Newsletter May 2010
Issue 6
Half-Term
A message from Ms Farr ‘Growing together to be the best we can be’
Commendations Auschwitz Trip Arts Specialism Music Sports News
Content
Page
Message from Head- 1—3 College Vision
4
Headteacher‘s Commendations
5
Worship News
7
Mathematics
8-9,
College Community
7-12
Auschwitz Trip
13-16
Battlefields
16-17
Friends News
17
Community News
18-20
Poem
21
Healthy Schools
22
Task Group Arts Specialism
25—32
Music
33—34
Sport
42-46
Plus much more….
It is the evening of Thursday, 27th May; I have just finished writing my address for the Leavers‘ Eucharist tomorrow. Year 11 have been an excellent year group. It must be recognised that education is not an escalator which provides a smooth steady upward journey from Year 7 to Year 11; there are setbacks on the way. Our present Year 11 have contributed greatly to the life of our College, have matured into young people of whom we are very proud and richly deserve success. Many have already secured grades from C to A* at GCSE, for example 90% have already secured at least one GCSE in ICT, 80% in Religious Education and a majority a GCSE in Mathematics and Science. For some, their last full day in College begins with a Triple Science exam. At 10.30 am we shall all assemble in St Barnabas‘ Church for the Leavers‘ Eucharist which has been planned by Year 11. Reverend Dominic Melville will preside. As always there will be a variety of music and readings, including one from the Koran. My address will focus on ‗One another‘s Light‘ by Brian Patten, a copy of which is included in this Newsletter. The Eucharist always evokes nostalgia and many tears. Traditionally, the College Eucharist always ends with the prayer ‗Go Forth Into The World In Peace‘. All will then take lunch together which is provided by the College. A final assembly follows, during which all students will be presented with a Certificate thanking them for their contribution to our Community, an engraved pen (many call this their ‗lucky pen‘) and a lolly. We wish them well as they enter a final, very intense period of examinations. I also thank our staff for their steadfast determination to bring about the best for our students and for giving of their time so freely to offer extra help to Year 11. Parents‘ support is greatly valued, too. Again this term there have been many notable successes: the History trip to the Battlefields, the Music Evening, a performance at the Cathedral, Dance and Sports Festivals and the moderation of GCSE coursework. We were delighted to hear that Jack Barwell, Jacob Dunster, Michel King and Jacob Robinson have qualified for the National Finals of the UK Mathematics Team Challenge. This is a superb achievement; we wish them every success in the final. As part of our unique partnership with the King‘s School, we have planned inter-school Mathematics Team Challenges which will be held in the Great Hall at King‘s. Mr Keyes, Headmaster of Kings, and I wish to give opportunities to ‗stretch‘ our more able mathematicians. It is always good to receive news of former students. Last year‘s Deputy Head Boy, Alistair Wood now 17 years of age, has just been elected as
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College Community News
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A message from Ms Farr continued ... the new Chairman of the Liberal Democrats. He always told me his ambition was to be Prime Minister. Hollie Jones has secured a place to study Textile Design at Falmouth University. Competition for this course is very fierce. We wish Hollie well. Mr Hartley, our new Subject Leader for Mathematics, Mr Huffadine, ICT Systems Manager, Mr Bonnick, teacher of English and Miss White, teacher of History have all settled quickly into there roles. We have recently recruited three new Assistant Heads following retirements early in the year. Mr Kling and Mrs Price are already part of our staff; Mr Reeves is currently a very able and experienced senior Subject Leader of Mathematics at a school in Birmingham. All will take up their new roles on 1st September. It has been a pleasure to welcome several visitors to the College. On Tuesday 18th May we were able to offer a conducted tour to Councillor Mary Drinkwater, Chair of the County Council who was accompanied by Marcus Hart the Cabinet Member for Education. They were particularly interested in our Science Labs, our new Creative and Media Suite which is currently under construction and our excellent ICT facilities. Marcus Hart discussed and applauded our involvement as lead School in the IT and Creative Media diplomas. On Thursday, 20th May, we received a visit from Robin Walker, our new MP. We were able to discuss with him our concerns regarding funding for schools in Worcestershire. He was also impressed by our facilities. He opened our new Creative and Media Studio with the following words:―Pupils
at Bishop Perowne in the new few years will have enormous opportunity due to the Studio and it is my first opening as an MP. I come from a political family where my brother was once asked ―what his mother did for a living.‖ He said, ―she cooks things and she opens things‖ but I am very honoured that my first opening should be at one of Worcester‘s finest schools, one that I am very happy to support and therefore declare this Studio officially open.‖ I thank all those connected with our Community for their support this term and wish everyone a happy and restful half term holiday.
Go forth into the world in peace; be of good courage; hold fast that which is good; render to no one evil for evil; strengthen the fainthearted; support the weak; help the afflicted; honour everyone; love and serve the Lord; rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
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Message from Ms Farr continued‌
Maria Shipley (Head Girl), Robin Walker MP, Joe Robins (Head Boy)
Ms Farr (Headteacher), Ms Mary Drinkwater, Mr Marcus Hart (County Councillor Cabinet Member Responsibility for Children and Young People) and Mr John Bailey (Chair of Governors)
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College Vision
Our Vision We seek to develop a caring Christian community in which we nurture individuals; encourage learning, creativity and endeavour; inspire all to excel and reach their potential and to help all young learners grow into active and responsible citizens who are able to make a difference in the World. To make our vision a reality we aim to: Develop a faith- centred community based on a love of God, neighbour and self. Create a culture of learning and achievement in which study, enquiry, innovation and aspiration are highly valued. Grow together to be the best that we can be. Establish an orderly, happy, safe and caring environment in which all members of the College community can grow in confidence and self-esteem. Provide access to a wide and varied curriculum that is appropriate to students‘ needs and learning styles. Support physical, social and emotional growth. Develop a sense of responsibility and citizenship, and thereby shape the future. In order to bring about the best we shall: Provide excellent teaching, in rich and varied learning environments. Create positive challenges. Assess students learning and progress and report on this regularly to parents. Strive to develop an enriching programme of visits and extra curricular activity. Respond effectively to students pastoral needs. Develop positive relationships between staff and students. Promote good attendance. Build a strong and robust College/parent partnership. Develop effective links with the Church and wider communities. Meet and support the needs of ethnic and minority groups. Celebrate diversities and differences in our community. Work as a team towards our shared vision.
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College Community News
Headteacher’s Commendations Megan
Adams
Harry
George
Shahbaz
Ali
Danielle
Giblen
Penelope
Ashmore
Jack
Giblen
Tom
Atkinson
Daisy
Glynn Jackson
Mark Jordan
Prince Quinn
Tom
Revell
Georgia
Robinson
Abigail
Rudge
Abigail
Rudge
Isobel
Russell
John
Sansome
Jack
Saunders
Michael
Schenk
Chris
Sidhu
Lewis
Smallman
Lucy
Avery
Kieran
Goode
Eleanor
Barnes
Stacey
Groves
Shaun
Beckley
Elizabeth
Guinivan
Simon
Beckley
Samantha
Hampton
Aaron
Bennett
Bethany
Handley
Lucy
Berry
Tabitha
Hawes
Jack
Bonnick
Ellen
Hawkins
Ollie
Booth
Connor
Haynes
Sammy
Burns
Josh
Smith
Rosie
Henshall
Aled
Burton
William
Sowden
Megan
Burton
Leigh
Hewitt
Alex
Steenson
Jordan
Bushell
Megan
Hill
Jack
Stevenson
Thomas
Buteux
Michael
Hill
Glenn
Strachan
Leah
Carey
Rebekka
Hodson
Anthea
Sutherland
Sophie
Chambers
Nick
Humphries
Flora
Sutherland
Paul
Chapman
Thomas
Hutt
Amy
Tansell
Sarah
Chapman
Beth
Jones
Katy
Taylor
Amber
Clarke
Charlotte
Jones
Scott
Taylor
Romane
Clarke
Harry
Jones
Summer
Taylor
Jess
Collins
William
Kemp
Sydnee
Taylor
Leah
Collins
Amy
King
Imogen
Tingle
Nathan
Conn
Ashley
King
Laura
Trow-Poole
Robert
Crowe
Sophie
Lannie
Naimee
Tudge
Shauna
Dance
Eleanor
Lee
Naomi
Underhill
Adam
Davies
Rachael
Maltby
Sophie
Upfield
James
Davies
Chloe
Matthews
Jordan
Walker
Emily
Dinsdale
Emily
May
Naomi
Walker
Martha
Dunster
Sophie
Meakin
Georgia
Watkins
Paige
Dutfield
Erinn
Melville
Abbie
Whitehouse
Sophie
Eastwood
Emma
Moore
James
Whitehouse
Raha
Eskafi
Jack
Moore
Tom
Wilkins
Abbie
Fallon-Wilson
Shannon
Northcott
Ben
Williams
Jackson
Fallon-Wilson
Leanne
Parkinson
Simon
Williams
Lucia
Fanelli
Zoe
Parmenter
Nicholas
Wilson
Holly
Freeman
Jack
Passey
Lucy
Freeman
Robert
Patrick
Faruq
Gbadamosi
Ellesse
Preece
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Open Tuesday All parents/carers are reminded ‘Open Tuesday’ Every Tuesday between 3.00 pm-4.00 pm A chance to meet with a member of the Senior Leadership Team without a prior appointment Parents/carers are seen on a first come/first seen basis. The length of the meeting will depend on the number of people waiting to be seen
Every Child Matters: Stay Safe and Safeguarding „Staying
Safe‘ is explained in a number of ways in College: through acts of worship, in lessons across the curriculum and especially in PSCHEE through the content and in drama presentations. It is imperative that every student recognises that it is their responsibility for registering in their tutor base at 8.30am and at 2.50pm(2.30pm on Tuesdays). We would be grateful if you would talk with them about this. Governors give great emphasis to Safeguarding which is a standing item at every Full Board Meeting. A designated Governor checks our single central record on which the enhanced CRB checks of all staff, no matter what their role in College, are registered. He also keeps up-to-date with safeguarding issues. Mr Cox is our designated Child Protection Officer. Teacher Education day on Monday 19th April.
