April - The Kings of Wessex Academy

THE KINGS OF WESSEX SCHOOL
A Church of England Foundation School
Specialist Technology College
Issue no. 84
You can also enjoy in colour on our website:
www.kowessex.co.uk
The Kings’ Messenger
End of Spring Term – April 2009
New Senior Student Team!
Exclusive interview by Alice Edwards, Kings and Queens News Team (photo by Laura Cussons)
last year‟s team raised over
£14,000 for charity - the
team‟s lips are sealed.
“We‟ve got loads of
brilliant
new
events
planned,” said Deputy
Head Girls Holly and
Priyanka, whilst Tatum
adds, “we‟ll be giving an
assembly explaining why
we‟ve chosen the charities
we‟re supporting this year.”
As per tradition,
Charities Week plans are
kept under tighter wraps
than the plot of the last
Harry Potter book – a
number one favourite with
Eve Woolway, incidentally
– but one thing‟s for sure: it
will be well worth the wait!
In the meantime,
the Team has many other
responsibilities ahead of
them. As representatives of
the school, they give assemblies and attend certain
Governors meetings and in September, Head Boy
Matthew Fotheringham and Head Girl Emma Kidby will
also give the formal thank you speech to the Guest of
Honour at the school‟s annual Awards Evening.
As the voice of the students, the Team put
forward ideas to improve day-to-day school life, and it‟s
on good authority that there will be plenty of parties to
look forward to in the coming months! If only to discuss
team business, you understand...
Given there is a lot of work involved – what
made each member want to be on the Senior Team? “To
do something for the school”, “ambition” and “the
responsibility” were some of the serious reasons given by
Ben, Ross, Imogen and Aiden and Olivia; along with an
“opportunity to make friends”.
Clearly, the Senior Team is also in possession of a
good sense of humour, as summed up in the words of
Calum Dickinson, “we‟ve got loads of amazing stuff in
store for you guys. You‟d better enjoy it!”
Matthew Fotheringham, Emma Kidby, Ross
Babbington, Calum Dickinson, Ben Jacobs, Eve
Woolway, Tatum Clews, Imogen Keane, Holly
Knight, Priyanka Singhal, and twins Aiden and
Olivia Hoyle. These are the names of The Kings of
Wessex’s new Senior Student Team, and this is
their very first exclusive interview.
The students went through a rigorous selection
process, with votes by fellow students and staff, before
formal interviews with the Headteacher Mr Richardson
and Head of Sixth Form Miss Bishop.,
The Senior Team is renowned for being the
“school‟s ambassadors”, and every year they face the
challenges ahead with an enthusiasm that brings their
hopes and dreams alive. Already this year‟s team is
bursting with new ideas.
The hottest topic on the menu is, of course Charities Week. But woe betides anyone who tries to get a
sneak peek of their exciting events planned for
December. When it comes to the week‟s line-up of
everything from the gunge tank, pie eating to the much
celebrated „Rock and Roll Years; for which, by the way,
I think we will.
1
Head’s-Up from Mr Richardson
Headteacher, The Kings of Wessex School
Dear Parents,
Despite the somewhat erratic spring
weather, I am pleased to bring you this
end of term edition of The Kings’
Messenger and report on another busy
time at The Kings of Wessex School.
Our key focus this term has been our
work to support those students
approaching their GCSE exams. As previously
reported, our on-going Assertive Mentoring programme
has enabled both Teachers and Mentors to track closely
student progress against their target grades. We are now
entering the final stage with Year 11. This has been a
rigorous programme, and we have worked hard together to
keep on track so that our young people achieve their
personal best. With an eye on the Easter Holidays, I know
that students will greatly benefit from the record number of
extra revision sessions provided by school for which I am
grateful to our staff. Thank you for all your encouragement
and support at home.
I thank our Year 9 parents who attended the information
evening on the new GCSE Options Programme. The
introduction of BTEC courses in the Performing Arts,
Business, Sports, Health and Social Care and Children’s
Care Learning and Development will offer students
increased choice.
Innovative work to support students in their learning
continues with our Virtual Learning Environment - that we
call the Kings Learning Platform (KLP). In tune with our
young people’s Information Technology knowledge,
resources for all subjects areas are available online – not
least most of Maths’ homeworks, and also video clips
demonstrating aspects of Maths learning to support
students are being uploaded.
I can now bring you some good news about The Kings of
Wessex Leisure Centre. On 1 April 2009, the Centre
officially transfers to the school, and I believe the newly
branded “Kings Fitness & Leisure” will be an exciting new
opportunity for both our school and the community.
Despite the dark clouds of the recession that hang over us
all, I am proud of our students for their thoughtful
fundraising. At the end of last half term we raised over
£1,450 for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance in
memory of Elliot Davies who died tragically at the start of
this term in a road traffic accident. Pilot “JC” came to
collect the cheque and shared with the students about the
importance of their work – as well as the sometimes
“scary” aspects of flying a helicopter.
On the last day of term we will be holding a non-uniform
day to raise money for our joint Cheddar Valley schools’
“A Promise to Africa” work, developing educational
projects in Uganda (see the letter opposite from one of the children at the
school). Also, for the recent Red Nose Day, Ellie Harper and
Naomi Spearey showed wonderful co-ordination when they
undertook a sponsored three-legged tie-up together for the
day. Some other students tested themselves with sponsored
silences.
2
Parents will have now received my letter consulting about
proposed changes to the timings of the school day from
September 2009. Once again, may I remind you that if you
have any comments that you forward to school for my
attention by Monday 20 April 2009.
At this time in the school calendar, we will be holding our
Easter Services at St Andrew’s Church led by some of our
Christian Union young people, and Christian Leader Jo
Slade. This is always a special time. On this note, we look
forward to the licensing of our new Cheddar Vicar Rev.
Sue Rose at the start of next term. I look forward to
welcoming Rev. Rose into the family of our school and I
believe that she will play a valued role in the Christian work
of Kings.
As well as working hard, there has been a rich abundance
of trips and visits, as well as visiting speakers to school,
more of which you will be able to read in this newsletter.
Sharing their expertise, our Rotary partners have been
working hard with our young people. Year 10 student Jane
Seymour was crowned Rotary Young Chef winner in the
final this term when she cooked her favourite dish of
mustardy chicken and thyme pot in homemade filo pastry,
served with carrots, leeks and oven roasted potatoes, whilst
her Queen of Puddings was Baked Alaska with a raspberry
coulis. Jane donned her prize of a professional chef’s outfit
and treated the Mendip Rotary members to her culinary
skills when she worked alongside the Bath Arms chef at a
special dinner in March.
At the time of writing, our School Hall will be alive with
the sound of music when we host the Rotary Young
Musician competition. Children from all the Cheddar
Valley Schools will be competing for the coveted title of
Young Musician of the Year. We are all eagerly awaiting the
final of our Rotary Young Artist Competition at the time of
writing.
Four shortlisted Year 10 Business Studies teams have been
putting their “Big Pitch” business plans into practice here
in school as part of the Young Entrepreneur competition.
Of notable mention are Jasmine Crocker and Lauren
Janaway who have been making and selling chocolates.
Buying their ingredients from the Cheddar Chocolate
Company, on the girls’ chocolate CV’s to date have been
tasty Valentine’s Day heart truffles and Mother’s Day fancy
truffles. Busy and exciting times at Kings!
Contents
Page no.
EXCLUSIVE Senior Team Interview
Head’s Up by Mr Richardson
Roll of Honour
English Exploits
A Promise to Africa continues
Scientific Experiments
Design and Technology
Dramatic Goings-On
Year 12 Mock Interviews
The Kings’ Art
Bath Opera to Cheddar
Vive les Langues!
Le Paris 2009
Kings News Team – Make-do and Mend
Learning Resource Centre
1
2-3
4-6
7-8
8
9
9
10-12
12
13
13
14-15
15
16-17
17
The Cheddar Young Persons’ Millennium Trust 17
Sports Scores
18-19
Christian Leader Reflections
20
Memorial Football Match
20
It only remains for me to thank you all for your support
this Spring Term, and to wish you and your families a very
Happy Easter.
Yours sincerely,
CHRIS RICHARDSON
Headteacher
Just to remind you:
we return to school for the Summer Term on
Monday 20 April 2009
3
+ Summer Half Term School Calendar
+ Kings Fitness and Leisure flyer
+Parents Questionnaire
Kings’ Roll of Honour – End of the Spring Term
Special Achievements: rewarding students for services to school and good work
Of special mention are students Isaac Taschimowitz 9AS, James Peebles-Brown 9KL
and Lorna Mortimer 9LDA who have all successfully gained their Second Platinum!
