1

End

of t

erm

new

slet

ter

Mar

ch 2

009 It would be understandable if students, staff, governors

and parents took some time to ‘bask in the glory’ of anoutstanding Ofsted inspection. However this is not theChurston way and the last half term has been as busy asany other.

The Ofsted team was extremely impressed by the school’scommitment to developing more effective learners. At theheart of this commitment is the recognition that studentsneed a greater range of skills if they are to succeed in ahighly competitive global workplace. To this end, the lastyear has seen a significant consultation with staff andstudents regarding the shape of the curriculum. Thisreflects a national trend that follows the introduction of anew National Curriculum in 2008. Several schools inTorbay have radically changed their curriculum, collapsingsubjects into areas of learning and introducing the newdiplomas. You will be pleased to learn that Churston doesnot wish to jeopardise the outstanding academicreputation of the school and therefore traditional subjects,assessed by established examinations, will continue to betaught by highly educated subject experts.

However, we do need to develop students as moreeffective learners and the curriculum will be slightlydifferent from September 2009. Over six hundred studentsreturned a recent questionnaire and one of the key areasfor development was greater variety and choice. Therefore

in years 7 and 8 students will complete an extended study of their own choice. Theextended study will be completed over the period of an academic year and will lead toexternal certification. This will develop students as independent learners and will preparethem for coursework at GCSE and the Advanced Study at A Level (this is being pilotedfrom Sept 2009 as part of the AQA Bacc qualification). Students in year 9 will be able tochoose a Creative Pathway from Sept 2010 and we will be offering Triple Science to thosestudents for whom it is appropriate. In an attempt to further improve the examinationoutcomes of students contact time at GCSE and A Level will be increased. All of the abovewill offer students greater choice, challenge and variety of experience and will ensure thatthey leave Churston not only with outstanding examination results, but with the skillsrequired to succeed as life-long learners.

To achieve the above the shape of the school day will change. There will be four lessonseach day as opposed to five and each lesson will be eighty minutes. Longer lessons willencourage greater variety and more self-directed study, which in turn will allow moreindividual contact between student and teacher. There will be a break between eachlesson when students can access food (students are currently being consulted about thelength of each break).We are not intending to change the start and finish of the dayalthough the exact timings of the day are yet to be finalised. To quote the recent Ofstedreport ‘not content just to continue to attain exceptionally high standards, the leadershipof the school is driving forward improvements to develop more challenging learningactivities undertaken by the students’

Needless to say, whilst all the above was being finalised our students have continued toachieve outstanding success. Rachel Wheatley was awarded the gold medal at the BritishSchools National Judo Championships in Sheffield whilst Harriet Maxwell was one of justfifty nine students nationally to achieve the Gold Award in the Biology Olympiad withKatherine Richards achieving a Silver Award. Ben Sheppard achieved a gold medal at theNational Life-Saving Competition. Year 8 students excelled at the recent BBC News Dayand Year 10 students hosted a netball festival for primary school students. No wonderOfsted were so impressed by our students!

By the time of the next newsletter Year 11 and Year 13 will have finished their studiesand will be preparing for their final examinations. I am sure that you will join with me inwishing them every success at the end of a long period of intense hard work.

B OWERSHEADTEACHER

2

F E MADILL MUSTANGSBRITISH TOUR 2009

Monday March 16th Churston Ferrers Grammar School played host to theF.E.Madill Mustangs, 28 student-athletes from Wingham, Ontario Canada.F.E.Madill serves an agriculturally based area that specialises in dairy,pork, beef and poultry.

The school has a population of approximately 950 students of which 28boys and 26 girls travelled here to take part in rugby tournaments at var-ious Secondary schools throughout the UK, stopping off at particularsights of interest along the way.

These students had not participated previously on a rugby tour. Thiswas a unique once in a lifetime experience only available due to thehard work by themselves, coaches, family and friends not only inphysical preparation but in the hours of fundraising that was necessaryfor this outstanding tour to take place.

The students arrived at Churston at the end of the school day onMarch 16th and were free to spend the evening with their hosts. Thenext morning they left early for excitement at The Rock Centre inChudleigh returning after lunch to compete against Churston students.On Wednesday morning they were on the move again heading forHampton School London. A trip to Rugby on Friday to show the boyswhere the game began took place. After stopping off at the GilbertMuseum and touring the Rugby School, they returned to London tomeet up with the girls for the remainder of the tour. A match against Robert Clack School was planned for Saturday which left Sunday free for sightsee-ing and perhaps even a ride on the Millennium Wheel.

