theHallParkAcademy newsletter Issue 10 - July 2016

As we come to the end of another academic year, we reflect on our many achievements over the last 12 months. In September we started the new term with the news that the school had achieved record GCSE exam results that summer. Students in Year 11 had a lot to live up to, but they certainly did not disappoint working tirelessly throughout the year with the support of their teachers to try to achieve a new record this year. We wait with baited breath to see if their efforts have paid off. In Sixth Form, our Year 13 students showed tremendous drive and ambition in their University applications, with more applying to Russell Group Universities than ever before, and in successfully securing higher level apprenticeships. Our extra-curricular provision has gone from strength to strength this year, with the launch of the pledge programme ensuring that more students are beginning to get involved in a wider range of activities outside of the classroom. Our links with the RFU strengthened and to coincide with the Rugby World Cup in October, we hosted our first Rugby Festival, with the girls also playing their first competitive game of Tag Rugby. At Hall Park we’ve also competed at National level this year. In this edition you will read about the success of the Key Stage 3 STEM club and the GCSE dancers. There is much to be excited about at Hall Park . However, the end of the year also means we have farewells to say. We say goodbye to the following members of staff: • Miss Dawkins is leaving to train to be a Psychology teacher with the Redhill Trust teacher training programme. • Mr Hall has been appointed to a Maths teacher post at the Bluecoat Academy in Nottingham. • Miss Page and Miss Lawrence are relocating to different parts of the country and have secured teaching jobs there. • Miss Parrott has secured a full time teaching position in the Geography department at Brunts Academy in Mansfield. • Miss McGarry-Thickett has been promoted to Key Stage 3 Co-ordinator at Ashfield School. • Miss Yeomans is moving abroad to teach. • Mr Shenton has been promoted to Deputy Headteacher at St Benedict’s School in Derby. I would like to thank all of these staff very much for their hard work during their time at Hall Park Academy and on behalf of everyone at the school I wish them the very best of luck for the future. Have a great summer. Stephanie Dyce Headteacher www.hallparkacademy.org.uk www.twitter.com/hallparkacademy National Robotics Champions! A team of nine students from Hall Park Academy has won the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge. They went head to head with teams from across the country at the National final held at The Big Bang West Midlands at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on 23 June 2016. The winning team of students - Libby Reddish, Imogen Tomlinson, Hannah Lakritz, Dexter Fairbank, Ben Crompton, Aidan Shaw, Harry Hinkley, Aaron Bostock-Penny and Luke Cook - built, programmed and controlled LEGO robots for a series of ‘space missions’. They also had to research and present their own solution to a contemporary scientific problem - developed by LEGO Education with NASA. Erika Smallridge, Tomorrow’s Engineers Product Development Manager, said: ‘The Hall Park Academy team has shown remarkable skill in the design and programming of their robot and in working together to provide solutions to challenges they were set. I hope they will build on this success and continue to explore the world of robotics and engineering.’ The Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge introduces students to real-world engineering, technology, robotics and computing challenges. The challenge aims to help students put school learning into context and discover exciting new careers. Miss Worker said: ‘I couldn’t be more proud of these students, who put in all those hours to build their robot and really rise to the challenge. Their hard work and dedication has really paid off, what an incredible achievement! I hope this experience will be an inspiration to them and their fellow students’. Research from EngineeringUK, which runs the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge, shows that communicating engineering careers to young people is vital for the future of the British economy. Chief Executive of EngineeringUK Paul Jackson said: “In order to meet the country’s demand for engineers we need to double the number of graduates and apprentices entering the engineering industry.” “Programmes such as the Tomorrow’s Engineers EEP Robotics Challenge aim to help young people from all backgrounds understand the variety, excitement and opportunity presented by a career in engineering.”

