Spotlight The Newsletter of the Benjamin Britten Music Academy and Centre of Excellence in Mathematics

Edition No.17: Autumn half-term, 2017

Special Feature: Summer Art Challenge 2017 The famous painter Pablo Picasso once said that ‘every child is an artist’, so the summer holiday found many of our scholars wielding paint brushes, pencils and cameras in a bid to capture images of day-to-day events, thoughts and ideas. The Summer Art Challenge was held to inspire scholars to examine the world around them and to stir their creativity outside of school. The ultimate aim of the challenge was to create a piece of artwork over 30 days which could be submitted upon return to school. Scholars were set a title for each day ranging from shapes and shadows through to still life. They could use any materials they wished and some were very creative using stones and leaves. An incredible 170 entries were received from year 7, with year 8 submitting nearly 60 entries and year 9 approximately 30. Awards for the winning pieces were later presented in assemblies. Paintings, sketches, collages, textiles and abstract pieces were all received and judged by the art department during the first two weeks of September. The breadth and quality of entries was most impressive and Mrs Steward (art) would like to congratulate all students who took part, especially those named below who were selected as the winning entrants from years 7, 8 and 9. Winning entrants from year 9 were: Leilah Gooding, Amy Ling and Jenna Utting

Winning entrants from year 8 were: Shannon Collyer, Katie Hitter and David Mitchell Winning entrants from year 7 were: Tommy Hendricks, Elyse Price and Olivia Steward

Benjamin Britten Music Academy and Centre of Excellence in Mathematics Blyford Road NR32 4PZ Telephone: (01502) 582 312

Year Group News Year 7: It has been a fantastic start for year 7, with students getting involved in all aspects of school life. Our scholars have joined numerous clubs and are looking forward to the Choir Auditions, Rock Challenge and Christmas production. We hope to see lots of year 7s participating this year! Our students recently visited Thorpe Woodlands for team building activities that included archery, caving and high rope. A fantastic time was had by all. We are very pleased with the support that the year 7s gave for the recent Open Evening; they were polite, helpful, friendly and extremely proud of their school. Awards have been received for the Summer Art Project – which saw Olivia Steward, Elyse Price and Tommy Hendricks secure first place awards. The Extreme Reading Challenge that was held over the summer holiday was won by Eden Baptiste and certificates were given to several runners-up. A notable start to her time at the Britten School was made by Alexis Martin who received her Accelerated Reader Award. Other events saw all year 7s participating in the Happy Puzzle Company Day where parents

were invited to work with their children to solve mathematical problems. Congratulations are extended to Luca Holifield who has received two certificates and a medal for his contribution to the school table tennis team. In the coming weeks, all year 7s will be participating in a Music Workshop on 17 October provided by The Tailormade, who have had a very enjoyable career supporting the likes of Olly Murs, Blue, Rebecca Ferguson, CeeLo Green, Lemar and Busted as well as having a performed at their own showcase events at major venues. We are very pleased to have these musical artists working with our students. In sports, we have already seen year 7s representing the school in both football and netball fixtures. Finally, 7OC have nearly completed their rotation for office duty. They have done a fantastic Luca Holifield (7OB) with job and have enjoyed the experience and the responsibility that it brings. We are very much his medal and certificate from the school table looking forward to continuing this positive start after the October half term. Thank you to tennis team all parents and carers who have supported their children in the move to year 7. –Mrs. Reynolds & Mr Wareham.

