THE KINGS OF WESSEX COMMUNITY SCHOOL A Specialist Technology College

Issue 54 THE KINGS’ MESSENGER Also available on our website:

www.kowessex.co.uk March 2004

Contents Dear Parents and Friends,

Page No. With the Easter holidays fast approaching we 1-2 Head’s Address can look back on another successful half term 3-4 Celebrating Achievements here at The Kings of Wessex. 5 Reporting Absence 6 Geographers We held our first Target Setting Day for students in 7 Science News Year 10 on 10th March 2004. Students and their 8 Royal Navy Challenge 9 Maths News parents had the opportunity to meet with their 10 The Exciting History Course Tutor to review progress and set targets. We were 11-14 Modern Foreign Languages delighted that so many of our parents were able to 15 Music attend this day. Our evaluation of the day shows 16-17 Duke of Edinburgh Award that parents and students were overwhelmingly in 18 Learning Resource Centre support of this new initiative. 19-24 Sports News 24-25 House Sports 26 After School Study Support We remain committed to providing parents with 27 ParentMail more information about their child’s progress and 28-29 Kings’ Notice Board 30 Year 9 KS3 Exams Timetable are therefore planning to extend Target Setting 31 Year 10 Exam Timetable Day to include all students from the new Autumn 32 School Calendar Term.

During this half term, we received a visit from a School Inspector who spent two days with us looking at how the school is implementing the new workforce reforms. The Inspector was very impressed with our work to date and with our commitment to the reforms.

Workforce reforms are essentially about transferring administrative tasks from Teachers to support staff, allowing Teachers to focus more on their teaching role. The feedback from the Inspector was also complimentary about our strategic leadership, attendance monitoring, provision for Special Educational Needs, our Learning Resource Centre and the school’s ICT facilities.

Having gained Investors in People status three years ago we recently underwent a re -assessment. This involved an Assessor being in school for two days and interviewing a large number of staff. I am very pleased to report that the school has retained its status and has been awarded Investors in People for the next three years. The Assessor was complimentary about the school, particularly with regard to the strategic planning and staff induction and staff training. It was encouraging to hear that our School Development Plan was referred to as a model of good practice.

1 Once again we will be running our Easter Revision courses for students studying for their GCSE and ‘A’ Level exams. Students will have already received a copy of the programme. We do encourage students to come along to these courses as they can be a great help in preparing for their exams.

Our Learning Resource Centre recently celebrated its 10th anniversary. Over the past ten years our LRC has developed and expanded to serve the needs of our students. Students are able to access a wide range of resources to support their learning. They have access to computers at any time during the school day and they are able to use the Centre for research and private study. We are also in the process of installing a further ten computers for students to use. The celebrations involved a number of student activities during the week and culminated in a surprise birthday cake at the end of the week! My thanks go to the team of staff, under the leadership of Val Jones, who work so hard to provide such excellent service.

Students celebrated Easter this week by attending our Easter service at St Andrew’s Church, here in Cheddar. It really is a lovely occasion when our students join together in this way. The services were led by Rev. Victor Daley and included readings and music by our students, with a performance from our Gospel Choir.

Finally, congratulations to our Young Enterprise team who won the award for the best trade stand at the Mendip Young Enterprise presentation evening held here at The Kings of Wessex. Well done to: Alex Travis 10Sro, Simon James 10DE, Tom Mitten 10DE, Stephen Maynard 10TT and David Reeves 10SA.

We have also enjoyed considerable success on the sporting front with a number of teams through to the County finals. I am sure you will join me in wishing them well as they play their finals next term.

May I wish all parents and students a very Happy Easter and I remind you that the Summer Term commences on Monday 19 April 2004.

Chris Richardson Headteacher

Staffing News

Mr Nigel Kemp, Teacher of Design and Technology leaves school at the end of this half term after 27-years service at The Kings of Wessex to pursue a career in building. We thank Nigel for all he has done and wish him well in his future endeavours. Nigel’s timetable will be covered by Mr Dave Parvin.

Miss Louise Meldon, Teacher of Biology, is leaving to take up a post as lecturer in Equine Studies at a College in Shropshire. We wish Louise well in her future career and thank her for all her work at The Kings of Wessex. Mrs Teresa Chilles will be covering Louise’s timetable.

Mrs Lorraine Lombard, our recently appointed Assistant Head of Sixth Form, will take over as Form Tutor of 6LM and Mrs Chilles will become Form Tutor of 9LL.

Dr Sheila Jamieson, Teacher of History will be taking maternity leave for the birth of her second child. We send our best wishes to Sheila and her family at this special time. Mr Paul Dutton, an experienced teacher of History will be covering in Sheila’s absence.

2 Celebrating Achievements

At the end of each term in a special Presentation Assembly School Colours are presented to students in recognition of sustained commitment and significant achievement.

