Viewing blogs by James Gore
Hope to fit in or choose to be present?
James Gore | 4th September 2025
September is here. Hopefully, the start of the new school year gives you a chance to reconnect with old friends after a long summer break. At the same time, new beginnings often bring opportunities for new friendships, particularly if you’re starting at a new school. Meeting people for the first time may make you feel like you’re experiencing a whi
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Back-to-School Myth Busting
James Gore | 28th August 2025
The alarm blares, pulling you from the last dream of summer and into a new school morning. That familiar mix of knots in your stomach and excitement in your chest is back as you pull on your uniform. You walk through the school gates, hearing the buzz of chatter and seeing faces you haven't seen in weeks. Taking a deep breath, you step through the
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Running for Phase
James Gore | 30th June 2025
Hey Phase blog!On Sunday 19th October, I'll be running the Yorkshire Marathon in support of Phase. However, this won't just be a case of putting one foot in front of the other for 26.2 miles. I'll be running it in a costume of your choosing. Make sure you to the Phase social media channels @phasehitchin this week to have your say. Along with sendin
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Hope; not pressure
James Gore | 28th May 2025
In the midst of exam season, we often see a multitude of social media posts telling young people: you are not defined by your exam results.I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. If you’re a young person preparing for more exams after half term, you will not be defined by your exam results. Meanwhile, I’m aware that this statement can be u
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Awe is awesome
James Gore | 24th April 2025
Hey Phase blog, hope you all had a wonderful Easter holiday!Today I thought I’d write about awe. Mostly because I was in Iceland over Easter and it was AWEsome. (Pardon the pun).In all seriousness, the science of awe is a relatively new area of research. Jonathan Haidt, who recently wrote bestselling book ‘The Anxious Generation’, published a paper
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We've cracked Easter
James Gore | 4th April 2025
Hey Phase blog! Happy Easter holidays!Over the past few weeks, we've been delivering Easter Cracked workshops to year 6 students in Hitchin. It's an hour of fun, quizzes and diving into the Easter story. At the end of each session, we watch a snippet of a brilliant 'Hey-O! Stories of the Bible' video. You can watch the full version of their video h
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Phase Podcast
James Gore | 5th March 2025
Hey everyone, hope you’ve had a great week!Today I thought I’d write a quick blog about something that’s been bringing me a lot of joy recently - the Phase Podcast!In recent months, I’ve loved hosting the podcast, having conversations with the Phase team and friends, getting to know people better and learning so much in the process. If you’ve
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Meet Isabelle
James Gore | 27th February 2025
Hello! I’m Isabelle, the new Admin Assistant here at Phase! I’m an American ex-pat but have lived in the UK long enough to know how to speak properly; I say ‘rubbish’ instead of ‘trash’, ‘pavement’ instead of ‘sidewalk’ and while I may occasionally slip ‘y’all’ into conversation, I make up for it by knowing to ask ‘what colour’ when making a cup of
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What's up with WhatsApp?
James Gore | 31st January 2025
WhatsApp is huge. Billions of people use it to chat, call, and share stuff. It's super handy. But, like anything online, it's good to know how to keep things safe. This article on the NSPCC website does a brilliant job of breaking down the pros and cons of using WhatsApp as a young person: NSPCC articleHere's our summary of the key takeaways...What
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SEND in Schools
James Gore | 10th January 2025
Hey everyone, welcome back to the Phase blog. For many of us, this has been the first full week back at work/school in 2025; I hope it's been a good one for you! This week I read an interesting BBC article about what Ofsted's chief inspector has said about SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) provision in UK schools. I thought it was w
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New Year; New You?
James Gore | 2nd January 2025
Happy New Year from the Phase team! We hope 2025 is full of blessings for you and your loved ones! Most of us think of New Year as a time of fresh starts, big dreams, and resolving to make positive changes. But let’s be honest - upholding those resolutions beyond February can be tough! Whether you’re a student aiming to stay organised or a parent l
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Christmas Unwrapped
James Gore | 6th December 2024
At Phase, we’re incredibly blessed to be able to deliver Christmas Unwrapped workshops to hundreds of year 6 students around Hitchin. Now, despite what the name may suggest, no wrapping paper is harmed in the making of these workshops. Instead, we unwrap the Christmas story, figuratively speaking. As a team, we begin the workshop by sharing ou
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Detached
James Gore | 15th November 2024
What is ‘Detached’?Detached is one of my favourite programmes we deliver at Phase! Every week we do Detached work during lunch break in various schools around Hitchin.The aim of Detached is to connect with young people outside the classroom, to have fun and to be a positive presence on the playground. Each Monday, we help out at the quiet area
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The science behind Inside Out 2
James Gore | 8th November 2024
If you’re looking for a film to watch this weekend, look no further than Inside Out 2. (If you haven’t seen the original Inside Out yet, start there). The Inside Out films are fun and genuinely entertaining for viewers of all ages but also informative and relatable. Inside Out tells the story of main character Riley’s life as an elementary sch
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#controlyourscroll
James Gore | 19th September 2024
Welcome back to the Phase blog! In August, we discussed the UN’s 'International Youth Day'. This week, Thursday 19th September was stem4’s 'Youth Mental Health Day'. Both events shared a focus on the impacts of technology on young people. While last month’s theme celebrated the potential positive impact of technology on global sustainability, this
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