Happy 50th Anniversary Ashfield School!

1964—2014
Happy 50th Anniversary Ashfield School!
Welcome to the first newsletter of our 50th Anniversary year!
We are very proud to have been serving Ashfield for half a century, and hope you
will join us on Saturday, 12th July to celebrate this milestone. You will have the
opportunity to look around the school, maybe have a cream tea in our restaurant and
take part in some of the fun events that will be taking place.
Everyone is welcome!
First day, 1964.
Help us Celebrate Ashfield’s Golden Anniversary
Saturday 12th July, 2014
School Summer Fair and Open Day
Venue: Ashfield School.
Time: 10am – 3pm.
Admission: free.
What’s on: fun activities, market stalls, tours of the school,
memorabilia room, school dinners, cream teas etc.
Everyone welcome!
Saturday 12th July, 2014
Celebration Concert
Venue: Ashfield School, Main Hall.
Time: 7.30pm – 9.30pm.
Admission: by ticket only (limited availability).
Price: £5 per ticket, £15 family ticket (4 people).
Everyone welcome!
Ashfield Vocal Ensemble return to John Lewis
As always, the winter term was busy with lots of exciting events...Children in Need,
Grease, Christmas Concert, Awards Evening, Careers Fair and Christmas Market to name
but a few! Here’s a glimpse of some of those amazing events.
Mrs Guy and Mr Atkins are pictured
here with the Ashfield Vocal Ensemble
opening the Christmas Shopping
season in John Lewis.
Whilst John Lewis usually invite
different groups each year, ours is the
only choir to be invited back after their
superb performance last year.
True to form, their incredible
performance brought the Christmas
shoppers to a standstill, and more than
one person was seen brushing away a
tear.
Festive Concert Showcases Ashfield’s Talent
Ashfield School showcased its musical
talent with a sparkling Christmas Concert.
With everything from the school band to
vocal solos, a student playing his own
piano composition and a number of songs
from the school’s stunning choir, the
evening really got everyone into the
Christmas spirit!
Pictured right are Jonathan Clarke (Year
9) who played one of his own compositions, and Charlotte Pynegar (Year 12)
who sang a beautiful solo accompanied
by the Head of Music, Mr Tom Atkins, on
piano.
Mr Atkins said:
"Students really did
themselves proud and it was a pleasure
to be part of a concert with so many
talented young musicians.
I would like to personally thank all students involved for their hard work and
commitment to bringing so much
wonderful music to Ashfield School."
Christmas Awards Night
Ashfield School hosted a sparkling awards ceremony
just before the Christmas break to celebrate students’
achievements in the summer exams – both GCSEs and
A Levels.
With some students returning from university to receive
their awards, everyone dressed to impress and a surprise guest speaker, the hall was buzzing with
excitement.
When guest speaker Richard McCann, pictured here
with Head Teacher Mr Vasey, revealed to the audience
who he was - the son of serial killer Peter Sutcliffe’s first
victim Wilma McCann - you could have heard a pin
drop in the hushed hall. No doubt expecting a dark and
sombre talk, the audience were surprised to be carried
along on Richard’s journey with equal measure of serious, yet non-self-pitying, facts and a bouncy, infectious
positivity and humour.
As students, parents and staff
filed out of the hall at the end of
the evening, many of them
stopped to talk to Richard and to
buy a copy of his latest book.
His talk, the beautiful musical
interludes courtesy of the school
vocal
ensemble,
and
the
outstanding achievements of the
students all combined to make an
uplifting and thoroughly enjoyable
evening.
Grease Brings the House Down!
Ashfield School was invaded by the Pink Ladies and the T Birds before
Christmas as students put on a gruelling schedule of performances to sell-out audiences of
one of the best-loved musicals around…Grease!
The students were spectacular, really breathing life into the performance and, from curtain
up, instantly transporting the audience to another era at Rydell High School. It really is
difficult to know what to mention first – the great acting, the rousing music, the pitch-perfect
singing, or those fabulous dance routines. In effect, they all combined to make a fantastic,
fun night out for the audience, who were singing, clapping and toe-tapping all the way
through.
Special mention has to be made of
Paige Nussey, Dominic Allanson and
George Mugglestone. Paige took on
the role made famous by Olivia
Newton-John, that of Sandy, and
belted out those iconic songs with
confidence and verve to rapturous
applause from the audience. Dominic
brought the role of Danny to life with
some Travolta-esque moves and attitude, and George Mugglestone
played Teen Angel perfectly – you
could have heard a pin drop as he
delivered his note-perfect rendition of
Beauty School Dropout.
Kenickie, played by Ross Johnson, brought some comedy to the production, as did Luke
Denman as Roger, Michelle Muyunda as Jan, and Paige Gregory as Miss Lynch. But
comedy heroes of the performance have to be Julian Salmon as Eugene and Quinn Bailey
as Vince Fontaine – they were hysterically funny and had the audience screaming with
laughter. With performances like that, they must surely have futures in comedy!
The Directors of the performance, Bryan Sluman and Rob Harper, commented that they
found working with the incredibly talented cast a thoroughly enjoyable experience, and
wanted to also commend the incredibly hard working production team for their massive
contribution to making the performance so
spectacular: Tom Atkins (Music), Mel Turner
(Choreography), Alan Wilson (Set/Technical) and
Carol Boulton (Costumes).
The team effort really paid off as the audience left
Ashfield’s theatre smiling and humming those
eternally catchy tunes having had a fabulous
evening of entertainment of a quality more
commonly associated with professional theatre.
Christmas Market
The annual Ashfield Christmas Market took part on the last day of term and was as busy
and prosperous as ever.
Part of the carousel of activities visited by Years 7 – 10, the market consisted of a food
hall, a craft hall and a challenge hall.
With a multitude of new products available to buy – from gingerbread men to Santa bunting
– there was something for everyone. And with no price exceeding £1 everyone was able
to enjoy the fun.
In addition to the Christmas shopping, there was live music and an exciting new addition…
the festive photo booth!
Last year’s market was a massive success, with nearly all stock sold!, and this year was
certainly no exception!
Special surprise guest at this year’s market
was this very sociable snowman who
entertained/startled students throughout the
whole event despite the very mild weather.
“iCan” Author Inspires Students to Achieve
Best-selling author and inspirational speaker Richard McCann was such a hit with Ashfield
School students at their December Prize Giving event that the school welcomed him back in
January.
This time, Richard’s presentation was for the 400 Year 11 students who had just received their
mock exam results, and for whom he provided plenty of inspiration and motivation ready for
their forthcoming summer exams.
Students were, in turn, hanging silently onto his every word as he told the very moving story of
his childhood, and roaring with laughter at his bouncy and relentless humour.
Richard McCann was just 5 years old when his mum became the first victim of the country’s
most notorious serial killer, Peter Sutcliffe, The Yorkshire Ripper.
He told the heart-breaking account of how he and his sister tramped the streets looking for their
mum, and of how they were later told that she was never coming home. He went on to talk of
how he and his 3 sisters were then placed in the care of their abusive father and of his ultimate
descent into drug taking, which eventually led to him being imprisoned.
Interspersed with his unique humour, and littered with anecdotes that gave clues to the
resilience and positivity that had always been there within him, his story is most definitely one of
triumph over adversity: of the importance of attitude over circumstance.
His parting message for students was very much: if I can do it, so can you. It doesn’t matter
where you live, what you wear, how you look…what matters is that you live your life with an
‘iCan’ attitude and that you’re prepared to do the work.
After his talk, Richard was very professionally interviewed by Year 12 student Dominic
Allanson, and is pictured here with Dominic taking questions from Psychology and
Uniformed Services students.
Children in Need 2013
Children in Need, 2013
Thanks to the staff and students who dressed up—
here are just a few of them!
Ashfield School Welcomes Local Business to
Careers Fair
Ashfield School opened the doors to its impressive Post 16 Centre before Christmas to host
their first Careers Fair. They welcomed over 30 local businesses, bringing them together with
Year 10 students and their parents.
Students got the chance to speak with people from many different walks of life – from a butcher
to a prison officer, an accountant to a hairdresser – to find out what their jobs are really like,
what qualifications they would need to enter that profession, and what kinds of opportunities
those professions might offer. In turn, the businesses were keen to let students know what
kinds of skills employers are looking for when recruiting new staff – invaluable advice!
The event was organised by the school’s careers advisor, Sam Fryer, who was delighted with
the response:
“The positive response we received from both local and national companies who came to
support the event was incredible. Our mission was to expose our students to employees
working in the real world so that they were able to share their life experience and what it means
to work within that chosen industry, and thanks to all that arrived, this happened to great effect.
The students gained a large amount of advice and so we are looking forward to holding a
similar event again soon”.
ATTENTION YEAR 11 STUDENTS:
The next planned event will be an apprenticeship evening for Year 11 students on
Wednesday 23rd April 2014, which aims to provide students with all the information
they need about apprenticeships in all different fields. If you know of any companies/
businesses that wish to be involved in this event, please ask them to contact Miss
Fryer.
