The Blue Coat School

Proud to be part of The Cranmer Education Trust

Summer Newsletter – June, 2016

Race For Life

Choir

Go4Set Engineers

Faith ~ Vision ~ Nurture Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,

First of all, some key information.

End of term arrangements

Wednesday, 13th July: School will close at 12.30pm, following the Founder’s Day celebrations. The 700 service will be coming early. The other services are not able to accommodate the early finish, but please check the website regularly for further updates, as this may change. Otherwise, pupils will need to make their own arrangements.

Tuesday, 19th July: End of year service. The school will close at 1.10pm. The 700 service will be coming early. The other services are not able to accommodate the early finish, but please check the website regularly for further updates, as this may change. Otherwise, pupils will need to make their own arrangements.

Starting the new term – Autumn 2016 School opens for Years 7 – 12 on Tuesday, 6th September, 2016 at 8.45am. Years 7 – 11 are to go to form rooms. Year 12 are to go to the Mezzanine.

Year 13 will return on Wednesday, 7th September, 2016, and should go directly to the Mezzanine.

Uniform Regulations – Years 7 to 11 Please see our website regarding uniform regulations by following the below link: http://www.blue-coat.oldham.sch.uk/uniform-regulations/

This has been an eventful year. The newsletter that follows focuses on one term alone, but in a community of nearly 1600 bright and energetic young people, working with nearly 200 staff, there is so much to report. So I make no apologies for a lengthy newsletter – I hope you will dip into it and keep going back to it, to get a sense of just how much is going on in the community that is Blue Coat. We want all our young people to achieve and succeed, but we aren’t an exams factory, and there is a so much to growing up in this community to celebrate.

Senior Student Appointments First of all, thank you to our Senior Students who have served and led our school community so well this year. We wish them every success as they go on to university, apprenticeships and some to take a gap year before studying recommences.

Congratulations to our new Senior Students, appointed last week, following a rigorous process in writing applications, interviews, and scrutiny of their progress. The Head Boy and Head Girl, and their deputies lead the team and the sixth form, and are often called on to represent the school community. The House Captains work across the school, bringing our community together in sport and competition, and also in the many events that students themselves choose. The Year Captains work with year groups and guides and mentors, for academic and social development; for the past two years we have been building up a junior leadership team in Year 8, and we now have the makings of a Student Council which has grown organically. So there will be many opportunities and challenges for our Senior Students next year, and they understand fully that in a wider society that appears increasingly divided, it is even more essential that we build community and ethical, responsible and accountable leadership here.

Head Boy: Tim Winter Head Girl: Sophie Booth

Deputy Head Boy: Jack Bradbury Deputy Head Girl: Amy Burgess

House Captain (RW): Robert Clark Haider Khan Heather Sutcliffe

House Captain (BH): Adam Boardman Emily Crichton Georgia Blakeney

House Captain (LM): Ben Atkinson Toby Mears Lucy Parfitt

Year 7 Captains: Aysha Brannon, James Mallinson, Chloe Stevenson and Sam West

Year 8 Captains: Mohammed Ali, Aysha Liquat, Megan Paldino and Zak Warburton

Year 9 Captains: George Raynes, Paul Lewis, Emily Martin and Leah Nuttall

Year 10 Captains: Rimshah Asghar, James Carroll, Alex Cockburn, Olivia Mulvey

Year 11 Captains: Emily Evans, Usman Mahmood, Katie Morris and Jack Whitehead

Engaging with the wider world As this newsletter goes out, most of our Year 8s will be in the Opal Coast, learning about the history of Europe, and how that has affected us all. Whatever people’s views on the EU, we are European, because we share that history. The poignant visit to the War Graves, which has such a profound impact on our young people, reinforces the human cost of division. We hope to get some images of their visit on the website before the end of term, and in the September newsletter.

This term we also welcomed Mrs Shagufta Pervaiz, Headteacher of an 11-16 Christian school in Lahore, Pakistan, who was part of a visit organised through the Manchester Diocesan Board of Education. Mrs Pervaiz observed how students learn in Britain, and contributed to lessons in RS, Geography and Citizenship, as well as to our assemblies. She brought some beautiful textiles which are on display in our school. She spoke of her admiration and respect for the commitment of our students, and the way they throw themselves into learning. Above all, she commented on the environment of mutual respect as students from all faiths, denominations and ethnicities learn together, and come together as a community within a distinctively Christian school ethos. National changes to curriculum and assessment, and their implications All our parents of pupils from Year 8 and above will be aware of the huge changes that are happening nationally as a result of changes introduced by government into GCSE and A-Level. Parents of primary-age pupils will know that the same seismic changes are taking place at Key Stage 1 and 2 as well. I have been in education for quite a long time, and cannot remember ever a period when so much changed over such a condensed period of time, with no pilot work to draw on. However, we are where we are, and our focus is to ensure that our students get the best possible provision. As a result

1. Options choices will now be made in Year 8. (2 free choices in addition to the core curriculum, plus a choice between French or German, and History or Geography). 2. Pupils will begin their GCSE subjects in Year 9, moving on to the actual GCSE course in the spring/summer term, so that they have plenty of time to cover the syllabus and ensure their learning is secure, ready for the terminal exams they will all take in Year 11 now that modular approaches have been abolished. 3. GCSEs are moving from an A* - G scale to a 9 – 1 scale. This is already in place for English and Maths. 4. The entry of 2016 will be the last Year 12 to take 4 AS-Levels and AS exams at the end of Year 12 in 2017; the new specifications emerging for examination in 2018-19 mean that students in sixth form will also be following entirely linear courses from 2017 on, and we will move to 3 A-Levels plus a supporting core of skills and breadth. 5. As levels disappear from Key Stage 2 assessment, we have brought in our own flightpath models, which still use the language of levels (because that is what parents of children in Key Stage 3 are familiar with) but whose point is to enable students to see how progress in learning is tracked over their secondary years and what in each different subject they are likely to achieve. This is for information, and discussion. It isn’t a prophecy, it enables students, parents and teachers to discuss how progress and achievement can improve – what developments in learning behaviours are necessary. 6. We have moved to a system of parents’ evenings where parents and students discuss their progress across the curriculum, using the flight paths, with tutors. We encourage parents to contact subject departments directly if there is a particular issue with something a pupil is learning; the aim of the parents’ evening is to take a holistic view, look at the learning behaviours that contribute to this, and how these can be helped to develop.

Parental Questionnaire Next term (autumn 2016) we will be contacting our parents to get your feedback on different aspects of our provision for young people. Parents will be alerted via Parentmail, and we are hoping to get this survey online rather than on paper. Please watch out for it, and spare 10 minutes to let us have your feedback, positives and negatives!

Welcome to new staff This term we have welcomed two key new members of our staff team:

Mrs Tipler joined us full-time on 1st May as Deputy Headteacher and Director of Sixth Form. Mrs Tipler came to us from Ossett, where she was a Head of a (slightly smaller) Sixth Form than ours; but this has given her exceptional experience of and expertise in the challenges facing post-16 education in the coming years. Mrs Henry joined us mid-May as Head of our Student Support Services, the team that deals with immediate and day-to-day issues of attendance, punctuality, communications with parents, first aid, and student safeguarding. It is the students’ front-of-house, and first port-of-call for parents. Mrs Henry has come to us from Bury Council, where she has led teams dealing with a range of issues that affect young people and communities, and working closely with the public services, including schools and the police.

Teachers and Teaching Every year we lose members of staff, often to promotion, sometimes because people’s personal circumstances change. Congratulations to Miss Watson, Mr Nalborczyk, Miss Semper and Mr Mackey, who have all been appointed Heads of Department/Subject leaders, and Mr Coe, who is moving to Middleton Technology College as Deputy Headteacher. Full details can be found in the “staff news” section, and I would like in this newsletter to thank everyone for the contribution they have made to young people at Blue Coat.

In particular, I would like to thank long-serving staff:

 Mr Stevenson, who is leaving to work abroad.  Mrs Penn, who has led the development of a hugely successful Food Technology curriculum, is moving to part-time teaching to better fit her family’s needs.  Mrs Costello, similarly, is moving following the birth of her daughter, after long service as an Advanced Skills Teacher at Blue Coat and leader of our Newly Qualified Teacher provision.  Miss Semper, is moving onto a Key Stage 5 art responsibility.  Mr Oakes and Mr Griffin have both moved sideways, into careers in research and consultancy.

