NewsletterJuly 2017

Dear Parents/Carers

As the academic year draws to the end I would like to take this opportunity to thank the students of Taverham High School for their hard work, enthusiasm for learning, for participating in all the enrichment activities and trips that have taken place this year. I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing their achievements and celebrating their success. I very much look forward to the results days which will be difficult to compare to last year due to the new specifications and grading system but which I am sure will support the students to reach their future pathways.

I would like to thank the parents and carers who have diligently supported events and activities and given us honest feedback to improve our systems and processes.

Finally I would like to thank the hard working staff and governors who work tirelessly to ensure students are taught well, supported and cared for. I have just returned from the Year 9 Hautbois trip and the staff have thoroughly enjoyed spending time with the year group, providing them with different challenges and cannot speak highly enough of the young people we have in our care. I thank all staff for their enthusiasm and willingness to maintain the richness of our school curriculum and positive ethos.

I would ike to wish Mrs Burgess and Mrs Greer best wishes as they finish this summer for maternity leave. We need to say goodbye to Mr Willis as he has gained a full time post in charge of music at Fakenham High School. Mr Money will be leaving us as a classroom teacher but returning to support the Art department in a technician capacity. Mrs Foyster, Mr Bowdler, Mrs Robbins, Mr Prochera, Mr McCleary and Mrs Harbord will also be leaving our staff and we thank them all for their valuable contributions to the school over the time they were with us. I would like to wish Miss Dimarco the best of luck on her forthcoming wedding.

A special thank you and good bye must also go to Mrs Plater, former Deputy Head and Headteacher. She has made a such a significant contribution to the school over the past 10 years and led the school through a very difficult period of time, leading to some of the best exam results the school has had. We will miss her both as a leader and as an outstanding teacher of Geography, I hope she thoroughly enjoys her retirement.

I hope you enjoy your summer break and I look forward to seeing everyone back in school on Wednesday 6 September at the start of another exciting year.

Ms Dallas Headteacher

Year 11 Graphics Controlled Assessment 2017

2017-2018 Elf TeamA group of 21 students have undertaken three training sessions to become the next Elf Team. They met with local agencies including our Police Community Support Officer, Michelle Warren, to undertake training around CEOP Child Exploitation and Online Protection. The Youth Advisory Board and the YMCA completed sessions around wellbeing and mental health.

We would also like to thank the students for giving up their free time to attend Taverham Fayre, where they raised £29.50 towards the school gardening project.

Some of the team will be working alongside Mr McCombe, Development Manager, who will be running a summer school during the holidays.

PrefectsI am delighted to inform you that we have set up for the first time a prefect system in the lower school. The purpose of the prefect system is to:- improve the leadership and employability skills of students- improve the community ethos in the school to develop respect, support and positive role models- provide an additional opportunity for students to have a voice in the manner in which the school is organised and led.

The students had to undertake a rigorous application process, they wrote letters to Ms Dallas and I had the pleasure of interviewing them with a Sixth Form student.

They have undertaken Prefect training and are now the school ambassadors at all events involving the school; they started the prefectship at June half term and have already taken part in the following activities:-• intake Day for year 6;• written and presented in assembly (very nerve wracking, I can assure you!);• attended Parents’ evening as helpers, as well as assisting with car parking duties;• attending the Celebration of Achievements;• represented the school at Taverham Village Fayre. The motto for the prefects is “reliable, resilient, and responsible”. The students have demonstrated this so well, so far…. I am looking forward to their accomplishments in the next two terms.

Mrs Brook

Year 7 Celebration of Achievement On Tuesday 11th July the Year 7 Celebration of Achievement assembly took place. We had two musical pieces from Kieran Gilbert and Callum Hudson and a display of dance by Lili-Mai Mallett.

The event was well attended by Year 7 parents and we saw nearly 50% of year 7 students nominated for an award.

Thank you to everyone who has achieved so much throughout their first year at Taverham High school.

Miss Buffini

Exam Result InformationGCE Exam Results Day is: Thursday 17thAugust 2017Results can be collected between 8:00am and 10:00am in the Atrium

GCSE Exam Results Day is: Thursday 24th August 2017Results can be collected between 9:00am and 10:30am in the Atrium

Please note, if a parent or friend is collecting your results for you, they must have a signed letter from yourself giving permission. We cannot issue results if they do not have this.If you cannot collect your results and would like them posted home, please provide Mrs Haywood, Exams Manager, with a stamped addressed envelope.

