Newsletter Friday 24 April

It has been great to welcome students back after the two-week Easter break. Having spoken to many students over the past fortnight, it sounds like they enjoyed some well-earned rest, but as always, it has been lovely to see them back in school. There has been a great deal happening over the last two weeks, some of which you can read about below.

This week, we were honoured to welcome the daughters of a former member of staff who dedicated over 20 years of service to Beckfoot Oakbank, across both the current and previous school sites. Karen ran our library and learning resource centre—the very heart of our school—and is fondly remembered by many. Sadly, she passed away last year, but it was incredibly special to have her daughters officially open the memorial space created in her honour. This area is used daily, ensuring that her legacy continues.

Year 11 students have begun their examination period, starting with their ART exams over the past couple of weeks, and we are now on the brink of their GCSE exams. Students have approached this with real commitment and determination. We are carefully balancing supporting them to achieve the highest marks possible with ensuring they are looking after their mental wellbeing. As always, staff are doing everything we can to help students get the very best outcomes as they move on to their next steps.

Year 9 students began discussing GCSE options process several weeks ago, and this week every Year 9 student has been interviewed by a senior member of the leadership team. These meetings ensure students have the guidance and information needed to make informed decisions for their GCSE years. They have also provided a valuable opportunity to talk about future aspirations—while some students are understandably still unsure, others already have clear career ambitions, which has been fantastic to hear.

We were also delighted to host our local MP, Robbie Moore, who visited the school to answer questions posed by our students. You can read more about this visit in the section below.

The final term of our first year at Beckfoot Oakbank. The students have done amazingly to settle in, and they regularly lead by example. Some of our year group have stood out and been remarkable in the local community. Phoebe G had the lead role in a Bolt Academy show over the past couple of weeks. Declan M has just signed a 2-year contract for Blackburn Rovers Academy and Elsie H has been in America as part of her cheer team. Amazing achievements all round! We have also welcomed six new starters to the year group, and the rest of the year group have supported them with the transition.

The final term of the year has begun, and whilst we are all hoping to relax a little more with the lighter nights and the warmer days to come we are still focused on supporting our young people to be the best they can be. This means that we have focused on uniform and equipment standards the last two weeks during line-up and have recorded if students have not met standards or are missing equipment. The best way to stay informed is to use the Class Charts App to get feedback on your child’s day as it progresses. If you have changed device and need a new code to access this please reach out to the school, we can provide you with the necessary details to help keep you informed.

Your child should have a school bag capable of holding an A4 book and equipment, could I ask that you check in with your child and make sure they have the equipment they need to have a successful start to the day, even the most careful of children eventually use up their stationary and we are 2/3’s of the way through the school year. We check for 2 black pens, a purple pen, and a whiteboard marker along with a morning meeting notebook and knowledge organiser every morning and your child will receive either a positive, equipped for success point or a negative, missing equipment comment on the Class Charts app.

An additional reminder that our uniform code is for discreet makeup only, this includes discreet eyelashes and subtle nail varnish (no bright colours) – false and acrylic nails must not be worn, heavy or long fake eyelashes and hooped earrings are not part of our uniform code and we do issue consequences for not following this policy. If you need further information please do not hesitate to access our website where the policy can be found and clear guidance given on what is acceptable.

Even though we are at the start of the term Y8 students have already taken part in a meet and greet with our local MP who took the time to answer some of the questions they raised in a recent classroom activity, initially the students wrote to Mr Moore to ask the questions, however he graciously extended a planned visit to the school to spend time with the learners answering a range of questions. The students who took part represented or school and year group well and enjoyed the experience of interacting with local government.

Finally, congratulations to Faith F and the rest of her cheer team who took part in the world championships in Florida over Easter winning Gold Medals in the All Star Worlds Competition, making them team World Champions. It’s wonderful to see our students taking part in a local cheer team and doing so well, congratulations to the team and the club for representing Keighley in such a brilliant fashion.

It has already been a busy term for Year 9s. We have over 90 taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh events this term. There have been one to one options interviews taking place with Senior Leaders at school. The options form for pupils to select their choices will open this weekend and pupils will then have a week to make their first and second choices.

We had a number of pupils taking part in the first of 3 careers events where we were looking at removing stereotypes of jobs and investigating different job roles available locally.

As always we have some successes with our sporting teams and we are always encouraging pupils to take part and join the lunch time or after school activities. We are also delighted to see that Jacob Hambllin Bailey in Year 9 has appeared in a local
paper.

The focus this past 2 weeks has been on perfect uniform and being ready to learn by having all the right equipment. It would really support the school if you could check your child has a pencil case with 2 black pens, one purple pen and ideally 2 mini white board pens in case one runs out. The pastoral team have been really proud of the year group and have had lovely feedback from visitor on how polite and actively involved in work they have been.

Year 11 are at their beginning of the exams and tensions are high! Loads of fantastic learning is going on with many students doing P6. The enthusiasm for P6 is fantastic. Let’s keep the momentum going as we head into next week. Good Luck Year 11!

We are also pleased to share the link for our Year 11 leavers hoodies. Please click on the following link to place your
order: https://gdbclothing.co.uk/shop/beckfoot-oakbank-school/ob502-beckfoot-oakbank-leavers-overhead-hoodie/

It has been another busy and productive few weeks for our Sixth Form students. Year 12 recently benefited from an informative talk on university options delivered by local provider Bradford University, giving students valuable insight into their future pathways.

Our Next Generation group also raised over £300 in aid of St James through a successful games stall and bake sale. A special well done to K-L Hall and A. Domagala, who spearheaded this initiative and showed real commitment, dedicating over seven hours to baking to support the cause.

Year 13 students have been working hard in preparation for their upcoming examinations and future destinations, with many now confirming their first-choice pathways, accommodation, and student finance. We are delighted to celebrate our first Year 13 student securing an apprenticeship, with hopefully more successes to follow. Congratulations to J. Judson on achieving an accountancy apprenticeship.

As part of their preparation for future pathways, a special mention must go to our excellent Year 13 Business students who have demonstrated outstanding maturity, professionalism and confidence while preparing for and undertaking interviews as part of their assessed coursework.

Reminders for those still to sigh up to the Year 13 leavers’ meal, taking place on Friday 19th June, this can be booked
via ParentPay. Leavers hoodies are also available to be ordered here: https://gdbclothing.co.uk/shop/beckfoot-oakbank-school/ob502-beckfoot-oakbank-year-13-leavers-overhead-hoodie/

CTMC students have been incredibly busy over recent weeks, throwing themselves into a wide range of creative and practical activities. Outdoors, they’ve built two new bird tables, planted spring bulbs, and begun clearing and preparing our raised beds, helping to make the space welcoming for both wildlife and students alike. Indoors, our communal break room has enjoyed a fresh update with a lovely new feature wall, creating a brighter and more inviting space for everyone. It has also been great to welcome our Year 8 students, along with Miss Paton, who have recently joined us at the CTMC and are already settling in well.

Alongside this, learning has been thriving across all year groups. The James Project has been in school delivering important RSE sessions to our Year 9 and 10 students, while Year 11 have been hard at work on their Photography GCSE Controlled Assessments, producing some truly gorgeous outcomes. Intervention sessions have taken on a practical twist with students baking milk cake and fairy cakes, and our Boys Group have continued to attend Cougars for their PE lessons, showing great commitment and enthusiasm. It’s been a fantastic period of growth, creativity, and teamwork across the CTMC community.