Dear parents and students,
As we approach the 2018 summer holiday, I would like to thank you once again for your great support for the school. It has been another tremendous year and the students and staff certainly deserve this well-earned summer break.
As always, for parents of Years 11 and 13, a reminder that the school will be open on both the Thursdays and Tony Rushworth Fridays of the weeks when the GCSE and A- Level results are published in August. For the rest of our students, we look forward to welcoming you back in September (details are on the school website). Headteacher Reasons to celebrate INSIDE THIS ISSUE As in all end-of-year newsletters, much of this newsletter is a celebration of recent events, especially rewards, Activate Learning certificates and recognition for a year’s hard work. This year, more than 95% of our students achieved a Bronze award or better. This shows a high level of consistency throughout the whole year, so well done to all! ALET Collaboration A particular highlight for me this year has been The Bicester School drama production, which starred a large End of Year Celebration Assemblies number of supremely talented students, including a high number of Year 8’s. This was a fantastic event and the English Department News first school production put on in more than eight years, so hopefully it will now be a regular occurrence.
Maths Department News The PE awards evening was another tremendous event, taking place annually, this year was the best ever, with an inspiring talk from Dan Stevens at Oxford United and many of our students winning accolades for their History students Poetry Competition achievements and sporting commitment.
Lessons from Auschwitz programme We were delighted to achieve another ‘Good’ outcome in our June Ofsted inspection. This builds on our ‘Good’ outcome achieved in May 2014. The report is published on the school website. My Visit to Auschwitz Technology-rich school Go4SET A year ago we took the decision to invest further in web-based systems to support students and parents better. TBS Visit to Barcelona This included ‘E-Praise’, which has proved very popular and increased usage of ‘Show My Homework’ which has Silver D of E practice Expedition been largely well received. We have taken the decision to expand our investment further in ‘Show My Homework’, so this feels an opportune time to move away from school planners which are increasingly expensive and seem to Group Two be poorly used across the school. (If any parents have difficulties with this arrangement please feel free to contact Cinema Reward Trip me directly at the school so that I can offer help).
Cook and Create Competition New roles in September 2018 Carnegie Book Club A couple of senior roles are announced: Mr Wayde Vardy will take charge as Assistant Head, of Key Stage 3 Year 5 and 6 orchestra Day pastoral care. He will now be the senior point of contact for all parents and students of Years 7-9, alongside their Heads of Year and tutors. Staff Profile
PE Presentation Evening Ms Nicola Le Brun (Assistant Head) has been promoted to the post of Deputy Headteacher and will have oversight of all academic and curriculum matters, with effect from September 2018. Ms Le Brun brings a tremendous Under 19 Basketball academic and varied senior school experience to the post, including Assistant Head at Warriner School, and we are delighted that she has accepted the post. It is a tremendous achievement. North Oxfordshire tennis qualifiers Who to ask for support and advice
We always wish to work in partnership with our parents on behaviour matters and use our tutor system and the Key Stage pastoral support team to keep in close contact when issues arise. Where necessary, more regular updates will be provided via the use of tutor reports/subject reports/etc. As well as contacting us by phone, there is also the option of emailing the school via the school website or writing directly to school staff. I trust you all will July 2018 have a lovely summer break.
Yours sincerely Tony Rushworth Headteacher
Activate Learning
On behalf of the Activate Learning Education Trust, trustees would like to add their congratulations on the recent Ofsted outcome. The Bicester School is a Good school! This outcome is down to a great team effort, with students, school leaders, teachers, support staff and governors all doing their bit to contribute to this fantastic outcome. This outcome, in my view, is not earned through two days of inspection, but is as a result of several years of hard work and dedication by many people.
It is also the case that this has not been an easy journey. Over the very recent past, the school has had to deal with the problems of falling numbers of students, significant budget issues and variability in the quality of provision for students. Dealing with any one of these would be hard enough, but the school has had to manage these issues all at the same time. Student numbers have never been higher, our finances are now stable and strong (and when the year’s delay in funding catches up with us – we are in a position to start investing again) and Ofsted has judged the quality of teaching and learning and student outcomes to be secure and good. An overall brilliant achievement – and well done to all!
With this in mind, I hope everybody has a fantastic and well-earned break over the summer. Hopefully the weather will hold out a little bit longer! Lee Nicholls Activate Learning In other news, Theale Green School successfully joined ALET on 1 April and UTC Heathrow is set to join on 1 September 2018. We look forward to welcoming these new schools to the Trust and especially look forward to the links between Theale Green and The Bicester School strengthening over the coming academic year.
Lee Nicholls
ALET Collaboration
It has been a real privilege this year to work across ALET with the main purpose of improving collaboration in Teaching and Learning.
There have been a number of new initiatives which I hope are becoming embedded across our schools and colleges. Some of the bigger projects have involved our English, Maths and Science departments where conferences have now been held. The impact will not be fully known until this summer’s results but what was very clear was how dedicated our staff are at improving the outcomes for our students.
Literacy for learning has been a major focus, and I see that a number of our establishments now have whole school literacy posters in all department areas. At our recent Science conference, we discussed launching our very own ALET Science fair with inter-school competitions and a grand ALET finale.
