Gallery Spotlight
On Thursday 11th October , we celebrated “International Day of the Girl” as part of our Year of the Girl programme celebrating 25 years of welcoming girls back into school. It was a lovely opportunity for girls in the School of all ages to come together reading stories of famous women, creating yellow International Day of the Girl pins and building new friendships. We look forward to the establishment of a pupil co-ed working party after half term to discuss future activities to bring together all children in the School.
On Wednesday 3rd October, Year 5 took a trip to West Stow Anglo-Saxon Village in Suffolk, as part of their humanities topic on the Anglo-Saxons. The children spent the first session touring the museum of artefacts, as well as trying on Anglo-Saxon costumes and a replica copy of the Sutton Hoo helmet. After lunch the children were given a chance to explore the village with its reconstructed Anglo-Saxon buildings.
The children returned to school with a considerable array of facts and information that they can use in their History and English lessons.
Year 7 Bushcraft Team Building Trip
Cooking pizza on an open fire, archery and tomahawk throwing, “The Tribes Got Talent” , trap setting, SOS Wilderness First Aid, gutting and drying fish, den building. So many amazing activities and of course the chance to build friendships for our Year 7 pupils as they start their Senior School Years. We do hope all the pupils had an amazing time and are appreciating their home comforts now they are back home.
Learning through the Duke of Edinburgh Programme
Congratulations to all the Year 10 pupils who, this weekend, completed the Bronze Medal Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition. We do hope you all had an amazing time and have come back feeling more confident with managing your camping and hiking equipment, using your map reading and landscape orientation skills and learning to independently manage your activities.
135th Year Birthday Celebrations
On Tuesday 10th July, the pupils and staff at Colchester High School celebrated not only the end of the year but the School’s 135th Birthday!
Nursery Pupils Wow their parents with their Flutterpillar Performances
Super performance of Flutterpillar yesterday by our Nursery pupils to a packed audience of parents and grandparents. Their singing was so beautiful and confident. You were all amazing!
STEM Fun during Curriculum Week 2018
Pupils from throughout the School enjoyed STEM themed trips and in school activities for Curriculum Week 2018.
Visiting the Home of Shakespeare with Year 8 and 10
Last week some Year 8 and Year 10 pupils visited Stratford on a two-day residential trip. They were lucky enough to visit Shakespeare’s original schoolrooms and see Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre. They also visited Warwickshire Castle, where the children could experience an interactive trip to the dungeons, followed by a return trip to the theatre to see Macbeth.
Learning STEM at Bewilderwood with Year 3 and 4
As part of our STEM themed curriculum week, Year 3 and 4 went to Bewilderwood where they took part in lots of exciting activities, including various mazes, slides, high ropes and den building.
Reception STEM trip to Layer Marney Tower
As part of STEM Curriculum Week, the Reception pupils enjoyed a fascinating trip to Layer Marney Tower to support their understanding of the world around them. They got to sit on an old bus and in a big tractor. They visited the burial tombs in the church and enjoyed visiting the farm animals. They also all energetically climbed all 100 steps of the tower!
Studying STEM at Science Museum in London
As part of Curriculum Week on the theme of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths), the Year 5 and 6 children took a trip to the Science Museum in London.
Dressed to Impress at the Year 11 Prom
Celebrating the end of an era, our Year 11 pupils enjoyed a fabulous Prom Night on Friday at the Officer’s Club. Here are a few photos of them arriving in their finery. We wish you all the best of luck with the next stage of your education.
Amazing Performance by School Production Club
Pupils from Year 3 to 10 amazed a packed audience on both Tuesday and Wednesday night this week with their spectacular performance of “Joseph”. Here are some photos taken at the dress rehearsal on Monday
Summer Concert 2018
There was an amazing atmosphere last night as a variety of our music clubs came together to showcase their musical talents at the CHS Summer Concert. The concert included performances by Prep Music Makers, Prep Choir, Junior and Senior Choir, Junior Performance Workshop, Junior and Senior African Drumming, Senior A Capella and the Senior Orchestra.
Sports Days at Colchester High School
Sports Day at Colchester High School is a highlight of the School calendar as it is celebrates not only our pupils individual sporting achievements but brings together the School houses in a friendly bout of rivalry.
Celebrating Outdoor Classroom Day 2018 in Nursery!
Bringing education to life is a key aspect of learning everyday at Colchester High School and what better way to do it than taking our Early Years children outside to Forest School. Celebrating Outdoor Classroom Day 2018!
Year 3 and 4 Embrace Shakespeare at the Globe Theatre
Our Year 3 and 4 children thoroughly enjoyed their trip to the Globe Theatre yesterday. Both classes have looked at Shakespeare and studied either The Tempest or Macbeth this term and this was a fabulous opportunity to bring the works of the Bard to life for our children. They enjoyed a guided tour of the theatre, an actor-led performance workshop based on The Tempest and lunch at the Tate Modern.
