Belvedere Academy Ezine Summer 2019

Summer 2019

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www.belvedereacademy.net

New Principal’s Welcome

Creative Arts Show

Award Winning Author Visit

Exam Results Day

Navy Cadets One Year On

Valencia Trip http://kaywa.me/v5Qax

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Valencia Trip

Reflections Review

Award Winning Author Visits

Navy Cadets One Year On

PE News

Farewell to PMK

Creative Arts Show

The Great Get Together

FEATURE STORIES

Exam Results Day

New Principal’s Welcome

What’s inside…

24 26 28 35 40 This issue’s guest editor Emma is currently studying A Levels in English Literature, French and Spanish. She is hoping to study English Literature at University.

If you would like to be a guest editor of the ezine, please contact Mr Dykeaylen.

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Belvedere’s New Principal Our guest editor, Emma W, got the exclusive first interview with Belvedere’s new Principal, Julie Taylor.

How does it feel to be coming back to Belvedere and how has it changed? It’s wonderful, it’s like coming home. When I first came to look round when the job was advertised back in January, what struck me was that it felt just the same.

Obviously, it’s changed a lot. It’s a state school now, there are three times as many pupils, it’s got a whole new build, but the feel of it is exactly the same. The pupils are very similar in terms of their attitudes to learning and enjoying everything that Belvedere offers.

Enrichment is as it was, very vibrant and lively so all of that made me think that I wanted to apply for the job, because it reminded me of all the things that I loved about the school when I was working here before.

What made you want to become a teacher? Well, I didn’t. That’s what most teachers will say to you. I went to university and did a Masters because I didn’t know what I wanted to do.

When I finished that I had to get a job, so I worked in an office and I was really bored, it was the same every day. My parents were both teachers so I always said I’d never be a teacher and funnily enough it was always something that I thought I absolutely could never do because standing in front of a classroom of thirty teenagers was terrifying. Something made me think that because I absolutely didn’t want to do that, I would to do it. I thought I’d put myself in a situation that would challenge me, so I came to Liverpool to train as a teacher.

Obviously the first ten years of my career was here at Belvedere, which was fabulous and I really enjoyed it.

If you had to choose a different career what would it be? I wanted to be an actor. Although I did my degree in English Literature, when I was at university doing my undergraduate degree, I was part of a Drama Society and belonged to a group that performed in festivals. I did my masters in Theatre at Lancaster University and thought I was going to be an actor. It didn’t happen, I didn’t have enough money and I needed to get a job, so I had a reality check, but in my ideal world I would be in Hollywood.

What is the best advice that you’ve ever been given?

The head teacher at my previous school always said: stand up straight, shoulders back, face the day. Obviously at the moment I’m in

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a new job in a new school, so every day I think to myself: stand up straight, shoulders back, face the day. That’s really the best advice I’ve ever been given because it just gets you into the right mind-set to take on those things that you think you can’t do.

If you had to describe yourself in three words what would they be? Driven, hard-working and annoying – that’s what my kids would say!

If you could change one thing about the world what would it be? There are a lot of things I want to change because I’m quite eco-friendly. I think the one thing that I would change would be that all young people could have the education that you have in this school. So many young people in society have gone to school but it hasn’t worked for them, so they end up leaving.

If you don’t go to school you can end up going down the wrong path. If everyone could have the quality of education that we have in this school, where people want to learn and where you aregiven opportunities, they would have the chance to get a really good start in life.

That’s one thing that I would change, that everyone could have what we have here.

Who would you say is your biggest inspiration and why?

Someone like the actor, Emma Thompson. I think she’s amazing, she’s very talented and she’s not afraid of saying what she believes in even though it might not help her career.

If you could have dinner with any one person, dead or alive, who would it be? Part of me wants to say George Clooney... No, I think somebody like Emmeline Pankhurst, someone massively dedicated to doing an almost impossible task.

She would be fascinating to talk to and to hear about the experiences she went through.

So either her or George Clooney, one or the other… or perhaps the two together.

Best Friend’s Wedding’ with Julia Roberts, it’s just so funny!

Where is the best place that you have ever been on holiday? One place is the Algarve in Portugal, where I’ve been lots of times and we always have a really nice time as a family. My children love going there so whenever we go, they’re always in a really good mood and really happy.

But the other place, for me personally, would always be Cornwall because I love it, regardless of the weather. I just think it’s beautiful and I love being outside at the beach.

What’s something that you wish you could tell your younger self? Definitely to stop stressing about what you look like all the time. I think that all of us as women, perhaps all of us as human beings, worry too much about how we look. I think I probably spent too much time worrying about that and now when I look back at photographs of myself, I think you look fit and young and happy, so I think to myself why was I ever worried about that. It’s important to feel happy being the person that you are and not to worry about wanting to be like somebody else.

What kind of music do you like? I really like a bit of jazz, but I also like things like Ed Sheeran. I have very broad tastes. I listen to Abba when I go for a run in the mornings, it’s really cheesy but it’s good to run to.

Name one thing that’s on your bucket list. I’d really like to do something like the Three Peaks Challenge and I’d like to go to Australia.

What’s the one thing you can’t live without? Definitely chocolate. I try not to eat it all the time, but I couldn’t live without chocolate.

What’s your favourite book? The Great Gatsby.

I love that whole period of American literature and the idea of the American Dream, I find it fascinating.

What’s something that people might find surprising about you? I like creative writing and I did another Masters in writing part-time with Manchester Metropolitan University. As part of your dissertation, you had to write a novel.

So I have written a novel and one day I’ll finish redrafting it and perhaps get it published.

What’s your favourite film and why? I like ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’, the black and white Christmas film. I think that’s a lovely film and I’d always watch that at Christmas. I also really like ‘My

Another thing that I do is get up at half five in the morning and go for a run, people are sometimes surprised about that but I think it’s good for me and for my mind.

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Spring/Summer Edition 2019

belvedere We’re really pleased with the students’ A Level outcomes which reflect the dedication, tenacity and resilience of our Year 13 cohort this year.

The great majority of our students have left the academy having successfully obtained their first choice university place and it was pleasing to see so many members of staff on hand to ensure that, for the small minority who were disappointed, other options are always available.

Over 50% of all A Level grades are at A*-B, with nearly a quarter at A*or A, which again is a tremendous achievement for all concerned at the academy.

In terms of other Level 3 qualifications, the second year of BTEC results are extremely positive with over 50% of grades at Distinction or better. In addition, 90% of all students who completed an Extended Project Qualification attained either and A or A* grade

Hugs and happiness

A Level Results Day

Fiorella Gallardo Sarti did exceptionally well and is off to Cambridge to study law

Hoi Yu Cheung was delighted with her three A* and one A

Great results for Hannah Yates, Lauren Evans, and Head Girl Alex McCalden

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y o j r o f g n i p m u J y a D ’ s t l u s e R E S GC Another proud day at The Belvedere Academy. When the doors opened at The Belvedere Academy there were plenty of nervous faces but it was all smiles later on as pupils celebrated their fantastic results with friends, family and teachers.

Overall, pupils have achieved higher grades than in previous years with many making huge progress and achieving the very best grades they were capable of; grades which will enable them to access the full range of courses post 16 and open doors for them in the future.

The school was buzzing all morning as pupils confirm subject choices for sixth form and staff welcomed external pupils who will be joining us in September.

Principal, Julie Taylor said, ‘We are so proud of all our pupils and have enjoyed a morning of celebrations. They have worked so hard and with the support of our fantastic staff and, of course, of their families at home, they have achieved some great results.

These young women are definitely set for taking on the world!’

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Bidding Farewell to Mr Kennedy and Mr McGarry

Not only did Friday, 12th July mark the end of another hectic school year, but it also signified the end of an era, in that it was Mr. Kennedy and Mr. McGarry’s last working day at Belvedere. Little did either of them know that over the last few weeks of term, a surprise party was being planned as a ‘thank you’ to both of them for their contributions to the academy over the years.

Thinking they were on their way home, Mr. Kennedy and Mr. McGarry were whisked into the school gym, where all the staff were gathered and they were both greeted with a standing ovation as they entered. Their faces were a picture to behold, and both were slightly overcome with emotion as the afternoon progressed, as farewell speeches and presentations were made.

As a small token of the academy’s appreciation for their service, the Head Girl, Elva, presented both Mr. Kennedy and Mr. McGarry with a commissioned portrait of part of the school, which had been painted by Niamh M (Y11). During the surprise party, more gifts and cards were given, and the afternoon ended with a video for Mr. Kennedy which featured many members of staff who simply wanted to pass on their thanks and gratitude to someone who has given so much to Belvedere over the past 11 years.

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Teacher’s art shortlisted for national gallery exhibition Mr Dykeaylen was delighted that his digital illustration, entitled ‘Awakenings’ was not only short listed from a national submission but actually chosen to be displayed in the Qube Gallery. The work was on display to the public throughout August and received glowing feedback.

The work was adapted and developed from a poster that Mr Dykeaylen designed for the Music department - and fitted within the exhibition’s theme of ‘Inclusion’. Using a skilful combination of both photography and digital techniques, the piece was displayed on brushed aluminium which allowed the light and reflections to react with the artwork - adding additional dimensions and depth to the work.

