Some year 7 pupils had the opportunity to take part in an Anne Frank programme earlier this academic year.  Once this was done, they expressed a desire to have an RE club so they can take part in other opportunities around school.  In their first meeting they decided they wanted the club to be about asking big questions, like they do in RE lessons, but having more time to discuss these, watching philosophical films and doing good in the school and wider community.  They decided a good name to encompass all these activities would be the ‘Being Human Club’.  They are working on promoting this club to the rest of KS3 and their first project will be ‘The Kindness of Strangers Project’.

On Wednesday 14^th November Pleckgate welcomed AQA History Chief Examiner Paul Johnson to school along with delegates from ten other schools in the north-west.

This, now annual, event was prompted following Pleckgate’s very strong history results last summer after Mr Johnson’s CPD session last November.  We were keen to invite him back in order to focus on the key learning points from last summer’s G.C.S.E  examinations.

During the session Mr Johnson gave his expert advice and guidance about the different examination questions and techniques.  Delegates found the event “engaging and informative” with some taking as many as “16 ideas to take back” to their department.  Mr Johnson provided a session that was “eye opening at times” and “clarified misconceptions”, provided “advice on question structures that was very useful” as well as “clarity on source questions” that the teacher said she would be “tackling head on with her Year 11 class in their next lesson”.

Staff at Pleckgate, and participating schools, now “feel more confident with how to prepare students for the exams” in addition to knowing that that their students will “know how to access the different levels within each question”  giving students the best possible chance to achieve their potential in history in this coming summer’s examination series.

Martyn Bajkowski, head of history at Pleckgate, said he was “delighted with the day and its outcomes.  It is vital that staff stay current with historiography, pedagogy and best educational practice in order to deliver the best educational outcomes.  I am lucky to both have a department that consistently delivers this to our students and be at a school that values, delivers and supports high quality CPD.  We are confident that today will benefit all our students and help them to become even better historians than they currently are”.

Following Pleckgate year 7’s impressive win versus Blackburn Central Mr Brierley selected the same squad to play against Tauheedal including Mohammed Vaid who scored a hattrick in the previous game. The Match started at a frantic pace, Biola Olu-Ajayi looked sharp on the right wing. Pleckgate took an early lead when Faisal Hussain calmly slotted past the goalkeeper. Pleckgate looked solid at the back for most part of the first half with Raihan Naziramod, Ahmed Mulla and Daniel Kabanga. One slip of concentration did cost Pleckgate when the Tauheedal striker snuck in to equalise past Juayl Mahaldar who had looked comfortable all half.

HALF-TIME

At half time Mr Brierley made several chances bringing on Hasan Malik, Amaan Razzaq, Sahl Khan, Faizan Patel and Zaid Makda. Pleckgate started fast and looked reinvigorated after the half-time break and took the lead again with a rasper from Captain Yusuf Bhamjee who dominated midfield all game alongside midfield partner Umer Khan. It was soon 3-1 another goal from Yusuf Bamjee who doubled Pleckgates lead. Just when you thought Pleckgate may be home and dry Tauheedal hit back with a good move and finish to bring the game back to within a goal … 3-2! Pleckgate shuffled their pack and brought on defender Riyadh Tharia and soon after scored a fourth when the front three of Hasan Malik, Faizan Patel and Amaan Razzaq worked well together with Amaan finally turning and finding the corner of the net … 4-2! The last roll of the dice saw Sahl Khan thrown upfront which paid off when he latched onto the end of a long ball and lashed it past the goalkeeper to seal the 3 points for Pleckgate.

Man of the Match went to Ahmed Mulla who was a rock in defence alongside Raihan Naziramod who was equally as solid at the back.

Huge congratulations to the year 7 girls who played in a football tournament at Blackburn Rovers indoor centre. They were extremely competitive against some good teams scoring 7 goals along the way. The coach from Blackburn Rovers was very impressed with our girls and will be in school on Wednesdays between 3.15-4.15 and would love to see more year 7 girls participating in these sessions to improve on the talent we already have.

