September 2024

Six Bishop Luffa students managed something that every Olympic athlete attempts but few manage – to get the gold medal in every event that they enter. These six students scooped a remarkable 20 A* grades between them! Gwen Sargent and Max Sydenham achieved 4 A*s each, whilst Manka Vecsei, Jess Jameson, Alice Pendry and Dougal Rattray each achieved 3 A* grades. Gwen, Max and Dougal are all now off to Bristol University, which is proving to be one of the most highly sought-after universities for Bishop Luffa students. Manka will be taking up a place at Jesus College, Cambridge; Alice will be reading Natural Sciences at Durham University and Jess will be applying to study Medicine in 2025.

Bucking Trends

Many Bishop Luffa students are bucking a national trend by studying for degrees in Arts subjects, including Spencer Dixon, who is studying Musical Theatre at Italia Conti and Caitlin Waldron and Olivia Baggott, who are studying Dance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire and Bath Spa respectively. Jamie Saunders, Bishop Luffa’s Head of Sixth Form, was not surprised that students were continuing with subjects that are seeing their numbers drop nationally. “At Bishop Luffa we believe in encouraging our students to follow their passions. We have kept courses running that are in danger of dying out in school Sixth Forms, such as Music, Dance, DT, Latin and German. Our students can choose from a broad curriculum, with 32 different courses on offer. This helps them when they are interviewing for universities and higher level apprenticeships, as the passion they have for their subject shines through.”

IT Apprentices

While these students were in Year 12, the school suffered a ransomware attack. Two Bishop Luffa students, Max Holben and Theo Lane, helped the Police investigate the attack and went on to win Chief Constable’s medals, one of the highest civilian awards. Max and Theo have now completed their A-levels and will be starting apprenticeships in IT in September. Helen Williams, Head of Computing, said ‘when the attack happened, Max and Theo were able to put what they had learnt into practice. This showed them that a more practical approach to learning suited them. We are starting to see more students valuing the apprenticeship route to a degree.’

Everyone Matters

Head Teacher Austen Hindman was full of praise for students whose future plans involve caring for others. ‘Our school motto is “always our best because everyone matters”. It is a source of deep pride to see that Manka Vecsei, Lucy Campbell and Ellie Collison will be studying Medicine, while Cassie Bailey and Bea Wason are studying Nursing and Midwifery respectively. We also have Olivia Ebbutt and Alice Roberts leaving to study Veterinary Medicine. These impressive young people already know that helping others, although tough, can be ultimately more rewarding than focusing on yourself.’

Mr Hindman went on to praise the year group as a whole: ‘These students have grown up with the pressure of social media, Covid lockdowns and the cost-of-living crisis. It is hard enough to be a teenager without these extra burdens. They have shown resilience and empathy in their time at school and have been a pleasure to teach. As well as studying, they also raised over £25k for our school charities and many visited Tanzania in Year 12, where they were helping to build beds for children who had only ever slept on mud-floors. I wonder how many adults had achieved so much by the same age, and all while being told that they are “snowflakes”! We hope that they remain inquisitive and have no doubt that they will leave the world a better place than they found it.’

FROM THE PRU TO BISHOP LUFFA SIXTH FORM

Wiktor Lis secured four 7s, three 8s and a grade 9 – despite being permanently excluded from primary school.

On Wiktor’s first day at Bishop Luffa, when his new friends asked which primary school he was from, he had to admit that it was the county’s pupil referral unit. The chances of students who have been excluded at such a young age achieving any grades at GCSE are slim; very few go on to get top grades and study for A-levels.

Teaching Assistant Gil Horsfield had regular one-to-one sessions with Wiktor throughout his time at Bishop Luffa. Mr Horsfield said: ‘it has been a pleasure to watch Wiktor grow-up and mature into an asset to our school and wider society. So many children don’t get the chance: they are written-off at a young age and they start to believe that they can’t change their lives. Wiktor was determined that he was going to be different.’

