All the latest news from Ringwood ~A National Teaching ~ Spring 2016 in the News In this BUMPER edition... The Place unveiling, Fairtrade Fashion Show, Apprenticeship Evening, World Book Day and much, much more!

The Place in Ringwood is finally unveiled!

oung people in Ringwood are Ycelebrating after the official opening of a new purpose built youth centre in the town by County Council Leader, Councillor Roy Perry. Unveiling a special plaque marking the official opening of ‘The Place’, Councillor Perry was joined by County Councillor Steve Rippon-Swaine, the Headteacher of Ringwood School, Chris Edwards and the Head Boy Sam Whittingham and Head Girl of Ringwood School Jade Wardle.

Marking the centre’s official opening, Councillor Perry said: “I am extremely impressed with the new facilities and hope that this will be a well-used and much valued building. The centre will offer regular activities and sports, as well as access to advice and support on a wide range of issues such as health, learning, training and employment. “It is an excellent example of local authorities coming together and working collaboratively to improve services and facilities for the benefit of Hampshire’s young people. I am very pleased that the County Council has been able to contribute to this investment for the benefit of young people. I also commend the Town Council and Ringwood’s local community for their vision and commitment to the scheme.”

Hampshire County Council contributed £400,000 to the project from its ‘Investing in Hampshire Fund’, adding to a £70,000 contribution from New Forest District Council, £75,000 from Ringwood Town Council, and £5,000 from Ringwood School. Chris Edwards, Headteacher of Ringwood School, said: “I am really proud of the positive impact Ringwood School students have had in helping to make this building a reality. The project has been developed over a number of years with the active involvement of many generations of young people. I am very grateful to the Town Council for their support in enabling young people to have a voice in shaping the future of their town. This project is a shining example of what can be achieved when groups work together for the benefit of their community. I would also like to thank New Forest District Council and for their support.”

Located next to the skate park on Carvers Playing Field, the purpose-built facility will provide a permanent base for youth-based activities and youth workers, as well as charities and voluntary organisations that provide advice and support services for young people. It also acts as a meeting place for the Town Council’s Youth Advisers, in addition to a youth club. It can also be hired for parties and events. Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 2 Headteacher’s News 'Inspired to learn, supported to succeed'

“The power of a even the most difficult obstacles if we you, you can ‘help each other’ with revision, positive mind set” are prepared to work for it. Adopting your parents will support you, giving you a positive mindset can and does have the time and space you need, helping you As we move towards a huge impact on what we achieve in with breaks and treats – all you need to do another exam season life. Negativity is destructive and never is to work hard and have the resilience to I want to take this helps – it is described as a fixed mindset keep going even when things don’t always opportunity to give go well. Don’t forget if it doesn’t work first a really important Now that programmes of study are time and you think you don’t understand it message to students, coming to an end and everyone is moving have the confidence to have another go, try parents and staff. on to revision in preparation for the another way of looking at it. It is by doing It is something I feel examinations, never has it been more this that you they build resilience and learn very passionate about and has certainly made important to adopt a positive mindset. how to deal with failure. You can’t go through a big impact on my life – it is the power that a Nothing is predetermined about our life getting it all right first time. With the positive mind set has to play on future success. achievement every step is an opportunity right belief in your potential to succeed to learn – failure should be seen as an you can and will fulfil your potential in life. I know exam time is a pressured time for opportunity to look at things in another everyone, students, parents and teachers. As way and try again, because with hard As parents you have a vital part to play in teachers we want to see our students do well, work comes success. The sky is the helping your child to be successful. Parents we have worked with them for a number of limit. You only have to research the life who adopt a positive mindset, encouraging years, getting to know them well, supporting history of successful people to see how and supporting particularly at times of failure them through good and bad times, helping them true this is. Andy Murray, Davis Cup and pressure, really do make a difference to to grow and develop into fine young people Winner in 2015, Wimbledon champion, their child’s future success. Being positive ready to take their next steps in life. Like the Grand Slam Champion and one of our really does make the difference. I grew up manager or coach on the side line when the most successful tennis players ever, said with Star Wars, I loved the films, and Luke team are playing in the cup final, we pace around there was nothing innately ‘given’ about Skywalker was a favourite of mine. In the hoping that all the hard work will pay off in the his mastery of tennis and his international film he says “I don’t believe” and Yoda replies end. For parents it is not always easy to know victories. It was a fortunate coincidence “That is why you fail”. There is a powerful what to do when the pressure mounts at exam of a supportive family, an inspirational message here. I will leave you with 10 key time, each student responds differently to the coach, facilities for practice and a brother statements – give them a go, it will change pressures – some sail through it confidently, to practise with, together with thousands how you look at things. I wish you all good others really struggle in a variety of ways. of hours of training over many years. luck and every success for the future.

I strongly believe that almost any barrier can be For each and every student sitting exams overcome with a positive attitude to learning this summer learn from Andy’s message. building on the work done over a number The teachers are the ‘inspirational coach’, Chris Edwards of years. There is no doubt that we all have the school provides all the ‘facilities you the potential to succeed, we can overcome need’, your friends will help and support Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 3

Congratulations to the Year 7 Science Team for Winning the IET FARADAY Competition!

As one of only 68 schools across the County invited, we were excited to be given the opportunity to take part in the IET Faraday Challenge day. Dr Abernethy, Science and Miss Costello, Computing & ICT teamed up to run the one day STEM activity day designed for Year 7 students, giving them the opportunity to research, design and make prototype solutions to genuinely tough engineering problems.

This year event ties in with the BBC's Make It Digital campaign and was all about working with the BBC Microbit - a pocket-sized codeable computer with motion detection, a built-in compass and Bluetooth technology. We had four Ringwood teams of six and were joined by two teams from Godolphin School, Salisbury for a bit of friendly competition.

The teams were tasked with creating a product using the Microbit (the actual task has to remain top secret) and they had fantastic fun working in teams to plan and develop their prototypes, not only developing their STEM skills but also their team working ability. Members of the team were responsible for different areas from marketing to finance - they even had to use their allocated ‘money’ to buy the resources they needed for their projects. As staff we soon realised we were going to struggle to compete with some of the ideas so hastily left it to the Year 7's! After a hectic morning of planning and making products, each team had to pitch to the panel of STEM experts. They were scored for their planning, financial records and ultimately the final product. The winning team from each event took home an Amazon voucher for themselves and an exclusive IET Faraday/ BBC micro:bit sports watch, as well as gaining a place on the league table. We are currently 8th on the country wide league table!

