North Devon Schools' Rugby Champions!

Newsletter: Issue 9 February 2018 North Devon Schools’ Rugby Champions!

L to R: Josh Glover, Billy Heard, Jacob Stevenson, Louis Mathers, Ben Quance, Kai Pett, Ben Pomeroy, Adam Leworthy,

Year 9 played Park School in the North Devon Schools’ Rugby Cup Final at Bideford RFC. They dominated the first 20 minutes then conceded to go behind 7-0. Two tries then put them 12-7 in the lead but the score was level 12-12 at full time. Extra time followed and Bideford dominated again, scoring 3 times to win the cup and give a final score of 31-12. It was a great team performance with the forwards winning the scrums and lots of players involved in the build up to the tries which were scored by Oli Haste (1), Sam Abbott (2) and Captain Matt Lewis (2) with the conversions kicked in very difficult conditions by Adam Leworthy. The team will now have a county semi-final.

www.facebook.com/bidefordcollege www.bidefordcollege.org 2 Lyndsey Kane - Principal

It is hard to imagine that 6 weeks have already flown by since we returned from the Christmas break! There has been a relentless drive this term to really think about what we are all achieving and times of reflection to assess how we can do even better. Teachers have been working hard to deliver stimulating and challenging lessons and the students have been benefiting from these and the positive impact this has had to their learning experience. Another huge focus area has been student attendance and all staff have been working really closely with their tutees and the students they teach – to remove every obstacle possible – which might stop a student from attending school. Thank you to all of the positive support from so many of our parents in arranging medical appointments out of school hours and working with us, to ensure their children are in school every day – which will only result in them having a positive future full of choice and opportunity – afforded by a good education. We have also been looking at our reward systems and I hope that a large number of you have been receiving regular texts and emails from the school about your child as they are awarded House Points for doing well at school. We will continue to look at ways of celebrating achievement next term and are already planning some additional celebration evenings – due to the success and achievement of so many of our fabulous students. I would like to close by reminding the Year 11 and 6th Form students that this is a time when they need to be continuing their focus on preparation for their forthcoming A’ Level and GCSE exams and you will see in the Newsletter the revision timetable of extra sessions to support the students in doing the very best they can. Have a peaceful half term and I look forward to welcoming you all back on Monday 19th February.

Lyndsey

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Are your children attending school every day that they possibly can? Do you struggle to get them out of bed in the morning? Are your children ill more often than other children?

Regular attendance at school is vital to help children achieve and get the best possible start in life. En- couraging regular school attendance is one of the most powerful ways you can prepare your child for success—both in school and in life.

We are one of the only schools in North Devon to have a dedicated, qualified school nurse in College every day. Dee Lamb has worked at the College for many years and has supported a great number of students with managing their health and wellbeing.

If your child wakes up and says that they are ill and a doctor’s appointment is not readily available please bring them into College between 8.30am and 10am and Dee will see them and assess whether they are well enough to be in school. The only incidence where this would not be appropriate would be if there is diarrhoea and/or vomiting. In this case please phone in and inform the attendance officer. If your child is absent from school due to illness and there are no ongoing medical conditions a referral will be made.

Please support the college in its ethos that every lesson counts by ensuring that medical and dental appointments are made outside of school hours where possible. We understand that orthodontist appointments are difficult to make outside of College hours but routine dental appointments should be made for after school or during school holidays.

Known absences need to be communicated to the college via an absence request form at least two weeks in advance of the absence. These forms can be downloaded from the website or collected from Reception.

There are a number of students who have an attendance figure below 90% - this means that they are missing on average a day a fortnight which is five hours of teaching. The Government classes these children as persistent absentees.

We now have a robust attendance tracking system and letters are sent home to alert parents to poor attendance. If attendance improves then no further action is taken. If attendance continues to stay below 90% a Penalty Notice warning letter will be sent home to parents. Parents and the student will be invited to a meeting with Mrs Jewell or Mrs Vowles to see if anything additional can be put in place to support an improvement in the student’s attendance.

