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. Please pay £4.20 via Parentpay English Language GCSE
How to be successful in English Language? Read, read and read. Fiction: read novels, plays, poetry. Non-fiction: read a broadsheet newspaper article a day (The Guardian, Independent, The Telegraph, The Times etc).
Fran Pollard Head of English English Literature GCSE
Macbeth by William Shakespeare Oxford School Edition is preferable. Exam board: AQA, 9-1 spec.
The Sign of Four by Arthur Conan Doyle Any edition of the text. Fran Pollard Exam board: AQA, 9-1 spec. Head of English
Poetry: ‘Power and Conflict’ Poetry Anthology and Unseen Poetry Students are given the anthology in school. Exam board: AQA, 9-1 spec.
Lord of the Flies by William Golding Any edition of the text. Exam board: AQA, 9-1 spec.
DNA by Dennis Kelly Any edition of the text. Exam board: AQA, 9-1 spec.
An Inspector Calls by J.B Priestley Any edition of the text. Exam board: AQA, 9-1 spec. Mathematics Department News
The start of 2018 has been a productive one for all students throughout the school in the Maths department. None less than our Year 11 students who are now pushing forward towards the next milestones in the run up to their GCSE exams. Students in all classes have been attending additional revision sessions on a Wednesday P5, targeted students are attending morning maths and we have started our “exam practice” sessions in the hall. This is allowing everyone the opportunity to gain more experience in an exam environment and developing ways in which to approach the exam papers in order to achieve the best mark possible in these conditions. March mocks for Maths, English and Science are fast approaching and this will be great experience for our students again in this run up.
Students should be continuously using their revision workbooks that have been provided and MathsWatch to aid their revision at home. All login information has been shared in class, with handy cards provided to all students, but should you have had difficulty a reminder is here: Website: https://vle.mathswatch.co.uk/vle Katrina Nash i. Username: your initial, surname, the year when you started as a year 7, then @bicester (no gaps), e.g. Head of Maths Tom Smith, a student who was a year 7 in September 2013 would be tsmith13@bicester ii. Password: tbsmaths
Practice and past papers are being used weekly now in class and set as homework. Can all students please ensure they are up-to-date with all of these papers and completing them to the best of their ability outside of lessons as to provide the best picture possible as to how they are progressing. Maths teachers are always at hand to answer any questions or queries students may have so please feel free to approach teachers with papers during lessons or designated support sessions on Thursday lunchtimes in Ma06 with Mrs Nash.
Year 13 students have just completed their own mocks and are now looking at ways in which to build on these grades in the run up to their summer exams. Students are working hard on A-Level Mathematics and Further Mathematics with additional sessions being added to timetables, designated KS5 support taking place on Thursday lunchtimes with Miss Stone in Ma08 and past paper booklets being used for all the current exams and their relevant revision. Please can students ensure that they liaise with their teachers to ensure they have access to all available support in place to progress them as far as possible this year in the run up to the external exams.
In some other exciting news Pearson Edexcel and The Bicester School have now started working together to deliver essential Mathematics network meetings for ours and surrounding areas throughout the year. These include examination support, training to aid teacher professional development and opportunities for departments over Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire to share their expertise and best practice. There are only a few schools across the country who provide these services and after the success of our first meeting at the end of January we are looking forward to holding our next one in June with even more delegates attending.
Maths Week is fast approaching and will be taking place in the department between the 12th and 16th March 2018. We are looking forward to welcoming guest speakers in from different businesses across the town and further afield to discuss the use of maths in their everyday workplace and the importance of this core subject for absolutely everyone. Years 7 to 10 students will look forward to these sessions along with some cross curricular activities taking place throughout the week. We look forward to seeing and working with some very enthusiastic students as we have done in previous years.
Congratulations go out to Jodie Harris and Louis O’Connell (Year 13) who both qualified in the Senior Maths Challenge Kangaroo round last month. This is an extremely competitive round of the UKMT challenges and a massive achievement for both.