Congratulations for this wonderful achievement and well done to the following students for their special achievements:
Bronze (5 merits)
Robert Perry 10DR
Jorjia Leheup 11EC
Rachael Cherry 11EHE
Jack Tonkin 11EHE
Kirsty-Marie Allen 11JR
Rebecca Bayliss 11JR
Matthew Carney 11JR
Daniel Hughes 11JR
Aisling O’Brien 11JR
Rebecca Rogers 11JR
Harriet Thompson 11JR
Benjamin Lucas 11LD
Rhiannon Black 11SJ
Holly Freemantle 11SJ
Silver (15 merits)
Lucy Bladon 9AH
Nicholas Buhagiar 9AH
Kayley Kennedy 9AH
Melissa Rowley-Noble 9AH
Isobel Bright 9AS
Georgia-Grace Ludlow 9AT
Cara Williams 9AT
Alistair Croft 9CC
Abigail Day 9CC
Max Ford 9CC
Daniel Mehlig 9CC
Rory Smith 9CC
Katherine Belch 9DPW
Iona Coleman 9DPW
Edward Gill 9DPW
Bethany Holgate 9DPW
Hannah Leiper 9DPW
Thomas Mundy 9DPW
Mathew Newman 9DPW
Mitchell Pimm 9DPW
Jordan Wilcox 9DPW
Daniel Scholes 9FH
Lily Astill 9KL
Holly Atkins 9KL
Charlotte Blackhurst 9KL
Alexander Watkins 9KL
Joshua Bratt 9LDA
David Thomas 9LDA
Suzanne Niccolls 9LDA
Charles Oxford 9LDA
Samantha Hunter 9LJ
Connor Hudson 9ML
Christian Parfitt 9ML
Ashleigh Chapman 9SS
Danielle Russell 10ER
Victoria Hole 10SBA
Nicholas Bamber 11JR
Rebecca Bayliss 11JR
Chloe Binning 11JR
Daniel Hughes 11JR
Aisling O’Brien 11JR
Rebecca Rogers 11JR
Gold (25 merits)
Daniel Bond 9AH
Nicholas Buhagiar 9AH
Jake Farrell 9AH
Melissa Rowley-Noble 9AH
Ori Souttar 9AH
Finlay Travis 9AH
Dixie Gleeson 9AS
Joshua Howe 9AS
Lewis King 9AS
Rachael Moger 9AS
Ray O’Brien 9AS
Amy Paphitis 9AS
Matilda Paul 9AS
Calum Ponsford 9AS
Jack Trist 9AS
Luke Williams 9AS
Alexina Colwill 9AT
Alexander John 9AT
Brandon Lee McGuchan 9AT
Abigail Day 9CC
Jordan Gatehouse 9CC
Jack Harding 9CC
Molly Humphrey 9CC
Daniel Mehlig 9CC
Adam Smith 9CC
Ben Sutlieff 9CC
Lauren Thomas 9CC
Sarah Bale 9DPW
James Bamber 9DPW
Katherine Belch 9DPW
Alastair Colthurst 9DPW
Richard Dearsley 9DPW
Benjamin Fowler 9DPW
Guy Gough 9DPW
Adam Kelly 9DPW
Joanna Martin 9DPW
Amy Moss 9DPW
Tristian Palmer 9DPW
Bronwen Black 9FH
Alexandria Etherington 9FH
Richard House 9FH
Lily Astill 9KL
Holly Atkins 9KL
Charlotte Blackhurst 9KL
Anthony Cleave 9KL
Bethany Florey 9KL
Kathryn Manners 9KL
Isabelle Moore 9KL
Megan Moxey 9KL
Rianna O’Shaughnessy 9KL 4
Dale Phillips 9KL
Alexander Watkins 9KL
Daniel Wood 9KL
Aled Corcoran 9LDA
Rosie Painter 9LDA
Harriet Richens 9LDA
Andrew Davidson 9LJ
Jack Fraser 9LJ
Matthew Ktoris 9LJ
Matthew Ktoris 9LJ
Nicole Morris 9LJ
Jake Stitch 9LJ
Jasmine Bull 9ML
Jed Drake-Brockman 9ML
Anna Sheldon 9ML
Tiffany Stephens 9ML
Emily Burland 9SS
Danielle Callow 9SS
Hannah Greenfield 9SS
Alysha Poole 9SS
Amber Simpson 9SS
Adam Clegg 10ER
Platinum (50 merits)
Josephine Douglas 9AH
William Richardson 9AH
Laurence Culliford 9AS
Stephen Pinn 9AS
Rebecca Rowntree 9AS
Eleanor Skeen 9AS
Charlotte Rogers 9CC
Georgia Liddington 9FH
Lucy Locke 9FH
Adam Male 9FH
Joel Williams 9KL
Callum Hobbs 9LDA
Second Bronze
Luke Kerton 9FH
Sophie Skelding 9FH
James Strawbridge 9KL
Callum Hobbs 9LDA
Caitlin Horsnett-Bowley 9LDA
Bryony Stevens Young 9LDA
Second Silver
Beth Ingleby 9LDA
Looking ahead…
at the end of the
Summer Term
we will be holding
our special whole
school end of term
assembly - outside
at the front of school
(summer weather
permitting!)
Well done to our Year
11 students for
100% Attendance
Nadine Close 11JR
Benjamin Davidson 11TP
Mark Davies 11KS
Benjamin Garrett 11EHE
Emma Hanlon 11CA
Katheryn Hansford 11SJ
Holly Lange 11AB
Felicity Millard 11SJ
Alexander Parsons 11EHE
Joseph Perry 11KS
Jonathan Pinsent 11KS
Hannah Puddy 11TP
Hannah Reason 11AB
Daisy Robinson-Rattle 11SJ
Jonathan Sheldon 11EHE
Emily Spencer 11AD
Serena Syed 11AB
Hannah Taylor 11EC
Dean Thompson 11EHE
Michael Wilmot 11TP
James Wood 11EC
This is outstanding!
School Colours: celebrating students for contribution to extra curricular activities
Music
Emily Bear 9AH
Samantha Bell 9AH
Charlotte Blackhurst 9KL
Jenny Bridgwater 9CC
Josie Douglas 9AH
Molly Efford 9AT
Phoebe Gupta 9AS
Ellie Harper 9AH
Flora Hodgson 9KL
Maddy James 9LDA
Kayley Kennedy 9AH
Sophie Petler 9AT
Harriet Richens 9LDA
Bryony Stevens-Young 9LDA
Emily Thorowgood 9LDA
Rachel Wilson 9LJ
Holly Crompton 13SR
Dance
Ellie Bradley 9LDA
Lily Brunsdon 9ML
Ellen Farrell 9ML
Pheobe Gupta 9AS
Abbie Hicks 9LDA
Beth Ingleby 9LDA
Lucinda Inman 9AT
Megan Moxey 9KL
Suzanne Niccolls 9LDA
Laura Paterson 9KL
Tiffany Stephens 9ML
Emily Thorowgood 9LDA
Eppie Tippets 9ML
Enrichments
Subjects:
Boys’ Football
Netball
Daniel Alden 9LJ
Samuel Bates 9CC
Samuel Bath 9AT
Harry Bishop 9DPW
Henry Blair 9SS
Jonathan Bolland 9LDA
Daniel Bond 9AH
Myles Booker 9AT
James Brannigan 9AT
Joel Butcher 9ML
James Chinnock 9SS
Matthew Connick 9CC
Adam Davies 9LJ
Richard Dearsley 9DPW
Samuel Denham 9SS
James Emery 9AH
Benjamin Fowler 9DPW
Jack Fraser 9LJ
Daniel Garrett 9AT
Zach Gittings 9CC
Thomas Gowan 9CC
Samuel Hanlon 9FH
Jack Harding 9CC
Samuel Hill 9CC
Matthew Hooper 9LJ
Max Maddison 9LJ
Jack Meadowcroft 9KL
Daniel Mehlig 9CC
Liam Morris 9SS
Dudley Patience 9AH
George Phillips 9ML
Harry Sheppard 9LJ
Adam Smith 9CC
Finlay Travis 9AH
Lawrence Vickers 9SS
Jordan Wilcox 9DPW
Anthony Cleave 10ER
Chris Major 10JPF
Robert Edwards 13SR
Emily Bear 9AH
Bronwen Black 9FH
Jennifer Bridgwater 9CC
Jessica Burrough 9FH
Rebecca Charles 9AT
Josephine Douglas 9AH
Molly Humphrey 9CC
Kayley Kennedy 9AH
Helen Pearce 9LJ
Harriet Richens 9LD
Bryony Robinson 9AS
Maya Robinson 9SS
Charlotte Rogers 9CC
Sophie Skelding 9FH
Briony Wilds 9AH
Rachel Wilson 9LJ
Melissa Balkham 10FS
Jasmine Chadwick 10ER
Olivia Yates 10FT
Mehtab Arshad 11EC
Hannah Bloor 11LD
Victoria Ferguson 11LD
Camilla Gibson 11AB
Emma Munt 11LD
Olivia Owen 11TP
Hannah Puddy 11TP
Gabriella Ash 12BR
Elizabeth Rabbitts 13SRH
Helen Taylor 13SRH
Girls Football
Bronwen Black 9FH
Jennifer Bridgwater 9CC
Isobel Bright 9AS
Rebecca Charles 9AT
Jodie Ellis 9ML
Lauren Faulkner 9AS
Dixie Gleeson 9AS
Flora Hodgson 9KL
Kathryn Manners 9KL
Nicole Morris 9LJ
Megan Moxey 9KL
Amy Paphitis 9AS
Annie Pinnington 9FH
Charlotte Rogers 9CC
Lucinda Simeone 9FH
Natalie Stevenson 10VP
Tiffany Stephens 9ML
Cross Country
Connor Banks 9LJ
Kayley Kennedy 9AH
Jessica Benjamin 10TT
Emily Derrick 10SBA
Daniel Layton 13SR
Hockey
Ryan Bishop 12GR
Alexander Cooper 12AJH
John Edwards 12AJH
Lucas Eriksson 12AJH
Liam Jones 12SP
George Maddison 12AJH
Alex Mott 12SP
Christian Rose-Quirie 12GR
Squash
James Bamber 9DPW
Daniel Bond 9AH
Andrew Austin 11AB
Nicholas Bamber 11JR
Edward Plaister 11AD
Environmentalist
Abigail Marshall 10SBA
