Spring Newsletter 2016 PDF File

Pedmore
Pedmore Technology College and Community School
Spring Term 2016
6
Welcome
PTC
Welcome to our Spring 2016 newsletter. Whilst it has been a relatively short term, our staff and students seem
to have managed to fit even more activities and events into it. As always, this newsletter will give you just a
flavour of all of the things that have been happening at PTC since Christmas. Our website is constantly updated
to let you know of forthcoming events as well as to showcase the many and varied activities that have already
taken place.
In our aim of becoming more environmentally-friendly and to cut
costs, we will not be printing paper copies of the newsletter. You
can find the latest edition and back-copies on our website. You can
also keep up to date with all of the events at PTC by following us on
Twitter or on Facebook.
As you know, the term began with our much-anticipated OFSTED
inspection in January. We were delighted that the inspectors recognised
all of the hard work that the staff and students have done since our
last inspection to improve the quality of learning and teaching at the
school. Their judgement that this is now a ‘Good’ school confirms what
we have known for some time now and I would like to share some of
the key findings from the inspection with you all.
As always our students were an absolute credit to the school, to
themselves and to their families. The inspection team were highly
complementary about their behaviour, their attitude to learning and
their positivity about the school. The inspectors commented that,
‘Pupils behave well. They are polite, courteous and speak to visitors
with confidence.’ They ‘enjoy school, work hard in lessons, want to
learn and care for each other well.’ Very importantly, the inspectors
identified that, ‘Pupils feel safe and secure in school. They know how
to keep themselves safe when using computers.’
The report continues to acknowledge that ‘all groups of pupils in
school now are making good progress in English and mathematics.’
In recognition of the high standards and professionalism of our
teachers, the inspectors reported that, ‘Teachers know their pupils
well, plan interesting activities that encourage them to develop good
attitudes to learning and make good progress.’ Furthermore, ‘teachers
are confident, have good subject knowledge and high expectations.’
@PedmoreTechColl
Our Governing Body has also played a key role in moving the school
forward since 2013 and this contribution is clearly recognised in the
report; ‘Governors monitor the school’s work very closely. They are
well informed and provide rigorous challenge to school leaders.
They know the school well and make sure the school serves the local
community effectively.’
As headteacher, I am immensely grateful to everyone for their
continued hard work, commitment and dedication; I am extremely
proud to be the headteacher of what is, officially, a ‘Good’ school and
I would urge you to read the full report which identifies all of the
positive aspects of life at Pedmore Technology College.
Following such a positive start to the year, staff and students have
continued to plan, develop and participate in a huge range of activities
and events. This term our students have participated in the Springboard
FutureChef competition; have taken part in the Stourbridge R.E.
debate; have raised hundreds of pounds for Sport Relief and have
visited Cambridge and Aston Universities. Having taken part in the
BBC School News Day for a number of years, we were delighted that
6 of our students were invited into the BBC WM studios for the day to
present a live show, including a 1-1 interview with the Director General
of the BBC. Another highlight of the term was when we were visited by
renowned author, actor and performer John Edgar for a whole week.
His presentations to PTC students and pupils from our local primary
schools were inspirational and fascinating.
I hope you enjoy this edition of our newsletter and appreciate the
new, more environmentally friendly and economical format. Thank
you once again for your continued support for the school.
Gareth Lloyd, Headteacher
Pedmore Technology College and Community School
www.pedmoretc.dudley.sch.uk
BBC News Sc
STUDENTS BROADCAST LIVE FROM THE BBC STUDIOS
Once again, PTC’s Year 8’s took part in the BBC News School
ol
s,
Report project but this year it was extra special! Miss Davis,
d
teacher of English, co-ordinated the project and was delighted
to be invited with a small group of Year 8’s to broadcast ourr
e
news and more live on BBC Radio on 10 March! The team were
nt
invited to the studios because of the school’s commitment
and consistent contribution to the School Report project overr
the years.