Diversity Days 2013
Broadening minds and enabling students to understand different lifestyles and cultures was the
name of the game at Ashfield School’s Diversity Days.
The first day included a a Bhangra
workshop:
a traditional form of
dance originating from the Punjab
region of India and Pakistan, and
also a drumming workshop.
These sessions were run by Vijay
Mehay, who has performed at the
Commonwealth opening ceremony
and the Eurovision Song Contest,
and Pritam Singh, who has
performed music for both Hollywood
and Bollywood films. Both are huge
artists in their own right.
With a change in pace and focus, students observed a moving presentation by representatives of The
Carpenter’s Arms, a Christian-run 12-room residential rehabilitation centre for men challenged by
drug and alcohol addiction. The men very candidly shared their own personal stories of their descent
into addiction, and the ramifications of this not only for themselves, but for their families and friends
and the people they encountered along the way. One student commented afterwards how effective it
was to hear these stories first-hand, “It was very upsetting and made me realise the true effects of
alcohol and drugs”. (Following on from this, students took part in a food collection for the charity in
the run up to Christmas.)
With a change in pace again, Nabila Aziz, a nuclear design engineer from Rolls Royce, delivered an
eye-opening session for students to challenge their preconceptions of stereotypes, and looking at
equality in the workplace. She started the session by asking students to guess what her occupation
was, and didn’t reveal it until the end of the session – it certainly made students think twice about
making snap judgements!
Teacher Nazia Mumtaz who organised the day said: “It was
fantastic seeing students so respectful and very engaged in
activities that may have been a little out of their comfort
zones; they did the school proud!”
Nottingham University’s Confucius Institute
The second of Ashfield’s Diversity
Days saw the Post 16 Centre
welcome visitors from Nottingham
University’s Confucius Institute to
coincide with Chinese New Year,
and to run interesting sessions for
students on Tai Chi, Mandarin and
Calligraphy.
Part of Ashfield’s rich diversity programme, this was a great opportunity for students to
learn more about Chinese history and culture, and to have some fun at the same time!
They all really enjoyed the experience.
Pictured left is a Tai Chi demonstration, and pictured right are some of the school’s
Uniformed Services students leading from the front, and learning to write their own names
in Calligraphy.
Students inspired by European Paratriathlon Champion
2013 European Paratriathlon Champion and Rio 2016 hopeful Phil Hogg took time out of his
busy training schedule last week to visit Ashfield School and judge a challenge competition
set for a group of Year 8 students.
Working in small groups, students were asked to design a new wetsuit for a paratriathlete.
Triathlon wetsuits are, of course, expertly designed – but they are designed for able-bodied
athletes, which poses a serious problem for paratriathletes.
Students worked hard on their designs and presentations all day, developing many of the
skills that employers are looking for: teamwork, communication, creative thinking, problemsolving, the list just goes on and on! Before the teams formally presented their ideas to the
judges, Phil spoke to them in detail about exactly what is involved in preparing for, and
competing in, a paratriathlon, and answered their many questions.
Then came the nerve-racking bit when students had to present their ideas to the panel of
judges, and take the judges’ questions in true Dragons’ Den style.
After all presentations had been made, each judge
commented on the fantastic way that students had
worked together as teams, on the in-depth research
they had carried out, and on the creativity they had
demonstrated. But there could only be one winner:
The Bananas, pictured here with Phil Hogg, Hayley
Key (organiser), Phil Hughes (STEMnet contract holder for Nottinghamshire), and Bryan Sluman
(organiser). Well done The Bananas!
Year 7 Gifted & Talented News
Parliament Day
Eighteen students from Year 7 recently took part in a political themed day. During the day, they
were challenged to create their own political parties, develop a robust manifesto, film their own
political party broadcast and debate a range of controversial issues. They discussed whether or
not PE should be compulsory, how they might react to a redevelopment in the local area and
how they would go about splitting a national budget to ensure each sector of society would be
financially supported. The afternoon saw them take their political opinions to Ashfield's very own
'House of Commons' and participate in a structured debate which, at times, became very
heated!
A huge well done must go to all students who took
part; a great day was had by everyone. Many
students commented afterwards that the day had
given them a new-found confidence and allowed
them to work independently on issues that really
interested them. Miss Key and Mr Sluman, who
organised the event, said that the students showed a
keen interest throughout the whole day and there
may
even
be
some
budding
politicians
amongst them! Look out Mr Cameron!
Weekly Provision: A Student’s View
Since moving up from Primary to Secondary school, there have been a lot of activities and
opportunities to find what my strengths and weaknesses are. However, to improve on those
weak points, the staff at Ashfield do their best to help me in everything I do. That is why we
have TAGs. To make learning more fun and challenging, the Year 7 A* TAG students get
together every Wednesday to do activities to further our brains. The things we do are not just
Maths and English but challenges which involve us to think outside the box and that will be
useful in real life. So far this year we have completed three challenges. The first was to create a
notice board in our Year base about ourselves and what we do; the second was to make a
video about Ashfield school for the upcoming Year 6 students; and the project we are currently
on now is to plan a debate and to carry it out against the opposite team. Also, we’ve had a
parliament day where we have had a whole day to learn how this country works and to perform
a debate; it was a lot of fun and helped me to understand a lot more. I think it is fun to have this
group work and compete together as it makes us want to achieve higher and do better.
By Linxin Chen.
Calling all Ex-students!
The Year 7 Gifted & Talented group’s next challenge is to look at the history and experiences of
past
students and staff at Ashfield school as part of the 50 th anniversary celebrations. If
you are an ex-student of Ashfield and you have stories or photos from your time at school they
would be greatly appreciated to help the group complete their project. Please could you contact,
or send anything in that you are happy for us to use, to Mrs Ball
([email protected]) or Miss Frith ([email protected]).
Second World War Hero is an Inspiration
This article was written by Year 13 student Rachel Gascoigne after
hearing Uniformed Services’ long time friend and World War 2
hero Ray Ellis talk to students about his experiences.
Ray read Rachel’s piece and was delighted with it. It earned
Rachel the Guest Columnist slot in The Chad, and was published
only days before Ray sadly passed away.
We would like to dedicate this to Ray in remembrance of his bravery, and his
generosity in sharing his story with our Uniformed Services’ students on numerous
occasions despite his age and ill-health. He will be greatly missed.
The Girl with the Peach
It is hard to imagine a world without kindness: a world solely consisting of pain and hatred.
No love or compassion, nor warmth or benevolence, no forgiveness. Some may believe that
we do live in a world full of the words listed above: a world powerfully bound by abhorrence
and brutality. Take, for instance, third world countries and starving children, murder, illness
and rape. Take, for instance, war. Thousands of lives destroyed daily, simply through an act
of ignorance – something that has been happening since time began. A disagreement or a
bad decision leading to lives lost, lives ruined, and lives changed. But there is kindness in
this world; it is in everyone.
“There is no teacher like life,” says Ray Ellis, a 94 year old World War II veteran from Nottinghamshire. Full of honesty, morality, and not to mention a quick sense of humour, Ray is
one of those inspirational people who you look at in awe. For a man who has witnessed such
unimaginable horrors and seen the truly horrific side of war, he is full of kind-heartedness
and humanity, and possibly the most moving and heart-wrenching memoirs to ever be told.
You would think that bringing a room full of seventeen year old boys to the point of tears
would seem to be a rather bizarre and difficult experience indeed, but more than 60 years
after his war ended, Ray has no trouble moving the teens to absolute pieces. In a talk with
the Year 12 Uniformed Services students from Ashfield Post 16, Ray shared with the class
some of his invaluable life lessons from his time spent in the services.
His story begins on a bitter January night at the beginning of the war, his heart brimming with
pride and determination as he made off from everything he knew back in England for one of
his most difficult and life-changing experiences where he fought in the Western desert. He
says with the utmost modesty, “I am not a brave man; there was a job to do. I love England,
and this is my country, it is my way of life.”
The battle lasted a terrible six months; with little equipment and constant bombing by the Italians, the true horrors of war really did hit home for the young bombardier. At the end of the
battle, Ray was told to bury the dead soldiers. He was just 19 years of age. “When I left for
the war, I was leaving behind something I would never find again: my youth.”
Although Ray lost many things during his time fighting for England, there was one thing he
found to be invaluable: a lesson, “At school, nothing taught me as much as the war.” During
The Siege of Tobruk, a confrontation that lasted for a gruelling 241 days and took up to 3,836
lives, Ray tells of the true horror he experienced and of learning things that have stuck with
him to this day. “We were always in action, day and night – it was the longest siege in Great
British Military history!” In nine months, Ray and his fellow soldiers didn’t have even the small
luxury of a wash! “I didn’t bathe for 9 months; there was a desperate lack of water, there was
no sewage system or toilets. We had no letters sent, nor parcels – this war taught me so
many valuable lessons.”
“The most important thing I can tell you today would be that people are important, people
matter.”
“Throughout the siege, my relationship with my friend Cliff Smedley changed.” Ray is close to
tears as he explains how, very slowly, but incredibly noticeably, he and the men he shared
this truly horrific experience with became more than friends; they became a family. “These
men became my brothers. Everything was so hard, but you had your mate.” He asks the students, “Shouldn’t the most important thing in your life be your family?”