All staff received refresher training on our
If you have any questions regarding Safeguarding, please contact Mr Cox. Our designated Safeguarding Governor is Reverend David Ryan who may be contacted through the College.
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WORSHIP As a way of rounding off an exciting year, we have an excellent opportunity for the Worship Team. We shall embark upon a trip to Polzeath, North Cornwall, for two nights to visit a Christian Cafe called ‗The Tube Station‘. We will leave on Sunday 11th July (World Cup Final Day!) and return on Tuesday 13th July, travelling by minibus. We shall stay at a Youth Hostel in Tintagel and visit Polzeath on Monday and Tuesday. I see this trip as very important in our mission to ‗make Worship more accessible to everyone at ‗Bishop Perowne‘. We shall look to gain inspiration from The Tube Station and use their expertise to help our planning for the future. Further information about the Tube Station can be obtained by viewing their website: http://www.tubestation.org/ There will be three members of staff who will supervise the trip; myself (Simon Bethel), Reverend Peter Haddleton and Helen Stanbra. We will share our findings with the whole College at the beginning of the Autumn term and hope that the knowledge we gain will serve Bishop Perowne in a very positive way. Mr Bethel
PERRINS COMMUNITY—ECO SCHOOLS CAMPAIGN The Community Parliament has carried a motion that environmental issues are the most important that face our generation. As such, we want to improve our environment, become involved in local environmental issues and raise awareness of global campaigns. Therefore, Perrins Community Parliament has set itself a challenging and exciting goal. We have decided to make our College an EcoSchool. With the full support of the Headteacher, we want to achieve the Bronze award of the nationally recognised Eco-Schools initiative by the end of the Summer Term. Next year, we hope to achieve Silver award and in the following year we will achieve the prestigious Green Flag award. In order to raise awareness, we are carrying out a poll to find out which endangered animal the College would like to adopt. The result will be published in the next College Newsletter. We want to encourage students to travel to College in a more environmentally-friendly manner. Therefore, we have arranged for a cycling proficiency charity to come into College in June to help a group of Year 7‘s become more confident on their bicycles. In addition, we have conducted an eco-audit of the College, assembled an action group and formulated an action plan to help us achieve our goals and Eco-Schools status. We will keep the College community informed of developments via the newsletter but in the meantime if anyone has any suggestions about green issues we could address then please get in touch with Mr Laidler.
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Mathematics Department: A message from our new Subject Leader A big thank you to all pupils, staff, governors and parents for making me feel so welcome at Bishop Perowne. I look forward to working with you all and would like to congratulate all our KS4 students who have been involved in modular examinations. We have had many great successes which puts our young people in a fortunate position of achieving early results in GCSE Maths. In Year 11 we have over 50, 25% of the cohort, students who are on target to achieve Grade A or A*. In Year 10 there are 90 pupils who will be able to complete their Maths GCSE this year enabling some students to study an Advanced Mathematics course next year. Year 9 have started their GCSE course this year to give them flexibility and time to achieve their potential. On Thursday 22nd April, 65 students from top set Year 7 and 8 were invited to compete in the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust Junior Challenge. The challenge takes the form of a multiple choice test which Bishop Perowne have proudly been entering for more than 10 years. The 25 questions offer a range of problems in which to apply the skills students already have in a more unique situation. The questions are completed without the aid of calculator or measuring instruments and rely on good understanding of arithmetic and the application of algebra to simplify a difficult problem. A copy of the challenge can be viewed on the Gifted and Talented notice board in school or at the UKMT website. Michael Hartley
National Mathematics Final: A first for Bishop Perowne A team of four pupils from Bishop Perowne will be competing against teams from across the United Kingdom for this year‘s UK Team Maths Challenge trophy. The team were runners up in the Regional Final held in Gloucester and won the opportunity to compete in the National Final at the Royal Horticultural Halls in London on Monday 21st June 2010. 1450 schools entered the competition and 80 have qualified to take part in the Final. The National Final of the Team Mathematical Challenge, which is run by the UK Mathematics Trust, involves teams of four pupils from Years 8 and 9 (England), Years 9 and 10 (Northern Ireland) and Years S1 and S2 (Scotland), competing in: a group circus—involving practical maths problems; a relay race—a combination of speed across the room and speed at solving maths problems; a mathematical crossword or cross-number with two members of the team working on the across clues and two on the down; a series of head-to-head mini relay races; and a poster competition—designing a poster on a mathematical subject. We wish our team well.
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Gifted and Talented News Gifted and Talented day in P.E On 28th April the following students took part in a Gifted and Talented day in sport at Worcester University. Emily Dinsdale, Jamie Smith, Paul Chapman, Ben Garrad, Charlotte Jones, Jonathan Tayler and Summer Mae Taylor. They started off on team building activities with students from other city high schools. They had a go at Futsal and when not playing took part in notational analysis of the game. In the afternoon they experienced Boccia wheelchair basketball and some badminton. It was a good experience to try new activities and look at games strategies.
Programme: Gifted and Talented It‘s been a busy few weeks within the Gifted and Talented programme. In late April, students from Years 8,9 and 10 had the opportunity to visit the University of Gloucestershire and Oxford University. This chance was provided through AimHigher whose goal is to encourage and educate students about further education opportunities. In addition, sixty-five students competed in the United Kingdom Mathematics Trust Junior Challenge (for more details see our report in the Mathematics department). We held a successful Year 7/8 Mathematics day on Thursday 20 th May. A Year 5 Gifted and Talented Taster Day will be taking place shortly. Kerin Muddle
Gloucester University Trip—Aim Higher On Wednesday 28th April forty Year 9 students went on a trip to Gloucester University. The purpose of the trip was to give students a taste of what it is like to be at University with the aim of hopefully encouraging them all to go onto further education. During the day students had a tour of the campus where they were able to get a feel for student life by looking at the Halls of Residence and the Student Union. They also toured the other facilities on campus such as the Library, Lecture Theatres as well as the many sporting facilities. The day was an over whelming success with all students providing really positive feedback about the experience. It really was surprising to see how little some knew and some were shocked to discover that there were more than the five courses they thought were available at University, in fact there were over 60,000, some of which required no examinations at all!
Oxford University Trip—Aim Higher On Tuesday 27th April, five students from Bishop Perowne had the exciting opportunity to visit, and view, the life of an undergraduate student at Oxford University. With the help of Worcester Sixth Form and AimHigher, students from the Worcester area were invited to consider the possibilities of further education with an up close view of Merton College. The schedule for the day included a seminar on just what Higher Education and university is, a tour of Merton College with current Undergraduates, a photo scavenger hunt around Oxford and a question and answer session with a
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Oxford Trip—continued……./ Law Tutor. Each of these sessions helped to illustrate that to attend Oxford University does not depend upon who your parents are or where you went to school, but how hard you work and what you wish to achieve. Students who are beginning to consider further education might like to visit the University & Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) website at http://www.ucas.ac.uk. This website lists every further education institution and every course available in the country with details on how to apply. For students not yet sure of their path for the future there is also a survey that can help suggest courses based on personal interests.
