St cuthberts newsletter-4.cdr - St Cuthbert`s Catholic High School

S T. C U T H B E RT ' S
C AT H O L I C H I G H S C H O O L
Educating Boys Since 1881
NEWSLETTER ISSUE 4 - WINTER 2011/2012
Celebrating Success Celebrity Style
Students, parents and staff were given a pleasant surprise at the annual prize-giving,
when Ant and Dec were on stage to deliver a motivational address and distribute prizes.
Declan, who shot to fame in Byker Grove
and as part of the duo PJ and Duncan, is
an old boy of the school. He was delighted
to be asked to speak, alongside Ant, to a
packed hall of prize-winners and their
families.
One key theme of their address was to take
opportunities when they arise. Ant
commented that he nearly didn't make it
to his audition for Byker Grove, fearing a
negative reaction from his school mates.
Luckily, his mum knew better,
encouraging him to attend the audition
that would shape the rest of his life.
Zach Haddon, 15, a prize-winner for his
sporting excellence, said, 'I will certainly
listen to Dec's advice and grasp every
opportunity in life'.
The famous duo stayed behind after the
awards ceremony to the delight of students
and their parents, posing for photos and
signing autographs.
Well done to all of this year's prize winners
for all of their hard work.
ISSUE 4 - WINTER 2011/2012
Rededication of the School
STUDENTS REWARDED FOR
TAKING 'HARD' A LEVELS
As part of our 130th anniversary the school
was rededicated at a service led by the Rt
Rev Seamus Cunningham, Bishop of
Hexham and Newcastle.
The country's top universities have published a list of 'hard'
A levels that they see as being helpful for students wanting to
progress to the most competitive courses.
At a stirring ceremony, attended by all 1,200+ members
of the school community, students and staff were
reminded of the long and illustrious history enjoyed by
the school.
Looking forward, the celebration saw the formal
opening of the new parts of the school, with the Bishop
presiding over the ceremony. Students are now enjoying
the benefits of state-of the-art facilities across the whole
school.
Brand new facilities include:
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A dedicated Year 7&8 block
A new teaching block for English, Languages and
Business
New playground spaces
A new full size sports hall
A new gym and suite of Sports teaching rooms
New Science, ICT and Design Technology rooms,
including a Food Technology room
An expanded library
The 130th anniversary has provided a welcome
opportunity to reflect on all that has been achieved. It
has been an exciting year too as our new buildings have
created a superb unified site, built for a very promising
future.
Sixth Formers at St Cuthbert's, who achieved a record 100%
pass rate in 2010 and 2011 at A level, did so in these 'hard' A
levels.
Data recently released shows that 15% of state school
students took 3 of these 'hard' A levels last year, with 32% of
independent school students and only 7% of college
students tackling the harder subjects. 36% of our students
took 3 or more 'hard' A levels last year.
Taking courses in these demanding subjects allowed
students to progress onto a range of highly demanding
courses at the country's most competitive universities.
17% of our students studied a language (compared to 7% in
state schools nationally and 5% at colleges); 21% of our
students took Physics A level (compared to 9% at state
schools and 6% at colleges), and 10% took Further Maths
(compared to 3% at state schools and 2% at colleges).
Reward
Students are rewarded for their success in these demanding
subjects by winning places at the country's top universities.
According to a recent report St Cuthbert's is in the top 100
schools in the country for placing students at top
universities. Our students' success means that we are the
only school in Newcastle to feature in the Sutton Trust
report, both for placing students at competitive universities
and at Oxford and Cambridge.
Further information is available at:
http://www.suttontrust.com/public/documents/suttontrust-he-destination-report-final.pdf
THE BIG SING
Six hundred pupils from Catholic Primary schools across the city enjoyed
singing their hearts out at the Big Sing, hosted by St Cuthbert's.
Using the school's brand new full size sports hall, the children performed
brilliantly. Well done to all concerned including to the staff for all the hard
work behind-the-scenes.