The following students have been awarded School Colours this Spring Term:-

Drama

Junior Colours Senior Colours

Harriet Allen 9CL Ellen Butcher 11DR Sam Jacobs 9SP Naomi Colthurst 11AJ Philip Knott 9SJ Helen Gillett 11DR Philip Lee 9SP Jess Guttridge 11RW Linda Pugh 9SJ Emma Paterson 11GD Robert Spanring 9SJ Andreas Spanring 11MLW Rosalind Wright 9CL Bethany Cockburn 12GG Will Bailey 10TBE Amy Denbee 12JPF Hannah Duckworth 10PA Matthew James 12TB Kelly Duckett 10DE Robert Karlsson 12GG Jade Hailes 10DE Phil Macaulay 12JD Clare Macaulay 10EH Poppy McCarthy 12BL Laura Pickering 10PA Richard Scott 12GR Sam Thomas 12BL Aidan Woodburn 12JD

Alice Sims 13GG Hannah Williams 13GG

Music Junior Colours Senior Colours

Harriet Allen 9CL Emily Atkin 11LT Frankie Gifford 10SRO Caroline Burdock 11JG Paul Foster 10SA Rebecca Cripps 12GR Mark Goddard 9RB Robert Karlsson 12GG Izzy Higgs 10CG Isabel Fenton 11DR Frances Rabbitts 10EH Andreas Spanring 11MLW Will Scanlon 9NK Phil Tromans 11GD Robert Spanring 9SJ Luke Wilson 9EHE

Public Speaking

Junior Colours

Ellen Culliford 9SP Lisa Robson 9NO Naomi Taschimowitz 9SP

3

Football

Junior Colours Tom Brady 10SA Will Laband 10EH Mohamad Afifi 9LL Ben Male 10PA Lloyd Berry 9RB Josh Picton 10CG Luke Berry 9RDW Dominic Simeone 10SRO Harry Briffitt 9MB Jack Tinton 10SA Peter Coates 9CL

Mark Flinders 9SPC Senior Colours Chris Nash 9SJ Lewis Poulton-Sadler 9NO Martin Davis 13EB Ben Puddy 9SP James Hewlett 13TB Michael Randall 9NO Will Higginbottom 13GR James Saunders 9EHE Randel Walcott 13BL Sam Stephens 9SP Kiefer Sutherland 9RB Michael Taylor 9RB

Netball

Junior Colours Senior Colours

Hollie Barkus 10SRO Natalie Gilbert 11MLW Hannah Duckworth 10SA Rachael Goddard 11RW Matilda Eriksson 10TBE Sophie James 11GD Alice Grant 10SA Alice Merry 11MLW Emily Hancock 10PA Nicole Vosper 11GD Alex Kimmins 9EHE Sarah Vining 11RW Charlotte Richardson 9SP Hazel Rossiter 10PA Naomi Taschimowitz 9SP Elizabeth Tungate 9LL

Gold Certificates

Students are awarded a Gold Certificate when they have gained 25 merits for their work and accomplishments in school. Students are presented with a certificate in Assembly.

The following Year 9 Students have been awarded Gold Certificates this Spring Term:

Jessica Burbridge 9EHE Christopher Nash 9SJ Laura Carter 9LL Rachel Palmer 9LL Ceri Collins 9LL Heather Paterson 9LL Elizabeth Freeman 9RB Sophie Ross 9SP Robert Gamlin 9RB Jenny Scott 9RB Bethany Howell 9SJ Suzanne Sparks 9SPC Daniel Kevill 9SPC Lily Mason 9RB Bethan Meadowcroft 9RB

4 Reporting Absence

THANK YOU once again to all our parents who continue to use the Absence Hotline

A reminder to all those parents who are still not…

Illness or any other absence should be reported on the first and every day of absence by telephoning:

01934 745304

(This telephone number is available 24/7 )

Your child’s name, tutor group and reason for absence should be given.

Alternatively, absences may be reported by email to:

ABeesley@educ..gov.uk

Please note: absence should be reported for all students, including the Sixth Form.

Thank you

Anita Beesley Attendance Secretary

5 Geographers in the field!

Year 12 AS Geography students spent two days on fieldwork activities in mid-March.

Porlock Beach provided a beautiful backdrop for an analysis of beach pebbles….

Students sampled material from both ends of the beach, looking for evidence of changes in pebble size and shape, which could help to explain coastal processes on this interesting section of Somerset’s coast.

Local towns provided an opportunity for small groups of students to investigate ‘spheres of influence’. Locations ranged from Yeovil to Weston. Students also quizzed shoppers about their use of each town, investigating the relationship between town centres and edge of town retail locations.

Both exercises contributed valuable case studies to the Applied Geographical Skills paper at AS, the alternative to coursework, which has been very successful (and popular!) in recent years. John Goodchild Head of Humanities

6 Science News

This has been a very busy half term in Science with all exam classes finishing off investigations and/or working hard on the formal part of their courses.

Several Sixth Form groups have been on visits:

Year 12 Physicists went to Yeovilton and ‘A’ Level Biologists went on a series of Biochemistry lectures. We are still hoping to take ‘A’ Level Chemists on an industrial visit to a brewery!

This term we have again been involved with the PGCE course at the University of Bristol and have hosted Hannah Letts for her placement. We look forward to her return for a short visit in the Summer Term.

Revision Guides

Year 9 and Year 11 students have been given Revision Guides to help with their exam revision.

It is important that these are returned directly to school after the students’ exams.

Students may keep the workbooks they were given at the same time.

Thank you!

Bethan Riddick Head of Science

7 Royal Navy Challenge

On 5 March 2004, a group of prospective engineers left The Kings of Wessex under the supervision of netball teacher, Mr Friend. Our destination was Yeovil Air Base to take part in the bi-annual Royal Navy Engineering Challenge. The event required the building of a remote controlled vehicle, capable of entering a pool of water via a ramp, collecting ping-pong balls and leaving the water, all within a time limit.

Our group suffered an immediate blow when told that we were two men over limit. Coincidently, an all female group was two below limit. Predictably, Rob Karlsson and Joe McKenna, wooed by the damsel-in-distress routine, ‘jumped ship.’ The remainder of our team, affectionately named ‘Mr Friend’s Mates’ made a fantastic job on the construction of the device, with Mark Tillbee and Matt James taking excellent control of all mechanical affairs, myself and Tim Mullett managing the electrical parts and Joe Powell and Ollie Darling doing a wonderful job adorning the float with various flags and motifs.

