Once again the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust has been working with St Katherine's students. This year athlete mentor Jack Rutter has been running group mentoring sessions with two groups of pupils in Years 8 and 9. Footballer Jack has been using his life story, a tale of overcoming adversity, to inspire our students. He has spoken to the pupils about what happened to him when he was playing for Birmingham City youth team and about to sign to become a professional football player. He was attacked outside a Gloucester nightclub in 2009. The then 18 year old was left with a traumatic brain injury that brought his career goal of becoming a professional footballer to an abrupt end. Jack had been on the verge of signing a professional contract with Birmingham City when he fell victim to this unprovoked attack on a night out with friends which left him in a coma for two weeks. But Jack found a way to get back into sport and succeed as a footballer.

He has explained to students how an organisation called Headway put him in touch with the East Midlands Cerebral Palsy football team, which accepts players with other neurological conditions. Jack’s passion and drive returned and he soon learned to adapt to playing football with poor balance and deafness in one ear. His football pedigree began to get noticed, along with his natural leadership skills, and he was soon invited for a trial with England.

Jack currently has 14 England caps to his name – nine of them as captain – and represented his country in the European Championships in Portugal, as well as the Cerebral Palsy World Championships. Through sheer guts and determination, Jack has established himself as one of the country’s top disability footballers. In 2016, he was rewarded with the ultimate honour of captaining the Paralympics GB seven-a-side football team in the Paralympic Games in Rio.

Jack says, “I hope my story can help other young people with rage inside of them to move through their difficulties. I also want to raise awareness of how, if you resort to violence, life-changing brain injury can be the result.”

Through group mentoring and physical activity Jack worked with our students on social action projects of their choice. The students planned two projects - one group worked on a practical activity based on the school site and the other group wanted to visit the local primary school to work with some students in order to develop the primary school children’s confidence and communication skills. 

On 4th July the Year 9 group went to Crockerne Primary School to deliver a series of games and exercises to a group of Year 5 children. Jack had taught our students various sports activities and they went on to devise a ‘getting to know you’ session with the group. They showed superb leadership skills and excellent communication throughout.

David Jeanneret, from a local Forest School company called Nature Connection, helped the Year 8 group’s ideas for their social action project come to fruition. They did a competitive litter pick in the woods in teams and shelter building. The groups communicated effectively to create their dens together.

Thanks again to the Dame Kelly Holmes Trust and our continuing partnership with this inspiring organisation.

Mrs Slater, Assistant Headteacher and SENDCO

Eleana Antonio has been helping with Netball Club to help the Year 7 improve their skills and become better at coaching: “I learnt how to score using the score sheet, I never knew how to score before. I set up the posts ready for the Year 7 students to play, I helped them warm up and I also umpired their match. I played a match with the Year 7 students and I helped them improve and helped set up before it started.”

Harvey Bambury is helping at a pre-school. “I helped out at the pre-school by setting up mini games. I helped build a fence and have built an outdoor seating area.”

Suzi Berryman-Morris has been volunteering with the brownies to help let younger children develop in their personality and decisions, also to let them learn and enjoy the girl guiding experience. “I helped the girls set up their movie night and talked to the official leader about what activities to do for their Christmas party later in the term. The girls made olympic games out of newspaper, tape etc. I helped them make it and the other leaders to run their games." Suzi's assessor said "Suzi has made great progress and has been able to lead activities and support the girls to succeed. Suzi is a great support to the girls, managing their conflict and ensuring they listen to instructions." 

Charlie Burr has been helping at The Moggery in Bristol. Hopefully not letting the cats walk all over him! His assessor said they were very glad of Charlie’s help.

Aya Gambrell has been helping keep the streets clean. “My dad and I went to Victoria Park and did litter picking while we walked the dog for an hour. There were loads of cans this week in the thistle bushes but we managed to get most of them.”

Julia Howard has been helping coaching the Tiny Titans at Red Dragon Martial Arts in Horfield, to become a better leader and learn the leadership skills of a sensei.  “I demonstrated the different techniques used for the lower grade belts to the younger children and we played games which included kicks and punches and patterns. I helped teach the martial arts class. I helped demonstrate the kicks and punches and assessed their pad work.”

