Last Wednesday evening 34 pupils competed in a regional dance competition, The Great Big Dance Off, with a KS3 and KS4/5 team.
Our KS3 team performed a dance piece titled 'The Impossible'; A contemporary dance piece that told the story of the tragic tsunami that hit Thailand in 2004.
Our KS4/5 Team performed a beautiful contemporary piece inspired by the award winning book and TV series 'The Handmaid's tale' which showcased our students excellent dance ability and brilliant acting skills portraying the harrowing story of the Handmaids.
We've now received our certificate recognising our accreditation for the nationally recognised award in Leading Parental Partnerships!
The assessment took place in February and considered evidence from dozens of criteria, assessing parental engagement across all aspects of school life, from our initial interviews in Year 6 through to our Leavers’ Mass in Year 13. The assessor met with staff, students, parents, governors, and representatives from external agencies.
Thank you for continuing to help us in maintaining strong links between home and school!
At school, we want to make sure that every student feels safe, cared for, and supported. Sometimes, people might not get all the things they need to be happy and healthy, like enough food, warm clothes, or someone to check in on how they’re feeling.
This is called neglect, and it can be tough to talk about. If you ever feel like you're not getting the care you need or notice a friend who might be struggling, it’s always okay to reach out for help. Talking to a trusted adult can make a big difference.
Childline has a helpful booklet called ‘Neglect Matters’, which explains what neglect is and how to get support. You can find it here.
If you’d rather talk to someone in school, or you're worried that someone you know may be struggling, please speak to your Form Tutor, your Progress Leader; our Chaplain, any of our Pastoral Support Team or a member of the Safeguarding Team who are always happy to listen and help. You’re never alone, and there are always people who care and want to support you.
If you are a parent or carer, Barnados has a number of useful resources here: I’m looking for support with being a parent or carer | Barnardo's
Students from Year 8 have taken part in the Faraday challenge day this week, run by the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
The Faraday Battery Challenge, delivered by All About Futures, All About Stem, had students working in teams to develop new battery technologies. Each team designed and built one prototype which; is capable of using a battery, can help someone with a specific need, or is an educational toy.
Students demonstrated their creativity, planning, ability to work within a budget, resilience and presentation skills. The winning team designed a children's shape sorter.
Project manager Eliza Stephens, described the day as: 'A wonderful learning experience which was interesting, and we learnt a lot about engineering'. Well done Team 2!
Congratulations to Amelia in Year 9, who during the Easter break lifted the JPL PGA Football Trophy as part of the Blackburn Rovers U14 Academy team!
The team contested the final against Bristol City and with a great performance from Amelia between the sticks secured the trophy with a 2-1 victory.
The following week Amelia had her review meeting with her club and was delighted to have earned the offer of a 2 year contract with the Pro Game Academy U16s squad.
We're very proud of Amelia's achievements which speak of enormous amounts of dedication and hard work. We wish her every success progressing with her career in football, and we look forward to bringing you more news of future success!
On Friday we ended the term with a whole school service in the Sports Hall, uniting all students in the same room for possibly the first time since the pandemic.
Our Chaplain led the very full congregation through a service both reflective and celebratory, telling the Easter story through the modernised context of a rolling news channel.
Our service featured a performance throughout from our very talented dancers and accompaniment throughout from our choir. We finished with a rousing chorus of 'My Lighthouse', sung perhaps most exuberantly by our Sixth Form students!
We wish you all a very happy Easter.
A huge congratulations to Niah in Year 11 and Yasmin in Year 10 for their win with Liverpool Feds at the County Final on Thursday evening.
The fixture was contested under the lights at Walton Hall Park, the home of Everton's WSL team.
With a thumping 11-1 rout over Widnes based Pex Hill FC, maybe some of the players will return there one day as professionals!
Congratulations to all of our merit cup winning forms who celebrated their success at the winners’ breakfast banquet on Friday morning.