Our design was given 19 out of 20 for quality of construction, but completed the marking in all other departments in true Eurovision style-nil point. After reductions for every 10g mass, our final score was a respectable –7, not enough to win, but enough to double the score of local rivals , who opted for the novel, although not ever so practical submarine idea.

The day was a great success and much credit must go to Mr Friend for ‘driving’ us down and to Mr Holdsworth for organising it for us.

Dave Garley (Head Boy)

8 WORK RELATED LEARNING IN MATHS

One of Mr White’s Year 11 Mathematics classes has been discovering how Maths is used in the workplace in recent lessons.

Once a week they put themselves into the position of Manager of The Wessex Motor Company. They have to schedule jobs over the course of a week, work out VAT, labour charges etc and then produce final bills for customers. Many have found it harder than they thought at first but after some practice they have all managed to get the hang of things. As many members of the class are participating in on-going work placements, the work has extra relevance.

(David Slocombe and Johnny Rolfe are hard at work scheduling jobs and completing bills)

Ms Greenslade, Work Related Learning Coordinator for Mathematics said:

“We’re really pleased with the opportunities we are able to give these students and hope that it helps them see the relevance and importance of basics Maths skills in the workplace.”

David White Maths

100% Success!!! The Mathematics Department were thrilled recently when their three Year 12 ‘A’ Level Further Mathematics students all achieved 100% in the first of their ‘A’ Level modules.

Jess Allen, Tom Dunton and Steve Williams all scored perfect marks on their Pure Mathematics module, as well as each achieving a further Grade A for their Decision Mathematics module.

They are all studying the demanding double ‘A’ Level course after successfully achieving A* grades in (from left to right: Tom Dunton, Jess Allen, their GCSE Mathematics and GCSE Mrs Johnson and Steve Williams) Statistics courses last year.

9 The Exciting History Course

Monday 23 – Friday 27 February 2004

On 23 February 2004, two Year 9 students, Elizabeth Murray and Rachel Palmer accompanied by Miss Hearn joined over 40 other students from around Somerset for the Exciting History Course at Kilve Court.

The aim of the week was to take part in hands-on History, to indulge an interest in the subject and also to mix with different people.

During the week we visited local historical sites, for example, the harbour at Watchet and the supposed Bronze Age Settlement on the Mendips where the students got to practice archaeological skills.

On the third day, the students divided into small groups to pursue an independent enquiry into an area of their choice. The groups had two days to research their topic, through visiting local sites, libraries, records offices and even old people’s homes, before presenting their work on the last day to the remainder of the group and the assorted parents, grandparents and friends.

The presentations were the highlight of the week, and ranged from comedy, to Shakespeare’s plays to PowerPoint and so on, on topics as diverse as evacuations, cholera and witchcraft.

It was a truly enjoyable week for both staff and students. No-one wanted to leave!!!

Lizzie Hearn History

10

Modern Foreign Languages

A Visit From Le Mans

The week before half term we were fortunate to have Mademoiselle Gateault from Le Mans working with our Sixth Form students. As we do not have a Language Assistant, we are always delighted to have a native speaker in the Faculty. As a result of the visit some of our Year 10 students will be e-mailing students in and we hope to find two host families for two Year 12 students who are keen to improve their spoken French. I very much enjoyed speaking French that week as our visitor stayed with me and it was good to have the opportunity to discuss a range of topics. Mademoiselle Gateault has written the following about her stay:-

“In February I joined a group of Primary School teachers from the Pays de La Loire on a visit to Somerset. I was welcomed by the Languages Faculty at The Kings of Wessex and spent some time observing lessons.

The teaching of languages is quite similar as regards resources used and the conversational work undertaken. However my students only have two English lessons a week.

I was really impressed by the lessons I attended and the computer facilities provided especially for the Sixth Form. Our students are not required to do so much research in their final years, and still have 25 to 30 hours teaching a week. For their Baccalauréat (equivalent to ‘A’ Levels) they take seven subjects for their final exams in June.

I also was pleased to attend some History and English Lessons. I found The Kings of Wessex School really pleasant and the staff most welcoming”.

Florence Gateault

11

Les Conférences Françaises

Over the course of the last term, I have been to five sessions of a French master class intended for AS/A2 students. They took place in the French Department on the Bristol University campus, Woodland Road. These classes were very useful. The intention of them was to enrich my knowledge of the French language – that aim was achieved. I have really enjoyed them so far (I have two more sessions to go to).

Ian Gathercole, a lecturer at Bristol University organised the classes, though a man called Jim (specialist in French songs) taught me.

From the beginning, I didn’t find it scary at all because most of the people were on the same wavelength as me. The first time, we introduced ourselves, did some translating, and listened to some songs (I enjoyed listening to the songs, in particular). Amongst other things, the activities included quizzes, dictation, and grammar issues (notably the passive – very difficult, but at the same time, interesting and useful). I hope that the next couple of sessions will be successful, and I look forward to them.

As a word of encouragement, I would advise people that are studying French, to take every opportunity possible, to broaden their horizons. French can be fun!

On the social side of things, this course is an advantage, due to the fact that I get on well with several people on it.

Plus, everything was free!

Beccy Cripps 12GR

12 GCSE German Day at Bristol City Football Club Tuesday 9th March 2004 Philip Allan Updates – Klaro – denn Deutsch macht Laune!

We left school at 9:55am and got to the stadium at about 10:30am. We all went into the main hall where there were about 300 people in total. The talk was given by two German people, Thomas and Petra. As we went in, we were each given a booklet to fill in during the day, and a newspaper article about the importance of languages.