Our Year 8’s researched, interviewed and prepared a wide
range of news reports in the run-up to publication on news day.
Our wider Year 8 team researched and
shaped their stories
and were excited
to be visited by
Carol Ford-Garcia, a
ssenior BBC broadcast
jjournalist and Alex,
a reporter from the
B
BBC who advised
tthem on reporting,
w
writing styles and
in
interview techniques
et
etc. so they could
en
ensure their reports
w
were as professional as
po
possible.
O
On 7th March, our
sm
smaller
team
went
to the BBC studios
in Birmingham as a
reh
rehearsal for the big
bro
broadcasting day on
Th
Thursday 10th March.
PTC
@PedmoreTechColl
Pedmore Technology College and Community School
www.pedmoretc.dudley.sch.uk
chool Report
Our team broadcasted from the BBC studios in Birmingham
from 12:00-1:00pm on Thursday 10th March. They broadcasted
their own researched and produced stories in addition to
producing and presenting the day’s news. Our team also
interviewing some very high profile guests:
Miss Davis said, “This year has been a truly unforgettable
experience for our students involved in the project and our
school as a whole. To have the opportunity to broadcast on
national radio is so rare and our team really made the most of
it. They have worked so hard preparing for the broadcast and it
really paid off. They did such a professional job and we are very
proud of their achievement. The rest of our reporter team have
also been very busy publishing their news stories all day on our
website before the 2:00pm deadline”
BECKY WOOD - BBC WEATHER REPORTER
KAREN HARDING - X FACTOR STAR
TONY HALL – DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE BBC - STOP PRESS!
HEAR WILLOW’S INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF THE BBC TONY HALL!
LISTEN NOW AT WWW.BBC.CO.UK/SCHOOLREPORT/35776109
MARTIN DOUGAN – THE BBC’S NEWS ROUND PRESENTER
SEE MORE…
To see our stories go to
www.pedmoretc.dudley.sch.uk/
page/?title=BBC+News+School+Report&
pid=26
PTC
@PedmoreTechColl
Pedmore Technology College and Community School
www.pedmoretc.dudley.sch.uk
Careers Education at PTC
EXPLAINING ALLIED MEDICAL CAREERS AT
SANDWELL HOSPITAL
On December 11th, a group of Year 10 and 11 students went to
an Allied Medical Careers Taster Day at Sandwell Hospital.
They played “guess the profession”, and attended workshops
on physiotherapy, podiatry and occupational therapy to explore
the various routes possible into the professions and what the
roles involve today. Mrs Turner, trip leader said, “This has been
a great opportunity for our students interested in pursuing a
career in health/medical related roles to speak to practitioners
and begin to understand how their GCSE subjects and future
further training and education paths can lead to diverse and
successful careers. All our students that attended said they
really got something out of the day”.
JUDITH HACKITT CBE VISITS PTC TO INSPIRE OUR
YEAR 10 AND 11
Former Chair of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Judith
Hackitt CBE visited PTC on 17th December to talk to our students
about her career to date and how she has achieved success.
Judith explained about her career in Chemical Engineering and
how her passion for what she believed in drove her forward in
her professional life. She answered students questions about
her views on apprenticeships and university degrees and how
she managed to succeed in a variety of high powered jobs
throughout her career.
RECOGNISING NATIONAL APPRENTICESHIP WEEK 14-18TH MARCH 2016
As a part of our support and recognition of National
Apprenticeship Week, in our PSHE Day on 15th March, Years 9
and 10 took part in a variety of careers education and planning
activities and explored the concept of apprenticeships. Guests
from Stourbridge College and Nova Training met with Year
10 to discuss the training opportunities and alternatives to
full time education at 16+, offered by their organisations. In
the afternoon, a variety of employers and occupational area
experts came to deliver presentations on their specialisms.
