Parkstone NEWS NATIONAL CAREERS LEADER OF THE YEAR! n Wednesday 7 March Julia Wilkinson, Careers Co-ordinator at Parkstone Grammar School, attended the Careers Development OInstitute annual awards ceremony in Leeds. During the presentations Julia was delighted to be named National Careers Leader of the Year for her work in promoting careers and workplace skills with the students at Parkstone Grammar School. Easter 2018 This prestigious award follows the school’s recent achievement of the highest level of the national Quality in Careers Standard that recognises the outstanding provision within the school, and the strong partnerships with local ‘ When They Go Low’ business. Careers provision was also noted in the school’s recent outstanding Ofsted - page 3 inspection as “a particular strength” meaning that students are well prepared for the next steps in their education, employment or training. Parkstone is delighted to be sponsored by Coles Miller Solicitors as members of the Young Gym & Dance Chamber who have recently themselves Gym & Dance received the Engagement with Education Award - page 4 at the Dorset Legal Awards 2018. Tracy Harris, said “We are very proud of Julia and this incredible achievement. National recognition of her fantastic work for the students at Parkstone is well deserved and as a result our students are exceptionally well supported to make the next steps in their education or training.” Florence Trip - pages 5 FRENCH ASTRONAUT COMES TO PARKSTONE SPELLING On Wednesday 7 February, Parkstone was visited by Safeguarding Dr. Suzie Imber - an Associate Professor in Space - pages 6-7 BEE Physics. The Foreign Language Spelling Bee One of her personal is a compeon for students in Year 7 to hobbies was pracse and improve their vocabulary, spelling and mountaineering and memory skills in a foreign language (French, German she was climbing a or Spanish). mountain when she Governors’ News was asked by the Out of about 1500 students in the region who BBC to participate in - page 8 entered for French, Parkstone students Ellie Norris, the hit-show: Amelia Hand and Amanda Cadby reached the Astronauts: Do You Regional Final on 12 March held at Norton Hill School Have What It Takes? in Somerset. In doing so they were in the top 20 in Whilst she was here, the region. They had to learn 150 words to say aloud Dr. Imber talked Poetry Slam and spell (using the French pronunciaon of the about her exciting Dr Suzanne Imber alphabet). research and the University of Leicester - page 9 potential for new All three students achieved really good scores (but discoveries. Her main research interest is the study they don't tell us the actual scores) and Ellie Norris of the interaction of the solar wind with the planetary achieved 4th posion overall meaning she qualifies magnetospheres of the Earth and Mercury. She also for the Naonal Final in Cambridge at the end of stated how even though she was bad at lacrosse and June. She now has another 50 words to learn - in wushu kung fu, she always persisted and stayed Students’ Art addion to the 150 already done. Ellie received a determined no matter what – this enabled her to have - page 10 medal and cerficate. the required skills to be an astronaut. Her supervisor and mentor was heavily involved in the Messenger mission to Mercury, which went into orbit during her time at NASA. This gave her the chance to be the first person to analyse data coming back Sport from another planet and equipped her with a unique expertise in this research field. - page 12 A Year 9 student commented on the visit: “This experience was fun and enjoyable, informative and inspirational.” She added, “Dr. Imber showed me that trying and never giving up is an excellent way to lead your life and pursue your dreams.” Parkstone Grammar School for Girls Sopers Lane, Poole, BH17 7EP Tel : 01202 605605 www.parkstone.poole.sch.uk MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER The spring term is always the shortest of the academic year yet always seems to be the busiest! This term has also been one of contrasts: the snow on the first day of spring, for example, against the budding of the snowdrops and daffodils just a week before! Students and staff have had a lot of fun this term both in and out of the classroom and have had some amazing learning experiences. The fantastic school trips to Washington and Florence over half term are particular highlights. With the American government shut-down only lifted on the day the students arrived this trip was particularly tense! As well as being a term of contrasts it also seems to have been the term for competitions. Students of all ages have competed in: the Cyberfirst competition, Year 8 debating, a French spelling bee, the Biology Olympiad, the Business Tenner Challenge, not to mention many dozens of sporting fixtures including netball and cross country! Well done to all students taking part and representing the school – you are all brilliant! As we move towards Easter examination groups reach the end of their courses and coursework assignments reach completion. I wish all students in years 11, 12 and 13 well in their revision over the coming months. Now onto school funding, which seems to have been one of the biggest challenges throughout my time as Headteacher. A key principle of the government’s ‘Fairer Funding’ policy is to set a minimum funding level per pupil for all state schools. This followed arguments by schools such as ours that the previous formula (much of which is based on deprivation and low prior attainment) resulted in schools such as Parkstone Grammar having funding that was insufficient to provide students with appropriate education. We have experienced a decline in real terms funding per pupil over the last four financial years. As a result we were delighted that for 2018-19 the new NFF floor for secondary schools was set at £4600 per pupil, with an increase to £4800 in 2019-20. At Parkstone Grammar we saw this as a very positive move, as it would enable us to set a balanced budget for 2018-19. We are therefore bitterly disappointed that the Borough of Poole is, from our understanding, one of only three local authorities with Grammar Schools (traditionally the lowest funded secondary schools in England) who are not applying the funding floor for 2018-19. Our increase will be capped at 3.5%, following a vote in Schools’ Forum and a subsequent decision by elected members. This will mean that our funding per pupil is (we calculate) £4,442 in 2018-19. The likely pay awards for both teaching and support staff will swallow up the small increase in our funding for 2018-19 with no additional funding from the Department for Education. Poole has instead decided to apply a cap of 3.5% to the increase any school could receive in 2018-19, which affects three schools (ourselves, Poole Grammar and Baden Powell). This decision is to transfer funds to support the High Needs Block – a budget that pays for the needs of students who cannot be educated in mainstream schools, or can only remain in mainstream with additional support. This decision to cap the highest gainers ignores the core principle of government funding – that schools need a minimum level of funding to educate young people properly. The increase was only potentially so high because of the historic underfunding of Parkstone Grammar School by the previous formula. We believe that students at Parkstone Grammar School deserve to have an appropriate allocation of funding, in common with other students in English schools. Given that so many parents/carers supported our campaign for fairer funding, I felt it only right to explain the current position. I have written to both local MPs and to the Portfolio Holder for Young People at the Borough of Poole to express these sentiments and my abject disappointment. May I take the opportunity to wish you all an enjoyable Easter break. Tracy Harris WASHINGTON DC BUSINESS NEWS Sixth form Politics and History students Year 12 Economics students visited London had a great time in February when they going to the Bank of England, Mckinsey and popped over the Atlantic to visit the Tate Modern. Washington DC. They reported : The students explored the museum at the We arrived not knowing whether the Bank and received a presentation on inflation federal government would be open or as well as the Bank’s wider role. Mckinseys not, and therefore whether anything delivered a well-received presentation on their would be open for us to visit. The final vote by the House was scheduled for work as well as gender equality in the 5am, and luckily after a budget was workplace. agreed we left the hotel on Friday morning with an open Washington D.C. We visited the White House, Congress, the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court on the first day – seeing all three branches of government’s homes. The second day not only did we see the original founding documents of the United States but every memorial the city had to offer, ending with some undercover CIA spying. The last day saw a trip to Arlington Cemetery, the Pentagon and an afternoon exploring the Smithsonian Museums. The plane & coach were very quiet on the way home - it was a busy and tiring trip for us all! 2 ‘WHEN THEY GO LOW’ Our National Theatre Connections student led production of 'When They Go Low' by Natalie Mitchell was performed at Poole Grammar School in March and then at The Egg Studio, Theatre Royal Bath on 23rd March.