Year 8 Celebration of AchievementYear 8 Celebration of Achievement event was a fantastic end to the year giving us the opportunity to celebrate numerous successes. It was lovely to see so many parents, carers and family come along to support the event. Over half the year group were nominated for an award which shows the huge wealth of talent and hard work that has been noticed this year. We were privileged to have some Year 8 students perform at the event including Sophie Dingle, Abigail Tate and Lucy Wilson in the jazz band, Emily Colbert singing a new and improved version of Ed Sheeran. Freya Sheeran and Hannah Brown both stunned the audience with their talent and song choice, followed by Alex Dagless on the keyboard for a sensational finale. The Jarvis Cup this year was presented to Freya Sheeran who, for countless reasons, has impressed staff this year with her outstanding attitude, achievement and effort.

Miss Dimarco

Year 9 Celebration of AchievementWell done to the students in Year 9 for their hard work and determination. It was great to see so many students being nominated and winning subject prizes in the celebration assembly. Our Jarvis Cup winner was Jack Jarvis who has fought back from a serious operation, always with a positive attitude and a smile on his face. We also had the winner of the Liz Vaughan sports awards – congratulations to Maisie Easter for her dedication in swimming. Now hopefully we are all ready to hit those GCSEs over the next 2 years!

Mr Taylor

Year 10 Celebration AchievementThe Year 10 Celebration of Achievements was a lovely event, with beautiful performanaces from Eve Minto, Emily Coleman, Joe Chapman and Chloe Bowsell and an uplifting and invigorating drum solo by Chloe Miller. There were a great number of students who were nominated and awarded and this demonstrates the hard-work and dedication of the students. The form tutor awards were well deserved and it was brilliant to see the support from all of the forms. The Jarvis Cup winner was Georgina Samuels who has greatly contributed to school life this year, being an ELF and a Prefect as well as taking part in lots of extra-curricular acitivies in the school. Many thanks to the parents/carers who attended.Mrs Brook

Year 9 RoundersA big shout out to the Year 9 Rounders team who have had yet another successful season this year, winning all their league games followed by making it straight through to the finals to play Thorpe St Andrews, with yet another win making them Norwich League Champions! Massive congratulations to all the girls, who again have made themselves and the school proud. It’s been so lovely to have a few new recruits such as Saskia, Anya, Lucy K and Caitlin T. Same again next year ladies! Have a great summer.

Year 7 Athletics Following on from the success in the athletics in the previous month, 30 Year 7 students travelled to Thorpe St Andrew High School to compete in their District event. With sports day acting as ‘trials’ for the event we knew we were taking a very strong team and they certainly did not let us down. Gold, silver and bronze medals adorned many of our competitors as we won both the girls and boys events and therefore the overall trophy. This then has given us a clean sweep of trophies across the district this year. Huge congratulations to all those involved, but special mention to Victor Lehmann who came away with three gold medals from his three events!

Karate Success for ShannonEarlier this year Shannon won 3 gold medals in the ESKA Competition held at the UEA sports park Norwich, she won a gold in Individual Kata, Team KATA and Tokui Kata (favourite). In February Shannon attended the JSKA Uk Championships in Aldershot and won a gold in team Kata and a bronze in individual Kata. In March Shannon attended the legend competition in Bracknell and won a Bronze in team Kata. On Sunday 23rd April Shannon graded for her black belt and passed with high marks. In May Shannon won a gold in individual Kumite (fighting).In the 3 and a half years since Shannon has been doing Karate she has won:- 19 Gold medals12 Silver medals12 Bronze Medals

Year 10 Rounders League Success On Wednesday 5th July the Year 10 Rounders team finished off their last rounders league for Taverham High school, coming runners up. After winning our pool in the league we played Sprowston High School in the first round of the finals and beat them 10 and a half to 6. We then played Norwich High School in the 1st and 2nd play off game and just narrowly missed out to them therefore coming in 2nd place. This is an amazing achievement and they have been a fantastic team throughout the year, I will miss coaching them.

Year 9 Activity Sessions at CrossFit SpitfireDuring the last 6 weeks a group of 16 students have participated in activity sessions at CrossFit Spitfire. These sessions have helped students work on their energy levels, develop their reactions and movement, improve their sleep and help them feel better in every way.The sessions have been high energy but the group have worked really hard at attacking the different challenges, working in different groups each week.Mr Taylor, Head of Year 9, expressed his pride at how his year group have performed, and the team at CrossFit Spitfire have commented on the exceptional behaviour of the students at Taverham High School.If anyone would like to try CrossFit Spitfire then contact kids@crossfitspitfire.com, or alternatively call 07766 491204.

