Headteacher Blog 24th May 2024

It is the end of the half term and it has been busy with Y6 SATs, lots of trips and Y5 residential. 5KH had a lovely time Mon-Wed this week but the weather for 5HB from Wednesday has been extremely wet! We made some adjustment to our plans to reflect this, but they still got to do all the expected activities in some form. We needed to make some dynamic changes to risk assessment, for example moving the caving activity to an atypical ‘dry’ cave higher on the hill. I was so sorry to read in the news that a Y6 child from Hartlepool was killed on a similar residential on Wednesday due to a mudslide during a forest walk – it would surely have been so difficult to anticipate that in any risk assessment? Our hearts go out to that school and the families and staff involved. It does remind us of the immense responsibility that schools take on, especially during school trips and residential.

Our Y5 residential relies on the generosity of staff and others giving their time from Sunday to Friday. This year, Mrs Hawkhead and Mrs Du Preez have been in the Dales for 6 days and Mrs Hawkhead, particularly, has done a huge amount of the organisation. This is also the last year that we will have Phil Jackson as a free caving instructor as he is ‘retiring’ again after his 70th birthday. Phil has been a huge support to Farfield for over a decade and he went even further this year, spending time on Wednesday replanning the caving activity to reflect the changes in conditions. Thank you Phil and we hope you can finally put your feet up a bit more!

Thanks also to British Cycling and to Northern Rail who have provided huge support to our Y5 residential providing free train tickets and free bikes.