WINTER 2015 Other News Continued... The Art In Brief Rutherford Our Sixth Form Art and Photography students visited the Victoria & Albert Museum and Tate Britain on Friday 13th November. This trip is an established annual event on the Art Review Department calendar and has an important role in supporting both our curriculum enrichment and the development of work. Term Dates An exciting new mural for MRS Student Monday 4 January 2016 – Training Day Reception is currently in the process of being designed and developed by Year 9 After Tuesday 5 January 2016 - Term Begins School Art Club students. Monday 15 February - Friday 19 February 2016 Half Term Headlines Year 10 Applied Art and Design students Thursday 24 March 2016 - Term Ends As you can see by the Newsletter this has been a successful and busy term created a fantastic set for this year’s and I would like to thank all the parents for their continued support. musical production “Fame!”. This project is Forthcoming Events Year 11 have completed their mocks and the progress of all these students invaluable in providing each student with the Thursday 14 January 2016 - Year 9 Subject Evening is very promising with many of them taking significant steps towards experience of working to a client brief and Thursday 21 January 2016 - OCC4 U Careers Event realistic deadlines. gaining excellent GCSE results this Summer. Together we must ensure all Thursday 11 February 2016 - Year 10 Subject Evening this hard work continues up to and including their last exams. There are Year 11 Art students are producing some fabulous work in support of their coursework Thursday 17 March 2016 - Year 12 Subject Evening many extra sessions to support students so please encourage your son completion with exam preparation beginning Tuesday 1 March - Tuesday 22 March 2016 - Year 11 Academic Mentoring and daughter to get involved. All the evidence indicates if students are A Taste of Cambridge well organised, engaged in all their learning and take advantage of the in the New Year. Wednesday 23 March 2016 - Year 13 Subject Evening Leonardo Buttice, Liam Fensom, Hamish Burns, Kamran Bagol, Kurtis Clements, Lina support they are offered, they will achieve their target grades or higher in Dubbins, Lydia Geronikolos, Elizabeth Headley, Georgina Hodge and Charlotte Anstee, the exams and controlled assessments. had a chance to experience University life when they took part in one of Cambridge’s Lina Dubbins Year 11 Mark Rutherford This September we changed our effort grades to an ‘Attitude to Learning’ taster days. School Art Department. Arkwright Scholarship Success grade which significantly raised the bar. Analysis of the first assessment The Year Eleven students, who are part of the School’s More Able and Talented cohort, point shows a very high percentage of students averaging A1/A2 the The Arkwright Scholarship is a prestigious award for young engineers, attended the one day University workshop in order to give them an insight into student top grades. This is a credit to all the students and to all the parents who life. The event was organised by the student outreach team at the School’s link Pembroke named after Richard Arkwright, a man who revolutionised the cotton industry in the UK. support the school and their son/daughter. College, Cambridge. To attain this award there are several areas in which you are assessed, first being the The day involved an introduction session looking at how to apply to University and the application. This involved all sorts of questions like, ‘What engineering projects have you As I stated in my letter to parents early in the Term: academic qualifications required by Russell Group universities which includes some of the been involved in?’ and ‘What university would you like to go to?’. This was probably the ‘We expect students to come to school on time with a positive attitude so that country’s top Higher Education institutions. This was then followed by a college tour with easiest step of the scholarship. In January, the Arkwright Scholarship Trust gave us feedback they are able to learn in a calm, purposeful environment which enables them from the application and told us whether or not we had got through to the next stage. two current undergraduates during which the group had a chance to find out more about to achieve the very best in all their lessons. Students must take pride in their the demands of student life. The students also participated in educational work at the Scott Fortunately enough, I think nearly all students got though to the exam stage! Polar Institute. school and the work they produce at all times. It is this pride that will enable This exam was graded at AS Level while we were in Year 11, so it was tough. It was a test to them to achieve the best results they can. We also expect that they will wear see how you cope with technical problems, how well your solutions are applicable in the real world and how well they would solve the problem. Coming out of the exam, none of us their uniform with pride whilst at school and to and from school, and act in a were confident! Luckily enough, three of us found out we were successful after a long wait courteous manner at all times to all members of the community.’ from January to June. This is our expectation for all our students and we will carry on insisting Careers and Business Partnership The next step was an interview held at a University that supports the Arkwright Trust, these high standards are maintained. At the first Mark Rutherford Business Partnership of the new academic year, our theme I chose Cambridge University. So at 8am, I was on the Park and Ride heading to the Uni, As I say to staff and students in assemblies, there are three key words: was Labour Market information. This sounds a bit heavy, but we had a really interesting where I was first to be interviewed. I brought in a presentation from home and talked about presentation from Ellie Marcham, Bedford Borough Council’s Economic Development the skills that I had used to solve a problem. The interview was 20 minutes but it felt like 20 standards, standards and standards! Manager. She always brings along some interesting details about new companies and seconds! It was the most stressful thing I have ever done, my hands were shaking! Finally, I would like to wish you all a very happy Christmas and New Year. developments that are happening in Bedford. Then there was another long wait to see whether I had passed the interview. There were Mr Millard We also had an additional visitor both at our breakfast meeting and also for our Open Art Success four of us from Mark Rutherford School and we were all a bit pessimistic but when the email Evening. We were kindly lent, by Michael R Peters, a full-size-moving-plus-all-the-sounds- Last year our Year 11 Applied Art students came in I was a scholar! and-gadgets Dalek (including the sonic screwdriver!). The Dalek was a great hit at our Open worked on illustrating a booklet for a local This scholarship gives me £300 a year and partners me with a company that can offer me all Evening, when some enterprising Sixth Formers took photos of our visitors alongside it and charity, the ITP Support Association. Not sorts of great opportunities. raised funds towards the Peru visit. only did they have to learn illustration Written by Omar Choudhry, Year 12 Student Mark Rutherford School wins Our next Breakfast Meeting was on the 25th November, and focussed on Apprenticeships, skills and book layouts, they also had to Education and Business Partnership Award with many training providers and companies being available to talk to our Year 11s and work with a client, sell their ideas and meet Sixth Formers about this possible deadlines. We were thrilled in October to hear that Mark Rutherford Business Partnership won the Education and Business Partnership award for the East of England Chamber of Commerce route. This follows on from a very The Chief Executive of the charity, Shirley Awards, and we go forward to the National finals in November in London. This is a very successful parents information Watson, acted as the client for the project exciting result and acknowledgment for our team and rightly recognises the hard work, evening in November with over and came in to view the finished work. support and dedication of our business partners. 50 parents turning out to hear a She was very impressed by the overall standard of the work produced and selected two talk from Anna Morrison from the students’ illustrations to be used for the final booklets. National Apprenticeship Service and The project was scheduled to be completed in conjunction with the opening of the charity’s Simon Naylor, who gave a talk from new headquarters in Bolnhurst. This event was exceptionally well attended with local and an employer’s point of view, and international visitors all of whom expressed interest in the project. brought along a gadget developed by his apprentice Liam Dixon who is Darcey Pryor and Joelleen Holland both had their work selected and received a certificate of an ex-student of ours. thanks and a gift voucher presented by the actor Neil Dudgeon (from Midsomer Murders). There were lots of events going on as part of our careers programme in November: a small group of Sixth Omar Choudhry and Richard Lilley from Mark Rutherford School were awarded a sought-after Formers went to visit the Pathology Arkwright Engineering Scholarship recently at a ceremony.