January 2026

Published 15th January 2026

On a dark, wet and windy evening in mid-January ten members of the esteemed Bishop Luffa Debate Club set off with Mrs Pegram and Mx Thomas through the countryside to the prestigious Churcher’s College in Petersfield. Their challenge: to enter into lively and informed discussions with some of the best debate teams in the area, vying for a place in the regional finals of the famous ESU Mace competition. Unlike some of the competitors Bishop Luffa decided to mix up the speakers and give other members of the team an opportunity to take to the stage. Furthermore, due to another team being unable to attend, Luffa also had the honour of providing a swing team (an additional team who cannot qualify but who allow the remaining lone team to continue to compete).

It was a high stakes event and the team took it in their stride. Led by Year 12 students Rachel Cook and Amelia Geraghty-Bellingham the two Bishop Luffa teams also comprised of Year 10 students Eva Callaghan and Ella Blamire, and Year 9 students Eesa Salah and Ivy Revill, as well as four additional lively supporters. Up against students who were up to four years older than them, our younger debaters held their own in a strong field. There were three rounds of debate and Bishop Luffa were contesting the following motions as the proposition teams:

This House would hold tech companies legally responsible for the mental health impact of their platforms. And: This House Believes that modern politics does not represent the interests of young people.

The teams presented thoughtful, balanced and well-informed arguments. In the first heat Rachel remained completely unflappable despite fielding numerous points of information from her opponents (essentially challenge mid debate) before 13-year-old Eesa took to the floor engaging his audience and working the room; finally Eva tied everything together eloquently and concisely to round off the first debate.

In our next go Ella kicked things off for the swing team grabbing the audience’s attention with a personal story, before Amelia got the audience laughing and participating throughout her speech and also posed some really tricky points of information to her opponents. To finish, Ivy, juggling numerous bits of paper full of rebuttals, (responses to what has been heard from the opponents) took to the floor and calmly and clearly rounded off the evening.

It was an insanely strong field and we were unlucky not to progress. Feedback was positive and constructive and the team left Petersfield for the wild and wet journey back to Chichester in high spirits. We will be back next year for another go!

Katie Pegram, Second in Charge of English

Published 20th January 2026

Year 11 had an amazing time on their art trip to London.  They saw incredible installations at Saatchi gallery including an interactive climbing area with a spinning car playing dance music, an installation using oil as a mirror and AI videos of a possible distopian future.  In contrast they then went to Tate Britain to explore work from a vast time period and closely observe the work of Turner and Constable.  They completed lots of drawing and gathered inspiration for their new exam project on the theme 'Found'.  Well done Year 11.

Laurelly Thorpe, Team Leader - Art

Published 20th January 2026

Year 12 embarked on an exciting trip to London to kickstart their second project 'isms' where they have chosen an art movement or concept to explore and respond to in depth.  We went to The Saatchi Gallery to see some contemporary painting, sculpture and installations, and the National Gallery to see 'Radical Harmony' - Neo Impressionists, artists such as Surat who worked in the style known as pointilism, and also The Courthauld to see Wayne Theibaud's Pop Art style paintings of food, giving a feeling of Americana.  We can't wait to see the work they produce!

Laurelly Thorpe, Team Leader of Art

Published 26th January 2026

On the 21st January twelve of us from Year 9 attended a trip to the New Park Cinema with Mrs Fowles, organised by the Chichester Marks Holocaust Memorial Day group. The trip consisted of a workshop, and a film. In the workshop, we were instructed to analyse an image from WW2, which we will be studying in History later this term. We sorted the people into categories such as victim, bystander and perpetrator. We then inferred the hierarchical state of the image, and correctly identified the Nazi soldiers, and their marginalized victims. We were then sorted into groups, and given a set of flashcards to sort into the categories mentioned above, finishing with a debate about the hardest card to sort. We came to the conclusion that some bystanders can become perpetrators by doing nothing; as one voice we can feel small, but together, we can stand up against bigotry and hatred. 

This then leads me onto the film we watched afterward, ‘One Life’. To give a brief synopsis, it followed the true story of Nicholas Winton, and his work in WW2, transporting and giving homes to children from Prague, via the Kinder Transport in the midst of Nazi occupation. The children would be given a numerical tag, visa and foster parent in England to take care of them until they could be reunited with their parents. 

Finally, we were given a talk by the chair of the organisation, Clare Apel. She told us about her cousin, who was one of the children saved by Mr Winton, and who would not have survived had it not been for his honourable deed. It was very fascinating to learn of a real life account, but it also left me feeling very pensive. The horrors of the war is something no one should ever have to endure, especially small children. I came back feeling almost altered, and so incredibly lucky to be in a safe place in the world, free of the shackles of wars and genocide. We must never forget the sacrifice of the dead, and the word of the survived. I would hope everyone remembers these horrendous genocides, and strives to prevent those still occurring today. Stand for peace, freedom and justice.

