Shakespeare’s Witches, Flashes and Bangs, Poppy Messages and Do You Dare ‘Come Dine With Me?’

Date published: 09 October 2018

Parents and carers of many year 6 and 5 children attended Siddal Moor to experience life at secondary school on Thursday 27 September. As children in the borough settle into year 6, many parents’ thoughts are turning to the next stage of their children’s education.

Mr White, Head of Siddal Moor, spoke of the collaboration between the school and Hollingworth Academy to work together on school improvement which began in January 2018. He spoke of Siddal Moor’s School improvement journey to achieve a ‘good’ Ofsted judgement at the next visit and to become ‘outstanding’ over the next five years with higher expectations of students, staff and families.

Mr White also spoke of current ongoing discussion on the possibility of adopting academy status with Hollingworth Academy, and a new behaviour system and code of conduct launched last month and already showing positive results. He also shared plans to increase the number of students the school can admit and a proposed new-build, due to start in April 2019 which includes additional classrooms, improved changing rooms and dining area, relocation of the SEND department and corridor widening, to ease congestion.

Siddal Moor’s future looks set to continue on the journey of improvement with continued support from Hollingworth Academy and the Institute for Teaching, who are involved in developing the skills of the teaching staff over the next two years.

The Open Evening allowed potential students to get a flavour of the school environment and meet the staff and students. The period between open evenings and the closing date for applications is a short one and for some children change can be a difficult concept.

Ms Bracken, Special Educational Needs Coordinator at Siddal Moor said: “Inviting year 5 students to our open events has been welcomed by many parents, for those children who find change difficult, this means they can take a look around school without the pressure of having to decide and apply until the following year, helping them to prepare for how a high school feels by the time the decision year comes around.”

An exciting range of activities were available to try including a range of art activities using different media and techniques, Shakespeare literacy activities in English, Do you dare ‘Come Dine With Me?’ in History, where World War I trench food and a typical mill-workers lunch was on the menu … yummy! Visitors made poppies and wrote messages of thanks to the soldiers on their poppy creations.

There was also the chance to experience a taste of France and Spain in Modern Foreign Languages and join in with a game of badminton, table tennis or cricket in the sports hall with the P.E. Department.

The Technology Department showcased electronics and robotics.  Visitors also had the the opportunity to make graphic products and sample dishes from the food technology curriculum.

The ever popular 'flashes and bangs' science demonstrations were back, and for those who weren’t squeamish ‘The Variety of Life Display’ in the biology room was not to be missed.

Mr Heppolette, Head of Key Stage 3 said: “We fully enjoyed the evening and the opportunity to welcome potential students and their families to see and feel what Siddal Moor has to offer.”

If you missed the Open Evening, or came along but would like to visit the school during the school day please contact 01706 369436 or email office@siddalmoor.uk.

The closing date for secondary school applications for 2019 is Wednesday 31 October 2018.