Withernsea High School

Currently focussing on Human Geography, the students were tasked with investigating the opportunities created by the £125-million-pound Flemingate retail and leisure development. They created a land use map to chart the usage of space within the development, categorising each unit of land to assess the range of opportunities that are available to its visitors.

Opened in November 2015, the Flemingate shopping centre occupies the site of a former chemical works. The area’s total transformation from industrial to leisure use provided students with the perfect platform to develop their knowledge of urban redevelopment and planning as they explored the question: ‘To what extent has the Flemingate development increased opportunities for recreation and entertainment in Beverley?’.

The students spent the first part of the day in Beverley town centre where they carried out pedestrian flow counts and canvassed shoppers. The group then made their way to Flemingate where they compared footfall and sought opinions on the success of the development as an urban redevelopment project.

Early findings revealed that despite some big retail and restaurant changes, which are attracting a great number of visitors, the centre of Beverley itself still remains a popular destination for shoppers.

The data collected during this fieldwork opportunity will be used as part of the continuing preparations for the ‘Paper 3’ exam – half of which will assess what students understand about fieldwork; the processes they used to collect data and how they will use the data effectively.

Sarah Harris, Progress Leader for Humanities, said: “Fieldwork is an essential part of studying Geography as it helps to bring the subject to life outside the classroom. It inspires independent learning and increases understanding of the topics being studied.

“The students were keen to carry out their questionnaires. They spoke clearly and enthusiastically about their fieldwork studies and the members of the public they encountered were very complimentary about their professionalism. Students learned a great deal from speaking to the public about Flemingate and these valuable conversations will help them to reach valid conclusions in their on-going studies.”

Feedback from the students was equally positive, with Alfie Watt saying: “Where do I start? Overall, the day was totally awesome and there was a brilliant variety of shops. The people were so friendly and keen to answer our questions.”

In the coming weeks, the Year 11 Geographers will process their fieldwork findings as part of their ongoing preparation for the exams in summer. The data collected will be used to assess the extent of the leisure and recreational opportunities that have been created by the Flemingate development.

This work will sit alongside their exploration of the East Riding’s contrasting coastline, conducted during their first fieldwork experience back in June, which saw the students visit Mappleton and Hornsea as part of the ‘physical’ element of their GCSE Geography course.

Data collected from this experience has been used as the basis for an investigation into the success of existing coastal management strategies, giving students the opportunity to draw their own conclusions as to their overall effectiveness, and to explore whether or not, in their opinion, improvements could be made.

Over the past few months, the students have taken advantage of this space by using it to grow various plants and vegetables. Their first harvest of homegrown vegetables, including carrots, peas and spring onions, took place in July – while this week saw the harvest of 200 potatoes. All items grown have been given to the catering team for use in school meal preparations.

Head of Additional Provision, John Blades, said: “Each student from the ERP has been heavily involved from start to finish, which is a credit to each and every one of them. Our outdoor classroom was developed just over a year ago to support students with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. This outdoor learning approach not only gives the students a sense of ownership, but also an end goal in seeing a final product.”

Opened in September 2022, the ERP unit caters for learners with SEMH needs – a type of Special Educational Need where a child can often have difficulties in managing their emotions or behaviour, causing them to feel scared, anxious or misunderstood.

Students are supported through individual EHCP (Education Health and Care) Plans which describe their needs, the support they require, and the outcomes they would like to achieve. Crucially, the support of this process within the ERP unit means that students are able to continue their education in a mainstream school, with a view of eventual reintegration back into regular classroom settings.

Mr Blades added: “We offer a bespoke curriculum, differentiated to the needs of each individual learner, with the aim of helping them regain access to main school lessons to learn alongside their peers. To help prepare them for this, a number of students currently enjoy a package of hybrid learning which sees them split their time between the ERP unit and mainstream lessons.

“Our outdoor classroom complements this by offering the students ownership of a breakout space for the benefit of their mental health and well-being at times of sensory overload. As an oasis of calm, it provides a safe place where students can self-regulate before returning back to their classroom. It also offers students an opportunity to enjoy hands-on learning that teaches self-sufficiency and adaptation to different forms of learning.”

