Academy TimesAttleborough

Summer 2016

ATTLEBOROUGHACADEMYNORFOLK

Attleborough Academy Norfolk wins award for exceptional 2015 results - Page 21

The Brilliant Club- Page 10

Year 11 Leavers’ Prom- Pages 3

Aspiration Academies - Page 20

Welcome to our latest edition of the Academy Times for Attleborough Academy Norfolk. As we reflect on the completion of another academic year, it is time to take stock and feel very proud of our many successes as a community.

At the end of each year, I always put together a ‘highlights’ video to show in my end of year assemblies to the students and it never ceases to amaze me how much we have achieved and of how many different opportunities we give to our students in one year. You can view the year’s highlights video yourself by linking to our YouTube site from the Academy website. Considering that it could not include Sports Day or the Year 13 Formal due to the deadline for its production, it is a fantastic tribute to the strength of our community.

The academic year for Year 11 and Year 13 always culminates in their ‘Prom’ and ‘Formal’ respectively. These are events that we look forward to and occasions when we feel incredibly proud of how our students have grown into such admirable young adults during their time at the Academy.

Many thanks to all of you who supported our Year 11 Prom in June. This year, we had even greater numbers who lined the arrival route. It felt like half of the town had

turned up to join us in welcoming the Year 11 students on their ‘Promenade’ arrival to the front doors of the Academy. All of our teaching staff were there to welcome the Year 11 attendees as they stepped out of an amazing variety of vehicles and onto the red carpet. Many students looked slightly overwhelmed at the huge crowd but it was fitting to see them being so appreciated as they had made such an effort and looked so fabulous. Apologies to those of you who may have been held up in the traffic in Attleborough on the evening – we even had a Shire Horse arrival this year! I am sure all parents and carers will have felt enormously proud of our Year 11 students just as we all did. Even though many will come back into our Sixth Form, it is always a very proud moment for us who have shared their educational journey as we reflect on how successful we have been as a community in partnership with parents and carers to have nurtured and developed such admirable, proud, caring and responsible students.

Similarly, most recently, we celebrated the Year 13 Formal at the Assembly Rooms in Norwich. Again, this was a splendid event but it is always an emotional evening for staff as we have to say goodbye to our wonderful senior students. Whilst being sad, however, we are comforted with the satisfaction of knowing that we have prepared them well for the next steps in their lives. Parents and carers will know that when considering to send your child to the Academy, I always tell you of my belief that “it takes a whole village to educate a child” and so our particular thanks go to the parents and carers of the students who are leaving. You have been a vital part in our partnership and the major part of their growth and development. We should all feel justifiably proud of them.

It has been particularly humbling this year to receive national recognition of our success for the outcomes of our students. We have been privileged to have been nominated for two separate national awards which were both in recognition of our considerable success on the ‘progress measure’. I find this particularly pleasing as I feel this is the true measure of any secondary school because it measures the value we add from when students

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From the Principal

Welcome to Attleborough Academy Times

enter the Academy at the start of Year 7 to when they take their final GCSEs in Year 11. The first award from the SSAT was the ‘Educational Outcomes Awards 2015 for exceptional student progress’ and put us in the top 20% of schools nationally. The second award from the Education Business Awards highly commended us in the ‘Outstanding Progress: Secondary Schools’ category along with only five other schools nationally. The details of the awards are on our website and they are both great achievements which we should celebrate and be proud of as a community.

The staff who left us before the Summer holidays were: Mr Berwick (ICT), Miss Bionda (Cover Supervisor), Mr Brighten (Maths), Mr Doheny (English), Mrs Houten (Exams), Mr Keshavarz (Head of Sixth Form), Mr Rios (Learning Assistant), Mrs Smith (Maths), Mr Stonach (SRB) and Miss Tyler (SAFE Team). We thank them all for their hard work and appreciate their input to the Academy as all of them have been a valued member of our community and we wish them all every future success.

I would also like to congratulate our previous Year 11 and Year 13 students who achieved a fantastic set of results this August. These results not only show the hard work and commitment from our students, but it also reflects the dedication and professionalism of all our staff and the continuing support of our parents. I truly hope that our Year 11 and Year 13 students are enjoying the next steps in their lives, whether that be college, sixth form, university or employment.

Thank you to all our staff for their dedication, their commitment and for their continued focus on improving the opportunities and outcomes for all of our students. Thank you to all of our students for their commitment to their studies and for their generally excellent behaviour. This year has seen even less disruptions to lessons and attendance has shown even further improvement overall. We should all feel proud of what we have achieved as a community and look forward with confidence to even further success.

Best wishes to all, I hope that you had a happy and relaxing Summer break.

Mr McShanePrincipal

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Welcome – 1

Year 13 Leavers’ Day - 2

Year 11 Leavers’ Prom - 3 & 4

Year 13 Leavers’ Prom - 5 & 6

Geography - A Level Residential, GCSE Day Trip & Cycling Event - 7

National Link Project - 8

Sports Day 2016 - 9

Year 6 PE Day - 9

The Brilliant Club 2015-2016 –The Scholars’ Programme - 10 & 11

Islington Arts and MediaSecondary London School Link - 12

Year 12 Work Experience – 13

Year 10 Work Experience – 13

Year 12 Induction Days - 14

PiXL Edge Week Success - 14

Sixth Formers Visit Essex and Lincoln Universities - 15

Sixth Form London Trip - 16

The Drama Department - 17

Visit to Harry Potter Studio Tour - 18

Students’ performance ofThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner - 18

Product Design Exhibition - 19

Sixth Form Sports Day Fundraising & Carnegie Award 2016 - 20

Award for exceptional 2015 results & Education Business Awards - 21

Parents’ View Results - 22

Aspiration Academies - 23

Attleborough Academy’s Year 13 students said goodbye to their Secondary Education on their last official day at the Academy by making sure it was a day they would remember for the rest of their lives. The students also ensured that it was a memorable day for the entire Academy as they made a tremendous effort dressing up for the occasion: from fairy tale creatures, superheroes, cheerleaders and literary characters, to a chicken!

