Year 7 students took part in an Inter Faith Day on Friday 22nd June, which was also part of ‘The Great Get Together’, a national initiative and celebration inspired by Jo Cox’s belief that ‘we have more in common than that which divides us’.

The theme of the day was community cohesion and how people should celebrate their differences, but also focus on the similarities and realise that we are all just human beings.

Blackburn’s Inter Faith Forum came and spoke to students about their different beliefs, with representatives from Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Hinduism. Students also had the opportunity to look at religious artefacts, create pieces of artwork from different religions and design an inter faith building. Students finished the day with a reflections activity, with each of them having a jigsaw piece to create a piece of artwork or writing about the day to make a 30 piece jigsaw puzzle for display.

Student Zahra Miah said: “I learnt about all the different religions and how they can come together and live in harmony. They all worship one God and you have to respect other religions.”

“I’ll Be Gone In The Dark”  by Michelle McNamara may not be an obvious choice for a summer read but it’s a gripping and fascinating, non-fiction account of one woman’s obsessive search for the Golden State Killer over two decades. This soon to be adapted for TV, spine chiller will be seen on beaches everywhere this summer.

Dear Parents/Carers

We are almost at the end of another highly successful year in which Pleckgate High School continue to achieve rates of progress significantly above the national average. Pleckgate is now in the top 18% of schools in the country. With our maths department achieving results in the top 1% of all schools, I am proud of the excellent educational experience we are able to provide for all our students.

What makes Pleckgate unique is that our success is not just based on our results. The student’s commitment to charity work through their own hard work and endeavour, demonstrates our values as a school. Students have also been able to participate in a range of visits and experiences including abseiling, archery and climbing; all of these experiences allow us to develop more confident young people who have aspirations and ambition.

Our successes continue outside of the classroom and were all very proud of Aaisha Abdulgani and Saira Surgeon who made it to the final of the Reg Johnson Cookery Competition run by Blackburn College and won the ‘Best Chicken Dish’. The school’s sporting triumphs are also impressive; Year 7 and 8 boys were crowned football league winners with the Year 7 and 8 girls achieving success in both netball and rounders. Cricket continues to be strength at Pleckgate with our teams currently remain unbeaten and winners of the league.

I am looking forward to meeting our new year 7 students and parents who will join us shortly for a taster day and sample life at Pleckgate. We are now an oversubscribed school, demonstrating that we are once again the local school of choice.

As Headteacher, I believe in high expectations for every student and will never settle for anything less. Please continue to support the school by re-enforcing respect for our school ethos with your child over the summer break, particularly the importance of high standards of attendance, punctuality, uniform and behaviour. Please be aware that from September, it is my expectation that all students will have transitioned to the full new school uniform, that requires blue school pants or a blue Pleckgate skirt for girls.  It is important that we are able to maintain excellent communication with parents and from September we are moving towards becoming a paperless school.  Please provide the school with your correct email address and contact details.

Finally, some of you may already know that Mr Ian Kendrick, the Chair of Governors at Pleckgate, will be stepping down at the end of the year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Kendrick for all his support over the past four years and wish him all the best in his future.

I would like to take this opportunity to offer my most sincere thank you to all students, parents and staff who have supported the school this year. We will be welcoming all students back to school on Wednesday 5th September, with our new Year 7 students starting at 8:20am followed by all other year groups at 11am.

Yours sincerely

Mark Cocker

Please find below a summary of key dates that every parent needs to be aware of over these last few weeks:

Our student book recommendation is ‘Skellig’, by David Almond.
Jameel Williams of 7MYA has read and reviewed this book as an English homework task for Miss Redman.

Blackburn with Darwen Young People’s Services are holding activities during the Summer Holidays that you may be interested in.

Please click on the link below for a brochure :

YPS Summer Holiday Activities 2018

Vikram Seth’s “A Suitable Boy” is, at its core, a love story: Lata and her mother, Mrs Rupa Mehra, are both trying to find – through love or through exacting maternal appraisal — a suitable boy for Lata to marry. Set in the early 1950s, in an India newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis, “A Suitable Boy” takes us into the richly imagined world of four large extended families and spins a compulsively readable tale of their lives and loves.

