Highways october 2013

Ad Caelestia Sequere … Reach For the Stars

Newsletter for Highworth School Issue 1

Message from the Headteacher

One of the most pleasurable parts of my job is seeing the students on Result Day in August. Yet again there were some fantastic results where school records were broken against a backdrop of the top grades being more difficult to achieve. Two students gained 13 A* grades at GCSE: Sarah Bate and Sofia Kastelein — an incredible achievement. 57% of all grades achieved at GCSE were A or A* and 93% of students gained the EBacc. At “A” level 64% of the grades achieved were A*- B which helped large numbers of our students gain their first choice universities. A particular mention must go to the students who completed the Extended Project where 100% of the grades were A*- B. This week we celebrated our annual GCSE Prize Giving. It is always such a good feeling to share in the success of our fantastic students. Our guest speaker, Christine Rose, was inspirational and hopefully the students will go on to achieve their best at “A” level and beyond. September saw the introduction of our new school uniform and it is really encouraging to see so many adopting it before it becomes compulsory in September 2014. We have received many favourable comments about how smart and well presented our students are looking. A special thanks go to all of you who were courageous enough to be early adopters. We welcome some new members of staff: Mr Coyle (Geography), Miss Davies (Art), Miss Gerstlauer (German), Mr Herbert and Mrs Loveridge (History), Mrs Kinrade and Mrs Burridge (English), and Mrs McBride (Drama). I am sure they will adapt greatly to the life and pace of the school. I wish you all a good holiday.

It’s been a lovely start to the school year and new students from Yr7 and Yr12 have provided feedback to Student Voice stating how the transition from their previous school has been smooth and welcoming. Ideas from Student Voice at the end of last year are already being implicated. The new reward system has so far proved effective and is challenging students to achieve their potential whilst praising their resilience and contribution to the school environment. This term, members of Student Voice are continuing to look at how Highworth can further increase the happiness and emotional wellbeing of students, ensuring that they do not feel pressured and are aware of the support services that the school provides. We are also continuing to discuss how the aspirations of those in the younger years can be raised to prepare them for their option choices and career ambitions. Elissa Poyner

Message from the Head Girl

European Day of Languages

On September 27 Highworth celebrated European Day of Languages. The day was just one of many fundraising days which Highworth has organised during the start of the new term. However, this idea was the best yet! The day consisted of stalls being run by prefects and language students at lunchtime. Each stall was dedicated to a European country. All 8 stalls sold traditional cuisine and some displayed language games and activities including the French stall which served pain au chocolat. As a CS member, I was part of the excellent team selling a variety of Belgian chocolates and Belgium’s finest hot chocolate which were a clear hit with the customers! It was great there was so much interest and eagerness, especially as it was for such an

excellent cause. I would like to thank everybody involved in organising the day and the Highworth students who participated by donating their pennies to the MS Butterfly Appeal charity.

HIGHWORtH CRAFT & GIFT FAYRE

Saturday 9th November, 10am – 4pm

Cards, gifts and high quality crafts!

Venue: Highworth Grammar School, Quantock Drive, Ashford, Kent TN24 8UD Info: Tania Allin 01233 631331

Xmas Gift Decoupage

Cards Toys

Jewellery Teddies

Ceramics Candles

Woodturning Needlecrafts

£1 Admission Enjoy a home cooked delicious lunch and a mince pie or two

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The start of this academic year has been ‘Just Perfect’. Community Day was a huge success and I got a real sense of the fun, caring and competitive Community spirit that made me feel right at home within JP. I saw the new Yr7s instantly becoming part of the school and getting involved and contributing throughout the day. A highlight for me personally was the tug of war where competitiveness took on a whole new meaning. MAB celebrated success at the end of a jam packed day, and lifted the title of Community Champions. Later in the term I was thoroughly impressed when I witnessed students from all year groups confidently nominate charities that they hoped would be considered as JP’s for this year. I was particularly impressed with Tori Ayton’s homemade video for Help the Heroes. In the end a charity very close to Mr Hilderly’s heart won the vote and this year we will be supporting ‘Woodlarks– Camping for the disabled’. Our prefect team has been working hard auditioning and editing scripts in preparation for the Community Performing Arts competition. I want to thank everybody for auditioning as we now have a truly fantastic cast. I am eagerly anticipating January when the JP cast will take to the stage and perform their rendition of Jungle Book. All in all it has been a fantastic introduction to JP and I look forward to what the year ahead has in store! Miss Hodges