Whilst many Year 13 students continued to attend lessons at the Academy up until they sat their final exams in each subject, for these students this was the official end of seven years of their young lives spent at Attleborough Academy. The sixth formers, after a morning of lessons, attended a celebration assembly led by Head of Sixth Form, Ramin Keshavarz, where he related amusing incidents and anecdotes from the students’ years at the Academy. Mr Keshavarz also nominated students for awards for specific attributes and behaviours they had displayed during their life at the Academy.

The students thanked their tutors for all the support and help they had been given over their two

years in the Sixth Form Centre. Later in the day the students enjoyed a barbeque whilst they grouped for photos with the friends and teachers that were such a large part of their lives at Attleborough Academy.

Head of Sixth Form, Mr Ramin Keshavarz commented: “These were a marvellous group of students and it was sad to see them go. Many of them have moved onto degree courses at universities across the country and we wish them all the very best in the next stage of their lives.”

Principal Mr McShane commented: “This Year 13 group showed great commitment to their studies in response to the tremendous teaching by our staff. We know they are now well equipped to continue their journey into further and higher education and the world of work.”

Year 13 Attleborough Academy Students Say ‘Goodbye’ to School Life

Contents

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Year 11 Leavers’ Prom at Attleborough Academy

The staff and students at Attleborough Academy have excelled themselves this year in the preparation and delivery of an incredible Year 11 Prom.

The event was organised and overseen by Miss Parks, Inclusion Centre Manager and Mrs Cushing, Head of Lower School, with Garry Baisen, Infrastructure Engineer, and Stefan Middlebrook, Senior ICT Technician. All the students dressed up in their finest attire and looked fantastic as they alighted onto the red carpet amidst flashing cameras and applause.

The Academy’s Year 11 students’ arrival at their Prom is always a superb sight and this year was no exception. An enormous crowd of well-wishers, made up of proud families, friends and members of the local community, came to see the spectacular arrivals to this event which celebrated the students’ end of Year 11. All the teaching staff of the Academy were there to support this wonderful send off for the students who they have taught over the last five years. Students arrived in a variety of stunning original vehicles, including limousines, classic cars and buses, tractors and even an impressive horse and carriage.

This year’s theme was Hollywood, and the transformation through displays and decoration of the interior of the academy building to meet this theme was incredible. A glittering light adorned hall with: beautifully dressed tables and specially made cloth chair covers provided by Maria Izzo and Lianne Arbuthnot, helped by Sixth Formers Georgina Benson, Sharna Martin and Luke Bullard-Whatling; screens relaying Academy Award Ceremonies in Hollywood, the film star photo corner; the McShane’s restaurant with food provided by the school catering staff from Edwards and Blake; the Mocktail Bar, where colourful non-alcoholic fruity and fizzy drinks were served with pizzazz by Head of Sixth Form, Mr Keshavarz, and Mr Baisden. Assistant Principal, Mr Barns served from the themed popcorn and candy floss machines.

Principal Mr McShane gave a welcoming address to the students. They had a wonderful time enjoying the food and drink and dancing the night away at the disco, run by Head of House Mr Justin Needs, who organised dance competitions and awarded different dance categories. Later in the evening, prom awards were given out by Mr McShane, with trophies for different categories voted by the students and staff.

Year 11 Prom Award Winners

Prom KingCharles Chenery

Prom QueenAmy Snare

Most Likely to be Famous Lilah Suazo

Funniest Person Ethan Moore

Cutest CoupleElla Gilchrist and Hayden South

Biggest Transformation (Male) Diogo Da Slva

Biggest Transformation (Female) Tamzin Masters

Best Dressed (Male) James Knott

Best Dressed (Female)Tala Donga

Best ArrivalGemma Woods & Louis Fraser

This was a wonderful way to celebrate the end of year for the Class of 2016 and our thanks go to everyone who helped to make it such a special evening.

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What a night and what a superb way to say goodbye to their time at the school.

Year 13 students and staff from Attleborough Academy Sixth Form gathered in the magnificent setting of the Music Room in the Assembly House in Norwich to celebrate their prom night. Anticipation had been building up over the last few months for this, one of the biggest events of the summer for the Sixth Form Class of 2016. As the students gathered in the stunning surroundings in their outstanding gowns and suits, they began an evening that gave a chance for them to let their hair down after the stress of exams. They were able to enjoy the company of their peer group one last time before receiving their A Level results at the end of the summer and embarking on their new lives ahead.

What made the evening even more magical was that the event was conceived, planned, organised and executed by the students themselves! The driving force

behind the event was sixth formers Amber Miller and Lauren McArdle, who, with some help from the rest of the Sixth Form Presidential Team, worked extremely hard over the last few months to ensure that the evening would be a success. All those present were extremely grateful for their efforts and for their organisational skill. The evening began with a sit down meal at the elegantly dressed tables, followed by speeches and a disco, as students and staff revelled into the late hours with photos being taken from all directions to record a wonderful evening. Head of Sixth Form, Mr Ramin Keshavarz, thanked all the attendees and the students for their hard work in organising the event, the Assembly House staff for their support and then he wished everyone the best of luck for the future. The Principal Mr Neil McShane thanked everyone and pointed to the poignancy of the evening by announcing that this was Mr Keshavarz’ last Attleborough Prom as he was leaving at the end of term

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to become an Assistant Head at another school.

