Talented students perform at Christmas show
Published 15/12/25
What a fantastic evening we had celebrating the incredible talent of our students at the West Craven High School Christmas Show!
West Craven High School
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Read MoreCreativity celebrated in Christmas card competition
Published 15/12/25Hundreds of entries were once again received for the annual Pendle Education Trust Christmas card design competition.
Read MoreWest Craven High School celebrates student achievement at annual Star Awards
Published 20/11/25West Craven High School recently hosted its annual Star Awards, an evening filled with celebration, inspiration, and pride.
Read MoreStudents shine on Spanish football adventure
Published 14/11/25During the recent half-term, a group of enthusiastic West Craven High School students traded their classrooms for an unforgettable football trip to Spain.
Read MoreStudents enjoy a rewards trip to Turf Moor
Published 23/10/25Five students were treated to a visit to Turf Moor this week. During the day, students had the incredible opportunity to meet several key members of staff at the club.
Read MoreWest Craven High School celebrates students’ achievements on GCSE Results Day
Published 21/08/25West Craven High School’s Class of 2025 are celebrating after receiving their GCSE results and taking the first step towards their ambitious futures.
Read MoreWest Craven students are World Record breakers
Published 08/07/25A group of Year 10 students from West Craven High School have supported celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in setting a new Guinness World Record.
The West Craven students were amongst 10,515 people who participated worldwide in an online cookery lesson, with the attempt covering six continents, 42 countries, and more than 500 UK schools. The previous record was held by the Partnership for Health in Poland, with 6,778 participants in 2015.
The cookery lesson was held by Jamie's chef Krzysztof Sumik, with Jamie also taking part.
During the online lesson, participants cooked up fresh pasta with a no-cook tomato sauce. After it was confirmed a new World Record had been set, Jamie said:
“We did it! I'm absolutely delighted that we’ve broken the Guinness World Records title for the largest cookery lesson (multiple venues) ever. It just goes to show what an impact we can have when we come together to celebrate the joy of learning how to cook. We couldn’t have done it without everyone who joined the class – so thank you, each and every one of you, and cheers to us!”
Read MoreWest Craven awarded Ernest Cook Trust grant
Published 08/07/25West Craven High School has been awarded a £1,000 Outdoor Essentials Grant from The Ernest Cook Trust.
This funding will help us to develop our Nature and Nurture programme, creating inspiring outdoor spaces for learning, well-being and nature connection. From wildflower meadows and raised beds to bug hotels and bird boxes, our students will soon have even more opportunities to learn and thrive in the great outdoors!
Read MorePrimary children make a splash at the Barnoldswick Together Swimming Gala!
Published 20/06/25Year 5 children from Salterforth Primary School, Gisburn Road School, Barnoldswick C E School and Thornton in Craven Primary took to the water for an exciting and action-packed swimming gala organised by West Craven High School.
The event brought together children from across our local primary schools, all eager to show off their swimming skills and team spirit.
With cheers from the parents and plenty of determination in the pool, the children competed in a range of fun and friendly races. From front crawl to freestyle relays, every swimmer gave it their all, showing fantastic sportsmanship and enthusiasm throughout.
A huge well done to all who took part — whether they won a medal or simply gave it their best shot, each child should be proud of their achievement. A special thank you also goes to West Craven High School staff and student helpers, Pendle Leisure Trust and our local primary school teachers who helped the event run so smoothly.
Read MoreExcellence in Pupil Development celebrated at West Craven High School
Published 09/05/25Staff and students at West Craven High School are celebrating after the school received the Optimus Education Excellence in Pupil Development Award.
The award offers a structured framework for schools to evaluate and enrich their pastoral curriculum while supporting students’ personal attributes and attitudes such as self-confidence, resilience and discipline. With a focus on involving local and national organisations, it helps to prepare students for life in modern Britain.
Key to achieving the award is:
- Developing a whole school curriculum where the skills and knowledge for personal development are embedded.
- Setting high expectations for pupil behaviour and conduct, including punctuality and attendance.
- Promoting positive attitudes from students towards their own learning, towards each other, and towards the wider community.
- Engaging with local groups and parents to deliver enrichment activities that develop students’ confidence, responsibility and leadership skills.
