Guest of Honour Mrs Jane Sutton

Our guest of honour is Mrs Jane Sutton who wrote a moving obituary (below) about her son Stephen. Stephen died at the age of 19 after raising almost £5 million for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

I couldn’t think of a better way to begin this tribute than by using a personal statement penned by Stephen in 2011. “To put it simply, I’m awesome, incredible and amazing. Quite a statement I know, but it’s an attitude I’ve been forced to take up lately, simply due to being diagnosed with cancer about a year ago.

I look for no sympathy, but I thought it appropriate to mention it early, because in a really cheesy, defining and perhaps peculiarly ironic way, in the long term at least, I see it as one of the best things that has happened in my life. The drive the motivation and the satisfaction I now take from life is the reason I thought it appropriate to start with such a bold statement. I find it hard to express my feelings via the characters I am currently typing, but honestly, life is what you make it, and I want it to be good. The positive outlook I now take on life has ignited a passion to learn and desire to succeed” .

Back then your bravery, your honesty and joie de vivre shone through and you remained strong, diligent and focused until you passed away.

Stephen your life may have been short but it was immensely significant and you demonstrated pure selflessness and positivity throughout. .

The feisty, determined way you tackled each diagnosis never allowed your spirit to falter. What always came through was pure Stephen, bright as any diamond and just as tough.

Each of your astonishing achievements over the last 17 months of your life created another memory, another impression to keep forever, another moment that cancer couldn’t steal. Your blog, Stephen’s Story, wittily detailed your day-to-day life and because of your positivity was inspirational. By being so willing to share yourself so totally and with such honesty you defined the best of being human. Myself, friends and people you never met loved you for that.

Your love of life was amazing. You knew that while you’re on this earth, you had better have fun. You were the life and soul of the party with a wicked sense of humour. You loved your music and loved to dance. You were adventurous, had no fear and lived your life with no regrets.

There’s so much I have learned from you, some to share, some to keep close in my heart forever. People have entered my life because of you; people have done wonderful things because of you and I am so proud of you.

You created a strong, wonderful, vibrant legacy. In life you were in a constant state of motion. A whirlwind, never stopping or slowing down.

Foreword by Chairman of Governors

We live in challenging and changing times which have their impact on the educational experiences of our children. However, Pershore High School is an institution that always manages to raise its game to meet these challenges. Tonight you will witness the evidence of this in the achievements of our young people. Their commitment, enthusiasm and practical skills in academic, vocational, artistic, musical, sporting and community based activities are self evident in their presentations and the recognition of their success in the awards made this evening.

As always, the dedication and competence of the staff of PHS must be recognised, for without them, there would be no catalyst to enable this potential to emerge and flourish. Pershore is a true example of outstanding comprehensive education. The young people who make up this community of learners are not only representing the school`s success but also our hopes and aspirations for the future. Please do show your appreciation of their achievements and enjoy this evening.

Rob Phillips Chair of Governors`

Message from the Headteacher

This Review of the Year gives a flavour of the range of activities that go on during a normal year at Pershore High School. I am always staggered by how much we manage to pack in, due to the efforts of our students and the support of our staff. It confirms for me that a truly outstanding school has to be genuinely committed to the development of fully rounded individuals and the involvement of numerous community partners, whilst always striving to produce the highest levels of academic achievement.

I am particularly pleased this evening to welcome our guest of honour, Mrs Jane Sutton. Her example, and that of her son Stephen, is a timely reminder that our impact on this planet is not measured by time but by the people we touch and the difference that we make.

Clive Corbett Headteacher

Introduction

Since July 2011, Pershore High School has been an Academy for girls and boys aged 12 to 18. We have a committed team of well qualified staff who work hard to ensure that students achieve well both academically and personally.

We are highly regarded in our community as a very good local school and in 2013 enjoyed a very successful OFSTED inspection. The inspectors reported that:

Pershore High School is a good school with significant outstanding features.  Students make good progress during Key Stages 3 and 4;  Students’ achievement in the Sixth Form is outstanding;  There is a positive climate for learning in all classrooms;  Teachers have good knowledge of their subjects;  Behaviour and safety are outstanding;  Students have good attitudes to learning and behave exceptionally well around the school. They have impeccable manners and are extremely welcoming and polite to visitors;  Students are proud to attend the school and many were keen to tell inspectors how much they are enjoying their time there;  Students are kind, helpful and respectful towards one another. They say that bullying, in any form, is simply not tolerated and that they are committed to ‘looking after each other’;  An outstanding feature of the school’s work is the way in which it promotes the development of leadership skills amongst students  Students have a very secure awareness of how to keep themselves safe;  The school offers a wide range of courses and subjects, both in the main school and the sixth form;  There is an excellent variety of extra-curricular and enrichment activities. Staff run various revision and homework clubs, including an equestrian team;  These activities, together with the school’s international links, promote spiritual, social, moral and cultural development particularly well;

Visitors to the school appreciate the calm, friendly and caring atmosphere, good discipline and purposeful ethos. Our aim is to provide a high quality education in a safe, supportive and stimulating environment. In our school community, all people are valued and we expect them to make a positive contribution that will allow them to become responsible and independent members of society.

The School and its Community

Pershore High School serves the large, predominantly rural area between Worcester and Evesham. Within this area there are three tiers of education. Eleven first schools serve three middle schools which in turn feed into the high school at the start of Year 8. There are some 1110 students on roll, around 240 of whom are in the Sixth Form. The longstanding links between the high school and its contributory schools were extended and reinforced when we first became a Technology College in 2002. Through this we have invested in practical schemes to strengthen, in particular, liaison in Science, Technology and Mathematics. Technology College status has enabled us to offer courses in ICT and many other areas to adults in the wider community, and to develop our links with business and higher education.

Recognition that we were a high performing specialist school led in 2007 to the granting of a second specialism as a Training School, something that acknowledged and reinforced our commitment to life-long learning for all. This includes placing great emphasis on the quality of staff training and induction. Although the government has made the national decision that specialisms no longer exist, they remain huge strengths of the school to which we are committed, irrespective of name or funding. We are a strategic partner in the Prince Henry’s Teaching School Alliance.

The School and its Students

Since June 2011 students have been placed into one of three houses, Armstrong, Kingsley and Magellan, and within these into tutor groups. The House system is overseen by a Head of Student Achievement. There is also a discrete Sixth Form team with its own Head and Deputy. There are three heads and deputy heads of House, each supported by a House Administrator. Teaching is arranged into a fortnightly timetable of 50 one hour lessons. Students are encouraged to take advantage of the numerous extra-curricular opportunities which the school provides, both on the premises and further afield.

Debating, public speaking and the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme are just three examples of the range of activities available. A school award scheme encourages a high level of participation, and twice a week a late bus is available to students taking part in activities after school. The school was rated by OFSTED as providing outstanding international opportunities and community links.

Our Sixth Form is a particular strength of the school of which we are rightly proud. Not only is their achievement excellent, they also give an enormous amount to the life of the school, of which we are rightly proud. Not only is their achievement excellent, they also give an enormous amount to the life of the school, as again recognised by OFSTED.

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The Friends of Pershore High School From All on the Friends Committee, May 2015

Our mission is to raise funds to enhance the learning and life experiences of your child at Pershore High School.

The academic year has come and gone in a flash, but we are really pleased to announce that the Friends have had yet another successful year raising funds to support the students of the school. A whopping £3,500-£4000 will be donated to the school this year. We are particularly pleased as this is against the financial backdrop of ‘austerity measures’ and also the majority of the Committee are new into post this year.

The fund raising kicked off with a tasty Chocolate Bingo raising a fantastic £165.25. This evening relies heavily on kind donations from you, the parents so we say a big thank you for all the tasty treats sent in and for all of our regular attendees for their continued support. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of attending this evening it is one experience that shouldn’t be missed- where else can you go to for just a £1 entrance fee and be entertained with the fine wit and repartee of the bingo caller, Mr Corbett.

In December the Friends got into the Christmas spirit by supporting the Carol Service with the provision of mulled wine and mince pies, whilst enjoying the talents of the staff and students who took part.

Our main fund raising event of the year is an Auction of Promises and Quiz Night. This is only possible with the generous support of many local businesses who donate a fabulous and varied selection of goods and services. We are delighted to report that this was the most successful year to date raising a massive £717.19. We are extremely grateful to our supporting businesses, those stalwarts who attended the event, Richard Wood for his most professional auctioneering skills and Mr Corbett for his quiz mastering prowess. A fun night was had by all and we strongly recommend this is a definite date for your diary next year.

A few weeks later saw our finale fund raising event, the Easter Bingo. This saw a great turn out not only of the usual faithful chocoholics, but it was great to spot some new faces. The excitement of the evening was heightened by the addition of a roll a pound coin for a bottle, this tense match saw the winner winning by just 0.5cm. A grand total of £222.94 was raised at this event.

The 100+Club is a great source for our fundraising and an easy way for parents, carers, relatives and friends of the school to support the students. We are always happy to welcome new members for a small £2.00 monthly subscription. The 100+ Club memberships contributes towards a large proportion of our ongoing donations to school, with prizes of £60.00, £40.00, £20.00 and £10.00 every month for the lucky winners selected in the prize draw. This opportunity to take part is open to all; you do not need to have a connection with the school to join the 100+ Club. Application forms can be picked up in school or downloaded from the Friends page on the school website.

You can also generate free cash donations for Pershore High School every time you shop online via The Giving Machine. For more details please see the Friends webpage or log in to www.thegivingmachine.co.uk

Our average annual donation to school projects over the last few years has consistently been around £3000- £4000. Last year each of the 15 school subject departments benefited from monies donated from our fund raising events. We were also pleased to give financial support to the introduction of the new school epraise system. This motivational online reward system which gives recognition to all students’ efforts and achievements (in all areas of their schooling) has benefitted each and every student. This year we hope to, not only continue to support the subject departments, but also to financially support the introduction of an Accelerated Reading Scheme to be introduced for Key Stage 3 pupils.

Finally, as the year draws to a close we all want to say a massive thank you to each and every one of you who has supported us this year, either through donating time, attending events or through the magnanimous donations. We would love to hear from you if you are able to help support our fund raising just email [email protected] or you can follow us on Facebook.

Katie Ingram Suzanne Clarke Susan Williams Sara Stanton Fiona Parry Chairman Vice Chairman Treasurer 100 Club Cordinator Secretary

For support of the Auction of Promises, FOPHS send grateful thanks to:

Avoca, Pershore Avonbank Nursery Birdseye Sports, Evesham Bowl Extreme, Worcester Co-op, Pershore Deli @ Pershore Hayloft Plants, Pensham Jessica-Relax and Repair, Norton Leonie-Relax and Repair, Norton Number 8, Pershore Mr P Persora, Pershore Pershore Tennis Centre Russell’s, Broadway Tesco, Warndon Villages Thai Legend, Pershore The Bank House, Bransford The Escape at Puckrup The Old Chequers, Crowle The Regal, Evesham Webbs of Wychbold Wood Norton Hotel Worcester RFC Worcester Racecourse

More offers of sponsorship welcome.

Student Learning Ambassadors

Pershore High School students, Emmie Bewley and Kacper Boniecki, have been given national recognition for their research work in school.

Emmie (15) of Crowle and Kacper (14) of Pershore, represented the school’s team of Learning Ambassadors, have had their work published in a Schools of Tomorrow/ SSAT publication – ‘Shaping our futures – developing student-led research as a springboard for school transformation’.

Overseen by teacher, Dean Merrick, the initial group of 15 student Learning Ambassadors were trained to go in to lessons to observe various aspects of learning in the classroom. They then interviewed students and teachers in order to get their opinions on how they thought lessons had gone. From this they were able to provide feedback to teachers on how pupils learn best and the importance of quality feedback to learning and progress. Senior leaders from a number of Worcestershire schools have visited Pershore High School to see the scheme in action. They were very impressed by the working relationship between teachers and pupils, and how valuable teachers find the process. Learning Ambassadors have also overseen the production of student surveys on the level of challenge in lessons. Its findings have been fed back to Heads of Department and senior leadership team.

The ‘Shaping our futures’ publication was launched at a Schools of Tomorrow event at Manchester Metropolitan University on 3rd June. John West-Burnham was the keynote speaker at a conference which explored the issue of quality in schools of tomorrow. Kacper and Emmie led workshops at which they spoke and answered questions on their work as Learning Ambassadors.

Kacper Boniecki and Emmie Bewley give a Alix Freckleton and presentation at the Montgomery Pike lecturn. interviewing Madelaine Doxford, teaching assistant

Alix Freckleton, Kacper Boniecki, Matthew Bessant, Dean Merrick, Emmie Bewley and Montgomery Pike

Alix Freckleton, Kacper Boniecki, Matthew Bessant, Dean Merrick, Emmie Bewley and Montgomery Pike

Selection of Individual and Group Participation and Achievements

Year 11 class of 2014 secured a five A* to C rate (including English and Mathematics) of 63%, an improvement of 3% on last year's performance. 76% of entries were at grades A* to C. 5 A* to C performance without English and Mathematics was 71.2%.

High grade performance also rose, with 9.3% of grades being at A*, and 16.2% at A. Overall A*/A performance is up to 25.5%.

Given the increasing rigour of GCSE examinations, another year of improvement is very pleasing. The headline figures of course mask a huge number of extraordinary individual successes, achieved by hard working students supported by very committed staff. I would again like to congratulate all concerned – their fabulous achievements are all the more laudable given ever more demanding national expectations. Well done to the students and to the staff who supported them.

Two Sixth Form students from Pershore High School have received offers from Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

Katie Baston (17) of Pershore has received an offer from Oxford to study Chemistry at Magdalen College. Katie is currently studying Chemistry, Further Mathematics, Mathematics and Physics.

Simon West (18) of Pershore has received an offer from Cambridge to read History at Selwyn College. Simon, who is the school’s Head Boy, is studying Economics, History and Philosophy and Ethics at A’ level.

Pershore Remembrance Poetry Competition

Over 200 entries were received from children aged between 9 and 14, for the Pershore Remembrance Poetry competition but a well-deserved winner was chosen, Bethany Ireland. Bethany’s Poem of Remembrance formed part of the Order of Service which took place in Pershore on Monday 4th August. The front cover of the Order of Service carried the drawing by Susan Forse

Worcester City Run 2014

Year 8 students, Molly Salt and Elise Blake, took part in the Worcester City Run 2014 junior under-16 3k race, at the Worcester 10k event. Elise came first in the girls’ race and Molly came second. Molly and Elise received prizes from Paula Radcliffe and the Mayor of Worcester, Councillor Alan Amos.

Scarlett to visit Bulgaria

Year 8 student, Scarlett Bradshaw, has been given a wonderful opportunity to visit Bulgaria for two weeks in June to be coached by Russian ice skating coach, Andrei Lutay. Andrei is rated tenth in the world and has won five national gold medals. Scarlett will also be taking her higher level 2 Field Moves at Solihull Ice Rink in October.

Sunday Politics Show

The BBC visited Pershore High School on Wednesday 8th October to film a piece for the Sunday Politics Show based upon lowering the voting age to 16. Huge thanks to Andrew Nockton, Deputy Head for his meticulous organisation of the day. All Sixth Form students were asked to vote in the mock election.

Six students were filmed acting as a ‘Sixth Form Government’ each taking on the role of a member of the cabinet (Foreign Secretary, Education Secretary etc.) Voting on policies they would like to see changed and/or introduced.

The students took on the following roles: Thomas Adams, Health Secretary; Ellie Cavilla, Education Secretary, Angus Evans, Foreign Secretary; Dylan Freckleton, Minister without Portfolio; Matthew Hardman, Home Secretary; Nicholas Rawlings, Chancellor

A range of topics were debated, including the scraping of the Human Rights Act and HS2.

Worcester Magistrates’ Mock Trial

On the 14th of March a team of students from Years 8 and 9 gathered for the culmination of the Worcester Magistrates’ Mock Trial competition. The fab fifteen had spent the last four months rehearsing tirelessly every Wednesday and Thursday, lunch time and after school.

In rehearsals they had been formulating a defence and prosecution for a case involving the theft of an iPhone from a florist. This involved students taking the role of defence and prosecution witnesses, lawyers for both sides, court staff, ushers and legal advisors and last but not least, the magistrates.

Students were guided in their understanding of the case and of their individual roles by the excellent advice of his Worship, Mr Harry Turner, a magistrate from Worcester Court. We would like to further extend our thanks and gratitude for his commitment to the team, organising the trip to the magistrates’ court and giving up his time from a very important role in the NHS.

Pershore Sixth Form student, Tilly Maginnis, has been given a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent England in the Dance World Cup to be held in Bucharest from 26th June until 4th July.