Another area that I have been involved in has been the provision for our trainee and newly qualified teaching staff. It was very apparent that we were already striving to ensure our staff received the greatest training possible, and now that I have collated the best practice across our schools, we can Kerri Knibbs ensure that we implement this. In turn, this should improve our retention. I would like to thank Siobhan Leading Tyson and Mara Simmons for their assistance with this and for also leading the successful coaching and Practitioner mentoring session last month at UTC Reading. We plan to hold a repeat session in the north of our area in the new academic year.
I hope that even greater collaboration continues into next year and beyond. Our staff are getting more and more opportunities to meet with one another and look to see what tips we can learn to get that little bit more from our students. I would like to thank everyone who has made me feel so welcome and I look forward to continuing working alongside you. In the meantime, have an amazing and well-earned summer
Kerri Knibbs Leading Practitioner The Bicester School/ALET
End of Year Celebration Assemblies
On Monday 9th July and Tuesday 10th July, we celebrated Year 7-10 student achievements and hard work during the academic year.
Students were recognised by House Point achievements and academic successes.
During both assemblies, the students were treated to an Academic Showcase led by Ms Pollard, a Dance showcase led by Miss Wood and a Music showcase led by Mr Crook.
In the Year 7/8 assembly on Monday, the efforts of our Accelerated Readers were also highlighted and acknowledged.
In both assemblies certificates and prizes were given out to our Silver (1250 HP’s), Gold (1750 HP’s) and Platinum (2000 HP’s) winners.
Wayde Vardy It was also important to recognise those students who go the “extra mile” in the school. These awards
Assistant are given to our “wider school” students each receiving a trophy and voucher. Headteacher Year 7 – Lee Gibbons Year 8 – Thomas Kingsley Year 9 – Jason Blunsdon Year 10 – Amy Long
At The Bicester School we hope and encourage all of our students to achieve the Bronze award (1000 HP’s) as a minimum and the majority of our students achieve this. They all received a certificate and recognition in year assemblies.
Wayde Vardy
English Department News
Key Stage Three
Year 7 students are currently engrossed in exciting novels, promoting critical thinking and learning how to craft essays on characterisation and themes.
Year 8 have been actively engaging in Elizabethan theatre, studying Shakespeare using the Royal Shakespeare Company’s dramatic toolkit. Year 8 are appreciating the form of the play and considering the impact on its audience four hundred years ago.
Year 9 has embarked on the important transition to KS4. They have been tackling Power and Conflict poetry and getting to grips with gritty themes on powerful tyrants, the plight of the poor, Romanticism and forceful nature.
Key Stage Four
Is your child going into Year 11?
Fran Pollard If your child is going into Year 11, we strongly advise that they purchase the texts they will sit an examination on in May 2019. Head of English They are encouraged to bring these texts to class to highlight and annotate as they study.
These will also be invaluable revision resources. Texts for 2018-19 include:
Animal Farm by George Orwell (for students in Miss Lenihan’s class only) Lord of the Flies by William Golding (for Ms Pollard’s 10.2 class only) An Inspector Calls by J.B Priestly (for students in Mrs Roberts’ 10.3 class only) DNA by Dennis Kelly (for students in Mrs Shepherd’s 10.5 class only)
A range of good study guides are also on the market which we recommend students using to support with their studies.
English Department recommendations for summer outings
LONDON: The Globe Theatre on London’s Southbank and the British Library (next door to St Pancras station)
STRATFORD: Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon
OXFORD: Performances of Shakespeare plays every summer in the courtyard of the Bodleian Library in Oxford
Oxford Playhouse - a theatre with a wealth of plays and talks on.
Maths Department News
Year 11 and 13 mathematicians: We would like to take this opportunity in Maths to wish all of our Year 11 and 13 mathematicians all the best with their future studies and careers since finishing their GCSE’s and A-Levels here with us at TBS. Year 11’s have worked exceptionally hard in the run up to their exams, including the overly anticipated Walking Talking Mocks that took place in May. We had a fantastic turnout with students really appreciating the opportunity to have a complete run through for Maths, but also other subjects’ exams alike, in the run up to the real deal. Students modelled superb attitudes and behaviour on the day, demonstrating their commitment their upcoming GCSE’s.
Year 13 mathematicians and further mathematicians all worked to their highest level till the very end when preparing for their A-Levels in Maths and Further Maths, attending additional revision sessions and accessing extra work at home throughout and during the run up to the exam period. We wish everyone well, and look forward to results days in August with lots of celebrations to follow!
Year 10: Our current Year 10’s now have the great task of taking over from our year 11’s in the run- Katrina Nash up to their GCSE’s next year. This includes starting Morning Maths sessions during tutor time for two Head of Maths mornings a week, working towards the key Grade 4 and 5 markers for next summer. Please ensure students check with their form tutors to see if they are required to go to Maths on Tuesday or Thursday mornings. Those sessions that have started this term will continue in September until the first October half-term. To assist all year 10’s we have provided everyone with their own Maths Revision Workbook. These will be explained by teachers in class as a requirement to start working on over the summer. Our revision workbooks are Edexcel 9-1 compatible and work nicely alongside the accompanying revision guide, which can be purchased on large websites such as Amazon for approximately £5.81.