The first activity we did was spot the mistakes. We had to read the text on the screen, and show the number of mistakes we could see. Then we looked at the formation of noun plurals and volunteers went up to give the answers. We watched some video clips and filled in questions on the video, and one of the activities was to remember the items on the table, work them out in German, and tick them off in the booklet.

Then we had lunch and we all made a trip over to KFC, apart from Jason, Tim, Brady, Lenny and Mark who were guarding our belongings.

After lunch we played musical cards, which was like musical chairs, but if you had the card, you had to answer the questions in German. They were all GCSE questions and so this was particularly useful. Then we watched some more videos and answered questions on them, they were all real German adverts and we had to work out what they were advertising. We filled in the rest of our booklets, covering grammar and useful new vocabulary.

The day was a fun one, and everyone enjoyed the trip. Also we learned a lot from the day.

Izzy Higgs and Jason Gupta 10CG

13

German AS Study Day at Birmingham University

On Tuesday 10 February,ten of us went to Birmingham University for an intensive German study day. The event consisted of six lectures, which covered topics from the AS/A2 syllabus. So from 10.00am to 3.00pm with only short breaks and a lunch hour we participated in talks which covered Advertising, Military Service v

Community Service, Tourism in Berlin, Young People in Germany, living in the town or country, Racism, the Environment and the European Union – and all conducted entirely in German. By the end of the day our heads were swimming with German but we all felt that we had all learnt a lot more about the individual topics. While one lecturer could have been slightly more creative and interesting, we all agreed that Thomas and Bettina’s sessions were amusing and lively. Overall the day was very productive and we all felt we had benefited from listening to native German speakers.

Sarah Pritchard 12LM

Kilve Court German Grammar Course 5 –7 March 2004

Feeling slightly nauseated at the prospect of German grammar, we arrived at Kilve Court on Friday evening. On arrival we were told that the participants totalled five – this wasn’t for the faint hearted.

That evening we revealed our basic knowledge of grammar, introducing ourselves. The tutor, Peter Dawes, was both friendly and effective. After the first session, we sampled the cuisine – not quite haute, but it filled a void.

The second day began early with an intensive revision of conjunctions, prepositions and gender cases. Luckily the sessions were intermingled with breaks, as a nervous breakdown seemed inevitable. That night we settled down to view Mr Bean, and yet more cases!!!

Sunday offered a light relief in the form of a role-play. This was highly useful as whilst it enabled us to have fun, it also reinforced the grammatical concepts we had learnt.

The course was useful, informative and relaxed. I’d recommend it to anyone studying A/AS Level German – if you think you could stomach it, that is!

Sam Hancock 12LM

14

We all stand together!!!

On 26 February 2004 the Gospel Choir, Jazz Band, Concert Band and Orchestra joined with musicians from Fairlands and Hugh Sexey Middle School to produce an extravaganza involving 250 musicians of all ages. Each school produced their own performances and then came together for a massed orchestral piece, a massed gospel choir and a final jazz piece. It was great fun!

Many thanks to all who took part – especially for braving the snow. It was so exciting to see the talent on display.

Year 11 Band Get Their Big Break

The band, One Middle Finger, who are all present at The Kings Of Wessex School, are entering a national competition run by a company called Emergenza. It is the 'European and North American Live Festival For Up And Coming Bands' and will be watched by record labels and promoters from around the country.

Billy Miles, Ben Baptie, Bill Banwell and Rich Morgan-Evans all of Year 11, are entering this competition in which they will be playing the first round on the 1st May. The event will be held at a Bristol venue named 'The Fiddlers.' If you would like tickets for this event which will host six bands on the night, and cost £6 (including coach there and back) then please get in contact with the band about it, by either visiting www.onemiddlefinger.com or emailing Ben Baptie on [email protected].

Well done lads! This is a just reward for your hard work and talent.

Takes place in the school hall on April 1st (no joke!).

It will feature the Gospel Choir, Jazz Band, Concert Band and Orchestra as well as solos and other small groups.

Come and support the evening and enjoy some excellent music -making.

Eiron Bailey Head of Music 15 Duke of Edinburgh Award

Presentation Evening

The Annual Mendip Area Duke of Edinburgh Award presentation evening was this year held at The Kings of Wessex School

Awardees came from all over the area: from as far afield as Frome College and as well as more locally, from .

The evening was very well attended with around 250 people in the School Hall.

The guest speaker was Mike Burns, the captain of Somerset County Cricket Club. After he had presented the Awards, he entertained us with a short talk about how he had come from growing up in Barrow- in-Furness to being Captain of our County cricket team. It was obvious that he had had to show quite a bit of determination as well as ability, facts which he linked well to the qualities needed and brought out in Duke of Edinburgh Award candidates.

The Kings of Wessex school was very well represented amongst the Award winners and the following students were present to receive their certificates and badges:

16 Silver (Year 12)

Paul Archer 12EB Laura Mayes 12BL Laura Morgan 12BL

Bronze (Year 11)

Emily Atkin 11LT Abby Banwell 11BR Daniel Barritt 11RA Nathaniel Bird 11IS Holly Blackburn 11MLW Tim Cater 11IS James Chalmers 11DR Alison Clist 11RW Louise Craddock 11LT Jennifer Dando 11IS Oliver Eddiford 11BR Sam Evans 11RA Isabel Fenton 11DR Dan French 11MLW Camilla Gruffydd-Jones 11JG Sarah Hall 11AJ James Hammerton 11BR Sam Hooper 11JG Sophie James 11GD Hannah Kesterton 11JG Jo Long 11LT Richard Nurse 11RW Rachel Parry 11RA Emma Paterson 11GD Nick Pearce 11JG Stephanie Robson 11DR Josh Rosewell 11GD Emily Rossiter 11AJ Romy Sandy 11RW Ben Searle 11LT Emma Talbot 11JG Spurthi Vemulapalli 11RW Nicole Vosper 11GD Katie Ward 11GD