Tilly has danced with Harlequin Stage School in Worcester since the age of five and she is honoured to have been chosen to dance in Romania as part of the team representing England.

Tilly is presently studying A levels and will start full time dance training in September. She is busy auditioning at present and has already secured places at two leading dance conservatoires.

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award Recipients

Congratulation to: Molly Foster; Abigail Jones; Natasha Mieczynska; James Neal; Hugo Redfern; Kathryn Rishworth Huppert; Matty Sanders; Charlotte Bradley; Megan Bradley; Jonathan Brett; Tessa Carr; Jemima Daniels; Daisy McDonald; Megan Shephard; Owen Thompson; Briony Watkins; Nicole Bemrose; Alice Cresswell; Conor Jones; Beth Southcott; Jacob Spencer; Lisa Sprague; Isabel Adams; Ruth Bennett; Megan Brown; Alice Bull; Harriet Christopher; Nat Maginnis; Olivia Mitchum; Lucy Perks; Eleanor Roberts; Tommy Ross; Sigmund Rumney and Anna Gabriella Stephens

Art and Design Report by David Reid, Head of Department

As I write we are currently in the process of moving into our exciting new Art block and making the first steps into transforming the building into what we hope will be the new creative home of Pershore High School. We are glad that our building physically links to other creative subjects in the school, such as Product Design and Textiles and hope that the space we now have will not only benefit the Art department but the wider school and the Arts as a whole. I am reminded of Bachelard, a French philosopher, who believed that the home is a nest for dreaming, a shelter for imagining. For a long time we secretly dreamt of a better workspace for our students, a place that can allow them to make what they imagined, a reality. Up until recently we have been accommodated in a building that required enormous resourcefulness from both staff and students alike to get the best possible creative outcomes made; whilst I will miss the old block for all its retro charm, I am excited by the opportunities and creative adventures the new Art block can enable us to do.

“Sometimes the house of the future is better built, lighter and larger than all the houses of the past, so that the image of the dream house is opposed to that of the childhood home. Late in life, with indomitable courage, we continue to say that we are going to do what we have not yet done: we are going to build a house.’’― Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space

A sneak preview of the new gallery space and art classroom

The new Art block will allow us to do things that we have not yet done. One of the first key things is to provide Sixth Form students a proper work space in which they can work in their free periods and after school. This space will enable them to make more effectively the transition to university studio spaces and also provide a space in which pop-up mid project exhibitions can occur so that constructive feedback can be exchanged more freely prior to important assessment points throughout the year. Other, as yet, unexplored possibilities include working with ex-students to exhibit their work and enable artist in residences to occur alongside sixth formers. The new build may also allow more of the extended Pershore High family, including the younger students in the pyramid and parents of our current students, gain access to some of what we do in a more practical way. If we can open the doors to these people, hopefully an interest in the Arts will grow and to borrow from Sir Ken Robinson, ‘this curiosity will be the engine of future achievement.’

Ex--students of Pershore High school, Megan Baker and Rebecca Hancock with recent work on display that may one day return and be displayed at PHS

I am thankful that the school leadership and governors value the Arts and demonstrated this by investing in the creative futures of our students with the new Art block. A special thank you goes to Russell Dalton, Claire Rushton, the Finance Team and the school caretakers for their hard work making the new build happen. Further thanks go to my fellow teaching colleagues and Laura Dean, the technician, for coping with the huge demands

of packing the old block, teaching and moderating under tight timed conditions and pressure. With the upheaval of the move it is easy to forget that so much else has gone on this academic year. The following review of the year allows me to reflect, celebrate and draw attention to what our creative students have done in their last year in the old much loved Art block.

Anselm Kiefer influenced work by (L to R) Michelle Balden, Alice Arthur from Year 10 and Josie Jones Y11

One of the highlights of the year was seeing Anselm Kiefer’s exhibition at The Royal Academy with a mixture of Year 10 and sixth form students. Kiefer is possibly one of the most important living artists working today, he is no stranger to moving from an established workspace into another space to spark new ideas and themes in his work. Students got to see Kiefer’s large scale paintings and sculptures that comment on the unspoken guilt in post holocaust Germany and it resulted in an exciting body of work by Year 10 and others such as Josie Jones in her recent Art exam. Visiting exhibitions is a vital element in the students’ development as artists and we have been fortunate to take them to a wide range of high profile exhibitions such as Grayson Perry’s show at the National Gallery and the Post Pop: East meets West exhibition at the Saatchi gallery. The latter Post Pop show was a catalyst to some exciting Year 11 work in the exam period. The content of the show built on our earlier projects where teachers have encouraged students to look at Pop Art in different ways to ensure they are aware of the distinct differences between the British Pop Artists and their American counterparts on the other side of the Atlantic. This show encouraged them to look beyond the Anglo-American origins and they were enriched for seeing connections to Russian and Chinese Pop Art.

Year 11 work inspired by East meets West (L to R): Tessa Carr; Tessa Carr; Layton Hyde; Lauren Willis and Rachel Spikes

The Art department, and the A’ level photography students in particular were given a big boost in the exam period by the return of Miss Baker from maternity leave. She brought with her, her expertise and love of experimentation and collaborated with Mrs Jones to make a very effective series of starter workshops inspired by the work of Walead Beshty on show at the Curve gallery in London. Having discovered that the processes involved in making cyanotype work in his style was potentially hazardous due to the chemicals involved they came up with some very effective digital alternatives; that combined with innovative use of printers, ensured that the students in their care made the best possible start to the exam. I am indebted to Mrs Jones who was ever present throughout the year for the photography students working firstly with Jeremy Clayton and Jo Hunt. We wish Jeremy and Jo well for the future and are grateful for their services in their short time with us.

Mr Turfrey at the Walead Beshty exhibition and work by A’level students in response to the show.

A good artist is often one that is visually aware and gallery literate. I do not think it is a coincidence that some of the best work by artists is carried out in homage to the artists that came before them, for instance, the work of Kiefer owes a huge debt to Van Gogh, David Hockney owed a debt to Picasso who owed a debt to Velasquez and so on. By encouraging students to travel and visit galleries and gain real experiences of Art at first hand they develop more ambitious and relevant ideas. At Pershore High our creative students have made the best of the opportunities departmentally through visits to London, Barcelona and Woodchester Mansion, and in trips via other curriculum areas to New York and Lubuto in Zambia. These experiences have enriched students and have ultimately resulted in the development of highly personal work that documents their experiences. Two students who visited Zambia, Harriet Bladen and Abigail Jones were inspired by the way that the Zambian children played in the streets and the elders watched over them. On their return the photographs they took were translated into other media sparking a linoprinting frenzy that ended up being some of the most successful artworks this academic year and were successful in capturing the fantastic Zambian spirit that they were privileged to witness at first hand.

Zambia inspired work by Harriet Bladen and Abigail Jones Year 12

The Art department returned to Barcelona for the fifth time this academic year and the city continues to beguile us with its labyrinthine streets and the way the city wears its creativity on its sleeve. Every wall and surface of Barcelona is adorned with some trace of creativity; staff and students alike try in vain to miniaturise all this visual stimulation onto the pages of their sketchbooks and through the lens of their cameras. Mr Turfrey, who organises the trip, continues to tweak the itinerary each year. However, a pattern is beginning to emerge as each time we revisit we are introduced to even more of Mr Turfrey’s favourite water colour painting haunts! It was a memorable moment watching the students gathered around Mr Turfrey doing a watercolour in Montjuic with open mouthed admiration for his technical fluency. Mrs Jones was ever ready to alert her photography students of any Kodak moments that needed recording. Students got to navigate the large but compact city and trace the cultural lineage that was established by Gaudi, Picasso and Miro. The students from this year were fantastically well behaved, inquisitive and worked hard. We applauded the way the students wanted to spend their hard earned free time together and demonstrated the maturity to communicate and plan activities together, thus maximising their time in Barcelona. The impact of the trip was felt in a number of ways, not only did it enrich the students socially and academically, it also accelerated the development of strong portfolios that has since enabled students to attain places on competitive post-18 Art courses. We are very glad to be returning to Barcelona again this July with the next group of Year 12 students.

Barcelona sketchbooks and Photography Some of the work produced by the sixth form students inspired by the Barcelona trip and other annual trips to London and Woodchester Mansion, were shown in the wider community with exhibitions held at the civic centre, Pershore Number 8 and Worcester cathedral in the Voices and Visions exhibition. Alongside these students were examples of high quality work from other year groups and this acted as a strong advert for the creative life of the school. Special thanks go to Laura Dean, our technician, for supporting the teachers in setting up the exhibitions which were well received by the public. With the new build it is hoped that we will have our own in house gallery space allowing us to create a richer exhibition programme that showcases students work more regularly. Furthermore the new gallery space may give us the opportunity to stage exhibitions of former students work and enable current students to see how they may be able to progress beyond their years at Pershore High. One ex award winning student, Bethany Pope, from Pershore has just had solo exhibitions in galleries in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire and it seemed a shame in the past we could not offer her a space but now we can. Another ex-student, Andy Price, has recently completed his degree and got a job at the prestigious Lisson Art gallery in London which represents famous artists such as Anish Kapoor and Ai Wei Wei. We will be tapping into his expertise in the near future as we attempt to create a gallery of our own that has links to a wider audience in the community.

Polly Natynczuk Y13 Klaudia Burton Y13 EDFAS winners and runners up 2015

Two of our students, Polly Natynczuk and Klaudia Burton, who won the EDFAS travel bursary to visit Berlin in the summer returned to give a presentation to a packed out lecture theatre at the Evesham Arts centre this autumn. The two girls were very mature and articulate public speakers and were real ambassadors to the school as they exhibited their work and discussed their work with the visiting EDFAS members. Pershore High school students successes in applying for the EDFAS bursary continues this year with extra prizes being generated due to the calibre of our own applicants. Instead of two students being awarded the bursary four were awarded funds to travel and advance their Art development. The four year 12 students beat off stiff competition from students here at Pershore High and students from Prince Henry’s, Evesham High and other schools in the Wychavon district. Evie Banks and Elin Roberts plan to go to Helsinki and Oliver Cornelius and Albert Courts will be going to Valencia. We look forward to seeing what impact these cities will have and hopefully it will result in some even more ambitious and exciting work from the talented quartet.

Rotary Club Photography competition judges with winners’, Matilda Maginnis, Charlotte Hooper and George Griffiths and their work.

Our Photography students have continued to forge good links with the ever expanding Beacon Camera Club based in Malvern. Four very keen amateur and semi-professional photographers from the Beacon club spent the day teaching the Year 12 photographers about studio lighting and acted as catalysts to a range of portraits taken by the students that accelerated their understanding of the need to set up the studio and maximise the chances of getting a good images rather hope that photoshop will work its magic later on. The Beacon camera club workshop made the students feel valued and gave them some self-belief. This partnership has become increasingly valuable and we are very fortunate to be one of the schools that benefit from their generosity and expertise. The confidence some of the students gained from this has made the students braver and more willing to make submissions into local photography competitions. One competition brought success for three Pershore students, Matilda Maginnis, Charlotte Hooper and George Griffiths came 1st,2nd and 3rd respectively with their work. The theme of the competition was ‘light up the community’ organised by Pershore Rotary Club is the first of a series of competitions that the Rotary club are organising to provide support to local talent. We hope that our students take advantage of their generosity and support in the near future.

Year 10 Art club members: Lily Blunstone, Erin Williams and Toby Webb at work making the ‘rustprint’ in the long jump pit.

Pershore High Artclub’s Antonio Ole response in ‘rustprint’ for the Zambian project 2015

Following on from our involvement in the Plum Pickers heritage project last year, which resulted in the work being made into an online resource for other schools and historians, our Art club regulars became involved in an extra-curricular project in collaboration with students from Zambia. The idea was that Pershore High students would develop a lo-fi project that made good use of recycling materials and one that can be executed in Zambia regardless any potential differences in facilities, space and equipment. Initially it was difficult to devise projects that were totally inclusive and enabled group work and mass participation; however , the students inspired by the work of an African artist Antonio Ole, and boxes of scrap metal kindly donated by the local blacksmith, Stevie Cooper, devised a project that used a technique that can only be described as a ‘rustprint’. Knowing that the Zambian students had access to rusty metal, sand, salt, water and paper we set them a challenge to create their own rustprints, showing the exterior of the homes built out recycled materials that populated the towns in Africa. I can safely say that I never worked with students making Art by burying rusty metal and paper in a long jump sand pit and leaving it over night before. Special thanks go to Toby Webb, Erin Williams and Lily Blunstone from Year 10, for making the project happen. We look forward to seeing our Zambian partners utilise our resource pack to create their own version of a rustprint later in the year.

Sophie McGorrigan Award winner 2015: Claire Ward Year 13

All that remains to be said is a big thank to the staff and students for making the Art department a vibrant part of school life. Particular congratulations go to those award winners who were worthy winners because of their commitment to the subject, their talent and more importantly their ability to inspire other pupils and staff alike. Claire Ward, who won the Sophie McGorrigan Art award this year, has been a consistently exceptional Artist and Art historian whose work has been of the highest calibre throughout her 6 years at Pershore High. We also applaud the ingenuity and painstaking labours of love executed by Polly Natynczuk and perhaps one of the most improved students in her time in sixth form, Sophie Beamont for their efforts. Congratulations go to Charlotte Hooper for developing a fantastic portfolio and superb photography worthy of a place on a strong degree course. Further congratulations go to Tessa Carr for her fantastic ability to analyse artworks with the skill of an Art critic and in turn producing quality Art worthy of praise from a critic. Finally, Matthew Bessant and Juliette Colvin from Year 9, both deserve a special mention for their efforts and we hope that they continue to create exciting work in their new creative home at Pershore High in the years to come.

Business Education Report by Rachel Kilmister, Head of Department

Business Education at the school continues to be a popular subject and attracts a wide range of students across a variety of courses. Four members of staff have taught courses this year, looking again to build on the consistently high GCSE, BTEC and A-Level results achieved in the summer last year. We have continued to work with local businesses to enrich students learning, and I have also introduced a new Business Enterprise Education programme for sixth-form students as part of their Enrichment programme.

Once again this year, students in Year 10 and 12 also had the opportunity to attend Entrepreneur Live to hear the start-up success stories from a number of young entrepreneurs. This was a lively and interactive day set in a cinema to engage students and hear from Ross Kemp about setting up ASAP Watercrafts, Cally Russell and the App shopping experience that is Mallzee and Arnold Du Toit and how he started up Rolley Golf. Prior to the event students also had to come up with an innovative solution to upcycle waste a new and innovative product. All students attending the event were invited to put together a presentation on their idea and from all the schools present, two of our groups in Year 10 won awards. They received cash prizes and a trophy for their success.

The results in the department were again excellent and in line with the school results. 25% of our Year 11 students on the GCSE course and 53% on the Btec course, achieved A* or A equivalent grades which is an all-time high. A2 Business and Economics students continued to do well despite bigger numbers on the course. 62% achieved A*- C, well in line or above their target grades. Applied A-level students also did well, with 25% of students gaining A*- B. New Specifications from September 2015 will present different challenges for our A-level groups.

Numbers of students opting to take Business in Year 10 continue to show what a popular and engaging subject it can be. The new VCERT vocational course has replaced the BTEC option as a more engaging and accessible option. This continues to offer the different assessment forms, limited examination and combined hands-on approach that is industry related. GCSE remains a popular option with a more traditional examination approach that suits some students well.

The two options at Sixth Form are again attracting more students. Business courses continue to become increasingly popular and I firmly believe that is due to students and parents being able to see how the subject is relevant and preparing students to take on work, especially with the economy the way it is. This is fantastic for the department and confirms the intention to offer varied courses, to suit different learners, is the right one.

Our industry links remain strong and we are always looking for more local businesses to work with us next year to enhance the teaching and learning that takes place. Trips, competitions, conferences and visiting speakers have all added to the variety that students have experienced. This year, Year 12 students have visited Worcester Bosch and Cadbury World again to support coursework and Year 13 have been out to the BBC and had a visit from Steve Waites from the Bell House Restaurant to talk about Business Plans. JSC Rotational Ltd continues to support our GCSE and Btec students, and we have also been able to use other links with local businesses to enable students to produce much higher quality coursework and controlled assessment, with access to up-to-date company information.