Creating a Love of Netball
Our Senior School Girls Netball Club thoroughly enjoyed their netball weekend away at PGL Liddington and looked incredibly smart and sporty in their netball dresses provided by the CHSA.
The trip was organised by Miss Banks of the PE Department to give the girls a chance to compete in Netball matches, build on teamwork, morale and the girl’s enthusiasm for Netball.
At the heart of the netball weekend programme was a tournament which gave the girls maximum match experience, the chance to compete against other schools and clubs and also the opportunity to learn from watching other teams play. The tournament closed with a special presentation of medals and trophies by a member of the England netball team.
There was also an opportunity for the girls to enjoy some of the outdoor activities at PGL.
What A Great Way To Revise
We’re pleased to say that many Year 11 pupils benefited from a Revision Weekend at the Bawdsey Manor PGL Centre in Suffolk this weekend.
During the weekend, all students partook in three guided revision sessions of three hours each, focusing on the core subjects and the particular areas that each student needs as a pre-exam boost. Each student then had an extra three hours of personal revision split across the nights away.
The weekend was also broken up with a wide range of PGL activities to relax and motivate the students. All students had a great time and we will definitely look to book the same for next year’s cohort.
Bringing Shakespeare to Life
To celebrate National Shakespeare Day, Form Classes, with the help of the art department in Lower School, have been bringing Shakespeare to life with some incredible door decorations featuring his sonnets or plays.
Amazing Performances by Nursery and Prep at the Easter Concert
Well what an amazing concert! Congratulations to all the pupils from Nursery to Year 2 who performed so confidently at the Nursery and Prep Easter Concert in front of a packed hall. You all sang so beautifully and joyously and made us feel that it actually is Springtime! Well done too to the parents for joining in at the end to Caterpillar Boogie – you were amazing too and definitely put a smile on your children’s faces!
World Book Day 2018
Due to the snow, we had to postpone our World Book Day to today but it does not seem to have put a damper on anyone’s enthusiasm for the event. It was so amazing to see so many pupils dressed as their favourite characters and they had clearly put a tremendous amount of effort into the occasion! Thank you also to all the teachers who arranged such fun book themed activities for the day. Activities included the Lower School Book Swap, the book treasure hunt, and “Drop Everything and Read” – when the Lower School has never been so quiet! This afternoon, the pupils also enjoyed a Lower School Assembly where they got to hear the results of the “Extreme Reading” Competition….. The poor judges had a terrible time deciding as there were some incredible photos sent in but their final decisions were:
First place: Tobey Edwards in Reception
Second place: Josh Bell (5H)
Third place: Poppy Wild (Reception)
Runners up: Noah Wilkinson (5H) and Joel Smalley (4R)
Well done to all of you.
Photos of all the fun activities, normal class time and the extreme reading photo winners are all in the gallery below.
Year 8 Northern France Trip
The language based trip includes a visit to the lovely walled town of Boulogne and La Coupole – the secret WW2 rocket launching site for Hitler, a visit to a chocolate factory, a local village “boulangerie”, a sweet factory and the very popular Nausicaa – sea life.
Exploring Religion, Community Values and Global Issues in Lower School
This week in Nursery and the Lower School, our pupils have all spent time in The Prayer Space, a place for quite reflection set up and run by members of Colchester Baptist Church.
The Prayer Space was set up to provide the pupils with an opportunity to explore different aspects of Religion, community values and global issues. The children were encouraged to think and reflect on their own lives and on wider world issues from a spiritual perspective in a calm environment.
The pupils all treated this time incredibly seriously and we do hope have learnt a little bit more about the world and how they can make a difference to their own lives and those of others.
Numbers, numbers everywhere for NSPCC Number Day!
Numbers, numbers everywhere! Pupils from throughout the school have today been involved in maths themed activities to recognise NSPCC Number Day. Senior School pupils competed to design the best numbers themed cakes, Lower School pupils grouped together in teams from Year 1 to Year 6 to undertake measurement exercises, Senior School pupils enjoyed Ninja mathematics activities and everyone has been enjoying the House coin competition. merry and successful event!
Celebrating Reading During National Storytelling Week
Lower School pupils have thoroughly enjoyed hearing so many stories from both teachers and Senior School pupils this week as they celebrated National Story Telling Week. They also were inspired to read a lot themselves and the Year 3 and 4 pupils thoroughly enjoyed acting out The Tempest.
Fantastic Snow Conditions – Senior School Ski Trip 2018
The Ski Trip ran with great success. We were very lucky and had a lot of snow, which allowed all students to make a huge amount of progress. Even the beginners were tackling the medium size jumps by the end of the week.
