The Knights Templar School Headteacher: Park Street Mr T. Litchfield, G.G.S.M. Baldock

Herts SG7 6DZ

Email: admin@ktemplar.herts.sch.uk Tel: 01462 620700 www.ktemplar.herts.sch.uk Fax: 01462 620701

PARENTAL WEEKLY UPDATE – 3rd March 2016 (available on our website)

Dear Parents and Carers This Parental Bulletin is our 61st edition! It is a wonderful record of the school and as always, I am keen to gather feedback from you, our parents and friends. If you are able to spare a few moments, please do let us know what you think. What do you like about the bulletins and where could we do better? Please would you send a brief email (kcowell@ktemplar.herts.sch.uk) and let us know your thoughts. I look forward to hearing from you. I was thrilled to be able to attend one of the District Rugby Finals last week which saw our students win four out of the five competitions. Many congratulations to the students involved in this amazing achievement – please do have a read of the full reports on these matches later in the bulletin. May I encourage you to attend our Spring Concert next Tuesday, at 7.00pm, the 15th March. There will be a wide range of high quality music presented by the students. These are always great evenings - I look forward to seeing you there. Please can I ask you to be considerate when dropping off and picking up students before and after school. Please be reminded that the Sports Centre should not be used as a pick-up/drop-off point and the turning circle, where our coaches pull into should not be used when the buses are there – there is a sign on the entrance to the turning circle making this clear. Thank you for your patience on this. I attended the Association of School and College Leaders’ conference in Birmingham last weekend. There were some great speakers and presentations. It was good to hear the Secretary of State for Education, Nicky Morgan, recognising the challenges that face all schools at the moment. Sir Michael Wilshaw, Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools, talked openly about the new Ofsted Inspection Framework. He was keen to point out that schools need to ‘show how well the students are doing’ – I think this bulletin is a good record of the opportunities we provide and an even better record of the achievements of our students! Kind Regards, Tim Litchfield Headteacher Dates for your diary:

Friday 11.3.16 Yr 7-10 Girls’ Rugby Festival, Hertford RFC, 12-5pm

Tuesday 15.3.16 Spring Concert Rehearsals Yr 7 District Netball Tournament, John Henry Newman School, 2.20-6pm Yr 8 and 9 District Girls’ Football Tournament, John Henry Newman School, 2.20-6pm

Wednesday 16.3.16 Yr 7-10 NH Secondary Schools Book/Author Event, Hitchin Girls’ School, 9-12.20pm IFS Exam, Hall, 9-10am Yr 11 GCSE Drama Practical Exam Open Performances, 4-6pm

Thursday 17.3.16 BASE Business Game, Cambridge, All day (8x Yr 12/13) Yr 8 District Hockey Tournament, John Henry Newman School, 2.20-6pm

Friday 18.3.16 Yr 11 GCSE PE Moderation (including some Yr 10 & 12 students), all day Yr 12 Progress Review

Saturday 19.3.16 Yr 11 GCSE PE Moderation (including some Yr 10 & 12 students), all day Bronze DofE Practice Expedition 3

Sunday 20.3.16 Yr 11 GCSE PE Moderation (including some Yr 10 & 12 students), all day Bronze DofE Practice Expedition 3 Yr 8-10 (poss Yr 11-12) LAMDA Exam Day, all day

Science Club News - BP Ultimate STEM Challenge Congratulations to Abigail Middleton, Olivia McNally, Robyn Whinray-Edward, and Aidyl Alfad (all Year 8) who entered this years’ BP Ultimate STEM Challenge. The girls investigated ways to improve current wind turbine designs. The students spent several weeks (both in science club and independently) exploring the effect of propeller design and environmental factors and produced a well thought out, clearly presented, and extremely scientific project detailing their improvements. The project was selected to represent KTS at the national BP STEM awards and submitted in late January. The project, although not qualifying for the finals, was well received and the students have all received certificates of commendation. Well Done KTS Science Club! -Dr J Kerr Get Inspired – Cambridge Science Festival This year the science club was relaunched (with a bang!) at KTS. The club is open to year 8 and 9 students and regularly attracts 20 or more students during Thursday lunchtimes. Over the last couple of months, we’ve turned our hand to everything from eye dissections, to redesigning wind turbines (find out more this issue), to entering science communication competitions. As we’re on the cusp of science week, and I am aware that many of our regular members will be attending the Cambridge Science Festival this weekend, I would like to encourage non-science club members to get involved too! The Science Festival is a predominantly free event aimed at inspiring, entertaining, and engaging budding scientists of all ages. This Saturday looks to be a terrific family event, so it would be fantastic to get as many KTS students (and their families) there to enjoy it. In order to whet your appetite, I have listed a few of the free family events below: Chemistry in Action (Dept. of Chemistry); Crash, Bang, Squelch! Chaos at the Science Festive (Dept. Zoology), Medicines Under the Microscope (Dept. of Pharmacology), Whipple Anatomy Arcade (Whipple Museum) More Details can be found at: http://www.sciencefestival.cam.ac.uk/ -Dr J Kerr