We took 2 teams of sixth form students to the ICAEW Base Business Game and the West Midlands CIPFA Management Game this year held in Worcester. In the ICAEW Base Game one team did amazingly well and have qualified for the national finals, to be held on June 25th in Birmingham. We wish them every success. The team of slightly different students for the CIPFA management game were a fantastic asset to the school showing their business knowledge, acumen, communication skills and teamwork. Front row: Becky Pouton, Jemma Loader Back row: Felix Anderson, Tom Kenwright, James Coleman, Katie Shrubb

Again we have run our in-house Year 9 Enterprise event to introduce students to some of the topics we teach in business and help them to start developing their skills in creativity, team work and ingenuity by redesigning and re-branding a new product for McDonalds for the Rugby World Cup.

Our students have again enjoyed huge success with extra-curricular opportunities. The new Business Enterprise Experience has been a popular enrichment subject amongst sixth form students and this year we have 3 groups working to start up a new business venture, and run it for 2 years. This has been supported by and run in conjunction with Karen Drinkwater of JSC Rotational Ltd, who has again given up her invaluable time and effort to support the group this year. We extend many thanks to Karen for the amount of time she gives up and the quality of the help she gives the students. These students have developed valuable transferable skills in being part of the programme and have received training and advice from Nexus Creative, Wychavon Council, Smart Exchange Dress Agency, DMG Associates, Newsquest, Worcester Research and Elspeth Van Der Hole Photography.

We have three companies running this year; MugShot who are developing a personalised printing services specialising at present in memorial/celebratory and promotional mugs, The Wick Company who are producing a range of upcycled candles using recycled jars and wax, and Forestree who are producing bespoke wooden products created from reclaimed timber. Please look out for the company’s products on sale locally in the near future.

It has been another busy and rewarding year made possible by the hard work and enthusiasm that is shown by students and staff in the department. I would especially like to thank Mrs Taylor, Mrs Rhodes and Mrs Hayden for all of their hard work and support and we look forward to another successful year this year with students continuing to reach new heights.

Child Development GCSE Report by Gayle McPherson

This year, we have welcomed several visitors into Child Development. These have included a midwife from Birmingham Women’s Hospital, foster carers, and Kate Wilson from Time-for-you to deliver some relationships and contraception lessons, along with several young babies, children and their parents.

The students also benefited enormously from working with Mrs Hayden, teacher in charge of the Base, who gave an invaluable insight into children with Special Needs and Autism. This year, the Child Development students have worked incredibly hard and I am really proud of them all; I am looking forward to seeing their hard work pay off when the results are out in August. Many of these students are going on to study Health and Social Care and BTECs in Childcare to be able to pursue a career in this field.

The Inner Wheel Club of Pershore

We are delighted to help with the sponsorship of this

Annual Review of Pershore High School

Did you know -

Inner Wheel was formed in 1924 in Manchester and is one of the largest women’s voluntary

organisations in the world, and has representation at the UN. There are clubs in 103 countries with 100,000 members worldwide, 20,000 here in Great Britain & Ireland.

What we do -

Inner Wheel Clubs meet regularly and have full and varied programmes that can include lunches,

talks, visits , meetings with other clubs and fundraising for charities at home and abroad, activities through which friendships are built and maintained.

The Inner Wheel Club of Pershore was started in 1967 and has supported the community in

many ways including listening to young children read in schools and fund raising for local charities We support Pershore High School in presenting an annual award for ‘Excellence in Work Experience’

For further information visit www.innerwheel.co.uk

Debating and Public Speaking Report by Alice Bull (Year 13), Debating Society Chairman

I write this end of year summation for the Debating Society with a sense of pride yet sadness on leaving the club. I have been a member of the society for a number of years and I would like to extend my thanks to all of its members. I have enhanced my public speaking skills a great deal as well as building my confidence to speak in front of an audience on any given topic. Being able to convey an argument backed up with reason is an essential skill yet the ability to open one’s mind to opposition points of view in order to strengthen one’s argument is an even bigger one. Not only have I developed many skills but I have also met a number of inspiring debaters.

I remember taking part in the lower school Taylor Trophy competition and making it to the final. This year I am incredibly proud to congratulate Ellie Roberts and Erin Young on their success in the same competition. I would like to encourage next year’s members to organise friendly competitions with other schools or perhaps introduce the art of debating as an inter-house competition within school.

Each debate held in school is thrilling to listen to and insightful. The range of talent is vast. The topics are varied from topical motions corresponding with media crazes as well as light- hearted topics to amuse and enjoy. Our own debates concerning the change of age transfer and other political issues always sparked a mass of opinions and heated discussions - all of which were incredibly interesting to listen to. The Leavers’ Debate: ‘This House believes that the Arts are soft subjects’, caused particular conflict in opinion with the outcome being that the Sciences originally stemmed from the Arts. The Balloon Debate and ‘Just a Minute’ style activities were very successful in involving less confident members as well as practicing the art of thinking on your feet.

Without individual members the society would not be what it is. I’d like to thank every member for their support, the high standard of debates they bring as well as the help they offer to those competing. I’d like to thank the staff for organising events, supporting the society as well as guiding every member to further build their debating skills in an environment to help build their confidence in doing so. In particular I’d like to thank Mrs Iddon, Mrs Merrett, Mrs Durrant and Mr Rees for the massive help they give. I’d like to thank the Sixth Form members for their help in organising the debates as well as helping the younger members with speeches and debating technique, in particular Simon West and Nick Rawlings and Adam Rowling from Year 11.

The Debating Society has helped me immensely, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching individual debating styles and I hope the society continues to develop those individuals. Everybody has the ability to debate and speak publicly in their own individual unique way so I encourage you to find your style and develop it to its full potential. The ability to speak on any given subject is a skill that I truly admire.

I will be sad to leave the society but have been privileged to have been part of such a successful and well- established group. Thank you.

This year has also been one of a success in the field of public speaking. Erin Young, Eleanor Young, Eleanor Roberts and Tobias Vallely performed with distinction in the Worcestershire ESU Churchill Public Speaking competition at RGS, Worcester. Although they did not progress, they did themselves proud.

Drama Report by Anna Cookson, Head of Department

The drama department has had an extremely busy but rewarding year with many successful performances, showcases and productions throughout all key stages. Staff and pupils alike, have worked tirelessly on creating exquisite performance work and pupils have been an asset to the school behaving impeccably at a wide range of theatre trips.

The BTEC Performing Arts pupils took part in the end of year show case and presented, to a full house, their dance, lighting and acting skills. The two dance numbers from Chicago were performed with class and style, while maximising the pupils own choreography skills. The two contemporary performances were extremely thought provoking and beautifully executed by the dance students. The lighting shows that the pupils design and executed were amazing. This year the pupils were able to use the new high tech lights that meant the shows were spectacular. The design skills of the lighting pupils were excellent. The evening was a great success and an excellent opportunity to showcase the enormous talents and diverse range of skills of the Performing Arts pupils.

During October the Year 11 Performing Arts and GCSE Drama groups went to the Everyman Theatre in Cheltenham to watch a performance of Stephen Mallatratts frightening ‘Woman In Black’. The production was fantastic. A spooky and scary couple of hours later the pupils made their way tentatively back home were too frightened to turn the light off once they got in to bed in case the Woman In Black appeared.

During November and December the Year 13 Drama and Theatre studies students performed their devised works. Group one created a highly stylised performance that took the audience on a journey through the concepts of organ donation and class system hypocrisy whilst group two used the work of Theatre practitioner Artaud and combined difficult theatrical styles and thought provoking technical elements to create an abstract surrealist performance based on dream analysis. Two fantastic performances; well-done Year 13.

Year 11 Performing Arts BTEC finished their year with Theatre In Education performances based on World War One and the theme of reminiscence and the disastrous effect that this awful atrocity had on the soldiers, victims’ and the families involved. A great selection of excellent theatre in education pieces that saw the accumulation of all the hard work of the pupils in their Btec lessons.

At the beginning of December the Year 10 GCSE group took to the stage with ‘Cinderella and the Pantomime Thief’. They performed to a large audience all of which were ready to join in the traditional Christmas festivities. With jokes a plenty and lots of singing and dancing the pupils performed an array of slightly eccentric and humorous characters. A highly energised pantomime performed by an enthusiastic and keen cast that saw a half-naked Mile Loader emerge from the red cupboard (all in the name of art). Well done Year 10.

During the Carol Service the KS3 drama group took part in a thoughtful piece of choral speaking based on The Christmas Truce. Performing in the Abbey is an extremely difficult task, but the moving portrayal of life in the trenches was beautifully performed and executed. Well done to all involved and a special thank you to Josie Marston for helping with the direction of this piece.

On Friday 16th January 45 Year 10-12s set off for a weekend in London sampling the delights of the West End theatres and taking part in workshops and backstage tours of some of the most prestigious theatre venues in the world.

Our first stop was at The Globe Theatre on Southbank. After a fantastic tour of The Globe that saw us sitting like ‘Groundlings’ in the poor section and like king and Queens in the ‘Gods’ , taking in the history of what Elizabethan Theatre would have been like ,and acting on the stage of the Globe itself where such actors like Lawrence Olivier and Benedict Cumberbatch have performed which was an absolute treat; we made our way to The Actors Studio and rehearsal rooms of The Globe to partake in an acting master class with a professional actor. This was brilliant as it taught us lots of skills about professional stage work and the understanding of the text of Shakespeare that is so important when embarking on performing one of his characters.

Next we unloaded and had a chance to unwind in our hotel before walking into the bustling and busy theatre district and Covent Garden for some dinner before we headed to the Lyceum Theatre to watch ‘The Lion King’. The show played to a full house, and there was nothing quite like watching the opening number ‘The Circle of Life’, complete with Elephants and Giraffes. It was magical. After a fantastic performance and of course a standing ovation from the PHS group we walked back through Covent Garden to our hotel. I don’t think the staff at the hotel had ever seen such an array of onesies being paraded through the hotel at 11.30pm.

Next day, and after a hearty breakfast where the boys made sure they had second helpings we went on to our second backstage tour of the weekend. This time the majority of the group went to the National Theatre, again on Southbank; with the sixth formers and Mrs Cookson going to the Theatre Royal Dury Lane for a tour and an insight into theatre history.

The tour of The National Theatre was amazing with so much to see. There are three theatre spaces within the National Theatre, each with their own uniqueness and each space particularly used for a certain type and style of theatre. We saw the set for Treasure Island and managed to see lots of lighting and sound equipment being used by the technicians (Mr Roberts was in his element).

Meanwhile, the tour around The Theatre Royal Dury Lane saw the Sixth Form and Mrs Cookson transported back to the Elizabethan era and being taken by actors in role down to the tunnels that make up London’s famous tunnel network underneath the stage. We were bombarded with tales of ghosts and spooky goings on, as well as being in the auditorium where Kings and Queens have sat for hundreds of years, even gracing the royal box with our presence.

To finish the weekend we watched ‘The 39 Steps’ at The Criterion Theatre. It was a brilliant fast paced Comedy/Farce based on the original film and novel which had everybody laughing at the antics of the 4 performers (who in total play 104 roles). All students that attended the trip were impeccably behaved and due to this fact I hope that this London Theatre Weekend will be the first of many to take place at PHS.

In February the Year 13 Theatre Studies group went to watch a production of ‘Othello’ by the world renowned company Frantic Assembly at The Lyric Theatre Hammersmith; A fantastic portrayal of love, sexual jealousy and racial equality. This production was a superb, interesting and contemporary version of a popular well known classic. Thank you to Mr Hanson and his fantastic mini bus driving skills that got us safely to and from London.

In March the Sixth Form students went to Malvern Theatres to watch a production of ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’. This was a harrowing performance of a modern ‘fable’ that used a lot of stylised drama techniques to portray the life of inmates in Auschwitz and the family of the Nazi officers that oversaw the terrible atrocities. The performance sparked many debates for the budding theatre critics that we have in the Year 12 group.

The exam period was then upon us, and the department was bursting at the seams with rehearsals. The GCSE performances were first up, and as the groups took to the stage in front of the examiner it was clear to see that all the hard work had paid off. With moving and thoughtful performances of devised work based on themes such as The Seven Deadly Sins, Life Behind Bars and Domestic Abuse, all performers worked to their best ability, and produced some emotive and thoughtful performances. Well done Year 11.

Year 11 BTEC Performing Arts also completed the year with their final monologue performances. An extremely scary and frightening task to complete, but which was executed by all students with flair and confidence these performances rounded off a great year for the Performing Arts students.

Year 12 finished off the extensive exam period with their exam performances of their monologues and their group performances of ‘The Two Worlds of Charlie F’, an evocative and emotive portrayal of the war in Afghanistan and the rehabilitation of injured soldiers. All performances were very moving, thought provoking, at times very brave and the stylised use of movement and acting techniques allowed pupils performance ability to be showcased at its very best. A huge well done must be said to all performers.

In June the Year 10 GCSE group went to watch a production of the National Theatre smash hit play ‘The Curious incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ at the Birmingham Hippodrome. This fantastic play, based on the plight of a young boy with autism was extremely thought provoking and the great use of staging elements meant that the pupils got to see theatre at its’ very best.

And still as I write the review of the year we are far from finished. The department still has many performances and showcases to go. On a personal note I would like to take this opportunity to thank Vicki Brown and Jack Roberts for their continuous support, hard work and enthusiasm for everything we do. Yet again we have had another fantastic but very busy year; and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Eco Report by Kate Herbert, Eco Co-ordinator

Once again this year Eco /Humanities has been offered to some students in Year 8 resulting in some exciting and innovative work being done both in and out of lessons. The year has also been a very productive one so far for the Eco Group. We have been involved in a number of activities both in and out of school, sometimes jointly with the Eco Humanities groups, as well as whole school initiatives which are ongoing. The Eco Group meets on Wednesday lunchtimes. I am indebted to the students for their commitment and enthusiasm. They willingly give up their lunchtimes and time after school to assist with a variety of activities. Members of the Eco Group have also doubled up as the school’s Eco Committee who have met with key members of staff and outside bodies to begin the process of implementing whole school initiatives and policies.

During the Autumn term in our Eco/Humanities lessons we did a number of seasonal activities as the focus for the term was seasonality and what changes we can notice at this time of year in the plant and animal world. We had several practical lessons, we went foraging for different leaf types and fungi and studied bird migration, particularly that of the Bewick swan, as well as finding out about hibernation and animal habitats. To support this study I arranged a visit for students in this class and the Eco Group, to Nature in Art at Twigworth near Tewkesbury, to view the finalists from the British Wildlife Photography exhibition, and many of them were inspired by what they saw. We also planted a number of bulbs which we sold to staff to raise funds for our work.

In the Spring term our theme was water. We looked at its importance to our survival and that of the environment as a whole. We investigated ways of conserving water and compared our usage with that of developing countries. We are currently studying food and farming and hope to make some locally sourced pizza and jams before we finish the term. We were also engaged in an Alpine trough competition with the Eco Group, (we have to make, plant and decorate our troughs with a variety of Alpine plants), very kindly sponsored by the Alpine Society. As a result we entered three troughs in to the Malvern Spring show in May. When we visited the show we were delighted to find that our hard work had been recognised with a commendation. Chelsea now beckons.

The Eco Group have been involved in a number of out of school activities in the locality, including a tree planting morning with members of the school’s Interact group as well as staff and local Rotarians in the school grounds in the Autumn. We are very grateful to Liz Etheridge and the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust for their continued involvement with the school. Liz has talked to the group about future projects and is keen to help us map the biodiversity of the school site by conducting a ‘bio-blitz’ of the grounds. With this in mind we recently took part in the wildlife extravaganza at Avon Wetlands where we did some insect identification, pond dipping and some bird watching. We plan to return to the wetlands at a later date to assist with some planting. Before the end of term we are planning some cooking sessions to make jams from locally sourced fruit. We hope to raise awareness amongst staff and students about food waste, packaging, litter, recycling and food miles, we are hoping to have a waste week in school before the end of the year.

The Eco Group have acted as great ambassadors for the school and I am very grateful to them for their enthusiasm and interest and wish to make the school a greener place. All in all we’ve had a very busy and productive year and I would like to thank all students and staff for their interest and involvement in our work and for the kind donations that have been made to support our projects, from plants, equipment and most importantly time and encouragement. I would particularly like to thank Jane Burnham for her help and enthusiasm in overseeing the food preparation side of our work.

We look forward to We look forward to expanding our range of projects in the future with the aim of creating a more sustainable whole school community.

English Report by Anita Iddon, Head of Department

One day in February this year I became aware of a group of Year 11 students standing outside my classroom door, waiting to see me once I had dismissed my class. They had come to ask if I had heard the news that a new book by Harper Lee was due to be published later in the year, 55 years after her last novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. Their excitement was matched later in the day by a couple of Sixth Form boys who asked me the same question. These incidents may seem somewhat tame but I have to confess I was overwhelmed by them because they prove something that we only hoped might be the case, that our students still have the capacity to be excited by literature. We are all well aware of the impact technology has had on our lives and the fear we have that reading a book will soon become an antiquated pastime. You might also be excused for thinking that schools are far too preoccupied with ensuring exam success to have time for little else. Whilst it’s true that we provide excellent opportunities for our students to achieve highly at each key stage, in the English Department we also aspire to create a love for reading which will last a life time.

