wrotham school newsletter term 2 2012-2013
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Wrotham School Newsletter Term 2 2012-2013TRANSCRIPT
www.wrothamschool.com 1
Record Results for the
Mathematics Department Bucking the national trend Wrotham
School’s students gained the highest
ever mathematics GCSE results the
school had ever seen. 76% of
students gained a C grade or higher
this summer.
Congratulations to both staff and
students.
Pro Soccer Scholars Lead
the Way We are immensely proud of our Pro-
Soccer scholars who remain unbeaten
since September 2012. This term the
boys have played some tough
opposition and have had to draw on
the fitness and experience gained in
training for at least two hours a day. A
recent victory against the Swadelands
Academy students sees our scholars
maintain their position at the top of the
Kent Football Academies League. A
number of the scholars have trials over
the next few weeks with professional
teams and six of the boys already
represent Kent.
Year 7 Eco-Cops Winners
enjoy week with TV Star A group of year 7 students recently
enjoyed a week away at an outdoor
act iv i t ies centre in the Lake
District. The trip was the first prize in
the National Eco-Cops N Power
Competition. The week away included
a bush-craft session with TV star Ray
Mears, climbing up gorges and
waterfalls and spending a night in a
cave.
Read more about their adventures on Page 4
English Results
Overturned With absolute determination to
see our students’ work rewarded
fairly, we fought hard to have our
English results checked again. As
far as we know we are the only
school (outside Wales) that has
managed to secure such a
turnaround for our students.
Upcoming Events Start of Term 3 for Staff and Students
07/01/13
Mock Result Event for Year 11 10/01/13
Year 11 Consultation Evening 10/01/13
Year 7 Consultation Evening 24/01/13
Year 9/10 PSHE Day 06/02/13
Music and Drama Showcase 31/01/13
“The Wizard of Oz” 20 & 21/03/13
January Exams Begin (see website) 09/01/13
Wrotham Sixth Form
Goes it Alone Recruitment for our new
independent Sixth Form
continues as we move into the
new year. A number of new
courses are now on offer for
September including the
Wrotham Business Academy
Professional Pathway, A levels in
Physics, Chemistry and Biology, A
levels in Psychology, Product
Design and Performing Arts. Add
to this our new Sixth Form
Resource Centre and the
opportunities available to our
students look really exciting as
they consider this important next
Matthew Wright - Headteacher
Matthew Wright - Headteacher
Matthew Wright - Headteacher
Matthew Wright - Headteacher
Matthew Wright - Headteacher
Matthew Wright - Headteacher
Term 2 2012/2013
Enjoy a Well-earned Break The students and staff here at Wrotham have worked incredibly hard over the
last two terms and all of us are looking forward to the Christmas break. I would
like to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and I hope that everyone is able to
enjoy some festivities, celebrations and peaceful time over the holiday period.
Over the following pages we offer you some our of our highlights of 2012 –
there are too many to mention but here are a few.
www.wrothamschool.com 2
Ahead of ‘The Curve’ At the end of January we are due to
take ownership of our Phase 1
building. ‘The Curve’ will house the
Science, Languages and History
departments, as well as our new Sixth
Form Resource Centre. Builders will still
be on site until the end of March as they
demolish the old HORSA huts and make
good the ground. This has been a long
time coming and we look forward to
celebrating this important new phase in
the life of our school. I would like to say
a huge thank you to our contractor’s,
Jenners, and to both Mrs Sowten and
Mr Meredith for all their hard work in
seeing this project delivered on time
and to such a high standard.
Staff Changes At the end of this term we say goodbye to a number of staff: Mr Rowe and Miss Magee leave the teaching staff to pursue new opportunities; Mr Lucas leaves the Teaching Assistant Team; Mrs Emirali and Mrs Sowten are leaving the finance team. We all wish them the best of luck in their new ventures. In January 2013 Mr Laviolette joins us as a Music teacher; Miss Payne joins us as a Technology teacher; Miss Noakes joins us as a full time Teaching Assistant. We are also really pleased to be able to tell you that Mrs Bridgland has been
promoted to the role of Head of Performing Arts. This is really exciting for our
students as she has had a fantastic impact here since her appointment in June.
Academy Status The school will become a convertor
Academy next year. Thank you to those
parents who attended the recent
consultation evening. It was very useful
to talk about this important decision
with you. The Governing Body have
now agreed the decision to convert and
I will keep you updated with progress
here. Key to this change for our school
will be a significant increase in our
annual funding and access to the
Academies Capital funding which we
hope will see us able to replace all our
older buildings over the next few years.
