Located in the heart of Catterick Garrison, Risedale has exceptionally deep ties to the military, with 48% of the Risedale Family being service children, making Remembrance a deeply personal reflection for nearly half of the pupil body. Throughout the week, pupils and staff united across a series of moving events to honour the service and sacrifice of the Armed Forces community.
Festival of Remembrance at Ripon Cathedral
To launch our week of Remembrance, a group of Risedale pupils proudly represented our school at the Festival of Remembrance service at Ripon Cathedral, hosted by our local Service Children's Champion, Angela Campbell.
Accompanied by Headteacher Mrs Greenwood, our new Service Pupil Manager Mr Plumb, and Chair of Governors Beki Bulmer, our young people joined service families, dignitaries, and pupils from across North Yorkshire to honour the unique sacrifices of Armed Forces children and celebrate their identity and achievements.
Armistice Day Service & National Two-Minute Silence
On Wednesday, November 11th, Risedale held its main Remembrance observance, bringing the entire school together both in person and virtually for Armistice Day.
Year 7 pupils and school cadets gathered in the main school hall, while the rest of the school joined via a live broadcast from their classrooms. Dressed proudly in their uniforms, the cadet pupils took on key ceremonial roles as standard bearers.
The service included poetry readings by pupils Alisha and Aiden, along with historical context and personal reflections shared by Mrs Greenwood, Mr Yale, Mrs Johnson, and Mr Plumb.
At 11:00 AM, the entire Risedale Family observed the national two-minute silence to remember the fallen. This moment was framed by the traditional sound of the bugle, played live by guest Squadron Leader Lumsdon. Risedale extends its sincere thanks to Squadron Leader Lumsdon for joining the school on this special occasion and for marking such a moving and poignant event.
'World Ready' Learning & Reflection Across the Week
Alongside the Remembrance service, pupils across all year groups took part in a specially adapted Remembrance theme during their morning 'World Ready' tutorial sessions, organised by Assistant Headteacher Mr Yale.
Running throughout the week, these dedicated sessions provided pupils with space to reflect on different viewpoints, explore potential career pathways within the Armed Forces, participate in a Remembrance-themed pupil vote, and share their own reflections.
A Deep Military Heritage
"Bringing our entire school together for Remembrance, both in person with our Year 7s and cadets in the hall, and virtually across every classroom, reflects the true unity of our school," said Mr Yale, Assistant Headteacher.
"With nearly half of our Risedale Family coming from service backgrounds, Remembrance carries real personal meaning for us. Seeing our cadets step up as standard bearers in their uniforms and watching all our pupils observe the silence with such dignity shows just how deeply they RESPECT the sacrifices made by previous generations and serving families today."
Pupils Support the Poppy Appeal 🌹
Risedale pupils also demonstrated outstanding community spirit by volunteering their free time to support the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal.
Manning the appeal stall at Tesco in Catterick Garrison, our pupils, representing local Army Cadets, Police Cadets, and sports teams, helped raise vital funds for veterans, serving personnel, and their families. Their enthusiasm, maturity, and polite manners earned warm praise from shoppers and organisers alike, perfectly demonstrating our core school values in action.
Thanks to the dedication of all volunteers and the incredible generosity of the local community, the Catterick Garrison store raised an extraordinary £25,664.02, surpassing last year's total of £23,260.14!
Our thanks go to Julie, Tesco Community Champion, for hosting and supporting our volunteers, and to all the local residents who donated. We are immensely proud of our young ambassadors; they are a true credit to Risedale School!
Throughout all of our dedicated Remembrance activities, the entire Risedale Family demonstrated our school's core values of RESPONSIBILITY, RESILIENCE, and RELATIONSHIPS and truly showed the greatest RESPECT for those who have served our country and continue to do so.
#TeamRisedale 💙💜🧡❤️ #BEST
RESPONSIBILITY RESPECT RESILIENCE RELATIONSHIPS