Jan 13, 2023 | Ackworth School
Congratulations are due to our Table Tennis Academy. During the weekend of 7th January 2023 it was the Senior National qualification tournament where both Rebecca and Felix played. Felix went into the tournament ranked 27 and finished the tournament in 3rd place! His performance’s were outstanding and the team were both shocked yet excited for him to finish this high in a senior tournament.
Equally as impressive, Rebecca was due to finish 9th place and also finished 4th in the women. Rebecca also beat the number 1 women ranked in the tournament. She played outstanding all competition.
Coach, Sam Mabey said, “For me as a coach I was so pleased for them and to have 2 players in the semi final at a tournament like this is not something you see a lot. This also means that both of them qualify for the Senior National Championships in March.”
Sam Mabey, Coach for Ackworth School Table Tennis Academy
Table Tennis
Jan 12, 2023 | Ackworth School
Logo designed by one of our pupils.
Ackworth School is a place where students should feel safe, accepted, and respected for who they are. Last year, the school launched a Pride group, aimed at the LGBTQ+ community, but of course welcome for anyone to attend.
Run by Oliver McCarthy-Bell, and with sixth form mentors, the group explores issues relating to the LGBTQ+ community, and so far have covered topics such as dealing with homophobia, coming out to family, exploring attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people in religion, and learning about some important events in LGBTQ+ history, such as the Stonewall Riots.
The group currently has both 2nd and 3rd formers regular attending, but the group is open to any students, both day students and borders. The group meets on a Tuesday break time, in the Music Centre Hall.
Resources: for advice visit www.stonewall.org.uk
Oct 10, 2022 | Ackworth School
Life can be challenging, but how are we equipping our young generation that is growing up overwhelmed by physical and mental ill-health with the tools to face these challenges? In all aspects of life, we are what we consume and children are inspired by actions, not only words.
Here are 11 tips for looking after our Mental Health which you can start today:
- Get into nature, even for a short walk.
- Learn to manage your emotions.
- Become aware of your inner monologue and speak kindly to yourself.
- Talk to someone you trust or journal down your thoughts and feelings.
- Being kind to others.
- Get more sleep.
- Move your body.
- Eat healthy food and drink more water.
- Do not use drugs or alcohol to cope with difficult feelings.
- Be curious about life and never stop learning.
- Plan things to look forward to.
So, what do we do here at Ackworth School to support our children and help them retain a happy healthy minds?
Staff at Ackworth School, not only teachers, are very good at recognising when children are struggling. We have a very good pastoral system in which we have Tutors in every year group including pastoral and academic leads. Occasionally we have visits from Quaker Friends, who speak, listen, and is here for whomever wishes to speak with them.
We also trust the fact that there are pupils at the school who are very good at noticing if their friends are in a troubled position. An example of this is the support network surrounding our Ukrainian boarders at the moment. We do encourage and require parents to inform us of any ongoing issues, but not everything can be recognised right away. Additionally, we have a professional service available for the children and staff. This is an opportunity to sit and speak about what’s on their minds and how they can navigate their emotion.
A most recent edition to the mental health caring strategy is our peer mentoring, having up to 20 individuals from our Sixth Form come forward and volunteer to be mentors. Part of this will be training for those pupils, but also further training for staff. This is due to begin after half term. We encourage discussions within our PSHE and RSE classes. In our Art subjects children are taught how to express themselves into producing beautiful pieces of work, sometimes exploring hard hitting subjects, and Physical Education around the school always promotes fitness and wellbeing. Our school council are the voice of the pupils, and we work on empowering these children, filling them with the confidence to take on the outside world.
Reflections/Fragments of Self artwork by Harriett Metcalfe
As a school we are actively encouraging children to become more aware of looking after their mental health. Building relationships and trust is everything and as a community we are working daily to improve that. This is reflected in our Quaker culture and ethos. We encourage all individuals in our community to be open, transparent, honest, and approachable. During Quaker meeting, this time can be used to reflect. Taking the opportunity to turn our thoughts inward and ask – am I getting this right? The community feel is a large part of what we teach and live by here. The sense of being a part of something bigger gives us all a sense a purpose. In our boarding house the children are a family and look out for one another.
Out of everything, we encourage everyone to be approachable because you never know when that one individual might reach out to you for support. If you are concerned about a child or a friend, please reach out to Nancy Newlands on Nancy.Newlands@ackworthschool.com
Thank you to the Head, Anton Maree and Senior Deputy Head (Pastoral & Academic) Nancy Newlands for their assistance with this article.
Resources:
Five Steps to Mental Wellbeing – NHS
MIND Charity
Sep 13, 2022 | Ackworth School
Following the announcement from Buckingham Palace of the death of our Sovereign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, a period of national mourning has begun and will continue until the end of the state funeral. This is a period of time for reflection in response to the death of the Sovereign.
The official date of the State Funeral is Monday 19 September 2022. This day will be a Bank Holiday which will mean that school will be closed to day pupils and there will be no teaching on this day.
Aug 25, 2022 | Ackworth School
Pupils at Ackworth School, near Pontefract have yet again achieved a fantastic set of GCSE results.
Almost a quarter of all grades at the school were at the highest levels of grade 9 to 8, with 43.5% achieving all 9 to 7 grades, and 89% all 9 to 4 grades.
The results included a 100 per cent success rate at grade 9 to 7 in Biology and Chemistry.
Ink, from Thailand, was one of the school’s top performing students with nine grade 9s and one grade 8.
Other notable achievements include Bani, from Pontefract, who achieved six grade 9s, three grade 8s and one grade 7, along with Isabel from South Milford, who achieved seven grade 9s, two grade 8s and one grade 6. All three are going on to study A-Levels at Ackworth School Sixth Form.
Local boy, Alex from Wakefield should also be acknowledged for his fantastic personal achievement of a grade 9 in mathematics.
The Headmaster, Mr Anton Maree, commented: “Our 2022 cohort have worked extremely hard to achieve these outstanding results. They have shown a real zest for learning, and I am excited to see what they will achieve in the next few years as they now embark upon their new adventures in the Sixth Form. They have demonstrated outstanding dedication to their studies during the last two years, and they can all be very proud of their individual successes.”