The DJs for the night were Sixth Formers, Sam Winfield and Greg Peyrebrune who ably worked the disco equipment kindly provided by teacher Mr Justin Needs; all attendees responded energetically with a crowd on the dance floor throughout the time they played. Later in the evening, when there was a technical hitch with the sound equipment, Sixth Former Seb Weatherill came to the rescue and provided an accomplished piano accompaniment to the dancing.

Mr Ramin Keshavarz, commented at the end of the evening: “It was a wonderful evening celebrating a talented and remarkable group of young people who have made the Academy proud throughout their time with us, and who will go on to achieve amazing things in the future”.

Attleborough Academy Sixth Form Prom Night

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In March, the Year 12 Geographers made the pilgrimage to Malham Tarn in order to complete fieldwork for their A Level course. On the way up to the Field Study Centre we stopped off for a look around Brimham Rocks. Much to our delight, we were able to scramble around the misshapen stacks of rocks, with the sun shining down on us!

The second day saw the students measuring river channel characteristics and working really well as a team. On day three students used iPads to collect data on settlement characteristics. Once all the statistics had been collected, the evening was spent playing a well-deserved game of pool.

The trip finished with a traditional walk down to Malham Cove and across the limestone pavement where parts of the Harry Potter series were filmed.

As always, the students were excellent but particular mention needs to be given to Ed Procter for wearing such tight jeans that mid-way through a 3 hour walk he managed to rip a large and unfortunately located hole in them!

A Level Geography Residential

One of the wonderful things about studying Geography is that you can take trips to the seaside.

This meant a visit to Weybourne and Cromer for our Year 10 students! Alas, this was not for a sunbathing session (as Leah Cubley had perhaps thought!), rather it was an opportunity for them to collect data for their Controlled Assessment.

Students measured the beach profile, sediment and wave characteristics. The groups worked well in teams and at the end of the day some of them were unexpectedly treated to a close up encounter with a Tawney Owl!

GCSE Geography Day Trip

Always ones to get involved in our town’s community spirit, Miss Billin’s form once again made an offering to the cycle event display being held by the local businesses.

This time, it was for stage 1 of the Aviva’s Women’s Tour, which started off in Southwold and finished in Norwich. Students decorated their bike wheel in house colours, with each quarter sporting the respective house hero riding a bicycle.

Those students who participated in decorating the bike even had the opportunity to watch the tour pass through town. On the day we waited with anticipation opposite the church as police bike after police bike came by sounding their sirens. Suddenly we caught sight of the peloton as it powered through town towards us. There were lots of cheers and applause from the whole crowd as the women streamed past in a blur of colour and energy. Before we knew it, all the excitement was over and normal routine had to resume.

Woman’s Tour Cycling Event

Attleborough Academy Norfolk’s national link project with Ambler School in Islington, London, went from strength to strength in 2016, concluding in an exciting and educational visit to London in the Summer Term. The project, now in its third year, aims to share contrasting school and life experiences, whilst giving Attleborough Academy students a window into life in an inner city school.

Assistant Principal, Mrs McConnell, and Ambler’s Headteacher, Ms Juliet Benis, have developed the project to extend ways in which they can share ideas across the contrasting urban primary and rural secondary school. Additionally, they wish to ensure that students have an opportunity to interact further and develop their learning and understanding of different cultures and lifestyles. This year, the project began with Year 7 Attleborough Academy students composing handwritten letters where they introduced themselves to Ambler’s Year 6 students and explained key aspects of their lives such as their backgrounds, specific interests and hobbies. They also gave their perspective on what makes Norfolk unique and why they enjoy living here. Ambler’s Year 6 class received the letters with great excitement and expressed a deep interest in learning about life in Norfolk, exploring the similarities and differences between their lives.

The students from the respective schools were then paired and they wrote and received interesting letters from their counterparts. In July, Mrs McConnell, accompanied by Head of English, Ms Caroline Graham, took Attleborough Academy’s Year 7 class to London to finally meet their pen pals. As Mrs McConnell commented: “This Year 7 group have really enjoyed learning about students from a city school. In the course of this project, not only have they made new friends, learnt about different cultures and life experience of students who are a similar age, living in a different part of the country, but they have also developed their writing skills.”

The day visit to Ambler School was truly superb. On arrival, Attleborough Academy Norfolk students were warmly welcomed by the Headteacher and the students. As it was a beautiful sunny day, after being shown around the inside of the school, the students were taken to the decorated playground so that they could meet their pen pals. Firstly, the two school groups were led through a series of ‘getting to know each other’ tasks; discussions between pairs and information gathering activities. All of them were then divided into mixed teams of Ambler and Attleborough Academy students and set a series of team building tasks by Ambler teacher Jack. There was great excitement as groups of students competed to build the most robust structure out

of marshmallows and spaghetti – the winning construction was really something to see!

Once it drew near lunchbreak, Attleborough students had the excitement of trying a wonderful hot meal kindly provided for free by Ambler. The contents included: a tasty halal sausage in a roll and crispy chipolatas, biscuits, bottled drink and fruit – a real treat! The students all enjoyed eating their meal in the sunshine in Ambler’s wonderful new playground area, which includes raised beds bursting with summer vegetables, a sound hut and seating areas. After their meal, the students from the two schools enjoyed playing together with the playground equipment in the school’s wooded garden. By the end of the visit the students from the two schools had really got to know each other and learnt much more about their similarities and contrasts. Many new friendships were formed.

Ambler Headteacher, Juliet Benis commented: “The children were so excited to receive the letters and to hear about the lives of children in a very different environmental and cultural context; getting to meet the people they have become to know at a distance over the past year has been such a valuable experience. This project has allowed my students to further develop their writing and social skills in a meaningful way, as well as building friendships with children in another part of England.”

National Link Project: Attleborough Students visit London Schools

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Sports Day 2016 was another huge success!

