Newsletter – February 2018
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Dear Parents and Students, I hope you enjoy reading this spring newsletter after a short but productive half term. Tony Rushworth There is much that has been achieved over the last 5-6 weeks and I am Headteacher delighted to read about all the excellent results and performances on the sports field, the historical poetry competition, and the number of books read by lower INSIDE THIS ISSUE school students in the Accelerated Reader programme, the Creative Writing in Activate Learning the 6th form to name but a few examples. Staff profile Important notices Accelerated Reader English department news Year 11: We are looking at running a partial Easter revision programme in the first week English Language GCSE of the Easter holiday, if funds allow and there is high demand from students English Literature GCSE and parents. We will be sending a letter after half term about this matter, asking for parents and students for their priority courses they would like to see run. Maths department news Madrid Trip Year 7 lunchtime: History students’ poetry Please note that with effect from Monday 19th February, Year 7 lunchtimes will Year 11 History Revision change so that they are the same as the rest of the school. This will mean that Under 16 National Cyclo-Cross lunch will be at 1.20pm except on Wednesdays when it is at 12.20pm. We believe now that Year 7 have adjusted to life at secondary school, it is an ideal Year 7 Netball opportunity for them to mix more freely with the rest of the school population. KS3 Badminton Year 9 options choices: KS4 Badminton We were delighted to see so many Year 9 students and parents at the recent Senior Basketball Team options Pathways event. Can I remind parents to ensure that the forms are returned after the half term break so that we can start to look at staffing and timetabling for next year. I wish you a happy half term break. Best wishes Tony Rushworth Headteacher February 2018 Activate Learning The Bicester School’s academy sponsor, Activate Learning praised by Ofsted as good Activate Learning has been praised as “a good provider” of further education and skills by Ofsted in its latest report. Ofsted ranked Activate Learning as Good (Grade Two) and especially lauded their improvements in teaching, learning and assessment that have led to them winning an increased rating for student outcomes and progression. In the recent DfE performance tables, Activate Learning’s A level provision was ranked Above Average in value added and was in the top 5 colleges in the country for significant numbers successfully sitting GCSE English retakes. Following the inspection in December 2017, Ofsted awarded the Activate Learning colleges -Reading College, City of Oxford College and Banbury and Bicester College – an overall rating of Good with its provision for learners with high needs rated Outstanding (the highest possible grade). The inspection team commended Activate Learning as an “effective learning organisation”. They highlighted “employers’ strong involvement” in developing learning programmes and in preparing learners for work and complimented the way learners develop their confidence and their personal, Lee Nicholls social and employability skills. Activate Inspectors hailed improvements in the quality of teaching, learning and assessment that have Learning improved results so that the “large majority of students progress” to employment or higher study. The report said: • “The large majority of learners achieve their qualifications and progress to further education, training or employment because of good support and preparation for their next steps”. • “Learners develop particularly good personal, social and employability skills” • “The majority of learners benefit from good teaching, learning and assessment. Teachers help learners to develop their confidence and make good progress” • Leaders “provide clear strategic direction, vision and mission” • “Since the previous inspection, governors and senior leaders have been successful in improving the quality of teaching, learning and assessment.” Sally Dicketts, chief executive of Activate Learning, said: “It is a great tribute to the hard work of our students and staff that Ofsted has recognised Activate Learning colleges as Good and improving. The grading, along with the very positive comments, is very encouraging feedback on our route to becoming an overall Outstanding provider. “The Ofsted inspectors were clearly impressed by our four-year trend of rising results, by the high quality of the teaching on show and the excellent student behaviour they witnessed. They recognised the positive impact our work on learners’ attributes and our Learning Philosophy has on students’ attainment and progression. “I am pleased that Ofsted highlighted the strength of our partnerships with employers as these are crucial to preparing our learners for work, developing their skills and helping them progress. “I am also delighted