Accent 20 - Ashcombe School

Accent
Accent
Number Twenty • May 2007
LANGUAGE
COLLEGES
on Ashcombe
THE ASHCOMBE SCHOOL • DORKING
SPONSORED WALK
uch to everyone’s relief this was
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a really successful day and the
weather was relatively kind to the
walkers. The route was adapted so
that it did not cause any difficulties
and this proved to be a wise move.
Thanks must go to Mrs Clarke and her
husband for helping beyond the call
of duty with the planning and route.
A total of over £14,000 was raised
and Sophie Wicks from Year 7 raised
over £200 and will be getting a highly
discounted mountain bike from Head
for the Hills bike shop in West Street.
CHARITIES WEEK
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Ashcombe Eco-Committee
School Council
Tanzania Exchange
Jesus Christ Superstar
Careers Fair
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INSIDE
see page 14
Comment
currently with the 200th anniversary
of the abolition of the slave trade.
We have worked hard to establish a
link with a school from a Muslim
culture, and are delighted to be part of
a British Council – sponsored project
with Italy (a school in Ostuni, Puglia)
and Turkey (a school in Istanbul). The
relics of history are vivid and shocking
– on holiday last summer, I saw 400
skulls mounted in the cathedral in
Otranto (Italy) from the Ottoman
(Turkish) massacre in the 16th century.
he last term saw many of our
students taking part in exchanges
and visits that link The Ashcombe
with France, Germany, Spain,
Tanzania, Italy and Turkey.
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The value of such exchanges and visits
is at many levels, but one deep and
underlying purpose is that of building
bridges and developing understanding.
The theme of the shared curriculum
project for the Tanzania exchange was
chosen to be ‘the legacy of the slave
trade’. There was an emotional and
powerful session last summer when
our students experienced first-hand
how raw and painful the legacy still is,
a debate and sensitivity in the news
Setting up and maintaining our
overseas contacts is not easy at times,
dealing with cultural, political and
bureaucratic differences and obstacles,
but we are committed to building
these bridges however tiny. We hope
that in a small way we are giving
young people a clearer view of the
reality of the world in which they are
living.
We are in accord with the motto of
Amnesty International (also supported
by the school) which is “It is better to
light a candle than to curse the
darkness”.
My assembly at the end of term dealt
with Northern Ireland, moving from
the violence and hatred epitomised by
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme
has been a terrific year with record numbers participating in the
We had a successful Silver training expedition to Exmoor
Iintscheme.
October where 35 Year 11s battled against the elements, the
landscape and their compasses for three days and two nights. There
were occasions where the driving rain became so extreme I thought
there may be at least a couple of students reluctant to go on; I was
pleasantly surprised to get to our campsite, dripping slightly, to hear
screams and cheers of delight and competitive banter about who had
actually got the wettest!
The Bronze Award has attracted equal interest and we signed up 140
participants. They started their after school training sessions with
enthusiasm and zest and were excited about the opportunity to try
out their new found skills on Leith Hill in the new year.
17 members of the Lower Sixth have been brave enough to take on
the Gold Award and have started their training to prepare them for
the likes of Snowdonia and the Lake District in May and July.
Miss Sampson
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the Guildford pub bombing of 1974
through the dawn of hope in the
Good Friday Agreement of 1998 to
the historic meeting of Ian Paisley
and Gerry Adams last month and
the agreement of old enemies to
share power and argue with words
not bombs.
One of the tragedies of Northern
Ireland is how perpetuated and
institutionalised separation has
engendered suspicion, hostility and
retaliation. It is only through the
persistent, brave and often
apparently fruitless dialogues that
peace has prevailed. It is a sad
reflection on the situation in the
world that even locally during the
visit of our Turkish colleagues they
were challenged whilst going
around Dorking for taking
photographs (albeit very pleasantly).
Just as the enemy of democracy is
apathy, so the enemy of trust and
friendship is suspicion – we remain
committed to offering the hand of
friendship to people of all faiths and
countries, and hope that the
experiences which ensue for the
young people give them the hope
and experience to build a
constructive future.
The Ashcombe Eco-Committee
September Miss Eagles
Isetninspired
a group of students to
up the school’s very first EcoCommittee. Our aim was to
improve the school environment.
