Year 9 were involved in a tug of war charity event to raise money for cancer research.  Head of Year 9, Mr Pickup, said he was “unbelievably proud to be leading the year group and see the whole year quite literally pull together for this worthy cause.  All students were impeccably behaved and supported each other and the efforts of everyone were second to none.”

Bilal Patel and Natasha Khan from 9LR were part of the winning team in the charity tug of war event for year 9.

Bilal said “We had a good strategy and were well organised. We put a lot of thought into how our team was structured and got stronger with each round.  Miss Rose was a great coach and encouraged us right from the start”.

Natasha said  “We had a plan about how to win, we decided that the best chance we had was to make sure that we all pulled the rope at exactly the same time.  This worked really well as we were a team working together and put all our strength in at the same time.  We were very confident from the start and very proud of what we achieved. Haseeb Malik was the rock in our team, without him we might not have been quite so successful.  We really enjoyed taking part in this and we raised over £200 for cancer research.”

Please click here to view the Video

Pleckgate High School students were inspired by Sufiya Ahmed, the award-winning author of ‘Secrets of the Henna Girl’ when she made her fourth visit to the school.

Sufiya was born in India, before moving to Bolton and she now lives in London as a full-time author, her dream job.

Sufiya used to work at the Houses of Parliament and started the BIBA Foundation, a non-profit organisation which organises trips to the Houses of Parliament for diverse and under-privileged school children.

Sufiya’s popular book ‘Secrets of The Henna Girl’ is about a teenage girl who goes to Pakistan from England and finds out she has an arranged marriage.  She has also just completed two picture books for primary school children and contributed to the bestseller ‘It’s Not About The Burqa’ a series of essays, where 17 Muslim women speak about their faith, about feminism, love and divorce and more.

Sufiya shared with the children her incredible yet challenging journey of becoming an award winning author, read an extract from her best-selling book and some of the children even had a chance to re-enact the colourful engagement ceremony scene from the book.

Sufiya also held a creative writing workshop to inspire students to read more as part of #WeAreReading, a Lancashire County Council initiative.  In this workshop pupils had to develop an alternative plot for Secrets of the Henna Girl using any genre they wanted.  They initially completed a character worksheet and then learnt how to construct a full short story. Sufiya has ignited a spark in these young minds, many of whom are now aspiring young authors of the future.

“I love coming to Pleckgate,” said Sufiya. “It’s always so welcoming and the children are vibrant and always want to learn.”

Librarian Joanna Jones said: “At Pleckgate we encourage all of our students to read for pleasure. Having an acclaimed author visit to work with our children is inspirational for all involved.

“Sufiya’s visit will promote literacy and reading, her creative writing workshop was well-received and she also talked to our Literacy Leaders and had a Q&A with staff as well. There was a chance for everyone to learn something from Sufiya.”

Pleckgate High School pupils were cooking up a treat taking part in the prestigious Reg Johnson Cookery competition.

The cookery competition, for Years 8 and 9, was set up in memory of a local poultry farmer who died suddenly around six years ago.

Food Technology and Catering teacher Helen O’Connor has been keen that students from Pleckgate take part in the competition as Reg’s grandson, Alex Johnson, attended Pleckgate and studied GCSE Food and Nutrition.

Two teams consisting of Mya Benjamin and Lucy Webster from Year 8 and Petra McClernon and Nadia Siddiq of Year 9 took part and had to make a main course dish for two people using duck.  The dish Lucy and Mya chose to create was seared duck breast with summer berry jus, garlic mash and honey roasted carrots.  Petra and Nadia’s dish was duck breast with a black pudding rosti, beetroot, pickled mushrooms and a shallot dressing.

Sarah Redfearn said “They were fantastic ambassadors of the school and, although they did not get through to the final, they worked together well in their teams in creating their dishes and made a good impression on the two guest judges, one of whom was local chef Nigel Haworth from Northcote Manor.

Mya said “I really enjoyed myself at the cooking competition, the chefs and the people from Blackburn College were really nice and welcoming.  People came up to us and said that our dish looked really good and told us we were the youngest ones there.  The competition was an unforgettable experience and I would definitely do it again.”

Lucy said “I really enjoyed the process and seeing the end product and it was definitely worth all the effort.  I was also really proud to have had the opportunity to represent Pleckgate.  I hope to get involved in more competitions in the future.”

