First of all, I came to school one week before school started. I met Martha and Rosa who were quarantining with me, this turned out to be great fun and we got to know each other really well and make friends. It was nice to meet them. Miss Anders (Head Matron) greeted me very warmly. The first week of school. What can I say? The first few days were a bit hard to get used to […]
During the first three days of this year’s activities week, our Silver Duke of Edinburgh group went for their qualifying expedition, starting at the Hole of Horcum, going via Newton-on-Rawcliffe and Rosedale Abbey to Fryupdale. Read their account of their expedition: “To complete our Silver DofE we had to come up with an aim. We decided on ……… people watching! As we hiked each day we recorded details of every person we saw. We estimated […]
Our fabulous Year 6 pupils had their final assembly and spoke about their time in the Junior School, recalling their favourite memories and thanking the teachers. It is always a very positive assembly but it is tinged with sadness as they are leaving to go up to Year 7. They are all ready to go and spread their wings in the Senior School. In their speeches, every pupil mentioned that they had had fun in […]
“Mrs White, trustees, ladies, gentlemen and pupils, I take great pleasure in welcoming you all back to our annual Prizegiving.” So began our Headmaster, Mr Steven Allen, as he welcomed pupils, parents, carers, and staff to one of our favourite events of the year. It has been three years since we last shared our in-person event, but with the sun shining and much to celebrate, this year’s event was a true delight. On the day […]
Our year 9 pupils have had quite a busy year in ICT. They have completed a Level 2 Award in IT Skills (equivalent to the BCS ECDL Extra qualification) which gives them a variety of IT skills they would need in many jobs such as word processing, presentations and spreadsheets. There have been some fantastic results with many pupils gaining over 90% on all three of the tests. In addition to this course, they have […]
Y6 have ended their science topic of ‘Living Things and their Habitats‘ by going on a nature walk at Falling Foss. We walked along the beck from May Beck, looking at the woodland habitat along the way and stopping for a minibeast hunt. We found lots of different invertebrates, including millipedes, centipedes, insect larvae, woodlice, spiders, beetles and worms. We also saw a speckled wood butterfly and heard a woodpecker. When we got to Falling […]
Throughout the year it has been great to see sport being played once again and many pupils have thoroughly enjoyed the competitive element that fixtures bring. Through Covid lockdowns it was often very difficult for children to understand what they were missing out on when they have never experienced it. The pre-match nerves, getting on a bus and travelling to another school, being part of team, all aspects which many of us can take for […]
Activities week is off to a flying start with our pupils getting creative! Inspired by the work of the great architect artist and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh, our pupils have designed their own versions of stained-glass window designs and nightlights. As a brief class presentation informed them, Mackintosh was born in 1868 and grew up in the heavily industrialized city of Glasgow, the second city of empire. Highly talented he trained as an architect but […]
Over 180 people turned out at our Rose Garden Music Festival to watch 6 acts perform in the glorious sunshine! Everything was organised by Olivia from portaloos to staging, booking the acts to arranging BBQ and cake. We are so incredibly proud of everything Olivia has done this year to raise money for her chosen charities. The end of term is always hectic: final assemblies, activities week and saying goodbye to those visitors who are not […]
The Leavers Ball is always a time of reflection for me, especially when some of the children I taught in Reception have finished their exams and are leaving school for their next adventure. It is such a privilege seeing these pupils on their journey through Fyling Hall. They come to Form 1 as tiny four-year olds and I teach them, not just to read and write and count, but to enjoy and get excited about […]
Imagine our delight welcoming back one of our alumni to run workshops for year 9 and 10 drama students. With the end of this academic year fast approaching, it is a strange time for teachers as pupils graduate and leave the school. This can be especially difficult when a pupil has been in the school a long time and you have worked closely with them in a small class. To welcome a pupil back is a […]
Having addressed the issue of the very volatile politics of the time associated with the Jacobite rebellions which at times came close to toppling the Hanoverian regime, Year 8 pupils have turned their attention to the social and cultural history of the Georgian Age. This was the age of great literary figures, Swift, Pope, Goldsmith and not forgetting Dr Johnson and his famous dictionary. It was the time of the great actor-manager David Garrick and […]
