Weekly Update
21st June 2024
Message from the Headteacher
Congratulations to Year 11 and 13 who have now finished their GCSE and A Level exams and well done to Year 10 students who started their end of year exams this week.
I hope Year 13 are looking forward to their well-deserved Leavers’ Ball on Thursday, 27th June. Although this is an opportunity for staff and students to come together and say au revoir, it will now be possible for our Leavers to stay in touch, both with the school and with each other, via Future First, our Alumnae network. We are delighted to see many alumnae already returning to mentor current students and hope that our upcoming leavers will likewise consider offering support in the years to come.
Looking ahead to next week’s Sports Week, we are excited to provide a wide range of sporting activities made possible by the funds raised from the Fun Run. We will share as many pictures as possible on the school’s social media next week.
In just under one week, we will also be hosting our Open Evening. Preparations are well underway, and we cannot wait to meet potential new students and their families and carers. The evening is an excellent opportunity for them to meet our staff and current students, as well as to experience the spirit of our school community.
Social Media
We are now active on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Please follow, like and share to keep up-to-date.
Positive News
BBC Young Reporter Competition Winner
It gives me great pleasure to inform you that Marianna Ward, Year 11, has won the BBC Regional (North West) Young Reporter of the Year competition for her report on curling. Marianna, who has represented the UK in international curling for the past 12 months, created a video report promoting the sport and arguing for more rinks to be opened to encourage increased participation, especially amongst women. The report will be broadcast on either local radio or television; we will keep you informed once we have further details of when it will air.
Blog post published by King’s College, London
Congratulations to Quirine in Year 12, whose blog post ‘Sustainability: engaging the next generation’ compiled for the Centre for Sustainable Business at King’s College, London has now been published on their website!
Individual Success at Hurdles
Congratulations to Lucie Duckett who has been selected to represent Lancashire in the Intermediate Girls’ 80m Hurdles as part of the Lancashire Schools’ team which will compete at the 2024 English Schools Track & Field Championships, to be held in Birmingham on Friday 12th July and Saturday 13th July.
Lucie won Gold in the 80m Hurdles at the recent Lancashire Schools Athletics Competition at UCLAN, Preston, where she represented Lancaster. She also won Gold in the same event at the Lancashire County Athletics Championships!
Year 8 Tennis versus Bay Leadership Academy
Well done to our Year 8 Tennis players who played very well in some close games against Bay Leadership Academy. Many of the players had never played a fully competitive game of tennis before, so it was amazing to see their resilience and determination.
Rounders Fixtures
The Year 9 and 10 rounders teams had a fixture at Ripley vs Our Lady’s and Ripley in a round robin friendly tournament
Year 9 Lost 2 – 14 vs RST player of the match Hannah
Year 9 won 14 ½ – 9 ½ vs OLCC player of the match Annika
Year 10 Lost 5 – 7 ½ vs RST player of the match Amelia
Year 10 won 13 – 4 ½ vs OLCC player of the match Shaelynn
Degree Apprenticeship Opportunities
Three speakers joined us last week to talk to Year 12 about exciting degree apprenticeship opportunities.
Charlotte and Emily at Mott MacDonald talked about their experience in this global firm that is involved in high profile, international infrastructure projects.
Charlotte left LGGS 2 years ago and her talk really resonated with our students. They also heard from Edward at A Lamb Associates, a smaller firm with offices locally, in London and Edinburgh, and with clients across the world. Their apprenticeship in Quantity Surveying runs over 5 years, and at the end apprentices, have 5 years of industry experience and a Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) accredited degree.
Thank you to Charlotte, Emily and Edward for coming in to talk to us!
Ingleborough Caves
Our Year 7 geographers ventured out on a trip to Ingleborough Caves in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
The caves were discovered in 1837 and our students enjoyed a small walk before exploring the limestone landscape and then a relaxing lunch close to the river.
Regeneration at Salford Quays
Year 10 students travelled to Salford Quays last week to gain an understanding of the impact of regeneration on the local environment and economy. The field trip included interviewing members of the public to gather their views and also a population count. It gave the students valuable insight into this area of their studies.
Refugee Week
As part of our commitment to building an inclusive society, we extend our heartfelt thanks to the asylum seekers and refugees who visited school to share their stories this week. Throughout the week, each year group have experienced assemblies and then Q&A sessions organised by alumna Caitlin Luna from Refugee Advocacy, Information and Support (RAIS) Lancaster.
You could have heard a pin drop as each spoke of how they have been welcomed into the Lancaster community, the comfort they felt from the friendships they are building and the support they have received from RAIS.
Our students were able to ask questions and talk to our visitors this week as we welcomed 2 different refugees or asylum seekers each day to speak at assembly – thank you again to alumna Caitlin Luna, who liaised with school to organise these valuable talks.
Thank you also to Year 12 students who baked and sold cakes to raise money for RAIS, the charity which provides advocacy, information and support services to refugees and asylum seekers living in Lancaster and Morecambe.
Transatlantic Slave Trade Trail
All Year 8 students enjoyed a two hour walking tour around Lancaster in History lessons last week, following the Lancaster Slave Trade Walk. Students were guided on their tour by their class teachers and visited locations throughout the city, including the Quaker Meeting House, Lancaster Maritime Museum, Grand Theatre, St. Georges Quay, Transatlantic Slave Trade memorial and Dalton Square, amongst others.
Students were able to see buildings and locations they have recently been learning about as part of their local history study on the topic of Transatlantic Slave Trade. Students found out how many iconic places and buildings in the city have direct links to the slave trade, established during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
As part of their homework following the trip, they will be composing their own poems about what they learned from their visit which will be entered in a competition judged by the new LGGS History Society leadership team. Please see the following link for further details about the Lancaster City Transatlantic Slave Trade Walk: Slavery Town Trail
LGGS Eco Code and LGGS Eco Committee
This year, the Year 12 Eco-Committee at LGGS has attempted to spread awareness of pressing global issues (such as fast fashion and climate change), whilst also working to make our school more sustainable by conserving our grounds through planting wildflower meadows, observing ‘no mow May’ and building bat and insect hotels. The aims of the Eco Committee are to make our school greener and encourage students to make environmentally conscious choices.
As part of the Committee’s work, Year 12 students have made and created an Eco Code, based on an acrostic poem. The code captures the main objectives of the Eco-Schools Committee and will be displayed around the school site.
Escape to Make
Escape to Make (E2M) offer FREE creative workshops for 11-18 year olds in the Lancaster and Morecambe area. The workshops include: film making, photography, graphic design, wild cooking, pottery and even starting a band.
It is a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills; and make new friends. E2M are keen to reach out to families and young people who might not ordinarily have access to the kind of opportunities they offer. Find out more about E2M and sign up online for summer workshops at their Green Festival.
Multicultural Day at Wray Primary School
Ten of our fabulous Year 12 students visited Wray Primary School on Thursday to deliver a whole day of multicultural activities. Our Sixth Formers encouraged their eager participants to learn about different cultures beyond their own through running workshops in Pakistani dance, African drumming, European playground games and henna painting.
They were fantastic role models for the younger children and impressively adapted their activities and grew in confidence as the day went on. We left the school with happy little faces proudly waving their beautifully painted henna hands at us and children showing off Bollywood moves in the playground.
The primary children were brilliant, too, and we are grateful to all the staff and pupils of Wray Primary School for giving our students this opportunity to volunteer.