During the talk, Ray speaks of other experiences within his time as a soldier, but one of the
most prominent and inspiring would be his time as a prisoner of war, a truthfully inspiring
tale. “We trekked 1000 miles through Libya. We had no food and no water, I was close to dying of starvation – and men did die, all the time. We were being sent to a concentration camp
in Italy.”
“Whilst we were walking through Naples, the locals came out from their houses to jeer and
mock us as we were marched. But then something magical happened.” Ray pauses and
brings the room to absolute silence; it is hard to explain the emotion I felt in that room at this
moment, it was like we were all breathing in tune. I believe that every single person was on
the edge of their seat!
“A little girl came running up to me from the crowds, and placed something into my hand. It
was a peach.” Ray describes his feelings ever so poetically, “It was like a sunny day, in a
very long period of bad weather. And this is what is important; you have to remember that
there will always be a girl with a peach, however hard life gets.”
Modestly, Ray almost skims past his story of escape, not going into detail at all about how he
managed to get away from the concentration camp, not once but twice! “I came here today to
give you some idea of what it’s like to be in a real war,” he explains to the Uniformed Services class. “A great value to me in my life is something so precious: people. I learned many
great secrets in a very hard school - the war. Experiencing the kindness of my enemies
made me a kinder man – I didn’t want to harm anyone.”
After the war, Ray further exampled his kindness and the will of wanting to share the life lessons he learnt during the war, in becoming a teacher and then a headmaster at a local Kirkby
-in-Ashfield School, saying “I learned how to maintain discipline without punishment.”
Ray’s final message to the class is a poignant one, leaving the class utterly inspired: “I have
lived a very long and enjoyable life, and I have done many things. But the one thing I want to
leave with you is to be a kind person: be the girl with the peach.”
World War 2 veteran and concentration camp survivor Ray Ellis with Ashfield Post
16’s Uniformed Services students and course leader Julie Taylor.
Pictured here with Ray are former Uniformed Services students Jordan Broadbent,
who started his Royal Marines training this month, and Jack Worley, who started his
Royal Marines training in September 2013.
Uniformed Services visit HMS Grimsby
Uniformed Services students
were recently lucky enough
to be invited on board HMS
Grimsby for a tour of the vessel. They also got the opportunity to try out some of the
equipment! Pictured here
are Jack Pickering in part of
the Royal Navy's diving wear
and Mitchell Grainger.
Uniformed Services Student Update
Just how effective is the NCFE Uniformed
Services course offered at Ashfield Post
16?
For the 3 former students pictured here
with Julie Taylor, Course Leader, the
answer is ‘highly effective’!
From left to right they are: Jack Worley, who started his Royal Marines training in September
2013, Ainsley Maltby, who is waiting to hear if he has been successful in the final stage of his
RAF selection process, and Jordan Broadbent, who starts his Royal Marines training on 3rd
March.
They returned to Ashfield Post 16 Centre recently to share their experiences with current
Uniformed Services students, and to talk with them about the reality of both the selection process and the day-to-day life in the armed forces.
Said Jordan: “The Uniformed Services course helped me in countless ways. It informed me
so that I could make the right decision about which of the services I wanted to enter; it
prepared me for the selection process; and it equipped me to deal with day-to-day life in the
forces.”
Jack added: “The course helped me in so many ways. It definitely helped me to prepare for
the selection process, but mostly it has enabled me to develop the mental strength and
discipline that I need to undertake the challenges that I face every day as part of basic
training.”
Ainsley is waiting to hear if he has made it through to the final 35 out of 180 applicants in his
RAF selection. With so much competition for so few places, he is certain that his Uniformed
Services course helped him to get this far: “The course helped me to make an informed
decision about which service I wanted to join, and it definitely helped me achieve the level of
fitness I needed to get this far. I feel that learning the things I’ve learned on the course
helped me to really stand out from the crowd and shine throughout the selection process.”
Ashfield Students Building Success!
Ashfield Post 16 Level 2 Brickwork Diploma student Alex Scrivins stormed to victory this week
in the prestigious Guild of Bricklayers Competition 2014 – not only taking first place in the
Senior competition (when, officially, he was able to enter the Junior competition ), but also
winning the coveted Olney Cup. This trophy is awarded to the student who, in the opinion of
the judges, ‘tackles the model in the most workmanlike manner and produces the best…model
in the competition’ and is the ultimate accolade to go on his CV!
Alex is no newcomer to success – last year saw him leave the competition standing as he won
the new entrant regional heat of Skillbuild 2013, the UK’s biggest construction skills competition.
Pictured here with this week’s trophies,
Alex said of his victory: “A massive
thanks to everybody who has supported
me throughout the last few months,
especially Sir. I am so excited about the
National Final, where I will have the
chance to be amongst the elite
winners.”
Competing for the very first time was Ricky Ball
(pictured left), another student of Mr Hallam’s, shown
here with his work and also showing great promise for
future competitions.
Ricky said: “Mr Hallam has changed my life , I don’t
know where I would be if it wasn’t for Sir - certainly not
competing in competitions!”
Jay Hallam, tutor to both boys at Ashfield Post 16 Centre, could not be prouder of his students:
“They are both winners in my eyes; Alex has achieved so much in such a short space of time. It
takes a lot of courage to enter competitions and Ricky has made huge progress in his first year
as a trainee bricklayer. These boys are becoming extremely employable. Finally, huge thanks
must also go to the competition committee, Mr Thorpe and Mr Walden for entering the boys at
such late notice.”
Alex will now be going on to compete against other regions in the National Guild of Bricklayers
Final to be held in Brighton on 20th June.
For anyone due to leave school in the summer and interested in construction, please call
Ashfield Post 16 Centre for more information. Places are limited for September 2014.
Rotary Club Young Chef of the Year
The heat was on in the kitchen at Charnwood, Ashfield School, recently, as 4
students did culinary battle in the club heat of the Rotary Club Young Chef Competition.
All four Year 10 students are studying NVQ L2 Diploma in Hospitality Services with Charnwood.
They had devised their own menus, working to a budget and with healthy-eating guidelines, and
had a set time to prepare, cook and present their 3-course meals.
Menu 1, Jessica James
Menu 2, Strawberry Barlow
Carrot & Coriander Soup
Tomato & Basil Bruschettas
Chilli con Carne
Lamb Chops with Tomato & Mint Salad
Apple & Rhubarb Crumble
Biscuity Lime Pie
Menu 3, Nathan Kania
Menu 4, Tom Shaw
Salmon Fishcakes with Rocket Salad & Balsamic Glaze
Salsa Topped Bruschettas
One-pan Duck with Savoy Cabbage
Chocolate Brownies with Home-made Ice
Cream & Raspberry Coulis
Extra-lean Minced Beef Balls in Red
Wine Sauce with Linguini
Chocolate & Banana Bread Pudding
The judges had a tough job, and one of them, Conan Brooks, understood exactly how the
competitors were feeling as he was the school’s representative last year. He now has an
apprenticeship at Launey’s, a fine dining restaurant in Edwinstowe, and was happy to return
to school to share his expertise.
All students worked really hard and produced some delicious meals, but there
could only be one winner...Jessica James!
Jessica will now go through to the district
heat of the competition
to represent
Ashfield School.
Pictured right are: Nathan Kania, Tom Shaw, Jessica James, Strawberry Barlow and Rtn Roger
Pursey, President Elect.
Beauty Students’ Fundraiser
On Monday the 10th March the Level 3 Beauty students raised money for Marie Curie Cancer
Care. They sold cakes and had a tombola which raised £58.80. In addition, funds raised
from providing treatments for clients raised another £35.50.
The students also took the opportunity to hand out discount vouchers to clients for further
treatments to raise the profile of the department and highlight the range of services on offer.
Former Ashfield Students at 10 Downing Street
Two former Ashfield hospitality students, Conan Brooks and Charlie Walter, who trained with
Charnwood and are now successfully employed in the hospitality industry, are pictured here
with other apprentices outside 10 Downing Street recently.
Conan and Charlie were amongst a handful of hospitality apprentices who had the honour of
catering and serving at the Deputy Prime Minister’s opening speech in support of National
Apprenticeship Week (NAW).
The 120 guests who attended the event included learners and employers showcasing
their talents to educational policy makers. The event featured an impressive showcase
exhibition, produced to highlight the talents of young apprentices from across a number
of high profile companies chosen from across UK industry. Apprentices were also introduced to Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Minister for Skills and Enterprise Matthew Hancock.
This is the second year in a row that Charnwood Training Group has been invited to number
10 Downing Street , and it was a real honour for Conan and Charlie to participate.
World Book Day Week
In most schools, World Book Day is just that...one day. But here at Ashfield, we like to go
one better, so students were treated to a week of exciting visitors and events to inspire them
to read more, and even to start writing their own books!
The week kicked off with Paula Rawsthorne, Nottingham-based
author of teenage fiction including “The Truth about Celia Frost”,
speaking to Year 8 students about her work, how she started
writing, and some tips on how they could start writing their very
own book.
