Bore da. It appears that the warmer weather is with us for a time at least and we can report another busy week in the life of the school.

It was wonderful to have Alice and Maisie (‘Sisters and Seekers’) with us as guest speakers for the Year 11 Achievement Ceremony last Friday. As ex-students they have genuine experience of the kind of school that we are and they were able to convey this information clearly and in a way which students, parents and staff greatly appreciated. The success of their business pays great testimony to their skill, vision and indeed work ethic and we are privileged to count them as alumni. Our Year 11 students behaved impeccably and thoroughly enjoyed being part of this special occasion. We were treated to no fewer than 4 musical items also, all brought by accomplished musicians. Now, after a short weekend, Year 11 commence their written public examination papers this week. There are nearly 5 weeks of examinations left and then these students will take a well-earned break before many return to us to embark upon Castell Alun Sixth Form life and all that it will bring.

Mrs Gill Roberts (Deputy Headteacher) will retire this summer after a period of distinguished service at Castell Alun. We are truly thankful for all that Mrs Roberts has brought to Castell Alun and wish her the very best in her future endeavours. As you may be aware, schools in Wales are currently experiencing genuine financial challenge and so we are therefore very fortunate to be able to appoint Mr Craig Stewart as Acting Deputy Headteacher for a one-year period. This position will be reviewed in light of financial and educational developments next year. Mr Stewart’s appointment will inevitably mean further internal appointments being made over the coming weeks and we will endeavour to keep you up to speed with these.

On Friday our Year 12 students will embark upon their study leave and these students will sit examinations over the coming weeks. On Thursday 16th May we will hold our Year 7 Parents’ Evening, commencing at 4pm. Please note that this event will not be held in the Sportshall on this occasion due to public examinations and rooms along the ground floor Science corridor and in Y Celtec, our new building, will be used to host this event.

On Friday 24th May at 2.15pm we will hold our Leaving Ceremony for Year 13 students. We would ask all guests to be seated by 2pm and this event usually runs for around 2 hours, which means that students in Year 13 will not be able to access the school buses. We are very fortunate to be able to tell you that our guest speaker for the event is our previous Head of Sixth, Mr Kevin Davies, and we look forward to hearing his words of wisdom. Year 13 students will have their leaving meal at Double Tree Hilton Chester also that evening.

In sporting news this week, really well done to our Under 14 Girls’ Rugby Team, who participated in a ‘7s Festival’ at St. David’s College. There were excellent performances from the whole team, with some brilliant tackles and line breaks as well as plenty of teamwork and determination. We won one of our games and there were a few very closely contested results too, with 2 of our players, Grace and Anna, actually being awarded ‘player of the match’ by the officials.

Worthy of special mention is Josh (Year 10), who played cricket for his country this week. We are very proud of you Josh and congratulations for your excellent performance in the Wales Under 19 Cricket Team against Shrewsb

ury School.

As part of their Performing Arts exam, Year 12 Performing Arts students performed an edited version of ‘Percy Jackson – The Lightning Thief’ musical to Year 8 students on Thursday afternoon and again to family and friends later that evening. Students produced the whole show themselves, from creating the set, props and costumes to designing all lighting and sound. Production students stage managed the show successfully and the actors gave a truly spectacular performance. We wish them all the luck for the summer exams and look forward to their return after the study break.

The Urdd held their ‘Arts and Craft Awards’ night at Castell Alun on Wednesday evening, where both primary and secondary students from across Flint and Wrexham were awarded certificates for their entries into the Urdd Eisteddfod. There were several entries from Castell Alun – pethau gwych pawb –

and Sera in Year 7 won 1st prize in the ‘Design a Comic’ strip competition, and will progress through to the national Eisteddfod.

Let’s hope the weather holds for the weekend. We hope you enjoy it.

Cael penwythnos hyfryd