Volume July 2017

Message from the Headteacher

I would like to say how proud of I am of all the pupils for their hard work and excellent attitude to learning. Having read their end of year reports, I think it is fair to say that the vast majority of our pupils have applied themselves with positivity and commitment both in class and beyond. There is definitely much to celebrate and the pupils should be proud of their successes and achievements. In particular, I have to congratulate the Year 6 for their performance in the SATs exams – the results of which are detailed below – and the Year 8 for their performance in their final exams – again, the details are below, but both year groups have done brilliantly well and worked extremely hard to achieve their best. Congratulations! So, aside from the academic focus, this term has been incredibly busy as we have crammed in a whole

range of enrichment opportunities for the pupils. Year 5 and 7 have been on residential trips to Bristol and

London, as well as Kimmeridge and Swanage day trips for Year 7. A group of KS3 pupils have been on

residential to France, Year 6 have been to Marwell Activity Centre and Pamphill and Year 8 to Tower Park.

All pupils have also participated in activities in school, including ‘Lord of the Flies’ week, Careers Education,

PSHE activities and a whole range of others too numerous to mention.

We have also hosted over 30 Chinese students and staff and our Global Youth Ambassadors have done the

school proud in making our visitors welcome. Well done all of you for being great role models and a big

thank you to Mrs Wheeler for the huge amount of work that went in to making this happen! In exchange, 20

of our Year 7 pupils have had the opportunity to visit China (indeed, one group are still there) enjoying a

whole range of new experiences including making dumplings, learning about Chinese culture, learning how

to make a variety of origami figures, playing traditional Chinese instruments and visiting the pandas and

Terracotta Army, as well as forming new friendships with Chinese and American pupils. What an incredible

opportunity!

We have had lots of positive feedback from the children and parents regarding the trips and activities, so

thank you for all of your support and – to the pupils – thank you for behaving so positively and maturely both

on the trips and in school, especially when there have been so many changes – you have been fabulous! As

I’m sure you can appreciate, the staff work extremely hard to arrange these opportunities and to lead trips

out of school, and it is a pleasure to then see and hear the reaction of the children as they face new

experiences and challenge themselves to try out new things. So thank you to all of the staff for their hard

work both this term and throughout the year.

Finally, I would like to say Good Luck to all of our pupils who are moving on to new schools – we wish you

happiness and success. Have a wonderful summer holiday and we look forward to working with you in the

new academic year. Mrs Pritchard.

It’s hard to believe that we have reached the end of another

academic year and are rapidly approaching the summer

holidays. In each of our newsletters this year, I have said that

the term has passed quickly and we have been very busy. This

has never been truer than for this current term which has

included exams for all year groups, trips for all and events in

school including Sports Day, the Tivoli Concert, Transfer Day,

Awards Ceremony, Year 8 Celebration evening & many others.

Volume July 2017

Staffing changes

After 9 years at Allenbourn, it is with sadness that we say goodbye to Mrs Utley, who is going off to work at

West Moors Middle School. As I’m sure many of you are aware, Mrs Utley has been a fantastic advocate for

our children who have additional needs and has worked tirelessly to provide the best educational experience

that we can offer for them. She has tremendous knowledge and we are very sorry to lose her. Thank you for

all your hard work and commitment to the school and we wish you good luck and much happiness in your

new role.

In addition, we say goodbye to Mrs Campbell, TA, who provided brilliant support for children, in particular in

maths and who also left at half term. Having been at the school for 11 years, Mrs Campbell has gone off to

spend more time with her family, but we very much hope she will be back in the future to offer further 1:1 or

group work. In the meantime, we say thank you for all your hard work and good luck.

Furthermore, Mrs Cribb, TA, having been at the school for 16 is retiring at the end of term. She has provided

fantastic support for EAL pupils and individual support for identified children, to enable them to make

progress and achieve their best. Thank you for your hard work and quiet dedication to the children and we

hope you have a lovely retirement.

Mrs Pace, our Finance Manager, is also leaving us this term after 7 years at Allenbourn. We would like to

say thank you for your hard work and support in looking after the school’s finances so efficiently. Good luck

with your move – we hope you settle in quickly and feel at home soon.

