Once again, we are delighted to be involved with the annual Shipston Proms event.

Proms excitement began at school with the arrival of BBC Coventry and Warwickshire presenter Keith Wedgebury who brought his radio car to conduct a live interview with Mr Hunt and some of the students involved in the Shipston Proms and to hear members of the Jazz Band and Year 10 Music group during rehearsals.

The school’s Summer Concert took place on the evening of Thursday 20th June when a packed hall was treated to an incredibly diverse range of musical entertainment performed by students from Year 7 up to our Year 11 Leavers. In a school of just over 500 students, it is amazing to see the many opportunities there are to celebrate music in school and the group performances from the Brass group, Jazz Band, Year 10 Music Group, Year 11 Music Group and Wind Band as well as the Flute, Violin, Piano and Vocal soloists showed just how much talent there is in the department. The evening was ably compered by Head of Music, Mr David Hunt, who also found time to join in with his musicians, showing the mutual respect existing between staff and students.

The school would like to extend its thanks to Mr Hunt and his students together with the members of the Shipston Proms Committee for providing the opportunity to stage this event. A thoroughly enjoyable Summer evening to celebrate music in the school.

Our Year 7, 8, and 9 athletes competed in the South Warwickshire Athletics Championships at Stratford upon Avon on Thursday 20th June and achieved outstanding success, finishing third overall out of nine schools in total. The teams’ combined overall results matched last years’, meaning we are again the best non selective school in the district, being only four points away from finishing second. A great result!

The best news of all however, is that the Year 9 boys and girls both finished first in their respective age groups! This is something that we as a school have never achieved before! The students were so happy when the results were being announced and deserve all the praise we can give them. What a great way to end their athletics championships journey at Shipston High School.

The Year 7 boys finished third and the girls were placed fourth, a great start to their athletics championships and one which will certainly improve. The Year 8 boys were placed ninth, the girls finishing sixth. There were some excellent individual performances but also some areas of improvement for the team to take onboard next year.

Year 7 students took part in a fantastic workshop on Thursday 6th June led by author Gary Toward who came to share his inspiration for writing the novel “The Magpie”, set in World War I.

His presentation took students on a journey through time, incorporating the history of the period. The main character in the book is based on the author’s own experience as a child growing up in a mining family, the story starting in the north east of England and ending in the trenches of France. Students then had the opportunity to produce their own piece of poetry, learning the story of Valentine Joe Strudwick, reputedly England’s youngest military casualty of the First World War.

We are grateful to Mr Toward for taking the time to come into school and deliver such an inspiring, thoughtful and inspirational session with our students, re-enforcing the message that writing and reading are key skills for whatever path students decide to take in the future.

As a result of the enthusiasm and interest shown by the students, the local bookshops can probably expect to see a number of copies of “The Magpie” flying off the shelves anytime soon!