Dear Parents

PARENTS’ NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 5 DECEMBER 2010

Please see the following reminders at the end of this bulletin:

NB 1: End of term arrangements and arrangements for the start of next term

NB 2: Our closure notification system/advice on footwear

INTRODUCTION I would like to wish all students, parents, governors and friends of the school a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I hope that everyone enjoys the holiday season with their families and friends. Thank you to all staff, teaching and support, for their continued hard work, support and professionalism over the last year. Bradon Forest has a staff team who work extremely hard in supporting all aspects of school life. As a school we can be proud of our wide range of achievements, many of which have been reported in this term’s Parents’ Newsletters. We are sure that 2011 will be another successful year for our busy school and look forward to reporting on the many and varied activities and student achievements in future newsletters.

YEAR 12 PRESENTATION EVENING 2010 On Thursday 18 November 2010 last year’s Year 11 students came back to Bradon Forest for their Presentation Evening. This was the final Awards Assembly of their five years at Bradon Forest. It was an enjoyable evening with many parents and relatives attending. The evening provided an opportunity to celebrate a wide range of achievements of academic, sporting, cultural and community achievements. It was also a pleasant social occasion and a chance for last year’s Year 11 students and their families to catch up on all their friends’ news. Students collected their GCSE certificates as part of the evening. In addition, each faculty was asked to nominate a small number of students who had excelled themselves in a particular subject through effort, commitment and achievement. These were:

Art Freya Anderson Business and Communication Systems Alastair Walker Business Studies Deborah Araoye D&T: Food Technology Sophie Atkins D&T: Product Design Neil Ash D&T: Textiles Morgan Webb and Chenoa Kemble-Young DiDA Thomas Sutton Drama Rachel Greenhill English Language Freya Anderson English Literature Christopher Deeley French Morgan Manning Geography (AQA) Christopher Deeley Geography (OCR) Matthew Tregelles and David Miles German Paul Thomas History Jessica Peppin Leisure and Tourism Laura Wall and Ashley Lang Mathematics Christopher Deeley Media Studies Luke Stewart Music Joshua Dunham Physical Education: Boys Matthew Bunce Physical Education: Girls Billi Skinner Religious Studies Deborah Araoye Science: Additional Luke Stewart and Ben Noble Science: Applied Thomas Sutton Science: Biology Dastan Beiki Science: Chemistry Neil Ash Science: Core Morgan Manning Science: Physics Paul Thomas SPECIAL AWARDS (Group photo on previous page) Head Boy Neil Ash Head Girl Claire Haney Corbett Cup Harley Viveash Duncan Bamford Memorial Award for Languages Anita Mander Kirk Cup for Mathematics Craig Midwinter Margaret Brand Memorial Award for Technology Marisa James Twins Cup for Sport Craig Miles Michael Iles Memorial Award for Drama Abigail Carter School Cup for Sport Anna Coleman Triumph Over Adversity Award – Sponsored By Hays Bethany Powell and Bradley Tuttlebee

This year the Corbett Cup went to Harley Viveash (pictured right) who attained 11A*s at GCSE. The Corbett Cup for Outstanding Achievement is awarded to students whose outstanding public examination success reflects their commitment to their academic studies across all areas of the curriculum. Harley was not just an outstanding student during his time at Bradon Forest but was a person of many talents. Harley also deserves high praise for his commitment to the theatre arts whilst at Bradon Forest.

Neil and Claire (pictured left) were extremely hardworking and conscientious throughout their time as Head Boy and Head Girl. In particular, they took the opportunity to lead and raise the profile of a very successful Senior Prefect team. As members of the Prom Committee, they also did an excellent job organising the tremendously successful and enjoyable Prom in June. They were perfect role models for other students and fantastic ambassadors for the school. Staff and students could not have asked for two better individuals to fulfil the role of Head Boy and Head Girl at Bradon Forest School. A new award this year is the ‘Triumph over Adversity Award’ (which has been very kindly sponsored by Hays Education Recruitment Agency). This award has been awarded to two students Bethany Powell and Bradley Tuttlebee who have shown perseverance, often in challenging circumstances. The Awards Evening was a great success and I would like to thank Mr Bray (Head of Key Stage 4), Mr Stiles (Head of Year 10) and Mr Lemin (Head of Year 11) and everyone, including our Examinations team, who were involved with all of the preparations and who helped with the organisation that ensured the evening ran so well. The evening also provided an opportunity to publicly thank and praise our excellent team of staff (teaching and support), parents and governors for all their hard work and teamwork that ensures Bradon Forest School continues to serve its students so well.

