This is a moment of change for PGHS as we move to a new Headteacher and look forward to a new school building. It is also a moment of great reflection.
Governors were happy to announce the arrival of a new Headteacher 12 years ago when Mrs Pomeroy arrived, but we couldn’t imagine just what success she would lead the school towards. When governors have considered just how the school has changed over those 12 years, we find it hard to believe just how much has been achieved. The physical school building has changed enormously to include a welcoming entrance and music area, a drama studio, a dance studio, a languages area, revitalised science laboratories and sports facilities, the training suite, a fit for purpose staff area, a new library area, a humanities extension of three additional classrooms and a smart, welcoming, vibrant modern school in which to learn and to teach. I’m sure I have forgotten many things too! All the above have ensured a high quality environment for certain, but our school is so much more than that. Under Mrs Pomeroy’s leadership, we have risen to a school outstanding in all areas, as judged by Ofsted. Simultaneously, teaching is outstanding, students learn effectively and with enjoyment and so results have now risen to the point where students achieve way above expectations, with progression rated in the top 3 in Lancashire and the top performing schools across the country. Mrs Pomeroy – that is some legacy, and we are as proud as you must be at the changes made during your leadership. And honestly, I don’t believe that actually does your tenure real justice!
So, what comes next? Well, for Mrs Pomeroy, it must be the freedom to spend time with her family and more time away travelling to far flung areas of the globe! She has many interests and hobbies so will certainly never sit still but here’s hoping she discovers new ones too. We all wish you a happy, fulfilled and joyous retirement and that you come back to see us too!
For PGHS, we very much welcome Mrs Hall to her post in January and towards the new building project. We wish you as much success in your role also.
For our school community as a whole, I wish you, on behalf of the governing body, much enjoyment and relaxation during our school break and we look forward to seeing you refreshed and well in 2024.
Since her arrival as Headteacher in September 2011, Karen has transformed both our school and the lives of countless young women, through her inspiring and visionary leadership.
Karen has maintained a relentless and uncompromising focus on teaching and learning, working tirelessly to ensure that our girls receive world-class teaching in a first-class learning environment. Within three years of her arrival the school was judged to be Outstanding by Ofsted, and it is surely fitting that after nearly a decade of strong GCSE outcomes, this year’s exceptional examination results ranked us as one of the top-performing school’s both locally and nationally.
Of course, Karen’s legacy is about far more than results. The school we work in today is a testament to her vision and ambition, and it is thanks to Karen’s persistence and dogged determination that we can look forward to moving into a brand-new school. The broad and varied curriculum that we offer today has been shaped by Karen’s investment in the school facilities, with GCSE Drama and Photography being just two of the courses that have been introduced during Karen’s tenure.
From our point of view, Karen’s legacy will be the impact she has had on all of us. We’ve been absolutely privileged to work alongside from Karen. Our careers have been carefully nurtured under Karen’s leadership, and we have all benefited from Karen’s wise counsel. We will miss her creativity, innovation and decisiveness, but mostly we will miss her sense of humour and her friendship.
As Science club comes to an end for 2023, it’s time to reflect on the journey of exploration and discovery that our budding scientists have embarked upon.
🦋 Chromatography Butterflies: Unveiling the Spectrum of Colours.
One of the highlights was our captivating chromatography butterfly’s activity. Witnessing the magic of colours separating and creating stunning patterns.
🎃 Halloween Slime: A Spooky Twist to Science.
As Halloween approached, our science club embraced the spooky spirit with a thrilling concoction of Halloween slime. Mixing, stretching and squishing their way through the slimy experiment, students discovered the science of non-Newtonian fluids.
🔥 Flame Tests: Fireworks.
Igniting curiosity, our flame tests experiment brought the excitement of colours to a whole new level. Students observed the mesmerizing dance of flames, each colour indicating the presence of specific elements, linking it to how fireworks have their amazing colours
🚦 Traffic Lights: Illuminating the Path to Understanding.
Our traffic lights activity brought the principles of chemical reactions to life. Students explored the transformative powers of acids and bases, creating a vivid display of colour changes resembling the familiar traffic light sequence.
🌲 The Chemistree: Celebrating a Merry Chemistry Christmas.
Wrapping up the year on a festive note, our Chemistree activity combined the joy of the holiday season with the wonders of chemistry. Students adorned a “Chemistree” with colourful reactions, creating a visual representation of the diverse aspects of chemistry that they explored throughout the year. It was a delightful way to celebrate the spirit of science during the holiday season.
