June 2011 The Monthly Celebratory Newsletter The Accolade from County Upper School Dear parents, students, staff and governors, Barcelona and our year thirteen leavers’ ball head a list of other highlights across the age and ability range which June's highlight is always our Art and Design exhibition span all areas of the curriculum, reflect our core values and this year's was as exceptional as ever. I am particu- and our commitment to service and the community. larly grateful to architects', Pick Everard, for their gener- Alongside all this activity, students from year ten through ous sponsorship of the event again this year. This to year thirteen have impressed us with their unfailingly month we also always enjoy meeting our new students excellent conduct and determination to do their best in all and their families. Once again, the pupils were a real this summer's public examinations. credit to all their many middle schools and we are look- ing forward to working with them. Our sports tour to Mrs V Neale Photographers are highly commended This month saw the judging of the photographic Photo: competition, "My Bury St Edmunds" celebrating the Katie Thomas Bury Society's fortieth anniversary year. We were delighted that five of our students gained highly commended certificates in the age 14-18 category and have their photographs displayed in the winners' gallery. We congratulate year ten students, Lizzie Flowers and Nathan Rackham, together with Theo Harris, Katie Thomas and Kate Welby from year twelve. We thank Miss Cole, Mr Hodgson and Mr Janssens for organising our entries. Photo: Kate Welby We also congratulate Gareth Denney in year eleven whose photograph won the ‘See it, snap it, send it’ competition in the Bury Free Press this month. Visiting author is impressed Patrick Ness, the award winning author and the first Writer in Residence at the Booktrust, joined us for an afternoon in our library this month. Almost one hundred students from years nine and ten were privileged to meet him and hear him talk about becoming an author and how to write. He then read an extract from his first book and talked about it. He described our students as "admirable participants, well captivated and impeccably behaved." Well done to all who so impressed him. We thank Waterstones and our librarian, Mrs Livall, for making this possible. The Barcelona Sports Tour This month saw our biennial tour to Spain. Timed to coincide with National Sports Week, basketball and football squads from years nine and ten had an excellent tour. They played a number of fixtures and had a tour of Barcelona Football Club as well as other sightseeing trips. The students were a real credit to our school and we congratulate all forty of them. We thank Mr Stewart, for organising the tour and Mr Golding, Mr Bishop and Miss Lymburn for also accompanying it. SEEE COURSE STUDENTS TRIUMPH Our SEEE (Students Exploring Education and Environment) course in year twelve provides a chance for students to spend an extra year before committing to college or employment with training. During the year students improve their key skills, take additional qualifications, learn Italian, undertake work placements and try different taster courses at college. On their celebration and assessment day this month, all the students triumphed both with the quality of their work and their ability to talk about their highly successful year with the many visitors. All the students have places for next year and we congratulate them all: Roseann Brand, Connor East, Jordy Hitchins, Lukas Jucevicius, Emily Mills, Jess Naylor-Smith, Baz Sangkamanee, Christopher Styles and Aidan Tarbun. We thank Miss Holton and Mrs Rossi for devising the course and all the staff who have taught them this year. MATHEMATICIANS Year Nine Debaters in action EXCEL We congratulate Stephanie Foulds and Georgia White who, having got through to the European round of the Mathematics Challenge, finished in the top 25%. We also commend Roderick Mansel who got through to the International Olympiad. Well done to all three year nine students and we thank Mrs Sheldon for organising all our entries to mathematics competitions. We were delighted to welcome former Deputy Head Girl, Hannah Jones who has debated internationally whilst at Nottingham University. Hannah started her debating career here and returned to help our year nine debaters in a special workshop this month. Hannah ran through a series of warm up ‘games’, gave instructions on aspects of debating and rounded off the session with a full debate with peer adjudication. The workshop was most enjoyable and of value to all, from novice to experienced debater. We congratulate all those who took part and thank Mr Dean for organising it as one of the links our Debating Society has with former members. THE