Mrs Holdings class will be receiving these in September instead. For any additional help needed with the maths here over the summer, please can all students remember to use MathsWatch. All login information has been shared in class, with handy cards provided to all students, but if you may have had difficulty a reminder is here: Website: https://vle.mathswatch.co.uk/vle
i. Username: your initial, surname, the year when you started as a year 7, then @bicester (no gaps), e.g. Tom Smith, a student who was a year 7 in September 2014 would be tsmith14@bicester ii. Password: tbsmaths
All students in years 7-11 have been provided with these so everyone now has access to this way of revising Maths.
Year 6 transition day: Always a pleasure it is to have our local Year 6’s visiting TBS and the maths department each year. This year was no exception. A fantstic bunch of 245 Year 6’s joined us in Maths throughout the morning, working on tricky pursuit curves with some amazing results achieved. We were extremely impressed with their level of focus and accuracy when measuring and constructing these challenging diagrams and looking into the mathematics behind their construction. Well done everyone and we look forward to welcoming you properly into Year 7 in September.
Maths Department News
Maths challenges: Our final rounds have taken place this year with our Junior Maths Challenge, proving to be our greatest set of results to date. All Year 7’s and 8’s who were entered performed fantastically, with a large number of award winners including: Year 8 - Mia Gipson (Best in School, Best in Year and Gold), Elyse Caton and Thomas Kingsley (Gold), Joseph Catling, Daniel Galley, Ana Brichis, Abigail Starkey, Sam Gurung, Elise Taylor, Joshua Thomas, Aidan Fitton and Hope Farrance (Silver) and Jesse Pickwell, Molly Hine, Georgia Usher, Ella Bradley, Ellie-May Smith, Leo Jayakody, Jack Fuller and Ella Bateman (Bronze). Year 7 – Louis Jones (Best in Year and Silver), Freya McGinlay, Holly Holt and Jack Pickwell (Silver) and Ines Piaget -Thompson, Ruby Manellari, Lottie Young, Isobel Bullen and Laksha Muraleetharan (Bronze). Two of our Year 8 Gold certificates also qualified for the final Kangaroo round, with Mia achieving a Merit and Elyse achieving a Qualification award in the challenging final round. We are extremely proud of all entrants and their achievements this year and look forward to entering and bettering our results next year. See below a selection of our Year 8’s celebrating and our two Kangaroo finalists, Elyse and Mia. Katrina Nash Numeracy: It has been a pleasure this year being able to introduce our new Numeracy awards into Head of Maths the curriculum at TBS. Mrs Laverick has been working hard calculating numeracy scores for all students in Years 7-10, based on formal assessments sat this year in Maths. All of Year 7 and 8 have been working towards Level 1 Numeracy at 3 levels of Pass, Merit and Distinction. Years 9 and
10 are working towards level 2 at the same 3 levels. Students averaging a grade 7 overall would be working at distinction level. All of Years 8 and 10 have been receiving certificates these past few weeks with their levels and some Years 7 and 9 have also reached some stages of levels also. All students will continue working towards distinction level 1 and 2 throughout Years 7-10. Congratulations to all students receiving awards this term. This will continue on to next year for these year groups. See some of our Year 10’s celebrating their success below.
Problem of the Week winners: It has been a fantastic year for numeracy with hundreds of entries throughout for our popular Problem of the Week. Winners have been drawn weekly from all year groups 7-11 and from these finalists our top three were drawn for the entire year. Year 8 swept the board here with: 1st: Mia Gipson 8.4 2nd: Ella-Jai Britton 8.3 3rd: Maddy Eddy 8.3
A huge congratulations to everyone who entered and won weekly, especially these top three! We look forward to celebrating more success over the coming year with our next round of problems. See Mia Gipson (Year 8) below celebrating another win!
End of year: After an exciting and productive year in the department, we are happy to share that we are not officially losing any members of staff in September. Although we are saying safe travels to Mr Burton, who is taking a year out to travel the world with his girlfriend. We look forward to him returning to our fantastic team here in the near future and we wish him lots of joy and excitement in his travels.
Have a lovely summer everyone and we look forward to seeing everyone refreshed and ready to tackle more Maths in September!
History Students Poetry Competition
In the February 2018 edition of the school newsletter, the History Department wrote about the eighty plus Year 9 History students who had written poems on the theme of the First World War and entered them into a national poetry competition run by the ‘Never Such Innocence’ charity, and promoted by the Historical Association. This was the fourth and final Centenary Competition, and there were over 7,000 entries from all corners of the United Kingdom and as far and wide as India, Germany, Canada, South Korea, Rwanda and Greece. The Year 9 students really were part of an international movement!
Michaela Morgan, one of the poetry judges, commented: “I was astounded by the sheer quantity of the entries to this wonderful poetry competition. It was truly breath-taking to see how many children had been inspired by this opportunity. Choosing between these poems was challenging to say the least. There was so much variety in form and voice, so much originality, so much real talent. In truth every single child who sent in a poem is a winner and we honoured and appreciated all the contributions.”