Year 8: It’s been a great start to the new academic year for year 8. We are delighted to see that our scholars have already collected almost 900 achievement points this half-term! This is amazing, well done! Every half-term, our form tutors each choose tutee to be awarded a certificate and prize for their efforts within the tutor group. The first winners will soon be announced on the school’s Facebook page. After half-term, our tutor groups are going to be leading the assemblies! They are each choosing a charity that they would like to support this year and are creating an assembly all about it (8AK: Tues 7 Nov. 8BS: Tues 14 Nov. 8CG: Tues 21 Nov. 8JD: Tues 28 Nov. 8JG: Tues 5 Dec.) Congratulations to the 43 year 8 scholars that submitted their work for the 30 Days of Summer Art Challenge. A huge well done to Shannon Collyer, Katie Hitter (pictured) and David Mitchell who won awards for the best pieces of work in the year group. Our scholars have also been successful in extra-curricular activities: during the summer Lyla Studd (pictured, right) trialled for the Suffolk FA schools' county football squad. After attending two trials, she has been selected to play in the U14 squad and has trained with them near for the last nine weeks. Today she has been selected to play in their first fixture against Hertfordshire on Saturday 14 October. What a fantastic achievement for Lyla to be selected to play for the county! Well done Lyla - we are very proud of you! Also we should like to congratulate Lucy Dixon and Emma Read for completing an overnight expedition for their Chief Scout Gold Award. They walked a total of 13 miles over two days, camping and cooking with little supervision - well done, we are very proud of you both. Well done to Nathan Warnes who played in the U16 Table Tennis Competition, where the team won a Silver Medal. Further congratulations are extended to Nathan Warnes, Ethan Wright and George Shrimpton who won a Gold Medal in the U13 Table Tennis Competition. Well played boys! Forthcoming year 8 events include the Lyrical Workshop (17 Oct) where visitors to the school will deliver lyrical workshops to our year 7, 8 and 9 scholars. Students will learn how and why lyrics are chosen as well as taking part in some fun, musical activities. Finally, ‘Misunderstood’ (8 Nov) are an upcoming band who will be spending the morning in school, not only performing to our year 7, 8 and 9 scholars, but also delivering a message on cyberbullying, discrimination and British values. -Miss Armon & Miss Banns.

Year 9: Year 9 scholars volunteered to assist Mrs Steward in the Art Department for the Open Evening on 26 September. Certificates were awarded to: Emma Jones, Chloe Bryant-Daldry, Charlotte Franklin,

Chloe Utting, Emily Sharman, Ala Hatukai and Brooklyn Smith (see right). On 27 September we held a special assembly focusing on bullying via social media. PCSO Norman Drew and Simon Whitfield, Cybercrime Investigator, presented a very thought-provoking assembly to make scholars aware of the dangers and repercussions of cyber bullying. Students of the Month, nominated by Form Tutors, are: Alyssia Bullard, Brody Ketteringham, Mia Riggall, Hailie Hutcheson and Charlotte Franklin. Many of our scholars have achieved 25 credits and received certificates in our year 9 assembly – too many names to mention but well done to all of you! Hot off the Press – we are organising a trip to the Norwich Snowsports Centre for an hour of tubing. The trip will take place mid-November, over two days. More details to follow! –Mr Flanagan & Mrs Overy Charlotte Franklin and Alyssia Bullard

Year 10: It’s wonderful to report that year 10 have made a really positive start to the academic year. Scholars have approached their GCSE studies with an enthusiasm and eagerness that has not gone unnoticed by those who teach them! For this, we’d like to congratulate every member of year 10. To support their GCSE studies, scholars have been working on a study skills programme in tutor time. They have been given the opportunity to explore their learning styles and a number of revision techniques in detail. In addition to this, each year 10 scholar has also received a study skills booklet to support them as they embark on the journey towards their final examinations. We would like to take this opportunity to remind students to take full-advantage of the after-school prep facility hosted in the School Library each evening after school, 3:30-5pm (except Fridays). After-school prep provides an invaluable opportunity for pupils to receive guidance and support with their studies, homework and revision. Complimentary snacks and drinks are available to those pupils who choose to attend. Furthermore, we would also like to remind scholars that a broad range of revision guides are available to purchase from the School Library. Additionally, year 10 have also launched their Community Support project this term. Scholars and tutors have elected to collect gifts and make cards which they will personally deliver to the residents of the Blyford Care Home in the weeks before Christmas. This project will support elderly members of our community who may not otherwise spend time with friends or family over the festive period. At the Britten School, we take every opportunity to celebrate the success of students both inside and outside of school. It gives us great pleasure to congratulate year 10 scholar, Zara Williams, on her recent achievements in karate. Zara achieved a second and two third places in the Kenshin Karate Organisation Scottish Open Championships. Congratulations Zara, we wish you every success as you continue to compete in karate competitions! –Miss Munnings, Mrs Barber & Mrs Brown.