Every week the Eco-Committee
meets to discuss environmental
issues. So far we have worked on
projects such as recycling, Fair
Trade and climate change. At
Christmas we received our Bronze
Eco Status from Eco-Schools. The
Year 7 pupils produced a fantastic
‘Eco Code’ which is now displayed
in every classroom.
We have started various campaigns
such as ‘Turn out the lights’ and
we outline here some of the other
things in which we have been
involved which, we hope, will
lead to us achieving our Silver
Award at the end of the academic
year.
Joe Mitchell U6
Trip to the Leatherhead Recycling Centre
trip was organised for the Sixth
iForm members of our committee
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to the Leatherhead Recycling Plant to
discover where our locally recycled
waste was really going. As part of our
new recycling scheme that we’ve
proudly achieved, it was fascinating to
follow the materials along their path.
We saw how behind the scenes, we
were helping sustainability that is
heavily advertised to us but we know
so little about.
Once we arrived in the plant, hard hats
and reflective clothing were provided.
After photos of us all looking like old
men, we were briefed as to what we
were going to see and we welcomed the
guest governors who accompanied us.
Big Green Bins
come to school!
shcombe has become the first school
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in Mole Valley to adopt a recycling
scheme as part of the Eco Committee
plan to make the school more
environmentally friendly. We currently
have 6 × 1100 litre bins which are
collected by the Mole Valley
District council every
fortnight. Additional bins
are now in classrooms
and offices throughout
the school and pupils
and teachers are being
crushed. Small pieces of paper and card
that are left behind are not wasted
either.
Large industrial lorries came into the
depot, emptying mountains of household
recyclables. It was astonishing to see
how much waste was being fed into this
single plant, and that it was happening
several times a day. We were escorted
into a building that looked like an aircraft
hanger and were given a tour along the
sorting line.
They are sorted separately and driven to
another plant where they are compacted
to make small fuel blocks. The items
which are large enough to be recycled
are fed through a machine that compacts
them into large blocks, held together by
wire. They are then stacked and taken by
lorry to the next place of use.
The visit was really interesting. We saw
a massive rotating cylinder that spread
the waste out evenly. Magnets were used
to pick up metal waste and pickers to
take out plastic bottles which are then
The trip was informative and enjoyable.
It gave us insights into how recycling
works in Mole Valley and has motivated
us to continue with our scheme.
Lucy Nicholls L6
encouraged to make use of the bins
as often as possible. The Ashcombe is
now one of the 25 state and private
schools throughout the district to have
adopted the new scheme.
Ellie Povey, Bridget Haywood and
Hannah Grimes, L6
money for their products than other
buyers. This ensures that they have a
more secure future. The Eco-committee
has recently sold cakes at a charity cake
sale. All of the money went to the school
charities, and all of the cakes were made
using Fair Trade ingredients. Lots of staff
and students bought these treats. We
would like to thank the people who got
involved with helping make and sell
items too! Overall, £70.23 was raised for
charity. If you would like to find out more
about Fair Trade, and how you could
help, please visit their website at
www.fairtrade.org.co.uk
Fair Trade
he recent Fair Trade Fortnight was a
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two week period dedicated to raising
awareness of Fair Trade. Fair Trade is a
charity that gives farmers better deals for
the food that they sell. Products that have
the Fair Trade logo printed on them show
that the suppliers gave the farmers more
Emma Yarde, Francesca Grisdale, and
William Avery 8XW
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School Council
ollowing the relaunch of the School
Council last year the same pattern
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has been adopted for this school year.
The element of democracy and
involvement of young people in
learning how a large organisation
works is a valuable one and the
benefits for many students are
evident.
Each tutor group has elected a tutor
group representative. All these
representatives meet to elect the
executive committee for the School
Council.
It is the tutor group representative’s job
to hold tutor group meetings based on
the published agenda and minutes
received from the School Council
secretary. These tutor group
representatives then take their tutor
groups’ views to the next level (that is,
discussion with the other
One of the key aims with the new
School Council is to give a ‘pupil
voice’ to the entire school and to
publicise the key decisions.
representatives from their Year
Groups). It is at this meeting where he
Year Group Committee decide what
they as a Year Group need to raise at
the next whole School Council meeting
and which three Year representatives
attend.