One other long-serving member of staff has made a decision to step down as Head of Department, but thankfully is going to stay with us as one of our most expert and experienced teachers. Mrs Perry, currently Head of English, joined Blue Coat in 2005. She took over a department in shock following the sudden and tragic death of Mrs Boardman. Mrs Perry reunited that team in a common purpose, and has led them through 11 years of near-constant charge in the English curriculum and assessment. English and maths are at the heart of the curriculum, and also at the centre of accountability measures for schools, because if young people don’t have these qualifications, their future is jeopardised.

Mrs Perry has put every ounce of her considerable energy into teaching. If students were not making the progress they should, she has taught them herself. She regularly takes responsibility for huge groups if teachers have left or are ill. And in what is left of her spare time, she writes – sometimes guides for the exam boards, but often her own fiction. This is where she now wants to do more, and after 11 years at the helm, we wish her every possible success, and are deeply grateful that she will continue to teach our students.

One area in which Mrs Perry has achieved complete mastery, and indeed stardom, is her production of the annual staff pantomime that is part of the staff’s Christmas gift to students. We discussed it first in 2006, and she immediately took it on. Over the years Mrs Perry has written 10 pantomimes. The first, loosely based on Dicken’s “Christmas Carol” was one of her favourites, because it was the first, staff had to be bribed, and students were bowled over. Another favourite was Cinderella in 2014, where Mr Hewson and Mr Clewer were the “ugly sisters” to dream (or have nightmares) about. There have been memorable events featuring the site team and ladders, the return of Mr Devenport as a type-cast Hagrid, and even some walk-on parts for my dog (although I drew the line when one of my piglets was requested). Part of the charm is the absence of any rehearsal, which means that staff have to step up and sort their parts out themselves. This leads to mayhem backstage, but much adrenaline and excitement. To Mrs Perry’s eternal credit, she remains unfazed throughout.

Fortunately, the pantomimes are set to continue, as more staff with a taste for bad puns, awful doggerel, and an enjoyment of performance, join us, and with Mrs Perry continuing to lead, our students will have that great sense of community, belonging and laughter that brings us all together.

Recruiting people to become teachers, and training them to do the job Parents will be aware that there is a national shortage of teachers, particularly in secondary, and particularly in disciplines such as maths, physics, chemistry, English, geography, RS, languages and computing. Over the past 4 years we have, with our partners in our Teaching School Alliance, developed a new route into teaching whereby we recruit and train directly. Our provision is quality- assured by Liverpool Hope University, which also teaches the Post-Graduate Certificate in Education as well as Qualified Teacher Status.

All of our trainees have been snapped up, including the 20 graduates of our programme this year, 14 of whom were graded “outstanding”. We are delighted that 5 of them are starting full-time posts at Blue Coat in September.

Developing the education system – and why parents need to know Government policy in education has been driven both by ideology and by financial constraints. The effect has been to reduce/remove the structures and systems that connected schools, locally and nationally, in a public service. This responsibility has transferred to schools themselves. It requires, in addition, quite a culture change because schools also have to compete – at the most fundamental level of student achievement and progress, students and schools are rank-ordered.

It is possible both to compete to achieve the best, and work together to provide the support of a system for all schools and young people, but it is a challenge, especially in a time of limited resources.

This is what Blue Coat has achieved, so far:

1. We have founded, and lead, a national Teaching School Alliance, with partner schools in 4 neighbouring Local Authorities. 2. This Teaching School Alliance has enabled us to train, so far, nearly 50 new and sought-after teachers. That capacity for training is now increasing to 60+ per year. 3. As a Teaching School we have recruited and accredited over 20 Specialist Leaders of Education, who lead educational improvement in Oldham Schools and beyond, by sharing their expertise in teaching, curriculum and assessment. 4. We run networks, led by our accredited SLE’s, to improve the offer to young people across Oldham and beyond. All of this contributes to the ongoing improvement of our schools. 5. We have created leadership training for teachers ready to take the first step, and brokered a partnership with the charity, Teaching Leaders, which is now providing development and training for middle leaders across practically all of Oldham’s secondary schools. 6. The Headteacher served as a local commissioner to the Oldham Schools’ Education Commission, chaired by Baroness Morris, which reported in January. As one of the local commissioners who inherited the responsibility to lead the transition from where we were to the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations, she drew up the structure, terms of reference and responsibilities for the new Partnership Board and professional lead, formally invited the independent members, and will continue to serve on the Board to help manage the transition. 7. Blue Coat has reached out also to the primary sector, and established a Multi-Academy Trust, The Cranmer Education Trust, to bring the schools together in one company with a single governance, a shared vision and common purpose, and a developing ability to work at scale.

The future needs schools to work in different and ever-more strategic ways, to build the capacity to continue to educate children and young people well. We are benefitting already from growing our business – from the teachers we have trained, to the addition expert staff we have appointed to run our services for a group of schools.

I will continue to update parents on these system developments, so that they become part of the normal landscape. These are challenging times, but exciting as well.

Improving our estate Every year for the past 5 years we have undertaken a major capital project over the summer holidays. This year we are focusing on maintenance, and improving our site security (new fire alarm, intruder alarm, CCTV system, additional fencing to the site, plus the gates to the rear of the school which are kept locked during the school day), and large areas of redecoration – 1800 people moving on a very constricted site causes a fair amount of wear-and-tear. The Lees building, finally completed, will now have new toilets (these were left out of the original plan to ensure we did not exceed the budget, but careful financial management means that we can do them after all). Other buildings will have new windows and/or repairing to keep them going.

Unfortunately we were not successful in our second consecutive bid to replace the Geoff Tootill building, which reflects the increasing pressure on public finances. This is not likely to get any easier, which we will need to discuss with parents next term.

Reports from school The bulk of the newsletter now contains all the reports from a big, lively community. Please enjoy, and have some happy and relaxing family time this summer.

Yours sincerely, Julie Hollis

Headteacher

The School Community

Race For Life Race for Life 2016 was on Wednesday 11th May on Oldham Edge. The event attracted over 300 students and 30 staff. With such success in 2015 it was always going to be a challenge to make the event bigger and better than last year and to raise the target of £4500 for Cancer Research. However the Blue Coat community did not disappoint. The weather was on our side and a sunny evening saw a pink army turn out in their masses to support such a worthwhile cause. It was superb to see such a diverse range of students from across all key stages coming together as one. The grand total raised is £5,016. That, added to last year’s total of £4,359, takes fundraising efforts to a phenomenal amount of £9,375

Year 7

On Friday 27th May, a group of Year 7 pupils - Joshua Harvey, Jack Burdess, Ridoy Ahmed, Kian O’Grady, Morgan Rathbone, Harry Smith, Miguel Faulkner, Ellis Lloyd, Will Hartley and Luke Smith - organised a charity fund raising 5-a-side match against some Blue Coat veterans, namely Mr Vodden, Mr Copplestone, Miss Watson, Mr Brough and Mr Jones. The match was superbly refereed by Dillon Mortimer.

Despite the best efforts of hat-trick geriatric Mr Brough, and the rest of the Blue Coat staff, the Year 7 boys (and Mr Thompson) managed to score a number of late goals and so the match finished a draw, six goals apiece, and so penalties followed. With age comes wisdom, and so the Blue Coat staff were able to use their considerable wisdom and footballing nous to triumph in a closely-fought penalty shoot-out. The match was watched by a highest-of-the season attendance of 45 pupils! Well done to all of the Year 7 boys for putting together such a brilliant, enjoyable charity event and raising £30.00 in the process.

That's Ace!

Asa Arnfield-Moore might only be in Year 7 but his passion for charity work has already put him up there with the fundraising heavy weights.

First to volunteer when it came to designing his form's charity event, Asa was so committed that he spent much of his social time chasing teachers for their pennies and pounds.

What many people don't know about Asa is that he loves to get involved in charity work outside of school and it is as a result of this that Asa has mastered the art of perfect persuasion.

When Asa heard about 'Race for Life' he was determined to take part and make it around the edge despite a recent injury. However, he was even more determined to raise lots of money for charity - so much so, that Asa singlehandedly collected over £190.

'Race for Life' is always a fantastic event - fun, colourful, perhaps a little challenging, slightly chaotic- but behind all that lies a very important cause and Asa didn't forget that for one minute. What's more, this proved itself to be a totally selfless act, only coming to my attention when his mum dropped the money into school. I'm sure you'll all agree that's, well, pretty Ace!

Year 8

The spring term has certainly been a busy one for Year 8, particularly in the run up to the annual Opal Coast trip, which departs on Monday 27th June.