The first term has been a busy and motivating one for Clara Schumann. Having decided to continue our support for the Butterfly Appeal and see the building of the new M.S. Therapy Centre through to completion, our enthusiastic prefect team made a head start with fundraising by hosting an ice cream stall at rounders’ day, a St George’s Day tea and a Belgian café for the European Day of Languages. All the money raised until Christmas will kindly be doubled by Frank Brake, taking our grand total so far to over three thousand pounds. We are planning a sparkling Christmas celebration for our non-uniform day on 6 December and hope to break our fundraising record, encouraged by our former Head Girl, Alison Monkley, who now works for the charity. As a Community, we celebrated our first Focus Day with competitions, creative challenges and the traditional tug of war, at the end of which our mentor team challenged the sixth form and won! We enjoyed taking photos to display on our notice boards and our publicity officer, Rob Thorogood, created this collage. The prize for the best noticeboard was won by his mentor group, RMO: congratulations! MHA also made a great start by winning in every other category! Auditions for performing arts are completed and we are looking forward to putting on our adaption of Matilda the Musical which stars over sixty of our students! As this term draws to a close, we are preparing to celebrate our students’ outstanding GCSE achievements, with a record number of top grades, including thirteen straight A* grades, achieved by Sarah Bate and straight A/A* grades earned by Molly Boot, Naomi Clarke, Shynee Hewavidana, Danielle Parsons, Lucy Vining and Katy Watson. Well done!

In September we welcomed our new Yr7s and 12s and Mrs Thorogood, our Student Support Manager. Everyone has settled well into the hectic life at Highworth. We started the year with a very successful Community Day, despite the adverse weather conditions. It involved an obstacle course, very fetching poncho designs, dingbats and the mandatory tug of war. Congratulations to our winners ALC/LPE and to everyone for so enthusiastically entering into the spirit of the day. The charity speeches this year were extremely well prepared and I’m sure everyone found it very difficult to choose, with so many good causes represented. Emem presented MNI’s ‘War Child’ nomination which gained the most votes and we hope to match or even exceed the £1,503 raised last year for ‘The Gurney Fund’, so that we can help displaced and disabled children suffering in countries affected by war. Our fundraising Community Day was an incredible success with students and teachers alike dressed up in horrifying Hallowe’en themed costumes. We set up stalls selling a range of sweets and with various games to play. In just 40 minutes £390 was raised, which is the most we have ever made on a Community Day lunchtime event. Grateful thanks go to parents and students for all of their contributions.

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The term began with another very enjoyable Community Day which gave all our new members the chance to work with their mentor groups and get to know everyone better. The rather watery sunshine lasted long enough for NS to take part in one of the activities we most enjoy, the Three Minute Challenge on the astro turf, before the rain began to fall – all the more reason to be grateful for such creative – and even attractive! – ponchos that were produced later in the morning. There were many excellent individual and group performances in the course of the day but the overall winners were JUB. Later in the term we had an excellent set of speeches by students from every year group who were keen for us to support their own favourite charities. It was extremely difficult to decide which ones to vote for; indeed, one student wrote on the bottom of her voting slip what we were all thinking: “I wish I could vote for them all.” However, the two that received the most votes were Young Minds and Great Ormond Street Hospital and we look

forward to raising a substantial amount of money for these two very worthwhile causes. The prefect team have also been working hard auditioning for our production of “Tangled”; for them, too, the task of deciding which talented members of NS should be given leading roles was not at all easy – but the cast list is now on the NS board, next to an amazing portrait of Nina Simone for which Hester Mattocks Yr13 deserves full credit!

