Principal’s Weekly Post – Week 17

York High School has been a hive of activity this week with our Aspire Careers Week taking place. Students have had a range of opportunities to learn more about the working world by way of activities including a whole school careers fair, a stock market challenge delivered by Aviva, taster days at York College and also a visit to York St John University. A massive thank you to Mrs Callan for arranging this fantastic week which has been enjoyed by all and provided invaluable experiences for our wonderful students. 

Our Year 8 students have also taken part in Inspiration Day centred around careers and arts. This exciting day included Beatboxing, junk percussion and DJ-ing. Our students engaged with real enthusiasm and demonstrated their fantastic musical talents. A huge thank you to Mrs Lancaster for organising this inspirational day for our Year 8 students. 

This week we also welcomed Sir Martyn Oliver, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector and Lee Owston, the National Director from Ofsted, to discuss the exciting developments and progress at York High School and across our Trust. This felt like a truly fantastic way to conclude another incredibly positive week. 

Have a great weekend!

Gavin Kumar
Principal

Inspiration Day

On Tuesday, Year 8s took part in an Inspiration Day around Careers in the Arts. They had DJ-ing, Beatboxing, junk percussion, devising theatre sessions and a classroom-based session examining different careers. The standout favourite amongst students was, by far, the Beatboxing session with Conrad, who finished the session by looping all their different vocal sounds together on his loop pad. DJ-ing and Beatboxing are now accepted as performance instruments for GCSE Music and we are hoping to set up a DJ club in the near future.

Lizzy, our drama leader, will be setting up a Drama Club in the summer term, with the view to producing a summer play at the end of the year. These clubs will be open to any year group.

Our students were very respectful to our visitors and pushed themselves outside of their comfort zones to try something new. Thank you to our Year 9 helpers Mercy and Dylan who gave up their time to support the DJ sessions. 

Aspire Week

This week marks our annual Aspire Week at York High School.

On Monday, we had over 60 visitors delivering our whole school Careers Fair which was a great success.

On Tuesday, our Year 11 students had the opportunity to take part in Taster Days at post-16 providers of their choice.

On Wednesday, we were joined by Aviva, who delivered an exciting stock market challenge to students in Years 8 and 9, whilst some of our Year 11s participated in an employability workshop.

On Thursday, 53 Year 9 students met with representatives from the NHS, who delivered an informative ‘Get into Nursing’ session.

Earlier today, 45 of our Year 10 students were looking to the future as they visited York St John University to find out more about higher education and the opportunities available.

Coming up next week, Year 11s will attend an Application and Mock Interview Day on Friday 24 January.

Anti-Bullying S.T.O.P. Poster Campaign

Thank you to everyone who designed a poster for the YHS Anti Bullying S.T.O.P. Poster Campaign.

All of the submitted entries were individual, artistic, strongly portrayed the S.T.O.P. (Start Telling Other People and Several Times on Purpose) message and could have all been winners! 

Our winning entry was submitted by Ashlee G in Year 7.  Ashlee collected her prize, a takeaway for two and will also have her winning poster printed and displayed around school. Congratulations Ashlee! 

Well done to Hayla H in Year 9 and Annie S in Year 7 whose entries also won prizes. 

Thank you to Baby Boys Kitchen and Football Fun Factory for donating prizes to our winners. 

Excellence Every Day

Lots more rewards this week – well done to Jak, Alexa, Patrin, Esme, Maddie, Mia-Faith, Anitah, Casey, Ruby, Amelia, Willow, Cristina, Oscar, Ryan and Jemima!

Careers Spotlight – T Levels

T Levels are two-year courses taken after GCSEs and are equivalent to three A Levels.

These courses have been developed with employers so that students are prepared for entry into skilled employment or higher education.

T Levels offer students on-the-job experience through an industry placement of 45 days.

To find out more visit the T Levels website or speak to Mrs Callan, Careers Leader.

The YHS Way

Next week’s focus: Routines and Habits – Strong Start