Petra said “It was a once in a lifetime experience for me.  It was amazing and I had a lot of fun.  It’s not always about winning; it’s about taking part and having fun.”

Nadia said “It was a little stressful but a lot easier than I thought.  I did enjoy it.”

Mrs Savage, Head of RE, was  invited by the Anne Frank Trust to a reception to mark the 90th anniversary of Anne Frank’s birth in the State Rooms, Speakers House, House of Commons.

Mrs Savage said about her visit  “I was very honoured to have been invited.  The Anne Frank Trust have worked with our year 7 pupils, in particular our Anne Frank Ambassadors using Anne Frank’s life and diary to empower them with the knowledge, skills and confidence to challenge all forms of prejudice and discrimination.

At the reception we heard from other Anne Frank Ambassadors across the country, Tim Robertson, the Chief Executive of the Anne Frank Trust, The Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and Professor Dominic Abrams from the University of Kent on the importance of preventing all types of stereotypes, prejudice and discrimination and using young voices in order to do this.

To conclude the reception a portrait of Anne Frank called “Reflection” painted specially for the 90th anniversary by artist Fiona Graham-Mackay was unveiled by Eva Schloss MBE, stepsister of Anne Frank. ”

The Anne Frank Trust and Tim Robertson are on Twitter @CEOAnneFrankUK

During the school year generous Pleckgate students and their families have been helping pensioners and children alike.  The Year Seven ‘Being Human Club,’ which takes part in such events as random acts of kindness and giving to charity, organised a Secret Santa at Christmas and collected presents for a Secret Sheikh at EID.

These have been organised by Religious Education teacher Miss Wheatley, in conjunction with One Voice Blackburn, and she says the school has been overwhelmed by the generosity of parents, students and the Pleckgate community.

“At Christmas all years donated items like scarves and clothes which we took into Springfield Care Home as some of their residents may not have family to give them presents,” said Miss Wheatley.

“At Eid our ‘Being Human Club’ collected toys, games and teddies for those less fortunate than themselves and were inundated with gifts, everyone being really generous.”

“It’s really rewarding,” said one student Hafsah Khonat. “When we took the presents to the Old People’s Home it was so nice to see how happy they were about it.

“We hope the children like these presents too.”

National finals!

Pleckgate’s Year Seven girls have rocketed to the final of a national competition.

All Year Sevens took part in the Race For The Line event, with the aim for student teams-of-four to design and make the fastest rocket powered car they can.

Pleckgate’s students proved speedy and two teams from Year Seven – with every car using the same size rocket motor and timed over the same track distance – made the Regional Final at Bury Transport Museum, up against other schools.

There the two Pleckgate teams, made up of eight girls, showed their engineering skills, coming second and third with the winning school’s car 92mph and Pleckgate following up with 86mph and 83mph.

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

“The fastest car in the national competition last year was 78mph so we have already gone better than that with both our teams,” said engineering teacher Mrs Turnbull, who has been trained as an accredited rocketeer for the competition.

“Obviously designs improve and our two teams will be designing and improving their cars for the third time when we got to Cambridge for the National Finals at the end of June.

“It’s been a good experience for the teams to learn more about STEM but also learn more about the outside world.

“I am especially proud that they are two girl teams as we want to encourage more females to go into engineering.”

Pleckgate is one of a few schools locally who offers the Cambridge Nationals qualification in engineering.

The overall winner in the national finals will receive £1,000 worth of STEM products from the Dendrite Shop for their school.

Pleckgate High School teachers have been fasting to help them understand how some of their students feel during Ramadan.

Head of RE Mrs Savage, whose department has a Gold Level Quality Mark, fasted for one day alongside Sarah Roxby, Sarah Belshaw, Joan Taylor, Mr Murray and Rachel Salthouse.

They were working in conjunction with One Voice Blackburn under the hashtag #Imnotamuslimbutiwillfastforoneday, supported by Building a Stronger Britain Together.

Another of their teachers, business teacher Catherine Coulthard is fasting for the whole month of Ramadan, meaning she will not eat or drink for 19 hours every day.

“The students are respectful that I am fasting to support them even though it’s not my religion.

“Going without food isn’t a problem but not being able to drink is an eye-opener and makes you appreciate having a tap and a fridge for cold drinks.”