Kiri Te Kanawa had another extremely successful Community Day at the beginning of term. Each mentor completed activities, competing against each other for the chance to be the champion mentor group! Events included a sports challenge, a tug of war, an obstacle course and poncho making. The overall winners were SGE, followed closely in joint second by SMC/KDE and SMU/NDS. The day was thoroughly enjoyed by all and was a great way to welcome all the new members into our Community. During mentor time this term Yr12s have been organising an outdoor activity for the rest of the Community. So far we have had to fit through hula hoops without letting go of each other’s hands and pass a ball under and over, while standing in a line. We had three entries to choose from when voting for our charity. All were very worthy causes and we wish we could raise money for all of them, but eventually the vote decided this year’s charity will be Demelza. Demelza was put forward by Mrs Carter, whose nephew benefited from the charity greatly. We hope to raise as much money as possible for this extremely deserving charity, supporting children who are not expected to reach adulthood. The first fundraising event is the Pop Quiz in November - we hope you all have your tickets! Finally we have now started preparations for this year’s Community Performing Arts festival. KK will be performing Shrek the musical.

After a glorious summer, we welcome new readers of Highways and, of course our returning readers and hope that everyone had a good break. We also welcome into Vanessa Mae new students and two new mentors: Mr Brett and Mrs Loveridge. The year kicked off in tradition with Community Day, a day where each mentor group comes together to show that they are the best group in VM through a series of challenges and tasks, such as an assault course, tug-of-war and sports challenge. This year we also saw which mentor could design the best festival poncho. For Learning Community Day 2013 in third place was SHU, second was HNA and first was DBR. Everyone had such a great day and it was fantastic to get to know all the new people in VM. VM students have been busy working on a range of activities including a poem competition and the best mentor noticeboard, won by joint winners SAB and SHU. We have also voted for our Community charity; this year we will be supporting Ronald McDonald House in Camberwell, who provide free accommodation for parents and siblings of ill children who are receiving care from King’s College Hospital. This worthy charity was nominated by HNA mentor group. Finally, we would like to say how lovely it was to meet the parents of 7VM at the recent Parents’ Tea. We look forward

to an exciting, productive and fun year! Steph Thurston 12VM/JMR

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Band Stand

The Hall was full for the eighth BAND STAND on the evening of Thursday 3 October 2013. All items were produced by students themselves and featured popular musical talent from Highworth and beyond. Esther Fafunso from Yr8 opened the show, accompanying herself on guitar. There were solos from Tanya Brown, Amelia Edge, Amy Royal and Chloe Bayliss and duets from Tori Ayton, Evie Russell, Ashwini Desai, Chloe Powell and Annie-Anne Allen and Chloe Bayliss. Amongst the singer-songwriter performances were Bethany Terry at the piano and Felicity Endacott on guitar. Sixth form contributions came from duets Zoe McIntyre, Ailies Bryant, Naomi Clarke, Beverley Southern and Kerry Hayward and Bernice Sargeant, and a solo from Jennifer Jones. Sixth form band performances rocked the end of the evening, with Tamsyn Herbert, Zhané Rose, Tom Dale, and Nathanael Graham playing Coldplay, and Jazz Nouveaux (Xanthia Geens, Giles Thornton, Karen Ashby, Fiona Paterson and Jack Allen) jazzing it up. The evening came to a close with a bang with a set from Cannon Woods (Connor Brown, Rob Thorogood, Sam Hawkins, and guest James Carroll), who are about to release their own EP. Thanks go to Angus Walker and Isand Schwartz for hosting the evening and to an efficient Tech Team of Rosa Gallop, Charlotte Churm, Hannah Rody, Alisha Cooper and Katie McCamley.

Musical dates for your diary: CONCERT IN AID OF THE FRIENDS OF THE WILLIAM HARVEY HOSPITAL – Our annual benefit concert will take place this year on Thursday 7 November at 7pm in the School Hall. It will feature performances from our choirs, orchestras and bands, together with smaller ensembles and soloists. It is a musical event not to be missed. Tickets (£4 adults and £2.50 concessions) will be available from the Payments Office after the October holiday. HIGHWORTH JAZZ ORCHESTRA, under the direction of Colin Welch, will be putting on its own concert at St Mary’s Church on Thursday 21 November at 7.30pm. The concert is for the Ashford Rotary Club and all proceeds will go to Rotary Club charities. SWEET CHARITY – The musical show, the story of a New York dancer who ‘just wanted to be loved’ comes to Highworth on the evenings of Thursday 28 and Friday 29 November at 7pm. Performed by a large cast of actors, singers, dancers and musicians from years 10 to 13, the show features the famous songs Hey, Big Spender! and The Rhythm of Life. Tickets (£5 adults and £2.50 concessions) will be available from the Payments Office at school at the beginning of next term. YEAR 7 CONCERT – Our Yr7 students have been busy preparing for an evening of music and dance on Thursday 5 December at 7pm in the Hall. There will be performances from a huge choir, large orchestra/band, soloists, dance groups and the cheer-leading group. The whole of Yr7 will be performing! Admission is free. CAROL SERVICE – One of the musical highlights of our year is our Christmas Carol Service by candlelight, combined with Norton Knatchbull School. This year it takes place on Tuesday 17 December at St Mary’s Church in the centre of Ashford at 7pm. Please join us for a beautiful and atmospheric start to the Christmas season.

