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deFerrers.COMmuniqué RECORD EXAM RESULTS
Number 048 Autumn Half Term 2009
COMMUNICATING THROUGHOUT DE FERRERS SPECIALIST TECHNOLOGY COLLEGE principal@deferrers
Dear Parents Welcome back! We have had an excellent start to our new academic year! I am particularly pleased with the way our new Year 7 students have settled in to life at de Ferrers. They have been a credit to you as parents. Our Sixth Form numbers have reached a record level with our three hundred and ten students in Years 12 and 13. I would like to welcome new parents from outside our catchment area, whose sons/daughters have joined de Ferrers’ Sixth Form.
GCSE STUDENTS AT DE FERRERS BREAK 70% BARRIER FOR FIRST TIME!!!
We were absolutely delighted again with our GCSE., B Tec and OCR results. This followed our considerable success at A Level. The trend at de Ferrers has been one of continued improvement over the last ten years. This year was a major triumph because we exceeded expectations and broke the 70% barrier, with a total of 74% of our students gaining 5 or more A*-
The half-term, as ever, has been packed with events, trips and activities. There have been some excellent personal achievements from both students and staff. The fact that this publication has been extended to eight pages indicates how busy this half term has been.
We salute the hard work of our students and staff and also recognise the tremendous support from parents. A truly motivational year and set of results following our Outstanding Ofsted performance in October 2008.
The Duke of Edinburghʼs Presentation Evening took place at the Town Hall on Friday 16th October.
Over eighty Bronze, thirty Silver and six Gold candidates from de Ferrers received their Awards. A special award in memory of Colin Kellett was presented to Alice Johns for her exceptional skills on this summer's expeditions.
I look forward to another exciting, challenging and successful year!
M A York Principal
C. Our upward trend in students achieving 5 A*-C including English and Maths also continues with our best ever total of 54.5%.
Alice Johns with her Award.
One hundred and twentyseven applications have been received from prospective Bronze candidates and forty nine Silver, so it looks like being a busy year for the leaders!
Advanced Level Results were also very pleasing There have been significant individual achievements and, crucially, both our average points score and average points for entry have increased since last year.
Outstanding results have been achieved, most notably by: Paul Stanyon, seven grade Aʼs, continuing to read Natural Sciences at Cambridge University; Zakk Borton, six grade Aʼs, studying Medicine at Southampton and Charlotte Mowforth, five grade Aʼs, studying Dentistry at Manchester University.
At Key Stage 3, there has been considerable change over 2008/9 with the SATs tests being abolished. Our students in Year 9 (and two groups entered early in Year 8) performed very well and teacher assessments show a continued trend of improvement. We would like to congratulate students and staff and thank parents for their continued support. We wish our students well in the future.
N E W V I R T UA L L E A R N I N G E N V I R O N M E N T - S E E PA G E 3
Communiqué
Carry On Camping - de Ferrers style
BRONZE STEM AWARD HAS A SILVER LINING
Malcolm Eyre and Lynn Jennings, from Staffordshire Setpoint, visited the Trent campus last week for a special assembly to celebrate the success of last termʼs Year 9 students in their Design & Technology courses.
During Year 9, all students complete a National Bronze STEM Award in Design & Technology in their chosen material area and this year group obtained outstanding results, twenty-seven earning a Distinction and six having their award upgraded to a Silver level, such was the quality of their work. Students who achieved Silver Awards were: Lauren Riding, Karishma Vadher, Nabila Akhtar, Emma Brearley, Lauren
On a mild September weekend, a group of Year 8 students from the Induction Groups went camping in Leicestershire. The main aim was to develop a range of personal skills and enjoy the great outdoors. Students went caving, orienteering and even cycled around Rutland Water without getting lost – apart from Mr Orchard who took a slight detour! Students were also able to experience cooking their own evening meal before roasting marsh mellows over a campfire for dessert. Over this fun filled weekend, the students who stood out in their approach to learning new skills, adventurous spirit and teamwork were Kimberly Slade, Marie Kandity and Alex Beard.
Nally and Emma Woodhall.
Staffordshire Setpoint was so impressed by the quality of our studentsʼ work, our six ʻSilver studentsʼ were invited to act as College Ambassadors at the Setpoint STEM Exhibition at Staffordshire University during September, where they demonstrated the standard of excellence which can be achieved in Design and Technology here at de Ferrers.
Dreadlock Alien
Reading Week started with a welcome return from Dreadlock Alien! He ran “slam poetry” workshops for 7C4, 7P3, 8P3 and 8C4, introducing them to the world of rap poetry. Students worked together to produce some wonderful poetry on the theme of “relationships”.
