News

Thanks to everyone who helped or came along to sell or buy a dress at this event. It was held on Saturday 1st February and it was a huge success. We had 80 dresses for sale plus accessories and a queue at the door before we opened at 11am. St Wilfrid's Hospice shops came with a selection of dresses and Retroesque from Arundel, who have a range of vintage styles in their shop. Hampshire Vintage Wedding Cars brought a limo and vintage Rolls Royce. Many Year 11 girls, from various local schools, came to try on in the large changing area. It was a great day, everyone appeared to be having a good time and it was a lovely relaxing way to buy a prom dress, save money and re-love a beautiful dress. We took over £1,000 and with donations and the 25% commission taken on each item sold, we made £277 for the school. We will be running this sale again next year just before the February half term, so please keep it in mind if you want to sell your dresses and look out for the date release at the end of September.

Joseph Stevens (11Burrows) has just received his exam results back from LAMDA (London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts) having taken his Level 3 Certificate: Grade 8 in Musical Theatre - this is the highest exam you can take with LAMDA prior to foundation degrees. The syllabus has recently been altered and made a lot harder. A distinction is 80% or more; equivalent, when taken at grade 8 to an A* in A Level. Joseph achieved an amazing 100% at this level and grade.

Experience the friendships, romances and adventures of a group of high school kids in the 1950s. Welcome to the singing and dancing world of "Grease," an iconic movie & musical. A wholesome exchange student and a leather-clad Danny have a summer romance, but will it cross clique lines?

Our Year 10 Design and Technology students have been undertaking mini projects prior to their main GCSE projects, making a storage box and a chocolate box.

Bishop Luffa entered two teams of Year 8 girls in the CyberFirst Girls Competition 2020 and we were very excited when one of the teams (Olivia Murphy, Zoe Smyth, Eva Perez Elliott and Isabel Fitch) made it to the semi-finals on Saturday 8th February hosted at NATS Southampton, in association with the National Cyber Security Centre (part of GCHQ).

On Saturday 25th January nine Luffa Latinists joined forces with pupils from Portsmouth High School for Girls in a Roman cookery event. Teams competed to translate original recipes from Latin and then produced a wonderful array of Roman dishes. The judges were hugely impressed by the taste and presentation of the food, and everyone enjoyed eating the results.

A lengthy stay in hospital in 2018 didn’t stop Harrison Phillips (9Story) from continuing his learning. During a prolonged stay at hospital in Oxford, Harrison chose to complete a project on an area of History that interested him, then receiving accreditation from AQA as part of their Unit Award Scheme. This scheme formally recognises achievement with a certificate, each time an accredited unit of work is completed. Harrison completed a unit of work on the Titanic, which was then sent to the exam board. A certificate was received back in September. Harrison’s attitude to his learning is quite superb. At a time when he could quite understandably have done no academic work, he chose to undertake this project. His tenacity, determination and good humour are an example to us all. Well done Harrison!

On Monday 27th January, Bishop Luffa School, along with people and organisations across the World, marked Holocaust Memorial Day. This year had added resonance as it marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Monday was the culmination of over a week of events in School to commemorate this significant moment – remembering the victims of the Holocaust and other, subsequent genocides, such as in Bosnia and Rwanda.

On Tuesday 21 January, Ellie Roberts (13Wilson) and Daisy Watson (12Wilson) were successful in progressing to the Regional Finals of the ESU Schools’ Mace debating competition. They opposed the motion ‘This house regrets the commercialisation of Pride.’ Both spoke eloquently on the subject and were praised in particular for their emotive and sensitive approach to a divisive topic. Overcoming accomplished opposition teams from St Swithun’s School and Winchester College, they will go with The Portsmouth Grammar School to the next stage of the competition, after which, if they prove successful again, they will compete in the National Final.