The Blue Coat School

Proud to be part of the Cranmer Education Trust

Summer Newsletter – July, 2017

Faith ~ Vision ~ Nurture

Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,

The newsletter has 8 main sections:

1. Key information and a brief reflection on the year, and the future, from the Headteacher.

2. Welcome and congratulations to our new senior students

3. Lovely pictures of the Year 11 and 13 proms

4. The sports report – some great achievements this year, for teams and individuals

5. Reports from subject departments across the school

6. A report from our Chaplain, Mr Ford

7. An update on all the wider curriculum and activities that our students are involved in, including all their charitable fundraising and how the library contributes to the wider school experience

8. An update on staffing and initial teacher training

As published in our calendar our annual Founder’s Day celebration will be held on Wednesday 19th July. We are on a very public march of witness through Oldham led by a brass band, and many people turn out to see us. We have a lovely service of thanksgiving with music and singing in Oldham’s beautiful parish church of St Mary’s. After our walk back to school, and laying the wreath in memory of our founder, Thomas Henshaw, pupils are registered and dismissed at 12.20pm to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.

On Friday 21st July, our last day of term, we celebrate the school year in a family service in school, and have an early dismissal for pupils after lunch at 1.20pm.

Unfortunately, because our school buses are tied into other scheduled services there will not be school buses on either Wednesday or Friday when we dismiss pupils.

The new school year begins on Tuesday 5th September at 8.45am sharp for every year except Year 13, who join us on Wednesday 6th September. If you are replacing items of uniform, please check the uniform details list on the school calendar, especially where shoes are concerned!

Results days for A and AS levels, and GCSE, are 17th and 24th August respectively. A2 results are emailed to students, and they can all directly access UCAS for university offers. Any student needing advice or support should contact school that morning. AS results will be available from 9.30 -11.30am at school. GCSE results are distributed at school on Sixth Form registration day, 24th August, from 9.30 -11.30am. Details of the terms and holiday dates for the next two years are on the website. The school calendar for 2017-18 with details of all parents’ evenings and school events will be on the website from September.

This has been a year with a lot of joy, happiness and achievement, but it has had its challenges, many of which have arisen from the uncertainties of the world we live in. Our verse for the year was prescient:

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5: 14-16

These powerful words of Jesus have provided for us both a sense of challenge, and a source of comfort in a year that has seen so much change in the world around us. More than ever the strong Christian and inclusive ethos of the school has brought stability, comfort and hope to the lives of young people in our care. Through collective worship we understand that we live in a fallen world, but actually that the darkness has not overcome the light, and this is what gives us hope. The sense of community, mutual support and respect has been tangible throughout the year, and this is reflected in all of the reports in this newsletter. Next year our school focus will be about how we are loved by God, and how we can live lives of love.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”

Throughout the year students and teachers have worked on new curricula, for new kinds of exams, with (at GCSE) a new grading system, which is being phased in over 3 years. This is a major piece of work, and to ensure that students can fully understand the content of each of the skills, we brought KS4 options forward. Our Year 9 are now studying their GCSE courses – and making very good progress. A level students have taken the much bigger linear exams in most subjects this summer. Year 11 have sat the new, tougher Maths and English papers, which will be graded in the new 1-9 scale.

As ever, the school picks up pace in the summer term, which is filled with not only exams but the leavers’ celebrations for Years 11 and 13, the Duke of Edinburgh expeditions for all levels, residential trips to the battlefields, to Berlin, to Cern, and for fieldwork; our junior sports day and all the sports events and finals; the musical preparations for Founder’s Day and for the choir, their selection to perform – again! – at the finals of the National Festival of Music for Youth in Birmingham.

Congratulations to our new student leaders. The names of our Senior Students and their roles are on the next page, together with those of our Junior Leadership Team, appointed earlier in the year. Many thanks to our outgoing Senior Students for their exemplary student leadership throughout the year, and particularly their role in leading the student panels for the senior staff appointments that have been made.

The year has brought sadness and tragedy for some. Please remember in your prayers with us the families of Mrs Lees and Mrs Howe who were killed in the Manchester bombing, and all our students, and staff, who have suffered bereavement or serious illness during the year.

Thank you for the support you give us. Bringing up a child – or a young person – really does take a village. The better we work together, the more our young people flourish. Looking at them – we aren’t doing a bad collective job! We keep improving what we do all the time, and that is the strength of the school. That is what Blue Coat will continue to do under the leadership of Mr Higgins. This will be my last Blue Coat newsletter as Headteacher, though I will continue to be very much part of the future of the school as the grandly-titled CEO of the Cranmer Education Trust, although unfortunately, the title does not bring with it a grand suite. I am moving temporarily to the attic - as one student said, rather like “the mad auntie”. The future lies in trusts, alliances, families of schools working together, strategically, building community, excellence and ambition. I am immensely proud to be involved with all our schools, and our Alliance, and our Teacher Training arm, and, I hope, our new school – given the pressure on school places that we have seen this year, the case is indisputable, so please get behind us when our campaign returns in the autumn. The website is http://cranmereducationtrust.com/trust- schools-partners-alliances/new-school/ – log on and show your interest, and that will help our cause.

I look forward to the results days in August, and to signing up our new Sixth Form. After 29 years Blue Coat is engraved on my heart, and whatever role I am asked to take on, I will continue to serve Blue Coat students, and the staff who serve them. Thank you, parents and carers of the Blue Coat School, for your continuing support.

We all wish all our families a happy, safe and restorative summer holiday, and look forward to September 5th.

Yours sincerely

Julie Hollis Headteacher

Section 2: Congratulations to our Senior Students of 2017-18

As one lot of student leaders of the school depart for bigger and better things the next cohort. And step up they did with over 70 of the 200 strong year group applying for the much coverted position of Blue Coat Senior Student. The application process involved a letter of application followed by a series of group interviews. Congratulations to our new group of senior students pictured below.

Senior Team

Head Boy and Girl Head Boy Harrison Marsh Head Girl Ellie Pomfrey

Deputy Head Boy & Girl Deputy Head Boy Jacob Graham Deputy Head Girl Emma Bradburn Deputy Head Boy Jake Horsfall Deputy Head Girl Eleanna Damianou

Heads of House Birley Hall Head of House BH Nicholas Price Deputy Head of House BH Will Marsh Head of House BH Catherine Stott Deputy Head of House BH Sanya Ahmed

Lord Mothersill Head of House LM Lewis Fearn Deputy Head of House LM Rehaan Khokar Head of House LM Imogen Sleigh Deputy Head of House LM Carolene Clarke

Rountree Wrigley Head of House RW Adam Watson Deputy Head of House RW James Barker Head of House RW Rebecca Jones Deputy Head of House RW Olivia Spiby Heads of Year

Head of Year 7 Head of Year 7 Nathan Lewis Head of Year 7 Sannah Ameen Head of Year 7 Amber Boulton

Head of Year 8 Head of Year 8 Lewis Hall Head of Year 8 Lucy France Head of Year 8 Samia Iqbal

Head of Year 9 Head of Year 9 Callum Ford Head of Year 9 Krystel Eastman Head of Year 9 Imaan Rasul-Healer

Head of Year 10 Head of Year 10 William Anderson Head of Year 10 Georgia Bennett Head of Year 10 Reece Woolliscroft

Head of Year 11 Head of Year 11 Liam Goudy Head of Year 11 Harry Evans Head of Year 11 Sylvie Mananasy Head of Year 11 Cameron Turner

Section 3: The final celebrations!

Year 11

Year 11 students and their teachers enjoyed a well-deserved celebration at the end of their exams at the annual Year 11 Leavers’ Prom, held once again at Rochdale Town Hall.