“Iʼm all about love rather than hate, I love to take a girl out on a date. You cannot have Islam without Bismilla, You canʼt have Aston without Villa.” This gives a flavour of the raps produced!
A final performance by the teams, whose names included Window Wipers, 4eva, Bad Boyz, Icons, Glossy Girls, to name just a few of the exciting acts, took place in the hall at the end of the day. Well done to all the students for performing. A display of their work and photographs of the day can be seen in Dove Learning Centre.
Communiqué
HEALTHY LUNCHBOXES It can be a challenge to entice children and young adults to eat something healthy for lunch. We all start off with good intentions but, come halfterm, even the most creative lunch impulses may have died a dreary death. A healthy lunchbox will help to improve your child's attention, behaviour and learning in the afternoon, and will provide one third of your child's daily requirements of nutrients. AN IDEAL LUNCHBOX WILL CONTAIN:
a source of protein to keep children alert complex carbohydrates for slow release energy calcium for growth, healthy bones and teeth fruit and vegetables for vitamins and minerals
Carbohydrates Choose complex carbohydrates like wholemeal bread, pasta, banana or rice. Pasta or rice salads make a nice change from sandwiches. Complex carbohydrates release calories slowly and help to keep up energy levels and concentration whereas refined carbohydrates like white bread, biscuits or cakes only provide instant short-lived energy.
Protein Make sandwiches using protein-rich fillings like chicken, egg, ham, tuna or cheese or make salads like a chicken caesar or tuna pasta
Calcium
NEW VIRTUAL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT
Our new Frog VLE will be officially launched at the start of November to all staff and students. Frog is an award-winning online Virtual Learning Environment, that easily outshines the products offered by competitors.
It will build upon the existing good practice developed over the last four years with the Netmedia MG4L VLE we used. De Ferrers has already shown how the VLE can be used in a variety of ways at a number of conferences and ICT meetings, and will once
again be running a session with Channel 4 Learning for school leaders, at the SSAT National Conference in November 2009.
Staff at de Ferrers are busy adding learning resources and preparing pages...
Children under five shouldn't have a low fat diet so choose whole milk products like Greek yoghurt rather than low fat versions. Cheese, yoghurt, fromage frais, yoghurt drinks, smoothies and milkshakes are all excellent sources of calcium.
Fruit and Vegetables Health experts recommend that we should try to include five portions of fruit and vegetables in our diet every day. Whole fruit may not be that appealing so why not cut fruit into chunks and thread it onto a straw? Include dried fruit too – dried apricots in particular are rich in vitamins and minerals.
Sandwiches Sandwiches don't need to be boring. Use different breads like granary, pitta pockets or bagels. If your child refuses to eat brown bread, try 'whole white' sliced bread – this is a white bread made using one third wholemeal flour. Many of the fillings like tuna mayonnaise can be made up the night before to save time in the morning.
Some favourite sandwich fillings
Tuna with sweetcorn, mayonnaise and spring onion Ham and cheese Peanut butter with sliced banana Prawns with mayonnaise mixed with a little ketchup and shredded lettuce Sliced turkey salad and Swiss cheese Cream cheese and cucumber Hummus with grated carrot Egg mayonnaise with salad cress
Marmite (Source: courtesy of Annabel Karmel) http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mostof_childrenlunchbox.shtml Some useful websites for making healthy and interesting lunchboxes: www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/mostof_childrenlunchbox.shtml www.yourfamily.org.uk/ www.raisingkids.co.uk
READING WEEK
Lots of reading took place in college during our October Reading Week. The Learning Centre has been busy issuing lots of books and students have been reading alongside staff in many lessons to promote reading for pleasure.
A huge thank you to all the students (and parents) who supported the Book Fair. A staggering £980 worth of books was sold. De Ferrers will receive £949 worth of free books for students as a special commission!
Free Books for Schools is once again offering all students in Year 7 a free book which they will receive in November. Students choose their free book during their Learning Centre Induction lessons when they took part in activities to familiarise themselves with the resources available.
Students have been designing book marks to promote Reading Week and these are on display in the Learning Centre.