With this in mind, and thanks to Miss Flanagan and Mrs Durrant, the Spring term saw the launch of our Accelerated Reader programme with Year 8. This well established and clearly structured scheme has been designed to enhance students’ reading ability and confidence and give them an appetite for reading. Through periodic assessment, students are given a reading range which then enables them to choose material at an appropriate level. They are then encouraged to take a quiz on their chosen book. Over time, the results should reveal whether students are reading at a level of too much or too little challenge and can prompt intervention. Through a combination of its structure and incentives, the Accelerated Reader programme encourages students to become thoughtful readers who are motivated to read for pleasure and therefore develop this crucial life skill.

Looking back it is astonishing to see how much the department has accomplished again. Writing this report always makes me wonder how we manage to pack so many extra-curricular events in to what seems a very short space of time. No sooner have we organised the Christmas Poetry event (Poetry and Pies) than it seems we are preparing for our summer term readings (Poetry and Pimm’s!). But the extras we provide are what make the difference to so many students’ experience of school. As ever I am hugely indebted to a department which prides itself on providing a wealth of extra-curricular activities for all students as well as a rich and exciting curriculum.

One such opportunity, organised by Mrs Edwards, was entering our Year 9 students for the National Picture Book Competition. LocatedMagda Rumney as we went are withinon to win such the easy Secondary travelling Category distance Award. of so manyHer book great ‘The theatres, Timekeeper’ we have was alwaysselected offered from over our 1,000 students the opportunientries andty was to see describ thoseed by texts the studiedjudges as so ‘outstanding’. assiduously We in the classroomreceived 50 come printed alive copies for of them Magda's on stage. book Visitsfor the toschool, the RSC as at Stratfordwell as a thisset ofyear ten havefiction included stories, productionsfocusing on fearof ‘Love’s and Labour’s Lost’,suspense; ‘Love’s a very Labour’s welcome Won’ addition ‘A Christmas to the Truce’school andlibrary. ‘The

Located as we are within such easy travelling distance of so many great theatres, we have always offered our students the opportunity to see those texts studied so assiduously in the classroom come alive for them on stage. Visits to the RSC at Stratford this year have included productions of ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’, ‘Love’s Labour’s Won’ ‘A Christmas Truce’ and ‘The Merchant of Venice’. We also went a little further afield with groups of Year 12 and Year 13 students to see performances of ‘Othello’ and ‘Regeneration’ at The Oxford Playhouse.

In March we repeated a trip to France with our Year 12 Literature students for a tour of the First World War Battlefields. Again this year we followed a route around the Somme, studying poetry from the exam anthology. To describe such a trip as ‘moving’ or ‘memorable’ seems wholly inadequate. Staff and students alike take away from the weekend a very small but profound idea of what those years of conflict were like. The experience provides the students with an experience which we know will prove successful in preparing them for their AS Literature exam.

Within school there are many ways in which we ensure that our subject maintains a high profile. Again this year Mr Spice prepared students for the BBC School Report Project. Students were given three hours to research, compile, write and present a formal online news bulletin. Topics ranged from an upcoming Mud Runner that two students were raising money for, to the taxing issue of choosing GCSE options. The students acquitted themselves perfectly and the day was complete when all were blessed by a surprise visit from Bronwen Jeffreys, the BBC Education Editor, who gladly passed on the benefit of her experience.

The year is not yet over. There are plans afoot for a summer's evening of poetry readings for our Sixth Form students and tickets have already been reserved for productions to be staged in the RSC's Winter Season including ‘ Wendy and Peter Pan’ and ‘Henry V’. We look forward to sharing in our students’ exam successes again this summer and wish luck to those moving on next year, particularly to the many Sixth Form students who have chosen to continue studying English at university.

I am more grateful than ever this year to my colleagues in the English Department for their unfailing commitment to ensure our students thrive. Despite the extra burden my absence has created this term they have supported me in the best way they can, by working tirelessly to deliver a stimulating curriculum and maintaining a passion for English. Thank you.

Geography Report by David Brookes, Head of Department

In the Geography department we have long held the view that whilst we endeavour to expand students' horizons within the classroom Geography comes alive outside. In the past twelve months Geography students have once again had the opportunity to experience Geography first hand; both locally and in farther flung locations.

Embracing this focus on fieldwork September was a busy month, with both Year 12 and Year 11 embarking on trips, as part of their A-Level and GCSE preparations. At 7.30am on Friday 5th September we stood outside school with 35 Year 12 students. What better way is there to start Geography A-level than being out in the field collecting data? So it was that we embarked on our intrepid journey across Worcestershire to Carding Mill Valley in Shropshire, a beautiful river valley just outside Church Stretton, here students completed an investigation into river geomorphology. At the end of September it was Year 11’s turn, as we aimed to enlighten students to the contrasting urban environments across the UK’s second city. Visiting the area around Brindley Place, home to businesses, with striking architecture, bustling cafes and high end shops. Contrasting the residential suburb of Kings Norton, with the vibrant community that live and work within the Sparkbrook area of the city. For students from rural Worcestershire, this was a powerful experience.

Towards the end of the Autumn term, both Year 12 and Year 13 experienced Human Geography fieldwork. The lower sixth undertook a study of contrasting urban areas in Worcester. Here they investigated differences between the inner city areas of Arboretum and Lowesmoor, with the suburban area of Warndon Villages. Year 13 travelled to Bristol to learn about the impact of urban processes. On this trip we were able to arrange for presentations from Bristol City Council, which gave students an invaluable insight into urban challenges they are trying to tackle and their attempts to manage them. We also had a presentation at Cabot Circus on the transformational impact of the redevelopment of the old Broadmead Shopping Centre. Year 12 and Year 13 also benefitted from the visit of David Redfern, the previous Chief Examiner for the AQA A-Level we teach. The day provided and excellent opportunity for our students to benefit from David’s expertise, as he gave detailed feedback and advice on previous examinations.

As the weather began to improve after Easter Year 10 started to prepare for their Controlled Assessment. This is a geographical investigation that involves primary data collection. Once again students had a choice of which study they could undertake. This year this was a day’s fieldwork in the Wyre Forest looking at the deciduous woodland ecosystem, or to travel to Dorset to investigate longshore drift and its impact on Chesil Beach and Swanage Bay. Despite the forecast of rain for both trips, the sun once again shone down on the Geography department and we were able to complete both trips as planned. Students are currently finalising their investigations.

At the end of May all of Year 8 ventured to Stratford, Bidford-upon-Avon and Abbotts Morton to study settlement hierarchy (how the size of settlements affect the services provided). This helps to improve students understanding of their local area whilst also enabling us to train students in how to complete a geographical investigation.

We still have our final fieldtrip of the year to come, when Year 12 will head to Snowdonia. In the department we truly believe, as I am sure you can tell, that fieldwork and learning outside of the classroom plays a valuable and decisive role in the teaching of Geography. We know that students not only enjoy the opportunities available to them, but find that their understanding of Geographical processes and theories is furthered massively.

Gifted and Talented Report by Nicola Merrett, Gifted and Talented Co-ordinator

I have really enjoyed this year as I have been able to see our Year 8 Gifted and Talented group once a fortnight for some stretch and challenge activities, including teaching them some Latin language and Roman History. Here is a picture of them in role re-enacting a symposium, or dinner party, where they learnt that to eat like the Romans reclining on their sides and mainly using their hands. It’s not as easy as it seems and we were all grateful for the current practice of sitting upright at a table. As you can see, Adam and Josh decided to act as servants and one student is disguised as the food – a pheasant in this case.

The Latin course that they have been following is designed by Cambridge University, and with that in mind I contacted them to ask if there was any way we could arrange a visit. They agreed, and the day before presentation evening we will have successfully driven there and back. I will report more details about the visit, with pictures, in a future newsletter. Hopefully, this will inspire some of them to consider Classics or Latin in the future, and join such people as JK Rowling (Exeter) CS Lewis; Nick Owen- BBC reporter (Leeds); Chris Martin, Cold Play lead singer (UCL); Anthony James Leggett – Nobel Prize winner for Physics-(initial degree was in Classics from Oxford) to name a few. But even if not, as the posters they recently completed for me show, there are lots of benefits to learning this so called ‘dead’ language.

Our Gifted and Talented students were invited to take part in the annual ATE residential weekend in Ledbury along with some of our partner schools. This year I visited them instead of staying the whole weekend and they seemed to have had as much fun as ever. A variety of intriguing puzzles to solve, lots of team work and confidence building skills as well as a Science, Maths and English stretch and challenge activities. It always amazes me how well they adapt to their mixed groups and embrace even the more mundane tasks of setting the tables each day, washing up and cleaning. It does make you wonder how much they do these jobs at home…

This is only a taster of items, I am proud to say that across all departments at Pershore opportunities are offered to all pupils to stretch themselves. Whether it is to be the star of the school production, acting as envoys around the school, in sport, science or design, our students are always doing something amazing and none of it would be possible without the dedication of my wonderful colleagues, so a final thank you to them.

Hampton Centre Report by Jan Stoney, SEN Co-ordinator

The Hampton Centre has had an exciting year implementing the 2014 Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) Code of Practice. The 2014 SEND Code of Practice has changed the procedures for students with additional needs. Statements of SEN are in the process of being transferred to Education, Health and Care (EHC) Plans. Students who had provision at School Action and School Action Plus are now provided with Special Educational Needs Support (SENS).

The Centre and Base have enabled students to develop independent learning and life skills in the Open College, Foundation Learning Qualification. Olivia Caranci and Edward Edkins have achieved a range of Open College qualifications from Entry Level 3 to Level 1. They will receive their Open College Certificates in July 2015.

The Awesome, group have followed the C.S.Lewis route visiting the inspiration for the Chronicles of Narnia books in Malvern, as well as incorporating a visit to the Morgan Motor Company which has been part of their curriculum studies in the Centre. A number of students have visited Warwick Castle as part of their personalised curriculum provision. Olivia Caranci, Cheyenne Hackling and Shazad Henning have participated in alternative curriculum provision at Wick Grange Farm. As well as developing an understanding of the agricultural environment they have experienced and learned about science in the real world. Students have attended lessons on first aid and experienced a number of basic first aid techniques during the sessions.

The Worcestershire Young Carer’s Conference was held in April 2015 at Hartlebury-based communications agency. Lady Susanna McFarlane, chair of YSS trustees, introduced the Conference. Edward Edkins and Deniella Saunders, along with students from other schools across Worcestershire, organised and delivered presentations at the YSS Young Carer’s Conference in the presence of H.R.H. The Princess Royal Princess Anne and Lord Winnington, the High Sherriff of Worcestershire and Lady Winnington. Edward and Deniella, provided delegates with their experiences as young carers and the ways they manage to adjust to the requirements of school, as well as the support they have needed and have been provided with, in and out of school. This was an exceptional Conference and both students provided inspiration to all who attended about how they cope with everyday life and the demands of school.

The Centre and Base have said farewell to teaching assistants, Amanda Gardner, Meg Sugrue, Jennifer Ludlow, Lorraine Diggins Wallace and Julie Jones who moved on to new positions. We have welcomed Madeleine Doxford, Debbie Price, Samantha Blueman and Vicky Hayward as new teaching assistants in the department. We have also welcomed Charles Matthews as the school’s Educational Psychologist.

History Report by Sam Foster, Head of Department

2015 has seen some excellent work from all involved in the department as we continue to ensure that history remains an exciting, engaging and popular subject at Pershore High School. I am delighted that we have so many students opting to follow History courses in Key Stage 4 next year. The same is true for Key Stage 5. Next year will bring new challenges as we begin the new A Level courses and develop the new GCSE for teaching in September 2016.

During the past few months students and teachers alike have been busy in preparation for the summer exams. We look forward to seeing the results of all this hard work in August. Again we see some of our most talented Year 13 students aiming to read History degrees at some splendid Universities around the country such as Queen Mary’s, London and Cambridge. Good luck to everyone sitting the History GCSE, AS and A Level examinations this summer.

Outside of the classroom, Year 8 students have had the opportunity to visit the Black Country Museum as part of their work in Humanities. A now annual tradition that involves coal mines, sweet shops and hugely fattening fish and chips. We had a lovely comment from a member of the public who was visiting the museum on the same day as Pershore High. “On a visit to the Black Country Museum on 21 May, we came across several parties of your students…I would like to say how well behaved and courteous they all were, whilst at the same time having a good time. It was a pleasure to be able to tell other visitors that they were from our town of Pershore’. Well done Year 8.

Mr Burrows continues to plan exciting trips to the Battlefields of Belgium to commemorate the hugely important centenary years of the Great War. We will be taking a KS3 group for Activities Days in July and a GCSE group in October. Year 13 Historians accompanied Ms Herbert to London and Cheltenham this year for lectures on the Tudors. Students had the opportunity to meet and question historians such as David Starkey. My sincere thanks to all the History staff who give up their own valuable time to make these extra-curricular visits. The students benefit so much from these opportunities.

This year and into next, the staffing of the history department remains stable which means that we can concentrate upon improving the progression and attainment of every student who walks through the doors of a History classroom. As the political world continues to send surprises our way, teachers of History at Pershore High School hope that students will appreciate the benefits of studying the past even more than ever. Events such as the troubles in the Middle East become even more pertinent when you fully understand the ideas of cause and consequence that History teaches us. We look forward to another year creating knowledgeable and worldly wise citizens who are equipped to make independent, informed and valid judgements about the society in which they live.

Information and Communication Department Report by Sally Beeton, Head of Department

ICT and Computing continues to change with the Programme of Study focused on computing and computational thinking. We have a number of Key Stage 3 computing units of study and students undertake Scratch programming and are introduced to number systems such as binary and the programming language Python. Key Stage 3 also includes a range of more traditional IT tasks such a designing and implementing a database and creating spreadsheets to assist with problem solving and modelling solutions. We have a balance within Key Stage 3 between computing, creative IT and digital literacy. At Key Stage 4 the Certificate in Digital Applications has been updated to focus more on the creative side of computing, including a web design exam and a multimedia product development project. Students in Key Stage 5 continue to be offered an applied ICT A level and A level Computing.

Cyber Security Showcase

ICT and Computing as a subject area relates to many job roles in industry and one area of focus for skills development within industry is cyber security. On the 15th of January, Computing students attended Worcester’s very first Cyber Security Showcase at the Worcester Arena. The showcase consisted of many local IT and cyber security companies and also included a number of small start-up businesses. The students first listened to an inspiring talk given by the Chairman of 3SDL, Mr David Clark, who shared his thoughts and experiences of working in the cyber security industry. After explaining to the students the benefits of apprenticeships, he invited the students to speak and interact with all of the cyber security and IT companies that were present. One such company, Postcode Anywhere, based in Diglis, was so impressed with our students that they later invited us to visit their offices for a further insight into their company. Our students made good use of the chance to learn about cyber security and network with some of the leading IT and Cyber Security companies in the area.

Computing Club

The Computing Club is open to key stage 3 students and this year they have been developing their programming skills using Raspberry Pis. They use the programming language Python to control various external devices including LEDs.

Students visit Technology Company

Year 12 Computing students and ICT/Computing teacher Mr Ali visited Postcode Anywhere in Diglis, Worcester, for an insight into the various projects and business activities on which the company are currently working Students were challenged to complete a set of programming tasks and given an overview of the future employment opportunities within the computing industry. Postcode Anywhere is a technology company which was set up 15 years ago, now employing over 50 people, with a turnover in excess of £10m.

Year 11 Certificate in Digital Applications students have produced a range of creative solutions to a project based around producing an online advertising trailer with a magic theme for a learning product for young children. They were challenged to produce a trailer to sell an early learning literacy product to teachers; to include a splash screen, a quiz, a video advert, an animation and a navigation screen. Throughout the project they follow a standard development process including designing each element of the trailer and gathering feedback on prototype versions.

Elliott Nightingale – animated opening splash screen

Tommy Ross – video advert for the learning Tom Hicks – animation to introduce the product wizard character who features in the learning product

ICT and Computing continues to change with the Programme of Study focused on computing and computational thinking. We have a number of Key Stage 3 computing units of study and students undertake Scratch programming and are introduced to number systems such as binary and the programming language Python. Key Stage 3 also includes a range of more traditional IT tasks such a designing and implementing a database Tommy Ross – video advert for the learning and creating spreadsheets to assist with problem solving and modelling solutions. We have a balance within product Key Stage 3 between computing, creative IT and digital literacy. At Key Stage 4 the Certificate in Digital Applications has been updated to focus more on the creative side of computing, including a web design exam and a multimedia product development project. Students in Key Stage 5 continue to be offered an applied ICT A level and A level Computing.