FORMER STUDENT NEWS The photograph on the right is from our 2007 Past Year 11 Awards Evening. The Corbett Cup that year was shared by all three students who each attained 12A*s at GCSE that year. Left to right: Xinmei Wang, Rachel Blackford, Sophie Madley. It was lovely to see the following article in a recent copy of the Swindon Evening Advertiser with news of former student, Xinmei Wang’s continuing success:

BRIGHT spark Xinmei Wang has added yet another top accolade to her impressive CV by picking up a gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Xinmei, of Nine Elms, joined hundreds of others at St James’s Palace, London, last week to receive her certificate from the Duke personally. The 19-year-old, now in her second year reading economics at Cambridge University, previously hit the headlines after achieving all A* GCSE results in 2007 and five A grades for A-levels in 2009. Xinmei worked through the five sections of her DofE programme over six years to achieve her gold award and some of the activities included trekking around the UK, working as a volunteer in a care home and training in badminton, dancing and piano. She said it was a rewarding feeling to get the achievement while also completing secondary education. “The DofE award is a really good way to gain self-confidence and determination. I was able to help in the community, and it inspired me to spend the summer building a water system in a village in Malaysia. The DofE certainly has made so many positive impacts on my life. It just means that all my hard work has paid off. I’m really glad I’ve done it as a lot of people I know have given up. It’s not all about studying really hard because it’s extra-curricular.” Completing the DofE also inspired Xinmei, who has secured an internship with an investment bank next summer, to travel to Borneo and carry out volunteer work. “We went to a remote village on the mountain side, with no communication and running water. There was a waterfall so we built a dam and used pipes to build a water system. We then went trekking through the jungle, which the DofE prepared me for. I really enjoyed it.” http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/8672148.Student_gains_royal_approval/ http://www.swindonlink.com/news/royal-date-with-the-golden-touch

TWO MINUTE SILENCE ARMISTICE DAY/ACT OF REMEMBRANCE As is traditional, Bradon Forest held a two minute silence on Thursday 11 November 2010 in recognition of the Armistice and all those who have given their lives in conflicts. Miss Crerar kindly produced a Powerpoint presentation for teachers to show their groups on the Interactive White Boards. The presentation highlighted the importance of remembrance and focussed on the background, past and present, enabling students to reflect on this important symbolic act. iPODS, DSIs AND OTHER MOBILE DEVICES Our confiscation item in the Prospectus indicates that ‘ Items of value, either monetary or sentimental, should not be brought to school’. Currently we do not have a prescriptive list of individual items that should not be brought into school. In view of the expense/value of iPods and similar devices we are asking for your support to ensure that these are not brought into school. FREE SCHOOL MEALS – CURRENT ELIGIBILTY A number of parents have contacted us over recent weeks to enquire about the eligibility for free school meals. The following provides the current criteria for free school meal entitlement:

Are you eligible to claim for free school meals? If you are in receipt of any of the following benefits you are entitled to claim for free school meals for your son/daughter:

 Income Support/Income based Jobseekers Allowance  Child Tax Credit provided you are not entitled to Working Tax Credit and your annual income is less than £16190  The Guarantee element of State Pension Credit  Support under Part V1 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999  Income Related Employment Support Allowance.

Please contact the school office for an application form or if you have any queries.

MUSIC NEWS

 The traditional Bradon Forest Carol Concert at St Mary’s Church took place on Wednesday 8 December 2010.

 The Bradon Forest Christmas Music concert took place on Thursday 9 December 2010. A report on our festive events will be in the January 2011 Newsletter Issue 6.

