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Head’s Blog – Examinations begin in earnest

It has been an emotional two weeks as we have said a fond farewell to Year 13 and a huge ‘good luck’ to Year 11, as examination season commences across the school.

Examinations

The start of examinations represents the closing stages of the academic year, but we still have an awful lot to fit in to the final five weeks in school.

Invaluable trips and experiences

Indeed, the final week of this half term provides some incredible opportunities for students to enhance their learning through a number of notable day trips – Year 8 visiting Housesteads Roman Fort with Latin and Classical Studies, Year 10 Business students touring the inner workings of Nissan’s factory in Sunderland, and Year 7 pupils enjoying an excursion to Beamish as they bring their History studies to life.

As well as experiences out of school, we have been delighted to provide a number a memorable co-curricular occasions in school, too. Not least was the visit of Team GB athlete and Olympic sprinter and silver medallist Bianca Williams, who visited last Friday and worked with pupils from Years 3-11. Bianca demonstrated just what it takes to be a successful athlete – a positive attitude, incredible resilience and an unbreakable spirit. We know our students benefitted enormously from Bianca’s advice – their relay times pre- and post-training proved this, but we hope the quiet words of encouragement and chance to see an Olympic medal up-close stays with them for a long time, too.

District Athletics

Our Senior students demonstrated their athletic prowess at the District Athletics Championships at Middlesbrough Sports Village on Tuesday and you can read all about their achievements in Miss Turnbull’s report overleaf. I am sure you will be impressed by the many notable accomplishments – not least the story of Skyler and Rosie taking on the 1500m; two students who were willing to forego a much-deserved rest to race in an event they would both admit is far from their favourite, simply to earn points for their team. These are the qualities we are so proud to instil in our pupils. We could not be prouder of Team THS.

Spring Ball – thank you

I must say a huge thank you to everyone who attended the Spring Ball last Friday. Wynyard Hall was the perfect backdrop for our third event. The night was a lovely celebration with good food, lots of dancing and an incredible level of generosity throughout. I am so pleased to announce our fundriasing total from the event stands at over £4500. The proceeds from the auction will also enable us to make a fantastic donation to our charity partner, Parkinson’s UK. We are grateful to headline sponsors Toll Bar Garage for providing their support for the third year running. Thanks again to everyone who came along, we hope you had a lovely evening – and can make it again next year!

Wishing all of our pupils all the very best in their examinations.

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Mrs K Mackenzie, Head