Friday 22nd November 2019


Following on from last week’s national Anti-Bullying week campaign, senior staff led an Anti-Bullying Lower School Assembly and the messages given were very clear indeed: – bullying is never acceptable, nobody deserves to be bullied, there is always something that can be done about it, always tell someone if you experience bullying. Thankfully such instances are very rare at Castell Alun but we nevertheless have an uncompromising view on this topic. Our musical item was brought by Elyse and Mia of Year 7 and was not only particularly relevant to the theme of the assembly, but also took considerable courage to perform in front of such a large audience. Well done girls – great job!

The CAFA trip to the Manchester Christmas Markets was really well-attended on Saturday and lots of presents were purchased. However, for those still looking for great bargains, or just a lovely night out, please remember that the Friends’ Festive Fair will be an evening of luxury, pampering, entertainment and shopping and is to be held at Castell Alun on Friday 29th November from 6:30pm-9:30pm. Tickets are a bargain at £2.50. All tickets purchased in advance will be entered for a prize-draw on the evening itself.

On Wednesday a group of our Year 11 students went on a residential trip to Cambridge in order to get a fuller flavour of possibilities for future study and a greater appreciation of student life at one of the world’s leading universities. On the same day a group of Sixth Form Welsh students departed for an immersive language experience at Glan Llyn and are due to return to us later today.

Well done to all of our GCSE musicians yesterday who successfully undertook their practical exams. We stand in awe of your talent and your nerve!

Next week a group of Year 11 students, who were absent from school during some of our Welsh Bacc National Community Challenge last summer, will work on a project to enhance Hope Railway Station under the watchful eye of members of Castell Alun staff. We are very keen to use such ‘skills challenge’ activities for authentic purposes in order to bring value to our local community.

On Wednesday we will again send a team to the Year 9 Geography World-Wise Quiz held at Chester University. Previous years have seen our teams compete very successfully and everyone involved is really looking forward to this year’s challenge.

On Thursday a large number of Year 10 RS students will travel to Liverpool to visit three different places of worship in order to develop a greater understanding of a key part of their GCSE syllabus, and, of course, glean a deeper appreciation of the views and practices of others.

Also on Thursday, we look forward to welcoming parents / carers of Year 12 students, and also our students themselves, to Year 12 Parents’ Evening, from 4pm. In addition, albeit advance notice, on the afternoons of Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd December, parents / carers of our Year 7 students will be invited into school in the afternoon session to discuss the progress of all in our new intake this year.

An additional advance notice please – our BTEC Annual Dance Show will be held in our School Hall on Friday 6th December, from 6pm, and of course we also have our Castell Alun Christmas Concert on Tuesday 10th December, starting at 7pm. Although it will be possible to purchase tickets on the door, you may well wish to use our in-house Box Office service in advance, kindly run by Mrs Jan Southwell (01978 760238).

Have a nice weekend.