This was followed on Tuesday with a motivational talk and creative writing workshops from
Birmingham author and motivational speaker Errol Lawson.
He shared his own life story with Year 9 students, telling them how he
turned his back on a life of drugs and gang-related crime to become a
Youth Leader, Pastor, Motivational Speaker and published author. His
book, “From the Postcode to the Globe”, charts this dramatic change
and sends out a strong and positive message: anyone can turn their
life around and succeed if they stay positively focused and work hard
towards their goals. During Errol’s workshops, he enabled students to
start writing their very own books, and a number of them assured him
that they would carry on writing them.
Thursday saw the entire English
Department at Ashfield coming to
school dressed as characters from
famous books, creatively engaging
students in discussions about
which character they were and
from which book, inspiring students
to broaden their reading.
The day was rounded off with Canadian-born author of the
MetaWars series of books, Jeff Norton, sharing with Year 7
students the creative process he goes through to write his
stories, and the inside track on where he gets his inspiration
from. A long line of students then queued to buy his book
and get it signed by the author himself.
An inspiring week all round, with lots more students visiting
the school library to order copies of the visitors’ books!
The Robots are Coming!
Friday 29th February saw 8 of our brightest Year 9 girls attend an Engineering
workshop at the University of Nottingham. The event was sponsored by
Caterpillar© with the aim of getting more young people, specifically girls, into
engineering over the next few years.
The day started with a talk on what it was to be an engineer, the different jobs
within the engineering sector and the different pathways and courses available
at the University.
Then came the fun; each student was provided
with a robotic arm that needed to be built from
scratch and which consisted of motors, gears,
wires, circuit boards and parts, not to mention
what seemed like 100s of screws! The girls loved the activity, even more
so when they found out that they got to keep their robotic arm!
The day finished with a tour of the university’s research labs including standing in a classroom-sized
microwave! All students involved enjoyed the experience and the majority would now consider engineering as a career option, so a successful day all round!
Ashfield Post16 Students in Mock Trial Experience
A group of Post 16 students from Ashfield School recently represented school in the Bar
National Mock Trial Competition at Nottingham Crown Court.
Organised by the Citizenship Foundation, the competition provides students with a unique opportunity
to see, experience and participate in a Crown Court trial. The students themselves play the roles of
barristers, witnesses, jurors and court staff, and they are given two cases to prepare which they must
present during the course of the day, facing teams from other schools and colleges in the region. The
trials are judged by real practicing judges and barristers and the students are marked on their
performance in each of the roles. One of the students commented: “It was a good experience as we
got to see what each role was in a criminal trial. We participated in the trial, gaining experience of the
procedure. We also saw it from the jury’s point of view. The whole experience supported our studies of
Criminal Law.”
Despite a few last-minute hitches, including one student being unable to attend (meaning that Cody
Guy had to step up to the plate and take on the role of 2
witnesses!), each and every student did an incredible job
and produced some outstanding performances.
Teacher Amelia Fraser, who organised the trip, said: “The
Mock Trial is a fantastic opportunity for students to gain experience of how the Criminal Law works in
practice. The students undertake each role in the trial, and
through this they gain an understanding of the trial process,
as well as gaining an understanding of how the laws they
learn in A Level Law can be applied in ‘real life’.
Pictured here are participating students, Abigail Dunn, Jake Rogers,
Emma Morris, Sam Renshaw, Amy Shepherd, Georja Boag, Katie Hughes, Shannon Coxhead, Cody Guy and Megan Turner.
A Week in the Life of Performing Arts Students!
The Drama Department have hit the ground running this term with lots of exciting opportunities
for students; here’s a snapshot of what happened in just one week!
Monday: Celebration ‘after show party’ for the cast and crew involved in the fabulous
production of Grease that took place before Christmas. Students performed over 4 nights to
sell-out audiences and the whole school was buzzing with it!
The party was a chance for students to watch video footage of their performances, reminisce
about the whole experience, and take part in a short awards ceremony. Everyone agreed that
they were very proud to have been involved in the production!
Tuesday: A drama lecturer from Loughborough University visited to run a devising workshop
for one of the Year 11 classes. This was an amazing opportunity for students to work with an
external drama professional and very timely as they are currently putting together their final
devised performance for their practical exam!
Tuesday (evening): Year 13 Drama and Theatre
Studies students travelled to Sheffield to see a modernised production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream: a
brilliant performance which the students loved! This
should now have enabled them to write about the play
in their June exam with passion and flare. As ever, the
students represented the school (and themselves) impeccably!
Friday: We welcomed to school a theatre company from London, Splendid Productions,
who performed their version of the Greek tragedy Antigone for students from Year 9 through
to Year 13, all of whom really enjoyed the experience. Following the performance, the
performers led 3 workshops for students, providing them with the opportunity to try out a
range of dramatic techniques with professional actors. This kind of experience will really
help the students, from those completing their GCSE portfolios to those studying for A Levels.
Iceland Trip
The eagerly awaited trip to Iceland (Fri 14th Feb – Mon 17th Feb) for the years 11, 12 and
13, accompanied by Miss Greenland and Mr Foulk, was definitely a worthwhile experience.
In recent years Iceland has became a popular holiday destination due to its unique
landscape and tectonic activity, with one of its most recent volcanoes, Eyjafjallajokull,
erupting in 2010.
Our journey began flying from Heathrow to Keflavik airport. We were all astounded by the
temperature drop (with averages of -1°C) and the landscape, which was covered in rocks
and moss. We immediately went straight to the Blue Lagoon, a geothermal heated
swimming pool. The water is heated to 40°C and is rich with natural minerals which are
good for the skin. After a few hours spent there we headed to our hotel for the night
The next day we had a lot more planned which began with seeing a small “greenhouse”
town and some new hot springs that were created by an earthquake in 2008. Next we were
able to see two beautiful waterfalls, Seljalandfoss and Skogafoss, which are up to 60 metres high. Then it was on to the glacier walk, where we were given specialist equipment
and we were able to trek along the glacier. The glacier was full of cracks and openings, so
we had to be especially careful, thankfully no one fell in. Later that night at the hotel we all
witnessed the most spectacular natural events on the planet, the Northern lights. Streams
of green and red filled the sky; it is one of the most amazing sights you could ever see!
On the third night we left the hotel early in the morning to go visit a basaltic beach formed by
ancient lava flows. The cooled lava had formed hexagonal columns similar to those at the
Giants Causeway in Ireland. Soon after we headed to a volcanic crater lake to have lunch,
but it was so windy and cold that no one could finish. Next it was on to the Geysir’s, where
they erupt every 5-8 minutes up to heights of 30 metres and the water is a scolding 100°C.
Finally it was a quick visit to Thingveller national park where part of the mid Atlantic ridge is
located. Here the Eurasian and North American plates are pulling apart at 2cm a year. The
night was spent at a Viking themed hotel, decorated with Nordic furniture and props. For
dinner it was a traditional Viking meat soup, which was just what everyone needed.
Finally on the last day our time was spent visiting famous sights around Reykjavik. First we
visited the incredible Hallgrimskirkja church, where the design was based on the basaltic
columns we saw the day before. Then we went to the Perlan Museum where we had a
wonderful view of Reykjavik from the top. Then it was on to the main shopping area of the city,
so we could finally spend our Króna on souvenirs. After 2 hours of hitting the stores it was time
to return home, although we wished we could have stayed a little longer. We left from Keflavik
airport where some people were lucky enough to get a photo with Jonathon Ross! We arrived
back at Ashfield at around 10pm on Monday.
Overall the trip was an enjoyable, educational, fantastic experience and I’m sure next year’s trip
will be even better.
Written by:
Thomas Gray
(Year 13)
Raising the Grade in French and Spanish!
On 4th and 5th March, lucky students in Year 10 attended Raising the Grade conferences in
French and Spanish, accompanied by Ms Cairns, Miss Lee and Mr Thompson. They were
treated to 3 workshops, all geared towards helping with
their controlled assessment, a motivational workshop, a
tour of the campus and, most importantly, a really lovely
lunch and as many hot drinks and snacks as they could
manage!
The students enjoyed the day immensely and certainly
left feeling much more confident and with high
aspirations for future study at University. After all, it was
'a lot less scary' than they thought and it was 'much better than being at school'!
Well done to all participants; they entered into all activities wholeheartedly, were impeccably
behaved and were a credit to Ashfield.
Taster Day at Loughborough University
On 5th February, 24 Year 9 Art students went on a taster day at Loughborough
University.
The students were given the chance to experience three different workshops that showcased
some of the options for students wanting to study Art and Design at degree level. The three
workshops were:
Ceramics
Paper-making
Animation
Rain Forest Visitors
Inspired by the Rainforest Geography unit in Year 8, Ashfield recently played host to some very exotic visitors!
The visit enabled students to learn about how animals are
adapted to live in that region (the meerkat, although a desert resident, was a welcome addition to the menagerie in order to
demonstrate the differences in how animals adapt to live in different ecosystems). Students were enthralled by the varied creatures, the more intrepid amongst them eagerly volunteering to hold the corn snake, the boa
constrictor, the skunk, the millipedes, and everyone’s favourite… the meerkat. The tarantula
didn’t come out to play, however, as he was apparently not in a good mood!