ANNUAL ART AND DESIGN EXHIBITION The exhibition is always eagerly awaited as one of the highlights of the year. Visitors, of course, come from our school community but they are joined by a huge number of other guests reflecting the exceptionally high regard in which our art and design work is held throughout Suffolk and beyond. As always, the work was simply stunning and the tremendous variety and quality was rightly admired by all who saw it. We were particularly delighted to welcome Councillor Graham Newman, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People’s Services, who described the exhibition as “an absolutely amazing display of quality work”. We congratulate and thank all those students whose work was exhibited together with Mr Hodgson, Miss Cole, Mr Janssens, Mrs Sayer and Mrs Aldous. We congratulate Beth Fearnley in A collection of year twelve who completed her silver Duke of Edinburgh's student successes Award this month. We also congratulate those fifty year ten students listed in the May edition We congratulate Matthew Wilcock in year of "The Accolade" for completing ten who gained a place on the Smallpeice their practice expedition who went Trust's Electronic Engineering course in on to pass the bronze qualifying expedition this Portsmouth this month. month. Well done to them and thank you to the large staff team, led by Mr Price, who made it possible. Well done to Alice Maguire and Gemma Lines in year nine who was Bethany Hall in year selected for a National Sea Cadet ten were selected to Training Course by the Bury Sea Cadets dance at the Jerwood Dance house on the Sam Pennell, Robert Sore and Jamie Southwold in year Ipswich Waterfront. This eleven, together with Cameron Lay and Jack Smith in Dance East perform- year nine who all belong to the Air Training Corps have ance was in partnership gained their BTEC qualification in Aviation Studies and with the Royal Ballet School. Well done to both girls! were complimented for their help at Nowton Fair. Meanwhile, army cadet, Connor Wilkinson in year twelve Megan Hey in year ten appeared was awarded the St John Ambulance First Aider of the in the Young Nomads' production Year. We congratulate all six students. of "West End to Broadway" this month. Well done Megan! Having reached the final twenty of the national creative writing competition organised by the University of Hertfordshire, Eleanor Trent in year ten learned this month that she finished in the top ten. Very well done, Eleanor. This month Glynn Frost in year nine was one of four students who premiered Deanna Kerry their film at The in year nine has Athenaeum. The group successfully wrote, filmed and edited completed her part their production from two scuba diving start to finish. The film, course in Egypt. entitled "Why So Well done, Negative?" was made in Deanna! partnership with Moyse's Hall Museum using Heritage Lottery funding and tackles the issue of how young people are perceived in society. Well done, Glynn and thank you to Mr Masterman for supporting him. MUSIC IN THE COMMUNITY Our year twelve 'A' The Apex concert level musicians worked June saw our first school concert in The Apex. In an with Westley Middle informal evening celebrating our successful American School this month on a tour to Suffolk, Virginia in February, we were treated to vocal composition project performances from the Barbershop Choir, the based around legends and Crescendos, our Dixie Band and our Swing Band all using Smetana's "Mà of whom wowed the audience. We congratulate all fifty Vlast" as a starting point. musicians and the six soloists with the band: They also visited students Esther Colman, Alex Davison, Aila Nakazato, at Guildhall Feoffment Helen Slade, Charlotte Thomas and Katie Thomas. Primary School to talk to them and to demonstrate the playing of a range of instruments. Well done to Theo Harris, Sarah Johnson, Raffaela Kolb, Rebecca Littlechild and Melanie Settle and all the children at both schools. We were delighted to host and help with the County Music Service's percussion day this month. The course included body percussion, sticks and taiko drums. With tutors from the Royal Northern College of Music, as well Always in demand for events in Bury St Edmunds and as the County's own excellent staff, fifty children from the surrounding villages, our swing band was pleased to across the Western Area from year three through to year perform in the Abbey Gardens to greet the cyclists and eleven were really challenged by the work and had an entertain the large crowd who supported this year's St excellent day. Edmund's Wheel Bike Ride which raised funds for St Nicholas Hospice and other charities. Later in the month, the swing band was proud to support the Bury St Edmunds Armed Forces Day with a programme of Big Band swing music.