celebrating students for contribution to the enrichment subjects
English
Simon Addicott 11EHE
Daniel Albone 11EC
Katie Attwood 11KS
Samuel Barnes 11KS
Jonathan Barnett 11AB
Rhiannon Black 11SJ
Rachael Cherry 11EHE
Hannah Close 11AB
Laura Cussons 11CA
Megan Gardner 11KS
Camilla Gibson 11AB
Harriet Gittings 11SJ
Carla Gordon 11TP
Sarah Greenwood 11TP
Emma Hanlon 11CA
Marianne Johns 11EC
EEdward Kimmins-Tonkin 11JR
Chloe Kitching 11EC
Robert Marshall 11EC
Freddie Mehlig 11AB
Jamie Moore 11TP
Emma Munt 11LD
Louise Perkins 11AB
Joseph Perry 11KS
Adam Pimm 11LD
Rosie Price 11EHE
Madeleine Rigby 11EHE
Daisy Robinson-Rattle 11SJ
Hannah Shaw 11CA
Jodie Skittrall 11SJ
Kayleigh Skittrall 11EHE
Nathan Smith 11LD
Joshua Stanley 11SJ
Serena Syed 11AB
Emily Taylor 11TP
Hannah Taylor 11EC
Harriet Thompson 11JR
James Tyson 11EHE
Nadine Williams 11CA
5
Hannah Wilson 11TP
Katherine Wing 11LD
Sophie Woollan 11EHE
Helen Cameron 12SP
Jordan Clements 12CBE
Benjamin Ferguson 12SP
Sophia Gibson 12GR
Brogran Grinstead 12SO
Aiden Hoyle 12SP
Hannah Meadowcroft 12SP
William Price 12SO
Emily Richardson 12CBE
Madeleine Wrench 12GL
Science
Seth Cunningham 10JPF
Kirsty McLaren 10DR
Emma Reason 10VP
Design Technology
Ross Dickinson 9AT
Adam Kelly 9DPW
Maths
James Peebles-Brown 9KL
Thomas Davies 10CRA
Christie Zanelli 10JPF
ICT
Thomas Cotterill 11LD
Adam Peters 11EC
Randy Salway 11KS
Joe Sandford Hughes 11AB
Brent Stewart 11EHE
Matthew Buhagiar 12TR
Joshua Cook 12BR
Alice Edwards 12SO
Harlie Newsome 12AJH
Ryan Pridgeon 12SO
David Staite 12CBE
Stuart Thorne 12AJH
Maddison Ventour-Page 12SO
Mark Walter 12AJH
Ciaran Worcester 12CBE
Subject Awards: celebrating students for their academic progress in their course subjects
Year 9
Year 10
Year 11
Year 12
Year 13
English
Katie Richards 9FH
Sophie Caunt 10FS
Laura Cussons 11CA
Lang - Sara Marlow 12TR
Lit - Emily Richardson 12CBE
MS Fraser Wall 12CBE
Lang – Harriet Watson 13SR
Lit – Rosemara Mather-Lupton
13CWH
MS – Gemma Homes 13SR
Maths
James Peebles-Brown
9KL
F – Joel Butcher 9ML
PD – Lorna Mortimer
9LDA
Christie Zanelli 10JPF
Brent Stewart 11EHE
Ross Babbington 12BR
Elizabeth Rabbitts 13SRH
CD - Jessica Searle 10TT
F – Nicole Wilmot 10ER
PD – Charlie Coggins
10FP
CD - Rebecca Baker 11AD
F – Kayleigh Skittrall
11EHE
PD- Rebecca Pinn 11LD
F – Camilla Allen 12GR
PD – Alexander Cooper 12AJH
F – Lily Fry 13SK
PD - David Frost 13SK
Charlotte Blackhurst 9KL
Thomas Michiels 9LJ
Sophie Woods 10SBA
Emily Ingle 10FS
Katie Hood 11KS
Bethany Thorne 11KS
Stuart Thorne 12AJH
Imogen Keane 12GR
Benjamin Marshall 13SRH
Ruth Laing 13SR
Luke Cutter 9AH
James Strawbridge 9KL
Jonathan Barrett 10CRA
Emily Ingle 10FS
Eleanor Rowntree 11EHE
Hannah Puddy 11TP
Myles Booker 9AT
Joshua Page 9AH
-
Chris Day 10JPF
Megan E Jones 10SBA
Megan N Jones 10TT
-
Chloe Parrott 11CA
Hannah Shaw 11CA
Jessica Robins 11LD
-
Madeleine Cottrell 12TR
Calum Dickinson 12SP
Helen Cameron 12SP
Kathryn Wilcox 12GR
Will Manners 12SP
William Manners 12SP
Tom Derrick 12GR
Elizabeth Rabbitts 13SRH
Jake Hodgetts 13SR
Josie Cowie 13IS
Chris Knight 13CWH
Emily Hawkings 13IS
Gemma Rendall 13IS
Rebecca Parsons 13JWN
Beth Florey 9KL
Samara Masny 10FT
Jessica Robins 11LD
Eve Woolway 12CBE
Flora Emeney 12CBE
-
-
-
Olivia Wildblood 12TR
Ellen Jenkins 13SRH
F – Danielle Lloyd 9AT
G – Jake Alen 9ML
F – Julia Burman 11KS
G – Rebecca Pinn 11LD
F – Flora Emeney 12CBE
G - Calum Dickinson 12SP
F – Clowance Cotterill 13IS
G – Nicole Close 13JWN
Helen Pearce 9LJ
Isaac Taschimowitz 9AS
Martha Settle 9LJ
F – Jessica Benjamin 10TT
G – Freddie Horwood
10FP
James Bennett 10DR
Laura Weigold 10GC
Sinead Byron 10FS
Laura Nesbitt 11SJ
Hannah Shaw 11CA
Tom Fake 11CA
Sarah Weigold 12GL
Nick Atherton 12TR
Tom Campbell 12BR
Casey Ryder 13SK
Will Waelchli 13SK
Will Scott-Hartley 13SRH
Connor Banks 9LJ
-
Victoria Hole 10SBA
-
Bethany Thorne 11KS
-
Olivia Evans 12GL
Joshua Boothroyd 12GR
Chris Knight 13CWH
-
Jacob Ford 9KL
Daisy Graham 10FP
-
-
-
Lang - Language
Lit – Literature
MS – Media Studies
Design and
Technology
CD – Child Development
F – Food
G - Graphics
PD – Product Design
ICT
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Psychology
Business Studies
Geography
History
Law
Religious Education
Sociology
Languages
F – French
G - German
Art
Drama
Music
P.E.
General Studies
Learning Support
6
English Exploits
The Gerard Woodward Experience
By Freddie Mehlig:
We started off the session with a short introduction
about a course of Creative Writing at university. Our
guest explained what the course involved, such as
creating a novel, poem or a play. He walked us through
the elements of creating fictional pieces and specific
techniques that were helpful during this process.
Poetry Live 2009!
Reported by Hannah Shaw:
Earlier in February a group of Year 11 students braved
the wintry conditions and went to The Forum in Bath
to hear the poets’ interpretations and reading of their
poems featured in the AQA anthology.
We then split into groups, each finding different types
of words, like adjectives and nouns. Shortly after, we
arranged these words in a random order to from
interesting and amusing titles which could be used for
a story or poem. One of these more humorous titles
was The Guilt of the Horrendous Chocolate. We
finished off the session by taking word cuttings from
various papers and arranging them in orders to
produce poems.
The first poet we heard from was Carol Ann Duffy,
reading her poems Anne Hathaway, Havisham, Elvis’s twin
sister and Salome. Duffy explained her interpretations
of each poem and then the audience had the
opportunity to ask questions about them.
After having an amusing performance from poet Grace
Nichols and an informative talk on how to improve
your exam technique from examiner Peter Buckroyd,
Imtiaz Dharker gave passionate readings of her poems
explaining the backgrounds behind them. This was
then followed by a cheering of the audience when John
Agard took the stage. Reading Half Caste from the
anthology and others from his collection Agard acted
them out with eccentric moves and whacky voices
turning the studious faces into grinning teenagers. The
day was finished off by Simon Armitage with his
quirky personality and readings of his poems.
Example poems of the day:
Hyperbole
A beaker of a smoking potion shadowed by
a dim light
An empty road covered in dust and litter
Nothing should be left untouched.
Flamboyant
A tony white feather
A towering oak tree
Winter’s nearly over.
