GHS Newsletter
December 2014
It has been an exciting term. This newsletter is a celebration about what makes Greenbank such a special school and
I hope you enjoy reading it.
The end of term marks the retirement of Ms Ward and Mr Williamson who have been dedicated to the girls of
Greenbank for a combined total of 58 years. Ms Ward, a Progress Leader for over twenty years and a teacher of
French, has been at Greenbank since 1981. Mr Williamson, who is Assistant Headteacher, has been at Greenbank for
25 years. We wish them both well in their retirement.
Miss Richardson will become Progress Leader for Year 8. We will also be welcoming back Miss Williams to the
Languages Faculty and Mrs McMahon to the English Faculty. We would like to thank Miss Staunton and Mr
Harrington for teaching in these areas during their leave.
We are delighted to have received ‘The Recognition of Commitment’ on a journey to gaining accreditation as a
UNICEF Rights Respecting School. We believe that the award is recognition of our ethos where all members of the
school community work within an ethos of respect and ensuring those pupils’ rights are upheld.
Last week we received our school performance data from the Department for Education and OFSTED. I am pleased
to share with you that the data shows girls at Greenbank make outstanding progress from the time they enter the
school, with girls of all abilities making progress significantly above the national average. The school is in the top 20%
of schools nationally. This is testimony to the hard work of the pupils and staff who consistently strive for excellence.
Uniform has been excellent during the first half term with pupils dressed as ambassadors for Greenbank both within
and outside school. Attendance is 96% which is well above the government aspirational target of 95%. It is proven
every year that high attendance leads to high achievement so it is essential that your daughter is working towards
attending as many of the 190 days in school over the year as possible. Holidays should only be taken in holiday time.
Well done to all those pupils who have achieved 100% attendance this term.
I have been incredibly impressed with all pupils’ attitudes to learning in lessons. Pupils’ behaviour in lessons has
been of a very high standard and often commented on by visitors I have shown around school and external partners
who work with our school.
Thank you very much to those parents who have completed the OFSTED online survey ‘Parent View’. To gain your
views about school I would like to invite you to complete the online OFSTED questionnaire at the following link
http://parentview.ofsted.gov.uk/ to show OFSTED and ourselves the quality of education your daughter receives.
Please if you have any issues you would like to share and have dealt with, contact me or any member of my Senior
Leadership Team to ensure you and your daughter receives the appropriate support.
I have attached important dates for your diary at the end of the newsletter. Please try to access our new website at
www.greenbankhigh.co.uk to keep up to date with school events.
I would like to wish all members of our school community a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Kind regards
Mr I. Raikes
Headteacher
Awards Evening
We held our annual GCSE Awards Evening in November and were delighted to welcome back so many of last year’s
Year 11 pupils. They achieved so highly, got fully involved in all the opportunities Greenbank has to offer and have
matured into exemplary young ladies. We were delighted to have as our guest speaker, Jane Kennedy, the first
Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner. Jane spoke about her interesting career and people who had inspired
her throughout her life.
As well as GCSE certificates being awarded, awards were given for the highest achievers, pupils who made special
progress, and those who made special contributions to school life, including cheerfulness. There was an incredible
28 pupils who achieved 100% attendance awards.
Technology to support learning
We are currently developing our use of technology in school especially in relation to mobile technology as we
acknowledge that most pupils have either phones or tablets at home. Our website can be accessed via tablet and we
have developed a new VLE called Firefly. Your daughter will have recently brought home a personalised letter that
allows you to purchase for free the Microsoft office package for your computer and tablets. You are also able to
download The Encyclopaedia Britannica app and access the online platform to support your daughter’s learning. We
hope you find this ICT support useful.
E-safety sessions have been held recently for years 7 to 9 delivered by Mr Moore, Deputy Headteacher and E-safety
officer to ensure pupils are both using the internet safely and responsibly. A copy of our new E-safety policy can be
found on the website.
New Parent Governor
We are pleased to announce that Moira Bowen, who has a daughter in Year 7, has been elected as a Parent
Governor. We wish her well in her role serving the school community.
Greenbank’s Got Talent House Competition
The second Greenbank’s Got Talent Show was held on 5th December. There were eighteen high quality acts who had
been through auditions. The winning act was a street dance by Rebecca Bolland, Amber Cooke and Keira Galley
representing Hepburn House. The runners up were Stephanie Evans, Rachel Jones and Isobel Mills. Years 7 to 9
watched the performance and supported the contestants with lots of applause and cheering.