Staff Continuing Professional Development Summer Term 2010
Congratulations go to Parvin Sharma, Subject Leader Science, and Vicki Reeve, subject Leader History, who completed their Leading from the Middle course this month. Presentations of their project to fellow members on the course and to coaches were followed by the handing out of certificates on a very successful evening. Other essential training continued during the term. For example, Alex Annis attended the Gifted and Talented Conference; Steph Boulter has begun SIAS Training; Vicki Reeve as Subject Leader Health and Social Care, had training on the Course Specifications; Malcolm Box, Data Manager, attended training on Managing Data in Schools. Dorothy Robinson May 2010
Teacher Education Day The College has been very fortunate this year that Nigel Kent, County Inspector Quality Assurance, has led staff training on the Good to Outstanding lesson. Nigel is himself an outstanding trainer and this has been an exceptional opportunity for staff at the college to take part in the best possible training on learning and teaching. The Summer Term began with a TEDay in which Nigel continued this training. During his session Nigel introduced the staff to the revised Worcestershire Learning and Teaching Model whose materials include video footage of outstanding learning and teaching. Nigel has invited Dorothy Robinson to join the Worcestershire Learning and Teaching Model Pilot Group along with five other teachers from the County. Andy Cox, Deputy Headteacher, led training on Safeguarding for all staff in the second half of the TEDay. This is essential training that needs to be up-dated on a regular basis. Dorothy Robinson Assistant Headteacher
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College Community : Global Community
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HISTORY: We will remember them The History Department are delighted to announce that this year‘s Battlefields trip was a great success. It was a more ambitious venture than in previous years as, due to student demand, we took 66 children instead of the normal 40 and we also lengthened the stay of the trip to an overnight stop rather than the usual 24 hours. It was with weary eyes that I welcomed all of the staff and students at 4.00 am on the morning of Thursday 22nd April. Despite the coach having some difficulty in getting to the College due to all of the bridges we were soon well on our way to Maidestone services where we picked up our guides, Ashley and Tim, and then a quick trip on the Euro-Tunnel to start our voyage of discovery. The first day was spent in Ypres where we visited a recreated dugout and a number of the students greatly enjoyed seeing the same sights and smells that a soldier during World War One would have seen and felt. We then went to an original World War One Trench and re-enacted an attack in order to capture enemy secrets. A number of our students greatly appreciated the opportunity to handle original artefacts from the Great War (decommissioned of course!). It was also fascinating to visit the Gas Memorial where Delce et decorum by Wilfred Owen was read. It was very entertaining to watch our students model the various stages of the gas mask during its development in the First World War. We then headed to Tyne Cott where a number of pupils found the names of relatives or friends of people that they knew. Finally, we were privileged to witness the 95 th Anniversary Service of Remembrance of the first gas attack. This was a very emotional service and students responded with a decorum that was exceptional and our guides were very impressed with the emotional response of our College party. After a stopping off in the Youth Hostel for a much needed night‘s rest, we were ready to continue our learning experience. The second day we spent at the Somme. The students greatly enjoyed performing an ‗over the top‘ re-enactment on the actual battlefields of the Somme where 57,000 men were wounded or died on the first day alone. One of the highlights of the trip was stopping off at the Ulster Memorial Tower where Jacob Dunster was able to dress up in an original Tommie‘s uniform and demonstrate to us how they would have looked. Not to mention the delicious hot chocolates and magnum ice creams which were enjoyed by all. There was a very reflective stop off at the Thiepval tower where students were able to contemplate about the loss of one life and the impact that this would have for that soldier‘s friends and family rather than seeing the deaths in war as merely a statistic. This was achieved firstly by our guide, Ashley, sharing a very personal experience of his Grandfather and how despite surviving the war a significant majority of his brothers did not. We were then able to find the names of the relatives of both George Sansome and Leah Carey. At this point, we felt that it would be appropriate to lay a wreath and say a prayer. I was personally moved by how well the group responded to this and the respectful maturity which they demonstrated. After lunch at the Lochnager Crater, we made our final stop off of the visit at Delville Wood. This I found to be the most emotional and upsetting part of the trip. This wood is an unmarked grave for thousands of soldiers who died in the Great War but instead of a giant monument, the war graves commission has simply laid a protective barrier around an original tree from when the fighting took
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HISTORY continued........ place and the original bullet holes can still be seen within its bark. The place was very calming and peaceful. Ms Farr read a brief poem and offered a prayer, after which each student took their own individual memorial poppy cross and chose their own special place to remember a soldier of the Great War who had never been visited before and to lay down their cross. It was with great pride and a tear in my eye that I watched as our students walked into the wood in silence with their own personal thoughts whilst the birds were singing and the last of the days sunshine was peeping through the trees in order to remember that solder who gave his life in order to ensure our freedom. I know that students were spiritually affected by this experience and were emotionally touched by all that they had learnt and experienced in the two days. The guides and our driver were very impressed with the behaviour, attitude to learning and general reflective spirituality of our students. I know that I personally felt very humbled and privileged to take such a delightful group of children on such a trip and I have already begun to plan next year‘s visit.
Miss Reeve Subject Leader of History and Health and Social Care
MISS REEVE’S TRIP TO AUSCHWITZ I have just returned from a teacher familiarisation visit where I began to plan a student visit to Auschwitz for the next academic year. The visit was organised by the Anglia Battlefields Tour Company who also run the popular WWI Battlefield Visits that have previously been offered to students in Year 9 and 10. The tour began with a very early check-in in order to fly at 6:00am. We arrived in Krakow at 9:30am local time where we inspected the hotel which is in a very safe and rural location with comfortable rooms and an excellent breakfast. Our tour began with a visit to the Galcia museum which was hosting an exhibition of the memories of Jewish History and the Holocaust. It included various images of the forgotten aspects of the Holocaust, including a mass grave of 800 orphans who were murdered in a forest just outside of Krakow and have no memorial to remember their lives or tragic deaths. There were also pieces of evidence showing how the Nazis attempted to not only exterminate all Jewish people but also their entire culture as many of their Jewish cemeteries were destroyed and as a final insult the gravestones were used to create a path for the Jews to walk along on their way to the concentration camps. We then visited a Synagogue to better understand the cultural and religious beliefs of those Jews who lived in Poland in large numbers before the Nazis came into power. Whilst a lot of their culture was destroyed, these decorations which remained covered following the conversion of the Synagogue (as was common after the Holocaust) have only recently been discovered.
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Miss Reeve’s Trip to Auschwitz
After this we then moved on to follow the story of Oskar Schindler. He was a member of the Nazi party who risked his life to save the lives of the Jews who worked within his factory. Unfortunately, we could only see the outside of the factory as it is currently closed in preparation for a new museum to be opened in June of this year. Below is a photo of the iconic front gates to his factory and also the plaque in his memory which has been placed on the wall of his factory. After this we then moved on to follow the story of Oskar Schindler. He was a member of the Nazi party who risked his life to save the lives of the Jews who worked within his factory. Unfortunately, we could only see the outside of the factory as it is currently closed in preparation for a new museum to be opened in June of this year. Below is a photo of the iconic front gates to his factory and also the plaque in his memory which has been placed on the wall of his factory.
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Miss Reeve’s Trip continued………... Once we had heard of the heroic actions which Oskar Schindler had displayed and which are demonstrated within the film Schindler's List we then went on a sightseeing tour where we visited places where sections of the film were shot. This included the Jewish Quarter and the Ghetto where many local Jews were initially forced to live. Below is an image from an iconic moment in the film where a Jewish girl hides from the SS under a stairwell.