This included Andrew Boswell, a Practice Development and
Clinical Governance Practitioner from The Dudley Group
p NHS
Foundation Trust to explain careers in nursing and
nd
medical professions, Jack Billingham and Ross Yardley
ey
from Carillion PLC to discuss their apprenticeships
ps
and employment opportunities and Dan Brayne from
m
the Army discussed Army careers and opportunities.
s.
On 17th March, 21 Year 11 students visited The Real
al
Apprentice event at the Village Hotel, Dudley with
h
Mr Smallwood and Mrs Turner. The group attended
d
talks and discussed apprenticeship opportunitiess
with a variety of employers and training providers.
PTC
4
@PedmoreTechColl
Pedmore Technology College and Community School
www.pedmoretc.dudley.sch.uk
Focus on Performing Arts
PEDMORE’S TALENT WINS SCHOLARSHIPS FOR
PERFORMANCE WITH STAGECOACH
A huge array of talent graced the stage when we held a talent
show at the end of last term.
A group of 50 students performed, showing off skills which
included singing, dancing, a comedian and magic double act,
a saxophonist, a keyboard performance, African drummers
and two staff acts - The Spiced Girls and Snow White and the
Seven Dwarfs!
Three judges were tasked with picking the winner, Catherine
Needle, the principal of Stagecoach Theatre Arts and former
head girl and boy, Charlotte King and Robert Hart.
The winning act was dancer Jack in Year 9 who was offered a
term scholarship at Stagecoach, and a second scholarship was
also offered to Year 9 Jordana, who acted in the variety show.
Mrs Westwood, the acting head of Performing Arts at Pedmore,
said: "It was a fantastic evening showcasing Pedmore's talented
students."
For more details about Stagecoach, visit
www.stagecoach.co.uk
AG
ST E
C
OAC H
Theatre Arts Schools
Stagecoach
YEAR 7’S STRUM AWAY WITH A GUITAR TASTER DAY
On 23rd February, Year 7 were treated to a Guitar taster sessions
throughout the day, with a Dudley Performing Arts tutor.
All students had a guitar and by the end of each session,
students could sing together and strum along with basic
chords. Mrs Westwood, organiser of the event said, “This has
been a wonderful day of music. Students had good fun, many
of them had never considered playing a musical instrument
before and were amazed to hear themselves making music in
such a short time. We are working with Dudley Performing
y a wide
w
Arts to encourage and develop more opportunities to try
y Today
y h
as be
b
variety of instruments and continue to play.
has
been
en up guit
gu
really positive and several students have now taken
guitar
as a result”.
PTC
@PedmoreTechColl
Pedmore Technology College
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Focus on
PTC hosts a four we
In March we staged a four week Literacy extravaganza with activities, workshops, competitions,
the importance of good literacy skills and h
Week
1
Commencing 29th February
The following events took place to celebrate World Book Day
(Thursday 3rd March):
• World Book Day assemblies
• World Book Day English lessons
• photos of students in the ILC at lunch reading favourite
books
• tutor group quiz
• staff quiz
• shelfies competition
• guess the book character competition - staff dressed up as
book characters and pupils had to work out who they were
• book hunt around school
• Year 7 Bookbuzz swopbox
• postcard recommendations - delivered by ILC ambassadors
during form time throughout the week
PTC
@PedmoreTechColl
Pedmore Technology College an
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n Literacy
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books sales and much more to encourage our students and local primary pupils to understand
ow enjoyable learning these skills can be.
Week
3
Wee
k
2
Commencing 14th March
Commencing 7th March
PTC Book Club attended the
annual Dudley Book Awards
on Tuesday, 15th March at
Dormston School.
John Edgar joined us to celebrate our literacy festival,
working with our students on the art of creating stories and
rhyme.
Over the past few months, the Book Club’s members have
been busily reading the nominated titles and voting for their
favourite books, with ‘Seven Days’ by Eve Ainsworth proving
a definite favourite: pupils were delighted, therefore, when
this title won the coveted award!