The competition was the best we have ever run and is a credit to everyone who took part and helped organise. Bad weather was forecast on Tuesday so Sports Day was postponed until Wednesday 13th July.

All Sports Captains did an amazing job, both before the day and on the day making sure that there was someone competing in each event. This made the event very close in terms of points!

It was also great to see the long jump pits back in action after a long time out of use; thanks to Tim Hales of TH Groundcare for all his hard work.

Throughout the day 4 records were broken:

Tilly Anema – Year 9 1500m record – 5.23 minutes

Kit Neal – Year 10 Long Jump – 5.52 meters

Evan Sayer – Year 9 Boys 400m – 1.04 minutes

Lewis Bollingbroke – Year 7 Boys 100m

The winner of the Junior Cup was Cavell House.

The winner of the Senior Cup was Boudicca

Well done to everyone who competed, you have all done an amazing job representing your house and we hope you are all proud of your achievement regardless of where you came.

Sports Day 2016

Year 6 PE DayThe PE department welcomed our new Year 6s to the Academy with their own sports day to kick off the Olympiad House competition 2016/2017.

All four houses competed in long jump, javelin, discus, 100m and relay. With temperatures reaching 30 degrees, all students did themselves proud to compete in all five events to the best of their ability!

We saw some amazing talent throughout the day as well as some great displays of determination. It was a fantastic start to the growth mind-set we would like to be displayed throughout their time at AAN. Well done to all students who participated, it was a pleasure to have you with the PE department for the day.

Results for each of the events were as follows: Long Jump: Korben Cowan – 4.26m Abby Yaxley – 3.25mDiscus: Milan Sunil – 17.40m Heather Jude – 16.25mJavelin: Ruben Gomes – 13.04m Patriciya Broka – 11.72m100m: Kyran Woodrow – 13.34s Caitlin Jackson – 15.75s

Olympiad Results are:1st Kett 2nd Nelson 3rd Boudicca 4th Cavell

For The Brilliant Club 2015-2016 we ran two programmes:

• Years 7 and 8 ran from 4 November to 2 February 2016 at Attleborough Academy, Norwich

• Years 9 and 10 ran from 23 February to 27 April 2016 at Attleborough Academy, Norwich

The Scholars’ Programme is run by The Brilliant Club, an award winning charity that seeks to increase fair access to highly-selective universities. The Brilliant Club is a national programme, who are currently working with over 5000 pupils in 150 schools across the country. If you would like to find out more information about The Brilliant Club you can visit the website: www.thebrilliantclub.org

The Scholars’ Programme is designed to give students

exposure to a genuine academic environment and the opportunity to experience learning in the style of a university student.

Attleborough Academy students worked closely with their PhD Tutors: Fernando Morett worked with Year 7 and 8 students and Akinyemi Oyawale, worked with Year 9 and 10 students in a series of small group university-style tutorials. The students studied a ‘super-curricular’ course that explored topics they do not usually study in the Academy’s curriculum. During the tutorials the students completed readings and assignments that stretched them to work at a level above their current key stage. The final project included them completing 1,500-word university-style final assignment.

The Scholars’ Programme also involved trips to two different highly-selective universities.

These trips gave the students the opportunity to meet current undergraduates, experience a tour of the university and receive information, advice and guidance about university from university outreach staff. The Launch Trip took place at the beginning of the programme. Students visited the University of Cambridge and this is where they were introduced to their PhD Tutor and experienced their first tutorial in the academic setting of the university.

At the end of the programme, all students who had submitted their final assignment were invited to the Graduation Trip, on 11 June 2016, at the University of East Anglia. Students took part in a formal certification ceremony to celebrate the completion of the programme.

The Brilliant Club 2015-2016 – The Scholars’ ProgrammeWritten by Ms Mair

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The diagram above shows what an individual scholar’s programme looked like for our participating students. Hopefully all those involved and the organisers will be encouraged to continue this incredible voyage for years to come.

Asking the question ‘what did the students enjoy the most?’ They responded:

• Independent research• University Trips to Trinity Hall

and the UEA• The tutorials• Learning and researching about

something entirely new • Developing skill-set - perfecting

the art of writing essays• A smaller class size where they

felt challenged• Sharing their opinion• Feedback from assignments that

they had written which enabled them to do better in their final assignment

• The graduation ceremony• Finding out from an expert

It is very positive that the students have been involved in this project. It has given them confidence in their ability to write structured essays to a high standard. It has also ensured that they believe that university is within their reach and has given them an opportunity to try a new style of learning. Some felt privileged to have been invited to participate

and finally some feel they are more able to try something new.

It has helped the students with their learning in particular:

• How to structure, plan and format a formal essay

• How to write a final assignment• Learning about a new topic • How to write a balanced

argument• How to overcome challenges• How to effectively research• How to work within a time limit• How to create a bibliography

All students made amazing progress and achievement. Readers, I present to you the graduates of Brilliant Club 2016:

• Representing Year 7 were Robyn Ham, Luke Harvey, Ashton Johnson, Thomas Lamb, Charlie Scoulding and Tala Smith

• Representing Year 8 were Daniel Bint, Robson Giles, Millie Hunt, Florence McArthur and Jacob Price

• Representing Year 9 were Joshua Ede, Mia Kruger, Callum Lodge and Hannah Seymour

• Representing Year 10 were Jack Chapman, Danielle Matthews, Joshua Reynolds and Leanne Williams

The successes of the 12 Year 7 and 8 students and 13 Year 9 and

10 students who participated are outlined in the tables below.