Student book recommendation is ‘Goosebumps-Stay out of the Basement’, by R L Stine.
Noor Fatima of 7UMA has read and enjoyed this book. Noor has successfully read and quizzed on 5 books, achieving BRONZE star status on the Star Leader Board!!

Abdul-Hady Nazir of 8AKH, has been asked to recommend a book he has read and enjoyed for ‘Book of the Week’ and has chosen ‘Geekerella’ by Ashley Poston.

A teenager who is battling blindness is determined to lead as normal a life as he can and make it big in the business world.

Pleckgate High School student Aman Raja, 16, suffers from autoimmune hypersensitivity blepharo Keratoconjunctivitis with neovascularization.

It’s a rare condition which Aman was diagnosed with aged three but then it was a waiting game as to when Aman would go blind – and unfortunately four years ago, he lost most of his sight.

Aman has won praise from staff at Pleckgate for the way he has kept smiling through what has been a tough, painful illness, with at least 10 operations on his eyes.

“It started when I got a cyst on my eye when I was three,” said Aman. “It was putting pressure on my eye and then I went to the doctors who referred me straight to hospital where I had an operation and was diagnosed.

“It was then a waiting game as I always knew I would go blind but it was a case of when.  It was something I had to live with. Around four years ago, I woke up and everything was fuzzy.

“I wasn’t sure what was happening but I couldn’t see the equations in maths. From then on, it’s got worse. I can see hand movements but not a lot else.

“It’s hard as I used to love reading but that’s stopped. I did listen to audio books but they sent me to sleep!”

“It’s been tough as he couldn’t do simple things like put together Lego,” said his mum Asma. “He used to get frustrated playing with his cousins but he has learnt how to adapt.

“He is in a lot of pain at times and we have to travel to London to Moorfield, the eye specialist hospital, around once every three weeks although it has been weekly at times.

“He has had to have a lot of operations, emergency ones as well to save his eyes, and he is on medication for the pain as well.

“But Aman has never stopped smiling, he has kept his sense of humour, he likes a joke and is a technological whizz around the house.  However, he still has to lay the table and tidy his bedroom!

“He will not let it beat him.

“We have had to revise a few things. When he started at Pleckgate he was in the lowest sets but by the end of Year Seven he was in the top sets and academically we all had high hopes for him. 

“As his condition worsened he had to take time off for operations, he had a corneal transplant, and then he wasn’t allowed out which was hard for him.

“He didn’t sit his GCSEs due to how much time he had off school but Pleckgate have been superb. They have supported him, he has learnt braille and touch typing and had a teaching assistant to help him in lessons.

“He wanted to work in a pharmacy but had to change his career plans and his immediate plan is going to Blackburn College to study a BTEC in Business.”

“My friends have been great,” said Aman. “They have been really supportive and helped me through it. It can be frustrating but I have had to learn how to adapt.

“I have a fitting for my glasses which tells me if someone is close or translates words for me.  I also used to play cricket for Lancashire Lions Visually Impaired Team and I hope to go back to doing that soon.

“I feel gutted I didn’t sit my GCSE exams but there was too much work to make up and, with my BTEC in business, I will do my English and maths and I hope to go on and study business and law in the future.

“I went to the prom though and am keen to join a gym – I just need a friend to take me! – and I want to do well in the future. I want to lead as normal a life as I can and be successful.”

Janet Knowles, the SENCO at Pleckgate, worked closely with Aman for the last five years.

She said:  “Aman is an inspiration to everyone who has worked with him at Pleckgate. He is pleasant, hard-working and witty, with a great sense of humour.

“It would have been very easy for Aman to use his eye condition and his constant pain and discomfort as an excuse not to put the effort in at school.

“Instead of this though, he worked exceptionally hard, climbing up through the sets until he had reached the top.  It has been hard for us at times watching Aman suffer and I can’t even begin to imagine what it has been like for him, but in five years he has never once complained.

“I know Aman’s work ethic and determination will ensure that he is successful in the future.”

Judo Olympic star Sophie Cox inspired students at Pleckgate High School.

Sophie, who appeared at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the London 2012 Olympics, is part of the Youth Sports Trust and she visited Pleckgate as an athlete mentor.

Sophie also taught English in Thailand when she retired from judo for a spell in 2005.

