Ripon Cathedral School Update

On Monday, a group of KS2 pupils had the incredible opportunity to travel to Young Voices in Sheffield for an unforgettable day of music and performance, joining over 5000 other children from schools all over the north of England. After months of rehearsals, their hard work paid off as they sang and danced with enthusiasm, confidence and energy! The atmosphere was electric, and the children enjoyed singing a wide variety of musical styles, including sea shanties, songs from Wicked, Disney favourites and the ever-popular Power in Me. Teachers, parents and the rest of the audience were even encouraged to join in with dancing along to some old-school hip-hop favourites led by the Urban Striders dance group. The pupils represented our school brilliantly, displaying excellent behaviour and remaining engaged and committed throughout the day. It was a fantastic experience and we hope that it will stay with them for years to come!

Last week, we were delighted to celebrate Poetry Week across the school.

Our KS2 children worked incredibly hard learning individual poems and presenting them to their classes. Meanwhile, children in EYFS and KS1 focused on learning a poem together as a class, building confidence and enjoying the rhythm and language of poetry as a group.

The winners from each KS2 class were invited to perform their poems in front of the whole school on Monday morning. EYFS and KS1 also proudly shared their class poems during the celebration assembly. It was a wonderful opportunity for everyone to come together and appreciate the children’s efforts.

All of the children spoke clearly and confidently, and their dedication to learning their poems was evident. We were especially impressed by the wide range of poetry shared — including many fantastic pieces written by the children themselves.

Well done to every child who took part. It truly was a fabulous week of poetry, rounded off with a great celebration on Monday.

This week, we marked Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 with a range of activities across the school. On Wednesday, pupils gathered for an assembly where we explored the theme of ‘This is our place’, focusing on belonging, the freedom to be ourselves and making sure everyone is welcome and accepted. We have been learning the song by the charity Electric Umbrella – ‘There’s no such thing as normal’ – and celebrating our differences! The charity’s founder, Tom Billington, performed in the Young Voices concert on Monday, and highlighted the most important lines: “If you meet me where I am/I will meet you where you are.” He said that nobody needed to change to fit in, we just need to be a little more accepting of each other.

Yesterday afternoon, the children took part in a carousel of mindfulness activities designed to help them slow down and reflect. Sessions included calming yoga exercises, creative artwork, board games and other relaxing practices that encouraged focus and self-awareness. It was wonderful to see our pupils embracing these activities and developing positive strategies to support their mental health.

Further information about Children’s Mental Health Week can be found at https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/ and about Electric Umbrella at https://electricumbrella.org.uk/

On Tuesday, we took part in Safer Internet Day, with every class spending time writing their own class ‘Acceptable Use of Technology’ policies – a set of principles devised and agreed by the children about how they can help to keep themselves and others safe online. In their discussions, they covered areas such as how to look after their devices, how to keep their personal information private and what to do if they saw something they did not like online.

The Safer Internet Centre have a range of tips and resources for parents and carers about working with their children to stay safe when online. Here are some top tips from them on how to talk to your children about online safety:

Well done to this week's Stars of the Week who were presented with their certificates in Celebration Worship this morning.

Nursery –Dylan, for working hard on his pencil control at Nursery and home. He's also shown kindness towards his friends.

Reception – Clemmie, for showing fantastic focus and determination while completing a tricky cutting and threading task to make a beautiful horse mask for Lunar New Year.

Year 1 –Eleanor, for always being such a fantastic role model to everyone in Year 1. She gives 100% effort in everything she does. She's been working especially hard on her phonics and writing, this has been very clear in her super independent writing this week.

Year 2 – Atticus, for a fantastic description of a dragon. He included lots of fabulous vocabulary and remembered his full stops, capital letters and commas for lists.

Year 3 – Edwin, for challenging himself in lessons and listening carefully to feedback to improve his work. He has been especially powering through maths questions!

Year 4 – Betsy, for her dedication and enthusiasm in morning maths. Her hard work and positive attitude have strengthened her confidence and skills in lessons

Year 5 – Roman, for always asking questions and engaging in lessons, but especially this week for pushing himself out of his comfort zone in dance!

Year 6 - Charlotte, for listening to all feedback in English and producing a great non-chronological report.

Unfortunately, Nursery are down to their last two sets of serviceable wet weather coveralls (rather tricky given our recent weather!). You can see in the photos how much the children love getting outside, whatever the weather! If you're having a clear out over the half term break and your child has outgrown some waterproofs, please consider donating them to school, thank you.

Larger sizes would also be useful for main school classes doing Forest Schools, if you find you have spares or cast offs. The Forest Schools team would also appreciate donations of items which are always useful in their sessions. These items include: