Discovery Newsletter - Issue 18

DECEMBER 2014 - ISSUE 18
Outstanding
Results
Mayflower High School has a long-standing reputation for
achieving high academic standards. We were, therefore
delighted to see that this year’s students have extended the
proud tradition of A Level success by posting an outstanding
set of results. At a time of more stringent challenge in the
examinations, 25 passes were achieved at A* grade across 10
different subjects. Nearly six entries in every ten attained A*,
A or B grades, with just under a quarter of all entries
registering A* or A grades.
In a year of excellent results, we were thrilled that there
were a large number of impressive individual performances
that set students on the right path for everything they are seeking to do in the
future. Thanks to their exemplary efforts in recording these results, students
from Mayflower High School embarked upon a wide range of degree courses at
some of the country’s most prestigious universities. Finally, we were extremely
pleased to see our average points score stand at over 356 this year, the equivalent
of 2As and a B per student, which is an outstanding achievement.
We were also delighted to be able to report another outstanding set of GCSE
results. 83% of students achieved 5 or more A* to C grades. All entries at the
school were able to register at least one GCSE grade. 73% of students achieved
5 or more A*-C grades including English and Mathematics. At a time when there
has been an emphasis on academic rigour, resulting in changes to the examination
structure, and the prospect of variable outcomes, these results clearly indicate that
standards have been well and truly maintained at Mayflower High School.
Mr Lee Brumby, Headteacher, said, “These are truly excellent results, which reflect
the hard work and commitment of students and staff over the last two years and
the continued support of our parents and governors. I would like to congratulate
everyone on their success. We always had high hopes for this group of students
and these expectations have been met and surpassed. The students have responded
magnificently to their challenging targets. The majority of students have excelled
in their subjects and have benefited from the programmes the school has put in
place. Equally, I am delighted at the broad and balanced nature of the curriculum,
allowing all students to achieve. I am immensely proud of the exemplary standards
and levels of achievement recorded at Mayflower High School.”
Mayflower High School • Stock Road, Billericay, Essex CM12 0RT
Telephone: 01277 623171 • Fax: 01277 632256
Email: [email protected] • Website: www.mayflowerhigh.essex.sch.uk
1
Discovery
Careers
Each Year 11 student has a
careers interview during
which they are encouraged to
discuss their plans, questions
and concerns for the future
including what courses are
available to them at
Mayflower Sixth Form and
other providers. Students are
also shown where they can
find information about
university courses and
apprenticeships.
Big Shock
Dyslexia Centre
Team Building Day
Every year, the Dyslexia Centre organise a trip to welcome the new year 7s
and to help them get to know the rest of our students. It is the job of our
Year 10 students to plan and organise the whole thing. This year, Elliot,
Tchali and Joe were keen to go somewhere we had never been before to
try out totally new activities and this is how we ended up on a rainy day in
Harlow, bumbling! I had never heard of it either but it appeared to be a kind
of urban canyoning with students sliding down weirs and jumping off
bridges. In the event the day was rather too cold and wet and so we
combined the bumbling with the planned kayaking.
Students value the opportunity
to discuss what they would
like to do for their future
studies and career and are
given any relevant careers
information during their
interview. Students know
that they are also welcome to
drop into the Careers Office in
the Library with other questions
as and when the need arises.
“I got so impatient that I was jumping from side to side like I needed
to go to the toilet. I got so impatient I was jumping like a kangaroo.”
Elizabeth Packman 7B1
Students in the Sixth Form are
able to request an interview
with their Careers Adviser,
Miss Masheter. She is available
to give them support with
their CVs, UCAS applications
and job applications along
with advice on interview
techniques and apprenticeships.
Appointments can be booked
through the Sixth Form Office.
“It did not start well for Mrs Golding because she fell in the water.
Although I still think she is amazing and was a good sport.”
Harry Lees 7B1
In October, our Year 11
students went out of school
for work experience. As
always, this proved to be a
valuable opportunity to learn
about the world of work.
Students went to a variety of
places including many top
companies in London, courts,
local schools and nurseries,
libraries, hairdressers, hospitals,
retailers, sporting organisations
and local businesses.
On speaking to students on
their return, it is pleasing to
note that some were offered
part-time jobs and even the
possibility of apprenticeships
or future permanent full-time
employment. As always,
Mayflower students were a
credit to the school
Mrs Annie Bolitho
Careers Coordinator
A long paddle up river was followed by the challenge of jumping off a
rather high bridge into the river below: a challenge taken up by nearly
every student and even one member of staff, the valiant Mrs Golding.