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ISSUE 4 - WINTER 2011/2012
Summer Fun
Primary pupils kicked off
their summer holidays with a
fun-filled week at this year's
summer school on the theme
of 'Let's Get Creative'.
The pupils enjoyed a packed week of
creative activity that included a trip
to a Wallace and Gromit exhibition
at the Centre for Life and the chance
to use state-of-the-art computer
facilities to design their own poster
campaign. They also were treated to
a Dragon's Den-style enterprise
activity and the chance to create and
play music for djembe drums.
Many thanks to Mr Thompson and
his team for organising the week.
Outstanding Results
Congratulations to students, parents, staff and governors for another
outstanding set of public exam results in 2011.
At A level our students achieved a 100% pass rate across a range of
demanding, highly-valued subjects. A big well-done not only to those who
scored top grades across all subjects but also to those who worked hard to
achieve their best. The efforts of these hard working Year 13 students is
reflected in the school's value added score, which is again OUTSTANDING
for A levels.
Year 11 students did equally well, with achieving 64% achieving five good
GCSE including C grades in both English and Maths. As with our A level
grades, results were strong across the board including in our specialist
subject areas, the sciences and languages.
Achieving strong grades in demanding subjects creates a very strong
platform for students from which they can make progress in their chosen
career path.
Good luck to the class of 2012.
BACK TO SCHOOL
CARNIVOROUS PLANTS
It's back to school for some parents as the
latest in our series of nationallyrecognised parents' classes took place
early in the term.
This year's Biology field trip to North Northumberland allowed students
to study a very rare Site of Special Scientific Interest in order to observe
and analyse a highly unusual plant: one that is carnivorous.
Personal trainer James Milburn led a
session on nutrition and fitness in which
key aspects of leading a healthy lifestyle
were addressed.
Parents' classes and events run
throughout the year in Science and
Languages (our joint specialisms).
The Year 12 students enjoyed learning about the round-leaved sundew,
which attracts insects with its
bright red flower and then traps
them and eats them.
This
carnivorous behaviour is thought
to be an evolutionary response to a
nutrition-deprived environment.
The students studied a range of
different environments including
seashore ecology, sand-dunes and
forestry.
HOT WATER
Geologists from years 11, 12 and 13 were treated to a lecture and workshop
delivered by top academic Professor Paul Younger.
Professor Younger, who works at Newcastle University, has led a project to
find hot water deep underground. A borehole 2000m deep has uncovered
hot water which, it is hoped, can be used to heat part of Newcastle University
as well as other buildings in the City Centre.
The borehole is situated on the original site of St Cuthbert's and is now the
subject of an excellent St Cuthbert's Films drama.
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ISSUE 4 - WINTER 2011/2012
Engineering in Education
As part of our continued success with the Engineering in
Education Scheme and our industrial partner, Siemens,
a team of Sixth Form scientists is working hard on trying
to power an engine using wind and water.
The students, who will work with industrial mentors from
Siemens, have set themselves the challenge of turning
wind energy into electrical energy. They will attempt to
separate the hydrogen and oxygen in water in order to use
the former to power an engine.
This work is inspired by this year being the Royal Society
of Chemistry's Year of Water. Good luck to the team of
Josh Bell, Will Stephenson, Sam Graham, Oliver Roberts
and Jonathan Morris.
Enriching Science
Senior Science students enjoyed a week's science enrichment at RGS Newcastle.
The focus of the week was Biomedical Science with the students discovering more
about genes and DNA. The week included a trip to a local farm in order to learn more
about the issues surrounding GM crops.
Many thanks to Dr Hartness for organising the programme.
Senior Maths Challenge
A group of four of the school's leading
mathematicians excelled in the regional round
of the Senior Maths Challenge, scoring an
admirable 49 out of 56.
Adil Parvez (Y13), Parsa Enshaei (Y12) and year
11 students William Reynolds and Stephen Wilde,
did brilliantly against some of the brightest young
mathematicians from the region.