Sophia Kadir has been working at a local charity shop to help others and make them happy. “ I've been sorting out wedding dresses by ensuring all the sizes were correct which I really enjoyed and counting cards to work out what and how much had been sold. I've learnt how to be part of a team and how the charity shop works behind the scenes. I've watched the process of counting money and seen the importance of being really careful with money.” Her assessor said “Sophia is very willing, with a happy disposition which reflected on staff and customers. Sophia is a lovely girl, who is really happy to help and learn new skills.”

Kieran Lyne has just completed his volunteering at the Clevedon District Foodbank, the assessor said of his time there: “Kieran has been an active member of our volunteering team at the Clevedon District Foodbank. He has received training on the Foodbank policies including health and safety and confidentiality. The Foodbank makes lunch parcels available in the holidays to school children eligible for free school meals. Kieran has been involved in preparing the lunch parcels and recipe bag parcels; weighing in items; dating food donations for stock control; tidying and organising stock in the warehouse. He was methodical and always asked when unsure. Kieran has worked well within a team of students and has also appeared at ease with the adult volunteers and other students during the sessions. He has demonstrated good commitment, is punctual and works well in the team, displaying a positive and kind attitude towards others.“

Ollie Newman has finished his volunteering at a local charity store. They were pleased with his efforts and said “Ollie excelled during his time at Nightingales Discount Store. He worked well and effectively. His confidence grew each week, building good relationships with both the staff and regular customers. Ollie was able to confidently assist customers when they had questions or needed help. Ollie is a very polite young man who showed that he has a brilliant work ethic. Every week he came in with a positive attitude and was always motivated to get on. He was a pleasure to work alongside. I speak on behalf of the staff and the customers who got to know Ollie that we wish him all the best in the future.”

Scarlett Roswell has been helping keep a local green space tidy with a local organisation. “I have been involved in helping to tidy Ilchester Green community space, in Bedminster Down. I have attended community meetings and helped the organiser. I also participated in clearing a path through the space.”

Jess Britton has been helping in our school library with Ms Wyld. Jess showed great enthusiasm and picked up skills very quickly. She was very reliable and became more comfortable dealing with library users. 

Amélie Whalley has been helping support the local pool for her volunteering. Amélie was tasked with helping to promote the pool, particularly events like an Aqua Disco. “Without her efforts to promote the pool, we would not have sold as many tickets, and it would not have been successful. It ended up raising approx £850 in profit, which will go to the pool.” Her assessor was pleased with Amélie’s efforts: “I was also particularly pleased that there was a large turnout of young people between 10-14 years old. This is a demographic that can be in danger of becoming inactive and Amélie helped encourage this age bracket to attend through her efforts. Amélie was a great help to me and I wouldn’t have had such a successful event without all the hard work she put in. I’m so very grateful to her”.

Sebastian Zdunek joined WSM Police Cadets at the end of February 2024 and has attended every Police Cadet session, working towards his goals. He has also taken part in volunteer opportunities outside of Police Cadet weekly sessions, including assisting with a local policing operation to tackle knife crime. His assessor said "Seb has started to come out of his shell more at weekly sessions and getting stuck in with activities, excelling particularly during the fitness session. Seb has improved his fitness ability and taken part in team building activities showing the ability to work effectively in a team. He has also pushed himself out of his comfort zone and taken part in a policing operation which involved visiting local stores to raise awareness around knife crime.

Toby Foerster has been working with his badminton club over the past year. The support consisted of helping and encouraging the younger players during the coaching sessions; e.g. rallying with them, feeding shuttles during drills and playing games. He was very helpful and his support was appreciated by the coaches. Toby followed the coaches instructions, he was enthusiastic and seemed to enjoy working with the younger players. He learnt how to interact with the younger players, as the coach assistant, and how to communicate unfamiliar concepts to them. Toby has been a committed member of Falcons Badminton Club over the past year and he has developed a better understanding of the sport.

Charlie Heptinstall helped an elderly neighbour once a week with odd jobs around the house and garden. He was friendly, efficient and flexible enough to contribute in whichever way was helpful - whether this was looking after their cat while they were away, or tidying up the garden, or putting out their bins. Charlie learned some gardening skills under the direction of his neighbour as well as developing social skills by interacting with someone from a different demographic to his own. He has shown resilience by turning up for his neighbour despite frustrations and distractions that might have waylaid him.

