Floyd Footnotes - Issue 25

Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School

Floyd Footnotes www.sirhenryfloyd.bucks.sch.uk Issue 25 | January 2017

China Exchange

We were fortunate to be able to run our first Exchange visit to China this year. The Chinese government invited us to participate in a subsidised project that aims to help our two nations understand each other. We took thirty students to Beijing in October half term. Half the Chinese party came here later the same month, with the remainder following in April 2017.

Several students described the visit to China at the trip of a lifetime. Some of their accounts are printed here...

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Chinese Family Life - Chinese Homes: Chinese homes weren’t as different as we all assumed. However, a key difference is most of those who live in Beijing live in apartments. The home I stayed in included a picturesque view of the Beijing skyline from the living room. It was astounding to me to see this amazing sight while watching the television whilst my Chinese host, Shirley barely acknowledged it.

My host family were extremely kind and very welcoming. I met Shirley’s whole family and was introduced to her little brother. He was 8 years old but his English was impeccable.

Whilst talking to the family – with Shirley being translator - I realised how different my life is to theirs. Although our homes weren’t drastically different, our daily life was. For Shirley, long school days and visits to her grandparents is a part of her daily routine and eating duck liver and donkey was normal to her but eating a Yorkshire Pudding was other-worldly.

As I stayed with a Chinese family, I finally understood how different our cultures were.

I stepped out of my comfort zone and saw a completely different world. My kind host family allowed me to do so many different things in Beijing from visiting the Olympic Stadium to making traditional Chinese dishes with them. I am extremely grateful for their hospitality and this exchange itself, as I saw things from a completely different perspective and immersed myself in a fascinating culture.

Saskia Soden, 10A

Chinese Food Before I went to China, I was expecting to be served your usual Chinese takeaway foods such as sweet and sour chicken however, when I arrived I was in for a surprise. During the week’s stay, my Chinese host family took me to different restaurants to try different traditional Chinese foods such as Hot Pot or Beijing duck. My host family enjoyed having

dumplings and in the first half of the week, we had dumplings quite a lot; to my surprise they actually had them for breakfast too. On the second night of the trip, we went to a famous Hot Pot restaurant in the city centre which had an hours wait just to get a table!

After trying various Chinese vegetables, I decided to try one of the meats, and my host family assured me that the ‘cow’ was nice. After a while of cooking, they placed it into my bowl and pulled out their phones to begin filming. Slightly confused, I tried the meat and it was extremely chewy and tasteless. The host family translated what I had just eaten and to my shock, I’d just eaten cow throat.

At the weekend, when we were visiting the various monuments, our families made us packed lunches and some of ours were very different to the lunches we have at home.

For example, on Saturday; my packed lunch contained a chicken foot, Chinese fig roll, yoghurt drink and some lychees. On the last night, we had Beijing duck, similar to the ones we have here but in China, there are different sauces and seasonings for different parts of the duck - the skin is dipped into sugar and the meat is dipped into plum sauce. Overall, the trip was unforgettable and even though it was different, some of the food was great.

Scarlett Mahier, 10A

My strongest memory Visiting and spending time in China was a wonderful experience that I think everyone will remember for the rest of their lives. My strongest memory from the trip was definitely the Great Wall of China.

We took a coach from Beijing academy, and after about 45 minutes we got our first glimpse of the Great Wall - the only man made creation visible from outer space.

Climbing to the top of the great wall was very challenging, although we only climbed a small amount of it, the full length being 21,196 kilometres (which would have taken us a while). The higher up you were, the more breath-taking the view. At the very top, you could see beautiful trees and landscapes for miles. This view of China was very different to the busy streets and roads in Beijing, and it was surprising how different it was to the rest of China we had seen before.

This experience will definitely be one I won’t forget, not just from the hundreds of pictures I took, but the experience of climbing up the wall was just amazing.

I was so glad that I got the opportunity to spend some time there.

Niah Goldsworthy, 10M1

Tourist Sights of Beijing The Chinese Exchange was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I would happily do it all over again. I loved seeing the Chinese culture, meeting new people and experiencing first hand school lifestyle, but my favourite part of this trip was the beautiful historical sights we visited.

After an early morning, we got to the Great Wall of China early so we could stay there for as long as possible. The view was a phenomenon; it was huge and you could see it go on for miles. Many people would come up to us and try to sell us merchandise.

Lucky for us we all got bargains from them!

We also went to Tiananmen Square, where we learnt about the protests against the communist government. It was an eyeopening moment to be immersed in the history of the other side of the world and what their history is.

The Forbidden City, containing the imperial palace was home to the Ming and Qing dynasties and I am glad we went there because the buildings were massive and memorable. There were so many other amazing places. I’m so happy the school could arrange visiting these places. It was one of the best experiences ever.

Ishan Bhakta, 10M1

Headteacher’s Update I am writing this at the end of a tiring term with a vast number of highlights.There has been an amazing amount of high quality work going on in a vast range of areas of the school. This publication cannot hope to capture everything!

Exam results As the term went on a number of different evaluations of last summer’s examination results were published. Each report gave us a very positive message. The Sunday Times produced their annual league table of schools across the country based on their GCSE results at A and A*, the top grades for A level and the International Baccalaureate.

A few years ago we did not even feature in the top 250 schools. We have made steady progress up the table and this year were rated as the 70th highest performing school in the country. The sophisticated value added measures that the government and other agencies produce have given an equally positive message.

Politics Readers may be aware of the fact that Theresa May announced that the government were to propose some significant changes to the role of grammar schools in our education system. The proposals were the subject of a national consultation last term. I was invited, along with six other grammar school headteachers from our region to meet our local Regional Schools Commissioner and the National Schools Commissioner at a small roundtable discussion as part of the consultation process. It was a very interesting meeting and I was pleased to be able to discuss the issues so professionally. The proposals are around the possible expansion of grammar schools, drawing out community

commitment from independent schools to justify their charitable status and changing some rules about faith schools.

Local newspapers carried information about a letter that all secondary headteachers in Buckinghamshire have sent to the government about our funding levels. The worst funded school in Britain is a Bucks grammar school. We are in a slightly more privileged position in that there are over twenty secondary schools in the country (out of 2500) who get allocated a smaller sum per student than we do. All of us are frustrated by the fact that if we were located just the other side of the Bucks border we would have between £100,000 and £500,000 extra every year to spend on educating ours students. We could do a lot with that!

Phantom Those fortunate enough to get tickets will have experienced a wonderful performance of “Phantom of the Opera”. This show is incredibly demanding for performers, technical crew and the orchestra. Mr Cole and his technical team built an amazing stage (that was so big that we had to reduce the size of the audience). The orchestral score was seriously complex – with key signatures and time signatures that most of the musicians will hope never to see again!

The singers and dancers produced a show that was quite breathtaking in quality. It was a brilliant opportunity for our students to see the spectacular results that hard work and attention to detail can produce. The quality was a huge credit to the 100 or so students engaged in the show and the production team who made it happen.

Buildings We are very pleased that the work on our new building will start in January. The first project will give us ten classrooms and a large sixth form study room that will also serve as a cafeteria. This will be a similar design to our Glover Building, designed and built by the same company but slightly larger. This building will be erected very quickly and should be completed by the

end of May. We hope that the second phase will commence as soon as the new block has been completed. This second phase will give us two new science laboratories, an extended canteen and an enlarged performing arts room. Our buildings are very crowded at the moment. By this time next year we will see a huge difference.

China Exchange We ran our first ever exchange visit to China this year. There are some accounts of the highlights at the start of this publication.

It was very exciting to be part of a project sponsored by the Chinese government.

Chinese students spent time with us in the middle of October and we made return visits a few weeks later. The whole experience was eye-opening in so many ways. Several students felt it was an experience of a lifetime. I came away with a great deal to reflect upon. One of the Chinese school’s mottos was “Harmony in Diversity”. There were many differences between life here and life in Beijing but many similarities in how people relate to each other and share life experiences. If you are going to have harmony then there have to be differences.

We were made to feel very welcome – both in the school we visited and in the homes where our students stayed.

Achievement Points and Student Concerns Every now and then we add up the numbers of concerns and achievement points that have been issued. I do sometimes hear students tell me that we are issuing far too many behaviour concerns! The evidence tells a different story. Up until the start of November our students between them had been given over 12,000 achievement points and 750 concerns. The ratio of achievement points to behaviour concerns is 16:1. The overwhelming majority of our students have not been given a single behaviour concern.

The sample of students that I talk to may be a little skewed!!

Stephen Box Headteacher

Double Olympic Gold Medallist Visit Double Rio 2016 gold medallist Max Whitlock took time out of his busy training schedule to visit students at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School on Friday 9th December.

