hursday - king alfred's academybusiness news t he year 9 business student stockmarket challenge...

Dear Parents & Guardians

W e were very pleased to welcome back the students and staff safely from the Ardeche trip. The water-based adventure was a huge success and thank you so much to

the parents who wrote to us or spoke to me to pass on their thanks. It's always really appreciated by the staff on the trips who put so much into ensuring that the students have the very best time. Alongside that, well done to all of our older students who have made a very smooth start to their external examinations - they are a credit to us. Thank you to all of you who completed the parent survey; we will be analysing the results in full to inform how we best continue with information gathering to help us then develop a strong plan for parental engagement. Two of the initial areas which appear to have come top of your list are wanting to know more about how to understand your child's progress and how you can support more with learning at home, so in the meantime, whilst we develop the longer term plan, we have been looking for opportunities to support you. By way of example, we made a flyer for the Year 9 Parents' Evening this term to try to help parents understand the new world of gradings, which is yet to be understood fully within Education - the flyer is in this edition of First Thursday if you missed it and is also useful particularly for Year 8 and Year 7 parents; Jaime Scott - our new Assistant Headteacher (SENCo) has just this week held an after-school workshop for a small number of parents on Working Memory to help support their children at home, which I understand had very positive feedback. Ms Scott is hoping to run more workshops of a similar nature in the future. Also, we have started the process of developing a new website; the brief is to ensure that the website is concise, intuitive, responsive and compatible with mobile phone use, as well as being useful to parents! I will be asking a group of parents shortly after half term to join me to review the website from a parental perspective before we commit to the final design.

(Continued on page 2)

May

2016

GCSE Changes 3

Youthspeaks 4

Theme Day 5

Business/Psychology 6

English 7

Sports 8-12

6th Form 13

Creatives Arts & Design

14-15

Media Studies 16

Job Opportunities 19

What’s On 20

Inside this issue:

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Thu

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I'm delighted to see the Anti-Bullying Commendation (Page 4) reported in this month's edition, and we have also this month been working with Year 8 and Year 9 on the risks of drugs and alcohol; next week we will be focusing with all year groups on an Anti-Homophobia message through encouraging students to speak up and not accept homophobic language in support of our Single Equality Policy. So despite the very strong focus on exams on Centre Site there is, as ever, lots going on, with many Year 10 students about to get a taste of GCSEs with an Ethics and Philosophy GCSE, and a huge number of Year 7 students preparing to go on their activities weekend shortly after half term. Life is never dull. Thank you as ever for your support; please don't hesitate to get in touch with us if you have concerns, or if you want to let us know that something is going particularly well! We look forward to hearing from you.

Jo Halliday Headteacher

O ver time an increasing number of parents are parking on the road leading onto Portway and opposite the entrance to the Sixth Form. The parked cars without doubt are endangering pedestrians and cyclists, as other cars manoeuvre around onto the

main road and parked cars block a clear view.

With immediate effect we would ask that all parents waiting to collect students park in areas designated specifically for parking where students can be collected safely and the road remains clear for all users.

Please do not be offended if staff ask you to move on as it is for the safety of our students.

Parking — Health and Safety

Year 8 Youthspeaks Team at Public Speaking Masterclass for Year 6

Oxfordshire “Make a Noise” Anti-Bullying Initiative

D uring anti-bullying week 2016, Oxfordshire County Council launched the slogan for their campaign; "Make A Noise". They wanted young people all across the county to stand up for the victims of bullying and to show the bullies that they weren't scared to

stand up to them or tell an adult. As part of the campaign OCC launched a competition, this competition was for young people across the county to create a video which championed the slogan "Make A Noise" about bullying. Several teams across King Alfred's took part in the competition and their videos were judged along with the hundreds of entries from schools and youth groups across the county. A team from Year 8 were highly commended and their video won a £50 prize, which our anti-bullying ambassadors will spend on resources and equipment to continue our anti-bullying work. The winning students were Ross Purbrick, Eleanor Bromley, Ellie Wiltshire, Adam Chapman and Eloise Brennan (all from 8W4) - well done! Look out for their winning video on the KA's website and at www.oxme.info

Leanne Avis

O n 18th March, my friend Siân and I went to Millbrook Primary to help at a public speaking masterclass for Year 6. It was preparation for their 'Mini Speaks' competition which will be held on 28th April. This is a special Vale Academy Trust version of the

secondary school competition Youth Speaks (run by the Rotary Club). Both Sian and I took part in Youth Speaks this year and it was a wonderful experience, so we were very excited to help the primary pupils with their competition. We started by talking about each role - Chair, Main Speaker and Vote of Thanks - and what they need to do. After everyone had chosen their roles, the groups started talking about their topic. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by what they came up with. I think all the topics would be something easily covered at the main Youth Speaks! We then talked about the ingredients for a good speech, including humour and audience engagement. We left with the start of the speeches written and I’m looking forward to hearing the full speeches at the competition!