Ami Kaman has been volunteering at Olive Leaf Healthcare Solutions. Her goal was to be able to help where needed in the office and this was achieved. She was also asked to help around the office and audit the financial transaction sheets which the team members use for recording any transactions for the service users. Her assessor said “Ami was dedicated to the work since the beginning of her volunteering. She grew in confidence as the time progressed and by the time she finished, she was able to work independently. She showed great organisation skills and time management, and excelled in summarising her findings. Her reports showed attention to detail, they were easy to understand but also used professional language. Ami went above and beyond and had absolutely no problem with completing other tasks for us. For example, she offered to take out our office dog for a walk when everyone else in the office had to attend an emergency meeting. It was a pleasure to have Ami, her work really made a huge difference in the running of the office.”

Charlotte Lee dedicated a lot of time and effort to cleaning up the environment by carrying out cleans with Surfers Against Sewage. They removed plastic pollution from their local area, and in doing so, helped to protect the ocean, waves and wildlife for everyone to enjoy. They assisted in the mission to reduce plastic pollution on UK beaches and their dedication and commitment to protecting the environment was outstanding. Charlotte achieved many skills whilst carrying out their volunteering with SAS. They learnt about the devastating effects of plastic pollution in our environment and marine ecosystems, and learnt about the different types of plastic pollution, including microplastics and the impact plastic packaging has on wildlife and animals. They became more aware of the plastic we use every day, the need to reduce our reliance on plastic and the importance of recycling. They gained skills in environmental activism, environmental cleaning, citizen science and ocean conservation. By carrying out cleans, they set an incredible example to their community. They raised awareness to highlight the problem of plastic pollution and helped bring about change to stop it. Assessors said “Thank you Charlotte for your fantastic efforts in cleaning up the environment, through all weather conditions. We appreciate your hard work and determination to help protect the ocean. Keep up the amazing work!”

Bella Paddock has been helping with younger students' learning at a dance school. Her assessor commented "she was able to demonstrate the steps to an excellent standard and even picked up the routine facing the children so that they could mirror her- this is a harder task than it sounds! She helped prepare the students for the show well. Bella was able to assist the younger children by demonstrating the dance whilst they learnt it, this helped them improve their knowledge. Bella was also able to help the students in smaller groups when they needed the extra support. It was great to see Bella use her initiative when helping the students into the class, she made sure their shoes were done up and they felt comfortable asking her questions. She was a great role model to the younger students and they looked up to her which was lovely to see. It was lovely to have Bella assisting me and I would welcome her back again in the future!”

Bence Sandor was helping with the U11 team at Keynsham Town Juniors. Bence was excellent and developed his leadership skills whilst volunteering with the U11s to help coach. He became more organised and learned good techniques on how to engage a group of children and maintain focus. He also led by example with his demonstrations. Bence's communication skills (when to speak, how loud he needed to be, when to engage) greatly improved over the training block. “He learned how hard it is to keep 10 year olds focussed and the many skills it takes to keep younger children engaged. He was excellent throughout. Bence is a fantastic young man with a wonderful outlook on life and a brilliant attitude. He is kind, thoughtful and calm and was excellent working with the kids. He would make an excellent coach when he is older, and has a good understanding of the fundamentals also.”

As we bask in the palatial surroundings of our sparkling new Sixth Form block, it’s impossible not to reflect - through a haze of end-of-year-exhaustion - with huge pride on the last few months or so, and everything we’ve achieved. 

And ‘Pride’ was the operative word in June as our Sixth Formers led our march around the school with confidence and gusto - they read poems, gave speeches, stood defiantly up for inclusion and acceptance in all its forms, and laughed a lot. We won’t even mention the Year 12 boy who led about 150 people through some questionable dance moves to ‘Smalltown Boy’ by Bronski Beat. 

That night we celebrated our incredible Year 13 students at their Leavers’ Party, where the dance moves were out again in force. It was incredibly emotional to bid farewell to this special group, who conducted themselves with such focus, maturity and good humour through the exam period. We often talk about the sense of community at the heart of our Sixth Form, and no one exemplifies that more than this cohort. 

