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Llais Llangatwg Voice
Autumn Term
2015, Issue 92
AWARDS NIGHT SHOWCASES OUR TALENTED PUPILS
Hewlett-Packard
Company
In
keeping
with tradition, our awards evening was yet another successful event where parents, carers and
many other relatives joined the staff and pupils at Llangatwg to celebrate the
amazing and diverse achievements of our students. On this prestigious evening,
the focus was quite rightly on the achievements and successes of the pupils of the
school. Over 300 pupils, parents, staff and guests attended the evening where
pupils were rewarded for their academic, musical, sporting and attendance
achievements. Past pupil and Welsh Rugby International, Kerin Lake, returned to
present the PE awards.
Following some of the best GCSE results in the school’s history, many pupils
from the previous Year 11 returned to receive their
well earned awards. The winners of the most
prestigious awards of the evening included the
Academic Achievement Award- the recipient was
Charlotte Edwards. The Head teacher’s Award
was presented to Katie Howells. The winner of
our Young Achiever of the Year shield was
awarded to our current Year 11 pupil, Katie
Davies. Well done, each and every one of you on
your thoroughly well deserved awards.
HeADTeACHeR’S RePORT : Llangatwg welcomed the new academic year on a real high. The school was
proud that we achieved our best ever GCSE results in the summer, which placed us securely in the top 25%
of schools in Wales. It is no accident that such high standards have been achieved as we have a great
community school to be proud of. High expectations are key to this success as well as having tremendous
support and cooperation from both pupils and parents. The aim is to go from strength to strength, securing
us as the best school in Wales.
As Christmas quickly comes upon us, it is a time to reflect. So much recent bad news, such as the Paris
tragedy, has encouraged us to look to support others in greater need. As a school we are committed to
supporting charities, and as such we are proud of the school's efforts, the latest being Mrs Clancy's trip to
Cuba in which she cycled 350km in aid of Teenager cancer Support. Mrs Clancy was successful in raising
over £7000.
I will conclude by again saying thank you to all those who have provided the school with support this
term. We return to school on Monday 4th January, and will end the first week back with an Inset Day on
Friday, 8th January.
Festive wishes
Alan L Rowlands
Headteacher
YOUNG ENTERPRISE: Our Year 10 Enterprise team very narrowly lost out to Pentrehafod in the
regional heat of the Premier League Enterprise Challenge 2015-16. They were all brilliant at
pitching their “Fanzone” idea to the four judges, which included Lee Dineen – Vice Chairman SCFC,
Huw Cooze – Supporters Liaison Officer, Steve James Hughes – Finance Director (and ex
Pentrehafod Pupil) of Principality and Nathan Dicks – CEO Rewise. Their ideas, financial
predictions and business plan were all highly commended by the judges. The pupils were
exceptional, despite being nervous in front of so many people and cameras . The pupils are
pictured here with Lee “Magic Daps” Trundle and Jonjo Shelvey. As a reward for their hard work
over the last 5 weeks, they had a choice between the latest home and away shirt.
Aberavon Shopping Centre Christmas Business Fair: On Thursday 3rd of December, the year 10 business class, attended a trade fair
at Aberavon shopping centre. The experience was extremely worthwhile and was definitely one to be remembered. Each group, ’Groovie
Smoothies’, ‘Sweet Treats’ and ’Rocky Space’, sold exceptionally well and gained profit. It was unanimously agreed that Brandon Pritchard
10Y and Dan Ayres 10A could sell sand to the Arabs! The day was not only memorable for these reasons, but the business, ‘Groovie
Smoothies’, won the Judge’s choice award with a prize of £25! The group performed tremendously well, gaining a sound insight into
trading in the business world. As a result, communication, numeracy, organisation, working under pressure and understanding the demands
of the consumer were key skills acquired from the day.