Special mention to Zara Butt who played a vital part in the team scoring a big chunk of Pleckgate’s goals!

Pleckgate High School’s Religious Education department is golden!

The department has earned the coveted gold level RE Quality Mark.

The REQM recognises high quality RE and gives national recognition to the work done. 

It has two purposes: it recognises good practice in RE and also provides a powerful tool for development.

Head of RE is Jenny Savage, who works alongside Shahiesta Raja, Claire Wheatley, Sarah Belshaw and John Darbyshire, is proud of the award.

She said: “I applied for the REQM because, as a subject, we work hard to make a difference to our students both in their lessons and outside by offering a range of different opportunities throughout the school year.

“As a team we are really passionate about our subject and try and pass this on.”

The REQM assessors were impressed with Pleckgate. 

The report stated: “Religious Education at Pleckgate High School plays a pivotal role.

“It is a core subject and all students are enabled the opportunity to explore a variety of faiths and opinions.

“The subject is very active and the students are able to share their opinions and ask big questions throughout their school life.

“RE is a lively subject and the department works hard to ensure that students are given opportunities to explore faith through different experiences such as The Anne Frank Exhibition, Inter Faith Day and visits to places of worship.

“The Head of Department is passionate about the subject and leads the staff well in order for good and outstanding lessons to take place.

“The department teaches a variety of religions, which is important as nearly 95% of the school population is Muslim.

“The students appreciate and enjoy learning about other religions and say that it enhances their faith more. Students even commented that in learning about Islam for GCSE, they have learnt things about their own faith that they did not know before.

“It is clear that students at Pleckgate enjoy their RE lessons and share the same passion as their teachers. Pleckgate High School has an excellent RE department.”

On the 16th November the AC Group joined several other schools to see a performance of Horrible Histories live on stage at the Preston Guild Hall Theatre.

The theme of the show was ‘Terrible Tudors’ which reflects what they have been learning in their History lessons this term.  The quality of acting was excellent and the performers really made this period of our country’s history come alive. The show was transformed after the interval with the addition of 3D effects that meant the students were captivated by the performance.

Ali Kazi 9SWR said, ” I really enjoyed singing all the songs”

Naajiya Patel  11GS said,”I really enjoyed the play and thought the 3D effects were incredible”

Zain-Ul Hussain  8DTU said, “I liked learning about Tudor medicine. It was truly horrible!!”

Pleckgate High School’s Class of 2018 celebrated their success at their Awards Evening – and were inspired by special guest Dr Claire Burke.

Claire is an Astro-ecologist and has won awards for her work using heat seeking drones to differentiate and track rare and endangered species.

She told the students about her journey to her current job at Liverpool John Moores University, which took her to Runshaw College, to a degree in Physics with Astronomy, a PhD in Astrophysics and then a research job in South Africa, onto the Met Office and now her current work, stopping poachers.

“It’s great to be here talking to students who are beginning the next step of their journey and who could change the world,” said Claire.

“When I was at school I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do so I just want students to follow their interests and pursue their passions to help to shape the future.”

Head Boy Umer Patel won a number of awards on the night including  the Technology Award for Achievement and Services to School Sport. He earned a prestigious apprenticeship with Bae Systems during his final year at Pleckgate.

“Pleckgate gave me firm foundations to take my next step, it helped me demonstrate my academic strength and build my confidence,” he said.

Head Girl Amirah Usman said: “Pleckgate teachers and staff made the Class of 2018 believe anything is possible, it’s not just about results and grades but it was about our own journeys. We made lifelong friendships, unforgettable memories and spent quality time together in our five years.”

Shabir Shinwary won the Commitment and Perseverance Award. He arrived in Blackburn as a Year Nine student unable to speak English but through hard work and dedication he managed to achieve a Grade 4 in English Language, alongside other strong results.

