10Th May 2021 Dear Parents And

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

10Th May 2021 Dear Parents And Robert Blake Science College Aspire | Achieve | Celebrate 10th May 2021 Dear Parents and Carers, This year has been an incredibly tough year; the toughest I can remember since I went into teaching, almost 30 years ago. Numerous events have led to some unrest within the school population, which we strive to resolve every time anything arises. The COVID pandemic and outside influences have not helped and we have found some students challenging since returning to school in September. Our students, your children, have had a really difficult year having to live through the fear of a devastating pandemic, which has affected many families in our community and at school. It cannot have been easy for the majority having to learn from home, learning how to communicate over the internet and having to remain in year group bubbles at school. Social restrictions have also meant that students have been unable to mix or go to many areas of the school that they would have been free to wander previously, missing out on friendships and social interactions as part of their growing up. Many students have had periods of self- isolation and possibly, and unavoidably, spending long periods of time at home alone. Despite the welfare calls and the ‘live’ learning, electronic contact does not take the place of being in school daily and that face- to-face interactions we all thrive on. It has been a stressful time for the whole country and I am delighted that there does appear to be a light at the end of the tunnel and the beginnings of being able to return to some kind of normality. I strongly believe that all of these mitigating circumstances have compounded issues within the town of Bridgwater and other places across the country. We communicate with the Police weekly so that we can keep each other abreast of developments within the town, the local community and school. You will not be surprised to learn that crime within the town has increased dramatically including drug issues and knife crime. This really concerns us as a school and we are doing all that we can to educate our students to steer away from the pressures they will face from other individuals determined to take the wrong path in life. As part of our Confidence for Life programme on Friday, our students were delivered an assembly and watched a video about knife crime. This was in order to build awareness of some of the difficulties they may face but unfortunately, a few students and parents have misinterpreted this, thinking that the school has a problem with knife crime. I can assure you that there have been no issues what so ever at school involving knives. If we have a report that someone has something on them that they shouldn’t, under our statutory rights to keep students safe, we always search the student in question and not one single child has been found in possession of a knife. The video that was shown to students can be seen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtqqcjIYS-g . Please do take the time to watch the video and have a conversation with your child(ren) about knife crime, how to keep themselves safe and how to report such incidents. Not only are knife and drugs crimes on the rise, so too are reports of vandalism, violence, physical assaults and intimidation and bullying through social media. We have seen an increase in events escalating in school following a social media attack or physical attack the previous evening. This is a real concern for us. It appears at present, that a growing minority of young people turn to violence very quickly and see nothing wrong with attacking an individual, which ultimately could result in death if no one is around to help. Resolving these issues takes a huge amount of time and effort from many staff at the school rather than us concentrating on learning, which is incredibly frustrating. We will not tolerate any unkind words or violence towards others and take any confrontation very seriously. Headteacher Miss Deb Loveridge BSc (Hons), NPQH Robert Blake Science College, Hamp Avenue, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 6AW Telephone (01278) 456 243 Web robertblake.org.uk E-mail [email protected] @RobertBlakeSC facebook.com/RobertBlakeSC Robert Blake Science College Aspire | Achieve | Celebrate I am sure you will have heard through social media that on Friday, five of our older students were involved in a fight. Those students have been asked not to attend school whilst the incident is investigated. We have a duty of care to our students and our number one priority is to keep students safe. We will not tolerate poor behaviour choices and will not allow any child who is out of our care and control to remain on site. I am determined to find a way to ensure our school and the local community work together to stamp out any undesirable behaviour. As parents, I would urge you to ensure you know the whereabouts of your child(ren) when they are out and who they are with as there are so many social situations that are spilling into school, which prevents the learning environment from being as productive as it should be. Thank you to the number of parents and public that report incidents to us that take place outside of school. It is good to be kept informed and any information is very helpful but please support the Police and the school by reporting all incidents that you see or hear about outside of school to the Police. You can report crime in a number of ways: Using a ‘suspecting crime’ form online at https://www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/forms/isc/ . Calling 101 to report a crime or one you have heard is planned to take place. Anonymously calling Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111. Anonymously reporting online at https://www.fearless.org/ . Calling 999 in an emergency. The Police are increasing their capacity in the local area by recruiting six PCSOs and two Police Officers to this area of Bridgwater. There is also a violence reduction unit, an anti-social behaviour unit and youth offending team in the local area. It saddens me to write such a letter to our parents and carers but I want to be transparent so that we can all help each other. 97% of our school community do exactly what they should in school, both in lessons and in social time and should be congratulated for their efforts. It is such a shame that the 3% have such a negative impact across the school. We will continue to work hard to eradicate these poor behaviour choices. Thank you so much for your support in person, by letter and email and on social media. It is very much appreciated. If you wish to discuss this further, please contact the school in the usual way to book an appointment. Yours sincerely D Loveridge Headteacher Headteacher Miss Deb Loveridge BSc (Hons), NPQH Robert Blake Science College, Hamp Avenue, Bridgwater, Somerset, TA6 6AW Telephone (01278) 456 243 Web robertblake.org.uk E-mail [email protected] @RobertBlakeSC facebook.com/RobertBlakeSC .