Sports Awards Evening
Our annual Sports Awards Evening took place on Tuesday 25th November. The evening is a celebration of the
commitment, enjoyment and success shared by our pupils in Physical Education for the previous academic year in
which we were awarded Sefton Sports School of the Year for 2014 and shortlisted as Merseyside Sports School of
the Year for 2014. Our special guest, Great Britain Paralympian cyclist Rik Wadden inspired our guests with his
incredible story. The pupils were given awards and medals to celebrate their achievements. Congratulations to all
those who attended and received recognition for their hard work.
The Under 14 and 16 badminton teams have both won the Southport and Formby Badminton competition and are
now through to the Merseyside Competition. The Year 7 and 10 netball teams have gone undefeated in their
matches this term. The Year 7 and 8 football teams have played two matches, winning them convincingly. Several
girls have taken part in a Sports Leaders and Handball Leadership Course. They are now running a handball club on a
Monday lunchtime for Year 7s.
Maths Industry Day
As part of Enrichment Day 2 our 21st Year 10 Maths Industry Day took place and this year was better than ever.
During the day 9 employers showed pupils through interactive sessions the importance of maths in a business
context. The employers commented on how inquisitive, well behaved and entrepreneurial our pupils were.
Greenbank High wishes to thank the following companies for making the Industry Day so successful; BAE Engineers,
Barclays Bank, NatWest Bank, GHS Accountant, Grisedale Upholstery, Harrison Drury Solicitors, Bright Blue Foods,
the RAF and Royal Navy.
Anne Frank Leaders
We were delighted to welcome back Marian from The Anne Frank Trust to deliver sessions to Key Stage 3 pupils on
Human Rights and the legacy that is left by Anne’s diary. A new group of Anne Frank Leaders were trained and were
very impressive at delivering sessions to pupils aimed at ensuring persecution could never happen again.
Language Leaders
Congratulations to the following pupils for successfully completing all components of the Foreign Language Leader
Award. They have all been a real credit to the school and have proved to be committed and enthusiastic young
leaders. Katie Chover-Leyland, Abigail Mechant, Harriet Maguire Emma O’Brien, Rime Albeedh, Katy Ratcliffe, Emily
Hudson, Rachel Jones, Shannon Lloyd, Chelsey Jackson, Sophie Farmer and Lily Sutton.
The following year 9 pupils have now been selected to as Language Leaders and we wish them every success. Caitlin
Forster, Hannah Tear, Harriet Sutton, Hamshi Sivakkumar, Evy Ramsay, Emma Jones, Emily Doherty, Emily Wagstaff,
Neve Marrs, Ashleigh Edwards and Zarin Kashem.
Literacy Leaders
This year's Literacy Leaders have got off to a flying start. As well as raising nearly £60 in a cake sale, the proceeds of
which will go towards purchasing new books for the Learning Zone, they have started running the 'Paired Reading'
scheme for Year 7 pupils. English teachers have identified girls in year 7 who they felt would benefit from a 'reading
buddy'. Once a week, during their PDT sessions, the Literacy Leaders work with their 'buddy' in the Learning Zone.
The girls help them to choose books, listen to them read and also help them to log on to the Accelerated Reader site
and complete quizzes. It has been lovely to see the enthusiasm with which both the Year 9 and Year 7 girls have
approached the scheme and we're sure that, as in previous years, it will lead to reading success for the pupils
involved.
To get the girls in a festive spirit, the Literacy Leaders held a 'Christmas Poetry' competition. The deadline was the
10th December and over 70 poems were entered by girls from years 7, 8 and 9. Rosie Morgan's 'Christmas in Candy
Land' was the winning entry for year 7 and Jessica McDonough in 8F produced a winning poem titled 'Joy to the
World'. A joint effort by pupils Kemi Olagbegi, Natalie Cook, Amy Tadeo and Beth Fano saw them sharing the prize
for Year 9. Some other highly commended poems came from Mia Hunt, Rosie Hughes, Sam Parsons and Harriet
Sutton. Well done girls!
Prefects
We have now recruited our first cohort of Year 11 Prefects to support pupils at lunchtime and be role models for the
younger pupils. The girls have enjoyed being a positive presence and interacting with the various form classes.
Dance show
‘Scrooge and Friends’ involved over 120 Greenbank pupils and pupils from our primary school dance club. The show
included dance, music, comedy and singing and also included a performance by our very own staff choir. The
performance was sold out and got everyone in the Christmas spirit.