Year 9 and 10 students have just taken part in the Intermediate Maths Challenge at the start of February and we are extremely impressed with the pride and effort taken by almost 90 students here. We look forward to receiving the results for everyone in the next couple of weeks. During March we are also looking forward to taking Year 8 and 9 teams out to compete in the Team Maths Challenge at the Maths Institute in Oxford, and also Year 10 with the Maths Feast at Wheatley Park School. All these students are starting to prepare for the challenges ahead and to compete with other schools across Oxfordshire. We wish them all the best of luck! Why not also try our Problem of the Week again.
Problem number 20 will be: History students’ poetry
Over fifty Year 9 History students have written poems on the theme of the First World War and have had them entered into a national poetry competition run by the ‘Never Such Innocence’ charity and promoted by the Historical Association.
Never Such Innocence is a unique project which fits into the wider series of 2014-2018 centenary commemorations and has the aim of inspiring, informing and including young people in the centenary activities. The charity takes its name from Philip Larkin’s famous poem, ‘MCMXIV’, which reflects on the changes caused by the First World War. The poem uses the Roman numerals for the date, 1914, and describes men queuing to enlist to do ‘their bit’ for England. Jordanna Riches Students in Year 9 have studied the First World War and the conditions in which soldiers lived and died. Head of History They have also studied trench warfare and the campaign of the Battle of the Somme. As History students they have studied photos, films, letters, poetry and other historical sources to really engage with the horrors of the Great War and investigated the idea that ‘trench warfare was 99 per cent pure boredom and 1 per cent sheer terror’.
This knowledge base has led to some wonderfully creative, and moving, pieces of work being submitted to the competition. Three of the poems written by Year 9 are reproduced below.
Peace in the Middle Christmas carols we heard them sing Happiness had become an unfamiliar thing Trenches had become our life, thoughts were often with my wife We witnessed candles being lit, looked like stars in the night sky One of our men, one of theirs, met in the middle I saw them exchange cigarettes and light up This was the moment of peace and harmony No man’s land became a pitch, it made a change from being in a ditch We met in the middle, we played football Peace on earth, goodwill to all men, lasted a day I saw them go with pain But what befell them I can never tell For they never came back to the middle again - By Lillie Dunn History students’ poetry
Concertina A still yellow meadow Painted with bitter-sweet gold Flooded in inken shadow And choked by the inert cold
A trampled poppy And bullet-torn khaki Litter the fields that once grew With foliage of viridian That its frolickers once knew Jordanna Riches Head of History A rhythm of shovels striking soil Drones on throughout the murky night Mingled with smells of rations on the broil And the occasional bombshell erupting with light Coils of metal augmented with needles Intertwined with shreds of crimsoned skin Of those who grew frail and feeble With their lives on the brink They were discarded to sink, In the sorrow they’d been bestowed upon
And although it be believed- Is doubting your elders a sin? As the countless ripped sleeves And bruised knees Oh, their venom eyes Riddled with twisted lies May prove otherwise - by Mya Truscott History students’ poetry
Remember Two minutes silence, where our hearts go out Two minutes silence, where we pour our thoughts Our feelings, our love, to the rows on rows Of hard white stone, adorned with symbols of love, Love that has been tarnished with the mark Of sorrow, for we will never again See the men, young and old, scared and willing Who sacrificed their soul, their heart, their life For the rest of us to live, in a cloud Of masked feelings drowned in paper flowers Jordanna Riches Worn on the outside to mark the inside Head of History For this cloud will have no silver lining For this cloud will never pass, never blow Over the heads of those consumed by it They never forget, yet never again Will see the same men who left, with their life Burning so brightly in their eyes only To be snuffed out in a flash, never to Be seen, loved or heard again, only To be remembered by thousands, thousands Who think of fields blanketed in swaying Red poppies, for that is what comforts them The thought that others will remember too Remember the sorrow that will never fade or pass, remember the men lost or damaged beyond recognition. They will never be the same , under earth or lost in thoughts filled with the screams of dying friends Two minutes silence, where our hearts go out To those who suffer from losses too great To those whose loved ones have been embraced by The cold earth that will forever hold them For this cloud will have no silver lining - By Olivia Whitteringham Year 11 Revision Guides for History GCSE