The event is always hugely popular with students and our kitchen team once again rose to the occasion splendidly with a magnificent feast to satisfy all tastes. Congratulations to our winners!
This week a group of students in Year 10 took place in a Law Taster Day at Liverpool John Moores University.
They listened to experienced solicitors and law students about their career pathways and options in school to support their future career.
They also had the opportunity to visit areas of the Law Department in LJMU and take part in a mock trial. Thanks to Liverpool JMU for a great day!
Year 7 textile students have completed their tote bags as part of their Environmental Technology unit of work.
They have used recycled fabrics to create a tote bag with an environmental slogan raising awareness of a range of important issues. They then applied their knowledge of embroidery and embellishment techniques to decorate them.
We think the results are brilliant!
A huge well done to our Year 7 Netball team who came third in their league on Monday.
They showed amazing teamwork and commitment and worked extremely hard in all of their games.
We'd like to give a special mention to Daisy, Ruby and Grace who were named as players of the matches.
We're proud to have received a fundraising certificate from the Antibully Alliance. In the correspondence that came with the certificate, the ABA reminded us that:
Bullying continues to affect over one in five children each year, impacting their mental health, education, and long-term opportunities. Vulnerable groups, such as children from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with disabilities, are especially at risk.
Thanks to schools like yours:
- Over 7.5 million children participated in Anti-Bullying Week and Odd Socks Day, promoting kindness and inclusion.
- More than 20,000 professionals received training to better support children affected by bullying.
- Young people have been empowered to lead the fight against bullying through our youth advocacy programmes.
Your contribution has played a key part in this important work.
Thank you to everybody who contributed to our activities in school that helped to fund raise!
On Wednesday this week we celebrated the achievements of students from across all of the year groups as at our annual Notre Dame awards evening!
Our guests arrived to some beautiful piano playing from Haley, who played pieces from Debussy and Chopin, before a welcoming address from our Chair of Governors, Mrs Smith.
Entertainment followed with a powerful collaboration from our Performing Arts Department, with a performance from our senior dancers to 'Never Enough', with a live vocal and dramatic monologue from Layel in Year 8.
The business of the evening then began in earnest with the presentation of Year 11 subject prizes, announced by Miss Gawley followed by the Year 13 subject prizes announced by Mrs Jones.
The named awards were then announced by Mrs Rooney. These prestigious awards bear the name of a person with a special association with St Julie's and honours the values that they strove to espouse.
Our choir then took centre stage for a beautiful rendition of Snow Patrol's 'Run', conducted by Mrs Hambleton and accompanied by Mr Quinn on the piano.
Mrs Gee then announced the winners of the Mission Statement award, with a winner from each year group demonstration values associated with a particular element of our Mission Statement.
Mrs McCourt followed with an inspiring Headteacher's address, before we moved to the final awards of the evening, our Notre Dame Awards. These awards go to students who truly live out the values, attitudes and behaviours shown by St. Julie herself. Each winner heard an individual testimonial detailing the reasons for their award, and each winner was a shining example to the school community.
Our flagship award, the Spirit of St Julie Award, goes to the student who, after detailed nomination and discussion, best represents the values of St Julie and of whom St. Julie would be immensely proud. Our winner this year was Hannah in Year 13.
With the presentation of awards complete, it only remained for Ms Wallace to round off the evening with reflection and prayer, and of course a rousing chorus of 'Qu'il Est Bon'!
Thank you to everybody who joined us on our wonderful evening and congratulations to all of our winners.
On Monday we enjoyed some tasty treats courtesy of our two aspiring pilgrims, Lucy and Julia.
The break time bake sale was raising funds for their forthcoming pilgrimage to Lourdes, and the popular event raised an impressive £143.68 for their travel expenses!
Thank you to everybody who came along and bought a cake.
Science students from across the year groups got a taste of crime scene investigation in a forensic science workshop led by Gill from The Education Group.
The sessions began with some discussion of theory and principles before they were put into practice with a small scale crime scene simulation. The test scene made use of many of the principles discussed, including footprint, fingerprint and DNA analysis, allowing students to follow logical scientific processes to correctly identify their criminal perpetrator!
