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October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1

Mr P. Adams

Hello again, We are well into the school year and autumn has arrived. I am sure you will have seen the examination results. It is all change in school performance tables so we are reporting slightly different data this year. Pupils performed very well, with over 70% of them achieving at least C grade in both maths and English. They also made better progress than would have been expected based on their results at the end of primary school. Based on both old and new performance measures you will be pleased to hear that, yet again, The Corbet School is the best performing school in North Shropshire. I must thank all staff and pupils who helped out with our open morning and evening. These were very well attended events with many really positive comments from prospective parents regarding the school, its pupils and its staff. I am sure that these pupils and parents will be making The Corbet their first choice. Next year is a very important year for The Corbet School. It will be 60 years since the school first opened its doors to the young people of North Shropshire. As it’s such an important year we will be holding a number of events, including a spring fete, which we are already in the process of planning. It also gives us an opportunity to try to raise money to help further improve the school and its facilities. We are particularly keen to improve our laboratories in the science block. We have been very successful in obtaining government funding to improve the infrastructure of the block, for instance, last year a new insulated roof was fitted. However, the government will not fund the replacement of the laboratory furniture and equipment. We have written recently about our plans and seeking any help or support you may be able to give. It would be a fantastic achievement to raise sufficient funds to refurbish the labs to equip us for the future. As always, a lot has been going on in school this half term. At the request of the pupils, we are now offering football training for both boys and girls after school and will be playing fixtures against other local schools. Our other teams in netball and rugby have also been in action; more details inside. Our new year 7 pupils have settled in really well. They have all had the experience of attending a team building day at the Red Ridge Centre in Cefn Coch, Welshpool. It’s been great to receive so many positive comments from parents about how much their children are enjoying the school. Our Year 11’s history and RE students went on an educational visit to Krakow in Poland, to enhance the students learning of the Holocaust, pre-war Jewish life and life under Nazi control. This was an important opportunity to gain an understanding of the events and aftermath of the holocaust, to reflect on what was lost, and the sacrifices that were made under the cover of the Second World War. This was a very rewarding but also highly emotional visit. Year 10 and 11 pupils enjoyed their trip to watch a production of ‘Blood Brothers’ in Birmingham. This is a play that they are studying in the new GCSE English course. I hope you will be able to attend the Talent Show in November. These are always excellent events showcasing the range of musical and theatrical talents in the school. Tickets are now available. Finally, some sad news our Site Manager, Mr Brown, who some of you may have known, particularly if you had an interest in gun sports, sadly passed away recently. Our thoughts are with his family.

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 2

Term Dates 2016-17 Autumn Term 2016

Tuesday 6th September - Friday 16th December 2016 Half Term: Monday 24th October - Friday 28th October 2016 Christmas Holidays: Monday 1 9th December 201 6 - Monday 2nd January 2017 Professional Development days: Monday 5th September 2016 Monday 31st October 2016

Spring Term 2017

Wednesday 4th January - Friday 7th April 2017 Half Term: Monday 20th February - Friday 24th February 2017 Easter Holiday: Monday 1 0th April - Friday 21st April 2017 Professional Development Days Tuesday 3rd January 2017

Summer Term 2017

Monday 24th April - Friday 21st July 2017 May Day: Monday 1 st May 201 7 Half Term: Monday 29th May - Friday 2nd June 2017 End of Term: Friday 21 st July 201 7 Charity, Donations and School Fund Last term’s Race for Life Non-uniform day, cake sale & sponsorship organised by Mrs Gardner raised £1104.52 for Cancer Research UK. The school has received £3328 (so far) in School Fund Donations, most of which are Gift Aided Donations - this will mean an extra 25p for every £1 donated. Thank you to all parents/carers for their generous donations. This academic year all charity donations from non-uniform days will be split with the School Fund Charity. CFA Our Corbet Friends Association’s AGM is on Tuesday 1st November 2016 at 7.30pm in the School Library. Unfortunately our current Chairperson is standing down so we are keen to invite interest from any other volunteers who may like to take up this position. Application forms are available from the school office. Governors If you would like to contact the Chair of Governors, Mr Roger Ford, please email the Clerk to the Governors, Mrs Jane Davies. [email protected] Corbet to Celebrate its Diamond Anniversary The Corbet will be celebrating it 60th anniversary by holding a Diamond Anniversary event on Saturday 20th May 2017. Further information will follow but please keep the date free for a fun, family event. October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 3