Mrs Savage said: “We want to take part to show support to our Muslim pupils and staff at Pleckgate who fast every year during Ramadan. This year in particular, our Year 11 Muslim pupils are fasting whilst doing their GCSE exams and they rarely complain or use it as an excuse not to work, so we wanted to try and fast to see how they feel.”

Humanism is one of the main non-religious views that is studied in Religious Education at Pleckgate as it features heavily on the GCSE paper.

Tony and Keith from Humanism UK visited school to speak to our Year 8 pupils who found the talks invaluable.

This allowed them to understand the views and opinions of people, in our diverse society, whose beliefs and values may differ from their own.

Pleckgate hosted their Inter-Faith Day which was also part of ‘The Great Get Together’, a national initiative and celebration inspired by MP 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 and create pieces of artwork from different religions.

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.

Year Seven Katie Kenyon said: “It made me realise that it doesn’t matter what religion you are, everyone is human.”

Fatima Khan, also Year Seven, said: “I learnt about the different pilgrimages religions do and how religions can connect together.”

Head of Religious Studies Mrs Savage, whose subject has a prestigious Gold Mark, said: “This is the third year we have held an Inter-Faith Day at Pleckgate and I am pleased that this year it was even bigger than ever.

“We have been lucky enough to also be involved in Blackburn with Darwen’s Linking Classrooms initiative so had the opportunity to invite 47 Roe Lee pupils to join our Year Sevens and even got a professional filmmaker in to document the day.

“It was a huge success and allowed pupils the opportunity to meet and converse with children and adults who, although may be different from them in some ways, also have lots of things in common.”

Ashok Chudasama, from the Blackburn with Darwen Inter-Faith Forum, said “We all enjoyed our session with the children and hope that they have learnt something from the event.”

Collect more information from Ms Jones at lunchtimes throughout July 2019, G32

Please click here to download the Summer Challenge Booklet

Pleckgate Year 7 students wowed a packed audience as they treated family members and primary school pupils to their performance of Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat.

Student Nabeel wore his coat of many colours as he took the lead role in the school production.

The strong cast, including the Pleckgate choir, received a standing ovation at the end of their performance.

Well done to all involved for a superb show #Drama #Talented

Pleckgate High School has become a ‘Dementia Friendly’ school.

One Voice Blackburn, through Baiter Sehat and the Aviva Fund, have created 279 Dementia Friends through students and staff at Pleckgate High School.

Students as young as 12 became Dementia Friends and pledged to raise awareness of the condition to others.

Head Girl Aliza Ebrahim said: “I knew dementia was a disease, my great-grandmother had dementia, but I didn’t know a lot about it and how it affects the lives of people.

“I learnt a lot about how to help people with dementia, how to talk to people and be generally nice.”

Deputy Head Girl Fatima Ali said: “I knew dementia affected people’s memory but I didn’t realise it affects emotions and feelings as well.  It was very educational.”

The Dementia Friends Programme, designed by the Alzheimer’s Society, is the biggest ever initiative to change people’s perceptions of dementia.  It aims to transform the way the nation thinks, acts and talks about the condition.

One Voice Blackburn has created a total of 1650 Dementia Friends in the last five years.  It is looking to create 1000 new Dementia Friends by the end of the year in an initiative supported by the Aviva Fund.

A Dementia Friend is somebody that learns about dementia so they can help their community.

Dementia Friends help by raising awareness and understanding so that people living with dementia can continue to live in the way they want.

Dementia Friends help people living with dementia by taking actions – from visiting someone you know with dementia to being more patient in a shop queue.

Dementia Friends can also get involved with things like volunteering, campaigning or wearing a badge to raise awareness.

Dementia Friends Champion and Baiter Sehat (Better Health) Lead for One Voice Nazia Khan said: “It is so important to raise awareness and improve services for people with dementia.  Schools are a great place to learn how to change the lives of people living with dementia.

“This training ensures young people can help people with dementia feel understood, valued and are able to contribute to society.  We are fully committed to making our community a more dementia friendly generation and we encourage anybody who is interested to get involved.”

Head of RE Mrs Savage said: “It has been such a worthwhile couple of days for both the students and staff who took part in the sessions.  We all now have a greater awareness of what dementia is and how to support those in our community who may be living with dementia.”

