March 13, 2023
We’ve had a busy and exciting start to 2023 with Career and Work-related experiences at BTH.
For Lower School, a variety of curriculum and employability-linked activities focusing on the 6 Areas of Learning and Experience have taken place.
These included a SHINE drama workshop where the students used their imaginations to investigate facts through drama, about the Ancient Egyptian Gods for our Myths and Legends theme. Jo Wright at Shine Drama commented that we are a “lovely school with a fantastic ethos. The staff clearly care for the pupils and there is a lovely community here.”
Students attended a four-week Bike Maintenance and Safety workshop with Mechanix at Alyn Waters, learning how to fix, care for and ride their bikes safely. They gained practical, transferable skills including changing tyres and fixing a puncture. One pupil said that they learnt “a different way to change a tyre to how I normally do it.”
As part of our new ‘Space, Stars and the Galaxy’ theme, Xplore! Science Discovery came to deliver four weekly sessions. These included a visit to the Xplore! Science Discovery activity centre, with time spent in the Planetarium where the children loved showing us what they have learned over the past weeks, including rocket demos, constellations, and flying on a hoverboard! Feedback from teachers showed that pupils used “resilience, persistence, problem solving and team building” during the sessions.
Our year 8 student attends Re-furbs through Groundworks each week as part of our alternative provision programme. He uses practical skills to upcycle various items and creates new uses for wood. He has a great talent with some amazing creations!
Upper School pupils have been busy preparing for post-16 journeys. They have had visits from local employers Magellen and onsite visits to truck specialists AN Richards, as part of National Apprenticeships Week. These visits, as part of our Meet the Professional programme, have a significant impact on the outcomes of pupils. They equip them with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about their post-16 options by hearing from, and speaking directly to employers and young people working there, about their own journeys and the opportunities available in the local labour market.
Year 11 have been busy focusing on their upcoming GCSEs with a visit to Wrexham Mosque and Wrexham Cathedral to complement their RE studies. Our RE lead teacher thought that this visit “put RE into real life context, improving many students attitudes to RE and different cultures.”
All upper school pupils took part in a visit to Wrexham Glyndwr University where they had taster sessions in ICT and Sports. Pupils heard about the career benefits stemming from Higher education, and the ability to study Computer Gaming and Football at degree level!
Selected upper school pupils also took part in the Hay Fest Scribblers English literature tour where they met leading authors and had the chance to express themselves through creative writing. This also linked into our National Storytelling Week-focused whole school assembly on literacy.
Our aspiring star in 10 has been working through his alternative provision qualification at Wrexham Sounds this term. He has completed modules in rhythm and percussion, and recorded a number of songs as part of the music-making. We are very proud of his achievements!