Comment Bubbles for Years 9 and 10

At the end of the programme, 80% of participating students stated “I will be able to study at this university (Cambridge and/or UEA) when I am older if I work hard at school”

At the end of the programme, 100% of participating students stated “I have an excellent level of knowledge in the subject that the Scholars Programme focuses on, that goes beyond that of other pupils in my year group” compared with 0% at the start

At the end of the programme, 80% of participating students stated “I know the most important steps I need to take to help me improve as a learner” compared with 25% at the start

A statement from Lucy Preston, East of England Programme Officer:“It has been wonderful to work with Izzy Mair and pupils from your school during the Spring 2016 Scholars’ Programme.”

Special thanks must go to Mrs Allott, Mrs Wright, Mr Monkhouse and Mrs Campbell-Horne for supporting the students through the programme!

Grade No. of students

Equates to

1st 1 Excellent achievement working at AS Level

2:1 8 Good achievement working at AS Level

2:2 1 Excellent achievement working at GCSE level

3rd 1 Good achievement working at GCSE level

Grade No. of students

Equates to

1st 1 Excellent achievement working at AS Level

2:1 1 Good achievement working at AS Level

2:2 4 Excellent achievement working at GCSE level

3rd 2 Good achievement working at GCSE level

Years 7 and 8 success Years 9 and 10 success

Two students were also awarded Distinctions: Florence McArthur for academic excellence and Tala Smith for effort.

Two students were also awarded Distinctions: Mia Kruger for academic excellence and Hannah Seymour for effort.

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Islington Arts and Media Secondary London School Link

At Attleborough Academy, we are always seeking ways in which we can extend the learning opportunities of our students; one of these approaches is for Attleborough Academy students and staff to share educational best practice, ideas and experiences with students and staff from other schools.

This year we began an educational link with Islington Arts and Media School, London, as an extension of the National Link project we have carried out for four years with Ambler School. Both schools are situated only minutes away from the Emirates football stadium in Finsbury Park.

Earlier in the year, Assistant Principal, Mrs McConnell met with the Head Teacher and Communications Lead at Islington Arts and Media School to explore the ways our schools could work together. Similar to our approach with Ambler, we began with a sharing of letters between a Year 7 English class from Attleborough and a Year 7 English class in the inner city London school.

On the day, the Year 7s visited Ambler School. They then had an afternoon visit at Islington Arts and Media - with a brief shopping spree at the Arsenal Football store on the way!

Once at Islington Arts and Media School, the Year 7s, along with Mrs McConnell and Head of English, Mrs Graham, were welcomed with refreshments in the school library by the librarian, Ms Sonia Swaby.

Additionally, the Attleborough students had the chance to meet with the Islington students of the same age and compare their school lives and learning. The students greatly enjoyed the encounter and it is hoped that over the next year this link can be continued and further developed.

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Year 12 Work Experience

During the week beginning Monday 20 June, our future veterinary nurses, teaching assistants, yachting entrepreneurs and graphic designers got a taste of how they will spend the rest of their lives!

Many of our Year 12 students enjoyed work experience placements, mainly related to university courses or future employment that they want to go on and complete once they have left the Sixth Form.

This year the placements ranged from photographic manipulation to shadow nursing, with placements as wide apart as Brandon and Wymondham. Aaron Cahill was privileged to work for the Media group Archant, and covered the EU referendum count: “It was tremendous fun to have my report trending on Twitter”, he said.

Megan and Terrieann both intend to become high school teachers, and relished their placements with Wayland Academy’s PE department and Attleborough Academy’s History department respectively.

Terrieann even managed what she described as the “daunting but valuable experience” of teaching some Year 10 students, starting a couple of lessons by herself.

Many of our wonderful Year 12 students will use these placements as springboards to future career success, using them as evidence in application forms and interviews in years to come. Good luck.

Year 10 Work Experience

Our Year 10 students were out on work experience placements and represented the Academy exceptionally!

The students organised and arranged their placements themselves and used the opportunity to explore a career area which interested them.

We are extremely proud of all our students’ achievements, with a huge number receiving glowing references from the employers and many wishing they could offer them a job when they are older!

At the end of the week, students submitted their activities towards their PiXL Edge award and we are very proud to announce that we had 11 students that have successfully completed the PiXL Edge Award Apprentice level, a very impressive achievement in a year! Well done to them! The successful students are:

Amy Gales CMKE

Harvey Horsewell KSMS

Connor Pettider CLTR

Emma Foster NKBA

Max Hilton KCME

Maisie McKenna BSAW

Zack Prentice NSFR

Ryan Spurrier BRTY

Keely Stewart NSFR

Eleanor Ghinna CFBI

Tamara Birch CMKE

PiXL Edge Week Success

On the week commencing Monday 27th July, students in Years 7-9, took part in the PiXL Edge Week where they enjoyed a number of exciting and creative projects running across the Academy.

The week was an opportunity for staff and students to participate in extra-curricular activities, designed to develop their Leadership, Organisation, Resilience, Initiative and Communication skills: the five principals of the PiXL Edge award.

The PiXL Edge award is a nationally recognised award supported by business leaders designed to develop the employability and life-skills of school leavers. Backed by the NCFE, and founded by the PiXL Association, the award provides Attleborough Academy students with an additional edge when applying for future employment or higher study.

A whole host of activities occurred throughout the week, these included:

Page to Stage: A group of confident students produced a theatrical performance of ‘the Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ within four days, which was then performed to the rest of the Academy on the Friday. The performance was supported by a wealth of props that had been made by the prop-making group. The students also had the opportunity to visit the Harry Potter Studios and learn about how the

writing in a novel can be translated to the big screen.

Large Art: Another group produced a series of art pieces that will be combined to form large pieces that can be used to decorate the Art Block. The pieces explored the themes of Aboriginal art, The Impressionists and art from nature.

Community care and BBQ build: A team of green-fingered students improved the floral displays around the Academy including digging a whole new bedding area around the Maths and ICT Block. The group also contributed to the Norfolk and Norwich baby care unit by knitting patchwork blankets. Another group further improved the Academy’s facilities by hand building a fully operational brick BBQ, having never tried brick-laying before.

