A Message from the Head...

It will not have escaped anyone's notice that today saw the return of our annual Prize Giving Ceremony in all its glory!

Back was the internal marquee in the sports hall, the red carpet, the table full of prizes, the fizz, the strawberries and the picnics!

Our speaker was the indefatigable Mr Kriss Akabusi, MBE and he was nothing short of inspirational.  Working with 3 different age groups of children in the morning, he moved between rolling about on the floor with them to having races around the PAC against them!  Lots of great questions were put to him by the children who were really buzzing by the time they got to listen to his full speech in the marquee.

We are truly grateful to Kriss for attending our event today and we are sure that his visit will live long in the memories of our pupils, our parents and our staff!

A link will be available soon for parents to purchase photos of their children receiving their prizes from Mr Akabusi although, from the number of selfies he graciously posed for after the event, I'm not entirely sure these will be needed!

Readers can also watch a recording of my Prize Giving Speech by clicking the video link a the end of my section this week.

Earlier in the week we also saw the return of our Sports Awards Dinner.  The pupils looked amazing as they 'dressed for the occasion' and it was great to welcome two new members of the PE department, Mr Davidson and Mr Holmes,  to join us for the evening.  

The full article on this lovely event can be found here. 

On Wednesday evening we celebrated the end of GCSE examinations at our Upper 5 Garden Party.  Parents and staff joined the pupils for drinks in the sunshine before the girls and their guests enjoyed some food and dancing in a garden party themed PAC.  Everyone looked amazing and we look forward to seeing the girls again when they come back in August to collect their results. 

Next week is the last week of the summer term.  The CCF cadets are away on their annual camp, upper Key Stage 2 pupils will entertain us with their end of term performances of "Hoodwinked", Dogs Trust will be running workshops across the school and High School will depart on a community walk on Thursday in support of the organisation.  It may be the last week of term but that doesn't make it any less busy!

Have a lovely weekend everyone and I hope the PFA ball goes brilliantly on Saturday night.  Many thanks to Kathryn Dyer, Chair of the PFA, and her team of supportive parents for once again organising this wonderful event!

- Dr Tracy Johnson - 

Junior NBA Finals

After being crowned the Gateways team of the Year in Monday night's superb Sports Awards ceremony, it was now time for the U13 boys to put their 'money where their mouth was' and see the season out, undefeated! 

In a superbly put together finals day hosted by British Basketball (BBA) and the The Junior NBA at Becketts Park in Leeds, it appeared that the only thing that could stop this group would be themselves. 

First up in the round of four, were Leeds neighbours Abbey Grange. Having not played them in the regular season, it was a bit of an unknown quantity. However, Gateways set about their task in superb fashion taking an early 6-0 lead. Baskets continued to flow for Gateways throughout the contest and they eventually ran out winners 28-17. 

A lengthy and nervous wait ensued as the boys supported Ivan Ausekar in his solo shooting competition during the lunch interval before watching the 3/4th Bronze medal match. Finally, the long wait was over. It was time for the final. Hall Cross stood in between these 7 boys and the Championship. Gateways started the contest at a blistering pace and baskets rained down for the first two quarters. The opposition played their part, but nothing could stop these Gateways boys from steadily accumulating a huge 12 point half time advantage! 

Score followed score until a 20 point advantage meant that the title was nearly theirs. Knowing that the game was won, Jere Siyolwe calmed everything down in the final few seconds and held the ball until the last. The final hooter sounded, and they'd done it!

49-32 the final score. Gateways are now the North East and Yorkshire Champions! Undefeated. 

Well done to all the boys who played out of their skins to win this title. It was a truly a 'TEAM' performance. Isaac Frieze, Jack Cobbald, Romero Della Verde, Ivan Ausekar, Jacob Palmer, Haaris Kiani and Jere Siyolwe - take a bow boys, you deserve this one! 

- Mr Simon Scholfield -

Pupil News

Success for Zach and Lucas in local football tournament

Last Sunday Upper 3 pupils Zach Burnley and Lucas Kitson played in the Gala Cup for teams from Division 2 of the Harrogate & District Junior Football League Under 12s.  The Gala took place on the Scaurbank playing fields next to the river Wharfe in Wetherby.
 
After a competitive and closely fought final that ended in a goalless draw, Wetherby narrowly beat Pannal Ash 3 - 1 in a penalty shoot out with an outstanding on the spot goalkeeping performance from player of the tournament Zack Burnley.  Well done!

High School Community Walk – 7th July

On Thursday 7th July both Prep and High school will attend a Dogs Trust workshop all about safety around dogs and understanding their body language. In High School the workshop will also focus on careers working with animals. Following this, High School pupils will take part in a community walk to raise money for the Dogs Trust, a British animal welfare charity and humane society which specialises in the well-being of dogs. It is the largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom, caring for over 15,000 animals each year. This charity is also helping those dogs who have left with families from Ukraine and need urgent care and support, click here for more details.

Donations can be given via our Just Giving page. Further details  regarding the dress code and arrangements for the morning have been sent through Firefly to High School parents.

Gateways PFA raffle winners

Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets for the Summer Raffle, we raised over £500.  The winning tickets have been drawn and are as follows:-

Gin Masterclass for 2 including bottle of gin - 01818  Kitson
Magnum of Champagne - 00436  Pratt
£50 Amazon Voucher - 02736  Braithwaite
Helicopter Ride - 00391  Lin
Share Jewellery Voucher - 01660  Wardle
Photo Shoot from Angela Stubbs Photography - 00306  Wilson
Scarf - 00326

Please collect your prizes from Reception at your earliest convenience.  

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing some of you at the Summer Ball on Saturday.

- Kathryn Dyer, Chair of the PFA -

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