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Academy Newsletter Edition 13, September 2011

EARLY CLOSURE On Thursday, 6th October 2011 the Academy will be closing early afternoon to assist in preparations for the Academy‟s Open Evening for prospective students, September 2012. Details are as follows:

1.20pm - Lesson ends

1.25pm - Buses will be available (not Wessex Connect)

Message from the Academy Principal, Mr R C Evans At the start of the new academic year it gives me great pleasure to welcome our new parents/carers to the Academy and, of course, a warm welcome back to those of you whose children have moved onto the next stage of their „Academy Career‟. This year we are anticipating a full OFSTED Section 5 inspection following our successful Section 8 Monitoring Inspection in 2010-11 and I will contact parents/carers as soon as the visit dates are confirmed. During the summer we were again delighted to celebrate the examination results of our Year 11, 12 and 13 students in their GCSE, Advanced Level, AS and International Baccalaureate examinations. In addition, large numbers of Year 10 students received the results of modular examinations. I am delighted to report that our headline GCSE figures were excellent, building on the high standards achieved in 2010. Press releases regarding these results were extensively covered in the local press and reported in the league tables constructed by the national press, including The Daily Telegraph and The Times. A LEVEL / INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE DIPLOMA PROGRAMME At A Level there was a pass rate of over 98%, with over 46% of all students obtaining the very highest grades of A*, A or B. Some 70% of students achieved an A*, A or B in Economics, Chemistry, History, Further Mathematics, Music, Spanish and Art & Design. Impressively, 21 students achieved at least one A* with 13 students achieving at least three A*/A grades, including Sophie Vickery with four A*, Alex Knowles-Smith with two A* and two A grades, and Tom Dight, Lizzy Lawson and Junaid Qureshi with one A* and three A grades respectively. These successes have ensured that Sixth Form students have successfully gained places to study at some of Britain‟s top universities; including Criminology at Cardiff University, Engineering at Durham University, History at Southampton University, Mathematics at the University of Bath, Architecture at the University of Nottingham, Geography at the University of Plymouth and Business and Law at UWE. In addition to these excellent results, International Baccalaureate results published in July 2011 were also once again above the international benchmark, with The Ridings‟ Federation Sixth Form celebrating their highest ever International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme results, with a 100% pass rate.

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GCSE RESULTS Results at GCSE were excellent, significantly above the local, regional and national figures, with headline figures 8% up on 2010 record results. 90% of students at the Academy have achieved 5 or more A* - C grades, and perhaps what is even more impressive is that 80% of all GCSE students at Winterbourne International Academy obtained 5 or more A* - C grades including English and Mathematics. Particular highlights within the 2011 cohort of results include 29% of all grades being achieved at A*/A grades. The following stand-out students achieved 10 or more A*/A grades in their results: Monica Biryiana, Robyn Brailey, Daisy Budden, Rebecca Clements, Adam Coltman, Harriet Davies, Hannah Doyle, Jessica Hughes, Victoria Jones, Annalise Lam, Krishan Mistry, Emily Norman, Alice Oliver, Izzy Pottergill,, Sophie Ross, Conor Sinclair, Jenna Vickery and Becky Watson. One of the Academy‟s specialism‟s, Mathematics, also faired particularly well in the examination results – 85% of all grades between A* - C with 37% A*/A. English achieved 87% A*-C with 34% at A*/A. As a result of these performances recruitment into the Sixth Form has significantly increased.

I would like to take this opportunity to formally congratulate all of our students on their results which reflects the work they have put in prior to the exams and the support given by parents/carers. Our best wishes go to those students who have moved onto University, full time education or employment. In addition, I would like to thank all of the staff for their high level of professionalism in preparing the students for their examinations. I hope that these strong partnerships will be maintained in 2011-12 and that next year‟s results will be even higher.