We all had a fantastic day watching the Year 7 teams really find their feet within their roles, come up with some fantastic ideas and work together to pitch them to a panel of highly trained engineers. What an opportunity! And as ever our students rose to the occasion. A special thanks to Dr Abernethy for her organisational skills and giving up her classroom for the day.

Article by student Abigail Scott on the winning team:

On Tuesday 9th February, four teams from our school and 2 teams from Godolphin school in Salisbury took part in the Faraday challenge where we spent a whole day designing our own codes which we then programmed into the BBC Micro:bit. We cannot give you all the secret details though - sorry! Every group had unique and different ideas that could be utilised in the real world.

After several hours of programming our Micro:Bit’s in groups, we had seven minutes to pitch our ideas to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) representative Kiera and her panel. They then marked our designs based on: presentation, our pitch, teamwork and usefulness. At the end of the day, Kiera announced the winner and that was my team (Abi Scott,Abi Walton, Ben Bull, Eleanor Smith, Jake Diggins and Isabel Hay.) We had such an amazing day that is one we will not forget it in a hurry.

Cookery competition with The Pig Chef James Golding

Year 10 Food student Tom Weethman was our Cookery Competition winner in which students had to cook and present a two-course meal within an hour and a half.

Tom’s winning menu of Asian chicken skewers, served with stir fry vegetables, and rice followed by a fruit tartlet wowed the judges with his great flavours and presentation. James Golding from The Pig, and Mary Reader President of Christchurch Food Festival said they were impressed by the high standard yet again from all of the Year 10 GCSE students taking part. Ringwood in the News Spring 2015 4 Culture and Community Exchange with

atasha Doe, in year 13, is the leader of the NStudent Leadership team's Community Committee and in her application for the role, she made the point about students' general lack of cultural awareness, through ignorance, rather than discrimination. She wanted to raise awareness of this issue so spoke to a teacher about running an event to raise the profile of cultural diversity. Tutors in Year 10 nominated students from each tutor group to be involved in the project and from here our team was formed.

Hampshire County Council held a competition for all schools open to the County to come up with an idea to spread awareness of cultural diversity in their school communities. Our team drew up a presentation for the competition, with the idea based around an exchange with a multicultural school in called Cantell, where over 50% of the students have English activities to get to know each other. Ringwood students shadowed lessons in as an additional language. We came second in the Maths and English, interviewed the Headteacher and went on a tour. We also competition and won money to fund the production had lunch with the students, in the Canteen. Louis and Lewis “felt strange as lots of information booklets for the exchange, as well as of different languages were being spoken all around them”. Summer recalls a building a large tree of hope in school as a lasting legacy moment in the girl’s bathrooms when two Asian girls were speaking in Mandarin of the project. to each other which she described as “puzzling”.

On the 22nd of January, 15 students visited Cantell. On the 28th of January, eleven Cantell students came to Ringwood School and We paired up with Cantell students and did icebreaker so for that day the whole of Year 10 were off timetable for 3 periods. At the start of the day all the tutor groups posed questions to ask the Cantell students about their experiences in a very ethnically diverse school. We then went to an assembly where Owen, from 'Hope Not Hate' spoke to us about immigration in British communities and the prejudice that comes with it. We then gave our presentation from the Hampshire School’s Challenge to our year group as this helped to set the scene for our exchange event.

Cantell students then rejoined our tutor groups and we were able to ask them questions about their culture and their school and home lives. After break, the assembly focussed on how the school works closely with our town Community. As the day came to an end we visited ‘The Place’ and the Skate Park, two projects that were initiated by groups of students. Cantell School are keen to develop links with their community and so were interested to find out what our students had achieved. Finally we took Cantell to a local café for reflection time.

We all thoroughly enjoyed this cultural experience and feel that it has opened our eyes to the wider, culturally diverse, world. Written by Summer Roberts-Nicholas, Gina Elward, Louis Harling, Lewis Ingram and Eleanor Cheetham

Neuroscience at Southampton University

In November I attended the Southampton University Neuroscience Group Sixth Form Day. From Autistic worms to a horror movie-esque mouse brain in a jar filled with electrodes, the University seemed to have everything.We started the day with a lecture presented by Professor Clive Gamble on 'Why is the human brain so big?', a simple sounding topic but he covered it in great detail. We then had lunch, after which we were given a lengthy tour of the labs.

There are 7 stations, my personal favourites being the Imaging Lab and the talk on ‘How memories are formed’. The Imaging Lab was awesome, from top to bottom it was filled with high definition imaging equipment allowing you to see cells in many different ways. As for the memory talk, I found it fascinating to find out how the human memory works. Overall I had a good day and for me it was nice to see what could be my future in the world of Neuroscience. Written by Pax Payne in Year 12 Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 5

Starlight Express Production Postponed

We were very sad to hear the postponement of our highly anticipated student production of Starlight Express ealier this term. It was due to take place between the 9th and 13th February. The difficult decision to postpone the sell-out show was an unavoidable result of irreparable damage to our temporary outside theatre.

The marquee theatre suffered severe damage due to the much-discussed Storm Imogen. A team of staff members spent many hours during the weekend of 7th February attempting to prevent further damage occurring, untangling electronic cables and rescuing expensive equipment. Sadly the marquee had suffered a serious tear and needed to be taken down. Everyone involved was devastated. Hundreds of hours of hard work and rehearsals from dedicated students and staff had taken place over several months and the production was a sell-out well in advance of the opening night.

We are pleased that the insurance claim we made against the costs incurred has been accepted. The production is entirely funded by ticket sales from performing arts events throughout the year, and, this year, by sponsorship from local businesses. We can now happily say the show must go on and we have now rescheduled the production to take place in the summer term, between the 28th June and 2nd July. Tickets will be on sale after the Easter Holiday. Friends of the Ringwood School Arts Foundation receive priority booking.