William said, 'The day was both fun and eventful.',
whilst Stephen commented, 'I'd definitely like to
try it again.'
Well done to all concerned and thanks to Mr
Wildish for organising the day.
BOY ON HIS BIKE
Intrepid adventurer Jason Woodhouse is about to embark on
the experience of a lifetime. Jason is set to compete in the
round-the-world cycle race, aiming to complete 18,000 miles
in 6 months.
Jason, who left St Cuthbert's in 2005, has enlisted the help of a
range of supporters including a number of international media
organisations and a hardy group of our current students.
A group of current students from Year 7 to Year 13 took part in a
sponsored bike ride along the Derwent Valley to raise money for
Jason's world record breaking attempt. The students did
brilliantly, cycling up to 40 miles and raising nearly £500.
Jason is cycling for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.
For more details about this amazing adventure visit
www.boyonhisbike.com
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ISSUE 4 - WINTER 2011/2012
COUNTY STAR
Liam Wotherspoon, Year 11, has had an excellent early season,
being selected to represent the county at Under 16 level for football.
Liam's success follows a lot of hard work over years of training and
playing and is just reward for his efforts.
Liam is part of a highly successful school team that recently enjoyed a
8-1 win over rivals, Cramlington.
ENGLAND GLORY
Many congratulations to another of our excellent sportsmen, Joe Drady,
who has been selected for the England U15 Basketball Development
Squad.
Achieving national recognition only happens after many hours of training
and commitment. Well done Joe and all the best for the training camps.
Joe's success comes on the back of a recent string of very positive wins for the
various school basketball teams. Well done to all concerned.
Olympic Success
The Newcastle Schools 500 Games saw numerous successes for students
across the school.
The Year 7/8 football team reached the final of their competition only to be
beaten on penalties. The Year 9/10 team went one better, winning their
competition. This feat was matched by the Year 7/8 basketball team who
won their competition with the Year 9/10 team unlucky to finish third.
Dillon Wilson won bronze in the judo competition.
It was a good day in the pool for St Cuthbert's swimmers with stunning
swims from Laurence Coles-Duffy, Harry McKenzie, Jason Quinlan, Daniel
Lockey and Thomas Howley – some reward for the many hours of training.
We were equally successful in track and field, with numerous individual
victories.
Golfing Champion
Further congratulations to Jack
Hermeston, Year 11, who has had
another fantastic year on the golf course.
Jack won the English Boys Under 16
Championships, held at South Moor Golf
Club in Co Durham. This added to his
second place in the Scottish Boys'
Championships and his selection to
represent England at both U16 and U18
levels.
Jack hopes to progress as a professional
golfer by applying to university in the USA
once he has completed A level at St
Cuthbert's.
GIFTED AND
TALENTED
Our gifted and talented
sportsmen enjoyed a fun-filled
day at the fantastic new sports
facility, Sports Central, at
Northumbria University.
Many thanks to the PE staff (and others) for all their support over the
weekend.
The students enjoyed
participating in a range of sports
including climbing and fencing,
whilst learning about key aspects
of elite performance.
National Recognition
Many thanks to Mr Bell for
organising the programme.
As important as the medals, were the tremendous numbers of students
willing to join in and 'give it a go'.
Well done to all our top level swimmers and in particular to Tom Howley who
competed at the end-of-season National Championships at Ponds Forge,
Sheffield.
Tom finished a very creditable fourth in the country in his favoured event, the
punishing 1500m freestyle.
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ISSUE 4 - WINTER 2011/2012
Sam's a Winner
Sam Dinning has literally had a
smashing summer, scoring runs
for fun around the county.
Sam's cricketing successes
include representing South
Northumberland at U13 and
Senior (3rd Team) levels as well as
representing the county at both
U13 and U14 levels.
All-rounders are the real stars in
cricket, and Sam has shown his
stellar quality, hitting important
runs, taking wickets and catches
and executing run outs.