Rewind to earlier that week, and it was our Leavers’ Day, with speeches, awards, inflatables, and some spectacular fancy dress. We really hope Year 13 felt all our love and appreciation for the time they have spent here, and we can’t wait to celebrate with them again on Results Day. 

Year 12 have been extremely busy as well, and they have felt the focus fall firmly on them since Year 13 departed. Students embarked on an enriching and exciting array of work experience placements, from schools to libraries, animal parks to gyms, care homes to marketing firms to hospitals. The vast majority of them made the most of this opportunity and returned feeling refreshed and re-energised for Year 13. 

A special thank you to the Year 12 students who really came to the fore during Sports Day on the penultimate week of term. Whether competing in the relay, whipping up a frenzy in the House paddocks, taking photos, supporting young competitors, judging races - thank you for being such exceptional leaders and making a positive difference to the school. 

Finally, we have to take a moment to say goodbye to one of the most loved, admired and long-serving members of the Sixth Form team: the wonderful, inimitable Helen Shephard. It is impossible to count the number of lives Helen has impacted as a Sixth Form tutor through her irrepressible enthusiasm, her endless kindness and her determination to never let a student leave our gates without believing that they are moving on to the right next steps for them. Helen’s own next steps are elsewhere, and we are so, so sad to see her leave, but hugely excited for her new chapter. We will miss her so much. 

Have a great summer. 

Mr Davies, Head of Sixth Form

On the 28th June 2024, St Katherine’s celebrated its third annual pride, with this year’s theme “Take Action: Taking Pride in an Inclusive Britain”. Following a series of tutor time activities about why inclusion and individual liberty are considered British Values, students also signed an open letter to the soon to be elected MPs of local constituencies asking them to remain steadfast in their commitment to these values.

The colourful day commenced with over 400 students joyfully gathering on the top fields during Period 5 to the excellent music stewardship of Mr Francis-Black, as well as stalls selling rainbow lollies, and all sorts of small gifts. Students enjoyed the rainbow photobooth and represented themselves with authenticity and vibrancy. 

This year we were excited and honoured to welcome the first SK Pride Parents and Carers, whose visibility and allyship meant a huge amount to their own children but also the wider community. We really hope to see all who attended again and would love to welcome more parents and carers next year.

Once all students, staff, parents and carers had assembled, the music dimmed and our incredible Sixth Form Leadership team, Sophia Harper, Charlie Topp and Hector Andrieux, took to the microphone to formally open our festivities and read poems and speeches from our LGBT students. These moving and educating pieces were met by a captivated audience. Moved by the power of these speeches, students were then further stunned by an outstanding performance of Chicago by Charlie Thoburn and an original poem performed by Erin Barnett.

Charlie and Mrs Price then led our impassioned march around the school fields and site, ending - again - at the top field, where Mr Francis-Black’s best pop playlist was waiting for all to enjoy. The atmosphere was one of elation, joy and unity, with all attending being proud!

We already cannot wait for SK Pride 2025 and really hope you can all join us!

Mr Sugden, Teacher of Science, and the EDI Team

The winners of the 2024 House Championship are Stephenson House!

Congratulations to Mr Court, the Stephenson tutors and all of the students in Stephenson House.

Our House Championship highlights the importance of good attendance, punctuality, reading, sport and student behaviour above all else and therefore Stephenson students should be proud of their achievements. Their achievement is perhaps more remarkable given that this is their first year being led by Mr Court who should be proud of how he has ensured that Stephenson students showed excellence in all aspects of school life. 

Despite holding the lead for most of the year, it was by no means a foregone conclusion that Stephenson would be crowned champions and the competition really came down to the wire. Turing House closed the gap to fewer than 50 points in the lead up to sports day and many thought that they may take the lead in the last few days of term. Mrs Price has instilled a fierce competitive spirit in her students and Turing House must be congratulated for their tenacity and resilience and they came very close to spoiling the Stephenson party. They have been consistent in their performances across all aspects of the House Championship all year and will be determined to make 2025 their year.