By kind permission of Holden Photography, Union Street, Oldham Tel: 0161 624 9898 They looked like film stars arriving in their finery. It is the most glamorous night of the year! They’ve been a fantastic year group who’ve worked tremendously hard throughout the year and right the way through an exam season spanning across six weeks for some. On top of this academic work many of them find time, with substantial support from their parents, to go the extra mile, be that supporting bake sales in school, being part of a cycling team at the Manchester Velodrome, being a Lifeguard at a swimming pool or even becoming a professional Rugby League player! We have told this year group that they have been inspirational; the way that they’ve worked, the resilience they’ve shown and their commitment to keep on trying is what has made them a truly special year group. Many of them do know that what they do is a model for the younger students in our community and this is the reason that Eri-be Doro has donated his very first England International Shirt to the school so that it can hopefully inspire other young people to believe in themselves and their future. We will all miss them. We wish them all every possible success. Year 13

The Y13s celebrated an end to their school career with their Leavers’ Ball on Friday the 26th May. The event that was planned and organised by a team of committed upper sixth senior students took place at Manchester’s Radisson Edwardian Hotel. A brilliant night to remember was had by all the staff and students in attendance.

Section 4: The curriculum, learning and achievement

Sport Boys’ PE

26th April saw the first silverware of the football season lifted by Blue Coat, as the Year 7’s completed a dramatic comeback to win the OSFA Cup Final against bitter rivals Crompton House. The game was played under the sunshine down at AVROS, as parents and spectators were treated to a thrilling game. For Year 7 coach Mr Reece, the game offered him the chance to exercise a few demons, having lost in the same final as Y11 thirteen years ago to the day! His coach that day, Mr. Gadsbey, was also in attendance offering words of wisdom from the sidelines with that famous Scottish rasp.

The game saw a clash of styles as the size and strength of Crompton House was met with the style and finesse of Blue Coat. Crompton House took an early lead, when a lapse in concentration at the back, meant a straight forward ball over the top was neatly finished by Crompton House's pacey forward.

After a difficult 10 minutes, Blue Coat began to grow into the game. Dominating possession with slick, intricate passing. Our four attackers were a pleasure to watch. However it is goals that win games and despite all the hard work, we failed to get the crucial equaliser and were again hit on the counter attack, being punished by Crompton House's star man.

The team talk was short and sweet: Keep working hard for each other and test their goal keeper. The determination was clearly visible on each of their faces as we took to the pitch early for the second half!

Our two star players this season, Arron Atkinson and Mworina Doro, decided to take the game by the scruff of its neck straight from kick off. Mworina's stocky, powerful frame was impenetrable as he stopped each Crompton House attack almost single handedly before charging up the pitch with bull-like menace. This paid off within ten minutes of the restart as his scuffed shot trickled past the helpless keeper. Game on.

Crompton House were beginning to feel the pressure. Their brilliant defence was getting carved open by our two wingers, Seth Edwards and Henry Rutter as we created more and more chances. Efforts from Mason Cosford and Aaron Atkinson hit the woodwork as parents agonised on the sidelines. A wrongly disallowed goal after the referee failed to play advantage, left players and coach looking up to the sky. Things were not going to plan.

With one last throw of the dice, the formation was changed to leave Tom Plant as the sole defender for the final two minutes as we searched for the equaliser. With the referee's whistle in mouth, the desperate Crompton defender hacked down Atkinson just as he was about to unleash one last attempt on goal. Free kick to Blue Coat 20 yards out.

Tom Plant was ushered away as there was only one man for this moment. Aaron had dusted himself down and taken three methodical steps back. He took one deep breath, before curling an unstoppable beckham-esque leveller into the top right hand corner! The Blue Coat crowd and players erupted!

The game then went straight to penalties and with momentum overwhelmingly in our favour, there was only ever going to be one outcome. Henry Rutter and Mworina Doro kept their cool, scoring the first two penalties. Luke Southerington then became a hero as he saved two Crompton Houses penalties meaning a memorable win to cap off a fantastic first season for our newest recruits!

Congratulations to all boys who have taken part this year!

Please follow our PE twitter account for regular updates and information: @BCOldhamPE

The U14 Year 9 boys won the Oldham Schools Final at Boundary Park. They managed a hard fought victory over Failsworth by winning the game 3-1. They showed dominance from the first whistle to the last, and encapsulated what it means to be part of a team by working hard for each other to achieve a common goal. A fantastic effort from all who were involved in the squad and they should all be looking forward to next year to defend their title, in addition to the County Cup and National English Schools competition. The Y9 boys became Greater Manchester Futsal Champions at The Power League complex in Trafford Park. After losing their opening two fixtures in the group stage, they showed how being a newcomer to the sport can be an advantage by learning strategy from those who they played against, before using their newly acquired tactics to their advantage against their opposition. After tactfully conserving their energy in the preliminary rounds, they saved their best football until the knock- out stage where they were unstoppable. They showed a great willingness to win, coupled with a fantastic display of sportsmanship, to be finally crowned the Greater Manchester Champions.

Congratulations to Blue Coat's Y11 Rugby League team who became Oldham Schools’ Rugby Champions on Monday the 19th June. The final took place at the sun drenched St Anne's Rugby club against arch-rivals Saddleworth High School. With temperatures soaring Blue Coat struck first with the impressive Billy England waltzing in almost immediately from the kick off. However, Saddleworth who won the final 12 months ago, struck back to lead 16-10 at half time despite a try from hot stepping centre Mathew Lowe. With the game in the balance, the Blue Coat forwards began to get on top with Richie Lucas and Harrison Lewis laying the platform for Captain England to cross for a second to draw the scores level at 20-20. But just as it looked like extra time was looming, England again went to the line this time finding a deft offload for the impressive wing Tom Anchor who scorched down the left touchline for the match winning try. O'Brian who had kicked beautifully all day slotted the extras from out wide. In the remaining minutes Blue Coat defended for their lives to hold on for a famous victory. Congratulations to all who played and a big thank you to all the supporters.

The cricket season is up and running with teams across the year groups playing their opening round fixtures. Many of our Year groups have progressed through to the next round of the knock- out draw, with a particular mention to the Year 8 team who are already through to the semi-final stage of the competition. Well done to all those involved. SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS to Eri-Be Doro who has won his first England cap for rugby league and has been signed by Super League club Warrington Wolves on a full-time contract - only 3 years since he played his first game of rugby.

The Junior Tennis Championship was held in June at the Regional Tennis Centre near the Etihad Stadium. Our Y8 students Eugene Taylor-Wrigley and Luke Wilson put on a fantastic show and managed to progress through to the semi-final stage. The boys both held their own in the presence of stiff competition from the schools in the borough. A great effort and the perfect foundation for them moving forward for the step up to Senior Tennis next year.

Our Year 7 and 8 students experienced a fantastic day at the Golf Show hosted by American Golf, Sky Sports and the European Tour. The students were given one to one tuition by a golf professional in which they all showed great resilience to get better. They all managed to have a go at the various activities on offer, the longest drive, a pressure putt and the chipping challenge to name a few, all with varying degrees of success. The students behaved fantastically on the day and were a credit to the school.

The Y10 GCSE students enjoyed an educational and informative seminar at the National Football Museum in Manchester. They explored the impact of commercialisation and socio-cultural influences on football and how this has developed over the years. The session aimed to bring to life elements of the PE GCSE curriculum in a fun and interactive manner, all done through learning outside the classroom. The students were given a chance to handle memorabilia related to the course as well as a chance to explore the museum on a self-guided tour.

Girls’ PE

Athletics We began the season with the first round of the English Schools National Athletics competition. Although we didn’t make it through to the next round, we were well represented and had students in all events across all year groups! Our next competition was the Oldham Schools field events final where we won 11 medals. Special congratulations to Lucy Cunliffe and Hannah Diamond who won gold medals in high jump and discus. We are now looking forward to the track final and hope to equal our achievements!

Rounders An excellent season so far for all of our teams. Attendance to training is consistently good and this is paying off in the matches. The Y7 team are rapidly improving and are now through to the semi- final of the cup with the rally coming up soon. The Y8 team had a great run, however, were knocked out of the cup in the semi-final. The Y9 team are looking forward to their semi-final game against Newman which will be a challenge but we are optimistic. The Y10 team are also through to the semi- final of the cup and have a strong chance of winning their rally! Well done girls, keep up the good work!