Celebration trip to the Beijing Chinese Restaurant To commemorate three years of hard work and commitment to their Chinese studies, twenty Year 9 and Year 10 students from the Belvedere Academy were invited to attend an all-inclusive reward trip to the Beijing Chinese Restaurant in the heart of Liverpool. This was an excellent opportunity for them to try authentic Chinese dishes that they have never tried before and to enjoy the delicious foods that the Chinese cuisine has to offer. During the trip, the students also discovered more about Chinese dining etiquette, customs and traditions. They all aspired to speak as much Chinese as possible with the owner and waiters at the restaurant and were praised for their confidence and communication skills. Furthermore, all of the students persevered and succeeded in using chopsticks and tried all the delicious food that was in front of them.

Some of the dishes we ordered included: 宫保鸡丁 gōng bǎo jī dīng – Kung Pao Chicken, 左公鸡 zuǒ gōng jī – General Tso’s chicken, 蒜蓉西兰花suàn róng xī lán huā – Sauteed broccoli with garlic, 蛋炒饭 dàn chǎo fàn – Egg Fried Rice, 担担面 dàn dàn miàn – Noodles in chilli sauce, 地三鲜 dì sān xiān – Sautéed Potato, Green Pepper and Eggplant.

After the trip, students and staff continued to Liverpool’s famous Chung Wah Supermarket. This experience allowed them to compare similarities and differences between Chinese and British supermarkets, investigate the products offered and compare the prices charged for these products. Many of the students decided to take some of the delicacies home with them to share with family and friends.

“The food was very interesting and I enjoyed eating the vegetarian foods. The staff were really nice, too.” Aamina Year 10

“I had a great time on this trip! I loved trying all of the food, especially the dumplings, rice and bread! Thank you Swire for funding this trip, as I really enjoyed the food and the experience, all for free!” Erin Year 9 “It was fun to eat authentic Chinese food and learn how to use chopsticks. It was a very fun trip.” Isabella Year 9

“I really enjoyed the Chinese bread and the crispy pork in the restaurant. I also liked going round the Chinese supermarket and buying Chinese snacks.” Lauren Year 9 I would like to thank Swire for funding this reward trip as it was a fantastic experience that would not have been possible without their support. I would also like to express my thanks to all of the staff and students that attended the trip.

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75th Anniversary of D Day Although he commemoration of D Day fell during the internal and external examination period, it was still marked during form time where students were encouraged to reflect upon its significance.

D Day marked the largest military operation to begin the campaign to free north-west Europe from their occupation by the Nazis in World War Two. Troops from the UK, the US, Canada, and France attacked German forces on the coast of northern France, on 6 June 1944. D-Day involved the simultaneous landing of tens of thousands of troops on five separate beaches in Normandy.

Gold British Troops Juno Canadian Troops Sword British Troops Utah American Troops Omaha American Troops

1st Division

At Omaha the US force suffered serious losses and were faced by a strong German force. Paratroopers were dropped behind enemy lines in France, while thousands of ships gathered off the Normandy Coast.

Surprise was a vital part of the plan as the Nazis expected the invasion later and further along the coast.

Shortly after midnight, three American and British airbourne divisions totalling 23,000 men took off to secure the beaches.

Many ships and landing craft prepared themselves in the English Channel- in an area which was called “Picadilly Circus”.

At 6.30am on 6th June 1944 the attacking divisions were brought to the beaches with the protection of a naval bombardment.

Troops continued to land on the beaches.

4th Division

50th Division

By midnight the Allies (Britain, Americans and Canadians) had secured the beaches and then moved forward from the beaches to liberate France. Up to 7,000 ships and landing craft were involved, delivering a total of 156,000 men and 10,000 vehicles to the five beaches along the carefully selected stretch of the Normandy coast.

The landings would not have been possible without the support of massive air and naval forces, which were much stronger than the Germans’.

On D-Day alone, as many as 4,400 troops died from the combined allied forces.

Some 9,000 were wounded or missing.

Total German casualties on the day are not known, but are estimated as being between 4,000 and 9,000 men. Thousands of French civilians also perished, mainly as a result of bombing raids carried out by allied forces.

3rd Division

Utah

3rd Division

Omaha Gold

Juno Sword

NORMANDY

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Bayeux

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Year 7 visit to Conwy Castle 7LJ, 7H and half of 7J accompanied the History Department to Conwy Castle. It was an opportunity to examine the key defensive features of the castle and apply knowledge from the Year 7 curriculum to a historical site. The weather was wet but there was the opportunity to explore the entrance, and barbican, murder holes, and understand why the castle site had been chosen with it access to fresh water from the well. There was an opportunity to spend some money in the Castle shop and local gift shop, although we had to sadly leave out some relaxation time in the local park, as the weather was so poor. However, we all still thoroughly enjoyed the day.

Brexit and more - Bank of England Visit In June, John Young from the Bank of England visited the Business and Economics Department to talk to students about the role of the Bank of England and how they can influence the economy.

John is an experienced economist. After a brief spell as a university teacher he worked for twenty years in economic research and advisory roles for UK and international banks in London, before joining the Bank of England in 1998.

He answered all of our questions and gave some interesting Post-Brexit predictions.

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Getting Ready for the World: Y12 Work Experience Sixth Form was remarkably quiet for a week in June, as Year 12 was out of school for work experience. Students had placements with all sorts of employers and spent a week learning a bit more about the world of work. By the time Friday rolled around, there were some tired faces, as the 9-5 was a longer day than many were used to!

This week of workplace experience was planned to complement academic studies by providing a way of learning outside the classroom. It helps provide you with crucial knowledge, skills and personal attributes that employers look for. Employers particularly value skills such as communication, team-working and problem solving. Job applicants who can demonstrate that they have developed these skills will have a real advantage, so we gave our girls the opportunity to get some real life experience with local employers. Students really got stuck in and were able to understand more about their area of business. Many girls found the week to be an eye opener and were able to reflect on how their experience has prepared them for the future:

Overall, our Y12 pupils found the experience to be positive, and had this advice for students in the future:

“It really helped as it gave me practical lab skills outside of school which will really help me when trying to find a scientific career in the future.”

“Keep contacts from people who could help/ advise you in the future. Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions.”

“It made me realise that solicitors have to deal more with admin work. It was extremely useful to see what tasks they do daily and it has helped me specify what type of law I want to go into.”

“Ask questions. If you have nothing to do, ask if you can help because you’ll learn a lot. Don’t overthink things; everyone will understand if you make mistakes, just ask someone to check if you’re doing it right.“

Others focussed more on the skills they had developed, with many saying gaining contacts was a useful part of the process:

“Take up as many opportunities to help as you can because it will help you put the duties of the job into perspective and help

“It has helped me improve my communication skills. It also helped me develop my knowledge of a workplace and the structure of each department that makes up a business.”

“It was useful because it allowed me to see what it would be like to work in industry.

Also, it allowed me to network with people.”

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you decide if you still want to continue into this field of work.”

Most pupils were really positive about their experience, which many using the time to reflect on their next steps, whether this be university or apprenticeships. Some found they thrived in the workplace, whilst others enjoy academic life back at school more.

Either way, the chance to get out of school and into the world of work was not to be missed!

If you would be interested in hosting a Y12 Belvedere student during work experience in June 2020 please contact Ms Carroll at s.carroll@belvedereacademy.net

One of our Year 12s used her work experience to organise an interview which was published on Culture Liverpool’s ‘RISE’ (female empowerment themed) website. It has also been shared on RISE’s social media platforms.

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Chrystall Prize: GDST Public Speaking Competition In the last week of January, Year 11 student Lisa D reached the semi-final of the prestigious GDST Public Speaking competition The Chrystall Prize.

The annual prize sees students from across the GDST research, write and deliver a seven-minute speech in front of a packed auditorium of fellow students, guests and judges. This year, the competition took place in Newcastle and was overseen by a panel of experts – including journalists, broadcasters and lawyers.

Lisa chose to deliver her speech on the topic of Brexit, and convincingly argued her viewpoint that the referendum result leaves the country in a more divided state

than ever. Lisa then tackled a range of challenging questions on the topic from the assembled guests. Despite narrowly missing out on victory to Sheffield High

School, Lisa was highly commended for her astute and well-researched speech. Well done, Lisa!

Spelling Bee Winners In June, students from the Lower School took part in a highly competitive Spelling Bee. One student from each English class was selected to go head-to-head with their peers and battle it out in an American-style knockout competition.

Congratulations to the Y7 winner Edie C and the Y 8 winner Eva W. Well done, girls!

On March 7th, students from across the academy took part in a wide range of activities to celebrate World Book Day. The day was a great success, with students from across the year groups getting together and sharing their love of reading and discussion.

Tasting’ session, whilst Miss Johnson led on an extremely well-attended ‘Diversity Debate’, with students posing thoughprovoking questions about representations in literature. A big thank you to everyone who made the day such a success.

As part of the day, students took part in a ‘Blind Date A Book’ activity, where mystery books with handwritten notes were swapped and taken home. Students also got a glimpse into the bookshelves of their teachers, with a ‘Staff Shelfie’ competition proving to be a hit amongst staff and students alike.