Pleckgate has won national recognition at the prestigious Education Business Awards in London.

Head teacher Mr Cocker and deputy Mr Hamilton collected the ‘Outstanding Progress Award’ at the event, sponsored by Schools Advisory Service, which recognises educational excellence.

The judges were won over by the transformation at Pleckgate, with their recent Outstanding Ofsted report, their maths results which put them in the top one per cent in the country under the new Progress 8 measures and the school, which has been hailed as a ‘Beacon of Success’ by the Institute of Public Policy Research.

“We were honoured to collect the award on behalf of all the staff and students at Pleckgate High School,” said Mr Cocker.

“It was a fantastic event, held opposite St Paul’s Cathedral, and we were the last award of the day.

“To hear Pleckgate’s name read out and the national recognition this award gives us is testament to all the hard work and dedication of everyone connected with Pleckgate High School. It’s another proud achievement for the school.”

Below is an account from one of the pupils of their visit to Blackburn Cathedral and Jaame Masjid Mosque:

“I enjoyed going to Blackburn Cathedral. We firstly learnt about the history of the Cathedral and where its name originated from. We also had a tour inside the Cathedral and learnt about the different features. We also got to ask a local Priest and two people training to be Priests all about Christianity and the role it plays in their life. My favourite experience was when we viewed and studied the different artefacts in Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Judaism.

I also enjoyed visiting the mosque, we watched a practical demonstration of how to perform ablution and also the different prayer positions. My favourite part was when Imam Salim made us realise why daily actions connected to the five pillars of Islam are so important.

Overall, we all had a great day learning and socialising with our peers. We learnt why different religions are important to their followers and I would definitely love to go on a trip like this again.”

By Sofia Desai

Year Nine pupils at Pleckgate High School enjoyed seeing their work published in a new book.

A competition from Young Writers encouraged secondary school pupils to be creative and set them a task of writing a mini-saga about ‘Mission Contamination’ in 100 words.

Some stories were based around being left in the wilderness due to a deadly disease while others centered around finding a cure to the disease, which could have resulted in the end of the world.

English teacher Mrs Mulla said: “Becoming authors through this competition gave pupils a chance to be in the driving seat and be as creative as they wanted to be.  

“I am extremely proud of our pupils and seeing their work in print will boost their confidence tremendously.”

Open Evening – Thursday 12th September, 5pm – 8pm
Open Day – Saturday 14th September, 9am – 12noon

On behalf of the staff and pupils at Pleckgate, I would like to invite you to our Open Events in September 2019.

At Pleckgate everyone is committed to providing the best educational experiences and opportunities for our students. At the heart of our work is a commitment to high quality teaching and learning and achievement for all. For our students to be safe, happy and successful, developing as individuals into caring, responsible citizens who are proud of their achievements.

Our Open Events give you the chance to see behind the scenes at our school. Join us for the evening or attend our Saturday morning event – both of which offer tours of our state-of-the-art facilities, meet the staff and pupils, sample the menus from our school kitchens and join us for refreshments and presentations.

We are an Outstanding school, providing a world class education to every child. We would be honoured if you choose Pleckgate High School for your child’s future.