As Elliot said as he leapt, “YOLO!” Mrs Golding also gained the record
for the quickest sinking, overturning almost immediately her kayak hit
the water. Not that anyone laughed!
In November, Mayflower High School was delighted to take receipt of two
Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) from the East of England Ambulance
Service. The AEDs are portable, easy-to-use devices that measure the heartbeat
via sticky pads attached to the chest. They are capable of delivering a shock to
the heart of a person who has suffered sudden cardiac arrest. They guide the
operator at every stage giving clear and easy-to-follow instructions and are safe
to use after a little training.
The two defibrillators were purchased by the Mayflower Parents, Teacher and
Friends Association (PTFA) and donated to the school. Jo Cassidy from the
school’s PTFA said, “We are thrilled to be able to purchase these devices for
Mayflower High School. Each year, between 80,000 and 120,000 people suffer
a cardiac arrest in a public place in the UK. Cardiac arrest can affect anyone,
including children and young people. Speedy defibrillation saves lives. We are
delighted that the PTFA can help the school to have this life-saving equipment
in place.”
Mr Lee Brumby, Headteacher, said, “The school supports the Big Shock
Campaign, run by the organisation SADS UK, which is looking to place a
defibrillator in every school in the country. We are very grateful to the PTFA for
purchasing the AEDs for the school. We will be organising training for our staff
in their use, so that, should the worst ever happen and someone suffers a
cardiac arrest, we will be in position to help save a life.”
2
Every student faced a long paddle from the Outdoors Centre along
the river to the bridge from which we would jump. Students had to
work really hard and some struggled to get to grips with the
technique needed to move forward in a straight line. There were
quite a few who must have paddled twice as far as needed,
zig-zagging back and forth, occasionally disappearing into the
undergrowth and overhanging trees at the side of the river. Still no
one gave up and they all managed to reach the destination. The
journey back was twice as hard and there were quite a few aching
arms at the end.
“When I got out my legs felt like jelly but my arms and body felt
like athletes. I was so excited I leapt for joy”
Elizabeth Packman 7B1
After lunch we travelled a short distance to the Quasar Centre. It was very
loud and very hot but all had a good time chasing around the ‘streets
of New York’.
The whole day was great fun and Elliot, Joe and Tchali should be
congratulated on their organisation. We’re all looking forward to
whatever the current Year 9s, Josh E, Josh D, Joe F and Kian come
up with for us next year. I will leave the last word to the Year 7s.
“The Centre had this trip because it was a good team building
exercise, you get to know the others and it was fun.”
Hannah Williams 7B1
“We were extremely happy on our way home and that was the end
of our terrific day.”
Harry Lees 7B1
3
Discovery Young Chef of
Year 9
Table
Tennis
The Mayflower Ambassadors
organised an inter-form Year
9 table tennis competition
with an added twist...the
winner of the knock out
rounds would play Mr Brumby!
The competitors played to a
high standard in all the
rounds and were ably
refereed by the Ambassadors.
Mr Brumby was watching the
competition closely, trying to
analyse strengths and
weaknesses in possible
opponents, and getting
rather anxious!
The semi-final was between
Matthew Elliott and
Matthew McSweeney and
wow what a game it was!
Both were working hard to
choose the right shot to use,
and the array of forehand
smashes and top spin cross
court shots were awesome!
Matthew Elliott won the
semi-final and invited
Mr Brumby up to the table.
Matthew worked his opponent
hard, drawing him to the
front of the table and then
hitting winning passing
forehand drives down the
line. He continued to exploit
the weakness in his opponent
throughout the match by
choosing a range of defensive
and attacking tactics to
outwit him. Mr Brumby put
up a magnificent fight, but
the deserving winner was
Matthew who won by 2
games to 1.
the Year 2014
In July of this year we began the journey to try to
become one of the four finalists in the Essex Tourism
and Hospitality Young Chef of the Year Competition.
The task was to plan a two-course meal for two
people with a budget of £15 which had to
include fish in the main course and pears in the
dessert. The meal had to be healthy, skilfully
and correctly prepared using locally sourced
and/or home grown food produce, presented
to a high standard, the correct temperature,
and all this in two hours! Reasons for choice
were asked for and shopping lists included,
and costings per portion completed.
Josefine’s m
enu:
Main cour
se
Red pepper
crust pan fr
ied
hake with sw
eet potato fr
ies,
tomato sals
a and celeri
a
c
remoulade
sauce.