Governor Day On the 29th of November members of
our Governing Body spent the day at
school. They met with the School
Council and went on learning walks
with members of the Leadership
Team. The Governors then had an
evening of training. The Learning Walk
highlighted the excellent teaching that
our students are experiencing at
present. This year we have had a strong
focus on challenging all students to
make good progress with their learning,
including our most able. This was really
evident in all the lessons we saw.
Prizegiving 2012 As always, this annual event was
very well attended, with hundreds
of Prize winners and their families
celebrating last year’s successes.
We are very grateful to Patrick
Leeson, Corporate Director of
Education, Learning and Skills for
Kent County Council who
presented the prizes to students
currently in Years 8 -13, along
with Exam Certificates to current
and ex-students. Students were
rewarded with prizes for House
Points, Attendance, Attitude to
Learning, Achievement, Positive
Contribution, Progress and
Excellence. In addition a number
of trophies were presented for
various Sports, Art, Engineering,
Food Technology, Business
Studies, Academic Progress,
Personality of the Year,
Community Service, Aspiration
over Adversity and Initiative.
House Point Update
Term 1 saw a fierce battle between
Cheetahs and Tigers to be our overall
winners. Tigers were in the lead
towards the end, but were pipped to
the post at the last minute by the
Cheetah’s winning entry to the
Childline Story Board Competition.
Congratulations to Cheetahs, and good
luck to Tigers who are currently in the
lead again and hoping for their first win
at the end of this term.
Matthew Wright - Headteacher
Matthew Wright - Headteacher
Matthew Wright - Headteacher
Mrs Rushworth - Assistant Headteacher
Mrs Rushworth - Assistant Headteacher
Prizegiving Ceremony
‘The Curve’ nears completion
Matthew Wright - Headteacher
www.wrothamschool.com 3
School Council Thanks to all of you that entered our Competition to design a poster depicting a Christmas Scene. We had some brilliant entries! All entries were displayed at the PTA Bazaar. The winner chosen by Josh Davis and Mr. Wright was Jodie McHardy in Year 11. Jodie won a Family Ticket to Leeds Castle. Well Done Jodie. We made a reasonable profit at the Bazaar and everyone had a fun day. The Christmas Cake was won by Mr. Williams (LKW) and he has kindly donated this to a Homeless Charity for their raffle which will mean more money will be raised. The Guess the Name of the Teddy was won by Annabel Biggs who correctly guessed the Giant Elephant was called Heffa. By the time this goes to press we will have also run a Christmas Raffle and the winners will be announced on the last day. I wonder who will win the Giant Orange Shark????? We are currently gathering ideas about what we can spend any money raised on. Suggestions have been more benches for the playground, or perhaps some seating in the concourse area. But we still need your ideas! To get our message across we will in 2013 be visiting the House Assemblies to make a short presentation.
Attendance Update Congratulations to the following students who were our draw winners from the students in Term 1 with 100% Attendance:
• Alexander Udell LKW
• Riley Cunningham TAB
• Alex Williams PAY
• Gina Padgett JMC
• Danny O’Halloran CFF
As Parents, you are well aware of our continuous drive to encourage excellent attendance from all students – this alone will have a very positive impact on each individual’s progress and attainment. Please be aware of our term dates for the remainder of this academic year, which
are also available on the school web-site. As a rule, holidays in term-time will not
be authorised and are likely to incur a Penalty Notice and fine from the
Attendance Service who regularly monitor our data. Every lesson really does
count! Thank you for your continued support.