The majority of students received Certificates of Commendations for their ‘excellent submissions’ , Jordanna Riches and congratulations should go to all of their students for such moving and eloquent poems. A sample of the students work can be found on the school website via this link: Head of History http://thebicesterschool.org.uk/history-students-create-poetry-to-remember-the-first-world-war-2/
The History teaching team are, understandably, very proud of the students who participated in this project, and we offer our congratulations to them. .
Lessons from Auschwitz programme
The Lessons from Auschwitz programme is run by the Holocaust Educational Trust and has four stages – it begins with an orientation seminar, then a trip to Poland, which is followed by another seminar, with the final stage being personal work to educate others on what we learned during the project.
The orientation seminar was designed to teach us about pre-war Jewish life and prepare us for the trip to Poland, both practically and mentally. We looked at individual Jewish couples, families, and communities, all of whom were perfectly assimilated into the everyday societies of their respective countries. The aim of this time was to begin to humanise the Holocaust, to stop thinking of the people who were killed as statistics and to think of them as people. This idea of humanisation really hit home when we heard the testimony of a Holocaust survivor, called Rudi Oppenheimer, who came into the building to talk to us. His honesty made the experience more emotional. Rudi and his family spent some time in a camp called Westbork, where they were looked after fairly well. Rudi’s sister was born in England, making them ‘Exchange Jews’, therefore the Nazis could trade them for German prisoners of war being held by the Allies. They did, however, get sent to Bergen-Belsen for some time in 1944, and held some privileges as ‘Exchange Jews’, but not for very long. Rudi, his brother, and his sister managed to survive and moved to Britain after the war – their parents, however, did not. Meghan McCauley Year 12 Although the educators at the seminar did their very best to prepare us, nothing truly could tell us exactly what it would be like to visit Auschwitz. The visit covered two camps, Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II. Auschwitz I was a confusing place to walk into – with the ‘Arbeit Macht Frei’ sign looking exactly as it does in the pictures, and the perfectly uniform buildings, it almost felt like entering a photograph from a textbook, with absolutely nothing out of place. Having been built originally as army barracks for Polish soldiers, Auschwitz I did not have an immediate feeling of being a place of murder, and the route that we took consisted mostly of going through the buildings that had been turned into museum-like displays of the belongings of the murdered and the records made by the Nazis. Some of the rooms we went through had screens playing clips of Nazi speeches and marches, and some had projectors showing images of Jewish families. These images were not a surprise to any of the people in our group, with all of us having had a good education of the Holocaust, but what truly sent the first shockwave through our group, was entering the room that contained four tonnes of human hair. This was the first evidence we had seen for ourselves that allowed us to truly begin seeing the Holocaust as the murder of individuals, rather than just a big group of people. We also saw items such as tins of shoe polish and hairbrushes, placed there to show us that the people taken to the camps were expecting to maintain some kind of an ordinary life, and to show us the extent of what was stripped away from them. It was also here that we entered what used to be a gas chamber. The building was completely bare, completely empty of any evidence of the deaths that happened there, and somehow this only made it more chilling, being in there even for the short time was almost unbearable.
Auschwitz II, the camp built as a concentration and death camp, was a five minute drive from Auschwitz I. By the time we arrived, darkness was falling and the temperature was around minus ten degrees. With just a few steps into the camp, it was very clear what the camp had been built for. Although the temperature and the light levels certainly did not help the mood, it was clearly the most desolate place I had ever been, and it was huge. No one in the group seemed to expect the size, myself included, and during the long, cold walk across the camp, we were forced to imagine what it would be like to be there as a prisoner. We were taken to the sleeping areas, which were in fact the equivalent of stables with wooden beds, three levels high. We were told each bed at each level would contain around eight people, despite being not much bigger than a standard double bed. The building, being a stable, had gaps in the walls and only one heater in the middle, and it was impossible not to think of trying to sleep here, either on a winter night as cold as the one we were experiencing, or even a summer night with no way to cool down while surrounded by stranger’s bodies.
Our final stop at Auschwitz II was a building near the back of the camp, which was where the prisoners of the camp would be taken to be shaved, and to have their possessions taken off of them. We spent some time here, listening to a Rabbi speak about the importance of educating people about the Holocaust, and sing the Jewish prayer for the dead in Hebrew. The building was a series of rooms, with stone walls and floors, and due to the room we were in being filled with people, we were fairly warm sitting on the floor, which was a welcome relief from the now snowing, minus thirteen degree outdoors. This is the time that has since stuck with me the most, as nothing could ever have prepared me for the disgust I felt at feeling relieved to be in this building away from the cold, where a million people had had their individuality and freedom taken away from them.
The trip was like riding an emotional wave, from feeling surprisingly unaffected, to feeling incredibly sad, to almost feeling a bizarre form of survivor’s guilt despite not even being alive during the Holocaust. At the follow-up seminar, I was relieved to find others feeling similar things, and many of us found great comfort in the idea of stage four. Stage four is where we get to educate people from our school that were not lucky enough to get this opportunity – the trip to Auschwitz achieved exactly what the Trust aims to do, which is humanising the Holocaust and trying to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Members of the Trust admit themselves that their slogan ‘Never Again’, is currently quite wishful, as even to this day, people around the world are persecuted and killed for reasons similar to the reasons that Hitler and the Nazis had for persecuting and murdering the Jews.
