This week, G29 had the pleasure of attending two expert sessions as part of their current expedition ‘How can we continue to make progress in public health’

We were joined by Daisy, Rhiannon, and Kaat—three Doctors and Specialty Registrars in Public Health who work on reports that directly influence policy in Gateshead. Daisy and Rhiannon posed a thought-provoking question to the students: “Should women who smoke receive fertility treatment?” This sparked insightful discussions and encouraged students to think like decision-makers, weighing up the pros and cons of providing IVF on the NHS to people who smoke. The session inspired thoughtful, mature conversation and strengthened students’ ability to approach public health issues critically.

Kaat supported students in developing strategies to make their reports more engaging. She reminded them that it’s not just about accurate research and data—effective communication matters too. Students were encouraged to use linguistic devices to capture readers’ attention and make their reports as persuasive and accessible as possible.

All students have now begun writing their reports. I’ve recommended that each student spend at least one hour during the Easter holidays working on their section of the report. This will ensure we have ample time for critique and redrafting ahead of our Presentation of Learning (PoL) on 9th May.

Each student is taking the lead on a section of their group’s report, meaning they can make progress independently during the break without needing to meet with their group.

Below is an extract from the first draft of Brodie, Dakota, Hallie, and Leo’s report, entitled:

Lights, camera , smoke: How media fuels smoking? 

‘Eight of the ten films nominated for Best Picture at the 2025 Oscars contained tobacco imagery’ (Truth Initiative, 2025). Timothee Chalamet, who was a fan favourite to win the oscars earlier this year, smokes in his movie “A complete Unknown”. Chalamet plays a 1960’s Bob Dylan from New York City, where The Daily Mail states, ‘Timothee Chalamet wears a suede jacket and smokes a cigarette’ ( Kayhart, 2024).

Similarly to Chalamet, Cillian Murphy has smoked ‘3,000 herbal cigarettes per season as Tommy Shelby, despite not being a smoker himself’ ( Barker, 2024). This is important as it shows the effects that films can have on the public, and how despite Murphy not smoking himself,  his character is stated to be ‘rarely seen without a cigarette dangling from his lips’ ( Barker, 2024). Thomas Shelby is an important character in many people’s lives, his smoking habits could lead people to joining him.

Lily has also written a strong introduction for her group: Accessing the impact of public health reform

It’s no secret that smoking has been a common problem across the world for decades, centuries even. King James I of England was the first to publish his concern about smoking. James’s Counterblaste to Tobacco published in 1604 described smoking as ‘a custom loathsome to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, dangerous to the lungs’ (James I 1604). 

Students also have their guiding question to complete if they find themselves at a loss for activities this early Easter break.

On Tuesday, G31 students presented their learning for their “Staying Alive” STEAM Expedition which had the guiding question “Is Survival Sufficient?”.

Students worked extremely hard throughout the expedition, considering the importance of food, water and warmth, and the challenges many face in accessing these resources. Students combined their knowledge from across their STEAM subjects to put together recipes that are both healthy and delicious, donating ingredients and designing recipe cards for each meal to display nutritional information and instructions on how to prepare the meals.

The students presented their work to staff from Edberts House which will be shared with members of our community. Absolutely stunning work, G31!

Thank you so much to all families who have supported this expedition by supporting students to try out recipes, and for making such kind donations that will make a difference to our community.

Huge congratulations to Crew Shakespeare (G31) sport stars Evie and Abbie on their beautiful work over recent weeks.

Abbie starred in her first competitive ice hockey match with the Whitley Warriors after lots of hard work to make the team and train – we’re mega proud of you Abbie!

Abbie geared up for her Whitley Warriors match

Evie took home a medal for her shot put event at her regional indoor athletics event and has been invited to start shot put training, as well as smashing her personal bests in her 60m sprints!

Evie taking her place on the podium

Mohammed’s dedication and determination shone through in his recent karate grading, earning him ‘A’s across the board and a well-deserved yellow belt. His drive to push even further and aim for two grades next time is truly inspiring. We couldn’t be prouder—well done, Mohammed!