If attendance still does not improve all documentation will be sent to Devon County Council who will issue a Penalty Notice and take over proceedings from that point. The fine associated with the penalty notice is currently £60 per child. All of this money is taken by Devon County Council. No money comes to Bideford College or the Multi Academy Trust. A number of these Penalty Notices have been issued in the last few weeks.

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Energy drinks have featured heavily on the news and social media over the last few months and some shops have already made steps to ban children under 16 from buying them. A number of organisations are lobbying the Government to make it illegal to sell energy drinks to under 16s following studies showing the harm that it is doing to their bodies, mental health and sleep patterns all of which are having a detrimental impact on their education and wellbeing. Energy drinks contain high levels of caffeine and other stimulants and some have high levels of sugar. Drinking these before or during school is not beneficial to any student in any way. Some popular energy drinks contain more caffeine than has been deemed safe for the average 12 year old. Last May in South Carolina a student died in his classroom after suffering heart failure as a result of ingesting such a large amount of caffeine in a short time. Cardiac arrhythmia, a condition where the heart stops beating regularly, can be caused by an overdose of caffeine, which is one of the main ingredients in energy drinks. The canteen at Bideford College does not sell energy drinks in its canteen or in any of the vending machines. We encourage students to bring in a refillable drinks bottle which can be used with a number of the water foun- tains around the College. The canteen stocks a wide range of drinks including fruit juices, naturally carbonated fruit drinks, milk, milkshakes and still or sparkling water. Any student seen with an energy drink in College after half term will have it confiscated. If it is open it will de- stroyed. If it is not open it will be taken to reception and can be collected by parents.

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The school has been given the opportunity to take part in a project that will run jointly between schools and Devon and Cornwall Police Operation Encompass is the reporting to schools, prior to the start of the next school day, when a child or young person has been exposed to, or involved in, any domestic incident. Operation Encompass will ensure that a member of the school staff, known as aKey Adult, is trained to allow them to liaise with the police and to use the information that has been shared, in confidence, while ensuring that the school is able to make provision for possible difficulties experienced by children, or their families, who have been involved in, or exposed to, a domestic abuse incident. We are keen to offer the best support possible to all our pupils and we believe this will be extremely beneficial for all those involved.

www.facebook.com/bidefordcollege www.bidefordcollege.org 6 E-Planner

Bideford College have recently launched our e-planner which is an on line homework planner. It manages homework, resources and revision materials electronically After February half term, all homework will be loaded on to the e-planner. Students can access this from home by going to the college website and entering through the student portal, using their usual Bideford Col- lege log in details. The e-planner shows homework by subject, detail and date. Students can tick off when they have completed the homework to alert the class teacher of their progress. If, as a parent, you would also like access to this e-planner to monitor homework that is set, you can create a parent account. This is done by going to the student portal and the log in page for the e-planner as usual. Click on the button “create parent account” and enter your mobile phone number. A code will then be texted (to confirm you are the owner of the phone) which needs to be entered. Then use your child’s username and password to enter and add your own email and password for future use. If there is no internet access at home, students may continue using their planners to log homework. There is a wealth of useful information which can be used in class in the existing planners and we would encourage them to continue to use them to complement their studies. I hope you agree that this is a more effective way of managing homework.

Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us here at school.

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Achievements and Rewards

Bideford College is rewarding students for their attainment and academic achievement throughout the College year. With the new House system creating competitive competition and rivalry, there is a real sense of students going above and beyond to achieve their potential. The College believes it’s important to reward outstanding individuals inside and outside of College, which brings great pride to our community and competitive spirit. To do this, House Points are awarded to students and tally towards a new and exciting draw at the end of every term. The top 50 students with the most House Points in Key Stage 3, 4 and 5 are placed into a nail-biting draw for a variety of fantastic prizes that we are all striving to win. Prizes won so far include: £50 Amazon Gift Voucher, 6th form driving lesson, a range of food vouchers (that we have been told are extremely delicious), and a variety of clothes and theme park vouchers.

