newsletter - Queensmead School

NEWSLETTER
IIssue
158 April/May 2013
Year 10 Football
The Year 10 football team
made it past some strong
opposition from Douay
Martyrs, Haydon, Rosedale
and Guru Nanak in the early
rounds of the Hillingdon
Borough Plate competition,
and so found themselves in
the final on Thursday
25thApril.
A group of forty-five
supporters, including staff
and students, travelled by
coach to the venue at
Chalfont St Peter and they
were treated to an excellent
display from the team.
The boys showed how proud
they were to represent their
school by playing with spirit,
and they conducted themselves
in an exemplary manner.
In the final they met Harlington
and won 3-0.
Well done and congratulations
to the team:
Khalid Adani
Daniel Anderson
Callum Baldock
Jack Butler
Akaash Chavda
Harry Driver
Albie Fountain
Greg Hadjinicolaou
Sam House
Mahfuzul Islam
Tyler-John McKenna
Christopher Mepham
Basheer Muhamed
William Ormrod
George Rivet
George Smith
Micah St Louis
Sam Turner
Mr Grey
Head of ICT KS3 and Year 10
Manager
PAGE 2
NEWSLETTER
Spanish Day at Whiteheath School
On Tuesday 19th March
Miss Manley and nine Year 10
students went to Whiteheath
Primary School to help
students from Years 3 to 6
with their Spanish Day.
The day was spent having
Spanish conversations with
the children and we also took
part in the Spanish themed
activities which tested
everyone’s Spanish skills.
We all thoroughly enjoyed the
day and particularly the
opportunity to work with
younger children.
Darvin Sridharan
Year 10
PAGE 3
NE WS LE T T E R
Houses of Parliament Visit
On Friday 26th April, I took
five Post 16 students on a trip
to the Houses of Parliament as
part of the Politics AS course.
Once we arrived, and had
passed through the airport
style security checks, we
waited in Westminster Hall to
meet our guide.
We were given a tour of both
the House of Commons and
House of Lords and were able
to see where David Cameron
and Ed Milliband stand to
debate, as well as seeing the
throne the Queen sits on in
the House of Lords.
During our visit, preparations
were being made for the
Queen who was coming for
the State Opening of
Parliament in a few weeks
time. Our tour guide was
very excited as he was going
to be looking after the Queen.
We were then taken up to a
Select Committee room where
MP’s meet to discuss
particular topics. A recent
example of this was the News
Corporation phone hacking
scandal, where Rupert
Murdoch and his son James
were questioned by the
Culture, Media and Sport
Committee which then led
onto the Leveson Inquiry.
We had a chance to have a
discussion and look at the
process of the committee
which was very useful for the
students' upcoming exams.
really impressed when Lizzie
Lucas stood up to contribute
to the debate. Matthew Ford
gave the closing speech from
our side of the debate.
We then took part in a
parliamentary style debate
with two other schools on ‘The
usefulness of Select
Committees to scrutinise the
government.’
Anyone can book a tour and I
would encourage you to do so
as soon as possible.
Bearing in mind we only had a
few students compared to two
larger schools with quite
confident speakers, I was
It was a well constructed and
confident speech bearing in
mind he hadn't participated
during the full debate and the
other students were
impressed with what he said.
Overall, it was a fantastic
afternoon with excellent
students as well as a chance
to be somewhere full of
inspiring history.
Miss Boldero
Head of Social Science
PAGE 4
NE WS LE T T E R T I T LE
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1
BAA Heathrow Engineering Challenge
On Tuesday 23rd April Year 8
students took part in an
Engineering Challenge Day
organised by Heathrow
Airport.
The students were set an
electrical engineering
challenge where they learnt
the necessary skills to
programme an autonomous
buggy.
Groundworks, along with
some volunteer apprentices
from BAA, organised an event
to promote apprenticeships
and showcase the work which
goes on behind the scenes at
Heathrow Airport.