Elliot Nightingale – animated opening splash Harriet Christopher – opening screen for online screen literacy quiz

Year 12 online ebooks and Year 13

Multimedia projects were as diverse as ever. Year 13 students work independently for a sponsor to create a multimedia product using professional development software. They are awarded grades based on the product in one unit but are also working for marks for their performance as project managers –a useful transferrable skill.

Scott White – photography teaching package Sam Maziak – Physics revision and Emily Fowler – introduction to the Droitwich including a quiz Marina for Lock and Quay Limited

Scott White – photography teaching Tom Benn – company promotion for Safe package Patient Systems Ltd

Mathematics Report by Debbie Morgan, Head of Department

The Maths Department continues to enjoy success at all levels, with another set of record results at GCSE in 2014. 81% of students achieved a Grade C or better and a pleasing 21% achieved a Grade A* or A. Both results are well above the national figures of 62% and 15%, and this level of success was a credit to the hard work of the students and teachers over the course of two years. The teachers worked tirelessly to ensure students were as prepared as possible and it was pleasing to see just how many students made use of the additional support on offer. Mathematics in the Sixth Form is a popular choice and the Department continues to thrive at this level, despite the high level of challenge involved. We enjoyed another terrific year at A2 with 50% of students achieving a Grade A* or A, and 79% of students achieving a Grade B or better. At AS Level 29% of students achieved a Grade A and 41% a Grade B or better.

Mathematics education is undergoing a period of significant change nationally at the moment; in order to prepare for these changes current Year 9 students have already started work on the new GCSE this year. They face a much more challenging exam in Year 11 and have a new grading system to familiarise themselves with. Although it has been a big adjustment, Year 9 students have made a good start. Current Year 11 students have now completed their GCSE course and we are optimistic about a strong performance. The students have again been given many hours of extra support outside of lessons to prepare them for the final examinations and we are hopeful that this will be rewarded by another pleasing set of results.

Outside of lessons, we have continued to be involved in the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust Maths Challenge competitions, in which students compete against students from schools around the country by solving a series of complex mathematical problems. In November, a small number of A Level students took part in the 90 minute Senior Maths Challenge in which Matt Smith and Albert Courts both achieved Gold and qualified for the Kangaroo Challenge. In addition, Aaron Robinson also achieved Gold, and William Hornbrook and George Potham both achieved Bronze. In February a group of Year 10 students participated in the Intermediate Maths Challenge; Best in School and the only Gold award winner was Edward Jordan, Silver award winners were Abigail Wiggins, Oliver Morgan, Bethany Neal, Maya De Silva Morgan and Alex Lowbridge and Bronze award winners were Robert Ward, Zoe Wood, Harry Lees, Emmie Bewley, Jordan Barnfield, Jack Morgan and Tim Coleman. Both are tough competitions, so these are fantastic achievements and every student who took part should be pleased with how well they did.

Overall it has been another year filled with a tremendous amount of hard work and the students deserve to be rewarded with excellent results in the summer. Thank you to the members of the Maths Department for working with such enthusiasm and dedication to support all our students this year.

Modern Foreign Languages Report by Simon Kemp, Head of Department

The MFL Department has enjoyed another busy and exciting year, having moved to our new accommodation in the heart of the school. This year has once again confirmed that Pershore High School has a number of talented linguists and there have been a wide range of success at all levels across the school. At GCSE 65% of all students achieved a grade A*-C with several achieving a top grades. These included A* for Hugo Redfern and Daisy Wakefield in French. At AS and A2 there was a 100% pass rate with particular mention going to Meg Thomas who achieved an A grade in her German AS examination. We are confident that the current group of students sitting their exams this summer will do just as well.

Much of the department’s success lies in the wide range of activities that we offer in a variety of languages. At KS3 students continue to study both French and German with a large number opting to continue with their language studies at KS4. At A level a number of students have been studying Beginners Spanish as part of the electives programme and this year we have also helped students successfully complete GCSE’s in Spanish and Italian. In addition to these subjects we are pleased to offer less traditional languages to our students. A small number of Year 8 students have been developing their skills in Mandarin as part PHS twinning programme with Caoqiao Middle School in China. They have been learning basic greetings, numbers and days of the week and have produced a video diary for our partner school. As well as Mandarin students have had the opportunity to learn some Japanese as part of an extra-curricular club run by Mrs Bowden. As you can see, it is truly a multicultural department.

The department are always keen to allow students to put their language skills into practise outside the classroom. All students have the opportunity to do this, most notably through the very successful exchange programmes with both France and Germany. This year it was the turn to host our French partners from Plouay in Brittany. In March we received a visit from 33 students and 3 members of staff who spent a busy week with Pershore students from Years 8-10. Students enjoyed a range of activities with trips to Cadbury’s World, Drayton Manor, a trip up the Malvern Hills and a tearful farewell disco at Bowl Xtreme. As I write this, we are preparing for the return leg to France where students will enjoy a week of activities which aim to develop their language skills in addition to creating many long lasting friendships. Next year the focus will return to our partnership with Bad Neustadt in Germany.

As a department we are keen to offer students a cultural experience to supplement their language learning. As part of European Day of Languages, Year 8 students spent a day looking at countries across the European Union, learning some facts about each country as well as number of key phrases in some less well known languages. In July we also took a number of Year 9 students to Boulogne for a day trip where they had to order their lunch in French and spent time visiting a bustling French market.

At the other end of the learning spectrum we have been working closely with the First and Middle schools in our mission to turn Pershore into a town of mini linguists! As part of the Language Leaders programme Mrs Loxley and a group of sixth formers devised a series of lessons in Spanish which they then taught to classes in the local first schools. The department also organised a very successful Jeux Sans Frontières day for Year 7 students from our feeded Middle schools which ranged from spelling competitions in French, a treasure hunt testing language skills to more physical challenges.

Finally we are looking forward to a similarly busy year for next year and we are pleased to welcome back Mrs Whitesmith from her maternity leave.

Pershore High Schools construction partner proudly helping to deliver the new Art and Classroom development

George Law Ltd, Kidderminster Office George Law Ltd 35 Mill Street Kidderminster Worcestershire DY11 6XB Tel: 01562 820421 Fax: 01562 829205 Email: [email protected]

Performing Arts Report by Keith Walden, Head of Department

We have enjoyed an extremely busy and successful year in the Music Department with many music-making activities taking place in and out of school.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of our musical year has been performing in the Royal Albert Hall. The school choir enjoyed the privilege of performing Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man, a Mass for Peace as part of the Centenary Chorus alongside the Philharmonia Orchestra under our now familiar conductor Malcolm Goldring. The concert formed part of the national marking of the beginning of World War One, and was unique in that it brought together choral singers from across Europe as well as from UK-based choirs in an act of union, collaboration and combined music-making. Months of hard work, rehearsal, learning the music and then getting up very early on Sunday 28th September all contributed to the excitement of the occasion. Nothing however, can convey the emotions experienced by all members of the choir as they entered the concert hall, rehearsed and finally performed to a sold-out audience of over 3,000 people who were moved by the intensity portrayed in the horror of battle in Charge! and the emotion of the final Chorale. The choir also sang Judex from Gounod’s Mors et Vita, as well as listening to the Philharmonia perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 (Fate). Ex- Pershore High pupil Andrew Hemming was chosen as the UK representative in an exchange of poppy seeds amongst choir members from the four countries represented in a gesture of peace and reconciliation.

It was the first time I personally have performed in the Royal Albert Hall and it was a wonderful experience and one that I will never forget. I hope that similar thoughts are shared by all those pupils, staff and ex-pupils who took part in the day. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the many people who helped make this unique event such a success; to the staff in school for their commitment to choir rehearsals and supervision of pupils on the day; to Anne Renshaw and Malcolm Goldring (and others behind the scenes) at SING UK for providing us with this magnificent opportunity; to the pupils for their energy, focus and hard work and for their impeccable attitude on the day and finally but most significantly, to Mrs Witherick for her tireless work in rehearsing and preparing the singers so well in rehearsal prior to the concert. Thank you one and all. We look forward to hopefully singing at the Royal Albert Hall again this coming November in a performance of Handel’s Messiah. Come to choir to make sure you don’t miss out.

Some choir members continued their singing work after the Christmas break and learnt in a blitz of rehearsals the Mozart Requiem. This was rehearsed and performed in a day in Worcester at the end of April, again under the conducing baton of Malcolm Goldring. Well done to those pupils who gave of their time and energy in the busy coursework term before Easter.

In November the Pyramid Concert took place at Pershore High School. This annual event brings together pupils from local Middle Schools with High School pupils in joint orchestral playing in daytime workshop rehearsals and an evening performance showcasing the work undertaken during the day. The theme for this year was Disney and the audience enjoyed (and even sang along) to the combined orchestra performing pieces such as Can You Feel The Love Tonight and the inevitable ‘Let It Go’ from Frozen. It was a great event and all involved (some for the sixth or seventh time) enjoyed the occasion.

The Orchestra was invited to perform for the 'Pershore Christmas Lights Switch-On' at the end of November and this was a fun (and not as cold as usual) way to begin the Christmas season. An ensemble combined to perform a wide variety of Christmas favourites to the expectant crowd awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus, this time taking place in St. Andrews Garden in Pershore. This was a great opportunity to perform in the local community and is one we look forward to repeating in the future; many thanks to the Youth Council for extending us the invitation to perform.

There was further music-making at the school annual Pensioners’ Coffee Morning as part of the Christmas season and as well as a performance from the school choir their were solo performances given by Matthew Bessant, Holly Lawley, Carrie Brett, Becky Pouton and Lucy George which were gratefully received by the audience. This also provided the older pupils with valuable performing experience in advance of their AS and A2 recitals to a visiting examiner later in the year.

The Christmas Carol Service at Pershore Abbey has always been a highlight of the musical year, and this year was particularly significant as 2014 marked the 100-year Anniversary of the outbreak of World War One. This was marked in many ways in our Service beginning with the Jazz Band led by Isla Gow performing Pack Up Your Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag. Alongside the more traditional orchestral music, solo performances and choral items the middle section of the Service was particularly poignant. A moving and thought-provoking Drama piece The Christmas Truce was followed by the choir singing Silent Night with the first verse in sung German. Words from an ex-soldier Henry Williamson were then heard before the choir and orchestra combined for a rousing performance of He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother reinforcing the message of comradeship and a sense of togetherness. Thanks in particular go to Mrs Witherick, Mr Knight, Mrs Cookson, Mr Roberts, the ever- present Mrs Joynes and many other colleagues for their hard work in making the Carol Service a success and to the Abbey for their usual hospitality and support.

In a change to previous school productions this year the music was played by a 5-piece Rock Band rather than an orchestra. Given we performed ‘We Will Rock You’, a musical based on the music of Queen, this seemed highly appropriate and gives some of those non-orchestral musicians a chance to shine. Will Bewley, George Creese, Edward Littleboy, Mrs Witherick and I found ourselves wondering who was Freddie, Brian, John and Roger… perhaps you should decide for yourselves. Well done to the three pupil performers who wowed the audience with solos, head-banging and rock music the mighty Queen would be proud of. The three-night sell- out audience enjoyed wonderful singing, dancing, acting and music from all the cast augmented by a wonderful set, lighting and sound. Congratulations to Director, Mrs Cookson ably supported by Miss Brown, Mrs Roberts and many others for leading a great show. Thanks must also go to Mr Roberts and his technical team for their magnificent contribution to the production. They seem to keep getting better every year.

Pershore High is fortunate to have in its midst an up-and-coming successful local band, ‘Chase the Deer’. The five piece indie-rock band is made up of students Briony Watkins as lead singer, Angus Evans on bass, Michael Evans on drums with Owen Taylor and George Frangoudes on guitar. They have enjoyed a number of notable successes this year including opening at Kidz Live in Worcester in December, performing at Symphony Hall in May as part of the Worcester Youth Music concert as well as playing many, many other local gigs. They also have further performances in the future at local venues, as part of ‘BBC Introducing’ at the Wychwood Festival in Cheltenham and at the O2 academy. I wish them every success in the future. They can be heard at https://soundcloud.com/chasethedeer and you can also visit their website at http://chasethedeer.com

I would like to thank many people for their hard work in making the Music department successful this year. Mrs Witherick has been immensely supportive of me personally throughout the year and has been a wonderful colleague to work with, I couldn't imagine better. I would also like to thank Mrs Cookson, Miss Brown and Mr Roberts who have all been hugely supportive and hard-working members of the Performing Arts department, and I thank them also for their enthusiasm and dedication which I could not be without. I have enjoyed watching the skill, confidence and proficiency of Music trainee teacher Alex Foster develop over the year. He has worked with diligence and enthusiasm during his time at Pershore and I wish him every success in his new post in Swindon. I would like to thank all staff who have supported the choir and orchestra and in particular Mr Knight for his support during the Carol Service. Thanks also go to all the instrumental and vocal teachers who come into school and develop the skills of our performers. Thanks also go to the encouraging parents of our musicians for supporting events in and out of school. Finally, I would like to thank the pupils for their hard work, energy and commitment demonstrated over the course over the whole year. They have worked hard in and out of lessons and help to create a vibrant and exciting atmosphere which is extremely enjoyable to work in. I wish those who leave us as the end of this year every success and look forward to welcoming those who join us in September for some great music-making.

‘We Will Rock You’

The hardest things about writing reviews of the year is avoiding inappropriate ‘Innuendo’s’. It’s even more difficult when you are writing about We Will Rock You - a show based on the hit-singles of rock legends Queen. Almost 100 pupils formed the cast, crew and band and they had been going ‘Ga-Ga’ since September rehearsing ready for the March performances. We Will Rock You is the story of Galileo Figaro and Scaramouche and their quest, alongside the Bohemians, to bring real live rock and roll music back to Planet Mall and to overthrow the merciless Killer Queen and her sidekick Khashoggi.

A hardworking, focused, enthusiastic and energetic group of pupils rushed ‘Headlong’ into rehearsals and worked tirelessly at learning lines, songs and dances as quick as a ‘Flash’ under the direction of Mrs Cookson, Miss Brown, Mrs Roberts and Mr Walden. Mr Roberts endured many lost nights of sleep wondering how to recreate his ‘One Vision’ of the many sets and to design the lighting required for the performance. Rehearsals stepped up in intensity after Christmas, and both pupils and staff committed countless hours after school and at weekends to ensure that the show was a success; pupils were ‘Under Pressure’ to deliver a fantastic performance…

And they delivered! There were performances to three sold-out audiences as well as an additional dress- rehearsal performance to pupils of our Year 8 cohort. A smaller rock band played in this year’s production although the sound was anything but small. Both Will Bewley and Ed Littleboy enjoyed cameo on-stage solo performances and my thanks must go to Mrs Witherick for her playing in the band. The technical team were our ‘Champions’ every night but most importantly, there was astonishing singing, marvellous dancing and superb acting from everyone involved on stage with too many outstanding performances to name individuals. The Performing Arts Department has raised the standard even higher and the pupils relished and rose to the challenge. Their clearly enjoyed their moment of ‘Rhapsody’.

Many thanks and congratulations to all involved. We still will rock you!

Philosophy and Applied Ethics Report by Jon Knight, Head of Department

Philosophy and Ethics is really the study of humanity and the relationship it has with its own institutions, whether the relationship is beneficial or harmful, progressive or regressive, Philosophy may not be included in the English Baccalaureate; however in these times of putting profit before people, searching questions about right and wrong and what it means to be human, are more important now than they have ever been. With another 5 years of cuts and the dismantling of public services, the belief in a social and nurturing society of mutual respect and support seems increasingly ideological, however we have the opportunity and the duty to question authority as much as we possibly can, not just how things are but why things are the way they are as well and which direction we would like them to go. Philosophy is a discipline that necessarily seeks the empowerment of students so that they become active citizens, with one’s empowerment, comes responsibility and to act responsibly one has to be informed.

In addition to the specifications and schemes of work, our students have also had the opportunities to learn directly from the real world, this year alone has seen a joint Year 11; Philosophy, History and MFL trip to Berlin, a stark reminder of the horrors that happen without fair democratic representation and the rise of the political extremes, but also a trip that shows the hope in a new society of generosity and cultural diversity and liberty that Berlin has become. The department will also have hosted representatives from six of the major world religions, a serving governor of Her Majesty’s prison service and a member of the national anti-terrorism squad, Year 10 students also took part in a youth consultation at Staffordshire University into stopping radicalisation. Year 9 students will have had talks from Baptist missionary workers after their stay working with the socially disenfranchised in Jamaica. Year 12 and 13 and our Gifted and Talented year 11’s also took part in a Philosophy and Ethics conference which featured eminent contemporary philosophers.

