This term I experimented with special weekend gatherings for our boarders called ‘Philosophy Nights’. It’s been quite a while since I last ran our philosophy club. Current global events have curtailed normal operations of our clubs and societies over the past year but the return of Flying Hall Philosophical Society’s is most welcome. The idea was to introduce the basic ideas of philosophy and the rules of engagement. I lead with the Socratic method in that […]
As the saying goes “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone”, certainly rings true with games lessons. Whilst online learning continued for all subjects, there comes a point where virtual sports have their limits. So it is great to see the children back in school and positive about participating in physical exercise. The Senior School have taken the Mill Run in their stride, completing the runs in good time. The ability to do […]
Joining us over 12 years ago, Matron Stamp tells us what it is like to be a matron, an invaluable role within Fyling Hall’s boarding team. When I joined the Fyling Hall boarding team 12 years ago, my role was Relief Matron, working 2 nights and days in Ramsdale with the Junior boys then moving into Woodside to spend the same amount of time with the Junior girls. This enabled the full time Matrons to […]
One could not help but exclaim “We really do have talent!” as the proverbial curtains drew on Fyling Hall School’s Got Talent. The first talent show its kind at Fyling Hall saw more than 30 students showcase their talent, both live and virtually. Acts include singing, dancing, musical instruments and also mountain biking, trampolining, skateboarding whilst completing a Rubik’s Cube and dog training. Performers did not make the judges’ job easy! After much deliberation, many […]
Every year we task Fyling Hall’s Year 9s with researching famous mathematicians who have left a lasting legacy. This year we have presentations celebrating the works of Russian Mathematician Lobachevsky, Blaise Pascal, who left us the Pascal triangle, Oliver Heaviside, John Napier, John Venn of Venn Diagram fame, Katherine Johnson, a real-life rocket scientist and mathematician,Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, the father of algebra from the 9th century. Some excellent presentations, well researched and one presenter […]
On Good Friday this year 2nd of April at 1.45pm, Fylingdales Church features a video of readings, images and hymns entitled “The Stations of the Cross”. Three of the readings have been done by Fyling Hall pupils Megan (Station 3) Arthur (Station 6) and Oaklei (Station 9). Fyling Hall’s former Headmistress, Mrs White, has also been involved with (Stations 4, 10 and 12) You can access this video at any time after the above date […]
So, what will you do in your Easter holiday? You may ask. For you it can be back home, sit on you favourite chair and watch Netflix until the day you have to get back to school again. But it can be much more than that. It’s Arthur here, from Hong Kong, year 12, currently in my first year of British boarding school. My first holiday I stayed at school because of covid. It is […]
What is poetry and what does it do? Well, I suppose that we all know what a poem is or at least some types of poems and I bet that most of us have had a stab at writing one from time to time; perhaps a witty limerick or a few lines trying to telling someone how much we love them, and I suppose, in their essence, that’s what poems are: ways of writing to […]
“There is a Chinese proverb: We help each other in the same boat and move forward hand in hand。Cooperation will let us usher in new development together. 中国有句谚语：同舟共济，携手前进 合作将让我们共同迎来新发展” So said Principal Xiaohong Chen, Principal of Chengdu Yangma Middle School, as he “ushered in a day worth celebrating”. This week saw the Fyling Hall School and Chengdu Yangma Middle School take part in a signing ceremony, formalising their “friendly cooperation”. Initiated by the Chinese Ministry […]
Parthena tells us why she is proud to be a pupil and weekly boarder at Fyling Hall. She is in Year 8 and hails from York. Once I stepped through the door, I knew I had arrived in a great place. I started at Fyling Hall School in January. Before I arrived, I was feeling nervous and excited at the same time. On my first day the weather was grey and miserable, but once I […]
It’s funny how these things creep up on one. How one can be aware of something that doesn’t seem quite right and yet not quite able to explain what it is; what’s missing. And on Monday, I worked out what it was that had been buzzing around the back of mind just out of reach of any sort of cognitive perception. The recent lockdown had been ok; there was certainly plenty of work to do, students were doing […]
Fyling Hall’s Year 6 scientists have encountered a few scrambled eggs along the way. They have been busy investigating different forces and how they act. ‘Forces’ was our science topic over lockdown. Pupils started off by learning all about gravity. The children worked on presentations about the life and work of Isaac Newton and we shared these in lessons. They looked at the difference between mass and weight and carried out an investigation, measuring the […]
How might Geography students put their creativity to the test? Fyling Hall’s Head of Geography, Miss Gilmour, shares some examples from Years 7 and 9. Take a look! Year 7s Our most recent, and still current, topic is population. Year 7 have been learning all about how populations change over time and the reasons behind those changes. I thought it would be interesting to then let them all create their own country, thinking about matters […]