Featuring four raised beds, with their timber frames renewed and each of them dug over by a community team from Centrica in May 2023, the garden has become widely used and a popular addition to the unit's provision.
Plans are in motion for further expansion during the current academic year which will see the addition of a small pond and rockery.

The ERP team are also looking for local businesses to help support the progression of the outdoor classroom with bids already in place for a new shed and greenhouse. Any businesses who are in a position to donate any plants or materials for use in the outdoor classroom are requested to contact John Blades, Head of Additional Provision, for further information at bladesj@wscampus.net 

Led by Miss Bircumshaw, with support from members of the DT faculty, the club’s first session tasked participants with making ‘scrunchies’. Mrs Norris, Head of DT, said the students had “lots of fun while learning a new skill.”

Students from all year groups are welcome to join the Craft Club, which will run with a different theme each month. It takes place every Thursday, from 3.10pm until 4.10pm, in rooms G7 and G9.

It is hoped that items made by students at this club will eventually be sold to help raise money towards the Year 11 Prom.

Next month’s theme will be jewellery making.

Meanwhile, the full timetable of enrichment provision is now available to view/download from the school website: www.withernseahigh.org.uk   The timetable is accessible on the ‘Extra-curricular’ page under the main Curriculum menu.

The ‘What went down…’ roadshow aims to raise awareness of the dangers that roadside distractions such as music, phones and friends can bring, with a focus on how young people can identify and cope with peer influence and the associated pressures that may impact their safety.

Specifically aimed at students in Year 7, the production promotes safe, responsible and positive behaviour for young people as they become independent travellers to and from their new secondary schools.

Last week, the roadshow visited Withernsea High School as part of a continuing national tour. Overseeing the event was Nick Richmond, a teacher of PE with responsibility for enrichment and active travel, who said: “We were delighted to host the ‘What went down…’ roadshow for the third time in as many years. As always, the roadshow was really engaging and once again proved to be a fun and interactive way of getting an important message across to the students, with thought-provoking questions making them consider their own responses to the scenarios played out in front of them.”

The hour-long event featured a live drama performance where various scenarios were played out. This was followed by an interactive workshop where students were asked questions based on what they’d seen, with an opportunity for them to ask their own questions and enter into discussion about the show’s scenarios.

Among the staff accompanying students throughout the event was Laura Aldridge, the school’s lead for whole school literacy and reading, who added: “I thought the production was very good and well-pitched for the year group. Lots of students were willing and eager to contribute, which shows how engaging it was and how much it made them think about the messages being delivered. There were lots of hands up for the questions at the end and the impact the performance had made on them was clear to see.”

The roadshow was performed and delivered by The Riot Act – a Huddersfield-based theatre company who design bespoke interventions for young people, using creativity and key behavioural change techniques to deliver projects that are engaging, contemporary and relevant. They cover a variety of issues, specialising in promoting road safety and sustainable travel in ways that have a real emotional and educational impact.

Their projects, which reach approximately 200,000 young people each year, include interactive theatre experiences, assemblies, workshops and regional competitions. They also work with students to create films and podcasts that enable them to take personal ownership of the issues they face and explore what they can do to overcome them.

Commenting on the importance of their work, Ollie Robinson, project manager at The Riot Act, said: “With road incidents being the biggest killer of high school students in the UK, it is imperative to deliver educational workshops to Year 7 students as they transition into independent travellers. By using Theatre in Education, we can engage with all different types of learners and ensure that we see maximum behavioural change beside the road.”

Zoie Wiseman, head of year 7, added: “Opportunities such as these are invaluable for our students and contribute towards the wider-learning experiences they will enjoy through their time in high school. It was great to see so many students put themselves forward, asking sensible and mature questions that demonstrated a clear understanding of the performance and the risks of the road.”

The production returned to the area with the backing of Safer Roads Humber and the East Riding Road Safety Team who share a commitment to keeping people safe across the region.

Please see each provider’s website or speak to Mrs Foster, Careers Leader, for more information. 

LINKS 

CATCH Apprenticeships: https://catchuk.org/open-event/ 

Hull College: https://www.hull-college.ac.uk/open-events 

Bishop Burton College: https://www.bishopburton.ac.uk/whats-on?eventCategory=2060 

East Riding College: www.eastridingcollege.ac.uk/visit/open-events 

Wilberforce College: https://wilberforce.ac.uk/events/ 

SM6 St Mary's Sixth Form College: https://smchull.org/sm6-sixth-form 

Wyke College: www.wyke.ac.uk/applicant-information/open-events 

The event will provide a great opportunity to tour our school, rated ‘good’ by Ofsted in November 2021, meet our staff and explore the state-of-the-art facilities YOUR child could benefit from.