Not only is our department growing in terms of students opting to take our subject at GCSE and A level, we are also improving their results, however this is not the goal of our department, it is but a happy beneficial consequence of our practice. Every day we remind ourselves that children want to learn, as staff we just have to provide a rich and varied playground for them to exercise their minds, without too many restrictions or too many breaks to assess what they could be otherwise learning.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the teachers who have helped to create the department’s unique learning environment; Helen Witherick who has been a masterful deliverer of Year 9 Religious Studies and Mr Luke Ventura who has been an inspiration to students and teachers alike. I would also like to mention Miss Haynes our RS trainee; I wish her all the best at her new school in St Peters Gloucester. Follow us on Twitter @PHS_philosophy

Physical Education and School Sport Report by Tom Barz, Head of Department

The department were extremely proud and pleased with our GCSE Sport Studies pupils, they achieved our best ever results with an A* to C pass rate of 86%.

The autumn term saw the introduction of the very productive PE Parent Panel. Parents volunteered to run extra- curricular clubs, drive minibuses and support the department with grant applications. As a result, a significant number of pupils are participating in; Girls Fitness club run by Lorna Brookes, Rugby club run by Andy Maginnis and Triathlon club run by Lou Bugg, Richard Goode and Sue Turner. Furthermore, grant applications by Jenni Morris has given a Year 10 GCSE group the opportunity to enrol on a canoe course at the Riverside Youth Centre.

The many successes and highlights have been publicised in the local press and school newsletter. Some of these are listed below:

Sky Sports Mentor Visit

As part of the Sky Sports Athlete Mentor Programme Scheme, we were thrilled to have a visit from Thinus Delport, a rugby union wing and fullback player who played for Gloucester, the Worcester Warriors and South Africa. During his visit Thinus hosted a question and answer session before putting our rugby players through their paces in an amazing training session.

Students & staff support Sport Relief

The teachers kicked off a week of sport based fundraising activities with a gruelling football match. Mr Corbett taught the pupils some fancy footwork during the 1-1 draw.

Throughout the week Oliver Cornelius triumphed in the crazy golf challenge, the Tellytubbies won a netball tournament and all pupils ran the sports relief mile in PE lessons.

Throughout the week Oliver Cornelius triumphed in the crazy golf challenge, the Tellytubbies won a netball tournament and all pupils ran the Sport Relief Mile in PE lessons.

Sports Day

Over 600 pupils took part in Sports Day, which saw Magellan victorious after the enthralling relays. A total of six records were broken on the day: Megan Oswell, 800m; Oliver Heeks, Shot; Oliver Morgan, 800m; Fabrice Kemogne, 200m; along with the Year 9 boys Kingsley relay team and Year 10 girls Armstrong relay team.

Priest Cup Athletics Due to their exceptional performance at the Priest Cup Athletics meet the following pupils were all selected to represent South Worcestershire in the county championships: Tom Kenwright; Oli Morgan; Molly Hanson; Olivia Mitcham; Alicia Green; Tasha Meusz; Will Parry; Becky Hodgkins; Izzy Adams; Josie Jones; Hannah Kenwright; Tim Coleman; Anya Critchley; Will Bugg; Jim Mellish; Jon Hall; Lewis Payne; Indira Creedmiles; Cameron Edmunds; Rob Shepherd; Joe Hardman and Oliver Heeks

Tour de France

Jonathan Oxley completed the 120 mile cycle ride along the first stage of the Tour de France course in Yorkshire. An amazing achievement for a 16 year old.

Girls Football

Polly Bradstock and Olivia Mitcham were selected for the Worcestershire County Schools FA Squad. The selection has meant that the girls will have the opportunity to travel to Orlando Florida to compete in a tournament where they will be watched by scouts from around the world.

Year 8 District Athletics Success

Exceptional performances from Megan Oswell and Charlotte Albert helped the Year 8 Girls team to run home as SWSSA District. champions. Katie Dolan, Molly Hughes, Liz Shaw (Back Row); Ella Strutt, Charlotte Albutt, Megan Oswell (Middle Row) and Emily Hodkins, Hope Dickson, Natasha Mitchell (Front Row)

Canoe Sprint Champions

Meg Bradley and Ruth Bennett, competed at the BCU Canoe Sprint Junior and Paracanoe National and Open Championship Regatta, winning the C2 500 metre race by the narrowest of margins – 0.02 seconds over their rivals.

English Schools Cross Country

Pershore students performed extremely well at the English Schools Cross Country. Despite fierce competition for many it was the first time running at such a high level competition. Oliver Morgan ran clear of the opposition and came home in first place. Will Parry, Will Bugg and Fabrice Kemogne finished 6th, 17th and 44th respectively.

Pictured left to right: Fabrice Kemogne, Will Parry, Will Bugg and Oliver Morgan

Yorkshire Speeds Lifesaving Competition

Amy Weston and Jack Betteridge travelled to Leeds to compete in the Yorkshire Speeds Life Saving Competition. They faced well drilled and experienced competitors from some of the North’s strongest clubs. Amy and Jack medalled in each of the four events in their age range. Amy received two golds and two bronze medals and Jack three golds and one silver.

Pictured left to right: Amy Weston, Rhianne Gale and Jack Betteridge

Triathlon Club up and running and swimming and cycling

October saw the launch of the much anticipated Triathlon Club. 18 pupils signed up to the club, receiving extensive tuition in developing the skills of triathlon. Throughout the course pupils put these skills into competitive duathlons and aquathons. The department would like to thank Lou Bugg and Richard Goode along with Evesham Vale Triathletes for the support and dedication they have shown to set up the club.

Year 10 make it to the County Cup Final

The Year 10 football team demolished Trinity High School 7-1 in the first round of the County Cup, with Declan Juliff scoring four of the goals.

The team then played against Christopher Whitehead in the quarter-final. Declan Juliff continued his excellent form from previous games bagging himself seven goals, in a game that saw Pershore run riot in the first half. The team played Hanley Castle in the semi-finals. Hanley were by far the toughest opponents the team had come up against, some fine saves by James Davidson kept Pershore in contention. Pershore handled the pressure well and late in the first half Jack McCabe slotted home a goal to give the team a slim lead. The team battled extremely well in the second half with some heroic performances by Charlie Cross and Ben Tilbury, and managed to hang on to earn themselves a place in the final. In the final they lost to King Charles I School, 4-0, in spite of a brave showing.

Girls cruise to Cross Country Success

PHS pupils performed extremely well at the SWSSA Cross Country Cup held at Prince Henry’s High School. Despite atrocious weather conditions, the PHS runners battled through the boggy course. There were some exceptional performances from Elise Blake (2nd), Helena Leach (3rd) and Molly Salt (4th). The girls’ team won an astonishing 16 points to become District Champions.

Aston Villa Scholarship for Jordan

Jordan Cox turned a dream into a reality after landing a two year scholarship with Aston Villa Football Club. Over the course of his time at Villa Jordan has played against the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and in an International tournament against Borussia Monchengladbach. A testament to Jordan’s progress was that as an Under 16 he regularly featured in the Under 18 squad.

Triathlon Taster

Triathlon club members Will Parry, Bill Mitchell and Adam Palin put their newly learnt skills in to a competitive race by taking part in the Evesham Vale Triathletes Duathlon. School sessions saw the group visit Halesowen Velodrome to compete in time trials and elimination races.

District Swimming Success

Our Year 8 swimmers were crowned Champions at the SWSSA Gala. Chris Vizard broke the front crawl record, Simon Sweatman broke the backstroke record and to top off a great gala the boys relay team smashed the District Relay record by 3 seconds.

Girls win District Badminton Tournament

Deniella Saunders, Jenni Ann-North, Klaudia Plechowiak, Natalia Wieczorek and Megan Bradley battled against tough opposition from Prince Henry’s High School and Evesham High School to become District Champions. Due to their success the team went on to represent South Worcestershire in a County Tournament held at Worcester University.

National Schools Equestrian Association Report by Rachel Kilmister, Team Manager

Three years in the Pershore High School Equestrian Team continues to grow. We now have more members than ever and are always looking for new riders to join the team.

Our first outing this year was Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th October to Hartpury where a number of our riders attended the Jumping with Style and dressage competition. Charlotte Albutt, Jess Thomas, Sophie Coll and Sophie Rushton rode in the jumping. They all achieved excellent marks for their riding ability. Anna Lampitt and Isabel Harmer both rode in the dressage achieving excellent scores.

Jessica Thomas, Year 9, had qualified outside of school to ride at the Horse of The Year Show in the Working Hunter competition. As a team we thought it would be a fantastic experience to visit HOYS and see the top riders compete as well as support Jess who managed to secure a fantastic 8th position.

On Sunday 1st March 4 riders from our equestrian team competed at Kings in Bromyard in the area schools dressage competition. The team of Anna Lampitt, Isabel Harmer, Erin Carvill and Holly Scrafton rode incredibly well to be placed Third overall in the team competition. Anna Lampitt achieved the highest individual score to be placed 8th from 40 competitors in the Preliminary competition closely followed by Isabel. Anna also achieved 5th place individually in the novice competition. The girls tried desperately to repeat this performance on 24th May to qualify for the championships along with Sophie Rushton but unfortunately it wasn’t to be.

Charlotte Albutt represented the school individually, and was crowned winner, in the Intermediate Class at the National Schools Hunter Trial run by Winchester House School at Foxhill Farm, Northants on Sunday 10th May. There were 60+ competitors in the class involving riders tackling the challenging cross country course at Foxhill Farm, not only going clear but also within a specified time. Charlotte rode a perfect round to claim first prize receiving the acclamation of winning in such a big class against so many riders from other schools.

For the first time, we were successful in our quest to compete at The Royal Windsor Horse Show in the Inter Schools Show Jumping class on Saturday 16th May. Sophie Coll, Jessica Thomas, Charlotte Albutt and Erin Carvill all took part in the 90cm show jumping class representing the school. It was a long way to go but to compete at such a high level event was a very exciting opportunity. It was a massive field of 32 schools and the girls did exceptionally well to finish mid table, having to ride whilst the Household Cavalry warmed up iin the ring next to them!

My thanks go out again to the parents of the students who dedicate their time and effort to getting students to these events and indeed paying for them to enter the events. Here’s to another successful year and to qualifying again so that more students get the chance to represent the school in their chosen field.

Psychology Report by Zoe Starkey, Head of Department

This year has been a busy and exciting one and the department has seen some changes. At Christmas we said a sad farewell to Mrs Forrester, who had been part of the team for five years. She left to return to the field of Counselling Psychology and we wish her well with this new chapter in her life. We were, however incredibly fortunate to be joined by Miss Watkin, who, having already completed her teacher training with the school, was well known to the students and made the transition with ease and confidence. In her short time with the department Miss Watkin has been a valuable asset and the students have benefited from her energy and enthusiasm for the subject, but also from the youth that she brings.

This year the Psychology Department has been trying a range of different teaching methods alongside the traditional approach that the students appreciate. Students have had fun using ‘Play- Doh’ to help consolidate their knowledge of the studies in the subject and have been exposed to some songs/games based upon the theories.

Year 13 have enjoyed playing the role of detective in the department’s annual ‘murder mystery’. It must be said that the acting of the staff left a little to be desired as well as some very amateur videoing/editing at the hands of Mrs Starkey. However, using the clues provided and their knowledge of the Forensic Psychology unit students were able to successfully identify the offender.

Students in Year 13 once again enjoyed the annual trip to meet/interview ex-offenders in Birmingham. All students had prepared a range of questions to ask the men and women from a range of criminal backgrounds. We were impressed by the array of questions that they had prepared and by their confidence in speaking with the offenders. The conference also explored the controversial topic of mental health and the role that custodial sentencing plays for these individuals. This led to some interesting and hotly debated discussion on the way home and indeed the subsequent lessons.

Psychology at Pershore continues to grow in popularity. This year 115 students opted to study the subject; making this the largest number of students the department has ever had the pleasure of teaching. This trend continues through to September 2015 as we expect record numbers of approximately 130 students in Year 12/13.

Currently the department is busily preparing to take the Year 13 students to London for two days in October. Students will have the opportunity to visit a medieval prison dating back to the 12th century and will have the opportunity to handle original historical torture artefacts. During day two we will attend a hypnotherapy workshop, where it is hoped that we can hypnotise the students into doing lots of work! The visit will culminate with a Jack the Ripper tour in the evening.

We are confident that the subject will continue to go from strength to strength and our vision for the future is to continue to increase our numbers and to produce students that are not only achieving their full potential but are also able to apply what they have learnt in the classroom to their everyday life.

Science Report by Sarah Cox, Head of Department

Once again, the year began with a review of the summer’s results in Science. The results were very pleasing with some worth a particular mention. Despite the increased rigour of the GCSE exams, we maintained our continued improvement trend with 68% of our Year 11 students gaining an A*-C grade in Additional Science. 67% of Year 11 students overall gained two Science GCSEs grade C or above. Our students continue to excel in Separate Sciences, with, for example, over 75% gaining A*-A grades in Biology. Science at A Level continues to thrive and students do very well. Over 120 students studied for an AS in one or more of the Sciences with over 40% gaining an A-C grade. We also saw an improvement to over 63% of students gaining A*-C grades in A2. Our students continue to work hard and the results they achieve are a credit to them. Many students continue to study Science subjects at university and we are always very proud of their successes.

There is always plenty going on in the Science Department, and this year has been no exception. Dr Liam Grover from the University of Birmingham made his annual visit in November to speak to our Year 12 Physicists on the subject of Material Science, giving our students an insight into the increasingly hi-tech world of prosthetics. In March, Dr John Scholar from Reading University returned to deliver his DNA Day to 30 our Year 13 Biologists. The photographs below show Jasmine Godfrey Hunt, Emily Harfield, Adam Baxter and Tidiahn Woodward using gel electrophoresis to produce genetic fingerprints of their own mitochondrial DNA.

Two of our most able A Level Biologists – William Hornbrook and James Manning – took part in the Biology Olympiad in March. This was the first time that the school had taken part in the event, run by the Society of Biology through Warwick University. William and James were two of 6000 students from across the world taking part in this prestigious award. Both students performed extremely well, with James gaining a Bronze Award and William a Silver.

Three Year 13 Chemistry students also entered for the Chemistry Olympiad and enjoyed similar success. Katie Baston gained a Silver Award and James Manning and Rebecca Wallbank both gained Bronze Awards.

In November, Dave Pedlar took 12 Year 9 students to the Physics Big Quiz at Birmingham University. The students can be seen here in the Great Hall with their certificates: James Bowers; William Dawson; Alice Forson; Vianne Furey; Ethan Harris; Ed Hocking; Harry London; Naomi Meek; Harry Metcalf; Tom Parkinson; Alison Sprague and Sam Williams. The students competed against schools from across the Midlands and did themselves and Pershore High School proud.

Another year saw a new cohort of Year 9 students being enrolled into our STEM club. This year the students continued to have great fun in Science on a Thursday after school, with the highlight being a trip in November to the Science Research Centre, QinetiQ in Malvern. They successfully competed against four other Worcestershire schools in a series of computing and engineering challenges including racing Lego robots and using Raspberry Pi computers to allow their spaceman to travel through a series of air locks. My thanks go to Jess Troop and Pauline Lawton for yet again giving up their time to run this club and to Helen Airdrie for accompanying the trip to Malvern.

Sam Williams, James Bower, Tom Parkinson and Meg Rusher battling

with the production of their Lego robots.

British Science Week was celebrated at Pershore High School from 16th to 21st March with the theme of colour chaos. All key stage 3 classes enjoyed two practical-based lessons and carried out a whole range of activities such as fire writing; flame tests; making rainbow fish and chromatography. There was also a practical competition running over the week on how to make ‘the perfect cup of tea’. Students carried out their practical investigations and Mr Oakley and I played at being Paul Hollywood and Mary Berry by tasting the offerings to find the winners. The Science Department also ran lunchtime activities open to all students. On Tuesday the Biology Department hosted ‘Colour Vision’ with eye ball disscetions led by Year 12 students and Mr Brookes showing what it is like to be colour blind. Wednesday saw the Physics Department lead with ‘The light fantastic’ and on National Demonstration Day the Chemistry Department wowed the audiences with ‘colourful Chemistry’ demonstrations.

Felix Minio, Maddison Gough, Lorna Beard and Natalie Bewley are seen enjoying the various activities on offer over the week.