Sam commented, 'I feel proud to
represent St Cuthbert's and the
County. I am always positive with
my sport and have a real will to
succeed.'
Well done to Sam for all the hard
work in the off-season, training
that has resulted in his success.
Sam's achievements have just
been recognised at the
Northumberland County
Cricket Presentation evening,
where Sam was awarded the
prestigious 'Spirit of Cricket'
award. Very well done!
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Creepy Crawly French
Rosie, the Chilean Rose Tarantula and Binkie, the
Royal Python were unusual guests for some Year 7
boys who enjoyed a Creepy Crawly French
workshop.
The workshop was led by creepy crawly expert
Alexandra Turney and was delivered in French
by Mr Thompson, the school's languages
community coordinator.
The students
developed their Biology skills with a chance
to meet some of the more exotic wildlife from
the animal kingdom.
Combining subjects with modern foreign
languages is an activity we do both in school
and with our feeder primaries, for example
with sport workshops being delivered in
French.
EUROSTAR
We have been very fortunate in recently hosting visits from both our
German partner school and students and staff from Bavaria, Puglia and
Andalucia.
Establishing links around the world gives our students an opportunity to
mix with young people who come from different cultures and to engage in
joint activities with them. We are looking forward to a visit from our Italian
partner school, La Madonna della Neve, Franciacorta.
The Hotpot Club is a
community cooking class with
a difference – it celebrates
healthy world cuisine.
Open to parents and staff, the
club has enjoyed a
Mediterranean evening and
an Afro-Caribbean evening as
well as a pan-European night
in which Northumbrian
favourites such as the ham and
pease pudding stottie and pan
haggerty were prepared
alongside the delicious
orechiette of Puglia.
Please look out for details of
the next event.
All are
welcome.
HOTPOT CLUB
ISSUE 4 - WINTER 2011/2012
Primary School Languages
St Cuthbert's languages faculty continues to run a
wide range of initiatives designed to support our
local primaries with the National Primary
Language Strategy.
Mrs Hewson, Languages Primary co-ordinator, has
worked with a number of primary school children
on French and Italian on a week by week basis. In
addition we have offered themed days to primary
schools and run festival days for primary school
children at St Cuthbert's. We have also offered
support to our primary colleagues, to help develop
expertise in the teaching of languages.
PE and Science staff from St Cuthbert's have even
been encouraged to deliver workshops to primary
school children, using different modern foreign
languages, as part of our remit to spread awareness
of languages within our community.
STUDENTS
ABROAD
Students have enjoyed a range of trips abroad during
recent months, developing their language skills and
giving students an enhanced understanding of
different cultures.
Year 9, 10 and 12 students visited Rezzato in
Lombardy, Italy where they were welcomed (again)
with great enthusiasm by the Mayor, Enrico Danesi.
The boys worked in small groups on a range of
activities, including working at a local paper and with
local government.
Enrico Danesi will be visiting St Cuthbert's this year to
present a specially commissioned work of art for the
new Volta Block, as part of the celebration of 150 years
of Italian independence.
Progetto di San Antonio
Students and staff continue to fundraise to provide
support for the St Anthony Project, based in Rezzato.
The project, run in the tradition of the Franciscans, offers
an enormous range of help to both the local and
international community. This varies from feeding and
clothing the homeless to providing holidays and cultural
activities for those in need.
Our support of the project, through fund-raising activities
such as Italian food day, is part of our ever-strengthening
relationship with the community in Puglia.
Wolfenbuttel, Germany, was the destination for
students of German who continue to work with our
partner school, the Theodor-Heuss Gymnasium.
These trips allow students to grow in terms of
confidence and independence whilst enjoying
considerable social, cultural and linguistic benefits.
Look out for news of the Sixth Form Italian and
Geology trip to Bergamo and the Year 8 trip to France.
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ISSUE 4 - WINTER 2011/2012
HOLY ISLAND
PILGRIMAGE
Five hundred students from across the school
participated in a pilgrimage to Holy Island.