I was fortunate enough to go through this experience with fellow Sixth Form and History student Kriss Watson, and he and I are pleased to be able to share what we have learnt with other students here at The Bicester School and to possibly reach an even wider audience.
Written by Meghan McCauley (Year 12)
My Visit to Auschwitz
In February, I took part in a project called ‘Lessons from Auschwitz’, run by the Holocaust Educational Trust. This included an Orientation Seminar, a visit to Poland and a Follow-up Seminar. During this time, I became a Holocaust Ambassador.
First of all, there was the orientation seminar in London, where I learnt about pre – war Jewish life and the challenges they faced. I then heard a testimony from Rudi Oppenheimer, a survivor of the Holocaust. He and his family, originally from Berlin, had moved to London and then Holland, eventually ending up segregated in Amsterdam, with all the other Jews. From there, after several months, he was transported to Westerbork, a transition camp in Holland, before being moved to Bergen-Belsen, where both his parents died of illness, only a few months before liberation. We also prepared for the trip to Poland.
I went to Poland on 22nd February. I had to get up at 4:00 am. I was taken to London Luton Airport at 6:30, ready to fly at 9:00. Whilst on the plane, I was thinking about what it would be like there; eerie, abandoned and quiet. I also felt nervous and apprehensive. We landed in Poland at about 1pm and got on the coach journey to Auschwitz I. Upon arrival, we headed through security and onto the entrance gate. Written above it are the words Arbeit Macht Frei, meaning “work sets you free”. My first impression was that it didn’t look like a concentration camp at all and in fact looked quite normal. This is because, at first, it was an army barracks. I walked through three blocks, in which I found some horrific sights. Within one was the story of the Jewish people and how they were brought to Auschwitz, Kriss Watson with the book of names at the end, and in the others, human hair from 140,000 people, suitcases labelled with people’s names and where they had travelled from, a pile of muddled glasses, personal belongings and shoes. I also Year 12 saw the cans in which the gas was concealed before use.
Following this, we were led, in our group, through the gas chamber, and then the room with the furnaces in which the bodies had been burned. At first, this didn’t affect me, but when I got home and processed my visit and thought about it, it was something that hit me quite hard and took some time to realise what I had witnessed, a room where thousands were murdered and then burned. I also saw the wall in front of which groups or single people would be shot.
Following Auschwitz I, we moved off towards Auschwitz Birkenau, about five minutes away. This was a horrible place to see. It was deathly quiet and an oppressive air hung over the camp. It was also very intimidating, with high wire fences and look out boxes all along the edges. Thinking about being watched all the time made me feel very uncomfortable. We were taken into one of the barracks in which the Jews were kept. At each end there was a furnace for heat and in between them, rows and rows of triple bunks, sandwiched together. You could imagine the people in these barracks, sleeping like a pack of sardines. Also, if you got up to go to the toilet or something, you would lose your place in bed and have to squeeze in somewhere else. We then moved on into the toilet block, where I was told, much to my astonishment, that cleaning the toilets was a desirable job, because it meant you had more access to the toilet than others, whose access was only twice a day. Cleaners could go more often.
After this, a Rabbi came and spoke to us briefly and then we walked up to the memorial and where the gas chambers had once stood before being blown up. You could still see where the people would go underground to strip and then into the next room to be gassed. We moved off to another building, where the Jewish men, women and children would be sent upon arrival to be signed in, stripped, washed and then clothed in white and blue striped uniforms, with their number tattooed on them. It was in this building we had a service to remember those 6 million who died, 1.1 million at Auschwitz. It was led by a Rabbi who was amazing and really inspiring; talking about how we should never take anything for granted and love our family as much as we can. Something he also said has stayed very prominent in my mind, because I do it a lot. He said that in England, we don’t have cold, we have ‘nippy’, but we still complain. We don’t actually know what cold is, but the Jewish people in Auschwitz did know. Those who were marched 600 miles or so, on a death march, in temperatures dropping as low as -20⁰ c in one layer of clothing knew what cold was, and so to this day, I always try not to complain about the cold in this country.
Finally, I lit, along with others, a candle to remember those 6 million, quite a poignant moment and a time of remembrance.
My visit to Auschwitz really made me think about my life and how lucky I am to have such a good life. It also destroyed some of the stereotypes of the Holocaust, more so in my orientation seminar, and made me realise that every one of the people affected were humans in their own individuality, particularly the book of names. It was incredibly inspiring, thought evoking, enlightening visit, but also very saddening and as an experience, quite individual from anything I have experienced before. I will never, ever forget the experience and the knowledge and realisation I have gained from this visit and programme.
Written by Kriss Watson (Year 12)
Go4SET
Go4SET is a 10 week Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Project for 12 to 14 year olds.
On the 5 July, I took our Go4SET team to the assessment day at the RAF Museum, London. Not only did they take home the trophy for People's Choice Award - but they overall, received the highest votes from the Judges for the report, presentation, display and overall Project.