Libby Reddish, Imogen Tomlinson, Hannah Lakritz, Dexter Fairbank, Ben Crompton, Aidan Shaw, Harry Hinkley, Aaron Bostock-Penny and Luke Cook Year 9 S.T.E.M Year 9 STEM pupils have started their Silver Crest awards choosing their own projects which they will complete during the autumn and winter terms next year. This is one of the biggest STEM groups we currently have and we can’t wait to see what the students find out from their new and exciting projects which range from investigating Cosmic Background Radiation to Drugs and their effects on the brain. Good luck for next year to:- Jennifer Chung, Abbie Sweet, Tom Read, Grace Langley, Abby Jones, Thea Mapstone, Chloe Fordham, Harvey Pickworth, Lucy Crompton, Novaya Bedward, Sarah Leonard, Max King, Caitlin Worthington and Tegan Skellett. Year 10 / 11 S.T.E.M Cars Year 11 STEM pupils have continued to work on their green power electric car over the last year, with the aim of racing the car next spring. The car is now in the final stages of preparation with the pupils ensuring it meets the strict entry regulations for the green power F24 race. The race car now has a fully operational seven speed gear box and a display on the steering wheel that not only informs the driver of the car’s speed but also tells them the current drawn from the car’s batteries and how much energy has been used. The car project has been a true labour of love over the last 3 years and has involved a huge amount of work by the pupils outside normal school hours. So well done for some fantastic work to: Daniel McChord, Emmie Westley, James Wilson, Joseph Hinz, Brent March, Brandon Whatman and Charlotte Fox. Year 10 STEM pupils have spent the summer term building rocket powered cars with the intention of setting up an Annual School Speed Record event. Alongside this they have also spent some time repairing the wind turbine built by previous STEM pupils in the hope that this work from 6 years ago can be extended over the next couple of years. Their first cars exceeded 50 mph and they hope to set a school speed record later this year of over 70mph. Well done to Liam Hall, Thomas Paton and Abbie Mcphilbin . Visit to the National Space Centre In preparation for their Year 8 work on space, the Year 7’s had the opportunity to go and visit the space centre. Almost the whole year group piled onto a double decker coach in the June rain and headed south to Leicester. Our timing couldn’t have been better with the return to Earth of Tim Peake just a couple of days before. On arrival we went straight in to see the ‘Astronaut’ show in the Sir Patrick Moore theatre at the centre. This was so inspiring even the staff left the show wondering if it was too late for a career change! The rest of the day saw the pupils learning about all aspects of space from what satellites do (the weather booth was very popular!) to how far away planets, stars and galaxies are. A particular favourite was the rocket tower accessed by a lift which all the pupils wanted to see several times over. After lunch the gift shop proved to be a big draw although with all it’s space themed goodies even the teachers had a hard time staying away. All in all it was a really excellent trip – the pupils learnt a lot about space and were reciting facts on the way home and proved themselves to be excellent ambassadors for the school. Roll on next years trip! Sports Day

On Friday 15th July all students in Years 7 - 9 deserted Hall Park to travel to Harvey Hadden Stadium to compete in the 2016 Hall Park Sports Day. Pupils chose 3 events in which to compete and all entered a running, jumping and throwing event. Pupils showed great sportsmanship throughout the day - with some of the most memorable being Jack Banford stepping aside for Sam Hinz to take part in the 100m final, the whole school chanting for Ericka Stokes in the Year 7 800m and finally Courtney Wrenn and Jodie Kidger cheering on their house team mate Angel Milner in the 800m to then give her a huge high 5 to her as she crossed the finish line. This shows just how important Sports Day is - it’s not just the winning, but the atmosphere pupils create and the teamwork they show on the day. The following new school records were set: Yr 7 Boys Triple Jump - Jake Lawes - 6.50m Yr 7 Girls Discus - Libby Casteldine - 13.65m Yr 8 Boys Javelin - Ryan Straw - 19.29m Yr 8 Boys Triple Jump - Josh Bowler - 8.30m Yr 8 Girls Discus - Chloe Talmey - 12.13m Yr 8 Girls Javelin - Holly Calow - 12.84m Yr 8 Girls Shot Putt - Caitlin Leivers-Johnson - 6.00m Yr 8 Girls Triple Jump - Megan Rigley - 6.60m Yr 9 Boys Discus - Beau Manners - 21.49m Yr 9 Boys Javelin - Anthony Pulford - 28.60m Yr 9 Boys Shot Putt - Freddie Place - 8.65m Yr 9 Boys Long Jump - Jack Simpson - 4.30m Yr 9 Girls Shot Putt - Novaya Bedward - 6.90m Yr 9 Girls Long Jump - Novaya Bedward - 3.89m Pos House Points 1 Astle 1144 2 Lawrence 1044 3 Collier 914 4 Erewash 698 Sports Celebration Evening The 2016 Sports Celebration Evening took place on Tuesday 7th June. Pupils and parents from all Key Stages were invited to celebrate their sporting success throughout 2015 and 2016. In Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4 core PE pupils were awarded with medals for categories such as Highest Achiever and Most Improved. Winners included Millie Maculay, Laura Wood and Luke Cook.