The Year 7 Kindness Tree

tarting has been a big event in the lives of the Year 7's so far, and Sthey recognise how important it has been to support each other at this time. The students have been following one of the aims of Ringwood School ‘Help others when you can’ by looking at ways to be kind to each other and have created a kindness tree as a visual representation. Kindness was also the theme of the first Year 7 student led assembly recently and the year group continues to look for ways to spread kindness, including supporting many local charities.

Marwell Zoo Conservation Visit

Conservation of different species of living organisms is an issue we all need to consider. Extinction is a natural process, but the influence of man on the environment has increased the rate of extinction of a number of living organisms. Year 12 Biology students went on a visit to Marwell Zoo to learn more about the role of zoos in conservation, including the use of breeding and reintroduction programmes. From our visit to Marwell Zoo we attended a conference to learn about how each species on the planet is organised, named, and tracked in their populations worldwide. Marwell is involved in many conservation programmes with the aims to conserve endangered species, educate people, and reintroduce animals into the wild. This work is done both at the zoo itself, but also in different countries where the habitat of these organisms is naturally found. It was fascinating to see how our A-Level Biology course linked in to aspects of biodiversity and the conservation work of the zoo including the role of genetics and social and political issues with conservation. We learned what a complex issue conservation is, and how our learning in the classroom is related to work in the wider world. Written by Emily Cartwright Yr 12 Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 6

Ringwood School celebrates World Book Week 2016!

World Book Day 2016 was celebrated by Ringwood School through a fantastic week long array of activities and events, involving many students and staff. Staff shared their favourite book at the beginning of every lesson, explaining to students why they had chosen it and how it had inspired them to read. Book at Breaktime started with a huge crowd of students, of all ages, listening to “The Magic Finger” by Roald Dahl. It was read by a different member of staff each day and continued over the following 2 weeks.

The biggest success of the week was undoubtedly the much-anticipated visit from award-winning author, Craig Simpson. Speaking to Year 7 students, Craig presented certificates and signed books to members of Reading Club and discussed his life as an author and the amazing true stories that have inspired his own works of fiction. After school, he sold and signed his books donating some money to the Teenage Cancer Trust for all copies of “Daniel” sold. He also hosted talks with Year 6 pupils and their parents from the nearby junior school to emphasise the importance of reading.

Students particularly enjoyed staff members’ ongoing reading of books during break-times in the Library and the ‘Book Swap’ that took place on World Book Day where students could buy new and bargain books using their WBD tokens supported by Fordingbridge Bookshop. The week was a triumph, leaving many students inspired.

Question Time for Year 11

n December 11th 2015, Year 11 students were given the opportunity to meet Desmond Swayne (local MP), ONina Rathbone (Human Rights Lawyer/ex-student), Bobby Moth (Associate Director of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust), Cllr Emma Lane, Chris Edwards and Chris Lockyer (Chair) who provided the students with promient discussion about relevant news items in the form of the popular and thought-provoking BBC show 'Question Time'.

During tutor time, students engaged in interactive discussions on topics such as education, the NHS, and the recent immigration and refugee moement. Each Year 11 Tutor Group contributed a question on each of the topics. From these questions, one was selected for a member of each Tutor Group to ask the ‘Question Time’ panel.

The discussions that followed gave students an insight into current affairs locally and nationally, as well as supplying multiple contrasting views, entitling students to form their own opinions on topical issues. It was a really beneficial and enjoyable morning for everyone.

L-T: Rt Hon Desmond Swayne (Conservative MP for the New Forest), Cllr Emma Lane (Councillor for Ringwood East and Sopley), Nina Rathbone (Human Rights Lawyer), Chris Lockyer (Chair), Chris Edwards (Headteacher), Bobby Moth (Associate Director for South Health NHS Foundation Trust) Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 7

The Big London Night Walk 2016

Ringwood School Sixth Form students' 5th year supporting The Big Big Night Walking Issue Foundation on the Big London Night Walk raised nearly £4000 for this worthwile charity, helping to continue its support for some Late night walking, Talking through the city streets of the most vulnerable people in our society. With the motto “A hand Where around us most are now asleep up, not a hand out”, this relatively small charity is there to support people, who turn to them at a time of personal crisis. We had the privilege of chatting to But not them some of those people, the Big Issue vendors themselves, as well as the CEO of The Big Issue Stephen Robertson, who joined us along the route. Street to square Noises everywhere People not there Friday March 11th was a clear crisp night; a perfect backdrop to our 13 mile sponsored walk through London, giving us the very best views of the famous, But them and less well known, streets, sights and land marks. Starting from St John’s Church Waterloo, the circular route took us past the bright blue London Eye, Walking, talking Then bursting into silence along The Embankment, past Shakespeare’s Globe, over the Millennium Bridge We, the night walkers, saunter by the leafy park with its unique chewing gum art. Then, in stark contrast, led us through heaving Covered by the dark Soho and down the length of Oxford Street. Rest stops were provided every 3-4 miles and at the first of these students met James Bowen, author of “A Gated to them, though streetcat named Bob”, and Bob himself, perched as always on James’ shoulders; Night thinking he was obviously well photographed! Coffee drinking Moving through this city, As the night wore on, feet became sore, knees and hips ached and exhaustion Living, breathing, pretty descended, but we were constantly reminded of our cause as tucked in dark doorways, and on cold benches we were faced with the reality of sleeping on Except for them; its underbelly the streets of the capital. We are visitors sharing in moments That are vital components Our students were amazing…all 36 of them; they kept in good spirits Of an understanding throughout, taking the challenge, and the blisters, in their stride! During the Of the lives dismissed lead up to the event itself they were busy fundraising in a variety of ways And nightly risked As politicians move their pawns including selling doughnuts, washing cars, organising afternoon teas and gaining support from friends and family. Our top fund-raisers were Andrew Nagel- Let us not forget about them Smith, Iona Spence-Dingle, Ella Prentice, Grace Taylor, Callum Renton, Megan Doble, Kristy Gray and Holly Barber. Thank you to all students who took This is a cry for the ‘them’ we see part…your efforts have really helped to make a difference to the lives of But don’t look at This is the song for the ‘them’ we hear others. But don’t listen to This is the song for the ‘them’, the worser part of ourselves that we won’t admit to But need to

Society should judge itself by the plight of its weakest Let’s strengthen our resolve to help those that need us

Let them become us and then we can be complete Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 8 Ringwood Young Classical Musician of The Year Award 2016

On 9th March, young performers took to the stage to perform in the Ringwood Young Classical Musician of the Year competition. They performed to a panel of judges who marked them for the accuracy of their playing, their interpretation and the overall impression and presentation of their performance.