As one of Team GB’s most successful Olympians Max has stayed true to the London 2012 athletes’ promise to inspire a generation and spent a great deal of time answering students’ questions, letting them hold his Olympic medals and having photographs taken with him.

Max spoke of his dedication of moving away from home as a 12 year old to train full time in Slovenia and how he motivates himself to train everyday now – even when sometimes things do not go to plan. Max was honest about his successes, but also about when competitions had gone wrong and how he always picks himself up and looks forward.

When approaching big competitions he spoke of how he knows how hard he has worked and that he is prepared because of this, so despite the nerves he can approach the situation with confidence; drawing a real parallel with many of the situations that our students find themselves in.

Max was truly inspirational for the students to listen to and a day in their school career that I am sure they will remember forever, as will some of the staff!

Rachel Selby, Faculty Leader for PE

Sports Ambassador Marissa Sissou added:

Year 8 student Zahra Navarro wrote about the experience:

To be given the opportunity to listen to and ask questions to one of Great Britain’s most successful Olympians was undeniably one of the most motivational and inspirational experiences I have ever had. Max Whitlock demonstrated that through hard work and determination, it is possible to achieve anything that you wish to and it is possible for anyone.

It was an honour to speak to Max Whitlock and ask him who his inspirations are. It was once in a life time opportunity to hear, see and speak to Max and I should hopefully be seeing him perform in 2020 Olympics where he will continue to inspire me proving that boys can do anything girls can do and girls can do anything boys can do. I am not the best gymnast in the world but I still love to do gymnastics.

To say that Max fulfils every moment of his day would be an understatement. Max explained how he would set aside time in-between his training programme to do normal things that a young person would do, such as completing his homework.

This is therefore a prime example of someone who will never find an excuse for not completing or finishing a task, but will also never accept failure. This is something that I and I am sure many of the other students listening can take away and apply to their work ethic at school. Max also explained how in whatever situation he is put in, nerves will always play a part, whether this is simply talking to us or performing in an Olympic final.

Max Whitlock therefore demonstrated how to approach difficult situations in a positive way, something which can be applied to all of our daily lives.

I watched the 2016 Olympics and I thought it was amazing. I love when he did the floor work and I was so happy that he won gold. It was great to be given the opportunity and I enjoyed every minute.

GB Hockey I was selected to represent England Blue at the School Games held at Loughborough University at the beginning of September, and I am proud to report earned two international caps.

I played Wales on the first day, predominantly playing in the midfield but moving into the forward and defensive lines every now and then. England Blue beat Wales 8-1.

National Champion Amongst our sporting achievements this year was a stand out performance on the race tracks by Year 10 student Toby Goodman.

Toby competed in this year’s BirelArt UK Karting Championship for Juniors up to the age of 16 and managed to finish the season as National Champion. He fought back from forth in the championship after the first 4 races to win in style, with a clean sweep of the last 3 races from pole position to victory, and ending the season with a tally of 13 race wins.

He began on local indoor tracks aged 8 before racing at Milton Keynes, where he picked up a Cadet championship before he was 12. In 2015 he moved up to national level competition and took the Rookie prize for best newcomer before his championship winning season this year.

The racing takes place throughout the year at different circuits in the UK in karts that

can hit 80mph, and on full racing tyres that see cornering g-forces peak at nearly 6g on some tracks.

Reflecting on a fantastic year of racing Toby said “It has been an incredibly tough season, the championship is renowned for being one of the most competitive in the country and I had to fight for every race win. It takes so much preparation and dedication to race at this level so it’s great to be the national champion”

On the third day I played Scotland to decide who will go through to the finals. Truly, they were the hardest team my team had faced in the tournament but luckily we beat the Scots 2-0.

In the final on the last day, I played England Reds and unfortunately we lost 2-0, taking a silver medal back home with me.

The School Games gave me an insight into what the Olympic experience would be like as the Games have an Opening and Closing ceremony. We were also monitored by strict security around the campus 24/7.

Furthermore, it has inspired me to keep practising and progressing through the England squads until I achieve my goal… to be in the Senior Great Britain Men’s Hockey squad in the years to come.

Dylan Lim Hon, 6A1

Amongst the prizes for winning the championship was automatic entry into the Ginetta Scholarship - a three day competition taking some of the best Junior racers from across the world to fight for a drive with a race team. The competition uses Ginetta race cars on a full race circuit and Toby managed to make the top three before just missing out on the win in the final.

2017 will see Toby reduce his karting and begin a series of tests with some of the race teams that have already expressed an interest in him.

Emma Barber, Head of Year 10

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The

Phantom of the

Opera Our Performing Arts department went all out with our musical this year, putting on an extravagant performance of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Phantom of the Opera.’ An extraordinary task, executed beautifully by the cast, crew and orchestra. It was a highly demanding show for all involved but the outcome proved to be well worth the hard work.

I had the privilege of being part of the orchestra during this show and it was phenomenal to see how we progressed in taking on the score. At first it was a struggle for us all, but with the skilled guidance of Mr Forshaw and some extra help from some amazing external musicians who we were lucky enough to have with us, the sound we produced was incredible.

The talent on stage was also fantastic every single member of the cast put so much passion and incredible effort into their performance. With the superb help of Miss Bahra, the vocals (which were at some moments, quite complicated) were executed remarkably well.

The musical was directed by Mr Sharpe and Mr Herriman, and choreographed by Mrs Durose and Mrs Burnitt. Perhaps the biggest element of this show, however, was the technical side. Whilst the cast and orchestra

performed beautifully, Mr Cole and the tech team performed miracles! They built a moving chandelier, and a design team was drawn together to make an elephant as well as so much more – it truly was Floyd’s biggest performance to date.

Of course, we did have our bumps along the road to success! The performance was by no means easy so there were some stress points with quick costume changes and technical faults (which were dealt with quite impressively) however, it all felt like part of the incredible experience of putting on the show.

As a Year 13 student, I feel so proud to say that this was my last musical at Sir Henry Floyd and look forward to coming back in future years to see what the next big production will be!

Chaya Gupta, 6H1

Christmas Celebration

On the final Wednesday of the autumn term, as Christmas beckoned, the Music Department took its annual trip to St Mary’s Church in Aylesbury to present this year’s Christmas Celebration.

Despite the fact that the school musical, Phantom of the Opera had only finished 4 days before, the talent and skill of the Floyd students came through and many incredible pieces were performed by a variety of ensembles in the stunning church setting.

The Senior Orchestra led the congregation in Carols, with members of the choirs joining with them to sing. Other highlights included a performance of the Pentatonix arrangement of ‘White Winter Hymnal’ from Year 11 Students Kieran Ray, Sophia

Razak, Laura Moisey-Gray, Joe Lawton and James Thorpe, including some complicated body percussion. The Senior Choir’s A Capella version of ‘I Saw Three Ships’ was excellent. The Senior Orchestra showcased their dedication and hard work over the last few months with a performance of some of the music from ‘Phantom of the Opera’, and of course it wouldn’t be Christmas without the Floyd Brass’s annual Christmas Extravaganza of well-known carols and tunes which had the whole audience clapping along.

Interspersed in the evening were readings from students and staff, a mixture of poetry and Bible readings reminding us all of the original Christmas Story. Everyone joined together at the end for mince pies to catch up, chat and congratulate each other on another fantastic year of music at the school. Well done to everyone involved!

Emma Thorpe, Deputy Performing Arts Ambassador, 6A1.

Dance Department News New YALS This term the new Young Arts Leaders were appointed to their respective subject whether it be dance, drama or music.

These YALs will be running various clubs across the dance department such as: • Lower School Dance Club – Year 7 and 8 (run by Josh Norman and Nimi) Tuesdays • Brightlights - Year 7 and 8 (run by Mrs Burnitt along with Emma and Emily) Wednesdays • Contemporary Technique - Year 9 and above (run by Laura Wiktorowicz and Ella Sewsarran) – Wednesdays • Street Dance Club - All Years (run by Chris Travers) - Fridays If you are interested in attending come along to one of the sessions to trial it, these clubs are a great way to make some new friends and develop your dancing skills or simply just to have fun!

Brightlights Brightlights continues again this year after previous great success. This club is an audition based club for Years 7-8. It is a way for the lower years to take part in a smaller version of Rock Challenge so they don’t miss

out on an excellent opportunity and to encourage people to join Rock Challenge later on as well as to build confidence.

The auditions brought amazing numbers to the club and a particular congratulations to the members who were successful. But don’t forget that, even though you might have not got in this year, keep auditioning because commitment and enthusiasm are key for performance.

The club has had its biggest intake ever with 30+ students taking part and has gone from strength to strength each year. We are all looking forward to seeing their fantastic piece at the summer showcases in March.

