Issue 100 - 15th July 2016

Newsletter
The White Hills Park Federation Trust
Issue 100 - 15th July 2016
A Summary Of The Year In The Federation
Dates for your Diary
Welcome to a special end of year edition of the Newsletter, in which we
celebrate the range of amazing experiences and achievements of our students
over the last school year. In next week’s Newsletter, we will say goodbye to the
staff and students who will leave us at the end of term, and I will introduce you
to the new staff coming next year.
July
One of the frequent comments we receive from parents and friends who read
the Newsletter every week is how amazed they are at the huge amount of
activity that goes on across the Federation, and how impressive our students’
achievements are. With that in mind, a summary like this will only scratch the
surface, but I hope that it shows the importance that we give to education in its
broadest sense, and that as well as brilliant teaching and learning in the
classroom, we want to provide unforgettable and life-changing experiences
outside the classroom.
Whether it’s our debating team meeting the (now former) Prime Minister at No
10; our brilliant mathematicians making it through to national Maths Challenge
finals; History students visiting World War 1 battlefields; Languages students
making lifelong friendships on the German exchange; talented artists exhibiting
their amazing work; the entrepreneurs of tomorrow meeting employers at our
Business breakfasts; students learning Mandarin through the Confucius
Classroom; Netball teams sweeping aside all opposition to win titles; musicians,
singers, actors and dancers performing in countless plays and shows, or any of
the huge range of activities, we are very proud of the achievements of all the
young people who attend White Hills Park Federation schools.
15th
- 17th
16th
- 18th
18th
19th
19th
19th
- 21st
Executive Headteacher
Last Day Of Term, Friday 22nd July
Please note that next Friday, 22nd July, is the last day of school for our
students. Our schools will be closing early, at 1:30pm.
Alderman White School
The Bramcote School
Bramcote College
Alderman White School
19:00 Friday & Saturday
18:00 Sunday
D of E Silver Award
Paddling Practice Expedition
Federation Sports Day
Graduation Awards Evening
19:00 - 20:30
Mock Interview Day
Maths Residential Trip
Mount Cook Adventure Centre
Mock Interview Day
20th
BC
Federation Cabaret
20th
Summer Music Concert
19:00 - 21:00
Last Day Of Term - Early Close
Schools will close at 1:30pm
25th
INSET Day
Schools closed to students
26th
Summer Holiday Begins
August
Results Collection
Social Media and School App
AldermanWhite
TheBramcoteSch
BC6F
WHPFederation
TBS
Year 12 ‘Next Steps’ Day
18th
Don’t forget that for more news as it’s happening you can follow and like our
accounts on Twitter and Facebook. You can also download our free App for
quick access to our calendar, latest news, absence reporting, messages we
send out, and more. Use the links below or search your app store for
‘MySchoolApp’.
AWS
19th
22nd
Paul Heery
FED
Year 13 (A Level):
8:00 - 12:30
Year 12 (AS Level): 10:00 - 12:30
Results Collection
25th
Year 11 (GCSE):
10:00 - 12:30
at Bramcote College
September
5th
6th
7th
9th
INSET Day
Schools closed to students
INSET Day
Schools closed to students
First Day Of Autumn Term
Schools re-open to students
College Begins
Bramcote College lessons begin
Please see our websites or login to our free app to
view a full calendar of events and important dates.
Alderman White School - A Message From Mrs Caley
I sit here feeling enormous pride for our students. I have just returned from the graduation ceremony,
where the efforts of our young people were celebrated in a fitting manner. Sitting on stage gave me a
unique view of a sea of proud faces, all of whom have had their crucial role in getting their children
to a position of excellence. Thank you!
I was extremely proud of our staff on the July INSET day, when a number took leading roles in
presenting their action research findings. All their work this year has led to ever improving classroom
practice, which in turn is leading to increasing excellent outcomes for our young people. Thank you
to Mrs Rockley for leading on this. I look forward to moving from strength to strength in terms of
Teaching and Learning over the coming years.
Another notable event was the Summer Fest at the beginning of July. This was the final event organised by our fantastic PTA and what a year they have had!! It has been a great privilege to work with them in organising a number of successful events.
Monies raised go towards our ever-increasing number of comfy chairs and other items that are bid for individually. Thank you all
those involved in the PTA this year!
I round off with a tribute to my wonderful colleague Mr Musson. When I arrived at Alderman White, we instantly knew that we
were singing from the same hymn sheet. Behaviour in school has improved rapidly over recent years, due to tight systems and
clear expectations. Mr Musson has led the outstanding team that has got us to this position - I am forever grateful and will miss
him terribly next year. I wish him every ounce of success (and relaxation) in his retirement.