Alternative sports: The PE team took 80 students on a week-long exploration of alternative sports which included trying out ‘Ultimate Frisbee’, Softball and two excursions to Extreme Paintball and Rafting.

Yellow’s Bake-off: The Food Technology department ran a week long football-themed catering project which included a cake bake-off and a visit to Norwich City Football Club. The students were very excited to be able to visit the players’ changing rooms and even sit on the manager’s bench.

Computer animation and STEM rockets: A group of creative students used computer animation tools to produce a number of stop gap animations whilst some intrepid scientists built and launched rockets! The animations were then shown on big screens around the Academy.

Saxon re-enactment and Pigeon Post: The History department put on a Saxon re-enactment of the Battle of Hastings and visited West Stow Saxon Village. Another team were learning about modern history: they spent the week learning about communication in the 20th century, which included a visit to Fairlands Care home within Attleborough. Students spent time speaking to the residents about their experiences of changing communications. The group also received a visit from Sandringham Estate’s own homing pigeons! Students were able to release them as part of the project.

Wales and Cologne: Some of the Academy’s students took Pledge week outside of the Academy and took part in one of our two excursions that were organised. Some students visited Wales and spent the week coasteering and rock climbing or they visited Cologne in Germany and experienced a new culture whilst developing their language skills.

No sooner were we saying farewell to our Year 11 students, we welcomed back a record number for the Year 12 induction on 5 and 6 July! Students enjoyed taster lessons for all their A Level choices, with some travelling to Wymondham College as part of our A Level link.

Year 12 Induction Days

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Large numbers of our Sixth Form students go on to study a diverse range of courses at universities and colleges across the country.

During their Sixth Form programme our students receive a wide range of support and information about further study. The Sixth Form team aims to extend the students’ understanding about the huge range of possible opportunities for further learning and future career paths open to students in the 21st century.

Along with support in the actual application process for UCAS, the tutorial programme at AAN also includes workshops and presentations from university, business and industry experts, as well as the chance to visit specific institutions for taster days. These taster days give an idea of what is on offer to students before they consider their choices when applying. Over 2015-2016, our Sixth Form students have had plenty of these opportunities organised by Head of Sixth Form, Mr Ramin Keshavarz.

In June, over thirty Year 12 students visited Essex University to explore the courses on offer there and to learn what it is like for a student to study on the campus. Accompanied by Assistant Principal, Mrs McConnell and psychology teacher, Mr Hendy, the students travelled by coach to the campus outside Colchester. On arrival, they had the chance to explore the site and were given information about applying for Essex and the range of courses available to them. There was also the opportunity to listen to presentations by third year student ambassadors which gave real insight into the experience of being a student at Essex and how best to prepare for university life and students were told how to make the most of their time there. They were also informed about the practicalities of living on a budget as well as the challenges of living independently. Students were taken on tours to view campus accommodation and explore the collection of shops and range of facilities that Essex has, including the impressive recently

built reception area. After further tours, students enjoyed the day’s weather as they ate their lunch in the sunshine in one of the university squares. At the end of the day they were given a bag of Essex University goodies to take away with them; an interesting and enjoyable day was had by all, and everyone came away with a much better understanding of what studying at Essex had to offer.

Year 12 students embarked on their University Tour 2016 with the annual visit to the University of Lincoln; the highest ranking post-1992 university in The Complete University Guide.

Accompanied by Mrs Perry and Mr Keshavarz, the students were given a tour of the up to date campus including the accommodation block, had a talk about student life, and then got to grips with a budgeting activity to understand how to manage a Student Loan - in a nutshell, fine dining is out but socialising is in.

Sixth Formers Visit Essex and Lincoln Universities

Lincoln University

Essex University

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Sixth Form London Trip

During PiXL week, Year 12 students enjoyed the opportunity to visit Central London on a trip led by Head of Sixth Form Mr Ramin Keshavarz, and accompanied by Assistant Principal Mrs McConnell and Psychology teacher Mr Hendy.

The group travelled by coach and as we drew near to the capital city we enjoyed the quirky and amusing guide to the city presented over the coach microphone by Mr Keshavarz. We arrived into London past the famous Billingsgate Fish Market, the Millenium Dome (now known as the O2 Arena), Renzo Piano’s Shard and beyond, to enjoy the impressive sight of the Tower of London and Tower Bridge in the sunshine. From there everyone took a pleasurable tour by boat on the Thames taking in

all the incredible sights on the way. We learnt from the knowledgeable and amusing tour guide about the beautiful buildings, steeped in history that rose above us either side of the water. We were offered a range of interesting information about all the awe-inspiring surroundings as we slowly sailed our way up river. The tour group then disembarked by the Houses of Parliament to admire Big Ben in the Queen Elizabeth Tower, and then we embarked on different adventures exploring that historic vicinity.

Outside Westminster the news teams were busily interviewing politicians in the wake of Brexit; we spotted newsreader Alistair Stewart reporting to camera, interrogating many passing MPs, and presenting

regular news updates. The flurry of political change that the United Kingdom was undergoing in these Summer months was obvious in the activity we witnessed that day at this centre of government. This was underlined by the fact that by the time we returned to the coach - passing Paddy Ashdown, Liberal Democrat Leader 1988-1999, on our way - we heard the news that Boris Johnson had resigned from leadership and the Labour Party were similarly in disarray.

All in all it was an enjoyable excursion and as we wended our way back to Norfolk, the Sixth Form students and staff agreed we had had a pleasurable and educational visit to the capital.

