Helsby High School

Helsby High School
Welcome back to the first Newsletter of the
new school year. Despite the large number
of wet days we have had a very positive start
of term. Our new Year 7 students have
settled into their new school very well and
appear to have little trouble finding their way
around a very large school building. We
have also welcomed a number of new staff
to the school: Tom Bell – Science teacher,
Steven Ford – Strategic ICT Manager,
Natalie Llewellyn – Head of History, Anthony
Pollitt – Maths teacher, Carina Riley –
Geography teacher, Chloe Smith MFL
teacher (maternity cover), Georgina Tier –
Art teacher, Stephanie Verney – Teaching
Assistant, and Michelle Woo – English
teacher (Maternity cover). I am sure that
they will settle in very quickly and that they
will enjoy their work at Helsby High School.
Exam success.
Over the summer our
students came into school to pick up their
examination results. We were tremendously
proud and pleased that their hard work
resulted in an excellent set of GCSE and A
level results.
At GCSE 71% of students achieved 5 A* - C
grades including English and Maths with
92% achieving 5 A* - C grades. At A level
60% of all grades were either A*, A or B and
provisional analysis indicates that the
performance of our students was the best
across Cheshire West and Chester. There
were
many
outstanding
individual
performances, some of which have been
featured on the school’s website. We wish
continued success to all our young people
who have moved on to university,
employment or to other training and
education programmes. We hope that our
improving website will help them keep in
contact with their former school.
September
2012
Transport. Unfortunately the changes made
by the local authority to the school transport
arrangements have caused some difficulties.
We are continuing to work with the local
authority to find the best solutions and would
ask parents with any individual problems to
refer to the information on the school’s
website and contact the school if necessary.
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk
Newsletter
Website. The website is continuing to
receive a large and increasing number of
‘hits’ and we have welcomed the positive and
constructive feedback about it.
The
Curriculum section contains information
about subjects in school while the News
Archive section (at the bottom right) contains
the news archives posted each month.
These reflect the many and varied activities
and events that involve our students. At the
top of the website page there is a link to ‘My
Child at School’. This is currently being
trialled with some Year 9 forms and we have
had some very positive feedback. Parents
have found accessing live data about
attendance, behaviour and other issues very
useful. We plan to roll out this access to
everyone by early 2013. Further details can
be found in the article posted on the website
on 19th September 2012.
Building improvements. Over the summer
the site team has worked very hard on a
number of projects, including



Refurbished girls’ toilets (based upon
feedback from our students)
New canopy areas
Redecoration in the Maths area and
PE foyer
We look forward to another very positive
school year and to extending the
partnerships between home and school that
makes Helsby High School such a wonderful
learning community.
Best wishes
J Dowler
Headteacher
Why not take a look at our new school
publicity material, which you can view
via our website www.helsbyhigh.org.uk
We are always pleased to receive any
feedback . Please e-mail
[email protected]
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Helsby High School
Newsletter
In July, Helsby High School and Helsby Hillside Primary were very pleased to welcome four
teachers from our partner schools in Cape Town for a week’s visit. The South African teachers
brought work samples with them for our joint curriculum projects. These included designs of eco
towns for the Geography department, recipes from South Africa for the Food Technology
Department and patchwork squares for our textiles project.
On the last day of the exchange visit, the Mayor of Frodsham, members of Helsby Parish
Council, and staff, pupils and governors of the high school attended a farewell assembly at
Hillside Primary School to celebrate our joint curriculum work.
Our Cape Town twinning programme continues to
develop and we will be taking twenty four sixth form
students on an exchange visit to Cape Town in February,
as well as welcoming students on a return visit next Easter.
Staff from the partnership schools and
prefects from Helsby High School,
together with the Mayor of Frodsham
and members of Helsby Parish Council.
Mrs G Thomas
Geography Department
Alton Towers Reward trip
After the successful launch of the school’s new Rewards System students from years 7, 8, 9 and
10 visited Alton Towers on what turned out to be a wet and windy summer’s day. Despite
torrential rain on the first day the students enjoyed all the theme park has to offer and had the
opportunity to experience Alton Towers’ newest ride, the Nemesis Sub Terror. Congratulations
to all the students who went on the trip and a special well done to all of the winning form groups,
7LWI, 8NWI, 9ABR and 10HDA. Jasmine Cook in Year 9 said ‘it was good to be rewarded for all
my hard work and achievements from throughout the year’. The trips proved to be a huge
success and both students and teachers are looking forward to next year’s rewards trips.