Year 11: The year 11 team are currently raising money to host a Leavers’ Event in June 2018. We are staging the following ideas to raise sufficient funds: Sept/Oct –guess the number of sweets in a jar. Oct/Nov –Halloween Pumpkin Carving Competition (50p per entry: all entries to be submitted for judging on Monday 30 Oct.), a Cake & Bake Sale (to be held on Tuesday 31 Oct.). These two events are open to students from ALL YEAR GROUPS. Donations for the year 11 Parents’ Evening Raffle are also needed (please bring any items to the Upper School Office). In December, a year 11 Christmas Raffle will be held after the year 9 Xmas Fayre. Our pennies in a jar collection has so far yielded an amazing £79.45, (see right) with 11AL currently in the lead after having collected £46.40. Well done all! In other news, year 11 recently visited local colleges as part of their careers provision to introduce them to the various courses on offer in the locality. Student feedback on the visits was extremely positive and college applications have begun to be submitted for September 2018. –Mrs Edge and & Mrs Wright.

Bicycle Safety

As we welcome an increasing number of students choosing to cycle to school, we should like to take this opportunity to inform parents, carers and students of the law and expectations pertaining to the use of bicycles.

The school strongly advises that all students cycling to and from school are equipped with a suitable bicycle helmet. Bicycle locks are also recommended in order to securely store bicycles once on the school site.

Students who bring their bicycle to school during the winter months are reminded that under the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations (2009) it is a legal requirement for the following items to be fitted to a bicycle in use on the public roads at night or in reduced visibility:

1. A front lamp showing a white light, facing forwards. 2. A rear lamp showing a red light, facing rearwards. 3. A rear reflector, coloured red, positioned facing rearwards. 4. Amber pedal reflectors positioned to the front and rear of each pedal.

The Highway Code also states:

"At night your bicycle MUST have white front and red rear lights lit. It MUST also be fitted with a red rear reflector. White front reflectors and spoke reflectors will also help you to be seen. Flashing lights are permitted but it is recommended that cyclists who are riding in areas without street lighting use a steady front and rear lamp."

Cyclists who ride in the dark without lights pose a risk to themselves, motorists and pedestrians. Consequently, they can be subject to a Fixed Penalty Notice of £50 issued by the police. The school reminds ALL students to exercise great care when cycling along busy roads, to abide by traffic signals at all times and to always ride in a responsible manner.

The Arcade Machine

Since early June, a group of students have been working incredibly hard on an amazing project – a fully operating, 1-4 player retro arcade table! The project, which is part of the S.T.E.M. initiative, has allowed students the opportunity to

learn and develop skills involving programming, soldering, units of measure, angle, animating, cutting and sanding techniques, circuitry and general problem solving. At present, there are approximately 200 working games, including great titles such as Galaga, Super Mario Bros, Bomberman, Sonic, Simpsons Arcade and many, many more. The project will be fully complete very soon, as there are one or two control errors that require further programming. Mr Sweetman (maths), who led the project, would like to thank Mrs Dyball in the Design and Technology Department as well as the Site Staff for their support on this fantastic project. The following students devoted their time and energy to this project: Harvey Farrow, Mohamed Abdelsalam, Kajinth Murugadas, Jenson Miles, Tom Haden, Billy Loughman, Ryan Holtum,

Charlie Saunders and Ethan Schroder. Photos of the project can be viewed on the school website.

