Duke of Edinburgh:- Page 46

By Alison Moor Operation’s Officer

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award South East Regional Office I have been working with The Cherwell School for over 3 years and I have seen DofE thrive, with a wonderful team of staff delivering the programme and many students taking part. As a parent myself I think that DofE has become more relevant than ever over the last couple of years, and it is fantastic to read and hear about the activities that students have been doing. I look forward to supporting staff and students in the future and offering every young person the opportunity to take part.

The DofE - Developing young people for life and work

YEAR 7 NEWS

By Mr Madden & Mrs Goble

It is a pleasure to see Year 7 continue to show great maturity since their transition from primary school. Students have shown great resilience and focus in their lessons, leading to many rewards given by their teachers.

This term we have seen the introduction of form class mega-merits which has proven to be a success. Each week, form classes have a different focus and classroom teachers reward the tutor group, if they have met the target in the lesson. Over the last 6 weeks we have seen 5 different form winners which is great competition within the year group. Winners have received a prize each week!

In addition, extra-curricular clubs have been well received and we are currently experiencing high numbers of students attending these clubs. Mrs Goble and I would like to encourage all students to make the most of the opportunities given to them in school, especially as we enter the summer term.

I would like to thank all staff who lead extra-curricular activities in the school to enable our youngsters to grow and develop into well rounded individuals.

We would like to wish you all a well-deserved break and look forward to seeing what you further achieve moving forward into the Summer term.

Mrs Goble and I are extremely proud of everything that has been achieved by the Year 7 students so far. Happy Easter to you all!

Mr Madden and Mrs Goble Head of Year 7 and Deputy Head of Year 7

YEAR 8 NEWS

By Ms Hodkinson & Ms Evans

Our Year 8s have enjoyed branching out this term, with more extra-curricular clubs, external speakers, World Book Day, the Science fair, music concerts, extra assemblies on STEM subjects and more freedom around school. All of this alongside working hard in lessons and raising money for various charities and benefits - Year 8 have been Superstars!!

We started off the New Year in assembly thinking about how we wanted to challenge ourselves to be the best person we could be. This was evident this term as our Year 8s felt passionately about helping others less fortunate than ourselves and those in Ukraine. Year 8 had lessons on the history of Ukraine and what was happening there at the moment, and students wanted to raise money and send items to those in need. Many students approached me to see what we could do and it was a huge thanks to Aditya’s idea and advertising campaign that we ran the whole school Day of Giving Back that raised a huge amount of money for Ukraine and Comic Relief. A wonderful group of students also baked furiously in order to run a very successful cake sale! The photo below shows Maddy (8NS), Summer (8DBS) and Karolina (8NS) who did the baking, and Hannah Day and Mariah (8LBR) supported on the day to raise a whopping £110. Well done all!

We are really enjoying seeing so many of our students want to help others and hope this continues. We wish all of you a very happy Easter and a restful break.

Mrs Hodkinson and Miss Evans Head of Year 8 and Deputy Head of Year 8

Karolina (8NS)

L-R: Mariah (8LBR), Summer (8DBS), Maddy (8NS) and Hannah (8LBR)

YEAR 9 NEWS

By Miss Bristow, Mrs Kidd and Miss Wiggins

Happy Easter to Year 9! Another term has come and gone. Year 9 continue to show excellent resilience, focus and engage across their subjects and lessons. It has been a pleasure to see them being so thoughtful and enthusiastic about their options and the prospect of transitioning over to North Site and Key Stage 4.

This term we have seen the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award start and students are building new skills in their after-school sessions. They have learned to read maps, understand contours, use a compass successfully and work as a team. We are excited to see how they do on their expeditions in the summer term.

Extracurricular clubs continue to be a success in Year 9. The netball team have proven to be fierce competitors against other schools in the county and the football teams continue to do well at a national level. It is not only their skill and ability level within these sports that make them so successful, but their sportsmanship and camaraderie as a team that make them so amazing. Thank you to the staff who are providing our young people with these opportunities to develop and grow into well rounded young people.