DRAMA NEWS ‘The Miracle Well’, which is the sequel to last year’s successful production ’Mary Theresa’s Cupboard’, was performed on Wednesday 1 December 2010 – Friday 3 December 2010 in the Bradon Forest Theatre to very appreciative audiences. The play was devised and written by students and David Calder. The cast included students from Years 7 - 11. The production was very enjoyable and thought-provoking. The Bradon Forest Theatre website highlighted the plot overview of this excellent sequel: “Polly's mother is still trapped on the other side of Mary Theresa's Cupboard, still heavily in moral debt to The Bank Manager and trapped in the 'Special Vault'! The only way to save her is with the help of The Mad, who actually aren't much help because they're... well, mad! The Miracle Well is said to cure all madness... but how will Polly find the Well? What will happen when The Mad all come together? What madness will ensue? Will Polly be able to save her mother, or will she become mad too? And just how does she find the Miracle Well? The individual performances, staging and the concept of the play were very impressive and professional. Well done to all involved.

INDIA LINK NEWS Miss Shelley and Miss Beet report: A group of Key Stage 3 students have been working together in Art with Miss Patterson to produce a display for the India Link Project. They have also been working on a project with a Christmas theme to send to our link schools in India. Together with our link UK schools, St Laurence, Bradford on Avon and St Sampson’s we will be sending boxes of students’ work, photographs, films and a large Union Jack for their flag pole! The Year 11 India Link students presented assemblies for Key Stage 3 in order to raise awareness of the project and to reflect on the value of education in the UK and in India. TEXTILES NEWS The bags in the photographs below have been made by students for the Year 8 Design Technology Textiles course. The brief was to design and make a bag from reclaimed materials with an appliqué panel inspired by Matisse or Petra Boase. The students are helping to save the environment by reclaiming old materials. Pictured right: Alexander Tong and Chloe-Anne Pike

Made by: Alexandra Tong Chloe-Anne Pike Alicia Kissell Elliot Mayo

SPORTS NEWS Rugby Mr Hartley reports: The training sessions are now on hold until the light returns to a reasonable time. It certainly has been a season of contrasts so far. The Year 8 squad have dipped their toes into the world of Swindon Schools and County Cup rugby with a few more losses than wins leaving plenty to address on the training ground. However. the steely determination and drive of the squad over the winter session will put things into perspective ready for further fixtures in the new year. The Year 9 squad set their stall out from the off, blowing off the cobwebs from the previous session and demonstrating they were hungry to win from the start, happily brushing several teams aside without too much effort. So much so, the squad opted to play teams further a field to test and develop the squad. This proved to be invaluable when playing the County Cup matches. The opposition came and went with the Bradon Forest Year 9 lads the winners. Unfortunately there is still the issue of progressing past the semi final stage of the County Cup stages. Having fought so hard to get into this position it just goes to show rugby is not only about the physicality in which it is played but it is also about the mental preparation too, until next year!

Interform Dodge Ball Flexi Day 7 December 2010, it’s frozen outside, too cold for Year 9 interform rugby, it can only mean one thing – Year 9 interform dodge ball! Each tutor group fought with the cunning and skill expected and previously seen in the gladiatorial arena of the Roman games. The students worked hard to out-play and out-wit their opponents in a game requiring dynamic team play, individual skill and nerves of steel. But there could only be one winner and 9Q proved they could handle the pressure of the ‘dodge ball’. Well done lads!