The team presented their project to a panel of three judges. They have since been offered
sponsorship from Communication Support LTD, a company in Oxford initially wanting to provide the reusable bottles to our Sports teams at The Bicester School.
Their plans of supplying reusable school plastic bottles will be saving the TBS more than 25kg of single use plastic wastage per student, per academic year. This equates to a volume enough to surround Old Trafford Football Stadium 15 times (from our school alone!).
The students put an outstanding amount of effort into this project and went above and beyond Kelly McKaig expectations, which have paid off hugely. They have all been awarded a Bronze Level Industrial Cadets Award, which will look superb on their CV's! Teacher of Science Student involved included:
Mia Gipson Elyse Caton Ella Stevens Abi Starkey Ana-Maria Brichis Josh Thomas
Kelly McKaig Teacher of Science
TBS visit to Barcelona 2018
Day 1 It was an early start in mid-June, as 37 students and 4 members of staff made our way to Heathrow for a 6.15am flight. Students who had never flown before did an excellent job of navigating airport security! Once in Barcelona, we spent some time in Parc de La Ciutadella and on the beach. There was even some paddling in the Mediterranean. Then it was back to the hotel to settle into rooms and admire the view of Torre Agbar - and the sea!
Day 2 We woke up to another gorgeous morning and headed off for a Gaudí day in Barcelona. The Sagrada Familia was stunning and we thought about Gaudí’s style and how carefully he had designed the building. A short Metro ride later, we were at Park Güell – time for some lunch and admiring the views over the city before going into the main park full of colourful mosaics.
Catrin Auger Day 3 Teacher of Spanish After a quick stop at the local market, we were back on the Metro: we crossed the city to Montjuic, visiting the castle and finding out a bit of Spanish and Catalan history. The afternoon was spent in the MNAC (a Catalan art museum), trying to win the treasure hunt by spotting different styles of painting and things hidden within the paintings. Then it was a quick stop in a local shopping centre – Subway and ice cream for the students and a sit-down and coffee for staff. That night, was Sant Joan in Catalunya (a celebration similar to our Bonfire Night), so some of us went out on a walk to soak up the vibes of fiesta. There was even a firework display right outside the hotel, which we could watch from the dining room terrace.
Day 4 Today was split between Poble Espanyol, a life-sized model village where we played a game of sardines and learned more about fiestas. In the centre of Barcelona, we saw La Rambla and the marina. Students spent their last bit of remote supervision in the Gothic Quarter and in the FC Barcelona shop. After that, it was adiós/adéu to Barcelona, and the beginning of our journey home. Everyone arrived safely back at The Bicester School, having been a credit to themselves and the school. Every student had new experiences, showing a lot of independence and grit. My favourite part? Hearing so many students being brave and using their Spanish with the locals!
Catrin Auger Teacher of Spanish
Our silver D of E practice expedition: along The Ridgeway and Lambourn Downs, 27-29 April 2018
GROUP ONE After a number of sessions planning our routes and deciding on what food to take, we were at last ready to start.
Day 1 We left school just after 9am once the reverse was found on the mini bus! It was pouring with rain, an omen for the next 3 days. We began our planned walk at East Challow and spent the rest of the day getting wetter and wetter as the weather deteriorated. By the time we reached the Court Hill Centre, we were tired and ready to pile into the mini bus to be driven to Britchcombe Farm where we were to camp overnight. Fortunately, there was a break in the weather and we were able to pitch our tents and cook our first meal, which we devoured. Sleep never happened as we were so cold and damp. But hey, we were going to put a smile on our faces and keep going!
Day 2 Still raining! We were woken early by a big rooster on the farm and eventually packed up our sodden tents. We felt drained from little sleep and were dreading two more days coping with the elements! We started walking at 9.40am, not 9am as planned, and walked until 4pm. We were on the Ridgeway much of the time, and although the scenery was pretty it was so muddy underfoot - but we kept up our spirits by singing! Once we arrived at Farncombe Farm, it stopped raining and we had a pleasant evening playing cards and walking around the site.
Day 3 This time it was the resident donkey that woke us at 5am. The weather was calmer and bode well for the rest of the day. We got lost but by walking through a field of oilseed rape, we found the right path and were able to meet the other group as planned at Honeybunch Corner. Amie was the fittest in the group and she finished the expedition in a better physical state than the rest of us! Though the bar of chocolate we were given at the finish lifted our spirits. As a group we decided that the best part of the expedition were the breakfasts and the worst was the weather conditions.
By Phillippa Todd, Evie Webb, Amie Shaer and Freya Hardcastle (All Year 10)
Group Two
Day 1 We left school in awful conditions, wondering whether we were going to be able to do our expedition at all. We were dropped off at Childrey and from there we began following our route. The slugs were out in force. Yuk!
After lunch, the weather got worse and our rucksacks became heavier but we kept looking at our maps and found our way to Court Hill quite easily. We picked up the mini bus and drove the 6 miles to Britchcombe Farm, where we quickly helped each other pitch the tents. Some of us enjoyed what we cooked for supper, others did not, but as we were so hungry we ate everything!
