Millom School
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Millom School Termly Newsletter December 2017 A message from Mr Savidge As we come to the end of the autumn term we look back at what has been achieved by the students of Millom School. We started the term with fantastic GCSE results in which 4 out of 5 students achieved at least a grade 4 in English and 3 out of 4 students achieved a grade 4 in maths. 49% of students achieved at least a grade 5 in both English and maths which puts us well above the national average of 39%. Our 6th form students have moved onto a variety of apprenticeships and courses at University. Apprenticeships include Gen2, BAE, Cumbria County Council and Kimberley Clark. University courses include Applied Social Sciences at Sheffield University, Early Years Education at Chester, Creative Writing at University of Gloucestershire. This underlines what we stand for as a school, in setting high academic standards and giving students the best choices for their futures. During this term the students have organised a number of charity fundraising events, this has included Children in Need, Shoebox Appeal, A charity event for Rylan Cosgrove, MacMillan Coffee Morning and Christmas Jumper Day (on the last day of term). The students take the leadership in organising these events and work together on them extremely well. They are an important part of the local community and the wider community. The mock interviews and careers fair were held on the same day this term. This gave students the experience of going through a job interview followed by the opportunity to meet a wide variety of employers and training providers. We ended the term with two wonderful events, firstly the yearly Carol Service at Holy Trinity Church, in which students gave fantastic musical performances. Secondly we celebrated the success of our students at our Presentations Evening. There is much to celebrate in this newsletter and I would like to thank the staff for all they do for the students. Thank you also to the governors and parents for their continued support of the school. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. A message from the Chair of Governors I am delighted to contribute to my first newsletter as Chair of Governors, it’s difficult to cover all the highlights of the school’s activities this year. We have again had a very successful careers fair which was well supported by employers and higher education providers from near and far offering out senior student’s lots of exciting options for their future after Millom School. Our students continue to work hard and play hard as can been seen from our great exam results and also sporting achievements with girls Rugby being especially successful this year. The school constantly strives to improve facilities our students and the creation of the new IT suite is a great example of this, which is being used to ensure out students gain the IT skills necessary for the future. We also now have virtual reality equipment which student enjoy using whilst ensuring that they stay at the forefront of educational technology. As we approach the end of term, I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. Steve “Happy, confident and secure students will learn more and will achieve greater things” Year 7—Settling in The Year 7 of 2017 have settled in to secondary school life with enthusiasm, happiness and maturity. They are a wonderful group of students and have demonstrated a really adult approach to all the changes that have come their way. The students have jelled as a year group and work cohesively in tutor groups. They are positive in their attitudes to lessons and have even taken the dreaded homework in their stride – this bodes well for their future and we are exceptionally proud of them! The tutors feel that the Year 7's have settled really well into the school community, with many of them getting involved within the many different aspects of school life. A number of students have already represented the school at sport and attend weekly training sessions; over 45 students were in the running for the Student Leadership Council, showing promise for the future. Friendships have been made, as well as positive relationships with staff. They have become a part of the Millom School family. We are looking forward to seeing what else they can bring to the rest of this year. Year 5 and 6 Open Evening The 2017 Year 5 and 6 Open Evening was a huge success. Staff worked incredibly hard to make sure that departments in the school were reflective of our good practise, informative and that the prospective new students were warmly welcomed. Parent feedback on the questionnaire was overwhelmingly positive and demonstrated the positive feeling towards the school. Our Year 7 guides excelled themselves; they had only been at the school 3 weeks but we were overwhelmed by the number of volunteers and the mature and positive enthusiasm they displayed. They captured the excitement of the evening and the buzz of the Year 5 and 6 students. We had numerous student volunteers from all year groups, in all the classroom activities and they are, without a doubt, the biggest strength of our school. They reflect the pride we all feel. “Happy, confident and secure students will learn more and will achieve greater things” Year 11 Mock Interviews On Thursday 19 October, our Year 11 students took part in mock interviews in preparation for them leaving school, going on to college or going into employment with training. This provided the students with the experience of going through the application process for a job and the subsequent interview process. The Year 11 students came into school in professional dress; they had all made an exceptional effort and looked very smart! Lots of businesses, both local and global, took part in the event, interviewing our students and providing personalised feedback about quality and clarity of answers to the interview questions, dress, body language, confidence and eye contact. Businesses included: BAE, Gen 2, Sellafield, Cumbria Training Centre, Taylor Made Training, Job Centre Plus, Inspira, the Armed Forces, CITB, PPM, GSK, Saint & CO, the County Council and local FE colleges. The students all had a very positive experience and the feedback has helped them to identify their strengths and areas for improvement with regard to interview skills. As a result, the students will work in personal development lessons to identify an action plan to improve their skill set. Millom School had excellent feedback from employers; one representative commented that our students were the most polite and respectful she had encountered in such an event. Another employer said that our students were very well prepared and that she was "very impressed with positive attitudes and confidence". Many of our students had feedback that was so positive that employers said that they'd have employed them 'on the spot' given the chance to do so! Cumbria Youth Orchestra 2017-2018 season On Sunday 12 November 2017 we went to Trinity School in Carlisle for our first rehearsal with the CYO. We applied in the summer holidays and 3 of us were successful this year -Tash McQuire, Tess Cullen and Lindsey Gibson (who has been accepted for the second year). We rehearsed some of the BBC Ten Pieces Repertoire which includes works which are being played all over the country this year by lots of different orchestras e.g. Elgar’s ‘Enigma Variations’ and Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nutcracker Suite’. Our next practice is in February and we are giving a concert in Carlisle at The Sands Centre on Monday 9 July 2017. We are proud to have been chosen and are playing with approximately 40 other musicians from across Cumbria. Witten by Tash and Tess “Happy, confident and secure students will learn more and will achieve greater things” Careers Fair Millom School pupils and staff are applauding another successful Careers Fair. This year’s event was held in the School’s Alexandra Hall on Thursday 19 October and involved over 30 local, national and international employers, as well as a range of higher education and further education establishments. These included: Sellafield, University of Cumbria, UCLAN, Cumbria Training Centre, Furness College, Cumbria County Council, BAE, Inspira, Glaxo Smith Kline, Construction Skills, Edgehill University, Millom School Sixth Form, Kimberly Clark, the Army and Taylor Made Training. This year the event was aimed at a wider range of pupils and included all pupils in Years 8 to 13. For Year 11 pupils the event was combined with a morning of mock interviews, where students were matched to employers from the students’ areas of careers interest who gave individuals a 20 minute interview to mimic the real-life processes of applying for jobs and attending interviews. Year 11 came to school in professional dress and looked exceptionally smart! Many of the employers were so impressed that they said they’d offer the young person a job on the basis of the mock interview, definitely a cause for celebration! The atmosphere in the Hall was buzzing, with over 300 pupils attending the event throughout the afternoon. Parents and carers were invited to attend from 3pm onwards and found it to be a valuable experience as they were able to engage with the employers and HE representatives first hand and take away information to discuss at home. Emma from Year 11 said ‘The Careers Fair made me feel more prepared for my future’ and Ross from year 11 said ‘I found the careers fair to be very informative.