Dessert
Conference
pear tart wit
h
vanilla and
berry coulis
and
vanilla crèm
e.
The wonderful news came in August that
Josefine Pedersen had been selected as one
of four finalists! She then prepared and
cooked her meal over and over again so that when it came to the
cook-off she was ready for the competition!
The cook-off took place at Colchester Institute in September in an industrial
kitchen which the contestants had not seen before. All the finalists were amazing
and produced mouth watering meals with such wonderful flavours and aromas.
Now we had to wait four weeks for the results!
The results were given out at the most wonderful
black tie awards evening at Boreham House,
Chelmsford. With nerves kicking in, and fingers
firmly crossed, the award for the Young Chef of
the Year was being announced. Josefine could
hardly believe it when her name was called out as
the winner!
We are all so proud of Josefine and her fabulous
achievement. Well done!
Mrs Alison Chapman
Head of Food Technology
Geography
Field Trip
Very early, one ice-cold morning in November,
Year 13 Geography students made their way in the
school minibus to the Cranedale Centre in North
Yorkshire. Here, they were to carry out a number
of field studies to enable them to demonstrate
their fieldwork skills in their Geographical Skills
Examination in June 2015.
After they arrived and settled in, they were off in the afternoon to do
their first study. They went to South Sands, Bridlington to look at sand
dune succession. They investigated how vegetation succession took place
on the sand dunes and they sampled a variety of biotic and abiotic factors
along a transect.
The following day was
the River Study.
Visiting three
locations along the
River Derwent, the
aim of the day was to
see how river variables
changed along the
rivers course,
measuring amongst
other variables,
velocity, bedload size
and shape, and the
channel width and
depth.
A study of beach
sediment in Selwicks
Bay allowed them to
investigate how
sediment size varied
across a bay. They also got to explore the stunning Flamborough Head, an
impressive arch and a number of caves. The afternoon was spent studying coastal
erosion along the Holderness coastline and we were able to see the impact that
the winter storm of 2013/14 had had on our coastline. They saw first-hand how
management strategies had in some cases stood up to the great storms, but, in
others, completely destroyed it.
The final day was a Human Geography study where the students were able, using
various fieldwork methods, to delimit the CBD of Malton.
Well done to everyone
involved!
Mrs Alison Chapman
Co-ordinator of the
Mayflower Ambassadors
Mrs Suzanne Keyworth
Head of Geography
4
5
Discovery
Places of
Worship Trip
Each year, the Religious Studies Department organises the places of worship
trip for Year 8 students. This year, we took 160 students across two dates in
December to Neasden Mandir, Southall Gurdwara and Harrow Mosque. Year 8
students have been studying Hinduism and Islam throughout the Autumn
Term and studied Sikhism at the end of Year 7. This trip was an excellent
opportunity for all students to witness and observe the different ways in
which these religions worship and follow the teachings of their faith.
Students on the first trip unfortunately missed out on visiting the Neasden
Mandir, due to an accident on the M25, they did not however let this
dampen their spirits, as we continued with our journey to reach the
Gurdwara. After a four hour drive, we made it and the students were
given the opportunity to look around the magnificent Gurdwara and
try some of the free food within the Langar. Most of the students gave
it a try and enjoyed the vegetarian curry!
Once we had finished in the Gurdwara, we went on to Harrow Mosque,
an impressive building, which has taken 8 years to build. Students again
had the opportunity to witness the afternoon prayers and were treated
to a complimentary bag of crisps for the journey home.
During the second visit, we had a smoother journey and were able to
visit all three places of worship. Students were impressed with the
beautiful Mandir and were very lucky to be able to go inside the
marble temple where various shrines for different Hindu gods are
kept. Students were also given the chance to visit the gift shop where
many purchased postcards, pencils and even some small Ganesh
statues! We then continued with our journey and reached both the
Gurdwara and the Mandir where we were greeted with a warm
welcome once again.
All students were a credit to Mayflower High School, displaying
outstanding behaviour throughout both days.
It has been a very successful trip and we look forward to
visiting again next year.
Mrs Caroline Davis
Religious Studies KS3 Co-ordinator
Maths
Music
The UK Mathematical
Olympiad for Girls,
affectionately known as
MOG, held this year in late
September, is aimed at girls
in Years 11, 12 and 13.
Hannah Leonard and Amy
Clark were chosen to
represent Mayflower High
School. Hannah and Amy
both enjoyed the challenge
and agreed that 2 ½hours
passed very quickly. I am
sure you will be pleased to
know that both achieved a
distinction.