The group returned to Canada on Monday March 23 having experienced many lessons of sport and life learning but also leaving a little bit of “Mustang”pride with each person they interacted with.

On Wednesday 25th February the English Departmentarranged for 'Say Two' an international touring productioncompany who have recently returned from tours of theCaribbean islands, Ireland, Italy and the United States ofAmerica to visit the school.

They performed a production and a workshop of ‘A View fromthe Bridge’ to Year 10 and a production and a workshop of‘Romeo and Juliet’ to Year 11students. The carefully editedtraditional performance brought Shakespeare “off the page andonto the stage”.

Both year groups experienced an out of the ordinary session ofentertainment.

‘PRODUCTION’ ‘EDUCATION’ ‘ENTERTAINMENT’

Red Nose Day Friday13 March 2009

Students at Churston FerrersGrammar School raised in excess of£600 on Red Nose Day in aid ofComic Relief. A sponsored silence,cake sales, a sponsored walk andan auction were just a few of the

money raising events organized by Year7 students.Dulcie Fenton, Leanne Cole, NatalieDixon and Rachel Milner all studentsfrom 7F, dressed up as the Beatles andsang a selection of hits though the lunchbreak. Other students also dressed upand some even tied themselves togetherfor the whole day in exchange forsponsorship. All in all a brilliant day washad by everyone with fantastic results.

Churston Ferrers Grammar School Yr 8 footballThursday 19/03/09CFGS 2   Kevics 0On a beautiful afternoon Churston secured a hard-fought butdeserved win over an impressive Kevics outfit. Two goals by AlexEllard made the difference as the Kevics defence could not copewith his pace and power. It was a fine game, played in a greatspirit, with both teams trying to play the ball on the ground. Allsixteen players played their part but special mention to the cen-tral defender Jack Matthews who repelled everything that theKevics front line could throw at him.

Tuesday 24/03/09 CFGS 3     Brixham 2A depleted Churston side scraped a victory with the goals by AlexEllard (2) and Adam Bennett securing their second victory in sixdays. It was a windy afternoon and a heavily depleted Churstonside were hanging on by their fingernails at the end. Ellard con-tinued his fine run of scoring form with two breakaway goals andBennett scored after a fine run and finish. A big well done to theplayers who came into the team at short notice and played theirpart in a fine win.L Johnston

3

Old’s cool!Over the past year a small team hasbeen beavering away to establish anOld Churstonians’ Society. Anothermilestone was reached with thelaunch on 1st March of the Society’swebsite(www.oldchurstonians.co.uk). Thesite will provide great opportunitiesfor social networking and enable exstudents and teachers to maintaincontact or renew old friendships.Parents who were students atChurston are particularly welcome tojoin, so why not check out the site.If you would like to be involved inmaking this a success, please contactthe Committee atenquiries@oldchurstonians.co.ukBob Punchard OBEChairman

We accumulate alarge amount oflost propertyclothing and makeevery effort toreunite items totheir rightful owner,unfortunately many times this isimpossible as it is unnamed.

Every half term it is displayed on tablesin the Foyer for students to claim. Anyunclaimed items are then disposed of.

Please ensure that all uniform/items ofclothing are named.

Student Services

One Way System

May I take this opportunity to remind all parents of the one-way system that operates in Greenway Road. The safety ofour students is paramount and we are reliant on parentsdriving and parking sensibly outside the school. At the

beginning (from 8.30am)and end of the day we askthat parents approach theschool by driving upGreenway Road from ManorVale Road in Galmptonvillage.

CFGS

CODE OF STANDARDS Absence ReportingIf your child is absent fromschool due to illness, medicalappointment etc, please leavea message on the 24 hourabsence line number01803 845781 before 9.30a.m. Please also ‘phone oneach day of absence.

Thank you.

Mrs S Whitford(Attendance Officer)

4

Primary Netball Festival

On Thursday the 26th of March, Churston playedhost to 96 very excited Year 5 and 6 pupilsfrom White Rock, Galmpton and Tower House,at the Year 10 Young Leaders Netball Festival.

After the heavens opened the event was forcedinside at the last minute and with limited space

and time to change around their activities the leaders performed a fantastic job ofadapting their skill and game sessions. The primary school pupils thoroughlyenjoyed the morning with some of the pupils having their first experience at high5 netball. A big thank you goes out to he Year 10 leaders who were a credit to theschool, Mrs Mills and Alana Riley, an ex-pupil, who came in and helped with therunning of the morning.

