www.archwayschool.net

Archway News Issue No 23

July 2016

July 2016

Dear Parents / Carers

It is my pleasure to send you our end of term Newsletter highlighting some of the activities in which students have been involved.

We enjoyed tremendous performances on the field last week in Sports Day and look forward to our Summer Concert and Art Exhibition this week, and Sports Awards Evening next week. We celebrated with Year 11 at their Prom at Cattle Country last week and are looking forward to the Sixth Form Prom at Stonehouse Court

Hotel later this week. Next week also sees Year 10 out on work experience—we are grateful to those who have assisted in offering them placements.

Archway has a long history of success stories; we are very proud of the achievements of former students who have gone on to make many contributions to their communities and to society. We would like to share their successes with current students and establish a ‘Celebrating Archway’ Facebook page. If you have details of where former students are now and how they are doing, we would be grateful if you would let Elaine Coley, Head of Key Stage 4, know. She can be contacted via email: [email protected]

The end of the year is often a time when we say goodbye and good luck to staff who are leaving us. Mr Hill leaves us to become Head of Faculty at Gordano School, Mrs Bolton takes up a promotion at , Miss Williams moves to an academy in Arrow Vale, and Mr Donegan is relocating to Northern Ireland. We wish each of these colleagues all the best for their new ventures and thank them for the dedication and commitment they have shown to Archway and its students.

From September last year we added the Archway logo to the school skirt for Year 7 and asked that all year groups moved to this version of the skirt by September 2016. Your support in this and your support of the school over the past year is greatly appreciated.

Term will end for students at 2.05pm on Friday 22 July. The contract buses which collect children from site have been advised and will collect at our earlier finish time. Students who rely on High / Marling buses should be aware that they will collect from the usual bus stop on Cainscross Road at 2.20pm, even though these schools finish term the day before.

The new term will begin on Friday 2 September at 8.50am for Year 7 and 12 students, at 1.35pm for Year 13 students, and at 8.50am on Monday 5 September for Years 8—11.

On behalf of the staff I hope that you have an enjoyable summer.

Yours faithfully

Colin Belford Headteacher

Page 2 Archway News

Visit from Mr Harry Bibring, Holocaust Survivor Ms J Coleman

In May Harry Bibring visited Archway to tell students in years 9, 10 and sixth form about his experiences as a Holocaust survivor. Harry was born on 26th December 1925 in Vienna, Austria. After the Anschluss in 1938, Harry was forced to leave his Gymnasium (German grammar school) and was transferred to a basic secondary school that was designated to accommodate Jewish children. Harry told us that he had not liked school work very much but had liked it even less when forced to leave his school and abandon his studies. On 10th November 1938, Harry’s father’s menswear business was looted and destroyed during Kristallnacht. He was arrested and Harry’s family were forced to leave their flat and live in a house together with 50 other Jewish women and children. The family were allowed to return to their flat following Harry’s father’s release, but by this point they knew they had to leave Vienna. The intention was for the family to flee to Shanghai but Harry’s father was unable to procure the visas and passage tickets, probably because by the time he was able to raise the necessary funds, they were no longer available. Fearing for the safety of their children, Harry’s parents decided that he and his sister should leave for Britain on the Kindertransport. The plan was for them to be sponsored by a family friend and for their parents to join them as soon as they could. That never happened. In November 1940, Harry’s father died of a heart attack. His mother was deported by the Nazis to the death camp at Sobibór in German-occupied Poland in 1942.

The Year in Music! Miss R Auster This year has seen many fantastic performances from students in all year groups! New extra- curricular clubs such as ukulele club and boomwhacker club have flourished, alongside the positive and continued growth of the choir. I would like to congratulate two very dedicated students for attending every rehearsal for every extra- curricular club this year – Isabelle Beaumont (Y7) and Jonah Carter (Y8). GCSE and A Level students have worked hard this year to deliver in their courses as well as taking Piano, flute, drums, opportunities to perform regularly as soloists. KS3 lessons have seen the development of new skills with guitar, voice or brass a variety of instruments, creating performances from around the world - Samba and Gamelan to lessons available name a few – and lessons are now enjoying popular music projects. The Autumn Chamber Concert, Christmas Concert and Spring Concerts have showcased many student’s hard work and dedication in a truly outstanding and professional manner. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your ongoing support at these events. I look forward to the Summer Concert and to the continuation of musical success in September! Page 3