The pilgrimage gave students the opportunity to attend
mass in the historic Lindisfarne Priory and to explore
fascinating parts of the island. Students particularly
enjoyed visiting the island that is so strongly associated
with St Cuthbert.
Founders' Mass
The Rt Rev Bishop Cunningham led a celebration
of the school's 130th anniversary at St Mary's
Cathedral.
The Founders' Mass followed an Open Day during
which former students and staff had toured the school
to view all the new buildings and facilities. During the
Mass, Fr Leighton preached about the many good
qualities the school has encouraged in students over
the generations.
The Mass coincided with an exhibition of students'
art work, entitled 'Precious Light'. All enjoyed the
reception at the Assembly Rooms which allowed old
boys and former staff the opportunity to reminisce.
Lourdes Pilgrimage
Students and staff enjoyed a pilgrimage to Lourdes as
part of the diocesan group.
Sixth Form students Dawid Gadzinski, Jonathan Halcrow
and Mark Richardson accompanied a group from
Hexham and Newcastle, providing help for fellow
pilgrims. This gave the students experience in helping
others with basic needs as well as spending some time
exploring Lourdes and reflecting on their experiences
there.
Many thanks to Mrs Davison and Mr McTernan for their
organisation.
We Shall Remember Them
Students and staff attended a packed main hall Mass
on Friday 11th November to remember the war
dead.
The mass was again a highly moving occasion that
allowed the school to formally mark this important
day. Students who are part of the uniformed services
(cadets and scouts) attended in uniform and there was
a stirring version of The Last Post, played by bugler
Michael Craggs, Year 13.
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ISSUE 4 - WINTER 2011/2012
Exhibiting Success
Congratulations to all of our senior
ar tists and photographers who
produced another stunning set of endof-year exhibitions.
Highlights included the glowing
comments received from exam board
officials, praising the quality of the
students' work. Well done to all for their
hard work.
CAFOD
Students are well known for their willingness to
support a wide range of good causes and CAFOD
family fast day was no different.
Through collections in form classes and a soup kitchen run
by the Sixth Form £350 was raised. A particular thank you
to the Sixth Form boys who ran the soup kitchen.
EXPLORING HISTORY
Sixth Form Historians spent an enjoyable November
day as undergraduates at Newcastle University.
The students had the opportunity to experience university
life, by attending a series of lectures and visiting a range of
university facilities, including the newly opened students'
union.
The Great North Museum
Pre-history and ancient civilisations were the focus for Year 7 students, all of whom
have visited the Great North Museum as part of this term's research project.
The students discovered fascinating facts about the very beginnings of history and will
use their findings, together with wider research, to produce a project on an aspect of
early history.
HISTORY CLUB
The school's History Club - which meets every Thursday after
school –all are welcome - is currently working on a project
about Gallowgate.
The project will be used as a resource for local primary schools,
starting with Our Lady and St Anne's and rolling out to other
schools.
The department has received recognition from the Royal Navy
for its work with a Canadian School introducing them to
resources on the Battle of the Atlantic.
Year 8 historians are working hard to produce a photographic
history of St Cuthbert's to celebrate the 130th Anniversary. They
are also working with the Film Club to produce a short film for the
Tyne Theatre on the same theme.
Precious Light
Art students from the Sixth Form have put on a
highly successful display of their work in an
exhibition at St Mary's Cathedral entitled,
Precious Light.
The work has been on display at the Cathedral for
several weeks and attracted interest from the local
press. At the end of the exhibition the work is on
sale to the general public by a silent auction, with
our budding artists hoping to gain some reward for
all their hard work.
Well done to students and staff for a fantastic
display.
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ISSUE 4 - WINTER 2011/2012
LAKE DISTRICT
Sixth Form Geographers enjoyed a highly informative trip to the
Lake District in late October.
The students, who stayed at the Blencathra Centre, developed their
skills in all aspects of geography field work, including a physical
geography day at Easedale Tarn and enhancing their understanding of
urban land use.