Creative Writing Workshop
Later in February, the English
Department were visited by
Booker shortlisted author and
award winning poet Gerard
Woodward, who is also the Senior
Creative Writing Lecturer at Bath
Spa University.
An Exploration of the Literature of
the American South
Earlier in March, 30 Year 11
students were involved in a
workshop
with
UWE
lecturer Dr Sarah Robertson
discussing their GCSE set
text To Kill a Mockingbird in
relation to the literary
heritage of the American
South.
Students enjoyed a discussion of studying English post
A Level and then a creative writing workshop.
Students worked their way through a variety of tasks
including coming up with novel titles only using
abstract nouns, adjectives and nouns. Highlights
were: the misery of the peculiar picture, the
inspirations of the triangular umbrella and the anxiety
of the spherical necklace!
The workshop involved the following students:
Students involved:
Serena Syed, Carla Gordon, Jamie Moore, Harriet Gittings,
Rosie Price, Marianne Johns, Hannah Wilson, Emma Munt,
Robbie Marshall, Louise Perkins, Hannah Taylor, James Tyson,
Jodie Skittrall, Emily Richardson, Hannah Meadowcroft, Aiden
Hoyle, Jordan Clements, Helen Cameron, Emma Hanlon, Daisy
Robinson-Rattle, Maddie Rigby, Hannah Shaw, Will Price, Ben
Ferguson, Maddie Wrench, Laura Cussons,
Brogan Grinstead, Freddie Mehlig, Sophia
Gibson and Henry McGinty.
Alex Balke, Toby Brunsdon, Mimi Bygrave, Ollie Crandon,
Laura Cussons, Steven Dixon, Jamie Fitzpatrick., Holly
Freemantle, James Hall, Emma Hanlon, Holly Lange, Jorjia
Leheup, Ben Lucas, Freddie Mehlig, Aisling O’Brien, Hannah
Puddy, Amy Richards, Maddy Rigby, Daisy Robinson-Rattle,
Ellie Rowntree, Matt Salmon, Hannah Shaw, James Soffe, Anna
Spanring, Robert Sparks, Emily Spencer, Hannah Thorne, Eve
Taschimowitz, Kianeau Whelan and Jamie Wood.
7
Lecture Helps Learning! By James Soffe
Our English Class were really pleased to welcome Dr. Sarah Robertson, a leading lecturer in Southern American
Literature, visit to talk to us about our GCSE text, “To Kill A Mockingbird”
It was a really interesting lecture on the book that helped us to view the book from many different angles. Dr.
Robertson brought hand-outs, a “Southern Lady” magazine and even a “White Trash” cookbook to help illustrate
her points about the book and the idealism of Southern America. We were able to look into these interpretations
with many different workshops and discuss our ideas with Dr. Robertson.
We found it really useful for us to learn more about the book’s context and for us to gain more vital interpretations
on the text. We thank Dr. Sarah Robertson very much for giving such an interesting and valuable lecture.
Parents will have now received
the flyer about the Cheddar
Valley Schools’ continued…
This follows the 2007 celebration of the
anniversary of the Cheddar Valley group of
schools when the Headteachers decided to
commemorate the special anniversary by funding
educational projects in Uganda.
This has made a huge difference to the staff
and children of the
Bwelyale Public Primary School.
30th
A Promise to Africa
(see the thank you letter from one of the students on the Head’s Up)
8
The money raised from the Mufti Day on the last day of
this Spring Term will go towards supporting the
continued good work in the school.
scientific experiments
By Mrs L Meldon, Science Enrichment Leader
I was delighted to take over from Miss
Simpson as Science Enrichment Leader
earlier this Spring Term.
And I am
very pleased to report that there has
been a wonderful range of challenging
and inspiring activities taking place
this term.
Back in February, Dr Alan McKenzie,
Director
of
Medical
Physics
and
Bioengineering from the
University
Hospitals Bristol, gave an insightful
and fascinating talk to our Year 11
Triple Scientists.
Year 9 students were also treated to
an exciting physics based ‘Music to
your Ears’ talk by two enthusiastic
members of ‘Science Made Simple’.
More recently, the Science Department
has formed an exciting partnership
with ‘Researchers in Residence’.
Researchers from the world of Science
are given the opportunity to enrich
the curriculum and provide informative
career advice to students.
Last month, we were very fortunate to
welcome Dr Ann-Sophie Rouziere from
Cardiff University in the Biology
Department.
Dr Rouziere used her immunological
experience to educate a group of Year
10 students about the wonders of the
immune system.
Armed with this
knowledge, students worked extremely
hard to produce three short films
about pathogens and the defenses of
the human body.
Well done to all
those involved!
Congratulations to:
Peter Hawkings
Ben Lucas
Laura Nesbitt
Becky Pinn
Design and Technology
For getting through to the next stage of the
Arkwright Scholarship.
The four Year 11 Design Technology students sat the
Arkwright exam in January and have just found out
that they have passed the exam and will now attend
interviews at Bath University during the Easter
holidays.
Technology Coursework Deadlines
‘A’ Level
AS Product Design Tuesday 21 April 2009
A2 Product Design Tuesday 28 April 2009
AS Food Technology Thursday 7 May 2009
A2 Food Technology - Monday 11 May 2009
If each student passes the interview they will
receive £250 each at AS and A2 Level to help fund
their studies and help towards a career in
Engineering.
Reported by Miss G Chapman, DT Enrichment Leader
9
Dramatic Goings-On
The Drama Department would like to say a big
thank you for everyone who has helped make the
performances this term a success.
We have had lots going on in Drama over the last
term. At the end of January the school
production of Animal Farm was a huge success.
We had big audiences all three nights and there
were some great reviews (see the review that
follows this bulletin). In particular, Laura
Cussons was highlighted for her exceptional
performance as Boxer.
Reported by Miss Bowden, Drama
“Animal Farm” this year’s school production
A Review by Jude Owens (Head’s PA)
This year’s
school
production was
George
Orwell’s
“Animal
Farm”, adapted
for the stage by
Peter Hall.
The cast and crew had been working hard since
September and the Art Department created a
fabulous backdrop for the play. We would like to
take this opportunity to thank everyone involved
that helped make the play a resounding success.
At the moment the Department is buzzing with
students trying to fit in last minute rehearsals in
preparation for their GCSE practical exam. The
exam takes place during the day on Wednesday
1 and Thursday 2 April 2009, but students will
get the opportunity to show-off what they have
been working on during evening performances.
This was the
second
production in
the Kings
Theatre, and
the début for the recently installed stadia seating.
Mr Shorrock’s group are performing to friends
and family on Thursday 26 March 2009 and
Miss Bowden’s groups are performing on
Monday 30 March 2009 (Group C) and
Tuesday 31 March 2009 (Group B). All
performances start at 7.00pm.
More a play with songs, rather than a musical - the
production of “Animal Farm” opened with a jaunty start as
narrator James Soffe comfortably installed himself in an
armchair with his great book to tell this well-known story.
Everyone knows a group of pigs on a farm lead a
revolution against Man, until they become rather too big
for their pig boots. Yet, published in 1945, Orwell’s
political allegory remains a powerful classic, representing
his rejection of all revolutionary change.
The Sixth Formers have been equally busy in
preparation
for
their
Theatre
Studies
Performance exams. Year 12 gave some excellent
performances
in
their
monologues
and
duologues, at the start of February. The group
are now preparing to perform two plays: The
Real Inspector Hound and The Importance of
Being Ernest. Friends and family are welcome
on Wednesday 6 May 2009 at 7.00pm to offer
their support!
Year 13 have just performed a piece created for
their Unit 5 exam called ‘It is the East.’ The
students took the plot of Romeo and Juliet and
the script of Steven Berkoff’s East to create a
new play. It was an excellent adaption and all the
student’s performances were outstanding –
fingers crossed the marks will reflect this!
Rehearsals are now underway for the Year 9
school play ‘Teechers.’ There are lots of Year 9
students involved and we are very excited about
the talent. Come along to the summer
performances on Wednesday 24 and Thursday
25 June 2009!
With most of the 41 characters performing at the same
time, the stage was soon alive with animals clad in mudspattered white t-shirts and leggings, distinguishable only
by their masks. The young actors brilliantly emulated the
movements of the animals arched as though walking on
four legs, with hand gestures to recreate trotters and
hooves, and theatrical technical insights, such as milking of
the cows. The farmyard sounds were so wonderfully
authentic – at times a gentle murmur, at others a stirring
cacophony - that I had to pinch myself that I was in the
Kings Theatre, and not outside in the Somerset
countryside.
This is a particularly busy term for the
Department but we have still managed to see
some live theatre. We took some Year 11 and
Sixth Form to the Tacchi Morris in Taunton to
see two plays; Citizenship and Chatroom. The
Year 11s will be performing Chatroom for their
final exam and it was a good opportunity to
compare themselves to the professionals!
10
Nick Atherton played his part as gruff Farmer Jones the
oppressor to stern extremes, spending too much time
inebriated at The Red Lion, and cruelly starving and
bullying the animals. The audience could sense the scene
was set for a revolution...