Mark Cocker, Headteacher

Pleckgate High School Year 11 students are aiming high as they look to the future after their GCSEs.
Fatima Patel will study A-Levels in Biology, Chemistry and Maths after achieving 9s in Maths, Religious Studies, Biology, Chemistry and Physics as well as 8s in History and English Literature.
“I want to do something with maths or in medicine, like a GP,” said Fatima, who said she felt a mixture of shock and relief at her results.
“I know it will be hard work but I am prepared to do it.  The maths is really strong at Pleckgate so it has helped me a lot.
I am sad to be leaving but I am excited for the future.”
Inaam Khan may also follow a career in medicine as a GP.
“I want to study Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Further Maths at St Mary’s College,” said Inaam, who was the school cricket captain.
“I like to help people so this would be a perfect job.”
And he has got the grades he needs with 9s in Maths and Chemistry, an A* in Further Maths and 8s in Geography, Religious Studies and Physics.
“I’m really happy. I can’t believe it,” he added.
“I put the effort in but it just goes to show that if you do that you get the results.”
Muskan Jawaid is considering a career in dentistry after earning 9s in Maths and Chemistry and 8s in Religious Studies, Biology and Physics.
But she admits it is a wrench to leave Pleckgate.
“I adore Pleckgate and I am going to miss it. It is an amazing school,” she said.
“It’s the comfort and safety and being around all these teachers who look after you.  College is going to be hard, but I am looking forward to it.”
Muskan will now study A-Levels in Maths, Chemistry and Biology at St Mary’s.
“I may go into medicine, either as a dentist or an optician, but I am still exploring my options,” she added.
Haroon Abbas is undecided about his future – but he may also choose a career in medicine.
“I want to study A-Levels in Physics, Chemistry and Maths but I am still considering my options,” he said after achieving Grade 8 in Maths, History, Chemistry and Physics, as well as Grade A in Further Maths.
He will now study A-Level Physics, Maths and Chemistry at QEGS.
“I have loved my time at Pleckgate, I was in the cricket and table tennis team and the atmosphere is really good, the teachers go out of your way to help you.”
Mutahhara Kapadia is debating a career as a paramedic after achieving Grade 8 in Maths, Religious Studies, Biology, Chemistry and Physics and 7s in History and English Language and Literature.
“It’s beyond my expectations. It’s what I worked hard for but I’m in shock. I’m really happy though,” said Matahara, who will now study A-Levels in Chemistry, Biology and Economics at St Mary’s College.
“I am thinking about medicine, perhaps a paramedic, but also a career in finance.  I am leaning more towards medicine as I want to save lives. Although the Maths Department at Pleckgate is really strong and that’s made me think about finance as well.”
Raheem Akhtar is hoping to go further afield, to Cardinal Newman College in Preston.
“I went for an induction and their teachers seemed to know the syllabus and gave me confidence,” he said.
“I want to study Maths, Biology and Chemistry and I would like to work in veterinary science.  I love animals, I have researched it and so that’s my plan at the moment.  I have loved my time at Pleckgate, I haven’t always been the brightest but the teachers have helped me achieve my potential.”
Raheem earned a Grade 9 in Maths and 8s in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Religious Studies.
Ayesha Patel also wants to be a vet.
“I want to study A-Levels in Biology, Chemistry and Maths and am debating between a vet or a therapist but I do love animals and want to help them,” she said.  “I have learnt such a lot at Pleckgate and learnt new skills which have boosted my confidence.”
Ayesha achieved 9s in Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics, an A* in Further Maths and 8s in Religious Studies, History and English Language and Literature.
“I’m really happy,” she said.  “I have worked hard and now I’m going to celebrate by putting my feet up.”
Kiah Page-Masterman wants to become a lawyer.
Kiah, who did a Drama GCSE last year, had her hair cut for the Little Princess Trust two years ago.
“I want to go to Clitheroe Grammar and study A-Levels in English Language, History, Sociology and Politics as I want to be a criminal lawyer,” said Kiah, who was an anti-bullying ambassador at school.
“I watch all the criminal TV programmes all the time, my favourite is Suits.”
Kiah celebrated 9s in Business, History and Religious Studies and a grade 8 on Maths.
Nasrin Bapu said she was “over the moon” with her results.
“I got nines!” she beamed, as she celebrated the top grade in Biology and Chemistry, as well as 8s in Maths, Religious Studies, History and Physics, and an A in Further Maths.
Nasrin will now study Biology, Chemistry and Maths A levels at Runshaw College.
Fariha Hoque wants to become a psychiatrist in order to help people with mental illness and raise awareness.
She earned 9s in Maths, Biology and Chemistry as well as 8s in Religious Studies, Physics and English Literature, and an A* in Further Maths and will now go to Clitheroe Royal Grammar School Sixth Form to study Psychology, German, Maths and Biology.
“I’d like to be a psychiatrist. Some people don’t think mental illness is an illness because it’s not visible so I want to help those who suffer,” she said.

GCSE Maths in Year 10

It’s an early count for 23 Pleckgate students who took their Maths GCSE exam a year early.

Year 10s sat this year’s exam, with 11 achieving the maximum Grade 9, while eight earned Grade 8 and four achieved Grade 7.
Maths teacher James McKenzie believes the teenagers are destined for a bright future in the subject.
“It’s exceptional,” he said. “It really shows exactly what success at that level looks like and they can now model that in all other subjects and take their Maths studies further and prepare for A-level year.
“Hopefully they are Maths degree students of the future.
“It gives them such a leg up.”