Race for Life

The students and teachers at the Corbet School had an amazing day with the whole school taking part in their own Race for Life event on Thursday 21st July 2016. They were all asked to dress up in their House colours and run or walk for 30 minutes raising money for Cancer Research in the process. Not only were they racing for friends and family who have been affected by Cancer but also for House points to count towards the end of year House Trophy. All students donated £1 to take part and were also encour- aged to get sponsorship. Some students also baked and sold their cakes at break time to raise even more money. The schools target is to raise £1000. The day was organised by PE teacher Kathy Gardner and the school sports council who are all “incredibly proud of how the students and teachers have got behind the event and how hard they have worked at both their fancy dress costumes and their running, in very hot conditions. Everyone seems to have had a fantastic time and we hope that this can become an annual event”

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 4

College Partnership Will Benefit Students, Communities and Businesses

North Shropshire College and Reaseheath College in Cheshire have announced that they are to form a federation from September of this year. Both colleges specialise in land-based subjects and technical and vocational qualifications, are in a strong phase of continuous growth and improvement and share a long history of delivering quality education. It is felt that, by working together to combine resources, expertise and reputation, the colleges will build on their strengths and will offer an even wider and better educational experience to further and higher education students and to apprentices. It is also envisaged that the closer collaboration will have a positive impact on the local economies of both counties by providing enhanced links with industry partners and local communities. The governing bodies of both colleges carried out extensive research before deciding that a federation would best secure the future of quality, land based education and general technical and vocational education in Shropshire, Cheshire and the wider region. Although both colleges are committed to working together, they will remain independent and retain their own names and campuses within the federation. With support from the Skills Funding Agency, and where it is considered to be in the best interests of the students, the governing bodies will explore closer ties in the future. This could include the possibility of a merger at a later date if the interests and circumstances of both colleges are in alignment. In the meantime, senior managers will facilitate the sharing of good practice, support and staff development across the colleges. The new partnership is supported by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ Area Review of Post 16 Education, which is committed to a move towards fewer and larger colleges which will be more resilient and efficient in the future. North Shropshire College Principal Jackie Doodson said: “The governing body has carried out extensive research and appraised its options rigorously. As a result, it has concluded that a partnership with Reaseheath College will best secure the long term future of high quality land based provision for Shropshire along with high quality vocational education and training for Oswestry and rural North Shropshire. “We will share best practice to improve the quality of provision and facilities, and our strengthened financial sustainability and resilience will enable us to grow the number and range of HE and FE courses we offer.” Reaseheath Principal Meredydd David said: “This fantastic opportunity will allow both colleges to move forward and to respond together to the challenges and opportunities facing the Further and Higher Education sector. Across the country, all colleges are tasked with ‘doing more with less’. We have a more important role than ever in supporting young people, local businesses and those seeking employment. “There are great benefits to two institutions with very similar values, ambitious vision and national reputation for quality, working together. This can only benefit stakeholders, staff and students and offers an extremely exciting prospect for the region.”

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 5

Fantastic clay workshop with Mrs O’Leary

Year 11 artists have been adding to their Art portfolio with these amazing clay final pieces. Well done to everyone and thank you very much Mrs O’Leary.

Work by Melissa Gregory

Work by Finn Hoggart

Work by James Harper

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 6

Work by Lauryn Morrison

Work by Caroline Ebrey

Work by Josh Hughes Work by Abbie Townend

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 7

Library

School Library 2016 SURVEY

Following on from the May newsletter, here is a brief summary of our Library Survey results. It is fantastic to see Years 7 and 8 so involved in the Library life. Year 10 and 11s have asked for a revision area and we are working on ac- commodating this request. The winner of the £5 book token for participating in this survey is Ben Cooke (9B).