Rock Challenge Before half term auditions for our national dance competition, Rock Challenge, took place. In previous years we have gone on to win the Southern Open Final promoting us to a premier team. Then last year we were extremely successful and won the whole southern premier final. This year we hope to do the same but bigger and better.

Our cast has significantly increased to 96 students participating. This includes cast and tech crew so there is something for

everyone to do from costume to lighting to makeup. Although the numbers seem quite big, there is a large sense of community and interaction between the years.

We are all looking forward to showcasing our piece in March at Milton Keynes and then competing in May at Portsmouth for the Southern Premier Final. If you do miss the opportunity to see it, come along to one of our showcases in the summer term where this will be performed along with other pieces.

And don’t forget to audition next year if you want to take part!

Phantom of the Opera This year’s school performance was The Phantom of the Opera. Along with all the singing and acting there is a lot of dancing involved from the scenes in Hannibal and Il Muto. As well as the chorus there was a Ballet chorus that featured in the main sections. This was a wonderful opportunity for the more technical dancers to have the freedom to do a more classical style, as we do not fully explore ballet in our lessons during school.

Sara Durose, Dance Subject Leader

National Festival of Music For Youth Winner Last year, Craig Lamport, a Year 13 Music student, entered his A2 composition ‘Sunset Melody’ into the Music For Youth New Music Showcase. This is a composition competition entered by students from across the whole of the United Kingdom. You may have heard him perform this at the Summer Concert at the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre.

Photo by Laura Palmer/Alick Cotterill

Craig was the overall winner of this competition. He recently collected his award at the Royal Albert Hall and will be receiving composition mentoring from the charity Sounds & Music as a prize. In the competition, Scott Caldwell-Nichols, currently in Year 13, played the second guitar part in Craig’s classical guitar duet.

Mr Forshaw, Performing Arts Faculty Leader

Shobana Jeyasingh Workshop

Boxes of Goodwill

For the last three years the Alfan Foundation has wrapped up presents to send to children in need in schools and orphanages in Ghana, and we have been able to assist with help from friends and Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School.

Shaun Nolan, current leader of the Charity Committee at the school organised classes to donate shoeboxes filled with presents. In order that more children are reached, we split up the shoebox contents, put the items in age, and gender categories. As you can imagine this requires a lot of effort and time, something that we were short of as the deadline for shipping in time for Christmas loomed ahead.

In late September the A-Level and GCSE classes attended a dance workshop in preparation for their respected area of work.

The workshop was inspired by Shobana Jeyasingh, who blends the style of contemporary and the classical Indian style of dance called bharatanatyam. We were taught different phrases of dance from one of her most famous dances, called ‘Faultline’, which took inspiration from the Gautam Malkhani’s 2006 novel Londonstani, and is set surrounding the London Riots.

After that we were put into groups of three and performed each section together, also adding transitions from one section to the next to make it more fluid. Finally we used all of this movement material to develop our own take on the piece by mixing up sections and adding or subtracting some movements.

We are really grateful to all those who either volunteered, donated presents or donated money, as without your help, we wouldn’t have been able to make such a big difference to so many children’s lives this Christmas, and it was heart-warming to see so many people (both students and staff) get involved, to show the true meaning of Christmas.

As an A-level student I found this workshop extremely useful as not only is this the work I am using for my course, but it was really interesting to learn and experience a dance style that I would not necessarily put myself forward for. It made me appreciate the social impact that the dance portrayed and the effect that it had on people watching it. I am enjoying researching and exploring this piece and have many ideas to put into my choreography which will be based upon this work. It has also inspired me to branch out into other areas of dance to experience other styles other than contemporary.

Sarah Williams, Head of Sixth Form

Laura Wiktorowicz, 6C1

This year as in previous years, we were overwhelmed by the number of students from all years willing to help. This was a momentous task, but was completed in time, with over 340 presents wrapped for children. The toiletries are given to the rural school for hand cleansing, and to the orphanage. There were snacks, Christmas songs and lots of laughter as volunteers (particularly the older ones) reminisced with toys they too played with as younger children. A few days later, the boxes were picked up to be shipped off to Ghana to arrive in time to be presented to the children.

Cambridge Higher Education Conferences A number of our students attended this conference for Years 10 and 11 hoping to learn more about how to make a competitive admission to a top university.

The student perspective: Olly Salwey Year 11

Parent perspective: Nusra Sulfikar, Year 10 parent

The conferences were excellent, and greatly surpassed my expectations. It was interesting to find out how much Russell Group universities value extracurricular activities and work experience (alongside good exam results), and how showing a genuine interest in your subject can really help your application. However, I particularly found the workshop on medical, veterinary, dentistry, biomedical and pharmaceutical degrees/professions particularly interesting, as it was more specific to what I want to do at university; I am fascinated in medicine.

We found it most useful when they discussed how to choose the universities for the subjects the children had chosen and most importantly, how to do well in exams, how their time should be balanced with work and play, starting from now on in Year 10.

The six top things a good doctor should have are: 1. The potential for high academic achievement.

2. Evidence of a caring and committed attitude towards other people.

3. An understanding of the demands of medical training and practice.

4. An ability to communicate effectively (approachable, good at listening and explaining).

5. A willingness to accept responsibility (confident, organised and composed).

6. A broad range of social, cultural and/or sporting interests.

They covered many important aspects like how to be an independent learner, having an ability to do research, ability to write a clear essay, and also to think critically and solve problems, thereafter contributing ideas to a discussion or debate.

There is now a new area on the school website where we can share our expertise in making a strong university application – look under the CURRICULUM tab http://www.sirhenryfloyd.bucks.sch.uk/ curriculum/ucas/

Sixth Form Mindset Are you a parent of a Sixth Form student who is struggling with motivation for their IB or A Level studies?

This book has been written by two Sixth Form leaders at a school that has twice received an ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rating for their sixth form.

• VISION: they know what they want to achieve.

• EFFORT: they put in many hours of proactive independent study.

• SYSTEMS: they organise their learning resources and their time.

• PRACTICE: they practise and develop their skills.

• ATTITUDE: they respond constructively to setbacks.

The book is full of practical strategies to improve a student’s mindset into one that mirrors the VESPA qualities:

The Sixth Form team have been using some of the ideas suggested in the book with students but parents may like to buy their own copy to help embed these attitudes and practices into their child’s study routine. It is available online from a number of companies.

Dream Realised After years of preparations, my Oxford dream has finally come true.

The Michaelmas term has been fun, exciting and inspirational. An Oxford education focuses not only on academic development but also provides a wealth of opportunities for extra-curricular activities. Being a student here has given me the tremendous advantage of being able to attend this year’s Effective Altruism Global Conference. I’d never imagined myself at the age of 19 meeting Demis Hassabis, the co-founder of Deepmind, and having a conversation about how we can protect against the downside of the inevitable Artificial Intelligence revolution which is expected to hit the workplace within this century. Meeting more than 450 ordinary people sharing the same ideology to work on a very important issue and do good in the world, has inspired me to develop myself further and contribute to the topics of existential risks and global prioritisation. This has definitely given me meaningful reasons to do well in my studies.

I was also fortunate to get a microinternship at ATD Bio working on an engineering project independently thanks to the exclusive Oxford Career Service. This further inspired me to broaden my learning in many ways.

Contradictory to the myth of having no time to socialise as an Oxford student, I have found myself having so much fun here participating in societies, sports clubs and having formal dinners with friends in my historic college. I have participated in rugby, rowing and martial arts. I also enjoyed the excellent college chapel service at the end of many busy weeks. In summary, I feel my Oxford education is worth all the hard work and years of preparation.

For any student who is wondering if they should apply to Oxbridge, I encourage you to take the ‘yes’ option since you only have experience to gain and nothing to lose. Just going through the whole admission process is already a tremendous experience. It will challenge you to become the best version of yourself. I failed to gain a place at Cambridge the first time around, but succeeded with Oxford the following year.

Don’t let the fear of failure take away your ambition - believe in yourself and start taking action to make progress every day.

Ben Phan, former Floydian now studying engineering at New College, Oxford

Back to the Telegraph I was recently given the opportunity to return to The Telegraph’s head office in Victoria, London, for a second bout of work experience with the paper’s Opinion and Comment team.

After my first week of work experience, I kept in contact with the company via the team I had worked with. Not only was I given a shining reference for my UCAS application, but I was offered further work in November.

This time however, I was able to gain some experience in the particular area I am interested in.

I worked with the team of journalists who write opinion articles in terms of politics, economics, entertainment and lifestyle. They showed me the web system which the company uses to edit articles after they have been written by one of the employed journalists. I was tasked with checking the articles for spelling and grammar mistakes,

In September I attended New Scientists Live at the ExCel Centre in London as part of my preparation for applying for university to study Materials Science. It was a festival of ideas and discovery looking at the biggest, best and most provocative science.

