General News

Congratulations to Westholme student and aspiring tennis player Elizabeth, who recently shared some fantastic news with us. 

Elizabeth recently travelled up to Scotland with her doubles partner Mia, to play in some National Level tournaments. They entered the Scottish Open and played brilliantly, reaching the final and beating some quality opposition on the way.

The final itself represented a milestone for Elizabeth at it was her first final at National Level. Unfortunately, the result was not the one she wanted despite a great effort from her and her partner.

Despite the result, Elizabeth can take plenty of positives from the experience as she looks to now build upon her achievement and the experience she will have gained.

Congratulations Elizabeth and we look forward to hearing about your future tournaments and successes. 

Last week, we received the tragic news of the passing of former student and Head Boy, Yusuf Mumtaz, aged 21.

Yusuf left Westholme in 2021 with outstanding A level results. He had secured a highly-sought after Degree Apprenticeship at Jaguar Land Rover and the whole School community was immensely proud of his achievements, in the classroom and beyond. Bright, charismatic yet humble, Yusuf represented the best of Westholme. He treated his role as Head Boy with tremendous respect, and regularly returned to Westholme, inspiring current students with his passion, skills and commitment to everything he did.

Yusuf’s career was truly beginning to blossom, having won the Apprentice of the Year Award twice. We feel honoured to have been part of Yusuf’s journey, and he remains forever at the heart of Westholme.

Our most sincere condolences to Yusuf’s family and friends, who are devastated by his loss. His memory will always be a blessing.

We are delighted to be welcoming our 7^th Principal to Westholme in September, Mr Paul Taylor.

Mr Taylor shone out above all other candidates in our rigorous recruitment process, and demonstrates all the skills, experience and qualities to build upon the progress that Westholme has made over the last 100 years. We are very much looking forward to welcoming him for the start of the next academic year.

Mr Taylor is currently serving as Head of the prestigious Kings’ School in Dubai. His previous Headship was at Fulneck School, in West Yorkshire. He has 14 years in total of Senior Leadership in the Independent School sector, and was also a student at St Peter’s York.

After leaving school, Mr Taylor studied Politics at Durham University and secured a Fulbright Scholarship. He is a keen sportsman and continues to pursue his passion for politics and history.

We’re sure you will join us in welcoming Mr Taylor as we now look forward to another exciting chapter in Westholme’s history.

Year 7 and 8 students put their Maths skills to the test, in the UKMT Junior Challenge, earlier this term. This is a multiple-choice test, designed to promote mathematical reasoning, precision of thought and fluency in using mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. We are delighted to have received a fantastic set of results, with over half of our participating students receiving a Bronze, Silver, or Gold certificate.

Gold and Best in School: Samuel

Gold and Best in Year 7: Samra

Gold: Mabel

Silver: Emily, Elizabeth, Leo, Fatima, Jay, Haris, Elizabeth, Alfie, Harvey, Shazil, Thomas, Archie, Mohammed and Eissa.

Bronze: Liv, Eesa, Ben, Rose, Huw, Katie, Ibraheem, George, Kai, Sophie, Noah, Sofia, Nathan, Alicia, Lily, Isaac, Jasmine, Moses, Lily, Sam, Grace, Grace, Lily, Ayyan, Niamh and Lucy.

Special mentions go to Samuel, Samra, and Mabel who have also taken part in the Kangaroo, the next stage of the competition.

Well done to everyone that took part. 

Mrs Bateman

Teacher of Mathematics

This term, some of our sporting students have achieved some fantastic results which we are very proud of. Here are a few below, well done!  

Leiyah (Year 7)

Congratulations to Leiyah, in Year 7, on her recent fantastic news. She has now been selected to ride for England, in the European Teams Championship 2024, which is being held in France this summer.

Leiyah has worked endlessly with her pony, Boss Baby, to make this selection and is now in the top five U12 Mounted Games riders in England, this year.

Her skill and determination has absolutely shone throughout all of her hard work. 

Well done on your achievement Leiyah, and best of luck for the summer, from everyone at Westholme!

Caris (Year 8) and Will (Year 9)

Year 8 athlete Caris, and Year 9 athlete Will, represented Blackburn at the Lancashire Athletic Championships on Saturday, at the UCLAN Sports Arena. Will ran in the 1500m race and Caris competed in the 200m event. 

Both performed brilliantly and were awarded silver medals! As a result of their achievements, Will and Caris have both been selected to represent Lancashire at the English School Championships next month. 

We would like to wish them the very best of luck, for their future running endeavours!

Towards the end of May, Year 8 students travelled to Chester Zoo as part of their Biology course, to study Evolution and Adaptations.

