HEADMASTER’S LETTER
SEPTEMBER 2016
T0 PARENTS
I suspect that the start of a new school year brings a mixture of excitement, nerves and sorrow at the end of the long school holiday. I hope all Chigwell families have had a happy and fulfilling summer, and that the new school year brings plenty of rewards too. For those families and pupils who are new, I hope the first few days here go really well and that you have a long and very happy association with Chigwell. If you have any problems, remember we are here to help!
Contents Page 1
Sixth Form Centre
Page 2
Examination Results
Page 3
Staff News University Destinations Bianca Andrei
Page 4
Summer Projects Overseas
Page 5
Summer Projects Overseas
Page 6
Trips Over The Summer Breaks
Page 7
Choir Sing Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral
Page 8
Arkwright Scholarships Calendars Finally
Sixth Form Centre As you will have seen, a great deal of
but was tragically killed in a road
work has taken place to complete
accident in Peru in 2009. There will be
the Risham Sarao Sixth Form Centre,
an opening ceremony on Saturday 17th
built in memory of former student
September and I will write again with
Risham Sarao who left Chigwell in 2006
further details.
1
Examination Results On consecutive Thursdays in August,
equivalent of EPQ) and nine of these
pupils, parents and staff gathered to
gained A* grades.
celebrate public examination results. At A level, 80% of all grades were B grade or above with a quarter of students achieving grades AAA or better.
In
addition to their A levels, eight students opted to take the Extended Project Qualification and were awarded an A*.
We are very proud of all students who worked hard to achieve the best they could and we are grateful to their teachers and parents who supported them so effectively.
At GCSE, two thirds of all grades were at least an A with 35% of grades an A*. One fifth of all pupils achieved at least seven A* grades. Eleven pupils also took the HPQ qualification (the GCSE
2
Staff News
University Destinations
We welcome a number of new colleagues this term and we hope they will be very
Of the year group of eighty three
happy here: Miss Geraldine Brien joins us
students, seven will be moving on to
a KS2 Senior Teacher (Years 5 and 6); Mr
Oxford or Cambridge, six will be studying
Adam
music
medicine, dentistry or veterinary science,
department; Mr Edward Gamwells will be
as well as a whole host of other
teaching in the Junior School, whilst Miss
disciplines.
Jennifer Ireland will be teaching French;
studying in the USA, Canada or mainland
Miss Katy Morris joins the Classics
Europe, whilst most will stay in the UK
department, and Mr Robert Richardson
with Oxbridge, Nottingham, York,
will teach history; Mr Graham Sexton
Durham, KCL, Leicester and Warwick
joins the science department as a teacher
being the most popular destinations this
of physics and Miss Flo Tellwright will be
year.
teaching religious studies.
success and happiness, and we hope they
Meanwhile, we are delighted that a
will stay in touch.
Crockatt
joins
the
A small number will be
We wish all our leavers every
number of teachers have married over the holiday. Miss Samantha Dick will
Bianca Andrei
now be known as Mrs Lawrence, having married Creag who left Chigwell at
Once again, Bianca represented the UK
Christmas last year. Miss Emma Conway
in the International Physics Olympiad
was married to Jean-Philippe in the
held this year in Zurich. She was the
School Chapel and she will now be known
only girl in the team and was one of only
as Mrs Stoker, and Miss Yasmin Peterson
twenty five girls in the whole event of
married David and she will be known as
four hundred physicists from ninety
Mrs Hizer. Also, Dr Glen Winfield married
countries. She achieved a bronze medal
Jen. We wish them all every happiness in
and will now be studying more physics
the future.
as part of her natural sciences degree at
There have been a number of internal
Trinity College, Cambridge.
staff appointments and you will see details of these in the blue book
3
Summer Projects Overseas A number of Lower Sixth Formers carried out charity work overseas during the summer break. Aaran Vijayakumaran, winner of the Tim Pruss Prize, worked in Faridabad, India, where he helped in an orphanage, a slum school, and also a school for disabled children; Aanya Gujral fundraised to provide physiotherapy equipment for a home for disabled children which she visited and she saw first-hand how this charity provides special care to help patients to become stronger.
Annie
Redmond and Brooke Newton travelled to
4
Summer Projects Overseas Kandy, Sri Lanka, where they taught English at a local school and nursery, whilst Megan Whitehead travelled to a town just outside Kathmandu, where she also taught English in a school damaged in last year’s earthquake. Tanu Kugasathan worked to up-grade an orphanage in Jaffna, Sri Lanka;
Rahul Aggarwal worked in a hospital in Kenya; and Tamra Paul worked in an orphanage in Malaysia. Later in the term, on Wednesday 12th October, these students will present accounts of their experiences and further details will follow.
5
Trips Over the Summer Break
Twenty three scouts travelled to the Kandersteg International Scout Centre in Switzerland where they took part in a host of activities including climbing and hiking. The pupils pulled together as a group really well and they represented themselves and the School impressively. Duke of Edinburgh expeditions took place with walking and wild camping in the Highlands of Scotland, canoeing up the Great Glen and training in North Wales. We hope that all of these challenges will have provided students with lasting experiences and memories. Twenty boys attended a North West Pre Season football tour from Friday 2nd to the 4th September. They attended Liverpool Academy where they were put through their paces by Liverpool Academy staff. They were visited by Tony Strudwick, Head of Athletic Development at Manchester United who talked about Sports science, nutritional and pre game strategies. Finally they visited St Georges Park for recovery and hydro therapy sessions.
6
Choir Sing Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral Like me, I know that some parents were stunned at the quality of the choir’s singing on Monday evening. Very few schools are invited to lead evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral but the Chapel Choir really did rise to the occasion. We are very proud of them
7
Arkwright Scholarships Congratulations to Greg Jackson, Kavindu
assessments and interviews, the last of
de Silva and Ella Gupta who were all
which are held at Imperial College, London.
awarded Arkwright Scholarships over the
A scholar not only receives some financial
summer. The Arkwright Trust provides
support but also work experience, tailored
scholarships to the most promising future
to their future career aspirations.
engineers and selects on the basis of
Calendars
Finally
As usual, pupils will be given a copy of the
Very soon the long summer holiday will be but a distant memory as the new term gets busier and busier. I look forward to seeing you at some of the many events taking place over the next few weeks.
blue calendar with details of all events taking place this term. If you have not received a copy, please collect one from either the Junior or Senior Receptions.
With best wishes Yours sincerely
Michael Punt
8
TERM DATES 2016 / 2017 Half term: Saturday 22nd October to Sunday 6th November Term ends: Wednesday 14th December Lent Term Staff meetings and INSET on Wednesday 4th January First day: Half term:
Thursday 5th January Saturday 11th February to Sunday 19th February
Trinity Term (Easter Day is 16th April) First day: Wednesday 19th April Half term: Saturday 27th May to Monday 5th June (INSET Day Monday June 5th) Term ends: Wednesday 12th July