Zoe Sansum-Wall Year 8

http://www.oxme.info/

Year 7 Spanish Cultures Theme Day

O ver the course of the two Theme Days in terms 4 and 5, every Year 7 student takes part in a Spanish Cultures Theme

Day. The aims of the day are: to enhance the students’ knowledge of Spain and its culture, to take part in practical activities outside of the classroom and to take away skills and ideas which are integral to learning a new language. In order to reach these aims students take part in five activities, each one is carefully planned so that it complements the students' language lessons. For those students who have not studied Spanish, there is the opportunity to learn about another culture and to work with their peers to experience the language in a practical context. The sessions which students take part in are: Paella and non-alcoholic sangría making -

during this session, students are encouraged to look at the Spanish recipes and translate the main ingredients used whilst watching a live paella-making demonstration. After the demo, students have the opportunity to try the paella and drink the sangría and, of course, give their opinion in Spanish

Music - students have the opportunity to listen to some typical Spanish music and they can use their knowledge of language and cognates to work out the genres of the music they have heard. Students can then practise their language skills by playing battleships to give their opinions with justifications (a key GCSE skill)

Festivals - during this session students watch videos of some traditional Spanish festivals and read about them in the target language, they can then use what they have learnt to create an advertisement for their chosen festival

Flamenco - students spend this session learning about the traditional Spanish dance,

including

the costume, instruments and music, students then have the opportunity to put the theory into practice and choreograph their own dances

Mosaics - during the mosaics session, students spend time learning about Gaudí and his internationally famous mosaics in the city of Barcelona (which those who go on the Spanish trip get to view in real life) once they have learnt about the colour schemes and designs, students then create their own mosaics in the same Gaudí style!

Throughout the day students who work hard, show great teamwork skills, contribute fully to the sessions and flourish are awarded prizes and house points, their mosaic and festival masterpieces are then displayed around East Site to celebrate their success. The day is enjoyed by all who take part, here's what our students had to say: Jamie 7V3: “It’s been very fun today, we’ve taken part in good activities – my favourite activity was making paella because we all had something yummy to eat and I really liked the taste of it.”

Mikayla 7R1: “I

really enjoyed

making the

mosaics

because it was

a chilled session

and we used

Spanish mosaics as our

inspiration. I liked the colours

and the shapes.”

Leane Avis

Business News

T he Year 9 Business Student Stockmarket Challenge - Update Mr Hayward's Year 9 GCSE Business class are currently involved in a class stock market competition. Each student had £20,000 of virtual money to invest in the stock market. By reading and forecasting data provided online, students selected shares to

buy in order to make a profit. Since Easter, a number of students have made a very impressive "paper profit". Lily Bunting and Harry Hayward are currently in the lead, showing a £10,485 profit on their purchase of shares in the mining company Glencore. Billy Tibbetts is currently £3,211 up on his purchase of Carnival (Cruise line operator) stock. Whilst Jan Jordan has made £2,090 on his purchase of Royal Mail shares. Very impressive! Many of the students are in fact in "profit" thus far with only those whom invested in ITV or Sports Direct shares are showing a "loss"!

Justin Hayward

O n the evening of Thursday 28th April, many of our Year 12 Psychology students took part in an evening

designed to bring their revision into the 21st Century! Cara Flanagan, advisor to the Exam Board and co-editor of the main course text book for Psychology was broadcasting a live 'Webinar', aimed at improving exam technique for the imminent AS exams in the subject. At 4:00 we 'logged in' to the interactive presentation for an hour and a half and were able to ask questions directly to her via an instant messaging box and/or microphone. Students gave up the early part of their evening the night before their final Psychology mock exam to listen to a hugely valuable talk, giving them lots of tips and tricks to use when answering the wide variety of questions included on the exams from the new specification for this year. They were, of course, rewarded for their attendance and engagement with a sweet treat or two to munch on throughout the presentation, just in case the valuable

information being shared alone wasn't enough to encourage them to attend. Myself and Mr Lawrence thoroughly enjoyed the mature attitudes and pleasant company shown by all of the students and hope that they found it as beneficial as we did - we look forward to doing more of the same for their A2 exams next year!