Apparently our group kept the other group awake with our incessant chatter but we think it was the rain beating down on the tents that did that. It was difficult to sleep for all of us.
Lesley Brady Day 2 D of E Co-ordinator After a long, wet night, we were glad to get out of our tents and prepare ourselves for the day’s expedition.
We walked from the campsite up onto the Ridgeway and then onto the Downs where we passed loads of horses by The Gallops, as this is a famous area for racehorses. It was a scenic walk and we were mostly on time at checkpoints.
Once at Farncombe Farm, we were able to relax, put up our tents, cook and enjoy our last evening out in the open.
Day 3 Today was a lot easier as it had stopped raining but was now cold and windy. However, we got lost quite early on and had to retrace our steps to get on the right path. We had one really steep climb and managed it without much of a problem.
We went through loads of fields with sheep and their newly born lambs, which was nice to see. Daisy’s infectious laugh kept us going when we were struggling.
We all had the opportunity to map read and take bearings, and although we thought we would finish walking just after lunch, it was 4.20pm before we got back to the campsite after walking a circular route. Our best part of the expedition was naming all the horses we met and the worst was our wet feet!
Written by Daisy Holloway, David Sawala, Callum West and Beatrice Robertson and Olivia Kielman (All Year 10)
“Well done to all of you for completing your expedition in awful weather conditions and never complaining”.
Mrs Brady D of E Coordinator
Cinema Reward Trip
On Thursday 19 July we rewarded our most House Point achieving winners with a trip to Bicester Vue Cinema.
We invited 40 students – Top 10 House Point winners in Years 7-10 to an all-expenses paid trip to see The Incredibles 2.
This reward recognises the efforts and hard work of the students over the academic year.
The students below all received the special invite:
Jack Pickwell, William Hedley, Ruby Manellari, Jacob Martindale, Ningwa Limbu, Rosie Simmons, Lottie Young, Daisy Blundell, Phoebe Salter, Laksha Muraleetharan, Abi Starkey, Ana-Maria Brichis, Jesse Pickwell, Adam Newham, Elyse Caton, Thomas Kingsley, William Barker, Ella Stevens, Abby Cladingboel, Emma Esquilant, Sofia Antunes Trabuco, Selina Antunes Trabuco, Rodelvia de Orleans Pinhero, Caitlin Laverick, Mya Truscott, Amber Price, Ana Dobrinoiu, Daniel Roberts, Jason Blunsdon, Morgan Robinson, Sesehang Limbu, Brooke Wilson, Logan Scarrot, David Sawala, Monika-Isabelle Martin, Amy Long, Max Challener, Emily Fitchett, Daisy Holloway, Wayde Vardy and Prasanta Rai. Assistant Wayde Vardy Headteacher
Create and Cook competition
On Thursday 10 May, Robin Cummings and Abby Cladingboel took part in the Oxfordshire finals of the Create and Cook competition at the Oxford Brookes University Cookery School.
The dishes they created were:
Robin’s rejuvenating asparagus and Alice's goats cheese tart with a twist of lemon served with a rhubarb and chilli chutney.
Abby’s blissful beetroot ravioli stuffed with Oxon lamb and mint accompanied by a refreshing white wine and pesto jus.
They had just 90 minutes to cook their dishes, along with three other Oxfordshire schools. It was tense as they had three judges, one who was a professional chef, watching them and asking questions. Unfortunately, they were just pipped to the post by two girls from St Helen & St Katharine, Abingdon, however it was very close. Beverley Hodgson Student Teacher of Both were great representatives for the school; their behaviour was impeccable. They walked away with a goody bag including local produce Food Preparation and and a cook book. The pair also won some money for the department to go Nutrition on something of their choosing (I have requested an ice cream maker!)
I am very proud of the two young chefs.
Beverley Hodgson
Carnegie Book Club
We have recently been chosen to take part in the Carnegie Book Club this year with a handful of other students from Year 8. All of these students have also been chosen to take part in Challenge 8, which is a series of 10 challenges to complete by the end of the year. These students include Ana Brichis, Abi Starkey, Jesse Pickwell, Georgia Usher, Ella Bateman, Holly Batten, Ellie Scott and Abby Cladingboel.
There are quite a few books to choose from, and they are all trying to get the Carnegie Award, and for some of them, to add to awards they already have. Those books are then shortened down to a shortlist, which, this year, includes nine. We have had the privilege of buying two sets of these books and we read the ones we chose in the club. We will then meet up with the other people in the club and talk about them and why we liked them.
Some of us have written reviews on the Carnegie website, and if you want to check them out, then please go to: http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/reviews.php
All in all, if you are chosen to do this at any point, we would definitely recommend it, because it's a great way to read new and exciting books that you may never have heard about before!
Written by Elyse Caton and Ella Stevens Year 5 and 6 orchestra day
On the 6 July the music department at The Bicester School invited musicians in Years 5 and 6 from the surrounding primary schools to join our students to form a giant orchestra.
The purpose of the day was to welcome musicians into our own school community, before they move up this September or next, and to provide a positive and fun music making experience for us all.
