Edgbarrow School Issue no. 66 - March 2013 www.edgbarrow.bracknell-forest.sch.uk From the Headteacher s we come to the end of the Spring term I can’t believe that as I look out of the window I can still see Our very best wishes to Mr Hinchliff who is leaving us flakes of snow falling. Thankfully, I think we are going to for the post of Deputy Headteacher. Mr Hinchliff get away with it and no doubt when we come back on joined our Senior Leadership Team in September 2007 16th April we will be in the middle of a heat wave. This and has done a brilliant job in helping to lead the school. term, although only 11 weeks, has been extremely busy. In his early days he helped lead our Business and Our Year 10s through to 13s have all been working hard Enterprise initiatives within the school and throughout preparing for important exams in the summer term. his time he has supported the Head of Year 9 as each Many thanks to all the staff who have given above and year group has gone through. However, there is no beyond to ensure that controlled assessments and doubt the biggest impact he has had on coursework have all been completed and giving the Edgbarrow is to help us to understand students the best possible chance of achieving the higher and use data to track and support grades. individual students to achieve their best. He has developed our use of IT across Our very best wishes to all our students who are taking the whole school and the manner in exams this year. I hope that everybody achieves their which we communicate with parents, best and, if hard work and dedication is anything to go working tirelessly to improve and upgrade our by, lots of our students deserve to do very well this reporting systems. summer. Mrs Brown has been a member of our Progress Department for over six years working as I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate two Learning Support Assistant and more colleagues, firstly Mr Croxon who has been appointed recently as a Higher Level Teaching to Assistant Headteacher at Edgbarrow School from Assistant. Mrs Brown is one of our many June 2013. Mr Croxon is currently Deputy unsung heroes who has been such a Head of Sixth Form a post he has held for support to individual students across the two years and this is an area that he will years. Her manner and care for our continue to work within. We are absolutely students has been fantastic. delighted with this appointment and know that Mr Croxon will contribute very Mrs Taduri joined the Science Department as a effectively to our Senior Leadership Team technician in September 2009 and she has been a highly and we are very much looking forward to working with valued member of the team in supporting him in this capacity. the teachers and students across the department. Mrs Taduri is taking up an Also congratulations to Mrs McClatchie on exciting new opportunity in Reading completing 20 years service with Bracknell University pharmaceutical department. Forest, and in fact, better than that, 20 years working at Edgbarrow School. A huge All three colleagues will be greatly missed by the school thank you to Mrs McClatchie for all she has and we wish them all the best for the future. done and will continue to do for Edgbarrow School and our students. 1 Goodbye to Mrs Coley, Deputy spruce up three of the walls below the stairs which are Headteacher, who will be leaving us for a constantly used each and every day. short while to take maternity leave. Our Our efforts on Saturday 2nd March probably saved the best wishes to her and the family; we look school approximately £2,000 and this allows us to use the forward to seeing her back with us in 2014. money elsewhere to support the children. Thank you. Our next Painting, Decorating and Gardening As we move towards the final few months of Year 13 it day is on is also time to say thank you to our Head Boy and Head and if anyone can support us Girl, David Goswell and Laura Jenkinson and their we are open for business fantastic team of deputies Dominic Naylor, Louisa between 9.00 am and 2.30 Britton, Emma London and Laura Raymen. The team pm. If you can make it for a couple of hours it would be have done a brilliant job in leading the students and have great to see you. been involved in the life of the school at all sorts of levels from open evenings, meetings and showing parents around the school and assemblies to leading the School This year’s Annual Careers Convention took place on Council. They have been fantastic role models and Thursday 7th March 2013. Once again it was held in the excellent ambassadors for Edgbarrow School and my Sixth Form Centre and we had approximately 50 compa- sincere thanks to all of them for the excellent manner in ny attendees. The event was organised in conjunction which they have engaged with students and staff this with the PTA, with Nicky year. Simmonds (PTA member) and Karen Robinson our Following the Easter Break in the true sense of ‘the King Careers and Work Related is dead, long live the King’ we will be interviewing for Learning Administrator our new Head Boy and Head Girl team. I am delighted working hard to ensure the to say that a number of students in Year 12 have applied success of the event. and I would like to wish each and every one of them all the very best in the process and thank them for their application. This year we interviewed over 270 students who applied to join our Sixth Form with a growing number of As I am sure we are all aware the safeguarding of all of external applicants. All interviews have now been us at Edgbarrow School and the school site itself is very completed and students will be offered a place in our important. Edgbarrow enjoys a wonderful open site but Sixth Form before the end of this term. We will at the same time we are vulnerable to members of the therefore have over 300 students in our Sixth Form for public wandering onto our site at different times both September 2013. during the school day, evenings and the weekend. We of course have strategies in place, such as name badges for all members of staff, and the Sixth Form students At the end of the last term we held our ‘The Good, The and staff on duty at all times. However, could I please Bad and The Panto’ production and our Winter Concert. ask parents/carers and visitors to our site to report The production proved to be very successful offering to the main school reception and not to go direct to a wonderful opportunities for people to work together classroom or building in order to meet with a member either, performing on stage, supporting through the of staff. The students and staff have been told that if technical aspects of the production and last but not least they see anybody on site that they do not recognise or backstage support. The show was very well reported and are concerned about, they should report their concern received rave review, well done to everyone involved. immediately to school reception and this will be Our Winter Concert was held on the Thursday before followed up by myself or colleagues. Reasonable steps half term and I have to say it was outstanding. The school and good practice are always important in the safe hall was full. I was extremely proud of not only the running of a school site. quality of the performances but the manner in which the students presented themselves and supported each oth- er. I continue to be so impressed with the musical talent There were approximately 40 volunteers on site and by that we have within this school. Many thanks to Mrs the time we left school all three Business classrooms Evens, Miss Dier and Mrs Holmes for offering the stu- looked immaculate, the corridor in Business was re- dents such a fantastic opportunity. freshed, and we even got into North and South Block to 2 The purpose of this event is to recognise the effort, achievement, talent and skill of students in subject areas and this year it is scheduled to be held on Tuesday 9th July 2013. A great time was had by all on Red Nose Day with a non uniform day and the selling of red noses helping the school to raise £1,456 towards comic relief. Well done everyone. A whole school photograph was taken during the day and can be viewed online by clicking on the photograph. I would like to take this opportunity to wish everybody a Happy Easter holiday. Warmest regards Use our Online Payment Scheme for trips and visits which is not only very convenient for parents/carers, it is also a more efficient use of time for us in school. The feedback I have received from our Finance Department is that this is a much more efficient system. If you have any feedback for us please can you contact us on [email protected] with the subject heading of Ÿ Help us as a school to be good neighbours to the local residents in our area. Presently Byron Drive and Kingley Close, both off Sandhurst Road, are becoming very congested throughout the day.