Recommended publications
  • 1 the NAVY in the ENGLISH CIVIL WAR Submitted by Michael James
    1 THE NAVY IN THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR Submitted by Michael James Lea-O’Mahoney, to the University of Exeter, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in September 2011. This thesis is available for Library use on the understanding that it is copyright material and that no quotation from the thesis may be published without proper acknowledgement. I certify that all material in this thesis which is not my own work has been identified and that no material has previously been submitted and approved for the award of a degree by this or any other University. 2 ABSTRACT This thesis is concerned chiefly with the military role of sea power during the English Civil War. Parliament’s seizure of the Royal Navy in 1642 is examined in detail, with a discussion of the factors which led to the King’s loss of the fleet and the consequences thereafter. It is concluded that Charles I was outmanoeuvred politically, whilst Parliament’s choice to command the fleet, the Earl of Warwick, far surpassed him in popularity with the common seamen. The thesis then considers the advantages which control of the Navy provided for Parliament throughout the war, determining that the fleet’s protection of London, its ability to supply besieged outposts and its logistical support to Parliamentarian land forces was instrumental in preventing a Royalist victory. Furthermore, it is concluded that Warwick’s astute leadership went some way towards offsetting Parliament’s sporadic neglect of the Navy. The thesis demonstrates, however, that Parliament failed to establish the unchallenged command of the seas around the British Isles.
    [Show full text]
  • Huguenot Merchants Settled in England 1644 Who Purchased Lincolnshire Estates in the 18Th Century, and Acquired Ayscough Estates by Marriage
    List of Parliamentary Families 51 Boucherett Origins: Huguenot merchants settled in England 1644 who purchased Lincolnshire estates in the 18th century, and acquired Ayscough estates by marriage. 1. Ayscough Boucherett – Great Grimsby 1796-1803 Seats: Stallingborough Hall, Lincolnshire (acq. by mar. c. 1700, sales from 1789, demolished first half 19th c.); Willingham Hall (House), Lincolnshire (acq. 18th c., built 1790, demolished c. 1962) Estates: Bateman 5834 (E) 7823; wealth in 1905 £38,500. Notes: Family extinct 1905 upon the death of Jessie Boucherett (in ODNB). BABINGTON Origins: Landowners at Bavington, Northumberland by 1274. William Babington had a spectacular legal career, Chief Justice of Common Pleas 1423-36. (Payling, Political Society in Lancastrian England, 36-39) Five MPs between 1399 and 1536, several kts of the shire. 1. Matthew Babington – Leicestershire 1660 2. Thomas Babington – Leicester 1685-87 1689-90 3. Philip Babington – Berwick-on-Tweed 1689-90 4. Thomas Babington – Leicester 1800-18 Seat: Rothley Temple (Temple Hall), Leicestershire (medieval, purch. c. 1550 and add. 1565, sold 1845, remod. later 19th c., hotel) Estates: Worth £2,000 pa in 1776. Notes: Four members of the family in ODNB. BACON [Frank] Bacon Origins: The first Bacon of note was son of a sheepreeve, although ancestors were recorded as early as 1286. He was a lawyer, MP 1542, Lord Keeper of the Great Seal 1558. Estates were purchased at the Dissolution. His brother was a London merchant. Eldest son created the first baronet 1611. Younger son Lord Chancellor 1618, created a viscount 1621. Eight further MPs in the 16th and 17th centuries, including kts of the shire for Norfolk and Suffolk.