Finally, a big thank you to all teachers, support staff, students, parents/carers and directors. Without your fantastic work in a
collegiate and inspiring environment, we could not be building a strong and successful school - your hard work is much
appreciated! Have a lovely summer break.
Nicola Caley - Head Of School
A Successful Year of Sport at Alderman White School
After a very competitive year in sport, our students can hold their heads up high and be proud of their successes. Most recently
the Year 7 cricket team represented Broxtowe in the Summer Games competing against the best from Nottinghamshire. A
fantastic effort from the team and some great individual performances saw them finish 5th in the County.
Early in the academic year the boys’ KS4 Badminton team from won their Central Venue
League and with it the right to represent Broxtowe in the Winter Games at Nottingham
University. The team had a tough draw with the eventual winners coming from our group
but the boys did a fantastic job and claimed a top 6 spot in the County!
The cross country meet held in October brought about some amazing efforts and a
number of qualifiers for the Nottinghamshire County cross country held in February. Ruby,
Jemma, Fred, Freddie (all Year 7) secured a top 10 place, while Jack was 6th in Year 8/9
and Milan came 2nd in Year 10/11.
The Year 7 Futsal team had a great competition too earlier in the year, and narrowly missed out on the championship finishing
runners up in a closely fought final.
The Year 7 girls’ Netball team were undefeated this year. Captained by Jenna Fulton, this determined and talented bunch of
girls showed that they can work as a team both on and off the court. Their score lines have been consistently in double figures
with very few conceded. The team were crowned Year 7 winners in the Nottinghamshire Schools’ Central Venue League.
Our Year 10 Football team had a great run in the South Notts Cup, reaching the quarter finals, and making their first ever
appearance in the National Schools Cup. A fantastic first round performance against proven opponents from North Derbyshire
was not rewarded with the result we deserved as we narrowly missed out, losing 5-4 on penalties.
Staying with football, Victoria Adam has had a very successful year as part of the Nottinghamshire Schools Girls County football
team which saw them become Midlands champions and National semi-finalists. A fantastic effort I’m sure you’ll agree!
The Athletics team also performed fantastically well this year with numerous victories in the Broxtowe meeting. Milan, Ryan,
Bailey, Kye, Brandon, Daniel, Priscilla, Ellie and Danny all made the Broxtowe Athletics team and a special mention must go to
George who qualified to represent Nottinghamshire in the National Finals at Pole Vault!
Well done to all those who have participated in extra-curricular activities or represented school in many different events this
year. You have been a credit to the school and the Federation and deserve a huge pat on the back! Keep it up!
Mr D Ault - Head of PE
Hello my name is Millie and I have been playing tennis for many years. I play at the Tennis Centre in Nottingham and at West
Bridgford. I also play for Nottingham and East Midlands. Recently I have played in the county cup finals and we came second in
the country! Also on Friday I'm going down to London with the Academy to play in the Team Tennis national finals. Last summer
I played in the HSBC Road to Wimbledon and got to the semi-finals. It was a fantastic experience and getting to play at
Wimbledon was amazing. If you like playing tennis just join a club and play for fun!
Amelia Rajecki - Year 9
The Bramcote School - Clubs and Teams Achieve National Success, A Final Word From Mrs Oliver
As you’ve probably heard, we’ve had some fantastic success this year outside of school and within
our extra-curricular clubs and activities, the outstanding examples being our different sports teams
across different year groups, and our Debate Club, made up of students from all year groups and
led by Miss McKee.
These clubs and teams cannot go ahead without the support of parents who have been fantastic
again this year helping out wherever they can, the staff who have taken teams across the country,
and the students who have represented the school, Federation, District, County and Region with
pride and enthusiasm. Well done to everyone involved in our clubs, teams, and other extracurricular activities this year for making this year so successful.
As you’ve also heard, I’m leaving my post at the end of term after 20 years in the Federation, and 3 and a half here as Head of
The Bramcote School. I’d like to thank everyone for the friendship and support over the last few years, and wish all our
students the best of luck in the future.
Mrs M Oliver - Head Of School
Sports Roundup From The Bramcote School
The sporting year at The Bramcote School started at the finish line of the Tour of England in Nottingham. A group of Year 9
girls were asked to ride in an inter county race across the finish line area, finishing third.
Football
The Year 9 boys football team played in 3 different competitions and managed to progress to the quarter finals of each one.
The best result was against Rushcliffe school where we only played with 10 players and lost 1-0 to a goal scored in the last
minute. Their performance was so good they were applauded of by both sets of parents. All the other teams managed to play
in at least one competition and the Year 8 team played for the first ever time in the National cup.