We look forward to welcoming you to our school.

 

Secondary Admissions Round - September 2025 

The deadline for all applications is Thursday, 31st October 2024.

Notification about the outcome of application will be sent out on Monday, 3rd March 2025.

Supported by trainers from ‘Talk The Talk’, an organisation whose aim is to develop students’ communication skills through oracy intervention, students were encouraged to step out of their comfort zones, away from people they knew at primary school, to interact with others who are still relatively new to them.

Defined as the means to ‘express oneself fluently’, oracy explores the importance of spoken language and verbal communication to articulate ideas and engage with others. Through their ‘Talk about Transition’ workshop, Talk The Talk supports students using oracy-based activities and strategies to enhance self-confidence, resilience and empathy.

Working within small groups, students were given a platform to share their thoughts about starting high school and to set themselves goals for the year ahead. They were asked to identify what they see as the opportunities and challenges facing them, and the responses and solutions they think are needed to embrace and overcome them respectively.

Students were also encouraged to interview each other, allowing them to get to know one another while developing their skills of questioning, listening and responding. Joining the process were the year 7 form tutors whose presence not only provided support, but afforded them an opportunity to further get to know their new tutees – helping to reinforce a bond that will support them in the delivery of pastoral care.

Connie Jones, a member of the year 7 tutor team, said: “It was an absolutely quality event with a superb range of fun activities to boost students’ communication skills – bringing many young people out of their comfort zones with a new-found confidence. It was a total joy to witness.”

A spokesman for Talk The Talk added: “Transition to secondary school involves changes that can be both exciting and a cause of concern to students. Successful transition is vital to the development of students’ self-confidence, self-esteem and academic competence. Moving on from the safe haven of primary school - one classroom and often one teacher - to a much larger school and the feeling of being a ‘small fish in a large pond’ can cause worry and anxiety. Our programme embraces this change and allows students to talk about their concerns and how to overcome them and the fantastic opportunities that await them and how best to embrace these.”

Viki Foster, event organiser and school careers leader, said: “Our year 7 students were outstanding. They embraced the tasks and were fully engaged in everything they were asked to do. The day provided lots of opportunities for staff and students to start creating relationships which will support them throughout their time at Withernsea High School. New friendships were forged and skills were developed as students came out of their comfort zones to speak in front of their peers.

“Such communications skills are essential for young people to learn and develop, which will not only help them through school but will also be tremendously useful as they move into the workforce of the future. We are incredibly proud of the students for the confidence and maturity shown and we would like to thank Talk The Talk for delivering such a fantastic and useful workshop.”

As well as forming part of the high school induction process, the oracy workshop also provided an introduction to the school’s career programme – a comprehensive collection of activities, events and experiences that aids the development of crucial employability skills and supports students in making informed choices about their futures.

Viki added: “The ability to communicate clearly and confidently is an essential skill that employers rate highly and it is something that we help students to develop by providing them with opportunities to regularly meet representatives from post-16 providers and local and national businesses, both in school and on external visits, to help boost their confidence and experience of speaking to strangers.

“These experiences culminate in a mock interview day in year 11 where students will be interviewed one-on-one by a visiting employer or a representative from a further or higher education provider. This will put their communication skills to the test, under the pressures of an interview situation, which will further help prepare them for future college, apprenticeship and employment interviews.”  

ABOVE: Year 7 students Isaac and Marc engage with a trainer from Talk The Talk during their ‘Talk about Transition’ workshop. 

All buses are currently being diverted via the B1362 (Hull Road). Affected school services will follow the same diversion. In particular, this will impact the 311 (Welwick/Easington/Holmpton) and the 312 (Patrington/Hollym) routes.

Morning pick-ups will remain as scheduled. However, due to the diversion, buses will arrive at school later than usual. Please be assured that students will not receive late marks for this.

Afternoon services will leave school at 3.20pm but will take longer to reach drop-off points due to the diversion. 

Last update: Monday 2nd September (1.20pm)