    [Show full text]
  • Edward Hawke Locker and the Foundation of The
    EDWARD HAWKE LOCKER AND THE FOUNDATION OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF NAVAL ART (c. 1795-1845) CICELY ROBINSON TWO VOLUMES VOLUME II - ILLUSTRATIONS PhD UNIVERSITY OF YORK HISTORY OF ART DECEMBER 2013 2 1. Canaletto, Greenwich Hospital from the North Bank of the Thames, c.1752-3, NMM BHC1827, Greenwich. Oil on canvas, 68.6 x 108.6 cm. 3 2. The Painted Hall, Greenwich Hospital. 4 3. John Scarlett Davis, The Painted Hall, Greenwich, 1830, NMM, Greenwich. Pencil and grey-blue wash, 14¾ x 16¾ in. (37.5 x 42.5 cm). 5 4. James Thornhill, The Main Hall Ceiling of the Painted Hall: King William and Queen Mary attended by Kingly Virtues. 6 5. James Thornhill, Detail of the main hall ceiling: King William and Queen Mary. 7 6. James Thornhill, Detail of the upper hall ceiling: Queen Anne and George, Prince of Denmark. 8 7. James Thornhill, Detail of the south wall of the upper hall: The Arrival of William III at Torbay. 9 8. James Thornhill, Detail of the north wall of the upper hall: The Arrival of George I at Greenwich. 10 9. James Thornhill, West Wall of the Upper Hall: George I receiving the sceptre, with Prince Frederick leaning on his knee, and the three young princesses. 11 10. James Thornhill, Detail of the west wall of the Upper Hall: Personification of Naval Victory 12 11. James Thornhill, Detail of the main hall ceiling: British man-of-war, flying the ensign, at the bottom and a captured Spanish galleon at top. 13 12. ‘The Painted Hall’ published in William Shoberl’s A Summer’s Day at Greenwich, (London, 1840) 14 13.
    [Show full text]
  • Who Was Robert Blake?
    ARTICLE Who Was Robert Blake? Aileen Ward Blake/An Illustrated Quarterly, Volume 28, Issue 3, Winter 1994/95, pp. 84- 89 A R T C Who Was Robert Blake? BY AILEEN WARD hat G. E. Bentley once called "the decent ig- W norance which still obscures Blake's family"1 is still far from dispelled. The ages and even the identities of the Blake children have been especially problematic. Among his nineteenth-century biog- raphers, Alexander Gilchrist mentioned only three of Blake's siblings and knew the names of only two; J. T. Smith and Allan Cunningham's information was still scantier, and B. H. Malkin spoke only of Blake's father among his family members.2 Frederick Tatham in his manuscript Life of Blake gave the names though not the birthdates of Blake's four surviving siblings but got their birth order wrong.' However, his Life was not known to Gilchrist and the other early biographers: it did not come to light till 1864, after Gilchrist's death, and was referred to only casually by Swinburne and E. J. Ellis; it was in fact not published till A. G. B. Russell's 1906 edition of Blake's Letters.* No doubt it was this publication that spurred Arthur Symons to search the St. James Parish register, where in 1. A Naked Youth Seen from the Side, Perhaps Robert 1907 he discovered the names and birthdates of Blake, c. 1779-80 (Butlin 71). Reproduced by permis- six children of James and Catherine Blake: James, sion of the Trustees of the British Museum.
    [Show full text]
  • The Anglo-Dutch Wars of the Seventeenth Century Pdf, Epub, Ebook
    THE ANGLO-DUTCH WARS OF THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY PDF, EPUB, EBOOK J.R. Jones | 254 pages | 01 May 1996 | Taylor & Francis Ltd | 9780582056305 | English | London, United Kingdom The Anglo-Dutch Wars of the Seventeenth Century PDF Book The article you want to access is behind a paywall. In England, the mood was bellicose: the country hoped to frustrate Dutch trade to such an extent that they would be able to become the dominant trading nation. The Netherlands were attacked on land and at sea. The First War — took place during the Interregnum in England, the period after the Civil War when England did not have a king or queen. There are not enough superlatives to describe Michiel De Ruyter. Anglo-Dutch Wars series of wars during the 17th and 18 century. After negotiations broke down, St John drafted the provocative Navigation Act of October , which greatly increased tensions between the two nations. Important to know When you subscribe, you give permission for an automatic re-subscription. Newer Post Older Post Home. Book Description Pearson Education, During the winter and spring of , large numbers of Dutch vessels were intercepted and searched by English ships. His sister-in-law, Queen Anne would also die of Smallpox. It ended with the English Navy gaining control of these seas and a monopoly over trade with the English colonies. The bad thing about the regime change in the Netherlands was that Jan De Witt had achieved an understanding of naval warfare, while William III was totally ignorant, and remained so for the rest of his life.