Whilst the students very gently handled the creatures, Michaela from Tropical Inc provided
them with lots of really interesting information about the animals, the way they live and their
habitat. One student said of the experience: “It was fun to get up close to such amazing
animals that you may never get the chance to see again”. Another commented: “It was a
great way to learn about the animals, seeing them so close up and being able to hold
them”.
The day was such a success that some students even came away with a new goal of studying for a Zoology degree in order to work with amazing animals like the ones they met!
Michaela, from Tropical Inc, and the Ashfield staff members involved in the day commented
on the outstanding behaviour and fantastic knowledge of the students.
Anti-Bullying Day at Ashfield
Ashfield School invited The Sophie Lancaster Foundation in recently to present a powerful talk
to Year 9 students about bullying and hate crimes, and about the ramifications of standing by
and doing nothing.
The charity was founded by Sylvia Lancaster following a brutal attack that left her daughter,
Sophie, dead, and Sophie’s boyfriend, Rob, fighting for his life. Both Goths, Sophie and Rob
were attacked purely because of the way they looked: the way they were dressed. It is
therefore a focus of the foundation to create respect for, and understanding of, subcultures
within our communities – such as the Goth culture – and to Stamp Out Prejudice, Hatred and
Intolerance Everywhere: S.O.P.H.I.E.
Jenny Lee, Assistant Achievement Leader who helped organise the event, said: “We were
looking for a hard-hitting presentation to really make students consider how they treat others.
Sylvia Lancaster’s presentation did this perfectly.”
Mrs Lancaster spoke eloquently and movingly about exactly what happened to Sophie and Rob,
and the students, who were visibly moved by the story, listened silently.
One student said after the presentation: “I found it moving and touching because someone was
so strong to tell us her story about how her daughter was tragically killed. It’s given us another
insight into bullying, and taught us to have respect for whoever or whatever the person may be,
and to respect the fact that they dress and look how they do.”
Another student added: “The assembly touched everyone and I realised that everyone’s the
same, no matter how they look, and that everyone should be treated the same.”
If anyone would like more information about The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, please see the
website: www.sophielancasterfoundation.com.
Anti-bullying Ambassadors
In March, the Anti-bullying Ambassadors held a cake sale to
raise money for the Beat Bullying charity and to promote to Year
7 the work they are doing around school.
The students made some fantastic cakes, including the ones
here made by Amelia Warren with the Anti-bullying Ambassador
logo on, and managed to raise over £65!
Many Year 7s expressed an interest in becoming an
ambassador and their training will begin this term.
Strengthening Families Programme
In conjunction with Sure Start, we have been running a Strengthening Families Programme in
school on a Tuesday evening for 7 weeks.
Six families from Years 7-10 have engaged up to now, and have worked on topics such as
Setting and Supporting Goals, Making and Keeping House Rules, Appreciating Youth and
Parents, Dealing with Stress and Using Family Meetings.
The aim of the programme is to improve relationships within the home and to help to make family bonds stronger. During the sessions, we divide into 2 groups, one for Youth and one for
Parents, and each work on individual topics. At the end, the families all come back together to
work which creates lots of discussion and conversation.
All participants have engaged really well and contributed to the groups superbly.
Laura Allison, Family Support Worker
Ashfield School Counsellor
Ashfield School prides itself on the care it takes of its students, and the ethos it has to develop
them as whole people, educationally and emotionally. As part of this exceptional pastoral
care, it now boasts a full-time, on-site Counsellor.
Whilst many schools offer this service on a part-time basis, the school is proud to be able to
offer wider help and support to its students with dedicated full-time counsellor Linda Fern.
Not just a reactive service, it proactively tackles issues such as anger management and low
self-esteem, enabling students to manage their emotions and behaviour so that they are more
able to engage with lessons and other students.
Linda said about her role: “…It’s really forward thinking of the school to have a full-time
counsellor in place and shows how seriously they take the emotional wellbeing of their
students.”
Year 10 Peer Mentors
Ashfield School takes the safety and well-being of its students very seriously. With this in
mind, a team of Year 10 Mentors has been trained to offer support and a friendly ear to any
students (specifically Year 7 and 8 students) who may need help or guidance, or just
someone to talk to, but who prefer to speak with a peer rather than an adult. The programme
has been created by Andrew Roberts (Learning Mentor), Laura Allison (Family Support Worker) and Linda Fern (School Counsellor), and they have all played a part in training the
students.
All of the Mentors volunteered to take part in the
programme, and then had to go through an
interview process to be accepted onto the team.
Five weeks of in-depth training followed, led by
Linda, Andrew and Laura, covering all eventualities to ensure that students were ready to take
on this responsibility.
Amongst some of the invaluable skills that
students learned were: communication, listening,
maintaining eye contact, and confidentiality.
They have also learned when to refer students
with more serious problems to Linda or Laura.
The group were all very excited to have finished their training and are now more than ready to
start making a positive difference to their fellow students. Indeed, the motivation for the
Mentors to take on this role was to help others, and a number of them intend carrying this
through to their careers, with one focused on becoming a paediatrician and another a
psychologist.
At the end of their year as Mentors, these students will then help to train up new Mentors,
again adding to the skill-set they have acquired through the programme.
When asked what they had gained so far from the training, the 2 most common outcomes
were improved self-confidence and a more open mind. That’s a positive result before they
have even begun to help other students!
Laura Allison, Family Support Worker, said of the scheme: “Having such a positive group of
Peer Mentors will most definitely benefit the younger pupils of Ashfield School. We have been
really impressed by how positive and proactive the group have been. They have made lots of
suggestions for how the project can evolve to help even more students in the future and have
brought lots of ideas to the table. The Mentors will gain lots of experience in helping others,
problem-solving and communication skills, and this will help them in their futures, whatever
they choose to do next. Mentees will feel supported by their peers, having another avenue
within school to voice their concerns or worries which will help improve their self-esteem.”
For any students wishing to use the service, there is a post box in student services
where students can request to see a peer mentor. Appointments will then take place
during lunchtime in student services.
Maths Department Round-up
INTERMEDIATE MATHS CHALLENGE
In February, the following students took part in the UK Maths Challenge run by The University
of Leeds and achieved either a Bronze, Silver or Gold certificate. Nationally, Bronze winners are
in the top 40%, Silver winners are in the top 20% and Gold winners in the top 10%!
Special mentions go to
Michael Howlett, Emma Pratt, Sydney Alexander, Rebecca Quinton
who qualified for the follow on Kangaroo Maths Challenge and will now compete
against students across Europe.
These are fantastic results!
GOLD AWARD WINNERS
Y10
Lewis Dobson (BEST IN YEAR)
Chloe Overfield
Y11
Michael Howlett (BEST IN
SCHOOL)
Emma Pratt
Sydney Alexander
SILVER AWARD WINNERS
Y9
Rebecca Quinton (BEST IN
YEAR)
Andy Wang
Y10
Jake Easom
Cameron Chivers
Lewis Phillips
Natasha Johnson
Y11
Jacques Issartel
Sarah Baird
Danny Johnston
Emily Renshaw
Jessica Gill
Christopher Colley
Emily Hutchinson
BRONZE AWARD WINNERS
Y9
Ella Peacock
Y10
Owen Newton
Thomas Wheelwright
Michael Ginever
Joshua Matchett
Nathan Boswell
Hannah Hibbert
Jessica Johnson
Megan Walters
Eleanor Morley
Y11
Alexandra Spiby
Maths Department Round-up continued...
YEAR 10 TEAM MATHS CHALLENGE
On the 5th March, the Year 10 Team Maths Challenge was held at Loughborough University. Four of our
top Year 10 maths students – Lewis Dobson, Chloe Overfield, Louis Freeman and Cameron Chivers were selected and represented Ashfield against a host of grammar and private schools. In preparation
students had to take on the daunting task of learning how to calculate with
numbers to the base 6 – turning everything they knew about adding and
multiplying on its head! The day didn’t get off to a great start with the taxi
accidentally dropping us off at the chemistry block but the team pulled together to successfully orientate ourselves to the elusive Ann Packer building! The day consisted of 5 tough rounds and Ashfield got stuck in with
enthusiasm – keeping their marker on his toes!
Round 1 – Comparison – multiple choice questions designed to make you think about conversions and
real life maths – thankfully Cameron knew the difference between Rugby Union and Rugby League!
Round 2 – Name that Rule – identifying the rule for a sequence before the timer ended, most were flummoxed by the sneaky exponential one at the end!
Round 3 – Problem Solving – a collection of cross numbers and investigations with only 25 mins to
complete, thankfully we had Lewis’s problem solving skills on our side!
Round 4 – Studied Round – a Blockbuster-style game calculating with numbers to the base 6 – a challenging round involving solving equations to the base 6.
Round 5 – Relay – trusting your team mates to pass on the correct answers for the following questions.