- Actively enlisting the support of national and international agencies to help raise students’ aspirations for their future.
- Committing to high-quality, ongoing staff CPD so that all staff can build and support students’ personal development.
Achieving the Excellence in Pupil Development Award follows on from West Craven receiving Optimus Education’s Leading Parent Partnership Award two years ago. This Award celebrates schools who deliver outstanding engagement with all groups of parents.
Assistant Principal, Mrs Robertson led on collating the evidence for both awards. She said: “We are delighted to have been presented with a second Optimus Education Award which celebrates the work we have put in to ensuring that our curriculum is preparing all of our students for life after West Craven High School.”
In his report, Award Verifier, Colin Noble, said: “At West Craven, students are very much viewed and treated as individuals with the school’s curriculum, pastoral care, structure, processes and partnerships consequently shaped by their perceived needs.
“The behaviour of students, both in lessons and in informal time at breaks and lunchtime is a strength of the school. Students were engaged and industrious in lessons and polite, courteous and well-behaved in corridors and at the end of school.
“Another strength is the number of clubs enjoyed by the students at lunchtime and after school, ranging from karaoke, a plethora of sports to chess in the library.
“It was also very impressive to see the extent and depth to which the school is engaging with its local community to promote students’ personal development. Perhaps the most outstanding example of this is the sponsorship of two students by the local Rotary Club to experience the Edinburgh Festival as part of a local theatre group.”
Read MoreChildren shine on the stage at Pendle Education Trust dance competition
Published 09/05/25Children aged 4 to 16 recently took to the stage to wow a packed-out audience at the first ever Pendle Education Trust dance competition.
Over 200 children from Pendle Education Trust’s schools auditioned to take part in the competition with 76 making it through to the final – from EYFS to Key Stage 4. They performed amazingly on Primet’s stage in front of family, friends, staff and a panel of judges. The judges were Gemma Bynert from Sandersons’ Dance School and Janet Philbrook-Parkinson and Lucie Gillam from Stage Door Youth Theatre. Imogen School of Dance also supported the students from West Craven High School.
The event was hosted by Mrs Ansell, a Teaching Assistant at Casterton Primary Academy and a dance teacher in her spare time.
All children who took part in the competition received a medal and trophies for first, second and third were awarded in the EYFS and Key Stage 1, Key Stage 2 and Key Stage 3 and 4 categories. The winners were: – these were sponsored by the judges!
EYFS and Key Stage 1
1st Place - CasterQuad - Casterton Primary Academy
2nd Place - Rose Girls - Castercliff Primary Academy
3rd Place - Muhammad - Castercliff Primary Academy
Key Stage 2
1st Place - Casterton Primary Academy Communication Crew
2nd Place - Moonlight Girls - Castercliff Primary Academy
3rd Place - The Baddies - Castercliff Primary Academy
Key Stage 3 and 4
1st Place - Tech Evolution - Colne Primet Academy
2nd Place - Katie - West Craven High School
3rd Place - West Craven High School Contemporary Team
Jude Evetts, Pendle Education Trust’s Strategic Marketing and Development Manager, said: “We were blown away by the talent of the children in our schools from the very first audition right through to the final event. They all performed so confidently, and it was fantastic to see the pride, joy and tears of the families supporting in the audience.
“A huge thank you to all of the children who took part and to the staff and judges who supported the event. We can’t wait to do it all over again next year!”
Read MoreBritish Science Week celebrated with extracurricular trips for students
Published 20/03/25As part of British Science Week, students took part in a range of Science related extracurricular trips.
55 year 9 students visited Manchester, first to the Museum of Illusions for lots of mind bending optical illusions including a vortex tunnel which really made your head spin! They then went to Manchester Museum to explore their collection of archaeological treasures, weird and wonderful animals from around the world, Chinese historical artefacts and dinosaur fossils. They even got to meet Stan the T rex!
Our British Science Week trip for Year 10 was to Chester Zoo. The students braved the bat cave, although there were some shrieks of fright when the bats flew close by! They got up close to three very impressive big cats - lions, tigers and jaguars. There were lots of cheeky monkeys, orangutangs and apes. The zoo has animals and birds from all over the world from penguins to crocodiles, elephants to flamingos.