Since the last newsletter, the Junior Leadership Team (JLT) were mentioned as driving the assembly programme forward and they have certainly not disappointed. Under the leadership of the JLT, each form has been given a theme, which they have then prepared and delivered an assembly on. Themes have included many pertinent social, moral and cultural areas, including diversity, resilience and determination. In addition to these themes, some forms have also been educating the year group about the history of Blue Coat School itself, which has been interesting and thought provoking. The results have been highly successful and we would like to thank the JLT for not only putting in such a lot of hard work over the year, but also to thank the year group and their tutors for actively getting involved in the form assembly programme. It has certainly been heart-warming to see our Year 8 community working so hard together.

In terms of other group successes, Maia Lees Gabriella McGinn, Mary Monk, Abigail Kinder, Isabelle Slater, Ryan Clayton and Kieran Russell have participated in a series of after school workshops, focusing on ceramics techniques. They were introduced to hand building techniques, learning how to make pinch pots and pebble forms from scratch, before turning them into unique imaginative fish! Pupils learnt how to 'score and slip' to add fins and interesting features to give their fish character, before exploring surface texture to create scales. Once fired, pupils then applied a wax resist technique to bring the fish to life in bright colours. Well done to these pupils for their participation.

In terms of individual success, Connor Chadderton has taken part in 6 Fell Races over the last month over the north of England where he came 4th and 5th in two of the races. An incredible achievement for such a demanding sport. Well done Connor!

As this year draws to a close, we look forward to the next academic year and the new challenges that it will bring. Before we do, we have our annual celebration assembly to look forward to, where we will celebrate some other individual successes, which link to our ASPIRE mantra. Over the year, students have been completing small projects, which have allowed them to demonstrate all six skills from the ASPIRE mantra and we look forward revealing this year’s students of the year. Well done year 8!

Year 10

Oldham College Visit 30 Year 10 students will visit Oldham College on 4th July. The taster day is designed to enable them to gain a better understanding of college life and help with their career questions and choices. Each student will follow a specially designed individual timetable of their choice, which will allow them to get a flavour of the courses available and career routes.

Project CTZN and The Enthusiasm Trust Many thanks to all parents and guardians who have signed their children up to be involved in the active citizenship programme running across Year 10. The Blue Coat School has secured funding from the Home Office to participate in an exciting new project commissioned by Greater Manchester Police called Project CTZN.

The Project has been developed to develop active citizenship amongst young people. The aim will be to connect our Year 10 students with community-based activities by providing a ground-breaking “app” which will give each student rewards for their positive contributions to society. Alongside this, the app will provide a valuable way to further improve their safeguarding, by providing safe and secure channels of communication between students and the supporting organisations and agencies involved, and their peers. After completing an online survey to help GMP and other support agencies better understand the needs of young people, and to tailor their work accordingly, students will attend an assembly and a 1 hour session led by the Enthusiasm Trust who will introduce the app and inform our students of the rewards and opportunities it makes available to each individual. High profile organisations such as Manchester United, Salford University, Barnardo's, Lion Heart Challenge and the Manchester Sports Partnership are currently supporting the programme, with more to come on board in the first year.

Year 11

The exams are finished, and it’s time to celebrate!

The Year 11 Prom was a magical evening, despite the rain at the start which was so bad that parents came inside to the reception in the Town Hall. This was unprecedented. Parents are typically kept at arms-length by their teenage children, as well we know, however the students quite naturally, without reservation, welcomed their parents inside for their own photo-opportunities. For a while there was a surreal mix of Year 11 students in the most glamorous outfits imaginable and mums and dads in cagoules and it has to be said in no rush to leave. The students were fantastic, and the weather, which literally and figuratively could have put a dampener on the evening, was turned around by students to make the evening all the more special.

House News

Junior Sports Day

1st Place – Lord Mothersill (340 Points) 2nd Place – Birley Hall (218 Points) 3rd Place – Rountree Wrigley (226 Points)

Congratulations to Lord Mothersill who are this year’s Junior Sports day winners. For once the sun shone on Blue Coat allowing all students in Years 7, 8 & 9 to come up to Oldham Edge and watch the events unfold. Every competitor who took part scored points for their House so congratulations to all participants. It was a pleasure to see the passion the spectators and participants had for supporting their own House community.

House BH LM RW

Girls Boys Total Girls Boys Total Girls Boys Total

Track Events 73 108 181 63 57 120 32 42 74

Field Events 50 87 137 126 94 220 39 113 152

Total 123 195 318 189 151 340 71 155 226

Sixth Form Tough Mudder April saw the second annual running of the Blue Coat Sixth Form “Tough Mudder” assault course. The event that was designed to use Oldham Edge’s supreme abundant resource “mud” has become a favoured event in the sixth form calendar. The sixth formers competed in teams to complete an assault course scrambling under cargo nets balancing eggs dodging water bombs and finishing on the water slide. Great fun was had by all as the students who got to let off some much needed steam.

Club News

Braille Club

We all know school is about learning new skills and here in the Green Room we like to really challenge ourselves.

This year has seen the introduction of Braille club and it has been a huge hit with the following students getting involved to complete Level 1:

Saul Lloyd Matthew Scholes Connor Clarke Areya Swithenbank Millie Smithies Jessica Watson Daniel Wilson Ross Baker Connor Clarke Ella Madden-stamp Abigail Speake Rashmi Paul Elliott Bentley Sam Hodkinson Patrick McGuiness Naomi Kalu Imogen Webb Will Sharpe Lucas Ogden Asa Arnfield-Moore Sam Brierley Lydia Bagshaw Ellie O'Shea-Wright Caitlyn Gooding Freya Thornhill Lewis Bailey Charlotte Hayhurst Harrison Gale Isabelle Walsh

One of Braille stars is Lewis Bailey. The Year 7 has shown a particular flair and determination to learn this new skill.

Rather excitingly, pupils have already put their names down to start Grade 2 braille, which is fantastic!

Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award

Bronze This year 175 Year 10’s will be receiving their Bronze certificates at the celebration assembly, a remarkable achievement.

This year there are over 200 students involved in Bronze DofE meaning the expeditions are now divided into two groups. The practice expedition around Rivington Pike emphasised the excellent attitude of the Year 9 students. The challenges that the expedition presents to them combined with the way they overcome these challenges displays the true character of students at Blue Coat. The expeditions were wet and cool with Group A ending up cooking in a barn and setting their tents up in stages. They followed instructions on how to cope with the weather and the vast majority had a dry night.

The practice walk is always a challenge as the vast majority of students are involved in this type of activity for the first time and whilst there are always a few tears and some very tired students the smile of completion is always gratifying to see. Next up - the assessed expedition.

Silver This year 109 Year 11’s (98% completion rate – national average is 48% and I’m still working on the last 2%) will be receiving their Silver certificates at their GCSE celebration evening in October.

This year we have the biggest Silver cohort ever with 124 students involved. The Silver assessed expedition is imminent but after the practice they all look set for the three days in the Peak District. On the campsite it is an amazing site with all these Year 10’s cooking, socialising and surviving without their computers. It is also a real pleasure to see students working as teams and supporting each other through this challenge.

Sixth Form News

Thought About Studying Abroad? The Sutton Trust US Programme 2016 (By Jack Whitehead – Year 12)

“I’ve thought about studying abroad and travelling in general for many years, but doing a degree in the US never seemed like a feasible option until I found out about the Sutton Trust US programme through the summer schools lecture with Mr Wild, so I looked into the programme and began the long application.

The Sutton Trust US Programme is in its 5th year, and allows 150 socio-economically disadvantaged, academically-minded students to experience university in the US each year. For those who want to pursue higher education in the USA after the trip, the Sutton Trust helps them with their application process, and financial aid applications. The US is different to the UK in that the financial aid is much more generous for those who need it, and for the lucky few who secure a merit scholarship, they can benefit from funding for both for their university lives, and for travel around the World.

This year, there were over 1200 full applications sent to the Sutton Trust, and in April, there was a residential in London for the 175 final students. This residential was a half-week full of lectures and group activities to teach us what the programme entailed; the exams and work we’d have to do on top of our AS levels, and the trip to the US. Whilst I was in Berlin with the languages department in April, I found out that I was successful in securing a place on the programme, being one of 150 students representing England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland on the programme.

Then came revision.

In order to attend US universities, you must sit standardised tests - the most well-known being the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) - but we would sit the ACT (American College Test), which is an equivalent.

In June, all candidates returned to London to sit the 4 hour exam, after which we were informed about the application process in more detail (which involves our extra-curricular activities, essays, and financial aid), and the trip.