They were given various
programming tasks. The final
one result in the students
controlling the buggy which
moved between three areas,
Dates for your diary
June
July
Mon 17th
QPT AGM
Fri 28th
Year 11 Prom
Mon 1st
Inset Day
stopping at a set distance for
a given period of time then
repeating in reverse.
It was a really enjoyable day
and students learnt a lot
about Heathrow Airport and
what work goes on behind the
scenes.
Mr MacMillan
DT Department
NE WS LE T T E R T I T LE
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1
PAGE 5
Governor Leaves
Queensmead’s summer term
Governing Body meeting was
the last to be attended by one
of our long standing
members, Sabbie Rawana.
We all wish Sabbie well in his
new ventures.
Allan Walker
Chair of Governors
Sabbie has been an active
member on the Governing
Body at Queensmead for
twenty-four years and has
been a valued contributor on
many of our sub committees,
as well as being our Chair for
a period of time.
We couldn’t let twenty-four
years go unmarked and
Sabbie was presented with a
certificate and watch as a
reminder of his valuable service.
Anti-bullying Policy
Queensmead School has an
excellent anti-bullying policy,
peer support scheme and
innovative and effective antibullying strategies. They
involve the whole school
community, and we base our
ethos on inclusion and
wellbeing for all students.
I am delighted that we have
now achieved the BIG Award
for excellence in challenging
bullying through our
consistent good practice.
Mr Levin
Head of Year 7
PAGE 6
NE WS LE T T E R T I T LE
Easter 2013 - Year 10 Ski Trip
In the first week of the Easter
holidays, Mrs Brook led six
other teachers and forty-one
Year 10 students to Folgarida,
Italy.
The trip was an absolute
success, the ski school said
that they have never seen
students progress so quickly
in one week.
The students were perfectly
behaved and the hotel staff
and coach drivers all
commented on their excellent
conduct throughout.
Students had a wonderful
time and I would like to thank
Mr Aylott, Mr Simpson,
Miss Hart, Miss Fairweather,
Mr Duncan and Mr Walden for
all their help.
Mrs Brook
Head of Geography
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1
NE WS LE T T E R T I T LE
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1
PAGE 7
Junior Mathematics Challenge
Well done to the following
students who achieved
certificates in the Junior
Mathematics Challenge on
Thursday 25th April.
Gold Certificate
Chloe Parker, Katie Savva
and Jack White.
Silver Certificate
Adam Boulger,
Rhys Bowater, Erica Dati,
Emilio El-Homssi, Sarah
Hussain, Jem Ives,
Eve Manning, Amin Sabir,
Pranavan Sarvananthan,
Asha Vanzara and Yangxinrui
Ma.
Bronze Certificate
Fatema Aftab, Joe Allen, Amine
Amouche, Maciej Anielski,
Zahra Arabi, James Bowers,
Aaron Connell, James Cooney,
Christopher Corcoran, Yoana
Dinkova, Morgan Hill, Kai
Hunter, Max Jackson, Manav
Jasvantalal, Aravinthan
Kirubaharan, Chris Lappas,
Luke McGivney, Harry Mills,
Urvi Mistry, Tai Patel, Thomas
Purdy, Khushal Shah, Zayan
Siddiqui, Adam Silver,
Hani Taki, Thipisa Thevarajah,
Heather Trant, Tarun
Unnikrishnan, Dylan Verley, Sam
Woodward and Molly Zapletal.
Special congratulations goes to
Chloe Parker who achieved the
highest Maths challenge score in
the school.
Mr Freeman
Head of Maths
Paris Football Trip
We took sixty-three students
to Paris, staying at Disneyland
over Easter. The main purpose
of the trip was to test our football skills against teams from
around Europe and Brazil (in
the case of the Year 8 Team).
Our base was at Disneyland
where many students seemed
to love Space Mountain, an
awesome indoor rollercoaster
that is experienced in the dark.
The tournament itself was
played in extremely cold
conditions. The Year 7 team
got a mixed set of results,
playing well but coming third
in their group of five. They did
manage to win an enthralling
penalty shoot-out which was a
good consolation.
The Year 8 team came second
in their group, and so were
entered into a separate
tournament played between
teams who finished second.