In the Key Stage 4 awards pupils who take GCSE PE were awarded for their achievements in both the theoretical and practical element of the course. Jack Robinson Birch won GCSE Top Achiever for his practical grades achieved over the course of 2 years. In the A-level top achiever awards both Natalie Drury and Daniel Worthington won a medal for their scores in both the practical and theoretical units of their course. This year we have had the pleasure of awarding sports ties to pupils in Key Stage 4 who show excellent commitment to school sport and demonstrate exemplary behaviour around all areas of the school. This award evening saw the second round of these ties being awarded to pupils who have been working exceptionally hard to achieve them. Pupils include Sam Watson, Liam Beardsall and Nicole Fretwell. Finally the Sports Personality of the Year 2016 was awarded to Kendal Plackett. Kendal is an exceptional student who always goes out of her way to support the PE department and School Sport. She puts 100% effort into her studies which is shown by her achieving above her MAGS in BTEC Sport Level 3. Congratulations to all nominees. The Quad-Ac Games On Tuesday 21st June, Hall Park Academy hosted the 2016 summer Quad Ac Games for Key Stage 4 pupils. Redhill, Oakwood and Carlton Academy’s brought their teams to us to battle it out in 4 sports. The weather stayed dry just long enough to see all 4 competitions finish without having to be stopped early due to heavy downpours! In each sport there was close competition and all pupils put their best efforts in to win for their schools. At the end of the evening the scores stood as follows: Pos. School Pts. 1st Redhill 15 2nd Oakwood 11 3rd Hall Park 9 4th Carlton 5 These results will be added to the Key Stage 3 (to be decided on Thursday 14th July) to see who is the overall winner of the trophy for the 2016 Quad Ac games. Volleyball With a quick practice in the afternoon before the event the girls managed to develop some good skills and teamwork to ensure they could win some points for Hall Park. First up we played Redhill who were very well organised and managed to score some quick points taking Hall Park by surprise. However the Hall Park girls began to find their rhythm and pulled back to within 5 points with excellent serving from Emily-Mae Searcy. Unfortunately we lost this game. In the games against Oakwood and Carlton it was a different story, Hall Park had some fantastic serving and great blocks from Laura Fisher. Katie Wainwright and Hollie Birkett were great defenders and supported their team well. Hall Park managed to win both of these games. The scores in the volleyball were as follows: Pos. School Pts. 1st Redhill 9 2nd Hall Park 6 3rd Carlton 3 4th Oakwood 0 Rounders In the rounders event, we witnessed an array of wonderful catches in the field as well as some pupils slogging the ball from the batting square. Hats off to Redhill who managed to win all their games convincingly, utilising very good tactics. Oakwood and Hall Park had a 2 place face off in their last match with Hall Park managing to beat them by a 1/2 rounder. Carlton’s players showed great enthusiasm and some of their fielding was exceptional. Well done to all who participated. Year 10 Basketball The Year 10 Boys Basketball finished 3rd in the Quad-Ac games. In their first game they played Redhill in an end to end game that was decided by only one point, with Redhill shooting a 3 pointer to win 13-12 in the last minute. In their second game, they played a very strong Oakwood team who were the eventual winners. In the first five minutes they managed to defend well and contain the very powerful Oakwood side, but unfortunately they missed a couple of good chances before Oakwood eventually ran away with the game. In the final game we played Carlton Academy and won by one point thanks to a great 3 point basket by our player of the tournament Sam Watson. Congratulations to : Sam Watson, Josh Carroll and Liam Beardsall Prem Prajapati,Josh Lead and Jack Lawes

Ultimate Frisbee All four schools battled competitively in the Ultimate Frisbee competition on the tennis courts. The games were fast paced and demonstrated a lot of skill and athleticism along the way. Redhill came with some strong players and they finished first as they won all of their games while Carlton came fourth after losing all of their games. Hall Park and Oakwood battled it out for second place and Oakwood came out on top 1-0 after a late point. The teams applied themselves excellently to an enjoyable sport that many had not experienced before. Well done to all the players! National Schools Sports Week 2016 During National Schools Sports Week 2016 we mixed up some lessons in PE by inviting in some coaches from our local sports clubs. Year 8/9 enjoyed some Taekwondo, a martial art. Other students enjoyed Cricket and Badminton and experienced new and exciting ways to get involved in sport outside of school. A special thanks to all the coaches that helped make this possible: Neil Humphries - Eastwood