Of those surveyed, the % of pupils who Borrow % books for Expressed Use the Use the Use the Lack of the Year reading Enjoy an Year Library Library Library Enjoy reading knowledge Group who and/or reading interest in Group Daily or before after Non-Fiction of participated research Magazines borrowing Weekly school school Library stock in the survey during e:books lessons

7 91% 76% 61% 6% 48% 37% 21% 17% 70% 8 91% 56% 40% 7% 37% 35% 24% 15% 46% 9 82% 24% 10% 1 pupil 11% 28% 15% 6% 47% 10 96% 30% 14% 13% 33% 22% 10% 5% 39%

We were overwhelmed by the positive feedback from students - here are a few of Mrs Brett’s favourite comments!!

I think it’s an excellent service that pro- I like the Library service; it is vides a welcoming friendly atmosphere. very well organised and it is It’s like a home to many people and Mrs good they give younger people Brett is always very kind and polite; she the opportunity to have a go. given good advice on books to read and Josh Lewis makes everything so easy. I do enjoy going to the Library. Calum Skelly

I think the school library service is It think it’s a very good excellent and I think it is very clear library and the people how much effort is put into the involved are lovely. system by the The choice of books is librarians and the wide and I love that trainees. Molly too. Katie Waters Jenno

I think it is good because the librarians are really helpful if you are trying to find books. The book swap and events in the Library are good too. Elouise Quinn-Lock

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 8

School Library :

Summer What a fantastic response! Fifty students accepted the challenge to read six (or more) Library Reading books including one Classic. Nearly everyone who CHALLENGE participated managed to read at least three books.

£5 book tokens were awarded to our prolific readers who managed to read almost as many books as Mrs Brett. Congratulations to Molly Creaser-Ogden, Ellie Cooke, Sarah Ervine, Lucy Garside, Ben Gough and Charlotte Longland.

On the 13th September, we celebrated Roald Dahl’s 100 years by hosting ‘Bruce Bogtrotter’s Chocolate Cake Competition’. Entries were judged by our panel of experts (Mrs Lake and her Year 11 class and student librarian, Molly Creaser-Ogden) and then cut and sold by Mr Bridgewood, Mrs Nixon and student Librarians, Lilly Long, Charlotte Longland, Sam Gunn and Molly Creaser-Ogden to raise a ‘scrumdiddlyumptious’ £140.00 towards Library resources.

Thank you to staff, parents and students for your ‘whipple scrumptious’ cake creations. Well done to our winner, Jenny Everall (8B) and our runner up, Lucy Kirby (11C)

Thanks to the generosity of the Corbet Friends Association, our new Year 7 students have been able to choose a free book from one of twelve titles supplied by Bookbuzz.

This scheme provides an excellent opportunity for English classes to visit the Library and is particularly good for encouraging our ‘less enthusiastic’ readers. The two most popular books were ‘13 Hours’ by Narinder Dhami and ’An Eagle In The Snow’ by Michael Morpurgo. Bookbuzz has kindly supplied the Library with a free set of the twelve titles and so these will shortly be available for everyone to read.

Your home was the one place you felt safe. Now it’s your prison. You were invisible. Now your every move is monitored by masked strangers. You looked after your mum, your best friend. Now you barely know her. Everything can change in thirteen hours.

‘An Eagle in the Snow is handled with Morpurgo’s usual zip and feeling’ The Sunday Times

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 9

School Library :

Choosing a book was a wonderful opportunity to remind our Year 7s about the layout of the Library, the resources available, how we find fiction (alphabetical order by author surname) and non-fiction books (Dewey Decimal Classification) as well as how we borrow, renew and return School Library books. Thank you to the English teachers for your support.

Our Student Librarian team is continuing to grow (at an alarming rate!). We now have a core team of senior and junior librarians (seventeen strong) and are looking forward to helping a further eighteen students from Years 7, 8 and 9 as they complete their ‘probationary’ period as trainee librarians. Louisa Pound is our ‘recruiter’ so if Year 7s have any questions about becoming a librarian, please see Louisa who is to be found sorting out our red returns trolley. THANKS Louisa!

Many thanks to our Road Safety Discussion Group which met in the Library on Tuesday 20th September . Miss Davis from the Council was very impressed with their feedback and said that it was a pity ‘Highways’ had not consulted them before putting in the new road layout in Baschurch!