We then moved on to the site of a former work camp, Plasow which was a very harrowing experience. The monument which is displayed in this image is very symbolic as you will notice that the faces on the statues are blank to represent how the Jews who worked in this camp were not allowed to express how they were feeling. However, their hands are in various shapes such as a fist or a grasp and this is trying to show the anger and despair that many of the victims felt when they worked at this camp. There is also a giant crack in the monument going across the statues chests to represent how the hearts were removed from the victims whilst they worked at this camp. Whilst stood next to this monument you are looking down on a crater. This is in fact the remains of a mass grave where a number of people who were considered unfit to work were lined up and then shot. Later on, the Nazis made other workers dig these bodies and burn them so as to avoid being caught by the allies in carrying out this mass extermination. Our guide, Anitta Chissel, informed us that during the summer months a number of people come and sunbathe at this spot and during the winter children will sledge down the slopes of this mass grave and will be having lots of fun. I found it disturbing that such horrific crimes could almost be forgotten and sites which should act as a memorial for those brutally murdered became the area of a children's playground. I wondered whether the children who sledge down that hill consider what has happened at this site in previous years and whether they considered the human remains that still rest just feet below their snowman. As it had been a rather emotionally draining day the rest of the afternoon was spent sightseeing and shopping in Krakow where it seems that the town is rather fond of an old legend to do with a castle and a dragon and also Amber jewellery. In order to seep up the old culture of the Jewish families who lived here before the Holocaust we visited a Jewish restaurant (Klezmer Hois Jewish Restaurant) for dinner where we had a lovely meal and were entertained with an excellent live music act.
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Miss Reeve’s Trip continued……. On day two we woke early to make the journey to Auschwitz. The first part of the day was spent in Auschwitz I which is the concentration camp. We were then given a guided tour around various sections. I found some of the things I saw very harrowing this included 2 tons of human hair and a huge pile of tens of thousands of pairs of shoes and suitcases each clearly addressed with the victims name and date of birth. One of the things to strike me was how ordinary many of the items bought to the camp were were such as shoe polish and pots and pans. This highlighted how many of the people who came to Auschwitz believed the Nazi propaganda which stated that they were going to start a new life. When I was walking through the gate where the sign read 'Work makes you free' I tried to imagine what would have been racing through the minds of the thousands of people who walked through those gates and who would never leave. The tour included a trip to Barracks where a number of Doctor Mengele's experiments took place on Jewish and Gypsy twins. It was also the place that the gas Zyclon B was tested as a mass extermination method on soviet prisoners of war. Next to barrack 11 ithe courtyard where some death sentences were carried out. This was where I chose to leave my candle on behalf of all of the staff and students at Bishop Perowne to remember those who suffered so much.
After a brief lunch and viewing of the soviet video footage which showed the liberation of Auschwitz, we then moved onto to Auschwitz II-Birkenau which was the much larger death camp. I found it very difficult to walk along the railway track which transported so may innocent people to their deaths. We went on a further guided tour where we visited the destroyed gas chambers and a number of barracks which are still intact. These wooden barracks were originally designed to house 52 horses but instead would be used to house up to 400 people. During the tour we learnt that most of the killing was actually aided by the Jewish Sonderkommandos and quite often men would have to aid in the murder of their own wives, children and neighbours.
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Miss Reeve’s Trip continued…….
it really made me question the concept of humanity. It hasn't really left my mind since I visited as I keep wondering could this have happened anywhere else? Why was it allowed to happen? And finally could it ever happen again? I feel that this is an experience that does not only have a value if you choose to study History at GCSE but that it has a deeper and more significant meaning for anyone who goes there as it allows you to reflect on some very important questions and is a deep spiritual and life learning experience. Further details of this tour will be made available by the start of the academic year.
BATTLEFIELD TRIP by George Sansome, Deputy Head Boy Further details of this tour will be made available by the start of the academic year. At 4.30 in the morning, we set off for France. After crossing the Channel we drove to the area of Ypres in Belgium. Our first stop was a British Commonwealth cemetery where we heard the story of just one of many young men to be killed at Ypres. We then drove on, with our guide pointing out key area of the battle, and explaining some of the facts and figures. Next, we visited some trenches and were shown the weapons, kit and methods that soldiers used in trench warfare. A few of us took part in a re-enactment of an attack on a trench using some of the equipment that our guide had showed us. This was a great experience as it helped us to understand how hard trench life must have been, with your life constantly under threat from various things. Later in the day we visited Tyne Cot, which is the largest Commonwealth cemetery on the Western Front, ate dinner and then attended a Memorial Service at the Menin Gate. We then drove back to France to sleep at a hostel. After a good night‘s sleep, we moved onto the Somme, visiting various cemeteries and the Ulster tower. We were shown the uniform of the British troops and also had a rifle demonstration. We then drove to the Thiepval Memorial and laid a wreath for my great-grandfather, who was killed at the Somme but has no known grave. We also found another student‘s relative on the
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BATTLEFIELDS TRIP continued......./ Memorial; the group were all very respectful and we were all moved by their stories, and the poem that was read. After having lunch at the Lochnagar Crater, we set off to see other perspectives of the war. We visited a German cemetery and then went to Delville Wood and the memorial to the South Africans and other soldiers who died there. Ms Farr read a poem and we then set off into the wood to each place a small cross in memory of one of the thousands of soldiers who were killed in the battle there. This was the most emotional part of the trip as it was hard to get to grips with the fact that under a century ago peace and quiet had been torn apart by shells and gunfire and the noises of the battle. We then began our journey home, all of us having learned something new as well as enjoying ourselves. It was a brilliant trip; our guides were excellent and the re-enactments enabled us to empathise with the soldiers who fought and died for our country.
Friends News The Car Boot raised £100. A big thank you to all who supported. We are looking at doing another Car Boot.
Next Friends Event YOUR PERSONAL INVITATION
TO MEET ‗THE FRIENDS‘
AT BISHOP PEROWNE COLLEGE 23RD JUNE 2010 (TIME) at the College Induction Evening
*we will be in the reception area*
WE NEED YOU TO JOIN US, HAVE FUN, MAKE FRIENDS AND BECOME PART OF OUR SOCIAL GROUP OF PARENTS Things we have done already
Purchased a mini bus for taking students to special events Provided interactive white boards for classrooms Christmas indoor market Large screen Race Night Car Boot and Party on the Farm
Theatre air conditioning
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Llanrug Returners Course—Easter 2010 During the first week of Easter, an intrepid group of fearless young individuals braved the journey in the school minibus (‗Kindly donated by the Friends of Bishop Perowne’) to the inspiring landscape of North Wales, on the annual ‗Llanrug Returners Course‘. The course is open to students who have previously been to LOEC (Llanrug Outdoor Education Centre), and who wish to return to develop skills and try their hand at new challenges in this most demanding of environments. Arriving in atrociously wet conditions, and with snow capped peaks, the group immediately feared the worst. But, as is the custom in Snowdonia, by the time we set out to mount our assault on the aptly named, ‗Lion Rock‘, the rain had disappeared, leaving only 80mph winds to contend with. After a brief warm up at the base of the rock, the group set off on a mass assault of the jagged faces of the rock. Despite the best efforts of the group the final stage of the climb, the ascent of the summit, was cancelled due to the relentless power of the roaring Welsh wind. Thankfully, all members of the group were able to retreat in the face of the onslaught of the elements and lived to fight another day – after, of course, the obligatory evening activity which consisted of orienteering around the Llanberris slate mine. Day 2 arrived bringing yet more rain and despite certain members fears of confined spaces, a day‘s caving was called for to escape the worst of the Welsh weather. Underground in the mine, our intrepid explorers went in search of the legendary underground Welsh ‗Red-Eyed‘ sheep, a rare species of mutton. After rowing across an underground lake, a series of passages going both up and down, a candlelit dinner, and a Tyrolean crossing of another underground pool, it was with some relief from certain quarters that we all made it back to the surface to breathe the fresh mountain air. After the usual mammoth feeding fest at the centre, the group travelled to Llandudno, to engage in the traditional Returners activity of ten-pin bowling. Wednesday saw the weather change for the better and as a result an ascent of the river gorge at Affon Ddu was called for – a triple S. I site (SSSI – Site of Special Scientific Interest). As usual gorge walking proved a big hit with our explorers. Challenges of climbing, both unaided and with ropes, abseiling sections and of moving up the river proved hard for many, especially the ascent of one particular section of waterfall. Only one member of the team (our Year 10, ‗Smiffy‘) completed this stage of this gruelling challenge without a severe soaking, cutting or bruising. Despite this obstacle which took a monstrous effort from some to overcome, our intrepid explorers pressed on for the summit, determined not to be overcome by the weather conditions on this occasion. Successfully reaching the summit of the gorge, the traditional celebratory pool plunge was attempted by many, jubilant with the success of their climb, and a good way to take the mind off the dreaded return down the long, steep and winding road. The evening activity consisted of a journey to the beautiful Newbrough beach on the Island of Anglesey – a journey through a pine forest, before reaching classic sand dunes, behind a broad sandy beach, with the stunning backdrop of the hill of Snowdonia behind. A game of beach-rounders ensued whilst other members of the party collected the fire wood for a classic beach-comber style fire, which was supplemented with toasted marshmallows as the sun set, capping another fine day.
