The Keats Herald ⭐️⭐️ FINAL BLOG FOR THIS ACADEMIC YEAR ⭐️⭐️

I must take this opportunity to thank Alex Gaughan and Nadia Brady, the Senior Prefects for Keats College, for all of their hard work on the excellent college blog they have produced. Equally, sincere thanks to Scott Mackin for his technical expertise. You’ve all done an excellent job and I’m extremely grateful. I would also like to take this opportunity to wish our Year 11 pupils the very best of luck with their exam results and also the very best of luck for the future. Remember the lessons you have learned and use them to take the first steps on your journey through the rest of your life. Equally, for all of the students and families in Keats, I wish you a wonderful, joyful and relaxing summer.

I’m always excited and happy to provide a written ‘round up’ for the college blog, as it gives me the perfect opportunity to reflect on the many wonderful successes within the college. However, as I sit down to write this time, I’m ever mindful of the fact that it will be the last piece I write as the Head of Keats College, as I prepare for my change of role in September. Of course, I’m excited to take on the new responsibility for an entire year group, but equally I feel a very strong sense of sadness that I will no longer be at the helm in guiding my fellow knights. This wonderful honour will now fall to Mrs Smith and I have no doubt that she will do a stellar job. My advice is of course PER ASPERA AD ASTRA!

I have been the number one fan of Keats College since the day I was awarded the Head of College role and I sat and doodled an initial emblem and motto on a piece of paper in 2013. I am of course deeply saddened that I will not continue to hold the reins, but Mrs Smith assures me that I will still be able to give guidance and participate in the overall college ethos and I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity – once a knight, always a knight! PER ASPERA AD ASTRA!

I must also take this opportunity to thank some very important members of Keats staff. It’s been such a privilege to work with Mr Wood as the College Advocate. I’ve had an immense amount of support and guidance from him and I have been extremely grateful for the opportunity to learn further- thank you! Also, I must give my sincere thanks to the Keats Progress Tutors – what a team! My job has been made much easier to cope with because of their dedication to their students and their support of our college. I hope you all have a thoroughly well-deserved rest and enjoy being able to reconnect with family and friends – thank you all so much. PER ASPERA AD ASTRA!

Of course, we are also saying goodbye to another great champion of Keats College, in our Pastoral Manager, Mr Shipton, who is leaving us to take up a new position in another school. I know he feels the same as myself in having to let go of such an amazing college and I’m sure his final day in school will be a very emotional one. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Shipton for everything he has done for the college. He has been instrumental in the organisation and success of the college as a whole; it’s day to day smooth running and ethos and also he has always been a firm believer in the college motto and helped us no end. But equally, he has been a great champion of the students; listened to their worries, calmed their concerns and championed their successes. I know that Mr Shipton can pride himself on the fantastic relationships he routinely builds with students and staff and he will be greatly missed by us all. I know I will certainly miss my right hand man (although technically he always sat at the left hand side of me in the Keats office) and a great friend. So, to the chivalrous Sir Shipton of Keats, we wish you every success in your new school and ask that you remember us with fondness and happiness and that you know in your heart that we will always be your Keats family. PER ASPERA AD ASTRA! GO KNIGHTS!

So, even though I will miss the ethos and triumphant image of Keats as a whole, it’s important to remember that we are all so much more than a badge, a college colour, a motto or a college song; we are a family and will continue to be such in the fond memories of each us who have already been a part of Keats College and those who are yet to join this mighty force. As I have said to the students so many times, they are in charge of Keats College and they make its success – Keats College does not just exist, it must be built every single day, brick by brick, with every individual being responsible for creating the whole. I know, that even in the absence of myself and Mr Shipton, the students will continue to build their unity, strength and success day by day and as ever, I will of course champion and cheer them on from the side lines. So, for the many times I have passed this message onto the students who have gone on to complete their time with us, I will now adhere and place faith in our college rhyme, (after all, our namesake is an amazing poet, so I may as well finish poetically) and know that there will always be a special place in my heart for Keats College and that I too played my part in building the foundations for something very special. As ever, my thanks are with the students for the little rhyme they gave us:

No matter where you go in life,

No matter where you roam,

When you think of your Keats College

You’ll know that you’ve come home.

Thank you so much for the opportunity – I’ve loved it from start to finish. I’ll always be proud to wear yellow!

PER ASPERA AD ASTRA!!

Ms A. Watts.