As part of their studies this term on Prehistoric Britain and the Dark Ages, Year 6 have examined the role of historical sources, and especially archaeological evidence, for historians studying periods for which we do not have many written records. This has led them to investigate the extraordinary archaeological discoveries at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, and what these finds can tell us of our early Anglo-Saxon forebears. Here are some of their excellent interpretations of […]
Hyunbin, one of Fyling Hall’s international GCSE students, kindly shares what life is like “after I became a boarder”. I have been at Fyling Hall for more than 2 years, but I started to board from the last term. Before I started boarding, I did homestay in my guardian’s house. My homestay family was Korean, so I could have comfortable communication, but my English was more slowly developed compared to the international boarding students. It […]
Mothering Sunday falls on the fourth Sunday in Lent, and has done so since the Middle Ages. Revd Steve Foster of Fyling Hall’s local parish church, St Stephen’s, Fylingdales joins us once again . . . this time to kindly shares his insight into this special day and invites you to join St Stephen’s Mothering Sunday service featuring Fyling Hall students, Freddie, Olivia and Tomas. Please visit their Facebook page at 10.00am on Sunday, 14th March. Mothering Sunday […]
When did you last think about the value of Pi? International Day of Mathematics, also known as Pi Day, is on 14th March, i.e. 3/14. As this falls on a Sunday this year, we celebrated this great day, as we always do at Fyling Hall, in school on Friday. Year 9s worked in smaller groups and substituted counters for real pies to calculate the value of Pi. They produced some excellent and accurate results. It […]
“It’s nice seeing my friends and it’s good to be real schooling instead of learning online,” says a Fyling Hall Year 2 pupil. This sentiment was echoed throughout the whole Junior School this week when I asked the children how it felt being back at school. Our Junior School pupils have slipped straight back into their bubbles and hand washing routines are being remembered and the breezy classrooms smell of hand sanitiser. But the most wonderful thing […]
To say that we are delighted you are back is an understatement. We could not be more pleased to welcome our students back to Fyling Hall. There is nothing like the sound of children’s laughter at break, nor their inquisitive voices in the classrooms. Of course, we have maintained regular contact with our students, but it was never going to be the same. Strict guidelines are in place to ensure the school community remains safe […]
Although not the first country that springs to mind when thinking about holiday destinations, Germany has a lot to offer. This is not only the great cities like Berlin, Munich or Hamburg, but also the little towns that are scattered all over the country. Since we cannot visit them ourselves, our year 11 GCSE German group have done some online research about one German town each. Emie, Eve, Freddie and Ulyana then delivered a presentation […]
Yamina joined Fyling Hall School in January, just as England entered Lockdown 3. As an international student, she shares her initial experience with us including why she thinks our “teachers are able to look after me more than in Germany” . . . I have been at Fyling Hall School for already two months. Even though we had online lessons during that time, it was still great. I could meet amazing people here who really […]
To celebrate World Book Day, during our last online German lesson, year 9 filled in a questionnaire about their reading habits and favourite books, and wrote an article about it. See what they have come up with! #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; width:100%;} /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML […]
Recently I was invited to take part in the Wild Eye trail project; I was invited by the environmental art charity: Invisible Dust. Last evening I took part in a video call with Lucia Scazzocchio, who is the artist working alongside Ryan Gander OBE. Lucia is creating a podcast to accompany Ryans sculptures. We talked about how we could change the environment in our locality, what we thought about living on this part of the […]
Mars is a planet entirely inhabited by robots seeking to answer the question, will we find signs of intelligent life? The latest arrival is NASA’s Perseverance robot which landed this month (and if you haven’t seen the footage of the amazing parachute and drone helicopter landing, you need to see it. Visit NASAs YouTube channel). The robot’s job is to perform experiments on the Martian surface looking for evidence of life, or past life, on […]
The FHS Art Studio students continue to show great resilience and flair. We have seen some amazing work by our creative students over this last term! The time working from home has allowed students to experiment with using different drawing apps and programs to create some fabulous pieces of work. These are just some of the apps and programs for Art & Photography: ProcreateAutodesk SketchbookSketchbookPhotoPeaLightroomSnapseed Whether it’s been recreating work by the artist Michael Craig-Martin, […]
