Autism Awareness Week at Queen Elizabeth`s

Autism Awareness Week at Queen Elizabeth’s
14th
The
to the 18th of March was the first National Schools’ Autism Awareness week.
Indifference, intolerance and hostility towards people with autism and their families
can lead to extreme social isolation, mental illness and profoundly unhappy lives.
Helping young people to understand autism as they grow up, will equip a new
generation with the knowledge to accept and empathise with people with autism.
With this in mind, staff and students at Queen Elizabeth’s have been organising and
taking part in various events in order to educate and raise awareness about autism.
On Tuesday the 15th of March, former QE
student and accomplished actor, Luke
Treadaway, visited the school and took part in
an Autism Awareness Assembly. Luke was
awarded the prestigious Olivier award for his
moving portrayal of Christopher Boone, a
fifteen year old boy with Autism, in the National
Theatre production of the Curious Incident of a
Dog in the Night Time. During the assembly,
Luke talked about his experiences of playing a
Actor Luke Treadaway with QE students character with autism, and about the autistic
people he met and who helped him so
profoundly in understanding and building the character of Christopher. Luke then
stayed at the Barnfield Campus to visit the
school’s provision for students with Autism
and to spend time chatting to the QE
students who benefit from the facility.
On Thursday the 17th, students at the
Barnfield campus baked and sold an
impressive selection of beautifully decorated
and delicious cakes in order to raise funds
for The National Autistic Society. If you would
like to make a donation to the charity you
can do so here, www.autism.org.uk.
The fundraising cake sale at Barnfield Campus
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Welcome to the Easter edition of our newsletter. It is fantastic to see
such great performance and more importantly participation in such a
huge range of activities from our young people. Autism week was a
particular highlight this term and created real sense of community
and positivity throughout the school, and for Luke Treadaway to be so
generous of his time and spirt was much appreciated, so thank you to
him and everyone that made the week possible, especially the
students who put in so much work and thought into it all. The
inaugural Sports Relief Bake Off was another high point, though the
job of judging was harder than it looks I promise you! And whilst all this
is going on students and staff are working incredibly hard on
preparing for the exams coming up after Easter, it is such a cliché but
time really does fly by, and the next few weeks provide a vital window
for students to revise effectively and therefore to make a real
difference to the final outcome.
If I could take this opportunity to make you aware and urge you to
contribute to the government’s consultation, launcher earlier this
week, on a National Fair Funding Formula for schools. The current
system of school funding means the amount schools receive varies
massively from region to region across England. The 10 best–funded
areas on average received grants of £6,297 per pupil, compared with
an average of just £4,208 per pupil in the 10 most poorly funded areas.
Unfortunately for students, parents and schools in Devon, we are one
of the poorly funded local authorities, currently Devon schools receive
£270 less per head than the national average. The good news is the
government has recognised the problem and earlier this week
launched the long-awaited consultation on school funding. Please
contribute to that consultation, details of which can be found at the
Department for Education website, or via an organisation called
www.f40.org.uk which represents a group of the lowest funded
education authorities in England.
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The importance of contributing is brought into particular focus for us at
QE as unfortunately we are facing a future situation of both reduced
funding and increasing costs if we take no action. As a result we are
having to reduce our costs and we are currently negotiating with staff
about potential redundancies. As soon as we are able to
communicate the outcome with parents and the wider community
we will. In the mean time I would like to assure you that the school is
not overspent or in debt, as these things can sometimes become
confused. The action we are taking is to ensure that does not happen
in the future. We will always provide the very best education within
the resources made available to us by the government and in doing
so we will ensure our focus remains on the needs of the students we
serve.
My best wishes for Easter
Rupert Poole
Principal
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Combined School Musical Afternoon
at Queen Elizabeth’s
On Friday the 26th of February 35 students from Queen Elizabeth's
partner primary schools came to QE for a fun afternoon of
music. Students were invited to take part in a combined schools’
band rehearsal and spent two hours learning a version of the song
Billie Jean, by Michael Jackson.
QE students were allocated as mentors to each instrumental group
and helped to bring the piece together.
The aim of the afternoon was to produce a piece to be performed at
the music event which took place at the Great Hall, Exeter University,
on Monday the 7th of March.
This large scale event takes place every year and features a musical
item from each of the schools. It is an opportunity to share and
celebrate the musical talent we have within the Crediton Learning
Community.