Cricket Club, Coach Jim - Safari Badminton and North Midlands Taekwondo. Work Experience The Year 10 students participated in a work experience scheme 11th-15th July 2016. This provided the students with an invaluable opportunity for swapping School for the big wide world of work. The students had worked hard to find their own work experience placements with many of the students securing placements which were supportive of their future careers. Well done to all. Astle House - Pledges At the start of this year the Academy launched its new ‘Pledges’ reward system. Essentially students in all years need to complete a certain number of pledges. Ideally – this would mean students becoming involved in activities out of their normal comfort zones. In Astle we have seen several students achieving Pledge 2 ‘Representing the Academy in Sport’ due to the success of our Inter House achievements, this one was not a surprise! However we have also had numerous students achieving Pledge 3 ‘Contributing to Academy Performing Arts Events’ which broadens the skill set of the students we have in Astle. Our Year 7 cohort have achieved the most number of pledges so far; many of the students experienced the Hagg Farm trip at the start of the year. Most of the students are on their way to complete Pledge 10 – reading 3 novels per year. This year the whole school have been involved in a number fund raising events including; The Syrian Refugee Appeal, Sports Relief, Children in Need and Astle’s Christmas Cracker amongst others. This has allowed all students to become involved and help others out as well as helping them to complete Pledge 5. Overall I have had the pleasure of signing off over 45 Pledges this year. Amongst them Rebecca Baker has secured her passport to Year 11 prom with 4 already completed and Bethany Scrimshaw isn’t far behind with 3 already completed. Many students have also had 2 pledges signed off. Good luck to all students next year, I look forward to signing more pledges off!! Miss Watson.

Lawrence House - Pledges Lawrence House have shown a huge commitment to successfully participating in residential trips this year with 19 students attending trips such as Hagg Farm, Kingswood, skiing in Italy, visiting a number of German markets and taking in sights such as the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Lawrence and Sport weren’t two words which were previously well associated but there has been a big improvement in that area and 17 students have received pledge number 2 for representing the Academy in sports. Students such as Joseph Stapleford, Taylor Wright, Kieron Barnes and Louise Housley have been keenly attending a number of different events like Netball, Rugby and Inter- house Table Tennis and Football. Performing Arts has been another area of success for Lawrence House with 12 students receiving pledge number 3 for contributing to Academy Performing Arts events. Our new Performing Arts Captain, 2015’s winner of Hall Park’s Got Talent, Tom Read, took part in all events and will be an integral part in ensuring that Lawrence House continues to show it indeed does have talent. Pledge number 5 ‘Organising and actively participating in at least 3 fund raising events’ was awarded to 10 students with cake sales, Operation Christmas Child, Comic Relief and Children in Need being particularly successful. Student Success Stories: – The students below have been particularly successful in completing 3 or more pledges this year. Taylor Wright, Anna Pounder, Katie Wainwright, Sarah Leonard, Charlotte Freer, Wes Blackbourn, Aimee Clifford and Carrie Horspool Mr Hassall Erewash House - Pledges Jacob Norman is currently a Year 10 student (EJM) and he is one of the first students in Erewash House to have the first 5 pledges signed off. In order to do this Jacob has actively participated in a wide range of assemblies, activities and workshops including his own Tutor Group’s assembly on road safety. Jacob researched a number of key facts and statistics for the assembly. He then stood and confidently delivered them to the rest of the House in the main hall. (Jacob is the first to admit that “Public Speaking” was not one his fortes!) Jacob has also been involved with raising money for “Rainbows” the nominated charity for Erewash House this year. A large portion of the £330 raised this year came from the Erewash Easter Egg-Stravaganza! This event required a considerable amount of planning and Jacob enthusiastically helped out on the “Human Fruit Machine!” Jacob has worked extremely hard on his reading this year. He has successfully read three challenging novels and then fed back to his Tutor Group. Congratulations to Jacob. Keep up the good work! Jordan Rowley is currently a Year 10 student (ECH) and she is one of the first students in Erewash House to have the first 5 pledges signed off. We are pleased to see that Jordan has represented both Erewash House and Hall Park Academy at a number of Performing Arts events. Recently, Jordan has showcased her talents in the “Great Big Dance