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk
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Helsby High School
Newsletter
Year 7 - Cultural Diversity
During Activity Week in the penultimate week of the Summer
Term, Y7 were involved in a variety of workshops designed to
encourage them to think about Cultural Diversity. Workshops
included Celtic jewellery, Rap Poetry, making Japanese
puppets, making Scarecrow figures of characters from ‘Of Mice
and Men’, Mancala, Mandala, Native American Symbols, Le
Senegal, African drumming, Aboriginal History, Aboriginal rock
paintings and the chemistry of colour, breads from around the
world and making croissants and playing Lacrosse.
The week also included a trip to the zoo to sketch the
animals ready to produce miniature wire and beaded
versions in a workshop at school. There was a Fairtrade
workshop and a Fairtrade shop all week with lovely gift items
and, even lovelier, chocolate for
sale.
There were Afritwin
workshops with a visiting
speaker from World Muzik
Makers
to
introduce
the
students to the art, music,
dance and dress of West and
South Africa. Mrs Brockbank
shared stories of her travels in
India during an assembly where
some students read poems for
us.
The students were all given a
supporting
booklet
with
information about each of the
workshops and a list of menus
on offer in the canteen during the week which were especially
designed, in this Jubilee year, to reflect the Commonwealth,
and students who were able to identify all of the flags around
the menus have submitted their entry for a prize draw in
September. Prizes will also be awarded then for the most
helpful feedback given by the students on their feedback
forms.
Students and staff thoroughly enjoyed the week. For the former it proved to be an exciting and
thought-provoking week and for the latter a rewarding, if exhausting ,one!
Ms L Boyer
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Helsby High School
Newsletter
Watersports Trip to La Fosca, Spain
On 5th August 2012 a group of Year 9 and 10 students arrived
at school at 6.45am to get on a coach to La Fosca in Spain. It
took us 26 hours by coach including the ferry from Dover to
Calais. At 9am on the Monday we arrived on site in time for
breakfast. First, we were all shown our cabins by Bush and
Amy, our Team Leaders, then we went for breakfast. Inside
the cabins we had bedrooms with 2 beds, a shower and toilet.
They were very comfortable. During the week we did lots of
different, fun activities such as canoeing, catamaran, topper,
funboat and pico sailing, kayaking, cliff jumping, snorkelling,
banana boats, windsurfing and paddleboarding. In the
evenings we did different games with our group and then went
to the disco with the other schools from Warrington, Wigan
and London.
As the week came to an end we all packed our bags and got ready for the final day. We walked to the
beach in the sunshine along a long, winding path past pretty bays and sandy coves to a beach called
Castells. Trying to put on our wetsuits was a challenge but once we did we got straight into the sea to look
for fish! We saw huge fish swimming around and schools of tiny, multi-coloured ones. Starfish as big as my
palms were stuck to the rocks.
After dinner we got on the coach and left PGL, unfortunately having some coach problems soon
afterwards. We found out that we would have to stay overnight but were rescued the next day and arrived
home at Helsby the following day.
We had a brilliant week trying new watersports and spending time in the sun with our friends!
Lauren Abrams and Megan McEveley
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Helsby High School
Newsletter
Helsby All Stars vs. Helsby
Students Charity Basketball
HELSBY JUNIOR RUGBY
CLUB
The last week of term saw a team of ex
students and staff take on the current school
U17 basketball team in a charity game in order
to raise money for the Nyakatukura Memorial
Secondary School in Ibanda, Uganda.
Helsby Junior Rugby Club’s season has just
started and the club welcomes new players
from 6yrs to 16yrs. Training and matches
are held on the Rugby pitches behind
Tesco in Helsby at 10:30-12:00 every Sunday. Call in to meet the coaches, learn
more about the sport and have a go at
some taster sessions.
A packed sports hall was treated to an exciting,
high scoring match which was eventually just
won by the school team.
The highlight was undoubtedly
the appearance of ex-pupil
Devan Bailey who plays for the
Mersey Tigers in the BBL and
who this summer represented
Great Britain in the FIBA 3v3
World
Championships
in
Greece.