Judge Hannah Murphy, who trained at the Royal College of Music as a clarinetist, commented on the very high standard of performances and how enjoyable the event was. She also gave students ideas on how they could improve their performances and techniques in the future.

The Junior Category (Years 7-10) was won by Year 8 student Martha Potts who performed Oginski’s Polonaise on the flute. The runner-up was Lucy Robb. Performers in the senior category (Year 11-13) treated the audience to Grade 8 performances on flute, bassoon, trumpet and piano. Year 13 student Callum Salisbury won the group, performing Chopin’s Polonaise in F# minor, with Ross Campbell being awarded runner-up.

Well done to all students who performed!

Apprenticeship fair is Huge Success! March saw the Careers department celebrate the National Careers Week at Ringwood School. We held our annual Apprenticeship Evening in the Dining Hall and the Main Hall, inviting students and parents of Years 11 – 13 to come along and hear about apprenticeships from a variety of local companies, training providers and colleges.

Companies such as Cobham, Go SkyDive, QinetiQ, Princecroft Willis and J.P. Morgan were all in attendance, providing useful advice and information.

Apprenticeships are a fantastic option for those who would like to earn a wage whilst working alongside experienced staff. Working towards nationally recognised qualifications, apprentices can expect to earn a minimum salary of £3.30 per hour; however many apprentices earn significantly more.There are over 250 different types of apprenticeships available in a range of industry sectors, from engineering to boat building, veterinary nursing or accountancy.

If you would like to find out more, come visit us in the Careers Room. We are happy to help you explore the opportunities out there. Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 9 Sustainability Group host the Fairtrade Fashion Show 2016!

The Ringwood School Fairtrade group did an amazing job at putting together a Fairtrade Fashion Show and market place on the evening of 7th March to support the Fairtrade Fortnight.

The market place was buzzing with Fairtrade stalls including Timber, Waitrose and several groups of students supporting different charities and campaigns. The Year 9 food technology students made some delicious brownies and muffins with Fairtrade ingredients donated by Waitrose. Fairtrade refreshments were donated by the Co-op.

During the event attendants enjoyed making their own Fairtrade smoothies using the pedal powered smoothie maker and ingredients donated by Sainsbury’s. The Fairtrade fashion show showcased clothing from Fairtrade manufactures including Bibico, Nomads and People Tree and footballs by Bala Sport. Students and staff also modelled clothing by local charity shops such as the Trussel Trust, Oxfam and the Red Cross. A touch of glamour was added with prom dresses from Calm amongst the Chaos.

Ringwood School is committed to supporting Fairtrade; with Fairtrade we have the power to change the world every day. With one simple choice we can get farmers a better deal. And that means they can make their own decisions, control their futures and lead the dignified life everyone deserves.

Sixth Form visit to BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions

Friday January 29th, Holly Barber, Florence Seddo-Trapey, Cameron Colquhoun and I were lucky enough to be part of the audience at a live episode of BBC's 'Any Questions?' at the Purbeck School in Wareham hosted by Jonathon Dimbleby and with a panel consisting of Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, Conservative backbencher John Redwood, Labour MP Giselle Stuart and Lord Hennessy. It was a brilliant event, with aspects of audience participation and a panel with a wide enough range of views and ideologies to interest any viewer.

Questions posed ranged from 'What did you have for breakfast?' to 'Is the government right to subsidise nuclear energy and support fracking but withdraw support for wind and solar energy?' No matter the question, the responses from the panel members consistently differentiated one from another, most noticeably with the opinions of Redwood and Lucas debated from two entirely opposing sides of any argument.

The audience itself was a very responsive and involved group, posing insightful follow-up questions and answering 'any questions' asked by David Dimbleby. One aspect that seemed to be prevalent throughout the programme was the audience's viewpoint on each question – in other words, which panel member they supported. A significant majority of the audience was very supportive of Caroline Lucas, with the opposite being true for John Redwood, with all bar a few audience members quietly muttering disapproval at his responses. Although the main aspect of the programme was to hear the opinions of the panel, I thoroughly enjoyed the flair and style of David Dimbleby's presentation as chair of the event – a composed blend of intelligence and humour that kept the audience 'all-ears' to everything that he and the panel were debating.

On so many levels, be it as a student of politics, media or simply interested in current affairs, the event fascinated. Of great interest was how the entire event was managed – from a warm-up session to engage audience participation, to the entrance of the ‘team’, to hearing the 8.00 pm news, followed by the countdown to going live on air. It was a small insight into the well-oiled broadcasting machine of the BBC. However, of the 10 questions posed by the audience, there was time for just 6 to be discussed. Although I did find this slightly disappointing, as I was fascinated by the views of the panel and would have loved to have heard even more from them, the reason for the shortfall was because of the depth and passion of the discussions they provoked. Written by Jacob Iles in Yr 12 Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 10 NEWS FROM THE P.E. DEPARTMENT

The Netball Season so far…

All of the netball teams have been in competitive action this term. The season started with all teams contending in their area tournaments. The Year 9 team finished as runners up overall losing in the final to by just one goal and the Year 10/11 combined team finished 3rd overall after losing in their semi-final to the overall winners. The Year 7 and 8 teams fought bravely but were knocked out in the group stages, however teamwork and movement on court is getting stronger and stronger with each game and we are loving the singing on the minibus! In the league, at the time of writing, the Year 9 and 10/11 team are undefeated and look set to win both team titles. We hope that this will secure them progression to division 1 next year which will give the girls more of a challenge. Meanwhile, the Year 7 & 8 teams have struggled with their results in their division 1 league but show determination to hopefully finish the season strongly.

We would like to take the opportunity to thank Mrs Michelle Ford (parent helper) for her additional help with umpiring during the season.

