Headteacher's Bulletin - Friday, March 8th 2024
The school has proudly celebrated International Women's Day today, with a host of different activities as listed below:
- A Personal Development session for all students focused on the achievements of inspirational women
- Postcards for all pupils to complete and to share with an important and influential woman in their lives
- Each lesson of Friday 8th March will showcase an inspirational woman in the field of the relevant curriculum subject
- Posters all over the school highlighting the achievements of influential women in society and raising awareness of this year's motto 'Inspire Inclusion'
- Members of staff and sixth form wearing the colour purple which is synonymous with the cause and work of International Women's Day
We are also hosting two community events, celebrating women in sport. There will be an event in the Concourse tonight from 6pm, with inspirational talks related to high achieving Women in Sport and many other stalls and activities all linked to empowering women and girls in sport. There will also be an All-Girls basketball event in the Sports Hall on Saturday for all school ages (turn up and play £3), followed by an All-Star women's game at 1.30pm which promises to be hugely entertaining and competitive!
NSB hosted the AMSP (Advanced Mathematics Support Programme) Maths Feast for the first time in Northampton on Thursday, with similar events being held across the country. Mrs Bradley Brophy who hosted the event, reports:
The Maths Feast events involve solving challenging mathematical problems that go beyond the scope of regular classroom learning and they help to secure and promote excellence and innovation in mathematics. There are several rounds requiring different skills and strategies for success. The event, attended by seven local schools, was a fantastic success with a brilliant, learning buzz pervading throughout the competition. It was supported by a wonderful group of NSB Year 12 Further Mathematicians who did all the marking too!
We had 2 NSB Teams and they consisted of the following Year 10s:
- Jason Hubbard
- Yi Cheng Yoong
- Sahith Kurasala
- Mihir Sharma
- Tomi Umamoto-Rixon
- Rishi Kotecha
- Archie Ayling
- Ciaran Long
Both teams came first in multiple rounds with perfect scores in some too. NSB also came first in the scores for the overall event.
NSB Rugby has been particularly high profile this week with the U14s and the U15s playing their National Cup Semi-Finals over the last six days. The dream of two National Cup Final appearances for NSB in one year was not quite realised with the U14s just falling short against a resolute King's Macclesfield team. Despite dominating possession for large periods, we could not fully break down the opposition's robust defence, who held firm for a 6-3 win. Although the result is obviously disappointing, the U14s have had a fantastic overall season and the future looks very bright for them.
The U15s played Stowe School on Sunday and delivered one of the most exhilarating displays of resilience, spirit and skill that I have seen from any NSB sporting side in the last decade. Despite being 19-0 down within seven minutes, the players kept their heads and gradually clawed back ground on the scoreboard. At 27-12 down at half-time the task still looked mountainous, but total dominance of the second half where almost all chances were executed, saw NSB take their first lead, 36-34 with seconds left on the clock, which was how the game finished. Great credit to Stowe, who had a particularly exceptional set of runners in the backs, however I cannot praise the NSB team enough for their monumental efforts. We now take on Radley College next Tuesday at the StoneX Stadium, home of the Saracens, in a bid to be back-to-back U15 National Champions. For those of you who enjoy rugby and haven't seen the captivating Semi-Final, I highly recommend a watch - you can find it through this link (first game on) National Cup U15 Semi-Final
On the sporting front, well done also this week to the U12B football team who have reached the Semi-Final of the National Cup, the U12A football team who have reached their first ever Cup Final with the County Cup, the U13 rugby sevens team who won the Leicester Grammar Invitational Sevens competition, the U16 basketball team who reached the last 16 of their National Cup, the U18 basketball team securing National College top division status after beating Manchester Giants in a nail-biter by 1 point, the Year 8 basketball Team who won the Town Championships and the U18 water polo team who have reached the National Final of the London League. Best of luck to the U13B football team who are playing in their National Cup Semi-Final this afternoon and to the U14 basketball team who are taking on Northampton International Academy in the last 32 of their National Cup tonight.
Finally, we are really looking forward to the NSB Junction 24 Dance event tomorrow, which will showcase some exceptional dancers from NSB and all across the county. We also have some other great Cripps theatre events coming up in the next few weeks, including the 'NSB Music March Madness Concert' next Wednesday at 7pm, the Key Stage 3 Production - 'Peter Pan Jr.' on Thursday March 21st and the Regional Music for Youth Festival across the weekend of March 23rd/24th . Tickets for all events are available from the Box Office.
Richard Bernard
Headteacher