World BookDay 2009

This year World BookDay in the UK andIreland fell on Thursday5th March, and wascelebrating its tenthanniversary as thebiggest celebration ofbooks and reading forchildren. The main aim of World Book Day in the UK andIreland is to encourage children to explore the pleasures ofbooks and reading by providing them with the opportunity tohave a book of their own.

World Book Day was celebrated by some year 8 students atChurston when they took part in an activity called ‘Around theWorld in Fiction’. Using an outline map of the world with boxesaround the edge pointing to particular countries/regions the stu-dents were given cards with a book title and author written onthem, they had to find the book, look at the title, cover or blurbto work out where the story was set and then write the title inthe correct box. Atlases were used to help and students workedin groups, they all learnt some geography and discovered fictionbooks that they may not otherwise look at. This activity encour-aged the students to read more widely and to be aware of booksand authors they may not previously have considered.

Thanks to the generosity of National Book Tokens Ltd andnumerous participating booksellers, our students received aWorld Book Day £1 Book Token. The Book Token can beexchanged for one of the six specially published World Book Day£1 Books (where stocked and while stocks last), or isredeemable against any book or audiobook of their choice at aparticipating bookshop or book club (terms and conditionsapply).

Year 8 pupils at Galmpton Primary SchoolJunior teachers in the making . . .

Parlez-vous français? vielleicht Deutsch ?Как у Вас дела?

On 18th March 2009, six year 8 pupils ran a workshop in French, German andRussian for year 3 pupils. A truly enriching experience for these young“professeurs”; whose patience and presentation skills were put to the test byvery very young learners.

The activities, designed by the youngsters, ranged from conversations,quizzes about culture, games to learn about pets in German, numbers inFrench and social conventions in Russian. The members of staff at GalmptonPrimary School commented on their very good accents and confidence inworking with the children.

Following their workshop Bethany and Victoria wrote the following:

“Going to Galmpton Primary School and organising the Russian Workshopwas really fun and a great experience. The children were very good, picked itup well and were extremely fascinated by the stickers. We taught them a basicconversation, numbers and some culture. Being only amateurs ourselves itwas very good for us as it helped us practise the language we have beenlearning, only since September”.Victoria Phillips

“On Wednesday the 18th March, my friend and I ran a Russian workshop atGalmpton Primary School. The experience was exciting because we wereunsure as to how the children would react and how quickly they would pickup the language as it is difficult to learn in a short space of time. The childrenwere very good and well behaved and were extremely excited by the prospectof stickers for participating in the session. They enjoyed the workshop we hadprepared, especially looking at the artefacts and writing on the board. Beingonly amateurs to the language it was an extremely productive way ofpractising the skills we had learnt, this re-enforced them in our minds”.Beth Grimes

The girls were a credit tothe school; it is the third

time that a group of pupils from Churston have run a workshopfor Galmpton primary school children. We are very privilegedto have such a strong relationship with this neighbouringprimary school and I would like to thank the teachers andlearning support assistants at the school who were most helpfuland welcoming.

Mrs I V BrightHead of Languages

5

Sixty Year 11 students have optedto take part in a stress managementprogramme as part of their core gamesoption. The students are taking partin a series of non traditional sportingactivities in the hope that suchactivities will inspireand perhapsThe activities are facilitated with thehelp of local sports coaches, clubsand sports providers. Examples ofthe activities:

YEAR 10 FORMAL INTERVIEW DAY

On Friday 13 February (perhaps not the most auspicious date to have chosen!) thewhole of Year 10 were involved in a formal interview day.

Throughout the day a dozen professional people were kind enough to give up theirtime to interview the students, who were told that they must wear smart clothesappropriate for an interview, and also submit a Curriculum Vitae beforehand. Asthere are 131 students in Year 10, each interview could only last for 20 minutesincluding feedback. The questions ranged from asking the students to identify theirstrengths and weaknesses, through careers options and important personal skillsand qualities, to talking about a current news item. The interviewers completed afeedback form which assessed such things as the way the students greeted theinterviewer, their appearance and body language, how articulate they were, theirgeneral attitude and confidence and the quality of their Curriculum Vitae.

Despite the nerves displayed by many of the students, most of them thought thatthe experience was extremely useful and many of them received glowing reports –one young lady was told that she would have been offered a job on the spot if shehadn’t been still at school!

All in all, an experience that we hope to repeat next year.