TOP GRADES FOR UKRAINE

When Dasha and Mariia began secondary school in 2019, life seemed very simple. They lived in Ukraine and hoped one day to go on to university. Dasha loved animals and wanted to be a vet, and Mariia enjoyed singing and hoped to study music. Five years later that dream is still alive, despite the adversity that they’ve suffered. Both students are celebrating an incredible set of GCSE results that means that they will now begin their A-levels at Bishop Luffa in September.

They are not the only Ukrainian students at Bishop Luffa School who are celebrating. Veronika, Lidiia, Yehor and Andrii all joined the school from Ukraine in 2022 and all secured at least six GCSEs. Lidiia and Veronika even managed to gain the top grade of 9 in some of their subjects.

Susie Cooke, who oversees the school’s work with students who are new to English, said: ‘these students have left their homes and families and come to England as refugees. They have had to move from home to home in Britain and still live with the daily fear of bad news from Ukraine and an uncertain future here. To have managed this level of academic success, whilst taking exams in a foreign language, is a breath-taking achievement. It is humbling working with them.’

THE ARTS ARE FLOURISHING AT BISHOP LUFFA

Ben Webster and Myah Brent are looking forward to studying A-level Music at Bishop Luffa, having just secured grade 9 and 8 respectively at GCSE. Less than 5% of students in the country study Music GCSE, and the number of students going on to study A-levels in Music has dropped by nearly 50% since 2010.

The Head of Arts, Jo Lawlor, said: ‘Arts students like Ben and Myah give so much to the school beyond the classroom. School should be full of students, acting, dancing and playing music – when else in your life are you going to do these things if you don’t do them at school? It is important to us at Bishop Luffa that students like Ben and Myah should be given the opportunity to follow their passions.’

OVERALL ACHIEVEMENT

Hannah Carr did what very few students manage: she got a top grade in every subject she took!

Head Teacher Austen Hindman said: ‘Getting top grades in every subject is a huge achievement. Many of us excel in one area, but the combination of talent and hard-work that Hannah has shown is incredible.’

‘Hannah’s quiet confidence sums up this year group. When Covid hit they were in Year 7. They were just building new friendships when school was shut down. They missed out on watching other students go through the rites of passage that we associate with school, like sitting exams or going to the Prom. To have come through that is an achievement in itself; to have done that and still managed to build solid friendships and secure incredible GCSE results is quite remarkable. They are an inspiring group of students.’

Once again, as is the tradition at Bishop Luffa School, we came together for our first assembly on the school field on a bright, sunny day.

The assembly started with the Prayer of St Richard read by Ms Sutton, our longest serving member of staff. Our school captains, Matilda Jeffers and Aaron Butters, then welcomed everyone to a new school year, and talked about our vision for all our students, to live ‘life in all its fullness’.

Mr Hindman spoke to the students about how much he enjoys being the Head Teacher at Bishop Luffa School, and talked about our values ‘always our best because everyone matters’, saying:

“Lots of people focus on ‘always our best’, but any school will tell you that: ‘do your best’, ‘give it your best’. The hard bit, the radical bit is that everyone matters. Do you believe it? Do you believe that everyone you meet today is just as important as you? Because if you do, you’re going to act differently. You’re going to look at other people and think: ‘I want the best for you’.

“Think about someone who really annoys you. The anti-you! We’ve all got one! That person matters as much as you do. And if we’re giving our best because everyone matters you need to help them to be their best. You need to be their biggest cheerleader. Even if they are in the wrong House!

“Fortunately, you don’t have to do this on your own. There are former students living full lives, who cheer on everyone that they meet. They have created a legacy for you, a path for you to follow.

“There was a student here once, who stood on this same field, had lessons in the same classrooms, who was so successful in her job that she was made a Baroness and now sits in the House of Lords. Her name is Helena Morrissey and I have a photo of her in my office. You go to the same school as her: that’s already on your CV. And Baroness Morrissey is cheering for you.

“There was a student here called Joel Ward, who loved football and played on this very grass that we’re standing on. He went on to Captain Crystal Palace and is open about his love for God and the impact his faith has on his life. Joel Ward is cheering for you.

“There was another student called Jess Breach, who played rugby on this grass and has gone on to play rugby for England. Jess has played in a World Cup – can you imagine that? Jess is cheering for you.