AthleticsOn Thursday 18th May, 50 of our students from Years 8-10 took to the field at the UEA to represent the school in the District athletics. The competition is split into four separate competitions which then gives an overall winner. There were some amazing performances throughout the day, with pupils stepping up for events at the last minute due to injuries etc. just to secure points, which proved vital at the end. Results for the competitions were: Senior Girls 1stSenior Boys 3rdJunior Girls 2ndJunior Boys 2ndThis meant we won the overall competition by a solitary point!Special praise goes to the following who all qualified to represent the district by either winning their event or achieving the qualifying standard.Junior Boys Sam Ashton 100m, Joe Muskett 200m and triple jump, Danny Adams 800m, Max Cocks High Jump, Adam Cann Javelin and Billy Tait Javelin.Inter Boys Jamie Greenacre 100m and long jump and Ifedeyo Ekundeyo High Jump.Junior Girls Bethany Arend 100m, Annabelle Joynson 200m, Sacha Thomas 800m, Jamie Taylor discus and shot putt and Pippa Lamb Javelin.Inter Girls Portia Collins 100m and javelin, Tiegan Robinson 200m, Katie Goldsmith 300m, Maya Lawlor long jump and triple jump, Georgina Samuels discus and Elle Craig Javelin.

Award WinnerKS3 Boys Effort Hassan BamigbolaKS3 Boys Attainment Joshua PageKS3 Girls Effort Maggie AldenKS3 Girls Attainment Kate ArnoldKS4 Boys Effort Kian RobertsKS4 Boys Attainment Mason ParkinsKS4 Girls Effort Hollie HowesKS4 Girls Attainment Amelia MickleburghKS5 Effort Bethany BarkerKS5 Attainment Jack StubbsSchool Leader of the Year Laura FlowerCommunity Leader of the year Caleb WarneTeam of the Year Year 9 NetballClub of the Year Girls ActiveKS3 Boys most extra curricular hours Raiyan ArmanKS3 Girls most extra curricular hours Pippa LambKS4 Boys most extra curricular hours Jordan WhitmoreKS4 Girls most extra curricular hours Isabel GibbsTHS Contribution to Sport Hannah BushLiz Vaughan Winner Maisie Easter

Sports Awards On Thursday 8th June we held our annual Sports Awards evening. This year we held it at Wensum Valley Golf Club which was an opportunity to enhace links with businesses in the local community. The venue was fantastic and a great evening was had by all staff, students and parents. We had an ex-student guest speaker Jimmy Tubb who spoke to the students about opportunities and taking as many as they could. We also had a sporting guest speaker Jon Thaxton who delivered a motivational speech on striving to be the best you can be. It is always such a great opportunity to recognise the students incredible hard work and amazing achievements throughout the year. Below is a table of all our winners from the evening:

Religious StudiesThis academic year Religious Studies had some brilliantly committed and passionate students. I have been overwhelmed by the devotion students have shown to their homework. The effort of one student in particular had to be mentioned. She gave up her lunchtimes and even worked on her birthday to perfect her Buddhist garden and has continued to work her hardest on all RS homework’s set. This year I have awarded Grace Morrison the RS Homework Prize, as she has continuously gone above and beyond in her commitment to her homework. Well done Grace! Miss R Green - Head of RS, Philosophy and Ethics

GCSE Philosophy & EthicsThe Year 10 GCSE Philosophy and Ethics group embarked on a journey to London this summer. They had the pleasure of visiting different places of worship and discovering new and interesting facts. They had to climb the many steps of St Paul’s Cathedral, where we were all very proud of Ros Draper for pushing herself to get so high up. Well done Ros! Keira Adams also did so well, telling herself she can do it, she will make it, and she did! The group also got to question and discuss Islam with an academic in the East London Mosque. They got a tour inside and Portia Collins and Ellie-Eve Stevens really enjoyed their opportunity to dress for the occasion. The entire group were brilliant all day and an absolute pleasure, and I’m sure the other train goers will not forget Jack Hayman’s ‘village being raided’ for a long time! I look forward to taking the Year 10s next year. Miss R Green – Head of RS, Philosophy and Ethics

Refugee Week 2017As part of Refugee Week 2017, students were made aware of a poetry competition (city wide) that they could enter. This is a topic which we had been looking at earlier in the term in Personal Development. This year’s theme of Refugee week was: Different Pasts, Shared Futures. We had one entry from Georgia Baker 9R which was passed onto Waterstones in the City Centre. I’m delighted to say that Georgia won the under 14 category with other entries coming from other schools across the city. Well done Georgia! She received a book token from Waterstones as her prize.