For many, the battle for third place was the most interesting and exciting aspect of this year's championship and Pankhurst House has been transformed in the latter part of the academic year. Yousafzai House had no worries about Pankhurst catching them in the autumn and winter but as the year has gone on, Pankhurst have really hit their stride. A special mention must go to Mr Murdoch and the Pankhurst tutors for how they have guided their students to finish second in sports day which is their best result since the inception of the House Championship. This, coupled with a second place in the term 6 ethos competition meant that they were able to overtake Yousafzai House and take third place. Pankhurst students should be very proud of what they have achieved in recent weeks and if they are able to make this level of performance their new norm then 2025 could easily be their year.

Yousafzai used their final House assembly of the year to wish Miss Andrews the very best in her new role as Head of Biology. Miss Andrews will assume her new name - Mrs Holmes - in her new role and is handing the leadership of Yousafzai House to Miss Robinson. Miss Robinson rightly recognises that Miss Andrews leaves big shoes for her to fill but everyone has faith in Miss Robinson's ability to continue the exceptional work that Miss Andrews has done to create a beautiful House ethos that reminds students to show gratitude and to treasure their education like a diamond. I would personally like to thank Miss Andrews for her service. She has led Yousafzai House since the start of the House system and hundreds of students are better off for her inspirational leadership and superb pastoral care.

Mrs Crocker, Assistant Headteacher

Third place!

I write this final newsletter update for the year with happiness and joy in my heart as Pankhurst House has finally finished higher than fourth! For our house, given our history, this is a really big achievement and gives us hope for the future. It would have been demoralising to have finished fourth yet again and we have celebrated third place as if it were first as we now have some self belief. This was perhaps best encapsulated by the year 7 students I spoke to before sports day who when I told them that our target was to beat Yousafzai to ensure we got third, told me that they weren't particularly bothered by beating Yousafzai but wanted to beat Stephenson as they were their closest rivals and current champions. This is the sort of attitude we need in the house when we build on this next year! And I am confident that this is exactly what we will do.

In Term 6 we have our House Awards evening where individual students are recognised for their efforts, achievements and contributions to the house. For me this is one of the highlights of the school year and it was lovely to see so many families and students present despite the semi-final taking place on the same evening. We celebrated too many students to mention but I would like to acknowledge the ten students who received House Colours for their contribution to the house. They are: Emily Creese, Aya Gambrill, Max Forristal, Ben Anderson, Iris Jackson, Zack Evans, Solomon Shiltion, Jessica-Jade Cowley, Victor Furdal and Finley Pemberton. These ten students represent the very best of Pankhurst House and embody the house values of passion, perseverance and pride. It was a pleasure to recognise their success.

Awards evening also saw us acknowledge the exceptional efforts and contribution of Emily Sell who won student of the year. It is difficult to put into words just how special Emily is and she is perhaps a candidate for being the student of my career. Her form tutor summarizes her well when he said "she completely epitomises our house values of passion, perseverance and pride. She is the most resilient student that I have ever known and she never stops trying to better her education and knowledge in every way. She is kind, caring and hardworking and I am hugely proud to have her in our tutor group, the sky truly is the limit for her". Emily has managed a physical disability and neurodiversity without complaint alongside her studies which makes her achievements all the more remarkable. We are sad that she is leaving us but delighted that she is able to go to a specialist Maths college at Exeter University that will help her grow and develop further. Well done Emily, we are really proud of you.

Our improvement this year is built on the excellent efforts of our two year 7 tutor groups who have developed a really healthy rivalry. 7P1 were awarded the Pankhurst tutor group of the year prize but they were closely pushed by 7P2. 7P1 finished the year as they started with the best praise/negative proportion in school with 7P2 coming second in their year. 7P2 should be proud of the fact that they ended up with more praises than 7P1, ultimately it was having more negatives that cost them and there is a lesson to be learned there.

Along with our year 7 students our improvement this year has also been rooted in better sporting results with improved performance across the board. Sports Day this year was a real treat and we had plenty to make a noise about and make a noise we did with our Year 7 leading the way with non-stop shouting and singing. There are too many individual performances to mention but I'd like to acknowledge the efforts of the Year 10 girls with Elsie Stenner, Jessica-Jade Cowley and Millie Stratton leading the way. Our Year 9 boys and girls were also superb led ably by Shay Melias and Bella Paddock respectively. Finishing second in Sports Day was our best ever result and surpassed expectations on the day. I could not have asked for more from the competitors and supporters

I'm looking forward to next year and to the challenges it will bring. I hope you all have a good rest over the summer holidays.