Thanks to the great support of the spectators
we were able to raise over £200 to allow the
Ugandan school the ability to buy much needed
sports equipment.
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk
Our U7 to U8 teams play "Tag Rugby",
which is a safe, non-contact, fast-moving
game that is suitable for boys and girls to
play together.
Our U9 to U17 teams play contact but at
gradual levels with various team and pitch
sizes, to introduce players in a controlled
manner to all aspects of the game.
Helsby RUFC and all Coaches are RFU accredited, holding the RFU Seal of approval.
For further information visit www.helsbyrugby.com, or
email [email protected] or call Rob Allerston 07983526392.
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Helsby High School
Newsletter
SPORTS DAY 2012
Boys
7CCR
7EHU
7RMC
7LWI
7AJA
7EMA
7HMO
7TSH
Girls
70
68
85
75
67
66
80
49
51
53
42
49
78
84
72
59
Total
121
121
127
124
145
150
152
108
Position
6=
6=
4
5
3
2
1
8
Champion Athlete (Girls): Charlotte McDaid
Champion Athlete (Boys): Con Ouzounidis
Boys
8MDA
8REV
8GMC
8LME
8PTA
8ETH
8NWI
8KWR
Girls
87
82
85
78
49
61
53
80
76
63
65.5
53
42.5
55
67
61
Total
163
145
150.5
131
91.5
116
120
141
Position
1
3
2
5
8
7
6
4
Champion Athlete (Girls): Joydel Finney/Annabel Kitchen
Champion Athlete (Boys): Luc Stephens
Boys
9ABR
9RHA
9JMA
9GTH
9LCO
9TRA
9SRO
9EWA
Girls
32
91
65
70
74
83
72
39
Total
63
61
56
37
15
66
66
52
95
152
121
107
89
149
138
91
Position
6
1
4
5
8
2
3
7
Champion Athlete (Girls): Megan McEveley
Champion Athlete (Boys): Matthew Critchley
Boys
10KCA
10THA
10NTU
10RPA
10HDA
10MBE
10DME
10AME
Girls
15
30
54
55
53
96
61
72
Total
5
38
40
30
51
85
63
27
20
68
94
85
104
181
124
99
Position
8
7
5
6
3
1
2
4
Champion Athlete (Girls): Martha Cottrell
Champion Athlete (Boys): Callum Leslie
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Helsby High School
Newsletter
Senior Band Perform in the Helsby Jubilee Parade,
Saturday 2 June 2012
After the initial surprise that the lorry we had to get on the back of was 40 foot
long, we set out to decorate it with our bunting, banners and balloons which
proved an interesting task. After an hour of that we were ready to set off to go
from Helsby High School to Helsby Community Centre and play the music after
Miss Wells’ words of advice “No one play while we go over the speed bumps!”,
thankfully no one did.
The band comprised students ranging from Year 7 to 11 and instruments such as
trombones to flutes to saxophones and clarinets.
All in all the journey took around an hour and a half giving us lots of time to play
our songs a few times; at least twenty times for the National Anthem which now I
don’t think there is a single person in the band who cannot play that song without
their music. Other songs that we played included Singing in the Rain; Meet the
Flintstones; Pachelbel’s Canon; Flourish for Winds. Each song was brilliantly
executed by everyone who was playing (well at least when the stands weren’t
falling over or a certain trombone slider came off).
In the parade we were accompanied by cheerleaders, students of Helsby Hillside
Primary, a rumba band and others. The cheerleaders and rumba band especially
giving us a run for our money on how loud we played. However once we had
reached our destination we made an attempt to play along with the rumba band
instead, though we were quick to stop after Miss Wells realised they weren’t
noticing.
The day as a whole was fantastic! The weather held up for us, everyone played
what they were meant to and it was such a privilege to be part of the parade with
crowds of people waving and supporting you, making it impossible not to get into
the patriotic mood.
Nick Chambers
(Yr 12 alto and baritone saxophone)
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk
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Helsby High School
Newsletter
Healthy Living Week 2012
Year 8 students spent a week in July taking part in a range of sporting and food related
activities. This is what they said.
Evaluations from Year 8 students
87% of students think they now ought to exercise more and eat healthier foods.
71% of students thought that the week was fun and interesting.
Students liked trying new sports.