In the end we ranked in the top 7 teams out of a total of 14 – getting more than double the points of
some of our rivals! I’d like to congratulate the team for their efforts and I know there’ll be more to come
from them in the future – bring on the Senior Team Challenge!
Miss Williams
SENIOR TEAM MATHS CHALLENGE
Four elite(!!) mathematicians from P16 (2 year 12s and 2 year 13s) visited Derby University to attend
the Senior Maths Challenge Group competition on Wednesday 6th November. Team Ashfield were one
of fifteen teams competing for the chance to head to London for the national competition.
The competition consisted of 3 rounds:
Round 1 – 10 questions which used mathematical skills and methods to solve problems
Round 2 – Cross number round (like a crossword but where that answers are numerical) - the team was
split into 2 pairs with one pair needing to answer the across clues and one pair the down clues. The
pairs were not allowed to talk directly to the other pair – they had to use an intermediary to find answers
where clues required them to use the other pairs answers.
Round 3 – Question Relay where the answer from one questions was related to the following question.
The day was challenging but definitely fun. It was great to experience competition in maths. Team Ashfield came 8th …which is better than the team expected!
Special thanks to Mrs Ball for taking the team!
Heather Colley and Alex Walker
Maths Department Round-up continued...
MATHS INSPIRATION – THE CRUCIBLE
On 13th March a group of Year 12/13 maths students visited the renowned Crucible Theatre in
Sheffield for a series of maths talks delivered by some of the UK’s most inspiring maths speakers.
The event was hosted by stand up mathematician Matt Parker, who had us hooked from the
start by completing a Rubik’s cube in under 3 minutes! Architectural
Analyst Paul Shepherd delivered his talk ‘Raising the Roof at Rio’ – explaining the maths behind the Millennium Dome and how to build an
Olympic Stadium that won’t fall down or flood. He left us with the
thought that in the future construction cranes could be replaced by robotic helicopters, scary!
He was followed by Rob Eastaway talking about the Maths of TV
Gameshows. After a game of ‘Nasty or Nice’ we realised that Nice
guys DON’T finish last; you should always bank after every correct
question in the Weakest Link to ensure maximum profit; and A Level statistics can help you
beat the banker at Deal or No Deal!
The final act was Colin Wright, software specialist and juggler! He showed us his mathematical
formula for creating the perfect juggling routine and wowed us with his 5-5-2 technique!
A big thank you to Mrs Hill for
organising the trip and providing a picnic for us on the bus
– a great day was had by all!
Miss Williams
YOUNG BRIDGE CHALLENGE
On Saturday 15th March, two of our top Year 9 mathematicians attended Loughborough Grammar School for the Young Bridge Challenge. They took part in the Mini Bridge Pairs competition
run by the English Bridge Union. After an exhausting 5 hours,
having played 18 games, the girls finished the day with a few
more tricks up their sleeve for next time.
Thank you to Mr Raine for preparing them for the big day!
Leos News
As ever, Christmas was a very
busy time for the Leos!
They held a very successful cake
sale (and home-made cakes, at
that!) in Post 16 in aid of the John
Eastwood Hospice.
Then the week before Christmas they joined the Mansfield
Lions to sing Christmas songs
and entertain children on the
children’s ward at Kings Mill
Hospital.
Joined by Santa, courtesy of
the Lions, the group sang
beautifully, and brought big
smiles to the children’s faces!
They also ran a stall at the Kirkby Christmas Market at the Festival Hall and raised over £200!
They have badged up 6 new members from Year 7 - parents came and several of the Mansfield
Lions and their partners. The Year 7s have been busy selling sweets and raised over £60 for
Make a Wish and are busy planning their next events – food parcels and a sponsored sleep out
for the local homeless!
Also, as a club they have been nominated for the Ashfield Civic award for their work. Susan
Hibbert, Mansfield Lions President Nigel Canham and the current and former Leos’ presidents
Rebecca and Lauren will all be going to the awards dinner at Portland School on 28 th March –
posh frock an’ all!
Ashfield’s Sarah is a True Inspiration
Sarah Miles is a real inspiration to all those who meet her, and in recognition of the
tireless charity work that she does, she has recently been announced as the overall county
winner of the 4uth Award at a prestigious event held at County Hall in Nottingham.
We think that Sarah is a very deserving winner—whilst studying for her GCSEs, she also
takes part in a youth club where she can often be found listening to other girls’ problems and
supporting them, attends St John’s ambulance events, leads fundraising charity events, and
also holds down a Saturday job.
As if all that weren’t enough, she can often be found helping others, such as the elderly
neighbour whose drive she cleared during last winter’s terrible snow!
With this kind of determination and positivity, we’re certain that a very successful future lies
ahead of Sarah.
Ashfield School Shines at Active Ashfield Awards
Ashfield School students were regulars on the stage on Friday night at the Active Ashfield
Awards, with many of them coming away winners.
Their Year 10 Netball Team won the Secondary School Team Award, and The Junior
Team Award went to their volleyball team, Ashfield Vipers. Olympic medallist Oliver Hynd,
also a student at the school, won the Disabled Sportsperson Award, and a total of 23 out
of the 35 nominations for the Junior Sportsperson Award were Ashfield students (one of
whom, Jack Sawyer, received his Gold Card Award)!
In addition, the school had the following nominations:
Junior Disabled Sportsperson Award: Kieran Vardy
Coach Awards: Ian Clews
Volunteer Award: Sarah Hardy
Secondary School Team Award winners,
Yr 10 Netball Team with Coach Lynda Lyons
A successful evening for the
school was nicely rounded off
with them
receiving a special
award for being only the 2nd
school in the county to receive
Sports Leadership Academy status. Pictured here are the
school’s Head Teacher, Mr
Richard Vasey, and the Teacher
in Charge of Leadership, Catherine Hargreaves, collecting their
award.
Junior Team Award winners, Ashfield
Vipers U15 Girls Volleyball Team with
Coach, Ian Clews
Success All the Way for Ashfield Volleyball
Ashfield School’s Under 16 girls’ volleyball team, pictured below, has qualified for the last
8s of the National Championships. The girls have played 7 matches to get to this stage…
and they haven’t dropped a set yet, with some teams even struggling to get into double figures against them! They are now firmly focused on the last 8s which will include a group
stage and the semi-finals to decide who will go through to the National Final. The squad
consisted of:
Alice Kenworthy, Paige Nussey, Shelby Hague, Jess Edwards, Chloe Lounds, Emily
Lounds, Megan Worley (all Year 11), Paisley Ward (Year 9), and Emily Smith (Year 8).
As if that weren’t success enough,
the squad were entered into the
National Volleyball League this
year, playing in
Division 3...and won their first
match 3-0! They are already the
youngest squad in the NVL, but
the average was lowered further
by the inclusion of Emily Smith, at
just 12 years of age. Team coach
Ian Clews said: “This would be
satisfying for anyone making their
National League
debut, but for a 12 year old to do it
is, quite frankly, ridiculous! It
speaks volumes for her character
and the ability she has. To put it in
context, NVL Division 3 is the same level that I play at....”
In November, Alice represented England U17 Girls at the Northern European Volleyball Zonal Association (NEVZA) Championship, competing against Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Faroe Islands.
Josh is Taekwondo Champ!
In January, Ashfield student
Josh Walker, pictured below,
became double gold Midland
Open Taekwondo Champion in
sparring and high kick, and also
got a bronze in patterns.
Kade is Kicking His Way to Success!
Kade Hardy (10BY2) is currently the
reigning midland champion kick boxer.
He fought in Birmingham last year and
won the midland title with a 3rd round
stoppage of his opponent.
Kade also successfully defended his
title with a fight in Accrington which
went all the way to the 5th round where
Kade won on points. He is due to fight
in March this year for the British title
which will take place in Alfreton. Last
year, Kade was invited to Italy to fight
for the world kickboxing title. However,
due to his busy schedule, he was unable to attend.
Due to Kade’s extraordinary ability in Kick Boxing it is a very strong possibility that he will be
representing Team GB in the next 2016 Olympics due to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
We are extremely proud of Kade and his achievements so far, we are confident he will go on
to do great things and hopefully one day become a kick boxing world champion.
Well Done Kade!!!!
Year 7 Football team on their way to Mansfield Town FC!
Congratulations to the boys in the Year 7 football team for their recent 7—1 victory over
Tuxford School, which has taken them through to the Mansfield Town Cup Final at the One
Call Stadium (date and time to be confirmed). The 7 amazing goals were scored by:
Jack Bradley—2
George Clarke—2
Nathan Clarke—1
Bradley Prosser—1
Evan Wood—1
Keep an eye on the school website
for more details as they are announced and come along to support
the team.
Ashfield Football Tour 2014
The long and winding road to
Barcelona is almost complete for
the 44 excited members of the
school football team. The
school’s 4th football tour is due to
depart for warmer climates on
the first Saturday of the May half
term break. A fantastic effort has
been made towards the fundraising process with bag
packs, triathlons and raffles completed. Huge thanks are
also due to Waring Engineering who have generously
sponsored the playing kits that will be worn with pride during the 3 games whilst abroad. Further thanks to those
who have donated raffle prizes including the fantastic football tour cake from Katie Plant’s Scrumptious Cakes. The
effort made by all of the boys so far will no doubt be worth
it with a trip to Barcelona, its Nou Camp football stadium
and local water park on the list of events whilst away. We
look forward reporting on another successful trip with
hopefully numerous wins against strong Spanish opposition!