I saw several famous Materials Scientists such as Mark Miodownik who has worked for the BBC as a presenter of a Materials based programme. I also saw Subra Suresh the Chairman of the Elevier Materials Council and former Head of Materials at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Miodownik, as well as a few other known scientists, did detailed presentations on

and then inserting hyperlinks to other articles by the Telegraph; this is done to create what was explained to me as an ‘inner web’ of articles from the Telegraph Media Group. On top of this, I would add pictures or videos to the article, as well as write a headline for the article.

Whilst in the office, I was also given the chance to write my own article for the website about the newfound friendly relations between Donald Trump and Nigel Farage, following Trump’s recommendation for Farage to be UK’s new Ambassador to the United States. I took the opportunity to have fun with the article, and mock the two politicians with a ‘Who Said It?’ quiz.

their area of research and development and they were really interesting. Miodownik presented 5 main areas of materials that are being researched currently: Energy, Cities, Food and Drink and New Discoveries. He emphasised the need for Material Engineers and other areas of expertise, such as architects, to come together to improve our knowledge and understanding of new technologies. His message was that we need to solve the problems of today whilst thinking about their sustainability and their effect in the future.

The event, located in the huge warehouse style centre was decorated with displays celebrating all corners of the growing scientific world and all areas of human life,

Future World

I found it incredibly useful, once again, to experience the everyday work of a writer for one of the biggest newspapers in Britain. My aspirations have been confirmed and most importantly I found that the career prospect of becoming a journalist means I would enjoy my work, as there was never a dull moment in the office.

To read my article, search Google for ‘The Telegraph Joe Kennett’ and follow the first link!

Joe Kennett, 6H3

not just the materials side of things. Virtual gaming and reality were common themes to many different stations. I also saw the Bloodhound (holder of the fastest land speed record) and Nottingham University’s breakthrough electric motorbike. There were also stations for Tesla Motors’ new car model, Toyota’s hydrogen cell powered car and Shell’s awesome Economy Car. These breakthroughs were definitely highlights.

The day was brilliant throughout, being both academic and informative about current global research, and also very inspiring as well as great fun. I would highly recommend it for next year.

Jack Turnham, 6C1

CrimCon During November nine members of my Year 13 Sociology class attended a Criminology Conference in London known as ‘CrimCon’.

As part of our course we study ‘Crime and Deviance’ and so I decided to organise tickets for this event, with the aim of taking our theoretical understanding outside of the classroom. The conference involved multiple speakers, including a former prisoner, discussing different areas of the study of crime and sociological perspectives on the impact of crime on society.

Dr. Lyndsey Harris, a lecturer at the University of Nottingham, summarised criminology and there was an element of audience participation - audience members explained their perspective of pictures of what could be interpreted as crime, with one member possibly taking this too far explaining how a group of young boys in hoody’s with a Mcflurry, had stolen the Mcflurry.

Frank Furedi, talked about the culture of fear that we surround ourselves with, explaining how safety is now our main concern with acknowledgement of everyday phrases such as ‘stay safe’ or the importance of health and safety in our day to day life. This topic promoted discussion in how the rituals we partake in our everyday lives are performed in an attempt to prevent ourselves from being affected by crime.

Dr. Irene Zempi then told us about her personal experiences of wearing the niqab for four weeks, explaining how she could not have done it for any longer as a result of the abuse and Islamophobia that she received.

This talk was particularly helpful in not only helping us understand the different methodology that can be used, but how an individual wearing clothing for religious purposes could be so ostracised and isolated within her local community and receiving

Prevent & Protect

Over the past few weeks, our Sixth Form have attended two sessions on the terrorist threat.

The second of the two anti-terrorism sessions was delivered as part of the government’s ‘Prevent’ strategy which highlights the dangers of radicalisation.

This was presented in the form of a play and carried the strong message that a terrorist could be anyone. Terrorism exists in all cultures and races, and we were reminded that although Isis claim to be Muslim, there is no evidence of them upholding Muslim beliefs. Therefore, the Muslim faith should not be held accountable for such terrorist activity. It is important to remember that terrorist acts are carried out by extremists acting in their own interests, not in the name of whole races or religions.

Another key message was the perils of the internet. The performers reiterated the fact that most radicalisation, whether national or international, occurs over the internet. In fact, one performer (appearing to be quite shocked himself) informed us that it is possible to be in contact with a member of IS over Twitter. It is therefore imperative that we are each aware of our susceptibility to radicalisation, so we can avoid it.

A couple of weeks prior to this we had a talk in a LIFE! Session called ‘Protect’ from a member of the anti-terrorism taskforce. He put to us the same messages as the theatre group, but with the added information of the

abuse, sometimes physical, on a regular basis.

Dr. Zoe Walkington focused on the topic of police investigation within crime and telling us how lying is dealt with in criminal investigation. This also involved the audience taking part in an activity where we had to guess who was lying from multiple videos of ‘offenders’ if they had stolen money. We found out that the audience as a whole, other than about three members, were not good at identifying deception.

The final session of the conference was with a former prisoner named Andrew. To our great surprise he was put in prison for a murder. He explained his murder story and we began to understand how his actions had impacted his life and how prison life had influenced him. The former prisoner interestingly stated that he thought he deserved much longer than the 12 year tariff he had received. A tariff is given in court as a precautionary time of imprisonment, and once over the prisoner has assessments to see if they are capable of being reintegrated into society. Andrew then said that as a result of his ‘good’ behaviour he was able to leave the prison on a life licence where he was to be assessed continually through his life to ensure he was not detrimental to wider society or himself. From our sociological understanding, it was fascinating to hear he could now not find employment, even in jobs where no qualifications where needed. With a label of ‘criminal’ and ‘murderer’ he struggled to live a normal life.

Stephen Tomlinson, 6M3 Sociology/Social Science Ambassador

advice given by the security forces in the unlikely event of a terrorist attack on your place of work, school or a public place.

• RUN - Run when you think the coast is clear. Try to take as many people with you as you can, but don’t let anyone slow you down.

• HIDE - If you can’t run, hide. Use anything you can to secure your position, such as locking and barricading doors.

Turn mobile phones to silent.

• TELL - The moment you can, call the authorities on 999 or 112. Tell them where you are, what is going on, and give any kind of description you can of the attackers.

To recap, it is important to remember that terrorists may act under the banner of a certain religion or group, but that does not mean they are acting on behalf of that group. The collective cannot be blamed for the actions of the individual. Radicalisation is a real threat, and one very hard to return from, as we were shown in the theatre performance. The key is to be aware of the threats the internet holds. Finally, in the unlikely, but possible event that you find yourself amid a terrorist attack: RUN, HIDE and TELL. Nathaniel Tibbs, 6H1

Maths Challenge You might assume that Senior Team Maths Challenge, a tense and feverish battle of wits and calculations located at the John Colet School, between the finest minds of Aylesbury Vale, would be a tedious affair. You would be wrong.You couldn’t be more wrong. In fact, the statement “14x2 -18x + 27y has two real roots” is less wrong than the notion that Team Maths Challenge was anything other than riveting. Riveting, but - as the title of the competition would imply – challenging.

Allow us to immerse you in the scene: a school hall, churning with the buzz of 72 eager-faced students (as well as 18 teachers scattered across the room like ashes in a bonfire). The air was chilled to an uncompromising degree, not only by the exchange of predatory glances between us and the competition, and the general sense of ice-cold ambition in the air, but by the disappointing lack of central heating.

Our team, consisting of two Year 12s and two Year 13s, was pitched against 17 others, the clash divided into 3 stages. The cliché here would be to claim that each stage was more difficult than the last, but this was not true. In truth, it would not surprise us to learn that the first round, consisting of 10 questions spliced into 40 minutes, was subsequently purchased by the North Koreans as an innovative method of torture.

The unparalleled difficulty of Round 1, evidenced by the unfortunate fact that we answered only 50% of the questions correctly, cannot be adequately demonstrated without an example: ‘A spider is clinging to a square wall of a cuboid room, 1 metre above the floor. On the opposite square wall, a fly rests 1

metre below the ceiling. Both are aligned to the centre of the room, which is 6 metres wide and 13 metres long. The spider calculates that the shortest path it can take to reach the fly is less than 42 metres; find the length of this path.’

If you are able to solve that within 16 minutes, you receive our gracious applause.

The second round, a 20-question crossnumber puzzle (similar to a crossword, but with a tantalising mathematical twist), which required the team to be divided into 2 sub-teams, was, on a more rewarding note, a piece of cake. Of course, the retrospective knowledge that we gained 100% of the marks could be contributing to a hindsight bias, so “a piece of cake” may be an overstatement. Perhaps “a piece of pi” would be more appropriate. In any case, this was the Maths Challenge we knew and loved, the ideal blend of challenge and manageability.