Y9 Rounders Team

Sports Leaders Congratulations to all of the Y11 Sports Leaders who are due to be signed off this week. Section 5: Subject Department Reports

Art

The Apprentice

Earlier this year the art department were approached by ex Blue Coat pupil Charlotte Mills, who is an international bridal shoe designer, to find her next apprentice. The first stage of the search was a competition for sixth form art and textiles students to design a bridal shoe along the theme of Cinderella’s glass slipper.

Students created impressive designs that Charlotte judged and Sasha Howe was chosen as the winner. Her reward was a pair of Charlotte Mills shoes of her choice.

From this, interested students applied for an apprenticeship to become the next member of Charlotte’s rapidly expanding shoe brand. After a very close series of interviews and trials working at Charlotte’s company we are pleased to announce that Alex Nykorak has accepted the offer of taking up the apprenticeship from September.

We would like to congratulate both girls who made a massive impression on Charlotte in terms of their design skills, professional conduct and were both congratulated on being such wonderful ambassadors of the school.

We would also like to thank Charlotte Mills for choosing to return to Blue Coat to provide our students with such a brilliant opportunity.

Key Stage 3 Art and Design Manchester Bee Swarm

Bees – or more specifically worker bees – have been a symbol of Manchester for hundreds of years. The worker bee is a motif of Manchester’s thriving textile trade, with hard-working staff in the mills drawing comparisons to busy bee hives. Similarly, pupils in school can be busy little bees who always work hard for us in school. As a reflection of this and as a sign of respect for the victims of the Manchester attack, pupils have spent the last few weeks busily[Grab produci your reader’sng a wide attention variety with oaf gr arteat works on the themequote offrom the the document worker beeor use for this artspace to homework. emphasize a key point. To place this text box anywhere on the page, just drag it.] The response by pupils has been phenomenal. Watch out for the swarms as they appear for an exhibition on the year landings towards the end of term!

Computer Science The coursework requirements for Computer Science have changed with the new specifications, and the year 13 students have risen to the challenge. There is now far more scope for students to produce a solution to a problem that really interests them.

James Mallinson wrote a Rubik's cube solver. There are many programs available on the Internet to do that, but James took things a stage further by writing a program that allowed you to take photos of the cube with your phone. The program would then provide pictures of the next moves on the screen.

Adam McGladdery wrote a particularly impressive Tower Defence game. Typically these games involve placing towers to defeat attacking monsters or zombies. Adam took the game to the next level by allowing play to take place on Google Maps. Players could defend the Blue Coat school against attackers originating in High Crompton, Chadderton or even San Francisco...

Aaron Taylor wrote a cave zombie game using the Unity platform. Unity is the tool used by professional studios to produce games.

Tom Bebbington went a stage further, using a variant of Javascript to produce a multiplayer game.

Finally, Ben Atkinson wrote a Markdown editor. Markdown is used by web professionals to quickly produce online content. Ben's editor was so effective he now uses it himself to keep track of his revision notes.

Drama

HOME Mcr Transfer- #YOLO- National Theatre Connections

This year’s National Theatre Connections piece - #YOLO - was a real challenge. 12 senior students and a 5 piece band and vocalist created an original transfer of our production from school to the fabulous HOME Mcr.

Students performed to a sell-out audience and did us proud.

A level groups have performed “The Skriker” by Caryl Churchill, an allegorical tale that examines how the development of technology impacts on nature, and “100” by Dione Pieterlee, in which 5 Actors question the afterlife and distortion of memory in an immersive and disturbing interpretation; and a monologue - Five Kinds of Silence- by Sheila Stephenson. The performances were superb, gritty and hard hitting.

English

Book Club Alasdair Glynn, Year 13, has led a very successful Reading Group for staff and Sixth form students. During the year challenging texts including “The Comfort of Strangers” and “Goodbye to Berlin” were read and discussed over lunchtimes in the English Department.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall Just before Easter, sixth formers and staff went to Bolton Octagon to watch a production of “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall”, just one of a number of theatre trips organised during the year. The play raised interesting ideas about feminism and the role of women in Victorian society.

In May 2017, 45 Year 9 pupils attended a performance of Arthur Miller’s wonderful play “The Crucible”. Based around the time of the Salem Witch trials, the play explores themes of greed, lust, sacrifice and love, as well as being an allegorical tale about the complexities of Cold War politics in 1950s America. The pupils had read this play in the autumn term and so this provided an excellent opportunity for them to experience the play they had studied in so much detail. For many pupils, this was also their first experience of the theatre. The play was spell-binding, and pupils thoroughly enjoyed the experience, debating how much they loved and hated the characters.

Geography

Our year 7 students have been learning about both the natural and human environment of their local area. They have independently carried out investigations within the school to understand microclimates and how a physical area can change the way they feel. We have currently broadened our horizons to investigate Manchester, researching the ethnic diversity and gaining an understanding of how the variety of cultures makes Manchester such a brilliant place to live. In year 8 students have been learning about tourism and what a place needs to attract tourists. To support this they carried out an investigation in Ambleside, collecting data on the impacts of tourism. A lovely day trip started with a boat ride on Lake Windermere to show the students the physical landscape of Ambleside, after which students worked independently to collect the data they needed. They then wrote up their own investigations, using supportive data to reach a conclusion, which also prepares students for the fieldwork aspect of the new GCSE specification. In line with the new specification, our year 10 students have completed a research project on rivers in Uppermill, where they designed their investigation, including methods and sampling techniques. Despite the fact that the students were blessed with lovely warm sunshine, many of them still managed to end the day soaking wet! And as a reward for all of the hard work, the students did get the chance to have an ice cream.

All our A level students have enjoyed a 3 day residential trip to the Cranedale Centre in the Yorkshire Wolds. Apart from being extremely well fed, students were able to explore and investigate the famous erosion of the Holderness Coast as well as conduct research into the human geography of Scarborough. Despite the grey weather (The heat wave unfortunately ended the day before the trip) the students put on a brave face and collected their information in true geography style with full waterproofs. They will be using this information to write up their independent investigation that will account for 20% of their A level.

History

It’s been a very busy and challenging term for the History department this year and we are very proud of our students for approaching the term with maturity and dedication, especially those that have had important exams this term. They have coped with teacher changes with an excellent attitude.

The main highlight for our KS3 students has been the Year 8 Battlefields tour to Belgium. It was an incredible trip, bringing to life the History of World War One, and in particular the scale of the loss which was involved. We had a mix of History, visiting Somme sights and preserved trenches, as well as cultural aspects including a trip to Bruges and a theme park. Our students represented the school very well and showed absolute respect when at the cemeteries. Poignantly students were involved in the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres. This has taken place every day since WW1, and it was humbling to watch our students be involved in it. Our thanks go to the staff who gave up time to make the trips possible and for the students for making it a pleasure to take them away.

Year 7 has focused on discrimination across time including slavery, injustices in America and beyond. This has included a study of the American slave trade and the subsequent civil war partially instigated by Abraham Lincoln's demands for the ending of slavery. As part of the course students created a campaign poster as if they were on Abraham Lincoln's political strategy team for the 1860 Presidential election. This has resulted in a tremendous display of high level work from students who investigated the platform and used their knowledge and understanding of the slave trade to create persuasive, convincing, heart-felt posters and leaflets (and much more creative pieces of work) to demand an end to slavery.

In Year 8 students have studied how Britain has changed during the 20th century, investigating the causes of immigration to Britain after the second world war, the experience of immigration including the colour bar, judging if the government did enough to tackle racism and discrimination and an investigation into the benefits of immigration for British society. Students finished the year by looking at teenagers in the 1950s-1960s and why there was such a cultural shift during those decades, and the impact.

Year 9 students have stepped up a gear since December, studying part 1 of their GCSE syllabus looking at how Hitler became Chancellor, followed by a thematic study of Crime and Punishment from 1000 to the present day, including an in-depth study of Whitechapel, the scene of the ‘Jack the Ripper’ murders of the late 19th century.

Year 10 are really developing their skills. They are now moving onto Henry VIII and his ministers, before starting Year 11 with Superpower relations and the Cold War, and Weimar and Nazi Germany.