Year 10 Boys’ Handball Team Success
The boys’ Year 10 Handball team played in the Nottinghamshire Championships on Friday 14 th
March. It was their first ever competitive games and they showed real character during the
competition against a very tough group.
In the first game, the boys scored 2 goals to take the lead courtesy of Johan Lai and Thomas
Hunt. However, the 2 County Players of Rushcliffe started to take control of the game with
them winning 3-2 in the end.
Against Carlton Academy they dominated throughout and were winning 2-0 before Will
Bradshaw scored to pull us back into the game. Carlton then scored 2 goals that should have
been disallowed leaving the boys extremely disappointed as it effectively ended the game as a
contest. They were the better team and did deserve their win. The 4-1 score line flattered
Carlton but with 3 players in the County team, and one being the Notts Star player, we did very
well to compete.
In the final game, everything started to click and with the boys determined not to go home losing
all 3 games they upped their ante. The team controlled possession and worked their shooting
chances and ran away with the game beating Bulwell 4-0 with goals from Thomas Hunt 2, Will
Bradshaw and Johan Lai. Any shots from Bulwell found George Moore in great form with him
saving 5 rockets that were flying in. It was a great squad performance and shows real promise
for future fixtures!
The squad was: George Moore, Josh Newby, Connor Bower, Will Bradshaw, Thomas Grace,
Dominic Taylor, Robert Orrell, James Carr, Mark Miles, William Waterfield, Thomas Hunt,
Johan Lai.
Ruslan is crowned Latvian National Champion!
Ashfield’s very own star swimmer, Ruslan Golubs, has been crowned overall National Champion at the Latvian Winter National Short Course Championships.
Ruslan swam a fabulous Personal Best time of 8 minutes
42.85 seconds in the 800m Freestyle event. He also
went on to take a silver medal in the 400m Individual
Medley event with another Personal Best time of 4
minutes 43.92 seconds.
To fully complete his stash of medals, Ruslan won a
bronze medal in the 200m Butterfly event in a time of 2
minutes 14.91 seconds.
Well done, Ruslan, we’re proud of you!
U13 County Netball Tournament
The Year 8 Netball team recently reached the final of the U13 County Netball Tournament, held
at Emmanuel School in Nottingham, only to be beaten into second place (making them County
Championship runners-up!) by the Nottingham Girls High School. Our players were absolute
stars, playing their socks off and doing so well to qualify for the semi finals in such a tough
group. They had already beaten Bramcote Park in the Semis to face the High School in the
final!
On the night, the High School were indeed the better team, but the girls really did keep working
hard to try and win. The score in the final game was 12-4. To say all the other teams the High
school had played lost 19-0 or 17-0 we did ourselves proud and I dually informed them that they
are the number 1 non fee-paying school in the county!
They also won the West Notts PE Association District tournament to go with their Notts Central
Venue League Championship!
Netball has not come naturally to some of the squad and they have worked so hard in practice
every Wednesday to improve as players and as a team, which makes me even more proud of
them and their achievements over the 2013-2014 season!
Congratulations to them all!
Miss Hargreaves
The team were: Chloe Martin, Emily Moore, Sophie Overfield, Lauren Dobbs, Ella Booth, Abbie
Shirley, Chelbi Gladsby, Lauren Bustard, Lauren Baugh, Grace Stenson
Sports Round-up
Year 7 girls Futsal finished in third place in the Ashfield
District competition. After the top three teams finished on the
same points it came down to goals against leaving them in
third position.
KS4 girls Basketball finished in second place. After beating two
teams from Quarrydale and losing narrowly to Hucknall
National school.
KS3 Girls Tag Rugby finished in second place. After beating
a Team from Samworth Academy and Joseph Whitaker.
Girls Contact Rugby came in first in an Ashfield and Mansfield district tournament and then
went on to finish in second place losing by one try to Samworth Academy but still go on to
represent the area at the regional finals at Market Harborough on the 25 th March.
KS3 Girls Basketball. Finished in first place in the Ashfield District tournament putting them
through to the County Finals.
U13 Girls Indoor Cricket. Made it through to the Lady Taverner’s Final held at Trent Bridge they
finished third in the county.
Year 8 Girls Sports Hall Athletics finished in Second place in the
Ashfield District Competition.
Year 7 Girls Sports Hall Athletics finished in third place in the
Ashfield District Competition.
Byron House
Byron have maintained their strong start to the House Championship this year with wins
in the House Rowing and Winter Games and good performances in the Chess and Spelling
Bee. A further improvement in attendance and A point totals as well as a strong performance in
the upcoming swimming galas will hopefully lead to us overtaking Trent into 1 st place. Come on
guys, I know we can do it!!
Well done to the students listed below who took part in the House Spelling Bee. A particular
well done to the Year 8 team who came joint first!
7BY1
7BY2
Sam Hay
Bradley Prosser
Shannon Barrett
Lacey Jones
Dane Dluzewski
Nathan Clake
8BY1
Luke Champan
8BY2
Tom Richardson
Brandon Cantrill
Callum Thorpe
Alex Spiers
Kian Wright
9BY1
9BY2
Macauley Gill
Lucy Beamish
9BY3
Reece Lafferty
Brandon Hallsworth
Lucy Wakefield
Harry Flinton
10BY1
10BY2
10BY3
Cory Senyimba
Tyler Senyimba
Rebecca Fletcher
Rebekah Spence
Ben Hadfield
Chloe Herring
A final well done to the Byron participants in Year 10 and Year 7 Winter Games. Overall, Byron
finished 1st in both events! The Year 10 boys’ basketball, boys’ football and girls’ football teams
won their events with the Year 7s winning the boys’ football and rugby. A second in the girls’
netball and third in the girls’ swimming enabled the Year 7s to win their first winter games!
Well done and keep up the good work guys!!
Mr. Wall
Byron House Co-ordinator
Chesterfield House
We have had another exciting term including several more inter-house events
including both the Year 7 and Year 10 Winter Games and the Talent Show. Chesterfield was
again well represented in all events and I would like to mention some fantastic performances by
individuals and teams.
In the Year 10 Winter Games both the boys’ rugby team (Reece Wright, Wesley Smith, Jack
Gray, Matthew Moore, Mark Miles, Ben Scothern, Joe Brown and Ben Lee) and the mixed
boccia team (Beth Green, Charlotte Howes, Elise Smith and Belinda Tait) finished top,
triumphing in some close matches.
In the Year 7 Winter Games the Chesterfield girls’ water polo team came in first after battling it
out in the pool. Well done to all involved; Olivia Nosely, Laci Fletcher, Demi Mitchell, Allix
Hughes, Reagan Hurt, Molly Cooper, Holly Butler, Emily Philbin, Kim Barraclough, Madison
Nevin and Kadie Hallam.
A special well done to Millie Hardy, Kiri Barsby and Demi Mitchell for making it through to the
final of the talent show.
In the next few weeks we have both the Year 7 and Year 8/9 Swimming Galas and as last year’s
champions for the latter competition, I am hoping for some more great performances.
Chesterfield are currently trailing in the overall standings (hard to believe, I know!) so we need
to do everything we can to turn that around in the coming months. Come on Chesterfield!!!
Suzanne Guest
(Chesterfield House Co-ordinator)
Thoroton House
It has been a busy term with House
Championship events and, once again,
Thoroton have excelled themselves in
everything they have done. Thanks to
outstanding performances from the
participants in the Spelling Bee, Thoroton
came first and, once again, Francesca
Harpham and Sid Chaturbedi were
instrumental in us gaining first place.
Year 7 had their first Winter Games in
March and they really did themselves
proud; the boys’ football team didn’t lose a game and narrowly missed out on place through
goal difference in the end. I’m looking forward to seeing many more closely fought Winter
Games competitions from this year group!
Thoroton were once again successful in the Talent Show with 7TH1 entering their whole tutor
group. The overall winner on the night was Millie Short with an excellent vocal and guitar
performance.
As we enter the last term, I hope Thoroton keep up the good work and keep earning those A
points as that can make a real difference in earning vital points.
Miss Lee
Thoroton House Co-ordinator
Hargreaves House
What a great term we have had, Hargreaves! We have had lots of excitement with the Winter
Games, Talent Show and the upcoming Swimming Galas. We are creeping our way up
the leader board and I know that the House Trophy will be ours in the Summer.
We have done very well in the Winter Games, with full teams in most events. Our football teams
in particular really did us proud! Even though the weather was very chilly and it started to rain,
all the students remained cheery and showed great Team spirit which, in my eyes, makes us
winners!
We had 33 people from Hargreaves audition for the Talent Show, which is fantastic! Every
person who auditioned gained a house point towards the House Trophy. The finalists for the
Talent Show from Hargreaves were:
Layla Allsop 7HA1 who with Kira performed a beautiful Acro Dance to "You Raise Me Up".