I would also like to highlight the performance of Year 8 student Chiquita Hart who achieved an A* in GCSE Spanish. Very well done on this result. As usual at this time of year we have welcomed a number of teaching and support staff to the Academy: Ryan Chandler Teacher of Science Nathan Cole Music (GTP) Claire Gregory Teacher of Girls‟ PE Victoria Henecka Teacher of MFL Sarah Martin Teacher of Media Studies Samuel Matthews Teacher of RS Kieran Mogford Teacher of Sociology- History Victoria Skeen Teacher of Science

Verity Teagle Teacher of English Stephen Watson Teacher of Business & Hospitality Lucy Wigham Teacher of Girls‟ PE Anne Griffin Admin Assistant for Science Learning Area Suzanne Grimstead Pastoral Admin Assistant Jennifer Arpino Sixth Form Administrator Paula Moorman Sixth Form Café Manager

In addition a number of internal appointments have been made: Nick Pritchard Acting Head of English Learning Area Alison Scott Acting Deputy Head of English Learning Area

Liz Moncur Acting Teaching and Learning Coordinator for English Lucy Willis Teaching and Learning Coordinator for Science Learning Area

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Once again during the summer recess a programme of facilities was undertaken which included:

Extensive refurbishment of the student toilets in HG1, HG2, HG3 and HG4.

Setting up a Sixth Form Coffee Bar.

Numerous other repair and maintenance projects across the site. On 7th September 2011 the Academy held its first Year 13 Leavers Evening at The Grange Hotel, Winterbourne. At this well attended evening subject prizes were presented to students and a full list of prizewinners is as follows:

Applied Art & Design A Level (Applied) Carolyn GUINARAN Art & Design A Level Amber ROSE Biology A Level Jessy CONSTABLE Biology IB Chloe ALLTOFT Business and Management IB Valerie HOLT Applied Business A Level (Applied) Chris SOUTER Business Studies A Level Gemma BARLOW Chemistry IB Austen SMITH Chemistry A Level Richard SEQUEIROS-PEGGS Drama and Theatre Studies A Level Charlie PITT Economics A Level Luke GRIFFITHS English IB Cara JONES English Language A Level Esther BROWN English Literature A Level Zoe CREWE Engineering A Level Kayleigh SANDERS Food Technology A Level Hannah ELLIOTT French IB Beth HUGHES French A Level Louise VAUGHTON Further Maths A Level Jack ARMORGIE Geography A Level Sophie VICKERY German IB Rebeka BENEDEK German A Level Rosie BEAVEN Health and Social Care A Level Amy REEVES History IB Ambrus OROSZ History A Level Hazel JONES Applied ICT A Level (Applied) Louis CRAWLEY Law A Level Adrian ORLICKI Mathematical Studies IB Alena MOGILINA Mathematics A Level Mike GUTTRIDGE Media Studies A Level Ceri THORNE Music A Level Ben MITCHELL Music Technology A Level Ed ALLONBY Physics IB Valerie HOLT Physics A Level Claire SULLIVAN Political Studies A Level Abigail PARKER Product Design A Level Esther LOKE Psychology IB Alena MOGILINA Psychology A Level Rosie ORCHARD Religious Studies A Level Charlie PITT Sociology A Level Jake BEESLEY Spanish ab initio IB Tilly COLEBORN Spanish IB Laura BINNS Spanish A Level Danielle NASH Sports Science A Level Georgina BROOKS Textiles A Level Chloe SOLOMON Travel and Tourism Applied A Level Anya CARROLL

I would also like to highlight that the Annual Year 11 Federation Presentation Evening is being held this year on 24th November 2011 at The Wills Building at The University of Bristol.