This summer saw the last legacy specification for Year 11 who sat their papers this summer. Well done to all of our students for approaching their work in such a calm & conscientious way.

Maths The Liverpool Hope Maths challenge After a great response to the challenge the entries were sent off to the University for marking. Huge congratulations go to Blessen Mathew in year 7 who gained a Certificate of Merit for the Challenge 2017 and Harriet Harland in year 10 who gained a certificate of Merit for the Senior Challenge 2017. Both students were invited to the prize and certificate evening at the university.

Year 11 revision “Mathematics is like love, a simple idea but it can get complicated”. We ended our relationship with year 11 with a final push of nearly 30 hours to prepare them for the new 9-1 GCSE examination. Maths staff were delighted with the effort and determination shown by these young adults.

Intermediate UKMT Challenge 2017 We continue to have a strong entry to the UKMT mathematics challenges and this year was no different with many of our top mathematicians across Years 9, 10 and 11 competing in an extremely testing individual examination.

Congratulations are due to Harry Holmes (Year 11), Archie Taylor (Year 11) and James Goddard (Year 10) who achieved scores of 93, 88 and 87 respectively. These scores were enough to see the

students into the prestigious ‘Pink Kangaroo’ challenge which involves some of the best mathematical brains in the country pitting their wits against one another. In the challenge, all three posted highly respectable scores.

Such was the level of competition in the first round, only the three students were able to secure a gold certificate. However, strong performances from nine of our other Year 11s were enough to gain silver certificates, along with five others from Year 10 and two brilliant performance from a couple of our Year 9 students, Emma Hawthorne and Hannah Crabb. With 27 other students picking up a bronze award, the future looks bright for our mathematical challenges! Congratulations to all who took part.

Year 9 Revision Poster Competition – This year Mr Luscombe decided to host a revision poster competition as a half-term homework. The idea was that the students could take the initiative and really get on top of the work they had covered in Year 9, rather than leaving it all until the last minute before the exams. The finished designs were unveiled during a special display lesson and unfortunately, they were so good that Mr Luscombe had to use up all his pocket money on prizes! Pictured below are just two of the excellent posters, Joshua Edwards (left) and Archie Hopper (right):

Preparing for a Maths based degree at a prestigious university

On Tuesday 27th June we hosted our first of 3 days for the North West’s most talented year 12 Mathematicians. We were joined by students from St John Rigby College in Wigan and Crompton House School, to prepare students making an application to prestigious universities to study a mathematical based degree course and give them the experience of post A-level mathematics. This involved a workshop on mathematical problem solving which encourages the students to leave modular maths behind and focus on a more cohesive and synoptic approach, and a mock university style interview from one of our current or former year 13 students who have been through a University interview themselves. We were delighted to welcome back Jack Parker who is in his second

year studying Physics at Warwick, Anna Cloran and Jonathan Whitehead studying maths at Durham, Chantel Akroyd studying Physics at Durham, Aaron Hartnell-Booth studying Physics at Oxford and Paul Peters studying Maths at Lancaster.

Year 13 and former students also held a question and answer session for year 12 students on the application process and how best to prepare for an Oxbridge interview.

Media

Year 11 On Monday 1st May, GCSE Media students were given the chance to be part of the audience for ‘Countdown’. They were visiting the studios at Media City, Salford, where the ever- popular Channel 4 quiz show is filmed. Students had been preparing for their summer examination, which this year focused upon game show production. The behaviour and conduct of the students was impeccable - the crew described them as a credit to the school and a pleasure to have around.

They impressed the team so much that they were invited up to the director’s gallery for a tour, talk and a chance for the students to ask any questions they had about working in a professional studio.

Media students, Jack Corbett and Emily Keating commented, “The tour of the gallery was fantastic. They have shown us things we have learnt about in the classroom and it’s given us loads of ideas to take into the exam”

Year 11 has also put their final touches to their practical coursework, with some outstanding work being produced. The students have created trailers for horror, crime and action films.

We would like to wish all the Year 11 Media Studies students good luck and best wishes for the future.

Year 10

Year 10 Media Studies students have been investigating video game advertising and marketing techniques. After some extensive research into the codes and convention employed in marketing material for games such as, SIMS, Candy Crush, Fifa and GTA, they have each created a multi-platform campaign for a new game.

They have worked hard to identify and target an audience by using persuasive language and clear genre iconography. They also took the opportunity to discover more about their own gamer personality traits, by analyzing their gaming habits and purchasing preferences against the Bartle profile model. In understanding why certain games appeal to certain players, they were able to incorporate strategies to broaden the appeal of their own game campaign. If you would like to find out more about gamer personalities, then please visit the GSCE Media Studies Bloodle page.

Modern Foreign Languages

Foreign Language Spelling Bee Regional Finals – Success!

On Thursday 30th March our 3 school “Spelling Bee” finalists went to Trinity High School in Manchester to compete in the North West Regional Finals.

Matthew Jones and Blessen Mathews represented us in French and Alyssa Riley in German. All three students put on an excellent performance, beating their own personal best for how many words they could say, and then spell out in the language in a minute. This was our most successful year; Blessen came in the top 8 from over 60 students but narrowly missed a place in the final, and Alyssa had to go head-to-head in a very tense tie-break for 1st and 2nd place; she ended up 2nd but has qualified for the National “Spelling Bee” Final in Cambridge in June. The students were impeccably behaved and demonstrated strong support and encouragement for each other.

Paris Trip 2017 – by Sarah Goodhall and Isobel Bate (Year 12)

On the 25th March a group of Year 10 & 12 Art, Photography and French students visited Paris for the weekend. After a long train journey down to Euston, and a trip under the Channel, we finally arrived at Gare du Nord Station, ready to start our trip, but not without a journey along the Métro to Porte de Vincennes to drop off our luggage. Our first tourist site was L’Hôtel de Ville, and then onto the Notre Dame for a brief look around before having dinner on the Left Bank. The next day began with an early rise and a long Métro journey to see the Arc de Triomphe, where we were able to successfully translate the famous speech of Charles De Gaulle, and pay our respects at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We then had some free time to peruse the Champs Elysées and do some light shopping before moving on to visiting the park of Tuileries, the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, and the Pyramide du Louvre.

For the art section of the weekend, we visited the Pompidou Centre, to view the Modern Art of Cy Twombly and the other exhibitions on site. The art was unique and offered an alternative perspective to traditional art. It enabled the Art students to develop an alternative stance on modern art to use in their future projects.

For the afternoon on Sunday, we visited the Place de la Contrascarpe, and had many chances to use our French knowledge when we completed a quiz on the local area, as well as ordering our own meals in the local language. This enabled us to develop our confidence in French, and has played a huge part in developing the French linguistic skills of the students.

After a clear deciding vote, we endeavoured to visit the Eiffel Tower, to see it in all of its glory, lit up at night time. The view was astonishing, and took us all aback. On our final day in Paris, we once again took the Métro to visit the Eiffel Tower in the daylight, and continued on to see the view from underneath. After a short RER journey, we arrived back at the Left Bank for our final meal in Paris. Finishing our trip with the Métro journey back to the hostel to collect our suitcases, and taking our final trip on the Métro to get us back to Gare du Nord, and back to St Pancras on the Eurostar.

Whilst we had a short break of free time in St Pancras station, some students found a piano in the station, and it wasn’t long before the cohort of our trip had surrounded the piano and begun to sing. A crowd ended up emerging around us, and we finished our weekend in Paris on a high note.

Berlin, June 2017

On the 16th of June this year, a group of 54 students and students from Years 10 and 12 travelled to Berlin for the weekend. We visited many historical and cultural sights including Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust Memorial and the Reichstag. This is what some of our students wrote about the trip:

From the 16th to the 18th of June we visited Berlin with the Year 10’s as part of our German A level course. It was a fun trip, jam-packed with activities that helped to boost our cultural and educational knowledge of Germany’s capital city.