Here’s to a term well-spent and the countless scientific adventures that lie ahead!
On Wednesday 13th December some of the Learning Support Department team took a group of girls to the Vue Cinema in Preston to get in the festive spirit and watch the film ‘Elf’. The girls have worked so hard this term and settled in so well to Years 7 and 8 that we wanted to treat them and say “well done” for all their hard work. The girls thoroughly enjoyed the film and laughed lots all the way through. Well done, girls for a great first term.
Since September, we have answered over 773,741 questions correctly in 7,659 hours across 800 students. This is a tremendous achievement from the students this year on Sparx Maths and we are on track to smash the records that they achieved last year.
Sparx XP boost competition
The Maths department are currently running a Sparx Maths XP Boost competition that will finish on the 15th December. All students are able to gain bonus XP on Sparx maths during this time by completing the mini games and XP Boost tasks each week.
Each Maths class are competing against each other, along with students competing for the XP Crown.
Currently the top 3 Maths classes are:
Position
Class
Average XP
1st
9 Set 2
7871
2nd
8 Set 1
5922
3rd
8 Set 4
4553
The top 3 pupils in each year are:
Position
Year 7
Year 8
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
1st
Lucy B
Cherlotte Y
Naomi S
Iyla K
Molly T
2nd
Ellie B
Esther I
Poppy M
Cassie-Faye B
Victoria K
3rd
Fatima R
Micah T
Emily W
Linah A
Jemima B
Keep up the fantastic work! Everything is still to play for as there are still a few days to go until the competition closes. Good luck!
Baking Club has been extremely popular this year. To allow all students wishing to attend, students have been given one term each throughout the year. You will have received a parent mail letter stating when your child will attend and this is then sent out again nearer the time to remind students.
In the baking club, we have made and decorated cupcakes, pancakes (and practised flipping them) flapjacks, brownies and gingerbread ready for Christmas celebrations.
Here is a snapshot of some of the projects that KS3 complete in Food and Nutrition:
Year 7
Students throughout year 7 are introduced to health and safety in the kitchen. They learn the importance of cleaning both equipment and surfaces, and storing and cooking food safely. Year 7 learn The Eatwell Guide (nutritional needs through life stages) and then apply these principles when planning and making meals. Year 7 cook a repertoire of predominantly savoury dishes such as pizza toast and pasta salad so that they are able to feed themselves and others a healthy and varied diet.
Students become competent in a range of cooking techniques, such as selecting and preparing ingredients, measuring and weighing, how to use various utensils (knives, spoons, spatulas) and electrical equipment (whisks). They also learn to apply heat in different ways (oven, grill, hob) and develop an awareness of taste, texture and smell to decide how to season dishes and combine ingredients.
Year 8
Students in year 8 are introduced to health and safety in the kitchen, bacterial contamination and the importance of controlling cross contamination in the kitchen. They conduct a food science investigation on raising agents and learn the functional and chemical properties of ingredients in bread making. Linking to the festival theme throughout the technology subjects, Year 8 plan and make festival-style hand held food, such as pizzas and burgers.
Year 9
Year 9 students are introduced to health and safety in the kitchen, along with an in-depth knowledge into microorganisms and avoiding food spoilage. Throughout the technology, the Year 9 theme is ‘eco warriors’ and in Food and Nutrition, students learn about consumer choices and how this can have an impact on farming, looking in particular at intensive egg farming. Students also learn about buying locally produced seasonal ingredients and the benefits of this. Then, using seasonal vegetables, students plan and make a seasonal soup and vegetable curry.
Working in the creative media industry isn’t just about inspiration; it’s a hands-on experience involving practical processes, skills, and techniques. The industry demands professionals who can craft products that not only captivate their audience but are also aligned with a specific purpose. This is what year 11 have been trying to do as they have been working on their creative media assignment.
They have had the chance to specialise in one of three media sectors: audio/moving image, print, or interactive design. Through lessons and workshops, they have honed their practical skills and techniques tailored to their chosen sector.
They then have begun to apply these skills to the entire spectrum of media production— from pre-production to production and post-production processes.
The ability to learn and apply new practical skills through experimentation, reflection, and refinement is a cornerstone of success in the creative industries.
Throughout this half term they have not only created media products but also reviewed their progress continually. We await the results of this component from the exam board.
Beyond the technical skills, they have also developed transferable skills such as teamwork, time management, and communication—crucial assets for their journey into further study and employment.
This term , the Art and Design department are very proud of our Year 10 students who have made an excellent start on their GCSE coursework.