Students can achieve House Points through a variety of different ways in addition to academic achievement: student of the week, 100% attendance or going above and beyond expectations; this draw has inspired students to attend and therefore enabled rapid progress. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the local companies and businesses that have kindly supported this new initiative and donated prizes. If you are interested in joining our initiative and donating a lovely prize for Easter, please contact the College at [email protected]

A full list of companies who donated were: Starbucks, The Big Sheep, Chocolate Tea Pot, Air Extreme, Subway, Beatz, Tony’s Hair and The Beauty Outlet We would like to offer a special thanks to Mr O’Donoghue, Head of Coleridge, for bringing these exciting new ideas, supporting student voice and helping raise attainment and attendance at Bideford College. By the House journalists who joined forces, just this once: Lydia Bray-Smith (Arthur House), Lolah Olde (Brunel House), Tamzin White (Coleridge House), Fran du Cros (Farwell House), Sam Hinson (Hepworth House).

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Year 11 Revision Sessions

The times for each session do vary so please check with the teacher running the session, but lunchtime sessions are approx. 1.30pm – 2.00pm (please take your lunch with you) and after school sessions are approx. 3.00pm – 4.15pm.

Week A Lunchtime After College After College Priority If not doing priority Monday French Maths English Tuesday German Science PE Wednesday Technology Art Thursday History Geography

Friday Triple Biology

Week B Lunchtime After College After College Priority If not doing priority Monday French English Maths Tuesday German MFL Science/PE Wednesday Expressive Arts Art Photography Drama Music

Thursday Sociology Business Studies History Computer Science Geography Health & Social Friday Triple Biology

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If anyone is having any trouble with thumbprints, please come to see me between 8am and 9.30am or at the end of school. If you need to change the spend limit for your child, please write a short note to me with your new amount and send it in with your child. The School Gateway on the College Website is the easy way to top up your child’s account and to see what they have been spending.

For all children claiming Free School Meals, your allowance is £2.30 per day. It’s FREE so parents please encourage your child to use it. If any parents wish to check if your children are eligible for Free School meals please tel- ephone the helpline number 0345 1551019 for up to date advice. Thanks to the Cashless Catering System a child on Free School Meals is treated the same as other students and cannot be identified, their allowance just gets added to their account each morning and any unspent allowance removed after lunch.

LOTS OF CHOICE AT YOUR OASIS CATERING SERVICE –

Our MEAL OF THE DAY still great value at £1.90!!! SUBS 4 YOU are very popular as is the HOT CHICKEN WRAP BAR AND PASTA. We have a grab and go section with Pizza’s, Panini’s, Chicken burgers, Sausage rolls, Hot filled rolls, Roasties, etc.

HOT HOMEMADE SOUP and a Roll for £1.00 is popular in this chilly weather.

On the Cold Side we have a large selection of freshly prepared Sandwiches, Baguettes, Wraps, Rolls, Fruit pots and Homemade Cakes all at very reasonable prices.

Our drinks have been carefully sourced to provide healthy options, from local TARKA WATER to MOO MILK Milkshakes from Crediton Dairy. JUICEBURST that provide ‘one of your 5 a day’, Sparkling Spring Waters, School Compliant Fizz Fruit Juices. We have also sourced WATER IN A BOX for those who wish to reduce plastic bottle use.

Please remember your school meals service provides a healthy, balanced, nutritious meal using many local ingredients, with lots of choice, to eat in or takeaway. Please support us. Have a great half term break.

Rosie Broughton, Catering Manager

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Our lowest finish to date was achieved in the House Cup for the Autumn Term. Depending on your outlook in life, and whether your glass is either half full or half empty, we can look at our mid table finish both ways.

To explain and dissect the result, I used the first assembly back after half term to go through the data and look at where we can make our marginal gains and the most impact in order to be top of the pile at the end of the Spring term.

The data showed that as a House, our attendance is very good and we have the largest amount of students who attend between 99-100% of the time. This is really promising as it has shown that our McDonalds competition plus the drive and dedication from the tutors has had a real influence on the students getting themselves into school.

We also found that Arthur House Year 9 and Year 10 students were making a big contribution to the House Cup result, as they both have a large percentage of students on target. Unfortunately, the Year 8s are not fairing so well and we have been working hard as a House to address this.

Personally, I look forward to the second half of the Spring Term, the clocks will go forward, the evenings become lighter and the weather dries up (hopefully). It will be full steam ahead for our Year 11 and Year 13 students, who will or definitely should be working as hard as they ever have before, in preparation for their re- spective exams. I would also like to mention our Year 9s who will be in the process of completing their choic- es for their KS4 curriculum.