Well done to all of the students involved for their excellent engagement in the sessions.
On Tuesday students in Year 10 participated in an apprenticeship workshop from the ASK Apprenticeship programme.
We welcomed in Gary King to lead the workshop, which gave students the opportunity to find out about different routes after school including A Levels, Apprenticeships and T Levels.
Our students were very enthusiastic and asked lots of very good questions to make informed choices in the future.
Today Year 13 had the opportunity to take part in an inspiring and high-energy session with Jasper from Maximise Training, and it was nothing short of amazing! We were pleased to welcome Jasper back to St Julie's as his expertise is second to none. Jasper shared top tips on revision, exam planning, and how to make the most of the time students have left in school before the exams begin. He encouraged the girls to be creative in their approach to studying, offering practical exam tips and stressing the importance of goal-setting to stay on track.
Along with these valuable insights, Jasper also emphasised the significance of taking some time out for self-care, highlighting the need to consider their own mental health during the exam period, and the importance of looking after their sleep and diet. Jasper was incredibly impressed by how engaged and motivated Year 13 s were throughout the session. He praised their enthusiasm, energy and welcoming attitude. His straight-talking style combined with his infectious enthusiasm and interesting life stories is sure to help the girls embrace a positive, "can-do" attitude toward their exams and school over the coming weeks. We'd like to thank Jasper for his time and look forward to seeing him again next year.
On Friday this week we celebrated Foundation day by welcoming former Headteachers Sister Mary O’Brien SND and Mr Alderman into school for a presentation of our new Honours Board!
The board, based on research by Sr Mary, traces the lineage of our school leadership all the way to March 1851 when the Sisters of Notre Dame first began their work in our city.
During the service we heard from members of our 1804 Society and Student President about the history of the Sisters in our city and what a Notre Dame education means to them. Some of that more recent history was brought vividly to life by recollections from Sister Mary about relationships formed with the people named on the board and the Sisters present with us today.
The board will be housed on the Notre Dame Convent, with an identical twin being displayed in St. Julie's.
Happy Foundation Day!
On Friday this week students were able to hear the powerful messages in ‘Wrong Place, Wrong Time’, our festival winning performance exploring themes of weapons culture and codes of silence within criminal activities.
The piece encourages young people to use their most powerful weapon – their voice. Thank you to our student company who staged several performances throughout the day as part of our PSHE programme.
Year 12 students Holly, Hannah and Ruby have landed at Oxford University and are having a wonderful time!
Our students are experiencing some of the wonderful facilities that the University has to offer as well as getting a great taste of student life!
Today, Year 10 St Julie's MVP mentors attended St George's Hall, along with schools across the city, to be presented with their graduation certificates acknowledging their hard work and fantastic contributions towards delivering lessons regarding violence in our city.
All graduates received a red carpet reception on arrival, and were happy to pose for a photograph to celebrate the occasion! While enjoying the splendour of St. George's Hall the students were fortunate enough to sit in the historic courtroom, often used as a location in TV and Film, to participate in a mock courtroom trial!
Congratulations to all of our MVP graduates and we wish them well taking their training forward into everyday life.
On Thurday, students from St Julie's had the privilege of performing this year's Now Festival piece, 'Wrong Place, Wrong Time' to support the event's messages.
The students delivered the powerful piece to graduating students from St. Julie's and right across the city! Well done to all who graduated and performed today.
Huge congratulations to the Year 8 Indoor Athletics team who finished an amazing 7th in Merseyside after competing in the finals on Tuesday.
Over 50 schools from all over Merseyside took part in the competition and the finals and the team from St Julie's were placed 7th in Merseyside.
Well done Ella, Olivia, Annie, Jess, Stevie, Ava, Heidi, and Jasmine.
Over a two day visit, 28 of our students from Years 8, 9 and 10 attended the Liverpool City Region 'Experience of the Workplace' event.