HEAD OF KEATS COLLEGE. 2013-2017

Welcome to the final edition of the Keats Blog for 2016/17. We (Alex and Nadia) have had the best experience being able to be the Senior Prefects for such a brilliant college as Keats, so it felt only right we came back to give the final address and wish everyone well.

As we all know, Year 11 is such an important year due to GCSE’s and we have completed it at last! Looking back on it, it was possibly the most stressed out we have ever felt because we need these GCSE’s for the next stage of our journey – college! However, as mentioned, we are past the stress and preparation and looking back on it, we hope we’ve done alright – fingers crossed for results day! We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of those wonderful people who supported us along the way.

Alex Gaughan:

‘All of the exams were challenging (some more than others) however if you put the time in to revise then no one can complain about your work ethic. For me, it’s all about perseverance and doing myself the favour of knowing that I tried my very best and couldn’t have given any more. All of this wouldn’t have been possible without my teachers. They put an incredible amount of commitment and hard work into planning lessons, never mind running them and structuring them and giving extra revision sessions after a long day and without these wonderful people I would certainly not have been able to go into that exam hall feeling the way I did.

Thank you to Miss Hayton for never giving up and accepting all my answers even though half of them were wrong. Thank you to Mr Ayres for the challenging ‘Corbet Maths starters’ and also for keeping us safe from wasps in the middle of summer. Thank you to Mrs Blanken for always trying to be there for the class even when you felt you couldn’t. Thank you to Mr Holland for helping me remember chromosomes, DNA and genes. Thank you to Mrs Ware for constantly giving me past papers to complete – it was worth it. Thank you to Mrs McGinn for always motivating me when I had given up. Thank you to Miss Dodgeon for never giving up with me and my childish mind. Thank you to Mr Todd for never giving up on me even when the odds were against me. Thank you to Miss Mosquera for ignoring all of our complaints against Exampro because that is what made us better – teacher certainly knows best. Thank you to Mrs Houghton for keeping me calm after my many panic and stress moments. Thank you so much to you all.

Nadia Brady:

I think it's fair to say both Alex and I are so relieved to have finished our exams. I know that I wouldn't have been able to stay as level headed throughout the exams without the support and help from my teachers, so I'd like to thank all of my teachers: Mrs Wood, Mme Draper, Mr Fazal, Mr Holland, Mrs Ware, Mrs McGinn, Mr Ayres, Miss Dodgeon and Mrs Haigh. Your help and support has been invaluable so thank you so much. One piece of advice I would give anyone doing or starting their GCSE's is to take the trial PPE exams seriously and revise as soon as possible. This way you go into the exams prepared and not nervous, so you’re able to perform your very best! I would also like to thank the Year 11 Progress Tutors for Keats, Miss Owen and Miss Peet because they have helped us through the years to get where we are today. Thank you all so much.

Both Alex and I have now been in the college since it started in 2013. Throughout our 4 years in Keats, we have enjoyed every second of it. The college has a family feel to it and we are sorry to see it go. Yes, we have loved every second of our 4 years, but of course there are a few highlights that we will never forget.

Alex Gaughan:

My first fond memory is when the year 9 Keats rugby team won the rugby college competition beating Brunel only narrowly and being the good sportsmen we were … we never stopped bragging about it. The second, is winning the 300m two years on a row in sports day and then in year 9 coming second overall! Finally, the most amazing memory is when Ms Watts and Mr Shipton made me Senior Prefect for the whole college. I was happy because it meant that I could be a role model for all the younger pupils in Keats and make them feel a part of the Keats family. I hope I’ve done my very best to lead my college forward.

Nadia Brady:

I've been a member of Keats since it started when I was in year 8, I have always been encouraged to be myself which really helped me to grow into the person I am today. In year 8 I would have never have thought I would have had the confidence or correct skills to become the Senior Prefect but the Senior Prefects before me became role models and I hope I've helped people like i was helped. A few of my highlights during school include being part of the school band for the production of Footloose, taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, having a great time at the Year 10 Summer Ball, representing the school for Lancashire Book of the Year, because it was completely out my comfort zone and helped me gain confidence, which in turn then made the opportunity to represent Keats College for the end of year speech last year more manageable. Finally being nominated as Senior Prefect for Keats has been a huge honour as I've been able to help others and help run the college along with Alex to support Ms Watts and Mr Shipton in the day to day running.