On such a beautiful day, what better way to spend an afternoon than counting flowers in the sunshine? This was the task set our Year 9s. The whole year group were split into randomly selected groups of 3 or 4 and provided with a metre rule, paper and whiteboards, given the simple task of counting all the clover flowers on the fountain lawn. The gardeners had been asked not the cut the lawn especially to […]
Our Year 7 Transition Day for Year 6s will be a full taster day of senior school on Friday 1st July. If your child is currently in the Junior School in Year 6 or if you’ve applied for a place from elsewhere, your new ‘student’ needs to arrive at 8:30am outside Main House, in suitable attire for a day of learning, equipped with a pencil case. Lunch is provided but if they wish to have […]
Last year we could not send our Year 10 groups into the real world of work (we all know why) and this year local companies were not yet ready to accept students back for traditional work experience. Instead we ran an internal Professional Development Day which proved to be a great success (so said our Year 10 delegates last time) so we decided to run it again this year. Our Year 10 students started the […]
Never was the expression “all good things come to an end” more true. It was with a bittersweet feeling for me that my year 11 class trooped into my classroom last week for the last time following their final English GCSE exam for a glass of (sadly) non-alcoholic champagne and a slice of cake so that I could bid them a very fond adieu and tell them what an amazing class they’ve been to teach. […]
Mrs Milner’s Year 7 students are celebrating their first year in secondary school, having had an extremely busy first year at Fyling Hall School. In their final term at school, they have worked on a writing project in which they had to create a ‘space journal’ about being lost in space, they have studied sections of Shakespeare’s ‘Macbeth’, and are currently working on learning poems for the annual Daisy Hardy competition. Phew! The space journal […]
When Mrs Jeeves, Head of Drama, said that we had five weeks to sort out a play, I was a bit worried because of how short a time that was. However, we worked hard and managed to put a play together. The play was about what it’s like to be a teenager and the struggles that come with it. It was nice to work as a group and have everyone put in their ideas. We […]
Form 2 had a fantastic school trip back in history last week when they visited Eden Camp. The class have been learning all about World War Two, throughout the term the children have read Goodnight Mr Tom, studied beautiful war time poetry and created their own wonderful black out poems. The class have enjoyed learning all about evacuation and what caused World War Two, so this trip was a perfect way to end their topic […]
It’s the last call for your Yearbook! Your last chance to secure your time capsule! The deadline for orders is THIS WEDNESDAY, 15th June which is the latest time I can place the print order to get them in time – so we need to act fast. Thanks if you’ve already placed an order – sorry for the repeated message, I just wanted to check to make sure everyone had that reminder and a last […]
May and June in senior schools around the UK are a nerve-wracking time for 15-18 year-olds as they sit their GCSE and A level exams. These exams hold the key to continued study in the sixth form or further education at University. This period is equally challenging for their staff. All teachers worry about how well their candidates will do under exam pressure but more so this year as this group of pupils are the […]
For those who do not recall, Activities Week is three days and more of varied tasks and activities, plus, plus. It is almost a distant memory thanks to the recent pandemic. I have really missed the opportunities it has offered and as a result tried to organise a full activities week that all should be able to attend. On the week pupils will learn valuable skills to support them in their later lives. Thursday will […]
There is a buzz of excitement and anticipation up and down the corridors, in the classrooms, and throughout the hallowed halls at Fyling Hall; the Daisy Hardy poetry recital competition is back! That’s right, back to her original format at last, the Daisy Hardy competition is coursing through the school breathing fresh energy, vigour, and joy into the hearts of every Fyling Hall student. Covid, that tiresome and dastardly malady, had hobbled our competition for […]
Congratulations to all our learners on their success! We may have only just returned to finish the Summer Term and academic year, but before the term hurries past, we pause to congratulate our students who sat the IELTS exam before our Half Term break. What is the IELTS exam I hear you ask. Let me explain . . . Every year we welcome pupils from countries as diverse as Hong Kong, Germany, Colombia and Russia; it […]
Fresh from the success of their first ever Bake Off, the Friend of Fyling Hall / PTA are planning a Grand Summer Draw. Our Bake Off raised over £250 which will go towards a little treat for our Junior School pupils (with seniors receiving a donation earlier in the year towards their Halloween party). This time, proceeds will go towards a new kiln for the Art Department which will be an asset to the school […]