The band rehearsal was a great success and by the end of the day
Billie Jean was sounding fantastic!
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Creative Writing Workshops
with Ryan O’Sullivan
Former QE student and Cambridge
graduate, Ryan O'Sullivan, led two
Creative Writing workshops at QE this
half term. Ryan read English Literature
at Cambridge and now writes and
directs comedy.
In the morning, year 8 students were
involved in a workshop enabling them
to produce their own Gothic story,
which they are currently learning
about in their English lessons. They
were invited to wear a blindfold and
listen to chilling music whilst Ryan read
aloud one of his gruesome tales. They
were then given the opportunity to
write their own stories in the same
genre. The work shop concluded with
the students, anonymously, reading
their stories aloud while the rest of the
group were blindfolded. The results
were fantastic and the quality and
amount of work was really impressive.
Ryan O’Sullivan telling grizzly
tales
After school, budding writers and actors from the Sixth Form gathered
in the drama hall to focus on comedy writing with Ryan. Following a
warm-up, they improvised a doctor / patient sketch, using the uneven
power structure and the idea of the doctor giving some very strange
advice, as a source of comedy. Then, in threes, students devised
sketches exploring other situations where there is this uneven power
relationship: an interview, someone seeking help from the police, a
call to the emergency services. The results were very wacky and very
funny: a tribute to the way Ryan led and inspired - and to our students'
creativity. One Sixth Former said, “It was a great opportunity to learn
ways of devising sketches and stories, and we had great fun
doing this.”
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PE Inter Tutor Tournaments in the Blazing Sunshine
On the week beginning the 14th March, Years 7,8 and 9 competed in
the PE Inter Tutor Championships for the spring term .
Tutor groups went head to head, with all students showing off their
Football or Dance skills. All three tournaments were played in glorious
conditions with students taking charge of their own teams and
representing their tutor groups in the respective sports.
Thanks go to the students from years 9 and 10 who acted as very able
and fair referees, and to all staff who helped to supervise these fun
filled events.
The students had a fantastic time and we witnessed some
outstanding team performances. The winners were…
Boys Football
Winners
Girls Football
Winners
Mixed
Dance
Winners
Year 7
7O
7C
7C
Year 8
8C & 8O
8E
8I
Year 9
9T
9C
9I
Boys Football Joint Winners. 8C and 8O
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Mixed Dance Winners. 9I
Girls Football Winners. 8E
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Inaugural QE Sport Relief Bake Off
Students and staff at Queen Elizabeth’s were
asked to bake a cake, or cupcakes, for the
first QE Sport Relief Bake off, and the
response was fantastic!
The Food Technology department was
inundated with all types of delicious cakes;
there were pretty cupcakes decorated with
incredible precision in gorgeous bright
colours, sports pitches, sporting equipment,
and even a mountain complete with
climbers; all impressively crafted from
sponge cake and icing.
1st place cake by Lucy
Wallace
The task of tasting the creative confections
and declaring the prize winners fell to
Principal Rupert Poole, who applied himself
to the task with no small amount of
enthusiasm. After studying the impressive
design skills and handcraft that had gone
into creating each entry, Mr Poole set about
tasting the cakes. After much tasting,
deliberating and savouring, and after
several exclamations of “that is just delicious,
you must try that one”, the three winners
were chosen.
In 3rd place, with her light and fluffy Sport
Relief cupcakes, beautifully decorated with
piped icing and containing a red sport relief
surprise inside, was Sophie Cox.
In 2nd place, the enormously impressive cake
mountain, complete with icing rock climbers
baked and decorated by Matthew
Cartwright.
And in highly contested but well-earned first
place was Lucy Wallace with her
impeccably iced and very delicious Sport
Relief football pitch sponge cake.
2nd place cake by
Matthew Cartwright
3rd place cakes by Sophie Cox
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Each of the winners received a medal to commemorate their
achievement, and Lucy was also awarded a Great British Bake Off
Big Book of Baking.
The standard of entry was so high that Mr Poole also gave a special
commendation to Georgia Kendall, Milly Edwards, Olivia Wootton,
Willow Brynes and Holly Byrne, who had joined forces to make a
monumental Stopwatch cake surrounded by a swimming pool,
running rack and various types of sports balls.
The other fabulous entries included a vibrant Red Nose cake, delicate crispy cakes, a Polly Peacock cake, scrumptious cupcakes, rich
and delicious chocolate sponges and a delectable Coffee and
Walnut Cake.