Mr Murdoch, Head of Pankhurst House

We are drawing to the close of another wonderful year in Stephenson House. I am hoping that the sense of success that pervades the tutor groups in the morning is borne out by the results of the house championship. These will have been announced by the time you read this, but from where I am sat I would describe a sense of cautious optimism dominating classrooms.

As always, Mr Cook and the PE team delivered one of the showpiece events of the school calendar in this year's sports week. The atmosphere was electric with Stephensons students of all ages mixing in the parade and then socializing in our house area. Homemade flags were flying, faces were painted and red was on display for all to see. Everyone who took part was superb, but special mentions have to go to Celvin Barbosa-Goa, Sienna Romain, Ben Palmer, Jasper and Fin Kelly, Yasmin Browne, Sasha and Josh Richards and Charlie Threlfall as well as all the sports captains who organized their teams. Whether or not we have won is secondary to the sense of house pride that I felt on that day. It was an honour to be amongst such wonderful young people.

As our existing Stephenson students continue their journey through the school, they make way for our new year 7 cohort who appear to be brimming with excitement at the prospect of joining us in September. House leaders and tutor reps helped me to welcome our new students in two separate transition events for students from local primary schools. We will also be welcoming two new year 7 tutors to our team in Ms Bryant and Ms Smart. I might be biased, but they are brilliant additions to what is already the best tutor team in the school.

Term 6’s ethos competition was based on the ratio of praise to negative behavior points on Classcharts; unfortunately and unusually Stephenson did not win. We did, in fact, come third. This will be something we focus on in the first terms of next year.

We did secure a podium place in the Pride poster competition. Congratulations to Emily Ralph in 7S who secured the bronze medal and house points for us. Your creativity and diligence is inspirational.

The biggest event of the year for Stephenson House, and me personally, was the house awards. These took place on Monday 8th July and it was so wonderful to see so many of your there, as well as staff, governors and the Stephenson students. Each subject were allowed to nominate one student in each year group for an attainment award and an approach to learning award. We also awarded Stephenson house colors to ten exceptional students. The highlights of the evening for me were the musical performances from Felix Huertas, Eve Ward and Elsa Thorp. Thank you. It was a joy to share your gift with our community. Student of the year went to Abdulrahim Yusuf. Abdi rightfully saw fit to take the microphone from me and deliver his own speech in which he thanked his mother, Mr Humphreys and the SLT and his tutor Ms Hughes. Abdi said that Ms Hughes had been like a second mother to him and made him the man he is today. His words left a tear in the eye of everyone in attendance and really showcased what can be achieved when one takes advantage of all the opportunities that this school has to offer.

I feel like our first year with me as Head of Stephenson House has been a success. Let's all look forward to the achievements, challenges and wonderful moments that await us in the new school year.

Mr Court, Head of Stephenson House 

As we wrap up the year at St Katherine’s, Turing House has had an especially memorable final term. The examination season saw our Year 11 students making that crucial final push, demonstrating dedication and determination as they tackled their exams.

Balancing the stress of exams, our Year 11 students enjoyed a well-deserved break with the Y11 Celebration Day and Prom. It was heartwarming to share in their joy and sense of accomplishment. The girls looked stunning, and the boys were impeccably dressed, making it a truly wonderful occasion. Their friendship, behaviour, and conduct at both events were exemplary, reflecting the values of Turing House. We wish them all the success they deserve as they await their results at the end of the summer.

As Year 11 pass the torch on, it's up to our current Year 10 students to take up the mantle and continue into Year 11 with the same positive attitude demonstrated by our recent graduates. They have already made a strong start with their mock exams, gaining valuable experience, honing their exam techniques, and identifying areas for improvement. Turing House is incredibly proud of how they have risen to the challenge, and we look forward to supporting them in the coming year.

And if that wasn't enough, Turing House saw our icon’s 102nd birthday. This annual event allowed us to reflect on how Alan Turing became one of the greatest icons of the 20th century and acknowledge his profound impact on the modern world. To celebrate the event, Turing House Leaders, Liam Davies and Cerys Voisey presented a whole school assembly on the achievements and impact of Turing. This was followed by the annual inter-house ‘Battleship Competition’ and a netball match where Turing Y10s took on The Rest of the School. The game was highly skilled and competitive resulting in a 4-4 draw at full time. A rematch has been rescheduled at the end of Term 1. Plenty of time to practise!