Finally, on MondayThe 10arcade July, tableofficers has from taken the many Suffolk Cybercrime unit Mrcame Sweetman into school and to members present workshops of the group on areCyber - Safety to the pupils.hours of dedication and hard work pictured with the completed arcade table We’d like to thank parents and carers for their support over the year and we wish you all a wonderful summer break. -Miss Munnings, Mrs Brown and Mrs Barber. Year 10: It’s been a busy half-term for Year 10, with mock exams and work experience, along with visits to both East Norfolk and Lowestoft Sixth Form colleges. Our students have been out on their work experience placements, with many interesting placements having been arranged. The most imaginative placement is undoubtedly that of Zac Ketteringham

Suffolk’s Centre of Excellence for Mathematics

The Centre of Excellence in Mathematics was specifically designed to meet the needs of students throughout Lowestoft and the wider Suffolk area. Our teaching staff are fully qualified and work closely with scholars to ensure their programmes of study are matched to the students’ individual needs.

Happy Puzzle Time: To launch the 2017 year 6 Gifted and Talented Programme, on September 20 we invited some bright young mathematicians to join us in our Centre for Excellence in Mathematics for a workshop delivered by The Happy Puzzle Company. Sixty year 6 pupils from our Partner Primary schools enjoyed a very different kind of maths lesson where the focus was on solving problems without paper and pencil. By working together in teams they had to demonstrate perseverance and great problem solving skills to solve the challenges in front of them. This ethos underpins the Britten School’s Gifted and Talented programme that was so successful last year. Each week the year 6 students will work together with our maths team in tackling some challenging problems that are designed to interest and inspire the next generation of bright young talent. The Happy Puzzle Company were with us for two days and every student in year 7 was given the opportunity to attend a puzzle workshop and work collaboratively with family and friends.

A-Level Success for Rhys: Many congratulations to Rhys Ransome (11AL) who achieved an A* in his A-Level Mathematics paper in the summer of year 10. Rhys will continue to study Further Mathematics A-Level alongside his GCSEs at the Britten School.

An Illuminating Evening:

Dr David Acheson, MA (BSc London, MSc, PhD, Hon DSc East Anglia) Emeritus Fellow, former Professor in Mathematics at Jesus College, Oxford hosted a family and community event at the school on October 3, inspiring young and older minds with quirky magic maths tricks and the electric guitar. Light refreshments, tea and the opportunity for a chat with Dr Acheson about the field of mathematics helped make the evening a great success. We wish the best of luck to Dr Acheson with the publication of his new book.

Clubs and Activities: The Mathematics Centre also provides a variety of special interest clubs and activities. These clubs encourage students’ curiosity, collaborative working and help to develop determination and resilience. We encourage use of the computer suites and Mathematics Library before and after normal school hours and during the lunch break. This extra-curricular dimension helps to cement good pupil/teacher relationships that are the cornerstones of the school’s success.

Working in Partnership with Businesses We continue to build links with local businesses and industry leaders in

Norfolk and Suffolk to further enrich and enhance our students’ experiences and raise the profiles of careers in the sector. If you would be interested in sharing your skills and expertise, please speak with Mrs Kathryn Jenkins, Director of Mathematics or email [email protected].

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Supporting Local Schools and Teachers We are pleased to announce that the Benjamin Britten Centre for Excellence in Mathematics will be running three Department for Education funded subject knowledge courses next year

Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) in Secondary Mathematics:

This is a DfE funded subject knowledge enhancement course, aimed at applicants for Initial Teacher Training routes. https://getintoteaching.education.gov.uk Applicants may need more specific subject knowledge to begin an ITT course if they’ve:

• studied the subject to a highly advanced level, but over time have lost some of the basic skills needed to teach at secondary level • studied a degree that’s related to the subject, rather than an exact match for it • recently graduated and studied a degree not related to the subject but have a related A-Level • changed career and may have an unrelated degree with substantial related knowledge including an A-Level

Teacher Subject Specialism Training (TSST) in Secondary Mathematics:

This is a DfE funded subject knowledge enhancement course, aimed at non-specialist teachers who are currently delivering GCSE mathematics. All delegates will be trained to teach up to and including the subject content of the Higher Tier GCSE; the aim of the course being to revise and widen participants’ personal mathematical skills within the Key Stage

3 and 4 mathematics curriculum. The following core themes run throughout the programme:

• CPA - Concrete, Pictorial and Abstract.