Pleckgate High School held another successful Open Evening as they showed off their ‘Outstanding’ school to prospective parents and pupils.

The new entrance and reception area has now been completed and makes an impressive first introduction to Pleckgate, highlighting the school’s motto ‘Aspire and Believe’ ‘Act and Succeed.’

The school was oversubscribed last year and is expecting bumper entries again this year.

In his talk, Head Teacher Mr Cocker spoke about how proud he is of Pleckgate’s journey so far which has led to their Outstanding Ofsted report in January this year.

Mr Cocker made it clear that the journey is not yet finished and he will be at school to oversee it.

“We are a community school, we have brought the community feel back to Pleckgate, and a comprehensive school for all abilities,” said Mr Cocker.

“We have had five years of positive Progress 8 reports which means our students are consistently doing better than other students with similar starting points across the country.

“Our attendance is above national average and we have high expectations and aspirations for all students – we expect the best for your child.

“I am here to stay to make sure every child at Pleckgate gets the best education. We want students to believe in themselves, to be safe, respectful citizens but also to have fun at school as well.”

Head Girl Aliza said: “It was the best decision I made coming to Pleckgate, it’s like being part of a big family.”

Head Boy Amaan said: “We want to help to make it the best experience it can be for every student.”

Deputy Head Boy Harris explained: “We are successful academically but there are other opportunities such as sports and school trips.”

Deputy Head Girl Fatima added: “At Pleckgate you feel safe, you get the best education, you make memories and it becomes your second home. It’s an amazing experience.”

Year Seven student Islam spoke to the audience and said: “I have only been here a short time but I already love the teachers and enjoy learning.”

Another Year Seven Arzu said: “I was nervous coming to school but it already feels like home after two weeks.”

Pupils looking around were impressed.

Mohammad said: “I have enjoyed trying out the science experiments the best.”

Aisha said: “I like art so I have enjoyed the art studio.”

Sisters Zainab and Fiza enjoyed trying out the English quizzes at our successful Open Evening last night. There was also poet-tree and pupils got the chance to paint Shakespeare’s face!

The heat was certainly on in the Science department! Shahid was brave enough to face the fire test while Zeeshan was keen to have a look through a microscope.

Pleckgate students Nayab and Sameerah loved the outdoor life on @DoENorth last school year and they hope plenty of students will sign up this year.

Pleckgate students Mariam and Tamzeen showed their pedal power in our gym at our Open Evening. Both are studying GCSE PE.

Year 11 Humeira is studying a vocational award in Hospitality and Catering and she showed off her cookery skills at our Open Evening. There were plenty of tasty treats and also a ‘Spot the Hazards’ quiz!

Prospective student Mohammed made himself a badge in the Design Technology department at our Open Evening – although admitted his favourite bit had been the table tennis!

Our Head Boy Amaan and Head Girl Aliza, along with their deputies, Haris and Fatima, delivered speeches to the audience at our Open Evening and Aliza said: “It was the best decision I made to come to Pleckgate.”

In our Drama and Dance studio, our students showed off their singing and acting talents from last year’s show Joseph. It’s Aladdin this year!

It was an Escape Room in History where historical questions had to be answered to unlock the boxes. Mohammad was very good although he said he enjoyed the science experiments as well!

Pleckgate has a prestigious Gold Mark Religious Studies Department – and Keely was shown various religious artefacts by guide Furkan.

Pleckgate’s Maths Department is in the top 1-5% nationally on progress made and we enjoy excellent GCSE results every year! Aisha got the chance to try out some of the Maths quizzes at our Open Evening.

Prospective pupils Maryam, Sumayyah and Rumaysah enjoyed looking at our superb GCSE artwork at our Open Evening.

Pleckgate’s Youth Ambassadors attended a game at Blackburn Rovers where they gave out leaflets about togetherness in the community as part of their Social Action Project.

“We became Youth Ambassadors as we want to make a difference in the community,” said Aliza.

“We went to Ewood Park to help to raise awareness about integration.”

The group also spent a week on a residential course at Kentmere.

“It was team building, full of activities like canoeing where we were tested to our limits,” added Aliza.