In August, I will fly to New York with the Sutton Trust, and I will be spending a week at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, as well as visiting other notable American institutions such as Harvard, Columbia, and Brown.

The trip won’t be all about universities, however! We will get the opportunity to visit the Rockefeller Centre, have lunch in Central Park, and visit the Met in New York City, before visiting a mall, and having a tour around Boston to name a few activities.

Even before the trip, I know that this experience will be life-changing. I already have friends from the Isle of Wight to Glasgow and beyond, who I know I’ll keep in contact with for a very long time, and I’ve become an expert on the tube if nothing else! I’ve also become a lot more independent through the programme - before this year, I wouldn’t get on a train to London on my own, and now I think nothing of it.

I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet, that I’ll be visiting some of the world’s top institutions, with the aim of applying to them, but I’m sure it’ll hit me when we land.

It goes without saying that even getting this far would have been impossible if it wasn’t for Mrs Gartside’s help in applying, and for that, I’m incredibly grateful.”

Alongside Jack, we have 20 other Year 12 students who have been accepted to attend a range of summer schools across the country ranging from Edinburgh, Durham, Newcastle and Lancaster to Oxford, London, Bath and East Anglia, whilst others have been selected to attend Nuffield science research placements.

We look forward to hearing all about their experiences in September!

Duke of Edinburgh Gold The summer term has seen 53 Gold DofE participants’ complete two practice weekends. Practice one in April saw the participants tackling snow on the top of Kinder Scout and temperatures plummeting as low as -3 degrees at night! Practice 2 took our intrepid adventures to the Yorkshire Dales where they criss- crossed Yorkshires 3 Peaks covering over 45km on foot during the weekend. Next stop is the 4 day assessed expedition in the Lake District which takes place in July.

Year 13 Prom The Year 13s celebrated an end to their school career with their Leavers’ Ball on Friday the 27rd May. The evening was a culmination of some very hard work from the senior student team who planned the event from start to finish. A brilliant evening was had by all who attended.

Unifrog The summer term is a busy one for our Year 12 students after returning from study leave and successful completion of AS exams they return to school to commence A2 study complete work shadowing and start career planning. This year Blue Coat staff, students and parents will use our new online platform UNIFROG to help inform their careers choice.

Unifrog brings into one place every university course, apprenticeship, college course in the UK as well as other opportunities, such as school leavers’ programmes, MOOCs and every college at Oxford and Cambridge.

Getting Ahead Week Year 12 Sixth Form students will be bringing the summer term to a close by spending the last full week of term focusing on their careers and life after Blue Coat. The Getting Ahead week will see a day focusing on apprenticeships and employment skills delivered by recruitment specialists Page Talent. We will also welcome back Blue Coat graduates from 2014 & 2015 to share their very recent experiences since leaving Blue Coat. Students will all visit Manchester University to hear from students and lectures on university life. The week will be concluded with our Seven for Seven event where seven top industry professionals talk about their careers.

Chaplaincy

Last term concluded with the school Easter services. Years 7 and 8 joined together in a reflective service in the school hall, revisiting the events of the first Easter using bible readings music and media. This was accompanied by some very thought provoking visual displays that Year 8 students had produced in RS and art lessons.

The senior school went to the parish church for a more traditional service of readings and music, reflecting on the death and resurrection of Jesus. This service featured excellent music from the school brass band, and individual musicians.

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

“Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid of them and don’t be frightened, because the Lord your God will go with you. He will not leave you or forget you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Students have enjoyed a range of assemblies from senior staff, visitors and other students on themes such as Integrity, Parables, Hope and Unity. One of our senior students, Rebecca Rees, planned and led an assembly with Mr Coe raising awareness of the work that Christian aid do, in preparation for Christian Aid week. It was a thought provoking assembly, not aimed at fund-raising, but challenging the students about how they can get involved in helping others in many different ways.

Form reflection continues to use an active approach to explore the theme of the week in more detail, and form groups have been able to discuss faith related issues that are important to them, whilst using prayer and reflection to consider their personal spiritual journey.

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. This is always a highlight of the week, with Mrs English and Mr Ford planning and leading sessions with the Salt Cellar youth team.

The Salt Cellar Youth Project also continue to run a drop in session on Tuesday lunchtimes called ‘Escape’ which is well attended by students from all years. Recently we have been sad to see some Year 11 students leave who have been attending the club for the best part of 5 years! The final game of Uno was a defining moment for both staff and students alike.

The school worship group meets every Friday lunchtime to play music and learn new songs. They are currently practising hard for the end of year service where they will be leading the music with old favourites and a new presentation song. The year will end with a service on the last day of term where we will be exploring the words of Jesus from Matthew 5:14-16, “You are the light of the world”. The service will involve music, drama, games, reflection and will aim to encourage us all to live out our faith so that we can bring God’s love and forgiveness to those around us.

Fundraising Donated to £ Raised by Event

Cancer Research £ 5,151.81 All School Race For Life

£ 384.21 7H Sponsored Silence

£ 36.39 Mrs Devine Plant Swap

£ 25.08 7B Sponsored Football

£ 5,597.49

Save the Children £ 1,263.23 All School Xmas Fundraising

Wateraid £ 633.73 Mrs Penn (students) Nosh for Dosh

The Mustard Tree £ 303.80 All School Xmas Fundraising

Dr Kershaw’s Hospice £ 119.32 Year 7 Cake Sales

£ 102.96 7W International Day

£ 23.36 Office Staff Xmas Fundraising

£ 245.64

Mind £ 211.50 7M Sponsorship

Destination Florida £ 83.50 7LM Cake Sale

Macmillan £ 74.55 7R Sponsorship

Bleakholt Animal Home £ 70.00 Sam Cawley (11H) Sponsorship

UK Treatment Bells Palsy £ 50.00 Euan Kelly (7H) Sponsorship Association Oxfam £ 47.00 All School Fashion Show

Cake Sale & Office Springhill Hospice £ 333.02 Staff Xmas Fundraising

Charity TBC £ 619.32 Year 11 Cake Sales

Charity TBC £ 329.69 6th Form Cake Sales

Stroke Association £ 309.66 Year 11 Cake Sales

TOTAL £ 9,552.81

The curriculum, learning and achievement

Science This term, our Year 8 Science club has continued apace, organised by Dr Higginson, Mr Price and Ms Longley. Students made their own lava lamps (exploring the mysteries of heat transfer by convection). They also engaged in a number of forensic science experiments and rounded off the term with the gory but always popular heart dissection.

As the old saying goes "Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana". Well, this premise was proved wrong by Fly Club. Working with Drosophila melanogaster, our Year 12 students investigated which variety of fruit is most preferred by fruit flies. For six months, students in the Science Department were distracted by the fly-escapees. However, despite the adage, our fruit flies did not like bananas, or any other type of fruit. Not only that, they were averse to honey, jam and golden syrup. Fly Club may have to change its name to Ant Club. Our students, undaunted by nature's refusal to comply, will continue exploring animal behaviour, with a hopefully more amenable invertebrate.

One of the many missions of the International Space Station is to look at the effects of space flight on living organisms. Hundreds of thousands of seeds spent several months in space before being disseminated to schools across the country, including Blue Coat. Our students have proven themselves to be attentive parents of the seeds, meticulously watering them and monitoring their growth patterns. This is a double-blind study, as the students have also been given seeds that spent their time on Earth and they have no idea which seeds are which. The results will be revealed next term. Thanks to Ms. Ormisher for organising this.

Students in A-level Chemistry have worked hard towards their exams, with Year 13 and Year 12 working together on our mentoring programme. This has been a huge success, and will be running forward to next year, when the current Year 12 mentees will become the mentors. 12 Year 12 students will be taking part in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge in which they will pit their wits against the best and brightest Year 12 chemists in the country, and aiming for a copper, silver, gold or roentgenium award. We are hoping for further success after the excellent performance of Blue Coat chemists in the Chemistry Olympiad earlier this year.

There is a palpable sense of excitement among the Year 12 and 13 for which Dr. Guittierez-Sosa is responsible. In early July, 29 of our Year 12 and 13 Physics students (along with Dr. G, Mr. Keane and Mr. McGuinness) will be departing Oldham and making their way to Geneva to visit CERN, the European Centre for Nuclear Research. There they will explore the Large Hadron Collider, the largest particle accelerator in the world. They will also explore the United Nations Centre for ICT. Watch out Geneva, the Blue Coat Physicists are coming!

Rocket Science Are you a red or a blue?