that our provision for learners with high needs has been recognised as Outstanding. This is a great tribute to our staff, our partners in the local community and local councils and to the learners themselves who continue to challenge perceptions with the high quality of their work.” Theale Green School set to join the Multi Academy Trust I am delighted to report that Theale Green School in West Berkshire is set to join the trust on 1 April 2018. Theale Green School will make a great sister school to The Bicester School, with great opportunities to share practices and school improvement strategies that will benefit students. Lee Nicholls Deputy CEO and Executive Director Staff Profile I grew up in South Australia and attended the Flinders University of South Australia completing a double degree in Visual Arts and English Literature. I then completed a Graduate Diploma in Education so that I could do the job I love, teaching Art. I taught in several secondary schools in Adelaide before moving to Sydney where I taught in Catholic schools. I once had a classroom where I could see Bondi Beach from the window! I moved to England after meeting my partner in Sydney. I now live in Thame with my partner, two children and my beagle called Olive. I am now The Head of the Creative Arts and Design Technology Department and I am extremely fortunate to work with creative and dynamic people every day, both staff and students. Lynley Kennett One of the highlights of my job working at The Bicester School is organising the annual Art Head of Art and Cultural Tour and visiting cities with students like Paris, Madrid, Berlin and New York. It is fantastic to see students engage with Art pieces and artists they have learned about in the classroom. There is nothing like seeing a great masterpiece in an Art gallery. The Bicester School students are always great fun to take away and I always have great memories from each trip. Lynley Kennett Accelerated Reader Here at The Bicester School, our Accelerated Reader continues to provide important support in developing the reading skills of students in Years 7 and 8. Since we started back after the Christmas break, students in Year 7 and 8 have all been set new reading levels and have been given a target to reach. The students will be able to do Lisa Bennett this by passing quizzes based on the books that they have read. English Teacher Two interesting facts relating to the programme and the students achievements are as follows: • Since September, the students have read 2568 books and the word count for this is an impressive 89,996,936 words! • We have also had a number of successful students reaching our Millionaires Club already this school year and they have achieved this by reading over a million words since they started in September. I am extremely pleased that four of our Year 7 students have done this already and they are Ruby Manellari, Jack Pickwell, Morgan Ebami-McCullam and Theo Biggs. A special mention must go to Abby Cladingboel in Year 8 who has become our first double word Millionaire. English Department News Year 12 Creative Writing: Commended by Arts Council and the University of Leicester Two of our Year 12 English Literature students - Chiara Brown and Meghan McCauley- entered the 'Mrs Edna Welthorpe' creative writing competition and Dr Emma Parker (University of Leicester) has selected their work for addition to the Arts Council funded website celebrating the work of playwright Joe Orton. Chiara and Meghan’s work will appear alongside top comedy writers and actors including Emmy Award winner Alec Baldwin Fran Pollard and writers of iconic TV shows such as Father Ted, Veep, The Thick of It and Raised by Wolves. Head of English Their work will shortly appear on this website: www.ednawelthorpe.co.uk Year 10 and Year 11 Theatre Performance of Macbeth We have arranged for the Box Clever national theatre company to come into school to perform an abridged version of Macbeth and to run a workshop on the play. The performance is on Thursday 22nd February 2018 during the school day (9am- 10.30am). I strongly encourage your child to take advantage of this opportunity to see a stage adaption to gain a better understand of plot, character, theme and key ideas. The cost of the event is £3 which will need to be paid via Parentpay. Year 10 and Year 11 Macbeth, English Literature GCSE Revision Guide Available To Buy We have a newly published revision guide called “The Quotation Bank” available for you to purchase at a reduced fee. The guide focuses specifically on quotations from Macbeth, a core English Literature examination text. (The examination on Macbeth contributes 20% towards the final GCSE grade.) The guide takes 25 of the most important quotations from the text and provides detailed material for each quotation, covering: • Interpretations • Literary techniques • Analysis • Use in essays Also included is a sample answer, detailed essay plans, revision activities and a comprehensive glossary of relevant literary techniques.