Coming Soon….

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Queen’s Parliament

On Friday 11 October, 10 Y12 and Y13 students had the opportunity to visit the Houses of Parliament. Beginning the tour in Westminster Hall, we followed the route that the Queen takes when she presents the annual Queen’s Speech at the opening of Parliament. Our tour guide gave us a fascinating insight into the strange traditions of this historic institution. A Year 12 student, Jack Allen, describes some of his lasting impressions: First we were taken into the Lords’ side of the building and everything in that wing was red. Red dye was the most expensive and so the Lords used it to show off their wealth to the ‘Commoners’ across the hall who could only afford green dye. We were told how there is still some animosity between the Lords and the Commons, as they both think their branch is superior. Therefore, when in the House of Lords, the House of Commons is referred to disdainfully as the ‘other place’ and vice versa. The most impressive part of the tour was seeing the throne within the House of Lords. Made entirely of 23.5 carat gold, this detail and intricate structure dominated the room. It was amazing!

John Downton Art Competition

The John Downton Art awards is a very prestigious annual event and once again we are pleased to announce that we have been successful at reaching the selection stages. Congratulations to Lucy Dukes, Lara Smith, Rebecca Pasieka, Kit Mather and Amy Walters who will have their artworks exhibited between October 28 to December 7 at Maidstone County Hall with the invitation to attend an Awards Ceremony also being held on November 14 between 6-8pm. The John Downton Awards were first organised in 2000 at the request of Miss Hilda Downton – sister of the celebrated Kentish artist, poet and philosopher, to recognise the achievements of the young artists of Kent in the fields of painting and drawing.

“Balancing Act” by Lucy Dukes 12KK

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Reculver – GCSE Coursework

On Monday 16 September, all the Yr11 Geography students went on a trip to Reculver Beach, Herne Bay to collect data for coursework. We arrived at the beach to find it empty, probably due to the cold windy weather. We spent the day collecting data by measuring pebbles, throwing coconuts into the sea and counting waves - it was more fun than it sounds! We all sat along the beach for lunch where the coconuts we had thrown in the water 2 km away conveniently washed up onto the beach just in time for pudding! In the afternoon we repeated the techniques of collecting data as fast as we could to escape the oncoming rain. Unfortunately we weren’t quick enough and returned to the coach wet and windswept. Before heading home we took a short detour to visit a wave cut platform and toilets! Overall the day was a success and hopefully will result in some fantastic coursework! Chloe Morgan 11VM & Jodi Tanton 11AB

Dover Castle

A gorgeous late summer day saw 109 historians descend upon the historic fortress at Dover ready to investigate its development over time. After a careful exploration of the Roman Pharos, Saxon Church and the extensive concentric defences, started by Henry II and completed by the Constable of the castle following the French siege of 1216, we were able to consider the turning points in the history of the castle site. We departed with a mound of evidence, hundreds of photographs to help demonstrate our conclusions and the odd sunburnt nose!

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Wonderful Wye Downs

On Wednesday 11 September, a group of Yrs11-13 students accompanied by Mrs Spooner and Mrs Rickett descended on Thorpe Park for a day of thrills and adrenalin. Having just finished the circular motion topic in A2 Physics, it was only natural that we discussed the physics of each ride as we were queuing up! As it was a school day, we hardly had to queue, almost walking straight on to each ride. Some of us managed to total 16 rides throughout the day! At midday we went for our educational workshop entitled, ‘The Science of Roller-Coasters’ where we learnt about three rides in particular: Colossus, Stealth and Saw. We learnt about the energy changes and forces that occur whilst riding and even did some calculations of our own on the energy transfers using real data from the rides. We also studied the G-forces involved in the rides and the limits the human body can take. We looked at basic design, including why loops are elliptical (clothoid) not circular and the electromagnetic breaking system. Learning about how these rides run and all the safety procedures that are in place, made everyone feel a lot better about riding them! We also learnt why the ride ‘X: no way out’ no longer exists. Apparently as the ride ran backwards and in the dark, staff spent 1300 hours a month cleaning up after passengers found the experience too extreme! Mrs Spooner went on one ride and according to our informant (who will remain anonymous) she was asked by a member of staff if she was feeling ok after the ride was over - we don’t think she went on anymore after that! The last thing I would like to say is thank you to Mrs Spooner and Mrs Rickett who made this fantastic trip possible. By Charlotte Jenner – Physics Prefect Yr13