Year 10 Hampshire Cup Finalists:

What a season it has been for the U15’s Rugby team. Advancing to the Hampshire Cup Semi-Final they were drawn against Jonny Wilkinson’s’ old school, , at home. A fantastic effort from the boys (in front of a record crowd) saw them victorious against their more illustrious opponents 37-24. The team performed amazingly with Adam Kalim scoring a hat trick in a man of the match display, securing a place in the final against Portsmouth Grammar School. In the final, against the defending champions, Ringwood started the game brilliantly, with some slick handling and big hits – they thoroughly deserved their first try, scored by Aaron Moritzen, to cancel out the PGS score early on. The game was in the balance at half time, but PGS scored a couple of quick tries after the break to take the game away from Ringwood and went on to be victorious with several more tries before the end. The boys can be very proud of their achievement in becoming Hampshire Cup Finalists, and taking the honour as best state school in the County! There so much to look forward to next year with the ultimate aim of going one step further and be crowned champions!

PE Prefects:

The PE department are delighted to announce that 31 Year 10 students have successfully undergone their training and have been awarded the full status of ‘PE Prefect’. The students have worked tirelessly leading lunchtime activities to younger students. The role has developed students’ experience in leadership, organisation, officiating and coaching working alongside PE department, and we are very proud of the work they are doing. Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 11 NEWS FROM THE P.E. DEPARTMENT

Girls Football Girls Rugby

It was agreed at a New Forest School Sport Partnership meeting Year 7/8 Girls have gone from strength to strength in rugby since that PE departments in the Forest would try to develop Girls starting in September. Most girls had never played rugby before, so School Football. As a result, our Year 7 and 8 girls played in their this was a new and exciting challenge for them. On the 29th Feb, first Forest Schools Tournament – and showed their dominance they had their first game against . Kate Wadeley throughout. Both teams won all games and are clearly a force scored three tries, and Ines Berthier expertly dodged and weaved to be reckoned with. We hope that more tournaments and a through the opposing team to score a couple of tries too. On the potential league will follow in September! 3rd March the girls competed in an all-day Hampshire Schools Girls Rugby Tournament. They went up to Basingstoke RFC where they played against many other teams from across Hampshire. They played four games in the morning and four games in the afternoon, it was a long tiring day but the girls played brilliantly – congratulations and well done to all involved.

Table Tennis

Our Table Tennis team has been strengthened with the arrival of Fu Tiang in Year 9 (pictured). Fu finished 2nd in the New Forest Level 2 competition in January and was scouted by a national league coach at the event. We wish him well in the County finals. Students involved: Lilli Tyler, Talya Harpin, Renee Williams, Matilda Hewlett, Kate Wadeley, Catarina Cunha, Ellie May Rawles, Ines Berthier, Tatiana Cunha, Amy Stewart, Isla Woolfenden

MVP: Block 3 winners

The Physical Education Department’s Most Valuable Performer (MVP) is a prestigious title awarded to one male and one female in each year group, for each activity block. Nomination for this award is therefore high praise indeed, with around 250+ students in each year group.

Student nominated for this award have been identified as being exceptional in one of the following areas: outstanding effort; excellent leadership skills; commitment to learning; the ability to learn independently; extra-curricular success; excellent progress and County honours: improvement; or outstanding performances in lesson.

Three members of the All nominees have their names displayed on the MVP notice board in successful U15’s Rugby Team the corridor outside the assembly hall – congratulations to all Block have been have been selected 3 winners! for the Hampshire RFC Rugby squad. This followed two trials which saw 200 Block 3 Winners Girls Boys players nominated from Year 7 Caroline Bedford Mogan Sommerseth Schools and Rugby Clubs Year 8 Georgina Broomfield Finlay Searle across Hampshire compete for places. Against very Year 9 Maeve Bailey Luke Linney strong completion they have Year 10 Emma Rabbets Adam Kalin been selected to represent Year 11 Claire Wardle Jordan Knight Hampshire in their upcoming fixture against Surrey and Sussex. Owen Dingle (10U) is representing the U15’s team, and Connor Marshall (9L) and James Morris (9L) are representing the U14’s team. Congratulations to all three of you, and we look forward to hearing all about the season! Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 12 NEWS FROM THE P.E. DEPARTMENT

Sports Awards Evening 2016: PE Inter-form 2015 -16

The date for annual celebration of has been confirmed as Friday This half term, Year 7 and Year 8 have spent two weeks competing 8th July. The evening recognises and celebrates the successes in Inter-form Competitions in a variety of sports in their PE and the exceptional sporting achievements of this academic year. lessons. Unfortunately the weather was a big hindrance for the Awards that are presented include Sport Personality of the Year competitions this year, with one half of Year 7 and Year 8 missing and Young Leader of The Year, as well as Most Improved Player, their hockey competition. However, enthusiasm (as always) Most Valuable Player and Players Player of the Year for the team has been fantastic and the results were very close, particularly sports. If you would be interesting in sponsoring a section of the for the table tennis. Well done to everyone who took park evening please contact email Michelle.Barker-Garrod@ringwood. and represented their Tutor Group, and congratulations to the hants.sch.uk . Sport Year 7 Winners Year 8 Winners Hockey 7N 8S Netball 7N and 7D 8L and 8S Table Tennis 7R and 7W 8U and 8L Rugby 7R and 7D 8W

Year 8 Young Leaders of the Year Mary Copplestone and Zach Lillis receiving their awards in 2015. Year 7 boys getting ready to play! Football

Ringwood Year 8 boys finished this year’s fixtures by putting in a delightful and well organised defensive performance against a strong Noadswood team where, for the majority of the game, they were under pressure but managed to get two goals on the break from Jackson Angell to win the game 2-0. Some players were making their debuts for the team but it did not show. Lucas (GK) made some fine saves to keep Noadswood at bay and the defence’s hard work paid off when Jackson was put through one on one with the keeper and cheekily lobbed him from the end of the six yard box. Ringwood went in 1-0 up at halftime. In the second half Noadswood piled on more pressure having a lot of the ball but were unable to break down the team effectively and Ringwood sealed the win when Jackson was put through again with a long ball from defence to lob the keeper again but this time from about 30 yards out! A great goal and a fantastic overall team performance. MVP went to Lucas Main for his fantastic saves and keeping a clean sheet.