What Year 8 students said about the week and the individual
activities.
Food: It was educational, interesting and fun!
Watersports: Great fun but got soaking wet!
JFR: It was enjoyable and entertaining and the teacher was funny!
Body Combat: Miss was scary!
Rowing: Shattered and have no energy!
Keep Fit: Energetic and Fun. Loved it!
Skipping: Well good!
Fencing: Awesome!
Dance: Cool!
Smoothies: Really tasty!
Golf: Amazing. Learned about technique!
MITJ: Learnt about CSI skills!
Destress: Very interesting and educational!
Relay: It was good to use general knowledge!
Trio Challenge: Tiring and muddy!
Crystal: Challenging!
Ariel Extreme: Really good. I would go again.
Orienteering: It was fun!
Olympic Values: Enjoyed
it!
I’ve liked everything!
Enjoying the week so far!
It’s fun because it’s
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8
Helsby High School
Improvements around school!
Over the summer break many changes have
happened around school. One of the biggest
has been the refurbishment of the girls’ toilets in
both A block and C block. The changes have
come about after an in depth consultation with a
group of female students across all year
groups. The students have been involved in the
planning stages and had an input into the final
design. The new toilets feature sensor
controlled toilet flushes and taps and anti-graffiti
wall coverings. The students chose bright
colours to freshen up the areas and suggested
layouts for the toilet cubicles. I am sure you will
agree that the end result is very impressive!
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk
Newsletter
Wet Weather Canopies
Installed!
Following feedback from student focus
groups it was decided that the students
needed more space to congregate during
wet weather. A group of students were
selected to take part in the consultation
stage and even visited a local school to
discuss the position and use of their
canopy. It was decided that there would be
two canopies, one directly outside the
breakout space and the other at the back
of the library. This will provide a much
larger area for the students at lunch and
break time regardless of the weather
conditions.
9
Helsby High School
Newsletter
Language leader
I decided to choose Language Leaders as my extra opportunities because of my love for
languages. We meet up most Wednesday afternoons to discuss how we would teach French in
a primary school. Meeting up each week showed commitment and dedication and I found the
lunch time sessions enjoyable and exciting, being the teacher instead of the pupil. It gave me a
chance to interact with some other students who I wouldn’t normally talk to and a chance to be a
leader, be in a team and to be a role model. I found my self confidence increased and I was able
to stand up in front of a class of 30 primary school children without worrying. I am now able to
write about Language Leaders in my UCAS form which is seen by the universities and I have a
certificate to show my hard work. I would definitely recommend doing Language Leaders,
especially if you are thinking of going into a profession such as teaching or working with
children.
Helsby High School celebrates
GCSE success
The long wait was finally
over when Year 11 pupils
were able to open their
GCSE results on the 23
August. In the English
department we are, once
again, thrilled to announce
fantastic results.
Whilst English results
dropped
nationwide,
Helsby High School pupils
bucked
the
trend
achieving 83% A* - C
grades
in
English
Language and 91% A* - C grades in English
Literature. The number of A* grades achieved
this year has doubled since 2011 and almost
60% of pupils achieved a B grade or higher.
Among
the
many
successes:
Jaynie
Blanchard,
Elizabeth
Cartwright, Madeleine
Clarke,
James
Critchley,
Olivia
Dunseath,
Jennifer
Dybell, Ellie Holloway,
Charlotte Jordin, Marissa Lo, James Longworth,
Georgia Martin, Poppy Newall, Georgia Nield,
Kate Owen, Jennifer Owens, Ruth Shelton,
Rachel Sizer, Mary Smalley, Philippa Snow and
Courtney Trevett all achieved A* grades in both
English language and Literature.
am very proud of all our pupils’ achievements and
as a department we are thrilled with all our
results.”
Congratulations Year 11 on outstanding results.
Students celebrate outstanding
A level results
Yet again, Upper
Sixth students at
Helsby High School
are celebrating an
outstanding set of A
-level
results.
Provisional analysis
shows that A* to E
pass rate was 99%,
with 29% of grades being A* or A, 59% being A*B and 85% being
A*-C.
Particular congratulations go to the 13 students
who achieved at least 3 A* or A grades, as well
as all the other students who have worked so
hard to produce an excellent set of exam results.