Students have been very well supported throughout the year by the dedicated team of staff here in the Science Department. A Level students can attend weekly clinics in all three disciplines after school to help them with their studies, whilst intervention clinics have run throughout the year over lunchtimes for our Year 10 and Year 11 students. In addition to our regular revision circus in the run up to the Additional Science exams, all exam classes have also benefited from intensive revision sessions in the morning before their exams which included Flash revision. We are very hopeful that the students will see the benefit of all of this support in this summer’s exam results.

As the year draws to a close the Science Department are very busy planning for the enormous curriculum changes facing us in September. Our new Year 12 students will be following the new linear style AS courses in Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Year 9 students in September will be the first cohort that will be examined under the new GCSE syllabus in June 2018. It has been decided that the best thing to do for all students is to adopt a three year delivery model for KS4. This should allow the students more time to develop the skills needed to cope with the increased levels of demand of the new syllabus, which includes a greater focus on mathematical skills, and an increased demand for factual recall. The Year 8 students will be beginning a brand new KS3 Science course called Activate Science. There is no doubt that it will be a very challenging year ahead.

Finally, I come to some staffing changes. In September I began the biggest challenge of my own career as I attempted to fill the very big shoes left behind by the departure of my much respected colleague and friend Caroline Tarring. It is fair to say I have been on a very steep learning curve, but thanks to the support of my dedicated and talented team of teachers and technicians it has been a very rewarding year.

I would like to say a special thank you to my Assistant Head of Science, Dave Pedlar, who I have relied on very heavily throughout. We have both accepted the roles permanently and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead. In September, Ali Price joined the team as Head of Chemistry and taken great strides in leading the department forward. In July, we will see the departure of Sue Cramp, Biology Department, she has worked tirelessly for the benefit of our students both inside the classroom and after school in the endless mentoring sessions she has run to support our students. We wish her the very best of luck as she begins a new permanent post teaching A- Level.

Technology – enriching student learning Report by Neil Harding, Head of Department

Year 9 Alcoa Challenge

We believe passionately in providing our students with wider opportunities to apply and enrich their understanding of Technology beyond their lessons. This year has been no exception, with Year 9 taking part in the ALCOA Challenge.

In July three ambitious and innovative Technology students went head to head against Trinity High School and South Bromsgrove High School in a ‘Dragons Den’ final.

Emmie Bewley (pictured middle) with her Solar Powered Gloves was awarded 1st place and received a prize of £250.00.

Oliver Sheppard, (pictured second from left) with his Rotary Washing Line, was awarded 3rd place and receive a prize of £100.00.

Calum Andrews (pictured right) with his Ice Cream Cart, a gallant runner up and received a prize of £25.00. Congratulations to all three students who were great ambassadors throughout the event.

Thanks are due to Paul Bishop and Kate Hayward who have mentored the students preparing them so well to compete at this level.

Engineering in Education Scheme (STEM)

Wonderful opportunities for students have also arisen through continued investment in The Engineering in Education Scheme (England). The EDT Programme is a fantastic opportunity for budding engineers, which links teams of four Year 12 students and their teacher with local companies to work on real scientific, engineering and technological problems. We were delighted this year to work with Bosch Thermotechnology Ltd working with Brian Lowe, Development Engineer. The team members – Thomas Adams, Toby Alliband and Martha Sadler presented at the Celebration and Success Day which saw them not only successfully pass the scheme after formally presenting to a panel of professional engineers from industry, but also receive a CREST Gold award.

Early prototypes designed and constructed at the three day Birmingham University residential.

Big Bang National Science and Engineering Finals (STEM)

This was also the year that saw our Year 13 team: Daniel Thomas, Matthew Smith, Charlie Bourn and Sarah-May Linney take their developed solution to the The National Science and Engineering Competition (the largest celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths for young people in the UK.) The team qualifying by winning the Creativity Prize at the West Midlands Regional Big Bang Fair in June 2014 and performed exceptionally well in pushing their engineering solution even further on from their time working with Bosch Thermotechnology Limited in Year 12. To our delight our Year 9 Go4SET Team also earned entry to The Big Bang Fair with their project entitled ‘Stations of the Future’, requiring them to redesign a new, creative and innovative train station

Pictured: Dan Thomas, Charlie Bourn,

Sarah-May Linney and Matt Smith

They were supported in this challenge by Ashley Lumb, Trainee Mechanical Design Engineer, Mazak Europe and Mrs Carol Ridings, Technology Teaching Assistant.

The 10 week environmental project is designed to stimulate the interest of young people in Science, Engineering and Technology. By providing a real project, Pictured – Georgia Hook, Zoë Wood, Go4SET raises the pupils’ awareness and Katie Biddle and Isabella Taylor provides personal development in team working and project management.

Competing against over 100 other schools from Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the teams narrowly missed out on prize winning places. All eight should be very proud of their achievements throughout this very demanding competition.

Year 9 STEM Club

Working alongside our Science and ICT colleagues, we have been running a very successful STEM club for our Year 9 students.

This year the Year 9 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) club took part in a Practical action challenge entitled ‘The Wind Power Challenge.’ The challenge involved the students completing a case study to work out the best form of renewable energy to use in different environments and creating wind turbines. Finally we looked into creating a Solar Lighting product that could be sent to our partner school in Zambia.

The students worked hard to generate ideas taking into consideration design, properties and best use of materials. They were required to create a solution in the form of a model that could lift a plastic cup 1 metre off the ground with the most coins in it.

The Year 9s came up with a variety of designs, some more successful than others. They especially enjoyed the friendly team rivalry. Alice Forson, Alison Sprague and Naomi Meek produced the most successful wind turbine which managed to lift 5 coins. This led the group to work as a team, taking aspects of each design to create and even better wind turbine.

Students ended their time in STEM club by looking into ways of creating a reading light for students at Lubuto High School in Zambia. This is a project that is going to be developed further with Lubuto High School and Pershore High School working in future partnership. Everyone certainly enjoyed the experience of combining the different subjects to create a solution.

The F1 in Schools Technology Challenge is a competition which is open to all secondary schools. The aim is to use CAD/CAM software to design, analyse, manufacture, test and then race a small scale CO2 powered F1 car made from balsa wood. The scheme is self-funded with all teams having to gather sponsorship in order to have the cards and presentation materials manufactured.

The cars race 60kph along 20-metre straights and were also judged on car speed, supporting evidence of their design, a verbal presentation and their marketing display stand in ‘the pits’. Our Year 12 team Phoenix Racing has been designing their car in preparation for next year’s event.

If you would be interested in sponsoring our team please contact our team through Mr P Bishop at [email protected]

Textiles Technology

It is difficult to believe that another year has passed. KS3 Textile students have been working hard learning a range of new skills that have helped them produce a range of different products including personalised containers, pyjama bottoms, decorations and gilets. Well done to them for the enthusiasm they demonstrate when tackling the variety of tasks set.

Our Year 11 students have worked hard on their Controlled Assessments over a period of months. They have designed and made outfits for teenagers and children, toys, and furnishings. The practical outcomes are of a high quality and show a wide range of skills. The pictures below represent a small sample of the outstanding work that has been done. As they start their own Controlled Assessment, our Year 10 students have a lot to live up to.

Our Sixth Form students have also worked incredibly hard and produced some outstanding Coursework. The AS coursework is a portfolio of tasks during which students have learnt about pattern cutting at Inkberrow Design Centre led workshop which they then used to make the corsets they designed. Other products made have included dresses, bags and soft furnishing ranges. The A2 students must produce coursework that is one single task. A wide range of interesting and technically challenging products produced have included children’s clothes & toys, nursery bedding and fashion products. As these students leave and move onto the next stage in their lives, we wish them all the very best with their future careers – Perhaps, one day, we might be buying their designs.

The GCSE and A Level coursework submissions are the product of the students’ hard work, effort and an impressive ability to take on board and act on advice given – even when it gives them more work; they should be proud of their achievements.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our students for being such a pleasure to teach and for their efforts with their work; they inspire us on a daily basis. It is a pity that we can only list a few of the students below - there are so many who have achieved so much.

Textiles Awards:

Key Stage 3: Alice Forson, Laura Heath, Kimberley Stearman, Emma Galvin, Liam Cook, Louis Storr, Georgia Wilson, Izzy Jordan, Charlie Morris, Amara De Silva-Morgan, Katie Faulkner, Cassidy-Rae Matheson, Maxime Redfern, Eloise Seale, Hannah Smith, Harry Staley, Anna Townend, Elise Coleman, Oliver Cross, Emily Davis, Natalia Piechowiak, Charlotte Whitehead, Isobel Furlong, William Rhodes, Elliot Heeks, Emily Howson, Bethany Oakes, Tieran Price, Isabel Wood, Michal Wysocki, Miriam Attias, Emily Patterson, Heather Titterton, Jade Berry.

Key Stage 4: Tessa Carr, Lynda Forse, Molly Haultain, Robyn Walters, Jess Arrowsmith, Megan Brown, Sarah Crotty, Susan Forse, Alicia Jones, Charlotte Manser, Bryony Meek, Anna Stephens.

Food and Catering Nationally, during this year the teaching of cooking and nutrition has increased it’s profile with the introduction of a new GCSE qualification, Cooking and Nutrition to be introduced from September 2016. The title of the new qualification has attracted much discussion with a move away from the design of new products to a focus on teaching a wider range of practical skills. For younger pupils, at Key stage 3, this will place increased emphasis on the preparation of a wide range of savoury recipes, as well as a good knowledge of basic nutrition and budgeting skills.

Local and global environmental issues regarding sustainability are included within the curriculum. The advantages of living in an area renowned for its abundance of fruit and vegetables enables us to focus on the use of local and seasonal produce wherever possible in order to use ingredients when they are at their best, while supporting the local economy and reducing air miles. We also aim to incorporate Fairtrade ingredients wherever possible.

Food Technology continues to be a popular choice at GCSE level with almost 70 pupils in Year 11 this academic year. Controlled assessment accounts for 60% of the final GCSE grade. Pupils are asked to design a product for a target customer. Leading on from the success of the Great British Bake-off, “Design and make an attractively finished product to be sold from a supermarket’s in-store bakery ” is a very popular choice of coursework task title.

Another title which lends itself to a wide range of creative recipes is “Design and Make a savoury product which could be sold at a music festival”

The work pictured below are typical examples of the level of skills demonstrated for this qualification. Clockwise from top Michael Butler, Molly Densham, Grace Howe, Lucy Thomas, Anya Critchley and Chloe Maund.

Visit to the Good Food Show

We were lucky enough to be chosen again to visit the BBC Good Food show, and were able to take A level as well as GCSE Food Technology pupils to see a huge variety of different foods. The day featured a performance by The Hairy Bikers in the Supertheatre where we were entertained by their creative recipes and a quick-fire succession of jokes. This year’s performance also featured a display of sumo wrestling by this entertaining duo.

Our first cohort of GCSE Catering students will collect their results this summer. Launching a new course has been an exciting time and the students have clearly enjoyed learning the wide range of practical skills required. It has been rewarding to see each student grow in confidence and to know that three have been offered places to continue their studies at catering college.

Students have completed two pieces of Controlled Assessment, both of which involved making a range of dishes within three and a half hours. The standard of practical work produced was excellent and I was very proud of the work each student produced. They should be congratulated for their enthusiasm and hard work. A Level pupils are required to make a product which is suitable for manufacture. This year, pupils made products suitable for school canteens, suitable as part of the eat in for £10.00 range, and affordable healthy ready meals. Considerations include how issues surrounding sustainability affect production costs. Pupils also investigated the use of budget ingredients.

Recognising outstanding achievement

Pupils who produce exceptional work in any of the material areas can be allocated a Golden Ticket by their class teacher in addition to a House commendation.The D&T Golden Ticket system compliments the whole school policy when rewarding pupils with House Points and Commendations for good work. Every half term, a winning ticket is drawn by Mr Corbett as our link Leadership team member and the winner will receives an itunes voucher.

Golden ticket winners: Juliette Colvin AJB; Matt James ASB; Jasmine Balden MAW; Sam Bennett AHA; Vianne Furey AFL; Emily Noon MKH; Jacob Harding KJG; Isabel Schindler AJK; Naomi Meek MRE; Finley Feeney KPB

Lucky itunes winners: Jemima Faizey KOB, Eloise Sealey AJB, James Foster MLP

All of this has been made possible through the positive contributions and partnerships between students, parents, companies and dedicated members of the department, so that we can all once again appreciate the range of outstanding achievements as we all work together to realise our students' potential.

A School for its Community - Community and Service Report by Zoe Budding

The long-standing traditions of community service and involvement at Pershore have been maintained and enhanced over the course of the year, as the following selection of activities and events demonstrate.

The Tour of Britain cycle race passed by Pershore High School on Wednesday 10th September, during the Worcester to Bristol Stage. All students were given the opportunity to line the route, and ‘get inspired’, by watching the riders as they moved from Pershore and on towards Evesham. In addition, the school made available a climbing wall for students during their PE lessons, facilitated by Aztec Adventure as part of the celebrations associated with the tour’s visit to Pershore and part of our aim of encouraging a healthy lifestyle and try new activities. A House competition was launched to design a cycling jersey and helmet. Winners Claire Howson and Maisie Molineaux were presented with their prizes at the start of the stage at The Hive in Worcester.

The annual Remembrance Service in memory of those staff and students of Pershore High School who fell in World War 2 and subsequent conflicts, took place on Monday 10th November.

Dignitaries, students and staff from Pershore schools gathered at Pershore Memorial Garden to pay their respects on Remembrance Day. PHS students included Holly‐May Lawley, Chloe Guscott, Bethany Ireland, Susan Forse, Lynda Forse. To mark the remembrance commemorations, Help for Heroes representative, Ian Baldry, conducted a number of assemblies at Pershore High School, talking about the organisation’s work. All students listened to his presentation and were inspired by his message.

During our annual Senior Citizens’ Coffee Morning in December, Pershore High School and its students entertained local senior citizens. Those present were given drinks and food, and were entertained by students with music and readings. All students attended the annual Carol Service in December and were treated to a thought provoking set of readings, drama, music and song.

The entire school community voted to elect 14 new youth councillors, representing all of the year groups. The Pershore Town Youth Council, under the leadership of Youth Mayor Rebecca Wallbank, organised the Pershore Christmas Lights Switch-on in November with help from the Town council and the Rotary club. The day included a visit from Father Christmas and his reindeer and ended with a spectacular fireworks display.

In May, the Youth Council organised an incredibly successful Music Festival at Number 8 which drew a large and very appreciative audience. Wonderful band BL3ND (Ella Spencer, Natasha Meusz and Alicia Jones) was chosen as the overall winner.

Pershore High School's Town Youth Council, in conjunction with West Mercia Constabulary, recently ran a poster competition to reinforce the message of cycle safety. The winning poster was designed by Jasmine Balden, with Lucy Thomas winning second prize. The competition was launched in a series of assemblies given by members of the Youth Council and local Police officers.

In April the five candidates for the West Worcestershire seat in the General Election attended a hustings question time at Pershore High School. The hugely successful event was chaired by Head Boy Simon West, and students posed a variety of questions.

On May 7th Pershore High School almost certainly become the first constituency to declare in the General Election. Students across the year groups represented a range of parties and others cast their votes in polling booths. Conservative candidate Erin Young emerged victorious with 33% of the vote.

Pershore Sixth Form student, Megan Thomas, undertook a Valentine’s Day skydive, raising over £1200 as part of her fundraising efforts to support 12 months in a Malawi orphanage as a volunteer with Project Trust. Project Trust is a Charity organisation that provides volunteer placements abroad to Africa, Asia and the Americas.

Pershore High School students, Deniella Saunders and Edward Edkins were honoured on Monday 20th April for their work as young carers. They were invited by YSS to attend a full day event, Time for Change for Young Carers in Worcestershire, at Hartlebury. The Princess Royal was present.

Zambia 2015 Report by Matt Lake

After several months of anticipation and enthusiasm we loaded the school minibus with luggage, students and teachers for this year’s expedition to Zambia. There was an edge in the air of quiet (and sometimes not so quiet) excitement. Suddenly our arrival at Heathrow made our long awaited trip a reality. Did you know you could jump start a jumbo jet? Neither did we – but apparently the hour delay was because they couldn’t get the plane started! Only a minor hitch in what eventually became a drama free flight to Ndola. Breakfast flying over the equator and watching the sun rise has to be one of those moments never to be forgotten and set the tone for a fortnight of firsts and fond memories.

Once in Ndola and settled at our lodge we ventured out into the real Africa – downtown Ndola. We needed to pick up supplies ready to host our welcome braai and meet our Zambian exchange partners. We were given a huge and fantastic Zambian welcome in a relaxed and chatty evening of food and drink. And the first of many welcoming and thanking words from guests and hosts alike. SO this was it – our first night under African stars.