With our confidence restored, our determination escalated, and our hunger alleviated by a particularly well-textured chocolate cake, we proceeded to propel ourselves into Round 3. This was a ‘relay,’ in which one half of the team had to complete the first question within 6 minutes without

so much as a whisper of communication directed at the other sub-team. The answer obtained was then transferred across, and used by sub-team-2 to complete the second question – and thus the process repeated, encompassing in total 4 sets of 4 questions.

This round was a mixed bag, not least because the final question involved a bag of coloured counters. Our 100% success rate through relays 1 and 2 was counterbalanced by an atrocious 3 out of 20 in relay 3. It was this lack of consistency which ultimately cost us the top spot … and the second … and the fifth.

For a team that was assembled only 2 days before the competition, sixth out of eighteen seemed a reasonable accomplishment, despite the evident lack of glory. The more important outcome was - as it always is the sheer fun of the experience and the intoxicating thrill of solving mathematical conundrums.

Senior Team Maths Challenge 2016 receives two thumbs up.

Robert Nettleton, 6C2 & Mark Hepworth, 6M3

Red Bull Technology Before I went on work experience I was unsure whether I wanted to go into geology or engineering. Fortunately, I know someone who works at Red Bull Racing Technologies and he managed to arrange a week’s work experience for me.

It was incredible. The atmosphere of the company was friendly and welcoming, everyone was willing to answer my questions as to what they were doing and what its purpose was, and, most of all, it was incredible that I had the opportunity to work within such a big, successful company.

The week I was there was relatively calm, there was no big rush to have any large parts made or to have everything completely perfect. This was because there was a race taking place in Russia that weekend, and so all of the large car parts had been transported the weekend prior to my work experience. They transport a week early in order to be able to request parts to be sent over in case there are any that are missing, or were broken in transit. It was mainly these replacement parts that were being made.

I worked in Stores for four of my five placement days. I know it sounds boring to be ‘shut in a cupboard’ for my work experience but it was in fact the opposite.

We probably did more walking about than any other work experience candidate would have done, or had the opportunity to do.

Within Stores we had to distribute different car parts to all the different areas, although frequently the people that worked in the other departments would come and collect them themselves. This provided the opportunity to talk and find out about what these people did and how that helps the company. Distributing the car parts provided the opportunity to explore and see all of the different departments where all the different parts of the car were built, or painted, or tested, or stored. It also allowed me to visit the archives, an opportunity that wasn’t available to students within other work experience placement areas.

Taster Day In early October I attended a taster

day for Linguistics at King’s College London, with the intention of confirming my choice of degree. Not only did I learn that I would thrive on the course, but that the course is suited to the way in which I think and the way in which I work academically.

The archives are awesome; it stores years’ worth of old technology including old race cars and even some old clothes. There were racks of the old car shells hanging off the walls and, behind these, were the old, used cars that still have all of their internal parts.

These were stacked up on shelves and the cars that didn’t fit on shelves were covering the floor around the shelves. The clothes were the old uniforms of the people that work for Red Bull. When the company changes sponsors the uniform changes to have the new sponsors logo on it. Whilst I was there they were in the process of changing the uniform.

On the Thursday I worked in the electronics department. I got to design, build and test a thermo sensor - an object that measures the temperature of different parts of the car as some car parts don’t work unless they are at the correct temperature. I spent the morning on the computer using a 3D imaging program to make measurements and to manipulate the wire to see how it is supposed to fit around the area of the car where it is measuring the temperature. I’ll admit that I wasn’t very good at using this piece of software but it was fun to do and I did end up with a thermo sensor that was vaguely similar to what the design was supposed to be. The afternoon was spent in the workshop, physically building the sensor I had designed. I found this part much more exciting and fun as it used materials that had properties such as shrinking when a flame gun was pointed at them. I also got to test the thermo sensor in the neighbouring lab. This was really interesting as it showed where the faults of the sensor were and what its breaking points were.

I found this work experience placement really interesting and it helped me decide that I want to do engineering. As a result I am hoping to either do a higher level engineering apprenticeship or a degree at university.

Penny Lorrimore, 6H2

The taster day course involved multiple lectures and discussions around topics within the course of Linguistics. One of the taster lectures was ‘Forensic Linguistics’; this is the analysis of legal documents such as witness statements, to see if the language in the statement has been influenced by anyone else, such as the policeman reinterpreting what was said when making the written reports. I learnt an entirely new area of Linguistics and I am now open to more ideas around the use of the course and thus considering more career paths than before.

The course helped me to understand that there is a difference in knowing what a course will entail, and in attempting to complete work that the course will involve. I also met many students from around the country and the world, who were interested in the same course, and the group who attended all shared common interests.

Taster days are undoubtedly useful in helping anyone to decide if the course they are applying for is right for them and what they want to do. The experience helped to support my choice in the course and also consider the university where it took place as an option for the future.

Stephen Tomlinson, 6M3

A TERM IN PICTURES…

Let it Snow - Last Day of Term

t Fair

jec Year 11 Sub

Bank of England Target 2.0 Competition

GCSE Art Student’s Work

House Captains with the Charitrees

The Decline of Witchcraft with Professor Owen Davies

Yr 7 Fr

rt - C o lour ee St udy A

W heel C ake

Orchestra Show Practice

P hotosynthesis with Sixth Form Students

Lower Schoo l

C hoir Pract ic

e

et ing SSL T Me

d use Not ice B oar

Ho

Bake Sale for ‘Brass For Africa’

World Challenge Preparation in Snowdonia

Year 12 Induction China Exchange

Where are they now?

David Chalmers - 1980 Leaver

I left Sir Henry Floyd after finishing my A levels in the summer of 1980, heading first to the Middle East where I was to spend six months of freedom. GAP years were not that common back then and my parents needed a lot of convincing, but the decision was ultimately mine and probably one of the most important ones I have ever made. The second half of my year out I spent working in an elderly care home in West Berlin, alone in the big city and earning real money for the first time. I never regret taking that year out before I went to University – it helped me to realise that there are always choices on what route to take in life.

I look back on my time at Sir Henry Floyd Ifondly look back on my timeto atthank Sir Henry Floyd and have much it for.

I came fondly and have much to thank it for.

I came away with three A levels and ten O levels, away threeme A levels and ten O levels, whichwith secured a place at Edinburgh which secured a place at Edinburgh University, fromme where I graduated in 1985 University, I graduated 1985 with an MAfrom with where Honours in Germaninwith with an MA with Honours in German with European Institutions. What may come as a European What may come as surprise toInstitutions. some is it also showed me that surprise to some is itthan alsojust showed me that there is more to life educational there is more to life than educational qualifications.

I spent the just summer term of qualifications.

I spent the summer term my first year of Sixth Form at a school in of my first year ofI Sixth at awho school Bavaria, where madeForm friends, arein still Bavaria , where I madeand friends, who still part of my life today, gained theare fluency part of my life today, and gained the fluency in German, that has been my bedrock in German, that has been bedrock throughout my career.

Mymy love for the throughout my at career. love for the theatre started schoolMy too – I was one of theatre started at school too – I was one of the first students to study Drama and the first students to study Drama and Theatre Arts – a tradition that I am pleased Theatre – a tradition I am pleased to see isArts continued in the that school today.

And to is continued in the school today.

And mysee passion for politics and debating was my passion for politics and debating was nurtured here. nurtured here.

I really enjoyed my time at University too Iand really enjoyed my time too - I spent my third year at in University East Germany and spent my third year in East Germany -I was one of the few Westerners to study on was one of theof few studyseen on the other side theWesterners Berlin Wall.toI have the otherfiles sideand of the Berlin Wall.the I have seen my Stasi wear proudly quote my Stasi and wear proudly quote about mefiles from these – ‘this manthe is a about me from these – ‘this manbeisremoved a subversive element and should subversive element and should be removed from our country immediately’. from our country immediately’.

On leaving University I moved to London to On University I moved to in London startleaving my career as a civil servant the to start my career as athis civilwas servant Treasury.

However only in to the last 2 Treasury.

However this wastoonly tofor lasta2 years as I wasn’t prepared work years as I wasn’t prepared to work for a government that was introducing “Clause government that was introducing “Clause 28”, legislation which defined gay men like 28 “, legislation defined gay men like myself as secondwhich class citizens.

I have been myself as secondaclass citizens.

I have made redundant couple of times overbeen the made of times over the years –redundant it’s a fact a ofcouple life when company’s years – it’s a fact of life when company’s restructure and have learned not to take it restructure and to have to take it to personally, but uselearned it as annot opportunity personally, but to use it asOn an this opportunity try out in a new direction. occasionto it try a new direction.