At lunchtime, the school library was transformed into a restaurant for a ‘Book

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Senior Netball Champions: The Invincibles!

Our Senior Netball Team are Liverpool City Champions! They displayed stunning netball skills and flair. This team has won the league and city tournaments every year since they were in Year 7 - an incredible achievement! They were sad to play their last competitive game of Netball for Belvedere and the PE Department will certainly miss these fantastic, talented girls.

Team: Anisha S (Captain), Lauren E (Captain), Alex Mc, Grace M, Hannah Y, Claudia W, Emma D, Hannah DE

Year 11 Netball Champions Congratulations to our Year 11 Netball Team who were crowned Liverpool City Champions again! Superb performance. Well done. Team: Katie B, Hannah DE, Daisy A, Niamh Mc, Olivia I, Olivia J, Melanie G, Amaia H, Amaka EO, Tilly B

Year 8 & 9 Cross Country Liverpool City Champions!

Our Cross Country Team beat many schools across the city including Merchant Taylors in 4 tough races throughout the year in various parts of Liverpool. They displayed excellent determination and stamina in many different running conditions.

Outstanding achievement! Well Done!

Team: Ella Mc, Maisie G, Lilia T, Rachel R, Layla P, Hannah J, Frankie B, Hannah H

Success at Liverpool Athletics Meet On Friday 7th June the Belvedere Academy Athletics Team competed against numerous schools across the city in many events such as sprints, long distance runs, long jump, high jump, shot putt, discus and relay races. They represented the academy very well and stayed motivated especially in the heavy rain towards the end of the day.

Football stars of the Future

Year 7 800m

1500m

High Jump

4.10, 13th, Maysa

6.01, 21st, Amelie

1.15, 5th, Olivia

Long Jump

Shot Put

Relay

5.31, 11th, Kitty

67 secs 10th, Jasmine, Olivia, Arabella, Eliza-Jo

2.86, 13th, Jasmine

Year 8 800m

1500m

High Jump

28.3, 1st, Hannah

5.22, 1st, Ella

1.05, 18th, Rachel

Long Jump

Shot Put

Discus

3.30, 10th, Layla

5.67, 12th, Raine

13.30. 6th, Raine

Relay 66 secs, 14th, Anna, Raine, Rachel, Ella

Year 9 300m

800m

1500m

46.6, 1st, Hannah

3.45, 15th, Lilia

7.10, 7th, Frankie

High Jump

Long Jump

Shot Put

1.10, 12th, Bobby

3.79, 8th Bobby

6.48, 10th, Jodie

Discus

Relay

13.56, 8th, Lucy

60 secs, 5th, Hannah, Yasmin, Millie, Amakai

In May, the PE Department took over 30 pupils from Year 7-10 to play in a football tournament at Admiral Park. This tournament was organised by our football coaches from Target Football.

Belvedere played many schools such as Broadgreen, King’s Leadership Academy and Fazakerley. They played extremely well despite the heavy rain. All pupils really enjoyed playing in their first Belvedere Football Tournament. They showed excellent leadership, communication skills and football flair. We are very proud of you!

KS3 Swimming Champions Our swimming team were crowned KS3 Liverpool Swimming Champions. They were outstanding, beating some very tough competition from 10 other schools across the city. The PE Department are very proud!

Year 7: Ava G, Emili B, Ruby P, Kitty T Year 8: Rachel R, Eve S, Layla P, Anna O’B Year 9: Jodie C (Captain), Eve C, Holly W, Maisie G

Interform Netball Results

Year 10 100m

200m

300m

12.9, 1st, Mia

32.9, 8th, Anaya

52.6, 8th, Nahla

800m

1500m

Long Jump

3.22,7th, Libby

7.04, 9th, Kyla

4.49, 4th, Mia

Triple Jump

Shot Put

Relay

5.80, 9th, Kyla

6.76, 8th, Ella

60 secs, 5th – Ella, Mia, Nahla, Ana

Congratulations to Miss Scott and Miss Goldstein who completed the Liverpool Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon on Sunday 26th May and to Mrs McAnespy who completed a 1 mile open lake swim in Lake Windermere on Saturday 8th June to raise money for charity.

Fantastic achievements!

Year 7: 1st 7J, 2nd 7P, 3rd 7LJ, 4th 7H, 5th 7B

Year 8: 1st 8B, 2nd 8O, 3rd 8TB, 4th 8M, 5th 8R

d 9S, , 2nd 9KS, 3r Year 9: 1st 9M 4th 9N, 5th 9Y

GDST Netball Weekend In March, Miss Scott and Mrs Beddard took 15 pupils to Condover Hall in Shrewsbury on a very exciting GDST Netball weekend.

enjoyed the trip, met lots of new friends, improved their netball skills and showed great sportsmanship. They were a pleasure

The girls played several very competitive netball matches against other GDST schools across England, such as Newcastle, Putney, Croydon, Shrewsbury and more.

to take away for the weekend, a real credit.

When pupils were not playing netball they had the opportunity to take part in many outdoor adventurous activities such as rock climbing, archery, high ropes, zip line and more. Pupils enjoyed evening activities such as a disco, Laser Quest and more. They really

Netball Networking In January, we were part of the ball patrol for the Netball World Quad series. We had the opportunity to help courtside through our Netball Club, Phoenix. We had the opportunity to interact with players and were inspired by their incredible talent.

For the upcoming Netball World Cup 2019 being held in Liverpool, we have been given the opportunity to take part in the ball patrol.

We recently set up a pop up netball court outside Anfield at The Liverpool vs AC Milan Legends game to promote netball and the World Cup. We are very excited to take part in such a beneficial event for netball in Liverpool. Hannah DE and Katie B, Year 11.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the GDST netball rally in March. Not only did the trip to Shropshire improve my netball skills but it also gave me a chance to bond with my team mates. Outside of the matches, there was a chance to do a range of activities from a zip-wire to a silent disco which everyone loved. Overall, I had a great few days that I will never forget!” - Isabel B.

A Handball First On Wednesday 1st May, Miss Scott took many Year 7 & 8 pupils to King’s Leadership Academy to play in a Handball Competition. They were chosen based on their skills and dedication to Handball Club.

This was their first competitive Handball Game. All Belvedere pupils showed great skills, sportsmanship and teamwork. They represented the school very well and enjoyed the day. Well done everyone!

Comic Relief The PE Department organised some Disney Just Dance at lunchtime for Comic Relief. It was very popular with pupils from Year 7 – 13 taking part in a fun, active lunchtime activity.

Lots of money was raised for charity. Well done everyone!

Interform Rounders Well done to everyone who took part in Interform Rounders this year and to the PE Department for organising such successful, fun events!

Year 8: 1st - 8B, 2nd - 8O, 3rd - 8TB and 8M, 4th - 8R

Staff v Pupils Badminton The PE Department hosted its first ever Staff v Pupils Badminton Competition to raise money for charity.

Many Year 11 and Sixth Form pupils played against all 6 members of staff in very

competitive doubles matches. Staff were crowned champions!

Congratulations to the winning Staff team: Mrs Beddard, Mrs McAnespy, Mr McGovern, Mr Li, Mr Lamb, Mr Woolley.

Year 10: 1st - 10M, 2nd - 10F, 3rd - 10C, 4th - 10W, 5th - 10LF

Year 12: 1st - 12B 12E, 2nd - 12HM, 12W, 12D, 3rd - 12M, 4th - 12C

The Belvedere Academy’s We are committed to the education and development of young women and their place in the world, and endeavour to offer as many high quality experiences as we can.

When approached by Cadet Expansion, it quickly became apparent that their ethos and vision very much mirrored our own and the Royal Navy model was a perfect fit, as we wished to smash the statistic of only 11% Navy jobs being taken by women (a statistic that has remained this way for 50 years).

Ms Speed, Assistant Vice Principal, was appointed as Contingent Commander and the recruitment of Cadet Force Adult Volunteers quickly followed with no shortage of applicants from an enthusiastic staff. The unit of 24 cadets ranging from ages 14-17, began parading in September 2018.

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Since starting, the cadets have been on Field Days where they were introduced to kayaking and rafting, given an insight into Liverpool’s rich maritime history, and were given the opportunity to pilot HMS Charger, one of the vessels housed by our RN Reserve contingent at HMS Eaglet, have gained qualifications on courses such as Dinghy Sailing and Windsurfing and have been to a residential at Dartmouth Royal Naval College. We also sent one of our cadets to the RM course at Lymstone; the only female cadet in attendance.

Our official opening on Friday, 26th April was, as Mr Kennedy described, very much the ‘icing on the cake’ of what Belvedere has to offer. Cadets were inspected and presented with awards by Commodore

Waterhouse who praised the enthusiasm and the positivity of the contingent.

Parents and special guests including Able Seaman John Dennett, Chairman of the British Legion and one of the few surviving servicemen present at the D Day landings, were overcome by the professionalism of the cadets and many shared an emotional moment when our Chamber Choir gave a beautifully haunting interpretation of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.

We look forward to the next phase of the contingent, which is recruitment, and we hope to double in size ready for parading in September 2019.