Will Trigger 9HA1 - Who dazzled us all with his amazing Street Dance to "You Make Me”.
Paige Nussey 11HA2 who sung as part of a trio to Adele. She also supported a younger
student who forgot her words by joining in on her song which was incredibly thoughtful and kind.
Olivia Issartel, Lucy Hart & Georgia Nussey 7HA2 - who could ever forget the
hilarious Minions singing "HAPPY“ and bringing a smile to everyone's faces?
There are a lot of very talented students in Hargreaves and I would like to thank everyone for
their hard work and commitment this last term.
Mrs Hinett-Barker
Hargreaves House Co-ordinator
Trent House
This year’s House Championships are promising to be very successful due to the very strong
start by all years in the events so far. Trent are currently overall winners after combining the
scores for each individual year and event; this is something which I hope will spur the students
on and keep them motivated to stay in top spot.
The events which have taken part so far this year are rowing, spelling bee, chess and winter
games for all year groups. Trent did particularly well in this year’s spelling bee with the Year 10
participants finishing in 1st place. I have been extremely impressed with the level of participation
in this year’s Winter Games with nearly full teams for every sport. The dedication and house
pride was typified by the Year 7 winter games with every student in Trent participating in a sport
which has never happened in my time at Ashfield School.
Another pleasing aspect this year is the very high attendance and A points; every time a Trent
student walks through the gates of school they gain a point towards the house championships,
so with each year group’s attendance being so high, it will certainly contribute a lot to the overall
total.
Forthcoming events this term include the Year 7,8 & 9 Swimming Gala and this year’s Talent
Show, which will also be used to raise money for Sport Relief 2014. I am hoping that the
participation levels and enthusiasm continues for the rest of this year and there is the potential
for this to be one of the most successful years Trent have seen in a long time.
Mr L Greasley
Trent House Co-Ordinator
Coates House
I think the tide is changing and the students are now following the lead of our
successful staff team. This time I am able to talk about not coming last in Winter
Games, as both Years 10 and 7 have done incredibly well by coming 2nd in their
Winter Games, losing - in both cases - to Byron. The Year 10’s shone in all
areas, but the netball team and boccia team won their events with boys’
basketball coming 2nd, rugby, girls’ football and basketball coming 3rd.
Unfortunately, I was unable to go out to cheer them on but Mr. Stringer did an
amazing job. The Year 7s were also fantastic, with our teams winning in boccia
and boys’ basketball and our girls’ teams coming no lower than 3rd in all events.
A huge thank you to Mrs. Carver who was out on my behalf, and also to the
other Coates tutors who were also out cheering our teams along.
The Year 7s are showing that they are a force to be
reckoned with. Not only were they successful in Winter
Games, they came joint 1st in the Spelling Bee and I had
over 20 students audition for the Talent Show with Alice
Winsor, Charlotte Brett, Lois Lafon-Anthony and Ben
Morgan all making it through to the show on 14th March.
In the Spelling Bee, Brandon Gregory came 2nd in the
whole of Year 7 with Lois Lafon Anthony being the only
Year 7 left standing in the Year 7/8 competition. We had
another success in the Spelling Bee with Chloe Saxton coming 3rd in the Year 10 competition.
The staff competition is also going very well. For the Spelling Bee, we had 18 members of staff taking
part….compared to about 5 in all of the other Houses. I am proud that so many of the Coates staff gave
up their lunchtime to take part. 6 of them made it through to the final 12 and Mr Atkins and Mrs
Braithwaite were declared joint winners. Due to their performance and the number of staff we had, we
scored 61 points, again coming 1st.
Looking forward to the rest of this term we have Swimming Galas for Years 7, 8 and 9, and also the
Talent Show. However, we do not need to lose sight of the fact that A points and attendance contribute
to the overall score, so all students can continue to make a difference by being here and being amazing.
I am very proud of all the success the Coates
students and staff have achieved and I look
forward to cheering them on.
Go, Coates, Go!
Mrs. F Ball
House Co-ordinator
House Results
Year 10 Winter Games
Position
House
Girls
BB
Girls
Netball
1st
Byron
2
2
6
6
5
6
4
31
2nd
Coates
4
6
4
5
4
1
6
30
3rd
Thoroton
4
5
5
4
0
4
4
26
4th
Chesterfield
5
0
3
3
6
2
6
25
5th
Trent
6
4
1
2
3
3
2
21
6th
Hargreaves
1
3
2
1
0
5
1
13
Girls
FB
Boys
BB
Boys
Rugby
Boys
FB
Boccia
Total
6 points for 1st, 5 = 2nd, 4 = 3rd, 3 = 4th, 2 = 5th, 1 = 6th
Attendance
A
points
Rowing
Winter
Games
Chess
Spelling
Bee
Talent
Show
Total
2
4
6
6
1
2
1
22
3
2
4
1
3
1
3
17
6
6
2
2
2
3
4
25
1
1
5
5
4
4
6
26
4
3
1
2
5
6
5
26
5
5
2
4
6
5
2
30
Byron
Chesterfield
Coates
Hargreaves
Thoroton
Trent
House Results
Spelling Bee
Year 7 Results
Coates
1st
Thoroton
1st
Hargreaves
3rd
Byron
4th
Trent
5th
Chesterfield
6th
Overall Results
Thoroton
1st
Trent
1st
Hargreaves
3rd
Coates
4th
Byron
5th
Chesterfield
6th
Year 8 Results
Trent
1st
Byron
1st
Hargreaves
3rd
Thoroton
4th
Chesterfield
5th
Coates
6th
Staff Results
Coates
1st
Chesterfield
1st
Thoroton
3rd
Byron
4th
Trent
5th
Hargreaves
6th
Year 9 Results
Thoroton
1st
Hargreaves
2nd
Trent
4th
Chesterfield
4th
Byron
5th
Coates
6th
Year 10 Results
Trent
1st
Thoroton
2nd
Coates
3rd
Chesterfield
3rd
Hargreaves
5th
Byron
6th
Parent Governor Vacancies
There are 2 Parent Governor vacancies on the Governing Body and elections will be held at
the start of the new Summer Term. If you are interested, then please contact Mr G Wilson,
Chair of Governors, or Irene Watson, Clerk to the Governors, on 01623 455000.
Characteristics and Role of School Governors
Governors are people who wish to make a positive contribution to the school and the
education of its children. They will contribute to the effective day-to-day running of the school
and have an effective input toward the educational achievements of its pupils.
A governing body’s overriding responsibility is to work in partnership with the head teacher to
promote continuous improvement in the performance of the school. This involves the
establishment of a development plan, the setting of challenging but achievable targets, and
the interpretation of information to assess progress and determine appropriate action.
Typically, a governor’s duties will average around 6 hours of spare time each month. Aligned
to its improvement role, the governing body is there to be a ‘critical friend’ who can provide
the right balance between supporting and challenging the performance of both the head
teacher and the school.
Skills and attributes

An external, work-based perspective.

A willingness to challenge assumptions.

A willingness to promote innovation.

A willingness to listen.

A desire to represent and help their community.

An ability to work in a team.
Becoming a Parent Governor
Being a Parent Governor can be stimulating, enjoyable and rewarding. If you have the
enthusiasm and desire to become closely involved in the running of the school, then please
consider putting yourself forward for one of the current vacancies. Parent Governors are an
important component in achieving an effective and well-balanced governing body.
Capital Build Works
I am delighted to inform parents that the major capital build works that we have planned for
this year are going ahead according to schedule. The £1.3million extension to ICT and PE is
on line to be completed for September 2014. This will comprise 6 ICT suites, 3 PE teaching
classrooms and associated offices, work rooms and storage areas. The on-going
commitment to refurbishing classrooms in the main block continues with 2 more English
rooms been completely refurbished at February half term, a further two at Easter and then
the remaining 6 classrooms during the summer holidays. Finally, starting in May we will
begin a programme to completely refurbish the existing Languages block and make all the
teaching spaces in there suitable for large groups of students. This block will then convert to
the Maths teaching block from September and Languages will be relocated to where Maths
is in the main block.
All these developments are part of our quest to improve the quality of teaching and learning
in the school for the benefit of all our students. Not only will the learning environment be
much improved but in the main, most teachers will have their own classrooms, so this should
help support the delivery of higher quality teaching and learning.
Richard Vasey, Head Teacher
Year 11 Interviews
Along with Year 11 staff, I interviewed all Year 11 students before half term. It was a real
pleasure to meet the Year 11 students and discuss where they are at in terms of their studies
in Year 11. The students presented themselves in a very favourable manner – they were
polite, mature and very courteous. Many students have a good idea of what they want to do
at the end of Year 11 and all groups of students praised staff for the amount of support they
are giving the students in the lead up to GCSE examinations. Revision session are taking
place every night after school and most lunchtimes, there will be sessions during the Easter
holidays and I am sure that working together with parents we can ensure that the current
Year 11 students will all fulfil their potential and achieve a fantastic set of examination results.
Richard Vasey, Headteacher
INSET Day
The final INSET day of this academic year will take place on Friday 20 June 2014.