Music lovers enjoyed four nights of diverse entertainment when Springwood High School in King’s Lynn hosted this year’s West Norfolk Academies Trust Community Music Festival.

The popular annual event was taking place for the fourth time, and saw performers from our school join others from across the Trust, alongside a host of other music groups from across the region.

“Suffice to say we had a real mix of younger WNAT ensembles, alongside more experienced ensembles and professional musicians,” said Robin Norman, Director of Music at WNAT and organiser of the event. “There was a real mix of different styles and ages, with performers from all schools across the WNAT family, along with other community ensembles.

“There was, without doubt, something for everyone, with a wonderful range of instrumental and vocal ensembles.”

Besides Springwood, the participating Trust high schools comprised Marshland in West Walton, St Clement’s in Terrington St Clement, and Smithdon in Hunstanton, while member primaries taking part included Clenchwarton, Gaywood, Heacham Infant, Heacham Junior, Snettisham, Walpole Cross Keys, and West Lynn.

“Across the four nights, there were in excess of 500 performers from across all year groups from Reception through to Year 13,” explained Mr Norman. “These were spread across all the schools in the West Norfolk Academies Trust and beyond.

“Students from all WNAT schools were involved. However, we were also joined by community music groups including the West Norfolk Music Centre, West Norfolk Winds, and others – a real showcase of all the different types of music from across West Norfolk.”

Among the performers were musicians from the Trust’s Musical Instrumental Tuition Initiative (MITI) Programme, including a String Ensemble, a Wind Band, and individual piano and percussion students.

More than 900 people attended the Community Music Festival, which culminated in the WNAT Choral Spectacular, featuring choirs from all the Trust’s schools, along with special guest St Martha’s – a total of around 250 students, aged five to 18.

“The students of all ages coming together is a unique experience,” continued Mr Norman. “There is an overarching sense of camaraderie, and, whatever the age, the students joke, and laugh, and just enjoy making music together.

“There was a wide range of pieces on offer, from musical theatre to classic pop to rock. However, the highlight had to be the grand finale when all the children joined together to perform ‘This is Me’ from The Greatest Showman.”

“For the young people in our schools, this now-annual event is important in so many ways,” added Mr Norman. “The professional-level stage is just one aspect of this, as all performers have the joy of performing in front of appreciative audiences on equipment of such a high level.

“However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, as you cannot measure the good a series of events like this does on inspiring future musicians, who, in some cases, will be hearing advanced performances for the first time.

“This gives them the opportunity to perform and work with a whole range of musicians. This is something you cannot really measure as both an inspirational and aspirational tool.”

Writers from Smithdon High School had their analytical skills tested in a prestigious essay-writing competition held by Cambridge University, when they pipped entrants from across the region to take both first and second prizes.

Our Year 9 students were among the finalists of the Cambridge Writing Prize, which is part of the Cambridge Festival of Reading and Writing, and is open to schools across Norfolk, Cambridge, and Bradford.

“We have been fortunate to participate in this competition since its launch in 2018,” said Amanda Wright, Head of English at Smithdon, which is a member of the West Norfolk Academies Trust.

“Organised by Cambridge University, this prestigious event allows students to study texts previously shortlisted by the BBC Short Story Competition. Universal themes such as identity, family, and anxiety are ideas students explore as they study texts such as ‘Ghillie’s Mum’ by Lynda Clark, ‘Scrimshaw’ by Eley Williams, and ‘The Sweet Sop’ by Ingrid Persaud.”

The whole of Year 9 took part in the annual contest, focusing on ‘The Sweet Sop’, and each producing a 500- to 750-word essay giving a personal perspective on the piece.

“It is a story about relationships, forgiveness, and – perhaps the most relatable aspect – a penchant for chocolate,” explained Mrs Wright. “Victor, the narrative’s protagonist, bonds with his terminally ill, estranged father, Reggie, over chocolate.

“Students read and interrogated the text before writing an essay about individual perspective.

“Three years of Key Stage 3 study culminated in this intense, academic writing, and the Smithdon Year 9 cohort all participated in the process.”

Around 80 students from a range of different schools came together at Cambridge University for the Prize Giving, which also featured a competitive scavenger hunt in the grounds of Robinson College, and a buffet lunch, as well as a university-style lecture by Professor Raphael Lyne at Lady Mitchell Hall on Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 116’.

Alex da Costa, Chair of the Faculty of English, was on hand to make the presentations, which included overall winner Brayden May, and runner-up Hadleigh Clay – both Smithdon students.

“Brayden’s essay was commended for its insightful analysis of the subtleties of the text,” continued Mrs Wright. “The Selection Committee called his writing ‘perceptive, interesting and incisive’.

“Hadleigh’s essay was awarded for it being ‘perceptive, well articulated, and coherent’.”

“The opportunity to participate in this competition is unparalleled,” she added.

“Students have the opportunity to spend the day at one of the finest universities, and they have access to diverse texts which expand their knowledge of English as an academic subject, and broaden their understanding of the world and human experience.

“The competition promotes confidence and independence – students discuss literature, and how they choose to respond to the prompt of ‘individual perspective’ is ultimately up to them.”

We strengthened our links with the surrounding area, when Smithdon High School donated a collection of maps to the Heritage Centre.

“We are currently going through all of our resources and equipment before the potential start of a rebuilding project in the coming months, and are making some interesting finds,” explained our Assistant Headteacher, Steve Chapman, who rediscovered the maps, many of which are more than 50 years old.

“The maps had been held in the Geography Department storage cupboard for many years,” he continued. “I was concerned that these maps were not being looked after in the way they should be.

“The maps of all the local villages had not been used in lessons for a number of years.”

Mr Chapman approached the Heritage Centre in Hunstanton to see if they would be interested in the maps, and the Committee members were happy to add them to their collection.