After the competition, the cakes were sold by the slice to students
and staff to raise money for the Sport Relief Charity. The QE Sport
Relief Bake off was a great success. Everybody, especially Mr Poole,
is looking forward to the next one!
Special Commendation
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Climbing at QE this Spring term
QE ran its first climbing competition this term with students competing
with each other in Under 14, 16 and 19 categories.
Overall winner was Erica Cann in Yr12. Under 16 champion was Tyler
Rendall and the Under 14 competition was so close we had joint first
place, with Thomas Gregory and Freddy Gardiner both having the
same number of points after all five climbs.
Sunday 20th of March saw the QE climbing squad taking part in the
South West Schools Climbing Championships at the Quay in
Exeter. With 15 schools competing from as far a field as Dorset and
Bristol the competition was fierce. With outstanding performances
from Ben Townsend, Cameron Reynolds-Beer and Erica Cann the QE
squad secured 7th place.
A great day was had by all with over 120 climbs completed by the
team. There were some very tired climbers on the way home on the
school bus. Summer climbing will start soon so keep an eye on the
website for dates.
QE Climbing Squad: Cameron Reynolds-Beer, Erica
Cann, Fred Bevan, Jack Woodcock, Ben Townsend
and Dylan Hemmington.
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QE Ten Tors Weekend Camp 19-20 March
This last weekend saw 30 intrepid students set out on a weekend
expedition as part of their training for this year’s Ten Tors event. For
some, this was the first time that they had experienced carrying a fully
loaded weekend backpack in preparation for the night’s camp.
After a long first day, the tents were up and a very welcome hot meal
was eaten. Although some found boil in the bag meals not exactly of
restaurant quality, all of the students shared provisions so that
everybody had something to eat.
After what seemed to be a long night ,awake listening to Princetown’s
howling wind , the students set off in good spirits for day two. They encountered many of the Tors and way points that they will visit during
the actual Ten Tors event. These practice expeditions are very
challenging and are designed to push students in preparation for the
event in May.
As expected, Dartmoor was formidable; good visibility and no rain this
time but temperatures of around 4 degrees and a wind-chill of minus 4
degrees! Despite this the students made good time and were all back
safe and sound on Sunday waiting for the coach back to Crediton.
QE is a long standing participant in the Ten Tors event and it is a credit
to the students and staff volunteers that year after year we are able to
fill our quota of teams with such determined young people, many of
whom will go on to complete all three distances.
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Spring Term QE PE & Sport News
After one of the wettest terms on record it was difficult to fulfil cup
commitments amongst the outdoor sports. Thankfully the pleasant
weather recently has seen a very busy couple of the weeks for the PE
department. Don’t forget to catch up with all the latest news and
pictures on our Twitter page #PE@QE.
Football
It's been a tough term with regards to football fixtures due to the
dreadful weather we have had, but we have managed to play a few
games and there are a few more to come before we break up for
Easter. The year 7 team missed out narrowly in the 2nd round of the
County Cup to a strong Torquay Boys Grammar side, and the year 8
team were edged out during an 11 goal thriller with Plymstock, losing
6-5 in the dying minutes. The year 9 team have made great progress
since last year and are performing well in their Exeter and East Devon
Cup games, as are the year 11 team. The Year 11’s are set to play in
the Semi Final of this competition. As the season draws to a close we
are still seeing outstanding numbers at training which goes to show
the enthusiasm the boys have had for football this season,
despite one of the wettest winters
we've ever seen!
Girls football is still going strong at
Barnfield Campus after school on
a Thursday. Exeter City FC
coaches are coaching the girls
well by progressing their skills and
understanding of the game. Next
week is the last coaching session,
as after Easter we are moving on
to summer sports. I'd like to thank
all the girls for coming along and
committing your time to
improving your skills and enjoying
the game!
Ross Dickinson representing the
year 11 football team.
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Basketball
In our basketball teams we have 15 boys and girls playing in years 7
and 8 on a Monday in the Barnfield gymnasium; a special mention
should go to James Boyle, Evan Hayes, George Ripper, Jacob Evans
and Josh Fry who have made it along to every single session this term,
showing great commitment. At the Thursday sessions at Western Road,
ever present students include Isaac Coven, Ethan Sibley, Ben
Townsend, Anna Kersey, Sarah Nathan, Olivia Cane, Anson Lei and
Arlo Bebbington-Wood. Special mention should go to Josh Oaten from
the sixth form who gives his expertise each Thursday to assist with the
coaching. Good luck to all in the upcoming end of season
tournaments.