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Drama is a fast growing subject at Attleborough Academy – we have thriving GCSE groups and are delighted to be offering Drama and Theatre A Level starting in September. Our Year 7 and 8 students all study drama as a part of their curriculum and have created some fantastic work over the course of this year – including Shakespeare, Dickens and improvisations on the infamous fictitious cowboy ‘Frank Miller’.

Drama is at the centre of our Academy – it supports other subjects and brings ideas to life. Our Year 9 students have performed Macbeth in the Playhouse Theatre in Norwich and we created a fantastic production of ‘the Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ during Pledge week. Some of our Year 7 students created role-plays to assist with Year 9 Leadership Day and drama students worked closely with Year 5 on their Castaway Day presenting as evil and good spirits who fought to keep the world alive!

Ms Jones is particularly excited to be teaching the new A Level programme from September. “I had the privilege of working for the OCR exam board to create a brand new A Level

The Drama Department at Attleborough Academy

and have been all over the country training other teachers. It is really fantastic that our Year 11 students will have the opportunity to continue their drama journey and we are delighted to welcome students from other schools too. Music is already very established at Key Stage 5 and it is our hope that Attleborough Academy Norfolk will become recognised as a centre of excellence for the performing arts and that future students will be inspired by all that the arts can teach us about life – just as I was when I studied here many moons ago under the direction of the fantastic Keith Maughan.”

July marks the ten year anniversary of Keith Maughan’s death. He brought drama to Attleborough High School and inspired hundreds of students in his time here. We often talk about him and feel sure that he would be very proud of how drama has continued to flourish under the guidance of Mrs Cushing, Ms Goodwin and Ms Jones, all of whom were taught by him as students!

We can already tell from our workshops with Year 5 and 6 students that the legacy of brilliant drama at Attleborough

Academy Norfolk is set to continue and plans are already underway for more performance opportunities next year. Watch this space!

Keith Maughan

As a part of our ‘Page to Stage’ project a group of 51 students were accompanied by 6 very excited teachers to the Harry Potter Studios to see how J K Rowling’s books were transformed for the big screen. As the coach rounded a corner the studios appeared before us! Suddenly, the whole coach burst into a spontaneous rendition of the Harry Potter theme tune. Some of us had been before, for others it was a first visit, but it’s fair to say that all of us were completely enraptured by the studios.

As the introductory film screen lifted, we saw the doors to the Hogwarts Great Hall. Two of our Year 9 students were then given the great honour of pushing them open and revealing the magic beyond.

The next three and a half hours flew by – quite literally for those who rode on a broomstick! It was amazing to see all the work that goes into a film, the prop making is quite an extraordinary undertaking and inspired our prop makers no end. It was also wonderful to feel the magic that had originally just been ideas in an author’s mind and has now grown to become a worldwide phenomenon. The model of Hogwarts at the end left even the noisiest of drama students speechless and a number of tears were wiped away as people were moved by the sheer wonder of it.

The gift shop was a huge hit – Dobby was liberated from the shelves and happily driven home to begin his new life as the Drama Department Elf. The journey home was smooth and we all arrived back tired, but richer for the experiences the day had given us.

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Drama Department’s visit to the Harry Potter Studio Tour

This year’s Pledge Week saw the involvement of over 80 students in our ‘Page to Stage’ workshops which resulted in a spellbinding performance of ‘The Rime of the Ancient Mariner’. Led by a team of enthusiastic staff, students rehearsed a full recital of Coleridge’s epic poem and created props and scenery to move his words from the page to the AAN stage!

Coleridge wrote the poem in 1792 but the theme of guilt, responsibility and thinking before you act still remains relevant today. The teamwork demonstrated was exemplary and it was a real delight to see students pulling together to get the mammoth poem on its feet and ready to share with the rest of the Academy by Friday afternoon. We had a lighthouse, a moving sea, stained glass window and Charlie King did a great job of making the moon appear from behind the curtain, lit up by a torch at relevant moments!

The acting was exceptional – many people learned lines swiftly

and efficiently and the choral speaking was full of expression.

Charlie Mills made a lovely bride and Sarah Smith was scarcely recognisable under the ‘long grey beard’ and wig. It was a real testimony to the dedication and enthusiasm of our students to see them tackle a difficult, lengthy and ancient poem with such creativity. The audience were spellbound, mouths were hanging open and the rapturous applause said it all!One of the loveliest things of all has been hearing students say how the words keep going around in their heads even though the play has finished. As Literacy Co-ordinator, I see one of my key roles as putting brilliant words into our students’ minds and making them masters of language. Many parents and grandparents will remember learning chunks of the ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ at school and now our students will be able to call upon these words for the rest of their lives. Hopefully, we will all think twice before shooting an Albatross dead too!

Students’ performance of The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Product Design Exhibition

Attleborough Academy Norfolk celebrated their annual end of year Product Design exhibition last week, the event was well attended and displayed an amazing range of work from this year’s A Level cohort. The event showcased the final projects from the course, with this year’s design brief focusing around the theme of furniture. The pupils designed products for domestic and commercial use and were encouraged to work with a client throughout the entire design process.

Pupils were given 60 hours to research, design, develop, manufacture and test their products and this year’s group were rewarded in their efforts by achieving an outstanding set of results. Luke Jeffs, Head of Design and Technology commented:

“Since the introduction of the course, 8 years ago, this is the most successful group of pupils we have taught. We had a record 27 pupils undertake the AS and A Level courses and their creativity and dedication resulted in exceptional, innovative outcomes which have achieved high praise from the examination board.”

The course is a hugely popular subject among both genders at the Academy with many pupils continuing the subject at higher education establishments across the country. We wish this year’s A2 pupils all the best for their future studies; they certainly deserve it!

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As part of the application process this year for the Sixth Form Presidential Team, students had to work in groups to devise events and activities to promote team work and engagement amongst both sixth formers and main school students.