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Llanrug Returners Course—Easter 2010, continued....../ Welsh sunshine greeted us on the Thursday, and the group returned to a much fairer and less foul Lion Rock to climb on the granite surfaces of this rocky outcrop. Every member of the group mucked in, climbing and belaying each other in what is always both a physical and emotional activity. A range of different graded routes were attempted and the majority of the team were successful. In addition this activity, as so many at Llanrug, drew on the individual‘s ability to work as a team guiding and helping one another and taking responsibility for the safety of their climber. The highlight of the day‘s climbing, was the impromptu Romeo and Juliet dialogue, from our resident ‗Romeo‘ (Ollie Hunt) and ‗Juliet‘ (Caitlin Quinnell), whilst climbing side by side – Mr. Plant it was a moment you would have been proud of! The evening‘s rafting proved to be a highlight of the visit. The group divided themselves into crack teams of boys and girls rafts, each determined to finally prove who the stronger sex really was. Within minutes it became evident that there would only be one winner – much to Mr. Westrip and Mr. Johnstone‘s disgust, the boys raft proceeded to turn round in circles, fill with water, and generally got nowhere, despite the boys vociferous protestations. Finally, after a considerable wait the boys caught up with the instructor/staff raft and the girls, and after much encouragement and no little instruction a second challenge was set to cross the lake and beach on the far side. To no-one‘s surprise the girls raft reached the beach a considerable distance ahead of the boys, and prepared for the inevitable splashing ambush. In scenes reminiscent of the literary classic ‗Lord of the flies‘ the two groups frolicked in the shallows, before Ray Clarke mounted a lone attack on the girls on shore. This prompted the rest of the boys, in their raft, to do the honourable thing and leave him there, in order to save themselves from the wild, jubilant female hordes. Returning to the shore side, a series of great activities challenged each raft – standing up paddling, a 360⁰ walk around the bows, and the inevitable belly flopping challenge, drew quite a crowd, and needless to say the girls raft rose to the challenges whilst the boys raft resembled a collection of medieval court jesters, much to the amusement and bewilderment of collection of people on the shore. After a brief stop for a late lunch, the team travelled to a huge abseiling site above the Llanberris Slate line. A 15 minute walk took them to the top of a ten minute abseil, where as usual the major obstacle proved to be having the courage and confidence to take those first steps over the edge, sitting back in the harness. Every member of the group rose to the considerable challenge both as individuals on their descent, but also working as a group to encourage and instil confidence in subsequent abseilers. Friday proved to be another fine day, and with weather and water conditions proving favourable, the team set off for the north-west coast of Anglesey, to engage in some serious sea kayaking. Various members of the group were hand selected to try the latest emergency underwater whistle technology, and we were treated to an interesting insight into the life of marine shellfish from the resident biology instructor. Further games were played, which resulted in the inevitable rolling of certain people‘s kayaks, which caused many a good giggle around the group, but unfortunately no whales appeared in order to test the centres fresh whale food. On the other hand, there were thankfully no emergencies prompting the firing of the distress flares.
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Llanrug Returners Course—Easter 2010, continued....../ And so the whistle stop tour came to an end with the usual thank you‘s and farewells to the centre staff, and a tired but largely unscathed group returned to the sunny climes of Worcester, content that their efforts had paid off during their short but intense stay in the beautiful but challenging Welsh mountains. A massive thank you and well done to the entire ‗Special‘ group, who made it (as always) an awesome and memorable week, and a special thanks to Mr. Johnstone and Miss Yapp who gave up the first five days of their Easter holidays to make the trip possible. Finally, on behalf of the entire group: Sophie ‗Grandma‘ Carrier; Raymond ‗Raymondo‘ Clarke; Oliver ‗Romeo‘ Hunt; Ellise ‗Oh my giddy Aunt‘ Jones; Chris ‗Mad-Dog‘ Myatt; Caitlin ‗Juliet‘ Quinnell; Mark ‗Smiffy‘ Smith; Jamie ‗Himbo‘ Tomlinson; Jennie ‗Webbster‘ Webb; Hazel ‗Rusty‘ Wilson; Miss Yapp and Mr Johnstone; Can I take this opportunity to thank the centre staff for providing us with another fantastic and memorable opportunity, one I would recommend to anyone.
Mr. J. Westrip
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POEM
One another‘s Light It‘s hard to guess what brought me here, Away from where I‘ve hardly ever been and now Am never likely to go again. Faces are lost, and places passed At which I could have stopped And stopping, been glad enough. Some faces left a mark; And I on them might have wrought Some kind of charm or spell To make their futures work, But it‘s hard to guess How one thing on another Works an influence We passAnd lit briefly by one another‘s light Think the way we go is right.
Brian Patten
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TILLEY PARLIAMENT—HEALTHY SCHOOLS TASK GROUP This term, 14 members of Tilley Parliament have formed a Healthy Schools task group. We will be working in collaboration with Miss Allport, Canteen staff and PE staff to contribute towards the completion of the audit for the Healthy School‘s Award. The deadline for completion is July. The aim is to ultimately achieve Healthy School‘s Status for our College. As a College we need to demonstrate effectiveness in PSHE, Healthy Eating, Physical Activity and Emotional Health and Well Being. We are already doing a lot of the requirements but need to gather evidence and complete certain audits to achieve this award. As a Parliament we are currently focusing on the Healthy Eating aspect. We have briefly met with Rachel from the canteen who has suggested suitable websites for us to begin our research – such as the School‘s Food Trust website. We are currently researching healthy lunch box fillers to promote healthy eating. The College canteen currently provides a variety of healthy balanced meals but this is not always true of students bringing in their own packed lunches. We are running a competition for students within the Parliament to design a poster to promote awareness of healthy lunch boxes. The poster will then be displayed around College. Muffasir is also focusing on designing a healthy balanced lunch box for vegetarians. The next task will be to devise and distribute a student survey on school menu choices to include both food and drink. Consultations will take place termly. We look forward to assisting Miss Allport in achieving Healthy Schools status.
Miss G. Olseen Community Leader for Tilley.
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PSHCCE NEWS EXPECT RESPECT: Helen Stanbra and Debbie Thomason, our Family Liaison Officers, have recently trained to deliver the ‗Expect Respect‘ programme within College. The programme focuses on the promotion of safe and healthy relationships and more specifically on the issues of domestic abuse. Helen and Debbie have been working with all the Year 9 PSHCCE classes and involving the staff and students in a workshop style exploration of the issues involved. THE WORCESTER WARRIORS (Anti-Smoking Campaign) Just before Christmas all of the Year 7 students were given an excellent presentation on the dangers of smoking. The presentation was delivered by Peter Hill from the Worcester Warriors and included a range of visual and interactive methods of presenting the facts and information to the students. During March, Peter was back in College working with the Year 7s, during their PSHCCE classes, as an evaluative follow up to the his presentation. Students have also completed a whole unit of work based on the information given by Peter and gained an excellent understanding of the issues involved in smoking on which to base their own decisions on living a healthy life style. ALCOHOL AWARENESS: During May 2010 a team from the South Worcestershire Safety Partnership, lead by Ann Nicholls, were in College working with all of our Year 9 students during their PSHCCE lessons. These sessions focused on ‗alcohol awareness‘ and encouraged all our students to adopt healthy life-styles in respect of alcohol use and abuse. SEX AND RELATIONSHIPS EDUCATION: The Sex and Relationships aspect of PSHCCE will once again be supported and enhanced by visits to College by the Cedar Tree organisation. Last year Cedar Tree delivered some excellent sessions on relationships education to our Year 9 students and this year they will also work with all of our Year 7 students. Cedar Tree will be in College during June and we look forward to what is always an excellent opportunity for our students. Helen Stanbra continued to deliver our sex and relationships programme to our Year 7 students in April. This will further developed the work done on relationships education within the PSHCCE curriculum and, along with the Cedar Tree sessions, gave our students a comprehensive and wide ranging experience of this important aspect of PSHCCE. FIRE SERVICE VISITS: During April 2010 the Hereford and Worcester Fire and Service Rescue team delivered their excellent package regarding Hoax Calls and Arson to Year Eight in PSHCCE lessons. The sessions, which focussed on the dangers of Arson and the risks and consequences associated with making a Hoax Calls, were thought provoking and interesting and raised awareness of these important issues.