Our budding Scientists also presented their projects at the Science Fair this March. The effort and contributions that these young Scientists have made is remarkable, they worked excellently as a team, were thoughtful in relation to their questions and theme and resourceful in their research. All of these are skills that support them on their journey through school and beyond.

As Year 9 look ahead into their final summer on South Site, I would like to wish them all the best in selecting their options, transitioning to North Site and starting their GCSE courses. I could not be prouder of the young people they are all becoming. I wish you a well-deserved break and I look forward to seeing what you achieve this Summer.

Miss Bristow, Mrs Kidd & Miss Wiggins - Head of Year 9 and Deputy Heads of Year 9

YEAR 10 NEWS

By Mr Hopkins & Ms Wells

The Year 10 students continue to impress us on North Site after the initial transition phase of starting the GCSE courses. This term we have seen a change to our pastoral programme in registration with the introduction of weekly 'current affairs' and 'futures focus' sessions. The feedback from tutors and students has been extremely positive.

The term 3, Dry January Competition was another huge success with an impressive 168 students receiving an R4 for their organisation, positive learning behaviours and effort. We also recognise that the vast majority of students who didn't receive the award were only a single C3 away from completing the challenge. Congratulations to everyone who was successful.

The new 3G Football pitch has been incredibly popular within lessons, after school clubs and during lunchtimes with Year 10 having the highest number of students participating on the surface throughout the day. If you have any unused studded/moulded football boots which you would like to donate to the PE department, please do let us know.

We have recently launched the 'are you on the bus' reward trip to Thorpe Park. This reward is a thank you to the students in recognition of their hard work and commitment to school. We have decided to invite the whole year group and shared with them the criteria for maintaining their invite. We look forward to seeing Year 10 continue to be brilliant in the second half of the year.

YEAR 11 NEWS

By Ms Kelbrick & Mrs Knight

Year 11 is a year of milestones and choices: students turn 16, they take their GCSEs and they make big choices about their future….it’s intense! We do recognise this and we do our best in school to make it a year where they develop the life skills to manage both academic achievement and wellbeing which can sometimes feel at odds.

We’ve had a number of assemblies and tutor periods where students learn about post 16 options. All students have had at least one meeting with our careers advisor, and those who have applied to join our sixth form have a guidance meeting with a senior leader or one of the sixth form team. This process helps support students to make informed decisions about their next steps.

Our spring mocks went smoothly. Teachers have commented that students’ behaviour during the exams was ‘outstanding’ and our behaviour data shows a mature cohort of students, absolutely ready to take their exams in the summer. But before then we have some events to plan….

The Celebration Evening on June 30th and the Year 11 yearbook each have student planning committees. Our yearbook is shaping up well, and students are fundraising for our Celebration Evening decorations and activities with various ideas such as selling doughnuts and organising dodgeball games lower down the school.

Eight Year 11 students performed in our school play, ‘Antigone’. If you saw it I know you’ll agree it was amazing: ambitious and compelling. The students learned their lines, attended rehearsals all while revising for their mocks. James - 11HW won the overall science fair prize this year with his (working) replica of the Enigma machine. What an achievement!

It’s going to be a busy few months and we’re proud of how our Year 11s have built on their Cherwell experience, year on year, so that they are in a great position to take on the many and varied opportunities waiting for them next year.

Ms Kelbrick and Mrs Knight Head of Year 11 and Deputy Head of Year 11

James’ replica of the Enigma machine

Cherwell has a commitment to providing the very best extra-curricular opportunities for our students and we are proud to continue our work with the National Citizen Service (NCS). Their two-week summer programme aims to support Year 11 students in their transition into work or further education. The first week provides students with a residential week giving students a sense of independence whilst building confidence and developing key skills such as teamwork, leadership, and communication. The second week of the programme gives students the opportunity to plan and deliver their own social action projects with a focus on benefiting their community through their efforts.

This year, 39 Year 11 students have signed up to take part in the summer programme. They will collect their government signed certificate upon completion which is recognised by UCAS and employers nationwide. By Mrs Kelbrick, Head of Year 11