We will be soon opening up the applications to appoint our new House Council. We always look to relieve the current House Council at Easter time as they are predominantly Year 11 and we want them to be fully engrossed in their exams. So we will be looking for our current Year 9 and Year 10 students to fill these roles. Information will be given in due course, so please keep an eye out.

Have a good rest.

Mr Skinner Head of Arthur

www.facebook.com/bidefordcollege www.bidefordcollege.org 11 Brunel House News

This half-term is always a whirlwind, over far too soon. However, the wonderful students in Brunel House have been making the most of every day as the academic year tips over the fulcrum and into its second half. Across the board there are loads of fantastic examples of students who have made the most of lesson time this half-term and made great progress as a result. In Year 10 and 11 Denni-Leigh Bull, Breanna Robinson, Holy Bur- rows-Bryan, Flynn Jennings, Molly Munro, Tahlia Kalsi and Josh Jordan all deserve a special mention for the progress they have made since Christmas. Lower down the school Pip Plummer, Ethan Whatling, Zinnia Olde and Lacey Bayliss are also all making really excellent progress so a big well done to them. As Heads of House it is always fantastic to see students developing in this way and making the most of their time at school. This is what we all want for every student in Brunel House so we would also like to thank all the parents that we have met and spoken to this half-term for the support they offer the College in enabling every student to do their best at school. Away from the classroom the Brunel House Council are also leading the way on a new competition based initiative, run by Mr Gibbins. Molly Munro, Aimee Williams and Joe Spencer have volunteered to join the new competition committee and are currently developing ideas that tutor groups will then vote on. Watch this space for more information about the competition that Brunel decide to run after half-term. As always, there will be 250 House points for the winners, so please encourage your child to get involved!

Brunel students have also been well represented in the College sports teams this half-term and special mention must go to the Year 7 girls football team and the Year 7 and 9 boys rugby teams, all of whom have excelled on the sports pitches, despite the chilly weather. A special mention must go to the Jennings brothers who represented the College in cross country and Flynn represented Devon at the South West Cross Country Championships, where his bronze medal helped his team to win the event and also qualified him for the National Finals. Well done Flynn! As always, we would like to emphasise the important link between attending school and making academic progress. Hopefully we have now seen the last of the dreadful “Australian flu” that left so many students under the weather in January and, now that the days are starting to draw out, we can look forward to a healthier and more active spring. As always we ask that students attend school on every day possible and we look forward to seeing many student’s attendance improve over the spring. Finally we would like to wish all the students, parents, carers and staff here at Bideford College a restful and rewarding half-term break and look forward to seeing everyone back raring to go on Monday 19th February. Mrs Bourke and Mr Nias

Heads of Brunel House

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Well…How did we not win the House Cup?! I don’t think anyone could see Coleridge coming fourth – including me! After 14 weeks of being the House with the most House Points, it is unsurprising that I am inundated with students asking the question of “how?!” the answer is simple; attendance and attainment needs to improve, as it was not as good at the other Houses.

As most colleagues and pupils now know, I am extremely competitive; unsurprisingly I spent the Christmas holidays check- ing the spreadsheet which indicates how the House Cup was won (or lost). With attendance and attainment being the es- sential criteria to students succeeding at College, we award 100 House Points for 100% attendance or meeting/exceeding target grades. In sum, the emphasis this half term has been for Coleridge to get more pupils in, on time, and therefore give all students every opportunity to achieve their potential. I maintain that whichever position the House finishes in the Cup, there are always success stories and it should be noted that we had the most Year 8s meeting their targets - well done 8VC and 8JM.

The first half of the spring term currently has an exciting feel to it with some leaders really taking the initiative and conse- quently helping the House make rapid progress. Tamzin has been working on a big article that you can see later in this newsletter; I am sure you’ll agree that it’s a great read for an exciting initiative.

Chloe Hold has now completed her consultation and the House charity has been identified as ‘Children’s Hospice South West’ – she has some great ideas of how to start raising funds for this worthy cause. Chloe also aims to help raise some funds for a defibrillator in College – she has set the bar high with 14 weeks left! Chloe Beer has arranged our second successful ‘Coleridge cake’ event.