Governors’ News Miss A Delrosa, Chair of Governors

It’s hard to believe we’re through another school year. This academic year has been particularly busy for Governors, and for me taking over as Chair it has been both challenging and informative. We’ve welcomed a number of new Governors onto the Governing Body including Georgia Boon, Anna Ellis and Ginny Smart (who join us as Parent Governors) and Gavin Townsend (who has been co-opted from the staff at Archway). If you want to find out more about the Governors, who we are and what we do, you can visit our page on the website - www.archwayschool.net under Parents / Governors. Over the last 4 months we have been seeking the views of parents, students and staff on various aspects of the school to help inform our strategic plan for the next three years and some of our priorities over the coming year. We conducted a survey at some of the parents’ evenings, undertook focus groups with students and did an online survey with staff. The feedback has been very useful and we intend to repeat these surveys on an annual basis to ensure that we are making improvements where needed. Below are examples of some of the key things that came out of the surveys:  We were pleased that so many parents were satisfied that their child was happy, enjoys school and feels safe here. This was borne out by the student survey, as they did not feel bullying was an issue.  We were pleased too that most parents felt their children were respected and valued and that all students said they felt respected by teachers. The majority of parents felt that their child was encouraged to aim high and reach their potential.  The school is launching a new homework system in September—’Show My Homework’ and re-designing the Behaviour for Learning procedures. We have been able to feed parents and students’ views into each of these new initiatives.  Between 90 and 100% of parents (depending on year group) said they would recommend Archway as a place to study. All students who were surveyed said if they had the choice again, they would choose Archway. With regards to the strategic plan, we are just finalising this document and will publish it in due course. Many of you will have heard or read the announcements around academisation and the subsequent revisions made. It is our intention to continue as a maintained school under the local authority for the foreseeable future, but we will keep you informed of and discuss developments and opportunities as they arise.

I hope you all have a good summer.

Anne-Marie Delrosa Chair of Governors

Year 10 Food & Nutrition Practical Exams Mrs S Bloodworth

40 students in Year 10 have been working very hard to prepare for their practical exam based on the use of fruit and vegetables, which accounts for 20% of their final grade. As you can see from the photographs, there was some very high skilled well executed final dishes (unfortunately not enough room to show them all). Well done Year 10 – now looking forward to Year 11! Page 4 Archway News

“The Scholars Programme” The Music Works Miss R O’Bryan Miss N Toohig 12 of our year 10 students have just started on a new initiative at Two rappers recently visited Archway and Archway School, called “The Scholars Programme.” This is part of a spent the morning with 30 year 8 boys, helping national organisation called the Brilliant Club. Students have attended a them to mix a creative blend of poetry and rap. launch trip at Wadham College, Oxford University, and have This was an extraordinary experience for the embarked on a series of tutorials with a PHD student focusing on a students, who not only got to explore the many social sciences stream. features of rap and its history, but also helped Students will be discussing and debating key topics and finally them to engage in writing and creating poetry. Rap submitting a 2,000 word assignment in the summer. This will be is a poetry art form as it includes rhyme, rhythm marked using the degree grading system and their achievements will be and a beat, and the students really engaged with recognised at a graduation style event in September. the poetry writing process. Students were allowed to write their rap about any topic of their choice, but discussed the importance of including themes and key vocabulary which created imagery. All of the students got to record their own raps, and some even had the confidence to perform in front of one another. At the very end of the session, the students got to take part in a rap battle which Ryan Adams successfully won. Those who took part in the rap battle really thought on their feet to create new rhymes and develop ideas. I am really impressed with how the students presented themselves to the rappers, and I look forward to seeing them tackle poetry with a lot more confidence in the future.

