Rock Hall School, near Alnwick, held its annual Cross Country Challenge for schools across the region on March 21st.Schools taking part were Ellingham First, Amble Links First, James Calvert Spence College, Dame Allan's, Kings, Mowden Hall and Rock.
The Mayor of Alnwick, Alan Symmonds, started the races and presented certificates and medals to the winners. Everyone enjoyed a successful afternoon in the Spring sunshine.
It had been thought that this might be the last year of the event as the school was threatened with closure. The school has, however, been saved and the event will run on ...and on!
Children of Rock Hall School used World Book Day to focus on children around the world. Dressed as characters from books, ranging from Pippi Longstocking to Robinson Crusoe, they shared stories from other countries whilst raising money for the Chirapatre Appeal which provides educational facilities for children living in Kumasi, Ghana.
Following their success at the Alnwick Rugby Club tournament for local schools Rock Hall Ospreys, Rock Hall School's under 9s team, put in an impressive performance at the Newcastle Falcons under 9s tournament. After topping their group in the initial stages they won a closely fought semi final against Benton Dene Pumas to reach the final against Newcastle School for Boys. Although there was some excellent play from both sides NSB were the eventual winners.
Rock Hall School and Ellingham School joined together to hold a memorial service in Rock Church for the victims of a tragic event which happened nearly 150 years ago. A steam boiler at Rock Moor Farm blew up on 29th November 1862 and killed 11 people most of them very young, including a 7 year old little boy. Most were killed instantly but some died several days later from their injuries. They are all buried in Rock Churchyard.
Beamish Museum led a project with several schools in North Northumberland tracing the history of steam on farms in the local area. The children were all encouraged to become industrial archaeologists and find evidence of the steam boilers which drove several bits of farm machinery. The children looked at remaining chimneys, old boiler houses where the marks in the wall were still visible and went to Beamish for a day to study 19th century farming practices. Beamish also teamed up with Woodhorn Museum where the county archives are held and the schools visited there to trace original records of the victims and the reports in the local press about the accident and the following inquest.
Rock Hall School took 5th prize out of 19 entries in the Leek Show at the Horseshoes pub in Rennington. The children won ã25 which they intend to invest in a shelter to protect future crops from the strong Northumberland wind! They will be designing and making this themselves in hope of producing "the perfect leek" for next year's show.
The children of Rock Hall School have collected 60 bags of used clothing for the Great North Air Ambulance Air Angels Appeal. All the proceeds, ã166.50, have been donated to the fund for a new helicopter. The Great North Air Ambulance is a charity close to the heart of the children at Rock.
Years 1 and 2 at Rock Hall School held a pizza party for their families and friends as the culmination of a half term project with student teacher, Nick Ware.
Using technology, science and maths they built a pizza oven and then baked and served their own pizzas. The proof of the project (and the pizza) was in the eating!
The Rock Hall School Cross Country Running Event was held on Tuesday, April 28th.
Local schools from Amble and Whittingham, Longridge Towers from Berwick, Royal Grammar School from Newcastle and The Kings School, Tynemouth joined with pupils from Rock Hall.
Over a hundred and twenty competitors from Years 3 - 6 ran different courses through the beautiful Rock Hall grounds. The sun shone and everyone had a happy and successful afternoon.
On Monday the 29th of March years 3 and 4 of Rock Hall School embarked upon a trip to Spindlestone Farm. A range of environmental and agricultural activities included; bird seed mixing, a visit to a lambing shed, bird watching and eco construction ensured that fun and learning was had by all.
Two children commented upon their favourite parts;
"I really enjoyed feeding the sheep and lambs" (Year 3)
"I enjoyed finding out good ways of building clay house walls" (year 4)
At Rock Hall School, Bikeability have provided cycling training for all children from Year 4 upwards, starting in the playground and progressing to the local lanes. We are delighted that the children are preparing for a healthier and safer future.
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