Quest Big congratulations to the year 11 Food, Preparation, and Nutrition GCSE group who completed their NEA 2 food practical assessments last week. They all worked extremely hard to produce a range of fabulous dishes in three hours. They showed a large amount of resilience and self-discipline in what is a challenging and fast paced practical exam. You all did yourselves and the school proud. Well done!

Faith We are so proud of four of our 6th form students who recently completed the prestigious John Paul II Award and were presented with their certificates by the Bishop this past weekend. This top award recognizes their outstanding commitment to serving others, reflecting the love of Jesus Christ, our Living Water, bringing hope and kindness to everyone they meet. Their acts of service inspire those around them and show how their mission to help others truly makes a differen

Learning All students in 11X1 maths took part in the UK Maths Trust Intermediate Maths Challenge in February, this is a test of logic and mathematical problem solving with students gaining marks for correct answers but losing marks for incorrect answers. The standard is very high and the cohort of students sitting the test is the most able year 11 students across UK and international schools. To gain a certificate in this paper is an excellent achievement, so congratulations

RISE Up and Shine Over the past month, Quest Careers has been buzzing with creativity as we launched our Quest Careers Logo Design Competition. The challenge was simple but exciting: create a logo that captures the spirit of Quest Careers—opportunity, ambition, and the journey toward a brighter future. Dozens of designs poured in, offering a unique perspective on what Quest Careers represents. After careful review, our judging panel narrowed the entries down to five outstandi

Quest On Wednesday 11th March our 6th Form BTEC Sport students attended a T1 Rugby Festival at Billingham RUFC. The aim of the day was to learn enjoy playing a touch version of the game. The rugby playing experience of Kallen Osborne, Ewan Holder, Rory Ballance and Evan Johnson shone through. The pace of Harrison Scott and Ellie Brown led to multiple tries for them both. Many other players showcased some excellent skills including chip and chases from Breffney Shield and ex

Quest Over the last few weeks our Y7 and Y8 basketball teams have competed in the Junior NBA (National Basketball Association) League. This is our first year competing in the programme and we were assigned the team and strips for the Philadelphia 76ers. The Y8s performed superbly winning three out of their 4 matches. Strong performances came from every single player but special mention to Henry Tong, Connor Bacon, Evie Yellowley and Dumebi Maduka. Our Y7 didn't fare quite

RISE Up and Shine World Sleep Day is coming around on Friday 13th March 2026. It is a great chance to highlight how important good sleep habits are for Our students. With schoolwork, sports, pressures and social events, it can be tough to get enough rest. Getting the right amount of sleep is vital for your brain to work well, your emotions to stay in check, and your overall health to stay strong. Lack of sleep can affect our physical and our mental health. By taking these s

Quest On a sunny Monday morning, eleven Year 11 students swapped their pens for their standards as they marched towards Segedunum, their hearts filled with an insatiable thirst for learning. All year, they have shown resilience and excellence in lunchtime Latin club, where we explore the roots of the English language by immersing ourselves in characters and stories from first-century Rome. On the trip, we were able to apply this understanding to a local context, understanding

RISE Up and Shine As part of the St Benet's Festival of Reading 2026, our community once again took a few moments to enjoy the simple pleasures of a great story. Introduced by the glamorous Thenardieres, Ewan and Niamh read aloud to our entire community. We were treated to a pacy and engaging short story that highlighted some of the structural techniques that our students are analysing as part of their English GCSE course.

RISE Up and Shine Our school celebrated World Book Day in style as departments from across the school department took part in a whole-school dress-up event inspired by literature. Each department selected a different book or author, resulting in a fantastic range of costumes across the school. Themes included The Hungry Caterpillar, the works of Julia Donaldson and Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall. Students also took part in a competition where they had to collect a quo

Learning As part of our World Book Day celebrations, forms across the school took part in a Decorate a Door competition. Each form group selected a book and transformed their classroom door into a creative display inspired by their chosen story. The results were fantastic, with a wide range of imaginative designs that brought some well-known books to life around the school. The winners were chosen by our Student Voice representatives, who had the difficult task of judging all

Learning Three of our talented young writers—Eva Grieves, Charley-Ann Holmes and Layla Fairhurst—enjoyed an inspiring visit to Bay Tales Live 2026 at the Whitley Bay Playhouse. Surrounded by top crime authors and fellow book lovers, they took part in panels, signings and workshops celebrating the best of the genre. A standout moment came when Eva was invited onto the main stage and announced as the winner of our school’s crime writing competition. She received an award for he

Quest The U13 girls football team played round 4 of the National Cup on Thursday 5th March. They beat Excelsior Academy 5-0, another impressive result, and they continue on their winning streak! As always, the girls played some excellent football and conducted themselves brilliantly. Goal scorers were: Lucy Heatley (4) and Katie Cunningham (1) Player of the match went to Molly Redpath, who had an excellent game in defence. The team are now down to the final 16 schools, which

RISE Up and Shine St Benet Biscop were delighted to welcome award-winning local author Dan Smith into school this week. Dan is widely known for his children and Young Adult’s fiction such as The Crooked Oak series and The Winter Moor Lights. His work has received high praise, with The Times describing one of his books as “Stephen King for children.” Dan delivered an engaging talk to the whole of Year 7, sharing insights into his journey as a writer and where he finds inspira

Quest British Science Week is a ten-day celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths that will take place between 6-15 March 2026. The theme for 2026 is ‘Curiosity: what’s your question?’, and is all about encouraging people to embrace their passions to find answers to their most burning STEM questions. Year 9 were given the amazing opportunity to have a live webchat with actual scientists and ask them questions about their roles and specialisms. Look out for mor

Quest Our U13 girls football team travelled up to Berwick for round 3 of the National Cup on Monday 23rd February. The girls played some excellent football, and won the fixture 6-0, which is testimony to their resilience and team-work throughout the game. Player of the match goes to Lucy Heatley, who scored 5 out of the 6 goals! The team are now down to the final 32 schools, out of an initial 206, which in itself is a huge achievement for their first season playing together.

RISE Up and Shine We are absolutely delighted to share with you the outcome of our recent Catholic School Inspection. We have been graded Outstanding in all areas, a truly exceptional achievement and a powerful affirmation of the remarkable community we are blessed to be part of. Receiving an Outstanding judgement is not simply a reflection of success on the day of inspection, it is recognition of the consistent commitment, values, and aspirations that are lived out every sin

Learning On the last Monday of half term our current year 11 students had a taste of what it is like to study A Level Biology at St Benet Biscop. 28 of our students found out how the course could lead to careers in Renal medicine with a focus on the work of the local Freeman Hospital. They then put to use their practical skills testing a range of urine samples! Students used their knowledge to analyse their results, diagnosing the patients and discussing how their kidney prob

Quest Year 11 had a great day trialling sixth form subjects and getting a taste of sixth form life. Year 11 were all exceptional. Teachers gave great feedback on the lessons they taught, and how mature the students were. Northumbria University were also in school to talk to Year 11, in a study skills session. The speaker was blown away by how well behaved and enthusiastic Year 11 were. A big thank you to Year 11 for stepping up, and making the day an absolute pleasure!

RISE Up and Shine Congratulations and thanks are extended to our own Headteacher, Mrs Lewis-Dale. She was invited to be a guest speaker at Northumberland's Relationships and C.A.R.E. conference (Caring about Adversity, Resilience and Empowerment). She spoke passionately about the culture and climate of St Benet's, not only through our Catholic Ethos but our real passion to build relationships with all students and empower them to live out our mission, through faith, quest and