Upper Batley PRIDE Summer 2017

Issue 6 Summer 2017
The news magazine of Upper Batley High School
Step into
the future
Focus on careers
PAGE 4&5

2
The school for
high-achieving young men
WELCOME to the latest edition of PRIDE. It has been
another exciting and high-achieving term at Upper
Batley High School, with our boys succeeding in
a wide range of events, including sports, charity
projects, community work and academic awards.
Our reporting team received huge praise from the
BBC for their work on the BBC School News Report,
and were invited to the BBC studios in Leeds, where
they appeared live on Look North and sat on the red
sofa with Harry Gration himself.
Our rocket team, meanwhile, made it to the semifinals
of the UK rocket-launching championships,
plus three of our boys were successful in their
auditions to be in this summer’s production of Les
Miserables, with the top London theatre director,
Nick Evans.
We also have a record number of boys joining
us in September 2017 as the news spreads
quickly about how successful our school is for
high-achieving young men.
Sam Vickers, Headteacher
Outstanding
leadership
OUR Headteacher, Ms Vickers, has
been awarded the title of Local Leader of
Education (LLE) by the National College of
Teaching & Leadership. This is awarded to
people who have demonstrated outstanding
leadership in their own schools, and who
have a proven track record of being able
to achieve sustainable, effective change.
The role of an LLE is to provide schoolto-school
support, plus mentoring and
coaching for other Headteachers, as part
of system-led leadership.
Ms Vickers is also working as a coach
for the government’s Women into
Leadership programme, and delivers
training for new and prospective
Headteachers via the Pennine and
Green Light Teaching Alliances.
We now have one LLE (Local Leader
of Education) and seven SLEs (Specialist
Leader of Education), which demonstrates
the outstanding leadership we have in
our school.
Aman Kang
A team of enthusiastic young
journalists spent a thrilling day
reporting live on the BBC
BBC News
School Report
UBHS Learners successfully took part in the BBC News
School Report for the second consecutive year.
They decided to focus on raising awareness about
the potential damage caused to the environment, which
was highlighted by the late MP, Jo Cox, when she was
interviewed by our young reporters last year.
Following on from Jo’s ideas, our Learners
interviewed Jo’s parents and her sister, Kim Leadbeater,
who were all extremely passionate about how hazards
to the environment could be minimised. They also
promoted the effort put in by our school community in
relation to the Forest School and the Barnyard.
Eight young journalists were given the opportunity
to visit the BBC Leeds Studio where they spent the day
working on different aspects of news reporting. They
included co-producing BBC Facebook Live with Lara
Rostron, being interviewed along with the Headteacher
Sam Vickers on Drive Time Radio Leeds and, last but not
least, appearing on Look North with Harry Gration.
Sash Roy
3
Aim high, and reach your goals
WE were thrilled to welcome Marcellus Baz to Upper Batley
High School in February. The boxing club founder had been
awarded the BBC Get Inspired Unsung Hero award at the
2016 Sports Personality of the Year awards.
Marcellus was joined by Nathan, a member of his team
from Switch Up in Nottingham, and spoke to the boys at
UBHS about how high aspirations and hard work ensure
you reach your goals.
Mark Dyer