CHSA Christmas Bazaar Spreads Festive Cheer
It was cold outside but we were all snug indoors and in a festive mood at the CHSA Christmas Bazaar on Friday. Thank you to all the pupils, parents and staff who helped make it such a merry and successful event!
Christmas Begins with the Prep and Nursery Nativity
What a wonderful way to start the Christmas Season with a fabulous performance by the Prep Department of “Whoops a Daisy Angel” and a wonderful repertoire by Nursery of the Christmas Songs they have been learning.
Year 4 Parent Assembly
Congratulations to our Year 4 pupil who so eloquently presented on their Autumn Term learning to their parents and peers today. The pupils presented on Romans and Boudicea, Pompei and Volcanoes, Mosaics and Henri Rousseau in Art, the importance of Remembrance Day and Legends and Mythical Creatures.
Year 12 Awards Night
Our former Year 11 pupils celebrated their Awards Night in style on Friday night at Essex University. After a chance to catch up with friends, parents and staff over canapes and drinks, the pupils thoroughly enjoyed the teacher’s recollections of their Senior years and applauded their peers achievements.
Year 3 Parent Assembly on Aesop’s Fables
Huge well done to our Year 3 pupils who performed so confidently the works of Aesop’s Fables in their parent assembly this morning.
“How To Find Your Inner Pirates – A Drama Course for Year 7” is locked How To Find Your Inner Pirates – A Drama Course for Year 7
There was much laughter and teamwork today at the Year 7 Drama Day. Pupils spent the morning learning about communication, teamwork, listening and focus. They then went on to learn about still images, script work and stage management. In the afternoon, they were then asked to use this learning to come up with a play based on a pirate form that they then performed. Aye Aye ma hearty!
Raising Money for Children in Need 2017
Today throughout the school pupils were allowed to come into the school in Non-Uniform for a donation to Children In Need. It was lovely to see quite a few Pudsey Bears around too! In total we raised an astounding £435 – thank you everyone for donating to such a great charity.
Year 5 and 6 Town Hall Visit
Both Year 5 and 6 went for a tour of the Town Hall. The children got to meet the Mayor and Mayoress and some even got to wear the mayoral robes and chains. The children enjoyed standing on the balcony, pretending to be important as they waved to passers-by. The children were able to look around the Chambers where important local governance is discussed and sit in the mayoral seat. A BIG thank you to everyone at Colchester Town Hall for an amazing, informative and thoroughly regal time; and to Mrs Evans and Ms Byzckowski for being great parent helpers.
Remembrance Day 2017
Colchester High School today remembered those who have served their country in Remembrance Ceremonies throughout the school. Pupils who are Rainbows, Brownies, Cubs, Scouts, Girl Guides and any military based groups such as sea or air cadets came into school in their respective uniforms for the service. This was a wonderful sign of respect to those who have served and a reflection on our history as the 10th Scouting Group of Colchester.
Early Years Forest School Adventures
Reception and Nursery pupils today went on an Early Years’ Gruffalo Hunt. Fortunately they did not find a Gruffalo but they had great fun playing in the mud and leaves, swinging on ropes, identifying bird sounds and searching for bugs!
A Magical Time for Year 3 and 4 at Harry Potter World
Last week our Year 4 pupils enjoyed a fun filled magical day at Harry Potter World.
Here is the trip in the words of Phoebe
Once we arrived, we looked around. It was amazing because we saw all of the sets and costumes. Sadly we didn’t have time to go on the train or Platform. The queue was too long so we could not go in the “Cupboard under the Stairs”. My favourite part was seeing all Dumbledoor’s office, Snape’s potions and the boy’s dorm. We also went to Hogwart’s bridge and when we got off some Death Eaters got on. A girl gave us a wooden wand and we did spells to defeat them. Of course we won with the last spell we did. We saw Dolores Unbridge’s uniform, Harry Potter’s, Mad Eye Moody, Dumbledoor’s and lots more. About half twelve we went to this workshop and we had to put the story in order. Then we had to write a story using 3 objects. It was me, Georgia, Beau and Quinn. My team won and got a badge that said well done you are a winner. P.S. We also went in the Grand Hall. P.P.S We also went in the forbidden forest.
Percy the Park Keeper Early Years Event
Our Nursery children and visitors thoroughly enjoyed our Percy the Park Keeper themed event. A carousel of activities were arranged including colouring, leaf sticking, story-telling and a treasure hunt. And plenty of time just to play and enjoy our fabulous Reception classroom.
Year 9 Ypres History Trip
To supplement the Year 9 History syllabus, our pupils are visiting the World War One battlefields at Ypres and the Somme in order to study first-hand ‘what life was like in the trenches’. The trip also complements the English Departments syllabus on World War One poetry.
Year 10 Duke of Edinburgh Qualifying Weekend
Congratulations to all our Year 10 pupils who completed their qualifying Duke of Edinburgh expedition at the weekend. They definitely had an early cold morning start!