One of the highlights for me was being able to walk round Alexanderplatz as well as other areas of Berlin and find the buildings and landmarks that can be seen in the film we have been studying for the past year, “Good-Bye Lenin”. Such as the moving clock, and Unter den Linden, one of Berlin’s most famous political streets filled with all the foreign embassies.

It was great to experience first-hand the German way of life for basic things such as going to a German supermarket and seeing the “pfandflaschensystem” which is a machine that recycles bottles in exchange for money. The localshoppers found it very strange how excited we were to see one in real life, and we got some funny looks when we took selfies with it!

Sadly we were unable to visit the Mauer Memorial park which is a very poignant place and an important part of Berlin’s history, however it leaves a reason to visit Berlin again in the future, and I will definitely be back! Emma Bradburn, Year 11

Berlin was a great experience to learn about not only the language but the culture of Germany. It was great fun visiting all the different landmarks of Berlin, and especially learning about the Berlin Wall. The museum had lots of information of how people tried to cross the Berlin Wall. Some stories were very shocking as they wanted to cross the Wall so badly, and some were just saddening. We also had fun times shopping and went to the markets to get some food and drink, which was not only tasty but showed the German culture even more. The nights of Berlin were not too busy and quite relaxed to sit down after a busy day of travelling, especially the bowling! Overall I had fun in Berlin and it was great fun to see the different cultures of such a diverse country. Joseph Jolly, Year 10

My best memory from Berlin was going to the Holocaust Memorial because it was very emotional and fascinating. Katie Williams, Year 10

On Friday, after arriving in Berlin and dropping off our bags, we got a chance to walk around Alexanderplatz and get to know the place, since we were going to stay there for the weekend. This gave us an opportunity to get something to eat and do a bit of shopping. After that, we took several underground trains and visited different landmarks and attractions in Berlin, including Checkpoint Charlie (a museum about Berlin during the Cold War), a Holocaust memorial, the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag (a German parliamentary building). Doing so enabled us to learn about Germany’s past and also reflect on it. The next day, we visited a large marketplace in Schöneberg, where we took part in a language quiz. Some of the challenges in it included looking for English translations of German words, asking for the prices of items and asking Germans what they think of Berlin. Afterwards, we went to the shopping district Kurfürstendamm (or Ku’damm, for short), where we had some free time to buy some souvenirs and gifts from KaDeWe (Europe’s biggest department store) and other surrounding shops. We were also able to try some German specialities (I highly recommend the currywurst!). Later in the afternoon, we went back to Alexanderplatz and visited the Berliner Fernsehturm (Berlin TV tower). This was my favourite part of the trip because you could get a really good view of Berlin and some other landmarks from up high. Finally, we went bowling – it was lots of fun because we were able to talk to each other about what we had seen so far while competing against one another! Sunday was our last day, so we used this time to visit the East Side Gallery, which is a remaining section of the Berlin Wall that has been decorated with graffiti by artists from around the world. We all loved it and felt inspired by it because a lot of the graffiti conveyed moving messages about the dangers of war, destruction and separation. Later, we took a boat along the River Spree, where we were able to spot more monuments and landmarks we hadn’t yet seen, before we flew back to Manchester in the evening. We were all sad to go, but we had thoroughly enjoyed our weekend.

Overall, Berlin was great. It gave us a historical and political insight into the vast city, and we were able to put our German language skills to good use by talking to native speakers. If you’re thinking of taking German for your GCSEs, going to Berlin is a great way to learn about the culture in Germany, and it will be one of your most memorable experiences in school. Kirsty Idoko, Year 10

Music

Easter Leavers’ Concert

On Thursday 30th March, the department performed the annual Easter Concert to a packed school hall of parents, friends, staff and supporters. Again the concert was billed as the Year 13 Leaver’ concert and it was a huge success. The Jazz Orchestra, All Aloud Choir, Senior Choir, Orchestra, Musical Theatre group, Brass Band, and featured soloists all shone in their performances. The music department thanks all of the Year 13 students for their contributions to the department over the years and would like to wish them all the very best in their future studies.

They are: Richard Blythe, Aysha Brannon, Amy Burgess, James Carroll, Blessing Cefefa, Alex Cockburn, Emily Crichton, Kathryn Eato, Jacob Gill, Ben Hartnell-Booth, Jess Ross and Jack Whitehead.

The concert also saw the presentation of the annual Instrumentalist of the Year awards, culminating in the Blue Coat School Musician of the Year award.

Each member of every ensemble voted for their category and the awards this year went to:

Brass Player of the Year Adam Dawson Jazz Performer of the Year Adam Neild Woodwind Performer of the Year Emily Crichton Chorister of the Year Ben Hartnell-Booth String Player of the Year Eve Handley Percussionist of the Year James Carroll

Blue Coat School Musician of the Year – Richard Blythe

Many congratulations to all of the nominees and the eventual recipients of the awards, with special congratulations to Richard, who will be invited back as guest of honour to present our Musician of the Year award at next year’s concert.

Last year’s recipient, Sam Noden, who presented the Musician of the Year award to Richard Blythe

Easter Service

Our annual Easter Service was again, a fantastic success musically, with some quite superb performances from our young musicians including the All Aloud choir and Senior Choir, performing “How far I’ll go” from “Moana”, and “Northern Lights” by Ola Gjello. The Brass Band played “Prismatic Light” by Alan Fernie, a fabulous piece, which really set the mood of the service!

All performers received very generous applause and they contributed to what was an excellent service.

National Festival of Music for Youth

For the 5th year, Blue Coat Music was represented at the National Finals of the Music for Youth festival at Birmingham Town Hall. The Senior Choir performed on 6th July, competing against the best youth music groups in the country in one of Europe’s finest concert venues. There are no placings, but every ensemble gets feedback. The music mentors comments were; “What a wonderful choir – has everything ….you’re so good”.

Visit from Tubalate

On Wednesday 12th July, the Brass Band and other Music students, will take part in a workshop with the internationally renowned ensemble, Tubalate, who will be visiting the school to discuss performance techniques and to show off their wonderful instrumental skills. This event has been arranged by the Oldham Music Service; pictures of the event and a review will follow in the next bulletin.

Religious Studies

What has been happening in Religious Studies this term? Cross Curricular Project with our Primary School Partners

This term has seen some really exciting project work with our Primary Schools. The RS department has put together a scheme of work which looks at the symbolic meaning of ‘light’ in religion. Year 5 students will have the opportunity to learn about the festivals of Chanukah and Divali with sessions from their class teachers and members of the RS department. East Crompton St George's and Mayfield Primaries will both deliver this to their Year 5 students following on from the learning they did with the RS department on Faith Day. This cross curricular project is beneficial for both the primaries as well as Blue Coat allowing them to work with specialist teachers and for Blue Coat to look at exactly what RS students are learning in primary schools.

The schemes of work put forward by the RS department were welcomed by both primaries and will see students learning RS though drama, song, dancing and artwork before bringing everything they have learnt together for a showcase for parents. RS staff will be going back to the primary schools to assist in the delivery of lessons and to take part in a Chanukah party with all the Year 5 students who have been involved in the project.

Year 10 visit Jalalabad Jamay Mosque On the 6th to the 8th of June Year 10 students visited Jalalabad Jamay Mosque. The trip was led by leaders of the Oldham Interfaith Network and allowed students to meet both leaders and members of the Islamic Community in Oldham. The trip focused on key aspects of the GCSE course but also allowed students the opportunity to understand the work of a faith group in the local community.

Students had the opportunity to look around the mosque and also had the chance for a question and answer session. Many of the questions posed by students were challenging and yet all were answered in an honest and direct way. In addition, many students wanted to know what part the Mosque plays in the local Oldham community. Students learnt that Jalalabad Jamay Mosque was working towards many common aims, that we work towards at Blue Coat, such as raising money for local charities and donating to local food banks.

Thomas Percival in Year 10 said ‘the amount of work the mosque does for the community is outstanding. They bring the whole community together despite what religion or ethnicity you are. The Imam that spoke to our class was really open and answered every question that was asked of him (even the really difficult questions). Everyone learnt something that they previously did not know’.