We were very excited when we finally received our two packets of seeds on Tuesday 19th April, one red packet and one blue packet. Each packet contained 100 tiny rocket seeds, but which ones had been to Space? The seeds were sown on Wednesday 20th April, then diligently watered, turned, counted and measured over the next 35 days. Throughout the experiment, we noticed that the blue seeds weren’t faring as well as the red ones, with a lower percentage germination, lower survival rate and fewer leaves. These observations led us to the conclusion that the blue seeds were the ones that had been in Space, with their poorer growth a consequence of exposure to radiation.

All results had to be entered into the rocket science national database by Friday 17th June……..

And the results are in!! Following an e-mail from Tim Peake (himself!), we now have it confirmed that the blue packet were the ones in Space – so we were right!

Maths

STEP launch day which is imminent and our plans On Thursday 30th June we will be hosting our first of 3 days for the North West’s most talented Year 12 Mathematicians, aimed at preparing students to help them apply to prestigious universities to study a mathematics-based degree and give them the experience of post A-level mathematics. A workshop on mathematical problem solving will encourage the students to leave modular maths behind and focus on a more cohesive and synoptic approach to problem solving and introduce them to the Sixth Term Examination Papers required by several top universities. They will also have a mock university style interview from one of our current Year 13 students or former students who have been through an Oxford or Cambridge interview. The Year 13 students and former students will hold a question and answer session for our Year 12 students on the application process and how best to prepare for an Oxbridge interview.

The previous session in March saw 7 of our students take the STEP 1 examination on Tuesday 14th June, and 2 students take the STEP II examination on Thursday 16th June.

UKMT winners Congratulations to Emma Hawthorne in Year 8 who achieved not only a Gold certificate, but also the Best in School award for the Junior UKMT challenge. Emma was joined by Sheila Mutua (also Year 8) and Elizabeth Corps of Year 7 in achieving the gold standard. We also had a large number of students attaining both silver and bronze certificates. Well done to all.

Year 11 21 hours of revision “Mathematics is like love, a simple idea but it can get complicated”. We ended our relationship with Year 11 with a final push in preparing them for their examination with up to 20 hours of additional support. Maths staff were delighted with the effort and determination shown by these young adults and hope this brings them the success they deserve. Well done.

Creative Maths Club Creative Maths Club has had a re-boot for the summer term. The students have produced some fabulous art work using tessellation and transformations. They have also competed in teams to complete maths relays which use their problem solving skills. Rubik’s cubes have also been a favourite with some students able to complete a cube within 1 minute!

English

This has been an extremely busy term for the English department. It has taken some juggling and a lot of checking and cross-checking to make sure we were all up to speed with the eight different specs studied by our students this year, as a result of curriculum change nationally.

Great strides have been made at Key Stage 3 as well and the recent exams have shown the fruit of the increased rigour we’ve implemented at Key Stage 3, where we’ve made more explicit links between Key Stage 3 and 4 to ensure a smooth transition when the time comes. There has been a heavy emphasis on literature; wider reading helps with every aspect of English, and with other curriculum subjects. A love of reading is something we encourage for its own sake, and the students at Key Stage 3 have had a wealth and variety of texts to study, inspiring their own private reading.

Staff have managed to find the time to lead theatre trips. Students have been lucky enough to see ‘Macbeth’ and ‘An Inspector Calls’ this term, live performances enhancing their understanding of the texts and developing their appreciation of the arts generally. We have continued to run various clubs and societies, including the film group, where budding Barry Normans (or Claudia Winklemans if you’re under 40) hone their skills.

Accelerated Reader This has been another record breaking year for Year 7 Accelerated Reader English classes in the Library. This year's total is 87, 523, 303, million words and counting.

We have 26 millionaires, 4 more than last year, and many more on the cusp of joining them before the literacy program ends in July.

Star Readers

Rebecca Howarth has amassed over 4.56 million words (reading 80 books in the process!) Ashley Idoko 3.04 million words and has read 117 books. Ben Hughes 2.4 million words.

Class Standings - Top 3 English classes

1st – Miss Charnock’s class (13.5 million words) 2nd - Mr Bradley’s class (12.7 million words) 3rd – Ms Anderton’s class (12.4 million words)

Well done to everyone.

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

Languages

French We have participated again in the Routes into Languages Year 7 MFL spelling bee, where Year 7s have to learn words in French and have to be able to spell them aloud using the French alphabet as quickly as possible. Each class produced two winners back in December and these students spent the spring term practising for the school final.

Our winners were Bradley Harper, Matilda Ferreira and Ashley Idoko, all of whom could spell out at least 12 words in a minute, no easy task. On 23rd March these students attended the North West regional finals at Manchester Metropolitan University, where they competed against schools from all over the area. Having to stand alone in front of a lecture theatre full of people was daunting but the students did us proud, and whilst we did not get any further in the competition it was a very enjoyable afternoon, resulting in a goody bag each for the students.

Paris Trip 2016 On Saturday 12th March students from Years 10 and 12 set off to Paris, via the train from Manchester and then the Eurostar from St Pancras. After checking in to our hostel we had a lovely evening looking around Notre Dame and eating on the Left Bank. On Sunday we spent the morning on the Champs Elysées, admiring the Arc de Triomphe and the shops, then after lunch in the Tuileries gardens the Art students went to explore the Pompidou Centre with its modern art museum whilst the French students went on a fact-finding walking tour, seeing the Jardin du Luxembourg, the Eglise de Saint Sulpice, various university departments, the Panthéon and the rue Mouffetard. After meeting up to eat, we took the Metro to the Palais de Chaillot, from where we had a fabulous view of the Eiffel Tower by night. We returned to get a closer look at the tower the following morning then had a final chance for a coffee on the Left Bank before returning for our cases and getting the Eurostar back. The students were impeccably behaved throughout and all had a fantastic time.

Berlin Trip 2016 In April, students from Years 10 and 12 travelled to Berlin for the weekend. This is what Jessica Shaw and Eve Tremayne-Ryan wrote:

“Once we arrived in Berlin and had dropped our bags off at the accommodation we set off on a walking tour around Berlin. We saw many different interesting sites such as Checkpoint Charlie, where we explored the museum. We also saw the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. These sites were all very interesting as we were able to find out more about Berlin’s history. We were allowed free time around Alexanderplatz where we explored the shops and places to eat.

On Saturday we went to a market. Our challenge was to take a language quiz where we had to use our own German to talk to the German people, asking them questions about Berlin and buying the things we wanted. After this, we went to Europe’s largest department store, the KaDeWe. We were also allowed to explore the high street. After this, we watched a performance of street performers doing tricks on skateboards, which was very entertaining. In the late afternoon, we visited the Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer (Berlin Wall Memorial) a surviving section of the Wall and watchtower. We all found this very moving, as we saw photographs of some of the people who had been killed when they tried to escape over the wall. We also were able to look at the tower from high up which was really interesting, because it gave us a really good idea of how it would have looked in the past. In the evening, we then went back to Alexanderplatz to go bowling. This was a great experience, because we were able to have a laugh with our friends whilst enjoying food from the buffet.

For our last day, we visited the Eastside Gallery (remaining parts of the Berlin Wall with graffiti created by artists from all over the world). This was our favourite part of the trip, because the graffiti was really impressive and showed us a real insight into the views of people in Berlin and those who were affected at the time.

All in all, this was an amazing trip. We were able to have a great time whilst also learning about the history of Germany. It was also really interesting to put our German speaking skills into practice, as most of us had never spoken in German to someone who had it as their first language outside of school, not to mention in another country!”

Jack Whitehead, from Year 12, wrote: “The trip to Berlin was an amazing opportunity for all of us, sixth formers and year ten alike. Berlin is such a politically-central, culturally-diverse city, and we had the chance to experience some of Berlin’s highlights: the German Parliament, the famous TV tower, the Cathedral, and parts of the Berlin Wall to name a few sights. We also engaged in language activities around Berlin, and all in all, the trip was an amazing experience.”

History

Key Stage Three Our Year 7 students have been challenged by learning about topics that will be on the new History GCSE such as Henry VIII and why he broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. Students have taken the challenge on board and were able to delve deeper into the well-known ‘divorced, beheaded, died…’ rhyme, to look at the political, economic and social causes for the Reformation, and analyze how the Reformation changed the history of England forever. They will be soon investigating the Gunpowder Plot, and will be looking at the tricky task of investigating if the plot is all it seems… As we’re reaching the end of term we’re already busily planning the next Year 8 trip and for our current Year 7’s it will change from a WW2 to a WW1 focus in order to adapt to curriculum changes. We’ve had the best uptake ever for this change and we’re looking forward to taking them to Belgium and France in summer 2017.