A whole School Council is then held
approximately every three weeks
during lesson time to decide what the
Executive Committee needs to take to
the Headteacher and what needs
further discussion.
School Council
(3 reps from each
year council +
Executive council)
(25)
Tom Westcott
Chair of
School Council
Lara Ballard
Vice-chair,
School Council
YEAR 7
COMMITTEE
YEAR 8
COMMITTEE
YEAR 9
COMMITTEE
YEAR 10
COMMITTEE
YEAR 11
COMMITTEE
6th FORM
COMMITTEE
(1 rep from
each tutor
group)
(9)
(1 rep from
each tutor
group)
(8)
(1 rep from
each tutor
group)
(9)
(1 rep from
each tutor
group)
(9)
(1 rep from
each tutor
group)
(8)
(1 rep from
each tutor
group)
(14)
New agenda published
for next council
meeting
TUTOR GROUP MEETING
Tutor Group Rep discusses
agenda with tutor group
YEAR COUNCIL
MEETING
STAFF PASTORAL
COMMITTEE
Tutor group rep takes points
raised to their year council
meeting
Executive Committee take
points raised to staff pastoral
committee
Minutes published
to staff and tutor
groups
• Secretary has been supplied with a laptop
• Email addresses have been supplied for all
council members
• £1000 donation has been secured for a project
of the council’s choice
he Ashcombe School Council’s
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aim is to get pupils more involved
with the running of the school so
they can input their opinions together
making the school a pupil-friendly
and altogether happy environment.
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SCHOOL COUNCIL
MEETING
Agenda discussed
• Council has been actively involved in uniform
consultation
• Council has been actively involved in developing
anti-bullying CCTV
At the moment we are trying to
improve the canteen with decorated
walls and new seating. We have had
four TV screens installed this term. This
has made a more pleasant place for
pupils to go at break and lunchtimes.
Mr Ketley
As a pupil and a vice-chair, I have
experienced the beneficial changes of
the School Council and I hope we can
progress further.
Lara Ballard 9XY, Vice Chair 2006-2007
School Visits
History Battlefields
Alton Towers
n February, 47 Year 10 students visited
IWorld
the battlefields and cemeteries of
War One in Belgium and France.
n Saturday September 16th
nearly one hundred Year 11
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pupils enjoyed a very long day out
The group set off on one of the coldest
trips ever. The students experienced life
in the trenches in the snow!
in the heart of the English
countryside and spent the whole
day either queuing or screaming.
We visited the Belgian town of Ypres
which was devastated by fighting in
World War One. Two Ashcombe students
took part in a memorial ceremony held
at the Menin Gate in the town. We also
laid flowers at a German cemetery in
Langermark. Students realised that the
men fighting on both sides were young
and did not want to die fighting in a
foreign country. We then headed south
towards the Somme. On a bitterly cold
day the students crossed the Somme
frontline where the British had lost
20,000 men in two hours in July 1916.
The journey takes four hours, but
the pupils wanted to go there for
some of the tallest and fastest rides
in Europe.
The weather was fantastic and
everyone had a fine time with the
possible exception of the Head of
History who looked somewhat
rattled and dazed after riding
Nemesis.
Mr Rosser
Geography visits
n October the A2 Geography group
went to Devon to collect data for
Icoursework.
The trip involved the study of
coastal processes and management
(measuring beach profiles and
evaluating different forms of beach
management), and the collection of
data such as plant type, percentage
vegetation cover and soil type.
In Exeter students collected data on
urban structure and change. All the
data collecting tasks were really well
organised and we particularly
enjoyed the independence when
collecting it on our own, mostly in
Exeter. The resources at the Field
Centre were very impressive and the
knowledge of the staff was very
helpful. The classroom sessions were
really helpful and the advice given by
the tutors at the centre was incredibly
useful and really well taught.
Coming away from the field trip we
all felt confident in our ability to be
able to complete our coursework
successfully.
Joe Mitchell and Tom Green - U6
Italy visit
talian and English students pictured in Puglia this
iJanuary on ithe British Council sponsored visit
mentioned on the next page.