Sanaa Surgeon was presented with The Chair of Governors Award for her contribution to school life at Pleckgate. She was on school councils, she was a positive ambassador for Pleckgate and a role model for students.

Jaward Hussain won the Headteacher’s Award for his positive impact academically, including one Grade 9 and two Grade 8s, and his role as a senior student leader, where he demanded perfection.

Finally the Education Partnership Award for a Positive Contribution to the Community was presented to Huzeffah Ashraf who represented the schools at public event, civic ceremonies and went beyond his remit as Deputy Head Boy.

Headteacher Mr Cocker said: “We are so proud of our Class of 2018, they enjoyed a terrific set of results and the progress of these students was above average for the fourth year running at Pleckgate.

“There were outstanding results in subjects and individually but it’s about more than just results, it’s about sporting achievement, work in the community and contributing to school life in their five years at Pleckgate.

“They helped to make Pleckgate the school it is, with the highest intake for Year Sevens this year and the school of choice for many in the local community.”

45 Year 7 students went to the Palace Theatre on Wednesday 21^st November to see an evening performance of ‘Matilda The Musical’.  Many of the students had never been to the Palace Theatre and were amazed by how big the theatre was and that there were no empty seats in the house.  They felt really lucky that they were able to go to see the show with school as they had seen the film and really wanted to see the live performance.  This is the second trip for Year 7, who went to Waddow Hall in September for an activity day, which was also really enjoyable.

Safa Ashrafi from Year 7 said, “ the show was extravagant, the moment the show started, it was mesmerising, I could not take my eyes off the stage and the performance.  Mr Wormwood, who is Matilda’s dad, was my favourite character he was so funny as he made lots of jokes about how he did not like children who were smarter than him.”

Amani Sarodia from Year 7 said  “the show was amazing for the whole two hours.  Everyone involved in the cast had so much energy and nothing went wrong.  There was fantastic singing and dancing from everyone, some of the characters were very young, Lavender who was Matilda’s best friend, looked like she was only five.  Mrs Phelps was my favourite character, she was the Librarian and Matilda told her lots of stories, full of excitement and adventure”.

The girls said they loved the show so much they wished they could go and see it again.  Mrs Millest and Miss Roxby also really enjoyed the performance and are looking forward to taking Year 7 to the next show.

Year 9 students have been writing poems remembering the fallen who died during World War One.  As this year marks one hundred years since the First World War, students in Miss Mulla’s English lessons thought it was very important to commemorate this important event.

Ammaarah Adam of year 9 said that the bond between a mother and a child is the strongest bond in the world and she wanted to explore what a mother would have to endure when her son went to fight in the war through her poetry. She hopes that she and her fellow classmates have done justice to the soldiers and their families through their words.

Please click HERE to view the student’s poems.

Year 11 Drama students went to the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester to see a performance of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.

As Year 11 are currently preparing for their individual performance pieces, to be assessed in January, it is important that they are able to see live theatre in action.

Nazneem Ali was very impressed with the performance and the acting and writes:

“The award winning play by Arthur Miller highlights the different views on capitalism and the American dream, shown by a father of business who is falling apart.  In the play, the actor Don Warrington represented the character of Willy Loman amazingly, and the whole play itself was presented to a great standard.  I really enjoyed watching it and I was able to understand the morals and meanings within it”.

As part of Super Learning Day, Year 9 were involved in a special day led by Humanutopia.  The whole year group were involved in a series of events that were designed to help them reflect on how their decisions, choices and actions can impact on others.  The whole day was an exceptionally moving experience that enabled an inner confidence in some students that they never realised they had.