Yr 10 L&T Yr 10 were enthralled by a visit from Mrs Sarah Fish who came into school to speak to the group
about her former job as an Air Hostess. The class even got the opportunity to try on a range of Air Hostess
uniforms! Mrs Fish spoke to the pupils about the duties, skills and qualities of an air hostess. The group all
agreed that it was fascinating to learn that you had to train in subjects such as firefighting, emergency first
aid, childcare, policing, customer service which included the handling of difficult customers. Mrs Fish also
spoke about the perks of the job – extended stays at long haul destinations, being paid while sunbathing on
the beach or lounging round the hotel pool, visiting far and wonderful destinations, meeting amazing people
from all over the world, experiencing many different cultures and all in the name of work!!
Environment committee autumn 2015
It has been a busy half term for the
Environment committee. We have been
meeting once a week on a Thursday after
school in S100. Pupils have been busy finishing
the construction of our African keyhole garden.
We are just waiting on some more soil to finish
this project. Pupils have really enjoyed
constructed in large
scale, what they spent the day constructed
in miniature with Year 6 pupils.
We have also been working with the
Design Technology Department to produce
a welcome sign for the school for the Welsh
department. Pupils have been practicing
their woodworking skills, drawing, cutting
out and painting the letters for croeso.
We have also been working on ideas for a litter competition that we
are hoping to launch in the new year. We are planning on finishing
our garden, putting up our letters and planting some seeds in the
new year. Another busy half term for us.
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT: In September, the English
department took 70 year 11 students to Cheltenham to
watch An Inspector Calls. The students were exceptional
ambassadors for the school and Mrs Brown,
Miss Edmunds, Miss Headon
and Mr Rees were very proud
of our young people. The trip
was not without incident, as
we had to stop at the Cardiff
West services to deal with a
damaged tyre and the
performance was halted as the stage caught fire during
the show! We’re sure the memorable trip will help
students ahead of their exam on the play.
MFL NEWS:
Our European Day of Languages on
26th September proved to be a huge success, thanks to
our team of pupil language ambassadors in Years 9 and 10.
They organised a series of fun activities for pupils to celebrate the diverse cultures and languages spoken in Europe. Form groups took part in a language themed quiz
during registration. There was a treasure hunt around the
school and teachers introduced a European flavour to
their lessons, all wearing badges to let people know what
languages they were able to speak. In Geography, pupils
were looking at the flags of all the countries taking part in
the Rugby World Cup, In Food technology, pupils learned
about different European dishes and in Welsh, pupils compared Welsh and Spanish words. The language themed
photo booth at lunchtime proved to be a huge hit with
pupils and staff alike! Well done all!
CHARITY FUNDRAISING: Both Madame Ballantine and
Mrs Matthews have been busy raising money for their
chosen charities. Madame Ballantine raised a massive
£700 for the local Alzheimer’s association. Mrs Matthews
chose to take part in the “Rainbow Run “ in aid of another
local charity, Ty Hafan She raised £268 for this very
worthwhile cause. Well done, both, we are very
impressed by your fundraising efforts. BRAVO!!!
GEOGRAPHY FIELD TRIP: 63 Year 10 pupils
took part in a residential fieldtrip at the Discovery Centre in
Margam Park for 3 days, in November. Despite some heavy downpours,
the pupils visited various sites along
the River Afan from the source to the
mouth. They collected a large amount
of data about flooding along the River
Afan and made excellent progress
with their controlled assessment
task. It was a very worthwhile
experience, once again!
Llangatwg 5x60 Programme – Autumn Term 2015
This term the 5x60 programme has introduced many new and exciting activities to the school. The most popular clubs were
dodgeball, swimming, netball, golf, run for fun club, table tennis and tennis.
5x60 Activities
Every Thursday lunchtime 16 pupils are transported to the
golf range to play golf. A huge thank you to Mr.Ware & Mr.
Burrows for taking the pupils down each week!
The 5x60 running club entered the Go Run For Fun Event at the Gnoll in September, and thoroughly enjoyed! A big thankyou to Mrs.
Brown, Mrs. Ballentine and Mrs. Perdue for helping with the after school club.
Junior International Netball Tournament – Disneyland Paris
During the October half term 2015, the year 9 & 11 netball teams travelled to Disneyland, Paris to take part in the Junior international
Netball Tournament, which was organised and run by England Netball. This was a fantastic opportunity for pupils to play high standard
netball as well as having coaching clinics by the England netball players.
