Author: nallen

A new Headteacher has been appointed at St Philip Howard Catholic Voluntary Academy.

Mike Kays has been Acting Headteacher since the departure of Louisa Morris in September 2023 and has now been appointed to the post of Headteacher permanently.

Mr Kays has a long history with St Philip Howard having joined the school in 2003 as a PE teacher.

Since then he has held various roles including Schools Sport Co-ordinator, working across Glossop primary schools, along with various department and pastoral roles. These include Head of Year, Acting Head of PE, Assistant Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher, two spells as Acting Headteacher and Head of School.

Mr Kays said he was thrilled to secure the role of Headteacher at St Philip Howard, which is part of the St Ralph Sherwin Catholic Multi Academy Trust.

“Our pupils and families are fantastic and they are so supportive of our school. We’ve got a lot to look forward to at St Philip Howard, especially as we are part of the Government’s school rebuilding programme and we are all excited to see what that brings” he said.

Maintaining strong links with the local community and ensuring that all pupils thrive are two of Mr Kays’ key aims.

He said: “I want to ensure that all pupils have access to the same opportunities I had growing up, in terms of developing them as the whole child and ensuring that they have the skills and knowledge to succeed once they leave SPH.

“Being Headteacher allows me to work with my team to impact each pupil across the whole school and not just in one subject.

“We pride ourselves on our motto of TEAMSPH which is about being together on the journey. We want to build a strong sense of togetherness between teacher, pupil, parent and the community, to ensure everyone in our community reaches their potential.”

Mr Kays said it was a pleasure to work at St Philip Howard which he described as ‘one big family.’

He said: “It is a pleasure to work with such outstanding pupils, they really make the school. We ask the pupils to be the best versions of themselves and this is what they do each and every day. We are one big family where the whole school community knows and supports each other. We also have a fantastic team of staff who go above and beyond every day to ensure that every child has the best opportunities.”

There has been a continuous journey of improvement at St Philip Howard over the past eight years, Mr Kays said, and he is looking forward to taking the school from strength to strength.

He said: “There has been a collective drive by the whole school community to ensure that the pupils and the local community have a school that they deserve and we are continuing that work to drive improvements for future generations.”

Mr Kays cited the school’s relationship with the local community as being vital.

He said: “We sit in the heart of the Glossop community and are proud to be part of it. We are creating future employees for local businesses and we all need to work together effectively to ensure that the fantastic community we have in Glossop continues to flourish and thrive.”

Playing football in Italy and visiting Venice were highlights of a memorable trip for pupils from St Philip Howard.

Sixty boys and girls in Years 8,9 and 10, along with six members of staff, spent four nights in Italy where they took part in football coaching sessions and matches as well as seeing the sights.

The group was based at the Bella Italia Village in Pineta, one of the best sports resorts for school trips.

The international standard facilities include three football centres, an indoor stadium, an Olympic swimming pool, a water park and a beach.

As well as training and playing football, the group also spent a morning in Venice, travelling by water taxi to St Mark’s Square and enjoying some free time.

The trip was organised by Leanne Urquhart, pastoral manager at St Philip Howard, and PE teacher Derron Clarke, who said that the trip had been an incredible experience for the students.

Leanne said: “We’ve had some amazing feedback from parents of the students who went on the trip, I’ve had nothing but positive comments from them. This is the first trip I have organised and it went really well. The students were great but I would also like to thank the staff who were brilliant.

“Priority was given to anyone that played football for school or was affiliated to a football team outside of school. We were overwhelmed with the response as we were originally planning on taking 40 children but had to increase that to 60 because of the amount of interest in it.

“It was also about much more than football, it was great to see the students grow in confidence and become more independent as it wasn’t like going away with their parents, they had to do things for themselves. As it was a coach trip they also saw some incredible sights travelling through Switzerland and past Lake Como, they now have some incredible memories to look back on. I would definitely like to run another trip next year and I’m already looking into it.”

Leanne said she wanted to thank Glossop Round Table who gifted £500 to the school to buy hoodies for the trip.

Student Arabella Berry said: “I don’t play football in school but I train with Glossop North End. The opportunity came up to go on this trip and I thought it would be fun. I really enjoyed it, there was lots of great things to do.”

Student Joe Kidd said: “I don’t really play football out of school but I really wanted to go abroad. It was exciting to play football as well though. The best thing about the trip was that we never really stopped, we were always doing something, and we were also given a bit of freedom too.”

Student Adam Turton said: “I liked playing football with my friends and at school I write match reports for the team. I liked playing in the games in Italy, they were very competitive.”

Student Fionn Murphy said: “I like football and a lot of my friends were going on the trip so I really wanted to go. Going to Venice was fun and I liked exploring and seeing the sights. The football matches were tough and competitive. It was definitely a trip that I will always remember.”

Headteacher Mike Kays said: “I would like to thank all of the staff for the time they gave up during the Easter holidays to enable the pupils to have such an unforgettable experience. Since the return we have had a letter from the managing director who was in the resort at time, saying how much of a pleasure it was to spend time with our pupils and that the behaviour they showed at all times was exceptional.”

Lessons in bridge building, morse code and communicating via cans at Saint Mary’s Catholic Voluntary Academy were led by students from St Philip Howard.

Saint Mary’s welcomed 18 of our Year 8 students, who led science lessons working with pupils of all ages.

The Year 8 students planned and delivered the sessions, which included creating a magnet obstacle course and setting up a crime scene investigation.

The day was part of British Science Week- a 10-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths which takes place from 10-19 March 2023 and this year’s theme is connections.

Nicola Barry, science co-ordinator at Saint Mary’s, in Gladstone Street, thanked pupils and staff from St Philip Howard.

She said: “We thought this was an ideal opportunity to further strengthen our links with St Philip Howard as our partner secondary school.

“Their students came up with ideas for the day and planned them. They then led the sessions in classes with support from our staff. Our pupils worked in classes made up of different year groups and it’s been nice to see pupils of different ages working together.

“Our pupils have looked at bridge building, morse code, using magnets, can communication and they have absolutely loved it. Some of the St Philip Howard students used to be pupils here and it’s been lovely to see them again.”

Kadie, a Year 8 student at St Philip Howard, said she enjoyed working with pupils at Saint Mary’s.

She said: “I was in the sessions about morse code but there are different groups doing lots of different things. I volunteered to take part because I enjoy science and I like doing more practical experiments. I liked working with the children at Saint Mary’s; the day was amazing.”

Jane-Ann Birkitt, Joint Head of Science at St Philip Howard, said the day was a great experience for pupils from both schools.

She said: “The aim of the day was for our Year 8 students to practice their skills and share their enthusiasm for science with the pupils at Saint Mary’s and to look at how anybody can be a scientist.

“We wanted to show the Saint Mary’s pupils techniques and equipment that they might not get the opportunity to use in primary school.

“It was a great day and we were made to feel very welcome. It was lovely for some of our pupils, who used to go to Saint Mary’s, to come back and nice for the Saint Mary’s staff to see how they’ve developed.”