Those who could not be there to receive their awards include the following:-

Silver (Year 12) Bronze (Year 11) Sarah O’Neill 12EB Jeni Gartside 11BR Heidi Keane 11IS Bronze (Year 12) Dave Ellis Hollie Kemp 12TB Duke of Edinburgh

17 The Kings of Wessex Learning Resource Centre celebrates its 10th Anniversary!

Ten years ago the library at The Kings of Wessex was moved to a brand new purpose built Learning Resource Centre (LRC) paid for with funds raised by the community, industry and commerce, staff, students and parents.

The building housed books and resources, nine computers and the Careers Department, with seating for 70 students. Because of the popularity of the Centre it soon became apparent that even more space was needed and so last year the school funded an extension to accommodate a suite of thirty computers, a Sixth Form study area and additional office space with increased seating capacity for 120 students. Not content with this achievement, a further ten computers and 20 more seats are being added during the Easter holidays.

The Centre is used extensively by the students throughout the day for independent research and private study. It is particularly popular at lunchtimes when a large number of students make use of the excellent facilities.

To celebrate the last ten years, a series of events were organised in the LRC for students during the lunch break. These included a Team Quiz for lower school and a paper sculpture competition to build the tallest freestanding structure. Headteacher, Chris Richardson joined a teacher’s team in a University Challenge style quiz against a team of Sixth form girls and Sixth form boys, which the girls won because they proved to be very quick on the buzzer! Finally, a Chess Tournament has been running for the past few weeks. Sam Hancock was the winner of the Upper School and the last tense rounds are currently being played to find the winner of the lower school. There will be a final match between the two winners to decide the overall winner.

The cherry on the icing of the celebrations was a surprise LRC birthday cake for all the students, which was certainly enjoyed by all!

(from left to right: Mrs Reynolds, Mrs Jones and Mrs Fielder - the LRC Librarians)

18 Sports News from our Kings (and Queens!)

RUGBY

The 1st XV Rugby team had their magnificent Somerset Cup run halted when they were beaten 47pts – 3pts in the semi-final stages by a very strong Beechen Cliff side. The Kings of Wessex 1st XV travelled away to the Bath school early in January, soon after they had returned from their festive break. Although disappointed with the result, the team respected the fact that they had been beaten by the much better team on the day; one which is made up of many Bath academy players and now clear favourites to win the title. The team then reflected on their hugely successful season during which they have achieved a great deal to be proud.

The Year 11 Rugby team are currently preparing for their quarterfinal match after beating Kingsmead in the previous round. The Year 11 side have recently found out that their next round opponents are a so-called Beechen Cliff side form Bath! The Bath side are also favourites to take the title in this age group. It’s going to be a tough encounter for the Kings side but the team is certain that they are not going to let Beechen Cliff replicate the result they got at 1st team level! Good luck.

The Year 9 Rugby team have not played a game since their successful mauling of a certain nearby Millfield school side. They are however still in the quarterfinals of the Somerset Cup but have been waiting, since November, to find out who their opponents will be. The potential opposition sides have not played their fixture and nobody knows the reasons why. Personally, I believe they are both concerned with the prospect of meeting The Kings side in the next round and neither side want to go through to meet them! The cup organisers are currently dealing with the situation. In the meantime, the Year 9’s continue their training every Monday lunchtime and look hungry for success.

BOY’S HOCKEY

The Under 16 Boy’s Hockey team have successfully made their way through to the semi final stages of the Somerset Cup which they currently hold. To get into the last four the Kings side beat Ladymead School 10-0, away from home, and then beat a stronger Castle School side 3-0.

After going top of our pool group we only had to beat Westfield School to be guaranteed our place in the semi finals. However, Westfield were unable to field a team leaving the Kings side pool winners and through to the semi finals. It looks like their opponents will be Holyrood School who Kings of Wessex beat in the final last year. They will play their semi final match at a neutral venue early in the next half term. We wish them the best of luck.

19 FOOTBALL

The 1st XI Football team are keen to make up for their early exit from the Somerset Cup by producing a good seasons performance in their Spring friendly fixtures. Their first game was away to local rivals, Churchill.

A grafting performance away to a good side led to Kings coming home with a share of the spoils as it finished 1-1. They were then due to play at home the following week but were disappointingly let down at the last meet as Strode cancelled. Before the end of this half term they have away fixtures against Chew Valley and Millfield. Good Luck.

After winning their opening game of the Somerset Cup, the Year 11 Football team were very unlucky in their next round match against Gordano and were eventually knocked out after extra time and penalties, thus stopping The Kings side from advancing to the next round. The teams were tied at 3-3 after extra time but lost 4-3 on penalties. The Kings side didn’t have luck on their side as the game should have been wrapped up before the end of full and extra time as Kings had a number of shots at the Gordano goal that beat everyone except the Gordano goalposts. The team now focus on performing well for their list of Spring friendlies.

The Year 10 Football team have continued their winning ways as they advanced to the quarterfinals of the Somerset Cup after beating West Somerset in the previous round. West Somerset took the lead in the first half but Kings immediately responded with a goal seconds after to tie the game 1-1 at half time. West Somerset didn’t take the chances when they had the opportunity and Kings punished them by scoring two further goals to win the game 3-1. A deserved victory which means they will now face either Wyvern or Beechen Cliff, the side that beat them on penalties in the semi finals last year, in the next round.