Norfolk School GamesCallum Garrett recently represented the West Norwich & Dereham School Sports Partnership in the Norfolk School Games and competed in the County Angling Final. He was up against other students from all across Norfolk in the 3 hour Match Event held at Barford Lakes, and did fantastically well to finish 2nd in the individual standings. In order to qualify for this event, Callum finished in the Top 6 of the West Norwich & Dereham competition and can be very proud of his achievements out on the Lake. The Norfolk School Games are the largest school sport event to be held in Norfolk. Since 2012 the annual event has provided opportunities for our pupils across the county to compete in many different sports at different levels. Each year more and more students take part with an estimated 18,000 young people accessing 14 different sports across 150 events this year alone. The Games are part of the national School Games initiative which aims to inspire more young people to take part in competitive school sport.

School Sports Partnership AthleticsOn the 25th of June Taverham High School took 60 selected students to compete at the School Sports Partnership Athletics event at the UEA Sportspark. Taverham arrived with confidence and in a competitive mood after winning the District Athletics Event the week before. Keen to show off their talents, Taverham High students started well during the morning session with a large number of students winning their events and also finishing on the podium. This was a theme that continued throughout the day with the students of Taverham High School showing their sporting talents and ending the day with the most wins out of all the schools competing. This meant that a large number of students qualified for the School Sports Partnerships Finals, where they will represent the West Norwich and Dereham Partnership Team on Wednesday 21st June. The students that competed throughout the day were a credit to the school and their team spirit and sportsmanship shown was fantastic.

German Exchange – June 2017This is the 35th year of the German exchange between Taverham High School and Gymnasium am Turmhof, Mechernich. Coincidentally, there were 35 students who decided to visit their partners after we hosted them here in March. The trip to Germany was a huge success – we spent a day in the school, learning what a normal school day is like. We had a day trip to Aachen, where we had a tour round the historic cathedral. There was also a visit to an animal park, where we ‘made friends’ with lots of the local wildlife! There was also the ‘old favourite’, a day in Phantasialand, where we spent the whole day riding on the rollercoasters and having fun with our German partners. I was so proud of all of the students for their exemplary behaviour throughout, and also their resilience and determination in many different areas, whether it was in trying to learn more German words, improve their pronunciation or simply to overcome any homesickness that arose. The students were a credit to our school and every where we went, it was noted how polite and co-operative they were. Thank you to the staff who accompanied us on the trip – Miss Curran, Miss Buffini and Mr Timbers. I’m already looking forward to next year’s trip!

MFL EnrichmentDuring the summer term, we have been trialling a programme to provide enrichment activities to students who have been identified as excelling in Modern Languages, and who would benefit from further challenge. Students from Years 7-9 have been attending and have already made lots of progress. Year 7 and 8 have been trying to achieve the ‘Routes into Languages’ Challenge certificate, and seven students have already reached the standard needed to be awarded with the certificate. They are: Oscar Spalding, Hussein Bamigbola, William Cook, Ewan Dalgliesh, Lucy Potter, Kieran Gilbert and Kiril Kovachev. The Year 9 students have been attempting some practise papers from the UK Linguistics Olympiad, which we hope to enter next year.

Year 12 French TripOn Thursday 22nd of June, I went to Senate House in London to take part in a taster course held by the University of London Institute in Paris to experience what learning at their University would be like. Whilst the University is British, the campus itself is located in the 7th ‘arrondissement’ of Paris – the same area that the Eiffel Tower is in!Courses at ULIP are taught in French, so both taster sessions I went to were conducted fully in French. The first session was on the subject of French history, specifically the colonisation of Africa, and the second on how French slang is formed. Whilst it was challenging to fully understand everything that I was being told, (not only is French a wordy language, but it is also spoken very quickly by natives!) The taster course was engaging, interesting, and definitely helped me in making a decision as to where I would like to apply to University next year.