In Year 8, students have just begun learning about the very topical theme of WW1, particularly investigating causes and responsibility of war. This has then led nicely to the combined RS and History topic of WW2 in preparation for the Opal Coast trip that most of our students will be going on. We will be focusing on the events of the war, whilst RS will looking at the impact that war brought to Britain, and its affect on the people. Our students have also been asked to make decisions about GCSE subjects and we have been really pleased with how many Year 8 students have picked History. We’re really sure that they will enjoy the exciting new topic areas of Henry VIII, the Cold War, Weimar Germany, and Crime and Punishment.

Year 9 have just finished a topic on 1920s America focusing on the economic boom and whether it was experienced by all, and the changes in technology that moved so rapidly during the decade. The end of Year 9 exam proved that we have very hardworking and committed students and their tenacity will serve them well into GCSE. Our final topic for KS3 focuses on the same decade – the 1920s – but in a very different context of Weimar Germany. The students will be looking at the interwar periods and why an educated and enlightened Germany went from a progressive liberal democracy to a fascist dictatorship in little over 10 years. This will be part of the new GCSE questions and students will be developing their exam skills in preparation for September.

Our Year 10 students learnt this term how important it is to start revision early and to break it up into small but manageable sections as they experienced their mock exams. Many found it a challenge juggling all of the exams at once, but it was a valuable learning curve for many and it demonstrated that hard work pays off. We have now completed all of our learning for the first exam that they will be sitting in Year Eleven and we are starting our Paper two content and skills. It would be useful for students to dedicate some time over the summer to go back over content for Paper 1 and practise some past paper questions which are available on Bloodle.

Our Year 11 and our Year 13 students have now completely finished their studies for History GCSE and A-level respectively, and we wish them the best of luck for their results in August.

Our Year 12 students sat the very first papers for the new AS history exams on the Tudors and Westward expansion and the Civil War in the USA, and were well prepared for them. They now face the hard work of maintaining the level of knowledge that they have obtained this year in their A level exams for next year, alongside one further exam and a piece of coursework that they will be studying for in September. They will be completing an independent coursework enquiry of a topic of their choosing centered around the Tudors, and will be learning about Civil Rights Movements in the USA in the 20th and 21st Century. Religious Studies

Exam season This term has been all about preparing our Year 11, 12 and 13 students for their examinations. They have worked really hard and attended a range of different intervention opportunities to maximise their successes. We are so proud of all the work they put in, and look forward to celebrating their results with them in August.

Year 10 students also sat their first full GCSE style paper, and we have high hopes for them next year too! They showed grit and determination in their attitude to learning, revision, and improving their result – even through a re-sit where necessary.

Key Stage 3 Big Questions Club Since the last newsletter the Big Questions club has started a project towards a competition which centres around four different biblical accounts of Jesus’s life. Students are working in groups to produce a creative re-telling on one of these stories and are using different versions of the Bible for inspiration.

Year 9 and 13 work together to show compassion for our community: Follow up since Christmas (By Meg Bowler – 6SY)

“In November, following recent news coverage and latest John Lewis advert, our form (6SY) felt the need to raise awareness for an issue we consider extremely important: loneliness amongst the elderly especially at Christmas time. After conducting research into charities and facilities dedicated to the cause, a team of Year 13 students led whole- school assemblies, informing students of the magnitude of the issue, unfortunately how common it is, and also how we as a school community and as individuals can help.

In addition to this, we worked with a group of year 9 students to actively make a difference to those in our local community potentially in this situation, by pairing up and writing letters in the form of a Christmas card, to residents of a local care home for the elderly, The Alexandra Care Home in Oldham. We explained the research we had been doing, as well as letting them know a bit about us, asking questions about them, and ensuring they knew they were being thought of. It was really nice to extend the hand of friendship to someone who may be in need of it, and we are all looking forward to receiving replies from the residents.”

Since then, the students have received letters back from some of the residents, and chains of communication have been opened. They have found out about what it’s like in the local care home, and how many fun, diverse opportunities there are to ensure that the elderly in our community do not suffer from the loneliness we had learnt about. Some Year 13 students have even planned to continue to write to their new ‘friend’ once they are at University.

Our new technology Earlier on the year we were successful in receiving a grant from The Henshaw Trust (thank you!) with which we have purchased a set of tablets to be used in the classroom to enhance learning.

The department are undergoing some training in new software and will be trialling some of the interactive activities over the next few weeks. These will enable us to share what’s on the board directly to students’ devices – they can work on it and send it back. We’ll also be able to engage more easily in whole class quizzes, internet based research, independent work, and group work IT based tasks.

Year 7 visit to Oldham Parish Church – coming soon Later on this term all of Year 7 will be visiting the local Church – this is where we have our celebration services and so it’s a really important part of our school. Students will be taking part in a range of workshops, including a tour of the crypt, some singing in the vestry and a reflective experience with The Salt Cellar team.

Social Sciences

Sociology Year 10 Sociology students have been busy this term completing a practical based Research Methods unit. Throughout this term students have experienced the life of a sociologist having a hands on approach to our current topic, Studying Society. Using a variety of research methods students experienced first-hand the strengths and weakness of approaches such as undercover observations, questionnaires and interviews. All Year 10 pupils took a trip into Oldham Town Centre, conducting their own research and collecting their own results. This has been a brilliant experience for pupils to see the kinds of problems that can occur when doing sociological research. Pupils behaved brilliantly and will make excellent undercover researchers in the future. Computer Science

We have received some excellent news from one of our former students, Ayrton Massey, who has just gained a First Class Honours BSc in Computer Science from Edinburgh University and now has an exciting future ahead of him working for Microsoft in Copenhagen! Ayrton was one of four members of our successful Herriot Watt Turing competition team three years ago, so it’s wonderful to see him fulfilling his immense potential. He intends to maintain close contact with the department: we hope to see him popping in soon to share some advice with budding coders! Another member of the team, Jack Maiden has also graduated recently with a computer science degree: Jack is hoping to secure funding for a Phd researching contactless payment systems.

Our Year 7 students have been getting to grips with coding using their BBC Micro-bits and have been learning the basics of variables and loops to create their own countdown timers. This unit of work has really enabled our youngest students to see the practical application of computer science, something we all take very much for granted.

Having completed their first coursework project in Python, Year 10 students are using the block based environment ‘App Inventor’ to learn how to create apps for mobile phones. The aim is that each student will produce a game that can be downloaded to an Android phone as part of their second coursework.

Finally, our lunch-time HTML Club, run by Mr Mkandawire and Mr Barker has seen Year 8 students working on the basic building blocks of all web pages, html tags, to create their own web pages from scratch using just a text editor. A future in web design anyone?

Engineering

Engineering Education Scheme (EES) The Year 12 Engineering Education Scheme came to an end at the annual “Celebration and Assessment Day”, hosted again by the University of Liverpool, where our students presented the solution to a problem set for them by local engineering company Innovative Technologies, to a panel of industry experts, with a display stand and working prototype.

The feedback from the assessors was excellent for all aspects of the project, with particular emphasis on the teamwork demonstrated by the students. To round off a successful day, the students also collected for the Pupils’ Choice Award, a trophy awarded by their peers.

Go4Set Our Year 8 Go4SET teams attended The University of Manchester on Thursday 16th of June for the Celebration and Assessment Day following the completion of their 10 week design and build projects.

Both teams have worked together to design 'Stations of the Future' and a 'Sustainable Sports Facility' alongside industrial mentors from our partner company, Innovative Technology, and their teachers Mr Merrill and Mrs Parker. Each team of 6 Year 8 students produced a scale model of their proposal and a formal report detailing research findings, design work for their project and recommendations for the future development of the their project.

On the day each team had a stand to display and celebrate their work and presented their work to a panel of 6 industry experts from across the engineering sector.

Despite the imposing surroundings of the university and the pressure to present to unfamiliar adults both teams rose to the challenge and presented to a very high standard, received excellent feedback from the assessors on their knowledge and confidence in presenting as well as positive feedback on the concepts.

The day ended with the graduation of all students and presentation of both Go4SET certificates and Bronze Level Industrial Cadets certificates, the latter a national scheme launched by HRH The Prince of Wales to encourage young people into STEM based careers. Many parents of the team members were able to attend the graduation to join in the celebration of the students' achievements.