On this wasout meinthat upped and landed onoccasion my feet it was me that umped and landed onnot myexactly feet - selling advertising space.

It was selling space. Itbut wasI not the work advertising that I had foreseen, ended up exactly the work that traveled I had foreseen, using my languages, all overbut theI ended myalanguages, world, up andusing gained grounding traveled in the all over the world, gained a that grounding in in commercial sideand of business resulted the commercial side of business that my becoming a member of the senior resulted in myteam becoming member of the management of oneathe world’s senior team of one the world’s leadingmanagement media organisations – The leading media organisations – The Economist Group.

For ten years I lived the Economist For ten years I lived the expat life inGroup.

Hong Kong with swimming expat life in Hong Kong with swimming pool, tennis courts, corner office on 60th pool, courts, corner office on 60th floor, tennis flying around the world spearheading floor, flying around the world spearheading the company’s investment in China and the company’s China and India, and for ourinvestment efforts myin team was India, andthe forQueen’s our efforts my for team was awarded Award Enterprise in awarded 2003. the Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2003.

Around the Beijing Olympics in 2008 an Around the Beijing Olympics inmy 2008 an opportunity came up to set up own opportunity came up to set up my own consultancy helping Western companies consultancy helping Western companies establish their business in China and establish their business in China Chinese companies develop theirand Chinese companies develop their international sales operations. I spent the international sales operations. spent the next few years living on and offIin China and next fewproduced years living and off in China and in 2014 theon Shanghai Pride LGBT in 2014 produced the Shanghai Pride LGBT Film Festival.

Film Festival.

In 2011 I cofounded the Kaleidoscope Trust, In I cofounded Trust the2011 UK based charity the thatKaleidoscope raises awareness the UK lobbies based charity that raisesLGBT awareness of and for international rights. of and lobbies international rights.

And thus beganfor my new career LGBT in politics And thus began my new career in politics that has brought me to live in North Devon, that hasI brought mehome to livesince in North Devon, a place have called my parents a place here I havewhilst calledI was home my parents moved at since University and moved I was at University and where I here am awhilst local Councillor.

Next May I am where am a local Councillor.

Next May I am standing for the Devon County Council seat standing for the Devon County seat of Barnstable South.

Elected forCouncil the second of Barnstable South.

Elected for the second year as the Liberal Democrats Diversity year as thefor Liberal Democrats Diversity Champion Devon and Cornwall I am also Champion forone Devon andcandidates Cornwall I am also approved as of their to stand approved as one to stand for Parliament at of thetheir nextcandidates General Election.

I for Parliament atof the next General Election. sit on the Board Trustees of North Devon I sit on the Board of Trustees of North Devon Sunrise, the hosts of North Devon’s Annual Sunrise, hosts who of North Annual Diversitythe Festival, wereDevon’s shortlisted this Diversity were shortlisted year for aFestival, Nationalwho Diversity Award, andthis can year for a National Diversity Award, and can be seen most days walking my dog Archie be seen most days walking my dog Archie on my local beach. Retirement is a long way on off.my local beach. Retirement is a long way off.

My message to students is a simple one - to My message to of students is a simple one to make the most life’s opportunities and-set make the most of life’s opportunities and set yourselves goals that you might not always yourselves thatintended, you mightbut notthe always reach in thegoals way you reach in on thethe way youisintended, but the and journey way just as important journey on the way is just as important and a lot of fun. a lot of fun.

David Chalmers, 1980 leaver David Chalmers, 1980 leaver

Kevin Pollard - 1986 Leaver I was a student at the Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School between 1980 and 1986, after which I studied Modern History and Political Science at the University of Birmingham and graduated in 1989. I joined the Civil Service the same year and continue to enjoy a challenging and varied career working in government.

Sir Henry Floyd 1986

I have stayed in touch (admittedly fairly sporadically) with a few of my former fellow students and one of them emailed me about the Old Floydians Event which the school hosted last July. I moved back to the Aylesbury area fairly recently and drive past the school regularly so I couldn’t resist the temptation to go along for a nose around the premises with some old mates. I was struck instantly by how much had changed and yet how familiar it felt - though I’m sure that a brisk trot up to the top of the tower block never used to leave me that short of breath!

I was particularly impressed with the facilities now available for Year 12 and 13 students: my sixth form (in old money) was characterised by the logistical difficulties arising from the arson attack on the school in 1983. Most private study sessions were spent in prefab classrooms or Aylesbury library (though I didn’t realise until I researched that date that the school suffered a second fire in 2011). What was really pleasing at the event was how evident it was from meeting current students and the Headteacher’s address that the SHFGS ethos hasn’t changed a bit. The affection which I feel for my schooldays owes a very great deal to its focus on creativity and developing students as individuals, rather than placing exam results above all else - though these are also clearly important.

I am a bit of a hoarder and the Old Floydians Event prompted me to dig out some tatty but much loved old SHFGS publications - principally to share with the friends who I hadn’t seen in quite a while. At the event I also showed them to Jackie Willoughby who asked for copies for the Old Floydians archive. I was happy to oblige and a couple of examples are published here.

I imagine that current students will be struck by the fairly basic level of what was then available by way of desktop publishing but former students, and indeed teachers, may recall the popularity in the 1980s of sport and music fanzines which were published in hard copy - often from dedicated individuals’ bedrooms - photocopied and delivered by post. These magazines have the same nostalgia appeal for me.

Kevin Pollard, 1986 Leaver

“The affection which I feel for my schooldays owes a very great deal to its focus on creativity and developing students as individuals, rather than placing exam results above all else - though these are also clearly important.”

An Invitation to all Old Floydians Following the reunion reunionlast lastyear yearwe weare arepleased pleasetoto Followingon onfrom fromthe thesuccess success of the announce thatthe the2017 2017Old OldFloydian Floydian Event Event will be on announce that on Saturday Saturday8th 7thJuly July2017.

2017.

Old Old Floydians Floydians please please save save the the date! date!

Freshers’ Fair

Here at the Floyd in order to make the settling in process for younger students easier, we run an annual Freshers’ Fair to showcase all of the extracurricular opportunities available in school.

As a part of the Anti-Bullying Association, this is an incredible important event for our team to recruit new members from a variety of year groups to give a full representation of our school. Other options included the chance to sign up to the lower school ski trip which continues to be a major hit with the students.

This year was our busiest event yet and we found that everyone who attended found it thoroughly beneficial.

Kajal Shah, 6C2

On an icy evening in November, staff were invited to participate in a culinary experience in Mrs Malone’s classroom. Puff Pastry Canapés and Sweet Chilli Sauce were our cooking challenges sheer delights that we would hopefully be able to re-create over the festive season, amazing our guests with our homemade treats.

A Chilly Night Indeed

Mr Verbeek and Mrs Malone welcomed us, cheerful smiles all round as, with anticipation, we hoped to recreate the wonderful aromas that constantly emanate from P4! A sample of what was to come awaited us and was eagerly tested, already giving us ideas - Philadelphia cream cheese with a dollop of sweet chilli sauce on top as a dip with crudités or crackers! Simply delicious!

chicken/sweet chilli was mentioned, thank you Mr Verbeek) and we merrily chopped and sautéed away. The atmosphere continually filling with questions, chatter and the smell of ingredients merging together.

Puff pastry rolled, filled, crimped and glazed then into the oven. Fifteenish minutes later and we had quite a variety of shapes and sizes of puff bites on show. A taste test (obligatory) and all was well.

First, the Sweet Chilli Sauce. Working in pairs, I was with Ms Gethins, we skinned peppers, not an easy thing to do, chopped garlic, tomato, ginger, chillies and just a little more ginger as we both enjoyed the fiery taste - already going slightly away from the recipe, would it still be palatable? We wondered. We whizzed our very red concoction in the blender, leaving it a little chunky to give texture and then combined it with the vinegar and sugar mix in our pan.

Checking with Mrs Malone and Mr Verbeek that we were on track. WOW the vibrant smell wafted around the room and escaped down the hallway warming every olfactory receptor it came into contact with; enticing those nearby to come in… enter Mr Brandish and Mr Box. Our reduced sauce was then bottled ready to be taken home.

A few comments from other staff:

Now onto the Puff Pastry Bites. A choice of mushroom or pork filling (later a mouthwatering combination of cream cheese/

I had a lovely time at cookery club! My sausage rolls went down a treat at home so I will definitely be making another batch for Christmas! Miss Pickering It was great working with the red hot chilli peppers! Mrs Stonham.

My family really enjoyed the sweet chilli sauce with their meal – I will be making it again soon! Mrs Wiles.

We all had a thoroughly enjoyable evening learning new skills and recipes to take away with us, along with memories and supper! A huge thank you from all those who took part, to Mrs Malone and Mr Verbeek for organising the evening - let’s do it again soon!