And, as we say goodbye to the staff members above, we also welcome the following staff to Allenbourn.

We are delighted that Mrs Emily Spurgeon will be returning to the school to teach English in Year 5 and carry

out intervention work with some children and to welcome Mrs Sandra Cutts who will be joining the school,

teaching Maths and English across the year groups.

We are also pleased that Mrs Sally Moran, who joined us this term, will be staying with us as our Pupil

Premium Advocate. She has already been busy this term getting to know some of our children and making

contact with parents and will continue in this role in the next year.

We also welcome Mrs Pamela Skipp to the school. She is our new Parent Support Advisor, working both

with us and St John’s First School.

We also say goodbye to Mrs Baker, Senior TA, who retired at half term

having been at the school for 15 years. Again, Mrs Baker worked

incredibly hard supporting our SEN team, ensuring that the children were

supported appropriately and organising all of the staff very efficiently and

effectively. She also supported children, especially in Science (her area of

expertise) and helped to enable them to reach their potential. We hope

you have a lovely retirement and wish you all the best for the future.

We are pleased to have appointed Mr Andrew Rosa who

will be joining us from Broadstone Middle School and will

be a Year 6 tutor and teach a range of subjects in Key

Stage 2.

Volume July 2017

Exam success!

Congratulations to the Year 6 and Year 8 pupils who have performed brilliantly in their exams.

Year 6 results: These results show the percentage of pupils who attained the expected standard.

Reading Writing Maths SPG Reading, Writing and Maths combined

2017 results 82% 88% 86% 83% 73%

National 2017 71% 76% 75% 77% 61%

2016 results 68% 72% 69% 70% 55%

Year 8 results:

Reading English skills: spelling, punctuation and grammar

Maths Reading, Writing and Maths combined

2017 results 85% 90% 91% 81%

Year 6 SATs

Our Year 6 pupils have worked incredibly hard this year. We asked them what they thought of the tests at

the end of SAT week and this is what 6H and 6M said:

At first I thought it would be terrible,

but it turned out to be really fun.

SAT's week is a normal 4 days with a couple of tests thrown in. No

biggie! Do the preparation and work hard and when it comes to it, it'll

be a walk in the park and also you have an excuse to have a big

breakfast every day!

At the end of the SAT's week - which isn't as stressful as you

may think - you get to go to the Tivoli and enjoy a movie

with your friends! My advice is to not worry and just do the

best that you can do.