Nova Dossett-Roberts (9Burrows)

Published 26th January 2026

Our Student Digital Leaders visited the BETT UK show, the UK’s biggest event for education technology, and returned buzzing with ideas. Over the course of the day, students had the chance to try out a wide range of new and emerging technologies, from classroom tools to innovative software, and speak directly with exhibitors about how these products are used in real schools.

They were particularly focused on spotting potential tech solutions that could enhance learning and teaching in our own school, asking thoughtful questions and evaluating how practical and inclusive different ideas might be.

With its action-packed exhibitions and focus on EdTech excellence, BETT proved to be an inspiring experience, giving our Digital Leaders plenty of food for thought as they help shape the future of technology in our school.

Helen Williams, Team Leader of Computer Science

Published 27th January 2026

Once again, Bishop Luffa took some time to reflect on the horrific events of the Holocaust, as we marked Holocaust Memorial Day, which falls on the 27th January (the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz).

As well as ‘Connect’ resources for tutor time, students had assemblies which outlined the importance of this day and how it marks not just the horrific events of World War Two, but other subsequent events.  There was also a display outside the Bartlett Hall that reflected on this year’s theme of ‘Bridging Generations’ (my thanks to Ms Cooke), as well as a display in Humanities curated by Miss Sutton.  A group of Year 9 students also visited New Park Cinema to see a special screening of ‘One Life’ and to take part in a workshop regarding the Holocaust.

On the 27th January itself, we remembered the Holocaust through music.  Ben Webster (13Sherborne) played a short piece of music from Schindler’s List, at various points around the School, which, with classroom doors open, allowed students to pause and reflect on the events we were remembering.  His superb, and moving, performance aided that moment of reflection, and showed the power of music as a form of remembrance.

My thanks must go to the School community for their support for this important annual event.  Their excellent attitude ensures that we will make sure that we all reflect on how we can make a difference in the future, and in our own way, ensure that we work to avoid the horrific events of the past repeating themselves.

Justin Barnett, Head of Humanities

Published 28th January 2026

Our Spanish friends from Tenerife spent a week with us and returned home with suitcases full of unforgettable moments!

We had a week packed with activities. We visited Brighton, Old Portsmouth and Chichester together, ate fish and chips and did a traditional pub quiz. The students designed a mural (with Miss Sutton's help!) to decorate our corridors and they enjoyed a lot of fun plans in the evening.

This exchange has been so much more than just language practice; it has been a total immersion in different cultures, living with families and sharing classes in an international setting. These experiences are essential for our youth to develop autonomy, confidence, and a much broader worldview. We cannot wait to visit them in June and continue our learning with them! 

Team Tenerife (Alex Bravo & Elizabeth López Gamero)

Published 29th January 2026

We were very excited to welcome three professional performance poets from the group 'Tongue Tied' to work with Year 5 and 6 students from across the Bishop Luffa Partnership. 

The students loved hearing the poet's own compositions live, especially a poem inspired by a vending machine, as well as picking up some great top tips to use in their own poetry. Did you know that if you can write a list, you can write a poem! The whole morning had a real energy with the students loving the chance to play with words, master tongue twisters and try out some new breathing exercises. Thank you so much to Ryan, Charlie and Shannon for all their inspiration, and to all our students for their excitement. We can't wait for the next installment in March where we will be able to hear more of the students' own work. 

And as our poets said - 'I just want to shout / That there is always something you can smile about!'

Emily Husband & Sally Pilgrim, Teachers of English

Published 30th January 2026

Students from Bishop Luffa have been involved in The Year of Faith project song in collaboration with song writer James Kirby and 4 other schools in West Sussex.  The song was inspired by the Nicene Creed and created and performed by students from the schools. The final result is the song ‘Light from Light’.

Students from Bishop Luffa taking part were:

• Solo Vocalists: Lucy Pitts (11Sherborne), Fern Langford (11Wilson) and Maria Locke (11Sherborne)
• Instrumentalists:  Jonathan Pun (8Story) – Violin; Ben Taylor (11Ridgeway) – alto saxophone; Myah Brent (13Sherborne) – flute and tenor saxophone; Toby Russell-Wells (11Story) – trombone; Blanka Maruszak (11Ridgeway) – bass guitar; Ben Webster (13Sherborne) – percussion.

Both the La Diva and Los Divos choirs performed for the chorus.

This was a wonderful opportunity for our students to experience song writing with professional composer. James Kirby said that, ‘The journey from our initial songwriting sessions to the final recording has been genuinely inspiring, and the finished song is a wonderful reflection of the faith, creativity, and commitment shown by the students throughout the project.’

Please listen to the final song by clicking on this link.

Jane Bowen-Melfi, Head of Music