• Connections between topics. • Fluency, Reasoning and Problem solving. • Misconceptions in maths. • Support, stretch and challenge.

Activities are set in contexts that students can engage with, are collaborative and use visual representations to help deepen understanding. The TSST course will help local schools to retain and develop staff, improve student outcomes and reduce in-scho ol teaching quality variation. The TSST course will help local schools to retain and develop staff, improve pupil outcomes and reduce in-school teaching quality variation.

‘The most effective teachers have a deep knowledge of the subjects they teach. As well as a strong understanding of the material being taught, teachers must also understand the way students think about the content.’- ‘Developing Teachers’, Sutton Trust, Jan 2015.

For further details or to register, please contact Mrs Kathryn Jenkins, Director for the Centre of Excellence in Mathematics: [email protected].

School Nurse

Helen Dyer is the designated School Nurse for our school. Helen has been a school nurse for 14 years and

is a Registered General Nurse and a Registered Midwife with a specialism in community public health.

Helen is in school every Friday and is available for students to visit for support and advice regarding health

related issues including physical, sexual, emotional health and well-being and friendships and

relationships. Appointments made between Helen and students are confidential, unless there are

safeguarding concerns or a student has agreed to her sharing information with others. Referrals to the

School Nurse can be made by parents, schools, other professional agencies and by the children themselves. You can contact Helen through the following details:

Tel: (01502) 532053 Email: [email protected]

School Council Update Visit to the Palace of Westminster: Fifteen scholars and members of the School Council, assisted by Mr Champion (geography), visited the

Palace of Westminster in London on September 27. Students were given a guided tour of the Houses of Parliament and were afterwards treated to a river cruise on the Thames. Lunch was held within sight of

the London Eye. Students were able to experience activities based around government and ask questions about parliamentary history and procedure. The river cruise was particularly well-received with students

enjoying the novelty of seeing the capital from the river. –with help from Ebony Macfarlane (7NL)

Kitchen Corner New Canteen Menu by Mrs Sturman. We have an exciting new menu for the autumn term, with some unusual twists to some of our more traditional meals! You can view information on the school menu by visiting the Vertas website at www.vertas.co.uk. Click on Vertas>

Catering> More> Vive. You fill also find all the allergen information for each meal here. In other news, the Coffee Shop in the Centre of Mathematics has now officially reopened! If you have any thoughts or suggestions about any of our products or maybe some ideas that you would like us to try out,

please contact Mrs Sturman on (01502) 526 133. 

Philanthropy News

Date for your diaries: On Friday, 1 December we will be holding our annual Christmas Fayre in the Centre of Excellence for Mathematics building (on Foxborough Road) from 4:30 – 6:30 pm. This year we will be supporting the Spinal Injuries Association. As well as lots of stalls and games we will have a special visit by Father Christmas! We would welcome items for the Fayre; any gifts, toys,

bottles and cakes, etc. If you would like to send items in, please mark them for the attention of Mrs Overy in the Lower School Office. Raffle tickets will be sold by the students after half-term – we have some excellent prizes to be won this year.

Restart a Heart Day: On Monday 16 October, all students in years 8 and 9 took part in the British Heart Foundation’s

Restart a Heart Day. This saw over 270 of our students trained in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) by 14 local paramedics, firefighters and Community First Responders in just one day. A big well done to our students who all participated enthusiastically and received certificates and wristbands to acknowledge the training they completed. And thank you to Andy and Debbie Mower of Lowestoft Community First Responders for organising such a fantastic event for our students.