Racheal Pearce Head of Psychology

Psychology

English

M ini Speaks 2016: Much mightier than the name suggests!

Gender inequality in sport, poverty and climate change. Topics such as these make for a lively public speaking competition on any university campus. With stories focusing on these issues frequently making headlines, it is no surprise that clued-up adults would have a wealth of knowledge and a passionate interest in the world around them. Except I’m not talking about adults. The speakers I am referring to are just 11 years old. On Thursday 28th April, the Vale Academy Trust held its first ever Mini Speaks competition. Based on the national programme aimed at older teens, Youth Speaks, Mini Speaks is a public speaking competition for children of primary school age. Teams from five of the VAT’s primary schools met in East Site hall to present their chosen topics in front of their peers, teachers, parents and a panel of judges. A tough crowd, even for experienced speakers! As one of the competition’s three judges, I could not have been more impressed with the competitors’ depth of understanding of their chosen topics. Being new to the programme, I initially was unsure what to expect. Never would I have imagined that students so young would choose such ambitious topics, let alone do them such justice. Very quickly, I realised that they had proven me wrong. The first team to speak was from St James CofE School, Hanney. Choosing the controversy of the lunar landing as the basis of their speech, the team set the bar high. St James spoke with such maturity and confidence, qualities which were equally matched by their opposition. Throughout the course of the evening, we heard impressive talks on a huge range of subjects from society’s addiction to technology to the threats to the Amazon rainforest. Whilst I learnt something new from every single team, they made my job as a judge incredibly difficult! Ultimately, there could only be one winner. After difficult deliberation with the other two judges, Wantage were crowed winners of the VAT’s first ever Mini Speaks competition. The team spoke passionately and with good humour on climate

change but what impressed us most as judges was their relentless team work. If possible, we would have awarded prizes to every single team for their bravery and exceptional hard work. I’m not sure I would have been able to compete so fiercely as an adult, let alone a Year 6 student in the throes of SATs preparation! In preparation for the competition, the children had been well supported by their own teachers, as well as KA’s very own Kate Wigley. As a judge, I was incredibly impressed by how well the students worked together as a team; each individual played an important role but, most importantly, they appreciated how much stronger they’d be if they functioned as one. As a teacher as well as a judge, it was very clear to me that every student involved listened to the feedback they had been given when rehearsing and had utilised it to transform their speeches into something powerful and memorable. For me, as a teacher at KA’s, the most rewarding thing about Mini Speaks was seeing the talent of the students who will be joining us from September. I feel privileged to have the chance to teach these students next year and look forward to helping them develop their public speaking skills. With numerous opportunities offered by the English department, I already have a few names in mind of students who could represent KA’s in a few years’ time… That said, I think if I’m going to impress our speakers I will need to brush up on my knowledge of current affairs first!

Jennifer Baker-Jones English

Sport—School Games Success

O ver the last month we have had a number of our sporting teams competing in the Level 3 Sainsbury’s School Games. Each team had already been suc-

cessful in the Level 2 competition. Swimming Year 8/9 boys – second Year 8/9 girls – seventh Year 10/11 girls – fifth Year 10/11 boys – sixth Sports Hall Althletics Year 7 Girls—third Basketball Year 7/8 Boys - first Netball Year 7 – second (pictured below left) Year 8 – fifth Year 10 – fourth Year 11 – second (pictured below right)

The U13’s & 15’s travelled to Faringdon to complete in the Vale Aquathlon. Both teams finished in a first

Lia Ganguly won her first table tennis awards - finishing: runner up in the doubles Cadets tournament and runner up in the doubles Junior championship. Both at Drayton Table Tennis club.

Congratulations!