In addition, Will Hoskison was surprised by how much Muslims are working for community change and how engaged they are in helping people in Oldham. Kian O’Connor said that the Mosque trip was useful because students learnt more about Islam because he could ask practicing Muslims about their beliefs rather than just learning in a classroom setting.

The trips that ran for three days were organized and led by Fazal and Mufti Helal from Oldham Interfaith Network who did an incredible job at delivering sessions to almost 210 students, despite the tiredness and hunger at conducting all these visits during Ramadan. Thank you to all involved.

Key Stage 5 visit to Krakow

During the Easter holidays, a group of 40 sixth form students visited Auschwitz and Auschwitz- Birkenau as part of their Religious Studies A level course. A key part of the course is considering the justification for an all loving, all powerful God, in the face of evil. It was an extremely thought provoking experience for all students. Exploring Auschwitz-Birkenau left many students in disbelief; they witnessed where the infamous Dr Mengeles carried out his selection as to who would live and who would die, and who would be medically tested on. We had incredibly knowledgeable guides who told us stories of strength and survival as well as the heart breaking stories of loss and suffering. The visit was fairly action packed, as students also spent a morning at the Jewish History Museum looking at photography which depicts the lifes of Jewish people before and after the Holocaust. We also had a guided tour at Schindler’s factory and were able to hear the testimony of a Holocaust survivor. She told the story of her childhood during the war, and the impact this has had on her life. It was a very moving experience for all who were there. On the final day, we were also able to visit the famous salt mines!

Getting ready for the exams

For the past two months exam season has been upon us! Students prepared with their teachers through revision lessons, pre-exam sessions and continued focus on independent student and examination practice.

In May, all of Year 11 sat their two GCSE papers on Religion and Life and Religion and Morality. This was quickly followed by Year 12 sitting the new AS level papers on Philosophy of Religion, Ethics, and Christianity. Finally, Year 13 have also sat their final RS exams showcasing their knowledge of a two year course in their synoptic paper.

The students have, as always, worked so hard and we are very proud of their effort and commitment. We wish them all every success for their future, and look forward to celebrations on results day!

Year 7 Good Samaritan Rap Battles!

Year 7 students have been learning about Jesus and the parables He told. As part of their learning they did a study about The Parable of the Good Samaritan through which they learnt about the key Christian teaching, “Love thy neighbour”. Part of their learning was an understanding that Jesus used parables as an innovative and charismatic way of teaching a moral. To apply this understanding, year 7 were asked to come up with songs, plays, poems and raps that explained the Good Samaritan message with a modern twist.

Due to the number of budding Stormzys in year 7, a Good Samaritan Rap-Off was set up through which individual rappers or groups could film their rap to compete with other classes.

Some students even went on to film a full music video with props and make-up to demonstrate the parable. This was a lot of fun and a great opportunity for classes to see the excellent work from students in other groups.

Science

Science is always a busy department but this year we seem to have been running at full speed and that’s how we like it.

As the GCSE exams draw to a close for another year, we really see our Year 11s come into their own, taking responsibility for their own learning and aiming high. This is especially the case in the number of students giving up their free time to attend revision groups. In Biology alone, over thirty students attended weekly after-school classes, aiming to push their grades to the very highest level. Thanks to Ms. Ormisher and Ms. Berry for providing their time and enthusiasm and good luck to the students. We know that their hard work will be rewarded.

A true biologist is never happier than being up to their knees in a rockpool (ideally in a force 10 gale). Fortunately the Biology department will soon be departing for their annual coursework expedition to Aberystwyth. This is where our Year 12 students routinely ignore the teachers’ advice to bring sturdy shoes and waterproof clothing, instead opting for the optimistic choice of flip-flops and a sarong. Needless to say, the weather invariably takes a turn for the worse. Our sympathies extend to the invertebrate population of Aberystwyth’s rocky shoreline, who are annually fished out of their rockpools, scrutinised and then gently returned from whence they came. Thanks to Mrs. Lawson, Ms. Elliott, Mr. Ford, Ms. Ormisher and Mr. Gledhill for running this.

Some clubs thrive despite their name and Rat Club is no exception (it does exactly what it says on the tin). Every week for two months, a strong-stomached bunch of Year 13 students have systematically dissected their way through preserved rodents, exploring the astonishingly intricate and beautiful anatomy of these creatures. There’s nothing like dissection for giving our students a real appreciation of how a complex organism functions so many thanks to Ms. Ormisher for providing this opportunity.

Over the course of the year, the Chemistry department has provided students with several fantastic opportunities not only to extend their knowledge but also to compete on an international level. A number of students participated in the Chemistry Olympiad (which is renowned for the high level of challenge it offers). After months of intense training with Dr. Silversides (think Rocky without the boxing), eight students achieved a Bronze Award and four students achieved a Silver. And any chemist knows that simply participating is a big achievement in itself.

As if the Olympiad was not difficult enough, several students have now opted for the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge. We’re certain that they’ll make Blue Coat (and themselves) proud and wish them every success.

These opportunities give our young people a chance to operate at a higher level than A-level and are ideal training for the sorts of interviews that our students will face at Oxbridge and Russell Group universities. Thanks to Dr. Silversides for the many hours of work that he puts into these.

Of course, not every student enters the Chemistry Olympiad but every student aims high and in the Blue Coat Chemistry department, we support them via our own mentoring scheme. Every Year 13 student is asked to mentor a Year 12, taking them through the areas that they know are challenging and acting as a guide. This is extremely popular with the students and we believe is one of the most effective ways for our students to develop. Thanks to Dr. Higginson, Mr. Bhula, Mr. Price, Mr. Haygarth and Dr. Silversides for all of the time that they devote to organise and help with this.

The Blue Coat Physics department is going from strength to strength. This is due not only to the outstanding quality of teaching but also to the breadth of extra-curricular activities offered to the students. Students have attended lectures on topics as diverse as the role played by Manchester University in particle physics (did you know that Manchester University is where scientists first discovered the structure of the atom?) to the role of physics in the Cold War. Thanks to Mr. McGuinness and Dr. Guittierez-Sosa for organising these.

Mr. McGuinness took Year 12 and 13 physics students to Manchester Museum to look at how animals have exploited the properties of radiation to their own advantage. Entitled “Frogs in Physics”, students came into direct contact with a range of different creatures, each of which exploit radiation in their own ways (from camouflage to mating signals). This is a popular day and really opens our students’ eyes to the links between Physics and Biology.

In June, thirty Year 10 students will be visiting Jodrell Bank for an evening of astrophysics. Jodrell Bank is an amazing place and has a fascinating history (scientists collaborated with the Soviet Union on tracking Soviet space probes, including one instance where British newspapers had access to photographs of the moon’s surface before their Soviet colleagues). Thanks to Dr. Guittierez-Sosa for organising this opportunity.

In July, fourteen of our Year 12 Physics students will be heading off for the sunny climes of Geneva. No need to pack the SPF 50 though because they will then go one hundred metres underground to observe the Large Hadron Collider. This is a very popular trip as the students get to see cutting edge science first hand. The Large Hadron Collider is a unique collaboration between over one hundred countries (and is also the largest machine in the world). A number of critical discoveries have been made there, including the Higg’s Boson (the particle responsible for mass). This is an exciting opportunity for our students so thanks to Dr. Guittierez-Sosa and Mr. Pauline for making this happen.

Over the next month, the Physics department is hosting two Ogden Trust interns. These are Physics undergraduates (one from Lancaster University and one from Manchester University) who will be working with our students to give them an insight into Physics at a university level. This is the second year that Blue Coat has participated in this scheme. One of last year’s interns will be joining us in September to train as a physics teacher. Thanks to Dr. Guittierez-Sosa for co- ordinating this.

Several of our students have participated in the Physics Olympiad this year and we have had some notable success. Well done to Archie Taylor in Year 10 for achieving a Gold at GCSE level and to Liam Goudy for achieving a Silver in the A level category. Congratulations also go to Maisie Johnson who has been awarded the Ogden Trust Best Physicist in Year 12 Award and to Max Butterworth for the Best Physicist in Year 10.