It has been a very up and down football season for the Year 7s so far, with them winning just one of their opening four games. However they are a new team, who haven’t played together for very long and you can’t fault their enthusiasm. All the students have been ready to play and up for the match each week and they really have put their all into each game. With just three games remaining hopefully they can pull together and get the results they both want and deserve.

Year 9 are currently tied top of the table with a 100% win record with impressive victories against Burgate, Hounsdown, Testwood and Noadswood. A final game showdown against fellow table toppers Priestlands will decide New Forest honours!

Year 10 & 11: There has been a competitive rivalry between the Year 10 and Year 11 football teams this term. In a ‘friendly’ fixture organised earlier this term, the Year 10’s upstaged their peers winning 5-4, with Year 11 missing a penalty with the last kick of the game. A rematch was ordered by both sides and with the 2nd game finishing 2-2, penalties were required to split the teams. This time revenge was sweet as Year 11 successfully converted all their penalties to avenge the defeat in the first game. With one win each, a final decider will be played to settle the bragging rights, before both sides play Corfe Hills.

Sponsorship

Although our new PE kit looks fantastic, we are looking to purchase a number of new team kits that our students can wear when playing in competitive fixtures at tournaments and fixtures. These kits would be seen in publication materials such as this, our school website and more widely by the general public when the students perform. If you are interested in sponsoring a football, rugby, hockey or netball kit and would like to know more details please email [email protected] . Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 13

Free GCSEPod Service available to students

Ringwood Academy currently subscribes to a service called GCSEPod which is completely free to your son or daughter and which we believe will be of great benefit to them during the remainder of their time in Year 11.

GCSEPod has over 3,500 teacher-written, audio-visual podcasts produced specifically for mobile devices and containing all the right facts, quotes, keywords, dates and annotated diagrams that students need for GCSE success. The GCSEPod website can be viewed on mobiles, tablets and PCs and the podcasts can be downloaded for offline viewing. The podcasts are also mapped to the curriculum and are designed to support students in the classroom, with their home learning and during exam time.

All students have already been registered with GCSEPod and so simply need to activate their account and choose a username and password. Students have received their login details and we recommend that you discuss GCSEPod with your son or daughter, ensure that they have their login details to enter the site and encourage them to make use of this service throughout their year. If any student does not know their login details they should see Miss Tiernan or email to request the log in to be reset.

Once logged in, students can search for podcasts by keyword, by a specific exam or by subject area. Students can create their own personalised learning playlists which can be easily downloaded for offline viewing. Help guides explaining how to use the site are available at www.gcsepod.com/help

If you have any questions regarding the GCSEPod service please contact Miss Àine Tiernan - Subject Leader of Psychology.

National Science week Equestrian Team Win Every year the British Science Association runs a National Science Week with the aim of getting everybody involved and On 20th February we took a team to Sparsholt engaged in Science. There are events running all across the country Equestrian Centre for a show jumping at universities, colleges and schools, and this year we Ringwood took competition. The team was Jasmine Lomax, Ollie part again with every Tutor Group running a small experiment. Preston, Aaron Coombes and Leah Hayden. Science is all about curiosity and trying to discover what the real There was strong competition from about 15 other answer is, so we were curious to know the answer to a simple, but very schools, however our team had good rounds and the important question, ‘Why doesn’t the colour from Skittles mix?’ fastest overall time which meant we ended up winning

the class! This means that we have qualified to represent The answer to such a basic question seems far from certain, and Hampshire at the National Schools Championship in April. chemists around the world have been discussing what might be the Aaron had a fast, clear round and came 5th individually reason – at the moment there doesn’t seem to be a clear answer, but out of over 50 entrants, so overall it was a very successful maybe one of our Tutor Groups has worked it out this week. day. Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 14 Technology Section It is that time of the year when the Technology Department is buzzing all day and after school as students across Year 11,12 and 13 are working incredibly hard on completing their final project practical outcomes and design portfolios. As Head of Department I have been extremely impressed with student’s commitment and determination to achieve high standards, all of whom have been well supported by dedicated staff. Photos below give a flavour of what has been achieved so far.

We would like to thank Howdens Joinery in Ringwood who have recently donated a stock of discounted wooden doors. This will provide students with more variety of materials to choose from during the manufacture of bespoke high quality projects.

Yr11 Katherine Risbridger Yr 11 Charlotte Amos Yr 11 Jude Verhoeven Jewellery Storage Desk Tidy Sotrage Unit

Yr 12 Charlotte Cearns Yr 11 Skye Snapes Yr 11 Sam Frullo Yr 11 Amy Bomphery Docking Station Perfume Bottle & Packaging Portable Sunglassess & Packaging

Ringwood & New Milton Pedal Car Grand Prix

An enthusiastic Engineering team of Year 8,9 and 10 students have joined forces to design, build and hopefully race a pedal car at the Ringwood and New Milton Pedal Car Grand Prix this year.

Race day is scheduled to take place on the 10th July 2016 and the team have a considerable amount of work to do if they are to get to the starting line on time. Since our first meeting before half term we have been busy working on finalising design ideas and started to manufacture the main chassis and steering components. Our team of expert go-kart racers Ethan Haynes, Finley Meech and Aaron Harpin have been demonstrating sound engineering and mechanical knowledge through researching and selecting suitable parts and components to give us a competitive edge.

The team have already secured sponsorship to financially support the build and our thanks goes out to Reventec Ltd and South Pole Cleaning as this has really helped get the project off the ground.

If you would like to sponsor our pedal car or get involved, please do not hesitate to contact [email protected] Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 15 Technology Section

Rotary Technology Tournament

As a reward for hard work and commitment in lessons, the Technology department selected students from Year 9 and 12 to represent Ringwood School at the annual Rotary Technology Tournament held at Bournemouth Collegiate School on Thursday 10th March. Over 50 teams from different schools took part in the whole day event that included a complex challenge to design, build and test a lifting bridge. As new comers to the annual competition Ringwood teams certainly raised some eye brows and did the school proud as teams secured a 3rd place overall in both the Key Stage 3 and 5 categories. Well done to all who took part.