Jack Mitchell steps up a
gear
Congratulations to Jack Mitchell, the new Vice Champion of the Fiesta Junior Championship Jack achieved 2nd place in the
Championship, which was a fantastic
result for his 1st season in car racing,
particularly as he was the youngest
driver on the grid. During the season
Jack had 3 wins and a further 7 podium
finishes. He was leading the
championship unti l mechanical
problems in the last few rounds, saw
him drop to 2nd place. Full details can
be seen on his website
www.jackmitchellracing.co.uk
Charity Match for Children in Need Wrotham Sixth Form and Pro-Soccer students played a charity match on Friday 16th November, and managed to raise £146.00 from spectators at lunchtime. The challenge was laid down by Jack Marchant-Deadman, with the help of Mr Walmsley and our Pro-Soccer Academy coaches, Craig and Jay. The challengers only had half an hour’s training and were up against our Pro-Soccer students who have been training for 10 hours a week since September. The final score was a respectable 2-1 to Pro-Soccer and the spectators were really generous with their donations. Thanks to Jack and the other Sixth Form students who helped with collecting change and supervising the game. Find out more about the Pro Soccer Academy at:
www.pro-soccer.co
Mrs Rushworth - Assistant Headteacher
The School Council
Mr Wight - Editor
Miss Hollinshead - Head of Sixth Form
www.wrothamschool.com 4
6th Form visit Disneyland Paris On 26th November , nineteen Travel and Tourism students from Year 12 and 13 journeyed to Disneyland Paris for the 17th annual Customer Service Conference. Students reviewed the customer service provisions within the Resort, sampling entertainment, accommodation, hospitality and catering and had a lot of fun during their stay. Students were provided with 2 full days in both Disney Parks with full access to all rides. During the evenings they could sample the entertainment of the Disney Village, eating twice in the Steakhouse and enjoying the arcades, amusements, Winter Wonderland and numerous Disney shops. The Wednesday morning was spent with 1000 students from a range of schools and colleges where lectures were given from the creative director of Disneyland Paris and the marketing director in charge of all advertising for Disneyland in the UK. Students experienced first- hand the effort needed to create a Resort such as this, but also got to enjoy the end result and final product in a sing and dance along with Mickey, Goofy and Donald Duck, followed by an afternoon sampling all the Disney rides for a final time. A great time was had by all students and behaviour was of course, impeccable. All students were provided with Disney Awards with the Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse Award for excellence on the trip being awarded to Josh Manning and Mel Hudson. The School has since been presented with a certificate of attendance, in recognition of the contribution made by students during the conference. Well done and thank you to the students and staff involved on the trip for
making it an excellent experience.
Eco-Cops Winners Outdoor Activity Week During activities week a group of us made an assault course at school out of recycled materials for a competition run by Npower. Out of 100 schools we won, and the prize was a week at the Outward Bound Centre in Ullswater in November. We had an amazing time in The Lake District. We had many experiences that we will never forget. As well as sleeping in the cave we also met Ray Mears! He taught us how to start a fire with the basics of cotton wool and Vaseline and he also taught us about some of the different types of trees in the fascinating nature around us. There was a film crew who filmed us whilst we were with him. On one of our hikes, we decided to climb Castle Cragg. It was an amazing view as we took the last few challenging steps to the top. Climbing this was a massive goal for the whole group, but by helping each other, we all made it to the summit. On the last day of activities, we went Gorge Walking. This is when you walk up a rushing waterfall. This activity required a lot of teamwork, and we all helped each other, pulling each other through the waist high waters, and slippery rocks. Without our teammates helping us, we wouldn’t have got through the week! We all learnt that by doing things together you can achieve so much more than on your own. Overall we had a fantastic week, and learnt that we can achieve a lot more than we first thought. We also learnt that you had to set yourself goals that you didn’t think you could achieve!
Year 7 Invade Dover Castle
Year seven visited Dover Castle in
November. It was extremely foggy, the
mist didn't lift all day making the castle
very atmospheric. We enjoyed
exploring the tower and seeing what
the castle may have looked like in the
Middle Ages. We went through the
Medieval tunnels and had fun dressing
up in the education rooms and looking
at how a castle would be attacked and
defended.
Jodie Wilson and Katherine Stevens Year 8 J
Miss Peck and Mr Friend
Mrs O’Niell - Leader of Learning in History
6th Form at Disneyland
Eco-Cops in Ullswater
www.wrothamschool.com 5
We need your batteries We have a chance to win £500 for our school, just by collecting and recycling our used batteries. Can you all bring in any spent batteries
to Isolation.
Anti-Bullying Week
We regularly support this initiative, and
raise the profile with students. This year
the focus was that “it’s ok to be
different”, and Mr Meredith led two
assemblies where the message was very
clear to all students. Activities were
carried out in Community Time and we
had a competition to write a rap or
poem along this theme. Our joint
winning entries are from Cheetah and
Tiger House, and in this Newsletter we
congratulate Imogen Fenwick on her
winning entry for Tiger House,
In addition, during Anti-bullying week
all students took part in a county-wide,
on-line survey and we now look
forward to receiving those results in
March, next year.
I’m scared
I walk through the school gates
There’s shouting
Angry words, violent words
I think to myself
“What have I done?”
There’s more shouting
Why do they hate me?