One of the highlights of our year was the Turing Celebration Evening. It was a proud moment for parents, students, tutor, and myself as we celebrated our students' hard work and dedication to their learning. Awards for Academic Attainment and Approach to Learning were presented to commend their outstanding efforts.

House colours were also awarded to students who demonstrated exceptional commitment and contribution to Turing House. These students exemplify our values of Determination, Acceptance, and Unity in everything they do. This year's prestigious house awards were presented to: Lara Bray, Lucas Farley, Elsa Fiedor, Otto Penn, Walter Rogers, Matei Achim, Naimah Dolla, Bowen O’Callaghan, Joe Freeton, Leyton Jarrett, Fern Clarke and Sofia Hawkesby

The Student of the Year award was given to Turing House Leader, Cerys Voisey, who truly embodies our Turing values. Since joining the school in Year 7, Cerys has been a model student and an incredible asset to Turing House and St Katherine’s. Congratulations and well done Cerys!

We have reached the culmination of an exciting year with the final house championship competitions, finishing with the House Ethos Competition and Sports Day. I am incredibly proud of our Turing students for their dedication to reading and their enthusiastic participation in various reading competitions.

A special congratulations to 7T and 9T for securing first place in the Reading Log Challenges! Additionally, 8T1 and 8T2 achieved an impressive second place. In the Accelerator Reader competitions, Turing made a significant leap, earning second place—an outstanding improvement from last term's fourth place. Our goal for next year is to claim first place in all categories. Easy!

Our pride continues to soar as Turing was awarded first place in this term's House Ethos Competition, earning 200 points for our outstanding behaviour ratio.

But was it enough to clinch the House Cup from Stephenson?

As always, Turing House demonstrated our ethos, "The strength of the team is each individual member," with a fantastic turnout for the inter-house rounders and softball competitions. Special congratulations to the 7T boys for securing second place in the Year 7 boys' softball, and to the Year 8 girls for finishing first in the girls' rounders.

As the team competitions concluded, Turing House tied for second place with Pankhurst House, while Stephenson claimed first place. In the House Super Stars competition, which tests skill and physical prowess, Turing girls shone brightly. The 7T and 9T girls secured second place, with Sophia Wilkinson and Hannah Harris (Year 8), along with Manon Herzog (Deputy House Leader) and Bella Perales-Morris, taking the top podium spots and being crowned House Super Stars for their year groups. What an achievement!

The strength of Turing girls evidently inspired the dynamic duo of Oscar Warren and Jay Jackson, who matched the Year 8 girls' performance by taking first place. Well done, boys!

Which takes us to Sports Day! We started the day in first place, full of promise and anticipation. However, as history has taught us, it's what happens on the track that counts. In true Turing fashion, our participants demonstrated incredible grit and determination. I want to personally thank everyone who competed for Turing House, showing immense dedication with every ounce of effort.

It wasn't just our students who shone brightly. Our own Miss McInerney from 10T1 joined Malak Mengoud in the girls' 300M, a gruelling and physically demanding race. It was a heartwarming sight to see Malak and Miss McInerney cross the finish line together!

Despite the immense commitment and determination from all our athletes, the Sports Day Cup eluded us, and Turing finished in third place, just a few points behind Pankhurst. For the second year in a row, congratulations must go to Stephenson House. Well done to all, and let's aim even higher next year - first place!

Finally, I wanted to take a moment to extend my deepest gratitude to our wonderful Turing Tutors for their unwavering hard work and dedication to our students. Your commitment to the young people’s  growth and success has been truly inspiring and has made a lasting impact on their lives.