Social Sciences

Sociology

Year 10 Sociology Students have started the topic of crime and deviance. Students have been analysing police statistics and investigating the reasons why people may turn to crime. In year 9, students continue studying the topic of “family”. Currently they are exploring the differences in childhood from our more child-centred approach to the family versus the experiences of parents and carer’s time as children. Students are also carrying out their own research interviewing the older generation and finding out what life was like as a child of the 1950s and 60s.

Child Development

As part of the new Children’s Learning and Development course for Year 9, students investigate antenatal care and the role of different health professionals. Year 10 student Emily McGrail kindly suggested that her mother (a lead in Midwifery care) would come and speak to the students about her role and responsibilities of life as a midwife. Ms McGrail also brought along many “props” for students to review which initiated a very interesting question and answer session! The students found the talk extremely informative, and learned lots about current antenatal care provision.

The Child Development and Health and Social Care courses rely heavily on guest speakers to bring the roles of the health professionals to the students. If you work in the health and social care profession and are interested in sharing your experience with the students, please contact Mrs Devine.

Health and Social Care

Year 12s are starting their portfolio on Practitioner Roles. Students are selecting health care professions they are interested in pursuing and investigating all aspects of the role. Students will have to independently source a professional, devise suitable questions and write a report covering all aspects of the practioner’s role including responsibilities, codes of conduct, skills and pay.

STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths Engineering Education Scheme The Engineering Education Scheme Celebration and Assessment Day took place at the University of Liverpool in April, where the team of four Year 12 students presented their work, following 7 months of hard work. The team had to populate a display stand and answer questions from experts and the other teams, before completing a 15 minute presentation, explaining the work they had done and their findings, to a panel of industry experts.

The feedback the team received was excellent, with the experts praising the written report, the team work that was clearly evident, and also the high standard of the presentation.

Section 6: A report from our chaplain, Mr Ford

Last term ended with the school Easter services which concluded our Lent theme entitled “Forgiven”. Services in school and the Parish church revisited the events of the first Easter through bible readings, music and media. We focussed on the two criminals who were crucified with Jesus, and how they made very different choices in the way they acted towards Jesus. We were all challenged to think about the choices we make, and whether we choose to accept God’s forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus

This term we have continued to focus on the school verse for the year:

“You are the light that gives light to the world. A city that is built on a hill cannot be hidden. And people don’t hide a light under a bowl. They put it on a lamp stand so the light shines for all the people in the house. In the same way, you should be a light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do and will praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)

These words have taken on more significance with so many tragic events taking place in our country and around the world. We have been challenged as a school community to remember that Jesus is the light that shines in the darkness, and the darkness can’t overcome his light. Whilst also remembering that we can “Be the light” through our words and actions, bringing peace, compassion and love to those in need.

Students have enjoyed a range of assemblies from senior staff, visitors and other students on themes such as Compassion, Pentecost and failure. One of our senior students, Andrea Goudy, planned and led a very powerful and thought- provoking assembly during mental health awareness week. She talked about her own experiences and challenged all students to be aware of mental health issues, encouraging them to look after themselves and others regarding these issues.

Christian Union continues to meet on a weekly basis and we have been looking at different themes relating to the nature of God, and how we can grow as Christians. Sadly, we said goodbye to a group of year 11’s who have been regular attenders of the group for the past 5 years. We wish them every success in their exams and for the future.

Students have been given the opportunity to reflect and pray in many different ways during form reflection and collective worship. In particular a prayer wall has been set up outside the main mall during the exam season allowing students to reflect and pray at a difficult and stressful time for them.

As we look forward to our end of year celebration services, the school worship band are practicing hard and learning new songs to teach and lead the students in singing. These services will tie together our worship ideas from this year as we meet together as a diverse school community and consider once more how we can all let our light shine before others.

Section 7: Wider curriculum

Sixth Form News

Sutton Trust USS Summer School Y12 Students Adam Watson and Jake Horsfall will be spending the summer at some of the top Universities in the USA after winning places on the USA Sutton Summer School scheme.

The programme, delivered in partnership with the US-UK Fulbright Commission, is centered on a one week summer school in the US at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale University and Harvard with introductory events and application support in the UK before and after.

The programme provides participants with a wide range of activities to help them make the right decisions about American higher education. With The Sutton Trust covering all programme costs, including residential events, accommodation and travel the two Blue Coat high flyers are in for a special summer.

The Orwell Youth Prize 2017

Congratulations to Kerys Henry who was short listed to win the Orwell Youth Prize for literature 2017. Kerys’s entry explored concept of gender inequality in conflict zones. She was invited to Pembroke College Oxford for a celebration event where she is pictured (right) with TV presenter and author Rick Edwards. Kerys also enjoyed meeting George Orwell’s son Richard Blair.

House activities and the wider curriculum

This year has been really successful for our House activities and competitions. We had over 300 students take part in the European Week of Languages. We had an international film screening which gave pupils the opportunity to learn new languages. Our students also learnt the basics in Spanish, Romanian and Hungarian. To celebrate our school’s multilingualism, we asked for volunteers to teach their home language to their peers.

Blue Coat also celebrated the final of The Great British Bake Off by holding their own equally impressive inter house Bake Off competition. Sixty students put their rolling pins in the air and donned aprons to take part in the qualifying rounds. With the pressure on, the finalists worked at speed with accuracy as their cakes started to take shape. Icing pigs were expertly sculpted, tiers were stacked high and surprise fillings inserted. In the end there could only be one winner. The judges scoring on taste, creativity and appearance, had to make a difficult decision. Special congratulations go to Chloe Barker who took the title of Star Baker with a sumptuous checked sponge cake.

We also hosted the first ever Festival of Cultures. This was a huge success because hundreds of students from all Key Stages came to support the event by buying their lunch and some indulgences for dessert. The room was bustling with students selling, teaching others about their delicacies and working together to raise money for charity. We managed to accumulate just over £200 which has been donated to UNICEF, a children’s charity for every child in danger around the world.

Many congratulations to all of the 100 plus participants who gave up their Friday evening to represent their house at the annual Inter-House Swimming Gala. This event really encapsulates the beauty of inter house competitions at Blue Coat.

Lingua Fest 2017- North Chadderton School

On 15th June 2017, 7 members of our school (Josh Harvey, Naomi Kalu, Raihan Uzzaman, Daniel Wilson, Euan Kelly, Maria Gomez and Jamie Anson) went out to a Y8 languages competition at North Chadderton School. After practising regularly every day for a couple of weeks before this competition, all of the students were prepared to go out and compete in the Oldham schools’ Lingua Fest. At the competition there were three schools: Blue Coat School, North Chadderton School and Waterhead Academy. We chose to present a poem by the name of Le Cancre written by Jacques Prévert in French. We performed this poem in lines of two with contrasting actions. Both of the other schools performed songs: North Chadderton performed a classical song from the film ‘Les Choristes’ and Waterhead Academy performed a scene from ‘The Lion King’.

Once the day was nearly over the judges announced which school was placed 1st, 2nd or in 3rd. In 1st place was Waterhead Academy and in 2nd place we drew with North Chadderton. Our audience consisted of the groups from both schools, their teachers, the judges and some other teachers. It was a very nerve racking experience and we were all very apprehensive but we all kept our cool and delivered our lines and remembered our actions. We put in a confident performance and both of the other schools did too. The winners were Waterhead Academy whose performance began in Italian and finished in French. They were very well deserved winners and they won free cinema tickets. For the other two teams, we won McDonalds vouchers. Overall this was a very good experience for all of us and helped us with our confidence.

Maria Gomez and Jamie Anson

Carnegie Medal Shadowing and Skyping

Library

Students in Year 7 and 8 Library reading group shadowed the six short-listed books for the Carnegie Medal book prize. They wrote reviews on the Library’s online Reading Cloud writing and sharing blogs about the books they’ve been reading.

In the Library we have also been using Skype to share ideas about books. In June we Skyped the 2017 Carnegie book prize winner Ruta Sepetys in Nashville, USA, over lunch time as she answered our questions about her ideas for her book, Salt to the Sea, and other questions about writing.