Off” in Northampton. She has also performed in the annual Christmas Concert, “Performing Arts Extravaganza” and the “Dance Showcase.” (We look forward to seeing her on “So You Think You Can Dance” one day!) Jordan has worked particularly hard at her fundraising and charity work this academic year. Jordan enthusiastically collected toys for the school’s “Operation Christmas Child” and she also collected a range of toiletries for the “Syrian Refugee Appeal.” (We are pleased to announce that as a result of this, Joran has been appointed as Erewash Charity Ambassador.) In addition to the great work Jordan is doing in and around school, we are also proud to celebrate the work she does out in the local community. Most weekends Jordan volunteers to work with young children. She accompanies them to a local stable and helps them learn to horse ride. We are sure that Jordan will carry on the good work. We wish her luck in completing her remaining pledges, for her Passport To The Prom! Mr Spriggs Collier House - Pledges This year Collier House students have really bought in to the pledge system as students have achieved over 70 pledges in a range of areas. The vast array of different sporting and performing art commitments is demonstrated in the number of students achieving pledges related to those areas. Students have pledges approved for participating in sporting clubs/teams like Rugby, Handball and Basketball and for performing/helping in the hugely successful shows such as ‘A Christmas Carol’ and ‘Matilda’. These commitments are in school and out of school and show the dedication that these students put in to their areas of interest. Charitable causes have been supported in events such as the ‘Great Collier Bake-Off’ and the weekly charity cake sales. Other students have also shown support to their peers through assisting in after-school activities. Well done to all and we ask you start planning for what pledges you will get approved next year! These students below have been successful in achieving 3 or more pledges this year. Dexter Fairbank, Alisha Berry, Katie Bramley, Holly Davey, Isabella Elliott, Rhys Maddock, Jack Proctor, Matthew Snell and Serren Turton. Mr Reed Performing Arts Performing Arts as usual have been extremely busy! We had a sell out Matilda/ Eastwoodstock/ Studio 16 exhibition and it was great to see so many students performing and parents supporting. We took the plunge to say it was all inside due to the volatile weather - which was an error as it turned out to be a scorcher - however I think we can all agree that all three events were excellent and the students did themselves proud. It was a pleasure to be a part of it. Great British Dance Off is our next venture with Year 10 students out on the 7th July in Northampton representing the school as finalists in the Nationals - we wish them the best of luck with this as the girls have worked exceptionally hard on creating a very moving and heartfelt piece on the challenging subject of women in the Holocaust. Finally, we haven’t stopped yet...this half term we are recruiting our next cast for the upcoming performance of “Wizard of Oz” and are already getting students to think about what performance pieces they will entertain us with for the annual Christmas Concert which we’re really excited about as this year’s theme will be Christmas in the Movies. Thank you to all students who have been a part of Performing Arts in one way or another this year from singers to the back stage crew. It has been a pleasure working with you all and getting to see some fantastic performances. Once again, thank you to all parents who support us throughout the year. We look forward to an exciting 2016/17. Art Exhibition We celebrated the fantastic artwork of all the GCSE and A’ level students, at our annual summer exhibition on Wednesday 22nd June. Students have worked extremely hard to produce some very exciting and personal pieces. Thank you to all the Art students who have made Studio16 a wonderful space to be in! You can view the work on our twitter page @HPAstudio16. Matilda As part of the Performing Arts Summer Festival, students performed a 20 minute version of Matilda, featuring songs from the West End smash hit. Working on the play has been one of the most enjoyable plays I have directed and the students were a real credit to the school. Bethany Naylor really brought the book to life as Matilda as she explored the lives of the characters within her literary world (The Escapologist and his wife, played by Max King and Olivia Davis). The play explored the life of Matilda, held back by her nonchalant parents (Novaya Bedward and Tom Read). Elizabeth Peters wowed the audience with her Mrs Trunchbull and Kian Henton and Liam Hemstock had the audience in stitches with the flamboyant Rudolpho and the greedy Bruce. James Bostock brought the songs to life with his guitar playing skills. The majority of the cast were made up of Key Stage 3 drama and dance students and they showed real maturity onstage. Stars of the future in the making.