YEAR 10 WORK EXPERIENCE

At the beginning of March, Year 10embarked on the annual workexperience week, which is amandatory part of the curriculum.Many of the students were able toobtain fascinating placements –Theatre Royal in Bath, PlymouthMarine Laboratory, Flybe, an EquinePodiatrist and even the Match of theDay studio at the BBC!

The week was a great experience formost of the students and the reportsreceived from the employers werealmost universally outstanding.Congratulations Year 10!

Ben Sheppard Gold MedalNational Lifesaving

Championships

Congratulations to Ben Sheppard a Yr 8student whose team won a Gold Medal inthe Team Rope Throw event recently atthe NationalLifesavingChampionships.Ben travelled toSheffield withthe team totake part,representing theSouth West andTorbay DistrictLifesaving Club,competing inthe 12/14 yrgroup againstclubs from allover the UK.

Two girls from year 13 recently achievedexcellent scores in the British BiologyOlympiad, a national competition for thecountry’s most capable Biology A levelstudents.Harriet Maxwell was awarded a Gold Medal forher performance, placing her amongst the top50 or so students in the country. KatherineRichards gained a Silver Medal, another terrificachievement. Both girls are hoping to continuetheir scientific studies next year, Harriet atCambridge studying Natural Sciences andKatherine at Medical School.

British Biology Olympiad

Twenty five Year 10 students have recently completed their FA Junior FootballOrganisers Award (JFO). The course consisted of 6 weeks of football coachingleadership training. On completion of the course the Churston students were eagerto put their new skills into practice.

As a result an Intra School Football Festival was organised at White Rock PrimarySchool. Fifty enthusiastic Year 4 students took part in an exciting football festival.The afternoon consisted of coaching activities organised and run by the Churstonstudents followed by a round robin tournament. Although the weather was not idealthe primary pupils enjoyed their activities and competition and the young leaders hada rewarding afternoon developing their leadership skills.

6

SCRAPBOOKING

Are your photos gathering dust ina cupboard? Or worse still, arethey stuck in a standard photoalbum which is graduallydeteriorating your preciousmemories? You might prefer tosee them in a scrapbook albumillustrated with co-ordinatingembellishments and detailedjournaling knowing that they willpreserved for years to come.

Why not join our Scrapbook Club? The group has been goingfor over 2 years and we are now meeting fortnightly on Tuesdayevenings from 7.15 to 9.15 pm in The Cube .

The dictionary defines a scrapbook as "a blank book in whichmiscellaneous items (as newspaper clippings or pictures) arecollected and preserved."

Many of you will remember making scrapbooks as children--saving ticket stubs, brochures from holiday destinations,notes and newspaper clippings, special birthday cards orpostcards and pasting them randomly into a sugar-paperalbum. That was scrapbooking THEN. Scrapbooking NOWretains some of those elements, such as preserving preciousmemories, but focuses on the important elements of safety andlongevity, journaling, and creative expression. But don’t be putoff – you don’t have to be creative or artistic to enjoy the hobby

– you will beamazed atwhat you cancreate toenhance andpreserve yourown familyphotos.

Some of ourmembers haveenjoyedtracing theirancestry and

then producing heritage albums to reflect their findings.Although you may not have photos of your ancestors, you canstill produce an attractive album to pass on to future generations.

We produce albums of family events: births, weddings, proms,childhood, Christmas, summer holidays, first day at school etc.We make mini albums and books using specialist equipment.Many of our members have given these albums and books asspecial gifts – along with hand-made cards which we alsocreate.

If you would like to come along to a taster session, or to joinus, please contact Shelley French on 01803 855473.

Year 8 Art Club

Currently, ten Year 8 studentshave their canvasses on displayat Greenway House, where theycan be seen upstairs in the café.Students visited the house andgardens in the Autumn termwhere they took photographsand produced drawings of thegardens’ flora and fauna.Inspired by the American artist Georgia O’Keeffe, they went on toproduce canvas paintings over a series of after school sessions.Well done to all involved!

A fresh batch of Art Club students have also visited Greenwaythis term where they have produced drawings and takenphotographs of the house andoutbuildings. More canvasseswith the theme of ‘architecturalfeatures’ shall be produced inthe near future. Watch thisspace!

Clare Jago

Autumn Art Club: Joanne Caunter,Ashleigh Harper, Jenny Hourigan,Georgia Hall-Jones, Jack Matthews,Katie Trevarthen, Emily Corbett,Beth Atkinson, Edward Lynds, AliciaRios-Wilks

Spring Art Club: Mercy Haggerty,Danniell Cutland, Cara Edlin-Winterflood, Danniella Jordan, Jenna

Li, Poppy Disney, Holly Hulme, Erin Lynch, Florence Somerfield.

