Westholme School - Westholme Girls' Junior School - Girls aged 7-11

Girls' Junior School at Beardwood Bank

Single-sex education for girls aged 7 - 11

Welcome from the Head

The Junior School for Girls is often referred to as Beardwood Bank, the name of the building on Preston New Road where we are located. The situation is convenient yet safe, stimulating and close enough to the Senior Schools for the pupils to be able to take advantage of some of their specialist facilities, particularly the swimming pool and the theatre. The Junior Girls’ School is a dynamic, warm and caring place, where girls grow into mature pupils, ready for Senior School. The curriculum deepens and broadens out. Foundation stones put in place earlier are built on, with the form teacher delivering the majority of the girls’ learning experiences. This familiarity really allows the teacher to get to know each pupil, and the stability it provides yields superb results. Examinations are taken twice yearly so we have an understanding of each pupil’s progress and we are able to respond to their individual needs appropriately. The brightest are stretched and those who perhaps need to go at a steadier pace are equally well looked after. The girls also have experience of specialist teaching for the subjects of P.E., French and Music, which gives them variety.

As with the Infant and Senior Schools, at the Junior stage we are really looking to find and develop the children’s unique talents. Exposure to a huge variety of clubs helps this along; a range of musical and P.E. clubs run alongside other extra curricular activities such as Street Jazz, Photography Club, Jewellery Making Club and Gardening Club. These are just some of the new societies open to the girls.

The children here are always enthusiastically busy, with many learning new musical instruments or becoming part of variety of sports’ teams. We compete locally and nationally in a number of sports, including swimming, hockey, netball, cross country and athletics, often coming away with a clutch of medals. Skills are important but so is that “have a go” attitude, and we really encourage the girls to try out new things. In Year 4 many take part in WISPA (Westholme Inter Schools Performing Arts) with the Boys’ Junior School and each year they put on a polished performance in the Theatre at Senior School. In fact public events are one of our strengths at Beardwood Bank; parents are always incredibly proud to see their children performing so confidently in our annual Carol Service at Blackburn Cathedral and at the Musical Evening in the Westholme Theatre. Trips and journeys also help build self-belief; by Year 6 the girls are ready to travel more independently and we enjoy a weekend away at an activity centre and even venture across the Channel to France!

At the end of year 6, the girls are ready to move up to Wilmar Lodge and there are numerous induction and taster events to make the bridge. They leave us having accomplished so much and it is always so heartening to see a formerly shy 7 year old emerge into a confident House Captain or Prefect, leading the School. We hate to say goodbye but the compensation is that the girls have only moved a mile down the road and we see them going on to even better things!

Mrs Carol Laverick, Headteacher

May 8, 2012

AJIS Sings!

A selection of Junior School pupils take part in AJIS Sings