Jennifer Cole, Librarian

Out with the old, In with the new As the final Food Technology GCSE course will finish in June 2017 we have decided to celebrate by hosting an exhibition on Monday 27th January, the day the Year 11 students complete their final dishes. All are welcome to join us between 4.00pm and 7.00pm in P4.

Whilst some may say Food Technology was closer to The Great British Bake Off, the new GCSE course is far closer to Master Chef! Food Preparation and Nutrition focuses on five areas - Food Nutrition and Health, Food Science, Food Safety, Food Choice and Food Provenance. The assessment has altered to 50% exam and 50% non-exam assessment.

The current Year 10 have particularly enjoyed the Food Investigation section where we have been making butter using different types of cream.

In Key Stage 3 we have been very busy and Mrs Mistry of Mistry Chef returned to visit Year 9, giving them an insight to the values of spices, feeding all 150 students her delicious potato curry with chapatis and parathas.

Many thanks go to the generous donations from parents this year. We hope the students continue to be inspired by the dishes they get to taste test and make, and hope much of it arrives home intact! Just a reminder that food storage boxes should be named clearly to help them be returned. Finally, food should be taken to P4 as soon as the students arrive in school to keep it stored at the correct temperatures.

Future Chef Could the next Future Chef be amongst the students at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School?

In October we held 2 rounds to pick our top creators of dishes that were worthy of the finest restaurants.

Our guest judge chef, Ronnie Pharoah from the Oxford Belfry returned in December to give a master class to the finalists - Caroline Kent, 7H, Josh Norman, 10M, Scarlett Mahier, 10A, Emily Campbell, 10H, Emily Nurse, 10H, Hafsa Sheikh, 11C and Adam Bromiley, 11M. From this talented group of students Adam and Scarlett were selected to represent our school in the local heats in January. We wish them luck with their menus.

Amy Malone, Food and Nutrition Teacher

Amy Malone, Food & Nutrition Teacher

On the 11th day at the 11th hour, the school held a respectful service in the Glover courtyard, in accordance with the signing of the Armistice at the end of the First World War. Mr. Box read a poignant poem, and every student in the courtyard and in their lessons, stood for a two-minute silence. Following Mr. Box’s words, I played the Last Post as calmly as I could muster and could not help but picture the reason for this piece and what it stands for.

Looking out onto the school fields I was strongly drawn to an image of fields torn apart by bombs, the cacophony of soldier’s cries and gunfire, all amidst total chaos. At the slow parts of the music I saw the field as the deeply silent, deserted area after the battle, or a site where so many graves lie, named and unnamed and finally peaceful, like waves of white across a still sea.

I believe that holding such a service on this day is essential for everyone to understand what people went through during the two World Wars and conflicts since then. Despite 2016 being so long after both World Wars, it reminds us of the facts of what happened, and the immeasurable number of lives sacrificed for our safety and against corrupt ideals, so that we could live as we are living today.

Furthermore, it is so important that we reflect on the values that the soldiers held, to remember that they were all incredibly brave, fighting for us, and for you. Looking in from the outside it is not possible to understand entirely what they all went through, but regardless of our age or background, we owe it to them to try.

“We will remember them.”

Madeleine Glover, 6H1

Remembrance Day

Team Building Day In September, Year 7 had a team building day to get to know each other better and make new friends. We took part in many different exciting activities in our groups including: the spider’s web, building a raft, blind trail and many others. During the spider’s web challenge my group had to lift a few of the smallest boys and I through the highest holes in the web. This was very difficult and funny as it took several attempts to get them through! Our next challenge was to build a raft in order to get across an imaginary swamp. Our group found this task extremely challenging, but luckily we finished with no seconds to spare!

Overall I had a great day and I think it was a great idea to help us settle in to our new school!

Sophie Fines-Allin, 7W

The day was a great opportunity for Year 7 as it boosted your confidence in your year group and the school, as well as yourself.

There was a wide range of activities that were fun, challenging and improved teamwork skills. One of the many activities was a sensory trail where you were blindfolded and had to trust the person at the front to guide you, although they were also blindfolded! There were many other activities like making a car out of barrels, rope and planks.

It was a great experience and I hope that future Year 7s will also be able to enjoy such a fun day.

Jessica Thorn, 7W

Parents’ Society Update Happy New Year to everyone involved with the Floyd students, staff, parents and supporters - we hope 2017 proves to be another outstanding year!

We had a very busy autumn term and are delighted to report that we raised over £5200 for our school - a fantastic effort by everyone who organised, supported and attended our events - thank you once again for your continued generosity. It really makes a difference as we are able to use the funds raised by the Parents’ Society for items above and beyond the necessities required of the ever tightening school budget. This year we have already been able to fund soft furnishings for the library along with a wall mounted TV to show the news so that students can keep abreast of current affairs. And we still have money in the bank so are looking forward to hearing what else is on the school’s shopping list for 2017.

The autumn term calendar of events kicked off with the Year 7 Family Challenge which was attended by over 100 parents and students from the newly expanded year group. Whilst enjoying socialising with their new friends the participants had a ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ style quiz, once again chaired magnificently by Mr Bryant, whilst Mr Box was the ‘Phone a Friend’ option. After the pizza supper (provided at a very generous discount by local firm Caprino’s) everyone gamely took part in the dance challenge, led by a brilliant team of dancers from 10M2, who also acted as the ‘Ask the Audience’ element of the quiz. The event raised nearly £1250 - well up on last year’s total.

Our main fundraiser for the season was the annual Christmas Fayre in November which kick started the festivities in very cheerful style. Once again the student stalls contributed fantastically to the atmosphere

of the event as well as making a considerable financial contribution. We also welcomed 12 external stallholders selling a variety of crafts, gifts and seasonal goodies, and enjoyed hot and cold refreshments, including delicious Indian snacks provided once again by Mistry Foods and a huge number of homemade mince pies donated

by Mrs Vickers. Thank you to all who contributed, giving their time, help, donations and support - not least ferrying the students in to run their stalls! Our grand total for the day was over £2300, again up on last year.

Just before Christmas we were delighted to catch double Gold medal winning Olympic gymnast, Max Whitlock, who was able to help with the draw of our Christmas Raffle whilst on a visit to the school. By now all our lucky prize-winners should be in receipt of their prizes. Once again thank you for your generous support of the raffle, buying tickets and donating prizes. It is always a major part of our fundraising programme and this year made £1645.

The final event of 2016 was providing interval refreshments for the performances of Phantom of the Opera which raised over £200 to help support the Performing Arts Department as well as contributing to the Parents’ Society coffers.

We are still aiming to raise in excess of £10,000 this academic year through a variety of events, projects and schemes and with your continued support we hope to be able to exceed that target, for the benefit of all of our children.

Hopefully your online Christmas shopping via The Giving Machine helped us towards our fundraising goal - it really is a nobrainer - you shop, we earn, no cost to anybody! If you are not signed up yet do please register Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School as your recipient on their website and continue shopping. With their added reminder tag on your browser it really couldn’t be simpler. To date we have raised nearly £800 - please visit their website for more information.

We have 2 committee meetings coming up, 16th January and 6th March (both at 7.30pm in Mr Box’s office, accessed via the Performing Arts car park at the back of the school) to which everybody is very welcome.

Our first event of the Spring Term, is the Quiz Night, a fun family Event with supper and bar which is provisionally booked for Friday 17th March. Look out for an email about this event soon so you can get your team together and book a table.

We are always on the lookout for people who are able to offer Matched Giving via their workplace. It can be an amazingly simple way of effectively doubling our money - an employee takes part in a fundraising event and the company match what is raised easy! Do please check if it is something offered by your employer - we recently raised over £400 by this method.

We continue to accept donations of Second Hand School Uniform, particularly blazers, which we aim to sell at school (usually during Parents’ Consultation evenings), not only raising more funds for the school but also providing uniform at extremely good value, and avoiding waste. Last year we raised £150!

There will also be the Midsummer Raffle and Year 7 and 8 disco to look forward to in June, and we appreciate your donations and support.

We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming meetings and if you can help in any way please contact us via email at parentssociety@sirhenryfloyd.co.uk or through the school reception on 01296 424781. We would love to expand our committee and share the pleasures of contributing to our outstanding school.

Pura Vida!

In July 2016 a team of over 40 Sixth Form students embarked on a one month World Challenge expedition that took them over 5000 miles away from home to the exotic countries of Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Team 1 started in Nicaragua and finished in Costa Rica, whereas Teams 2 and 3 did the opposite. It goes without saying that all three teams came back from the expedition with memories that will stay with them for a lifetime. From immersing themselves in wildlife and culture (including getting used to the Central American diet of rice and beans!), to zipping through the trees in a coffee plantation, each team made sure that they squeezed every drop out of a once-ina-lifetime opportunity.