Science week is coming to KTS Next week is national science week and the science department are celebrating with lots of activities for students to get involved in. On Tuesday we have an outside speaker from a local company coming in to talk to some year 10 students about development of medicines.

Every lunch time there will be activities running for all year groups. We are fortunate to have an enthusiastic bunch of year 13 prefects who are delivering some interactive lectures to students in years 10 – 13 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and every day we have activities running for students in years 7–9 to get involved in. These include Fire writing, Kitchen Science, Bouncy balls, and making Glue. We very much hope that many of our students will take the opportunity to come and have some fun and help us celebrate………. at times even with a big bang! Times and locations of the activities will be displayed in the Science corridor and are on the daily bulletin the students have access to during registration. Music News

On Tuesday this week, Knights Templar hosted the Music Service Brass Day. Students from North Hertfordshire’s schools, along with their peripatetic teachers, spent the morning working in sections, before coming together to perform as a brass band. This was a wonderful opportunity for all those taking part, and for many this was their first experience of playing in a brass band. Parents and friends were able to enjoy a short afternoon concert which showcased the childrens’ hard work.

This term’s instrumental grade exams take place this week. The Associated Board exams take place tomorrow, and the Trinity Board exams take place next Wednesday. Good luck to all the candidates. A reminder that the Spring Concert is next Tuesday 15th March at 7pm on Tuesday in the school hall. Admission is free, with a retiring collection in aid of the extra-curricular music groups. We hope that you will come along to support the students taking part. Music Tour to Costa Brava Two places have become available for this summer’s Music Tour to the Costa Brava, Spain. The trip costs £635.00 and will be departing on Saturday 16th July and return the following Friday 22nd July 2016. Any student interested in going, or if you would like more information, please contact Heather Johnson in the Music Department. Year 10 Parents’ Evening Online Booking System The online booking system for this parents’ evening is now open for bookings. Letters went home with students on Tuesday and an “In Touch” message was also sent out. The date of the Parents’ Evening is Wednesday 23rd March. If you don’t have access to use the online booking system then please let me know so that your appointments can be booked through the school. Mr A Allman, Year 10 Leader National Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness Day Next week , Friday 18th march , is national child sexual exploitation awareness day. At school there will be assemblies on this topic and a display with information by Youth Connexions on Thursday in the dining hall. Please see this link for more info: http://www.stop-cse.org/national-child-exploitation-awareness-day/

Sainsbury’s Active Kids Vouchers The voucher collection is coming along nicely, but there is still plenty of room left in our collection box. All the vouchers we collect between now and May will be used to buy Sports and Cooking equipment for the school. So please keep sending in as many vouchers as you can gather together and drop them in the collection box at Main Reception. Thank you.

North Herts District Rugby League finals Results

Monday 29th Feb: Year 7- Thomas Alleynes 0 - 10 Knights Templar School Tuesday 1st March: Year 9- Thomas Alleynes 7- 45 Nobel Wednesday 2nd March: Year 8- Barnwell 24 - 50 Knights Templar School Thursday 3rd March: Year 10- St Chris 24- 34 Knights Templar School Friday 4th March: Seniors: Knights Templar School V John Henry Newman (JHN cancelled on the day, KTS win the competition as league leaders)