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For information, this Newsletter will be produced on the following dates with copies posted on the website: www.trfwia.org.uk:

8th December 2011

2nd February 2012

22nd March 2012

17th May 2012

12th July 2012

Paper versions will be distributed to all parents/carers who have requested such a copy. FRIENDS OF WINTERBOURNE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY On 19th September 2011, The Friends of Winterbourne International Academy held their Annual General Meeting. The Friends‟ work is greatly valued by all of the staff and students and this group have been able to fund enhanced facilities and resources which have made our students experiences more rewarding. Any parent/carer wishing to become more actively involved with The Friends would be most welcome and should contact The Friends Committee for more details. Further information on The Friends is included in this newsletter. In the September Newsletter 2010, I indicated that Winterbourne International Academy had been placed on a list of schools for possible significant capital investment. Over the Christmas Break, an investment of over £19.3m was confirmed. Since this decision there has been a frustrating delay in moving this project forward. I am pleased to inform you that the outstanding preliminaries are now almost complete and the project should now be moving forward at some pace. Earlier in the term you received a letter regarding problems with the Students Personal Planners. The new copies should be available in the near future, when the original planners will be recalled. My apologies for the inconvenience that this will cause to students and parents/carers. PARENTS/CARERS FOCUS GROUP As part of the Academy‟s consultation arrangements, a Parent/Carer Focus Group has been established. The purpose of this group is to offer parents and carers an opportunity to become more formally involved with Trustees, Local Governors, students and staff in planning Academy developments. The group consists of approximately 10-15 parents/carers, with representation from each Year Group and the group meets with senior staff approximately six times a year. I would like to extend an invitation to our parents/carers of new Year 7 students to join this group. If you are interested in becoming part of the group, please contact Jenny Green, my PA, jenny.green@trfwia.org.uk . I am pleased to inform you that the Academy has again received The International Schools Award (2011-14). As part of the International ethos we had the pleasure to host 26 teachers from a range of European Countries in a Comenius visit on 7th September 2011. The teachers were particularly interested in learning about English teaching and the UK Educational System in general. The Academy was again very grateful to Bristol Rugby for providing complementary tickets for the Championship Fixture against London Scottish on 11th September 2011. Bristol defeated London Scottish by 32 points to 13. Our best wishes go to Bristol Rugby for the season and hopefully it is not too long before they return to the Premiership. I would like to take this final opportunity to wish our staff, students and parents/carers the very best for the forthcoming academic year.

Mr R C Evans | Academy Principal

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DEGREE SUCCESS We are delighted to announce the following former students who have graduated from various universities: Adam Semenenko has gained an MSc in Computer Science from the University of Bristol. Congratulations Adam! Jennifer Moore has gained 2:1 in Physics from the University of Exeter. Congratulations Jennifer! Kirsty Hall has gained 2:1 in BEd (Primary) from the University of Gloucestershire. Congratulations Kirsty! If you know of any other former students who have gained their degrees and would like their names published in the newsletter, please let us know.

PARKING

Parents/carers are asked to be considerate to the local community when dropping off and collecting their children at the start and end of the Academy day. Parents/carers should not enter the main Academy site or the front entrance to the Academy. The forecourt should not be used as a turning area. The presence of

additional vehicles on the Academy site does present a health and safety risk. In exceptional circumstances, e.g. when a student has a mobility issue, parents/carers who enter the site must do so with extreme caution and with the permission of the Academy Principal.

As parents/carers of students at The Winterbourne International Academy you are all members of „The Friends’. During the year the Committee organises various events- last year we held a Christmas Market, an Indoor Car Boot Sale and Quiz Nights. We also run our own Lottery, details of which may be found on the Academy website www.trfwia.org.uk . 2010-11 was another successful year and we raised just over £3K. Thanks to everyone who helped or came along to any of our events. Donations to the Academy included funding towards the Library, a cricket bowling machine, lacrosse equipment and materials required for the Allota Allotment project. By the time you read this we shall have held our AGM & appointed new officers- we will let you know who they are next time! Our first meeting will be held on Wednesday 5th October 2011 and the dates for the rest of the year are as follows:

Monday 14th November 2011

Thursday 12th January 2012

Monday 27th February 2012

Tuesday 8th May 2012

Monday 25th June 2012

All meetings commence at 7.30pm and are held in the Technology Centre Conference Room (dates and any changes will be detailed on The Friends page on the Academy website www.trfwia.org.uk)