Year 11 Revision Guides for History GCSE
A number of revision guides have been produced to support the AQA GCSE History, 9-1. The department recommend the following revision guides for student use: The Pearson Revise AQA GCSE History series, £5.99 per book:
One-topic-per-page format:
'Now Try This' practice questions on topic pages Jordanna Riches Exam skills pages including Worked examples with exemplar answers Head of History Exam-style practice pages with practice questions in the style of the exams
Guided support and hints providing additional scaffolding, to help avoid common pitfalls Full set of practice papers written to match the specification exactly
Britain, Health & the People- ISBN 9781292204789 Elizabethan England- ISBN 9781292204802 America, 1920-1973- ISBN 9781292242910
Oxford University Press also have revision guides for the GCSE, again, priced at £5.99 Britain: Health & the People- ISBN 9780198422952 Elizabethan England, 1568-1603- ISBN 9780198422938
For a revision guide that covers the whole course, Hodder Education has ‘My Revision Notes AQA GCSE History, 9-1’ and is priced £9.95 - ISBN 9781510404045 Madrid Trip
On Thursday 19th October until Sunday the 22nd October 30 Year 10 and 12 students and 3 staff from the Art Department visited the Spanish capital Madrid, We visited a variety of places including The Prado where students saw Bosch’s painting “The Garden of Earthly Delights” a religious triptych students have studied in Art in Key Stage 3. We visited the Reina Sofia, an amazing art space housing Picasso’s iconic “Guernica”. The Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum was also visited where students were able to see a selection of work from great masters like Van Gogh, Dali, Magritte and Lichtenstein. Students were treated to an authentic Catalan flamenco show, tapas in a traditional tavern and a Lynley Kennett fun night at The Hard Rock Café. The weather Head of Art was warm with sunny blue skies so we had the chance to spend some time relaxing in the famous Parque de Retiro in the middle of the city. A highlight for many was a trip to the Bernabeu Football stadium, home to Real Madrid. We enjoyed the El Rastro markets on the last day where students were able to collect a myriad of Spanish treasures old and new. The students represented their school extremely well and many amazing memories and new friendships made. Miss Kennett
During the trip to Madrid I enjoyed experiencing the Spanish Art and Culture. I especially enjoyed the Reina Sofia as it housed contemporary art. My favourite piece was “Guernica” by Pablo Picasso describing the horrors of the Spanish Civil War. It was a trip that I will never forget – thank you for the opportunity. Saskia Twynham Year 12
I really enjoyed my trip to Madrid! The thing I appreciated the most was the gallery and museum visits and seeing Picasso’s “Guernica”. It was both fun and enriching. It was such an amazing experience and I learned so much. I would definitely go again. Alice Golder Year 12
The trip to Madrid was extremely enjoyable and we were able to gain a real insight into Spanish traditions and ways of life. We got to learn all about the Spanish culture, for example, we went to a flamenco show which is a very expressive form of dance that originated in Spain. It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, with great food, and it really showed the hospitality of the people. On another evening we went to the Hard Rock Cafe, and along with the fantastic food, got to experience again, the welcoming attitude of the people. During the trip we also got the pleasure of visiting many art museums and seeing the works of many world-famous artists such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. We also visited a local market in the centre of Madrid and saw the busy, bustling style of life as well as doing some shopping and general sight-seeing. The hostel we stayed in was also very nice and the staff were very kind. Overall the trip was great fun and we all learnt something new.
Luke Williams Year 12 Under 16 National Cyclo-Cross Championships
Millie Couzens in Year 9 made a long journey north for the National Cyclo-Cross Championships where competitors’ bike handling was tested on the fast descents around Sunderland’s Hetton Lyons Country Park. This lead to a day of exciting racing and close finishes.