By Act II dictator Napoleon and his tactics – many of
which are executed by his pack of dogs - are merciless
murderers. As the animal labourers continue to work the
land and build the windmill for less and less food it is
discovered that Napoleon is selling the fruits of their
produce to humans. Tom Stanley plays his part with
chilling ease as he orders the hens to be starved for five
days for refusing to hand over their eggs to be sold. Their
forlorn song is heart-rending as the audience is left
wondering how it could all be allowed to go so wrong.
Intimidated animals are made to confess they are guilty of
treason – cue dramatic red light, and slit throats.
The seed for the turning-point of the farmyard friends was
sown by 12-year-old Old Major (Nathan Salmon), who
having fathered 400 piglets leaves his dying legacy to the
animals.
He dismisses Man, the Lord of the Animals as the
“enemy” – destined never to be of any use and warns his
comrades against adopting man’s evils. His adage, “All
animals are equal” is to set the tone for what becomes
remembered as the Battle of the Cowshed rebellion.
Carla Gordon’s exuberant Poet Minimus’ sycophancy
towards Comrade Napoleon sits oddly with the equality of
animals. But, then animals do not usually inhabit
farmhouses, learn to read and indulge in whisky-fuelled
revelling with men. It is no unhappy surprise when Old
Major’s celebrated “Beasts of England” reactionary song is
finally abolished. Soon the tragic end for Animal Farm is
set as the pigs are increasingly drunk, and the now 24
stone Napoleon announces Animal Farm is once again to
assume its pre-revolution title - Manor Farm.
The rest is history to be manipulated to their own greedy
ends by three pigs: Snowball (Bella Podpadec), Squealer
(Becky Male) and Napoleon (Tom Stanley). The
ambitious trio take up Old Major’s teachings on
animalism during secret meetings in the barn, which
eventually culminate in the revolution and the creation of
the newly-named Animal Farm.
Seven commandments are devised as the animals work
hard together on the farm, sharing the produce for
themselves – or so they all think… With a growing unease
for the hard-working animals and also the audience, it
soon becomes uncomfortably apparent that some of the
egalitarian principles are being conveniently bent. The
corrupted pigs emerge as the “brainworkers”, creaming off
more of the cows’ milk for their mash, and sleeping in the
farmhouse beds – although not you understand, between
the sheets. The cast brilliantly portrayed this tension as the
audience sat rapt.
The reactionary songs throughout the play provided some
beautiful musical interludes, including the mantra “All
animals are equal”, George Shelley’s Moses wistfully
performing “On Sugar Candy Mountain”, and Hannah
Shaw’s delightfully coquette Mollie singing “Sugar Lumps,
Brasses and Ribbons”, as she secretly gallops off to sweet
pastures new for a life of ribbons and rosettes.
The casting was enthusiastic and excellent with each
character assuming the noises and poises for their animal.
Noble Boxer the horse, ably brought to life by Laura
Cussons, played his part in supporting Napoleon and the
revolution; believing him to be “always right”, until wornout and dying he is deceptively taken away from the farm but not for medical help…woefully, to the horse
slaughterers. No longer useful. Farmer Jones’ puppies
trained by Napoleon to be his ruthless henchmen are
expertly cast by some boisterous Sixth Form boys, later
doubling-up as farmers.
Napoleon’s fleeting reference to his study of
Shakespeare’s political tragedy Julius Caesar sets the
background for modern-thinking Snowball’s sudden
disappearance from the crumbling commune - and shortly
after, his inevitable assassination. Perhaps learning the
alphabet enabled Napoleon and Squealer to learn from
scheming Mark Antony and Cassius…Ironically, Becky
Male’s Squealer – disturbingly, ever the manipulating
orator - uses the threat of Farmer Jones’s return against the
other animals increasingly, as he and Napoleon become
more terrifying. More so, you might say than Farmer
Jones himself.
Revelling for man and beast proves to be easier on two
legs as the mantra “Four legs are good, two legs are bad”
becomes “…two legs are better”.
In the final scene, as the pigs remove their masks, it is
disarmingly difficult to distinguish between them. Indeed,
we are left with the haunting truth that, all animals are
equal, but some are more equal than others. And so the
world goes on…
11
This was powerful theatre delivered by Kings’ students in tune with Orwell’s sentiments about Stalin’s Russia, dramatising
some uncomfortable truths. The cast displayed huge energy and maturity in their roles, and as nearly all the characters were
on stage at any one time – fittingly, in the spirit of animalism, they almost became like friends to the audience.
Skilfully directed by Subject Leader for Drama Simon Shorrock, and produced by Teacher of English Ellie Roylance, Kings’
“Animal Farm” was a tribute to its early well-intended principles. The Art Department comrades painted the farmyard set;
whilst Olly Hellis worked as Technical Manager, assisted by students, Ben Jacobs, Joe Sandford-Hughes and Scott Virgo.
Laura Pavey helped as Stage Manager, the caretakers gave practical support behind the scenes, and PTA comrades provided
refreshments for the evening.
The questions were directly focused on my letter and
this made me realise the importance of being honest and
confident in the personal statement I will write for my
University application. It was a valuable experience that
has certainly helped me feel more confident with
interviews.”
Year 12 Mock Interviews
By Emily Richardson and Aiden Hoyle
In preparation for future interviews, students in the
Lower Sixth Form took part in a Mock Interview
process arranged specifically to develop skills and gain
advice on techniques needed for success.
The interviews were conducted by members of the
Rotary and PTA, many of whom had previous
experience with interviewing students for university or
future careers.
In order to make the interviews as realistic as possible
the students prepared a CV and wrote a letter of
application to a place of their choice. The students were
marked out of five for their abilities: such as
communication skills, attitude, quality of answers and
personal appearance. They were given written feedback
and a mark out of seventy, and the top twenty with the
highest scores or who the Interviewers decide had
presented themselves most effectively were awarded a
voucher and runners-up received a Headteacher’s
Commendation.
Reporting on his experience, Aiden Hoyle said “As I
stood outside the room my nerves were starting to get
the better of me. I entered the room and firmly shook
my interviewer by the hand; and, the second I sat down
and the questions were asked I felt at ease.
Winners
Will Manners
Ben Peverall
Joseph Purves
Matthew Buhagiar
Abigail Laurie
Matt Martin
Lauren Chinn
Georgina Pollock
Nicola Atkin
Georgia Heaslip
Daisy Banwell
Flora Emeney
Emily Richardson
Sophie Trolley
Carolyn Bathe
Lauren Holle
Tom Derrick
Alice Edwards
Rosie Page
Helen Cameron
12
Runners Up
Gabriella Ash
Madeleine Stewart
Uday Vemulapalli
Sophie Ralph
Sarah Weigold
Hannah Meadowcroft
Zoe Bladon
Georgia Efford
Sara Marlow
Emma Smith
Florence Payne
Daniel Maggs
Ella Houghton
Amy Dickson
Exam Season:
St Ives…wish you were here…?
We are already in exam season in the Art
Department and this year we are entering four
Year 10 students for GCSE Photography due to
their exceptional standard.
Competitions:
Rotary Club of Mendip - deadline: 31/03/09
7th Annual National Students Art Exhibition
deadline: 19/06/09
Saatchi online Art Prize - deadline: yearly on-going
Congratulations to...James Bennett, Duncan Hall,
Joe Hodgetts and Scott Virgo
The Infinity Wall:
View students work on the
Saatchi Gallery Website:
The new Infinity wall is up and running in Mrs
White’s Photography classroom. As used in
professional studios, this gives the students the
opportunity to develop their technical skills
whilst producing portraits of a professional
standard. It has proved so popular that it is
permanently booked out!!
www.Saatchigallery.co.uk/portfolio/schoolinfo/the+Kings+of+We
ssex+Community+School/524790.html
Please see Mrs Downer if you wish your work
to be entered onto the site - there is currently a
Saatchi Gallery Competition, so get your work in!
Mrs A Downer, Subject Leader for Art
Bath Opera Coming to Cheddar
Bath Opera are pleased to
announce
that
in
conjunction
with
the
Rotary Club of Mendip
they are to bring their
current touring production
of Puccini's “La Bohème”
to Cheddar in July.
The much loved but tragic
love story, full of beautiful
and familiar tunes, will be
performed in our The
Kings Theatre on Friday 31 July 2009 and tickets
priced at £10 will go on general sale in June.
St. Ives Trip:
Further details regarding ticket outlets will be
published next month but in the meantime - put it
in your diary as demand is expected to be high.
Further information can be obtained from members
of Mendip Rotary.
From 15 to 18 July the Art Department will be on
a residential trip to St. Ives, Cornwall for Years 10
and 12. This will include visits to Tate St. Ives
and the Barbara Hepworth Museum. There will
also be walks taking in the views of the
marvellous Cornish coastline for the students to
draw and photograph.
Peter Redfern, Chairman of Bath Opera said "we
are delighted to be bringing this production to
Cheddar and are all looking forward to performing
in the wonderful Theatre at the Kings of Wessex
School. We hope that Cheddar can become a
regular venue for our touring productions."
All profits from the evening will go towards
Rotary’s chosen charities and community projects
in and around Cheddar.
13
Vive les Langues!