The Year 9 Football team finally got their Somerset Cup competition under way after being given a bye in the first round. They played their first competitive game together as a team by travelling away to a hostile Ladymead side. Ladymead took an early lead but Kings levelled the score before half time. In the second half the advantage of the Ladymead team cohesion started to tell. Kings didn’t take the chances they were offered, whereas Ladymead did and they ran away victors with a 4-1 result. They now have to use their Spring friendlies to develop their team play ready for the cup competition next year.

Rod Bell Head of P.E.

20 GIRLS U.15 HOCKEY

County Cup Semi Final Kings Win 4 – 2

Although this is the netball season for all players in school, County Cup hockey matches have continued for the Year 10 team.

We had a nervous wait to hear the outcome of the Pool matches and were pleased to hear the team had successfully come through as runners-up and gained their place in the semis. Practices continued every Tuesday lunchtime with an excellent turnout from all squad players.

Our opponents, from , turned out to be the current holders of the Cup and we later heard that this team had not lost a match since Year 7. Despite a nervous start, when the team found themselves down 2 – 0 after only seven minutes, they quickly rallied and ended the first half at 2-1. Kings were a different side after the break; assured defending, some slick passing and strong finishing allowed Kings to score a further three goals and win 4-2. Goal scorers were Lisa Fisher, Alice Grant, Alice Bjorkstrand and Hollie Barkus.

We now face Holyrood school in the final. Well done to all players!

Sue Roberts P.E.

21 SENIOR NETBALL

Senior team netball players have met regularly on Monday lunchtimes. Team players and positions were inconsistent at the start of the season due to players’ unavailability. This was mainly due to commitment in the school production and University interviews.

However, the team gradually began to gel under the Captaincy of Kate Rossiter, who deservedly received player of the match on numerous occasions. The attacking pair of Sarah Brierley and Alice Merry allowed the team to take advantage in several close encounters, especially against – a win by one goal and the Blue school, narrowly winning by five goals. Racheel Goddard, Sophie James and Jess Guttridge held the centre court together with their workrate, timing and positional play which improved with every game.

We are in a fortunate position in that we will only lose Kate from the team next year. They have the potential to move on and do well. It is certainly encouraging when the opposition congratulate a team on their performance, which happened on several occasions.

Sue Roberts P.E.

U. 15 NETBALL

This season the turnout at the Year 10 netball practice on Fridays has been excellent. So far we have had some really good matches and our play has improved hugely since last year.

(The Year 10 netball team before their match against Chew Valley)

22 We are working much better together as a team and at times the timing and positioning down the court has been excellent, meaning that our passes have really flowed.

Our best game so far was against Crispin School where we really seemed to gel; there was some excellent attacking play and shooting from Holly Barkus and Hannah Duckworth, meaning that we took an early lead. The workrate of all players was good throughout, with some brilliant defending by Matilda Eriksson and Alice Bjorkstrand who had a tough job against some very accurate shooters. We kept our lead and with some great teamwork between centre court players, Isabel Higgs and Alice Grant, we managed to win with the final score 25-11 to us.

We have had two other wins out of the seven matches we have played so far, but several other games have been very close. We also took part in a tournament at Churchill School, which was a really good experience despite the freezing weather conditions. We had a bit of a nervous start, losing the first couple of games; however we soon found our confidence and played extremely well, winning our final game with a good lead.

We have learnt a huge amount this season as a team and hope to improve further next year.

Hazel Rossiter Captain

U14 VII Netball

The U14 netball squad have worked extremely well and hard since the start of the season. There are about 10-12 regular players who are all playing at some point. The Squad have worked hard to develop positional sense and have recently started to improve and look good as a team.

The team recently beat Crispin School, which is normally a very tough fixture.

Practices are always well attended and enthusiastically approached.

Well done!!!

(The Year 9 netball team before their match against Chew Valley)

23 nd 2 VII Netball are still practising hard on Monday lunchtimes. The Senior Netball in general has improved significantly this year and the 2nd VII are gelling well, and playing a much better standard of netball.

The team has faced some tough fixtures against Queens and Wells Blue and have worked hard to gain a good result.

A special mention should go to Nicole Vosper who has worked well to organise the team.

Tracey Tibbs P.E. House Sports

This has been a busy second half to the Spring Term with House Competitions in Badminton, Netball and Football for both Junior and Senior Netball. Prior to half term, the Year 9 girls completed their own Basketball tournament with Lyonesse running out as winners in this inaugural event.

Almost 50 students took part in the two Badminton competitions with Lyonesse dominating proceedings. In the Junior section, the Lyonesse side (Jones, Dickson, Rowan, Stringer, Powers, Gartside, Fear and Gifford) totalled ten wins out of a possible 15 to claim the trophy with Camelot just pipping Tintagel for runners-up spot. Poor old Avalon managed just two wins and finished a distant fourth place.

Lyonesse’s victory in the Senior Badminton is all the more remarkable as the girls failed to produce a full team. A rather exhausted Jo Burkinshaw (Year 13) played in all the singles and mixed double matches and did enough to help the boys secure the Championship. Jo and the boys’ Captain, Dan Harris will receive the trophy at the Presentation Assembly. The remainder of the winning side was made up of Davey, Hewlett and King. Camelot were runners-up.

Junior Girls Netball was played over the lunchtimes with one of the best ever turnouts in terms of participants. All Houses were able to boast several reserves who were all given a chance to compete. It was Hazel Rossiter who obviously selected the strongest squad of players, as her Avalon team took the title from Lyonesse with a 10 - 3 win in the final.