We have also Skyped the St. James School for Senior Girls in London twice to discuss the Carnegie prize and to exchange our summer read recommendations. During Special Week students have been using the cameras to make script, film and edit book vlog reviews. We hope to do more of this next year.

This year for the Year 7 Accelerated Reader English classes in the Library we have 10 students who have read over a million words on the scheme. The millionaires are:

Poppy McCallum 3,423,748 words Maha Toqeer 3,375,879 Mark Hewitt 2,004,855 Evie Gallagher 1,751,322 Neha Toqeer 1,704,697 Elizabeth Nield 1,661,808 Sebastian Tennent 1,247,208 Annam Iqbal 1,200,256 Georgia Spratt 1,175,404 Riaz Ahmad 1,152,310

This year's school total is 60,112,952 words and counting.

Mr. Protheroe, the Librarian, will be visiting English classes with his prize box.

Well done to everyone!

World Book Day

Photo of them hidden behind a favourite read

During the week, free World Book Day books were given out, along with £1 book vouchers.

We also took the opportunity to have a half way “Most Words Read” competition for Accelerated Reader to celebrate our first batch of millionaires, who will all receive a prize. So far, the school in total has read a whopping 42,373,249 million words. Well done!

Year 7 Millionaires: Poppy McCallum 2,813,313 words Maha Toqeer 2,441,952 words Mark Hewitt 2,004,855 words Neha Toqeer 1,559,614 words

Year 10’s sponsorship programme

Destiny Garden School

Year 10 are currently sponsoring a child, Mark Otieno, from the Destiny Garden School in Mombasa, Kenya. We are regularly updated on Mark and the school's progress, and have recently received a lovely letter from the students of Class 7, of which Mark is a member. The letter opens with the warmest "Much greeting like the sand in the sea shore, and like the stars in the sky" and tells us about the class's first term in Standard 7, a hive of activity, with many of the class involved in sports at a higher level, along with debating, and final exams. Mark himself has been elected Assistant President of the school. The students express their gratitude for the support our Year 10s have given them, and this is a project that we hope to extend between Year 10 and 11 next year (copy of the letter and pictures attached).

Copy of the letter and latest information on Destiny Garden School an email from Boaz Muoga, the School Manager responsible for the sponsorship programme at Destiny Garden School, with updates on the progress of the school and of your sponsored child.

Junior leaders in Year 10 The Junior Leaders in Year 10 have set up and are implementing initiatives to support younger students through their school lives. Members of the JLT have continued to run a drop in session for younger students each Friday lunchtime which help with any issues, homework and simply a place to chill out! They are rolling this out further next year, and recently presented their work to the entire Year 7 in assembly to raise awareness. A small group of Year 10 girls, with staff guidance have begun a structured coaching programme for younger students to provide younger girls with positive role models for the future.

Visit to Oldham College - following on from the work the year group has done surrounding the Futures Exhibition and formulating pathways for the future, a group of students have spent a day at Oldham College, where they are given an experience Further Education and of college life. Students follow individualised timetables that give them a taster of a variety of subjects available. This will help them plan their post-16 education in Year 11.

Our volunteers doing us proud once again

Fundraising

The Blue Coat School Fundraising 2016/17

Donated to £ Raised by Event

£ 4,841.86 All School Race for Life £ 406.15 Yr11 Cake Sales £ 183.75 6th Form & Staff Mocktails & Xmas Jumpers Cancer Research £ 5,431.76

£ 1,400.00 All School Pink Wristbands & Buttonholes The British Red Cross £ 500.00 TES Donation (Manchester Bombing) £ 1,900.00

£ 335.84 Yr7 Pick & Mix Shop £ 259.86 Yr7 Fundraising £ 28.14 Office Staff Xmas Card Donation Dr Kershaws £ 623.84

Christian Aid £ 460.89 All School Xmas Non-Uniform Day

NSPCC £ 460.89 All School Xmas Non-Uniform Day

MIND £ 460.89 All School Xmas Non-Uniform Day

Destiny Children £ 250.00 10H Child Sponsorship

Unicef £ 201.00 All School Festival of Cultures

LEAH (Learn English at Home) £ 123.91 8W Language Food Sale

Oldham Unity £ 98.65 6SY

Transport for Sick Children £ 98.65 6SY

East Africa TEAR FUND £ 93.15 Whole School Easter Communion Collection

British Red Cross £ 32.87 Liz Rennie Spindles marketing

Christies £ 28.13 Office Staff Xmas Card Donation

TBC £ 25.14 6th Form Cake Sales

£ 10,289.77

Duke of Edinburgh Gold

The first weekend of July saw the 59 Gold Duke of Edinburgh participants take to the hills of North Yorkshire to complete their final practice weekend before setting off on their assessed expedition in mid-July. The final practice saw students camping and walking for 2 days with some groups covering 45 kilometres over the weekend while scaling Yorkshire’s highest peaks Pen-y-ghent, Ingleborough, Whernside.

They particularly enjoyed their practice expedition!

Duke of Edinburgh Award: Bronze and Silver We have completed the practice sessions for Bronze (215 students involved) and Silver (115 students involved). The assessed, Peak District area, is approaching. Last year Silver (110 students)

had 100% completion on their Award. I have attached a few pictures from the Bronze DofE.

Section 8: SCITT and Training School

Developing Teachers

This year, with our partner schools, we have trained 28 new teachers under the School Direct scheme. Next year we will be training over 40, again spread across out network of schools, but with a good dozen in Blue Coat at any time.

Our trainee teachers are a huge resource to the school – not only does this ensure we can always recruit the best teachers for our students, they also add so much to our young people’s experience. Both in the classroom and beyond.

For example:

Miss Beezer in History has stepped up to take classes in this final term when other colleagues were ill. She has accompanied Year 8 to Belgium, and helped students to produce a guide book for the trip.

Back in school Miss Hollin and Mr Cadwallader put on their chefs’ hats and did some Belgian and French cooking with the year 8 students who attending the Battlefields trip. They spent the day researching recipes, going into Oldham to buy the ingredients and cooking up some scrumptious food.

Mr Wright in Computer Science has throughout the year taken an active role in the school choir, singing alongside our wonderfully talented students. Mr Wright has also run a lunchtime coding club for year 7 students. They have been working on creating Dr Who sonic screwdrivers with BBC Microbits, using programmes such as Python. Those students who attended have been able to take this knowledge into the classroom to assist their peers and complete challenging extension work.

Our trainee teachers got involved in the Languages department’s International Foods Day. Mr Wright was allowed to show off his Japanese culinary skills, as well as his Japanese language skills. He made so much food that the Computer Science department had leftovers for lunch for the rest of the week.

Over in R.S, Miss Crump recently helped to organise year 10 visits to the local mosque. The trip aimed to build on the knowledge gained in the Islamic practices aspect of the GCSE course.

Our trainees are thoroughly enjoying their last term, before they become newly qualified teachers. If you, or anyone you know is interested in entering one of the most rewarding professions there is, take a look at our website - http://manchesternexus.com/ and find out more!

And finally, a number of staff are leaving us this summer. We thank them all for their commitment and loyalty to Blue Coat, and wish them every success and happiness for the future.

Staff Member Post Catherine Anderson Deputy Headteacher Karen Anderton Teacher of English Simon Binks ICT Technician Katie Charnock Teacher of English Annie Cox MFL Teacher Rebecca Crawford Teaching Assistant Sue Crawshaw Assistant Headteacher Tony McGuinness Science Teacher Charmaine Hermitt Religious Studies Teacher Lynsay Light Lead Teacher: English Matthew Price Teacher of Science Gary Trewhitt Head of Year 12 Sue Wright Teacher of ICT

We are all looking forward to the break, and to the new school year 2017-18.

Julie Hollis Headteacher

Faith ~ Vision ~ Nurture

Contact Details: The Blue Coat School, Egerton Street, Oldham. OL1 3SQ

Telephone: (0161) 624 1484 E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.blue-coat.oldham.sch.uk

Headteacher: Mrs J.A. Hollis MA