The icing on the cake was the awarding of Best Teamwork trophy to the team who designed a 'Station of the Future.’ Congratulations to all students on successfully completing the project - we are very proud of you all. Construction

Another busy year in construction, and a year of successes. Year 11s all passed the course, which gives Construction at Bluecoat a 100% pass rate since it was introduced. Many of the year 11 students have gone on to follow careers in a construction trade, starting apprenticeships and further training at college. The year 11’s swan song to the course was a 2 day stint at The Manchester College where they completed the blockwork unit of the course. It was a fantastic two days had by all and upon return to school we received the following email from the tutor who had been working with us:

“After 12 years teaching at the college, the Blue Coat students who came last week were the best school group I have had the pleasure of teaching. They were extremely well behaved and worked really hard to complete the projects that were set. They are a credit to the school. Mr Merrill and rest of the staff who came were also a credit as well.”

We were pleased to be visited by former student Joe Townsend who following his first year as an apprentice plumber entered the “Screwfix Trade Apprentice 2016” competition. He won the Regional Finals, allowing him to go to London to compete in the Finals at Google’s headquarters. Joe says in the Oldham Chronicle that he credits his initial interest in construction from the 2 year course he studied at the Blue Coat School. Unfortunately, Joe was unable to beat off the stiff competition and lost out to a third year apprentice plumber for the top award. As we wished the Year 11s farewell; their place on the hardstanding was quickly replaced by the year 10s who got to sample bricklaying for the first time. Over a very hot 3 days, the pupils got to grips with the basics that underpin all bricklaying. They worked really hard and produced some fantastic outcomes.

Food Technology

Another busy term for Food Technology…

Year 8 students turned themselves into Streetfood producers making balanced and ‘on the go’ products. The food made was influence by the current ‘Streetfood Revolution’ where health and flavour was the main focus.

Isabelle Slater in Year 8 has been adding to her Food studies by following the Licence to Cook course as well as her normal lesson time and doing some brilliant additional practical work – she's building up a great cookbook!

Textiles

The massively successful and first annual Blue Coat Fashion Show was a competition that asked entrants to design and make an outfit made entirely from recycled materials. Over 100 pupils entered the competition and the submissions were whittled down by Mrs Lawson and Miss Watson to the 12 best outfits, which included crisp packet ball gowns and tops adorned with bottle tops! Over the course of 'Fashion Week' all outfits were sewn, glued and formed into high fashion and then modelled down the catwalk by the team models.

Industry expert, designer Lisa Mather, judged the show and crowned 'The Candi Wrappers' team the winners (Year 7: Emma Peacock, Imogen Tennent, Holly Buckley and Amy Mellor) for their knitted VHS tape skirt with LED lights and a mouse mat bag. Year 9 team 'Crinkle Cut' (Emily Mallinson and Eve Parker) narrowly missed out on first place but were given commendation for collecting over 300 empty crisp packets from a local primary school to create their shrink wrapped dress and matching bag!

The final Fashion Show was held at lunch time, included some spectacular dancing and the 400 pupils who attended marked it as a huge success. Entrance money was collected and donated to Oxfam to help fund their work with sustainability in the Fashion and Textiles industry. We are looking forward to making the whole event even bigger and better in 2017!

Horticulture 2016

Every single day I leave the school gates feeling proud of at least one student's achievement. So, imagine how I felt after receiving the news that the Year 11 Horticulture cohort had all gained a Level 1 Diploma in Practical Horticulture Skills.

The staff at Myerscough College have been very impressed with them over the year describing them as real ambassadors for the school who had produced fantastic portfolios. They 'passed with flying colours', they said.

It hasn't been easy. The Year 11s have really been challenged and have had to work extremely hard to develop a range of key skills including teamwork and initiative. They gained valuable experience of life in the working environment and we know they would be a credit to any workplace. A huge thanks must also go to Miss Rawsthorne. Her care, support and persistence ensures the best results for our Horticulture students.

Music

Easter ‘Leavers’ Concert On Tuesday 22nd 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 Leavers 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 would also like to thank 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: - James Atkins, Sam Noden, Ellis Howarth, Laurie Wood, Tom Rosedale, Amelia Nixon, Robin Ballantyne, Megan Bowler, Aaron Hartnell-Booth, Kieran Shawcross, Rebecca Rees and Brianna Wright.

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 - Michael Ballantyne Jazz Performer of the Year - Tim Young Woodwind Performer of the Year - Jack Whitehead Chorister of the Year - Imogen Sleith String Player of the Year – Harriet Breakey Percussionist of the Year – Richard Blythe

Blue Coat School Musician of the Year – Sam Noden

Many congratulations to all of the nominees and the eventual recipients of the awards, with special congratulations to Sam, 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, Amy Ellershaw, presented the Musician of the Year award to Sam Noden.

Worship and Celebration Our annual Easter Service was a fantastic success musically, with some quite superb performances from our young musicians.

There was a very thought-provoking contribution from the musical ensembles as the All Aloud choir and Senior Choir were featured, performing Viva La Vida by Coldplay, Deep in the Night by Jussi Chydenius, and a hauntingly beautiful and challenging motet by Bruckner. The Brass Band played Clash by Simon Dobson, a fabulous piece, featuring 2 drum kits and a bass guitar!

Imogen Sleith left the congregation of staff and students spellbound with a wonderful performance of Dear Daddy by Bobby Cronin. The final band item was a cornet feature entitled Trumpets Wild by Harold Walters, featuring Adam Neild, James Atkins, Amelia Nixon, Laurie Wood and Megan Bowler.

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

Music Theatre Exams Several pupils will also be sitting their Musical Theatre exams in the summer term and we all the very best to the following students:-

Phoebe Eade – Grade 6 Emily Jump – Grade 6 Kathryn Eato – Grade 8 Rebecca Platt – Grade 6 Grace Hargreaves – Grade 5 Eve Tremayne-Ryan – Grade 8 Eve Parker – Grade 5 Amelia Collier – Grade 3 Jessica Smith – Grade 6 Kim Shelmerdine – Grade 3

KS3 Piano Recital On Tuesday 21st June, 15 Key Stage pupils performed in the very first Blue Coat piano recital, with music from Einaudi to Debussy being heard by students and invited parents. It was an excellent event, with more news and pictures in the next newsletter.

National Festival of Music for Youth We are very proud that for the 4th year, Blue Coat will be represented at the National Finals of the Music for Youth festival at Symphony Hall, Birmingham. The Senior Choir and the Boys of Brass will be performing on the 6th and 9th of July, competing against the best youth music ensembles in the country. We hope that they have a wonderful experience, performing at one of Europe’s finest concert venues.

And finally……………..

On Thursday 16th June, Mr Hewson and Mr Lowe entertained the Year 7 cohort, whilst they were watching the England –v- Wales football match as part of Euro 2016 in France. It was a fantastic event, with renditions of God Save the Queen, Vindaloo, Come on England and even Wallace and Gromit! Also, Mr Lowe hit the drum that hard, he broke it.

Girls’ PE

Swimming Both the U13 Girls and Boys Swim Teams Qualified for the Greater Manchester School Games – a fantastic achievement. All performed well and the girls walked away with a Bronze medal overall.

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 with the motivation from their captain, Lillie Hawes. They are now through to the semi-final of the cup with the rally coming up in July. The Y8 and Y9 teams have demonstrated outstanding performances throughout the season which have resulted in an undefeated record, comfortably beating all opposition. The Y8 team have secured a place in the semi-finals of the cup and, with the quality of the team, may well win at the rally. The Y10 team has grown in numbers throughout the season and, after a shaky start, have won their most recent game and are looking forward to the rally.

Super 8 Athletics Wednesday 15th July saw 16 athletes attend Radclyffe School for the Oldham Schools Athletics competition. Some exceptional performances were from Sophie Andrew who won the 1500m in a personal best of 5 minutes 41 seconds and Rachel Diamond who came 3rd with 5 minutes 54 seconds. Cleo Coope r secured 2nd in the javelin with a distance of 16 metres. For the boys’ team, Oliver Patrick also won the 1500m with a time of 5 minutes 12 seconds. Overall, we finished 3rd, only 2 points behind 2nd.

This Girl Can The ‘Go Where Women Are’ report by Sport England found that two million fewer women regularly play sport when compared to men. It stated that some women were disengaged and felt that sport was alienating, too much effort, scary and there is a danger of failure and too much pressure to succeed.

Since Christmas 'This Girl Can' has been running with a group of Key Stage 3 students taking part in a variety of health and wellbeing workshops. Topics have included healthy eating, exercise (boxercise, aerobics), healthy friendships and mindfulness. The sessions involved both practical (making healthy meals, exercising, role plays) and theoretical learning (learning about a balanced diet and the psychology behind positive friendships). This project has also combined with Sky Sports Living for Sport and the students welcomed a visit from World Inline Skating Champion, Jenna Downing, where she delivered a skating session and talks on succeeding and overcoming challenge. When asked to reflect upon the project one student stated 'It has been so much fun and I have really enjoyed the different sessions and learnt a lot about health. It has given me the confidence to talk to new people and make new friends.'