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Design and Technology Year 11 GCSE Congratulations to all our Year 11 students on completing their projects and coursework! They really have worked hard this term, and especially these last few weeks to achieve their very best. Well done, and we have some amazing products to show for their efforts. Many of these will be on display in Clent Block. Some are amongst the best we have ever seen. Year 10 GCSE Year 10 groups have already taken their first modules, under the new OCR Specifications. They are working hard in their controlled assessment lessons to achieve some excellent work. A reminder that it is crucial that these lessons are not missed, as catching up work under supervision will become increasingly difficult to arrange.
Do you need: A venue for a conference? A meeting place for you club? A performance/theatre space with a sprung floor and professional quality sound/lighting? Sports facilities? ICT facilities? A dining facility? Bishop Perowne may prove to be the ideal venue Please telephone Mike Betteridge—Bursar on 01905 746806 to discuss your requirements.
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ARTS SPECIALISM What is an Arts college? Bishop Perowne College is now in its seventh year as an Arts college. At redesignation, in the Autumn Term 2009 the specialist subjects were extended to add Visual Arts to Dance, Drama and Music. An Arts College is not a ―Fame academy‖. Although the opportunity for students to take part in high quality performance and art work is very important, it is just a very small part of Arts College work and expectations. A few of the performances so far this year have included the Shakespeare Schools Festival and National Governors Conference; the Choir have sang at Worcester Cathedral with the English Symphony Orchestra, in Cheltenham with the Cantelina Orchestra and for the MENCAP Carol Service, as well as our annual Carol Service and Music evening. Wireboyz have performed at No 8 in Pershore in a county dance showcase and, of course, the production of Blood Brothers. We encourage our Gifted and Talented students to take part in the wealth of opportunities that the county provides in Dance , Drama and Music and these students have also performed regularly throughout the year. Outlined below is a synopsis of the DCSF requirements of an Arts college and a few examples of how these have been met since September 2009. The overall aims of the programme are to: Raise attainment and achievement for all students both in the specialist subjects and across the whole curriculum; This year the Arts specialism have been working with students in MFL and English developing teaching and learning styles using drama and green screen technology. Drama is now embedded within History and Health and Social Care and uptake and results in these areas have increased over the last three years. Music can now be streamed into all classrooms and training has taken place on the use of music in classrooms. Strengthen and develop the quality of teaching and learning strategies in the specialist subjects and use them to help raise standards throughout the school; Arts college staff have been leading whole college staff training. The impact of this is measured through Senior Leadership Team and Subject Leader lesson observations. Extend opportunities for applied learning and enrichment activity through the specialist subjects, including through links with sponsors, business, employers, further and higher education institutions and organisations related to the specialism; Arts links are at present being formalised between Bishop Perowne and local and national HE and FE colleges including an exciting partnership with Bath Spa university. We are working closely with our Education Business partner to develop links in the community and have this year worked with professional musicians, Jewellery designers, Artists and theatre groups. Drive the provision of Diploma Lines of Learning most closely related to the specialism in close collaboration and partnerships with local schools and partnerships with colleges, work based providers and employers, We have been delivering the IT diploma since September 2009 in collaboration with Worcester College of Technology and from September 2010 will be delivering the Creative and Media Diploma in collaboration with Christopher Whitehead Language College.
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ARTS SPECIALISM continued......./ Work collaboratively with partner schools . Our partner schools have benefited from our partnerships with Bath Spa university, Music Technology courses, Drama extended day activities, support with the delivery of GCSE music and facilitation of a Rockschool course. Visiting theatre companies, history workshops, drama workshops on space as well as access to the theatre space and other facilities. Improving, community engagement, contributing to developing the entire community’s capacity to learn as part of this role at the centre of the community. Dramacomm, a disabled adult drama group, runs twice a month led by Dan Morgan our residence drama animateur, supported by our students. This year has seen the first in a series of adult and family art and photography workshops led by visiting artists. Tremor youth theatre company continues to thrive in the community performing at the Swan theatre and winning the best set category of a local competition. The Armed Man 24th April 2010 members of our choir were privileged to join with other city schools and members of local choirs to make a choir of 230 to sing with the English Symphony Orchestra in an amazing performance of the Armed Man by Karl Jenkins. Students have been praised for their outstanding performance by critics from across the city. The event will be remembered by us all for a long time. Bath Spa University During May we welcomed two ensembles from Bath Spa University to launch our new and exciting partnership. The students from the university are all interested in entering the teaching professions. The Jazz Ensemble and Classical Ensemble spent their week performing to students at Bishop Perowne, The Kings School, Perdiswell Primary School and Claines Primary School, but also experiencing life at Bishop Perowne, shadowing students and supporting Art and MFL lessons with their music. We look forward to developing the partnership further through student visits to the university. Beauty and The Beast The auditions for our next College performance, ‗Beauty And The Beast‘, were held on Thursday 29th April and, as always, were attended by a huge number of students from Years 7 to 10. The casting decisions were made difficult by the tremendously high standards of performance demonstrated by every single one of the students. All the students who took part, whether or not they eventually gained a role in the production, are to be congratulated. The production itself will take place in October and further news of specific dates and times will follow shortly. GCSE Drama Performance Examinations. On Thursday 6th May the GCSE Year 11 Drama students performed to an external examiner in a part of the GCSE course which accounts for 40% of the overall grade. Five groups performed extracts from ‗The Importance of Being Earnest‘ by Oscar Wilde, ‗Teechers‘ and ‗Shakers‘ by John Godber, ‗Romeo and Juliet‘ by William Shakespeare and ‗Blood Brothers‘ by Willy Russell. The standard of performance was extremely high and we wait with baited breath for the final results in August.
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ARTS SPECIALISM The Shakespeare Schools Festival Auditions for this year‘s performance at the Shakespeare Schools Festival took place during May. Over the last three years we have focused on the tragedies of William Shakespeare and so, in order to ensure a range of performance styles and skills, we have chosen one of his most well known comedies, ‗Midsummer Night‘s Dream‘, for our performance this year. In preparation for this the students will attend a workshop, given by The National Theatre, before performing at the Artrix Theatre in November. Details of dates and times to be announced. Worcester Sixth Form and Technical College at Bishop Perowne On Friday 23rd April, Worcester Sixth Form College came to Bishop Perowne and performed to an audience of our Year 9 and 10 GCSE Performing Arts students. The students from the Sixth Form demonstrated some of the styles and techniques used on the post GCSE courses and Gary Frost, the course director, gave information about opportunities available to our Performing Arts students. On Friday 30th April, the Worcester Technical College visited Bishop Perowne and performed extracts from some of their latest work to our Year 10 Performing Arts students. Our students also took part in a musical theatre workshop with the Technical College and, as well as having a lot of fun, gained an excellent insight into what it takes to work in this style of performance. Students to See Performances at Worcester Technical College As part of the growing relationship that we have with the Performing Arts Department at Worcester Technical College, our students have been invited to see matinee performances of two of their forthcoming productions – ‗Xanadu‘ in May and ‗Broadway Little Mermaid‘ in June. Opportunities to see live performance are invaluable for our students as they support learning within the curriculum and extend their knowledge and experience of the Performing Arts. VOICES AND VISIONS – MALVERN THEATRES It is with huge delight that the Dance department once again have been invited to the prestigious Voices and Visions to be held at the Malvern Theatres in July. Two groups of students have impressed the county with their performance and choreographic skills. Firstly, the Year 11 GCSE Dancers with their performance of ‗Splintered Ice‘. This piece of contemporary choreography was based on the dance work ‗Scattered‘ by Motionhouse Dance Theatre. Year 11 originally spent a day working with the company in College as part of their GCSE dance course. The second piece is ―Wireboys Worcester.‖ This group of all male dancers has now been running for two years with increasing success and numbers. The physical theatre piece called ‗Falling Man‘ is based on the 9/11 tragedy. It is the culmination of the students ideas and the choreographic insight of Dave McKenna from BeingFrank Dance Theatre.
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ARTS SPECIALISM In addition, Wireboyz have also been very busy recently, as they have performed at No 9‘s‘ Youth Moves Platform, a showcase for the cream of Worcestershire‘s dance talent. They presented their work to friends and family and were placed in the prise position of the last dance item on the programme, often reserved for the best. A tremendous accolade for the quality of their performance.