Interact
Greenbank Interact have been very active this term supporting Rotary at Children in Need at Tesco in Kew, donating
£300 worth of goods to teenagers at Alder Hey and visiting a local home for the elderly to have a chat and a cup of
tea. The girls will now use this activity as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Award.
World War One Centenary visit
Recently, Emily Hudson and Vanda Banks, who were chosen by the History department to represent Greenbank High
School, visited Belgium and France along with Mrs Lee, to give them an insight of what war was really like in 1914,
and to commemorate the First World War which started 100 years ago on the 11th November this year. Many other
schools also attended the trip, having been chosen to represent their individual schools as part of a Department for
Education funded initiative.
During the course of the time they were in France and Belgium, they visited lots of different places which showed
them how different countries remember the First World War. This was mainly shown when they all visited various
different types of memorials, and cemeteries.
There were a number of places they visited throughout the trip including.
 The Memorial Museum Passchendaele; Tyne Cot (largest British and Common Wealth War Cemetery in the
world), Lijssenthoek and Langemark Cemeteries.
 Flanders Museum
 Ceremony of the Last Post at the Menin Gate, Ypres.
 Visits to Vimy Ridge; Beaumont Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Park; Sheffield Memorial Park and Thiepval
Memorial.
The Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate takes place every night at 8:00pm as an act of remembrance for all the
soldiers who fought WW1. The Ceremony consists of people laying down wreaths to mark a sign of respect to all the
people who fought and died. Hundreds of people turned up to the event and when the Last Post was played on the
trumpet, everyone was completely silent. Emily and Vanda are now responsible for ensuring the messages of the
visit are passed on. Since their return they have presented an assembly for each year group and placed information
on our website.
RIBI Young Chef Competition
The annual Rotary Cookery Competition took place this term with 6 year 11 entrants from Home Economics and
Catering groups. The judge was Chris Woods who is restaurant manager at Southport Ramada Hotel.
The girls who entered were Olivia Spencer (ham & mushroom tagliatelle, profiteroles), Lily Jennings (Chinese stir fry,
profiteroles with chocolate sauce), Harriet Nichols (carrot & coriander soup, sweet & sour chicken), Leah Norris
(spinach & pine nut tagliatelle, toffee apple choux buns), Laura Walton (salmon fishcakes with potato wedges,
chocolate tart) and Jessica Hancox (chicken Kiev and potato wedges, strawberry cheesecake).
Chris Woods praised the very high standard of cooking and gave the girls some useful technical feedback and advice.
The final three were:3rd place
2nd place
1st Place
Jessica Hancox
Harriet Nichols
Leah Norris
In next round of the Rotary Young Chef competition at Southport College, Leah Norris won the competition with
Harriet Nichols as runner up. The cup is now proudly displayed in the trophy cabinet.
Mock interviews
Over 3 days in November, our Year 11 pupils were ‘interviewed’ by outside employers for a fictitious job. To prepare,
all the pupils had completed an application form and worked on a personal statement. In all 157 students were
interviewed and the feedback from employers was very positive. On the day, pupils were given the choice of school
uniform or formal dress. 99% of the pupils said they found the practice interview useful as it gave them a foretaste
of what to expect after Greenbank.
Comments from the pupils were;
‘My employer made it clear what needs to be improved and how to communicate clearly during an interview’.
‘I found this interview very useful as it has shown me what to expect so I feel more confident’.
‘The interview was very helpful and I now feel more confident in attending interviews in the future’.
Enterprise Education at Greenbank
During the last two enrichment days Years 7 and 9 have been involved in Enterprise Education challenges. During the
challenges pupils have developed their business skills such as creativity, finance, marketing, taking risks and working
as part of a team in a defined role. Both year groups have risen to the challenges. Year 7 pupils were involved in a
Healthy Eating challenge entitled ‘It’s a Wrap’ whilst Year 9 completed an Eco-challenge entitled ‘The Big Green
Foot.’ The winners from both year groups are shown above.
Philosophy
The first of three groups of Year 7 pupils completed their ‘introduction to philosophy’ course this term, led by
Greenbank’s resident philosopher and Royal Institute of Philosophy tutor, Glenn Skelhorn. The course allows pupils
to open their minds and work together, exploring big questions about morality, freedom, politics, art, language, and
knowledge. Mr Skelhorn commented: ‘the pupils have done fantastically well, engaging with questions, and
developing their thinking skills. Philosophy creates space for critical reflection on beliefs and values, helping pupils to
identify and test arguments – this will help them in their studies and, perhaps more importantly, in their own
decision making. I’m really looking forward to running the course for the second group next term.’