The Year 8's won this
tournament. Congratulations to
them as it was an excellent
achievement.
The Year 9 B team battled very
well in the group stages. Whilst
not winning a game, they
played well against the teams
in their group.
The Year 9 A team simply
couldn't find their shooting
boots. Whilst only losing 3-1 to
the Arsenal/Brighton Academy
Development Squad (other
teams lost 8-0 on
average), the Year 9 team
struggled to score in their
remaining two games. In the
second game we had
twenty-one shots on goal, but
ended up losing 1-0.
Mr Levin
Head of Year 7
PAGE 8
NE WS LE T T E R T I T LE
Post 16 Spring Ball
Post 16 students celebrated
their time at Queensmead
School by attending a Spring
Ball at West Ruislip Golf Club
on Friday 26th April.
after seven years at
Queensmead.
With boys dressed in suits and
ties and girls all glamorous in
their favourite dresses, Spring
Ball 2013 was a night of
excitement and happiness.
Lauren Hibbins and Amy Duffy
Post 16 Social Committee
Everyone danced the night
away and celebrated the end
of two years of hard work and
dedication. For many the
Spring Ball was a goodbye
The Ball was an amazing night
to end an era.
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1
PAGE 9
NE WS LE T T E R T I T LE
A Most Amazing Bag
Mariame Amouche, Year 9,
has designed and made a
lovely Persian style humbug
bag for one of her Year 9
Textile projects.
‘Queensmead has enabled me
to learn many things which
will benefit me in the future. I
love DT because it gives me
the freedom to design and
make practical things and I’m
good at it.’
Mariame says her design for
this humbug bag was inspired
by looking at Persian scarves
and rugs. She wanted to
recreate the feel of scattered
lines and designs on her bag.
She has certainly done this as
you can see in the pictures.
Mariame plans to make more
bags as presents for friends
and family.
Mrs Glenn
Textiles
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1
NE WS LE T T E R T I T LE
PAGE 10
U12 Girls’ Hillingdon Futsal Competition
On Tuesday 23rd April Year 7
girls represented Hillingdon as
the borough champions, in the
West London Futsal Finals.
They played three games in
their group and were placed
second. This put them
through to the semi-finals
against Compton.
After a tense twelve minutes
the score was tied at full time.
This meant extra time and the
possibility of penalties.
within the first two minutes
which unsettled Queensmead
and Rhodes scored.
Unfortunately we lost 2-0 to
Rhodes School.
The girls played extremely
well throughout the
tournament and showed
excellent sportsmanship.
We were crowned runners-up
out of a total of 186 schools
and received individual
medals.
The team:
Tashauna A’Dolphine
Ronni Pullen
Nicole Moore
Charlotte Morgan (Capt)
Chloe Ruddell
Samantha Watts
Mrs Carter
PE Department
After five minutes the teams
were still tied, so they
prepared for three penalties.
Charlotte Morgan went in goal
and spectacularly saved
Compton’s first two penalties.
Charlotte also scored a goal,
along with Nicole Moore. This
put Queensmead into the final
against Rhodes School.
During the final Samantha
Watts sustained an injury
Hillingdon U13 & U15 Football Tournaments
On Thursday 25th April
Queensmead entered two
teams into the borough
football tournaments.
Both teams played five
matches in their group. The
U15’s won three matches,
drew one and lost one. A feat
matched by the U13s.
Both teams were hoping to
get through to the semi-finals
and were placed joint second
in their groups. Unfortunately
the U15’s missed out on a
place in the semi-final due to
goal difference and the U13’s
drew on points with Bishop
Ramsey. This meant
Queensmead had to take a
penalty shoot out against
Bishop Ramsey to win a place
in the semi-finals.
After three penalties the score
was 3-3. Then it went to
sudden death. The final score
was 7-8 to Bishop Ramsey.
Both squads played
exceptionally well and were
unfortunate not to proceed to
the semi-finals.
U13 squad:
Tashauna A’Dolphine,
Selina Bicknell, Shauna Lehane,
Nicole Moore, Charlotte Morgan
and Chloe Ruddell (Capt).
