There has been a strong Personal Development focus at NSB this week:

Northamptonshire Primary and Secondary teachers, alongside delegates from other youth groups and educational settings, attended the ‘I’m Still Me LGBTQ+ Education Conference’ which was held on Tuesday 17th May - the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia at The Guildhall. Tom Vaughan, a Year 13 student, who is part of the NSB House Leadership Team, co-hosted the event brilliantly, speaking eloquently about why there is a need for this work as well as introducing speakers from various councils, Cedar Road Primary School, NSB and Stonewall. There was additional input from The Lowdown and Q Space and Mrs Greenaway also delivered an excellent keynote speech alongside running two workshops. The conference looked at the current climate of LGBTQ+ within schools, practical ways of improving inclusivity, support groups, Ofsted expectations and PSHE, however the real focus of the conference was the students and their real-life experiences and voices. To close the proceedings, nine Year 12 NSB students performed the TIE (Theatre in Education) performance of ‘I'm Still Me’ to the whole conference, vibrantly bringing to life the varying aspects of a young person's experience of being LGBTQ+.

On Friday, students in Years 7-10 received a hard-hitting but deeply informative assembly from the local police force, who reiterated key messages regarding the dangers and implications of Knife Crime.

Our Teacher Training section of the school - the NTTP have been re-accredited as an official teacher training provider from September 2024 onwards, under the new national framework for teacher training – this framework required all current teacher training providers such as NSB to apply for re-accreditation. This is an excellent achievement by Mrs Druker and her NTTP team, especially given the complex and lengthy nature of the application - only 80 out of 216 applicants were successful across the country.

Many congratulations to our brass ensemble ‘Metalworks’ who, following the regional heats, have been selected to perform at the National Music for Youth Festival Finals in Birmingham on 9th July. This will be an invaluable opportunity for our younger musicians to experience playing at a big venue/event. Congratulations also to the Year 7 cricket team who enjoyed two comprehensive wins in their first games of the season this week against Wellingborough School and Leicester Grammar School, respectively.

We are very much looking forward to the Year 7 National Football Cup Final, which will be played on Monday at the Hawthorns (home of West Bromwich Albion) against St. Bede's School from Durham. Kick-off is at 5.30pm, with all spectators gaining free entry to the ground. Alternatively, the game is being streamed live with commentary from the ESFA (English Schools’ Football Association) YouTube Channel which can be accessed through this link: ESFA Football.

Richard Bernard
Headmaster

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