Worcester Dance Festival Bishop Perowne once again welcomed 500 students from around the county to the annual Worcester Dance Festival held in the Bishop Perowne Theatre. Year 10 GCSE dance helped to run this festival with amazing precision and success. Their caring attitude and professionalism was complimented by many of our guests with one stating ‗this is like a mini Voices and Visions’. Of course our students also wanted to perform in the festival and we were represented by Wireboyz Worcester, Year 11 GCSE dancers and four very athletic Year 10 boys who debut their piece ‗RUSH‘. Rush uses a specially constructed metal framework that the dancers move skilfully over, under and around at breath taking speed. The boys piece was also in demand for the Primary Dance Festival. Congratulations to all those students who helped to organise or perform in such a successful day.
Year 10 GCSE Dance Study Day at Worcester Sixth Form Finally, Year 10 have been busy again with a study day at Worcester Sixth Form. Our budding new dancers were treated to 3 workshops during the day from Rambert Dance Company , Ace Dance and Music and the AQA. Students worked their way through different sections of the GCSE dance examination gaining ideas and resources for their final examination work. By the end of the day they were able to see Years 11, 12 and 13‘s work from around the county in a Dance Showcase. Once again we were invited to show work and we could not resist. Year 11 presented extracts from individual choreographies and group work to the students with the whole of the senior management of the Sixth Form College watching . Their work was highly complimented and it was nice to see so many of our past students performing their new work created for A Level Dance. Once again the Sixth Form waits for our Year 11 GCSE dancers to take the next step into A Level Dance.
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Students perform ‗The Armed Man‘
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MUSIC The Music Department‘s Annual Concert was held on the 12th May and provided a varied evening of entertainment. The programme included music from the Choir and String Ensemble, the Folk Group who also entertained throughout the interval, and a number of solos. The evening celebrated the achievement of students from all years but in particular Year 11 who performed performance and composition coursework. Congratulations to David King and George Sansome who have been selected by County to take part in a series of Song Writing Workshops. Nicola Raggett
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ART Three members of staff – together with a student - are currently exhibiting a wide variety of artwork at the Worcester Open Contemporary Art Exhibition. Hallam Wood, currently in Year 8, is exhibiting a dramatic wire bird sculpture, which he made as part of a project in Art club; the project was inspired by work seen at last year‘s Voices and Visions exhibition at Worcester Cathedral. Work from the College will be entered again this year to this event. The staff who submitted to this year‘s festival - Suzanne Thorne, Stephen Hewson and Richard Hawking - are all following on from previous exhibitions of their art earlier in the year. This work covers a range of mediums from acrylic on canvas, through collage and mixed media. Plans for a joint exhibition to showcase an even broader range of work from Bishop Perowne artists have begun, with dates to be confirmed for later in the year. All artwork can be viewed at either the PITT or ANNEXE 21 Galleries – Worcester Open runs until 26th June
Hallam Wood. „Bird‟.
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Richard Hawking. „Daffodils‟
Suzanne Thorne. „Tommy all at Sea‟.
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LRC NEWS A trip to see Cathy Cassidy – by Tiffany-Anne Lane Y7 On Wednesday 28th April, fourteen students went to Nunnery Wood High School to see the author, Cathy Cassidy. She told us a lot about herself and when she started writing. Cathy Cassidy‘s books are filled with laughter and some of the characters are based on real people. Some of you may be wondering what her books are about and this is the answer to your question. Cathy‘s books are about friendship and love. They are also about make-ups and break-ups. Cathy Cassidy started writing at the age of eight and has written novels ever since. Everyone who went to see her had a marvellous time and were really pleased to get their books signed by her. If you want to emails Cathy Cassidy then go to her website on www.cathycassidy.co.uk. On this website you can send messages to her email, read the latest goss and enter competitions. Thank you to Mrs Bromyard for arranging the wonderful trip.
Bethany Redman getting her book signed by Cathy Cassidy
Chloe Matthews and Georgia Robinson getting their books signed
Mark Robson On March 26th we were privileged to welcome children‘s author, Mark Robson. He spoke to over 200 students in Years 7 and 9. Mark was a Royal Air Force Pilot, and these experiences helped prepare him to write his exciting Dragon Org books. But this may never have happened if there hadn‘t been bad weather to prevent Mark flying, and he became bored! His flight navigator told him ―Do something – go and write a book!‖ This throw away comment was the start of the ―Darkweaver‖ series. Mark was an inspiration to many encouraged them to aim high in life, and never to give up. dents had the opportunity to talk purchase signed copies of his
of the students, and he and get what they want Following the talk, stuto Mark individually and books.
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LRC NEWS Bishop Perowne Church of England Book “We are Writers”
Every child can be a writer, and that is just what students at Bishop Perowne Church of England College have proved! Students were invited by the College Librarian, Linda Bromyard, to submit pieces of work for entry into the book. The items range from short four lined poems to longer stories covering several pages. All types of writing are included, fact, fiction, plays, creative story writing, analysis on books and films, the students have covered everything. Each year group has contributed some form of writing. Some chose to put in a piece that they had already written for College work, while others decided to write something specifically. The standard and quality of each piece is extremely high, and all contributors should be very proud of themselves. The book cover was also designed by a student in College, she used a piece of work that she had produced for her GCSE Art, and an explanation of her art can be found within the book. Furthermore, the forward was written by author, John Townsend, who is a regular visitor to Bishop Perowne, and has got to know the staff and students very well over the last few years. He understands the buzz of seeing the finished book finally in print. The book doesn‘t just contain writing from the students; several members of staff were keen to be included, creating even more variety to the book.
A sample copy of the book, which is published by Scholastic UK Ltd, is now available in the Library. It is on sale to staff and students at Bishop Perowne College for £7.99. Please send orders into the College Library to reserve a copy as soon as possible.
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LRC NEWS Congratulations to the following students who have achieved their Bronze Award in the reading challenge for encouraging other students to read. Nathan Conn
T1
Michael Hill
T10
Daisy Glynn Jackson
D6
Amy King
T6
Eleanor Lee
D10
Chloe Mathews
T10
Erinn Melville
D6
Rhys Panting
D5
Zoe Parmenter
F4
Georgia Robinson
F9
Ben Williams
P8
Amy Causier D6 achieved Silver Award
Abigail Rudge
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College Community: Citizenship: Enjoy and Achieve
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LRC NEWS—Local Authors’ Fayre A Local Authors‘ Fayre was held at the Perdiswell House Pub, Droitwich Road, Worcester, on Friday 21st May. More than sixteen authors attended with the opportunity to showcase their books and offer the public the opportunity to buy signed copies. Usborne Books were also on sale. This event was organised by Linda Bromyard, librarian at Bishop Perowne College, Worcester. It was in aid of Noah‘s Ark Trust. Two competitions were previously run in schools, with pupils naming characters created by professional artists Adrian Mills and David Webb. The winners were Chloe Stinson, 6, from Northwick Manor, Stacie Clark, 9, from St Barnabas, who were presented with the original art work during the event. Author and illustrator , Petr Horacek also donated art work, which was won by Leo Dann, aged 8, in the Blurb Busting Quiz. All the proceeds which were raised through the commission from Usborne Books, competitions, raffle and donations are for the Noah‘s Ark Trust, which is a local charity supporting bereaved children. The final total was £216.74 It was a wonderful evening with lots of happy faces of all ages, from very young children to adults. This just illustrates how much people still want books in this age of electronic games and computers. I would like to thank everyone for taking part in this event. Photographs by Mark Edwards www.markedwardsphotography.co.uk
Issue 6
College Community
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UNIFORM The Student Council is currently exploring the possibility of identifying specific items of clothing deemed suitable for our uniform. This will result in us issuing the serial numbers / identification codes of skirts and trousers from a selection of outlets in Worcester City Centre. The aim of this process is to reduce the amount of different styles of skirts and trousers worn to College that are not fit for purpose and will allow us to take a stronger line with items of uniform that are deemed unsuitable. Only the agreed styles will be allowed. For this reason, I would ask that you do not purchase any uniform items for September 2010 until we have issued the information later in the Summer Term.
OPEN DAY We shall be holding an Open Morning on Friday, 11th June which all parents, carers and families of current students and prospective students are invited to attend. This will offer an opportunity to see our College during a normal working day, go into some lessons and see our new facilities. A team of students will be available to offer conducted tours; the Headteacher and Senior Staff will be available to answer questions. We hope to welcome you on 11th June.