Wiltshire Schools Netball Tournament Miss Pratten reports: On Sunday 21 November 2010, Bradon Forest’s U16 Netball team travelled to Dauntsey’s School in Devizes to play in the round of the National Schools Netball Tournament. It was a cold and crisp morning and the girls arrived ready to dominate and continue their winning streak from the previous round. With only the minimum seven players available for the tournament, the girls were determined to win with no one getting injured! Our first match was against who were runners-up in the North Wiltshire tournament. The starting line up was as follows: Charlotte Legge (GS), Jemma Showler (GA), Bethany Dunn (WA), Natasha Chilambo (C), Rhianne Groom (WD), Angela Luchembe (GD) and Shannon Stephenson (GK). Bradon Forest flew into an early lead and continued to apply the pressure and use their quick pace throughout. It was clear to see we were outplaying Sheldon at every opportunity. The final score at the end of the 12 minutes was 14-1 to Bradon. What an impressive start - you could tell these girls meant business! Parents, supporters and staff noticed how well the girls gelled together on court and it was clear to see the talent and potential that this team has. The next match was against Goldolphin who last year went through to the South West Regional Tournament as runners up. The girls were prepared for this and again showed great flair and dynamism throughout the court, pulling ahead by a large margin in the first half. The second half saw changes to the shooting line up with Jemma Showler moving to GS and Charlotte Legge switching to GA. This seemed to have a positive effect at first but a few too many basic errors throughout the court started to creep in to the Bradon Forest side allowing Goldophin to score 2 goals. However, we had already done enough to carry us through and the full time score was 8-2 to Bradon Forest. The last match was against who had only beaten Goldophin by 1 goal previously. This meant that we could beat them if we decreased our error rate and focused on the task in hand. Charlotte Legge and Jemma Showler switched back to their original positions but Rhianne Groom moved to WA and Bethany Dunn to WD. Marlborough College scored the first goal very quickly which rattled the Bradon Forest girls. The next few minutes went goal for goal with both teams playing some fast and precise netball. At half time the score was level and the girls were keen to finish with another win. However, when a few umpiring decisions went against us, we began to lose focus and errors began creeping in. This allowed Marlborough College to edge ahead by one goal. In the dying seconds, Charlotte Legge took a shot and scored a beauty which we thought was enough to pull us level and draw but it turned out the umpires whistle had gone before the shot went in so we lost the game by one! The final score was 7-8 to Marlborough College. Luckily both the runners up and winners of each group would go through to the semi-finals. We went through as runners up of Group 2 which meant that we faced our local rivals Dorcan (who came through as runners up from the previous tournament). The girls from both sides are all friends outside of school with a lot of them playing for the same club team. The line-up returned to normal for this game to ensure the best start could be made. The match started goal for goal but soon Bradon Forest began to intercept and turn over the ball with particular help from Angela Luchembe at GD who was having a storming game. Bradon Forest finished the game winning 11-6. This meant we went through to the final only to realise we had to play Marlborough College again! It was a very closely contested game from the start with each team keen to become the overall tournament winners. The score at half time was even and Bradon Forest knew they would have to really turn it around if they wanted to be champions. With some crucial interceptions made by the circle defence, particularly from Shannon Stephenson at GK who was battling on even though she had been punched in the eye (accidentally of course) by her GS, Bradon pushed in front by 3 goals. It looked as though we had it in the bag but Marlborough College came back at us with a run of 2 goals on the trot. Luckily the full time whistle went and yes we had won by one goal! The final score was 7-6! The girls, supporters and staff were ecstatic, we were victorious! Each of the girls received a gold medal and certificate for winning and were a credit to the school throughout the day. Bradon Forest will now go through, along with Marlborough College (runners up), to the South West Regional Tournament in Bournemouth in January 2011. Watch this space to see how we get on!

Swindon Schools Badminton Tournament Miss Moore reports: On Sunday I took a team of Year 11 boys to the Swindon Schools Sports Partnership U16 Boys Badminton tournament at Ridgeway School, Wroughton: Joshua Duffy, Joshua Hadland, Robert Hares, Samuel Rogers and James Young. The following report is by Joshua Duffy (11S): This was Bradon Forest’s first year in this particular tournament for over six years, and we had absolutely no idea what standard of badminton players would be entering the tournament. The Bradon Forest team has been training for about a month and a half. We were placed into two groups. In our group were Ridgeway B and Isambard. Against our first opponents Ridgeway B, we won all of our matches (singles and doubles) with an overall point score of 105 for Bradon Forest and 50 to Ridgeway B. A clear victory! After that Bradon Forest were set to play Isambard with no time for a break. Once again, the team easily won all of the matches scoring the maximum 105 points overall with Isambard scoring 43. With comfortable victories by all five boys in the group stages, Bradon Forest pretty much knew the final was the only obstacle in the way of the trophy. Ridgeway A players were in great form, (the former winners) and had also won all their group games against Dorcan and . Our first game in the final match was Josh Duffy in his singles game and started with a secure win against his fellow club player Avenish with a score of 21-11. After that Josh Hadland and Sam Rogers won their doubles game 21-14. Rob Hares was next up for his singles game, with quite a lot of pressure on him because if he won the trophy was ours; if he lost then we had to win the next games. It was a very close game against his fellow club member - Lai, but he thankfully won 21-19, winning us the title, but that didn’t mean complacency crept in. Bradon Forest went on to win their second doubles game with Josh Duffy and Sam Rogers winning 21-13 and the final game, was won by Rob Hares and Josh Hadland with a score of 21-14. A 100% victory for Bradon Forest and as newcomers this was an amazing confidence boost. We are looking forward to the School Sports Partnership County Finals against the other five sections of Wiltshire in February 2010. If we have any success there, it will be on to the National Tournament!