This vocabulary was much easier to understand and we
learnt a lot about the issues surrounding surgery as well as
new phrases to use in our preparation for the forthcoming
exams.” Kathryn Willcox
Phillip Allan Study Days
“After a brief break we were given a lecture on „Ernährung‟
(nutrition and diet). We discussed what is healthy and
unhealthy and the difference sport makes to someone‟s
health. The presentation tackled problems like obesity and
anorexia as well as tips for staying healthy. This certainly
provided a good source of material for our forthcoming
speaking exam.” Carolyn Bathe
En français, s’il vous plait!
On Thursday 26 February 2009
Madame Donovan, Mademoiselle
Hind, Mrs Browne and Mr Lythgoe
accompanied a group of Years 10 and
11 students to Bristol University for
the Phillip Allan GCSE French Study Day. The sessions
were led by Régis and Richard, who entertained the
students with amusing anecdotes and rôle-plays entirely
in the French language. There were numerous activities
to motivate and challenge the students. “Star student” of
the day was Beth Robinson, who took to the stage in
front of an audience of over three hundred students
from around the West Country, to take part in one of the
rôle-plays, en français naturellement!
“For the tutorial about “Familie und Beziehungen”, we
were presented with Thomas and Hanja discussing their
different family situations. This was both useful and
humorous for gathering opinions on the topic and also
laughing at Thomas moaning about his Grandma! After
this we completed an exercise about different types of
family situations and family problems.
There were two other great activities which really
encouraged audience participation. The first tackled the
grammar point on adjectival endings and required quick
thinking to complete a cloze text in our work booklets. The
second activity was based on the popular television
programme “Family Fortunes” which started with the
familiar question “Wir haben 1000 Hamburger gefragt….”
(We asked 1000 citizens of Hamburg…) and the audience
scored points on the number of most popular answers. This
introduced an element of competition involved everyone
and really stretched our range of vocabulary. All in all,
these activities really helped us retain vocabulary and
remember grammar rules!!” Calum Dickinson
Voici are just a few comments from some of the students:
“There were lots of different activities to complete like
games, quizzes, and dramas to watch. The day was very
eventful and we came back to school with lots of new
French knowledge”. Emma Trolley & Lizzie Nash
“One of the things I enjoyed about the trip was that we
were able to learn French in other ways than in the
classroom” Don Hamilton
“Le jour était très amusant! Les garçons étaient chauds!”
Alice Cantwell, Hannah Bloor, Charlotte Weight, Eve
Taschimowitz & Beth Robinson
“We had a short talk on Racism in Germany, which was
really useful for us (the A2) students, as we had just
covered the topic in class. We looked at the problems,
causes, solutions of racism and then how to apply correct
grammar to convey our thoughts for the speaking exam.
Deutschland Hier und Heute!
On Tuesday 3 March 2009 it was the turn of the AS and
A2 German students to prove their motivation for
language-learning when they attended their intensive
German day at the University of Birmingham. Full
marks must go to all students and their parents for
living up to that typical German trait of punctuality for
an early 7.00am departure.
Towards the end of the day, we had a short talk with some
satirical humour about “The Three Wise Men” and what
would happen if there had been “Three Wise Women”!!! It
was a lovely way to end the day with some mild humour,
which made our journey home more enjoyable.
Clowance Cotterill
“The session on “Kriminalität” involved an in depth photostory of a young criminal and some of the possible
punishments he could expect to receive in a German court.
The audience was then invited to contribute their own
theories. This was really useful as we are currently covering
this topic in our lessons!
Once again, it was a delight for Mr Hellis and Frau
Rebello to accompany the AS and A2 students. As
always, the day was conducted entirely in German by
two native speakers, Thomas Reimann and Hanja
Neumann, who managed to hold the students‟ attention
with a plethora of topics and activities throughout the
day.
The session on “Neue Technologien” involved a
presentation on the use and growth of mobile phones and
the Internet. We also discussed the advantages and
disadvantages of the internet. It was very interesting,
especially as we had recently completed the topic in class.
“Andrew Underwood
Here are the students‟ with their thoughts on the day:
“The conference kicked off with the audience being shown
various images on topical news stories. Our task was to
guess the answers to each question posed in German about
each of the news items. This quick little starter helped to
introduce us to the new subject matter as well as getting us
used to hearing constant non-stop German!
Our thanks must go to Mr Hellis, who
drove the mini-bus in atrocious
weather conditions on the way home
and still managed to stay goodhumoured!!
We were then shown slides informing us about
“Schönheitswahn,” the craze for plastic surgery, the
different kinds of surgery, its effects and dangers.
14
They told us about their study and career opportunities in
Paris and gave us an insight into the possibilities French
opens up. Our hotel was very centrally located in Place
Cambronne. It was small, but very accommodating with
wonderfully traditional French breakfasts!
Le Paris 2009
Reportage - Flora Emeney et Gabriella Ash (Year 12)
On Thursday 29 January 2009 a small group of four
French students arrived - despite the general strike - in a
very cold, but equally sunny Paris for the annual Future in
Europe conference. Accompanied by a very enthusiastic
Mr Richardson and Mme Davies, we were never short of
interesting anecdotes and historical facts!
Our stay included a visit to the Paris office of a London
law firm and an afternoon of talks totally in French on
three of the four AS level topic areas: popular culture,
sport and leisure and the media. We had little time for
shopping, but we made sure that the shops we did go into
were the best of the bunch: Louis Vuitton did not
disappoint with champagne for buying customers and
refreshments for changing room waiting! We saw
paparazzi waiting outside the Four Seasons Hotel; but,
despite Mme Davies’ best efforts, they refused to divulge
who they were interested in!
On the first evening we wrapped up and headed across the
Champs de Mars for La Tour Eiffel. Unbeknown to any of
us, Mme Davies chose the south column and we found
ourselves transported back to a Duke of Edinburgh
expedition trekking up the 710 steps whilst other tourists
breezed up the other columns in lifts. However we felt it
was a true experience of the focal point of Paris and we
definitely earned the brilliant meal we had that evening.
We found a wonderful restaurant round the corner from
our hotel called ‘La Place’ which was fairly priced in
comparison to the huge costs in the rest of the city (yes,
you’ve been warned!). On the second evening of our stay we
met Sabina Savage and Fran Wilfort, two former Kings
students, at the same restaurant for a lovely meal.
The conferences we attended had high and low points John Sergeant provided an entertaining side to the second
conference and we discovered the Erasmus programme
and how it offers the chance to study abroad at university.
On Saturday evening there was a boat trip along the Seine
river on which we were shown sites such as the Louvre
and the French parliament. Other sites we saw included
Notre Dame Cathedral where Gabbi and Jo made friends
with the resident hunchback, Quasimodo. We spent
Sunday morning at Le Musée du Quai d’Orsay where we
were lucky enough to see a special collection called ‘Le
Mystère et l’Éclat’ (mystery and light) of very famous
pastel pieces. We came face to face with many paintings
that we were able to recognise by Renoir, Degas, Van
Gogh and Monet and were amazed that photography is
allowed.
We had a wonderful time in Paris…it definitely lived up to
expectations and left a lasting impression.
15
A la prochaine!
The Kings and Queens News Team
Our team report on the on-going recession, depression – I think you know what we are talking about…!
Credit Crunch Bites Cheddar
The ‘Great Outdoors’ are free, with thousands
of square miles of coastline and open
countryside for us to enjoy. Here in Somerset
we have Cheddar Gorge, forests, hills and
coasts.
By James Soffe (Year 11)
Nearly a quarter through the year and it is
clear that the credit crunch is set to
dominate 2009. Everyone is aware of the
effect it is having on businesses across the
country and we watch in disappointment as
more and more high street names go under...
It seems no company is safe.
Who knows, despite the gloom of the crunch,
with healthier eating and walking predicted
to rise, we could even become healthier.
Make-Do and Mend...
(or Discard and Replace?)
Casualties so far include familiar names such
as Land of Leather, Zavvi, MFI and the much
loved Woolworths. Our local Woolies’ shops
were - for many - more than just stores and
the public/people are sad to see them go. It
seems the credit crunch was the final blow as
they were experiencing financial trouble
months before. Although fondness aside, how
many of us can genuinely admit to regularly
shopping in Woolworths, when so many of their
products, such as clothes and electrical
items were available much cheaper in the
supermarkets? It is only when we are faced
with the closure of so many well established,
household names, do we realise what we will
be missing...
By Ollie Crandon (Year 11)
In these times of financial hardship, we should be trying
to maintain our belongings for as long as possible;
maximising their durability and usage, avoiding the
expenditure of replacing them. Yet, as darning
mushrooms are giving way to thinner, cheaper socks that
will hardly last a day; and purchases are becoming
excessive, rather than essential - is it surprising that we’re
all short of some cash?
Is it perhaps now time to return to the ways of War
Time Britain, when rationing was the norm and luxuries
were luxuries – and not necessities? On the food front, it
could also perhaps help the pressing issue of obesity that
is affecting too many adults and children in our nation.
Now that ‘eating for victory’ is non-existent and eating
for pleasure has become a pastime, it’s no wonder that
food bills are rocketing, even with all of the promotions
available to us in so many supermarkets.