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The trip illustrates just how close the
fighting of the Western Front was to
Surrey. Students finished the trip
realising there were millions of stories
and families behind the men who
bravely gave their lives.
Mr Robinson
Art trip to the Estorick collection
of Modern Italian Art
Mr Woollett recommends a visit to an unusual gallery
a group of Year 10 Art students went to
Italian art gallery in Cannonbury Square, London.
InanDecember,
The collection is housed in a beautiful Georgian
townhouse left by Erick Estorick for the housing of
modern Italian art. His collection is principally of the
Futurists with their experiments in music and the visual
arts. The Futurists were interested in how to represent
the massive technological changes that were
transforming society, particularly through advances in
transport and architecture. They were also interested in
the life of people who inhabited the new modern cities.
Students really enjoyed working from and analysing this
art as well as the delightful Italian cuisine offered on the
ground floor.
It is a very worthwhile place to visit and comes highly
recommended!
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Exchanges and Visits
he Spring Term was always going to
make The Ashcombe School look like
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a mini-version of the United Nations! All
visits went extremely well and a large
number of people in the local community
have had their lives enriched by meeting
people from all over the world.
Rachel Barker describes the Tanzanian
experience on the next page. We would
also like to thank all those people from
local churches, Mole Valley District
Council and those who invited the
visitors for meals for adding a very
special dimension to the visit.
This year, because of the Slavery Project,
there was a much sharper focus to
classroom visits by Tanzanian students,
and the assemblies (one of which can be
seen on our website), were tremendous
for our young people.
Both legs of the Spanish exchange were
trouble-free and this is in no small
measure due to the quality of our link
teacher in Spain, David Marugan. This
year, Year 11 students were invited along
with AS and A2 students, so a party of
16 went to the Spanish capital.
Whilst in Madrid we went to the major
museums, the ‘Valley of the Fallen’ and
the Bernabeu Stadium. Some students
went to see Real Madrid play (and lose
1-0). Chocolate y churros at a café close
to the school were very popular and gave
the group lots of energy to start the day.
Over here the Spanish got to know
London and Oxford very well, but suffered
with the very cold weather. The British
Council-supported Comenius scheme link
with a school in Puglia and a school near
Istanbul has seen a group of our students
and staff out in Italy in January and a
return visit from Italian and Turkish
students and teachers in March. Having
ten Turks in our community, even for a
short period, was an interesting and
positive experience and host families were
very helpful in making the youngsters’
stay as enjoyable as possible.
Mr Thompson
French Exchange
ver forty students participated in the annual
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exchange with Collège Sonia Delaunay in
Dorking’s twin town of Gouvieux. The French
visit here in January was in cold and snowy
weather (see the picture of students huddled
together in front of Tower Bridge) whereas we
fared a little better in March.
Both visits followed the now established routines
(Paris, Eurodisney and Chantilly were amongst
our day visits whilst the French enjoyed trips to
Portsmouth and London).
The benefits of the cultural and linguistic
opportunities for students cannot be underestimated with such exchanges and we look
forward to renewing acquaintances next year.
Links with China
September we were asked by the Specialist
and Academies’ Trust to host a visit from
Ia nSchools’
Chinese official who worked with UNESCO. This
involved formal discussions and lesson visits.
The after-school primary Chinese club
is still popular. New faces joined in September but
“old faithfuls” returned too. Classes are held each
week at St. Martin’s Primary School.
Janet Lightfoot (Head teacher at Powell Corderoy)
and Mrs Clarke spent October half term in
Shanghai, visiting the Primary School linked with
Chang Zheng Secondary School.
We took out Story Sacks (prepared by primary
colleagues) in exchange for Culture Kits from
China. We were able to work with the children,
introducing rhymes, songs, stories and games, as
well as appreciating some of the culture and
traditions of the Chinese people.
We gave a successful presentation to over 200
primary colleagues who teach English in the Putuo
District of Shanghai. We were asked to talk about
the primary education system in England.
Mr Thompson and Mrs J Clarke
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Spanish
Exchange
n the
concourse
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at Atocha
Railway Station,
Madrid, this
February – see
the article at
the top of this
page.