The Junior Football witnessed an astonishing final.

First Round Results:

Tintagel 2 v 1 Lyonesse Avalon 2 v 1 Camelot

24 Favourites Tintagel, found themselves 1 - 0 down to rank outsiders Avalon thanks to a Frazer Gracie goal before half time. All the more remarkable was the fact that Avalon played the whole game with just nine men as team members had let them down on the day. With just eight minutes left a shock appeared on the cards when Tintagel’s Jason Gupta forced an equaliser.

With a draw looking imminent, a sublime cross from Martin Slocombe found Josh Picton who found the net (having missed several sitters earlier) and Mohamad Afifi rubbed salt into the wound with a third goal on the final whistle.

So, unlucky Avalon and congratulations to Captain Martin Slocombe and his lucky, lucky Tintagel!

At the time of going to press, the Senior Netball and Football tournaments have yet to take place. With these results still to come the overall Championship Table reads as follows:-

1st Lyonesse - 34 points 2nd Avalon - 33 points 3rd Tintagel - 23 points 4th Camelot - 20 points

Next term will see competitions between the Houses in:-

· Rounders · Softball · Tennis · Athletics · Swimming · Golf (possibly)

Once again, my thanks to colleagues from the P.E. Department for helping to officiate the various tournaments.

Mr T Clark (House Activities)

STOP PRESS!!! STOP PRESS!!! STOP PRESS!!! STOP PRESS!!!

The Senior Girls Netball Tournament has just been completed with Camelot taking the trophy and Lyonesse as runners-up.

As mentioned earlier, Hazel Rossiter Captained her Avalon side to victory and remarkably, her sister Katy was responsible for leading Camelot to success.

Well done those Rossiter Girls!!!

25 After School Study Support

Every Tuesday and Thursday

from 3.50-5.00pm

ALL students WELCOME!

In the Learning Support Department

Get your homework finished on Get help with time! your coursework!

26 ParentMail

As you will know, we strive very hard to improve the service we deliver to our students and their parents, and in particular we try to communicate as frequently as possible so that everyone is kept informed.

However, you might also be aware that sending written information home can be rather ‘hit and miss’ with information sometimes going astray. You will probably also realise that it is expensive for the school to produce the volume of paper that we do.

Recently a brand new service was launched called ParentMail™ which is a free service for all schools and parents across the UK.

We have decided to use the service and would very much like parents to use it too. From 23 February 2004 we started to publish all our general school letters and messages (by year group) to the ParentMail™ website (www.parentmail.co.uk). (Please be assured that any information of a confidential nature will continue to be sent or given directly to you).

As a parent I would strongly urge you to register for free with ParentMail™ to view our messages and to receive them by email. You can find the school on the site (www.parentmail.co.uk) by putting in our postcode BS27 3AQ (the instructions are very easy to follow).

Please don’t worry – we will continue to send all our messages home in printed format as well, so you will still get them if you do not have access to the Internet. It is planned ultimately that we will only send paper information home to those parents that request it at the beginning of each term, and that everyone else will get information by email from ParentMail™.

This method of communicating is not only more cost effective, but is also quick and should enable us to provide information on a more frequent basis. We hope you enjoy receiving information from us in this way and we would greatly appreciate any feedback you have about the service.

Mr Simon Williams Assistant Headteacher (E-Learning)

27 Kings’ Notice Board

THE DAVID SCOURSE MEMORIAL FUND

The Epilepsy Research Foundation has set up a Fund in David’s name.

David was a student at The Kings of Wessex.

He left School in 1999 and studied medicine at Oxford University and UCL, London before his tragic death at the age of 23 last August as a result of epilepsy.

Four of David’s student friends are running the London marathon on Sunday 18 April 2004 to raise money for this fund.

If you would like to support these runners you can sponsor them at the websites listed below: http://www.justgiving.com/lukehanson http://www.justgiving.com/kevincostello http://www.justgiving.com/bensalter http://www.justgiving.com/trisneagle

A small amount donated to any one runner will help the overall funding effort.

All four students were at Somerville College, Oxford, at the same time as David.

If you require further details please get in touch with Richard Scourse at the School.

You are invited to join:

Wessex Walks

on Sunday 2 May 2004

Come and join students and staff form school walking from Bleadon Hill to Wells along the picturesque Mendips to raise money for The Save the Children Fund.

If you would like to take part please contact Dave Ellis at School.

28 Kings’ Notice Board

JOB OPPORTUNITIES!!!

We have taken the decision to directly employ our own cleaning staff and the following posts are required as soon as possible:-

Cleaning Supervisor – 23.5 hours per week

Within National Pay Grade 14 – Incremental Scale 13 - 17 Starting Hourly Rate of Pay, £6.91with pay rise pending.

Cleaner – 15 hours per week

Within National Pay Grade 17 – Incremental Scale 4 - 5 Starting Hourly Rate of Pay, £5.33 with pay rise pending.

Cleaner – 10 hours per week

Within National Pay Grade 17 – Incremental Scale 4 - 5 Starting Hourly Rate of Pay, £5.33 with pay rise pending.

If you are interested in obtaining more information and an application form, please contact Chris Brown, School Bursar on 01934 742608

Can you help….? One of our Year 10 students would appreciate a return lift to school from Weston-Super-Mare or close-by (based in the Hutton Moor area). A contribution towards fuel would be offered.

If you think you might be able to help, in the first instance, please contact the Head’s PA, Jude Owens at School.

Thank you!

