
Mr Noblett, Head of Year 11, added “Today is an exciting day for the class of 2022. It marks the start of their next steps. I am extremely proud of this Year Group and wish them all the best of luck – it’s great to see so many of them staying on to study A-Levels and to those moving on to college, do keep in touch.”
A-Level and Level-3 BTEC Results - 18 August 2022
After a challenging two years for all 16-19 year olds across the country, Birchwood High School is delighted to report that the vast majority of our A-Level and Level 3 BTEC students have gone on to their chosen next step, whether this is University, Higher Apprenticeship, Employment or Travel. With the widely reported pressure on places at post-18, this is no mean feat.
Dr Ingate, Principal, said ‘we have certainly seen some outstanding individual academic achievements including 5A*s each for William Blakey and Alex Sawyer who are now off to Oxford University to study Physics. However, every one of our Year 13 students should feel proud of how well they have done, having not taken GCSE exams due to Covid restrictions. I hope that the class of 2022 will find their next few years more settled and less disrupted. I am a great believer in strength coming from adversity and this wonderful cohort of students will be more resilient and able to cope better with whatever life throws at them in the future. I wish them well and to keep in touch’.
Mr Torrance, Head of Sixth Form added ‘firstly, I am incredibly proud of this year group. They have had the most unsettling time during their Sixth Form and no-one should underestimate the pressures they have faced. Despite all the changes, distractions and challenges, they have just got on with it and that shows real character. There are some really, really pleasing results. In the short time we have had to analyse the data, there have not been too many surprises, and I would say that they are fair and a true reflection of the hard work that they have put in over the last two years. Well done ‘Class of 22’ – you should be really proud of yourselves, and we wish you all the very best in the next chapter of your adventures!’
This morning was a really uplifting experience with students, parents and staff celebrating success after such a difficult period of time with the knowledge that the next step for these 130 students should be far more settled, predictable and enjoyable.