From this process, the Sixth Formers organised a series of fundraising activities, to take place in conjunction with the whole Academy Sports Day. These included a range of stalls led by the Sixth Formers over lunch break and refreshment stalls for competitors and spectators during the afternoon of sports’ events. There was also a non-uniform fundraiser, which the Sixth Formers promoted in main school form time.

Overall the fundraising was a great success, raising over £450 for charities chosen by each Attleborough Academy house; a successful process that the newly elected Sixth Form Presidents hope to build upon for next year.

Sixth Form Sports Day Fundraising

The CILIP Carnegie Medal is an award given annually to an outstanding book written in English for children and young people. The Carnegie Shadowing Scheme involves thousands of children and young people reading books on the shortlist via reading groups in schools and public libraries.

Attleborough Academy Book Club formed its own shadowing group to read the 8 shortlisted books over a 10 week period. We met on Tuesday lunchtimes to talk about what we had been reading, write reviews and update our group page on the Carnegie website.

This culminated on Monday 20th June with a visit to UTC Norwich to meet the shadowing groups from the other TEN Federation schools! Our students had the opportunity to interact with other students, take part in discussions and quizzes, vote for their favourite book and then watch a live screening of the awards ceremony. Eventually, ‘One’ by Sarah Crossan was announced as the winner.

Carnegie Award 2016

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Attleborough Academy Norfolk has been nationally recognised for its exceptional 2015 performance by the Schools, Students and Teachers network (SSAT).

Educational Outcomes data analysis from SSAT has shown that the school is in the top 20% nationally for progress made by pupils between their key stage 2 results at primary school and their key stage 4 results.

The school’s SSAT Educational Outcomes award was presented to Attleborough Academy Norfolk Principal, Neil McShane, at a regional celebration event held to draw attention to the work of high-achieving, improving and innovating schools and teachers.Neil McShane, Principal, Attleborough Academy Norfolk, commented:

“I am so incredibly proud of the staff and students in receiving this national award. This award represents the outcomes achieved in the academic year in which we suffered the tragic and sudden loss of our much loved Vice Principal David Bartram. For us to achieve so highly in that year is a true example of the strength and resilience of our community and the award is a fitting recognition of this.”

Attleborough Academy Norfolk wins award for exceptional 2015 results

After our incredible GCSE results last summer, Attleborough Academy Norfolk was nominated for yet another National Award!

We were one of five schools in the country who were shortlisted for the Outstanding Progress - Secondary School Award in the 2016 Education Business Awards, which recognises a broad range of successes across the sector.

Deputy Principal, Ms Izzy Mair, travelled to the awards ceremony, which was held at The Grange Hotel in London, on Wednesday 13 July 2016 to pick up the academy’s commendation award.

Karen Hopps, Publisher, Education Business, said:

“It is great to see so many people come together to celebrate the great work of the education sector. The Education Business Awards is the perfect opportunity to look back and reflect on the hard work and dedication of education professionals. We were thrilled to see so many examples of excellence in education. Thank you to everyone who attended to recognise the excellent work being done in schools across the UK.”

Academy picks up commendation for outstanding progress at Education Business Awards

Sue Williamson, Chief Executive of SSAT said:

“It’s my great pleasure to commend Attleborough Academy Norfolk on their excellent 2015 performance, and to have the opportunity to highlight and share their great work at the SSAT Educational Outcomes celebration evening. I have the privilege of visiting a lot of schools and I am always impressed by the creativity of teachers in engaging and inspiring their students.”

“I hope that SSAT’s Educational Outcomes award will highlight the professionalism, commitment and hard work of the leaders, teachers and students at Attleborough Academy Norfolk. Recognising and sharing successes like this is at the heart of SSAT’s mission, so I’m delighted to congratulate Attleborough Academy Norfolk on their achievement.”

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Parents’ Views

95% VALUABLE

INFORMATIONabout their child’s progress

of parents believe they

receive

PROGRESS

of parents believe their children are

making good

92%

96% 94% of parents believe our students

ARE HAPPY

of parents think their children are

WELL TAUGHT

96% MANAGEDof parents

think we are WELL

FEEL SAFE of parents think we

RESPOND WELL TO CONCERNS

of parents think their children are given

SUITABLE HOMEWORK

of parents believe their

children

98% 87% 91%

89% of parents think we

LOOKED AFTER

2015-2016 - All year groups, 271 responses.

of parents believe their children are well

96%

RECOMMEND US

of parents would

92% DEAL WITH BULLYING

National Average 94% National Average 91% National Average 89%

National Average 96% National Average 85% National Average 86%

National Average 92% National Average 90%National Average 94%

National Average 81% National Average 91%

We are seeking partnership from local Business and Industry to join us in a true collaboration to shape the futures of our young people.

Come and work with us to provide opportunities for our students to engage with your business and industry. Help us to fill the ‘local skills’ gaps and achieve local Business and Industry training needs for the current and future workforce. Our vision is to create a diverse education and training provision for local Business and Industry.

We want to facilitate the progression of young people into employment or university, enabling them to possess the skills and knowledge that meet the needs of our local economy.

We cannot achieve this vision alone - We need pragmatic and determined Business, Industry and Enterprise partners to work with us to create both the right employer engagement and curriculum mix, whilst still retaining academic rigour and aspiration.

You help us accomplish this vision:

• By providing a Work Experience venue

• By becoming a mentor for the Core Qualification or Extended Project

• By presenting work related lectures and workshops (either one-off or regularly) for the Core Qualification or Extended Project courses

• By sponsoring your own Industry Sector Academy

If you feel you can help, or would just like a further conversation about this project, then please call our Director of Sixth Form: Mrs Carmina McConnell on 01953 452335

AspirationAcademiesAttleborough A unique opportunity to shape the future of your local area.

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