Mr John Dowler, Headteacher, has commented
“We are very proud of the outstanding set of
exam results produced by our students. I know
how hard they have worked and this, together
with the support and guidance from staff and
home, has resulted in some fantastic
achievements. I should like to wish all students
every success in the future and to thank them for
their contributions during their time at Helsby
High School.”
Mrs Booth, current acting Head of English, said “I
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Helsby High School
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SCHOOL SPORT PARTNERSHIP COMPETITIONS
Cross country - Delamere Forest
Keysteps Gymnastics - Ellesmere Port Gymnastics Club
Winners - Helsby Hillside
Kwik Cricket - Frodsham Cricket club
Winners - Kingsley C.P.
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Helsby High School
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Trigolf - Helsby Gold Club
Mini red tennis - Helsby Sports & Social Club
Olympics
32 Schools from Ellesmere Port, Helsby, Frodsham and Weston
took part.
Gold Medallists were Kingsley CP School
Silver Medallists were Helsby Hillside CP
School
Final at David Lloyd
Winners - Helsby Hillside
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Helsby High School
Newsletter
Year 11 Prom
On Thursday 21 June, as the long GCSE examination season
neared its end, Year 11 pupils
celebrated, in school, the end of five
memorable years at Helsby. They were
presented, by their form tutors, with the
memorabilia that they had ordered;
yearbooks, hoodies, year photograph
and also their Prom ticket.
The Prom was held at the Holiday Inn the following week and for many this
was the most anticipated event of the year. The first pupils began to arrive at
6.30, almost unrecognisable in their elegant,
formal attire. Many modes of transport were
used
including
limousines and open top
sports cars. The most
original, however, was a
tractor driven by Laura
Warburton herself!
The climax of the
evening
was
the
presentation
of
the
prizes.
Dom Hanzak
won
‘The
best
alternative outfit ‘and Josephine Edwards, ‘The biggest
transformation. Laura Warburton and Alex Mooney were unanimous
winners of ‘The best entrance’ for their arrival on a tractor suitably
decorated for the occasion. The top awards of Prom King
and Queen went to Sam Lawson and Emma Scott.
If there had been a prize for best 70’s style disco
performance, Mr. Dowler would have danced away with the
award.
Mrs Foulder and her team of prom prefects deserve praise
for organising a truly spectacular
and memorable evening.
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Helsby High School
Newsletter
A WARM HELSBY WELCOME!
Our budding Sixth Form reporters have been hot on the trail of the new staff who have
joined the school in September. Read on to find out more about them.
We hope that they will enjoy their time at Helsby and extend a warm welcome to them!
Mrs Llewellyn – HEAD OF HISTORY
Previous Schools: Lymm High School and Christleton High School
First Impressions of Helsby: Friendly staff and pupils
Lots of talented and enthusiastic young people
Looking forward to: Contributing to the continued success of the
school through hard work, enthusiasm and creativity
Helping students to achieve success
Joining the school band and getting involved in other extra-curricular activities
Running some great History trips-watch this space!
Miss Tier – ART TEACHER
Previous Schools: Wirral Grammar
School for Boys
First Impressions of Helsby:
Welcoming, supportive staff
Enthusiastic students
Calm and purposeful atmosphere
Looking forward to:
Working hard with the students
Contributing to the successful Art Department
Going on extra curricular Art trips
Mr Bell – SCIENCE TEACHER
Trained at: University of Manchester
First Impressions of Helsby:
It’s a very LONG school!!!
Pupils welcoming and polite
Friendly staff
Looking forward to:
Contributing to the success of the school
Helping with conservation work and eco-groups
Accompanying students on field trips
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Helsby High School
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Miss Riley– GEOGRAPHY TEACHER
Trained at: Lancaster University/Placement School was Ripley St
Thomas, Lancaster
First Impressions of Helsby:
Very friendly and welcoming-lovely students and staff
Looking forward to:
Enthusing students about Geography
Contributing to extra-curricular activities , perhaps starting an
Astronomy Club.