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first Royal Navy Cadets

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Year 12 Exhibition at OUTPUT Gallery In June our Year 12 Art & Design students were given the opportunity to exhibit their work at OUTPUT Gallery on Seel Street, Liverpool. OUTPUT gallery’s manager is an alumnus and wanted to reach out to work with the A-Level Art students in the hope of giving them more experience and knowledge of contemporary art in Liverpool.

The exhibition marked the end of a short programme with the students following a talk about working in the art world, a visit to the gallery and to our neighbours at the Bluecoat. The show brings together different themes and references artists in the work of 11 students including: Mia S, Summer B, Mia D, Emma T, Shalet S, Funmi A, Esther G, Libby G, Hollie C, Molly U and Remaya H. Gabrielle De La Puente: ‘When I left school to do an art degree, I never imagined I would end up with a gallery just a couple of years after graduating. Because everything has happened so quickly, all the work I’ve had to do to get to this point is fresh in my mind - including all the experience I needed to demonstrate to even get onto a university course in the first place. When I started OUTPUT gallery, I wanted to make sure the space could help others in that sense, so I got in touch with Belvedere to talk about putting on an exhibition of artwork by sixth formers who might be needing content for their UCAS applications or general experience ahead of leaving school.

I hope the show we put on together at the gallery gave the Year 12s an insight into working in the arts. It’s a difficult industry but I find it very rewarding and exciting, where no two days are ever the same.’

Emma Tracy, “In early January, we had a visit from Gabrielle, a former student of Belvedere and one of the curators of OUTPUT Gallery.

During her visit, she gave our A-level art class an insight into working in the art world and what opportunities are on offer to us when we leave school.

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Later that month, we were given the opportunity to visit Gabrielle at her gallery, followed by a tour of the Bluecoat Gallery, where we were able to gain more knowledge of contemporary art in Liverpool and the different ways that an exhibition can be set up and how this effects the way we view and interpret the art on display. Fast forward to June, eleven of us were able to have some of our artwork on display in OUTPUT Gallery. It was amazing to see our work on display in a professional setting and it gave us a look into how an exhibition

is run, and how we could get recognised in the art world in the future. Our class would like to thank Gabrielle for this wonderful opportunity and the confidence it has given us in our artwork.”

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Cadets show grit yet again!

Three of our cadets (Rebecca C, Rachel H and Izzy M.), despite having very little sailing experience, were invited to take part in the SSC Junior 12 Hour Race Championship on Saturday. They knew their chances of winning were virtually impossible and the weather on Saturday (very still with no wind) also did not help them. Despite this, paired with a group of students from Durham, the girls completed the course, and their conduct and resilience were praised by all.

Peer Mentor Bench Lower School students clamoured for the opportunity to have their bench design realised by a group of Belvedere’s most creative Peer Mentors, in response to a competition led by Miss Jones, Mrs Burke and Mrs Jecks.

Josie T and Nina S put their impressive artistic skills into practice with the support of Mrs Jecks to apply the Peer Mentor Bench design during after school Enrichment.

There were two lucky winners; Kitty T, 7P and Ruby C, 8R whose entries were combined to create a stunning final design.

The Peer Mentor Bench will soon be unveiled to the school and will take pride of place outdoors, for students to relax, meet with their mentors and enjoy some welldeserved social time with friends.

Peer Mentors: Georgia Mc, Francesca M,

Prize Winners: Kitty T (top) and Ruby C.

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Observing and interacting in our falconry visit Building on last year’s successful display, students participating in the Wildlife Art Enrichment and David Attenborough Enrichment, enjoyed a return visit from S&R Birds of Prey. S&R Birds is a local nonprofit organisation which rescues birds of prey from unsuitable environments.

During the display the falconers outlined the background stories of each of the birds and how their misfortune in early life had brought them to S&R Birds, which now provides them with the specialist care they require. We learned how many of their birds are now ‘food imprinted’ and can never be released into the wild as they have not gained the skills to hunt and survive independently.

This year, students had the opportunity to observe and interact with imposing birds of prey including the Harris Hawk, Barn Owl, Little Owl, European Eagle Owl and Kestrel. The event was held with the aim of introducing students to these varied species and their unique characteristics, discussing the correct care the raptors require, and giving students an opportunity to analyse and photograph them for their Art work and Science studies.

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Since last year’s visit our own Belvedere Girl, Lucia Byrne, Y13, has been training with the S&R team. Through her hard work, both in her studies at Belvedere and with S&R Birds, Lucia has gained a place on a zoo management course at the University Centre Rease Heath to work towards her dream of becoming a zookeeper. Falconer Mr. Green described Lucia as “a fantastic addition to the team. She has been dedicated, reliable and motivated to learn the skills to become Falconer of the future.” It was a pleasure to witness Lucia’s training come into action as she flew her personally trained Harris Hawk, Jess, in front of an audience. Lucia explained that it takes a lot of time and effort to achieve something like that, but finds the extra work that goes into Falconry, including cleaning, feeding and general care of the birds, immensely rewarding.

smallest bird of prey I have ever seen but he was very feisty!”

Students who attended the event had this to say. “It was a lot of fun and I took lots of photos. It was very interesting to see the different types of birds. It was very impressive when the Harris Hawk flew.”

Following the Enrichment, students were given the freedom to work in their own personal styles and experiment with a medium of their choice.

“I think that the Harris Hawk was very pretty and majestic. The tiny owl was the

“I found the birds of prey very interesting and it was amazing to get so close to them and even hold the Barn Owl!! I got lots of amazing pictures of them and I especially enjoyed watching the birds fly. It was an amazing experience.”

“Meeting the birds was a very enjoyable experience. I had never seen any type of bird of prey before so I loved it. I especially liked when we got to stroke the Barn Owl.” “After watching the falconry, I was both amazed and intrigued. I have not only learnt a lot about the specific birds we saw, but also had fun whilst doing so. It was a great experience!”

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Animation Enrichment Leads to a National Award Following an Animation Enrichment in the Art Department last term, one of Belvedere’s Year 7 students has succeeded on a national level with her animation project.

Sara A wowed the judges of National Arts Charity ‘Access Art’ with her highly creative and skilfully produced animation.

Her work has since been promoted on their social media and was exhibited at Access Art’s Opening Night of the #BeACreativeProducer Project at Cambridge Junction.

It is an exciting time to be a creative student at Belvedere right now, considering the opportunities currently being provided by our burgeoning creative industries.

Sara was presented with an animation book by the Art Department to celebrate her achievement and inspire her future animation projects. Hopefully her success will encourage and motivate our next cohort of Belvedere creatives.

Op Art in Focus Exhibition As part of the Tate Visit students were able to view the ‘Op Art in Focus’ Exhibition.

Op Art is an art movement which began in the 1960s, sharing similarities with the pop-art style, with bright colours and eclectic designs.

The exhibition features work by contemporary artists such as Jim Lambie and Angela Bulloch. Bulloch, recognised as one of the Young British Artists, works with sound and installation. Her work manifests a fascination with systems, patterns and rules and explores the creative territory between maths and aesthetics.

Lambie’s psychedelic flooring, ‘Zobop’, certainly takes centre stage at the Tate.

Students had the opportunity to step inside this full-scale optical illusion, created by artist Jim Lambie who was shortlisted

for the 2005 Turner prize. Students observed the colours and receding lines from different perspectives and photographed the work to inform their coursework sketchbooks.

Students Inspired by Tate Visit A group of GCSE Art Students visited the Tate Liverpool to become more familiar with the famous artworks that are on our doorstep. Students were given an informative tour of the gallery and were able to have their questions answered by a Tate Visitor Assistant.

herself and her projects and offered the students a few words of advice on the creative industries.

He introduced students to work by L.S Lowry, Piet Mondrian, Georges Braque and others from a period that spanned over one hundred years.

“I enjoyed the tour and learning all about the different paintings and artists.”

Later in the day local artist, Sufea Mohamad Noor, joined the tour group to introduce

Following the visit, students said…

“The trip allowed me to understand different types of art and the thoughts behind them.”

“I have really enjoyed the Tate. I particularly liked learning about modern art and taking pictures of the Albert Dock as I love the architecture. Thank you.”

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In June, The Belvedere Academy hosted The Creative Arts Exhibition 2019. On show was the amazing work created by our extremely talented Art, Graphics and Textiles students.

This outstanding work brought in some tremendous grades...

The private view was a huge success, with over 300 guests attending; including students, friends, families, local gallery owners, local business owners and Art lecturers from local universities. The exhibition showcased the culmination of two year’s work for our GCSE and A-Level students’, with many outstanding achievements, that really allowed the students to celebrate in style.

Guests were treated to tasty canapés and deserts (served by our Food Technology

Hospitality and Catering students), refreshments and music, to help celebrate in style.

All guests enjoyed what proved to be a truly fantastic evening; one which left guests in awe of the standard of the work exhibited.

Alongside the professional graphic design and wonderful original art, the guests were treated to some fabulous creative textile creations. Also on display this year were some fabulous photographic prints. These very impressive pieces formed part of the Graphics GCSE coursework, along with examples of animation from our creative Graphics students.