Our Year 9 students were a credit to the school showing outstanding levels of behaviour and maturity whilst getting fully involved in all of the activities.  The course was very well received by students who stated that whilst it was emotional, it opened their eyes to how their actions can affect the people around them and made them think about how they might act differently in future.  Mr Pickup, Head of Year 9 described the day as “a thoroughly enjoyable experience for my year group, thought provoking and challenging and I believe that the students gained a great deal from the day.

Students from year 9 spoke about their experiences below:

‘This experience has been a great eye-opener and has helped me understand that I need to improve on a lot of things.’ Aqib Hussain

‘This has taught me to be myself and to help me think about my future and my past.’ Sofia Desai

‘This event taught me to be more considerate of other people and their opinions.’ Darelle Kafulu

‘I found today to be very helpful and it has helped me to understand and think about what other people might feel.’ Zainah Khan

‘Very helpful and helped me to think about the consequences of my actions.’ Aleena Rizwan

‘It has opened my eyes to how my actions and my behaviour may affect other people.  It is important to understand that all our actions can have consequences.’ Khadijah Wadiwala

40 students are currently taking part in regular music lessons with Mr Millest.  Some students have never played an instrument before yet they are really the enjoying the experiences.  Students are learning the keyboard, guitar, ukulele and drums as well as vocal coaching.

Students attend lessons once a week for twenty minutes with an instrument of their choice.  For some students this might be the only opportunity they will have to learn an instrument and have coaching from a music professional.

Mr Millest, who has worked at the school for two years as a peripatetic music teacher says “Students are really enthusiastic about music and very motivated to learn.  Although a few students may have been lacking in confidence at first, some have now even auditioned for the end of year show and other musical opportunities within the school.

There was plenty of food for thought and thoughtful food as Pleckgate High School students said thank you to their teachers.

The English as an Additional Language (EAL) Unit organised a food tasting event with an international flavour.

Students who have come to Pleckgate from all over the world brought in the food of their respective countries and there were dishes from Italy, Spain, Pakistan, Germany, India, Kuwait and more.

“It was the idea of the students as they just wanted to say thank you to the teachers who have helped them this year,” said EAL Unit Co-Ordinator Rachel Salthouse.

“The students made the food at home – although I think their parents may have helped!”

“My mum made Chana Chaat with beans, chickpeas, potatoes ,” said Year 10 Zoya Iqbal who came to England from Pakistan.

“We were excited to be serving our teachers and saying thank you.”

Higher Level Teaching Assistant Mrs McCreedy said: “It’s a brilliant idea and one we appreciated. The students were so enthusiastic to show off the food of their home countries.  It’s been a good experience for everyone involved.”

Dear Parents/Carers

It gives me great pleasure to write to you at the end of another very successful and productive term. The release of national school performance data from the Department for Education (DfE) has further confirmed the successes of our 2018 GCSE results. They acknowledge strong performances in Maths, History, Geography and ICT; Pleckgate students are amongst the best mathematicians in the country. I am very proud of the education we provide for all our young people and the acknowledgement of this by the DfE is testament to the hard work of both staff and students in school.

We celebrate so much success in school and recently the RE department was awarded the Gold Quality Mark in recognition of the strengths of the subject. RE was described by the assessors as playing a ‘pivotal role’ in school with students having the opportunity to explore a range of faiths and opinions. This term students have been involved in theatre visits, sporting events, super learning days as well as working with other schools to develop collaborative projects. I hear so many positive comments about your children and the great ambassadors they are for the school; they support each other and are developing as exceptional, confident young people.

I am especially pleased with how our year 7 students have settled into school life and are thriving. The number of parents choosing Pleckgate has significantly increased yet again and initial projections from admissions suggests this number will continue to grow next year, a sign that Pleckgate is once again the school of choice for our community.

You may be aware that the school is due an inspection from Ofsted, and everyone is excited to have the opportunity to demonstrate the large number of successes Pleckgate has achieved over the last three years. As part of our preparations, I would value parents logging on to the Ofsted Parent View website at https://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/ to share your views and experiences of the school. There is no more important, supportive voice than that of parents/carers in showing how far the school has come.