It has been a
busy term in the Music
Department with lots of successes and new
equipment to get excited about!
We had ten students experience
ss
a
P
e
n
O
their first Associated Board of
Grade
Pass
smuth
the Royal Schools of Music
Grade One ss
Bronte Wa
Pa
singing exam. Our singing
Grade One ss
Chloe Peek
Pa
ut
e
a
n
n
e
O
R
e
e
d
ti
ra
a
teacher, Miss Davies, prepared
G
K
Pass
nck
e
Jo
n
e
O
ll
e
ie
d
n
ra
a
G
D
them for their exam and we
erit
rade One M t
G
Joe Hacker
are pleased to report that all
ri
rown
de One Me ction
ra
G
Abbigail B
ten passed their exam!
e
Distin
yd-Gan
Grade One
Megan Llo
n
io
Distinct
za
In October, Mr Tuck was
Grade One
Ana Duran
h
g
u
Merit
ro
b
e
u
re
o
h
C
T
ie
e
invited to lead a workshop at
h
d
Gra
Sop
inson
k
ic
D
e
tt
o
Cambridge University for their
Charl
PGCE Music students about the place of Music
Technology within the music curriculum. This is an area of the department
that Mr Tuck is keen to develop, so we are extremely happy that the department
now has 16 Macbook Pro computers to help with the implementation of this. All
students that study Music from Year 7 to Year 13 have lessons using the new
equipment and students now have the option of studying both Music or Music
Technology from Year 10 onwards. We are also excited that the Cambridge
University PGCE Music students are coming to visit the department in January for
further workshops and to look at our equipment!
Year 9 students took part in the annual Last Class Standing singing competition.
There was a lot of pressure on the department, with Mr Tuck keen to keep his
clean sweep of 1st, 2nd and 3rd place from last year and Miss Venables keen to
stop Mr Tuck gloating. The competition was held over three sessions and of the
ten classes that took part the winning class was Miss Venables’s group, with their
performance of Wavin’ Flag with Mr Tuck having to settle for 2nd and 3rd place
this year with I Want You Back and Don’t You Worry Child.
To round off the term, we had the Music Celebration Winter Concert on Thursday 11th December. The concert featured performances from our established
ensembles, such as FLOW, Cello Ensemble and The Stage Band, as well as
performances from Just Blokes and Ladies What Sing, our new male and female
close harmony groups. There were some superb solos and duets during the
evening as well as a performance of a Year 8 Gospel composition and a
breathtaking performance of The Lamb by our Advanced Vocal Group.
A fantastic term of music making from our students and staff across the school!
Mr James Tuck
Head of Music
6
7
In November, four Sixth
Form students, Oliver
Alexander, Luke Howlett,
James Redgrave and David
Roast were chosen to
represent the school at the
Regional Heat of the UK
Mathematics Trust Senior
Team Challenge. The event
involved 19 secondary
schools from Essex. It is a
national competition which
combines mathematical,
communication and
teamwork skills and offers
students another way to
develop their enjoyment of
mathematics. After a
gruelling evening of
competitive maths, the
Mayflower team achieved a
very creditable result.
The Senior Kangaroo is one
of the follow-on rounds for
the Senior Mathematical
Challenge. Around 1500
high-scoring students in the
SMC are invited to
participate in the Senior
Kangaroo and to test
themselves on questions set
for the best school-aged
mathematicians from across
Europe and beyond.
Jo Burgess, in Year 12,
represented Mayflower in
November. I would like to
take the opportunity to
congratulate Jo on
achieving a creditable result
and wish her well in the
forthcoming mathematical
events.
Mr Stewart Price
Interventions Co-ordinator:
Mathematics
Discovery
Mayflower World War
One Commemorations
The school has been very active in marking the start of World War I. Firstly, as a thank you for all
the work that has been undertaken to support the Royal British Legion Mayflower was asked to
be the launch school for the Essex Poppy Appeal. The Legion’s County Chairman and the County
Vice Chairman also attended on the day to support the school.
In late October, members of the Chelmsford branch of the British Legion,
students from Year 10 and a young veteran created a human poppy in the
hall. Students from PE were organised by Miss Hobbs into a poppy on the
floor with Ben Roberts, the young veteran, as the centre point. It was
quite a struggle to get all the students to form a giant poppy using both
our red PE uniform and blazers so that when viewed from above they
would resemble a poppy. On the day, we were joined by several members
of the Legion who helped to celebrate the launch.
It was a very proud moment for both Ben and the school to be part of
something so important in the year that marks the beginning of the
1914-1918 commemorations.