John, a storyteller, author and actor captivated our students
of all ages and also local primary school pupils invited to our
school to share John’s performances. Pupils from Pedmore C
of E, Rufford, Cradley C of E and Hob Green were entertained
and inspired by our guest and the feedback has been
extremely positive. Miss Wright, our Independent Learning
Centre Manager said, “We were delighted when John could
join us for the whole week. His gift as a storyteller has been so
appreciated, students and staff have really enjoyed
his sessions and have been totally engaged and entertained
whilst learning how John develops his stories. We have all
been totally captivated”.
‘I loved how we got to meet some of our favourite authors’.
Irum Ali, Year 9.
‘It was lovely to see what the other schools thought of the
nominated books.’
Willow Markham, Year 8.
Stourbridge News and Big Centre TV visited our school to
capture our event - see Big Centre TV at
www.bigcentre.tv, Freeview channel 8
and Virgin channel 159.
Commencing 11th April
There will be the Scholastic Book
Fair in the ILC for the week.
Week
4
PTC
@PedmoreTechColl
Pedmore Technology College and Community School
www.pedmoretc.dudley.sch.uk
PSHE Day No 3 Feb 4 2016
There was so much activity going on at our latest PSHE/Citizenship Day on February 4th. Here’s just a flavour of the day
Fun and games with Year 11 and the
t he
bin liner challenge – session ran by the
National Citizen Service (NCS) and
staff from Brook joined us to talk about
bout
Sexual Consent and the Law
Year 7 worked with the Barclays Life
ing
Skills team in the Main Hall exploring
financial capability
cts
Year 8 and 9 covered a range of subjects
ers
including understanding the dangers
he
of substance abuse, citizenship , the
role of media in society and more.
id
Year 10 learnt the skills of First Aid
and Life Saving.
Year 9 GCSE group visit University College
Birmingham
Mrs Condlyffe and Mr Fenn took the Year 9 GCSE Catering
students to a Food Science Day on 26th January at University
College Birmingham to learn about all things honeycomb!
Students had plenty of opportunities to get hands-on to create
this delicious sweet treat and learn about the science of sweets.
PTC
8
@PedmoreTechColl
Pedmore Technology College and Community School
www.pedmoretc.dudley.sch.uk
Focus on Science
YEAR 7’S GO INTO THE STARDOME!
A group of our Year 7's were treated to a morning in the Keele
le
er
University Stardome - a portable, inflatable 6m diameter
planetarium that accommodated the whole group.
le
Stardome shows can cover many topics, and two Keele
he
University students took our group on a journey into the
human cell and DNA.
ommodate
The Stardome was hired to accommodate
ted at
all TSET schools and was hosted
Redhill School. Students and staff
ce
thoroughly enjoyed the experience
and look forward to more likee
this in the future. For moree
o
information on the Stardome, go to
www.keele.ac.uk/stardome
Year 8 join the link up to Tim Peake on
the International Space Station
On 2nd February at 2:30pm, 8:1 joined in with
Cosmic Classrooms to watch Tim Peake in a live
Q & A session with UK Schools.
ur
They watched the live broadcast and listened to our
British astronaut answer a wide range of questionss
from pupils at UK schools and watched his
fascinating demonstrations.
Our group also sent Tim messages via our school’ss
Twitter site.
RECOGNISING BRITISH SCIENCE - STUDENTS GET UP CLOSE
TO THE WEST MIDLANDS SAFARI PARK CREATURES
In recognition of British Science Week (11-20 March), we invited
d
staff and animals from West Midlands Safari Park to join us
re
in the science department classrooms. Year 7 and 8 were
es
introduced to a broad range of small animals and reptiles
s, to find
together with their keepers,
cteristics,
out all about their key characteristics,
habitats and life cycles. The creatures
ke, giant
ranged from a lizard, snake,
cockroach, skunk and more!
cher and
Miss Buckerfield, science teacher
id,
organiser of the event said,
“The visit from our friends at
rk
West Midlands Safari Park
was a great opportunity for
our students to get up close to
ts
wildlife in our classrooms (quite literally!) Staff and students
were captivated by the antics of the creatures and the wealth of
ds
information from the keepers. Many thanks to West Midlands
Safari Park in helping us to promote that science can be fun”.