MFL LeadersCongratulations to our Year 10 MFL Leaders who have all successfully finished all modules involved in their course: well done to Claudia Martinez, Abbie Cushion, Isabel Gibbs, Heidi Newman, Steffi Moore, Megan Jay, Jasmine Southgate, Trinity Payne, Jason Owen and Katie McGonagle!

MFL Star PerformersWe have changed the way that we highlight students who are performing well in MFL. Instead of nominating one student from each class, we have introduced awards relating to important skills in MFL, and each teacher has chosen pupils who have demonstrated a high level of ability and/or progress in those skills. New awards include ‘Star Speaker’, ‘Top Translator’ and ‘Writing Wonder’, as well as many more. The winners for this term are: Georgia Baker, James Wilton, Samuel Dunn, Danny Adams, Archy King, Louis Dagless, Samantha Tomlin, Evie Emith, Serena Robson, Caitlin Green, Esme Furlong, Katie McGonagle, Olivia Porter, Tayla Porter, William Cook, Reuben Tomlin, Liam Cullum, Daisy Howard-McCue, Lily Smith, Anisha Brown, Nancy Forster, Katie Hardingham, Hussein Bamigbola, Hassan Bamigbola, Riley Shorten, Joshua Thaxton, Mia Johnson, Ava Kay, Leah Knight, Callum Hudson, Shakira Lambert, Ella Jones, Isabella Neri, Lucy Clarke, Abigail Tate, Zoe Barber, Jessica Mayhew, Jamie Lee-Taylor, Katherine Johnson, Ewan Dalgliesh, Matthew Colman, Hannah Densley, Malakai Brown, Joe Chapman, Max Bardwell, David Horrobin, Ella Reid, Maddie Lynchy, Kiril Kovachev, Caitlin Fox, Tegan Smith, Rebecca Moore, Molly Gant, Anita Winiarska, Claudia Martinez, Lucy Potter, Abigail North, Lucy Knight, Maddie Lynchy, Daisy Dalrymple, Maisie Utting, Reece Hartley, Jack Sewell, Luke Vincent Marshall, Elizabeth Jepp, Abigail Sexton, Katy Frost, Darcy Tomlinson. To find out which category you were nominated for, you can visit the Rewards noticeboard in the MFL department.

Classical StudiesThank you to students, parents and carers for the interest and engagement shown in Classical Studies, especially the homework tasks. I have seen some incredible (and edible) labyrinths as well as some creative pieces about flight relating to the Daedalus myth. I know that many students would not be able to produce such a high standard of homework without your support at home.

For the current Year 7 going into Year 8, I propose to take a group to Provence next year to look at the Classical sites in Nimes and Arles. Year 7 Form Tutors will have mentioned this already and I shall be giving out letters about Provence 2018 with further details in Classics lessons in September.

The Year 10, 11 and 12 students have been working hard throughout the year and have been able to take part in several enrichment opportunities including visits to Colchester, Caister St Edmunds, the British Museum, Cambridge study days, as well as visits to the theatre. Thank you again for your support, I know the students have found these beneficial.

There is a new organisation with government funding called Advocating Classics Education. They are looking into the provision of Classics in schools. We are currently the only school in Norfolk offering Classics at KS3, 4 and 5.

If you have the time, I would appreciate it if you would fill in the survey about Classics education in schools at this address:http://aceclassics.org.uk/

Taverham High Sixth Form We are very proud of the partnerships we have established this year. Ellen Flower, Leanne Smith, Kyra White and Jack Rolf-Gokes were all successfully selected to be part of the Future Leaders Crew with Nelson Spirit. This initiative gives students the chance to work with local business leaders to develop their leadership skills. Nigel and Nicola Cushion from Nelson Spirit have been amazed by the performance of our students. Students applied to the scheme in October and then had to prove their leadership qualities during a selection day. This day saw our future leaders thrive! They are currently working with local charities leading projects in the community. We were one of five schools partaking in this pilot year. We can’t wait for our students to help launch this scheme for our future Year 12s.Thank you to Nelson Spirit and all the business leaders and charities supporting this scheme. Particular thanks to Nigel and Nicola Cushion, also to Mark Carter for recommending us for this initiative. Well done to our fantastic Future Leaders! We look forward to hosting Mark as our Keynote speaker in our induction days in September.If you are a future Year 12 and interested in this scheme look out for the launch in the Autumn term.