China Visit
he China visit completed the second leg of our first full exchange
programme. We had hosted eight students and two teachers for a
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fortnight prior to and during the first part of Business Week and as
usual the students from Shanghai were highly talented musicians. We
allocated the first part of the summer concert to them and they played
with great skill to the delight of the audience.
Our visit to China began with a three day trip to Beijing. Mr Hartley and
Mrs Martin accompanied the students. The home stay in Shanghai was
very successful and if anything on the short side according to the
students’ evaluation of the visit.
Mr Thompson
Tanzania Exchange
Rachel Barker in the Lower Sixth
offers a view on her African
experience…
ast Summer, 15 Ashcombe
istudents, Miss Sampson, Mr
L
Leane and Miss Ling, set off for a
three week trip to Tanzania on a
student exchange programme
supported by the Department for
International Development.
The group stayed in the homes of
students studying at Tambaza High
School, with whom Ashcombe
have been partnered since 1997.
All the students agreed it was an
absolute joy to be welcomed into
the homes of such generous,
vibrant families. It was less of a joy
getting up at five am in the
morning to a cold bucket of water
for a shower followed by a two
hour trip to school in a rickety bus!
While attending school, the group
researched and discussed the
international slave trade, which
affected both Britain and Tanzania
directly, and this formed the basis
of a project to mark the 200th
anniversary of the abolition of the
trade.
One of the highlights of the trip
was a trip to the island of Zanzibar,
known for its white sands, brilliant
blue ocean and wonderful local
cuisine. Students explained that it
was fascinating to visit places that
haven’t yet been affected by
tourism and development.
The group also enjoyed a safari in
the Serengeti and the Ngorongoro
crater, experiencing something of
what wild, unbridled Africa has to
offer, from lions, black rhinos and
flamingos to giraffes, elephants
and ostriches, often within metres
of the tents!
The students came back with
stunning impressions of the heat
and the colours of Africa. Once
back in the UK, emails were
exchanged across the continents
and the Ashcombe students
enthusiastically awaited the return
of their Tanzanian partners.
They arrived in a typically cold
and rainy Dorking on the evening
of Friday 23rd February. The
Ashcombe students had been
concerned about the challenge of
finding things to do that could
match up to the adventures in
Tanzania – but they needn’t have
worried! The Tanzanian students
enjoyed trips to the Houses of
Parliament, Reuters in Canary
Wharf, Brighton and even
Dorking sites with their usual
enthusiasm. They even had a
chance to try out an afternoon of
ice-skating, with mixed results.
Gatherings were organised most
evenings, with plenty of food,
singing, dancing and laughter.
Other evenings were spent with
families, the Tanzanian students
often wrapped up in several
jumpers, gloves, hats and a
couple of blankets, as they
struggled with the cold of a
British winter!
The final evening was celebrated
with a meal for the students,
families and exchange staff at the
Dorking Golf Club where the
Tanzanian students put on an
incredible show of traditional
dress, song and dance.
Sad farewells were said the next
day but with promises to keep in
touch and plans for the
Ashcombe students to return to
Tanzania again someday soon.
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Jesus Christ Superstar
his year’s annual production was very
different in style to recent
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productions, being a ’70s rock opera
written by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd
Webber. This is the third time the school
has staged this production, the last ten
years ago. This production was of superb
quality from the singing and acting (both
leading characters and chorus) to the
dance, from the talented orchestra to the
efficient backstage team. “Team” is the
operative word – it was the efforts of the
whole team which made the production
so successful.
As Jesus, Nick Beasley was very
convincing, and who can forget his
suffering on the Cross? Harry McEntire
was a brooding Judas who coped
admirably with the huge vocal and
emotional range. As Mary Magdalene,
Hannah Brewer really moved the
audience with her rendition of “I Don’t
Know How To Love Him”. Edward Judge
was a very powerful Pilate and Andrew
O’Donoghue produced a deep gravelly
voice to lead the priests as Caiaphas.
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Jesus Christ
The dance was all choreographed for the
second year running by Upper Sixth
student Nina Hoad and was a very
effective variation adding greatly to the
overall effect, especially in the
“Superstar” number where the dancers
were angels.
It was very pleasing to see so many
students in the orchestra, many of them
leading sections.