Get Set for Community Action Miss R O’Bryan

As we prepare for another fantastic summer of sport, with the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games taking place in Rio, some of our year 9 students have been hard at work promoting the Olympic and Paralympic values. Eight year 9 students and two year 12 students have been involved in the Get Set for Community Action initiative, run by the Youth Sport Trust, and have become our Action Leads for the project. Get Set for Community Action uses the power of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to inspire, engage and motivate young people. Our students have linked up with community club Allsorts and Stroud District council to help deliver a Panathlon Challenge event. This enabled SEND students from local schools to engage in a “mini Olympic” multi sport style event. In order to prepare for the day Archway Students undertook a morning of training and have also received additional training sessions on boccia and adapted archery. Strong links have now been formed with Allsorts community club and our Action Leads will soon be undertaking some volunteering opportunities with the club. Issue No 23 Page 5

Attendance Mr D Barry

Thank you to all our students, parents and staff for working so hard to improve attendance this year. I am pleased to report that the school’s attendance figure is 95.2%, which is higher that last year’s national average. Increased levels of attendance are directly linked to higher levels of achievement. Please continue to encourage your son/daughter to maintain high attendance levels. It is also very important that your child is in school on time in the morning, Please ensure they arrive in school by 8.45am. Setting good attendance patterns and punctuality are very important in supporting your child’s education and are skills they will need when they enter the place of work. Thank you for your continued support, and I wish you and your family an enjoyable and relaxing summer break.

We Are Multilingual 2016! Mrs S Ridley-Marshall Here at Archway we are a multilingual school with approximately 40 students who are have English as an additional language or who are bilingual. The range of languages spoken is quite diverse: Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Bengali, Japanese, Chinese, Thai, German, Italian, French, and Spanish. This year we have prepared students for A level Chinese, AS levels in German and Polish and GCSEs in French, Polish and Portuguese. Last year our students did well in their language studies and we’re hopeful this year’s students will do just as well.

Archway Sports Centre

Summer Holiday Camps Archway Fitness Suite Children’s Activity Camps available throughout the Come and try out our Fitness Suite! Summer Holidays Industry leader Precor equipment Open Monday 1st August to Good range of cardiovascular and Friday 26th August muscle toning equipment 9.00am - 5.30pm Activities include: Prices start at: Daily swim session £3.50 per session or Games Room: including Wii, Xbox 360, pool table, £17.50 per month membership air hockey table, arts & crafts, Flexible membership and user schemes table football, board games Open all day during Summer Holidays Many sports Minimum Age 16 (Sixth Form and over) Free and structured play £13 per child, per day £57.70 for 5 days

For further information and to book a place please call 01453 767374 Page 6 Archway News

Year 10 Bridge Builders Trip Mrs C Jowett

Mrs Jowett and Mrs Empsall took seven Year 10 boys who are taking part in the Bridge Builders’ mentoring programme down to Enterprise Rent-a-Car Bedminster branch for a morning’s work experience. The boys were given three vehicles to look at and check over to assess whether they would rent them out again according to Enterprise Rent-a-Car’s strict criteria. They learned about the importance of safety, customer relations and brand image. A fantastic lunch was provided, much appreciated by the boys, and this was followed by an afternoon on the racetrack at a local go-karting venue. There was fierce competition between the boys and their mentors as to who was the fastest on the track, with credit going to Callum Hodgson whose race time was fast enough to compete in the adult race; he came an admirable fourth. It was a fantastic day enjoyed by all and the relationship between the boys and their mentors was deepened even further.