The double Olympian, who won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games in 2002, talked to around 20 Year 10 students about her life, the hurdles she had to overcome and showed off some of her medals won in her prolific career.

“I enjoy talking and hopefully inspiring students,” said Sophie. “I still coach at Bacup Judo Club and coach Team England as well and it’s great to share my experiences.”

It’s part of the ‘Getting Exam Fit’ programme to talk about preparing for exams, dealing with exam stress and inspiring students to strive to achieve their goals.

31 pupils (mainly Year 9) had a visit to Blackburn Cathedral and the Raza Jamia Masjid Mosque in Accrington to help with their GCSE Religious Studies.

Below are a selection of photos from the visit.

Pleckgate on Cloud 9!

Pleckgate students have once again achieved impressive results this year with a wide range of subjects performing above national levels, against a backdrop of considerable changes to GCSE grading.  Our students continued to achieve a significant number of the top grade 9’s across many subjects, once again demonstrating the excellent education that students have received at the school.  Congratulations, as these results are testament to the hard work of students and staff and we are extremely proud of their success.

Last term Pleckgate High School’s husband and wife team ‘Braved the Shave’ for a local charity.

Engineering and Technology teacher Mrs Turnbull and her technician husband, Mr Turnbull, are already walking all the Wainwrights – 214 fells in the Lake District – for Stand Up to Cancer as both lost their mum’s to the disease. They aim to do them all in 2018.

However, aside from this, generous Mrs Turnbull, alongside her husband, both ‘Braved the Shave’ in Pleckgate break time on the last day of term and had their hair shaved off.

Mrs Turnbull said: “This is separate to our Wainwrights challenge and is being done for Oliver’s Neuroblastoma Appeal – raising money for a three-year-old boy from Blackburn whose parents aim to raise £200,000 for Immunology. His sister has also been diagnosed with neuroblastoma.

“We wanted to do something for them as a local charity and thought this was a good idea.

“I was nervous but my hair will be donated to the Little Princess Trust to make wigs for children with cancer and also, my hair will grow back, I hope!

“It is strange after having long hair, it feels a lot lighter, but it was worth it as we raised around £800.”

It was a bumper open evening at Pleckgate High School as prospective Year Seven students hope to secure a place at the school.

Primary school students were able to sample maths tests, an escape room in history, Food Technology creations, flames in science and more.

“We were delighted to be over-subscribed this year and it shows parents are recognising the strength of Pleckgate,” said Headteacher Mark Cocker.

“In maths we are in the top one per cent in the country on progress made and we had strong results across a wide range of new GCSEs in August.

“We were pleased to see so many prospective students and their parents visiting the school – we know they will have been impressed.”

Medical Engineers from the NHS came into Pleckgate to give students a taste of their work.

The group worked with the Year Nines with the initiative aimed at inspiring students, especially girls, into the further study of physics, with the work supported by the Ogden Trust, which aims to increase the uptake in physics in 16+.

“The idea was to give the students a wider knowledge of careers in the NHS,” said physics teacher Ms Dougan, who is also the Pleckgate co-ordinator of the local Ogden Trust.

“Students usually think about doctors and nurses and so on but there are a variety of other careers, directly linked with the further study of physics.

“The NHS staff covered how several pieces of biomedical equipment worked and how physics is used in their job.

“The response from the students was positive. It has opened their minds to the wealth of jobs and the career paths available in the NHS that stem from studying physics.

“It’s really useful to have employers come into school to work with our pupils and share their knowledge and enthusiasm about the subjects we teach. It also shows the pupils that what they are learning is needed to progress in many careers.”

Main Photo:  Trainee in Electronics and Biomedical Engineering for the NHS Charlie Longworth with Pleckgate students Sofia Desai, Jawairiya Ali and Imaan Mahmood – all 13.

Above Photo: Team leader for the Electronics and Biomedical Engineering department within East Lancashire NHS Trust Martin Cottam with 13 year olds Mohammed Hussain, Fares Morse and Samir Khan.

Pleckgate High School Year Seven students have been showing students, parents and visitors around the school’s Anne Frank exhibition.

The 15 Year Sevens were taught the story of Anne Frank, the German-born diarist who was a Jewish victim of the Holocaust, by the Anne Frank Trust.

They then in turn showed fellow students, parents and visitors from Blackburn and Darwen Council and SACRE (the Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education) around the exhibition.