Backstage, students had built and
painted the stage, operated the lighting
and sound and organised props with real
professionalism. Upper Sixth Form
student Jolene Bull masterminded the
costumes, making the majority of
them herself.
Many staff helped with the production,
the Music and Drama Departments in
their entirety, Mrs Cackett, Dr Coultous,
Mrs Thompson, Dr Edwards, Mrs Hook,
Mrs Lloyd and Ms Myers. Several staff
also played in the orchestra, both
teaching staff and peripatetic teachers.
Miss Goswell
Superstar
Jesus Christ Superstar
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Year 11 Performance Evening
CSE students put on
an evening of
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entertainment in
Bradley Performance
Area making full use of
the new technology and
lighting there.
They played a variety
of music, ranging from
Indonesian Gamelan to
more contemporary
styles.
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Sport
The Sports Partnership
Now in its second year this has
continued to provide support for the
P.E. department through external
coaches for football, rugby and
volleyball. Three brand new rowing
machines and one cricket bowling
machine have been made available to
the school for extra-curricular activities.
CSLA
20 students have completed the
Community Sports Leaders Award this
year and the qualification will enable
them to assist with sporting ventures in
the local community.
Cross-Country
We took pupils from Years 7–12 up to
Epsom Downs for the District Cross
Country meet. In total there were 10
schools involved with over 150 runners
competing. A number of our pupils
produced fine performances with many
finishing in the top 10. The best
individual performances were by Becky
Gardner in the Lower Sixth and Luke
Caldwell in Year 11 who both won their
respective races.
Netball
There has been an excellent turn out at
practice on a Tuesday after school. We
are assisted by Gill Gardner (Dorking
Netball Club) and Sarah Oram who is
in the Upper Sixth.
Football
Pupils have been training in large
numbers for the fixtures. After-school
football on a Friday has been very
popular. We have girls’ football training
on a Monday lunchtime and Mole
Valley sports staff have taken sessions
in school on Thursday afternoons
training the girls.
Games Day
This September saw another Games
Day at The Ashcombe School in
September. The day involved pupils
from Years 7-10 taking part in a variety
of events. These included Girls’
Football, Boys’ Football, Basketball,
Badminton, Netball, Rugby, Hockey
and Volleyball. The main focus of this
day is to raise pupil awareness of the
wide variety of sporting activities
available at The Ashcombe School and
to engage them in healthy competition
through the House system.
It was great to see so many members
of the school getting involved. The
tutors and Heads of House organised
the teams and were able to come out
to support, encourage and motivate
the pupils to success. On the day the
staff and Leadership students of the
Sixth Form officiated each sport.
Sevens Rugby
Two teams from year 10 were entered
for the annual Sevens Rugby
competition for local schools held at
Howard of Effingham School. One
team reached the semi-finals and the
other retained the trophy they won last
year – an outstanding achievement.
The victory epitomized the quality of
rugby played throughout the school this
year, with only one of 16 matches
being lost, and that by a margin of just
five points.
Pictured right are: Tom Woodcock, Jon
Ellis, Conor Mottram, Alex Spooner,
Robbie Anderson, James Pellman and
Fraser Graham.
Rugby
For five weeks on a Friday after-school
boys and girls are being transported
down to Dorking Rugby Club for
coaching sessions that are being held
and run jointly with The Priory and
Boxhill schools. Congratulations to Jake
Dobson in the Lower Sixth who is
captain of the County U17 team and
Nick Haigh who is in the U16 squad.
Individual performances
Gym and Dance Evening
Hannah Bush returned from the
Taekwondo World Championships
where she gained bronze. Matt Foot
returned from the World Kick Boxing
Championships where he also gained
a bronze. Mark Childerstone has
represented GB at Kayaking this year.
Mr Hooker
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Careers Fair
e had an extremely successful
event in mid-September for which
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pupils and students were well prepared.
The evening was superbly supported by
parents with their children and the very
wide range of career representatives
were delighted with the response from
those who spent time talking with
them. We extended the Fair into the
gym where educational institutions
were represented (including The
Academy for Contemporary Music from
Guildford) and people from the worlds
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of publishing, medicine, finance,
government, the arts and media gave
lots of wonderful advice which was
much appreciated by those who
attended. The Study Centre hosted
talks on Higher Education,
Apprenticeships and careers not
requiring H.E. These sessions were
really well supported and very well
received. Generous sponsorship was
provided by the PTA and HSBC with
valued contributions from Waitrose and
UNUMProvident.