This was only the beginning of our commemorations as staff, students,
head boy and girl and veterans from several branches of the British Legion
attended our Veterans’ Lunch. Students from Years 7 – 9 as well as peer
supporters dressed up in WWI school uniform for the day. Mrs Trevellyan,
Mrs Halpin, Mrs Hall from the Legion and I also dressed up in costume on the
day. The library was decorated with the most astonishing art works created by
Mrs Nicol and the Art Department students. These included a beautiful picture
of a Chelsea Pensioner amongst the poppies at the Tower of London. We also
had a display of letters and postcards from the western front written by Year 7
students during their library lessons and Year 9 curriculum support poetry
work. I am sure many of the students went up to the Tower to see the
poppies for themselves too.
As usual staff donated an astonishing collection of artefacts from their
families with photographs, letters, medals and memorabilia. Two items of
particular interest were donated by Miss Lock and Mrs Dewhirst. Miss Lock
loaned a diary written by her great-grandfather, written after he came back
from the war and gave an amazing first-hand account of the horrors and
humour of war. Mrs Dewhirst donated a diary that contained drawings,
poems and notes from soldiers during the First World War that were
noted down when they returned home and met up with friends and family.
We also had a significant collection donated by the school’s postman,
Steve Cole, who is a collector of military memorabilia and kindly loaned a
wide variety of material including a small bible, German medals, a
Lusitania medal reproduction newspapers and information relating to
men from the area who had served during the Great War.
8
There were also a collection of original stitched postcards from staff and
reproduction postcards and also reproduction ones created by the Basildon
Embroiderers’ Guild.
We had lots of veterans from the Legion drop-in centre, visiting veterans
related to staff, as well as the Billericay branch and also Ben our veteran
from the poppy launch. Tea was served and stories were shared with
students. These men have fought in both the Second World War and later
conflicts and were keen to share their experiences, both good and bad,
with the students. The children were totally engrossed in what our visitors
had to say and were fascinated by their photographs and artefacts on the
day. There were amazing stories of Normandy, battles in the air as well as
on land.
The children had lots of questions to be answered and showed real care to our
visitors making sure that they always had a full cup of tea and a piece of cake to
keep them going. It was well over two hours later that our last guest left and we
began to tidy up for what was probably our best lunch yet. The veterans were
keen to make sure we would invite them back next year and would be telling all
their drop-in centre friends that they would be welcome.
It is a really positive experience for both veterans and students alike and the
feedback from the Legion was that they were deeply touched by the care that
was taken with them and also that the school valued their sacrifice. It seemed
particularly poignant in 2014 to be celebrating the men who fought for this
country and who often feel that their efforts are forgotten by the younger
generation.
Then finally, Year 8 students re-enacted the Christmas Truce football match.
The teams were chosen by the PE department and the children were
then shown the special supermarket advert showing the history behind
the football match before they went out on to the pitch. The teams
wore special t-shirts with the flags on and played for 90 minutes until it
was too dark to see the ball. It was a great match and the boys played
brilliantly until the final score, Germany 3 - Great Britain 2. After a
morning of pouring rain on the pitch their lovely pure white jerseys
were filthy!
Hopefully we will make this a yearly match particularly for the next
three commemorative years until 2018.
Miss Karen Bainbridge
Librarian
9
Discovery
Year 7:
Science
Museum
In December, Year 7
students went to the
Science Museum.
When we arrived we went
straight to the third floor
where we watched a Rocket
Show. The show taught us
about how to get up into
space and how much energy
is needed by burning
hydrogen. There were also
bangs galore!
After the show, we explored
Launch Pad, a hands-on,
brains-on gallery designed to
make students stop and think
about the world around us.
My favourite activity was
hearing music through my
teeth. First, you take a clean
straw and put it on the metal
rod. Bite down on the metal
rod, cover your ears and then
you can hear the sounds in
your head without actually
hearing them through your
ears!
On the first floor was an area
called ‘Who am I?’ which had
lots of games to help learn
about how the brain works.
The Science Museum was
really fun and I learnt a lot
through playing and figuring
out things for myself.’
Rebecca Howell
Year 7
Doors to Manual Space
Challenge
Fishers Exchange and Cross Check!
Billericay-
An amazing time was had by all who went on
the exchange trip to visit our twinned town of
Fishers, Indiana. Having already hosted our
American counterparts in July, everyone was
really looking forward to meeting up again.