Year Seven student Areeba Akhter said: “I didn’t know a lot about Anne Frank before this but I have learnt a lot.

“I have learnt about the importance of equality in the world, of the need for human rights, the importance of laws and to be tolerant of other religions.”

Head of Religious Studies Ms Savage said: “These students have been at secondary school less than a month but they have shown confidence and a genuine interest in the subject. We have had such good feedback and it’s important to learn the valuable lessons from Anne Frank’s life and death.”

Two Pleckgate teachers have conquered the 214 Wainwrights for Cancer Research.

Mrs Turnbull is an engineering teacher at Pleckgate while husband Mr Turnbull is a technician.

Both decided to walk all the Wainwrights – 214 fells in the Lake District – for Stand Up To Cancer in 2018.

They have gone through snow, rain and wind but completed the task in eight months and 29 days raising £1,500.

“We did it over 41 walks, with 266 hours and 41 minutes of walking,” said Mrs Turnbull who chose the cancer charity as both she and her husband lost their mums to cancer.

“There was 127,650 feet of ascent and 1,289,154 steps. We started at Clough Head and finished on Latrigg.

“The hardest bit was to keep going in the rain ……and it did rain!  Plus the wind was something else; different sides of the mountains have different weather.

“There was, though, a great sense of achievement going over Swirral Edge on Helvyllen, especially as one of us has vertigo!

“We are both very proud of what we did and with the time we did it in.

“The views we saw were spectacular, when it wasn’t raining!

“The sunset on Latrigg for our final fell was special, like we were supposed to be there at that moment. It was a magical moment.”

Pleckgate students are certainly enjoying their poet-tree.

Students from all years celebrated National Poetry Day by writing their own poems on the theme of ‘change’.

They then stuck their poems to a tree in the library, in the shape of leaves, for other students to read and enjoy.

“The students embraced it,” said librarian Ms Gillespie. “We had a poetry picnic where students read their own work or their favourite poem and they really got involved.

“The national theme was ‘change’ and the tree idea was to mark the change of seasons. We have some talented students here.”

An example of a Y11 poem:

Change Your Definition

By Ismael Khan

You are not your age

Nor the size of the clothes you wear,

You are not a weight,

Or the colour of your hair,

You are not your name,

Or the dimples in your cheeks,

You are all the things you read.

And all the words you speak,

You’re your deep morning voice,

And the smiles you try to hide,

You are the sweetness in your laughter,

And every tear you have cried,

You are all the things you shout so loudly,

When you know you’re all alone,

You are the places you have been to,

And the one you call home

You are full of so much good,

But it seems that you forget

When you decided you were defined

By all the things you’re not.

Every tutor group at Pleckgate High School explored the Commonwealth War Graves website and dedicated a cross in memory of someone who died in World War 1.

There were 100 crosses altogether which were placed outside the school in the Memorial Garden, which also includes a tree planted two years ago to mark the 100^th anniversary of the Somme.

The school held assemblies all week about Remembrance and the sacrifices made during World War 1 and the conflicts since that have enabled pupils to have the freedom they have today.

The Senior Prefect Team at Pleckgate showed their respects to the fallen soldiers when they attended the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Students attended a civic service at Blackburn Cathedral on Sunday morning and then took part in the parade and laid a wreath at the memorial in Corporation Park.

Mark Cocker, Headteacher, described the experience as ‘humbling and the centenary of the First World War had allowed the school to take part in their own reflections including creating a memorial garden at school and sharing experiences of relatives who have been involved in conflict. This  is important as it helps young people to remember their history and the selfless contribution made by many.’ 

Headboy Zain Iqbal said it was ‘overwhelming to fully appreciate the experiences soldiers went through during World War One to sacrifice their lives for the freedom of others’

The RE department will be taking part in Blackburn with Darwen’s ‘Schools Linking Network’ initiative. The aim of this initiative is to develop and deepen young people’s knowledge and understanding of identity, diversity, equality and community through opportunities for young people to meet, build relationships and work together.

7pRe3 will be involved and are currently writing letters all about themselves to send to a year 7 class at St Bede’s Catholic High School, who are also writing letters to send back. In January they will then get a chance to meet each other, where they will aim to create a film entitled ‘I Am, We Are’.