Sixth Form
fter the success of the first social,
the “Mad Hatter’s Tea Party”
held back in July, the follow-up was
eagerly anticipated. After much
deliberation, we came up with the
idea of a 60s and 70s disco, which
would give everyone the chance to
get to know each other better a few
weeks into the term.
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Music and dancing were to be the
main focus and Sixth Formers had
the chance to dress up if they
wanted to, although this was mainly
embraced by the Senior Prefects, in
particular the Head Boy’s uncanny
disguise as John Travolta.
The common room was transformed
with fairy lights, streamers, cushions,
beanbags and a huge disco ball, with
food and drink provided and speakers
playing disco music. We were happy
to see that the turnout was much
higher than we had predicted; the
Twister mats and electronic dance mat
were in constant use, as was the
makeshift dance floor in the middle of
the room.
Upper and Lower 6th danced and
played the games together, and
everyone participated in the “danceoff” near the end of the night with
high competition over who had the
best moves (or more accurately, who
made everyone laugh the most).
The social went very well and
everyone seemed to have a good time,
with plenty of positive feedback.
Many told us it was even better than
the induction social because it was
more relaxed and comfortable, which
indeed was the aim of the night.
It was definitely a perfect opportunity
for the two years to get to know each
other and to welcome the Lower Sixth.
Alice Regent U6
Tanzanian Visitors
n February we welcomed our
Tanzanian visitors, so in true Sixth
IForm
style, we welcomed them to
The Ashcombe with a ‘Best of British’
social.
The Senior Prefects organised the
Common Room with England shirts
hanging up on a washing line, LPs on
the walls; we had tea, scones and
the jam hearts made a return
appearance.
We entertained our guests with the
musical talents of Tom Wood, Tiffany
and Elliot and bands like the
‘Uncontrollable Thrusts’ and ‘Hot
Wires’. The evening was completed
when the Tanzanians performed their
traditional school song and dance.
All in all, the evening was filled with
music, tea, dance and laughter.
Laura Jones U6
Book Week and Fair
European Day of Languages
he highlight of the Autumn Term
was the Children’s Book Week in
October. This was, as usual, a busy
week with five activities taking place,
including a quiz compiled by pupils, a
10p book sale, voting for and drawing
your favourite book villain, poems to
celebrate National Poetry Day and a
murder mystery. Ninety eight votes
were cast for the favourite book
villain. Tulip from the “Tulip touch”
won with thirty eight votes.
In early December a very popular
Book Fair took place. There were a
number of activities connected to it –
a quiz, a poster design competition
for the Book Club members and each
Year Group had the opportunity to
vote for their favourite book.
Mrs Derrett
This Annual International Day tends
to be marked at the Ashcombe by a
series of language related games and
activities. Two corners of Mrs. Hook’s
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science lab became a centre of
Danish for the lunch time period
whilst elsewhere competitions were
run by other staff.
A student viewpoint on the fund-raising sponsored walk
erhaps as a Year 7 pupil walking
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nine or ten miles is slightly
daunting but for many of us older
students for whom it may be the last
year at The Ashcombe, the
Sponsored Walk last September was
an exciting event in the first month
of the school year and set many of
us off on a ticking off process as it
was the first of the last milestones
before our lives really change!
Apart from this being a good bit of
exercise the Walk helps the school
raise funds for a variety of projects.
The day started off brightly with
sunshine. Unfortunately for us Year
11s it started to rain just as we left
the tennis court assembly point.
Although it dampened our hair it
did not dampen our spirits.
The walk through Denbies Vineyard,
over Ranmore and through
Polesden Lacey was one filled with
laughter and groans (blisterinduced), but how often do we get
to walk through the beautiful heart
of Surrey and miss a day of school?
I would describe the day as
memorable and challenging. I could
add the word entertaining as I saw
Mr Harrow walk down a slippery
muddy slope.
On behalf of all participants I would
like to say a big thank you to all who
made the day possible and to the
youngest walkers who arrived back
exhausted but they did it!