Millie sprinted to victory in an exciting under-16 girls finish which saw four riders enter the final lap together.
Millie had gapped her rivals earlier in the race until a crash allowed Anna Flynn (Edinburgh RC), Eluned King (Towy Riders) and Maddie Wadsworth (Beeline Bicycles RT) back into the race and the quartet battled it out on the final lap.
Millie led into the finish, holding off Flynn for victory while King outsprinted Wadsworth for bronze.
Matthew Wootton Congratulations to Millie who gets to wear the colours of the national champion for the next Head of PE year. Year 7 Netball
On Tuesday 30th January the Year 7 netball team won an exciting match against Sibford 8-1. This was only the second time the team had played together but everyone communicated well, which meant there was some great passing to get the ball to the shooters, Lucy Tyrell and Daisy Blundell.
The defenders Ines Piaget-Thompson, Freya McGinlay, Chloe Moore, and Ruby Manellari protected the D well which meant Sibford had limited opportunities to score. Tilly Wood, Anna Couzens and Bella Couzens all helped link the play together.
Overall it was a great game, meaning the team continue their unbeaten streak.
Written by Bella Couzens, Year 7. Megan Wood Teacher of PE and SSCo, Head of Year 7 KS3 Badminton
On Tuesday the 9th of January the KS3 Badminton North Oxfordshire Championships were held at the Banbury School and BGN. Unlike many schools in the region, both the boys and girls were able to send A & B teams that were highly competitive.
In the boys tournament the B team started very strongly led by Year 7 Ben Horseman as the number 1 seed, teamed with Lucheus, James and Morgan (All Year 9). The boys came close to upsetting their side of the tournament and lost out on qualifying to the finals by 2 games out of 13.
The A Team consisting of Connor, Ed, Sam & Liam convincingly won all of their group games however a tight final against The Warriner School led to the encounter being decided in the final point, of the final game. Thankfully for Bicester Connor and Liam held their nerve Ed Roberts and won on ‘sudden death’. The boys will go through to the Regional finals in Oxford. PE Teacher
The tale was very much the same for the girls with both teams being highly competitive, however once again it was the mighty black and reds of Bicester that came out on top!
Congratulations to Roisin, Millie, Wiktoria and Caitlin. The girls will be joining the boys in the regional finals, representing the school against others in the county.
Well done all for representing the school with a positive manner and good luck in Oxford! KS4 Boys District Badminton Competition
On Tuesday 6th February two teams were entered for the North Oxfordshire School Sport Partnership competition that took place at The Cooper School.
The A team consisted of Tom Couzens, Wills Sims, Harry Whates and Frazer Kernan. The team played three group matches, winning convincingly over The Cooper School, BGN and Heyford. They then progressed into the final against The Warriner School.
The games were closely fought but the end result was a defeat and an overall finish Matthew Wootton position of 2nd in the district. Head of PE The B team had a similar run of results, however they were victorious in all games to be winners of the B team competition.
Well done to the team which consisted of Jakub Ostafinski, Conor Moddia, Sam Key and Callum West. Senior Basketball Team Remain Undefeated
The Christmas break has finished and the County Division 2 Senior Basketball league continues. The team were unbeaten before Christmas with impressive road wins at MCS Oxford and d'Overbroecks.
The first fixture of 2018 was another away game this time at Our Lady's Abingdon. The squad was a little light due to injury and illness but the team came out fast with quick scores from Lewis Mannerings, Sanju Ghale and Ben Foster. Defensively the team were not at their best for the first quarter but following that they tightened up and only conceded 17 points across the remaining three quarters. The team ran some good set pieces to help extend the lead and all players gained some valuable playing time.
The final score Our Lady's Abingdon 25 - 40 The Bicester School. Top scorers Ben Foster & Sanju Ghale. This leaves the team top of the division but with some difficult fixtures around the corner. Michael Hume Head of KS3