Newsletter Issue 5
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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.