It’s been almost 5 months since I first arrived at Fyling Hall and I have enjoyed working here and living in beautiful North Yorkshire. I first arrived here in the middle of winter but was glad it ended up being quite a mild winter so it was not too much of a shock – although I did get to see a little bit of snow, which was something different! Recently, I have been loving English […]
As part of their science work on living things and their habitats, Forms 2 and 3 recently went out onto Fylingdales Moor to do some pond dipping. We found lots of different creatures including: palmate newts, damselfly and dragonfly nymphs, caddisfly larvae, water boatmen, diving beetles, whirligig beetles and tadpoles. The children also spent some time sketching on the moors, and we all enjoyed the aerial display put on by the swallows as they swooped […]
As you can imagine the first half of the term has been busy and a lot has been underway. A variety of activities have taken place during the first half of the term, and I am sure there is a lot more to come in the second half! The boarders, as well as our day pupils, have enjoyed their weekends at Wykham Lakes paddle boarding, trips to the local towns of Whitby & Scarborough, shopping […]
Many international students dream of experiencing life at a British boarding school. This Summer Term, Fyling Hall is lucky enough to welcome a number of Spanish students who are staying for this very reason. For a short while, Spanish pupils will not only experience life at a British boarding school, but also improve their English. Let me tell you about our first group’s experience . . . Every day the students from Barcelona participated in […]
The first half of the Summer Term has been busy with the pupils enjoying trips to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway and pond dipping on the moors. We are so fortunate to be surrounded by such glorious countryside and that we are able to make the most of it. Trips are a great way to engage pupils in a topic and the experience makes everything they are learning about more relevant. Form 1 will be […]
It seems like only a few months ago since we started the school year in September, but last week already saw us doing not only the A-level and GCSE exams, but also Key Stage 3’s end of year exams! How time flies! That means that over the last weeks there has been a lot of revision of old topics going on. Fortunately, this year both French and German have introduced sentence builder books instead of […]
In the last three weeks we have been researching and investigating female scientists in our English lessons. We chose the topic ‘female scientists’ because we wanted to be inspired by their hard work and efforts. We gained some additional natural knowledge about the world in our project and it was more interesting than just working on grammar! To end our project we did a podcast with a quiz, fun facts and lots of information about […]
As we move into the final term of another academic year, I thought I would give you all an update on what we are all doing in English. The Alevel students are looking at their second comparative literature text, ‘Dorian Gray’, and examining Wilde’s language and his aesthetic philosophy. This will be compared to Stoker’s ‘Dracula’, another Gothic text, and we will be looking specifically across the theme of the Supernatural. Our brave year 11s […]
After spending around 6 months with my guitar tutor Paul Whittaker, my first EP is now available to listen on musical steaming platform such as Apple music and YouTube music. The EP is called “Long Story Short“, and it is a summary of major things which happened in my life that lead to changes in my thoughts and opinions. I composed all the songs, and record and produced it in the music studio at school […]
On their most recent weekend adventure some of our pupils, boarders and dailies, went to Wykeham Lakes for some fun on the water. Well, that was the plan although Keith and Ibrahim seemed to spend more time in the water than on it. In fact whilst paddle boarding the girls, Diana and Anya were the only two not to fall in, showing the boys how it should be done. Next was the assault course, inflatable […]
I remember when I first came to this school, it was on 5th January 2022. Also this was my first time in the UK. In that moment when I looked at the environment in this school, my feeling was really excited and I can’t imagine that I was really staying here in the UK. Bailey in front of Main House In my dorm room was Emma, Diana and Emilie. I think they’re so nice and […]
How would you view “The Environment” through an A-level lens? Head of Art, Ms Gillings gave our three A-level Photography students the assignment and students then chose their own subject matter within that theme. As you might expect, Charlie, Joseph and Brogan all took a different approach. When asked about his images, Brogan commented, These photos I feel show how time and humanity have an effect on abandoned buildings. I focused on taking photos of […]
As the summer term is now well underway it has given the pupils the opportunity to take part in athletics. Whilst the thought of running around a track does not always thrill the masses, the great advantage of athletics is that there is an event for everyone, whether that be throwing a javelin or sprinting the 100 metres. It is an excellent inclusive activity that offers the chance to be written into the history books […]