U15 squad: Mariame Amouche,
Jamie Anne Barnes, Abby-Mae
Ferguson (Capt),
Roneth Manfield, Tilly Ormrod
and Danielle Potts.
Mrs Carter
PE Department
PAGE 11
NE WS LE T T E R T I T LE
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1
Year 8 Hillingdon Borough Netball Tournament
On a sunny Wednesday 24th
April the Year 8 Netball squad
travelled to St Helens for the
Hillingdon Borough Netball
Tournament. Due to extreme
weather conditions this had
been postponed twice before
but this was third time lucky.
The tournament was played
as a ‘Round Robin’ where
every school played one
another. The team won three
of their matches against
Haydon A, Haydon B and
Vyners B and narrowly lost
four games.
Queensmead finished equal
fourth in the Borough.
Well done girls I am really
pleased with the
improvements you have made
this year due to your
dedication in attending regular
practices.
The team:
Rhiannon Besley
Emily Costin
Lily Davenport
Katrina Grace
Morgan Hill
Olivia McAndrew
Bisi Osindeinde
Annabel Smith
Lucy Thorpe
Heather Trant
Player of the
tournament:
Katrina Grace
Mrs N Wallace
PE Department
U12 Girls’ Borough Futsal Final
On Tuesday 16th April the
borough futsal final was held
at Guru Nanak School.
first half, with the half time
score reflecting this at five
goals each.
The squad was in high spirits
before the match and
completed a thorough
warm-up, including cardio
work, static, dynamic
stretches and passing and
movement drills.
The final score of 8-6 saw the
Year 7 students claim victory
and the title of Borough Futsal
Champions. They were
presented with individual
medals at the end of the
match.
Unfortunately, Guru Nanak
went on the attack from the
starting whistle and within
minutes were one goal up.
However this was short lived
as Queensmead scored the
next goal very quickly. This
was the story for most of the
Mrs Carter
PE Department
Top row left : Charlotte Morgan,
Nicole Moore, Tashauna A’Dolphine
Bottom row left: Chloe Ruddell,
Samantha Watts, Ronni Pullen
NE WS LE T T E R T I T LE
V O LU M E 1 , I S S U E 1
PAGE 12
Boys’ PE
It's been a busy start to the
summer term for students and
staff alike. There has been
practical moderation for A
Level and GCSE groups and
ongoing preparation for
theory exams.
In extra-curricular the winter
sports season has now
finished, with the summer
activity season now in full
swing. There have been great
numbers attending cricket,
tennis, athletics and rounders
clubs and teams will enjoy
inter-school competitions
throughout the term
(see fixtures below).
At the start of the term there
were a two football fixtures to
complete. The Year 9’s, fresh
from their Easter tour to Paris,
were very unlucky to lose to
Harefield 4-2 in the final of
the Hillingdon Borough Cup.
The first XI lost a very close
semi-final against Douay
Martins 3-2 in extra-time and
the Year 10s capped a
fantastic ‘most improved team
in the school’ season by
winning the plate final 3-0
against Harlington.
Watch this space for more
results (and hopefully
successes) from our cricket,
tennis, rounders and athletics
teams coming up in the next
newsletter.
Mr Conway
Head of PE
Date
Fixture
Year Group
Opponent
Venue
Wed 5th June
Cricket
7
Bishop Ramsey
Home
Wed 5th June
Cricket
9
Harefield
Away
Tue 11th June
Cricket
9
Bishop Ramsey
Home
Thur 13th June
Cricket
8
Vyners
Home
Thur 13th June
Cricket
7
Vyners
Away
Tue 18th June
Rounders
10
Vyners
Away
Thur 20th June
Cricket
8
Bishop Ramsey
Home
Wed 26th June
Sports Day
Tue 2nd Jul
Athletics
7&8
Mon 8th Jul
Rounders
9
Tournament
Vyners
Wed 10th Jul
Rounders
7
Tournament
Home
Mon 15th Jul
Rounders
8
Tournament
Home
Borough Junior Athletics