Speaking of residential adventures, 38 intrepid Y12 students are currently undertaking their Practice Gold Expedition for the intensely rigorous Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. They return home later today after four challenging days  trekking in and around the peaks of the Brecon Beacons.

 

 

 

Although the Term is still young, we have a significant amount of additional student success to celebrate already:

This week we heard that our KS4 Elite Boys dance group have been one of just four groups shortlisted by a Regional Judging Panel to be under consideration to represent the Midlands at the prestigious U.Dance National Festival on 25-27 July 2025, at Sadler’s Wells East in London’s Olympic Park.

 

Our U16 Basketball Team secured a brilliant win in an excellent game against Northampton International Academy in the Semi-Finals of the U16 National Cup on Thursday. It is incredible that two schools less than 2 miles apart had fought through to the last 4 in England and the match lived up to its titanic billing as an exceptional showcase of youth basketball with both teams impressing throughout an intensely fought game. We now move forward to the National Final in early May at the National Basketball Centre in Manchester - opponents to be determined.

 

Well done to the U13 Water Polo Team who fought hard to claim second place from 5  competing teams in their National Cup Semi-Finals this week - they will now move to the National Plate Finals later this academic year. Tough luck to the U12A football  team who just came up short in the County Cup Final on Thursday against Northampton School - it was wonderful to see such an exciting game contested by two NSB Trust schools.

 

It is always a special moment when a NSB student pulls on a National shirt and over the holidays, Y12 students, Hugh Shields and Jack Lewis both proudly represented England in the U18 Six Nations Festival held in Vichy, France. The England Team won all of their games with both boys utilising their outstanding talent to contribute brilliantly to the team's victories. Jack earned a place in the 'Team of the Round' for his majestic performance against Scotland where he continually punched deep holes through the opposition's defensive line and Hugh as ever kept the scoreboard ticking over with his Rolls Royce of a right boot as well as showcasing great tactical nous as an international Fly Half. Hugh is pictured below donating one of his England shirts to the school where it will proudly be displayed in the 1911 Hall. The school is incredibly proud of both boys who are part of a superb NSB Senior Squad.

 

Our Y13 Medical / Veterinary / Dentistry Science / students have been brilliantly supported over the past two years by Mrs Stevenson, Miss Sneddon and the Chair of the Trust - Peter Bason who arranges external expert speakers to regularly inspire and inform the students. The students have been rewarded for their dedication with a huge number of university medicine offers  which are incredibly hard to come by, due to extreme levels of national competition for places. NSB currently have 21 students holding a 'Med / Vet / Dent'' offer with several applicants still waiting to hear whether they have been successful - these figures are greatly above the national average, both in terms of the total number of offers and for the number of successful applications as a percentage of the applicant cohort.

 

In Term 4, we launched our Key Stage 3 wider reading lists, to encourage reading beyond the curriculum. Each term we will focus on a different range of subjects with three recommended texts per year group to deepen and broaden students' enjoyment and cultural knowledge, whilst simultaneously encouraging a love of reading. We are pleased to publish Term 5's reading list to take our students beyond the curriculum this term; it can be found on the school website here.

 

Finally, many thanks to parents / carers who have written in to congratulate the school on the 'Outstanding' Ofsted Report for NSB that came out this week. The Report can be accessed on our website through this link: Ofsted Report

 

Richard Bernard
Headteacher