In particular, I would like to express a special thank you to Jacob Marks (7T tutor), Lucy Jackson (8T1 tutor], and Miss Kingston (8T2 tutor).  As you embark on new adventures, please know that your contributions have been invaluable. Your passion for teaching and your genuine care for each student have set a high standard for all of us. You have not only imparted knowledge but also instilled confidence, curiosity and a love for learning in our students. Your efforts have shaped their futures in ways that words cannot fully capture. Thank you for everything you have done. We wish you all the best in your future endeavours and know that you will continue to inspire and educate wherever you go.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all students and parents/guardians for your unwavering support and active participation in the Turing House and St Katherine's community. Together, we have celebrated the growth and achievements of our students, and I am confident they will continue to strive for excellence in the year ahead. I wish you all a well-deserved and relaxing summer break, and I look forward to seeing you again in September. 

Mrs Price, Head of Turing House

And just like that, the term and so the year is over. The house championship results have been announced and unfortunately, Yousafzai has brought up the rear and finished fourth. A big well done to Mr Court and Stephenson for the win and to Mr Murdoch and Pankhurst for not coming last! Well done to all! I have said to Yousafzai students, that there is no need for a trophy for us to be proud of our year. 

The biggest highlight of this term was sports day on Friday. Despite coming fourth, we had the BEST time cheering on all of our Yousafzai students in whatever event they were doing. By far we were the loudest house. It was amazing to see year 10 boys run across the track to run with a younger student to help him finish the 800m. Our students ran with smiles on their faces as they ran past the chants and support from the Yousafzai pen. The display of comradery was highly commendable and made me such a proud Head of House. 

The evening before sports day was the Yousafzai celebration evening. This was a wonderful event celebrating our award winners who truly value their education and live and breathe the house values of aspiration, determination and friendship. House colours were awarded to those who go above and beyond for the house - whether that is part of the sports leadership team, a tutor representative or just being the epitome of Yousafzai values. They were awarded to: Laurie Gisborne, Gavin Clapson, Yuvraj Singh, Archie Vine, Sam Gurr, Lola Kadir, Amelia O’Reilly, Finn Blakeney, Oscar Pearson and Ikran Issa. Our student of the year went to Lyla Moore who has shown huge amounts of resilience, determination and kindness at her time at St Katherine’s and is a true Yousafzai student. Well done Lyla! 

This term also celebrates Malala Yousafzai’s Birthday. We celebrated at the top of school as students arrived with some music and dancing with our elephant mascot. The whole school wrote thank you cards to someone who has made a difference to our education to show our gratitude of the privilege we have at being able to receive an education; freely and safely, unlike so many across the globe. There was a quiz on Malala Yousafzai for all tutor groups to do - well done to 9Y2 who won! 

This is my final term as Head of Yousafzai House. I have written to all Yousafzai parents expressing my gratitude for their support. I have loved being head of Yousafzai House and in my eyes, they have always been the best house, and I wouldn’t have wanted to be head of any other house. I will treasure the memories and experiences of the last 6 years forever. I hand over to Miss Robinson who will do an amazing job and continue to ensure Yousafzai treasure their education and strive to be the best versions of themselves. 

I look forward to continue working with both students and parents/carers in a biology capacity in September. 

For the final time as Head of House, have a wonderful and restful summer! 

Miss Andrews, Head of Yousafzai House

• 15 August: A Level results day
• 22 August: GCSE results day
• 02 & 03 September: INSET days
• 04 September: TERM BEGINS for Years 7, 11, 12 and 13
• 05 September: TERM BEGINS for Year 8, 9 and 10
• 11 September: Year 7-11 Virtual parent/carer information evening, 6-6.30pm
• 18 September: Year 12 and Year 13 parent/ carer information evening, 6-6.30pm, in person
• 19 September: Sports Award Evening, 19.00-21.30
• 26 September: School Open Evening - Early finish, buses leave 12.30
• 26 September: School Open Evening, 4-8pm
• 27 September: INSET day
• 01 October: Year 11 Geography trip to Bristol Harbourside
• 02 October: Year 11 Geography trip to Middle Hope 
• 04 October: Coffee with the Headteacher, 08.30-10.00am
• 10 October: Hello Yellow, Mental Health Day
• 16 October: Year 11 Virtual Parent/ Carer Information Evening
• 23 October: Year 7 Virtual pastoral meeting with tutors, 4-7pm
• 25 October: END OF TERM

There isn’t enough space here to showcase the huge variety of student experiences and achievements this term. Keep up to date by visiting the ‘News and Events’ section on the school website, check the school Facebook page or follow us on Twitter (@stkathsschool)