Volume July 2017

General Subject Awards

Y5 Y6

Achievement Effort Achievement Effort

English Eddie Richardson Lola Sainsbury Ruby Sargeant Connie Pope

Maths Archie Jones Mia Lovett Oliver Foster Lauren Holloway

Science Grace Noble Leyton Cluett Jonah Hand Ben Thrumble

Art Hettie Lloyd Scarlet Acreman Imogen Carter Samiksha Phuyal

CS Jodie Teo Hermione Benton Sebastian Haynes Tristan Green

D&T Jake Churchill Chloe Marcham Beth Goldie Mia Ulyett

French Gabriel Vandvik Mia Rowledge Ollie Foster Rosa Bartlett

Humanities Subritta Phuyal Isabel Rees Jacob Barnett Tom Whittick

Music Anna Eadie Poppy Darragh Olivia Hill Charlotte Dawson

PE Harry Woods Amelie James Amy Darragh Tristan Green

RE Mercedes Gregory Eva Gentry Rebecca Bentham Kaitlin Newey

Y7 Y8

Achievement Effort Achievement Effort

English Macy Wright Cameron Corbin Sam Pitcher Flynn Watkins

Maths James Carter Ellie Clay James Daniel Rebecca Curtis

Science Benjy Bishop Charlie Scott Rosie Clay Oli Demanuele

Art Tilly Coombs Rosie Watts Elinor Campbell Kiera Mitchell

CS Sarah Graham Lewis Vaughan Jazz Trudget Brandon Sudworth

D&T Saskia Levinson Will Hartin Charlotte Piper Tilly Turner

French Alec Mills Kira Parsons Tiger Young Gaby Walker

Geography Jimmy Love James Sullivan Charley Marks Ellie Wall

History Scott Julyan Pippa West Roxy Hurst Ryan Laine-Turner

Music Hannah lee Max Douglass Libby Witt Noah Stubbing

PE Gus Meadwell Lissie Burton-Smith Akiva Bassford Grace Anstey

RE Benjy Williams Jennifer Andrews Lydia Hughes James Rees

Head of Year Awards

Boy Girl

Y5 Daniel Chappell Jodie Teo

Y6 Will Evans Lauren Sharp

Y7 Will Hartin Katie Teale

Y8 Akiva Bassford Millie Eaton

Special Awards

Art – Tilly Turner

Volume July 2017

Music – Sheldon Trophy – Flynn Watkins

Candy Cup – Max Samways

Windplayer shield – Elinor Campbell

String cup – Rosie Tighe

Ben Waters Award – Emily Dawson

Technology – Jess Evans

Office – Charlie Baker

Teuber Award – Y5 – Emily Phillips

Y6 – Leah Yarrow

Y7 – James Sullivan

Y8 – Ashley Davey

PE – Most improved – Ellie Wall and Dan Millis

Sportsperson – Joel Murdoch, Ava Keay/Lydia Rusling (joint)

Chadwick cup – Ollie Rawles

School Council Award – Jazz Trudgett

Student librarian – Lorenne Colton

Headteacher – Sam Pitcher

Chinese Visitors

As you may be aware, through the last summer term we have had Chinese visitors from 3 different schools come and participate in Allenbourn school life including the very busy time which was Enrichment week. It was a wonderful experience where the children of Year 7 and 8 have expressed how much enjoyment they have had being GYA (Global Youth Ambassadors) and how much they have learnt from them.

As well as this, we have had 2 groups of 10 children visiting China as part of the exchange programme. I would like to take this time to thank the children for their welcoming natures, Host families and the teachers (especially those who went out to China) for their hard work and flexibility plus OneWorldEducation organisation for giving us this opportunity.

Mrs Wheeler

Volume July 2017

Tivoli concert

Spring and Summer saw many pupils pass their ABRSM and Trinity exams this year with merits and

distinctions, which is absolutely fantastic and shows what a talented group of musicians we have in school.

The Musical Year came to an end with a fantastic Summer Concert at The Tivoli in June where Allenbourn

pupils really showed just how amazing they all are! We had gym routines from Year 6 and year 8, solo

singers and dancers, a fantastic Star Wars tribute from Flynn Watkins who is leaving us for QE and will be

very missed! Rebecca Bentham was enchanting with a gorgeous ballet solo and Emily Dawson took the Ben

Waters Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music at Allenbourn School. The evening ended with the

Orchestra playing a superb Queen Medley concluding with the memorable 'We Are The Champions' which

was very fitting for such a talented bunch of young people!

I have thoroughly enjoyed this year teaching Music at Allenbourn and although I will miss our year 8

musicians when they leave us for upper school, I am really looking forward to meeting the new talent in Year

5 and working on a new repertoire for 2018.

Thank you for your continued support and have a fantastic summer!

Miss Taylor

Head of Music

A year 5 class (5P) planned and presented an assembly to make the whole school more aware of the

NSPCC.

They informed the school of the work that the NSPCC do for children and why it was so important to donate

to this worthwhile charity.

It has been a fabulous year for Music at

Allenbourn this year. Our Choir and Folk

group played at Kingston Lacy's beautiful

Christmas celebrations back in December

and our Brass Band were out in action in

Wimborne Square for the festive lights

switch on! Our annual Christmas Concert

was held at Wimborne Minster and we

played and sang some beautiful carols as

well as a haunting rendition of 'Walking In

The Air' from the Orchestra.

I wanted to email to thank you for coordinating a fantastic show last night at the Tivoli. I

was blown away by the professionalism of the children's performance, the variety of

content and how this played to their individual strengths. It was clear how passionate you

are about the development of music and the arts at Allenbourn and sharing this passion

with the children. The children and audience enjoyed the event very much and wanted to

thank you for an incredible evening.

Volume July 2017

Guided by their power point, they informed us on the work the NSPCC do by: showing the school how to

remember the Childline Number 0800 1111; acting out some scenarios and even singing for the message to

be put over.