Sports Results for Terms 1—4

Team Opposition Date Competition Type Result Won/Lost

FOOTBALL

U12 Girls Royal Wootton Bassett Academy 29/02/15 ESFA 9-a-side 3-0 Won

U12 Boys Blessed Hugh Faringdon 30/09/15 ESFA 9-a-side 3-2 Won

Oxford Spires 19/10/15 ESFA 9-a-side 2-7 Won

Marlborough 03/11/15 ESFA 9-a-side 2-1 Lost

Highworth Warneford 09/11/15 ESFA 9-a-side 3-0 Lost

Various 18/11/15 Vale 5-a-side Knocked out at group stage n/a

Faringdon 01/02/16 OSFA 9-a-side 0-4 Lost

Cokethorpe 04/02/16 Friendly 9-a-side 5 – 2 Lost

U13 Boys Cheney 05/10/15 ESFA 6-1 Won

St Gregory The Great 13/10/15 OSFA 1-4 Lost

St John’s 05/11/15 ESFA 4-0 Won

Lydiard Park 09/11/15 Friendly 2-5 Won

Larkmead 11/01/16 Friendly 9-0 Lost

Cokethorpe 04/02/16 Friendly 1-4 Lost

U13 Girls Oxford Spires 01/10/15 OSFA 4-2 Won

Littleheath 15/10/15 ESFA 7-0 Lost

Various 12/11/15 Vale Tournament A team 2nd, B team won 1, drew 1, lost 1 n/a

Marlborough 19/11/15 OSFA 0-8 Lost

U14 Boys Lord Williams 12/10/15 ESFA 4-5 (penalties) Loat

Oxford Academy 10/11/15 ESFA 0-2 Lost

Henry Box 11/01/16 OSFA 2-4 Won

Chipping Norton 24/02/16 Friendly 3-1 Won

Cokethorpe 29/02/16 Friendly U14A 5-3, U14B 8-1 Lost/ Won.

U14 Girls Royal Wootton Bassett 12/10/15 ESFA 2-0 Lost

U15 Boys Kennet 03/11/15 ESFA 2-3 (penalties) Lost

Gosford Hill 14/01/16 OSFA 2-1 Won

St Gregory the Great 25/02/16 OSFA 4-1 Won

Cokethorpe 29/02/16 Friendly U15A 2 – 2, U15B 7-2 Drew/ Lost

U15 Girls Marlborough 13/10/15 ESFA 4-0 Lost

U16 Boys Wheatley Park 16/09/15 ESFA 7-4 Won

Littleheath 11/11/15 ESFA 3-1 Lost

U16 Girls St Bartholomew’s 23/09/15 ESFA 1-0 Won

Wallingford 29/09/15 OSFA 1-2 Lost

Chiltern Edge 19/10/15 ESFA 2-0 (penalties) Lost

U18 Boys Little Heath 23/09/15 ESFA 0-2 Lost

U18 Girls Swindon Academy 14/10/15 ESFA 0-2 Lost

U19 Boys Gosford Hill 21/01/16 OSFA 5-0 Won

Burford 07/03/16 OSFA 5-0 Won

Matthew Arnold 08/03/16 OSFA 5-1 Won

U19/U18/U16 Girls Wallingford 01/02/16 Friendly 5-0 Lost

*******************

Sports Results continued

Team Opposition Date Competition Type

Result Won/Lost

NETBALL

U12 Girls Faringdon 12/10/15 Friendly 10-14 Lost

Matthew Arnold 17/11/15 Friendly 4-29 Won

Fitzharry’s 14/10/15 Friendly 13-2 Won

Various 24/02/16 Tournament Year 7 won the Vale Tournament

Won

U13 Girls Fitzharry’s 14/10/15 Friendly 15-8 Won

Various 19/10/15 Tournament 2nd n/a

Matthew Arnold 21/10/15 Friendly A team – 6-7, B team– 7-11

Lost (both teams)