Thanks to the Geography department for organising a memorable
experience.
Talk of the Toon
Year 13 English students enjoyed an afternoon of Geordie dialectbased investigation at Newcastle University with Professor Karen
Corrigan and Dr Adam Mearns.
The students were analysing Tyneside English using a range of
leading-edge computer programmes and databases. Some will go
onto study linguistics at university.
The academics at Newcastle University English Language
department have been working for over a year on a local dialect
project called Talk of the Toon which was launched in October 2011.
The project includes recordings of Tyneside speakers over the last
fifty years.
Some of the early recordings were made by our very own Vincent
McNeany when he was a postgraduate student at Newcastle. St
Cuthbert's teachers Mr Anderson and Mr Stewart have been
working closely with the university on the project over the last year.
READATHON
Students from Years 7 & 8 recently took part in a Readathon that
raised several hundred pounds for charity.
The aim was to read a variety of books and to be sponsored for doing
it. The charities that benefited from our students hard work and
enthusiasm were CLIC Sargent and the Roald Dahl Foundation.
Well done to all concerned.
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ISSUE 4 - WINTER 2011/2012
Pyka Design
Congratulations to Patrick Pyka who has created a stunning set of designs
for the school.
Patrick, a Year 11 student, has had his designs used around the school as
canvasses and screensavers as well as on the positive achievement
postcards that are regularly sent home.
COMPUTER CLUB
Students have been making excellent use of the school's new computer
hardware room to learn some of the basics of dealing with computers.
Mr Alexander's lunchtime club has proved to be extremely popular as has our
new BTEC Subsidiary Diploma in Sixth Form which gives students a chance
to learn about how computers work.
Realising Opportunities
A newly launched scheme designed to encourage
students to study at the UK's top universities has
proved to be a runaway success with Year 13
students.
St Cuthbert's is a pilot school for the scheme which
rewards students who produce an extended project
with a range of benefits to make progressing to top
universities more straightforward.
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ISSUE 4 - WINTER 2011/2012
THE REAL THING
Walking for Charity
A big well done to our Year 10 enterprise
team who have reached the regional
finals of the Coca Cola Real Business
Challenge.
The team, consisting of Connor Anderson, Adam
Vent, Robert Robinson, Thomas Rayner, Dylan
Turnbull, Josh Mohan, Tamkeen Rafiq and Joeffrey
Apo-Katigak, have a designed a 100% fruit drink to
represent Jamaica at next year's Olympic Games. The
team's drink, Fruiture, is a blend of peach and mango.
Good luck in the finals!
Well done too to the Year 9 enterprise team who came
a close second at the NUFC North East Enterprise
Challenge, for their mobile phone app design.
Congratulations to Charlie Holliday, Jack
Illingworth, Dan Russell, Jay Fraser and Rassoul
Babalhaveji.
Year 12 students have shown their tremendous
generosity and dedication to others by raising over £700
from a sponsored walk in the Derwent Valley.
Well done to the students for completing the course and
working so hard at fund-raising. Look out for news of
the beneficiary charities in the next newsletter.
in brief
Learning to Learn
Year 12 students took part in a study skills
workshop hosted by Learning Performance
Seminars designed to help students make the
transition from GCSE to post 16 study.
Theatre in Education
Students from Year 7 were entertained to a
morning's interactive drama session about
raising aspirations and Higher Education,
hosted by Northumbria University.
Meanwhile, Year 9 students enjoyed a
performance by the renowned Gibber Drama
group, where the emphasis was on career
progression.
Legal Brief
Prospective Year 12 lawyers, Henry Poxon,
Aiden Hepworth and Jerome Foster attended a
seminar on passing the legal entrance exam, the
LNAT, run by Durham University.
Gretna Road, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, NE15 7PX. Telephone: 0191 274 4510
E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.st-cuthbertshigh.newcastle.sch.uk
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