During the event students attended a lecture on the wide range of apprenticeship opportunities that are available within the region, and took part in workshops operated by a number of firms who are recruiting locally.
Workshops were delivered by organisations like Speke based pharmaceutical company CSL Seqirus, Peel Ports who operate across the waterfront and Knowsley Safari Park.
The students returned to school with a much better knowledge of the diverse range of employment opportunities available locally.
Congratulations to Ava in Year 8 who ran the Liverpool Half Marathon on Sunday.
She managed the 13 mile run in one hour and ten minutes, which was close to her personal best at this distance.
Despite her young age, this was Avas's tenth half marathon. She has been part of the world of athletics since the age of 2, and currently trains with the Liverpool Harriers at Wavertree.
We wish her luck in her next race on Sunday in Portsmouth!
On Tuesday evening our Year 13 Drama students took their final bow to great acclaim!
Presenting an evening of naturalism, inspired by Russian practitioner Stanislavski's training methods, Year 13 performed extracts from plays for their scripted examination.
They worked to produce authenticity on stage, and they did not disappoint. The five plays showcased the students' talent, passion and dedication and had their audience on the edge of their seats.
Over the last 2 weeks, all Year 7 students have had a celebration of Mass in school on the theme of the Jubilee Year 'Pilgrims of Hope'.
Fr Stephen from Our Lady's and Fr Ed from St Ambrose were our celebrants for the two Masses and overall, 31 students were involved in ministries including reading, altar serving and leading music.
Year 7 were also in fine voice, especially with the singing of our school song, 'Qu'il est bon!' at the end of Mass!
Fr Stephen is pictured here with just some of our students who led ministry. St Julie pray for us, protect us and bless us!
On Monday our Year 10 netball team played in the Liverpool City Tournament.
They played matches against teams from Archbishop Blanch, Liverpool College, St Edwards Collage and Blue Coat.
The games were closely contested with fantastic performances from all of our players, including great playing from Ella in Year 8 who played up for the Year 10 team and Lucy in Year 10. Well done to all involved: Georgie, Olivia, Katie, Faye, Lucy, Ella and Lois.
On Friday our U15 football team faced a team from West Kirby Grammar School in an away fixture for the quarter final of the Merseyside County Cup.
Faye in Year 10 found the net with an audacious screamer scored from inside her own half that left the crowd stunned! Unfortunately it was quality and not quantity that defined the goals from St. Julie's in this fixture, with the hosts taking victory in a comfortable 4-1 win.
Congratulations to West Kirby who now progress to the semi-finals, and well done to our players for a tremendous effort.
On Monday, years 10 and 11 were lucky enough to watch a performance of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, delivered by Quantum Theatre Company.
All students study this as part of their GCSE English Literature so the performance gave them an opportunity to consolidate their knowledge of the plot and characters, particularly for year 11 just before their exams.
Students also had the opportunity to ask the actors some questions after the performance, with Year 10 students in particular asking some insightful questions about career pathways in the acting industry.
Dot-art Schools is an annual, online, inter-school, art competition, culminating in a public exhibition of the winning artworks and prize giving ceremony.
For their entries Year 9 art club students created concertina books based on the theme of 'journey' which they interpreted in different ways. An expert judging panel selected the top three artworks from each school.
You can Vote online for your favourite shortlisted piece in now until the 24th April. The shortlisted entry from each school with the most votes goes through to the final and wins a place in the public exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery in June.
Well done to Charlotte, Anna and Isabelle for being our shortlisted entries this year!
You can have a look at their work and make your voting choices at the Dot Art Website.
Bear in mind that once you have cast your vote you will be sent a confirmation email that you will need to click to make your vote count. Sometimes this can route into your junk folder so do check there if your email doesn't appear to arrive. Voting closes on 24th April.
Good luck to our shortlisted artists!
Students in STEM club on Thursday afternoon had great fun making slime and bath bombs!