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If you would like to join the Committee, please come along on 5th October, but anyone is welcome to attend any of our meetings at any time - we‟d love to see you! And if you can‟t come, but have some good ideas, please let us know! (alison_bray@btinternet.com) OF COURSE, YOU CAN HELP IN OTHER WAYS TOO!! Increasingly companies are making donations to clubs/charities with which employees are involved, as a means of putting something back into the community. This typically takes the form of either simple donations, or £-for-£ match pledges linked to specific fundraising activities. Our fundraising has dropped in recent years due to a lack of £-for-£ matching and we know there are parents out there, who could help- is it YOU? Are you able to supply goods/ services that we might need for our fundraising? Do you work for a shop that could offer us purchase discounts? It‟s definitely worth asking! Please email alison_bray@btinternet.com if you can help (please keep this in mind especially with the Christmas Market on Saturday 26th November fast approaching!) SUPPORTERS LIST And finally...don‟t forget if you would like to join our Supporters list, so that we can contact you about our various social events, we do need your contact details. Please can you forward your name & email address to alison_bray@btinternet.com or leave a note with your name & address in Reception marked FAO The Friends. SILENT AUCTION Many thanks to all those Supporters, who were interested in last terms Silent Auction of 2 First Great Western Anytime train tickets- these were sold for £80!! Do join our Supporters List for a chance to participate in our Silent Auctions again this year!!

We look forward to meeting you all at our events during 2011-12!!

Thank you to everyone who has joined our Lottery - at £1 per month, it is great value and the odds are good too! Winners since July 2011 are listed below:

July 11 1st Joanne Schiller 2nd Ian Payne

3rd Sara Campbell

Aug 11 1st Sarah Mason

2nd Chris Keld

3rd Peter Hindsley ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES A LEVEL IS LAUNCHED AT THE ACADEMY The 6th September 2011 will go down in history as the first time that an A Level in Environmental Studies was taught at the Winterbourne International Academy. Environmental Studies is becoming a popular subject at A Level and Winterbourne International Academy is one of only two Sixth Forms that offer the course in the Bristol and South Gloucestershire area. The A Level is a modern thematic course which addresses global environmental issues such as Wildlife Conservation, Ecosystems, Climate Change and Ozone Depletion. The students are looking forward to carrying out fieldwork studies and visiting Bristol Zoo; pretty soon we will have some budding Environmentalists on our hands

The Friends of WIA

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E SAFETY AND MY VISIT TO ROMANIA...by NICK EARL (TG: 11.10) Romania was never a place I wanted to go to; at the age of 15 I barely knew it even existed. An opportunity popped up at the South West Grid for Learning, from In-Safe, Europe. They teach children the benefits and possible dangers of the use of both computers and the Internet. I knew immediately that this was an opportunity I could not miss and so I jumped at the idea, wondering what the path ahead of me was to contain. We later received note that this was a youth camp, this interested me further and by this point excitement was gradually building up. As soon as we got off the airplane we saw Bucharest, Bucharest is very diverse in riches, it was almost separated into two parts, a part of poverty and a part of money. We headed to the Hello Hotel which was to act as home base for both me and some of the others youths attending this highly intriguing camp. That night we were invited to dinner, in which we would socialize with youths from many countries including Estonia, Germany, Ireland, Portugal and Slovakia. It was an amazing account of many countries but the best was yet to come. The morning after we set off after greeting the Romanian volunteers outside of the coach. They all seemed happy to help and very upbeat. The coach journey was long but gave us a great view of Romanias‟ prettier areas, and rural life. It so happened that Romania was in fact beginning to look