Mr Ford– STRATEGIC ICT MANAGER
Previous School: Rock Ferry High
First Impressions of Helsby:
Friendly and welcoming
Looking forward to:
Providing Helsby High School with an ICT system which
is stable, reliable and allows students to do all they need
to do on their learning journey
Miss Verney– TEACHING ASSISTANT IN THE
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
Trained as a teacher at: University of Chester
First Impressions:
As a former student at Helsby, amazed at the new facilities
added since I was here
Friendly and helpful staff
Nice children who want to learn and do well
Looking forward to:
Helping young people achieve their full potential
Article by:
Grace Ellcock, Jenny Barry, Hayley Whitmarsh, Myriam Hogan
(Upper Sixth Media students)
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Helsby High School
Newsletter
FRIENDS OF HELSBY HIGH SCHOOL
What do you know about the Friends of Helsby High School?
If you've used the minibus you'll notice a new one has appeared....bought from funds raised with
the help of FHHS. If you've bought school uniform or experienced the very efficient running of the
uniform shop at Year 7 induction meetings, you'll no doubt have met some people involved with
FHHS. It's not just a little group that holds a meeting every now and then however, just by being
a pupil, parent, past pupil, teacher or a local community member, you're part of the Friends of
Helsby High School. Turn up to meetings when you can and support a few of the events - the
more people who can be involved even just once a year, the better.
It's also a handy way to get to know other parents and help to express your views or concerns
about the school; the FHHS was instrumental in the creation of the parental forums, which the
teaching staff has taken on board with enthusiasm.
Friends of Helsby High school want your views on how as parents and pupils you want to raise
any funds - and what for? Do you have any amazing ideas? We already have a wish list put
together by Mr Capstick. How do you want the local community to be involved in the school?
How does the school want to be involved with the local community? We hope to be able to bring
you news of what's going on via the school newsletter and on our page on the website, but for
now 'hello' and keep in touch (contact details on the website).
Latest News
4 New Canon cameras for use by students & staff
Friends of Helsby High School donated £1000 for the purchase of 4 Canon cameras, for publicty/ marketing/celebration use by students & staff. These very good quality cameras are available for staff & students to reserve
and borrow to record events they have organised or taken part in. The cameras have been put to good use by
students on a pre-filming/planning day for the school DVD.
“The quality is superb and they are very easy to use. Please would you pass on my thanks to the other parents who
work very hard on the school’s behalf for the donation” says Mrs Neal, Assistant Headteacher
Hand held voting consoles for the RE department
The RE department has purchased a class set of hand held voting consoles with £1000 donated by Friends of
Helsby High School.
Mr Wheeler, Head of RE & Citizenship tells us:
“This will not only help to engage students but should also help to highlight how RE has moved with the times as a
subject RE Department. We hope to use these as a tool for testing students on what they have learned as well as
helping less confident students interact with the lesson fully. OFSTED are always keen to make sure that all students
are making progress and contributing in lessons. Hopefully we now have the tools to demonstrate this easily.”
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Helsby High School are pleased to announce that they have achieved the
School Games Bronze Kitemark.
Please see below the certificate & also the logo which we are permitted to use on
letterheads etc.
Year 8 Celebration lunch
Sixteen year 8 pupils attended a special celebration lunch as a reward for their excellent
progress during Year 7. The top two performers from each form were invited to eat sandwiches,
pizza and cake where they were congratulated by Mrs Clark, Mr Cooney and Miss Roberts for
their hard work.
Mr J Cooney
Head of Year 8
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Helsby High School
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Enterprise week
As part of ‘Enterprise Week’ Year 9 were taken to Old
Trafford in Manchester. The purpose of this trip was for
pupils in Year 9 to understand the costing involved in
running a football stadium and how this costing is affected
by the Olympics. The students were given a tour of Old
Trafford, otherwise known as ‘The
Theatre of Dreams’ and were also
given a chance to look around the
museum there. The tour took the
students around the main areas of Old
Trafford, which is the biggest football
stadium in the UK holding a maximum
capacity of around 76 thousand
spectators. The tour also included
areas like the home team changing
room, the player’s tunnel and the
Munich tunnel (built in legacy of the
Munich air disaster in 1958).
Other activities during the day
included an enterprising talk about
how Old Trafford will host the
Olympic football tournament. The
talk provided the students with
information
about
marketing,
ticket costing, revenue and the
cost to run the stadium.