Rugby
The boys rugby subsides in the spring term with only the U13 and U15
boys playing in the Exeter and East Devon 7's rugby competition. We
had a bit of a lesson from a number of schools but we will use the
experience to learn for the future. Spring term sees the girls rugby
begin. On Thursday 10th March we took a full squad of U13 and U15
girls to the County finals. The U13's experienced some really tough
opposition and learnt a lot from the experience; whilst the U15 girls
went on to be county champions, winning all of the 5 games they
played. The girls go on to represent Devon at the South West round in
Weston-Super-Mare on April 20th. Many of the players were involved
with the squad that came 6th in the country last year so have set
themselves high goals for this seasons competition!
Under 15 Girls Rugby Team.
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Spring Term QE PE & Sport News continued...
Badminton
Thursday 10th March - Regional Finals Day! Three QE teams qualified
for this round of the National Schools Badminton Championships.
The KS3 girls team consisted of Amy Housley, Grace Lee, Eleanor
O'Callaghan and Emilia Partridge; they played some incredible
badminton against mainly Year 9 'established' teams and
demonstrated their ability to progress further in years to come. They
should be very proud for getting so far and coming 5th at this level of
the competition.
The KS4 girls team consisted of Bronya Pike, Rachel Mortimer,
Charlotte Jackson and Sarah Nathan; the level of badminton that was
witnessed was outstanding! They played so well as a team and
proved their worth in the competition by coming a close 2nd. They
played a brilliant final and fought to the bitter end to try to win the
Regional Final title.
The KS4 boys team consisted of true winners - Lloyd Skinner, Alex Moir,
Jamie Dawe and Luke Clifton. All I can say is 'unbelievable'. The boys
were convincing winners right from the start of the competition. They
won every single game on
the run up to the final, so
were firm favourites in the
eyes of all who witnessed
them play. During the final, the level of badminton was exceptional and
that was proved by the
fact they won 5 games
out of 5
securing their 1st place
without any doubt. This 1st
place position has meant
that the boys progress to
represent the South West
in the 'National Schools
Badminton Championship
Finals' held in Milton
South West Champions. QE KS4 Boys
Keynes on the 16th April.
Badminton Team
We wish them all the best
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Netball
The season finished with a compilation of end of season tournaments
held in Exeter. All QE netball teams participated with great
enthusiasm and team spirit. If there was an award for fair play, we
may well have been awarded it! Training throughout the year has
been very well attended and years 7-10 have shown superb
commitment to training throughout the season. The season
culminated with a fantastic 11-6 win over West Exe by our year 8
netball team!
Year 8 Netball Team celebrate their victory over West Exe.
Cross Country:
Tristan Rickard qualified at the
Devon County cross country
round at Newton Abbot on
Saturday 16th January and
came 2nd; he therefore
qualified for the regional round.
Tristan travelled to Cheltenham
on the 6th Feb and came an
amazing 21st place in the South
West regional cross country
championships! An amazing
feat, well done!
Tristan Rickard. Cross Country
Competitor.
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Success for Georgia at
The Great School’s Cook Off
Year 9 student, Georgia Mears, cooked her way to the final of the
Great School’s Cook off to be held at the Exeter Food Festival in April.
Georgia kept her cool even though was one of the youngest
contestants and up against a tough field of students from schools
around the Exeter area. She impressed the judges with her delicious 2
course menu showcasing a delicious chicken and mushroom flaky
pastry pie and a light raspberry and coconut friand ( a small French
cake, often mistaken for a muffin) served with clotted cream.
The judges praised her methodical method of working, calmness
under pressure and superb technical skills – all traits of a great cook.
We wish her well in the final where she will cook her menu on stage in
front of a live audience.
Georgia’s chicken and mushroom flaky
pastry pie
Georgia receives her
certificate from the
judges.
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Notices
Sainsbury's Vouchers.
Please, Please, Please bring in your Sainsbury's Vouchers to
either receptions as it means we can claim for free PE
equipment. In the past we've really benefited from your
generosity.
Many thanks
Colin Skinner (Deputy Team Leader for Physical Education/
Initial Teacher Education Coordinator - ITEC)
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