Sports Leaders work with Hodge Clough Primary School Year 11 students have been using their leadership skills to support a local primary school. The level 2 leaders delivered a team building session alongside Sky Sports Living for Sport Ambassador and the World Inline Skating Champion, Jenna Downing. This was an excellent opportunity for the girls to showcase their talents and put their skills to use with a different group of participants. Hodge Clough thoroughly enjoyed their day and are looking forward to coming in for more activity sessions. Boys’ PE The Year 7 boys were crowned Oldham Schools Football cup winners after a battling 4-3 win over Newman Academy at AVROS in April. They came from behind twice, with goals from Sam Hodkinson (2) and Tom McGill, before Michael Obi scored the winning goal, a screamer from 25 yards out, with 5 minutes remaining. They displayed a never say die attitude allowing them keep going for the full 60 minutes and fully deserved to be crowned cup winners 2016.

The Year 9 boys’ football team were narrowly beaten in the Oldham Schools Football final. The attitude the boys was first class after falling behind at half time by 3 goals to nil. However, the team stuck at it, ran their socks off and the final score finished 3-1. Attitude, resilience and bottle shown in an abundance!

A group of Year 9 students took part in a GCSE Rock Climbing taster session at the Castleshaw centre in April. The boys took part in different components of climbing, from the safety aspect of belaying others, to the skills and technique of the climb itself. It was a great experience for all who attended and was a fantastic opportunity for the students to learn outside the classroom something that can’t be delivered during curriculum time.

Year 10 boys had a fantastic year in both the Oldham Schools Cup and the National Champions Cup competitions. They travelled around the North West playing teams who are among the best in the country and did themselves proud. In the Oldham Schools competition they are due to face Saddleworth for the second season running. After running out worthy winners last time out, they will be looking for a repeat this year as the team has developed and strengthened. The Year 8 boys were part of a "Super 8s" Athletics team competing at the Radclyffe School. This involves boys and girls from all the schools in Oldham competing at different athletics disciplines in order accumulate points for their team. The boys team did fantastically well finishing 3rd, with stand- out performances from Myles Edmunson in the 300m, and Oliver Patrick in the 15,000m, both of which who won their events.

The KS3 Cricket teams are all having a fantastic run in the Oldham Competitions this year. Our Year 7, 8 and 9 teams are all successfully through to the quarter final stages, with the conclusion of the competition running through to the last week of term.

Our future Wimbledon tennis stars reaped the success of plenty of practice and hard work at Alexandra Park in the annual Oldham Schools’ Tennis Tournament. The junior tennis team were triumphant against a strong field by defeating Saddleworth in a close final set by 6 games to 3. All the boys who represented had a fantastic day out by contributing to the team’s success, and this was topped off by Keaton Sloane and Eugene Taylor- Wrigley winning the final game to be crowned champions. All in all a fantastic day with an abundance of tennis being played in a fun and fair manner.

Drama

The Lowry Transfer- Bedbug- National Theatre Connections Our very challenging production of Bedbug by Snoo Wilson, composed by Gary Kemp and Guy Pratt. The Political Satire based on Vladamir Mayakovsky’s 1929 play of the same name, transferred to the Quays Theatre at The Lowry Theatre; on Friday 13th May.

Our extremely talented 40 strong cast comprising of youngsters from Year 8-11; further developed their very tight and outstanding ensemble performance. Led by Mrs Edwards-Cotton and Miss Smith, supported by Miss Wild and Mr Wayne responded to the development notes from The National Theatre surpassing all expectations. Many of the cast were beginning their GCSE’s the following week, including Adam Neild who demonstrated accomplished Musical Director Skills to lead the fantastic cast in often difficult and challenging musical numbers; he really controlled the piece and dealt with the at times complicated underscoring. Callum Ford, Imogen Sleith, Tom Morris and Emma Bradburn wowed the audience in their principal roles.

All the National bigwigs came to watch our production; one of the composers Guy Pratt (Pink Floyd fame) accomplished bassist featuring on Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” and Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song”, surprised us by travelling down to see our performance. What an honour to receive compliments on our successful version of his musical. Guy Pratt commented on the superb performances of our very large cast, and was humbled by our enthusiasm and obvious enjoyment of his work.

We are looking forward to next year’s National Theatre project- awaiting the play selection.

Year 12 AS Drama and Theatre Studies – The Wardrobe by Sam Holcroft The As Drama and Theatre Studies performed their intense group performance of “The Wardrobe”, a gripping historical Drama set across five centuries of British history, small groups of children seek sanctuary in the same solid, old wardrobe.

It's the safest place they know – but is it safe enough? Students from the Year 12 class assumed multi-roles to retell the stories of the children as they hid in the wardrobe.

From Princess Elizabeth in the aftermath of the War of the Roses, to servants hiding during the plague, to Liverpool and the slave trade right up until 2016 when school children visiting a museum sheltered in a wardrobe upset following a cyber bullying incident.

On the same evening in total contrast the same group of students performed either a monologue or duologue from Jim Cartwright’s “Road”.

Developing Teachers

Teach Meet 55 teachers from around Oldham came to Blue Coat to share best practice via a 'Teach Meet'. 10 presenters, including 3 from Blue Coat, shared their ideas in short 2 or 7-minute presentations. The event was part of the Oldham Leadership in Education Partnership (OLEP) in an attempt to encourage teachers across Oldham to work together.

School Direct This year The Northern Alliance has trained twenty new Secondary school teachers. The end of the course is approaching and we look forward to all our trainees achieving a PGCE and Qualified Teacher Status. They have proved to be a fantastic group of people who have supported one another. Other schools in the area agree and our trainees have been snapped up for jobs next year, many by schools within our alliance. This is School Direct at its best, supporting us in our aim to attract the best teachers to our local area.

This year they have taught at two different schools, have experience at a primary school, written essays as part of their PGCE, had training at University and lots more training and support from professional and subject mentors in school. Currently our trainees are completing an enrichment week, where they are working at a local PRU, SEN school or 6th form to gain even more experience. Our trainees have learnt the many different skills required to be a teacher and it's been tough at times, yet ultimately highly rewarding. It's been rewarding for us too to see them develop into the professional, reflective, confident teachers we see around school. The fantastic celebrations of work and achievement, friendships and wonderful memories throughout the year won't be forgotten.

School Direct is an exciting and innovative one year school led training programme, which enables schools to take a leading role in ITT but still work in partnership with accredited providers. If you know anyone who would like to train with The Northern Alliance or would like more information about our Teacher Training programme, please visit the school website and follow the links for Teaching School and School Direct.

Another way of training with our Alliance Blue Coat is submitting a bid to become a School-Centred Initial Teacher Training provider. This means that we will be able to expand our provision working with our strategic partners Hollingworth Academy (an outstanding 11-16 school in Rochdale) and Christ Church (Chadderton) Primary, who lead our primary training. Schools across Oldham, Rochdale, Kirklees and Stockport will continue to provide training, which we quality assure, as happens already for School Direct. Becoming a SCITT means that we have full control. Keep an eye on our website to see how our provision starts to diversify and expand, to enable us to get the best graduates and aspiring teachers in our schools locally.

Staff News

Finally, goodbye and good luck to those members of staff who are leaving us this year, and moving onto pastures new:

 Mr Stevenson – Teacher of Science  Mrs Penn – Teacher of Food Technology  Mrs Costello – Teacher of Geography and Lead Practitioner  Mr Coe – Assistant Headteacher of Key Stage 3  Mr Griffin – Director of Sixth Form  Mr Oakes – Director of Learning for Year 12  Mr Mackey – Teacher of Science  Mr Nalborczyk – Teacher of Science  Miss Watson – Teacher of Girls’ PE  Mrs Lane – Teacher of Geography  Mrs Newsome – Teacher of MFL  Miss Towler – Teacher of Mathematics  Mrs Smith – Teacher of IT  Miss Semper – Teacher of Art  Mr Kellner – Teacher of English  Miss Keegan – Teacher of Art  Mr Vodden – Teacher of Art  Ms Hildebrandt – Teacher of Geography  Miss Catalano – Senior Admin and HR Officer  Mrs Lees – Team Leader for Child Protection and Inclusion  Mrs Walton – Breakfast Club Supervisor

We wish them all every happiness in their future careers.

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