We are excited that our Year 12s have begun preparing for UCAS. This began with attending the UCAS Fair in UEA in June. During this day we were also pleased to launch Unifrog the new platform and search tool we are using to prepare our students for the next step. This tool enables students to research and prepare for applications to both university and apprenticeships. Unifrog will form a key part of the Sixth Form tutor programme and students have found it very helpful.

Our future pathways day in July also supports students through a combination of presentations and workshops about both apprenticeships and university. The information evening for parents/carers on the same day includes information about student finance and the UCAS process.

Finally we are looking forward to results day. We are proud that students have received some fantastic offers from a range of universities, including Oxford and Cambridge. School will open from 8am on results day and the Sixth Form team will be there to support you.We are also looking forward to the GCSE results day. The Sixth Form team will be there to help you enrol.If you have any questions in meantime please call us.Good luck everyone!

Ellen Flower Wins Norfolk Young Writers CompetitionEllen Flower (Y12) was one of six winners of the Norfolk Young Writers Competition sponsored by The Norwich Writers’ Centre, Norfolk County Council and the Young Norfolk Arts Festival. Ellen read her poem, ‘On the Uncountable Nature of Things’, at the celebration event held at Norwich Arts centre on Sunday 9th July. Ellen’s poem grew out of work she did for the A level in creative writing which she (along with follow Y12 students Daniel Thomas and Ben Knights and Y13 student Will Hall) has been doing on a Friday after school for two years. They have worked together as a group commenting on each other’s writing and supporting one another’s creative process. The celebration event was a wonderful evening. As well as readings by the six winners, there was a performance by poet Matt Windle. Matt had also given the winners an exclusive workshop on the business of performing creative writing. Ellen deserves enormous congratulations. Her poem was distinctive in avoiding cliché and adopting a quiet and meditative approach to its subject matter. The poem and photos from the evening can be viewed here:http://www.writerscentrenorwich.org.uk/article/first-young-norfolk-laureate-announced/

We are proud to announce our total figure raised for Ragfest 2017 was £5,592. The proceeds of the week have been split between our chosen charities: Young Minds and Drayton Community Swimming Pool. Our events included a Fashion Show at House of Fraser in

association with ‘Sheis’ for which the proceeds went to Young Minds exclusively. We would like to thank Joy Rogers and the House of Fraser team for hosting this event. The Sixth Form also developed a campaign to challenge the stigma of mental health issues. #Break the stigma.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzyufDa8EDgThe legacy of Ragfest extends beyond raising a significant amount of money for charity as it encourages young people to talk about mental health issues.Ragfest 2017 was our third year of fundraising. The Sixth Form have led the school and have raised over £20,000 for charities to date! In 2016 we raised £10,977 for Teenage Cancer Trust. In 2015 we raised £3,629 for Coaching for Hope and Each. This is a phenomenal achievement.

Aspire ProgrammeOur Aspire programme saw two groups of over 30 students take a visit to Christchurch College, Oxford in June. The first trip took students from Year 9 and 10 who had expressed an interest in visiting the university to gain a taster of university life. The second trip was a a residential trip for students from Year 10 and 11. We had a fantastic time touring the campus, meeting student ambassadors and learning about life as a student in Oxford. We would like to thank Lynton Lees and her team of ambassadors for being such wonderful hosts. The students and teachers thoroughly enjoyed the trip and gained a tremendous insight into the application process in particular. Getting students to consider their options early is a key focus of the Aspire programme and this opportunity has given the students plenty of food for thought. Meanwhile, the Year 12 students joined Mr Timbers in a pre-applicant trip to Gonville and Caius, Cambridge. Another part of the Aspire programme organised by the County HE Scheme which all our Sixth Formers register for. Additionally four students organised a further maths day in Oxford this term.Thank you to Mrs Richardson, Mr Blowers, Mr Timbers and Mr Flower for your assistance with these visits.Mrs Painter

Briar A-level Chemistry VisitOn Thursday 13th July, some of our chemistry A-level Year 12 class visited Briar Chemical Plant. On this visit we got suited up in a hard hat, goggles and a visibility jacket, so that we could experience what it would be like to work as a chemist. We met members of staff who had worked there from a different range of years, for instance a student studying at the UEA who was doing a year in industry to other members of staff that were senior members. On the visit we were given a tour of the plant, where we learnt about how all toxic chemicals are contained on site, how they supply difference manufactures with chemicals and how they analyse chemicals using infrared spectroscopy and chromatography, which we have learnt about in our first year of A-levels. After this we then had a discussion and asked questions to the members of staff that work there, in order to gain a real life perspective and how we could lead ourselves into a career of industry. Overall the experience was very beneficial for anybody in our class that was interested in a career as a chemist. Lauren Vicary