Inter–Form Cross Country 2010 Boys Unlike previous years the weather for cross country was kind with a warm September and a dry October, this meant the Bradon Forest course was dry and kind instead of its usual muddy and slow course. The students from Years 8 to 10 were still pushed and challenged to set new records. At the conclusion of the ‘cross country season’ was the eagerly anticipated interform competition and unfortunately there was a change to the weather from dry conditions to wet and windy giving the most hardened runner a challenge. Interform Cross Country should have started with Year 8, but the weather conditions won the day and the Year 8 competition was postponed. Luckily the inclement weather subsided and allowed the rest of the interform competition to continue with the Year 8 event re- arranged for the following week. Girls Miss Moore reports: Congratulations to the 201 girls in Years 7, 8 and 9 who took part in all of their Cross Country PE lessons as well as the Interform Cross Country event during Term 2. All 201 girls have received a Certificate of Participation and a letter home as recognition of this achievement. In total over 400 stickers were given out to girls during the lessons to reward their efforts for endurance or will power.

A big thank you to parents for the cleaning of kit so quickly between lessons. …until next year!

Girls Year 7 Girls Year 8 Girls Year 9 Boys Year 7 Boys Year 8 Boys Year 9 Boys Year 10 1st T 1st S 1st Q 1st T 1st T 1st S 1st Y 2nd Y 2nd Q 2nd R 2nd X 2nd W 2nd R 2nd Q 3rd Q 3rd T 3rd S 3rd W 3rd Q 3rd X 3rd W 4th Z 4th W 4th X 4th Z 4th X 4th Q 4th R 5th P 5th Y 5th P 5th Y 5th P 5th W 5th Z 6th W 6th P 6th Z 6th Q 6th S 6th Z 6th P 7th S 7th Z 7th W 7th P 7th Y 7th Y 7th X 8th X 8th X 8th Y 8th S 8th Z 8th P 8th T

Sky Sports Living For Sports On 13 October 2010 at the School Sports Partnership (SSP) Conference Gala Dinner in Telford, Avon Valley SSP was awarded with the Annual Innovation Award. The award was given to the Partnership for having 100% of our Secondary Schools engaged in, and delivering, the Sky Sports Living for Sports projects during 2009/10. The SSP was awarded with a framed canvas by Darren Campbell (the Sky Sports Living for Sport Ambassador) and Baroness Sue Campbell (Chairperson of the Youth Sports Trust) which will be placed at , the hub site of the Partnership. The SSP will now receive a visit from Darren Campbell.

Gifted and Talented Secondary schools from the Avon Valley Schools Sports Partnership were split into three groups: Group 1: Bradon Forest, Wootton Bassett and ; Group 2: Avon Valley College, Wellington Academy and Stonehenge; Group 3 : St John’s and Pewsey Vale . Students from these schools were invited to take part in sport specific trials. The top 16 were selected and invited to take part in the Gifted and Talented camps, which were: i) Netball camps for Years 9 and 10 girls ii) Rugby camps for Years 9 and 10 boys and iii) Football camps for Year 7 boys. Congratulations to all the students in the Avon Valley Partnership who attended the above camps.