4
Experience the
world of work
Pathway to a
brighter future
5
FROM 13th-17th March, Year 10
Learners had the opportunity to take
part in a full week’s work. This enabled
them to gain valuable experience
and learn about the qualities needed
by employers.
They returned with a new focus and
drive to achieve their full potential
and become one of ‘tomorrow’s
successful men’.
UBHS would like to thank all local
businesses and primary schools that
allowed our Learners to join them for a
week of work experience.
Nial Sherrard
Mock interviews
LEARNERS in Years 10 and 11
recently took part in the Mock Interview
programme we run here at UBHS. This
entails local business people coming
into school, and passing on their
valuable experience and feedback.
We believe this is a vital part of our
careers education, and we would like
to thank those people who take time
out of their busy schedules to interview
our Learners.
Nial Sherrard
AS part of our journey to provide
outstanding education at UBHS, we
are looking at our Learners’ Career
Pathways, which we are linking closely
with the school curriculum.
It is our intention to build careers
education into everyday learning, to help
our Learners focus on attainment, and
make the link with their future career.
We have developed a careers booklet
so we can track Learner aspirations,
and the GCSEs needed to progress. The
careers booklet is used during ‘aspire
time’ and helps Learners to plan the next
steps in their education and inform us of
any help they may need.
Careers provision at UBHS is growing
in strength. This has been driven
by our work with C&K Careers, The
Careers & Enterprise Company and
Leeds Enterprise Partnership. We have
established links with business leaders
from the Leeds City Region and have
appointed our own Business Advisor,
Martin Jenkins, who is the Business
Development Manager at the Textile
Centre of Excellence.
Nial Sherrard
Helping our Learners to decide what they want to do after they
leave school is an important part of our curriculum provision
Careers take
centre stage
Alumni lead the way
DANIEL MUFFITT
I ATTENDED Batley High from 1995-2001, and left
with ten GCSEs. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do,
so I became a professional extreme sportsperson,
studied at Batley School of Art, ran my own bar/
restaurant at 19, and at 21 I worked as a technician
for Audi cars. However, my biggest passion was fixing
things, and at 23 I became an apprentice at Ace
Elevators, where I’ve worked for the past ten years.
RAFIQ KAYAT
I ATTENDED Batley Boys from 1986-1990,
then Dewsbury College where I gained my
BTEC First and National Diplomas, then Derby
and Huddersfield universities where I took my
degree. I’m currently working as a valuer at
Whitegates Estate Agents in Dewsbury. I’m also
a qualified ECB Level II cricket coach and sit on
the committee at Batley Cricket Club.
BRAYAN SANTOS
I LEFT Upper Batley in 2015
with six GCSEs, and went on
to Huddersfield New College
were I studied Art and Design.
I then took an apprenticeship
accounting and admin role at
Redhead International Transport,
where I still work today.
ELLIS RADCLIFFE
I WAS at Upper Batley
High School from
2010-2015. I left to join the
Royal Navy and am now
based in Portsmouth.
An informed
choice
ON 14th March, we held our
annual Futures Evening to
help our Learners and parents
make informed choices about
GCSE options next year. Both
Year 8 and Year 9 Learners
attended, and we were
delighted with the support
shown by our parents.
Staff linked careers to their
subjects, while C&K Careers
and local businesses spoke
about future job opportunities
in the area.
Altogether, the evening was
a great success.
Nial Sherrard