PTC
@PedmoreTechColl
Pedmore Technology College
ege and Community School
www.pe
www.pedmoretc.dudley.sch.uk
9
Winning ways for our PTC budding ch
PEDMORE REIGNS SUPREME IN SPRINGBOARD
FUTURECHEF COOKING COMPETITION!
On Thursday 7th January here at PTC, talented hopefuls
from Worcestershire and surrounding area schools, aged
between 12 and 16, took up the challenge to showcase their
fantastic cooking skills and battled it out to win their place
in the Regional Final; this is one step closer to the National
Final on the 14 March 2016.
Head Judge Craig Miles, Tugo Food Systems, said “It has been a
pleasure watching the students cook; the standards were very
high. They are all so young and have great futures ahead of
them. The dishes were all full of flavour and I hope the students
join the hospitality industry.’’
Springboard’s FutureChef is a nationwide culinary initiative
which helps young people aged 12-16 cook their way through
a series of challenges; it also provides invaluable lessons and
insight into the culinary industry.
Our Year 10 student, Thomas, reigned supreme. He impressed
the judges with his winning menu of Lime and Thyme Pork
Steak, honey-glazed carrots and fondant potato followed by
Sticky Toffee Pudding.
Thomas went on to be mentored by Mathew Shropshall from
University College Birmingham, ready for the Regional Final
in February.
Thomas competed at UCB on Saturday 6 February in the
Springboard Young Chef Regional Finals and we are pleased to
announce Thomas won third prize for outstanding culinary efforts.
Mrs Condlyffe, teacher of Food said, “The competition was of
a very high standard and this is a fantastic result for his first
attempt at this competition.” Well done Thomas!
Springboard’s Programmes Manager Sophie Green, Central Belt
said “The Springboard FutureChef initiative is the biggest and
most successful national school cooking programme. It inspires
students to learn to cook, introduces them and their schools to
well respected industry chefs, offers the opportunity to win
fantastic prizes and gain anything from a valuable life skill to
an informed career path into the UK’s hospitality industry.”
PTC’s Ellie, also Year 10, came runner-up.
Springboard’s FutureChef was developed as the result of
research findings into young people’s perception of the industry.
The research revealed that young people admire higher profile
and celebrity chefs, yet, surprisingly few generally consider
a career as a chef! To address this, Springboard’s FutureChef
Local Finals are judged by industry chefs with the winner
paired up with a local industry chef mentor, to work on their
dishes for the Regional Final. A range of employer sponsors
are involved in the initiative and dedicated to inspiring young
talent into the industry.
The 2016 competition will culminate on the 14 March 2016,
with the National Final taking place at Westminster Kingsway
College in London.
PTC
10
@PedmoreTechColl
Pedmore Technology College and Community School
www.pedmoretc.dudley.sch.uk
hefs in National Cookery Competitions
ROTARY YOUNG CHEF 2016 SUCCESS FOR
TWO PTC STUDENTS
We are delighted to announce our students Imogen (Year 8)
and James (Year 10) achievements in the Rotary Young Chef
2016 competition recently. At the District level competition,.
