Sweet April showers, do spring May flowers.
Welcome back! We hope you all enjoyed the long break and got the chance to recharge your batteries. In our April newsletter we look back at the achievements of the last half-term and celebrate the hard work of our students both in and out of the classroom.
Banner Artwork: Georgia blinman
Ryburn presents the masked singer
On Friday 18 March we ran both virtual and live Masked Singer events to raise money for Comic Relief. The day was a huge success. The students loved the show and our brave performers were fantastic. The atmosphere in the theatre was absolutely electric. Well done to everyone involved. We were able to raise £1000 for Comic Relief.
Going For silver: Rights Respecting Schools Award
We are very happy to announce that we have achieved our Silver Rights Respecting School Award! This award recognises us as a school that puts the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into practise by creating safe and inspiring places to learn, where children are respected.
We owe thanks to some of our fab students for speaking with the assessors and answering questions on how we educate and inform them of the rights of a child as well as how we acknowledge them. Thank you for helping make this achievement possible for us.
Don’t feed the plants!
Our school production this year was ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. We were so happy to be able to bring this to the Ryburn community and showcase the exceptional talents of our students once again. The production was a raving success and it has been wonderful seeing all of the lovely reviews from everyone who came to show their support. We can’t say thank you enough to all of the staff and students who brought the show to life. A fantastical achievement indeed and you should all be very proud.
FilmMaker, Author, adventurer
We were paid a visit from Matt Dickinson. A filmmaker and author who has climbed Mount Everest! He came in and spoke to Year 9 and 10 students about his experiences and how the adventure influenced his writing. There were highs, lows and even exploding chocolate bars. Everyone was enthralled by what he had to say.
A question was posed to the students ’Should Mount Everest be Closed?’, and got them to think about article titles and what questions they might ask as journalists to form their pieces.
Matt was also kind enough to sign some copies of his books for students. Thank you very much Matt for coming in and inspiring our students, they really enjoyed hearing from you.
Sporting excellent results
Our Year 7 student, Joseph Stone, represented Ryburn Valley High School and West Yorkshire Schools in the English National Cross Country Championships. He ran 3K in an excellent time of 10:49 finishing a very strong 28th out of 115. Absolutely outstanding work Joseph. Check out the full report.
Our Year 8 Rugby Team travelled to Featherstone Rovers Stadium to compete in the Yorkshire Cup final against Castleford Academy. Ryburn had a strong start and from there the only way was up winning the game 38-4 and taking home the trophy. See the RVHS PE Department Facebook page for the full match report.
At Ryburn, we have one of the most successful PE departments in the area with teams frequently winning local and regional tournaments, with a number of teams representing on a national level.
We are looking to upgrade our kits and get the new designs ready for when competitive sport starts again in September 2022. If you have a company or know someone who would like to sponsor one of our successful teams please get in touch. We frequently post photos on Facebook and Twitter. You can choose the team or sport and can be involved in the kit designing process.
If you are interested please contact r.cole@rvhschool.co.uk for more details.
Race to the finish line
Luca Hopkinson (Year 10) is currently taking part in the Ginetta Junior Championship, a one-make series for 14-17-year-olds to compete in the UK’s leading race series, the TOCA package.
Luca is very passionate about motorsport and racing and is driving for the current team champions, R Racing, and his mentor has been none other than the three-time and current British Touring Champion, Ash Sutton.
Luca does face the challenge as one of the few racers on the grid with zero championship experience, but he has embraced this challenge and strives to be the best. He trains both on track and with a driving simulator at home which replicates his car so he can put the work in on and off the track.
His first round of the series took place on 23/24 April with the rest soon to follow. The series is covered on ITV 4 so make sure to tune in and show him your support. The rest of the dates are as follows:
Brands Hatch Indy - 14/15 May
Thruxton - 28/29 May
Croft - 25/26 June
Knockhill - 30/31 July
Snetterton - 13/14 August
Thruxton - 27/28 August
Silverstone National - 24/25 September
Brands Hatch GP - 08/09 October
amazing Ambassador Residential
Our fantastic Ambassadors do so much to improve everyone's experience here at Ryburn. Before the break, they attended the first Ambassador Residential since before the pandemic. They all spent time building stronger connections as a team, learning new skills and having lots of fun. They also got to dress up and solve a crime in a fairytale themed murder mystery… rest in peace Snow White.
Are we supporting your child’s career aspirations?
We hear from various guest speakers about their careers and how they achieved them in the hopes of inspiring students to achieve their own goals. We want to support our students as much as we can and open their eyes to the different routes they can take to achieve their chosen career goals.
However, we would like some input from you. From what you’ve heard from your child, or what you've seen on our Careers page and social media, is there more we could be doing to support our student’s future aspirations for when their Ryburn journey ends?
Have your say and let us know your feedback.
Ryburn alumni we want you!
If you studied at Ryburn then we would love to hear from you and find out what you are doing now. We want to start showcasing more of what our students have gone on to achieve following their time at Ryburn and post regular features. Get in touch at publish@rvhschool.co.uk.
Upcoming Dates:
Pride Week at Ryburn - w/c 2 May
Pride Party - Tuesday 3 May
Colour Run - Friday 6 May
Here At Last band visit Ryburn - Friday 13 May
Are our emergency contact details and medical records up to date for your child?
If you have any feedback or suggestions for this newsletter, please feel free to email publish@rvhschool.co.uk.
You can also keep an eye on our social media channels for more frequent updates and stories.