April 2025
Tutor Time on Wednesday 2nd April saw a special celebration: 10 Ridgeway hosted a party to celebrate Eid, led by Mr Godfray, Ghalia Tomeh (11Burrows) and Sahar Al Kadri (10Ridgeway). The party featured Eid music, flags and bunting. There were traditional pastries and cakes served on Eid plates, as well as a short film about the meaning of Ramadan and Eid.
Fifteen of our students have been observing Ramadan, which culminated with the sighting of the moon and Eid ul-Fitr on Sunday 30th March. They were all invited to join 10 Ridgeway’s Eid party and bring some of their friends. Everyone enjoyed the chance to try a selection of delicious Eid treats, very kindly baked by Sahar and Ghalia and their mums. Our special thanks go to Mr Godfray and all who helped make this possible. Eid Mubarak!
Mrs Susie Cooke - EAL Coordinator
Oscar Stephens (7Story) recently took part in the IOCA UK Spring Championships 2025 in Torbay and made a video of his adventures which you can view by clicking on this link.
Oscar had a really good weekend and he has now been selected to take part in Selections, to be able to gain a place to possibly attend the French Nationals, Garda Country Cup (Italy), European Championships (in Turkey) or the World Championships (in Slovenia) representing GBR. This is a massive achievement in itself and something that everyone is immensely proud of. We look forward to sharing Oscar’s news from the Selections in due course.
Shona Charge – Head of Story House
Recently, the Christian Union held a worship evening. It was a great time of games, worship and a talk. We had 13 young people come along and meet together to focus on Jesus. A local worship leader, Calvin, gave up his time to come and lead worship. Also, one of our clergy members, Dan, came and spoke about spiritual strength.
The Christian Union continues to grow as we meet regularly every week. We have some big events planned including a weekend away coming up in May. It is inspiring as leaders to see people come and worship God through the Christian Union.
Tom Vosper (11King) and Jess Smith (11Burrows)
This term, 20 of our students took part in two exciting reading competitions that showcased both their literary knowledge and their incredible teamwork.
Three teams of four represented our school at the Chichester Literacy Quiz, where students competed against other schools and were quizzed on a range of books, authors, and general knowledge. Each student took responsibility for specific titles and authors, demonstrating preparation and collaboration.
Not stopping there, two more teams of four (with one alternate) competed in the National Reading Champions Quiz, an online nationwide event designed to celebrate and challenge students’ general book knowledge on a national stage. Both teams won awards for Most Enthusiastic—or, as the presenter Mr Dilly put it, the award for “bringing happiness to the world.”
All 20 students have shown commitment, determination, and team spirit in preparing for these quizzes. I am proud not only of their achievements, but of their conduct on the day and the way they embody the values of our school.
I want to say a huge well done to all of our participating students. You made us proud!
Veronica Shuttleworth, School Librarian
Our Worship Leaders have had a fantastic time this term delivering worship assemblies to our Academy Primary schools and more.
They have put together some wonderful presentations on Lent, Psalm Sunday and Easter whilst teaching the children a new Easter song. It is wonderful to see so many Worship Leaders becoming mentors, inspiring younger children, grow in confidence and use so many skill sets. We also have many new Year 7s that have joined the Worship team. Lots of new friendships and lots of fun!
Clare Lancaster - Worship Coordinator
This year’s Interhouse Dance Finals took place on Tuesday 1st April. The competition saw a large number of students enter dances into the heats and, due to stiff competition, the top four from each Year group performed in front of a panel of external judges; Rachael Boarer (founder of RnB Dance Company), alongside Bishop Luffa alumni Lucy Keeping (studying Dance at the University of Chichester) and Rebekah Leggatt (studying Teaching Musical Theatre at the University of Chichester). The audience also had the ability to vote as the fourth judge and the collated results including scores from the heats are below.
This year the House cup for the most participants across all Year groups were Burrows House! Mr Hindman also had the pleasure of announcing the overall Interhouse Dance winners for 2025 - Burrows House! The competition event had a great atmosphere with friends, family and staff rallying behind the dancers.
Thanks to all who came to support the event, it was a spectacular showcase of talent and demonstrated the passion and dedication the students have at Bishop Luffa for dance and a great way to end the term on a high. It is evident a lot of hard work has gone into the rehearsals and there was some very technical choreography and the standard was extremely high this year. There are some really talented performers at the school and it was such an enjoyable evening. Well done to all those involved!
Jo Lawlor - Head of Arts Faculty and Team Leader for Dance
Congratulations to the Bishop Luffa Year 7 and 8 Cheerleading Team who competed in the Spring Spirit competition at the K2 in Crawley.