    [Show full text]
  • Nmrn National Museum of the Royal Navy Master Narrative
    NMRN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE ROYAL NAVY MASTER NARRATIVE REVIEWED BY THE COLLECTIONS, RESEARCH, LEARNING AND ACCESS COMMITTEE OF THE TRUSTEES / 18 NOVEMBER 2015 NMRN NMRN MASTER NARRATIVE National Museum of the Royal Navy ~ Master Narrative OURS IS THE EPIC STOR Y of the Royal Navy, its impact on Britain and the world from its origins in 625AD to the present day. 1 3 4 NARRATIVE Fleet Air Arm. We will examine these identities and the Royal from a powerful internal force which at times shaped the Progress 1 Company from the first Royal Marines Commando We will tell this emotionally-coloured and nuanced Navy’s unique camaraderie, characterised by simultaneous policies of the state, to an armed force whose resources are unit, formed in 1942. story, one of triumph and achievement as well as failure loyalties to ship, trade, branch, service and comrades. determined by government priorities. We tell the story of the Royal Navy and innovation. Constant 2 Poster advertising ‘War Savings’ to fund naval technological developments in ship design, weapons, and muddle, through four key themes: expenditure, around 1942. Power Purpose navigation, infra-structure and communications have been People essential in providing a fighting advantage. These accelerate 3 The Royal Navy’s first aircraft flight from a We tell the story of the Royal Navy’s power as a defining We tell the story of the Royal Navy’s roles in the past, and from the 1840s as the Navy changes from a force of wooden stationary ship, 1912. We tell the story of the Royal Navy’s people.
    [Show full text]
  • Monitoring and Incompatible Incentives in the Age of Fighting Sail
    Explorations in Economic History 39, 204–231 (2002) doi:10.1006/exeh.2002.0783, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on The British Navy Rules: Monitoring and Incompatible Incentives in the Age of Fighting Sail Douglas W. Allen1 Simon Fraser University The British Navy during the age of sail was systematically successful against its opponents, most notably the French. This paper documents this success, shows that it cannot be explained by superior ships, training, or other naval capital, and puts forth the hypothesis that the British Navy governance structure provided better incentives to fight than those of their opponents. The hypothesis is tested by examining the structure of the rules and then contrasting them with the rules governing privateers, the army, and the navy over time. The paper concludes with a discussion of why the French did not copy the British strategy. © 2002 Elsevier Science (USA) He asked who the stout man was who had just been so ceremoniously disposed of. “He was an admiral,” they told him. “But why execute this admiral?” he enquired. “Because he had not enough dead men to his credit,” was the reply; “he joined battle with a French admiral, and it has been established that their ships were not close enough to engage.” “But surely,” exclaimed Candide, “the French admiral must have been just as far from the English as the English admiral was from the French!” “True enough,” was the answer; “but in this country we find it pays to shoot an admiral from time to time to encourage the others.” Voltaire,p.
    [Show full text]
  • A Study of the Three Anglo-Dutch Wars, 1652-1674 William Terry Curtler
    University of Richmond UR Scholarship Repository Master's Theses Student Research Summer 1967 Iron vs. gold : a study of the three Anglo-Dutch wars, 1652-1674 William Terry Curtler Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarship.richmond.edu/masters-theses Recommended Citation Curtler, William Terry, "Iron vs. gold : a study of the three Anglo-Dutch wars, 1652-1674" (1967). Master's Theses. Paper 262. This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Research at UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. IRON VS. GOLD A STUDY OF THE THfu~E ANGI.. 0-DUTCH WARS• 16.52-1674 BY WILLIAM TERRY CURTLER A THESIS SUBMITTED TO TH8 GRADUATE r'ACULTY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IM HISTORY AUGUST, 1967 t.JGRARY UNJVERSHY QF RJCHMONI) VUfQINfA ii Approved for the Department of History and the Graduate School by ciia'.Irman of tne His.tory .Department 111 PREFACE· The purpose of this paper is to show that, as the result ot twenty-two years of intermittent warfare between England and the Netherlands, the English navy became es• tablished as the primary naval power of Europe. Also, I intend to illustrate that, as a by-product of this naval warfare, Dutch trade was seriously hurt, with the· major benefactors of this Dutch loss of trade being the English. This paper grew out of a seminar paper on the first Anglo•Dutch war for a Tudor and Stuart English History graduate seminar class taught in the fall of 1966 by Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cromwellian Protectorate and the Languages of Empire Author(S): David Armitage Source: the Historical Journal, Vol
    The Cromwellian Protectorate and the Languages of Empire Author(s): David Armitage Source: The Historical Journal, Vol. 35, No. 3 (Sep., 1992), pp. 531-555 Published by: Cambridge University Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2639629 . Accessed: 19/05/2011 06:53 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cup. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Cambridge University Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Historical Journal. http://www.jstor.org The Historical Journal, 35, 3 (I992), pp. 53I-555 Printed in Great Britain THE CROMWELLIAN PROTECTORATE AND THE LANGUAGES OF EMPIRE* DAVID ARMITAGE Emmanuel College, Cambridge A B ST R A CT.