The pupils worked extremely hard fundraising for the trip and raised a total of £2500, which includes the sponsor money we received.
Firstly I would like to say a huge THANKYOU to the four companies who sponsored our netball team for the netball tour:
Sponsored by:
Gary Walker
Glynneath Welding
LTD
Day One the teams played in the pool stages of the Tournament, teams competed to determine their place in either The In-
ternational Cup, Challenge Cup or Shield Competition Play-Offs and Finals. The remainder of the afternoon and evening the
pupils were at Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park.
Day two the teams took part in the coaching clinics and Masterclasses which were delivered by England Netball. There were England International netball players present at the coaching clinics, spending time with each team and individual helping with technique and skills,
Day three was the International Cup, Challenger cup and Shield Competition
Play-Offs and Finals. The year 9 team were in the Challenger Cup and lost in
the final, taking second place. The year 11 team were in the International
Showdown cup and narrowly lost in the semi final against a strong club team
who won the overall tournament. Most teams in the competition were club
teams, and Llangatwg were the only Welsh school to enter the competition,
so to compete at this level as a school was a tremendous achievement. Both
teams played outstanding and were an absolute credit to the school.
Day Four was time to head home after a fun filled week of netball and Disney, with all pupils and staff taking home some lovely memories!
Who we are?
The Friends of Llangatwg consists of a combination of caring, enthusiastic and supportive parents, carers, students, teachers, staff, family and members of the local community. We are always looking for new members to join. Our aim is to
help support our students in whatever way we can, particularly by encouraging and providing closer links between home
and school. Friends of Llangatwg have worked really hard this term to organise many events to raise money. I would like
to say a huge thankyou to all members who have given up their time to attend meetings, help organise events and helping
out where possible. THANKYOU!
Christmas Shopping Trip - Bristol
On November 7th 2015 the Friends of Llangatwg group organised a
Christmas shopping trip to Bristol German markets. It was a huge
success and a great day out, everyone thoroughly enjoyed. On the
bus we organised a quiz, raffle, bingo, free mince pies and Baileys.
When we got to Bristol we shopped until we dropped! It was such a
great way to start off the festive period!
Christmas Craft fayre
I would like to say a huge thankyou to everyone who attended the Christmas Craft Fayre last Sunday 6th December and
showed their support to the Friends of Llangatwg group. The group have worked very hard over the last few months to
raise money for the children of our school. There were over 20 stalls selling homemade products including cupcakes, bath
bombs, Christmas decorations, books, sweet trees, knitted gifts, candles and nappy cakes/hamper. Thankyou to all the
members of staff and pupils who helped out on the day, and also thankyou top ‘Nu Generation’ dance group who provided
the entertainment all day, a Huge THANKYOU to all! We raised £300 from the event.
‘Noswyl Gymreig’ - Welsh Festival
In March, the Friends of Llangatwg group will be holding a Welsh festival and craft fayre to celebrate the welsh culture in
our school. There will be Welsh craft stalls, music, pupil performances and much more. We will send more information in
the new year.
Come and Join Friends of Llangatwg
If you are interested in joining Friends of Llangatwg, please can you either email myself on [email protected] or contact
the school and leave you details. We are always looking for new members.
Bubble Football
Facilities
CHILDREN’s PARTIES
Llangatwg Community School has superb
facilities and rooms available to hire. It is
the ideal venue for community groups and
activities. The facilities that are available to
hire include:
@Llangatwg
Community
School
COMING SOON
•Newly refurbished Computer/IT rooms
•Catering Room
•Astroturf and changing rooms
•Swimming Pool (Limited availability)
Facility
Charge per hour
•Gymnasium
Classroom Hire
£7.50
•Functional Hall with stage
Main Hall Hire
£15.00
•Fitness Suite
Gymnasium Hire
£15.00
Swimming Pool Hire
£25.00
Youth Wing Hire
£20.00
Astroturf Hire
£27.00
•Construction Skills room
•Classroom/conference and training rooms
•Two outdoor netball courts
Come along to Box-It-Fit Club on a Tuesday
Evening 6.00-7.00pm at Llangatwg Community School. First Session Free!