Bake On!

Students in Year 7 who were inspired by 'The Great British Bake Off' last summer, joined the Ringwood School Cooking Club ‘Bake On!’ in the Autumn term. Students have learned and demonstrated various skills and made some amazing creations including breadstick sparklers and bonfire cupcakes for bonfire night, gingerbread reindeers for Christmas, and a healthier twisted chicken wrap which would rival the version from a well know fast food chain! Most recently students made some amazing mini pizzas, making, kneading and shaping their own bread dough, adding toppings, cooking and washing up, all in little over an hour at the end of the school day. The 'Bake On!' students have enjoyed the sessions and say ‘really exciting but also educational’, ‘it teaches us skills for life!’ and ‘very good, it’s great to do something new every time’.

For more information about the club, please speak to Mrs Mitchell or Mr Furie.

Kneading and topping mini-pizzas and the final product!

Breadstick sparklers and bonfire cupcakes! Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 16

“To Agree or Not To Agree?” That is the Question “The Poor Should Never Moan about the Super-Rich” 1 “If you cause your own illness by what you put into your body, you should pay for your own treatment” 2

These are just two of the debates discussed and voted on at the Wednesday lunchtime Debating Club so far this academic year. Each week students from Years 7 to 9 gather in Ethics and Philosophy where they prepare arguments in groups, either disagreeing or agreeing with the week’s chosen subject. Those social, moral, spiritual and cultural issues are either based on recent news items, student chosen topics or seasonal timings. Examples include: “Screen time should be limited to 1 hour a day” following a recent health report; “People with disabilities should be given the same job opportunities as everyone else” was a student chosen topic; “Santa should be done for animal cruelty” was a seasonal debate! Alongside the skill of presenting arguments, students encourage one another to think in different ways about the topics; listen to one another; and have some fun along the way. One of the Year 8 regulars commented recently, “I enjoy coming to Debating Club because we get chance to think about different topics. I have fun with my friends, while we eat our lunch, and I like hearing what other people say.” When asked what they thought of the voting at the end of each session, they commented, “Sometimes I am surprised when lots of people vote differently to me. It makes me think even more about the topic.” With the support of the two Ethics and Philosophy Principle Students, Debating Club continues to grow in numbers and quality of debate as students think through serious, and not so serious, life issues.

1 Agree: 2 Disagree: 16 2 Agree: 16 Disagree: 7

Science staff swim for dorset and somerset air ambulance

Staff from the Science Department completed the Lions Club Swimathon on Sunday 13th March. The event is swum as a continuous relay over the course of 40 minutes with only one team member allowed in the water at a time. We completed a very respectable 51.5 laps (103 lengths) in our allotted time beating the Sixth Form boys in the lane next to us by 3 lengths! Most importantly we raised over £150 to be shared between Lion’s Club projects in the local community and the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

Food around the World

Year 11 GCSE Food & Nutrition students have been cooking some amazing high quality International dishes for their Food Study Task “Food Around the World”. Here is just a “taste!”

Claire Wardle - Italy - Focaccia Amelia Williams - China - Stir Fry Emily Howard - Japan - Sushi Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 17

Another Successful Health Fair for Sixth Form The Health Fair is an annual event run by Year 12 Health and Social Care students to educate their peers on health issues affecting young people. On Thursday 3rd March just before 9 o'clock, every member of the AS Health and Social Care class was hurriedly sorting out their stands as we had to present, promote and educate fellow Sixth Formers about various topics. As part of our AS coursework we have to plan and implement a health promotion campaign, as well as evaluating the success of our campaign following the event. This year a variety of organisations and health care professionals supported us in the preparation of our event including; the Anthony Nolan Trust (who work to save the lives of people with blood cancer and blood disorders through blood and stem cell donation), CoppaFeel (who aim to stamp out late detection of breast cancer) and Solent Mind (addressing mental health issues in young people).

The Health Fair lasted from 9am until 12 midday and for most of this time the common room was packed with Sixth Formers and teachers moving from stand to stand, eager to find out more about each campaign. The sheer number of Sixth Formers visiting the campaign stands was remarkable, proven by many groups having to restock their information leaflets during the morning.

This year each of the groups went to tremendous effort to ensure that Sixth Formers were attracted to their stands and encouraged to take part in the planned activities. Members of the CoppaFeel team wore giant balloon filled breasts to increase the awareness of breast cancer symptoms, whilst the Chlamydia screening stand encouraged individuals to get involved in their campaign by providing individuals who took a Chlamydia screening test with free underwear! Raising the awareness of Chlamydia screening is essential as Chlamydia is the most common sexually transmitted disease in 16-25 year olds, often has no symptoms and can lead to infertility.

The atmosphere at the Health Fair throughout the three hours was a really positive one, and the Common Room was buzzing and bursting with so many people. There was a certain unity and friendliness surrounding the whole event, as Sixth Formers came together to learn about health related issues. Saskia Cane, an AS Health and Social Care student, spoke about the event: "I thought that people showed a genuine interest in our campaigns and went away with beneficial knowledge and had a good experience." Emily Cooper said: “It was really interesting to take part in such a fun event. It felt good to present such a taboo but important topic to our peers in a light-hearted and fun way, and as a result of this our stand was very popular with our fellow sixth formers!’ Beth Coatsworth and Esme Hayes Payne talked about their experiences at the health fair hosting the CoppaFeel testicular and breast cancer stand: ‘Campaigning for ‘CoppaFeel’ was enjoyable and great fun. We were very successful in educating the students on breast and testicular cancer awareness and our interactive activity encouraged everyone into getting involved!’

Medlink experience for year 12 student oscar jenkinson n December I went to Nottingham to participate in an event called Medlink. It consisted Iof three days designed to give you an insight into medicine; you hear from various medical specialists, surgeons, paediatricians, general practitioners and even from current medical school students.

would definitely recommend this course if you are considering a career in medicine, or have an interest in I science. Across the weekend you experience ‘uni life’ staying in student halls and attending lectures. I found it beneficial as before going I was unsure as to what a career in medicine would entail, however after learning about the requirements to get into medical school and with a clear idea regarding the specialist area I would like to pursue, I feel I’ve been able to make an informed decision. Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 18

Sixth form Art trip to Madrid February 2016

During February half term 27 Sixth Form Art and Photography students enjoyed three days in sunny Madrid exploring the sights and sounds of the city. It was a fast paced, whistle stop tour with so much to see and do in only three days. Madrid is a vibrant city with a buzzing atmosphere. It is home to some of the world’s most famous art galleries, and we were lucky enough to visit four of them.