Adapting our teaching to work online with different groups with different needs has been tough, there’s no doubt. But occasionally there’s a clear advantage of this way of working. Over the past few weeks I’ve been teaching Year 7 about genetics, adaptations and environmental effects on organisms. I wanted to collect some class data on various attributes that the students had for us to discuss. Because these data are in effect personal biological facts about […]
What are French lessons like from the perspective of international students? Ms Hornung, Fyling Hall’s Head of Modern Languages, asked Yamina (Year 10, from Germany) and Tim (Year 10, from Hong Kong) to share their thoughts . . . Lock down again from January, although this time many of us have known what it is like to be doing lessons online. French has always been our favourite lesson even in the last lockdown, normal lessons […]
Keeping the spirits lifted and ourselves busy is very important for me and the other borders who remained at school. The past weeks almost months have been tough and far from normal. Let me share with you some of the ways in which we are keeping the spirits lifted and ourselves busy. White Robin Hoods Bay A common way to pass time and keep fit at the same time was spending the evening in the […]
We want to see your talent! Your talent might be juggling, singing, acting, comedy sketch, poetry recital, animal training etc . . . Your act just needs to be entertaining! In return, you could win a prize! Launched by Fyling Hall’s Music and Drama Departments, Ms Johnson, Head of Drama, commented, “I am super excited to release the details of the ‘Fyling Hall’s Got Talent’ competition! Already we have a number of entries and I think it […]
Gaining valuable life skills is a key benefit of work placements. Just over a year ago Fyling Hall’s now Head Girl, Phoebe, commenced her work placement at Pinkney Grunwells Lawyers LLP. Written shortly after her placement, Phoebe kindly shares her experience and makes the case for gaining valuable life skills, which also provided her with great content on her recent UCAS application. My work experience was guided by the solicitor, Amy Arnold, who is also […]
Inspired by Amanda Gorman’s wonderful poem and recital at President Biden’s inauguration, Year 10 Second Language students spent part of last term studying the poem. Students from China, Hong Kong, Russia and Germany couldn’t end the term without trying out their own performance. With some students joining lessons abroad they had a lovely afternoon filming their sections and sending them in. We hope you enjoy Fyling Hall’s rendition of “The Hill We Climb”, inspired by […]
It is interesting to note that never has Geography been more applicable than now, right this minute. As a species, we are constantly striving to make sense of this world we call home. The use of fossil fuels and whether we should have stopped using them last century. The development of clean, public transport and how to make it sustainable. Food miles, energy use, access to drinking water and sanitation, global trade agreements, our personal […]
Year 12 Drama student, Ulyana, tells us about her drama experiences and shares why drama is a subject unlike anything else she has studied before ….. Studying in England is something that I have never expected to happen with me. However, in August 2020 first time in my life I crossed British border. After spending in Fyling Hall School some time I’m happy to share my experience with you. At the time when Dr. Richardson […]
We’ve been hearing about what the pupils have been doing away fromtheir screens, but wonder what our teachers have been doing to escapethe ubiquitous Zoom lessons… Mr Cross is a huge Bach fan, and decided to re-arrange Bach’s Andante inF major for the organ. Not only did he transcribe the piece – it wasoriginally composed for violin – but he also decided to learn to playit himself and then record it! Miss Stewart has been […]
What is good mental health? Well, it is not one thing alone. Rather, it is a number of things that give us good mental health. It is our ability to learn; it is about how we express ourselves, using a range of emotions to do so. It is about how we cope with change and the uncertainties that can bring, and it is also about our relationships with others, ensuring that these are positive rather […]
Since the inception of “PE with a Difference”, it is not strange to see boarders on their own bikes. Nearly 3 years ago now, we as a games department had the idea to ride across England in an effort to raise money and kickstart a mountain bike program at Fyling Hall. This means that it was almost two and a half years ago that we successfully bought a fleet of 10 mountain bikes, and our […]
How does one teach music in a virtual world? Miss Johnson, Fyling Hall’s Head of Music, takes us on a quick journey through some of our music lessons during the UK’s third lockdown. Year 4, 5 and 6 having been creating their own instruments. Pupils had a choice of three . . . from glass xylophone, straw pipes and rain maker and only one lesson to make it. Take a look! Year 7 looked at […]
This simple circuit has a rgb LED capable of lighting up red, green and blue. Each of those colours is controlled by those controls (variable restores called potentiometers) at the bottom. So by turning on just one we can have red, green or blue light. By turning on blue and green we can have the secondary colour of cyan. By turning on blue and red we get magenta and with just green and red we […]