Sefton Shining Stars Award winners
Greenbank had an amazing four prize winners at the Sefton Shining Stars Awards. Well done to Katy, Caitlan, Kelsey
and Kate for their well deserved success.
‘Regeneration’ Theatre Visit
On 27th November, staff from the English Faculty accompanied one hundred Year 9 pupils to the Grand Theatre in
Blackpool to watch a production of Pat Barker’s ‘Regeneration’. Adapted from her award-winning novel, the play
examines the after-effects of battle trauma as experienced by the soldiers at Craiglockheart Hospital between 19151918. Pupils have recently completed a unit exploring the language of warfare and this proved to be excellent
preparation for understanding the key messages of the play.
On the subject of conflict, 24 girls have been selected to be published in an anthology of poetry by Young Writers.
Their work was entered for a national competition called ‘War of Words’ and we are proudly anticipating the
publication of the anthology in February. Congratulations to all involved and here is an example of a winning entry,
Hannah Taylor’s poem ‘The Great War’:
The Great War
In ‘Flanders’ Field’, the poppies blow,
Each for a man who died long ago.
When the battle of the Somme did commence,
Losses became even more immense.
Best of friends fighting side-by-side,
Half wishing they could turn back and hide.
Crimson flowing through the rich, French soil,
This is the story of their toil.
Over six million laid down their lives,
A stabbing pain, far worse than knives.
Loved ones mourning, for they’ll never return,
Each day the bitterness a fresh, new, searing burn.
“The war to end all wars”, they had said,
In ‘No Mans’ Land’, Our Boys lay dead.
All of the lives that were lost,
Came at such a tremendous cost.
Oh! “The Great War”, where to start?
Why did you break so many hearts?
Young men sent away to war,
Didn’t think they were done for.
For King and Country they gave their lives,
Whilst thinking of their darling wives.
The snipers night-time flares did burn,
As loved ones yearned for their safe return.
We may have won the war,
But that which we have lost is so much more.
This day we recall the struggles and fears,
Of those four bloody and death filled years.
We remember those who did not yield,
Now laid to rest in ‘Flanders’ Field’.
Yet, I see looking at our world today,
Peace must have come and gone away.
Hannah Louise Taylor
Creative writing Competition Success
Another of our talented year 11 writers has recently won a prize in
KGV College’s Creative Writing competition. Chloe Roughley entered
the competition with her story ‘The Sweetest Smiles Hold the Darkest
Secrets’. The competition saw entrants from all of KGV’s partner
schools and from the wider area and was judged by a panel including
screenwriter Julian Perkins and actor David Lonsdale. Chloe
impressively won the prize for second place in the competition and you
can see her receiving her award from David Lonsdale himself. We are
very proud of all of our writers and their recent success.
Congratulations to:Jasmine Greenwood who won two silver and one bronze medal at the UK Gymnastics National Championships. She
will now represent UK Gymnastics at the World Championships in California in 2015.
Natasha Major, Anna Cannell, Sarah McCann, Meghan Appleton, Rebecca Frith, Jessica Naisbett, Annabelle Taylor
and Margaret Wolos who had their work published in the book ‘Mini Monologues Across England.’
Dates for your diary
5th January
Pupil return to school
13th January 2015
Year 11 Men C vaccinations
14th January
Year 11 Mock Results Day
30th January
Enrichment Day 4
2nd February
Year 9 Parents Evening
4th- 11th February
French exchange
12th February
Enrichment Day 5
24th February
Year 9 Men C and DTP vaccinations
16th – 20th February
Half term holiday
26th February
Year 9 Information, Advice and Guidance Evening – 6.00pm in the Greenbank Theatre
4th March
Enrichment Day 6
5th March
Year 10 Parents Evening
9th – 12th March
School production
16th March
Year 7 LEPRA fund raiser
18th March
Year 8 Parents Evening
25th March
Fiestaval Primary Languages Show
27th March
‘Wear a hat day’ in aid of Brain Tumour Research
31st March
Year 7 Parents Evening
2nd April
Term finishes for pupils at 1.15pm
Christmas at Greenbank