The exhibition remained open for a fortnight allowing the Creative Arts Team to show the fabulous work to help inspire the lower school students. The work was also viewed by several hundred people during our Open Evening, and the feedback and comments from this new audience was extremely complimentary, many amazed by the quality and standard of the work.

CREATIVE ARTS EXAM RESULTS

GCSE ART 2019

GCSE GRAPHICS 2019

GCSE TEXTILES 2019

100% 9-5

100% 9-5

100% 9-4

AVERAGE GRADE 7

AVERAGE GRADE 7

AVERAGE GRADE 7

A LEVEL ART 2019

A LEVEL GRAPHICS 2019

A LEVEL TEXTILES 2019

100% A*-C

100% A*-B

100% A*-D

AVERAGE GRADE B+

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AVERAGE GRADE A

AVERAGE GRADE B

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“We have more in common than that which divides us.�

In June, staff and students at the academy held a picnic in memory of Jo Cox, MP for Batley and Spen. At lunchtime the whole school, staff and students alike went out into Princes Park for a big picnic armed with blankets and of course, lots of delicious food. There were various activities taking place including skipping, frisbee and painting.

These games brought people together and it was fantastic to see girls from all years playing together, sharing food and chatting. There was also a big cake sale organised by staff and students. The event encouraged everyone in the Belvedere community to come together and it was a great way to raise money and to honour Jo’s legacy.

We thoroughly enjoyed it and I think it is fair to say that everyone else did too. We would love for this to be a yearly event at Belvedere. Thank you to our teachers for organising it. Raine V and Leena Year 8.

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Anticipation grew as the audience took their place in the Crypt Concert Room of The Metropolitan Cathedral. People descended into the depths of the beautiful crypt, clutching their refreshments, and were about to experience a journey filled with fond memories, thrills, action, adventure, love and laughter.

Three hundred members of the audience were eagerly awaiting The Belvedere Academy’s Spring “Reflections”.

Concert

2019,

The lights went down and the audience were transported to a wonderful world of music, all chosen by the talented musicians and choristers. This concert followed on from our extremely successful concert series over the last five years; ‘Awakening’ in 2015, ‘This Shining Night’ in 2016, ‘Night at the Movies’ in 2017 and ‘Night at the Musicals’ in 2018. This year promised to

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be even more spectacular as pupils had chosen their own programme!

The choristers and musicians took their place and a soft pink lighting illuminated the breath-taking Cathedral Crypt Concert Room. Familiar chords emanated from the piano. It was time for the epic, Sing by Gary Barlow and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The huge Orchestra, Choir and Chamber Choir once again proving that they are a force to be reckoned with! Wonderful performances ensued, all displaying a variety of talent.

Iconic themes from films such as The Hunger Games, The Greatest Showman, Frozen and The Lion King, to mention but a few, entertained the appreciative audience.

It was also announced that on 6th March, we were crowned “Outstanding School Music Department UK 2019” at the prestigious Music Teacher Awards for Excellence.

This national award has been five years in

the making, and our Reflections concert celebrated some of the girls’ favourite pieces since September 2013.

It was a real trip down memory lane as the girls performed their musical reflections to an enchanted audience.

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A worldly Gaia performance The Belvedere Academy’s Chamber Choir performed at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral as part of Liverpool’s River Festival in May. The Chamber Choir were invited to perform underneath a spectacular 23ft replica of the earth at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. Located in Britain’s largest cathedral, Liverpool Cathedral, the artwork called “Gaia” (meaning personification of the earth), hung majestically in the building and features accurate and detailed NASA imagery of the earth!

The Chamber Choir performed an exquisite 30 minute recital underneath this spectacular art work to a captivated audience. On that night too, the new Head Choristers for 2019 and 2020 were announced. Huge congratulations to Maisie Donohue and Grace Holland.

Chamber Choir Champions Again!

The Chamber Choir go from strength to strength! The Chamber Choir returned to Liverpool Anglican Cathedral in March to gain their prestigious crown as Youth Choir Champions of the Liverpool Music Festival.

They were crowned “Liverpool Secondary School Choir Champions”, and were praised for their professional sound and delivery.

The choir performed, “Tundra”, by Norwegian contemporary choral composer Ola Gjeilo; a mysterious piece evoking sounds of a great but beautiful storm.

The piece has many close and complex harmonies – often going into seven parts!

The Chamber Choir were praised for their beautiful blend, balance and professional execution of the sometimes seven-part harmonies.

Excitement is mounting as the choir begin preparations for their fourth international tour; this time to Rome in 2020! This will be a week that the pupils will remember for the rest of their lives. The Chamber Choir will be singing in some of the most beautiful buildings in Europe including High Mass at St Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican; arguably the most famous religious venue in the world.

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Student Takes Part in New York Fashion Week New York Fashion week was an amazing experience that I will always remember, as I was one of 6 pupils chosen to go in my first year, with the first ever project that I had created in university. My final look was inspired by the Surrealist Art movement and elements of when the Giants visited Liverpool. I took part in a fashion presentation and pop-up shop the following day during men’s fashion week.

I was amongst university alumni, working brands and second and third year students and I enjoyed talking about my work to those who visited. I saw my work on practising models, knowing that just a year ago I was in Belvedere studying for my A-levels. When I moved to Belvedere for Sixth Form, I was excited to learn about pattern cutting and fabric manipulation. It was clear just how interested I was as I would spend every night in the classroom trying to perfect any work that had been given to me. I wouldn’t be so invested in fashion if it wasn’t for Belvedere and my teacher was so supportive, I could go to Mrs Calderbank at any time of the day and she would help with anything I needed. This really helped solidify my basic knowledge as I had never used a sewing machine before the age of 16! Aurora D, class of 2019.

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A tasty treat for our students!

Just in time for Easter, Business, Economics and Food Technology students visited Cadbury’s World. In addition to some excellent lectures tailored to the subjects, girls were treated to a tour of the factory, interactive rides and lots of free chocolate!

Testing Times For Year 12 Psychology Students Recently, Year 12 Psychology students had the amazing opportunity to take part in an experiment, conducted by a PhD student from the University of Liverpool, examining inhibitory control, reward and memory in adolescents and alcohol use. Reduced levels of inhibitory control in adolescents has been shown to predict future alcohol use and risk taking behaviour.

As participants we were informed that we could win rewards for inhibiting response on a Go/No-Go task, to establish if offering a reward can improve inhibitory control. This involved a task in which a yellow or blue cross flashed on a screen, then immediately afterwards we were presented with either

a picture of water, juice or an alcohol. If we were presented with an image of water or juice with a yellow cross, then we were instructed to press the space bar and this would reward us with points. However if an image of alcohol and a yellow cross was presented, we were instructed to not press the space bar, and if we did so, we were again rewarded with points. If we pressed the space bar, then we would not receive any points. If the blue cross was presented with either images, then we were instructed to not press the space bar, with no reward.

The psychologists hypothesised that the presence of rewards will improve an individual’s inhibitory control, and we

were informed of this in the debrief after the experiment. I thoroughly enjoyed this experiment, as despite being taught about the procedure of an experiment in lessons, being involved in one as a participant allowed me to gain a better idea on how it all works.

The best part of the experiment for me was when my anger levels rose on a relatively easy task due to an incorrect response, and learning of all the errors I made at the end of the experiment. Overall, this was a very informative and interesting opportunity for me and all of the other students, especially to those who are interested in studying Psychology at university. Amy R, Year 12.

Friends of Princes Park We are extremely lucky to have the magnificent Princes Park on our doorstep and recently we have begun to work with Friends of Princes Park. Katy Gardner delivered an assembly to Lower School and shared a little more about what the friends do and showed some photographs of hidden areas of the park.

After the assembly, Miss Murphy hosted a coffee morning for the friends and they enjoyed looking at the academy’s archives as well as meeting four cadets who took part in a litter pick on the park. We are looking forward to building our relationship with the friends and they have offered to do guided tours of the park and help students learn about all the different trees that have been planted.

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Y8 Computer Science Taster Day at The University of Liverpool In May Miss Foster, Miss Jones and Mrs Gillies took thirty three enthusiastic Year 8 students to The University of Liverpool to experience a taste of what it would be like to study Computer Science at undergraduate level.

The students received a lecture in the Computing labs delivered by the Head of Faculty and a further lecture by an undergraduate student. They were taken into the post graduate planning lab where they saw robots being created and programmed by the graduates as part of post graduate and masters projects.

In the afternoon they were given the chance to write some of their own coding and test out their programming skills. Lunch was even eaten in the university common room so overall the Y8 students were given a real life experience of what life at university could be like.

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“I enjoyed all the tasks and was so happy when we got to see the work room with what they’ve created. I hope I’ll get to make something like that when I’m older.“ Rosie Year 8 Jobs in the Tech Industry are within the highest growth sector so the future is looking bright for anyone choosing to study IT or Computer Science. For more information visit the website: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_ Future_of_Jobs_2018.pdf

As has been the case throughout economic history, such augmentation of existing jobs through technology is expected to create wholly new tasks — from app development to piloting drones to remotely monitoring patient health to certified care workers — opening up opportunities for an entirely new range of livelihoods for workers. At the same time, however, it is also clear that the Fourth Industrial Revolution’s wave of technological advancement is set to reduce the number of workers required for certain work tasks.

