Year 6 Videography History Day

Using green screen technology, Year 6 pupils were able to bring history to life this week when they created a video about ‘Life through the Blitz in World War 2’. Starting with Chamberlain’s address to the nation in 1939 announcing the start of the war, pupils assumed the roles of reporters interviewing people ‘of the time’.

The WW2 reporters asked about their reaction to the start of the war and of their life through the blitz. The video then explored Anderson shelters and interviewed children, parents and volunteers involved in the evacuation of children to the countryside.
Working with a professional videographer, pupils wrote and practised each scene, focusing on how characters of the time would have felt and ensuring historical accuracy. The videography taught pupils some of the tricks of the trade of using green screen to enhance the quality of their videos. The final video will be showcased to pupils next week.

Mrs Doran

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Importance of Leadership Talk

Police Commander Steve Howard delivered an insightful talk about the meaning of leadership to Year 10 and Year 11 pupils this week. Having worked for the police force for over 30 years, Steve has enjoyed a long and distinguished career. In the 1990s, Steve was a spotter at football matches identifying potential football hooligans. His role as a football liaison officer took Steve around the world, including flying first class with the England football team! Now Superintendent for Bolton Police, Steve was perfectly suited to talk to students about leadership. Mr Howard impressed upon the pupils that every individual possesses leadership qualities and challenged the pupils to be self-aware about their own personality traits and how that impacts upon their leadership style. Three styles of leadership were discussed: authoritative, transactional and transformational. Pupils were asked to complete a personality quiz to identify their dominant leadership style so that they might learn to embrace and develop themselves as future leaders.

Mrs Doran

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Y13 Talk – Women in Leadership; Prison Life

Y13 students were treated to a Liverpool College first on Monday when they were given the opportunity to hear a talk from prison governor Jacqueline Gourley. Giving the students the benefit of her 28 years’ experience in the prison service, Jackie gave the students a ‘warts and all’ picture of life in a modern Jail. Describing the prison as a ‘small town’, Jackie explained the different classifications of prisoners and how the prisoner facilities and infrastructure has changed over the years. She also described the impact of Covid on prison life and the steps she, as the Prisoner Governor, has taken to address the issues of extended periods within cells during this national pandemic, including the introduction of encrypted technological devices to extend communication opportunities between prisoners and their families. It was quite eye opening for the students to hear a frank portrayal of prison life and to recognise the role of a woman in such a powerful leadership role in such a traditionally, male dominated environment.

Mrs Doran

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Year 7 Law Talk

Year 7 pupils from Brook’s and Butler’s enjoyed a valuable talk about Law this week. Beth Wheatley, a lawyer for Bentley Motors, defined the principal job roles of a lawyer and addressed the misconceptions derived about the profession. She explained the multiple types of law practitioner, both established and up-and-coming (following the rise of the digital age). Beth went on to explain to the pupils her specific role as a lawyer in commercial litigation and the essential skills and attributes required to be successful in the profession such as attention to detail, resilience, the ability to articulate yourself clearly, determination and problem solving. This group of Y7 pupils will be invited to participate in a Law event next term where they will be able to develop their public speaking skills by taking the roles of judges, lawyers and witnesses as they try real cases in a ‘mock’ trial. Details to follow!

Mrs Doran

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Boarders Hockey Session

The boarders recently engaged in an on-site hockey session with our coach Miss Arnold. First, they engaged in several strength related hockey skills and it was the girls that outshone the boys with their power and strength. After mastering several drills, the students then went on to play a mixed match. This provided much entertainment and plenty of goals. Eventually, the match ended 3-2.

Mrs Latham (Head of Boarding) and  Mr Cook (Director of Sport)

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Letters to Local Care Home from Y7 Brook’s

We are all facing a challenging time with COVID19 and for many of us the announcement of a second national lockdown is unsettling. For many people it will also be a very lonely time, especially for our elders.

Y7 Brook’s and I put our minds to work and came up with a great idea to try and put a smile on our elders faces by writing letters to a local care home. During the first half of the Michaelmas term the pupils worked on creating positive and inspiring letters writing about themselves, settling in to Liverpool College secondary school and a meaningful message to put a smile on the reader’s face. The care home chosen is very close to my heart as my grandad spent the last year of his battle with Alzheimer’s at Moss View care home in Huyton from June 2017 to August 2018. When I contacted the care home they were ecstatic and said anything to help their residents during this difficult time is more than welcome and they are really grateful for our help. Delivering the letters and some chocolates off at the care home, I could see the joy and appreciation on the nurse’s face and she shared how much this means to both the staff and the residents. That was very heart warming.

What I have learnt from this experience, in particular from the pupils, is the saying ‘in a world where you can be anything, be kind’ is more important now than ever before. The pupils showed true kindness in their letters and have made this difficult time easier for the residents at Moss View care home. Thank you Y7 Brook’s!

Miss Pye (Y7 Brook’s House Mentor)

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