Advice from the day: If you witness a cardiac arrest, it’s crucial to call 999 and start CPR immediately. To learn how to perform CPR, follow these simple steps: Step 1: Shake and shout (to see if the patient is conscious) Step 2: Check for normal breathing

Step 3: Call 999 Step 4: Give 30 chest compressions (depressing the breastbone between 5-6cm with hands interlocked on the chest) Step 5: Give two rescue breaths (pinching the nose closed and breathing into the patient’s mouth) Step 6: Repeat until an ambulance arrives

Remember – even if you haven't been trained in CPR with rescue breathing, you can still use hands-only CPR. The British Heart Foundation website gives advice and guidance on CPR and contains short films about how to save lives. www.bhf.org.uk

News in Sport

Football: The year 10 football team, coached by Mr Humphrey, have played three matches and are presently top of the local league, but unfortunately lost to a very good team from Flegg High School in the National Cup. The year 9 football team, with some key players missing through injury, lost narrowly to Sir John Leman High School in the National Cup and are looking forward to the upcoming County Cup match. The year 8 football team coached by Mr Humphrey played some superb football and comfortably beat Saxmundham 8-0 in the first round of the County Cup and are in good form ahead of their National Cup match against Thorpe St Andrew next week. The year 7 football team, coached by Mr George, started their league campaign in excellent style with an impressive 7 – 2 win against the Beccles Free School and they are buoyant ahead of their next match against Stradbroke on 2 November. The year 7 after-school football match is regularly attended by over thirty boys which is fantastic. Finally, the year 11 football team coached by Mr David and Mr Humphrey have drawn Lynn Grove Academy in the first round of the National Cup. On Wednesday 11 October the Girls’ U12 football team attended their first tournament together at Ormiston Denes Academy. They showed that practice makes all the difference and by attending the training sessions after school every Wednesday, it had helped build their confidence in the run up to their tournament. In the first game against Ormiston Denes, the Britten School were initially slow to settle into the game but it wasn’t long before the goal scoring duo of Anais and Lily-Ann Winney found their form, leading to a resounding 7-0 victory. The goal scoring continued, although the Britten team were put under more pressure in defence in their later games against Sir John Leman High School and . Strong performances in defence kept Benjamin Britten from conceding too many goals. The team went on to win all of their games convincingly and were the overall winners. A number of the girls attending the fixture are new to football and for some this was their first competitive football fixture, so it was great to see the girls representing the school in such a positive and committed manner and, most importantly , enjoying playing football. The girls have been an absolute pleasure to work with this half term. We are now looking forward to their first County Cup fixture next half term, when we hope they can produce some more outstanding results. Well done to all of the girls!

Netball: Congratulations to the school’s under-14 girls’ netball team (see right) who played in the area netball tournament beating Pakefield High School and Ormiston Denes Academy. Unfortunately, the team were later defeated by a concerted opposition from and .

Table Tennis: Tremendous news from table tennis, where Mrs Mercer accompanied Brody Ketteringham, Logan Garner, Jack Pallant (year 9s) and Nathan Warnes (year 8) who played superbly and finished second in the Boys’ Under-16 Northern Area Table Tennis Final held at . Luca Holifield, Nathan Warnes, Ethan Wright and George Shrimpton won the Boys’ Under-13 Northern Area Table Tennis Final and will now represent the area in the County Final in Ipswich in November. The school’s Table Tennis Club is extremely popular and well attended four lunchtimes a week and Thursday after school with Mr Humphrey.

Cross Country: On Thursday 12 October Mr Humphrey and Mrs Mercer took thirty students to the area cross country at the in Holbrook

(see below). Each race had approximately 165 runners competing and the Britten School had some excellent performances in the glorious sunshine. Max Sims finished in 45th place and Ole Alexander finished in a very impressive 18th place in the yr 11 boys’ race. Anais Winney finished

33rd in the year 7 girls’ race and Louis Tillett came 33rd in the yr 9 boys ’ race. Well done to all the runners.