The day was really enjoyable for
the students and they learnt a lot
about all the things which need to
be taken into account when
running a stadium as big as Old
Trafford. We were then expected
to use the knowledge we gained from visiting Old Trafford in
our Olympic bids challenge later on in the week. This
involved each form group putting together an Olympic Bid
by research various aspects of a nominated city such as culture, history, tourism etc. On
the Friday of Enterprise week the forms then presented their bids to an Olympic
Committee which included a recent Young Apprentice finalist, Emma Walker.
Report by Megan McEveley - 9TRA
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk
Helsby High School
Newsletter
Art and English Trip to London
From the amazing art to the wonderful West End, London
promises you the trip of a lifetime, which is exactly what
we received. The huge amount of culture we were
introduced to is something everyone should have a
chance to experience at some point in their life.
The Victoria and Albert, the Saatchi and the Tate, some
of the most famous art galleries in England, gave us a
chance to explore and enjoy the huge variety of
interesting
and diverse pieces on display- a must see if you’re
lucky enough to ever find yourself wandering the
famous streets. A few hours are all it takes to immerse
yourself in the work and minds of world famous artists,
with something for everyone to appreciate.
After the days of art were the nights of theatre, giving
everyone a chance to relax and be submerged into the
breath-taking performances. Wicked at the Apollo
Victoria was the untold story of the Witches of Oz, a remarkable show full of shocks and surprises
that left us all wanting to see more. Similarly War Horse
at the National Theatre was a moving and imaginative
drama, combining laughter and tears to create an
innovative show featuring magnificent puppets, that
should not be missed.
Whilst in South Bank we visited the renowned
Shakespeare’s Globe, where we were treated to an eyeopening tour of the past; we felt what it would have been
like in the audience of some of the most celebrated plays
in history. As well as this we took part in a
stimulating workshop run by one of the performers
at the Globe, as she worked us through some fun
and interesting exercises featuring scenes from
Hamlet.
I’m sure if given the chance each and every one of
us would go back and experience it all over again,
as there was so much enjoyment packed into a
short space of time. Even the simple things like
enjoying a meal with friends at Planet Hollywood,
or going shopping in Chelsea, to even sharing a
room at the hotel, it was a thrilling trip that will leave us cherishing the memories for years to come.
by Sophie Lockett
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk
Helsby High School
Newsletter
LANDS END ……
TO JOHN ‘O’ GROATS
The season starting in 2012 has been a whirlwind for Henry Pettinger
-Harte. Henry started the season by trialling for Great Britain, by Final
trials he was 5th in the country, bronze medallist at National Schools in
his single and had qualified in a quad for Henley Royal Regatta.
In the rowing world he is at the top of Junior rowing, unfortunately an
injury at Final trials on the 3rd day of seat racing prevented him from
making the GB team this year. At Henley the four lads, racing in a
quad - Henry, Sam Edwards (former pupil), Marc Pinnington and
Stuart Beards - stormed through qualifiers but were unfortunately
knocked out in the next round. They were devastated and exhausted,
they felt they should have got further, they were looking for answers!
They realised the answer was to prepare for the event now, ready for
next year, and raise money for a more suitable boat so they could
compete against the top clubs and get as fit as they could.
The idea for cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats was born, a
sponsored cycle 874 miles in 9 days. They started from Land’s End
on 23rd August and finished on 31st August. Day 1 didn’t start well, 5
miles into the cycle Henry had a puncture, 10 miles down the road
from that Marc’s tyre had a blow out and to top it all they got lost up a
farm track!! They arrived at the hostel at 9:45pm very tired and
hungry. Day 2 was a little bit better, only a broken chain, split tyre
and a puncture but very wet. Morale in the camp was not great but
they were still together and day 3 was much better. Day 4 - they were
in their own beds, well fed and joined by Henry’s brother Sam and
George Patrick a former pupil. Sam enjoyed himself so much he
continued the next day with the lads up to Moffat. From Moffat to
Perth they could feel the temperature change; they were hit with hail stones, punctures and
driving rain. They were tired but only 2 days to go, unfortunately they were going to be the longest
days, Perth to Inverness found them encountering a near death experience on the A9 and the last
day saw them averaging 22miles an hour, they were flying and the team spirit was really good .
They had learnt a lot about each other and about themselves, and done a lot of growing up but
most of all, they learned a lot about team building.
If you would like to read more about their adventure and maybe sponsor them please go onto Runcorn Rowing Club
website.