Well done Year 7s (Mattie Ward, Dan Preece, Tim Goode, Alex Ladenegan), Year 8s (Eleanor Sturgess, Matthew Squire, Will Gunn, Charlotte Monk, Nick English), Year 9s (Alicia Davies and Jayne Preece), Year 10s (Ben English, Sam Gunn and Charlotte Longland) and Year 11s (Ben Gough and Georgia Downton).

Thank you to the Student Librarians (Rowan Hall, Lilly Long, Molly Creaser-Ogden, Charlotte Longland, Charlotte Voyce, Sam Gunn and Keira Edwards) who chatted to our young visitors and their parents during Open Evening on Monday 3rd October. Our Year 6 visitors were invited to vote for their favourite authors and not surprisingly, this produced a landslide victory for David Walliams with twenty six votes; Roald Dahl and J. K. Rowling each picked up seven votes with Enid Blyton, Jacqueline Wilson and Michael Morpurgo trailing with four votes each.

We were fortunate to have our Youth Help Champion , Lynne Taylor, representing the Youth Health Movement. This ‘collective organisation’ works with young people in the community and educational settings to increase the awareness of the need for a healthy lifestyle.

National Poetry Day began in 1 994 and is an initiative of the Forward Arts Foundation, a charity which celebrates excellence in poetry. This year’s mass celebration of poetry and all things poetical took place on Thursday 6 October 2016. To celebrate, poems were read during Tutor time and Dewey 821 English classes visited the Library to read poetry books. Decimal

It has been a busy start to the School Year but we are planning ahead. Do you have any Holocaust related family history you would like to share? The theme for the 2017 Holocaust Memorial Day is ‘How can life go on?’. We may have descendants of survivors in this school and if so, we would like to tell their stories - what better way to demonstrate that ‘life goes on’. If you would like to be involved in this research project, please see Mrs Brett.

“If I was a book, I would like to be a library book, so I would be taken home by Mrs Brett all different sorts of kids.” Cornelia Funke (author of ‘Inkheart’)

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 10

Borneo Expedition 2016

Over the summer, a small group of students, accompanied by teachers Mrs Jones and Miss Evans, embarked on a challenging 4-week expedition with Camps International to the Southeast Asian island of Borneo. After one full year of fundraising for students and teachers alike, the time had finally come to see what this beautiful island had to offer and, more importantly, what they had to offer to Borneo. The Corbet students were combined with students from two other schools… and so Team Api Api was born. Over the four weeks, Api Api migrated from camp to camp and at each offered their services to the local community. The vast majority of project work involved tough manual labour: the group soon became familiar with clearing, bricklaying, and a whole lot of cement mixing! Add to this the sultry weather of Southeast Asia, with an intense heat from the Bornean sun and a humidity well in excess of 80%! Project work also extended to the environment, including reforestation efforts in the jungle and beach clean-ups on the breath-taking shores of Mantanani and Gaya island. Luckily, it wasn’t all work, work, work for the team. Camp life offered them new experiences and the group threw themselves into a multitude of cultural activities, including learning Malay, bracelet making, basket weaving and the dreaded bamboo dance (watch your ankles!). Also, The Corbet’s claim to fame in Camp Tinangol’s Got Talent – performing a theatrical recreation of The Titanic – soon became a significant moment as Api Api performed a revised rendition to the people of Bongkud village, including the chief himself. However, a great number of other species also welcomed the campers to Borneo, from the stunning orangutans and proboscis monkeys along the Kinabatangan River, to the slithery surprise found wandering through camp! The expedition was concluded with a fantastic scuba dive opportunity on Gaya island. As well as becoming fully qualified open water divers, students got to see the beauty of Borneo’s coral reefs and the colourful marine life of the South China Sea. There’s no doubt that Borneo 2016 was an experience that the group will never forget. Well done, Team Api Api! Josh Bray

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 11

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 12

Year 11 Tennis Team Joey Thomas Captain James Blenkinsop, Thomas Blenkinsop, Tyler Smith & Henry Stokes

Congratulations to the Corbet Tennis Team who competed in the regional finals representing Shropshire at Loughborough University, on Friday 7th October 2016. They narrowly missed out on a place in the finals, finishing 3rd overall.