They’re screaming abuse
They start to laugh
I cry, I run
But I can still hear shouting
I feel so lonely, so isolated
I walk into the classroom
It’s warm and I sit down
I can hear whispering
There’s people talking about me
I try to ignore it
There’s more whispering
They start to laugh again
I cry once more
There’s a hand on my shoulder
I’m scared
I look up, but there’s a friendly face
A concerned teacher, with comforting words
“Talk to me, I can help”
So we talked
We talked about the shouting, about the whispering
The teacher with the friendly face sorted everything
I’m still scared
But now there’s no shouting
There’s no whispering anymore…….
Norman is a Rolling Stone
At the beginning of November, I was asked if I wanted to drum at a gig on the
25th and 29th of November. Little did I realise I’d end up playing at the opening
of The Rolling Stones 50th Anniversary concerts at the O2 arena.
On 20th of November, I was sent to Wembley Stadium for a day of rehearsals.
This is where I met my team, who I was glad to meet and got along with really
well.
On the 25th November I took my team of six up to the O2 arena for a day of final
changes and rehearsal before we went back stage and got into our positions
ready for the performance. Five minutes before we went on, we were given black
clothing including a hat, jumper and jeans. This was accompanied with a Gorilla
mask which was imitating The Rolling Stones 50th Anniversary symbol. This
made us look more like part of the set with The Rolling Stones.
On the 29th November it was the last gig night. We went to the O2 around the
same time and we practiced some more. This performance was much more
enjoyable than the first one as I wasn’t as nervous about making mistakes. At this
gig, I could relax, stare at the crowd and enjoy playing what I had tried so hard to
make perfect for The Rolling Stones.
Over the course of the three days, we met the members of The Rolling Stones
and spent time with them rehearsing and having a good time. We were given a
free ticket each as well as a t-shirt quoting ‘I drummed with The Rolling Stones’
on the back, with the gorilla symbol on the front. We were also given The Rolling
Stones new CD. These were great souvenirs and memorabilia from the once in a
life time chance to play with such a famous and influential band.
Mrs Rushworth - Assistant Headteacher
Chris Norman (with white drum strap)
Chris Norman - Year 13
Mrs James - Behaviour Support Officer
Imogen Fenwick - Year 11 T
www.wrothamschool.com 6
Parking on Site
Please be reminded that there is
no parking available for students
on site – this includes both cars
and scooters/mopeds. Whilst
there are construction works on
site, the area is very congested,
with the loss of approximately 40
parking spaces, and the additional
traffic of large lorries, fork lift
trucks etc moving in and out of
both entrances.
Book Swap Launched
I am pleased to announce the launch of
our book swap facility. We are excited
to be able to provide a well-stocked
and regularly updated shelf of modern
and classic books that are located in our
school library. All students are welcome
to swap any book they have read for
any other in the book case; they can
either keep it or bring it back to swap
again. We hope this will be a fantastic
opportunity for students to broaden
their reading experience whilst
recycling old books without cost or
hassle.
Thank you all for your kind donations of
books to replenish our reading
resources, your donations of quality
books continue to be appreciated.
Sixth Form Leadership
Team
The Sixth Form Leadership team have
been working very hard this term to
raise funds for the Sixth Form Study
Centre which will be opening at the end
of January.
They are currently calculating the total
needed and we have been very
generously helped by Chris Mayes who
has sourced ten computers from his
place of work, Skanska. We still need to
resource more PCs, carpet the space
and acquire furniture for it. Therefore,
any further assistance would be most
gratefully received.
Uniform Reminder
Please be aware of the school uniform requirements
when buying replacements over the holiday. All
students should be smartly dressed with top buttons
done up and ties/skirts of an acceptable length. School
trousers should not be tight fitting or jean style and
under no circumstances are hoodies to be worn. If
additional warmth is required, a black V-neck jumper
may be worn under the blazer. Full details are given on
the school web-site. Thank you in anticipation of your
continued support.
John Downton Exhibition In the last newsletter we announced that 3 of our students had had work accepted for the John Downton Young Artists 2012 Exhibition. Mrs Browning attended the Award Ceremony on Thurday 15th November at Sessions House, Maidstone and is proud to report that one of our students, who took Art GCSE last summer, was successful! Congratulations to Jack Higham for winning The Bronze
Award.
GCSE and A level work from last year can now be collected. It will be out in T1 and T2 until February half term. Unless we hear from students we will presume it is not wanted and dispose of it after that time.
Mrs Browning - Art
Miss Hollinshead—Head of Sixth Form
Mrs Rushworth - Assistant Headteacher
Mr Cater—Deputy Headteacher
Medau
Mrs Rushworth - Assistant Headteacher