Tony Tatford, member of the Stourbridge Rotary Club and
ex PTC teacher said,
uired
The young chefs were required
hree
to produce a healthy three
course meal for two all for
lled,
£15. All were highly skilled,
lentt
and had produced excellent
ous
dishes during the previous
on,
rounds of the competition,
nal
making this Regional Final
ter
a very close-run event. After
two stressful long hours of
he
preparation and cooking, the
rk
judges were ready to mark
ed
the young chef’s finished
g
j g
meals. The guest
judges
“Imogen gained
the Runner-Up
placing and
is scheduled
to compete in
the regional
competition at
Bristol on 12
“James performed
March. I am delighted
extremely well also.
for Imogen and all
I am not fully aware
who have supported
of the markings but
her and wish her
understand he came
every success for the
very close to the
next round”.
next place. I was
d
particularly impressed
by James’ complimentss
to the other students
involved and his
appreciation of what
he said he had learned
from the experience”.
w
were
from highly acclaimed
r
restaurants,
working with
c
celebrity
chefs such as Marco
P
Pierre
White and Michelin
S
Starred
establishments; with
4 AA rosettes also.
A
As
in previous years,
t
the
standard both of
f
food
preparation
and
presentation was very high,
and this fits with Rotary’s
aim to give opportunities
to young people, and to
encourage the pursuit of
excellence. The competition
aims to encourage young cooking enthusiasts to develop food
presentation skills, organisational and planning skills, and to
demonstrate their ability to cope in a demanding situation.
Imogen said, “I feel privileged to have been given the opportunity
to have participated in such a prestigious competition and
could never have imagined doing this without the support
and encouragement from my Food teacher Mrs Condlyffe and
hoose Catering as
technician Mr Fenn. I am definitely going to choose
ear and
d would like to enter more
one of my GCSE options next year
hee future”.
future”
uture”.
competitions in the
“Certainly, the standard of the final product
and presentation on table was outstanding
and reflects a huge leap forward from the
local competition”.
“Both students deserve continued praise
and encouragement for their approach,
commitment and enjoyment of what
they are doing to develop their skills and
experience in cooking. My thanks also to
all at PTC for the support you provide for
the students in this competition”.
On Saturday 12th March Imogen competed in the Regional
Finals of the Rotary Young Chef in North Somerset against
seven other very talented young chefs between the ages of
13 -17. This was for a place in the National Final of the Rotary
Young Chef Competition on the 16th of April in Lincoln.
PTC
@PedmoreTechColl
Pedmore Technology College and Community School
www.pedmoretc.dudley.sch.uk
11
DIARY DATES
TUESDAY 17 MLEAYYCASTLE
UD
YEAR 7 TRIP TO D
AY
THURSDAY 19TM
RISE STUDENTS
P
R
E
N
E
S
S
E
IN
S
YEAR 10 GCSEUBNUIVERSITY OF WORCESTER
VISIT
MONDAY 23 MEVAEYNING
YEAR 9 PARENTS
MONDA
YEAR 7 PARENTS EVYEN26INAPRIL
G - 4.00-6.00PM
MONDAY 2 MAY
MAY DAY-SCHOOL CL
OSED
MONDAY 9 MAY
YEAR 8 FUTURES EVENIN
G - 4.00-6.00PM
STUDENT SHAVED HER HEAD
FOR CHARITY!
F
Our
student
Abbiee
Checketts helped young
g
cancer sufferers by having
g
her long hair shaved off att
school for charity.
ce
The big event took place
ff,
in the ILC in front of staff
nd
students, her family and
ny
the Big Centre TV company
and the Stourbridge News aatt
ast
st
1:30pm on 15th December, last
term. Abbie donated her hair to
ch
the Little Princess Trust which
m
cer
makes wigs for young cancer
p
ng
patients and raised an amazing
££3,346.00 in sponsorship.
RAISING MONEY FO
FOR SPORT RELIEF
Students joined in
S
r
run
for this year’s
P
Participants
were
t dress up for the
to
u
usual,
our students
o
unity!
opportunity!
a sponsored
ed
ef
ef.
Sport Relief.
ed
encouraged
event and as
aced
d tthe
he
embraced
AND REMEMBER…
These articles and many more are on our school website together with
lots more information about our school. Go to
www.pedmoretc.dudley.sch.uk
PTC
12
@PedmoreTechColl
Pedmore Technology College and Community School
www.pedmoretc.dudley.sch.uk