Ellie Boyle, Year 11
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Charities Week
any people felt that our last event was the slickest to date, which is a
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tribute to the organisational skills and energy of Dr Coultous and the
Lower Sixth students leading the activities. The usual range of lunchtime
sessions was held to full houses and staff were brave enough to support and
take part in the singing, dancing and consumption of exotic but ‘none too
easily digestible food.’ £3000 was raised during the week.
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Romania Visit
he Romania visit took place during
Activities Week. Again it was highly
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successful. The pupils saw considerable
progress on the Life Skills Centre (one
focus of the fund-raising in Charities
Week since 2003) and decorated two of
the rooms. They were able to travel
around in a minibus paid for by
Charities Week 2005. They also made
rabbit hutches to kick-start incomegenerating projects in rural villages.
The Shoe Box collection which took
place this half-term brought an
astonishing response from this school.
As you can see from the photograph,
shoe boxes were piled up four feet high
and across the length of the display
boards in the foyer in Ranmore
Building. This represented five times
more compared with last year.
Miss Cammack
China Day
n the Wednesday of Charities Week
we held a China Day to celebrate
the Chinese New Year.
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Throughout the day there were
calligraphy classes and after-school
dance class which proved to be very
successful for participating students.
Christmas Bazaars
ver a couple of lunch periods in
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the late Autumn Term, Tutor
Groups set up a series of fund-raising
activities ranging from home-made
cakes to “How many marshmallows
can you stuff in your mouth and still
speak?” and in order to raise money
for the Senior Citizens’ Party.
The Citizenship focus for much of the
Autumn Term was the Party and the
school hosted over 80 local elderly
people. The event was organised by
the Sixth Form and all year groups in
various ways contributed to its
funding.
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Awards Evening
ur annual Awards Evening in
December was a celebration of
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the achievement of students of all
Year groups from the previous
school year.
There was music from the Black Tie
band and excerpts from Jesus Christ
Superstar. Jack Mercer and Amanda
Wright gave the students’ report on
the school year as did Headteacher
David Blow.
Presenting the awards on this
occasion was Neil McClelland, a
governor of the school for many
years and the recently retired
Director of the National Literacy
Trust. He spoke to the assembled
audience of some five hundred and
gave a persuasive list of attitudinal
pointers that would serve people well in
life (be positive –you can make things
happen; be prepared to fail in order to
succeed; be someone who is prepared
to accept constructive criticism in order
to understand yourself more; always
challenge the beliefs you live by; have
an open mind).
In an age when everyone seems to be
giving an opinion, Neil said people
ought to learn to be great listeners – a
skill that is not as frequently evident as
it ought to be.
Congratulating the prize-winners, Neil
added that they should feel pride in
their achievements and appreciate what
the school had to offer.
The Ashcombe PTA - an update
Adrian Hill highlights some areas of
PTA support past and future – and
invites more parents to think how they
could play their part.
arents will be delighted know that
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the PTA is again to provide the
school with equipment to enhance
facilities and provision.
Our most recent support was to provide
significant funds for the lighting
equipment in the new Bradley
Performance Area. Over recent years
we have contributed a minibus and
basketball posts and we have sponsored
prizes at the annual Awards Evening.
Events such as the biennial Careers Fair
and the annual International Business
Week were started in the early 1990s
with both financial support from the
PTA and business expertise amongst
groups of parents from the PTA working
with senior staff from the school. An
on-going service provided by a group of
dedicated parents is that of the uniform
and many hours go into the ordering
and selling of items at the best possible
price. The annual Quiz Evening for
parents and refreshments at concerts
are part of the profile that the PTA has
created and we also know that some of
you have benefited from the odd
windfall from the monthly 250 Club
draw.
The current PTA Committee has agreed
to support further improvements by
purchasing benches, water coolers,
badges for merits wards and in order
to add to the terrific value that the
school’s international links offer, we are
delighted to be able to fund an aspect
of the exchanges by putting something
in the budget towards an activity such
as a final night pizza for participants.
We do hope that these measures will
encourage some other parents to give a
little of their time towards helping the
school. Please contact us via the
school and we will be delighted to
welcome you on board!