Level 3 School Games — 49 students went… 53 medals won! Mr L Chapman

With a coach load of 49 students going to Hartpury to represent the 3 softball teams, archery and mountain biking, Archway was hopeful of collecting some medals on the day. However the success of all the students was incredible, with the school winning 53 medals! The archery team were hampered through availability due to exams, but people stepping into the team showed there were no weaknesses. Strong performances from individuals meant that the archery team gained 2nd place in the county—with Luke Windle achieving 2nd place individually in the county! The mountain biking was another strong outing for the 4 students who took part. Getting a solid start in the time trial and putting all the practice in place, the team achieved 1st place in the county. The success went one stage further in the individual events with Archway then grabbing the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place medals. This was testament to the time and dedication which the students put in on their own outside of school. It was then all down to softball. With 3 teams entered having been so successful at school, and other schools dropping out, it was set to be an interesting tournament to see how the 1st, 2nd and 3rd teams would perform. The 1st team were hoping to go far and avenge their defeat to Dene Magna, to whom Archway came 2nd last year. It didn’t go so well though, with the 1st team not playing to their full potential and not winning their pool overall. The 3rd team were showing signs of being successful, yet a hiccup in the pool stages meant they ended up playing the 1st team for the 3rd place medals. Very surprisingly in softball, the 3rd place playoff game was a 2-2 draw meaning the teams had become joint 3rd place in the county. The 2nd team stepped up to the plate and did just this, overreaching any aims and creating enough momentum to see them through to the final against Dene Magna; a repeat of 1st v 2nd last year. Batting first, it was a nervous time as the team only managed to get 3 home until the final batter came to play. A misfield from Dene Magna meant that all 4, with the bases loaded, got home to create a total of 7. Archway’s fielding in return though was good, stopping a lot of Dene Magna’s hitters at source, but Dene Magna’s quality shone through, with it going down to the wire and them getting 6 in reply. This meant Archway were the county champions and avenging defeat from last year. Furthermore, the school therefore are now county champions, the U18s having won their competition earlier in the year; a testament to the hard work put in by students at training! Page 7

French Exchange Radio 2 Story Competition Mrs K Davies-Brenchley Mrs C Martin Football supporters were not the only Brits in France Year 7s were given the opportunity to enter the 2016, this month!! Radio 2, 500 word competition run by Chris Evans. It is not As the Archway School–College Lucien Sigala easy to write an interesting and exciting story in 500 words exchange completes its 3rd year, it was our students’ but an enthusiastic number of students poured out their turn to stay with their French penfriends in the south ideas onto paper and produced some amazing stories. west of France. This competition is held in three stages. Despite Students took part in a range of activities both in and their commendable efforts not all students were out of school all designed to improve their linguistic/ successful in getting through to the second stage. language skills and cultural understanding as well as However, I’m delighted to announce that ‘The Chase’ by build new friendships. In addition to the outings with their host families, such Jonah Cunliff went through! Over 123,400 entries were as swimming, horse-riding, laser tag, high ropes and tree received and this story was picked - as one of just 4,500 - top adventures and shopping to name but a few, to go to the Reading Agency for the second round of students also visited the highest sand dune in Europe - judging. Unfortunately, it didn't make the final stages but the Dune de Pyla, took a trip around the beautiful Bay of what a brilliant achievement for Jonah! Arcachon and explored the medieval town of Bergerac. Here is just a little taster of Jonah’s story: After a week of sampling local specialities including ‘He immediately turned and sprinted back down the exquisite chocolates, artisanal ice creams, delightful steps “Time to test out these shoes” he thought to himself. cakes, luscious cheeses and even snails (miam! miam!) He jumped up onto a ledge, then up onto a high wall, he it wasn’t only our suitcases which came home heavier! ran along it and came to the end. Chris then leaned Looking forward to next year! forward, somersaulted across a railing onto a path. He looked over his shoulder, the men were closing in on him, he couldn’t believe it. In front of him was a high wall, Chris jumped up, grabbed hold and luckily those new shoes gripped the wall and he was able to climb up to the top. He then ran to the edge of a tall building, below him was a 10 metre drop and in front of him was a 3 metre gap to the next building. “Here goes” thought Chris. He leapt and amazingly made it to the other side. Chris found some scaffolding and climbed down the ladder that was attached to it. At the bottom he knocked the ladder away just as the men made it to the top.’ Jonah received a special certificate from Chris Evans congratulating him on his story writing skills – well done Jonah!

Wimereux Wow! Mrs H Pomeroy Upon choosing a day of the EU Referendum to travel (for added excitement), 88 year 7 students were taken by the MFL department to Wimereux (near to Boulogne). Our tired and intrepid learners were allowed to pass into France to practise their language with the locals. A successful visit to the market ensured lunch was bought and the students made full use of their sondage to interview people – many of whom were tourists and informed them that they enjoy visiting Wimereux because of the sea air. After a game of football and a search of rockpools (2 dead crabs were given a burial), on the beach, ice creams were earned – every single student ordered in French from a very patient ice cream seller. Mrs Davies also practised her French skills by engaging in a debate about the referendum with said ice cream vendor. A quick visit to the hypermarket ensured that our Year 7 have eaten their sugar quota for the year, in one single day. We were waved quite happily away from France and returned as very accomplished linguists. Bravo Year 7! Page 8 www.archwayschool.net