The trip is an annual event, organised by the
Billericay Twinning Association and Fishers Sister
Cities, with two students and a member of staff
from both Mayflower High School and The
Billericay School. The students are required to formally apply for the exchange and
are ultimately decided through an interview process. The lucky students involved this
year from Mayflower were Molly Norris and Hannah Spurgeon.
We were lucky to have absolutely no problems with our flights to Indianapolis and
after a long day of travelling, everyone was excited to reunite with their hosts! We
were all up very early for the first two days of the trip as we were visiting the two
high schools in Fishers – Fishers High School and Hamilton South Eastern.
Touring around the schools and experiencing what it was like to be a student or staff
in the two institutions was a real highlight of the trip. We were shocked by the
length of the school day, with lessons starting at 7:30 a.m. and a school day consisting
of 7 lessons; with only a 20-minute lunch break all day!
The facilities were amazing and definitely demonstrated what needs to be in place
for a school with over 3000 students (a huge swimming pool, amazing auditorium
and even a football stadium). A particular highlight was that our students were
selected to be the anchors for the school’s news broadcast at Fishers High School and
they did a fantastic job!
In November 2014, British Airways landed at Mayflower via Senior First
Cabin crew member, Sarah McArthur. Sarah presented to the Year 13 A
Level students in Economics and Business Studies the ways in which BA
remain the world’s favourite airline. She described the First Cabin
experience which sets the airline apart from rival operators. Students were
amazed at the level of detail and attention that went into creating the
brand. Sarah brought along several examples of the First Cabin including
menus which included the finest ingredients and wines as well as amenity
kits that come as standard in First which incorporated premium brands.
Sarah explained how the airline competed with others on everything
except price, as price wars were not in the company’s interest.
Sarah answered the many questions students had at the end but
unfortunately couldn’t provide an upgrade for any of us! Many students
commented how this visit had brought the theory covered in class to life
and stated how they were much more aware of the ways in which
competition took place.
Mr Mike McCarthy
Head of Social Sciences
A morning was spent visiting Connor Prairie, a living
museum where we were able to discover what life
was like for early settlers as well as an excellent
section dedicated to the American Civil War, where
some of the acting and special effects was maybe a
little too believable for some of our students!
Having discussed what
conditions are like on Mars
compared to Earth, pupils
worked in teams of mixed
key stages to design and
construct a shelter suitable
for living on Mars for a
minimum of 6 months.
Pupils decided that size, UV
protection, insulation and
strength were important
features to take into
consideration when building
their shelters. They also made
sure that the mass of their
shelters remained as small as
possible, due to the need to
transport the shelter
materials to Mars. The
completed shelters were
judged at the end of the
challenge via a series of tests
in which teams were
awarded points for how well
they met the criteria.
The afternoon provided a
fast-paced, challenging and
fun experience for all
involved.
During the majority of the weekend, the students
spent time with their host families visiting Chicago
or going to see the NFL team Indianapolis Colts
beat the Baltimore Ravens. A couple of hours were
spent by everyone at ‘The Renaissance Fayre’ that
is held in Fishers which helps raises funds for the
exchange programme to take place.
The winning team was ‘Dark
Stars’:
• Anna Trett & Bethany
Adams (KS3 The Billericay
School)
• James McCrow (KS1
Buttsbury Infant School)
• Alfred Lovell (KS1 Stock
Primary School)
• Lewis Whappington (KS2
Sunnymede Junior School)
We spent a day in the town of Fishers visiting the Police, Fire and Town departments
and that evening our hosts all got together to hold a ‘Thanksgiving-Style’ dinner,
where we got to say our official goodbyes. We managed to spend our last day
visiting two iconic parts of Indianapolis. We visited the Indianapolis Speedway and
also had a tour of the Lucas Oil Stadium – a fantastic way to end the trip.
Our thanks go out to Marion and Trevor from the Billericay Twinning Association and
Doug from Fishers Sister Cities for their organisation and support of this fantastic trip.
We would particularly like to thank our host families who were absolutely fantastic
and demonstrated to us exactly how good American hospitality is and we hope that
this trip has forged lifelong friendships.
Mr James Tuck
Head of Music
10
The afternoon was well
attended by 34 KS1, 2 and 3
pupils from 10 local infant,
junior, primary and secondary
schools.
11
Discovery
Sports News The Macmillan
2014 has been an exceptional year for sport at Mayflower
High School. On the back of winning both District Athletics
and the District Swimming Gala, Mayflower added the
District Cross-Country crown in November.