We were also very fortunate to have a visit from the area's coordinator, who praised the children for their

assembly spurring us on to raise over £400 on a non-school uniform day.

For further information, pop into reception and collect an information leaflet.

Ready, steady, READ!

This Summer term Ms Young’s Y7 English class have been focussing on reading for pleasure and were

challenged to read and review as many books as they could. To inspire them, the class visited Wimborne

Library and looked at the teen section there and Allenbourn Librarian Mrs Jenson created a special selection

tailored to the class in the school library.

Many rose to the challenge and Jenny Willis managed to read and review an amazing 18 books to scoop the

top prize of a Kindle. Runners-up were Ellie Clay, Lily-Mae Cook, Cameron Corbin, Finlay Kerr and Heaven

McGauley who received a beautiful pen.

“Jenny was determined to win and when she realised that others were spending most of their break and

lunchtimes reading, she just went into overdrive!” said Ms Young. “We have a fantastic library here at

Allenbourn and a talented librarian who is always keeping the selections fresh and up-to-date, there is no

excuse for any child to be without a good read.”

The class have also completed reviews of their “Marvellous Media” including games and films, as well as

books, to go in display in the library next September. Many thanks to Ms Young’s Y8 English students for

also contributing this, leaving a legacy of reading suggestions for next year’s students.

English Sets Next Year

From September, there will be a slight change to the way English sets at AMS are organised. The precise

arrangements will vary from year group to year group, but as a general rule sets will be arranged into ability

bands rather than straight ranked sets.

Therefore, as some groups are being mixed, if your child receives a new set number in September this does

not necessarily mean they have been put into a different attainment group.

The new system is:

In Year 6, Sets 1 and 2 will represent the upper hand, Sets 3, 4 and 5 the middle band and Sets 6 and 7 the

lower range (with Set 6 representing higher attainment than Set 7).

In Year 7, Sets 1 and 2 will represent the upper band, Sets 3 and 4 the middle band and Sets 5 and 6 the

lower range (again, with Set 5 representing higher attainment than Set 6).

There will be no change to groups going into Year 8 this year.

Year 5 will initially be taught in their form groups, and be banded by attainment later in the Autumn term.

Matt Golding

Assistant Headteacher

Volume July 2017

Trips and visits this term

There have been a number of school trips and visit this term to London, Bristol, Marwell, Swanage, France,

Kimmeridge

Bristol Trip - Just a quick email to thank you both for the

excellent trip to Bristol. Sam thoroughly enjoyed the trip and

has already requested that we return to Bristol over the

summer.

Bristol Trip - We just wanted to say thank you

for all the hard work you put into last week for

year 5. She really had the most amazing time in

Bristol and couldn't stop telling us all about what

she had been up to, especially the pirate walk

and drunk man! know it has been a tough year,

with a lot of pressure on you all, so to take the

children away, with all the extra organisation

and effort needed, at such a busy time, is very

much appreciated.

French Trip - Thank you & all your team so much for

the lovely week Rosie has had with you on this trip.

She has come home so enthusiastic about it all, it's

lovely to see & hear about it, her Dad & I really

appreciate all the hard work that has gone into making

it happen & the great things they have seen & done.

London Trip - Jacob had such a brilliant time away on the London Trip.

He talked non stop on the Friday evening when he returned home!! He

took lots of photos, which he showed us the same evening! He was

buzzing with excitement! Before crashing out on the sofa! He said he

was amazed by the Lion King and how wonderful it was.

We just wanted to email you to let you know how much we

appreciate all the hard work that the teachers at Allenbourn have

done for the pupils recently. We were extremely impressed, in

light of the recent terror attacks and parent concerns, with how the

school responded with a change of itinerary to ensure the risks

were at a minimum yet still allowed the pupils to have a great time

in London.

We would also like to say a big thank you for all the extracurricular

activities that have been provided for our children recently,

meeting the Chinese students, trip to Swanage etc.

With the forthcoming trip to China for some of the students, the

school are providing an amazing opportunity for these children. We

aware that this has only been made possible due to the hard work

and dedication of the teachers involved. Our son, Jamie, is very

excited to be one of the students who is going on this wonderful

adventure.