U14 Girls Matthew Arnold 10/11/15 Friendly 13-15 Won

John Mason 17/11/15 Friendly 9-23 Lost

Larkmead 25/11/15 Friendly 12-13 Won

John Mason 23/02/16 Friendly 9-6 Won

U15 Girls St Helen & St Kath-erine’s

30/09/15 Friendly 15-17 Won

John Mason 17/11/15 Friendly 9-8 Won



U16 Girls Lord Williams 23/09/15 Friendly 18-8 Won

Lord Williams 07/03/16 Friendly 9-5 Lost

U19 Girls Lord Williams 23/09/15 Friendly 13-7 Won

RUGBY

U13 Boys Various 19/11/15 Festival Knocked out at group stage

Cherwell 25/01/16 Friendly 7-41 Lost

U14 Boys Oxford Academy 07/10/15 ORFSU 66-5 Won

Chipping Norton 11/11/15 ORFSU 52-5 Lost

U15 Boys Abingdon B 23/09/15 ORFSU 62-12 Lost

U15 Girls Various 26/11/15 Festival A team 3rd, B team 8th

n/a

U15 Girls Various 25/02/16 Friendly 65-5 Lost

U16 Boys Burford 07/01/16 Stow Floodlit Cup 43-7 Lost

U16 Girls Various 10/11/15 Festival Cheney 5-0, Walling-ford 6-0, Cherwell 2-2, Wood Green4-1, Carterton 6-1

Won 4 Drew 1

Team Opposition Date Competition Type

Result Won/Lost

BASKETBALL

U13 Boys Woodgreen 12/01/16 OSBA 72-12 Won

Bartholomew 25/02/16 OSBA 68-15 Won

U13 Girls Cherwell 01/02/16 OSBA 18-37 Lost

U14 Boys St Birinus 05/11/15 OSBA 67-8 Lost

U14 Girls St Gregory the Great 11/01/16 OSBA 50-19 Won

U15 Girls Cherwell 09/02/16 OSBA 38-23 Lost

U16 Girls Bartholomew 07/01/16 OSBA 50-16 Lost

U19 Girls Bartholomew 24/11/15 OSBA 29-8 Lost

St Clare’s 26/01/16 OSBA 34-15 Won

ANGLING

U15 Boys Various 20/10/15 School Games Not Placed n/a

Sainsburys Active Kids

Vouchers

Please don’t forget to collect

and give to any site office

Forthcoming Fixtures

W/C 9th May 2016 W/C 9th May 2016 W/C 9th May 2016 W/C 9th May 2016 W/C 9th May 2016

Fixture Description Opposition Fixture Date Start Time Venue

U12 8-a-side Cricket Oxford Spires Academy 09.05.16 4pm Oxford Spires Academy

U13 League Cricket St. Birinus 10.05.16 4pm Kas- West

U17 Cup Cricket Lord Williams 11.05.16 4.15pm Lord Williams

U14 League Cricket St. Birinus 11.05.16 4pm Kas- West

U15 League Cricket Burford 12.05.16 3.30pm Burford

U12 8-a-side Cricket Icknield 12.05.16 4pm Kas- West

W/C 16th May 2016 W/C 16th May 2016 W/C 16th May 2016 W/C 16th May 2016 W/C 16th May 2016

U14 Rounders Matthew Arnold 16.05.16 4pm Matthew Arnold

U14 & U15 Tennis OLA 17.05.16 4pm OLA

U15 Wenty/ 20 Vase Cricket Oxford Spires 17.05.16 4.15pm Oxford Spires

U14 ECB Colts Trophy Cricket Lord Williams 18.05.16 3.30pm Lord Williams

HSC Exam - Bus 18.05.16 9.30am

T20 Cricket Unders 14s Icknield 19.05.16 4pm Watlington CC

U13 League Cricket Faringdon 19.05.16 4pm Buscot CC

The Woody Sevens Rugby Various 20.05.16 3pm Hungerford RFC

W/C 23rd May 2016 W/C 23rd May 2016 W/C 23rd May 2016 W/C 23rd May 2016 W/C 23rd May 2016

U15 League Cricket Lord Williams 23.05.16 4pm Lord Williams

U13 Rounders Matthew Arnold 23.05.16 3.45pm Kas - East Site

U12 & U13 Tennis Wood Green 26.05.16 4pm Wood Green

U14 & U15 Tennis Wood Green 26.05.16 4pm Wood Green

W/C 6th June 2016 W/C 6th June 2016 W/C 6th June 2016 W/C 6th June 2016 W/C 6th June 2016