Daniel and Lauren have now finally put Coleridge in the public eye to with our House notice board and after a long hunt for the right gold backing paper, this is starting to take shape next Mrs Jewell’s office on Level 2. If anyone in Coleridge has photos, great ideas, or recommendations for the board, please speak to Daniel, Lauren or your House Council rep. Finally, Hannah Esau has been involved in collating names of interest for the competition committee; these students will look to add further competitions for all students, but ultimately ones that Coleridge can win – obviously!

Success and progress in the House continues; we have successfully secured Mrs Kane (7CS) and Miss Lott (7CL) in the trans- fer window and welcome them to the best House. The new whole College attendance initiative sees tutor groups compete against each other for a canteen queue jump at lunch time - 7CS have won this week’s prize; some students in this tutor group have made a significant improvement and should maintain this to help Coleridge be in a strong position at Easter.

I hope that students and parents found the Learning Review Day helpful and informative. Students should know how they are progressing and have set targets to help them meet their full potential; it’s imperative that College and home support the students by talking to the students about these.

I fully appreciate the hard work that most students in our House are demonstrating at the moment. The Year 10 reports from 10LH and 10SB were a privilege to read. The support from you, the parents, is very much appreciated during a crucial period for all - particular for Year 11 with revision and Year 9 who choose their Key Stage 4 Curriculum, so thank you!

I wish all students a great break over half term

Mr O’Donoghue - Head of Coleridge House

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Farwell House News

Pictured: Jill & Eddie Farwell and their children

The half term from Christmas has only been 5 weeks long, but students have worked really hard to make sure they are working towards their targets. Attendance has featured highly this term, with students striving to make sure that they are in school as much as possible. Congratulations to those who, again, have managed 100%, with no time missed. Above 98% is also recognised as ahigh achievement. With a new competition introduced so that the best attending tutor group every fortnight gets to jump the lunch queue, it gives me great pleasure to tell you that the best attending group in the first round was Miss Harrison’s 7MH. They got to jump the lunch queue and Miss Harrison was rewarded with a free lunch! Keep up the good work and remember this is a competition that runs every fortnight for every year group. Well done to Hepworth for winning the House Cup for the first time on the run up to Christmas. Farwell were a close second. Having had chance to look closely at the figures, we were just four points per student away from winning. Taking part in and winning competitions will help, but students are also aware that good attendance and good progress are the way we are going to boost our points and push us forward to win back the cup at Easter. Year 11 students need to ensure they are working hard on revision programmes through the holiday. The hard work put in now will pay great dividends in the summer exams. Year 10 students also need to use this time to start to put into place revision timetables and strategies. Do not leave things too late. Start now, the key to success is little and often. To all of Farwell, enjoy the one week holiday and come back rested and enthusiastic ready for the start of what will be another short but productive half term.

Mr Gibbins - Head of Farwell House

COMPETITIONS

If you have an idea for a House competition that will knock the other Houses off their feet, then please either inform your Head of House or council representatives to organize the event. COUNCIL MEETINGS

A council has been appointed for each house to discuss maters arising and how we can help these matters. We discuss house points and rewards, the house charity and many other subjects. HERE TO HELP

If you are aware of an issue arising in school and have a query please ask the members of the council to discuss this during our meetings, the members are listed on the House notice board. HOUSE POINTS

DRAW

At the end of term, a draw goes out to award the top 50 students of each year group a fantastic prize such as amazon gift vouchers, for their achievement and attainment.

To get into the top 50, students need to try their hardest to gain House points, by working extra hard and producing the best work possible, and as much work as possible. 100% attendance will also result in House points rewarded. ATTENDANCE MATTERS

When winning prizes in the draw or winning the house cup, attendance matters. If you attend school for 3-4 weeks with no absences then 5 house points will be awarded, this goes for every 3-4-week period that is not missed at school.