beautiful as tall mountains passed by us. In roughly 3 hours our journey had come to an end and we were in Transylvania, home of the blood sucking vampire, Dracula. We made ourselves at home in the Vraja Muntelei, a hotel miles away from anyone or anything. Sixth Former, Jacob Brown, also participated in the visit. The first activity was set for the morning so we enjoyed ending another travelling day by sleeping! The very next morning the first activity was to begin and it was a workshop about blogging held by a woman from Kaspersky (an anti-virus software creator). The workshop proved to be extremely fun and interactive and I enjoyed talking to the other kids who were as enthusiastic as me. The workshop lasted an hour, however we had a short interval in between. After this activity I felt as if I was beginning to know more about Romania and the people involved, and I liked what I saw. Throughout the week many exciting and interesting workshops took place but there was room for fun as well. For one activity we were put in teams to make our team look good and compete in challenges, little did we know what was in store for us! The first activity was football; with a twist, the two teams were put in pairs and tied by the feet to each other, this game was hilarious and was enjoyed by both me and my partner Livia, a Romanian volunteer. The next game was even funner, it was time for Sumo wrestling, in this activity you put on a large sumo suit and attempted to barge the opponent out of the ring. I won 3-0 but I was against a girl. The last activity was mega-twister which was a ridiculously sized twister game that I lost almost immediately. There was also a karaoke night in which everyone sang to well known songs and I got a sneaky solo rap, so that turned out to be a bit of fun as well. These two are mere examples of the fun had at this amazing youth camp and, without all my friends in Romania and abroad the experience would have been less entertaining. In conclusion I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Romania and I would urge anyone to get involved with In-safe and their youth panel to enjoy amazing trips like mine. Thank you for reading.

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Rugby – Over the last week Winterbourne International Academy have hosted a rugby festival for all schools in South Gloucestershire at our fantastic sports fields. Each day different Year Groups have been taking part in a 10-A-Side tournament and we have had over 500 students from other schools participate in the festival. The Year 11‟s came third and fielded two teams, the Year 10 team battled hard but finished 5th. The Year 9 team won their age group and the Year 8‟s came 3rd

This event was a big success and all other schools were complimentary about the way the tournament was organised and run by our staff and also of our excellent facilities.

Football – The football season has not „kicked off‟, however, the Year 9 team have had one ESFA National Cup match versus The Grange School and were magnificent. There were some outstanding individual performances but the overall team performance was simply fantastic to watch. They won the game 9-0 and the quality and style of play was tremendous. Ollie Mayhew scored 7 goals and Brad Hardage scored 2. We are waiting to find out who we are against in the next round and I will keep you all updated of our progress.

Netball – The only netball fixture to take place since returning to the Academy after the summer holidays happened this week when our girls travelled to Brimsham Green School. The Year 7‟s had two teams and both teams won. The Year 8 and 9 were involved in close games but were just beaten by Brimsham Green.

Badminton – Our Badminton star in Year 9, Jess Hopton, has recently participated in the UK Games. She has once again excelled in her chosen sport and managed to win the Gold medal in the doubles and the Silver medal in the singles tournament, an amazing achievement. Because of this success, she has also been selected to represent England in Lusanne in Switzerland, in the u17 category, playing up and above her own age group. Jess has also been selected to represent the country in the Danish Cup at the end of October. Congratulations Jess and good luck in these events.

After gaining an excellent pool inspection during August by IQL, the Commercial Department are delighted to announce that we will be offering the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification during October 2011. This course offers a solid base to an onward career in the sports and leisure industry. It will also offer all candidates the chance to improve their fitness levels along with team skills. This is a challenging course and therefore all candidates must be able to fulfil a number of requirements

before acceptance on to the course is confirmed.

For further information and prices please contact Katie Hosegood on 01454 822135 Or email Katie.Hosegood@trfa.org.uk Website www.trfwia.org.uk

Please note that all courses may be subject to change at the discretion of the Academy

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As part of the Year 7 Drama syllabus, Year 7 students are studying African Theatre. Due to its extensive links with internationalism, the Arts Centre is able to provide artistes from international locations. World Muzik Makers are a cultural arts-in-education organisation. The group uses African Djembe drumming, African dance, African songs and African culture and traditions. The group visited the Academy on 15th September 2011 and worked with 25 Year 7 students and 42 GCSE Drama students from Years 9, 10 and 11. The workshop involved African Drumming, movement, dance and looking at African culture.