U12 Rounders Matthew Arnold 06.06.16 4pm Matthew Arnold

U15 League Cricket Bartholomew 09.06.16 3.30pm Bartholomew


Beach Rugby Various 13.06.16 All day Weston Super Mare Beach

U15 Rounders Matthew Arnold 13.06.16 3.45pm Kas - West

U12 8-a-side Cricket Faringdon 13.06.16 4pm Buscot CC

U12 Rounders Tournament Various 15.06.16 4.15pm St Helen & St Katharine

U12 8-a-side Cricket St. Birinus 15.06.16 4pm St. Birinus


U12 & U13 Tennis Henry Box 16.06.16 3.20pm The Leys Tennis Courts

U14 & U15 Tennis Henry Box 16.06.16 3.20pm The Leys Tennis Courts


U12 8-a-side Cricket St Gregory the Great 20.06.16 4pm Kas - West

U13 League Cricket Abingdon 22.06.16 3pm Abingdon



U14 Rounds Tournament Various 30.06.16 4.15pm St Helen & St Katharine

Sixth Form

S tudent Leadership Emily Carey, Deputy House Captain for White Horse, with leadership responsibility for communications,

reports on developments in senior student leadership this year: With the beginning of a new academic year in September of 2015 there also came an exciting step for King Alfred’s Sixth Form and Student Leadership at King Alfred’s Academy. The student body of King Alfred’s Sixth Form were keen for a Head Girl or Boy to be appointed and become a pathway for messages and issues from lower down the school to be heard by senior members of staff. However, at King Alfred’s we are also incredibly proud of our House system, believing it to be one of our most appealing qualities for new students and teachers as a way of linking the whole school together. Senior teachers thought we should capitalise on this by raising the profile of the roles of Senior House Captain and Senior Sports Captain. With a glut of highly recommended applicants the role of Deputy House Captain was created to aid the Senior House Captains in their work throughout the House System. Alongside the formal titles of Senior House and Senior Sports Captain, everyone was assigned an additional area of interest which would impact the wider school and community with each role being under the headings: Environment, Communications, Charity, Community, Future Leaders and Events. Whilst the Senior Student Leadership team got off to a slow start in the latter stages of last year, things began to gather speed as 2016 progressed with a highly successful Charity day in aid of Mind, Seesaw and Caring Cancer Trust. These charities hold a special place in our hearts and with the great organisation by Charlotte McFarland, Senior Sports Captain for White Horse with the help of Sixth Form Student Manager Leonie Dean and Liam Jordison, Deputy House Captain for Ridgeway, we were able to raise a significant amount of money for them.

Alongside organising Charity Days and the Year 13 Ball organisation, Charlotte has also helped with preparations on the run up to Christmas as well as the running of the Sport Relief day a few weeks back. Also putting his organisational skills into

practice Sergei Kundik, Senior Sports Captain for Ridgeway, has helped with the planning and running of two House Sports events as well as introducing new individual sports into this proven format. Sergei was also Head of Environment with Katie Burge, Senior House Captain for White Horse, where their role was to improve our environmental footprint as a school, as well as the physical environment of the Sixth Form. With a number a proposals in the pipeline this area of the Student Leadership team is sure to have a major impact on the Sixth Form as the years go by. As Katie and Sergei begin to change the dynamic of the Sixth Form, Maisie Archer, Senior House Captain for Ridgeway and Head of Future Leaders, is planning towards starting activities that encourage and develop student leadership throughout the school. Having participated in student leadership throughout her years at King Alfred’s, she knows the significance of the skills that you can learn from being a younger leader and the confidence it can give you at public speaking. Maisie put this into practice when she talked at a number of school events and presented the school’s annual X-factor competition. Whilst most of the Student Leadership Teams’ achievements and progress have been at the school, Shannan Quick, Senior House Captain for Vale and Head of Community, has been able to broaden the school contacts. With a little help from Leonie Dean, Shannan set up a weekly current affairs group at the Richmond Letcombe Regis Retirement Village. Here a small group of students from King Alfred’s travel to the retirement Village and discuss relevant issues in today’s society with the residents. Whilst this connection is in the very early stages, the Senior Student Leadership Team is very keen to strengthen the ties and make this a regular extra-curricular activity for students to enjoy. Although this year’s current Senior Student Leadership Team will soon disband, the Senior House and Sports Captains will play a pivotal role in the selection process for their successors so that they can pass on their enthusiasm and experience to the next generation of leaders! Congratulations to our newly appointed senior student leaders Once again we were very impressed with the quality of applications from Sixth Form students for student leadership roles. Congratulations to Ciara Watkins, Olivia Taylor, Oscar Clayton, Shannan Quick, Blythe Heakin and Charlotte Bunyard for their successful applications. Watch this space for news of further developments to our student leadership programme.

