Castle Hill Blog 30/01/26

Good afternoon, welcome to another Friday! Anyone who knows me will tell you how much value I place on exposure to animals and the importance of learning how to care for an animal. Therefore I was delighted to read this Blog submission from one of our fabulous English teachers!

Animal Magic

This term, our Year 10 and 11 pupils are exploring the world of pets for their AQA Entry Level English qualification. We’re looking at the joys of animal companionship, as well as the responsibilities and costs involved, all leading to a Speaking and Listening assessment later in the term.

At Castle Hill, we’re lucky to bring this topic to life through visits to our Animal Care area and a special appearance from Simba the school dog. Last week, pupils spent time with our guinea pigs, rabbits and chickens. This week, Simba joined the class.

Miss Brooke spoke about the realities of dog ownership, covering training, feeding, grooming and daily routines. Simba then demonstrated his excellent obedience skills, impressing everyone and keeping the class fully engaged.

Experiential learning is something we value at Castle Hill, and opportunities like this make a real difference to our pupils.

War Studies

Year 9 have been exploring a range of First World War poetry, focusing on how poets use linguistic and structural techniques to convey emotion, conflict, and personal experience. They have analysed key poems in depth, discussing themes such as patriotism, trauma, and the realities of trench life. Building on their understanding, students were also given the opportunity to craft their own WW1‑inspired poems, applying the techniques they studied to develop original and thoughtful pieces of writing.

Year 9 are learning about the experience of soldiers in WW1 and this thorough and well researched piece of homework written by Grace Wilson describes the horrors of trench warfare and the effect it had on the soldiers' mental health. 

A group of Year 10 pupils who study history were fortunate to visit the air raid shelters in Stockport this week.

Looking Ahead...Dates for the Diary:

Volcanoes, Explosive Study!

Year 8s are learning about volcanoes in science. They have been exploring how eruptions occur and what causes lava to form. 

Gideon was very surprised and delighted to see the chemical reaction in action and watch the ‘lava’ bubble up during the experiment!

Have a great weekend!