PVA and food colouring was out in plentiful supply as the students made stretchy, vibrant slime that bounced really well too!
Alongside the slime the students learned about the constituents of bath bombs and set a few fizzing away at the end of the session!
Huge congratulations to our Year 8 Netball team who competed in a city tournament on Monday.
They finished the tournament in third place overall in their pool. They showed grit, determination, resilience and a huge amount of sportsmanship.
We'd like to give a special mention to Erin, Phoebe, Imogen and Heidi who were all named as player of the match in their games.
On Tuesday a group of Year 8 students attended the Merseyside Police and LFC Foundation Event for violence against women and girls awareness.
During the busy event students learned some self defence techniques from Blossom, spoke to officers from Merseyside Police about their work and had tremendous fun getting acquainted with the beautiful Merseyside Police therapy dogs.
The students also got to question a panel that included inspiring people including Julie Dale, mother of Ashley Dale, and Liverpool boxer Natasha Jonas.
Science students from across the year groups enjoyed a new perspective on human biology today with a VR Workshop from the Education Group.
With a full complement of virtual reality headsets, the workshop saw students immersed at a microscopic scale inside the body, making analyses of the skeletal system and a first person view of a complete journey through the digestive system.
Thanks to Education Group for a brilliant workshop!
On Tuesday this week students across the year groups got hands on with some fascinating medical equipment with Daniel and Terri from Medical Mavericks!
The team brought an array of interesting devices that students could use in earnest, and they included familiar health devices such a inflatable cuff blood pressure monitors as well as more sophisticated doppler and ultrasound scanning devices, alongside ECG scanners for measuring cardiac activity.
Away from diagnostics, students got the chance to explore advanced techniques like laparoscopic surgery simulators and treating open wounds on the creepily life like arm model!
Thanks to the team from Medical Mavericks for a great workshop!
On Tuesday our Year 7 Football team contested a fixture at Gateacre which was a showcase for resilience.
The hugely entertaining game saw St. Julie's concede early in the game, but the side took this as motivation to turn the game around.
St. Julie's rallied and came back to score three times with two goals from Aaliyah and one from Charlotte. Peggy made some outstanding saves that Alisson Becker would be proud of!
Tuesday 18th March marked the national day of awareness of child sexual exploitation, and throughout the week we’ve been joined by PC Mark who has been delivering assemblies to highlight to students the signs, symptoms and associated risk.
The aim of the awareness day is to raise the profile of exactly what signs should be raising questions with people of all ages, and the mechanisms of reporting available to people who see or feel that something is wrong. The important message is that CSE is real, happening in our city, and isn’t something that people should remain silent about.
Thank you to PC Mark for his time in meeting with our students, and thank you to the students for the maturity they showed is receiving the important messages. You can find out more information at the Stop CE website.
On Sunday 9th March dancers in our exam classes performed three pieces at the Dream Productions 'Stage Full of Stars' show at New Brighton's Floral Pavilion.
Our first piece was a duet created collaboratively between staff and students for our Y11 GCSE dance exam, exploring the theme of confectionery using the musical 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'. Our year 11 students have been working hard to produce an exciting and technical performance for their GCSE and couldn't wait to perform the piece!
The second piece iwasperformed by our A Level dance students, a group dance focusing on contemporary dance technique. This choreography was inspired by contemporary choreographers who have shaped the dance world as we know today, such as Marta Graham, Merce Cunningham and Glen Tetly.
And finally, our third performance was from one of our Y11 GCSE Dance students who has created a piece inspired by the building of the Railways in the Industrial Revolution. She worked very hard over the past few months for this performance, and she chose a group of our talented dance students from across the school to perform alongside her. We would like to thank Dream Productions for allowing our students to take part in such an amazing experience!
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Last week a group of Year 10 students enjoyed a theatre trip with the LFC Foundation as part of the creative works program.
Students participating in the program watched a performance of 'Shirley Valentine' at the Liverpool Everyman, and thoroughly enjoyed their visit!
St. Julie's Catholic High School