With conditions very wet under foot the Year 7 girls
got off to a flyer with winning the team
competition with Emily Dunlop and Rose Orrey
finishing in the top 10. The Year 7 boys destroyed
the opposition winning the team competition with
5 boys in the top ten with Lewis Goodacre 2nd and
George Bridger 3rd. The success continued with
both Year 8/9 boys’ and girls’ teams winning the
team event. In the boys’ race Mayflower took a
clean sweep of the medals with Oliver Lill
winning gold, Leon Wheeler silver and Lucas
Wells bronze. In the Upper School boys’ team
ran well with Callum Gibson finishing 4th. The
girls’ team also performed creditably.
Mayflower beat Beauchamps for the overall
trophy and now holds all three major district
trophies.
In rugby, both Year 8 and 9 boys’ teams have remained unbeaten this year
and have reached the Essex Cup Quarter finals both topping the group stage.
For Year 8, they beat Hedingham, Chafford, St Clere’s School and drew with
Anglo European. The deciding game against local rivals Woodlands was won
by Mayflower in a close match. So far Josh Gray and Sam Philips have been a
handful for opposition scoring multiple tries per game.
Year 9 have been equally impressive
beating Gable Hall, Redden Court,
Chafford, Sweyne Park and De La
Salle to top their league. We have
had debut games for Billy Stevens,
Lee Coughlin, Joshua Ellis and Ben
Godfrey. With a solid defensive line
and some outstanding attacking
rugby, the result has been a
succession of tries from a range of
players. However, Ian Phipps is
leading the scoring with nine tries
so far.
Mr Martin Sergeant
Head of Physical Education
World’s Biggest
Coffee Morning
A regular and established part of the Mayflower calendar is
the Macmillan Cancer Support ‘Worlds’ Biggest Coffee
Morning’. This annual event occurs on the last Friday in
September and is the day when healthy eating takes a back
seat and cake eating and coffee drinking is very actively
encouraged! Cake baking is encouraged although bought cakes
are equally welcome in the staff room
A number of years ago we extended the day to include the
students in the lower school with the slight adaption to the fact
that they are not great coffee drinkers. There was still the call
for cake baking or for students to bring in brought cakes and
biscuits which were then sold in the library at break time. The
queue was as ever enormous and the teachers and helpers
did sterling work keeping the cakes and money moving.
Meanwhile the Sixth Form also played a role by raising
money by paying £2 and coming into school wearing
something green. This is obviously the Macmillan colour
and the students were showing once again their support
for the wider community.
Finally this year Mrs Orriss added another element to the
whole process by making a monster chocolate cake that
was raffled to the teachers and support staff, raising
alone over £130. This was won by the PE department
who then generously
divided it up to be
consumed by all who
visited the staff room.
In all the cake bakers and
cake eaters and coffee
drinkers and green
wearers raised £1100.
So thanks to the students,
the parents, and the
teachers for helping to
raise this impressive
amount.
Mr Richard Maples
Head of Humanities
12
13
Discovery
Big Hitters Drama
In mid-November, the A Level IT and Computing
students were invited to attend a seminar in Logan
Hall, part of the Institute of Education, within the
University of London, called the Big Hitters. The
seminar focused on the developing technologies and
key developments in ICT, with speakers from a
number of key industries such as Google and IBM.
This key information supports the students’ studies
into the real world application of ICT systems.
Upon arriving we heard from Sam Hickling, a
Technical Programme Manager at Google. He spoke
about the many different projects that Google are
currently taking part in. The one that most of the
students were familiar with was the Google
self-driving cars, which they had been driven on over
140,000 miles.
After a quick break we heard from Paul Long about
the Internet of Things and how technology is
making the world more efficient, and how soon
different household devices will be able to
communicate with each other.
Before lunch we heard from James Hughes, who
started his talk with a joke, which no one understood.
James was from Raspberry Pi, a charity that has built a
small computer the size of a credit card to encourage
users to program. The number of computer scientists is
reducing due to computers becoming easier to use, this
new computer allows users to write programs and use an
open source operating system.
After lunch we heard from Tom Davison and Paloma
Garcia from Systematic who develop software
products for the military, intelligence and
national security, healthcare, financial, public
and private sectors. Talking about technology
is moving faster than society and how the new
technology is changing the way we behave,
and that everyone has a digital tattoo that
will be online forever.
Before we left we heard from Dr Peter
Waggett from IBM, speaking about the new
technology using biometrics to lock your car,
access your bank account and even enter
your house.
The feedback from the students was that
they found the information very helpful and
they had a lovely day out in London.