    [Show full text]
  • Blake News Summer 2009
    BLAKE NEWS SUMMER 2009 Volunteers wanted for tasks Volunteers are needed for many tasks. These range from being a custodian, helping in the shop, housekeeping, helping in the garden, curatorial work and helping in the office. If you are interested, please contact Bryan Gillard 01278 458382; [email protected] Winter shut-down dates The Museum will be closed to the public between Thursday 12 November 2009 and Tuesday 31 March 2010. During this time we plan to work mostly on the upper floor, and jobs envisaged include installing security cameras there, exhibiting new or stored material, re-placing the electrical circuitry,and installing roof insulation. Downstairs we plan to replace the floor in the Copyright Dr P E Cattermole 2009 reproduced by permission all rights reserved office, where the joists are rotted, and bring part of the old Update on what has been happening. Blake room back into use as a display area for large or heavy Since our last newsletter of Winter 2008, momentous events items. have happened in the Museum. The change of management from the District Council to the Town Council was achieved and Plans for Museum development since April 1 the Museum has been run mostly by volunteers Much work is being done to re-affirm the Museum's Accreditation. A from the Friends. The building and contents are now the revised Statement of Purpose has been drawn up, bringing it back closely to what it was when the Museum was founded in 1926 property of the Town Council, and funding for the next four years is secured to run it as a going concern.
    [Show full text]
  • 00 Prelims 1655
    04 Blake 1655 13/11/08 12:32 Page 66 ROBERT BLAKE 04 Blake 1655 13/11/08 12:32 Page 67 Robert Norman William Blake 1916–2003 ROBERT BLAKE was elected to a Fellowship of the Academy in 1967. At that time he had been a Student and Tutor in Politics at Christ Church, Oxford, since 1946. He had published admired revisionist studies of the soldier Lord Haig (1952) and the politician Bonar Law (1955), but unquestionably it was the brilliant success of his biography of Disraeli in 1966 that stimulated support for his election. Robert Norman William Blake was born in the Manor House, Brundall, on the Yare, Norfolk, a little outside Norwich, on 23 December 1916. His father, William Joseph Blake (1877–1964), born and brought up in Cornwall, was senior history master at the King Edward VI Grammar School in Norwich. His mother, Norah Lindley, née Daynes (1886–1957), of a Brundall family, was the daughter of a prominent Norwich solicitor. Blake’s second given name, Norman, was shared with a maternal uncle, His Honour John Norman Daynes, QC (1884–1966), who was a Judge of County Courts, 1945–57. For all his life, Blake identified himself fervently with his native county; but it was through his maternal line that his Norfolk roots originally ran deep. It was from his uncle Norman that in 1966 he inherited Riverview, a fine and ample Victorian house in Brundall with terraced gardens overlooking the Yare. Riverview remained his beloved retreat for the rest of his life. The eldest of three children (there was a brother who died young, and a sister, Jill), Robert attended a dame school in Brundall before going on to the King Edward VI School in Norwich where his father taught him history.
    [Show full text]
  • ABOUT the POET and HIS POETRY William Blake
    ABOUT THE POET AND HIS POETRY William Blake William Blake was born in London on November 28, 1757, to James, a hosier, and Catherine Blake. Two of his six siblings died in infancy. From early childhood, Blake spoke of having visions—at four he saw God ―put his head to the window‖; around age nine, while walking dathrough the countryside, he saw a tree filled with angels. Although his parents tried to discourage him from ―lying," they did observe that he was different from his peers and did not force him to attend conventional school. He learned to read and write at home. At age ten, Blake expressed a wish to become a painter, so his parents sent him to drawing school. Two years later, Blake began writing poetry. When he turned fourteen, he apprenticed with an engraver because art school proved too costly. One of Blake‘s assignments as apprentice was to sketch the tombs at Westminster Abbey, exposing him to a variety of Gothic styles from which he would draw inspiration throughout his career. After his seven-year term ended, he studied briefly at the Royal Academy. In 1782, he married an illiterate woman named Catherine Boucher. Blake taught her to read and to write, and also instructed her in draftsmanship. Later, she helped him print the illuminated poetry for which he is remembered today; the couple had no children. In 1784 he set up a printshop with a friend and former fellow apprentice, James Parker, but this venture failed after several years. For the remainder of his life, Blake made a meager living as an engraver and illustrator for books and magazines.
    [Show full text]