Emily Carey Senior House Captain hosting X-factor

Creative Arts and Design

April winners for the PTA lottery:- 1. Catherine Bacon - £250.00 2. RJ Baker - £50.00 3. C Fennell - £50.00 4. Dr Bruce Royan - £50.00 5. Jan Maples - £25.00

N ADFAS Arts Society Meeting – Friday 22nd April Year 12 students Georgia Bradford, Jasmine Barrett and Chris West spoke to members of the NADFAS Arts Society about the artists workshop run for Year 11, 12 and 13 art students earlier in the year. Artist Ian Murphy came to King Alfred's to

deliver a fantastic practical workshop where students produced a range of experimental charcoal pieces. The students spoke passionately about the artists work, the practical work and how he has influenced their future work. Thank you to the students who presented, the artist Ian Murphy and NADFAS for contributing so heavily to what was a brilliant event.

The Art Department

Y ear 10 Drama students practice flying! Below are some pictures of our Year 10

GCSE drama students practicing Physical

Theatre scenes from the play ‘Curious

Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.’ The class

were experimenting with a scene where the main

character, Christopher is imagining he is flying

through space…

M usic students perform at Childrey Church A massive well done to the 6

th form and

Year 10 students who performed at Childrey Church last month. The students were being recorded for their A Level/GCSE performance coursework and we were very impressed with their recordings, which will be sent off this week. As always the community in Childrey were extremely inviting and made us feel very welcome; a massive thank you to them! It was probably the first time that the Church has had a 5-piece Rock Band performing and it went down a storm!

M rs Shale is off on maternity leave! Mrs Shale is now on her maternity leave, therefore if you have any music related questions for the rest of this academic

year, please direct them to [email protected]. We wish her all the very best.

C ongratulations to… Jamie Cockburn- 7W3 who passed his Grade

4 cornet exam last month with a merit. Well

done Jamie!

Y ear 11 Art Exams Below are some photos from last week’s Art

exam. Some fantastic work produced over the

two days- well done to all the Year 11s

involved.

Media Studies News

P rofile of Marcus Taylor- ex-student of KAs and Media Studies Student “Not only did Marcus deliver, he excited our audience with his concepts and spurned continued and excited discussion.”- Jon Yeo, TED Marcus Taylor is a British Internet entrepreneur and founder of ‘Venture Harbour’.

Despite only being only 24 years of age, Marcus has built over 13 online businesses since he was first introduced to HTML at age 10, and has consulted on the digital strategies of many global brands including London Business School, Miele, Tetley, Goodman and Reed Elsevier. Marcus has won multiple entrepreneurship awards, including winning ‘Visionary of the Year’ at MIDEM in Cannes, and ‘Young Professional of the Year’ at the 2013 UK Search Awards in London. In 2012 Marcus also won ‘The Awesome Foundation’s’ award and grant for developing the world’s first scientifically-valid tool for measuring artificial mental barriers (comfort zones); a project that has led to March delivering talks at TEDx, One World Summit and ‘Mindvalley’s’ ‘AwesomenessFest’. Marcus Taylor is a sought-after key note speaker on the topics of online marketing and online

entrepreneurship. He has delivered over 30 talks in 8 countries as well as delivering guest lectures on

digital marketing to students at Oxford Brookes University. He also contributed to several leading

business and marketing publications including ‘Entrepreneur’, ‘The Times’, ‘The Guardian’, ‘Campaign

magazine’ and ‘Mediaweek’.

G CSE Art, Textiles and Graphics Exam Well done to all Year 11 Art, Textiles and Graphics students.

Please come along to the ‘Summer Art Exhibition’ on Friday

17th June 7 pm.

Message For Parents and Guardians from the OCC Supported Transport Team

O ver the last several months, Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) has made efforts to ensure that children who are transported on behalf of the Council are done so in the safest way possible. These efforts have included the introduction of passenger