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YEAR 9 – KEY STAGE 3 EXAMINATION TIMETABLE: Tuesday 4 – Friday 7 May 2004

PERIODS 1 AND 2 PERIODS 3 AND 4 PERIODS 5 AND 6 MON 3 BANK HOLIDAY MAY TUES 4 SCIENCE Paper 1 9.20-10.20 Normal timetable SCIENCE Paper 2 2.10-3.10 MAY WED MENTAL Maths 9.00-9.20 5 Normal timetable 2.10-3.10 MAY MATHS Paper 2 MATHS Paper 1 9.30-10.30

THU 6 ENGLISH Reading 9.20-10.35 Normal timetable ENGLISH Writing 2.10-2.55 MAY FRI ENGLISH 7 9.20-10.35 Normal timetable Normal timetable Shakespeare MAY

30 YEAR 10 EXAM TIMETABLE: Monday 26 – Friday 30 April 2004

PERIODS 1 AND 2 PERIODS 3 AND 4 PERIODS 5 AND 6 MON ENGLISH Paper 1 9.00-10.45 FRENCH Listening 12.10-12.50 BIOLOGY 2.10-3.40 26 APRIL (Rest do German in combined ADVANCED BIOLOGY 1.25-3.40 groups) TUES HUMANITIES – CORE GERMAN Listening 12.10-12.50 MATHS Paper 1 2.10-3.40 27 Geography 9.00-10.45 (Non-calculator) APRIL History 9.00-10.45 (Rest do French in combined Religious Studies 9.00-10.30 groups) WED CHEMISTRY 9.00-10.30 DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY 1 ENGLISH Paper 2 2.10-3.40 28 Food – F 11.20-12.20 APRIL ADVANCED 9.00-11.15 Food – H 11.20-12.35 CHEMISTRY Graphics – F 11.20-12.35 Graphics – H 11.20-12.50 Resistant Materials – F & H 11.20-12.50 THUR MUSIC 9.00-10.30 PHYSICS 11.20-12.50 DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY 2 29 Food – F 2.10-3.10 APRIL Normal timetable for rest ADVANCED PHYSICS 11.00-1.15 Food – H 2.10-3.25 of year Graphics – F 2.10-3.25 Graphics – H 2.10-3.40 Resistant Materials – go to Resistant Materials for a double lesson FRI MATHS Paper 2 9.20-10.50 ENRICHMENT OPTION FRENCH Reading 2.10-2.45 30 (Calculator allowed) Business Studies 11.20-12.50 GERMAN Reading 2.10-2.45 APRIL Child Development 11.20-12.50 P.E. 11.20-12.40 Geography 01 11.20-1.05 History 01 11.20-1.05 French 01 – Reading 11.20-11.55

Rest do Art, Drama, Music for a double lesson

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Important calendar dates for the remainder of the academic year 2003/2004:

April 2004 EASTER HOLIDAY Saturday 3 – Sunday 18 April 2004 Return to School Monday 19 April 2004

PTA Meeting: 7.30pm Tuesday 20 April 2004 Year 10 Exams commence Monday 26 April 2004

May 2004 Wessex Walk Sunday 2 May 2004

MAY BANK HOLIDAY Monday 3 May 2004 – School Closed Year 9 SAT’s Tuesday 4 – Friday 7 May 2004

Year 12 Higher Education Conference Tuesday 4 May 2004 Year 10 Exams conclude Friday 7 May 2004 Ascension Day Service Years 9/13 (during school day) Thursday 13 May 2004 GCSE & AS/A Level exams commence Monday 17 May 2004 Year 12 Exam leave commences Year 13 Leavers’ Service Wednesday 19 May 2004 Year 11 Records of Achievement Ceremony Friday 21 May 2004 Czech Republic Visit Saturday 22-Saturday 29 May 2004 Year 11 Exam leave commences Monday 24 May 2004 Year 13 Exam leave commences Tuesday 25 May 2004

HALF TERM HOLIDAY Monday 29 May – Sunday 6 June 2004

June 2004 Return to School Monday 7 June 2004 PTA Meeting: Conference Room Tuesday 8 June 2004 at 7.30pm Year 10 Work Experience Monday 14 – Friday 18 June 2004 New Parents Evening Wednesday 23 June 2004 at 7.00pm Sixth Form Induction Day - tbc Thursday 24 June 2004 Sports Day Part 1 Wednesday 30 June 2004 - 9.30am – 1.00pm

July 2004 Sports Day Part 2 Thursday 1 July 2004 – 9.00-11.00am GCSE & A level exams conclude Friday 2 July 2004 Staff Training Day – School Closed to Students Monday 5 July 2004 Year 10 Totleigh Barton writing course departs Monday 5 – Friday 9 July 2004 Transfer Day (new September 2004 Year 9 students) Tuesday 6 July 2004 Swimming Gala Wednesday 7 July 2004 at 9.30-1.00pm Year 10 Citizenship Conference ‘Crime’ Thursday 8 July 2004 Year 9 Citizenship Conference ‘The Environment’ Thursday 15 July 2004 Year 10 Reports Issued Friday 16 July 2004 End of Summer Term (and the school year) Friday 23 July 2004

PARENTS’ EVENINGS will be held on the following dates:

New Parents Tutor Evening Wednesday 7 July 2004 at 5.00-8.00pm

THE KINGS’ MESSENGER will be published on the following dates: Thursday 27 May 2004 Thursday 22 July 2004

Year Co-Ordinators: Year 9: Mrs M Sammonds Please do not hesitate to contact your Child’s Year 10: Mr T Clark Year Co-ordinator if you have any concerns or Year 11: Mr A Hitt wish to discuss their progress. Sixth Form: Mr M Hayward

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