www.testvalley.hants.sch.uk STOCKFEST 7 Summer Term 2015 Friday 1st May 3.30pm in the afternoon saw our seventh StockFest kick-off with a huge line-up of school vocal and instrumental talent, with no fewer than 22 different acts from Year 7 to Year 11 packed into two and a half hours. Over 300 people not including performers, stall holders and helpers flocked to enjoy the atmosphere and support this unique school event. Dan Finch Continued on page 3 Rights Respecting School Awarded to Test Valley School On Friday 1st May 2015 Test Valley School were accredited In their report UNICEF workers stated that “It was with the Level One Rights Respecting School Award by particularly notable that the school has established an UNICEF. The School has been working towards the award ethos of mutual respect with a strong sense of community since 2013. Each year a number of pupils form a Pupil Rights and care in which everybody is valued equally.” The report Committee to promote pupils’ rights across the school and also commented on the ‘listening atmosphere’ of the school at the start of each year every member of the school and how Rights have been built in to the school’s vision. community sign the Whole School Charter which puts Achieving the award is the result of the combined ‘Rights’ at the centre of everything we do. commitment and effort of staff, pupils, parents and governors and actively demonstrates The accreditation involved the strong sense of community we two assessors from UNICEF value at our school. visiting the school to decide whether we met Louisa Hiscock (Headteacher) said: ‘We the criteria for are delighted to have achieved this commendation. During award. It underlines so many of the their visit they met with a values we hold up as important, large number of pupils to particularly how we come together as evaluate how pupils felt a community. I congratulate all of about the school and their those involved in working towards this understanding of ‘Rights’. achievement, especially Mrs Osborne They also met with (Head of RE and PSHE) whose parents, school governors commitment and leadership to secure and staff. accreditation has been superb.’ Above -Pupil Rights Committee: Sophie Bamber; Charlie-Mae Young; Sophie Dallolio; Mollie Sandilands; Oliver Dade; Kai Mumford; Daniel Finch; Hugo Leonard; Brogan Milligan; Sophie Bott; Francesca Sutcliffe; Luke Dennis and Maia McEwan-Hancock Follow us on Facebook and Twitter Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/testvalleysch Twitter: @testvalleysch 1 Headteacher’s Message Dear Parent I write at the end of another very busy school year with the holidays still ahead of us. I hope you enjoy this newsletter which celebrates the wonderful range of activities and opportunities our pupils have been able to participate in during this term. My thanks, as always, to all the staff because without their commitment, support and hard work many of these learning experiences would not be possible. It is hard to measure the full impact of these and how much our pupils benefit from their involvement. As many parents will be aware it is time of considerable change in education and some of these changes are already having an impact on your child’s learning experience at school. Over the next few years this will include the introduction of a revised curriculum, especially at Key Stage 4 (GCSEs), and the introduction of number grades for awarding GCSEs. Whilst in Key Stage 3 (Years 7 – 9) we are already planning for when our pupils are no longer required to be assessed by levels. We want their five year journey through our school to enable them to develop the skills, knowledge and understanding they need to fully succeed and go on to make their post-16 choices with confidence. At Test Valley School our pupils’ progress and achievement remain at the heart of all we do and we continue to work hard to manage through the changes to national requirements smoothly. Last year our pupils achieved record breaking GCSE results with 69% achieving five or more A*-C GCSE grades including English and Mathematics. We are looking forward to celebrating the results of our current Year 11 pupils in August. Finally, I take this opportunity to thank parents for your continued support throughout this year. Our partnership with parents is very important to the school and we look forward to working with you next year in our shared goal of wanting the best for your child, our pupil. Miss L Hiscock Headteacher Andover Celebrates Young Authors Young writers from Test Valley were recognised by the local community. The writing talents of Beth Bullpit, Mollie Sandilands, Jing-Ying Wong and Megan Brettwere recognised by Andover Celebrates Young Authors. Only twenty entrants were selected from many