6 7
Charity events celebrate the gift of giving
Houses mean business
LEARNERS from UBHS have raised more than £1,000 for the
Alzheimer’s Association and our very own Barnyard with a series of
House competitions.
Learners were given an initial budget of £10 per team to set up a
business for five days. These ranged from washing cars and holding
film clubs to baking and trading goods. The winning team overall
was Respect House, who raised just over £460.
Elizabeth Berry
At the cutting edge
THIS year, our Learners
have been getting stuck
into some exciting and
challenging Design and
Technology projects.
Our Year 11s have
recently completed
their final practical
pieces; there are some
outstanding examples
of lighting products,
small-scale storage and
electronic speakers.
Year 10 has worked on
design movement-inspired
clocks, while our Year 9s
have sampled working at
GCSE level by designing
and manufacturing a
sustainable MP3 amplifier.
Our focus in Design
and Technology is to
manufacture innovative
and creative products to a
high quality and, as always,
our boys are pushing
the boundaries to create
outcomes to the best of
their ability.
Curt Farrar
Fundraising for
a common cause
WE marked Valentine’s Day by hosting a coffee morning.
More than 100 boys enjoyed a slice of cake and a cup of tea
or coffee in a room decorated with hearts and flowers.
We were joined by several special visitors, including the late
MP Jo Cox’s mum and dad, and her sister Kim.
The money raised – over £100 – was divided between the
Jo Cox charity, More in Common, and Ummah Welfare Trust.
Jeanette Dent
All the fun of
the Science Fair
Retail therapy
A SPECIAL pop-up shop was opened by our Learners to raise funds
for Indiability, which helps people with physical disabilities in India.
We raised £238 by selling items for Mother’s Day, including
handmade soaps, bath bombs and jewellery, as well as making lots
of mums happy.
Our Learners have also raised funds for their trip to India next
year by bag packing in our local supermarkets and they challenged
themselves physically with a sponsored walk. Well done boys – some
great fundraising taking place and all for a worthwhile cause.
Jeanette Dent
Books galore!
WORLD Book Day is a worldwide celebration – encompassing more than 100
countries – of authors, illustrators, books and, most importantly, reading.
On the day, teachers at UBHS dressed up as their favourite book
characters, we welcomed the children’s author and poet Craig Bradley to our
school, and Learners read out poems in year group assemblies.
Shazad Ahmed
It’s the real thing!
YEAR 11 Business Studies Learners were recently given the opportunity to visit
Coca-Cola Enterprises in Wakefield. This gave them the chance to gain both an
insight into a very successful multinational company and to view the business
world at first hand.
The boys came back with some interesting facts, including: Coca-Cola’s sales
revenues are £8.7 billion per year, the plant is the size of 33 football pitches and
makes 100 million cases of drinks per annum, and 25% of their drinks are sold
at Tesco. Everyone agreed it was an educational and enjoyable day.
Angela Brackley
AS part of the Change Art project, several local
primary schools visited UBHS for a spectacular
Science Fair.
Each school has worked with a local artist to
produce artwork based on a scientific theme, and
the Science Fair allows all of these groups to come
together and share their experiences.
These included whizzing through the solar system
in the space dome, creating flames with carbon
oxide and using scientific thinking to create a Mars
Lander. Altogether, a fantastic day to remember.
Louise Farrar
SAFETY FIRST
WE recently welcomed PIE (Performance in
Education) to UBHS, who presented a very funny,
but serious, performance to Learners in Year 7
about road safety and becoming more streetwise.
The boys all laughed out loud at some hilarious
jokes, and interacted with the performance from
start to finish. Jokes aside, the message focused
on being safe around the streets of Batley at
all times.
Gareth Cutler

Upper Batley High School
Batley Field Hill, Batley, West Yorkshire WF17 0BJ
Call: 01924 326343 Fax: 01924 326348
Send: office@ubhs.co.uk Click: www.ubhs.co.uk
Produced by Words&Pictures Tel: 01943 854800
Three cheers for
our footballers
IT has been a successful year for the UBHS football teams,
with two teams making it to the semi-finals of the Spen Valley
School Cup.
After beating Manor Croft 3-0 and Castle Hall 8-2, Year 8
faced Heckmondwike in a semi-final away game. With five
minutes to go, UBHS were 3-2 up when Heckmondwike scored
a further two goals, making the final score a very close 4-3
to Heckmondwike.
After fending off stiff competition, the Year 10 team played
Mirfield away in the semi-final. Although it was a tight game to
start off with, Mirfield ended the match 4-2 ahead.
Both UBHS squads, however, should be proud of their
performance over the season and the progress they are
making as a team.
Dave Hallam
Fighting fit
EVERY Monday after school,
we run a boxercise class to help
our Learners keep fit and build
stamina, as well as helping to
increase their confidence and
self-esteem.
Boxercise is an intense
workout, with blocking and
punching techniques being
taught on a one-to-one basis.
This enables boys to think quickly,
become better co-ordinated and
learn how to be disciplined.
As an added advantage, we
believe boxercise has helped
our Year 11 Learners, who will
shortly be taking their GCSEs,
to cope with the stress of sitting
their exams.
Davinda Gomersal
Futsal crazy!
NOW four years old, the UBHS Futsal
club is still popular with Learners
at UBHS.
Traditionally, futsal is a South
American game with similarities
to 5-a-side football. The main
differences are different
goal sizes, a restricted
playing area, and a
smaller, heavier ball.
Lionel Messi and
Cristiano Ronaldo
both grew up playing
futsal, honing the skills
which have helped them
to become among the
best players in the world.
Boys can play futsal
on Wednesdays (Key
Stage 3), Fridays (Key
Stages 3 and 4) and
during lunchtime Team
16 competitions.
Dave Hallam