“A particular focus of this new edition of the report is on arriving at a better understanding of the potential of new technologies, including automation and algorithms, to create new high-quality jobs and vastly improve the job quality and productivity of the existing work of human employees.

Our analysis finds that increased demand for new roles will offset the decreasing demand for others. However, these net gains are not a foregone conclusion. They entail difficult transitions for millions of workers and the need for proactive investment in developing a new surge of agile learners and skilled talent globally.“

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Round Table Podcast recording with ‘Innovate Her’ In May, Year 7 students had the opportunity to work with representatives from ‘Innovate Her’ as part of the Women in Tech Enrichment run by Miss Foster and Mrs Brown. The lucky ten students were involved in a ‘round-table discussion’ about their views on technology and their experiences of learning IT & Computer Science so far. The girls were recorded as part of a ‘podcast’ and their viewpoints will be shared for market research. The students addressed many issues and discussed their experiences of learning IT and Computer Science at Belvedere. Their podcast will be used by the team at ‘Innovate Her’ to inspire future projects.

In 2017-18 over thirty students from Year 8 to Year 10 were the first to complete a project with ‘Innovate Her’ as part of IT Enrichment with Miss Foster and Mrs Brown. The students at Belvedere were the first students in the country to graduate from the programme and they celebrated their success in an evening ceremony at the academy. Ms Slater now runs the same

programme trialled at Belvedere with other schools across the North West region.

It was an excellent experience for students to reflect upon how technology impacts their lives and learning at the academy. The girls involved were open and honest and made some really valid points in response to the questions posed. The students have high aspirations for their futures and they know that being more tech savvy will give them the edge they need to compete for jobs that don’t yet exist. It was lovely for Mrs Brown and I to hear how much they value their learning in IT and Computer Science lessons and appreciate the opportunities Enrichment brings to become even more involved. Some of the students involved had coded robots with our University of Liverpool visiting lecturers earlier this academic year too. The enthusiasm of the Year 7 group was commended by Ms Slater from ‘Innovate Her’. As the first school to pilot ‘Innovate Her’ it was great to have more involvement this year. We look forward to seeing the outcome of the research.

with Year 7. https://www.dementiauk.org/ get-support/children-young-people-andadults/

Dementia UK Project update for Year 11 & Year 8. Students from Belvedere used their IT lessons to work on a project with Dementia UK in 2017-18. This month their IT research, voice recording and document design is available to view on the organisation’s website. The Year 10 students created and analysed a survey that was set

producing the information.

The following link takes you to the page aimed at teachers: https://www. dementiauk.org/get-support/childrenyoung-people-and-adults/teachers

As part of the project, a Year 7 student made a video voice recording at a recording studio in Toxteth. This can be found on the ‘Let’s Talk about Dementia’ video posted on the ‘Resources for teachers and youth workers’ web page.

About halfway down the page there is a link in a turquoise box for ‘information for teachers and youth workers’. If you click this link it brings up a presentation and you will see the school is mentioned at the bottom of this for their involvement in

Miss Foster and Mrs Brown would like to thank Dementia UK for giving us this unique opportunity to allow students to experience first-hand how much their IT skills can be utilised to have a positive influence on society.

Microsoft Visitor meets with ‘Belvedere Women in Tech’ Enrichment Students.

Students from Year 7 to Year 10 came along to meet with Gill Glover.

Gill presented to the group and as a woman working in technology, answered a number of questions about her role in IT.

One of the most interesting points that Gill made was about how her Computer Science programming skills were being used to develop projects to help in less developed countries. She also revealed her unbelievable salary and bonus package

with the group which led to many gasps in the room!

The students enjoyed the session with Gill and many have been inspired to pursue a career in the Tech Industry.

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BAE Systems, RAF, Royal Navy: STEM Roadshow Miss Foster and Mrs Brown hosted the Roadshow at Belvedere during the Spring term with a special focus on Computer Science. All Students from Year 7 and Year 8 experienced a fun-filled afternoon learning more about how IT and Computer Science skills can lead to a career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths.

Many students from the audience volunteered to take part in activities and it

was great fun watching the reactions! Some students shared comments after the event: “I enjoyed it when they showed us how to use a mobile phone as a remote control, to control the little balls and I had a race with them.” - Olivia, Year 7 “I like the way they used people in the audience to help explain what certain things were. I hope to have more experiences like this in the future.” - Kirusha, Year 7

“I liked it when the RAF came in. I liked the way they let us volunteer so we could participate. I did volunteer, I would love for them to come back and do it for Year 7 next year!” - Megan, Year 7 After the event, in lessons it was lovely to share with the students the success of a former IT A-Level student Ellie Power who has now completed her Apprenticeship at Jaguar in Engineering.

Our Computer Science Students win The GDST Techathon “The Tail Won’t Fail.” In March, Miss Foster and Miss Magennis took five students from Upper School to London’s Code Node to compete against all the other GDST Schools for the coveted prize of Techathon winners.

This year the challenge was to ‘use IT and Technology with an Artificial Intelligence focus for a greater social good.’

Students presented their app designs and programming as well as marketing through a video advert and jingle for ‘The Tail Won’t Fail’ in a Dragon’s Den style pitch to the judges. Our winning students were also interviewed as part of a TV documentary which will feature on the GDST website at some point in the future.

Our winning idea was clever because the Women in Tech Club had been looking at how AI is used in the Agricultural Industry and when other schools were thinking about ‘positive apps’ and other clichés we were very much unique in our idea. The students heard from Miss Foster’s niece and nephew first hand on a video recording about how gestation for cows is often a challenge for a family who watch the animals day and night. Our student team was paired up with Nottingham School students on the day who were convinced by our team’s hard work and enthusiasm that we had the winning idea. Jenny B Y10 who takes GCSE Computer Science alongside Geography made the connection on how to further apply this winning idea to Third World countries where the income and livelihood is even more Agricultural based.

The winning students also heard from female guest speakers from the Technology

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world and were inspired to believe that they too can make a difference to the world through their IT and Computer Science studies. Miss Foster commented, “A very momentous day to come home with first

prize, the students did Belvedere proud! It was a real team effort; my niece is delighted to hear that her video was used as part of the marketing. The joy of watching the students present and sell their idea to the judges and the moment when we were announced as winners is something I’ll never forget. Thank you to Mrs Brown for her ongoing support of the IT/Computer Science students & all things Tech.”

Find out more about our success in ‘The Computer Weekly’ magazine too: www. computerweekly.com/news/252459874/ Fifth-annual-girls-school-techathonfocuses-on-AI-for-social-good

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Award Winning Author Visits

Lower School spent a morning in the company of YA author Kathryn Evans.

Kathryn is the award winning author of More of Me, whose new book Beauty Sleep was released in April 2019.

Her talk centred on self-esteem and body image, and how beauty standards have changed over the years. There’s no such thing as perfect and we don’t need to strive for physical perfection, despite the pressures of advertising and social media celebrities.

The girls engaged with Kathryn, who was honest, funny and talked candidly about her own life. She’s certainly an interesting person; she’s a farmer, actress, belly dancer and fences competitively!

Once the talk was over there was time for questions and the students had many for Kathryn: about the writing process, her

regrets, her favourite books, her ideas, and farming.

She read an extract from Beauty Sleep, and then there was time to buy copies of the books and have them signed. The queue was enormous, but Kathryn generously made time to speak to everyone.

Afterwards, on her way to her second school visit of the day, Kathryn said that she did what she did to reach out to young people with a positive message and she thought our students were wonderful young women.

The feedback from the girls was equally enthusiastic: “The author visit today was very interesting as, not only did she tell us about her books, she also read an extract and expressed her own opinion about the topics which she covered in them. She shared her own experiences with us and told us things you wouldn’t expect about herself

and her ideas. I feel that she connected emotionally with some members of the audience, and that she was an inspiration to all of us.”

“I think that the talk was very inspirational and I really enjoyed it. I wish I had brought money in to buy one of her books because they sounded cool.”

“I enjoyed Kathryn’s visit because it was intriguing learning about what was fashionable in the past. It also helped me understand what ‘perfect’ means.”

“I really liked Kathryn’s fun and bubbly personality. The book sounded so cool and I regret not bringing money to buy it. The talk about being ‘perfect’ was inspiring.”

Students who didn’t buy a book have no need to worry – the library now has copies of Kathryn’s books available to borrow!

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Year 8 Graphics Showcase

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Year 8 Graphic students are given the task to design graphics for a retail environment. They look at fashion shop logos and then produce their own logo and then apply this to shop designs and other merchandise (T-Shirts, bags, websites, adverts, etc).

The course is quite fast paced - we only have about 8 weeks - and within this time they are also learning new software (Photoshop and Illustrator)!

This showcase highlights just some of the fantastic work they produced this year, as there was so much great work produced it could have taken up many more pages!

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Culturepool logo design competition Earlier in the year, the Liverpool Learning Partnership invited pupils aged 8-18 to enter a competition to design a new logo for ‘Culturepool’, a new website of arts and cultural learning resources.