Chester Zoo is the most visited zoo in the UK and is also a conservation and education charity committed to the prevention of extinction. Fortunately, the skies were blue as students and staff enjoyed walking around the zoo. There was always more to see with the huge variety of animals, plants, and habitats, including many species that are endangered. 

The zoo is home to over to 20,000 extraordinary animals, and students got the opportunity to see many different species from all over the world. From the plains of Africa there are the lions, elephants, giraffes, and zebras. The amazing aquarium features beautiful animals such as the piranhas, tropical fish, as well as sea otters, penguins, and so much more. There really was an incredible array of climates and habitats on show.

The photos below were taken by the students and staff and show off the variety of the animals that are at the zoo. As well as observing some of their favourite animals during the day, students were able to enjoy various refreshments such as ice-cream as well as being able to visit the gift shop. 

Overall, a great day was had by all, and we were very impressed with Year 8 students’ enthusiasm and behaviour.

Last Thursday, we were delighted to be visited by the multi-award-winning author Phil Earle; he has won the British Book Award for ‘When the Sky Falls’ and has been writer in residence for the leading reading charity, Book Trust.

He spoke to Prep 4, 5 and 6 about his extraordinary journey from being a non-reader to becoming an author. In his words, he had no idea how it happened! At secondary school, there were two things he did not want to be – a reader and a writer! He loved the idea of it, but used to think he could not do it. He remembers when the 'Roy of the Rovers' comic was delivered, and he realised this was a book he could get on with. It was short, and a marriage of words and pictures. This was when reading excited him! For a long time, he did not think he was a proper reader because he only read comics, graphic novels, and newspapers. But, when in London, aged 26, working in a bookshop, he started to read children’s books. He read, and loved, the book 'Holes' and this is when his view of books changed!

He taught us important messages: you can still be a reader even if you don’t read novels, you can read with your ears as well as your eyes, and watching films teaches us how stories work, how characters interact, and about how plots are formed.

There is a story out there for everyone - it is just about being brave enough to explore which options bring you the most joy!

Phil had such a fantastic sense of humour and had both teachers and children laughing. We thank him very much for his visit! 

We were delighted to hold the second edition of our Primary Schools' High 5 Netball Tournament, after the success of the event last year. It was great to welcome back some familiar faces to the courts, as well as new ones who were visiting Westholme for the first time.

Miss Lloyd and Miss Smith had organised the event, and it was great to see teams turning up to play competitive levels of netball. All teams took to the courts and played out their games to the best of their ability. There were high levels of skills on show and there were some great games throughout. After some really tight matches, St Leonard's ended up as the eventual winners! Congratulations on a fantastic team effort!

After the tournament had finished, tea and refreshments were served in the Dining Hall. The winner's presentation then commenced, with the prize presenter being our very own Pippa, INSPIRED Sixth Form student and Sports Captain. Pippa currently represents Manchester Thunder and is an extremely talented netball player with experience at local, regional, and national level.

Well done to all those who took part, congratulations to St Leonard's as the eventual winners and thank you to the catering staff for putting on a meal at the end for everyone in the Dining Hall.

On Friday 10 May, we transformed the Croston Theatre into a beautiful venue for our Year 13 Stand Down Ball. 

Head of INSPIRED Sixth Form Mr Oracz, worked alongside Deputy Head Miss Lloyd, and the catering team from Thomas Franks to put on a magical evening for our outgoing Year 13 leavers. It was a great way to provide our students with such a memorable evening, that would provide them with some more wonderful memories of their time as Westholme students.

As exams approach, the Stand Down Ball is a great way for students to enjoy themselves and celebrate what has been an eventful final year for them! The evening was filled with laughter, smiles, friendship, reflection, and a deep sense of gratitude, as they came together one final time before the onset of their A Level examinations. 

Mr Oracz commented "I was certainly moved by their sense of maturity and readiness for the big wide world, something to be proud of, as it is clear how much a Westholme education prepares students in every way for the next steps in the journey."

We would like to wish all of our leavers the best of luck with their examinations, and we hope you enjoyed the ball. Thank you to the catering staff, from our partners Thomas Franks, for putting on such a delicious meal!

Looking at secondary school options?

We welcome you to our event of the year!

Our Annual Open Evening is an opportunity to discover what makes Westholme different.

A holistic experience is instilled at Westholme and we provide the most fulfilling opportunities for students in an inspiring environment. Young people leave Westholme equipped with their individual passions, ready for the workplace with 21^st essential skills.

You can register for this event using the link below: 

REGISTER HERE

We hope to see you on the evening!