In maths this half term, Fyling Hall’s Year 6 have been sharpening their mental maths skills with daily sessions, and learning about negative numbers, fractions and decimals, the order in which we carry out number operations (BIDMAS), different methods for multiplication and coordinates and translations. #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; width:100%;} /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding […]
Revd Steve Foster of Fyling Hall’s local parish church, St Stephen’s, Fylingdales, kindly shares his thoughts on Lent, which might be a good time to make a real effort. The season of Lent begins this week on Wednesday, which we call “Ash Wednesday”. The day before is a day most of us know and love – Shrove Tuesday – Pancake Day – not part of Lent but it gets us ready for the Lenten season. […]
Everything is different this year. Everyone is going through a hard time and are still trying to get used to the lockdown resulting of COVID-19. It has been a long time since the last time I went home and many of us really want to go home as well, especially on “Chinese New Year”. This is one of the most important festive occasions in Hong Kong and China. People normally celebrate it with a nice […]
At this special time of year it is always exciting to spend time celebrating with our Chinese and Korean students, exploring the traditions of the Lunar New Year and observing some of them ourselves. The multi-cultural blend of our classrooms is always a joy, but at a time of celebration it is even more exciting to share together. In previous years we have given assemblies on Korean traditions, performed a play explaining the story of […]
How do you teach a practical subject online? I’m not sure, but I can tell you what we’ve been doing anyway. As some of you know, before I entered teaching I gave lectures, talks and training on creative thinking to businesses, especially scientific and technical or engineering companies. One of the highlights was flying out to Evian near Lake Geneva to keynote for pharmaceutical company Bayer for their global science research teams. So having to […]
This year’s A Focus on Sixth Form was the third of its kind. Presented by our Headmaster, Mr Allen, our Deputy Head, Academics, Dr Richardson and our Head of Sixth Form, Ms Mitchell, the event was held virtually due to the current lockdown. Multiple sessions allowed for a more engaging and interactive session. As in previous years, parents and students were guided through all aspects of Sixth Form including subjects & timetabling, results, university application, […]
It has been a busy week in maths with nearly 30 students from Years 9, 10 and 11 taking part in the Intermediate Mathematical Challenge. This challenge is a 60-minute, multiple-choice competition aimed at students across the UK. It encourages mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. The problems on the Intermediate Mathematical Challenge are designed to make students think. Most are accessible, yet still challenge those with more experience. There was some serious practise undertaken before […]
Fyling Hall’s Form 2 were very excited about their school trip. Last week, Miss Vincent-Jones surprised the children with a virtual tour of Buckingham Palace! Keeping children engaged is very important during online learning and the children certainly enjoyed the treat. The class, who were split into small groups of 4, thoroughly enjoyed looking at several different Palace rooms. ‘My favourite bit was seeing the corridor, I would do flips and gymnastics down it all […]
Learning languages at home is a challenge for all. It strains the listening skills to breaking point, and it is all too easy to ask ‘Mr Google’ to help with the translation work! This term the Junior School pupils have had much more screen time than previously, and I really wanted to introduce something a bit different. Having decided that it would be an ideal opportunity to look a little more at the culture of […]
Being a Headmaster constantly reinforces how remarkable young people are. I am looking out of the window at the falling snow, reminiscing about how excited the pupils always get at the thought of a snow day! ‘Are you cancelling school, sir?’ is the question I face every five metres I walk, not only from the pupils but the staff as well! It is a reflection of the strange times we live in that under the […]
Friday is Dress to Express Day at Fyling Hall. As you may know, 1-7 February is Children’s Mental Health Week. Supported by Place2Be “the theme of this year’s Children’s Mental Health Week is Express Yourself. Expressing yourself is about finding ways to share feelings, thoughts, or ideas, through creativity. This could be through art, music, writing and poetry, dance and drama, photography and film, and doing activities that make you feel good.” Pupils and staff are […]
With this year’s UCAS submission date now passed, Fyling Hall’s Year 13s have taken another step in preparing for university life. With ten successfully completed applications, students have applied for a great variety of courses form Business in Brighton to Astrophysics in St Andrews to Interior Design Northumbria and Material Science in Swansea. Already several students have received offers from all over the country for courses starting in September. The Year 13 are now using […]