Stephen Smith, Rugby Co-ordinator and PE Teacher at Knights Templar School said this week: ‘‘The whole point of the North Herts District Rugby Union League was to ensure that schools have guaranteed fixtures across all age groups. This in turn would then help to develop the quality of players coming out of the district. Hopefully these players can then feed into the local Rugby teams such as Letchworth, Hitchin and Stevenage clubs.’’ ‘‘Knights Templar has just organised a club link with Letchworth Rugby Club. Having played at the club myself I know that the coaching and support that Letchworth could bring to Knights Templar can help to develop the skills of players.’’ ‘‘For Knights Templar to win 4 district finals is a fantastic achievement. The players involved have shown dedication and a superb attitude throughout the season. The year 7 and 8 team will be competing in County finals and year 10’s will play Hockerill in the semi finals of the county competition.’’ Martin Howard, Groundsman at Hitchin Rugby Club said: “It has been a pleasure this week. The players and, especially the staff, have been well behaved and seem to have enjoyed themselves. See you again next year I hope. Year 8 North Herts District Rugby Final, Wednesday 2nd March 2016 Match Report: Knights Templar 50- 24 Barnwell The year 8’s played the U13 rugby district final on Tuesday the 2nd of March against Barnwell at Hitchin rugby club and finished champions, winning the game 50-24. The boys showed great character throughout the first half as they went two tries down in the first five minutes. They then fought back with two tries of their own from Will Bruning. Barnwell then took the lead again about 10 minutes before the half time whistle, however they did not convert this try. Again the boys fought back with Josh Stamford scoring a try just before half time by picking the ball up from the back of the scrum and driving over the line to tie the game, before Dylan Daniels successfully converted his third kick of the game to take the boys into the lead for the first time in the match, to make the score 21-19 to KTS at half time.

After an inspiring half time team talk the boys came out for the second half fully focused and grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck, scoring an early try from Darleen Shasha. The second half continued in this way with free flowing rugby from the boys which was excellent to see. At every opportunity the boys tried to move the ball wide into space which allowed them to have Barnwell on the back foot for the majority of the second half. This fluent style of rugby resulted in Knights Templar scoring a further 29 points in the second half whilst only conceding one try. The try scorers from this fixture were Will Bruning scoring three tries, Darleen Shasha scoring three tries, Gage Harrigan scoring one try and Josh Stamford scoring one try with Dylan Daniels converting 5 tries. Overall it was an excellent victory for the year 8 rugby team showing great character and determination in the first half to get back into the game and then taking full advantage of going ahead whilst playing some fast flowing rugby. Year 10 North Herts District Rugby Final, Thursday 3rd March 2016 Match Report, Knights Templar 34-24 St. Christopher’s Knights Templar came out victorious in a tense and high quality final. St. Chris came into the fixture unbeaten in the league and had beaten a lacklustre KTS back in September. The KTS boys had gone unbeaten for the remainder of the season so it was a clash of the titans. KTS started the final the stronger of the two teams; with Jack Petre crossing the line twice within the first 10 minutes to give KTS a 12-0 lead. St. Chris then grew into the game and after a dominant spell went over and converted the try to make it 12-7. The remaining 10 minutes of the half was tense as both teams struggled to break the other down and there were no signs of any weaknesses in either teams defence. Some huge tackles and carries were made by Taran Sura, Harry Postlewaite, Karanvir Dhillon and Aaron Dhisna ensured KTS entered the half time with a 12-7 lead. The 2nd half did not start well for KTS. As St. Chris increased the intensity of their game KTS could not live with their explosive running. In a flash, St. Chris had crossed the line for two tries. The score now 12-17 to St. Chris

Mr Smith had some frank words with the boys under the posts and it was do or die for the red and black of KTS. What unfolded in the next twenty minutes will be remembered for the rest of the players and supporters lives. Knights Templar showed unbelievable resolve and determination and after great running and tries from Josh Parkhouse, George Farrell and Marcus Crowther, as well as a touch of class from Charlie Bedford at full back to bring out his famous side step, KTS ran out victorious.

The game epitomised what the year group was about. Fantastic skills and work rate from the players, enthusiastic support from fellow friends and teachers on the sideline, which brought rugby entertainment to Hitchin Rugby Club fields. The boy’s season is not yet over as they take on Hockerill School for a place in the County Cups finals later on in March.

Year 8 Netball Tournament Report Yesterday we played in a netball tournament. There were 16 teams and overall we came second. Everyone played well and we worked together as a team and we all enjoyed ourselves. The player of the tournament was Millie Haywood who plays Goal Defence and made some brilliant interception. She stopped the ball many times from getting down into the opposing D. Our shooters also performed brilliantly and scored lots of good goals especially when under pressure. We played 9 matches overall. 7 league games, one semi-final and one final. We won all except the final but we were all pleased with our performance.