Greta Davis (7Andrewes) was ‘Cheer Captain’ and the other team members were Rose Ockwell (8Andrewes), Florence Symonds (7Andrewes), Marni Haigh (7Wilson), Summer-Jade Fish (7Ridgeway), Daisy Sparshatt (7Otter), Hannah Coles (8Sherborne), Lois Webley (8Sherborne), Sasha McDonald (7Ridgeway) and Ayla Tran (7Ridgeway).
The atmosphere at the event was electric! The professional teams were awe-inspiring, and the Bishop Luffa Cheerleaders came out confidently giving it their all. The trainers, parents and carers were so proud of them. After just a couple of terms, for one hour a week after school, they secured 4th place in the Schools Category. What an amazing achievement.
Tim Godfray, Team Leader of PE
Students from Bishop Luffa School have returned from a highly successful sports tour to Barcelona, filled with football, netball, sightseeing and sunshine.
The group landed safely in Barcelona to perfect spring weather, with smooth airport processes making for a calm and cheerful start. On arrival, students explored the Gothic Quarter and Parc de la Ciutadella, before heading to their hotel. The brave few even tested the icy cold pool—though not even seasoned swimmers Megan and Elsie could stay in for long!
Training began immediately on day 2, with both football and netball squads working hard in sessions led by expert coaches. The netballers focused on passing, footwork and shooting drills, while the girls’ football team trained on ball control and finishing before securing a 7–5 win in their tour match against El Vendrell. Standout performances included a hat-trick from Ismay and superb goalkeeping from Sophia.
The boys’ footballers faced tough opposition against FC Almeda and a late return after their evening match, which unfortunately ended in defeat. Despite this, Basil and Alex impressed with strong performances. Earlier that day, their training focused on ball control and attacking plays.
Tournament day brought excitement and even more success. The Year 9 netball team won all three group games to reach the final, eventually finishing runners-up—a huge improvement from last year. Amy and Lilly were awarded players of the tournament. The Year 8 team played with relentless intensity, finishing third in their pool. Chloe was named player of the tournament by Masterclass coaches, with Percy receiving Miss Unitt’s player of the tournament award.
The girls’ football team performed admirably despite facing older opposition, holding their own to finish third in their group. Ismay and Jess earned player of the tournament awards for their efforts. The boys’ football team bounced back brilliantly, finishing third overall, with Basil and Alex recognised for their contributions. Will also received the player of the match award from their earlier Spanish friendly.
A special award was given to Isabella, in recognition of her dedication, kindness, and contributions across two tours.
Between matches, students enjoyed time relaxing by the pool, playing beach sports, and even taking part in karaoke. The tour ended with sightseeing in Valencia, including a visit to the iconic Mestalla Stadium and a walking tour of the historic city centre.
After a safe return to Heathrow and a coach journey home to Chichester, staff reported very tired but happy students. Many are already planning for next year’s tour, with hopes of visiting the renovated Nou Camp and taking part in more exciting fixtures. Follow tour highlights and photos on Instagram: @BishopLuffaPE
Miss Unitt, Mr Hill, Mr Buck, Mr Godfray, Tour Team
In the last week of term before Easter we held Bishop Luffa School's first ever 'Chicken Week'. We started the week with an Easter bake sale and were joined at lunchtime by the Rev Celia Woodruff for our Chicken Blessing. Father Phill also joined in and the hens and their run were blessed with Holy Water sprinkled on them with sprigs of Rosemary by the students. We expressed our gratitude for the joy the hens bring to students and prayed that they may continue to stay safe and healthy.
On Wednesday lunchtime we held a Scavenger Hunt around school which was enjoyed by everyone who took part. The week finished with 'Dress as a Chicken (or wear something yellow) Day'. There were some fabulous outfits, including Alfie Acquah (10Andrewes), Karina Bovkun (8Sherborne), Fern Carter (7Story) and Harry Edwards (10Ridgeway), together with numerous members of staff.
Throughout the week, at break time stall there was a competition to name our newest rescue hens. The winning names are Peggy, PomPom, Deardry and Clucks, chosen by Indigo Clark-Lyons (8King), Dasha Pohrebetska (7Story), Jack Byrne (8Otter) and Mrs Stone.
Thank you to everyone who helped out, contributed, bought Raffle tickets or dressed up on Dress as a Chicken Day to make it a memorable week. We raised a total of £705.28 over the week which means we have now raised enough money to get running water to the Chickens and to the Chicken HQ outbuilding.
Louisa Fowles, Teacher of History
Speak up and speak clearly. I want to hear what you have to say because it matters!" - Felicia Johnson
During this half term Year 6 pupils from our partnership schools, alongside students from Year 9 at Bishop Luffa School, came together for a very special event – a celebration of hard work in writing talks and speeches crafted to make the audience think!