Val Edwards
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk
Helsby High School
Newsletter
audition
Tuesday 25th and 26th Wednesday Sept 2012
The audition for Helsby's new school musical:
CATS saw over 110 students from years 7-13 singing, dancing and acting their way onto the
new cast list. The standard as always was high and the directors now have the difficult task of
choosing the cast. Mrs Cross was quoted as saying "the auditions went perrrrfectly" while Miss
Wells said that she was "feline good" about the process.
CATS will run for 4 nights starting on February 27th at 7:00pm.
Tickets will be on sale from January.
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk
Helsby High School
Helsby High School Bus Update
The school is continuing to liaise
with the Local Authority on behalf of
those
parents
who
have
experienced problems this term with the buses.
Representatives from the Integrated Transport
Department were in school again on Wednesday
26th September to listen to some of the complaints
the school has received and to witness first hand the
over capacity problems that exist on certain
services.
The Transport Department representatives agreed
to continue to investigate how pupils might be better
distributed between some services to alleviate the
problem. They committed to supply the school with
increasingly detailed information about the capacity,
the routes and the timings of the contracted services
so this can be displayed on the school web site. It is
hoped that this information will help parents make
informed choices about ensuring their children can
get to and from school safely.
The problems experienced by pupils using the
40429 that travels to and from the school along
Frodsham Main Street towards Sutton Weaver was
the focus of much discussion. This is a service that
is currently contracted for 74 seats and although the
operator runs a bus that has 84 seats and can
accommodate 8 standing places it is a service that
has had to turn pupils away after school. Another
contractor (Arrowbrooke Coaches) has agreed to
increase its capacity after school and there are
spaces on the buses that go into Frodsham and turn
towards Kingsley at the Bears Paw. Since last
week’s meeting Arrowbrookes have agreed to delay
the departure of the AB45 service so that anyone
unable to catch the 40429 service can catch this
service.
The school understands that there was a
suggestion, at a Community Meeting that discussed
this issue, that a change of route for one of the
services that take pupils to Kingsley might help the
problem. If a service to Kingsley turned at Fluin
Lane rather than the Bears Paw it might be possible
to find safe places to stop that met the needs of
some pupils currently experiencing difficulties. This
suggestion is under active consideration by the
Local Authority.
The Transport Department representatives also
checked out the Public Services available to pupils
who wished to travel from school into Frodsham by
talking to some pupils who do catch that bus. They
Newsletter
confirmed that the bus can be caught outside school
at about 3.35pm each day and travels right through
Frodsham though it does cost more than the
subsidised services. The pupils confirmed that the
Arriva bus costs £1.30 to the stop by the Chinese
Delight and £1.50 to Quayside.
The
Transport
Department
representatives
recognised that some of the other changes had
caused problems. Some services that previously
had allowed pupils to pay a daily fare had become
all pass buses because the number of pupils who
were eligible for passes closely matched the size of
bus contracted. The effects of this change has
meant some pupils in villages like Alvanley, who
were not eligible for a pass and where there is no
public services, faced a long walk to school. The
school has passed on those requests it has from
parents for a hazard assessment of a walking route
and in some cases the assessment has found the
walking route to be hazardous. The loss of the fare
paying option has greatly reduced the flexibility of
the bus services for those families whose children
travel to different destinations after school on some
days of the week. These cases can only be dealt
with on an individual basis and parents in these
circumstances are advised to contact the Integrated
Transport Department directly.
The most frequently asked question from parents
that have been in touch with the school has been
why has there been these changes. The answer is
really in two parts. For the last three years there has
been a service from Frodsham to the school that
was provided so that pupils who had previously
attended Frodsham College would be no worse off
after they transferred schools. It is that service that
came to an end of its duration last summer. In
addition there has been a decision taken that where
the number of pupils eligible for free passes and the
size of a contacted service are closely matched the
service should be contracted as a bus pass only
service.
The most up to date information about the routes,
stops and fares of the school buses has been
supplied by the transport department as promised
and will be added to the school website this week.
We will continue to monitor the situation as many
parents have expressed concerns about their sons
and daughters walking home from school on dark
nights. If a pupil misses a bus or is unsure of how
they are to travel home they should go to pupil
services (which is open until 4.30pm) who will help
them make appropriate arrangements.
Mr S Capstick - Deputy Headteacher
www.helsbyhigh.org.uk