The Keats Herald:

For the past year now, the Keats blog has had 5 dedicated members other than ourselves. Isla Webster from year 10 has done a fantastic job as Editor, Joe Morrow (from year 9), Holly Hilton and Callum Gallagher-Tate (from Year 8) have been amazing reporters for the Keats Herald and we couldn’t have done it without them. Last but certainly not least, we want to thank Scott Mackin for being our tech specialist and always putting the blog together no matter how tight the time frame is – he’ s often the unsung hero! Without all these hardworking people, the Keats Blog wouldn’t have been as good as it has been and we’re amazingly proud of it! For that reason, we would like to thank all these hard workers for their resilience and effort towards the blog … it has definitely paid off and we hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have.

Another big thank you that is needed is a thank you to our amazing Progress Tutors. An unbelievable amount of work is put in by the progress tutors to relay important information over to the pupils and they deserve special recognition because without them, pupils would miss a lot of events and they wouldn’t always hear about key opportunities that are available for them. On top of this, if pupils ever have a problem, the Progress Tutors are always there to help and for that reason we think they deserve special recognition:

Thank you to:

  •  Miss Hill of 7K1
  •  Miss Hayton of 7K2
  •  Mr Davis of 8K1
  •  Mrs Cross of 8K2
  •  Mrs Potter of 9K1
  •  Dr Hinchcliffe of 9K2
  •  Mr O’Kane of 10K2
  •  Mr Hayes-Sinclair of 10K1

All of the Progress Tutors are incredible, however for the past 4 years; Miss Peet and Miss Owen have been the Progress Tutors for the same forms who have now gone on to complete their time at Ormskirk School. They have had to put up with all of our problems and issues but irrespective of that they have laughed and cried with us, so from Nadia and I, we would like to say a huge thank you for the past 4 years from all of Year 11 in Keats. We couldn’t have done it without you – PER ASPERA AD ASTRA! GO KNIGHTS!!

Year 11 Leavers Ball (A.K.A. Prom):

One highlight of Year 11 that everyone always looks forward to is definitely the Leavers Ball. On the 30th of August, most of year 11 were invited to the DW stadium for their final night together as a year group. With all the girls ‘glammed’ up in their long dresses and all the boys ‘suited and booted’ and ready to go we boarded the coaches at Ormskirk School for our half an hour journey to where our final night together awaited.

On arrival, we were greeted with fruit punch and shown to our tables. (Very posh!) For starters, we had melon with sorbet and a strawberry which wasn’t everybody’s favourite course if you hadn’t had guessed – the presentation was definitely interesting. For the main course, we had sliced chicken, with boiled carrots, roast potatoes, mushrooms, onions and courgettes. Finally, we had our dessert which was chocolate fudge cake with cream on the side … with a strawberry! After the food was gone, it was time to PARTY and work it all off on the dancefloor…..and dance…we certainly did!

Alas, the night very quickly came to an end. However, before it was over we had time for two more songs … and trust me they were good choices. Before we knew it, the night was over and our High School journey was nearly over! Just the Leavers Assembly to go.

Leavers Ball photos:

Leavers Assembly and Shirt Singing 2017:

Every year, Year 11’s have a Leavers Assembly to remember their five years at Ormskirk School. It is a nice way to end the high school experience as it isn’t a formal event. It is made to allow everyone to remember everyone by awarding funny and unusual awards. This is then followed by shirt signing before everyone officially leaves.

The assembly starts off with embarassing the whole year by showing the photos of every pupil when they were in Year 7. It is hilarious to see how people have changed over the five years. Following on from this, the teachers had peviously all got together and talked about the ‘unusual’ yet funny awards that were awarded to us all. We both got awards however whereas Nadia got ‘Future Rockstar’ … Alex got ‘Ladies Man’. This wasn’t embarassing for Alex at all!!

Other students in Ketas also got some awards which we would like to share with you:

  • Matt Hilton – the ‘Dude’
  • Matt Webster – Best Uniform
  • Chris Carnegie – Best smile

As the awards unfortunately came to an end, the shirt signing began. It was amazing and lovely to see so many people signing each others shirts, so that everyone could remember everyone. Although hardly any tears were shed, it was an emotional time for all of us because we would never be together as a full year group again! The people we have group up with … alongside them – would be no more. Of course we will all hopefully keep in touch however it wont be the same as seeing them face to face every day which is one of the down sides of leaving high school.

Finally, we would like to thank the whole of year 11 for being an amazing year to grow up with. Of course some of us have had our ups and downs however overall none of us could have got through it all without everyone else! And for that reason, THANK YOUUUU!!!