Readathon, a sponsored read to raise money for children with cancer, was launched during Reading Week and will run until the end of this half-term
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SKIPPING WORLD RECORD
Dear Mr York e offiI am delighted to announce that we hav number cially broken the world record for the owing an of people skipping simultaneously foll ld email confirmation from Guinness Wor are now Records. Those pupils who took part official officially World Record Holders! The m fro ools record is 43,772 across 414 sch colnshire. Staffordshire, Stoke on Trent and Lin greatPupils from East Staffordshire made the pupils est contribution to the total with 7,485 minee and staff skipping continuously for thr r £8,000 utes. So far the event has raised ove for the Raynaud’s and Scleroderma have Association. All schools from whom we cate of received payment will receive a certifi confirmation in the next few weeks. thank I would like to take this opportunity to who were all the staff and pupils at your school your involved in making this possible and for of PE, ongoing support for the development all young School Sport and Physical Activity for people. Andy Mawdsley Partnership Development Manager rship East Staffordshire School Sport Partne
GOLD GOLD MEDAL MEDAL FOR FOR TASMIN TASMIN
MR PEARSON IS CHAMPION!
Mr Pearson has had another very successful year, winning a number of English and British Championship titles. The most recent success was at the British Pistol Shooting Championships, held at Bisley in Surrey. At these Championships he won the Olympic Rapid Fire event. This puts him on course for selection into the 2012 Olympic training squad. Success over the last year recently resulted in his being presented with a South Derbyshire Sports Personality of Year Award. He has subsequently been invited to attend
the Derbyshire Sports Awards evening to be Held at Pride Park Stadium in November.
Mr Pearson is also to attend the World Shooting Chapionships, being held in Portugal, next year.
Congratulations to Tamsin Chadwick of the Sixth Form who competed at the West Midlands Regional Championships on Saturday 3rd October, 2009 at the Alexander Stadium Birmingham, representing East Staffs Olympic Gymnastic Club. In her first year of F.I.G.
Senior Gymnastics, sixteen year old Tamsin won the Individual Gold Medal for the Vault and she also won the Silver Medal. overall, only
losing out on the Gold Medal to the current British F.I.G. Senior Champion.
FIRE PREVENTION DEMONSTRATION
Communiqué
19th OCTOBER 2009
Two students win Gold at European Kickboxing Championships Sixth former Sophie Barnett of Burton Kickboxing Academy, and Year 11 Hassan Ahmed of A1 Lions, went to Rome last week to compete in the ISKA kickboxing Europeans. Sophie had three fights of three, two minute rounds against a Danish girl, a Hungarian and a fellow England fighter to win Gold. Hassan had two fights of three, one minute rounds against a French boy and an Italian and also won Gold. The England squad was
the largest team out there and collectively won twenty one Golds, eight Silvers and nine Bronzes with only two competitors not receiving medals.
All Key Stage 3 students received a presentation “Operation Good Guy” to highlight the seriousness of playing with fireworks. Following a slide show in the hall, where students were shown the dangers of playing with fireworks and had the laws about possession of fireworks explained, each year group was asked a series of questions to show their understanding.
They moved to the yard where the fire brigade had set up a demonstration to show how dangerous it is to have a firework in your pocket. A dummy was placed in a safe cordoned off area on the yard where a fireman electronically lit the flare which had been placed in its pocket. Students were amazed to see how quickly the clothes on the dummy
caught fire. Luckily a student from each year group had been dressed in full protective personal equipment and shown how to use the pump and hose to put the fire out!
The staff from the fire service were extremely complimentary about the behaviour and attitude of the students.
STUDENTS IN THE PILOT SEAT! Communiqué
De Ferrers students were selected from all the secondary schools in the country to take part in a new Faraday challenge for this academic year. Two teams of Year 8 students proved very worthy guinea pigs as they participated in the pilot event on the Dove campus, which is due to be launched nationally within schools in England and Wales by the Institute of Engineering and Technology. The challenge for this year focuses on environmental issues, specifically the increase in flooding in the UK.
The two teams battled their wits against each other – using their skills in Design and Technology, Maths and Science to design and make a device which could be sold in local DIY stores for flood stricken householders to remove water from their flooded homes.
It was a close competition but Team 1 just pipped the post with their innova-
tive design. The winning team consisted of Sophie Richardson, Becky Mosedale, Josh Welsh, Kieran Jones, Maccauley Moreton and Megan Poxon, who said,
“I really enjoyed the day and think it should keep going to let others have this great experience.”
With the feedback our students provided the IET, weʼre sure it will!
Gifted and Talented
Some students who are Gifted and Talented in English recently attended a workshop at Coventry University and had the opportunity to work with several renowned poets and authors. The students wrote their own murder mystery stories in the morning with author of ʻApacheʼ, Tanya Landman, and in the afternoon turned their hand to poetry, leading a workshop with Andy Croft.