Congratulations to the cross-country team who acquitted themselves so well at the Area Cross Country held at the Royal

Hospital School

Swimming Success:

A special mention must be made for Jack Pallant (9TF) (see right) who recently competed in the Lowestoft & Oulton Broad Swimming Gala and secured three Gold, three Silver, one bronze and seven personal best times. Consequently, Jack will be competing at the Suffolk Championships in Ipswich in February 2018 and in the East Region Long Course

Championships in Luton next May. The school joins together in wishing Jack the very best of luck.

And in Other News…

Shakespeare Schools Festival: On Tuesday 10 October, our cast for this year’s Shakespeare Schools Festival spent the afternoon at the Marina Theatre with Miss Galeski and Mrs Cook (English), taking part in a workshop designed to help them gain confidence on the stage. The workshop included top tips on voice projection and a session on stage combat; perfect to help us prepare for the fight scenes! There was an opportunity to perform a short scene in front of another local secondary school which has definitely helped with some of our nerves! The English department are proud to be part of this festival for the second year running and rehearsals are well underway. Our performance of Romeo and Juliet is at the Marina Theatre on Monday 13 November 2017 at 7pm. Tickets are available from the theatre box office.

Appointment of Head Boy and Head Girl: The Benjamin Britten School is proud to announce the appointment of a new Head Boy and Head Girl. Candidates had been asked to submit applications for the advertised positions and interviews were held to ascertain their suitability for the roles. Heads of Year Mrs Wright and Mrs Edge announced that Dean Short (11AR) is to be Head Boy, with Ollie Smith (11AR) acting as his Deputy, while Grace King (11AL) shall be Head

Girl, with Phoebe Searle (11MC) as her Deputy. The successful candidates were subsequently presented with their badges and will be introduced to the school shortly. We congratulate these scholars and look forward to seeing them in their official role around the school and the wider community in the coming months.

Dean Short (Head Boy) and Grace King (Head Girl) Left to right (rear): Dean Short (Head Boy) and Phoebe

have been appointed by the year 11 team after Searle (Deputy Head Girl). Left to right (front): Grace King

successfully passing an application and interview (Head Girl) and Ollie Smith (Deputy Head Boy)

process.

World War One Requiem Project: Nine scholars from year 9 are currently engaged in the Requiem Project which looks at the impact of World War One on the town of Great Yarmouth. Students from six other local high schools and sixth form colleges are also participating. The Britten School students are focusing on researching soldiers from Great Yarmouth. Their task is to produce a display board for an exhibition that will tour Norfolk County libraries, museums and schools in 2018. Their work, along with that of the other participants, will also be on display at a concert at Great Yarmouth’s

Hippodrome Theatre in March 2018. The performance will bring together the information boards on aspects of WW1, musical performances, creative spoken word pieces and art work; a truly multimedia experience. The Britten School scholars spent a morning at Great Yarmouth’s Time and Tide Museum (see right) working with historical re -enactors to immerse themselves in different aspects of WW1. They took part in practical workshops with a nurse, soldier and pilot to discover the harsh reality of life for those fighting and supporting the troops in the Great War. This was followed by a walking tour of Great Yarmouth to visit the sites of WW1 bombing and the Great Yarmouth War Memorial. The day ended with a research session in Great Yarmouth Library where the pupils learnt how to access information on microfilm, the internet and through the vast source of primary evidence records stored in the archive there. The students then spent a second day at the Norfolk Archive Centre in Norwich. There they had the opportunity to handle many rare primary source documents relating to Great Yarmouth in WW1 including letters, photographs and military records. It is envisaged the students will now spend a second day at Great Yarmouth to carry out extra research and prepare for the production of their information board in readiness for the performance in March next year. They will also need to produce a scrapbook of their research and prepare an online version of their work for Key Stage 3 pupils in local schools. Mr Gallagher (history) congratulates all students involved for their enthusiasm and impeccable behaviour.