Representatives Andrew Murray, Stephen Kent, and Sheila Kent from the Centre visited Smithdon, which is part of the West Norfolk Academies Trust, to accept the maps in person from Mr Chapman on Friday 11 July.

“The Heritage Centre on the corner of Northgate and Greevegate holds a fascinating collection of local memorabilia and artefacts, which the public can visit,” he added.

“The school looks forward to working closely with the Heritage Centre in the new academic year, with small group visits to the Centre to help increase students’ knowledge and understanding of local Geography and History.”

Artists from Smithdon High School impressed art lovers when they showcased their talents at an exhibition held in the Town Hall.

Eighteen GCSE Art students from our school were exhibiting their creative work, which featured an array of different media from biro, pencils, and prints, to textiles and oil paintings.

“The exhibition was named ‘Gatherings’, after the project title students were given in their exam project,” explained Sian Wheeler, Head of Art and Design and Technology at Smithdon, which is part of the West Norfolk Academies Trust.

“Each student had two of their final pieces on display which were from coursework and exam projects.

“The students created work from the themes of ‘Reflection’, ‘Similarities and Differences’, and ‘Gatherings’.”

It was the third year that the show had been held at the Town Hall, with more than 200 visitors attending across a two-day period.

“The public feedback on the exhibition as a whole, praised the work of our talented Smithdon students,” continued Mrs Wheeler.

 “A few pieces were mentioned often as stand-out – Ava M’s woven piece, Rhenaya C’s colour pencil Candy Canes, and Megan M’s biro tiger.”

Another highlight was a drawing installation that had been created by more than 300 primary school children, alongside Smithdon students, and to which visitors could contribute, enabling it to grow and evolve throughout the exhibition.

Staff involved in the event included our Deputy Head, Sarah Robinson, and Assistant Head Alysha Moat. They were also joined by professional artist – and former Smithdon student – Emily Chapman, who was on hand to select a winner for the Emily Chapman Art Award, which will be presented at a Year 11 Awards Evening in November.

“The public were in awe of the talent and work produced at Smithdon, with many asking if work was for sale, or which students were going on to study Art further,” added Mrs Wheeler.

“This event is so important in raising the profile of the arts. It enables people to see the students in a different light, and their talents.”

Primary school pupils got a taste of the next stage in their education when our school opened its doors for the day on Friday 11 July.

Smithdon High School, which is part of the West Norfolk Academies Trust, welcomed around 130 pupils to its Year 5 Experience Day, with participating primaries including fellow WNAT members Heacham Junior and Snettisham, along with Hunstanton, Docking, Brancaster, Sandringham and West Newton, Flitcham, and Dersingham.

“During the day, they took part in three activities,” said our Deputy Headteacher, Sarah Robinson, who organised the event. “These ranged from creating a collaborative artwork, to the Egg Drop Challenge, to a workout in Smithdon’s Fitness Suite.

“We also had some drama activities happening, and some great coding work going on in ICT.”

Other staff members meeting the visitors included our Headteacher, Amanda Gibbins, and Alysha Moat, who is Assistant Head of Key Stage 3. The children were also joined by some of our Year 9 students, who offered additional support during the visit.

“We have run a Year 5 transition event for well over ten years,” continued Mrs Robinson. “It is well established in our calendar and one of the key events in collaboration with our primary partners.”

“This is part of our wide-ranging transition programme, where we work with all our feeder primary schools to build links and make the transition process at the end of Year 6 as smooth as possible,” she added.

“By the time the students come up to us for our Year 5 day, they have already been up to Smithdon in Year 4 for a sports event, and have met a lot of our teachers during Art, Science, and Reading outreach activities held in the primary schools.

“Transition to high school is a huge event in a child’s life, so the more comfortable we can make our students feel by running events like these, the better.”

It was bienvenue, bienvenido, and willkomen, when students from our school joined others from across the West Norfolk Academies Trust to test their skills at the Trust’s Languages Spelling Bee Final on Friday 30 June.

The Year 7 modern language students had previously won their way through the earlier stages of the competition, which had been held in class at the individual high schools.

It was the first time the event had taken place, with 18 students from Smithdon, Springwood, St Clement’s, and Marshland making it to the final, which was hosted by Marshland and supported by the school’s Year 7 cohort.

“The Department at Springwood High School have been running a spelling bee competition for a number of years, and the Languages Team decided this year to extend this to the rest of the Trust schools, and then to celebrate the successes of the students by have a cross-Trust final,” explained Leah Hawkins, Cross-Trust Lead for Modern Foreign Languages.

Languages tested in the contest included French, Spanish, and German, with vocabulary covering topics such as family members, numbers, colours, days, months, adjectives, and greetings.

“Students were given lists of 100 pieces of key vocabulary per language which they practised,” continued Mrs Hawkins. “They then had one minute to translate the English word they were given into the target language, and then spell it out using the target language alphabet, including any relevant accents.

“For the final, all 18 students had their one minute to spell as much as they could; the second round was the eight with the top scores; and the final four then spelled for a third minute to determine the winner of the competition.”

Coming out on top was Year 7 student Jasper Hawkins from Springwood, who correctly spelt 16 French words in one minute to take first place, beating classmate Anieshka Daniel, who came second with 12 German words in one minute.

Third place went to Patrick Roman, also in Year 7 at Springwood, who spelt 11 Spanish words correctly in one minute.

Each of the three won an Amazon voucher, while everyone participating received a certificate and commemorative blazer pin badge.

“The Spelling Bee has given us an opportunity to celebrate the students’ recollection and knowledge of key vocabulary, as well as increasing awareness of the phonetics of the foreign language being studied,” added Mrs Hawkins.

“In addition, it helps build student confidence in public speaking, and the overall profile of language learning in school.”