Mr Dykeaylen rallied Graphics students and they submitted their graphic logo responses. Against some tough competition from across all schools in Merseyside, it is pleasing that there was success for Belvedere. Amakai O, in Year 9, produced a wonderful design which was awared second

prize - an award made even more impressive when it was announced the final winner was a Year 11 GCSE Graphics student.

Alice Demba, from Culturepool, awarded Amakai with a certificate and some vouchers. She commented, “we were very impressed with her striking design featuring three iconic Liverpool buildings, beautifully positioned inside a circle of blue sky with light fluffy clouds. The judges of the competition from the design team at Surface Impression, the company

building our website, loved all this and the way the buildings are placed in such a beautiful composition. In clear, definite lines the Liver Building, flanked by the two cathedrals, is instantly recognisable and the colours complement each other and fit well with our Liverpool Cultural Education Partnership identity.” Well done, Amakai.

Making Spring Rolls to Celebrate Chinese New Year To mark the end of the Chinese New Year festivities at the Belvedere Academy, we invited some of the students in Y8 and Y9 to make Chinese Spring Rolls 春卷.

The students learnt how to assemble and fry the spring rolls and Mr Li told them about their history and importance to the Chinese people. The students were thrilled to have the opportunity to learn how to make and eat this Chinese delicacy and they were very skilled at using chopsticks.Thank you to all of the staff and students involved in making this workshop a great success.

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Y8 Textiles Showcase Some of the beautifully outstanding and highly decorative Year 8 Textile Planner Covers based upon ‘Bacteria and Micro-organisms’.

Planner cover #1/2: Ayesha H-B Planner cover #3/4: Raine V Planner cover #5: Rachel R Planner cover #6: Poppy A

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1

5

4 3 6

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Spring/Summer Edition 2019

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Sampling the Valencian Culture On Friday 24th May, a very excited group of 41 Year 8 and 9 students and 5 staff set off from Belvedere for Valencia. This is the second time that the MFL Department have organised a trip to Spain’s third largest city and it certainly did not disappoint!

world-famous Oceanografic centre and of course, the beautiful local beach. The impressive Ciudad de Ciencias y Artes provided some great photo backdrops and there was some fierce competition in the group photo contest!

We stayed in a centrally located hostel and the students loved having the opportunity to explore the main plazas and do some great ‘people watching’. Students improved their cultural knowledge and practised their language skills by completing a series of challenges in the Mercado Central, Plaza de la Virgen and Plaza de la Reina. We also took the tourist bus around the city to learn more about the history of the city and to appreciate the famous sights.

One cannot visit Spain without sampling the local cuisine and we ate in local restaurants every night, enjoying lots of tapas and platos típicos, especially paella, which actually originates from the Valencian area.

Valencia is an important maritime city and we took the opportunity to explore the

¡Lo pasamos muy bien por Valencia y tenemos muchas ganas de ir otra vez!

Once again, our amigos in the Colegio Helios were excellent hosts, kindly leading our students in a walking tour around the city centre and warmly welcoming us to their school for the day.

“My favourite memory was when we first got there and walked down some streets and the fountain was all lit up in the dark, it was beautiful.” Natasha P, 8B “I loved Valencia; my favourite part was the bus tour! I also loved the tapas bar.”

Eva K, 9Y “My favourite memory from Valencia was asking the Spanish locals questions about Valencia’s heritage.” Poppy A, 8B “I loved getting to explore the city finding out loads of things about it along the way.”

Junaynah M, 8O “Going to all the different squares was great. My favourite was Plaza de la Reina.

By the end of the trip, I was practically a local there.” Tracey C, 9Y “Valencia was a very pretty city and I would like to go back.” Lauren J, 9Y

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Spring/Summer Edition 2019

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Spring/Summer Edition 2019

belvedere

Shen Yun Art Performance at the Empire Theatre In January, 30 students from The Belvedere Academy visited the Empire Theatre in Liverpool to watch the phenomenal Shen Yun Art Performance. This performance featured the world’s foremost classically trained dancers, a unique orchestra blending East and West and dazzling animated backdrops—together creating one spectacular performance.

This opportunity allowed the students to find out more about China’s heavenly realms, ancient legends, and modern heroic tales and took the audience on a journey through 5,000 years of Chinese culture.

The students and staff that attended the performance were mesmerised by the talent displayed by the performers on stage.

Millie Year 7: “It was fabulously funny, sad and uplifting all at once. I especially loved the story about the lotus wives.”

Emmy Year 7: “The performance was breathtakingly beautiful. I loved the fairies!”

Mitaale Year 8: “I enjoyed it all very much; especially the live orchestra music.”

Zoe Year 7: “I enjoyed watching all of the flips and gymnastics.“

Jasmine Year 8: “What I loved about it the most were the dresses and costumes of the dances. They were so beautiful!”

Tessa Year 7: “I liked the acrobatics and the funny stories.”

Amber Year 7: “I thought that the costumes that the dancers were wearing and the orchestra music were both very beautiful.”

I would like thank the staff and students that attended the trip, as well as Swire for the generous contributions towards the tickets.

Chinese New Year at Edge Hill University In February, thirty Belvedere students got the chance to celebrate Chinese New Year at Edge Hill University. The girls enjoyed participating in a variety of activities at the Chinese Street Market, including: Chinese Chess 象棋, Chinese Puzzles and Mahjong 中国游戏和麻将, Drinking Chinese Tea 喝中国茶, Dressing up in Chinese Ethnic Minority clothing 穿中国民族的服装, Paper cutting and calligraphy 剪纸和书法.

Through this trip, the students explored the traditions and history behind the most important festival in China. They received a lot of praise from the native Chinese speakers as they endeavoured to use all of the Chinese that they have learnt so far.

The students also enjoyed trying traditional Chinese foods that were available at the Street Market. The part of the event that the students enjoyed the most was the Kung Fu workshop.

I would like to express my appreciation to Edge Hill University for organising such an eventful and exiting day and Swire for their generous funding towards the trip.

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“My favourite parts of the trip to Edge Hill University was trying the Chinese black tea, buying the Jackie Chen pig and participating in the Kung fu workshop.” Edie “I enjoyed dressing up in the traditional Chinese clothes and eating the vegetarian food.” Millie “My favourite part was going around to different stalls. I learnt that when you practise Kung Fu, you have to keep a straight face and are not allowed to smile.” Chloe

“My favourite part of this Chinese trip was when we got to dress up in the Chinese dresses.” Eliza-Jo “I enjoyed doing the crafts and going around the different stalls with my friends and trying the different foods.” Eve “I really enjoyed the food and going the Chinese knots with my friends.” Emma “My favourite part was the Kung fu because I learnt how to defend myself.” Chloe

Spring/Summer Edition 2019

belvedere

The library has started a new book club.

Anyone can take part, from Years 7 - 13, staff and parents too! Joining in couldn’t be easier. There are five amazing titles to read.

Read one, or all of them, it’s up to you!

There are loads of thought-provoking questions on the Firefly pages to kick start discussions on the books, not to mention suggestions for further reading.

Anyone can contribute their thoughts on the books. You can leave a comment on Firefly or ask for a comment card from the library for our display board. Whether you liked, loved, or loathed the book, would recommend it or not - let others know what it made you think or feel! You’ll be entered into a prize draw every half term for taking part.

Regular form-time discussion groups are held in the library throughout the year.

When you hear one is coming up, just come to the library.

In March, the University of Liverpool hosted 76 of our Y9 students for a fun packed day learning more about life as a student. Our girls were split into groups and treated to a tour of the campus. Highlights included visiting the Architecture Department to see models of eco buildings, and the Engineering faculty where they got to admire some of the many machines

Students from year 7 will get an extra credit if they read one of the books and take an Accelerated Reader quiz on it. If they read all five they will receive a small prize!

Copies of our five book club titles can be found in the library on the Teen Titles stand.

Parents and guardians: you can also take part in the Belvedere Book Club with your children. Reading and sharing your thoughts about what you’ve read is a wonderful thing to do together as a family. You can also leave comments on Firefly (Resources – Enrichment – Library – Book Club), or ask your daughter to pick up a comment card from school for you. Fill it in and have her bring back to the library to go on display, encouraging others to read the book too.

Star by Star by Sheena Wilkinson - Follow young suffragette Stella and her hopes of changing the world, one step at a time.

Boy 87 by Ele Fountain - Share the dangerous journey Shif and Bini must take

developed by current students. The gardens of Abercromby Square and the Garstang Museum of Archaeology were also a hit and showed our girls the huge variety of course and activities that go on at the university.

After the campus walk, pupils settled into the deluxe conference spaces in the Guild of Students for some activities about life

to escape the soldiers who’ve taken them from their families.

The House with Chicken Legs by Sophie Anderson - Get swept up in Marinka’s adventure as she tries to escape a destiny she doesn’t want.

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes Watch the ghost of Jerome in the aftermath of his death as he tries to understand and change the world for the better.

A Good Day For Climbing Trees by Jaco Jacobs - Join Marnus and Leila’s fight to save a tree and see how they inspire the whole town.

Readathon Congratulations to our Lower School pupils who took part in our annual sponsored read, the Readathon. This year we raised £140 for charities which help sick children in hospital and their families.

as a student. Deciding what to spend their student loans on was interesting - with some surprised to learn how much a weekly shop can cost!

