News

Sixth Formers Daisy Watson (12Wilson) and Ellie Roberts (13Wilson) were successful in progressing to the next round of the ESU Schools' Mace debating competition on Tuesday 26th November.

On the 5th of November at 6.30am, myself, Jemba Valerio (12Burrows), and Imogen Miller (12Sherborne) got on the plane headed to Auschwitz, Poland with the Holocaust Education Trust, as part of their programme Lessons from Auschwitz. The day that lay ahead of us was long, hectic and emotional.

Hundreds of friends, family and parishioners recently gathered at Chichester Cathedral to watch 40 people being awarded the Order of St Richard. Dr Martin Warner, the Bishop of Chichester, admitted the 40, from all areas of the diocese, to the Order of St Richard. They received a certificate signed by the Bishop, a bespoke medal to be worn on special occasions and a lapel badge that can be worn at all times. We are delighted that three of the recipients have links to Bishop Luffa School.

A huge thank you goes out to the Arts Society City of Chichester and Arts Society Sussex area for their very generous funding of the GCSE and A’level Art starter kits for our new Year 10 and Year 12 students at Bishop Luffa School.

Gwen Sargent (9Burrows) and Johnny Sargent (8Burrows) have embarked on their sailing Winter training programme following a busy Summer.

Chichester Air Cadets Jasper Fowler (11Otter) and Alec Parkin (10Andrewes) recently took part in a National shooting competition. The Cadet Inter Service Skill at Arms Meet (CISSAM) took place near Liverpool and is a top-level competition for teams and individuals from the army, sea and air cadets.

Edith Ingram (10Ridgeway) and former pupil Hazel Jones have had a great autumn sailing being selected for the RS Feva Class National squad having only started sailing together recently. The girls took part in several selection weekends gaining 18th place in the UK after two weekends at Draycote and Weymouth in a range of conditions. A great achievement. The girls also attended the RYA South East Regional Championships at Datchet in October where they were the first boat from the South region and 6th overall in windy conditions. Both girls now embark on a series of winter training and events.

On Thursday 7th November 15 students attended the Dance Insight Day at the University of Chichester. The day is specifically aimed at Years 12 and 13 and offers a brilliant opportunity for students to learn about a wide range of undergraduate dance degree courses on offer. The group of students included our current Year 12 A Level Dance students and Year 10 BTEC Dance students who really rose to the challenge! The timetable for the day included a keynote speech, a campus tour, participation in a contemporary dance technique class, a performance given by current University students and a Q&A with staff and students. It was a really informed day and the students really enjoyed finding out about a range of dance pathways.

Just before 11am on Monday 11th November the whole School filed onto the field for a short service of commemoration to mark the Armistice. Building on the impact of last year’s service to mark the centenary, it was a privilege to see our young people again show a level of respect and reflection that acknowledged the significance of this moment. Mr Hindman, Mrs Bradberry and Mr Owen were joined by our new School Captains (Molly Berry and Archie Goldsmith) in leading the service. Prayer and readings were shared with the School, wreathes were laid on behalf of the School community, and a two minute silence at 11am followed the ‘Last Post’, played superbly by Freddie Lynas (8Ot). The service finished with Archie blowing a whistle that was used in the trenches, a sobering moment for those in attendance. As Mr Hindman remarked at the end of the service, the pupils behaviour was excellent. It is hoped that this coming together of the School to mark a significant moment in the life of the country will become an annual event. My thanks must go to everyone involved, including the Site Team, in making this service such a success.

On Friday the whole school come together to take part in our first food bank collection. Chichester District Food Bank (CDFB) opened in September 2012 providing emergency food parcels for families and individuals in crisis. As part of our outward Christian ethos we are always looking at how we can enable our students to help those around them live life in all its fullness and our whole school food bank collection is just one of the ways we are doing this. Students from across the year groups came in their droves to drop off their food donations, it was an amazing thing to be part of and see all of our pupils taking part. With the help of our worship and charity reps we filled crates and many bags and loaded up the mini bus until it was bursting! The volunteers at the food bank were incredibly impressed with the amount we collected, it was such a big collection that we couldn’t fit it all in the sorting room at the food bank warehouse. As a school we collected 645.8 kg, so just under two thirds of a tonne! We are the second biggest single collection this year and the biggest donation from a school to Chichester food bank since the food bank opened!  Thank you to all parents, staff and all the students for making our first food bank collection such a success.