Fran Du Cros - House Journalist

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News

The final assembly on Friday 15th December saw Hepworth House being announced as house cup winners! Congratulations! This was thoroughly deserved, although possibly a little unexpected by some of the other houses. However, this does show that each and everyone of you can make a difference towards our goal of winning the house cup. Many of you earnt house points on a regular basis, many of you entered house competitions and many of you just went above and beyond! However, what really made Hepworth stand out was our attendance and attainment. Remember these are both crucial elements of winning the house cup. Come on Hepworth lets be the first house to have two wins in a row!

Although this half term has flown by time has not prevented many of you from working hard both in and out of lessons. It has been lovely to walk around College and see many Hepworth student’s names being announced on classroom doors as star of the week. It is also great to see so many of you being involved in extra-curricular ac- tivities. It is so important to remember that becoming happy, successful and responsible is not just about working hard and making good progress, it is about making a positive contribution to college life. There are many op- portunities for each and every one of you – now is the time to get involved and grasp these chances. Finally, I would like to wish you all a restful and reflective half term. After a very positive learning review day you will now all be very clear on how to make further progress. I would like to set you all a challenge to reflect on what you have achieved this half term and be proud of those achievements, but also really think about what you will strive to do better at next half term.

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On 12th January we welcomed 9 Chilean students from Antofagasta who came to North Devon to experience British culture and immerse themselves in the language, as part of the North Devon School of English’s South American programme. Some of our year 10 Hispanic students spent two hours discussing the similarities and differences between our two countries, learning about how they spend their free time and what they do when they are in schools. (A light “heart attack” was had by our visitors when they heard our change over bell as for them this is the sound of an imminent Earthquake or Tsunami. They laughed it off but our students experienced first-hand how quick and well trained they were at getting themselves in a safe place.) Coming from the desert region, one of the striking differences for the Chilean students was the contrast in weather – in one day of their stay in North Devon more rain fell than the whole of a year in Antofa- gasta! Contacts were exchanged between the students and we have it on good authority that the conversations have been continuing past this brief encounter.

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English and the Library

Accelerated Reader and Big Up a Book Year 7,8 & 9 Student Successes! Accelerated Reader - Word Millionaires Books Read This Year: Adam Williams 3,374,776 Kai Connolly 2,980,331 Erin Cross 1,899,219 Niamh Ramsay 1,880,104 2532 Keira Connolly 1,532,694 George Brown 1,315,540 Libby Shambrook 1,243,305 Words Read This Year: Matilda Lee 1,243,305 98,211,886

Nearly There Millionaires

Isobelle Beer 950,611 Barney Evans 908,355 Ella Tomlinson-Bowden 877,633 Anna Drawer 906,351 Ella Tomlinson-Bowden 877,633 Ben Ford 822,038

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Royal Shakespeare Company News:

Bideford College English & Drama departments are thrilled to announce a summer collaboration with the RSC. This dynamic and much loved company are renowned globally for their productions and are based in Stratford upon Avon. Teachers have already attended workshops in how to deliver Shakespeare in exciting and active ways, bringing the bard to life! Students from our college and from across the multi academy trust will be performing with RSC actors in a pro- duction of Macbeth. A tale of ambition, fate and murder. This is a once in a life time experience and we hope that budding thespians sign up for auditions. Watch this space!

RSC’s Macbeth will be screened live on April 11th in local cinemas for KS4 students wishing to revise this GCSE text.

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Year 7 and 8

Thursday 3-4pm

Room G13

Come up with an idea.

Carry out the investigations.

Complete a presentation including a display board.

Enter the Competition.

Go to The University of Exeter to be judged on your work

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Technology

On Friday 2nd February, Year 10 Graphics and Textiles students went on a trip to Broomhill Sculpture Gardens near Barnstaple.

Whilst on the visit students collected information and researched by taking photographs, completing a range of drawing tasks and reading about the artists.

Students had a brilliant time exploring the works on display, and to top it off we had beautiful sunshine. Students will now use their research to work towards their final pieces for their course, which will eventually go on display at Broomhill Sculpture Gardens at the end of the year.

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Team Updates

Aimee and Zach McMurray were in the sport’s pages of the paper over Christmas. Aimee became British National Judo champion at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield. This added to her British Schools’ Championship title. Zach finished 15th overall in his category which was enough to remain part of the England Regional Development Squad for 2018.