Netball
Netball was by far our most successful sport this year. The Year 11
team played in the Nottingham Central Venue leagues against a
range of schools from across the county and finished third overall.
They then played in the County tournament and finished 4th overall.
Teams in Year 7 and Year 10 also took part in competitions this
year.
Most people have read about the success of our Year 9 girls Netball
team by now. Nottingham Central Venue League Champions,
County Champions, third overall in the Regional Finals and the best
state school in the East Midlands. On returning to Nottingham the
girls then played in the Year 10 central venue league and won this
too. Due to their massive success they were also nominated for Best
of Broxtowe Awards in the young achievers’ category, and placed in
the top 3 at the black tie awards dinner.
Athletics
Year 8/9 – 3rd in Broxtowe Championships, Year 7 – 4th in Broxtowe Championships.
Basketball
Year 9 Basketball Team: Broxtowe Champions, 2nd in the County and National quarter-finalists.
Handball
Year 10 Girls Handball Team: 3rd in the County, only being defeated by the eventually champions in extra time.
Table Tennis
Year 8 and Year 10 Teams: Broxtowe Champions.
Inclusive Sports
Our inclusive team were the Broxtowe Champions, representing the district in the Nottinghamshire Winter Games, the
inclusive indoor athletics team also managed this. Our Boccia teams both were placed in the top 4 of the district.
We have also managed to allow pupils to have a go at a range of sports and also develop teams using outside coaching. This
year we have had Sycamore Table Tennis Club and Bramcote Netball Club run coaching for students after school. The
Bramcote Archery club have also been running an after school club for any students who wished to take part. Defence Lab
have been into Y8 lessons to give pupils a chance to learn some self-defence and some have now joined the club based at
Bramcote College. Finally, British Cycling have been into Year 7 lessons to give pupils a chance to learn how to race.
Bramcote College Review
Every year I look back with a sense of pride at how much our students have done both inside
and outside the classroom.
It will be a few weeks before we know the A Level results but the predictions through the year
suggest we are on for our best ever performance, both in terms of raw grades and, arguably
more importantly, value added – a simple measure of what they should get to what students
actually got. What also matters is the destination of students after Bramcote College and over 80
of our Year 13 students have earned themselves offers this year at a range of universities from
Cambridge to Canterbury.
As I write this, the Year 13s are preparing for their Prom tonight (which I am tentatively looking forward to given the weather)
and I hope that they have a great time – and that they are truly celebrating come results day on August 18th.
James Macdonald - Head of College
Building links with Business
Anna Soubry, Business Minister, told the audience in December that we are
an example to all schools with the links that we are establishing with
businesses. I cannot stress how complimentary those words are.
This year we have had three Business Breakfasts – and they have grown
from strength to strength and helped both the College and the Federation
develop working relationships with local and national businesses. The
breakfasts have led to opportunities for our students such as the STEM trips
to Germany (see below) and Work Experience at Capital One.
Next year the plan is to hold 6 more of these events, on the following dates
and themes:
Tuesday 11th October- Higher Apprenticeship session for Year 13 students
Tuesday 13th December- Year 12 Key skills day
Tuesday 7th February- ICT and Digital Media workshops
Tuesday 21st March- STEAM workshop
Tuesday 9th May- Health Care and Social Care
Tuesday 11th July- Business and Finance workshop
Thank you to all who have contributed and especially Mel Lancley for
organising and making the events a success. We would be delighted to see
you or your business at a future breakfast: for more details please contact
[email protected].
STEM Environmental Science, Germany
Our students spent a combined four weeks in Wildpoldsried, an ultra-sustainable, low-emission village which is leading the
way in renewable energy. They have been a real credit to the College and have been outstanding in their conduct and
engagement with the course. It is been commented on by the teachers from the other schools and by the trip leaders from
SASIE how well they have done. Our job now is to get the students to lead on making WHP more sustainable.
Trips and Visits
Throughout the year our students take part in a great number of educational trips and activities all across the World, from
Cambridge to Krakow.
One of the more poignant experiences is our History Department trip, which includes a visit to the World War Two
concentration camp at Auschwitz..