ICT AND E-SAFETY NEWS i) Social Networking Websites - Reminder regarding the importance of privacy settings Social networking websites allow the user to control who sees what information after they have signed up for a user account. The following screen image is taken from Facebook and shows the Privacy profile. Different categories of information can be shared with Everyone, Friends of Friends and Only Friends .  It is recommended that parents go through these settings with each internet user in the household.  Remember, once personal information and images have been shared with someone else then you are not in control of that information anymore. Other social networking sites have similar controls. As well as these controls there are also restrictions in place which mean that no one under the age of 13 should set up a Facebook account. Therefore, there should not be any Year 7 or Year 8 students with a Facebook account and, if they do have an account, it means they have set it up by providing a false date of birth. If Facebook become aware, or are notified about a student under age, then they have the right to close the profile down, often without warning. For further help and more detailed information on this important aspect of e-safety please refer to an excellent help sheet produced by Mr Wright, ICT Co-ordinator for students and staff. This help sheet provides detailed step by step guidance to help adjust Facebook Privacy settings. A copy can be accessed on our Learning Platform via the following link to the homepage then click on the blue Facebook button on the left of the screen: http://www.school-portal.co.uk/GroupHomepage.asp?GroupID=70653 ii) Childnet Launch Updated Guide On Music And Film Online For Parents And Teachers (The guide is available to download for free at www.childnet.com/downloading ) Coronation Street Star Kym Marsh has teamed up with internet safety charity, Childnet International, to launch a new guide that keeps parents, teachers and young people well informed about how to stay safe and legal when downloading and accessing music, films and TV on the internet. The guide – Music, Film, TV and the Internet – highlights the many legal digital sources of entertainment and outlines the implications of using illegal file-sharing sites. It also provides information on the safety and security risks of downloading entertainment illegally such as being exposed to computer viruses, receiving offensive material and theft of personal or financial information. Music, Film, TV and the Internet also encourages parents and teachers to discuss with children the ethical considerations of illegal file-sharing – for example, how using legal sites to access film, TV and music ensures that artists and creators are rewarded fairly for their work. Many parents and teachers may be unaware of some of the more serious consequences that arise from downloading content from illegal sources on the internet. New research by Harris Interactive2 revealed that two in five people using illegal file-sharing sites unwittingly downloaded harmful viruses (39%) that damaged their computer. In addition, one in three (32%) illegal file sharers were exposed to offensive or sexually explicit content by accident, and around one in eight illegal file sharers (12%) had to replace or repair their laptop or PC as a result of the problems experienced from using unauthorised sites. Coronation Street star, musician and mum to two teenagers, Kym Marsh, is supporting the launch of the Childnet guide and spoke of her reasons for doing so: "I find it incredibly hard to keep up with what my two teenagers are doing online so I can definitely see the value of a new guide for muddled mums like myself who are concerned about safety issues. As an actress and former musician, I'm also keen to raise greater awareness of the many ways to get entertainment safely and legally on the internet. When young people use legitimate sites to access music or TV content, it supports the many people who work in the UK entertainment industry." Lucinda Fell, Director of Policy and Communications at Childnet International, continued: "We hope the guide will help parents and teachers to introduce the concept of responsible digital citizenship – the idea of behaving as safely and responsibly in cyberspace as you would offline. This is at the heart of what Childnet does. We often hear from parents that while they are concerned about downloading and streaming, they are also confused about what can and can't be done safely and legally. The new guide aims to give parents and teachers practical information to equip them in talking to children and young people about these issues."

NB A pdf copy Guide On Music And Film Online For Parents And Teachers is also available on the Newsletter page of the website.

PTA NEWS Monday 17 January 2011 PTA AGM at 7.00 pm in the New Mathematics Block. All welcome!

DATES OF FUTURE NEWSLETTERS 2010/11

Issue 6 - w/c 10 January 2011 Issue 9 - w/c 2 May 2011 Issue 7 - w/c 7 February 2011 Issue 10 - w/c 13 June 2011 Issue 8 - w/c 28 March 2011 Issue 11 - w/c 11 July 2011

200 CLUB NOVEMBER 2010 DRAW PRIZE WINNERS

WINNER MEMBERSHIP NUMBER PRIZE 1 Mrs H Griffin, 110 £20 2 Mr K Absalom, Wroughton 57 £15 3 Mrs J Greenhill, Sparcells 38 £10 4 Mrs G Maraffi, Latton 59 £5

ACADEMIC YEAR DATES 2010/11 The dates for this academic year are reproduced at the end of each newsletter to ensure that ‘end of term’ closures and all our Teacher Development Days (when the school is closed to students) are regularly highlighted to students and parents.