The team experienced a thoroughly enjoyable day of non-stop competitive tennis which produced some outstanding performances and showed a great supportive team spirit as well as giving an opportunity to meet with teams from all across the Midlands.

The players gained knowledge from playing in a competitive environment and were able to reflect on their own strengths and evaluate their own performances.

County Representatives

U15 Girls Football Shropshire and England Reserves – Bethan Lewis U14 Girls Football Shropshire – Dani Staley U14 Boys Football – Roman Allen U18 Girls County Rugby – Emma Brotherton U16 Boys County and Irish Exiles – Matt Edwards U15 Girls Rugby County – Emily Beeth County Netball – Lucy Kirby and Lizzie Evans U15 County Rugby squad - Aidan Lindsay

Netball Results Shrewsbury League Fixtures Year 8 Vs Shrewsbury Academy Won 5-3 Player of the match: Lucy Garside

Year 10 Vs Belvidere Won 5-4 Player of the match: Jaymie Clover

Year 10 Vs Shrewsbury Academy Lost 22-3 Player of the match: Jaymie Clover

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 13

Sporting News Netball News

Wednesday 14th September Thursday 29th September Shrewsbury League Fixtures Friendly Vs Marches Year 8 Vs Marches LOST 14 - 4 Year 7 A LOST 6-5 Player of the Match: Annie Davies Player of the Match: Cicily Griffith-Pugh Year 9 Vs Marches WON 13 - 9 Year 7 B WON 2-0 Player of the Match: Olivia Burke Player of the Match: Sarah Finch and Molly Humphreys Thursday 22nd September Year 8 A LOST 8-2 Friendly Match Vs Thomas Adams Player of the Match: Dani Staley Year 7 LOST 2-1 Year 8 B LOST 4-2 Player of the Match: Sarah Finch Player of the Match: Julia Ward Year 8 WON 4-2 Year 9 LOST 11-3 Player of the Match: Lucy Garside and Izzy Player of the Match: Alice Parker Hyde Year 9 WON 30-2 Thursday 6th October Player of the Match: Georgie Wixey Friendly Vs Marches Year 10 WON 15-0 Year 10 WON 40-8 Player of the Match: Maddie Fox Player of the Match: Rosie White Year 11 LOST 7-1 Year 11 WON 18-13 Player of the Match: Olivia Oakham O’Shea Player of the Match: Lucy Kirby

Year 10 Netball Team at Marches Year 11 Netball Team at Marches

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 14

U15 North Shropshire Netball Tournament WINNERS

Well done to the year 10 Netball team who won the North Shropshire Netball Tournament at Marches on Wednesday 12th October.

Results Won 14-0 against Oswestry Won 7-4 against Marches Won 15-5 against Thomas Adams Won 12—0 against Grove Won 14-1 against Marches B

U13 North Shropshire Netball Tournament RUNNERS UP

Well done to the year 8 Netball team who came second in the North Shropshire Netball Tournament at Marches on Wednesday 12th October.

Results Won 5-0 against Oswestry Won 7-2 against Thomas Adams Won 11—1 against Grove Won 3-0 against Marches B Won 5– 1 against Adcote Lost 1-5 against Marches A

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 15

Inter-house Football Results Year 7 1st place - Oak 2nd place - Redwood 3rd place - Cedar 4th place - Beech 5th place - Elm

Inter-house Rugby Results Year 9 1st place - Cedar 2nd place - Elm 3rd place - Redwood 4th place - Oak 5th place - Beech

Year 8 1st place - Elm 2nd place - Oak 3rd place - Beech 4th place - Cedar 5th place - Redwood

Inter-house Netball Results Year 7 Year 8 1st place - Elm 1st place - Oak 2nd place - Cedar 2nd place - Beech 3rd place - Oak 3rd place - Elm 4th place - Redwood 4th place - Redwood 5th place - Beech 5th place - Cedar

Year 9 1st place - Cedar 2nd place - Oak 3rd place - Elm 4th place - Redwood 5th place - Beech

October 2016 Volume 8 Issue 1 16

Inter-House Cross Country

Year 7 Boys

Record: Liam Rawlings 6:05 (2014)