In a national workshop dedicated to only Gifted and Talented students, ours stood out and were given special commendation by Mr. Speakman who organised the event.
The students thoroughly enjoyed the day and produced some excellent, if somewhat gruesome, short stories! Definitely some budding writers of the future...watch this space!
Team Tanzania
After a busy summer, the Tanzania team has hit the ground running. Following the teamʼs fantastic effort in raising £3,676 at eight different Bag Packing dates in July, August and September, members are well on their way of achieving their goal of travelling to Tanzania in July 2010.
The hugely successful Soul Evening last year has inspired the team to present an exciting sequel this autumn. The Jazz and Soul evening on Friday 23rd October with Defjo and Souled Out will be a great night out and we hope to see you there!
As well as this, the team has taken on another Bags 2 Schools collection. Your unwanted clothes, shoes or toys can be turned into money, so please send them in as soon as possible and help give the team another nudge closer to their goal!
With more Bag Packing dates booked over the Christmas period and a number of other events in the pipeline, there will be plenty to look forward to over the next half term. The total now stands at £11,126.25 and Team Tanzania would like to say a huge thank you for your continued support, because without you, a trip like this could not happen!
Can You See in the Dark? As the clocks go back on Sunday 25th October, the Staffordshire County Council Road Safety Unit is reminding people to take extra care when they are on or near our roads.
Once the clocks go back the days become duller and the nights get darker earlier and traditionally in October and November we see an increase in road crashes involving pedestrians and cyclists.
Here are some tips to help keep you safe
Pedestrians: make sure you can be seen during the day by wearing bright clothing, fluorescent is best. At night, reflective material uses car headlights to make you more conspicuous.
Cyclists: be as visible as possible with the addition of a working white light on the front of your bike and a red light with reflector on the back. Use fluorescent or reflective clothing as well.
Motorcyclists: also need to be as visible as possible by wearing fluorescent or reflective clothing and using their headlights whenever light levels are low.
Everyone should take extra care during the winter months; driving in bad weather, dull days and at night takes a lot more concentration and can make you tired. Pedestrians and cyclists should ensure that drivers have seen them before stepping out into the road. It only takes a lapse in concentration to become involved in an incident, so taking a few extra precautions could make all the difference.
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PSFA
It doesnʼt seem like five minutes since I was last writing the words “We held the Annual General Meeting for the Parents, Staff and Friends Association on ……….” for the 2008 autumn edition of Communique. A whole twelve months has flown by since – twelve months which have been full of activity for the PSFA. But this year was slightly different in that we invited parents to come and join us first for a drink and nibbles and an informal chat before we got down to business. It was good to see so many people interested in the work of the PSFA and a real boost to the committee members. At the meeting officers were elected with no change to the existing office holders: Anita McLean remains as Chair; Liz Chadwick as Vice-Chair; Jo Underwood as Treasurer and Sharon Upchurch as Secretary. We said a farewell of a sort to Carol Wood who, due to work commitments, cannot continue as an active member of the committee but who has expressed an interest in continuing to help out at events as and when she is able. Many thanks to Carol who has been a reliable and enthusiastic member over the last few years and we look forward to seeing her around, hopefully at the Christmas Fair! We were very pleased to welcome on to the committee several new members, Louise Bunting, Glen Frost, Patrick Ganley, Kevin Woodyet, Andrea Tantrum, Kate Bailey and Mandy Mountford who, I am sure, will be bringing a wealth of experience to the table. For a full list of our committee members please visit the PSFA page on the college website. EVENTS:
Since the last Communique we provided the refreshments for the Year 9 disco held at the end of the summer term – a very enjoyable evening where I have a lasting image of an entire group of Year 9s clustered around the Karaoke machine
singing ʻAngelsʼ with great enthusiasm and mostly in tune!
The Year 7 Friends and Family Bingo Night was held on Friday 9th October at Dove. There was a great interest in this event and nearly seventy people came to support it. There were prizes such as HMV and Cineworld gift vouchers and Breo watches for the lucky winners. Many thanks to everyone who came along!
Now please put the following date in your diary: TUESDAY 1st DECEMBER. This is the date of our CHRISTMAS FAIR which is a fantastic evening full of music, fun, side-stalls, an Auction of Amazing Gifts, Christmas hampers, competitions, mince pies and maybe even Father Christmas himself might pay a visit! A new addition this year is a Table Top sale in the Atrium. We are currently putting the finishing touches to the planning of this event so watch out for posters and letters home for further details. We are extremely lucky to have the tenor THOMAS SPENCERWORTLEY opening the event and he will be performing a couple of songs during the course of the evening. Donʼt miss this amazing opportunity to hear a magnificent voice in full flow!