across the whole of Hampshire so this is a significant achievement. Their work is now published in an ebook available to buy on Smashwords. There was a celebration presentation for the writers and their families and friends at The Lights on Tuesday 16 June in which a local dance group performed and there were videos of young authors reading their work and commenting on their thoughts and the inspirations behind their writing. It was really impressive to see so many Test Valley School pupils there. Ms March—English Department 2 STOCKFEST 7 Continued from front page An unexpected surprise for the audience this year was a staff swimming dance routine just for fun. A line-up of staff dressed in strange swimwear, including swimming caps, performed on their makeshift stage complete with a screen to simulate the pool and hidden crashmats to absorb their dives. It really was quite hilarious. The headline act this year was a specially formed band consisting of:- Connor Fealy from Year 11, bass guitar Mr Allon, our drum teacher, playing the drums Mr Willcox, new to the school as Head of Computing, vocals and lead guitar I am sure Mr Willcox will not mind me saying he was quite a show-off on the guitar playing some classic blues and it really brought StockFest to a fabulous climax. This event was planned and organised by a large group of Year 11 pupils who had been meeting weekly since January this year. They are: Ella Cruz - Year 11 Michael Dunwell Promotions, stalls and liaison Dan Bavister Programme, timings, running order Connor Fealy Backing tracks, stage management, auditions Josh Yard Auditions, assemblies, stage management Meg Lee Stalls, promotions and liaison Luke Henderson Auditions Ben Reed PTA liaison Emily Payne Auditions Ollie Batchelor Staffing Jacob Breach Staff band liaison Josh Powell Ticket sales Emily Nightingale Auditions What makes this such a wonderful community event is the coming together of not just musical talent, but the support and involvement of the school staff, the PTA who run the event BBQ, Year 7 & 8 tutor groups who run stalls to fundraise for charity and some Jake Hoadley—Year 11 very special guys who supply the equipment. A special thanks to; Ian McDonald who supplies, installs and runs the sound system supported by Steve Haines. Trevor Johnson and his team who supply and erect the marquees Test Valley School PTA Stockfest Year 11 Committee Huge number or school staff supporting the event Looking forward to next year. Mr Langdown The event raised over £1,400.00 Funds will go to replace the microphone system in the main hall and support our ongoing commitment to fund the education of a pupil in Uganda through the charity `Education Uganda` 3 Duke of Edinburgh’s Expedition 2015 You drop your son/daughter off on Saturday morning full of achieve and discovering an inner strength that you didn’t anticipation for the experience ahead. know about yourself. For some this can be a big moment in self-awareness and self-esteem. The following afternoon you collect them with a wide range of greetings, from the usual teenage grunts to “I’ve missed Stranger things have happened! you so much” but very little clue is often given as to the I woke from my bunk early at 5.30 on Sunday morning and I massive changes which have taken place. decided to get ahead of myself, packing my bag and putting it in the minibus. A journey of independence, endurance and time in the To my utter amazement, no word of a lie, the campsite was outdoors. Time spent with a group of friends forming a a-buzz with movement. At least half the campers were up special bond and memories which can only be formed and actively going about their morning routine and because of the unusual experience. All this going on while preparing for the day ahead. In previous years, I usually your peers are going about their usual daily lives. enjoy banging a wooden spoon against a frying pan, calling wakey wakey at 6am. What makes the expedition so special is that awareness of accomplishment, going beyond what you thought you could 4 Duke of Edinburgh’s Expedition 2015 I was so proud of their efficiency, readiness and level of independence. They are simply utterly brilliant! Congratulations to all of you.. I feel blessed by the support of the staff who train each team. We have such a wide range of support from, not just teachers, but reception staff and also John Maber who volunteers from outside of our school. Behind the scenes Parents, thank you for all your support with preparation, encouragement and transport. Sorry some of the New Forest locations are difficult to find! Of course that encouragement is all the more important now to ensure the other sections are completed, uploaded and submitted in order to complete and gain the award.