Year 8 End of Term Trip: To celebrate a successful first term as year 8 scholars, Miss Banns and Miss Armon would like to take the entire year group to Lowestoft Cinema during the afternoon of Tuesday 19 December. We have managed to secure a private screening of Paddington 2 and Star Wars (in separate screens), so if scholars would like to join us on this trip, they should choose one of these two films to watch. The coach will be leaving school at midday and returning at approximately 3:15pm, traffic permitting. The cost of the trip will be £10 per student and this includes travel to and from the cinema and the cinema ticket. Please note: if your child has a leading role in the Christmas

Production, they will be unable to attend this trip due to their performance commitments on the last day of term. Consent form s should be returned to the main school office by Monday 6 November.

Careers: Year 11 students are in the process of visiting local sixth form and vocational colleges in the area in preparation for applying to college during their careers lessons starting after the October half-term. So far they have visited the East Norfolk Sixth Form College in Gorleston and Lowestoft Sixth Form College, with a trip to taking place on Friday 10 November. Year 8 will also begin their Careers lessons after the half-term, with years 9 and 10 starting in the new year. In addition to this, years 10 and 11 will have ‘Careers Fairs’ at their Parents’ Evenings (year 9 at their Options Evening), with local college and apprenticeship providers in attendance, as well as organisations which provide extra-curricular opportunities, such as the National Citizen Service. We have arranged external speakers and industry professionals to deliver assemblies for different year groups throughout the year, and years 9-11 will also be taking part in workshops delivered by East Anglian universities, through the ‘Take your Place’ programme. https://www.takeyourplace.ac.uk/

Literacy: During Transition Week back in July, our year 7s were set the Extreme Reading Challenge to complete over the summer holiday. This required each student to pick a book of their choice, find an extreme location or

situation in which to read their book and then present their challenge in the form of a poster, including a photograph of themselves completing the challenge, to

be judged by Miss Stanley and Mr Mullender. We received many funny, bizarre and beautifully presented entries this year. The competition was very

tough and in the end came down to the most extreme locations the entrant chose and the accompanying review of the book they read. Congratulations to the following runner-up students in the competition: Sophia Papakryiacou (7AW), Anjalee Miles (7OC), Tyler Cutts (7NL), Mia Poll (7LW), Oscar Balls (7OB), Elliott Lee (7CB), Germaine Williams (7JW) and Lily Smith (LG). And a big congratulations to the overall winner of the competition, Eden Baptiste (7NL), who was pictured reading her book ‘Princess Academy’ at the top of Pistyll Rhaeadr, Britain’s tallest ‘single drop’ waterfall at 240ft high.

Revision resources and After-School Prep:

The School Library stocks revision guides and workbooks for sale across all subjects at half the recommended retail price. Students can also purchase comprehensive stationery packs to aid revision as well as help themselves to free revision timetables. After-School Prep takes place from Monday to Thursday, 3:30-5:00pm in the Library. This is an ideal opportunity to complete homework, assignments and revision and a free snack and drink is provided for students. One-to-one careers advice is also available during this time and students are welcome to drop in for help with college applications and CV writing.

Electives:

Year 8 and year 9 have now begun attending their elective sessions. These sessions aim to broaden understanding and appreciation of subjects that are not usually part of the school curriculum. Members of staff who have a particular interest in subjects offer their time so that students can learn new ideas, discuss and develop a keen interest in learning outside of normal lessons. Topics on offer this year include biology & dissection, Viking studies, drama, photography, dance, meditation, politics, yoga and local history. Scholars are enthusiastic and are greatly enjoying these sessions.

Dates for the Diary:

28 October 2017 Trip to Santa Pod Raceway 30 October 2017 Pumpkin carving competition deadline (50p per entry: to Upper School Office) 31 October 2017 Year 7 Red House visits begin 7 November 2017 Voice in a Million 15 November 2017 Panto workshops 22 November 2017 Britten Day 27 November 2017 Year 10 & Year 11 Mock Exams begin 13 December 2017 Christmas Production performance