BISHOP PEROWNE CHURCH SPECIALISTS
OF
ENGLAND
COLLEGE
IN THE PERFORMING ARTS
The Governors, Headteacher & Staff wish to invite you to our college’s Open Day On Friday, 11th June 2010 Between 9.00am—12.00 noon
“Growing together to be the best we can be”
Issue 6
Community
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SPORTS DEPARTMENT NEWS—SUMMER TERM The focus as always at this time of year for teams are Cricket and Rounders, both of which are now well under way, weather permitting of course. The Year 7 cricket side have made an impressive start with two wins in their 8-a-side games against Chantry. The Year 9 side also won by a narrow margin of 6 runs thanks to an impressive 47 from Lewis Austin and tight bowling and fielding. However, it is Athletics which push us the most as individuals to aspire to be the best we can. This is no more true than at the District under 17 Championships where Lewis Roberts finished as District runner up and has consequently been selected to represent our district ‘Worcester’ at the County Championships on Saturday 12th June at Nunnery Wood. It is expected that he will be joined by some of our top Year 9 athletes once they have competed in their District Championships also at Nunnery Wood on Monday 24th June At this point it is worth making a note of our own Sports Day at Nunnery Wood in the morning of Thursday 15th July. As normal students will be expected to make their own way there for 9am and will be dismissed at 1.15pm approx. (Full details to follow via registration) Leadership in Sport David King and Ruth Taylor are doing well and contributing fully to the City Leadership Sports Academy. They are planning activities for the primary schools for National Sports week. Beth Jones, Robert Crowe, Jack Moore and Harry Dunning all attended a Top Link Leadership course at Worcester University and will be organising a Sports Event for Year 7 this term. Already this year over 80 students have been actively involved in leadership in College:-
The Year 11 BTech group ran the Year 6 Cross country festival. 24 students from Year 7 to Year 11 ran the Year 2 Gymnastics Festival. The Year 10 GCSE and Year 10 Btech groups ran the Year 3 Orienteering event. 24 Year 8 students ran our Year 6 Indoor Athletics Festival and then were asked to lead at the Year 7 County Athletics Competition. This was a privilege and they rose to the occasion. Many of our top sports competitors have coached and taken on leadership roles during their sporting careers and often give back to the sport when they can no longer compete. Grass roots leadership at College is just the start .
Issue 6
Community
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SPORTS DEPARTMENT NEWS Year 1 Multi-skills Festival On 19th May, children from St Barnabas, St Georges‘, Claines, and Northwick Manor all gathered on the College playing fields for an afternoon of activity. Altogether we had 120 children taking part in activities to improve their basics skills of agility balance and co-ordination. The event was run by 25 of our Year 10 students who did a fantastic job of motivating and encouraging the children who experienced 12 different activities including ball skills, relays, skipping, target games with hoops, beanbags jumping and some balance work. By the end of the afternoon everyone had an enjoyable experience with fun and learnt some new skills. Leanne Parkinson, Becky ODonnell, David King, Matthew Garrard, Maria Shipley, Anthea Sutherland, Becky Hooper, Nic Humphries, Ruth Taylor, Rob Crowe, Kirsten Hartland, Becky Barwell, Dannie Bartlett, Sarah Gaffney, Ellie Eastwood, Ryan Harris, Charles Hooman, Hugh Frances, Rosie Haworth, Stephanie Orme, Jordan Elson, Katie Taylor.
Swimming Gala Droitwich and Worcester School Sport Partnership hosted its first secondary schools Swimming Gala at Sansome Walk Swimming Pool. 24 students from each City school took part in an extremely enjoyable event. The Bishop‘s swimming squad consisted mainly of recreation swimmers and, for some, it was their first experience of taking part in a Swimming Gala. Club swimmers included Aled Burton, Alex Stenson ,Sarah Chapman, Rebecca Hodson, Glen Strachan, Paul Chapman and Lewis Smallman who all did extremely well. It was a fantastic team performance with everyone supporting each other regardless of whether they were first or last. Final results saw the boys team finish third (1 point off 2 nd), the girls team 5th and overall we finished in 4th place. Congratulations to all.
Issue 6
Community
SPORTS DEPARTMENT NEWS
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Issue 6
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Community
SPORTS DEPARTMENT NEWS Year 9 Rugby Tournament at Sixways As reported in the last Newsletter the boys triumphant win at Sixways. Congratulations and well done to all.
Year 9 Team Lewis Austin Joe Birbeck Charlie Burton Tom Buteux Brennan Cross Ryan Davies Morgan Hudson Ashley King Chris Key Nick McPherson Harry Miller Jack Moore Anton Preen Ben Russell Andrew Tansell Joe Terry Marcin Zatorski
Girls’ Sixways Tournament: Winners—Bishop Perowne The girls matched the boys this year winning the first ever girls‘ tournament. The girls went unbeaten throughout the tournament showing great strength of character to beat a very good Chantry Team in the semi finals. The team led by Isobel Russell then took on South Bromsgrove in the final. It was a close game but with some great running by the backs we were able to win by two tries. The team are listed below:Lucy Avery Lucy Berry Sammy Burns Amber Clarke Raha Eskafi
Megan Hill Beth Jones Emma Moore Isobel Russell Anthea Sutherland
Flora Sutherland Summer Taylor
Issue 6
Community
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SPORTS DEPARTMENT NEWS—SUMMER TERM
CRICKET AND ROUNDERS The focus as always at this time of year for teams are Cricket and Rounders, both of which are now well under way, weather permitting of course. The Year 7 Cricket side have made an impressive start with two wins in their 8-a-side games against The Chantry. The Year 9 side also won by a narrow margin of 6 runs thanks to an impressive 47 from Lewis Austin and tight bowling and fielding. However, it is Athletics which push us the most as individuals to aspire to be the best we can. This is no more true than at the District under 17 Championships where Lewis Roberts finished as District Runner Up and has consequently been selected to represent our district ‘Worcester’ at the County Championships on Saturday 12th June at Nunnery Wood. It is expected that he will be joined by some of our top Year 9 athletes once they have competed in their District Championships also at Nunnery Wood on Monday 24th June. I can now confirm that those whose performances were of note are: Ollie Roberts Joe Birbeck Flora Sutherland Rebecca Hudson
– -
District runner up 800m, Javelin third, third Javelin, 1500m
At this point it is worth making a note of our own Sports Day at Nunnery Wood in the morning of Thursday 15th July. As normal students will be expected to make their own way there for 9.00am and will be dismissed at 1.15pm approx. (Full details to follow via registration).
Issue 6
Community
Approved Term Dates—Academic Year 2010—2011
Autumn Term
Term Starts
Thursday 1stt September 2010
Half Term
Monday 25th October 2010 – Friday 29th October 2010*
Term Ends
Friday 17th December 2010
Spring Term
Term Starts
Wednesday 5th January 2011
Half Term
Monday 21st February 2011 – Friday 25th February 2011
Term Ends
Friday 8th April 2011
Summer Term
Term Starts
Thursday 28th April 2011
Half Term
Monday 30th May – Friday 3rd June 2011
Term Ends
Friday 22nd July 2011
Good Friday Easter Monday May Day
Friday 22nd April 2011 Monday 25th April 2011 Monday 2nd May 2011
Teacher Education Days Wednesday 1st September 2010 Friday 22nd October 2010 Tuesday 4th January 2011 th Tuesday 26 April and Wednesday 27th April 2011
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We continue to rely on the support of our partner schools and colleges to make the Arts College a success. Many thanks for all they have done so far… Claines Church of England Primary School Kings School, Worcester Northwick Manor Primary School Perdiswell Primary School St Barnabas Church of England Primary School St George’s Church of England Primary School
Merriman’s Hill Road Worcester WR3 8LE
University of Worcester Wolverley Church of England College
Tel: 01905 746800 Fax: 01905 746846 Website: www.bishopperowne.com Email: info@bishop-perowne.worcs.sch.uk Issue: 5 6 May 2010 Headteacher: Ms Julie Farr
Worcester College of Technology Worcester Sixth Form College
Our business partners and of course the parents
Important dates for your diary at a glance May Friday 28th
Monday 31st June Monday 7th
Thursday 10th Friday 11th Monday 21st
July 5th—9th Thursday 15th
Yr 11 Celebration—Whole College Charity Fund raising, Newsletter Published, Year 11 Last Full Day in College Half Term
Return to School on Week A, Yr 11 Study Support Timetable starts Sixth Form College Information Evening Open Morning CMIS Reports Issued
Friday 16th Monday 19th
Arts and Work Experience Week Worcester College of Technology and Worcester Sixth Form Taster Days Awards Day Annual Reports start to be issued
Friday 23rd
Term Ends
We seek to develop a caring Christian Community in which we nurture individuals, encourage learning, creativity and endeavour, inspire all to excel and reach their potential and to help all young learners to grow into active and responsible citizens who are able to make a difference in the world.