First up was the Caixa Forum. This extraordinary building is one of Madrid's most eye-catching landmarks. Seeming to hover above the ground, it is topped by an intriguing summit of rusted iron and on an adjacent wall is a vertical wall of living greenery almost four story’s high. Inside the building is equally stunning with four floors awash with stainless steel and soaring ceilings. Here we enjoyed a retrospective exhibition of the work of Joan Miro as well as plenty of photographic opportunities. Next up was the Reina Sofía which houses Madrid’s premier collection of contemporary art. It is home to Picasso’s Guernica, arguably Spain’s single-most famous art work. The collection spans the 20th century and features plenty of paintings by Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró and is housed in a fascinating building which has mirrored roofs casting incredible reflections of the city streets into the sky.

Our 3rd stop was the Thyssen-Bornemisza. With over 1,600 paintings, it was once the second largest private collection in the world. The gallery houses a vast range of artistic styles with plenty of big name artists all under one roof. Everyone was staggered by the prospect of such a collection of paintings being owned by one family! Our last gallery was the world famous Prado, Spain’s biggest museum. It features

one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the 12th to 19th centuries. The scale of the building is a little unnerving and knowing that the collection comprises 7,600 paintings, 1,000 sculptures, 4,800 prints and 8,200 drawings our visit merely skimmed the surface, but it was enough to astound and amaze us with the skill of the masters on display.

Other trip hi-lights included alfresco lunch lake-side in the city’s Royal Retiro Park, a delicious tapas meal, an amazing flamenco show and plenty of time stomping the pavements taking in the markets, palaces and piazza’s of this amazing city. We may have only been there a short time, but it was enough to entice everyone to return again to see more of what Madrid has to offer!

London Visit

We travelled to London to visit many areas which we have studied in Geography and experience for ourselves various urban issues which we had extensively covered in class. We stayed right in the centre of London next to the London Eye and the River Thames allowing us to experience the hustle and bustle of our capital city.

Travelling by Underground and River Taxi we visited areas including the Olympic Park and Canary Wharf which really bought the case studies alive and enabled us to explore them further. The highlight of the trip was definitely climbing over the O2. It gave us an incredible view over the whole of London and allowed us to see areas of decay and decline as well as areas of immense wealth. It was a great trip which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.

Written by Millie Wells and Jenna Brewer Yr13 Ringwood in the News Spring 2016 19

Return to Teaching?

Ringwood School is calling for talented people who already hold Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) who have taken some time out of the classroom but who are now ready to return to teaching. There’s lots of support available to help you become one of the thousands of teachers who come back to the profession each year.

The Secondary Return to Teaching (SRT) programme is open to colleagues who already hold QTS but who have been out of the profession for whatever reason. This is a fully funded programme that is delivered at no cost to the participant. It is totally bespoke and can fit in with current working or home situations. The programme is specifically targeted at the EBacc subject (English, Maths, Science, History, Geography and MFL) however we would also like to hear from colleagues in other subject areas across the curriculum at secondary level.

Clare Adams, Deputy Headteacher said: “We are looking for previously qualified teachers who for whatever reasons have been out of the classroom and are looking for a route back in. Working in partnership with Arnewood School, Queen Elizabeth’s School and the University of Southampton we are able to customise the training to meet the needs of the individual. It is a great way to get back up to speed and be supported into rejoining the teaching profession.”

There’s plenty of support for Returners. The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) is on hand to help talented people find the right outer back into teaching so they can start making a difference again. “The strangest part was that teaching my first lesson in almost 6 years did not seem strange. It was almost as if no time had elapsed. Systems change and methods change but children don’t change.” Joy Tiffin, returning maths teacher.

Around 35,000 teachers need to be recruited into the profession every year. To help with this, NCTL runs an annual recruitment campaign Your Future: Their Future which plays a key role in attracting new entrants as well as returning teachers.

For further information on how the return to teaching programme could support you please register at www.education.gov.uk/return-to-teaching- registration. You can also visit www.education.gov.uk/returners where you’ll find a link to the resources page for returning teachers.

Ringwood School will be offering a “Return to Teaching” information day by for anybody interested in finding out what a bespoke package of support could look like through the Ringwood School Alliance. Please email [email protected] to take your first steps back into the classroom.

Remembrance day in Belgium for Year 9 n the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, 52 year 9 students joined in the Service of ORemembrance at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, Belgium alongside thousands of people from both sides of the WW1 conflict.

e had marched from Ypres Cathedral to the Gate, Wwhere, surrounded by the names of 54,389 fallen men who have no marked grave, we laid our wreath and poppies. We stood for two minutes silence reflecting on the sacrifice of all those that the war consumed, and also what our lives would be like without their sacrifice and what they themselves could have achieved if it had not been for the War.

I lay a personal wreath at the grave of my great, great uncle Frederick who died at Loos fighting with the Canadian infantry. But the visit was not just about visiting monuments to the casualties of war. We were able to experience real life in the trenches and the pitch black tunnels that linked them and see battle scars like the vast Lochnaggar crater. Finally we concluded our visit to Belgium with a visit to one of their finest chocolate factories and the all-important factory shop! Written by Henry Paton in Yaer 9 Ever thought about a Career in Teaching? Then Ringwood School National Academy could help You....

Inspire the next generation Embark on a fresh and exciting new career Have an average salary of £23K Discover that no two days are the same! Interested? Got a Degree 2:2 or Above? Our vision is to train teachers locally to ensure high quality professionals remain in the local area for the good of our community and learners. We are pleased to offer you the opportunity to train through our alliance of schools. We offer places to future teachers in a wide range of secondary subjects as well as primary. Find out more [email protected] www.ringwood.hants.sch.uk