Most recently we have been doing a series of workshops. Each workshop has given the students the opportunity to experiment and trial new techniques and processes. These have been combined to allow a ‘mixed-media’ effect and the students have enjoyed exploring and taking risks. Processes have included wax batik, resist media, hand-embroidery and machine-embroidery embellishments. Some of the results far exceed expectation at this point in the course and our students should be very proud of their achievements!
What a busy first term it has been here in the MFL department and as the term draws to a close, I would like to thank all our students for working so hard in their French and German lessons and giving their all.
Year 7 have worked on learning how to introduce themselves, Year 8 Germanists have learned how to describe their past holidays and learned our new favourite word ‘Kakerlaken’ and Year 8 French students have learned how to introduce themselves, give personal information and opinions. Year 9 pupils have also been working hard and have produced some lovely letters and cards to send over to France and Germany. A huge well done to Year 11 for working through a really busy term and mock exams, pushing towards our goals next year and taking on the new challenges as we prepare for our mock speaking exams in January. A big cheer for our Year 10 students embarking on their first term of GCSE French and German and producing some outstanding results in their recent Module 1 assessments alongside a brilliant attitude. Well done, all!
Frau Gill
Nikolaustag
The Christmas celebrations started early in Germany last Wednesday, 6th December as this day marks der Nikolaustag for many families across German speaking countries and children prepare for the visit of St Nikolaus. To prepare for the visit, children should tidy their rooms and clean their toys. Shoes should be polished, and set out by the door or on a windowsill. (Some children even leave a bit of hay or straw for St. Nikolas’s Donkey). They leave them outside in they hope if they’ve been good enough, Nikolaus will fill it with all kinds of sweet treats and toys. Rumour has it that if you have not been good, Nikolaus will leave you some twigs and sticks instead! Our KS3 classes tested this out last week when we made our German boots and set them out ready – I wonder who ended up with treats and who ended up with twigs? Here is a video that our KS3 classes will be watching this week, explaining all about the traditional story of Nikolaustag:
Year 8 have made a brilliant start in French which they started studying in September. Last lesson, we had 7 journalists equipped with microphones (special thanks to Mrs Williams for the loan) who went around the classroom and interviewed their classmates in French. Each journalist had a different question. At the end, we also had a “celebrity” in the hot seat answering all seven questions as quickly as they could. Mahnoor, Sophie and Esther were particularly cool under pressure. Well done, Y8!
Madame Raine ☺
Year 9 and Year 10 French pen pals
Year 9 French have received their first letter this week from our latest partner school in the Loire Valley in France. We were very impressed with their art skills.
Year 10 French also posted their replies to their new pen pals last week and it seems our students are equally gifted. They were able to write with detail and accuracy and put a lot of effort into their letters.
Writing to pen pals is not only a great way for students to use their foreign language skills for a real purpose but is also an opportunity to revisit everything they have studied and get an insight into a different culture. Students are also encouraged to show curiosity and compassion (some of our school values) by asking their pen pals questions about cultural life in their country.
Our latest school is near “Château de Chambord” in the Loire Valley which looks such a wonderful place on have on your doorstep! I am not at all jealous!
Madame Raine ☺
A level visit from Runshaw
Our Year 11 students had a great morning this half term with a visit from Paul Wyton, a German teacher from Runshaw College who spoke to our students about life at Runshaw College and A level German, what to expect and the topics they cover. Our students really enjoyed the talk and gained a lot from it with lots of interesting questions at the end of the session. A huge thanks to Paul for coming in to take the time to talk to our students. Paul will be back in after Christmas to do some exam preparation sessions with our German students which we are really looking forward to.
Blooket winners this half term Frau Gill
Mrs Gill’s Year 7 class have been in strong competition to see who can the best at Blooket. Blooket is a great quiz game where students can learn and practise their German vocabulary in a series of games to see who can triumph. This term following students have consistently proved there are the Blooket Queens. Well done, all!
1. Eva W
2. Samara B
3. Yasmin C
4. Esther C
5. Mollie S
Herr Briscoe Year 8 Penpals
My Year 8 classes have initiated a Pen Pal scheme with students from the Sickingen-Gymnasium in the German city of Landstuhl. This has enabled the students to use both the present and perfect tenses to discuss themselves and a recent holiday they’ve experienced. Additionally, it provides the students with an opportunity to engage in conversations with native speakers of the language and exchange perspectives on their own experiences, as well as those of their Pen Pals living in the United Kingdom and Germany.