Womens 50+ Swimming Club
Llangatwg Health and Well-being Club are looking for new members to
join their swimming club on a Monday at 3.30pm at Llangatwg Community
School. This club aim to encourage women over the age of 50 to become
physically active.
If you would like any more information on this club please contact Claire
Woolfe on 07528854313 or email [email protected].
YEAR 9 NEWS Well done to the Year 9 pupils who participated in the STEM and the Swansea City Business
Trip. Everyone enjoyed
themselves and
represented the school
in the correct manner.
The next trip of 50
pupils will be visiting
Swansea University on
Wednesday 9th
December to experience what it is like to be a student and what is on offer after pupils leave college.
Netball: Year 7. The team made a brilliant start to the new school season with a draw over Cwmtawe 1-1 . Also we
entered two teams in the Neath schools netball 5x60 tournament.
Team 1 came second and team 3 came third. Training is every
Tuesday. Well done to the Years 8/9 and Years 10/11 teams
who competed in a netball tournament over October half term, in
France. For further details about this amazing trip, see our 5x60
news item.
Year 9 Netball team are unbeaten this season with wins over St.Josephs,
Measydderwen, Dyffryn and a draw against Sandfields . An amazing start
of the season for the Year 11 Netball Team who are also unbeaten this
season with wins over St.Josephs, Dyffryn, Ystalyfera, Cwmtawe and
Sandfields.
Girls Football Well done to the Year 7’s girls football team a brilliant first game win away against
Dyffryn 3-2 with goals from Annalise Davies and Hermoine Chammings. Training is every Wednesday
after school on the astro-turf.
TRAMPOLINING: Year 10 pupil
Allannah Horgan-Evans She came 4th
in under 19's elite Welsh Trampoline
schools competition and 10th out of
98 competitors in the British finals in
the Copper Box Arena in the Olympic
park in London. This is an outstanding achievement from a very modest
pupil. Very well done, Alana. Miss
Paddison and everyone at Llangatwg
are proud of your achievements.
ART NEWS: Early in December, our year 10 GCSE pupils
visited Swansea Art college to see ‘The World Illustration
Awards Exhibition’ which the college
are currently hosting. The work was
amazing and the pupils were suitably im-
Llangatwg Run4Fun
recently took part in another
challenge with a mile run in
the ‘Go Run for Fun’ fun run at
the Gnoll Park. Once again,
thanks to all who took part in
this very worthwhile event.
Skiing/Snowboarding 2017Alpendorf (Austria)
If you want to sign up to go Skiing/Snowboarding
in 2017 please collect a letter from Mr Williams.
PE Dept)
LITERACY WORLD CUP WINNERS: Throughout the
rugby world cup tournament, Mrs Morgan set a weekly
“World Cup Literacy Challenge” for pupils in KS3. Every
week, pupils had to come up with their VERY BEST literacy
pressed. The college were very welcoming
skills in order to score points. At the end of the
and after viewing the exhibition and
tournament, our Year 7 Champion was Kohen Williams (7R) .
drawing their favourite illustrations, we
were given a tour of the various departments (Fine Art, Photography, surface
design, printing etc) and were able to see the students working on their projects. After this, the pupils were set a competition to draw a caricature of a celebrity. Ffion Davies of
Beating off the rest of the contenders in Year 8 to win the
Literacy crown , was Charlotte Britton (8Y). Our Year 9
winner was Sophie Scully (9D) . As in all competitions, there
has to be an overall winner — “THE CHAMPION”. The
title of “Llangatwg World Cup Literacy Champion 2015”
went to Sophie Scully, who accumulated an amazing 174
points after all of the literacy challenges had been complet-
10D was chosen as the winner and she received a goody bag
ed and the scores had been verified. Well done to all pupils
containing £100 wworth of Art materials!
for taking part in this amazing competition.
SPORTING SUCCESSES THIS TERM
Neath Schools u15’s
The following year 10
boys have been selected
to play for Neath Schools
this season in the Dewer
Shield Inter District
competition. This is the
oldest schools cup
competition in the world
dating back to 1900 and
is competed by all the
school district teams in Wales.