The Physics of Thorpe Park

On the 24 and 26 September Yr7 experienced the annual exploration of the chalk grasslands near Wye. Once they had walked, scrambled and climbed the steep scarp slope they settled down to a well deserved rest and prepared to undertake their first geography fieldwork investigation. This involved measuring the height of vegetation and counting the number of plant species to show patterns of succession on the scarp slope. A further climb to the top of the hill allowed them to examine the landscape in greater detail and spot Ashford’s well known landmark buildings. In order to reach our picnic spot by the Devil’s Kneading Trough we had to negotiate through a herd of rather stubborn cattle that did not want to be persuaded away from the gate! After lunch and a field sketch they walked along the top of the Wye Downs to the memorial Crown, through the woods and to the coaches – a tiring but a good day in the fresh air, getting to know one another better in their form groups as well as some practical Geography.

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On 30 September and 8 October, Yrs11-13 students visited the Globe Theatre in London to see two very diverse Shakespeare plays: ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ and ‘Macbeth’. Many of the students had never experienced a Shakespeare play live at the Globe. A Midsummer Night’s Dream The evening was windy but dry and, once ensconced in the yard of the Globe Theatre, the students, as ‘Groundlings,’ were captivated by a traditional interpretation of Shakespeare’s magical play. Wonderful live music and dance opened the play as the fairies entered through the yard. The oppression of Hippolyta by Theseus was clearly emphasised in the opening scene in the Athenean court, contrasted immediately by the entrance of the Mechanicals, who had the house in uproar with their clog tapping humour. The magical woods and all that ensues between Oberon and Titania, Helena and Demetrius, Lysanda and Hermia, and of course Bottom, as a result of magic poorly directed (mainly at the hands of a playful Puck) kept us entranced - despite standing for over three hours! This was topped in the closing scenes as the Mechanicals had the audience in stitches playing out their slapstick play to the court. Of course all was resolved at the close with the ‘happy ever after’ resolution expected in a traditional comedy. The students were excitedly enthusing about the wonder of this live production and looking forward to engaging with the text in their lessons in school. Macbeth ‘Macbeth’ is taught as a gothic play at A2 and many were looking forward to an adrenaline fuelled evening of

fearful thrills. Some had even hoped for rain and storms to create some pathetic fallacy; however it was an unbelievably balmy evening for the beginning of October (some found the heat rather overwhelming …literally) and the traditional interpretation of the play, which seemed intent on focusing on the implied humour of some of the lines, left the audience a little surprised. It was enjoyed by all and led to much heated debate about the effectiveness of the interpretation. All in all these were two very successful trips.

The Glorious Globe

Yr10 artists visited the Historic Boatyard at Chatham earlier this month to record ideas for their current GCSE coursework. The docks are spread over an area of 80 acres with buildings, warships and galleries which meant the day had to revolve around a very tight schedule. Students were able to explore and sketch a variety of sea vessels that included the beautiful HMS Gannet a Victorian sailing ship as well as HMS Cavalier, a World War 2 destroyer. After lunch, our less claustrophobic students also managed to squeeze their way through HMS Ocelot which was originally a British submarine from the Cold War period. Apart from being visually interesting, the students were also able to grasp how life may have been for these sailors living without the comforts we all too often take for granted. We rounded off the visit at the end of the day by looking at an exhibition of paintings by Sir John Lavery who had been commissioned to work as a war artist during the First World War. I’m sure we can look forward to seeing some imaginative responses to the visit from Yr10 over the next few months.