passports for SEN children and more robust vetting procedures for drivers and passenger assistants who work on behalf of OCC. As part of OCC’s commitment to safeguard the children we transport, we now require all drivers and passenger assistants who work on behalf of OCC, to complete a safeguarding course. All transport providers have been aware for the last 6 months that this training is now a mandatory requirement for drivers and passenger assistants working on OCC transport contracts. The purpose of this training is to equip drivers and assistants with the knowledge they require to respond effectively to the needs of their passengers, including vulnerable children with special care and support needs. The training is also aimed at promoting good communication with passengers both on a day-to-day basis and in specific situations. We are working with our transport providers to ensure that, as far as possible, all drivers and passenger assistants receive the required training by the end of term. However, there may be some temporary changes to school transport services after the Easter break as a result of some drivers or passenger assistants not having completed the training and, therefore, being unable to undertake these journeys. We are confident that a sufficient number of coach drivers will have completed the training to carry out school transport routes although it is possible there may be some changes to arrival and departure times at and from schools. In all instances, we will work with our providers to ensure that children continue to receive transport to and from school, and that any changes are kept to a minimum. Similarly, families who receive a taxi service for their child may be provided with a different driver or assistant from the person they are used to if their usual driver and/or passenger assistant has not yet completed the training. The county council has a number of appropriately trained and vetted staff to undertake these roles . Please be reassured that we will continue to ensure transport is provided for children both to and from school, and that we are working hard to ensure that any changes are kept to a minimum and we will make sure you are informed of any changes to transport. We believe that this training is an important part of ensuring that we provide the best and safest transport service to our passengers . If you have any concerns or queries regarding this, please contact the Supported Transport team at [email protected]

Job Opportunities within the Vale Academy Trust

Portway, Wantage, Oxon, OX12 9BY

Headteacher: Jo Halliday

No on roll: 1860 Sixth Form: 330

Graded Outstanding by Ofsted (Feb 2011)

Sports Youth Support Worker

The award winning Sweatbox Youth Centre at King Alfred’s Acade-my is seeking to recruit an enthusiastic part time Sports Youth Sup-port Worker able to contribute a range of experience and skills in developing youth led sports activities. Hours: 3.7 per week for 40 weeks per year. Salary: JNC Pay Point 13 (full time equivalent £23,213) pro rata to reflect hours and the term time nature of the post (£2,074). For an informal discussion prior to application please contact Garry Kingett on 01235 225700 Extension 2284 An application form and further details can be downloaded from http://www.kaacademy.org/aboutka/job-vacancies/Pages/default.aspx

or contact Christine Hill on 01235 225700. Completed application forms should be e-mailed to [email protected] to arrive by 9.00 a.m. on 18th May 2016.

King Alfred’s is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

http://www.kaacademy.org/aboutka/job-vacancies/Pages/default.aspx

http://www.kaacademy.org/aboutka/job-vacancies/Pages/default.aspx

mailto:[email protected]

What’s On

Open Day at MRC Harwell

We are writing to inform you of an upcoming “Your Genes and You” Open Day at the MRC Harwell. As part of the MRC's inaugural Festival of Medical Research, MRC Harwell

will be opening our doors to the general public for the first time.

The event is on Saturday 18th June and is a fantastic opportunity for students to come and

visit us out of school with their families. There are family-friendly activities and tours of our working research laboratories. Visitors will be able to discover how genes make you who you are, meet scientists, and find out why we’re investigating what genes do on a massive scale. Visitors need to book for this free event via Eventbrite (please note spaces are limited) https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/mrc-festival-your-genes-and-you-tickets-24995924483#tickets

Amy Johnson Science Communications Officer

MRC Harwell, Harwell Campus, Oxfordshire, OX11 0RD, UK. http://www.har.mrc.ac.uk

What’s On

Dates for your Diary

Centre Site Portway Wantage Oxfordshire OX12 9BY Telephone: 01235 225700

Email: [email protected] www.kaacademy.org

May 2nd Bank Holiday 5th Year 9 Parents’ Evening 16th Year 8 Opal Coast Trip Parents’ Evening 26th Year 9/10 Activities Trip Parents ‘Evening 27th End of Term 5 June 6th Start of Term 6 9th Year 10 Parents Evening 17th Summer Art Exhibition (Private view and fashion) 18th/19th Summer Art Exhibition 20th Summer Art exhibition (Primary Visit 22nd/23rd Summer Dance Show 29th Year 13 Leavers Ball KS3 Summer Concert 28th KS4/5 Summer Concert 29th Year 6 Family Evening 30th Year 6 Family Evening

More dates/details can be found on our website

Trip Payments Due May 13th DoE Gold 20th Year 10 Morocco Ski Trip 17 27th Tanzania June 24th USA Ski Trip 17 Ski Trip 17

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