EastwoodStock This year Eastwoodstock was organised by Tallula Scrimshaw, one of our Gold Arts Award students. Performers were outstanding and covered most year groups. It was a great night and celebrated what an amazing talent there is here in Hall Park. Some of our highlights were the sing school, solo singers and bands. Great Big Dance Off Final! On Thursday 7th July Mrs McCrellis took 8 Year 10 GCSE dancers to compete in the national final of the Great Big Dance Off after coming 2nd in the regional heats. The girls were nervous and excited all rolled into one as the standards were high. The girls were competing in the Key Stage 4 / 5 section so were also up against some A Level dancers. This did not hold them back though and they performed amazingly. Unfortunately the girls didn’t place in the top 3 but the highlight of the day was being able to watch all the other schools from across the country and celebrate each others success. Year 10 Health and Social Care The Year 10 Health and Social Care students took part in variety of activities to raise awareness of Diabetes as part of National Diabetes Awareness Week 2016. The students designed posters, wall displays on information about facts and figures, type 1 and type 2 diabetes and the care and support required for individuals with Diabetes in the UK. The students also organised an event in School on Monday 4th July 2016 to raise money for Diabetes UK by holding a cake bake sale, guess the sweets in a jar and guess the teddy’s name and encouraging other students and staff to take part in a range of quizzes and games relating to Awareness. The students raised an amazing £50 for Diabetes UK and should be really proud of all their hard work. Well done girls!! Class of 2016 Prom

The Nottingham Belfry hosted another fantastic prom this year. We saw our students turn up in style and dance the night away. The Class of 2016 decided to do some fun awards for each other that were voted for beforehand, and on the night all the students voted for the Prom Royalty! (A first at Hall Park) All students enjoyed the night and conducted themselves with m a t u r i t y and pride. G o o d luck to all for their futures. British Values - The EU Referendum Throughout the year in PSHE, we have been focusing on British Values. What it means to be British in the 21st Century. What do we actually stand for? How are we perceived by the rest of the world? What is it exactly that makes Great Britain “Great?” Arguably, one of the greatest features of British Values is our Democracy. The freedom/right to vote in either a General Election or a Referendum. Although, we recognise that the voting age in this country currently stands at 18, we felt that it was important that our students took an active part in the whole EU Referendum debate. We wanted them to experience a “live” debate and then have a chance to use a ballot paper and cast their vote in a mock election. The four Houses were split equally into either “Remain” or “Leave.” Each of the tutor groups were then tasked with preparing their tutor’s to debate on their behalf. They had to prepare their speech and choose key points for them to make in the Big Debate.All of the students took a mature approach to this mock referendum, which is great, as the future of our country is in the hands of these fine young people. Sixth Form News We are all relieved that the exams have finished and we hope that all the hard work will have paid off. Results are due out on Thursday 18 August with Year 13 students able to collect theirs at 9.00am and Year 12 at 10.00am! We said ‘goodbye’ to Year 13 at a lovely Prom at the Dakota Hotel on 17 June, Miss Hancock and the Prom Committee did a fantastic job organising the event ‘Thank you!’ It has been a busy time for Year 12 since their return from exams. We visited Nottingham Trent University on 14 June and as well as the campus tour, students learned about higher education and writing a personal statement. We followed this up with a visit to the UCAS Convention in Sheffield where all UK universities exhibit. We have continued the university focus in tutor time with students starting their applications for university in September 2017! We are now encouraging students to go to open days to research individual institutions in more depth. Year 12 are on work experience at the end of term, which they have organised themselves. There are some interesting placements such as Radford Medical Practice, Open Reach BT, Aecom Engineering, Caunton Engineering, Police Headquarters, Microlise, The National Video Game Arcade, Trent & Peak Archaeology, Stephen Burden Solicitors, Nottingham University School of Life Sciences, Rolls Royce and Boots. Head Boy and Head Girl elections will take place on Tuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 July. These are important and prestigious roles and we plan to announce the results on the lawns outside the Houses of Parliament on our annual visit to London on 21 July! We may even get a prime time slot on the BBC or Sky News! Watch this space! From all in the Sixth Form, have a great summer holiday! Year 12 Vocational Work Experience Programme