One of the simplest definitions of my particular sphere of science is: ‘if it moves, it’s Physics’. Fitting then that our year 10 topic is the Physics of Forces and Motion. It’s a topic that lends itself to practical activities as it is inherently a practical topic. So far this term we have, amongst other things: Thrown eggs out of the window (with a parachute to demonstrate air resistance)Speeded up a trolley car using ramps […]
Form 2 had a great few days making model volcanoes. This design technology topic was a lovely way to end their Geography unit which has been Mountains and Volcanoes. The Junior School children worked in small groups to complete their task. They were given a number of different materials and it was lovely to watch their creativity flow. Lisette Vincent-Jones, Junior School Teacher “I worked with Harry and Annabel, first we made the volcano structure using […]
Hearing the pupils’ excited shrieks as the locomotive chugged beneath us, enveloping us in great clouds of steam, was a definite highlight of the trip for me. We travelled to the North Yorkshire Moors Railway at Pickering, it is a wonderful station and the volunteers were on hand to answer the children’s seemingly endless questions! They were given a series of questions to answer which involved them walking around the station to find various things […]
After a much awaited 3 years, the Staff vs Students hockey match was back; faster and better than ever. It’s every student’s dream to be able to play against their teachers in a fast pace, competitive atmosphere and hopefully, win. From the first push back, the pace of the game was set and both teams new this was going to be a tough game. Within the first few minutes the staff were able to break […]
Old St Stephen’s (aka Raw Church) will be a familiar sight to Fyling Hallers past and present, whether as a milestone on the Senior Cross run, the spot for spooky midnight walkabouts or as the setting for the annual Harvest Festival. We’ve even heard tales of students visiting the abandoned building in the 1960s being overwhelmed and fainting; needless to say, the air circulation is much better these days. What you might not know […]
Y6 have been having fun in maths lessons creating scale models of Harry Potter’s bedroom at Hogwarts. Using their knowledge of scale and ratio, our Junior School pupils worked in groups to choose from a list of items and scale down real-life dimensions by a scale factor of 10. They then made the items from cm squared paper, also choosing their own items to make; estimating the real dimensions before working out the scaled down […]
This past weekend our boarders enjoyed the lovely city of York. Our short stay Spanish visitors also joined the trip to this fabulous city. Whilst our “permanent” boarders enjoyed shopping, the Spanish spent their time visiting the Railway Museum. Going out on the weekends visiting several towns and cities gives our international boarders the chance to experience different cultural aspects that the UK has to offer. York is a beautiful city nestled in the heart […]
This last weekend saw our first Duke of Edinburgh expedition of the year. On Saturday morning, seven young people set off on the minibus to explore the Esk Valley on their Bronze practice expedition. Blessed as we are with our surroundings, we didn’t have to go far. After a 15 minutes’ drive it was time to get the rucksacks on and the adventure began. Everyone was in good spirits, still strong after a good night’s […]
We are very excited to tell you about our first ever Bake Off competition! It will be held on Monday 23rd May and judged that morning by Sarah Muir from the Arches Cookery School. The winner will receive a baking course at her fabulous school in Grinkle. The competition is open to all pupils. Parents are invited to come and join us on the morning for freshly crewed coffee and to watch the judging. You […]
What are our newest students first impressions of Fyling Hall boarding life? Mrs Jeeves, Head of English as a Second Language, asked Laure and Mathilde to share their thoughts. Both girls are French, are in Year 9 and will stay with us for one term. When I arrived at school I didn’t want to come because I didn’t speak English and I was very stressed. At the same time, I was happy because it would […]
As we start the final term of the year I have found myself reflecting on my many years at Fyling Hall. It is as usual a very busy term. Year 11 and year 13 are about to 3 start their external exams (the first to run since June 2019) and KS3 and Year 10 will have internal exams over the next few weeks. For those who have been part of the school for some time […]
On 7th June 1971 the three presenters of the BBC children television programme Blue Peter, Valerie Singleton, John Noakes and Peter Purves, buried a ‘time capsule’ in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, live on television. The idea was that it would be dug up in the distant future – in the year two-thousand – so the children of that time might marvel at the mysteries of the past and the children of 1971 […]