The students who attended the workshop also participated in the evening‟s performance “In the Footsteps” by displaying an African dance taught in the workshop. The attendance for the event was 151 audience members. African storytelling was the main highlight of the performance and how Africa‟s cultures, beliefs and traditions differ greatly from our own. The Year 7 students will use the skills and techniques used both within the performance and the workshop in their Drama lessons.

INTERNATIONAL CLUB All Students are invited to the International Club which takes place every Tuesday from 3.30pm to 4.30pm. For more information, please speak to Mrs Adams.

MUSIC EXAMINATION RESULTS The Music department is very proud of the following students who have recently passed external instrumental exams.

Zoe Bell Grade 3 Flute (Merit)

Natalie Organ Grade 5 Flute (Merit)

Lucy Butcher Grade 8 Flute

Sasha Ward Grade 8 Flute (Merit)

Holly Trembeth Grade 5 Flute (Distinction)

Hannah Whittock Grade 1 Flute (Merit)

INTERNATIONAL

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Katy Armorgie Grade 3 Flute (Merit)

Sophie Porter Gillespie Grade 3 Flute (Distinction)

Tom Sussex Grade 2 Guitar (Merit)

Wess Stone Grade 4 Tuba (Merit)

Arthur Price-Laney Grade 3 Trumpet (Merit)

George Angus Grade 2 Trumpet (Merit) Alastair Salmon Grade 3 Trumpet

Melani Vijayakumar Grade 1 Piano (Distinction)

Primrose Teague Grade 3 Keyboard (Merit)

Tom Edgecombe Grade 1 Keyboard (Distinction)

Amelia Hendy Grade 2 Violin

Jack Walker Grade 2 Violin

Emily Portergill Grade 5 Clarinet (Merit)

Richard Bray Grade 3 Clarinet (Merit)

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TERM 1:

Thursday 6 October Prospective Year 7 Open Evening – 2012 Intake

Friday 7 October INSET Day – Academy Closed to Students

Friday 7 October Family Disco (6.30pm to 9.30pm)

Tuesday 11 October Prospective Year 7 Open Morning – 2012 Intake

Thursday 13 October Fragments of Ash – NoTIONAL Theatre

Tuesday 18 October Prospective Year 7 Open Morning – 2012 Intake

Friday 21 October TERM 1 ENDS

24 October to 28 October HOLIDAY

TERM 2:

Monday 31 October TERM 2 BEGINS

Thursday 3 November Scene Productions - Metamorphosis

Monday 7 November Year 8 HPV Vaccinations

Monday 7 November Year 7 Parent Information Evening

Wednesday 9 November Year 11 Progress Reports Issued

Thursday 10 November Winterbourne Sixth Form Open Evening – 2012 Intake

Monday 14 November The Friends Meeting (7.30pm)

14 November – 25 November Year 11 Mock Examinations

Thursday 17 November Yate Sixth Form Open Evening – 2012 Intake

Thursday 17 November Rock Island – Young Bands Night

21 November – 25 November Little Red Riding Hood Production

Wednesday 23 November Year 8 Progress Reports Issued

Thursday 24 November Federation Presentation Evening – Wills Building, University of Bristol

Saturday 26 November The Friends‟ Christmas Market

Monday 28 November Year 8 Tutor Report Evening

Tuesday 29 November INSET Day – Academy Closed to Students

Wednesday 30 November Year 7 Progress Reports Issued

Wednesday 30 November Post-16 IB Information Evening (7.00pm)

Thursday 1 December Year 11 IB Experience Day (Winterbourne & Yate)

Friday 2 December Year 11 IB Experience Day (Winterbourne & Yate)

Monday 5 December Year 7 Tutor Evening

Tuesday 6 December Christmas Concert

Wednesday 7 December Year 12 and Year 13 Progress Reports and Confirmed Targets Issued

Thursday 8 December Newsletter Issued

CALENDAR

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