Brooke recently competed in the Bristol International Acro Cup. At Grade 2 level Brooke and her partner achieved 3rd place out of 22 pairs in their category! They were amazing, and this is such a credit to their hard work as it was a very hard competition with a really strong field.

Winnie and her relay team won silver and bronze medals in the Northumberland and Durham County Team swim championships today. She swam 50 metres of freestyle in 29 seconds and 100 metres free in 104. Both PBs. Both very fast!

Winnie swam up an age group and was competing against 15 and 16 year old swimmers this is an awesome achievement.

We take great pride in having craftsmanship and quality as one of our school’s 5 character traits, encouraging our students to produce work that reflects the highest standards. Last year, Lizzie Moody, exemplified these traits through her outstanding personal research in her ‘Leaders of Their Own Learning’  sessions where she studied the Holocaust.

Lizzie dedicated her time and effort to study this significant historical event, culminating in producing a presentation that was well-researched, structured, and engaging. Her work was so well-prepared that it was ‘indistinguishable from that of professionals’ which is one of the criteria we aim for when striving for craftsmanship and quality. Recognising the depth and quality of her presentation, both Mrs Ross and Miss Simpson chose to use it as a teaching resource for our Year 8 students in commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day this year.

The Holocaust is an important and sensitive topic, and Lizzie’s presentation demonstrated not only academic excellence but also a deep understanding and respect for the subject. Her guiding question ‘Could the horrors of the Holocaust bring about any positives?’ demonstrated her maturity with the aim of studying this complex and dark historical event whilst looking to celebrate the achievements of those involved who were striving for a better future.

Lizzie’s presentation did address the horrors and devastation, that one of the darkest chapters in history brought about, with 6 million Jewish people, of many nationalities, being murdered at the hands of the Nazis, alongside a further 5 – 6 million people from minority groups, but she was careful to include the heroes of this time, in her presentation, so that the light was shone on them.

This educational experience for our students was further enriched by a guest speaker from the Jewish community, who shared personal insights and reflections on the Holocaust. The combination of this and Lizzie’s exceptional work  provided our students with a profound and meaningful opportunity to learn and reflect on a period that should never be forgotten.

Lizzie’s dedication and skill have not only enhanced her own learning but have also contributed significantly to the education of her peers. Well done, Lizzie!

We are excited to offer parents the opportunity to order a tote bag with their child’s artwork on. I have attached some pictures of some that were created this week at the craft event.

G28 students are going to undertake the production of these bags and guarantee the 1st 30 orders will be ready by 20th December (making it the perfect Christmas gift for family members).

We know from the craft event this week that this will take a great deal of time which G28 students will be giving up at social times and after school. As a result, we are charging £5 for the bags and the money raised will go towards helping to fund the Silver Duke of Edinburgh expeditions.

If there is appetite for it, we will reopen orders in the new year but due to time constraints we can only at this stage guarantee the 1st 30 orders will be done in time for Christmas.

To order a bag you must use this Shopify link. It will show as sold out once 30 orders have been made. It is crucial that you leave a note on your order with your child’s name, Crew and the artwork you would like printed on the bag. Without this, we will not be able to create your bag and therefore it may not be ready by 20th December. 

If the artwork you are requesting is digital, it is very easy; your child simply needs to share the piece of work with Miss Tatters.

If it is a physical piece, it is very important to us that the student artwork is kept safe and secure. For this reason, we are asking your child to follow these steps once you have ordered a bag.

1. Inform your child you have ordered a bag and which piece of work you have requested.
2. The student will then collect the piece of artwork from their folder during their next art lesson (or at break or lunch)
3. They will bring the artwork to G8 and place it in the purple folder on the teacher desk (ensuring their name is on the work either on the back or by attaching a post-it note). Without this, we will not be able to proceed the order. 
4. When the bag is printed, we will hand the bag and the original artwork back to the student who will need to return the artwork to their art folder immediately.

We are really excited to be able to showcase the student work in this way and get it out into the community!

Elina Donlan Jones took her Grade 2 singing exam last week and passed with merit. In addition to this she got the news that she has landed a part in a short film due to be filmed next year!

What a talented young lady! Well done Elina, we are all very proud of you.