Damage has not only been done to national
companies, but local ones also
- and
businesses in Cheddar are no exception. Co-op
and WestPoint Distribution have already
closed and many others are only just hanging
on... Hard times. If you believe the
predictions, it seems likely that smaller
companies will not only be hit the hardest,
but will also find it the most difficult to
recover. These are things we must consider
when we choose where we shop.
Thinking green, what’s also prominent is the severe lack
of actual ‘recycling’. Rather than sending empty
packaging to processing plants, where it then stacks-up
as no one wants it, why not recycle the actual product.
This would enable someone else to use it, clear some
space and give it a second life.
Yet, amongst this gloom, some supermarkets
reported unexpected profits over Christmas
and many major supermarkets reported food
sales increases in their expensive ranges.
This may seem odd with tighter budgets and
restricted spending, but when
we want to make a special meal,
it is far cheaper to buy better
quality
food
from
the
supermarket, rather than go out
to
a
restaurant.
It
seems
‘staying in’ is becoming the
new ‘going out’!
This is also shown as Sony and
Microsoft announce increases in
the sales of their consoles,
showing
that
people
are
entertaining
themselves
at
home, instead of going to the
cinema or theatre. For these
same reasons, home cooking is
expected to return... Will this
mean a reduction of the number
of microwave-ready meals cooked
and a possible improvement to
the country’s health?
Beyond the kitchen, when we
feel the need to escape the
confines of home, it doesn’t
need to cost anything.
16
With many schemes now in operation, next time you
need something, rather than looking on an internet shop,
why not look on an internet recycling scheme’s website
where you could pick one up for free? That way, the
environment is safer, as fewer products are required to
be produced; you save yourself some money and, get
what you need.
Learning Resource Centre
By Mrs Knutson
We are delighted to welcome
Mrs Poynor who has joined us,
replacing Ms Tout who moved
onto Broadoak to run their LRC.
Mrs Poynor is here in the
mornings, until just after lunch.
Why not also save some money, by lessening your
central heating bill? When the temperature dips slightly
next time, try putting on one or two jumpers that are
always left in the wardrobe and avoid turning-up the
thermostat. As a Somerset couple recently proved, it is
possible to live on a £1 a day – including leaving the
heating off. But this isn’t as essential as reducing usage
slightly, which will have a big impact in your pocket and
on the environment.
Opening Times
Don’t forget - if you need a bit more time to finish
off your work, or print it out, then the LRC is
open from 8.15am Tuesday to Friday mornings
for you to use the computers and printers – or
read the papers or a book.
So, next time you feel the pinch, why not see where you
can save some money and at the same time provide a
positive contribution to saving the environment.
Books for School
Warm thoughts!
The Times newspaper is
running a “free books for
schools” campaign.
Student Crisis
By Will Morgan-Evans (Year 11)
It
means
collecting
tokens from The Times
and The Sunday Times.
I would be grateful for any tokens anyone can
spare. They can be dropped off in Reception or
the LRC. We need between ten and 85 tokens for
each book, with the majority of books “costing”
between 50 and 65 tokens each.
In the midst of the financial crisis - banks
nationalizing,
century-old
corporations
shutting down and small businesses selling up
we
often
forget
about
the
younger
generations of the nation. You might think,
it doesn’t matter as much. Most teenagers do
not have any monetary responsibilities, or
are too young to be hassled by such worries.
But, in reality, perhaps it passively affects
these generations more than you think.
Businesses closing down may mean a lack of
part-time jobs for some young people. This
means less money to spend on commodities,
such as music or films...which in turn could
increase illegal downloading. So, maybe it
doesn’t help either situation.
Language Books
We have a collection of foreign language books
for loan, French, German, Spanish and Italian.
These are here until 3 May 2009, when they will
move onto the next library. I am hoping to get
these back later this year, or early next. They are
available to borrow and are easy to read – and
will help you with your understanding.
What about students at university - already
facing their own financial crises? Graduating
with loans they can only dream of paying-off
– at some stage in their working life, as
they begin the struggle of finding a job in
these gloomy times of unemployment.
Come and have a look at them – you can read them
on the sofas!
Alternatively, we could look at this from a
different angle in true teenage style. Which
industry is currently booming and has enjoyed
an extremely profitable record breaking
2008...? You’ve guessed it. The video gaming
industry.
With sales of familiar consoles
like the Wii, Xbox 360 and Playstation 3
continuing to rise in the midst of the crunch
– they are one of the few industries
currently enjoying big profit figures.
FOR THE ATTENTION OF ALL
CHEDDAR STUDENTS AND
PARENTS!
THE CHEDDAR YOUNG PERSONS’
MILLENNIUM TRUST
Maybe it links in with the first point; most
of the buyers to this growing hobby may have
no financial responsibilities or worries,
such as teenagers and young adults - or
perhaps the general public want to play games
in these bleak times.
Following the information on the Bulletin
Page of the February half term Kings’
Messenger – grant application forms will
be enclosed in this mailing for
Cheddar Students.
Happy gaming, I guess...
17
Kings and Queens Sports Scores
Year 9 Boys’ Football
The Year 9 boys have stepped up to
the mark and have been incredibly
enthusiastic. Every week there have
been more than 25 boys at practices,
and at some weeks up to 40. Their
enthusiasm is so great that the school
could get three teams out to play. But,
unfortunately no other school can do
this.
We have an A and B Team. The A
Team have played many matches
since the start of term and the B
Team have played two games so far
with more to follow.
The A Team have played six games so
far and have not lost one. They are
still in the County Cup and are at the
Quarter Final stage, having beaten Chilton Trinity School
and The West Somerset Community College. But, the
best result so far is beating Millfield away 2-1.
Year 12 Boys’ Football
The Senior Team have had mixed results, but have also
been able to field two teams when playing against
Millfield. The 1st team lost 2-1, but the 2nd team won 2-1.
They have played in the County Cup, unfortunately losing
to Beecham Cliff from Bath 3-2. The boys have however
recently played Backwell, another hard fought game on a
very wet and muddy pitch winning 4-2.
Year 10 Boys’ Football
The Year 10 team are also playing exceptionally well and
are still in the County Cup. They have played five matches
this season, with more still to come. They had a very hard
fought 2nd round cup tie against Bucklers Mead, winning
5-4 after extra time. They unfortunately came unstuck
against Millfield losing 2-0. Their next Cup game is
against Clevedon.
Year 9 Girls’ Football
Year 9 girls have been very dedicated and committed to
their football this term. The highlight of the season was a
seven-a-side tournament at St Dunstan’s on Thursday 19
March 2009. We entered two teams: Kings Red and
Kings Purple, both of whom played extremely well, and I
was proud of all of them. Special mention must go to
Jenny Bridgwater who stepped in at last minute as
Goalkeeper for the Purple Team and who played
exceptionally well making fantastic saves against some
tough opposition.
Year 11 Boys’ Football
They competed in the Mendip area football tournament
and won the competition, defeating st dunstans in the final
5 -1. They narrowly lost to Millfied A 2-1, they also beat
Crispin 5 – 0 and drew with Chew Valley 3-3.
The two teams had to play each other - which
was difficult going from playing as one team to
playing against each other. The Purple Team
were the first to score, but the Reds equalised in
the second half resulting in a one all draw.
When all the games were played and points
totted up it was thrilling to learn that Kings Red
had won the tournament, and they were duly
presented with a trophy and certificate. The
winning team are: Kathryn Manners (Captain),
Annie Pinnington, Isobel Bright, Amy Paphitis,
Nicole Morris, Dixie Gleeson, Flora Hodgson .
Congratulations to all the girls, and we look
forward to another successful season next year
as they move up an age category.
Year 11 Girls’ Hockey
(see the report about their triumph on the next page…)
18
National Cross Country
The Year 11 girls’ Hockey Team have won the
Somerset County Cup. This team won the competition
in Year 9 and were determined to do well in what was
their final match as a Year 11 team.
Following
the
South
West
Cross-country
Championships Connor Banks, Kayley Kennedy, Emily
Derrick and Dan Layton were selected to run for
Somerset in the junior boys/junior girls/intermediate
girls/senior boys in the English Schools National
Cross Country competition on Saturday 21 March
2009 in Loughborough.
The final was played at Taunton Vale Hockey club on
(unlucky for some) Friday 13 February. We beat Castle
school 3-1. Millie Gibson opened the scoring and goals
followed from Lindsay Jones and Hollie Freemantle. It
was a fantastic team performance and well done to all
players!
Team players:
Jo Teagle
Rebecca Teagle
Abi Woolway
Hollie Freemantle
Eve Taschimowitz
Millie Gibson
Harriet Gittings
Jjorja Lehup
Lindsay Jones
Kathryn Hansford
Emma Munt
Jenny Pearce
Year 9 Netball
There have been many students regularly attending
netball practices. The squad is determined to improve
on their performances in with each game. We have yet
to win a game but passing and defending is improving.
Several players are playing in new positions and are
giving 100% in all of their games. Their final game of
the season was their best performance to date – losing
to Chew Valley- but we managed to score 14 goals
which was their highest score so far!
An Evening of Dance
On Friday 27 February 2009 150 students from
Fairlands and Hugh Sexey Middle Schools joined
dancing forces with our girls to put on a wonderful
show for parents and guests. This was a highly
successful event, stage managed by our Kings Sports
Leaders and enjoyed by the packed audience.