Monday morning saw the arrival of another school day, but this time not our usual school. Lubuto High School is our link High School in Ndola. ELT CLUB To say things are different is an understatement – in some ways we should all see and experience a school in poverty, no resources beyond a box of chalk and the expertise of the class teacher in front of classes of 60 students. Students were smart, articulate and rightly proud of their school and their achievements. Our welcome assembly proved this beyond any reasonable doubt – and if you ever needed the phrase ‘all singing all dancing’ illustrating this was it!

Head Girl – Beth Fletcher Every Monday Deputy Head Girl – Olivia Lea at 1.30 in T5 Head Boy – Xavier Mytton

This ticket entitles you to: access Deputy Head Boy – Tom Adams to the internet, books, magazines

and resources including -

pencils, scissors, paper, glue,

The rulers, crayons, felt tips and a folder in which to present your Golden work. Ticket A glorious celebration of African pride through the National Anthem, traditional dance and of course the speeches. Our students excelled themselves delivering lessons and workshops and stories of life in the UK. The lucky Golden Ticket drawn by As part of our programme we also completed some voluntary work in a local Mr Corbett is clinic. We spent the day working with our Zambian partners painting the Eloise Seale mother and new baby waiting room. We forget sometimes just how (AJB) for impoverished some people are. her recycled

pencil pot.

Eloise wins an iTunes voucher. Zambia is the poorest country in the world – in some ways they have so little but in other ways they have so much to give. We certainly learnt a lot from our Zambian friends. There is so much to say about our trip, with so Well done many special moments. No doubt everyone who went will have their own personal highlights – if you see Abbi Jones, Hannah Robinson, or Hattie Bladen ask them about theirs.

Interact 2014-15 Report by Luke Ventura

Pershore High School’s Interact group works closely with Pershore Rotary Club in organising and delivering fund raising events both in school and in the local community. This year, with our numbers stronger than ever, we were proud to elect Matthew Bessant as our President with Beth Neal as our Vice President. Ethan Harris and Harry Metcalf were elected as joint Treasurers, Gabby Perry as Press Officer and Lauren Chivers as Vice Press Officer. After much deliberation the students themselves chose to support two charities this year – the Riverbank Ward at Worcester Royal Hospital and the Our Side Youth Centre in Evesham. Over the course of the year Interact hosted a wide range fund raising events which ranged from providing tea and coffee at parents evenings right through to a hugely successful cake sale at Pershore Christmas light switch on. The commitment and enthusiasm displayed by the students was a joy to behold and serves to demonstrate that fund raising and charity work benefits everyone involved and not just the final recipients of the proceeds.

Interact had the unique opportunity to join forces with Pershore High School’s Eco Club in helping to plant a number of donated trees across the school site. The morning was well attended by staff, students and friends alike and the post-planting refreshments organised by members of both clubs was most welcome. It is the start, I hope, of more collaborative ventures between Interact and other groups in school.

Our biggest event by far this year was our milkshake stand at the Pershore bank holiday carnival. Subtly recognising that a large number of families usually attend the event the students decided to sell various flavours of freshly made milkshake with added toppings such as marshmallows and candies. The event was a huge success and generated over £100 for our charities – an immense achievement! Special thanks go to Maisy Thorley and Wills Dawson for their efforts on the day.

My thanks go out to all students, staff and friends who have helped with Interact this year. Our plans for next year are to make Interact bigger and better by increasing the number of fund raising opportunities and by doing so attract more members across all year groups. Interact remains a vital opportunity for the students of Pershore High School to reach out to the local community and make a real difference. Long may it continue.

The International Dimension Report by Simon Kemp, Head of Modern Foreign Languages and International Co-ordinator

Pershore High School continues to embrace the spirit of internationalism both through the work undertaken within school as well as the numerous trips abroad that students can take advantage of. These visits are organised across a range of subject areas and give our students the chance to broaden their horizons and their understanding of the wider world, whilst learning in a stimulating environment.

Pershore continues to enjoy many links with partner schools from all corners of the globe. One of our longest running partnerships is as part of the Comenius project, which now exists as Erasmus+. A new project called IConnect has been submitted. As I write this we are waiting to hear whether this has been successful. The project will involve working closely with our partner schools in Finland, France, Germany, Sweden and the UK on a number of activities with an emphasis on new technologies and sharing video lessons with each another. A group of Year 10 students have been working with a German school on a series of Skype lessons which has proved very successful.

Moving even further abroad, students continue to have the opportunity to experience very different cultures from our own. In particular the link with Zambia which grows in strength year on year. This year Mr Lake and Miss Webb visited Lubuto High School along with three students and the return visit will be taking place shortly. Suffice to say that the partnership is becoming stronger with each visit thanks to the tireless work of staff and students in fundraising and organising the trips.

The school continues to place great emphasis on trips abroad as part of the curriculum. Once again there have been numerous opportunities for students of all ages to take part in foreign visits. In June the MFL department took a group of 30 students and 3 staff to Plouay as part of the French exchange programme. Other trips have included the History trip to Berlin for Year 11 students, the battlefields trip to Belgium and France, the Sixth Form visit to New York involving 40 Year 12 students and 4 members of staff and the always popular annual ski trip which this year took place in Schladming, Austria. A huge thank you to all the staff for their hard work in organising and running these trips.

In recognition of the work undertaken by Pershore in the field of global education the school was chosen to be an expert centre in an innovative and exciting project called the Global Learning Programme (GLP). Mr Brooks and myself ran a series of INSET sessions for local schools to share good practise and develop our understanding of how we can develop students awareness of the global citizen. Many ideas and lesson resources were shared and have been implemented in schools within the Pershore pyramid. It bodes well that younger students coming into the school will have had an introduction to global themes from an early age and an increased awareness of the wider world.

The international work that takes place at Pershore High School is truly exceptional and is testament to the hard work of staff but equally to the attitude of students who are ready to look at the world with curiosity and keen to celebrate sameness and differences with other cultures.

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Last summer's A Level results were pleasing. Over the past five years, 75% of A2 grades have been A* - C, including 50% at A* - B; results that consistently put us among the top state providers in the county. The pass rate at AS Level has averaged over 90%, higher than the national average. Our overall success rate (for Year 12 and 13 together), representing the percentage of qualification starts that resulted in both completion and success, has averaged comfortably over 90%, again far above the national average, indicating that the vast majority of our Sixth Form students start the right courses and succeed on them. More importantly, the Alps Value Added score (which compares each student's performance at GCSE with that at AS and A Level) over the past 5 years shows that Pershore Sixth Form performs consistently strongly.

Student numbers in the Sixth Form continue to be strong. Over 160 students have received and accepted conditional offers for Year 12 in September; this includes 33 external applicants (from a large number of different schools), demonstrating both the excellent and growing reputation of the Sixth Form and the increased marketing activity. Given our geographical position and the strong competition locally, achieving 20% of applications from external candidates is particularly pleasing.

During a hectic year, the Year 13 students have been making successful applications to a range of universities and courses. Most have received offers from their first choice universities and look set to meet the terms of those offers in the summer. Katie Baston received an offer from Oxford University to read Chemistry at Magdalen College while Simon West will be studying History at Selwyn College, Cambridge. James Manning received three offers to read Medicine and will be starting his career at Leeds University in September. Alice Humphrey and Alexandra Haffner are set to start Veterinary Medicine at The University of Surrey and The University of Bristol respectively. Other students will be starting degrees in a wide variety of competitive courses at top universities, including Dentistry, Physiotherapy, Law, Pharmacy, Paramedic Science, Journalism, English Language and Literature, Accounting and Finance, Nursing, Photography, Veterinary Nursing, Computing, History, Nuclear Science and Materials, Biology, Biomedical Sciences, Natural Sciences, Agriculture, Musical Theatre, Chemistry, Forensic Science, Fine Art, Graphic Design, Drama, Mathematics, Dance, Early Years Education, International Business, Social Work, Events Management, Psychology, Computer Science, Creative Writing, Primary Teaching, Photography, Agriculture, Equine Science, Fashion Design, Business Management, Music Theatre, Architecture, (varieties of) Engineering, American Studies and Sports Science. A significant number of our Sixth Form students have been successful in claiming Higher-Level Apprenticeships in a range of fields. These are particularly competitive positions, offering excellent training and opportunities for progression. Sixth Form students in both Year 12 and Year 13 have benefitted this year from the outstanding guidance and expertise of our new Careers Officer, Helen Airdrie, who has provided valuable support to Sixth Form students with a wide variety of career pathways.

Year 12 students kick-started their research of higher education opportunities by attending the UCAS Higher Education Convention at Worcester University in March. Futures' Days in June give Year 12 students further opportunities to gather information and begin the difficult but critical task of writing personal statements and starting their university applications. They will be visiting Bristol University for a tour of the campus and seminars on living on a budget and student life. Back at school students then choose from a list of over 20 speakers (including a number of ex-Pershore students) from a variety of professions and organisations to gain an insight into different careers and options post- A Level. A Parent and Student Higher Education Applications Information Evening provides guidance on the Application Process and the complexities of Student Finance.

The Sixth Form Electives programme provides enrichment to all students. Opportunities available this year comprised about 20 options, with virtually everybody getting their first choice. These include: academically testing, additional AS Levels in Critical Thinking, General Studies, Government and Politics, Science in Society and the Extended Project Qualification; a course in Latin (Levels 1 and 2), Spanish and the Foreign Language Leaders Award; Arts Award Gold and Lamda Drama, the challenge of Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award, Young Enterprise, Microsoft Office Specialist, Sports Leadership Award, F1 in Schools and the Engineering Education Scheme; and wider opportunities in Recreational Sport, Cooking and First Aid. A number of Sixth Form students chose to become involved in Community Service via a wide range of voluntary placements and helping younger students through Classroom Support.

The Sixth Form students continue to play a crucial part in the success of vertical tutoring, benefitting from the leadership opportunities available and by rising to the high levels of responsibility and expectation placed upon them. Last summer, Sixth Form students put on a fantastic Teddy Bears’ Picnic for reception children from local schools. They organised a range of brilliant activities and the youngsters left with smiles and great memories, although the Head of Sixth Form dressed as an ugly sister is not likely to be one of them. The Sixth Form students were left exhausted.

Many Sixth Form students have been performing at a high level in a number of fields. Three of our excellent Photography students, Charlotte Hooper, Matilda Maginnis and George Griffiths won valuable prizes in regional competitions. Matthew Newman in Year 12 is an outstanding rowing talent and will compete at Henley this summer. Matilda Maginnis will represent England in the Dance World Cup this summer. Megan Thomas completed a skydive as part of her fundraising of over £5000 to help orphans in Malawi. Four Year 12 students, Albert Courts, Oliver Cornelius, Elin Roberts and Evie Banks were awarded valuable bursaries to study art in Valencia and Helsinki this summer. The band Chase the Deer, comprised largely of Sixth Form students, continues to perform at larger venues. A team of six of the sharpest business minds, James Coleman, Becky Pouton, Katie Shrubb, Felix Anderson, Tom Kenwright and Jemma Loader, has earned a place in the national finals of the Business, Accounting and Skills Education competition to be held in June. Charles Stewart and Matt Vicary played for Worcester Wolves U18 teams. George Potham and Matt Hardman are Level 7 referees, regularly officiating in regional leagues. Lucy George and Holly Lawley achieved Grade 8 saxophone. Isla Gow organised the school Jazz Band and prepared scores for the Carol Service with efficiency. Alice Bull performed as part of the VE celebrations on the Worcestershire Beacon. A group of Year 12 and Year 13 students joined ex-students for a memorable performance of The Armed Man at the Albert Hall.

The Senior Student team, Alice Bull, Simon West, Rebecca Ward and Angus Evans have been very active this year; most importantly successfully organising a number of social events, each for between 150 and 250 students and guests (even the staff were invited to some).

This summer will see the departure of Helen Mason from Pershore Sixth Form. After spending 11 years as our Sixth Form Administrator, Helen is moving to the Isle of Wight with her family. Helen has been a key member of the Sixth Form team, always working hard in the interests of the students, while maintaining an irrepressible sense of humour. Helen has been a brilliant colleague and, more importantly, friend; she will be hugely missed.

Review of the House Year Report by Zoe Budding

The House system continues to go from strength to strength. Students from across Armstrong, Kingsley and Magellan Houses have supported their House through earning House Points and Commendations, joining a team, taken up a new sport or challenge, completed their Duke of Edinburgh Award, taken part in ‘We Will Rock You’ or taken up one of the musical opportunities, to name but a few.

House Points

A big change this year has been due to our online reward system Epraise. Students have been earning House Points in every lesson throughout the year to acknowledge the effort and contribution from the ‘silent majority’ of students who endeavour to do their best every day. Extra points are awarded for participation in extra-curricular activities, extra effort, fantastic achievement and making additional contributions to school life. House points are now shown live on screens around the school with individual contributions and house totals being visible. Students can ‘spend’ their points in the Epraise shop, this stocks items of stationery, sports equipment and dining room vouchers.

This year the house year is following the academic year, so the winners of the overall house competition and tutor group competition will not be known until July. The competition will now be determined on average house points per student to make the competition as fair as possible.

Award Scheme (Years 8 & 9 only) Years 8 and 9 have again been enthusiastically earning the different levels of the Award Scheme with the following impressive results:

Bronze Awards Silver Awards Gold Awards Armstrong House 62 64 45 Kingsley House 139 111 85 Magellan House 65 55 35

House Captains and Senior Students – Congratulations and thanks go to the following students:

House Captains House Captains 2014-2015 2014-2015 Armstrong Nathan Pallett and Emily Fowler Anna Lampitt and George Creese House Kingsley George Frangoudes and Jemima Daniels James Coleman and Rhiannon Cordiner House Magellan Qasim Hussain and Polly Natynczuk Rebecca Pouton & Richard Adams House

Charity Events

Students have really shown their generous side this year with several charity efforts drawing support.

Our annual Easter Fayre was this year hosted by Magellan House. Each tutor group devised and ran a stall for other students in the school to spend their money. The stalls were a mixture of games, activities and sales. Magellan raised £184.62 for MacMillian Cancer Support.

Pershore High School kicked off BBC Children in Need activities locally on Monday 3rd November when they welcomed staff from both BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester, and BBC Midlands Today. Youngsters met Pudsey Bear and also donated pound coins that were attached to a car. This was continued over the next two weeks at various sites across the two counties. Activities culminated at Pershore High School in a non-uniform day on Friday 14th November that will see a four figure sum handed over to the BBC charity.

At Christmas, all students contributed to a food collection to help Pershore Foodbank. Following an assembly by Rev. Mark Jennings students brought tinned, dry and Christmas goods for local families. Students also donated their Epraise points to the charity, allowing an extra £100 to go to the Foodbank.

House Competitions

This year the Friday Activity Cup (FA Cup) was revived and consisted of weekly competitions such as a Wii challenge, limbo, sugar cube stack, Malteser challenge, crosswords and quizzes. Students from all Year groups took part, gaining points for taking part and adding points to their House total for winning. The results were as follows: Armstrong 200, Kingsley 250 and Magellan 290 points.

The Staff and Governors of Pershore High School would like to thank the following for their generous support of the Presentation Evening:

Carrick Travel Commandery Coaches Cox Cars Crowthers Chartered Accountants Dunn's Butchers ESA McIntosh Evesham Vale Lions Club GEMAC Consultancy George Law Ltd, Building and Civil Engineering Contractors Gordon Russell Award JSC Rotational Limited Kanes Foods KC Carpets & Blinds Martin & Carr Veterinary Services Midshire Communications Limited Mrs J Armstrong Mr H Badger Mr V Brennan Mrs K Drinkwater Mr J Grantham Mrs J Griffin Mrs J Higginbotham Mr & Mrs John Mrs E Palfrey and family Mr G Hartley-Bennett Mr T Pitt Mr T Richardson Mr & Mrs Williamson Mr & Mrs Woodcock Number 8 Community Arts Centre Oxford Educational Supplies Pershore Abbey Pershore Inner Wheel Pershore Medical Practice Pershore Produce Pershore Rotary Club QualitySolicitors Thomson & Bancks Schloetter & Company Limited Schmersal UK Schooltogs Thai Legend The Palfrey Family The Royal British Legion Timothy Lea & Griffiths TTB Supplies Winstanley & Company Limited Witley Jones Furniture Worcestreshire Educational Network WEM Wychavon District Council Yamazaki Mazak U.K. Limited

Front cover: A selection of photographs of our achievements.

Back cover: A selection of work from the Art Department.

Front and back cover designed by Laura Dean.