Gardening Club for Years 7 & 8Since Easter a small group from both years have been visiting the school garden on a weekly basis. They have been involved with planting, clearing and caring for this lovely area. The students have raised money by preparing items to sell to staff and visitors; spring bulbs in containers, hanging baskets and many individual plants. We would like to thank several people for their help with the garden:Barbara Snelling and our Science team for all their organising, help and support for the students.Virginia who is a volunteer (organised by the Royal Horticultural Society) who turns up on a regular basis to pass on her skills and knowledge. Gavin Murton who helps out on a regular basis.

Mrs Killington & Ms PhilpotACE

Healthy Relationships with the Jigsaw GroupWe were very lucky to have Sophie Rimmer from the Magdalene Group to run a 6-week session in school for ten Year 10 students on ‘Healthy Relationships’.These sessions are invaluable for young people as they cover topics such as self esteem, peer relationships, romantic relationships and how to stay safe online.Young people use technology every day to talk to new and existing friends. As a school we are always looking at ways to support them to be extra vigilant and to spot potential risks. This course covered this and the feedback was extremely positive.We have already booked Sophie for Spring 2018 and are hoping to run another two courses for Years 9 and 10.Watch this space . . .

The Open Project NorwichThis academic year we have had the opportunity to engage in 2 projects at The Open Youth Venue in Norwich; working on improving key skills, communication, listening and team-building with our Year 7 students.The projects were really successful and we would like to thank the team at Open for their hospitality.

Ms Buffini & Mrs Killington

The Elf Team 2016-2017A big thank you to the Year 10 Elf team for all their hard work this year. They have been involved in supporting Year 7 students weekly in forms and helping at school events such as the “Wellbeing What’s Out There”.Their support during Anti-Bullying week and with the Christmas hampers was exceptional.We would like to commend them for everything they have been involved in to promote this project.

Taverham High School, a limited company registered in England and Wales under company number 08204680.

At a time of increasing financial constraints the school is looking for other fundraising opportunities. As a result we have formed a fundraising alliance with Pymm and Co. We anticipate that over the coming year our fundraising will be substantially enhanced by this alliance. Pymm and Co have provided us with the following details:Pymm and Co Estate Agents, based at Thorpe Marriott/Taverham are delighted to advise that for property sales instructions received we will donate a sum

equivalent to 25% of our fee received directly to the Taverham High School on successful sale of property.The offer is available for: Taverham High School Staff, Current and Past Parents/carers and their extended family.In addition, there is reduced conveyance costs via any one of our five recommended solicitor firms shouldanyone wish to use one of those five firms, although there is no obligation in this regard. Pymm and Co arethe leading independent multi-branch estate agents servicing Norfolk, offering clients a first class customerexperience, unrivalled marketing initiatives, strong brand awareness and an honest no cost marketingappraisal including valuation. In the first instance Pymm and Co should be contacted on 01603 260700.

Children on the Northern Distributor Road Construction SiteBy their nature, construction sites are attractive to inquisitive children and there are a growing number of reports of children playing on the site during weekends and evenings. This is just not safe. Along the route of the NDR are part-finished structures, deep excavations, ponds and drainage lagoons, and a wide range of construction materials, equipment and plant. Even when there is no work going on, there are real dangers, and the last thing we want is a child getting injured or even killed. The site is made as secure as possible, with security patrols and CCTV in places, but it’s just not possible to prevent access at all points along a 20km route, and site security cannot be everywhere at once. Warnings have not been issued because the problem was not significant and there was a risk it might actually draw attention to the opportunities to explore. However, the number of reports and the fast-approaching summer holidays have prompted us to ask for your help in keeping children off the site. Please remind your child to keep away from the NDR construction site.

Dropping Off & Picking up on School SiteParents and carers are reminded that students should NOT be dropped off or picked up from the school site at the start and end of the school day. The school site is very crowded and extra vehicles can endanger students as they come into and leave the school site.Only those who have been issued with a permit, which should be clearly displayed, are allowed on site.

School UniformPlease name all items that are brought into school including footwear, pencil case, bags and all items of uniform and clothing as this helps us to promptly return any lost property to their rightful owner.