We were able to enter two teams in the Mendip
tournament at Wells Blue.
U15 Netball
At the point of writing the U15’s are still working
tirelessly on their game and have come on leaps and
bounds since last year . Practices has seen as many as
16/17 members and all games have been hard fought.
We have many more games to come and if we continue
to improve we should see some reward.
Well done to Chelsea Pitt who has been selected for
the Somerset U.I5 Girls’ Football Team. Chelsea’s first
game was against Berkshire and we wish her good luck
in future matches.
Senior Netball
Ist VII
The First Team Captain is Buffy Rabbitts.
Lunchtime sessions are well attended and there are 25
students regularly attending practices. The team have
had several close matches unfortunately resulting in a
loss. However, we did beat a strong side from St
Dunstan’s who were unbeaten for four seasons.
We narrowly lost out to a strong team at Churchill
who had several strong club players. We were
successful against another strong Chew Valley team
winning by two goals. Several players have played in
different positions and the squad system is helping to
develop all players, often in different positions. The
team have narrowly lost and won matches often by just
one goal. Well played to all players!
(Sports report by Messrs Bennett and Osgood, Miss Hemmings,
and Mrs Roberts, Tibbs and Williams)
19
On Shrove Tuesday, the Cafe in Cheddar, very kindly
made itself available for a Pancake event for Year 12
and 13 students. An impressive total of 156 pancakes
of varying sizes were consumed! Special thanks to
Becky Maynard for designing some fantastic
invitations and menus, and Nicky Sentance for coordinating the invitations.
Christian Leader Reflections
I wonder whether you’ve given up anything for Lent...?
My husband and I are struggling without crisps at
the moment, but chocolate’s always another popular
one to give up, which makes it very hard walking
around the shelves of temptingly wrapped Easter
Eggs in the supermarket!
In assemblies, we’ve been using lessons from the life
of King David in the Bible to explore issues like
friendship and ‘Against the Odds’. Stories that
perhaps you remember from childhood are not a part
of most young people’s cultural vocabulary, so these
assemblies give them a chance to not only think more
deeply about the Christian faith, but also to
understand some of the cultural references that
appear about these stories in art, literature or even
pop – the second verse of the Leonard Cohen song
‘Hallelujah’, which the ‘X Factor’ winner Alexandra
covered, tells the story of David and Bathsheba.
Like Christmas, Easter
has become another big
commercial opportunity
for
retailers
–
supermarkets,
card
producers,
florists.
Looking at the images
of
chicks,
Easter
bunnies and daffodils,
you’d be hard pressed if you didn’t know, to guess
what we’re celebrating at all at Easter time. Maybe
Spring – the hint of something about new life – but
nothing more challenging.
So this Easter as Christians again make the journey to
Calvary, I pray that the joy of the risen Lord may be with
you and everyone you love and care about.
But for Christians around the world Easter is both a
full stop and a brand new chapter. We remember the
terrible sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross
and yet, also the joy of the Resurrection. Christians,
like Jesus’ original disciples, stand at the foot of the
cross on Good Friday but also with the women who
went to the garden on the first Easter Sunday and
found the stone of the tomb rolled away.
By Mrs J Slade, Christian Leader
Memorial Football Match
The Isle of Wedmore J.F.C are
hosting a Memorial Football
Match to raise money for The
Dorset & Somerset Air
Ambulance Charity in
memory of Elliot Davies
Easter spans those extremes of emotion – sadness and
pain through to joy and the hope of a fresh start.
Sainsbury’s are always encouraging
us to ‘try
something new today’ – so this Easter why not try to
find time to look behind the outward symbols –
enjoyable as those are – and find the inner truth
they’re meant to point us too. Most of the local
churches send around flyers telling you what services
they have on this Easter – with so many churches of
different styles, there really is something to suit
everyone!
Elliot’s life was prematurely
taken when he was hit by a car
while on his way to school on Wednesday 7 January
2009. The Dorset & Somerset Air Ambulance did a
fantastic job of airlifting Elliot to the Royal United
Hospital in Bath, where sadly he died from his injuries.
He was just 13 years old.
With Easter in mind, the Christian Union has been
busy organising the school’s Church Services and it is
really encouraging to see young people working so
hard on a project and be so committed. As at
Christmas, students will, once again, be leading the
services and performing contemporary Christian
music and drama.
Please join us and bring your family and friends along to
honour Elliot and his family and support the DSAA.
Also a BBQ, and Prize Draw.
Saturday 18 April 2009
at 12.30pm
Elliot Davies Star 11 v Wedmore Under 14’s
Location: The Recreation Ground, Blackford Road
Wedmore, Somerset
Commences at: 12.30pm
Penalty Shoot out at: 1.00pm
Kick off at: 2.00pm
Come see the Air Ambulance Helicopter * and the
Cheddar Fire Appliance *
*Subject to Operational service
20
The Kings Calendar
(for the first half of Summer Term 2009)
April 2009
Return to School
Yr 12 AS level Art Exams
PTA Meeting
Yr 9, visiting production of Romeo & Juliet
Yr 9, trip to production of ‘Oliver’,
School Photographs, Yr 11 & 13
Yr 12 AS level Art Exams
Yr 10 Exams
Yr 13 A2 Level Art Exams
Mon 20 April
Mon 20 April, Commence
Tues 21 April, 7:30pm, Conference Room
Wed 22 April, School Hall
Fri 24 April, Pm only, Bristol
Fri 24 April
Fri 24 April, finish
Mon 27 April, Commence
Mon 27 April, commence
Yr 10 Exams
Yr 13 A2 Level Art Exams
School Closed, Bank Holiday
Parents Focus Group
Parents Information Evening, St Ives Trip
Governors Visit day
Yr 10 Residential trip to Myn-y-Don
Yr 12 AS Exams
Yr 11 Independent Exam Leave
Yr 12 Independent Exam Leave
Yr 11 GCSE Exams
Yr 10 Residential trip to Myn-y-Don
Yr 9 Puzzle Challenge Day
Yr 10 D&T Residential trip to Wye Valley
Yr 10 D&T Residential trip to Wye Valley
Yr 9 Maze Museum Visit
Yr 10 Key Skills Day
Fri 1 May, finish
Fri 1 May, finish
Mon 4 May
Tues 5 May, 7:00pm, LRC
Wed 6 May,
Thurs 7 May
Mon 11 May, departs
Mon 11 May, commence
Mon 11 May, commences (Provisional)
Mon 11 May, commences (provisional)
Tues 12 May, commence
Fri 15 May, returns
Fri 15 May
Mon 18 May, departs
Tues 19 May, returns
Wed 20 May,
Thurs 21 May
May 2009
PARENTS’ EVENINGS will be held on the following dates between 5-8pm, in the School Hall:
.
The Kings’ Messenger is due to be published on the following dates:
Friday 22nd May 2009
Tuesday 21 July 2009
Useful Information :
Contact details: The Kings of Wessex School, Station Road, Cheddar, Somerset BS27 3AQ
Main School Office Phone: 01934 742608 Fax: 01934 742757 email: [email protected]
Website: www.kowessex.co.uk
Absence Phone: thank you for phoning before 10.00am with your child’s name and tutor group on 01934 745304 or email
[email protected] on each day of absence explaining the reason for your child’s absence.
Year Leaders: Please do not hesitate to contact your child’s Year Leader to arrange an appointment in advance if you have any concerns or wish to
discuss their progress.
Year 9: Mr Eric Holdsworth Year 10: Mr Steve Green Year 11: Mr Terry Clark
Sixth Form: Miss S Bishop
21
20
This is a
Foodie Newsflash!
Our delicious new three-week cycle of menus will be available from Monday 20 April 2009!
For £2.00 – your child can chose a main meal with
potatoes/rice and vegetables AND a bottle of Cheddar water.
Summer Term 2009 – WEEK 1 MAIN MENU
Speciality
Monday
Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
Friday
Normandy
pork
casserole
Chicken
and
vegetable
pie
Hand carved
Roast pork
and apple
sauce
Lamb, feta
&
aubergine
crepes
Battered
fish
Brie &
broccoli
tart
Roasted
vegetable
and bean
pancakes
Vegetarian
Meal
Vegetable
Kiev's
Blue cheese
macaroni
Wholemeal
vegetable
pie
Potato/
Rice
Vegetable
Mashed
potatoes
& seasonal
vegetables
Sauté
potatoes
& seasonal
vegetables
Roast
potatoes
& seasonal
vegetables
Buttered
new
potatoes &
seasonal
vegetables
Potato
wedges
& seasonal
vegetables
Pear &
chocolate
sponge
with
chocolate
sauce
Sultana
pudding
Chocolate
and orange
fridge cake
Apple &
strawberry
crumble
Jam
steamed
pudding
Pudding
Of the
Day
Or you can mix and match from the
Lunchtime Mix and Match Jacket, Pasta and Noodle Bar
Our fresh food is locally sourced and prepared with nutrition and taste
for your child in mind.
To check out the other two weeks’ menus, you can visit
our school website: http://www.kowessex.co.uk/students/canteen/index.php
The Kings of Wessex School – In the Mood for Food…
22