Miss Vikki McDowell
Teacher of ICT and Computing
14
The term has been as busy as ever in the Drama Department.
Along with other departments in the Faculty we have been
very busy preparing for the net whole show of Grease, to
be performed in February next year.
Meanwhile the GCSE Drama Year 10 students threw
themselves in to the preparation and performance of some very
entertaining stories based on Commedia Dell’Arte which they showed
to an audience in early December. It was a nerve wracking time for
some but gave them the experience of having to put together a
performance to an audience and they all did extremely well.
The GCSE Drama Year 11 students all worked really hard in November
when they were assessed for their Unit 2 practical work on the play
Blood Brothers. The students were committed and dedicated to the
work and made me very proud. Part of their assessment was to see a live
play and, along with the Year 12 students, we had a very enjoyable
evening in the West End at a performance of the amazing
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. The students
were mesmerised by the acting, set and particularly lighting of this
magical play.
After Christmas, the Key Stage 3 Drama Club is going to re-start
from 14 January and the aim is to work towards a competition
later in the year. Hope to see lots of you there!
Miss Liz Platt
Head of Drama
Sixth Form
Christmas Dinner
Our annual Year 12 and 13 Christmas dinner was held on Wednesday
26 November at Friern Manor. The evening was well attended and saw
a variety of smart dresses and suits.
After a short coach ride we arrived at our venue for the night, which
was decorated and lit up beautifully giving it the seasonal touch. The
students were warmly welcomed and were shown to their neatly
decorated tables, with a pianist in the centre of the room who
played a variety of songs throughout the early part of the evening,
while the students and staff ate a three course meal which
included the traditional roast turkey dinner.
After dinner, a DJ continued into the evening with popular music
as students filled the dance floor to complete the evening. It was
clear to see the success of the dinner through the memories of
the evening which everyone was sharing the following day.
Thank you to the Sixth Form Council for organising a fantastic
event.
15
Discovery Ypres
After many years of visiting Ypres the visits in 2014 our visit coincided with the
centenary of the outbreak of World War I. Over the two day we took almost 200
students to the area where in 1914 British troops arrived to defend Belgium against
the German invasion and to fight alongside our French allies. Little did they know
that four years and 888,246 British and Commonwealth casualties later, the war
would end.
This year to maximise our time in Ypres we set off at 3:15 and began our day at the
Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 where 500,000 died. Here students were
able to experience both the underground dugout recreation as well as how the
trench evolved. They also got the chance to see just how much a soldier’s kit
weighed and the smell of deadly mustard gas. After this we travelled to Hill 62
Sanctuary Wood where the students were able to wander around the remains of
actual trenches and the underground tunnel complex
After lunch at the cafe, we travelled on to Tyne Cot and the students were as ever
silenced by the sight of almost 12000 individual graves. We gathered by the stone
memorial with the epitaph ‘Their name remembered ever more’ and a prayer was
said, another wreath laid on behalf of Mayflower and a minute’s silence observed.
Students then wandered the cemetery noting Canadian brothers from Nova Scotia
buried side by side who died two days apart on November 6th and November 8th
1917 and four grave stones with Victoria Crosses engraved on them.
At the end of the trip we entered Ypres passing through the Menin Gate where
another 57000 deaths are commemorated on a huge memorial. On into Ypres we
made our final visit to the chocolate shop to complete our Belgian experience and
then we made our way back to Calais to make our way back to Mayflower.
Southend:
Another world
The Mayflower History Department once again set out for in the October
sunshine to experience the splendours of Georgian Southend. Students armed
with questions and information booklets set out to determine just what
remained of Southend’s Georgian past and why the Prince Regent’s wife,
Princess Caroline, and Lady Hamilton, Lord Nelson’s mistress, thought this was
the place to stay.
In truth the day was a little damp with the booklets in danger of the ink running
but this did not stop our quest for the roots of Southend’s early beginnings. Given
that it is currently the largest town in Essex it is difficult to believe that in 1750 it
comprised 13 fisherman’s cottages and one house. Today you need to search for
the remains of the attempt by developers to make Southend the Brighton of the
east but at the bottom of the High Street the Royal Hotel and Royal Terrace give
the best idea.
The students made copious notes made imaginative sketches and took pictures of
the scattered Georgian remains along the sea front. By the end of the day they
could identify stucco, understand the importance of symmetry and make a case for
why the Georgian rich might come to Southend. Fully informed and protected
against the low October temperatures we finished our 5 hours of travel and
exposure and headed back to Mayflower.
16