The boys are Thomas Smith, Thomas Evans, Kristian
Thomas, Levi Slocombe, Jake Bevan, Josh Hughes,
Owain Vaughan, Logan Cunningham, Jack Keenan,
Elliott Pavett and Bradley Roderick.
School Sports Council.
The following pupils have been selected to form a new
Sports Council. The Council will meet at regular
Intervals to discuss with PE staff any issues related to
Curriculum PE/Games lessons and extra- curricular
sport
Year 8 Oliver Fish, Stefan Jenkins, Shannon George
and Neave Davies
Year 9 Ioan Griffiths, Kian Mellons, Amy Atkins and
Emily Adams Norton
Year 10 Jack Keenan, Tom Evans, Emily Thomas and
Chelsea Simms
Year 11 Luke Scully, Callum Yates, Jenna Howells
and Scarlett Hutchings.
Former Osprey player Duncan Jones has been into
school this term as part of his role as Neath College
Rugby Development Officer. He has already done a
coaching session with the
Year 11 squad with more to
follow in the New Year. We
would like to thank Duncan
for passing on his advice to
our aspiring rugby champions. Our Year 11 pupils
were certainly motivated by
Duncan’s presence and
encouragement.
Afan Nedd Tawe
Cross Country Relays: A total of 25 pupils ran in the Afan
Nedd Tawe Cross Country relay event held at
Margam Park in October. The relay teams
were made up of ‘Run
for Fun Club’ members
and cross country
teams. All ran magnificently in good
conditions. The team are now looking forward to the Afan Nedd Tawe Country trials in
January.
Ospreys Rugby:
The following year 11
boys were selected for
the Ospreys East u16
squad.: Garin Lloyd,
Ioan Jones, Ben
Lukes, Luke Scully,
Tiaan Thomas
Wheeler, Kyle Jones,
and BJ Evans. They
all played a prominent role in their 5 matches, beating both the Scarlets East and West, Cardiff Blues,
North Wales, but losing to Gwent. The second round
of matches begin in February. Kyle Jones was selected to play for the Boys Clubs of Wales u16 team.
Well done boys, a fantastic achievement.
RUGBY ROUNDUP
Welsh cup: Year 11 made a good start in their Welsh
Cup matches and have qualified for the knock out rounds
and will play Pencoed in the first round. In their Group
matches, they beat Olchfa 40 – 10, Gwyr 41 – 18,
Penyrheol 50 – 0, with Cwmtawe forfeiting the game.
Ospreys Schools Cup: In the Ospreys Regional West
Cup semi -final the year 11 team beat Ystalyfera 31- 14. In
the West final they travelled to play Bishopston and won a
thriller 7 – 5 in atrocious conditions. They will play
Brynteg who won the Ospreys East Cup, in the Regional
Cup Final on the Gnoll on December 8th . This Season the
Year 11 squad have had new rugby kits and warm up tops.
We are extremely grateful to the following for their
sponsorship and support: Barrie Scully Building Contractor and Stonework
Specialist, Paul Jones
Fencing and David
Lukes. Pictured opposite
are our Year 11 Ospreys
Schools West Cup Winners.
Year 7 Year 7 (pictured
below) have made a good start showing a lot of promise.
They won 2 out of their 3 Festival matches against Gwyr,
Bryntawe and Dyffryn.
They have also beaten
Cefn Saseon 36 – 20,
Birchgrove 22 – 7,
drawing 19 -19 with
Dwr y Felin, but losing
to Cwmtawe 32 – 0 and
Dyffryn 20 – 7.
Year 8 Year 8 won 1 of
their festival matches
against Pontardulais, but lost the other 3 to Gowerton,
Cwmtawe and Penyrheol. In a friendly match they lost to
Cwmtawe 21 – 14.
Unfortunately due to the recent
bad weather they have had 5 matches postponed.
Year 10 Due to District and Osprey Club commitments
Year 10 matches have been limited with them playing just
their festival matches; beating Dyffryn and Morriston, but
losing to Pencoed and Bae Baglan.