In our first ever shared learning experience we were treated to a selection of TED Talks from across the partnership. Our aim was to learn that our voices truly matter. What we say has enormous power: to make people think, to spread ideas, to educate, to spread joy and ultimately make our world a better place to be!
The topics were as varied as 'How Rubix Cubes became so popular', 'The Superhero of your back garden', 'The power of a smile' and 'Pineapple on pizza can change the world'! Ella Blamire in Year 9 delivered a particularly powerful talk on climate change, which really connected with the audience and encouraged everyone to reflect on this important topic. It was very special to bring our family of schools within the Bishop Luffa Learning Partnership together, and to enjoy the dance and musical performances that the students from Fishbourne and Lavant Primaries had worked so hard on. We very much hope that this can be a tradition that continues next year!
Sally Pilgrim and Emily Husband, Teachers of English
Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.” Plato
Wild Readers is an initiative that pairs reading with being active and outdoors. In addition to weekly paired reading in the school library, involving student mentors, student librarians, passionate readers, students who don’t speak English at home and those who might need a nudge to enjoy the world of books, it incorporates an optional residential trip at Christian Youth Enterprises (CYE) in beautiful Cobnor.
This year’s two-day Wild Readers trip was a whistle-stop adventure: reading “The Glorious Race of Magical Beasts”; head-torches at the ready for a spot of reading whilst tunnelling (CYE have the second longest man-made tunnel in Europe); and many tranquil moments of reading, from resting in your kayak on the water to devouring the next chapter whilst sailing a longboat in the harbour. Then, after dinner, everyone enjoyed a beach walk in the gloaming with the latest instalment of the book read aloud by students and staff to the group, culminating with a campfire and stories.
Here are a few of our students’ thoughts on wild reading:
“I’ve made new friends on this trip. Enjoyed being read to and reading to others…this trip has allowed me to open myself up to make new friends and has also made me realise how fun reading was.”
“When we were taking part in the activities it was relaxing to have a little read and a check in on what’s happening in the story.”
This was an exceptional couple of days for all involved, leading to huge achievements, such as facing fears, making new friends, trying new activities and learning new skills, but, most importantly, igniting a spark for a new-found love of reading.
Mx George Thomas, Librarian
To encourage a creative approach to learning, and with a tenuous link to Easter, KS3 History students were encouraged to create a historical scene around the humble egg.
This ‘egg-stra – curricular (!)’ activity, encouraged some ‘egg-stremely’ (!) imaginative ideas, ranging from Eggeline Pankhurst to the Oval Office. It was an ‘egg-cellent’(!) way for students to think about their learning in different ways and to ‘think outside the (egg!) box’. In all seriousness, any activity that helps students to think creatively, and shows that learning can be done in different ways is a great way of developing skills and understanding. With chocolate egg prizes for the most creative, the History staff were delighted by the effort put in and the efforts are to be commended.
Justin Barnett, Head of Humanities
At the start of the Spring term, a group of ambitious Bishop Luffa students took on the exciting challenge of entering the national TeenTech Awards programme—an initiative designed to inspire and empower the next generation of innovators.
TeenTech runs dynamic, award-supported initiatives to help teenagers develop essential skills, gain meaningful experiences, and make valuable connections for future careers. The organisation collaborates with companies, universities, and education-business partnerships to deliver imaginative programmes, particularly targeting regions of greater social need across the UK and Europe. Founded in 2008 by Maggie Philbin and Chris Dodson, TeenTech is a nationally recognised charity focused on exposing young people to the wide variety of career opportunities within science, technology, and engineering. The charity’s structured interventions support students throughout their academic journey and beyond, encouraging long-term engagement with STEM-based innovation.
Bishop Luffa School proudly submitted five inventive entries this year:
- Solomon Sutton (11Ridgeway): Super Effective Alarm Clock
- Bella Wright (10Burrows): Dryline
- Ari Hayman (8Andrewes): Rotating Fridge
- Harry Bonney (7Ridgeway): Safety Steering Wheel
- Thomas Brackenbury (7Wilson): Plate Warmer
Each student received detailed and encouraging feedback from industry judges, who were impressed with the creativity and practicality of their ideas. We are thrilled to announce that Harry Bonney (7Ridgeway) has been selected as a finalist with his innovative idea, the Safety Steering Wheel. Harry will now progress to the TeenTech Finals, which will be held at the prestigious Savoy IET London on 27th June 2025. There, he will pitch his concept to leading professionals in the Safety and Security sector. This is an incredible achievement, and we wish Harry the best of luck as he prepares to showcase his design on the national stage.
James Bonney, Head of Design Technology