“I would like to state that, anything I say will be a great disservice to the experience, unless witnessed with your own eyes. We
learn about this for years, The Holocaust, the mass murder of around 6 million human beings, accepting it as fact, no
emotional connection being formed with the information. Cold, hard facts. We try to understand this as a topic in a classroom
but when you see this for yourself you understand it less than before you arrived. It made sense to you before, it was a
mechanism with definitions and numbers with defined multiplications. Then, it becomes anything but logical, anything but
believable, anything but real. I will take the image of mounds of human hair to my grave.” Flynn - Year 13
(continued on next page)
Trips and Visits at Bramcote College
(continued from previous page)
There are lots of opportunities for students to be involved with trips or visits, as part of a subject or as an extra-curricular
activity.
Some are local, some require travel a bit further afield.
Can you match the photos below to the trip?
Nottingham (BBC), Media
China, Confucius Classroom (New for 2016/2017)
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Photography
Poland, History
Alton Towers, End Of Year Trip
London, Photography
Germany, STEM
Portugal, Geography
New Uniforms Are Nearly Here
The past two weeks have been a busy time for our new uniforms. We had pop up shops hosted by Big Fish Schoolwear
where the new school uniforms were on sale, and they are also on sale for both schools through their web site at
www.bigfishschoolwear.co.uk. The logins to access our pages are below:
Alderman White School
Username: Alderman
Password: AW123
The Bramcote School
Username: Bramcote
Password: TBS123
The uniforms are also on sale at Morleys, on Bramcote Avenue in Chilwell.
At both Alderrnan White School and The Bramcote School, we spent a day working with a former Federation student turned
professional Photographer and a group of students in the new school uniform taking photographs for our prospectus. The
students all agreed after a day of wearing their blazers that they are comfortable and have an impressively useful number of
pockets!
Miss J Cooper - Assistant Executive Headteacher, Transition
Welcome To Our New Year 7s
Last week we held our Year 6 induction days at The Bramcote School and Alderman
White School. Every year we welcome our new Year 7 students with three days of
lessons and activities aimed at helping them to settle in before the summer holiday to
give them a chance to ask all the questions they have and get used to their new
school and all the teachers and other Year 7s in their tutor groups. The new Year 7s
had a wonderful time getting to know each other in a variety of lessons including
Business Studies, Geography and Design Technology and many more, as well as
taking part in team building tasks. One parent kindly emailed us to say: ‘My daughter
and her friends are loving the 3 days they are doing there. I have never seen her get
up and get ready and be in a rush to get to school. It's brilliant and thank you.’
Miss J Cooper - Assistant Executive Headteacher, Transition
Rationing Comes To Bramcote College
Year 5 students from Albany Junior School has a fantastic day last Friday at Bramcote College based on life during World War
2. They took part in ration cooking and designed their own propaganda posters, as well as creating huge collages of King
George VI and Winston Churchill. They rounded off the day by getting out the bunting and celebrating at a tea party where
they indulged in egg free cakes and crunchy biscuits.
Debate Club Success At The Bramcote School
The Bramcote School Debate Club has once again achieved enormous National success this year. They competed in the
Urban Debate League and finished as one of the top sixteen groups in the country. This qualified the our club for the London
finals against the rest of the top 16 (out of 250 schools) and we got as far as the quarter finals of this debate.
We competed in the Debate Mate Cup and won the Nottingham regionals, which again qualified us for the London finals. We
came 9th in the country out of 250 schools. Our club also won the best attendance in Nottingham.
Dean Ferguson in Year 8 was chosen as one of the top ten debaters in the country and went off to represent school in the
Downing Street Debates along with Aimee Grayling in Year 10. They joined with two girls from Oasis Academy John Williams
in Bristol and won this prestigious event too.
The debate team also delivered an assembly for the whole school on the referendum before our voting day on the 23rd of
June. As a school our result was very different and students voted to remain in Europe.
A huge well done to everyone involved, you’ve been fantastic and we look forward to a lot more success in the future.
Miss C McKee - Debate Club Leader
The Bramcote School Prom
Business Session For Year 10
The Prom took place this year
at the Ramada Hotel and was a
fabulous evening! The students
looked amazing as they
dressed to impress and danced
the night away.
All the students had a lovely
evening, lots of staff came
along to support the event and
to receive their awards! The
Prom King and Queen, voted for by the students, looked
stunning. Thanks to all for a great evening.
Representatives from the Central England Co-Operative
came in this week to run a business session with Year 10
Business students, looking at the features of a co-operative
and asking the students to put together a promotional
campaign highlighting these key features.
Students gained a real understanding of how co-operatives
worked and had a great time when presenting and competing
with the other groups. Thanks to the Co-Op for taking the
time to visit us.
Mrs S Cotterill & Mrs L Collinson
Mr A Brett - Business
Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
This year has been a busy one for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award within the Federation.