Leavers Assembly and Shirt signing photos:

Kevin Pearce ‘Love our Brain’chairty:

While I have been in Keats, the charity has stayed the same throughtout the four years and we have raised a lot of money towards it! Unfortunately we didn’t reach our goal this year however, we still run aised quite a lot of money for it overall and we will continue to do so!

For the past four years, pupils in Keats have run a number of charity events in order to raise money for Kevin Pearce. Our goal this year was very ambitious, however as this year we have all been rushed off our feet – we havent had the time to raise as much as we would have liked. However we were able to raise just under £600 which we will continue to build on.

In the past years, pupils in Keats have raised over £3000 and to those pupils we would like to say a huge… THANK YOU and well done! Without their hard work and commitment, the Kevin Pearce fund wouldn’t have got the money it may have needed to help other people around the world.

Prefects:

As most of you know by now, we are the Senior Prefects for Keats. However, what that also means is that we are in charge of a little army of prefects and all we woud like to say to our little army is yet again … Thank you! As everyone knows, being a prefect can be a very thankless job at times. However, through your GRIT and determination you have come a long way, not only as students but as people as well. You will cherish all your memories from your duties – although that always seems difficult to believe at the time!! We would like to wish you all the best of luck in the future because whatever happens, you deserve the best – no matter what. Thanks you for coming on this journey with us.

We would personally like to say it has been a pleasure working along side you, as well as guiding you through your duties.

John Keats:

Of course, it would be remiss not to give mention to our main man – MR JOHN KEATS. We believe John Keats was the correct role model for the college. His work was only fully recognised after his death and yet these days he is an extremely famous poet (who even features in the GCSE English Anthology – Go Keats!) due to his legacy of fantastic work. This describes Keats College. We don’t always come first however we always put 100% effort in no matter what and give everything a go. John Keats always expressed his beliefs and personality through his poetry and that is message we want the pupils in Keats to live by. BE YOUR OWN PERSON no matter what other people think of you because you are who you are! Keats believed in the importance of heart and Keats College are heart through and through. Thank you Mr Keats – we hope we do you proud.

FINAL THANKS from Alex and Nadia on behalf of all the students in Keats:

Mr Wood: As our college advocate, Mr Wood does a lot of work behind the scenes for us, a regular unsung hero who doesn’t always get the recognition he deserves. So, on behalf of Keats, we would like to say thank you very much for all of your hard work in helping the college to succeed and to get where it is today. You’ve always ‘had our back’ and for that we thank you. You will always be part of the team and part of the yellow squad and we’ve been honoured to have you with us from the very beginning. Thank you Mr Wood.

Mr Shipton: As most students in Keats now know, Mr Shipton won’t be returning to Ormskirk School in September. This comes as a great sadness to us all because he has been there for us throughout our whole high school experience and to think he won’t be here next year to help others like he has helped us – is of course extremely sad and upsetting. Even so, we know he will go on to make great success in his new school and we hope his new students realise just how lucky they are – our loss is their gain. Therefore, on behalf of all the pupils in Keats past and present who you have consistently supported and helped we would like to say a massive THANK YOU! It wont be the same here without you and you will be missed dearly. We wish you the very best of luck in your new job, we know you will be great. So one last time, PER ASPERA AD ASTRA -GO KNIGHTS!!!

Ms Watts: Even though Ms Watts isnt leaving the School, she is leaving the Keats family (although trying to get her to actually do that will be trying to get rid of a cold in winter! ;)) and that yet again is upsetting because like Mr Shipton, she has been there for us for the past four years – since the start of Keats, through both happy and sad times. She has been a major influence in making us who we are today and for that we are extremly grateful. Even when the college wasn’t doing as well on the leader board as we would have hoped, Ms Watts didn’t focus on the downside. All she cared about was that her pupils were becoming better people and the best they could be, due to her strong leadership and guidance. To honour her hard work, we hope the Keats pupils will continue to keep striving to be the best that they can be and that her new year 10 pupils don’t give our Ms Watts any hassle! Thank you Ms Watts. Every step of the way –PER ASPERA AD ASTRA! GO KNIGHTS!! WE ARE YELLOW, WE ARE KEATS!

Our final messgae to all Keats Pupils is:

WORK HARD AND YOU WILL TRIUMPH!

AND

BE YOUR OWN PERSON … NO MATTER WHAT ANYONE ELSE THINKS!

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