As always, I am thankful for your support in continuing to help us by guiding your children to show respect for our school ethos of Aspire & Believe, Act & Succeed. I would also be grateful if you would ensure that your children arrive to school on time, wear the correct uniform and school shoes, not trainers. We have been re-iterating the importance of regular school attendance and punctuality through assemblies, exploring the strong relationship between regular attendance and excellent results. We value your support re-enforcing this message with your children in the New Year. Please also find attached to this communication some updated important guidance on what to do if your child has an appointment during the school day.

A final reminder that school will close for the Christmas break on Friday 21^st December 2018  at 12:10pm and we will re-open to students on Tuesday 8^th January 2019 at 8:20am.

I wish you a peaceful break and best wishes for the New Year.

Mark Cocker
Headteacher

Year Nine students were rapt as they listened to a testimony from Holocaust survivor Tomi Komoly as part of a visit organised by the Holocaust Educational Trust (HET).

Tomi, who was a jew in Hungary and is now 82, talked about his experiences during the Second World War and after the Nazi invasion.

He talked of the roar of German tanks coming up the street in Budapest in 1944 when he was seven years old and how he became a refugee, and was welcomed with open arms in Austria in the 1950s before going to university in Glasgow and working as an engineer in ICI for 30 years.

“I was pleased to see in Pleckgate’s newsletter a story about their anti-bullying ambassadors,” said Tomi. “Bullying should not be tolerated anywhere and bullying was one of the United Nation’s origins of genocide or mass killing.”

Head of RE Ms Savage said: “It was a privilege for us to welcome Tomi to our school and his testimony will remain a powerful reminder of the horrors so many experienced.

“We are grateful to the Holocaust Educational Trust for co-ordinating the visit and we hope that by hearing Tomi’s testimony, it will encourage our students to learn from the lessons of the Holocaust and make a positive difference in their own lives.”

The testimony was followed by a question and answer session to enable students to better understand the nature of the Holocaust and to explore its lessons in more depth.

The visit is part of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s extensive all year round Outreach Programme, which is available to schools across the UK.

Karen Pollock MBE, Chief Executive of the Holocaust Educational Trust added:

“The Holocaust Educational Trust educates and engages students from across the UK, from all communities about the Holocaust and there can be no better way than through the first-hand testimony of a survivor.  Tomi’s story is one of tremendous courage during horrific circumstances and by hearing his testimony, students will have the opportunity to learn where prejudice and racism can ultimately lead. 

“At the Trust, we impart the history of the Holocaust to young people, to ensure that we honour the memory of those whose lives were lost and take forward the lessons taught by those who survived.”

Pleckgate is excited to announce that we have taken the pledge to become a ‘Reading School’ in conjunction with the ‘We Are Reading’ Lancashire County Council initiative.

We feel that this will make a real difference to our children’s reading habits and literacy skills.

Please click HERE to view our Pledge Certificate

Ms J Jones – Library Resource Leader

Pleckgate’s history department has been praised in an article about the innovative use of Virtual Reality technology to help improve learning.

Pleckgate students used VR technology in the classroom to look around and experience 16^th Century England at Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire.

This helps students by either supporting a visit or as an alternative for those who can’t visit the sites as part of the new history GCSE examination, with the Elizabethan England unit, and this helps them see, sense and feel history.

The findings were recently published in ‘Impact’ magazine’s 2nd edition, focusing on technology in education.

Impact is published by the Chartered College of Teaching and The Chartered College was established last year with a vision to support teachers with the “latest educational evidence and research” in order to develop and improve teacher’s professional development.

“We were delighted to have been chosen to trial this VR technology with our students,” said Head of History Mr Bajowski.

“As a department we are aware that all our students learn in different ways and this technology helped to contribute to some very strong GCSE results last year.