By Anna Wallace (Centre) & Maisie Tomlinson (Wing Attack) Results: Pool competition results KTS v TAA 8-1 KTS v Marriotts 5-0 KTS v Highfield 4-0 KTS v St Francis 5 – 2 KTS v Priory 9-2 KTS v PHC 5-1 Semi Final KTS v JHN 1-1 extra time 3-1 Final KTS v PHC 0-1

LAMDA Examinations Our LAMDA students (shown below) can be very pleased with their efforts towards the recent LAMDA exams with an excellent set of results. Congratulations to all. We hope to see them continue with LAMDA tuition when it starts again next September.

Distinction awarded to:

Merit awarded to:

Rachel Goward Grade 2 Acting

Abbey Fearfield Grade 2 Acting

Eleanor Morrison Grade 2 Acting

Lois Reilly Grade 2 Acting

Marcus Allerton Grade 2 Acting

Senan McKenna Grade 2 Devising

Kira Beck Grade 2 Acting

Jack Byrne Grade 2 Devising

Esme Wase Grade 5 Acting

Ciara Stokes Grade 2 Acting

Honor Hughes Grade 5 Acting

Revae Tilbury Grade 2 Acting

Simran Liddar Grade 2 Acting

Hugo Major Grade 2 Acting

Anna Wallis Grade 2 Acting

Jake Lemoir Grade 5 Devising

Niamh Wase Grade 4 Acting

Robbie Clarke Grade 2 Acting

Callum McCreath Grade 2 Acting

Teegan Thorpe Grade 2 Devising

Helena Wright Grade 5 Acting

Alice Neale Grade 4 Acting

Jessica Plant Grade 2 Acting

Madeleine Redfearn Grade 2 Devising

Clara Wood Grade 2 Acting

Calling Year 7 Drama enthusiasts! A selection of our LAMDA students will be showcasing their exam performances during lunchtime on Thursday 24th March. This is an opportunity for Year 7 students to find out what LAMDA is all about and to tell us if they’d like to have tuition next year.

Drama Practical Exam Season 2016 The students and staff in the Drama Department are looking forward to the practical exams and assessments that start tonight! The dates listed below are open to parents and family, friends, staff and students.

Y12/13 A Level Theatre Studies Practical Exam: Thursday 10th March, 7pm-8.30pm in the Drama Studio.

Y12 will be performing an extract from The Creation and Y13 will be performing their original devised piece call For the Downtrodden. Please note: this is an official exam with an external examiner, so please arrive by 6.50pm. This performance is suitable for Y9 students and above.

Y11 GCSE Drama Open Performances: Wednesday 16th March, 4pm-5.30pm in the Drama Studio.

Y11 GCSE Drama students will be performing a variety of devised pieces ahead of their official exam.

Y12 BTEC Performing Arts Devised Performance: Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 30th March, 7pm-7.30pm in the Drama Studio.

Y12 BTEC students will be performing an original ‘adventure’ drama in an exciting promenade production.

All of these events are free of charge, however, to guarantee a place we request that you reserve a place by emailing DramaBoxOffice@ktemplar.herts.sch.uk

Library News World Book Week 1st-4th March 2016 The library celebrated World Book Week with a variety of different activities and events. At the start of the week all pupils were presented with a £1 National Book Token. On the Wednesday David’s Bookshop visited the Library with a vast selection of exciting titles. The pupils loved looking at the books and having the opportunity to talk to Mr Savage, David’s Books Young Adult Fiction expert. It was interesting to note how well a set of republished classic titles, all with beautiful floral front covers, were received by our pupils. As a result the library will be purchasing copies for our collection so they can be borrowed and enjoyed by all.

On Thursday 3rd March, National Book Day, the pupils searched the school grounds for our hidden ‘Golden Tickets’. Once found a pupil could exchange their voucher for a book of their choice, from a selection of current and exciting book titles.

Revision Support With exams looming and revision under way, the library has recently purchased a selection of new G.C.S.E and A’ level revision guides. These items can be borrowed. Students can also make use of our new study booths. The library is open after school until 4.20pm Monday to Thursday, and before registration at 8.20am Monday – Friday.