“And there are people around you now living full lives and showing that everyone matters.

“You go to the same school as Veroniika, who came to us from Ukraine in Year 9, and would study here in the day and complete her work from her school in Ukraine in the evening. Veronika passed two sets of exams this summer: she passed her diploma from Ukraine and was one of our most successful GCSE students here. Veronika is cheering for you.

“You go to the same school as Indy Clark-Lyons, who achieved the highest mark in her event at a dance competition this summer. Indy is cheering for you.

“You go the same school as Alex Wilburn, who was awarded an Arkwright Engineering Scholarship last year. Alex is cheering for you.

“You go to the same school as Charlotte Hatton, who won a National Physics competition at Oxford University. Charlotte is cheering for you.

“You go to the same school as Thomas Francis, who is ranked fourth in the whole country in mountain biking. Thomas is cheering for you.

“You go the same school as Bella Wright and Emmy Lamb, who won the ‘Best Ethical Thinker’ trophy at the Teen Tech awards. Bella and Emmy are cheering for you.

“You go to the same school as Libby Herbert, who is part of a gymnastics team that are British Champions. Libby is cheering for you. The list goes on and on.

“Learn from them. Grasp every opportunity. When you are tested, trust God and you will find a way through. Be a cheerleader for yourself and for other people and remember how proud we are of you. Never forget that all of us at Bishop Luffa School are cheering for you.”

We were delighted to welcome our new Year 7 students to Bishop Luffa School at the start of September. They spent their first day getting to know everyone in their tutor groups in form time and during all the activities they undertook. Positively YOU showed the students creative approaches to learning, combining Mind Mapping, the ‘Story Technique’ the ‘Journey System’ and multi-sensory learning. The afternoon was spent thinking creatively and participating as part of team to solve the problem of how to build the tallest tower using just marshmallows and spaghetti. There was some ‘healthy’ Interhouse competition too!

The Year 7 students were asked about the best part of their day and this is what they said….

Ethan 7Ridgeway – spaghetti towers
Evie 7Wilson – also spaghetti towers – her group won!
Lewis 7Burrows – free food!
Noah 7Burrows – brownies at lunch were amazing
Eloise 7Burrows – excited about tomorrow
Woody 7Sherborne – doing actions with crazy Kim from Positively YOU
Dylan 7Sherborne – everything!

We look forward to getting to know the students over the coming weeks.

Neil Topley, Assistant Head Teacher – Attendance & Systems

In February we commenced working with 31 students across most year groups, this includes a new group exam.

We had a record 17 medal (highest) examinations taken including gold medal qualifications in public speaking, gold and silver qualifications in acting and a record number in bronze verse & prose. Students have accumulatively earned upward of 200 UCAS points with 13 out of 17 qualifications gaining distinctions and the remaining 4 achieving high merits. The students displayed incredibly high levels of commitment and character in achieving these results.

The remaining 14 students completed either a verse & prose or public speaking exam, earning a mix of 10 distinctions and 4 high merits. The group devising piece earned the Year 7 and 8’s involved a high distinction for their efforts, congratulations all!

Angela Watkins, LAMDA Teacher

Once again Go Green Week took place in September.  The aim of the week was to create a meaningful, memorable and fun week on environmental issues to generate awareness and an opportunity to take action to make a difference. Everyone was encouraged to get involved! 

Each day there was a recycled Art Workshop and other activities during the week included:

• A Year 7 Litter Pick competition
• The lunchbox challenge (encouraging everyone to bring in a packed lunch that was plastic and meat free)
• Recycling Day where students were asked to bring in old batteries, good quality clothes for our swap shop and good quality books for a library book swap
• Car Free Day encouraging everyone to come to school in a sustainable way – cycling, walking, taking the bus or train, and car sharing.
• Go Green Bake Sale
• ‘Vinted’ came to Bishop Luffa with a clothes swap shop

Go Green Week culminated in a Upcycle Dress Up Day when students and staff was encouraged to come to school in a recycled costume or wear something from the charity shop.

We hope everyone had a fantastic week ‘Going Green!’

Mrs A Congalton & Mrs M Wilburn – Eco School Leads