We had just three hours of rehearsal time to learn an arrangement of Adele’s Skyfall.
Over 60 students, ranging from complete beginners to experienced senior musicians, participated on the day and they did brilliantly. At the end of the school day, parents were invited to come and watch the final performance. Rheanne Saunders Head of Music All of the students did amazingly well; they all played their part fantastically and gave a very powerful and very loud performance!
The Bicester School is very grateful to Mr Crook who conducted the orchestra and the staff who supported the students on the day. We would very much like to continue doing this in the coming year, perhaps more regularly, and foster a strong musical link between the schools.
Rheanne Sanders Staff Profile
I grew up locally, just down the road in Brackley, and can still remember playing many football games against the school, fortunately ending up on the winning side!
After completing an LLB in Law at University, I moved to London to work in Marketing before returning to University to complete a PGCE in Business Studies. I still live locally with my wife and young daughter.
I am now the Head of Business and IT at the school, and in my short time here, I have been overwhelmingly impressed with the commitment to learning that I have seen from students in all key stages.
I have a strong belief that learning should be challenging, engaging and that Business and IT lessons should offer all students the opportunity to support and exceed their aspirations.
Gareth Allum I look forward to meeting and working with many more students as the new term begins in September. Head of Business and IT Enjoy your summer.
Gareth Allum
PE presentation evening - Thursday 12 July
The evening is the culmination of the years’ work and celebrates the achievements of students in sport and activity.
Around 100 students were invited on the merits of their engagement in lessons, leadership programs, clubs and being part of the school teams. These students were supported by around 230 people in the audience.
The evening was supported by many of the local sports clubs in Bicester, with representatives from Bicester Blue Fins, Bicester Athletics Club, Bicester Rugby Club, Bicester Foxes Netball club, Bicester Lawn Tennis Club Matthew Wootton and Oxford United Football Club. Head of PE The evening was opened with a fantastic dance performance from Year 8 students, Abbie, Anna, Adam and Harry.
The nights key Speaker was Dan Harris, who is Head of the Youth Academy for Oxford United Football Club. He gave a great speech on what sport has taught him, as well as the lessons that need to be learned to be successful in life.
The major award winners on the evening received trophies acknowledging their achievements and the team of the year went to Year 9 Rounders for KS3 and The Senior Basketball team for KS4/5.
Thanks must go out to all staff who supported the event, as well as to Bicester Village, who once again sponsored the trophies.
Matthew Wootton
Under 19 Basketball
On Wednesday 23 May, The Bicester School U19 Basketball team took on St Clare's in the county final. The team was unbeaten heading into the final after having a fantastic season and achieving 6 wins out of 6 in the group stages. We had played at St Clare's previously and narrowly won by one point, so everyone was expecting the final to be a close game.
The squad had practised hard and wanted to put to rest the disappointments of losing in the semi-finals of the same competition in Year 10 and 11. The boys have shown a desire and commitment to achieving this goal since the start of Year 9, when they began training. Since then, they have trained at least once a week and even outside the basketball season.
The game started perfectly, The Bicester School came out Michael Hume flying. The boys were organised on defence with Lewis Moore, Head of KS3 George Robinson and Liam Gregor grabbing plenty of rebounds. On the other side of the court, the boys started just as hot, finals MVP Lewis Mannerings found his range early and was hitting two and three point shots with Sam Rosaman and Sanju Ghale supporting Lewis with some good shooting. At half time, The Bicester School were leading by nine points. The team knew that St Clare's would come out firing second half, but the boys were not going to let anyone take their moment away from them. They continued to make St Clare's work hard for their baskets, as Elliot Hale was playing some great defence and Ben Foster was leading the charge on the fast breaks.
The Bicester School comfortably hung on to their lead to win the game 55-46. The five years of hard work had paid off for the boys, a fully deserving group, who support each other off and on the court.
As a coach I could not be more proud and I will miss coaching this team. Well done boys!
Michael Hume North Oxfordshire Tennis Qualifiers Tournament
On Friday 15 June, nine students from The Bicester School competed in the North Oxfordshire Tennis Qualifiers tournament.
Success would be the theme of the day with the girls U13 team consisting of Grace (Year 8) and Ines (Year 7), winning the U13 division and beating both girls U15 teams from BGN and Sibford.
On the boy’s’ side, both Anthony (Year 7) and Bobby (Year 7), were competing in the U15 boys’ division against the opposition who were in Years 9 and 10. This was no problem for the two boys, who did not drop more than five tie-break points in any game, showing both maturity and playing ability beyond their age, comfortably winning the division.
In their first tennis tournament, Harry (Year 7), Ben (Year 7), Morgan (Year 7), Mackenzie (Year 7) and Jack (Year 7), all representing both themselves and the school Edward Roberts in a positive manner. They improved PE Teacher throughout the day, showing a great deal of resilience when playing against experienced opposition.
Perhaps, surprisingly, especially based on the reaction of Harry, during the announcements of the results, both he and Ben were named as winners of the U13 division and will also qualify for the U13 county finals!
Congratulations to all, especially those playing in their first tennis tournament. Onto the county finals next month!
Edward Roberts