Congratulations to both the U15 and U13 cricket teams who both won their North Devon finals. Both games came down to the last few balls and could have gone either way.

The U13’s needed 16 runs off the last 2 overs, with 1 wicket left. They managed victory off the final ball…nail biting stuff!

The U15’s match was even tighter, which ended in a draw. Very unusual for cricket, especially the indoor format. Anyway, as there was nothing between the two teams and not a fair way of deciding who was victorious, it was decided to play a one over ‘play off’.

Both teams chose their best batter and bowler in a 6 ball due!

Park hit a respectful 10 runs off their 6, but Bideford only need 4 to become champions.

Next stop, County Finals.

Another fantastic result and performance from our year 9 football team, beating Newton Abbott 4-2. The opposi- tion are getting tougher but we just keep on winning. Newton Abbott looked sharp and well organised and they looked the better team in the first half at 2-2. But we went into overdrive in the second half and blew them away, which could have ended in a cricket score!

Goal scorers: Ollie Haste x3 and Callum Deemer

Team: Barney Evans, Charlie Mugford, Samuel Picillo, Matt Lewis, Callum Deemer, Billy Heard, Ben Seaman, Ollie Haste, Dre Beer, Nathan Colley, Kai Pett, James Haytor

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Eight Year 9 & 10 girls played in a North Devon Schools’ Tournament at Moreton Park. They combined with eight girls from Park School to make the “Bark” team and beat Chulmleigh, South Molton A+B, drew with Pilton and lost to Holsworthy. Overall they finished second to claim a place in the county finals at Topsham. Well done to: Olivia Taylor, Mia Davies, Holly Bromell, Keely Birchmore, Zoe Cross, India Tomlinson-Bowden, Gemma Cleave and Libby Bowden.

Team Updates

At the county 10 a-side rugby final the Year 9 boys had a tough group, losing to Kingsbridge and eventual finalists Devonport HS but gaining an impressive win against Exmouth. They went into the Plate competition where they beat Tavistock to make the plate final but lost to home team St Peter’s. They only lost 4 tries to 3 against Devonport. Well done to Louis Mathers, Adam Leworthy, Sam Picillo, Kai Pett, Matt Lewis - captain, Jacob Stevenson, Sam Abbott, Charlie Mugford, Ollie Haste, Joe Thompson, Ben Quance.

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Cross Country County National Finals beckon Medal Winners!

There were great successes at the County Cross Country Championship for Schools at a very waterlogged Stover School near Newton Abbott. Bideford College had two medallists who will now go on to represent Devon and should feature in the National Finals.

Adam Leworthy finished in Bronze Medal position for the junior boys and Flynn Jennings finished second in the inter boys.

Isobelle Beer came 22nd and Charlie Pilkington, Zach Ernest, Fletcher Powe and Jamie Milsom also represented the North Devon Schools’ team but struggled with the mud bath of a course.

www.facebook.com/bidefordcollege www.bidefordcollege.org 23 Show Jumping

Over the past few months, Bideford College’s Show Jumping teams have been competing in the North Devon Schools’ Show Jumping League. Currently there are two teams. Bideford Bouncers, which include Lydia Bray- Smith, Megan Wood, Kaitlin McNeil and Bideford Blazers, Georgia Daniel, Lolah Olde, Zinnia Olde and Lily Den- nis.

Back in December 2017, Bideford Bouncers made their first appearance in the 60cm class. The team came away placing 5th out of 11 teams and Lydia Bray-Smith got a 3rd individually out of over 50 competitors! Bideford Blazers rode to victory in the 80cm and won the class! Individually Lily Dennis came 2nd and Georgia Daniel came 6th out of over 30 competitors. In the 90cm they placed 3rd with team mate Georgia Daniel getting an individual 3rd. At the start of January 2018 Bideford Bouncers came 5th once again in the 60cm. Bideford Blazers took team 4th in the 80cm class and Georgia Daniel placed individually 4th. The team then went on to win the 90 with team- mates Lolah Olde placing 4th and Georgia Daniel placing 5th. Both teams hope to carry on collecting points and prizes ready to compete in the Championships in July.

Lydia Bray-Smith