The pupils who attended had a great time and were a credit to Belvedere. Hopefully the experience has got them thinking about university as an option for the future.

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Spring/Summer Edition 2019

belvedere

Hollywood beckons for our Darci!

Belvedere student acts in film whilst completing GCSEs Darci Shaw in The Bay © Tall Story Pictures 2019

Due for release this October, Renée Zellweger stars in the biopic of Judy Garland, and Belvedere is proud that appearing as the young Judy is our very own Darci Shaw.

Darci got this fantastic coveted role by beating numerous other hopefuls. Darci is no stranger to our screens having played the part of Holly in the ITV thriller ‘The Bay’.

Darci’s Mum, Louise, told us, “We are so proud of her success. Darci appears throughout the film in flashback scenes that recount Judy Garland’s childhood. She has had the opportunity to really showcase her acting and dancing talents and, despite it being a bit overwhelming at first, the feedback we have had about her part has been amazing.”

Judy was fifteen at the time she was cast as a child actor in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ - the part that made her famous and Darci was just fifteen years old when the film was shot. Darci gave us an insight in to life leading up to the role, “Auditioning for a role in a film can be a long process, and every time you get a recall you become more and more attached to the project and the character. After the fourth meeting for ‘Judy’, I decided to just forget about it and pretend like it didn’t happen because otherwise it can just consume you thinking about it all of the time. Once I found out I got the role I think I was just shocked more than anything because I really didn’t expect it! I’m not in school so now I have a lot more time to focus on my acting and auditioning for other projects. I have just started filming on something else, and I have scripts coming out my ears at the moment, but I am really excited!”

In a recent interview with the Liverpool Echo, the film Director Rupert Goold said, “If I’m really honest, I was probably more concerned about finding a young Judy than how Renée would be. Weirdly, the young Judy is better known than the old Judy because everybody’s seen The Wizard of Oz. They all know what she is meant to look like. So there’s a physical thing you’ve got to get right, and you’ve got to get the speaking voice right too. I saw this tape, this girl with a really strong Liverpool accent, very sweet, very self-conscious almost, and the moment her mum started recording her on her phone, she just had this incredible old-fashioned acting quality and I couldn’t believe it. Often you’re worried about a young performer, but she was just incredible - so real and so honest. I have a real hunch about her - I think she’s got something really magical. I think we’ll hear a lot more from her.”

All of us at Belvedere can’t wait to see the movie!

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Above, stills from the film ‘Judy’ © Pathé Productions Limited and British Broadcasting Corporation 2019

Spring/Summer Edition 2019

belvedere

Y10s not scared by monster challenge!

Recently, Mr Dykeaylen saw a series of inflatable monsters adorning various buildings in Manchester (images shown above). Upon further investigation, he discovers it was the work of Filthy Luker, “proven to be pioneers in the inflatable medium as well as carving themselves a unique niche in the international Street Art movement with their larger than life sculptures and anarchic humour.”

Clearly impressed by the stature and gravitas of this work, Mr Dykeaylen set his Y10 GCSE Graphics students a challenge to create their own monsters and then

produce an animated banner advertising the monster coming to Liverpool. Y10 were up to the challenge and produced some fantastic creations, as well as learning industry standard software Illustrator in the same process. Then, the next stage, the students were taught animation skills, which they utilised to really bring their monsters to life! So impressed with the results, Mr Dykeaylen showed them to Luke Egan, Director of Filthy Luker...

“HAHA I Love them! When we got the job we thought it was really important to avoid the old clichés and come up with original,

kooky monsters and you’ve come up with some good ones there.

These monsters definitely capture the spirit of the project and will be an inspiration to the new monsters we are going to design for this year’s monster invasion in Manchester again this year. I really want to get some fun-fur haircuts for our monsters now!”

That’s some fantastic feedback for our Y10s, and it’s great to think their design ideas may even influence the next wave of inflatable monsters - we’ll keep our eyes peeled to see! Well done, Y10 Graphics!

Right: just a few of the excellent Y10 monster designs.

Below: frames from Jade R’s excellent animated web banner.

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Spring/Summer Edition 2019

belvedere

Outstanding School Music Department UK 2019 In March, we were crowned “Outstanding School Music Department UK 2019” at the prestigious Music Teacher Awards for Excellence. It really doesn’t get much better than that. This national award has been five years in the making, and we are all understandably thrilled to be nationally recognised at such a prestigious event.

Looking back now with pride, it has been my pleasure to work with such talented and dedicated students over the last five years. In this short time, with the help of Mr Deakin and some fantastic pupils, we have transformed the Music Department into a shining beacon throughout the North West because of the music we produce and the positive influence that Music has on our pupils’ lives, the academy and its wider community. Here, in the North West, many schools are fighting to keep music alive both as a subject and as an extra-curricular activity, and to even be considered for the shortlist of such an award was a truly magnificent honour. We take extreme pride

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in the community that we have built up over the last five years.

The Orchestra now has nearly 60 pupils aged between 11 and 18 and continues to grow in size and confidence. The Chamber Choir has over 55 choristers, and is now heavily oversubscribed with over 40 girls from across the academy auditioning each year. The Chamber Choir are currently Youth Choir Champions, having won the Liverpool Cathedral Festival of Music. They are also highly sought after for communitybased concerts in Liverpool and beyond.

We are seeing the number of girls choosing Music for GCSE reaching its highest ever for September 2019, and the grades they achieve have one of the highest A*/A percentage in the academy. We are proud to claim that over the last five years, all results for GCSE have been 100% A*- C. Our fourth international tour in July 2020 will see us visiting Rome, singing in St Peter’s Basilica, which is a wonderful achievement

for all choristers involved. We performed in St Mark’s Basilica in Venice last summer and the tours remain one of the highlights of the academic year for many of the pupils.

We have also toured Prague, performing in St Vitus Cathedral, The Church of Our Lady before Týn, The Czech Museum of Music, The British Embassy and St. Nicholas’ Church. On our first international tour, we performed at Barcelona Cathedral, Montserrat Monastery, and the beautiful Sagrada Familia (one of only six visiting choirs all year; a remarkable achievement considering the age of the choir). This was an incredible experience for all pupils involved and for many, was the highlight of their school career at Belvedere. Our many concerts always showcase a wide variety of levels from young beginners right through to advanced students. This variety gives older students the opportunity to reflect what it was like to be a beginner and younger students the chance to see what their hard work will enable them to accomplish in the future!

Spring/Summer Edition 2019

belvedere

ousands... th by en se be d ul co rt ve ad Your from teens to parents to grandparents ...

...it makes sense to advertise your business or event in the Belvedere magazine.

The Belvedere Academy magazine is published several times a year, with 1500 electronic copies being widely distributed among parents, primary schools, local businesses, nurseries and churches.

Advertising with us in the magazine will reach a large target audience throughout Liverpool. The magazine is also published on issuu.com - offering global exposure to your brand. The magazine is designed

by Mr Dykeaylen and articles are contributed from both pupils and staff.

GREAT RATES! The advertising rates and advert dimensions are: • PRIME POSITION FULL PAGE COLOUR ADVERTISEMENT ONLY £250 Position - back cover or on the inside front or back cover. 210mm x 297mm.

• FULL INSIDE PAGE COLOUR ADVERTISEMENT ONLY £200 210mm x 297mm.

• 1/2 PAGE INSIDE PAGE COLOUR ADVERTISEMENT ONLY £175 Landscape 210mm x 148mm or Portrait 148mm x 210mm.

All revenue is put back into the production of the magazine.

Low cost, high coverage, wide audience range.

FORTHCOMING DATES FOR YOUR DIARY SEP

26 OCT

05 OCT

18 OCT

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Yr7 Pastoral Afternoon, 2:30pm

It’s easy to book your space: To place your advertisement, please contact Mr Peter Dykeaylen on 0151 727 1284. Advertisements should be submitted electronically as either high resolution JPEG files or as PDF files, either on CD or emailed to p.dykeaylen@belvedereacademy.net Cheques should be made payable to GDST Academy Trust.

All copies and payments must be received one month before publication.

Yr6 Assessment Morning

The magazine is also published online at issuu.com, publicising both the school on a global level and also any potential advertisers.

THIS ISSUE’S GUEST EDITOR -EMMA WHELAN Y12

Prizegiving, 1pm, Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral

Half-term holiday until 1st November

Many thanks to teaching staff who have contributed articles and photographs. For more news please visit www.belvedereacademy.net If you have any comments or suggestions for the magazine then please contact Mr Peter Dykeaylen: p.dykeaylen@belvedereacademy.net The Belvedere Academy, 17 Belvedere Road, Princes Park, Liverpool, L8 3TF. 0151 727 1284 E: info@belvedereacademy.net www.belvedereacademy.net

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This year’s much anticipated Belvedere production of Mary Poppins was a huge success. Playing to over 1000 people over three sell-out performances, glowing reviews flooded in complimenting the talent, passion, and energy on stage. This production has been our favourite to date, and it’s all down to the incredible 80+ students involved who made up the cast, band, and technical crew.