2008/2009 Academic Year - School Term and Holiday Dates

April 1st Last day of Spring Term

April 2nd and 3rd Non pupil days

April 20th Start of Summer Term

May 4th May Day

May 25th to May 29th (inc) Half Term

July 22nd End of Summer Term. Students dismissed at 1.30pm.

7

CyclingOn a bright beautiful day in, believe it or not,MARCH, Mr McInally and Mrs Haigh took agroup of highly tuned athletes, girls and boys, toBroadsands to compete in a new cycling eventrun by Mid Devon Cycling Club. For somestudents, although very competent riders, it wastheir first opportunity to experience the feel andride of a road bike. With sprint time trials andteam chase events pupils found if a verydifferent challenge in comparison to their ownmountain bikes. A highly successful dayfollowed, with Churston ending up finishing infirst place in both the Year 7 and 8 age categoryin the morning and the Yr 9, 10 and 11 in theafternoon.

The winning Year 9, 10 and 11 teams.

This term Churston students have hadthe pleasure of using the Dance Matsthat are making their way around thesecondary schools in Torbay. Eachyear group has had the opportunity touse them in lunchtime clubs. With theincrease in Interform competitions andinterest in the Mats we decided to addit as an event. So far the year 10’shave had their competition, see howmuch fun they had!

Hockey Festival

Students from Galmpton and White Rock Primary School had afantastic opportunity to participate in a Hockey Festival run by Year9 young leaders from Churston Ferrers Grammar School onThursday the 26th of February. The year 5 students arrived atClennon Valley Leisure Centre buzzing with energy and excitementfor the afternoon of hockey ahead. Pupils were given an intensivecoaching course focusing on their passing, dribbling, shooting andtackling skills. They then put their new skills to the test in small sidedgames, which were officiated by the year 9 leaders. The afternoonwas a great success with all students leaving with smiles on their faces.

Year 8 News Report

All of year 8 pupils have taken part in the BBC News Report project. This involved the students coming off timetable for a day and working in groups of 9 toproduce the news. Stories included the credit crunch, healthy eating, tourism and teenage pregnancy rates in Torbay. All groups also included a weather andsports report in their filming of approximately six minutes. Colleagues, visiting speakers and other students were kind enough to grant interviews and to befilmed during the course of the event and we were lucky enough to have a visit from Sarah Ransome, a BBC reporter, who supported the students throughoutthe day and provided an insight into working at a news desk in a highly pressurised environment. She also interviewed two students about the process ofmaking the news and this went out live on BBC radio.

The English, Drama and ICT Departments worked together on this project and were all impressed with the quality of the pupils’ contributions and their videos arenow displayed on the school’s website. We received the following comment from the project co-ordinator at the BBC when the students had completed theirwork: ‘All the pupils delivered short, punchy sentences which made the reports easy to follow and some added a professional touch by perching on desks orditching notes to read their script while walking towards the camera. Good use of graphics and a quirky ‘outside broadcast’ gave the weather a fun feel.Anyone who would like to listen to some of the students’ work, can click on the link on the school website.

P COALS HEAD OF ENGLISH

8

French Exchange ‘09

On Wednesday March 18, twenty Yr 9 students and twoteachers from Churston Ferrers Grammar School left forQuimper, France. The students were excited aboutmeeting their French exchange partners whom they hadonly spoken to via video conferencing and over theinternet.

On arrival in France a trip to the aquarium, Oceanopolis,had been arranged, which they all thought was amazing.Then in the early evening they all met up with their hostfamilies in the French town of Quimper.

The students attended school on Friday with their Frenchcorrespondents and found themselves “thinking in Frenchwithout even realising it”.

The weekend passed quickly, students spending time with their host families and learning about the French lifestyle.Over the next few days several excursions took place, including trips to a biscuit factory, a cider factory and visits tothe towns of Concarneau and Locronan.

But all too soon it was time to return to England.Laurie Matthews-Vowles, a Year 9 student from Churston Ferrers Grammar School said, “I can’t believe a whole weekhas gone already. Loads of people were crying. But we all had to get on the coach eventually. I miss France”!

All the students from Churston Ferrers Grammar School had a fantastic time and are eagerly looking forward to theirexchange friends’ return visit in June.

Thanks must go to Laurie who has written a lengthy French Exchangejournal which can be viewed on our website.