Remaining 2010/11 Teacher Development Days (school closed to students) Friday 11 February 2011 Friday 25 March 2011

Academic Year Remaining Dates for 2010/11

Term 3 Term 4 Begins Tuesday 4 January 2011 Begins Monday 28 February 2011

Ends Friday 18 February 2011 Ends Friday 8 April 2011 Holiday 19 February 2011 – 27 February 2011 Holiday 9 April 2011 – 25 April 2011

Term 5 Term 6 Begins Tuesday 26 April 2011 Begins Monday 6 June 2011 NB Public Holiday Friday 29 April 2011 Public Holiday Monday 2 May 2011 Ends Friday 27 May 2011 Ends Friday 22 July 2011 Holiday 28 May 2011 – 5 June 2011 Holiday 23 July 2011 – 31 August 2011

Yours sincerely

L M Spiers Headteacher REMINDER 1: END OF TERM ARRANGEMENTS DECEMBER 2010 We break up on Friday 17 December 2010. Registration and tutor time will be 12.00 – 12.15 pm. As Thamesdown are unable to do all of the early pick ups the following has been arranged: Cricklade Buses 21, 22, 25, 30 PLUS Bradon Forest Swindon Service: BE1, BE2, BE3, BE4 and B90 will depart from school at 12.15 pm prompt. Ellison’s will return to the school and pick up students on the B3, B4, B5, B7and B9 leaving at 12.50 pm. NB: Students should line up in usual places ready for staff to organise boarding of the buses. Purtonians or those students being collected by parents can leave school at 12.15 pm. NB We return to school for Term 3 on Tuesday 4 January 2011 for all year groups at the normal time.

REMINDER 2: CLOSURE NOTIFICATION SYSTEM/ADVICE ON FOOTWEAR The weather conditions over the last two winters have been particularly poor and resulted in some school closures. With this in mind, we would like to reiterate our procedures for closing the school in the event of bad weather or other circumstances outside of our control. Our aim is to give students, parents and staff as much notice as possible. The weather forecast is not always reliable and bad weather overnight may lead to a decision having to be made early in the morning to close the school. We will always keep the school open whilst it is safe to do so. However, in access difficulties, power cuts, heating failure or in the case of an overwhelming staff shortage, we may have to take the decision to close. If we do have to close the school we will use the following means to alert the school community:  The school website ( www.bradonforest.wilts.sch.uk ) will carry a clear, dated message on the homepage stating that we are closed and providing the reasons that have necessitated a closure.  A closure message will be sent out via Schoolcomms as soon as is practicable after the decision is made. Therefore, it is essential that you inform us of any changes to your mobile/e-mail contact information.  Local radio stations will be informed and should broadcast details of school closures throughout the day. These include Heart Radio on 97.2 or 102.2 and BBC Radio Wiltshire on 103.5, 103.6, 104.3 or 104.9 Please note: 1. If the weather or other circumstances lead you to think that the school is closed, please use the website or radio to check whether the school is open or not. 2. Please do not ring the school switchboard as this can overwhelm the system when we need to contact staff, bus companies, the media, local authorities, etc. Thank you in advance for your co-operation – hopefully there will be no need to use this system this winter.

School Uniform: Footwear in Bad Weather Conditions During the recent difficult weather, a number of parents wrote notes in planners to explain that their child was wearing boots due to the adverse weather conditions to and from school. We are mindful that parents will be considering safety during snow and icy weather and alternative sensible footwear/boots for these reasons is acceptable during the bad weather period. However, this should not be used by some girls as an excuse to wear unsuitable ‘fashion boots’ as the smooth soles make them less safe in icy conditions than ordinary shoes. We will continue to adopt a flexible/sensible approach if we encounter further bad weather periods in the new term. Thank you for your support with this issue.

December 2010

Dear Parents

BRADON FOREST SCHOOL 200 CLUB

The 200 Club was established in January 1993 and has proved an extremely effective method of raising money for Bradon Forest School. In return for an annual cheque of £12.00 members are given a number which is entered into a monthly prize draw. The size of the prizes naturally depends on the number of members in the draw, but 50% of the contributions collected are returned as cash prizes.

We are always looking to increase membership of the 200 Club. Our aim is to provide an easy way for busy parents and friends to support the school and, at the same time, help us to raise money to provide additional equipment that otherwise would not be affordable.

Should you be interested in joining the 200 Club, please complete and return the form below by Thursday 27 January 2011 to be included in the draw due to take place on Friday 28 January 2011.

Yours sincerely

L Spiers Headteacher ...... ……………………………………. PLEASE RETURN TO MRS J SCOTT, ADMINISTRATION OFFICE

Please enrol me as a member of the Bradon Forest 200 Club with effect from 31 December 2010.

I enclose cash/cheque for £12.00 (please make cheques payable to ‘Bradon Forest School’)

Name ......

Address ......

......

......