We are also committed to constantly developing our own practice, reading educational research and are prepared to try out new ideas in order to improve our practice.

Ultimately we are a student-centred department and are prepared to develop our practice and go ‘off-piste’ in order to allow students to progress as fast as they can.

Being chosen and recognised for this cutting edge work by the Chartered College of Teaching is a great accolade for the school and department and is just a small reflection on some of the research-based education teaching and learning that is going on in the classroom.

We are privileged to have been featured in this magazine and hope to contribute to future editions showcasing some of the other work happening in the history department.”

Safer Internet Day 2019 will be celebrated globally on Tuesday 5th February 2019 with the slogan “Together for a better internet”, the day provides a fantastic opportunity to engage with children about their digital lives. 

To help you talk to your children about having a positive and safe time online, we have created a pack for parents and carers, including conversation starters, a factsheet, family pledge card and more!

We have also produced a short film for parents and carers to accompany this pack and serve as a conversation starter. 

https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/safer-internet-day/safer-internet-day-2019/education-packs/activities-parents-and-carers— 

Pleckgate High School signed up to be part of Generation Global, which is part of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change.   “The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change aims to make globalisation work for the many rather than the few.  We do this by helping countries, their people and their governments, to reduce poverty, inequality, extremism and conflict.”

We signed up as a school because video-conferences immerse students in an entirely new experience. Generation Global connect classrooms across the world, allowing students to explore, articulate, and develop their own views, while encountering and considering the views of others.

On Wednesday 20^th March, 25 Year 9 students took part in a video-conference with 20 girls from Noor al-Huda Girls School in Palestine. Here is what some of our students said about their experience:

“Generation Global was a great opportunity to communicate with different schools around the world” Mehrin Bapu

“It was an amazing experience to speak to the girls from Noor al-Huda Girls School in Palestine. I’d love to talk to them again.” Haniya Khan

“Generation Global gave me a pleasant experience as well as learning new skills to navigate differences in a peaceful way” Sophia Kazi

“Sharing my identity, my school life and hobbies was a great way to become friends with people I thought were different but actually had so much in common with me.” Lathifa Shakira

“I am so grateful to Mrs Savage for letting us take part in this excellent, enjoyable event” Mahnoor Rashid

“This conference was a great opportunity and it has shown me that everyone’s opinions are different and that is what makes us all unique” Saba Ansari

Pleckgate High School Year Seven students are hoping to rocket to success in the Race For The Line national competition.

The aim is for student teams to design and make the fastest rocket powered car they can and compete with their designs nationally.

Every team’s car will use the same size rocket motor and compete over the same track distance.

The winning teams on race days will have the cars that have the most efficient aerodynamics, have lower mass and have safe, well-designed wheels that reduce friction and can survive the forces of a high speed run.

Pleckgate, along with other schools in Lancashire and Cumbria, have received funding from Burnley engineering company Fort Vale to help them compete.

“The students have been working so hard every lunch-time for four weeks to build and design their cars,” said engineering teacher Denise Turnbull, who has been trained as an accredited rocketeer for the competition.

“They have had to shape a foam block to make it aerodynamic and lightweight, create efficient wheels and axles as well as refining and improving their designs. They have all taken it extremely seriously.”

The 18 teams of four at Pleckgate raced their rocket cars at school, with iPads marking the time and the cars were also weighed to find the winning team which was called CR7.

They made an aerodynamic car which had a speed of 20.41 m/s and finished the 20 meter race in 0.98 seconds.

Aniqa, Mariyah, Hakima and India will now go through to the Regional Finals at the Transport Museum in Bury on 30th April, hoping to qualify for the National Finals where the overall winner will receive £1,000 worth of STEM products from the Dendrite Shop for their school.

Fort Vale’s Rebekah Heys said: “Through the Learning Partnership we have offered financial assistance and also resources to eight schools in the North West which are taking part in the Race For The Line. We are excited to see what the students produce.”