Parent Book Swap A ‘Parent Book Swap’ facility is available in the schools main reception area. This is a free facility operated on a Trust basis, where anyone visiting the school can borrow a book. This scheme helps support a ‘reading community’. Studies show that pupils who live in a reading household develop a greater love of reading. Reading has been proven to reduce stress, and improve vocabulary and educational performance. U13 Girls’ Cricket The U13 Girls’ Cricket team took on Edwinstree in the District Cricket Playoff this morning. Three matches were played and KTS were victorious in all three! They now travel to Woodson Park on Thursday 24th March to compete in the County Cricket Competition. All the girls were fantastic with big hitting from Hannah Cairns and Maisie Sullivan and good line and length bowling from Maya Clawson and Zara Northern.

YOUNG ARCDIANS:

BEAST OF A SHOW

On Monday 7th March, KTS

battled it out for the Senior

District Basketball trophy,

welcoming local rivals John

Henry Newham in a trilling yet

tense encounter

Click here for the full story

KTS BATTLE IN CLOSE

BASKETBALL FINAL

Several students perform

Beauty and the Beast, as part of

the Letchworth Young

Arcadians group, with two Sixth

Formers having principle roles

Click here for the full story

Thursday 10th March 2016

PLUS 1975 @BRIXTON

CONCERT REVIEW Click here for the full story

Student finance information evening On Thursday 17th March, Mr Raymen will be delivering a presentation for year 13 students and parents that will aim to cover the issues surrounding student finance. The presentation will provide parents with valuable information regarding the allocation of tuition fee loans, as well as maintenance grants/ loans, bursaries, scholarships and how to apply. The information provided will also provide an accurate perspective on the repayment of student loans and what the student ‘debt’ equates to on a monthly basis. Mr Raymen will also be providing some helpful tips and advice on how to minimise the financial burden when looking at university accommodation, as well as how to budget effectively once your university course has begun.

The presentation will begin at 7pm in the sixth form common room on Thursday 17th March and should finish by 8pm.

Senior rugby team crowned as district champions

Congratulations to the senior boys’ rugby team who were crowned district champions last Friday, albeit in rather disappointing fashion. Just hours before the final was due to kick-off, Head Coach of the senior team Mr Smith received a phone call from scheduled opponents John Henry Newman explaining that they had to withdraw from the final, as a result of not having enough players fit to play. Consequently, John Henry Newman were forced to forfeit the final and KTS were crowned as champions. Congratulations to all of the boys that have been involved in the squad. It has been a very impressive season that sadly couldn’t be finished off in the manner we would have hoped for but we remain positive that we can in fact call ourselves …….DISTRICT CHAMPIONS!

Proud coaching team Mr Smith and Mr Barrows

Disappointment for KTS senior boys’ basketball team The senior boys’ basketball team suffered defeat at the hands of John Henry Newman in the district final, losing by an agonising margin of just 3 points.

Despite their 100% winning record in the season and comfortably beating their Stevenage opponents just weeks earlier, KTS found this game much more challenging and grew increasingly frustrated at their lack of luck when trying to score points in the paint. A disappointing 3rd quarter from a KTS point of view allowed JHN to go on an impressive scoring run, clawing themselves into the lead and setting the final quarter up to be an intense showdown between the 2 sides. Despite the KTS boys’ intensity on defence and best efforts on offence, they were unable to regain full control of the game and could not close the 3 point margin by the final buzzer. With great disappointment, KTS were forced to settle for 2nd place in this season’s district competition. Well done to all of the boys involved with the squad this year and thank you to Mr White and Mr Chantrell for all of their efforts in coaching the team. We look forward to setting the record straight next season! Senior boys’ football team qualify for district final The KTS senior boys’ football team have qualified for the district final for the 4th year in a row, having secured a 100% winning record in the league. The boys are very eager to get revenge over their opponents John Henry Newman after losing last year’s final in a heart breaking penalty shoot-out. Before the district final the boys will be eyeing up even more silverware with next week’s district 5 a-side tournament being held at Nobel School. Good luck to all of the boys involved with the next couple of weeks of competition!

KTS team to attend National Business and Accounting competition On Thursday 17th March, 8 students will be representing KTS in the ICAEW National Business and Accounting competition. The students participating in this competition were selected as a result of their fantastic performance levels on Enterprise Day, during the first half term of the academic year. The competition will be held at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and will host a huge number of schools and colleges who will all be aiming to win the coveted title. The students will be assessed on a number of business challenges, ranging from basic accountancy to creative advertisement and marketing tasks. We wish the students the best of luck in this very demanding competition.