Ten Year 12 students took part in three days of training on the River Trent in readiness for their Silver DofE Paddling
expeditions. Good luck to Adian Cox, Duncan Cox, Jessica Holmes, James Hellon, Maya Limbachia, James P Walker, Tom
Polkey, Heather Barraclough, Sophie Strawbridge and Harry Walton who are also paddling this weekend and camping for two
nights on their practice expedition. Let’s hope the weather is kinder to them!
Last weekend also saw a group of our current Year 10 students from both Alderman White School and The Bramcote school
in the Peak District undertaking their Bronze Award practice expedition.
We would like to congratulate each and every student on their excellent team work skills; you have all been fantastic and are a
credit to the Federation. We look forward to taking you on your qualifying expedition in October.
Miss A McLoughlin and Mrs S Orchard-Robson - Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Co-ordinators
Cultural Cooking at Alderman White School
On Tuesday, Alderman White School held a cultural cooking
event. Students who have originated from other countries
bought their talents, creativity and cultural knowledge to create
a spectacular event and some delicious food. The event was
adorned with flags from around the world as well as traditional
music reflecting the variety of cultures we have at this school.
These EAL students had spent previous lessons planning and
researching dishes including traditional family recipes. These
recipes were cooked and presented to their teachers and the
senior leadership team, including:
 Bacalhav, a Portuguese Codfish dish
 Maqluba, an Arabian dish with meat, rice and fried
vegetables
 Salam de biscuiti, traditional biscuits from Romania
Cleopatra Vunganai had even had Nigerian ingredients
shipped over to make her dish more authentic!
Over the course of the event more than 30 members of staff
sampled the food and were so impressed by the quality of the
cooking, the ingredients, and the flavours that they managed to
devour everything!
Thank you to all my students for making this possible, we are
so proud of you all.
Miss M Owens - EAL Specialist
Alderman White School Summer Music Concert
Year 7 & 8 Summer Disco at The Bramcote School
Alderman White School hosts its annual Summer Music
Concert next week. Suitable for all ages, it promises to be a
great night. Mrs C Franklin - Music
Calling all Year 7 and 8 students at The Bramcote School remember to buy your Summer Disco ticket at break or lunch
for just £2 from outside the staff room. Otherwise, you may
miss out on the bouncy castle, beach photo booth and the
chocolate tombola!
Refreshments will be on sale and all profits go to a local
charity supporting young people’s mental health.
The disco is on Thursday 21st July, 6-8pm. Please arrange to
be collected or walk home in a large group. It looks like being
lots of fun and a great way to celebrate the end of term.
Mrs D Crouch - Year 7 Tutor
Alderman White School Attendance Awards
Attendance was celebrated at Alderman White School this
week, up for grabs were Amazon Vouchers and iPads, with
winners’ names drawn out of a hat. Any student with 100%
attendance each week of the summer term was eligible to
have their name in the draw.
The Federation donated the Amazon vouchers, whilst the
iPads were generously donated by one of our working
partners and supporters, PK Education.
Tension mounted as names were drawn and announced and
Gemma Charvet, Manager for PK Education, presented the
prizes to the lucky winners, who were as follows:
Amazon vouchers:
Mental Health Awareness & Non Uniform Day (TBS)
This week, all students at The Bramcote School attended
assemblies which addressed issues to do with mental health
and also the general social and emotional pressures on
young people today. Mr Clifford led the assemblies; he
explained that mental health is an issue which isn't always
talked about as much as it should be and that lots of us know
someone who is dealing with a mental health issue – or who
is dealing with it themselves.
Year 7
Lyham Hulme and Harriet Waterton.
Year 8
Matthew Clemmet and Aimee Goulding
Year 9
Olivia Draper and Amelie Hylton
Year 10
Shoaib Arif and Cherise Perkins
iPad winners:
KS3
Phoenix Green-Smith
KS4
Reece King
He stressed the importance of speaking about this to trusted
friends, adults, family members and teachers and he
explained that it is so crucial that no-one is left to try to deal
with their problems alone. Mental health issues can be wide
ranging and can affect absolutely anyone - from children to
teenagers to adults. It shouldn't be a 'hidden' problem and
that's why at The Bramcote School we decided to have a non
-school uniform day to raise awareness of the issues.
The non-school uniform day will be on Friday 22nd July and
we hope that all parents and carers will support this and
encourage their children to bring a pound to school on the
day. All money raised will support a local charity which helps
young people through difficult times in their lives.
Miss M Noades
Well done to all our winners and 100% attendees.
Many thanks to PK Education for their continued support of
initiatives across the Federation, and for helping to raise
attendance and achievement.
Mrs L Philpot - Attendance Officer