The Year 12 students participated in a vocational work experience placement, which took place throughout July 2016 to gain valuable skills of working in a range of industries. The students accessed a variety of places to support their future careers and UCAS applications. Imogen Radcliff - School of Life Science, (Bio Chemistry) Harry Schorah - Rolls Royce,(Engineering) Nottingham Rachel Lyons - Queens Medical Centre,(Midwifery) Nottingham Jack Mapstone - Stephen Burdon Solicitors, Nottingham James Bostock attended the National Videogame Arcades as he would like to develop a career in the gaming industry and games technology. James had a fantastic time and gained valuable knowledge and skills to support his future career path. He has also been asked to volunteer at the arcade over the 6 weeks summer holidays. Well done James!! Year 12 / 13 S.T.E.M Further congratulations this year go to the Year 13 STEM students who achieved Gold CREST Awards for their research project into studying the effects of Glucose and Caffeine on the heart rate of daphnia. Their project looked at the effects of glucose and caffeine separately and combined on the daphnia and mirrored the effects that energy drinks have on students in school. This is a project they have been working on alongside their usual (and pretty intense) A level studies. This is the first time students from Hall Park have achieved the Gold CREST award which is a nationally recognised STEM qualification and the pupils involved have been able to use it in their university applications, in some cases securing lower or even unconditional offers as a result of having the Gold CREST award. The CREST assessor was impressed by the scientific approach to research and the thoroughness of the research as well as the presentation of the data. So congratulations and good luck for your studies at university go to Evie Jones, Samantha Kirk and Lucy Moorhouse. Current Year 12 STEM pupils are working towards their own Gold CREST awards on two projects Team members: Jacob Rose, Callum Wheatley, James Bostock, Thomas Derbyshire and Imogen Radcliffe are working on the the Archimedes’ Screw project, finding the best ways of creating the most effective model of the device possible, such as working through research methods and through creating different prototypes to test the efficiency of them. The aim of the project is to find a way of storing spare electricity made from renewable energy sources such as photocells and wind turbines, as it is very difficult to store energy and the cost of using batteries would be absolutely huge. They will be presenting their findings in a report at the end of the project having used a wide variety of skills such as using and developing a CAD model, different Engineering techniques, and use of higher level maths to evaluate their models. Team members: Harry Schorah, Liam Oldham, Edward Stratton and Lewis Clark Team two aimed to catch moths using traps and use this to find which light frequencies attracted them better than others, and has been extended to look into the level of light pollution offered by different frequencies of light and to link this back to the moth traps. To collect results they have been busy constructing several different types of moth traps to find which are more effective and which are better at collecting moths, and will then be using advanced physics to select appropriate wavelengths of light and decide on how best to emit and measure this. Accelerated Reader Programme This month in the Library, students have been helping Miss Whitehead to label and catalogue new books onto our new Library system ‘Oliver’, our new system will help students and staff to easily search and find library stock and will be accessible from any PC in school and from home via the school website. From September, Year 7 students will be taking part in the ‘Accelerated Reader’ program – an online interactive program that assesses and tracks students reading progress. As well as motivating and inspiring students to read, Accelerated Reader gives students and staff instant feedback on how well they are understanding their books. The program will launch in September with students having one lesson per week in the Library using the program, as well as a daily 15 minute ‘Drop Everything and Read’ session. Key Dates for the 2016/2017 Academic Year Event Date End of the School Year July 22nd - 1:30pm Finish A-Level Results Day August 18th G.C.S.E Results Day August 25th First Day of the new School Year September 6th INSET Day October 6th INSET Day October 7th October Half Term Holiday October 24th - October 28th Christmas Holiday December 21st - January 2nd February Half Term Holiday February 13th - February 17th Easter Holiday April 3rd - April 17th May Half Term Holiday May 29th - June 2nd INSET Day June 30th End of the School Year July 21st Just Schoolwear Just Schoolwear, our official uniform suppliers will be visiting the school during the Summer holidays on Wednesday 10th August from 10.00am – 2.00pm taking orders for your uniform needs. This will save you the journey of visiting their Bulwell store, where all other orders will still be taken during the holidays.