Anita McLean Chair
STOP PRESS: Will you be doing your Christmas shopping online? Do you shop at Amazon, Next, Direct Line, Screw Fix, Argos, iTunes, John Lewis, Play.com, Debenhams, Halfords to name but a few? Would you like to help raise funds for the PSFA at no extra cost to yourself? Then please follow the link below:
http://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/deferrerspsfa
register and then follow the links to your normal retailer. A percentage of sales will be donated to the PSFA which in turn, will be spent on items for use by students in the college. Thank you!
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SPORT
FOOTBALL
The football season is underway for another year and results have been coming through thick and fast although it hasnʼt been the best start to the season for most of the year groups. Results:
YEAR 7:
League: Oldfields 8 v 1 de Ferrers De Ferrers 0 v 2 Robert Sutton Abbot Beyne 1 v 3 de Ferrers De Ferrers 1 v 5 John Taylor
YEAR 8:
League: Pingle 4 v 3 de Ferrers De Ferrers 3 v 3 John Taylor De Ferrers 1 v 5 William Allit
National Cup: 1st Round: BYE 2nd Round: de Ferrers 2 v 6 Sandwell Academy
YEAR 9:
League: Thomas Alleynes 2 v 0 de
Ferrers De Ferrers 2 v 1 John Taylor
YEAR 10:
League: Thomas Alleynes 7 v 1 de Ferrers De Ferrers 0 v 0 Pingle John Taylor 7 v 1 de Ferrers
National Cup: 1st Round: de Ferrers 0 v 4 Willencote
ROUNDERS
Champions of Burton and District 2009. Excellent play and a very mature De Ferrers Year 10 approach by all throughRounders Team who out the season with the played last summer throughout the season and captaincy being shared won every game home and between the girls each match. away. They are therefore
YEAR 11:
League: Thomas Alleynes 2 v 0 de Ferrers De Ferrers 4 v 3 Granville Paulet 3 v 1 de Ferrers
Bryn Scorey Trophy: Willencote 4 v 0 de Ferrers
SIXTH FORM:
National Cup: 1st Round: Grove school 0 v 6 de Ferrers 2nd Round: William Brookes 3 v 6 de Ferrers
YEAR 8 GIRLS:
League: Oldfields 3 v 3 de Ferrers National Cup: 1st Round: de Ferrers 3 v 1 Anthony Gell 2nd Round: de Ferrers 3 v 4 Meadowhead School
YEAR 9 RUGBY TEAM WIN DISTRICT FESTIVAL
The Year 9 Boys Rugby team put in a fantastic performance to win the Burton & District Schools Festival. The boys remained unbeaten throughout the competition, playing some fantastic rugby to beat John Port, William Allitt and Pingle. A number of new players made impressive debuts meaning the future of the team looks very promising. The team is pictured before the competition in the new kit which was funded by the PSFA.
Back row: Emma Henderson, Rebecca Linsted, Georgia Bennett, Shannon Golaub, Grace Kiley, Emily Featherstone Front row: Megan Taylor, Joanna Brooks, Natalie Gould, Louisa Statham, Michaela Atton
NINE EDGES ENDURANCE
Five brave students from Year 13 and four intrepid members of staff took part in the 2009 Nine Edges Endurance event in the Peak District on the 26th September. It was a hot and sunny day and the twenty miles that were walked seemed longer and harder than ever.
After setting off at just after 8am, the team took the harder route up the steep footpath onto Derwent Edge. From there the temperature started to rise and water was needed to cool the walkers down. After a quick drop down to a checkpoint, they were all off across Stanage Edge, into Burbage valley and beyond.
Mr Tyson, Miss Roberts, Miss Wood and Mrs Thomas
managed to lead the team of Yasmin Nally, Alice Johns, Harriet Furness, Nigel Tate and Matthew Brown across the course in a staggering seven hours and fifty five minutes. Well done to everyone who took part.
de Ferrers Specialist Technology College Principal: Mr M A York BA (Hons) BEd MBA
Dove Campus Harehedge Lane Burton upon Trent DE13 0AS Telephone: 01283 239961 Fax: 01283 239971 Trent Campus St Mary’s Drive Burton upon Trent DE13 0LL Telephone: 01283 239936 Fax: 01283 239950 e-mail: office@deferrers.staffs.sch.uk
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