Historic Chatham Dockyards

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Amber Sale Yr10 for completing 50,000 metres on the Concept 2 indoor rower and to Faye Mileham Yr8 and Barbora Zatloukalova Y12 on achieving their 25,000m rowing awards.

Our U19 Netball team who took part in the County netball tournament at Rainham and played outstanding netball all day. They won all but one match and now have been selected to play in the County finals on Saturday 30 November. This puts the team in the top 8 in the county!

The U16 Football first team who took part in the Kent Football Cup and played the cup holders from the past two years, Rainham Grammar School. Lexie Spokes Yr11 scored in the first half, but Rainham won 2-1. Well done to our girls who demonstrated excellent football, showing great team spirit, at times controlling the game completely against the cup holders.

Our U14 Kent Football Cup team who faced Hartsdown Academy and won 21-0, the highest score in the competition. Well done, girls! In the English Schools Cup, they faced St Simon Stock School. With goals from Meadow Barton Yr9, Aileen Williams Yr8, Izzy Griffiths Yr8 and Lydia Huntley Yr9, they won 8-0. They are now through to the third round and will face Canterbury Academy.

Our U13 Football Kent Cup team who faced Hillview School and won 15-0.

Our U19 Boys Football team who played well against St George’s School, displaying good attacking football with lots of goals and team spirit. It was their best display of football so far.

Charlotte Wise Yr12 who has been selected for the U17 National Age Group Hockey team.

Zia Braimoh Yr13, Hannah Antoine Yr10 and Annabelle Spicer Yr9 who have been selected to play rugby for Kent.

All of Highworth’s Hockey teams who competed strongly with some of the County’s top hockey schools at their respective tournaments this term. A special mention goes to the U18 team who also beat local rivals Ashford School 3-2.

Our U14 and U16 Badminton teams who won their local tournaments and now qualify for the Kent School Games Finals later this year.

Yr11 Sports Leaders Eilidh Hards, Samira Aminzare, Alizeh Kayani, Poppy Gooch and Emma Larkin who completed a Level 1 Softball training course and are now qualified to help officiate in the local softball league.

Congratulations to…….

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During the summer holidays we welcomed over 60 of our new Yr7s to school to participate in two weeks of activities. These included a musical drama, art workshop, making musical videos and a dance workshop. The activities were run by teachers from Highworth, Mrs Booker, Miss Moody, Mrs Morton and Miss Hodges, and as you can see from the photographs, was enjoyed by all.

Summer Art Workshop

Y10 Survival Challenge Focus Day

Imagining themselves stranded on a deserted island en route to their holiday destination, Y10 students competed to create the most effective survival plan using natural resources, materials salvaged from the hold of the plane and their understanding of citizenship. A series of danger alerts challenged them to resolve social issues and devise a system of ensuring law and order. Presentations in the afternoon were illustrated by models of the survival scene and students devised their own judging criteria.

Monday 4 November - Term 2 commences; return to Week B timetable

Wednesday 6 November - School closes 2.30pm

Friday 8 November - Nepalese Culture Day

Friday 15 November - Non-School Uniform -Children In Need

Friday 22 November - Pop Quiz 7pm in the Hall

Friday 6 December - JP Non-School Uniform

Wednesday 11 December - Whole School Panto

Tuesday 17 December - Carol Service at St Mary’s Church, 7pm

Friday 20 December - Last day of term

Headteacher: Mr P Danielsen Highworth Grammar School, Quantock Drive, Ashford, Kent, TN24 8UD

Phone No.: 01233 624910, Fax: 01233 612028 Email: [email protected] Website: www.highworth.kent.sch.uk

Joss Arnott Dance

Highworth dancers from Yrs9-13 took to the stage at Joss Arnott’s latest tour, which premiered his new work and revisited existing work Threshold. Highworth dancers opened the show with a piece that was created by company member Alice. The piece was devised in just a few hours one Saturday and then meticulously rehearsed by the dancers during lunch hours. The dancers were a credit to the school and it was great to see them perform in a professional theatre. The students then stayed to watch the Joss Arnott Company perform. All of the students left the theatre discussing the work passionately. It was great for the students to witness a company they have worked so closely alongside over the past year in action. Dance prefect Paige commented, ‘The piece was really inspirational. It’s amazing that we have the opportunity to work with such talented dancers. It has really pushed me to achieve within Dance and one day hopefully be in a professional company.’

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Highways october 2013