Archway Athletes Rise to the Occasion Northern Game Comes South Mr C Thompson Mr C Thompson

The year 9/10 boys’ athletics team were entered Although the rugby season had finished before Christmas for most, into a competition for the first time, on the back of there was a perfect opportunity to restart it in the form of rugby league. their success last year. The English Schools Athletic With expert coaching from the All Golds, a professional Association School’s Cup involved a squad of 14 boys team run by the University of Gloucestershire, Friday afternoons saw pitting their wits against other schools in 30+ year 7, 9 and 10 students stay behind after school. This was all Gloucestershire in the regional round at the Prince of leading up to the 1908 county tournament where the sun was basking, Wales Stadium against strong opposition. The rules of set for some running rugby. The year 10 team, including a number of the event were not so simple however… all had to do year 9s, were drawn in a tough group with Tewkesbury, Dene Magna 2 events. With some of the boys out of their comfort and St Peter's, with the latter having got to the quarter finals of the zones in events, the whole squad performed National Schools rugby league competition. The 1st game saw the year 10 caught off guard in defence on a number of occasions, letting fantastically, against teams boasting mostly year 10s. Tewkesbury gain the win. The 2nd game against Dene Magna was With the whole squad performing so well, this meant th another step up in terms of opposition and performance from Archway. they were on for a good score. Finishing 4 , no one Physicality in defence and attack marked an improvement but it wasn't knew if that was the end of the road or if it would be to be enough against a strong Dene Magna side. The final match in the enough to see them through to the next round. pool was against the favourites for the whole competition, St Peter's. Confirmation soon came through that it was This proved to be an even bigger step up but Archway didn't shirk away enough to see the team through to the South West at the prospect and put in a very good display, however it wasn't Regional ‘B’ finals at Basingstoke, Hampshire. Whilst enough. A final match against Tewkesbury however Archway avenged sharing a coach with KLB and , the their earlier defeat, with some great tries shown. 2 hour journey was worth it when we were met with The year 7 team enjoyed greater success on the day. It was uncertain a beautiful summer’s day, setting the scene. The how they would take to rugby league but it didn’t seem to be an issue. A opposition got a whole lot tougher with a range of strong group which involved Churchdown, Chosen Hill, Bartholemew and private and grammar schools there and some of our All Saints Academy meant the boys had to work hard. Their first game athletes rose to the occasion. Notable performances they dispatched Chosen Hill with a brilliant display of physicality and came from Tom Smart, a change from the original skill. This momentum continued into their 2nd game against squad, who beat everyone in his heat. Oscar Everett Churchdown, sneaking the win and putting Archway on course for the who won the long jump and setting a new personal top spot. A lapse in performance though saw the year 7 team let in some best. Jake Warner also ran a personal best in the 1500, silly tries against All Saints Academy meaning their fate was still unknown. A final win left the team unsure who was going through, who despite finishing 3rd in a race full of year 10s. Nathan topped the group and whether it meant and early bus home. Going Clift also ran in the 300m and winning his heat with a th through on points, Churchdown topped the group meaning Archway very strong finish. Overall Archway finished 6 on the were 2nd. This meant Archway faced the winner of the other pool, hot day, which was a great achievement for a squad will favourites St Peter's. The boys rose to the challenge admirably and put only get better and better. pride in their performance but it proved not enough. St Peter's quality shone through, with them going on to win and win the overall year 7 tournament. All in all, it was a great day out for students and staff with some excellent rugby on show.

In the picture: Jared Finch, Nathan Clift, Jamie Constantine, Steve Mason, Mason le Vance, Joe Wright, Ralph Graham, Tom Smart, Ollie Williams, Levi Mathews, Jake Warner, Morgan Griffiths, Oscar Everett.

Levi Francis, Reuben Henley, Silas Sinclair, Tom Samak, Lucas Brachi, Keiran Allen, Josh Mackie, Ed Baker, Jojo Baker, Kai Owens, Joe Smith, Ed Cantwell, Liam Barnes and Tom Hilton.