Team 1 had their acclimatisation phase in the colonial Nicaraguan town of Granada, before taking a boat to Ometepe Island (situated in the middle of Lake Nicaragua) where they completed two treks. From here they travelled to the north of Nicaragua, where they were pushed to the limits on their ‘5 Volcanoes in 5 Days’ trek. The team’s project phase was at a primary school which was situated just outside León.

They thoroughly enjoyed being able to transform the school, and it was rewarding to see the children’s smiley faces at the end!

The team headed south, out of Nicaragua, to enjoy the end of their expedition with some well-deserved rest and relaxation in Costa Rica. They sunbathed on beaches, laid back in volcanic hot springs, walked through the idyllic Monteverde cloud forest, and also took part in adrenaline-pumping activities such as volcano-boarding, zip-wiring and white water rafting. On their last day in Costa Rica, the team tried to reduce their carbon footprint by planting trees and flowers in San María. On the way home to the UK, the team accidentally got delayed in New York City and spent the day sightseeing – an unexpected but exciting way to end their trip.”

Oli Mooney, 6W3 summarised Team 3’s experience: “We began in the Costa Rican capital of San José, where the team organised the rest of the trip, before planting trees in San María to cover their carbon footprint and contribute to protecting the wildlife. We went on to visit waterfalls and hot springs in La Fortuna, before crossing the border to Nicaragua via a five-hour trip on the bumpiest road known

to man! Following the crossing, the team trekked on Ometepe Island, with half of the team summiting one of the most difficult volcanoes in the region: Concepción. After moving on to Granada and León for sightseeing and cultural experience, Team 3 completed the ‘5 Volcanos in 5 Days’ trek, and then devoted six days to a project which transformed the school of an isolated community near León. For recreational activities the team paddle-boarded, volcano-boarded, swam in lakes and oceans, and even learned salsa! Interacting with communities and families as well as experiencing a whole new beautiful world was a phenomenal experience, and they will all have fond memories of World Challenge.”

Team 2’s experiences were similar, however their expedition started with a project based at a primary school at Santa Maria da Dota, Costa Rica. Assisting with the completion of a concrete foundation for a sports area and providing one-to one English teaching, were added to by involvement in the school’s celebration of a national holiday. The team’s contribution to the day’s cultural interaction included demonstrating Maypole dancing, reciting nursery rhymes and having baked over a hundred scones, serving an English afternoon tea to everyone present. From volcanoes to coffee tasting, bus rides to tired trekking feet, cloud forest to swimming by a waterfall, it was an expedition to remember.

World Challenge expeditions provide a perfect opportunity to get your first taste for a proper overseas expedition. It might even inspire some to take a gap year after school, rather than rushing off to get a degree or a job. Most universities and employers look not just at your grades, but also what skills and personal attributes you have. World Challenge provides sound and safe ways to develop a wide variety of skills that will be useful no matter what you do in the future.

Many challengers called World Challenge “life changing” because they came home with a completely different outlook on life.

So, what are you waiting for?

By Victoria Bromiley, 6M1

No Time To Sleep This year’s annual Stay-Awake-A-Thon was held on the last Friday in November, and over one hundred Year 7 and 8 students were delivered back at school by their parents, all anxiously clutching their sleeping bags and full of anticipation for the evening. With a team of over 30 sixth formers, 15 staff, weeks of preparation, and our round the clock tuck shop of sweets and fizzy drinks, what could possibly go wrong over the next twelve hours?

The noise level grew as more and more students arrived for the 7.00pm start, greeting their friends enthusiastically after only three hours apart. After a short but important safety briefing, the activities began; all night films, board games, computer games, face painting and nail bars, quizzes, dance offs. The most popular activities were competitive sports, sumo wrestling and Blind Date (which they all found particularly amusing).

The participating students gave a unanimous thumbs up; “We got to bond together more as friends.”

“We were given the opportunity to socialise with new people that we would not normally spend time with.”

“They gave us fizzy drinks all night!!!

“All the food was good.”

“Dodgeball was ‘sick’”

The evening flew by with smiles and laughter all round. The students and staff seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. Mrs. Tye (7A2 form tutor) commented that this year’s event was extremely well organised and the challengers team were very well coordinated.

“We were given complete freedom to do whatever activities we wanted.”

The current total raised- with sponsorship money still pouring in - is £1500, and this bodes well for our upcoming expedition to Borneo. The money raised will go towards helping with our community projects which will involve building some infrastructure in a remote jungle community that is only accessible by small plane. Specifically the money will be used for building a playground and refurbishing classrooms. Our expedition also includes the aim of climbing Mount. Kinabalu and visiting a sun bear and orangutan sanctuary.

The standard response of “it was good” seemed a particular favourite description of the evening.

The event could not have been run without all the staff involved, so another sincere thank you to them for giving up their time.

Issy Parsons, 6H3, on behalf of the Borneo 2017 teams

Dates for your Diary Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School | www.sirhenryfloyd.bucks.sch.uk

January 2017

March 2017

Monday 16th

Parents Society Meeting at 7.30pm

Thursday 19th

Future Chefs Competition at Aylesbury College

Friday 20th

Open Morning at 9.45am

Tuesday 24th

Year 11 Exams Preparation Evening

Wednesday 25th

Years 10 & 11 Art trip to London galleries

Thursday 26th

Year 8 Parents Consultation Evening from 5.00pm

Friday 27th

Year 11 Meningococcal ACWY vaccinations

Tuesday 31st

Years 10, 12 & 13 Graphics visit to Warner Bros Studios World Challenge 2018 Africa Itinerary Meeting from 3.45pm

February 2017

Wednesday 1st – Friday 10th

Year 13 A Level Trial Examination Year 11 l GCSE Final Trial Examinations

Monday 6th

Parents Society Meeting at 7.30pm

Thursday 9th

Open Morning at 9.45am

Friday 10th

World Challenge 2018 South African Themed Evening at 7.00pm

Wednesday 15th

Year 7 Parents Consultation Evening from 5.00pm

Thursday 16th – Friday 17th

Y10 History trip to Berlin

Friday 17th

Parents Society Quiz Night at 7.00pm

Saturday 18th – Sunday 19th

DofE Bronze Programme 2 – Training Expedition

Saturday 25th – Sunday 26th

DofE Silver – Training Expedition

Sunday 26th

Rock Challenge in Milton Keynes

Monday 27th

Junior Maths Challenge

Thursday 30th – Friday 31st

Charity Days

Friday 31st

Mufti Day

Friday 31st – Saturday 8th

Junior Ski Trip to Austria

Wednesday 1st

Year 9 GCSE Options Evening at 7.00pm

Thursday 2nd

Intermediate Maths Challenge

Thursday 2nd – Friday 10th

Year 12 AS Spring Trial Examinations

Friday 3rd

Band Night from 7.00pm until 10.00pm

Tuesday 7th

Open Morning at 9.45am

Friday 10th – Saturday 18th

Senior Ski Trip to Austria

Monday 13th – Friday 17th

HALF TERM

Monday 3rd – Monday 17th April

EASTER HOLIDAY

Saturday 25th – Sunday 26th

DofE Bronze Programme 1 - Training Expedition

Tuesday 18th April

Inset – School closed to students

Year 9 DTP & Meningococcal ACWY vaccinations

Thursday 20th

Year 10 Parents Consultation Evening from 5.00pm

Saturday 22nd – Sunday 23rd

DofE Bronze Programme 1 - Practice Expedition

Monday 24th

Parents Society Meeting at 7.30pm

Tuesday 25th

Open Morning at 9.45am World Challenge Borneo 2017 Parents Update at 6.00pm

Saturday 29th

Rock Challenge Southern Premier Final in Portsmouth

Saturday 29th – Monday 1st May

DofE Silver - Practice Expedition

Tuesday 28th

April 2017

Fundraise While You Shop!

If you are shopping on the internet for wine, furniture, iTunes, gifts or even flights, please take a moment to log onto The Giving Machine at www.thegivingmachine.co.uk. Register yourself and select Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School as your nominated beneficiary. There are hundreds of shopping sites accessible through The Giving Machine including Amazon, M&S, Tesco, Asda, BA, Boden, Next, E-Bay, Argos, John Lewis and many more. The school will earn a percentage of the value of items bought, which varies by retailer at no additional cost to the purchaser.

Think how much we could fundraise without any effort at all if everyone at school logged onto The Giving Machine when shopping on the internet!

Please support your school and log onto

www.thegivingmachine.co.uk

Dates are liable to change. Please see the school website for up to date information www.sirhenryfloyd.bucks.sch.uk

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