Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School
Floyd Footnotes www.sirhenryfloyd.bucks.sch.uk Issue 22 | January 2016
Face
In December a sixty strong cast and crew of students ranging from Year 7 to Year 13 took to the stage at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School to perform Benjamin Zephaniah and Richard Colon’s ‘Face’. ‘Face’ is a Brechtian play the GCSE Drama students are studying in readiness for their exam and has a strong social message about succeeding through adversity and prejudice. The main character Martin is a 16 year old student who has everything sorted in life, until he is involved in an horrific car crash which changes his life forever. The play is about how he deals with the changes, both inside and out and asks us, the audience, to question how we deal with people who look different and how many of us really believe the phrase ‘beauty’s only skin deep’.
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forthcoming biography. These roles combined were the backbone of the play and without their commitment (and line learning) the piece would not have been as successful a performance.
The students quickly committed to their roles and brought props, costumes and ideas into rehearsals to enhance their part. Many older students from Year 11 and the Sixth Form worked as Assistant Directors, working on sections independently with actors and taking directorial decisions, with great results. A small but incredibly talented and hard working group of Year 9’s led by Connor McGwyre created fantastic dances to enhance the dance related theme of the show. The three ‘Martins’ - Chris Travers, Callum Ryan and Jack Buchanan - really appreciated the different ages and characters of Martin and were able to show through their understanding of the epic style how the main character was prior to the accident, during the first days after the event and years later, looking back. Princess Oheugbe and Lily Bailey were key journalist/storytellers and embraced their parts whole heartedly, watching the story from start to finish, jotting notes for their
Brooke Moon, Mel Sibley, Lara Smith, Dylan Shellard, Dane Yalung and Jacob Twelftree brought energy and strong characters to the performance enhancing the storytelling led by the three Martins and the journalists. Brooke took the ‘mean girl’ attitude to new lengths, and Dane was incredibly good at gauging how to react to Martin’s antics on stage. Jacob was totally endearing as the sensible and cautious Matthew and Mel, Lara and Dylan added years to themselves playing the adult characters with insight and subtlety. The chorus were huge and in many ways the hardest working of all the roles in the play. They were vital in creating the atmosphere and environment for many scenes and in performance worked as an ensemble with focus and precision, supporting the plot lines development intrinsically. They represented the society in which Martin lived and often gave, almost like a Greek chorus, the public viewpoint about situations Martin was experiencing. Special mention to Emily McGill, Tayte Moon, Poppy Jackson, Josh Norman, Joe Churchill, Zoe Kerr, Matthew Moore, Alistair Razak and Luis Moore for particularly excellent contributions. Niamh Merrison, Ebun Osubu, Sophie Ambrose, Jasmine Womersley de Zaulda,
Dance Department News What’s been happening in the dance department, I hear you ask? Well, we are full steam ahead with Rock Challenge this year. The theme is “Jonestown” based on an American cult; rehearsals have begun every Monday and Thursday with sections being choreographed by our own Sixth Form students. The tech team have been working hard and we are beginning to see the shape of our main set for this year which is a plane! GCSE and A-level dancers recently had a workshop with a member of the Motion House Dance Company. This was put in place by the Dance department to aid us with our group performance, giving us specific movements we can replicate. In the workshop we learnt how to use others as a support, and when taking part in contact or lifts they should be through a process of equal weight taking and counter balancing – essentially anyone can lift anyone (do not try this at home!). We then learnt some of the Motion House repertoire and were asked to adapt and develop the learnt motif. I think all the students would agree with me, when I say how much of an exciting day we had and we were challenged to improve our
skills in order to develop our choreography. Thank you also to Aylesbury Performing Arts Centre who came in and ran a very successful commercial taster session. In further news Brightlights, which is a dance company run by Mrs Burnitt for the Years 7 and 8, have recently auditioned for their piece based on the “Hunger Games”. Congratulations to Sophie Bicknell in 7H who received the lead role - we look forward to seeing the performance soon. Tap Squad run by Joe Davies also auditioned in September and is being successfully run every Thursday, developing exciting new routines. Extra-curricular clubs include Lower School Dance Club for all students in Years 7 and 8 on Tuesdays, Contemporary Dance Club for Year 9 upwards and Street Dance Club (all years welcome) both run on a Friday. Please do come along! All the extra-curricular clubs will perform in the dance showcases in March, with dates to be confirmed. We look forward to the Rock Challenge Abbie Foy 6H3
Christopher O Keefe and Jamie Howley were brilliant in small but key parts. They developed unique characters, in some cases more than one and brought vibrancy and understanding to the characters they were playing. Off stage the technical crew worked hard to create the urban environment the play needed (and the amphitheatre structured tiers needed to house the cast on more than one occasion). They also managed to bring a car into the theatre (a first I believe for the school) and on show nights were as passionate as any professional that the show would go well. Special mention must go to Mrs Kiazeck and Mr Cole for their consistent organisation and planning of costume, set building and prop sourcing but the stars backstage were clearly Ross, Verity, Connor and Jordan who I have no doubt made sure as Queen famously put it ‘The show must go on’. By the time the final night’s performance came and went we wanted to carry on for another week but hopefully those involved have now got ‘the bug’ and will look forward to auditioning for next year’s exciting musical. I can assure you, it’s going to be great. Pippa Bell, Teacher of Drama
Headteacher’s Update End of last term
Building plans
We finished last term with two major productions that are written up elsewhere in this publication. Mrs Bell’s first production for us “Face” received very good reviews from our very discerning audiences! Our Christmas Celebration was a beautiful and spiritual celebration of the Christmas story and of our own community values. It felt more than just a school concert. Mr Cole’s lighting in the church was very effective – as was his snow machine that gave a very wintery feel to the end of term for those who were queuing for buses!
Over recent months we have been working with the Local Authority on plans to increase the capacity of our buildings. There are two drivers for this building project. One is the increasing popularity of our school and the other is the population growth in Aylesbury. (There are already 150 more students in the school than there were five years ago.) We have two different streams of funding that we can apply for and are confident that by September 2018 at the latest we will have the builders on site.
Staffing changes At the end of last term we said “goodbye” to three members of staff. Mr Souris left us to work in a school in East London. He has been covering Ms Trimborn’s maternity leave for the past year and has done a good job for us. We will miss his cheerfulness and his linguistic competence – he was a Greek teaching German in an English school! We also gave Mrs Hanham a formal farewell even though she left us a few weeks before the end of term. She is now the Principal at Mandeville School, just down the road. We were happy to release her from her contract early because our neighbours needed to get a permanent Principal in place as soon as possible. In fact they had an Ofsted inspection the day after Mrs Hanham arrived! Many students and staff are very grateful for the work that Mrs Hanham has done over her eleven years at our school. Her commitment to getting the best for our students and her support and care for staff have been as good as it gets. Mrs Page has begun her retirement. She has worked with us for thirteen years. Throughout that time she has led our German department very effectively - and has done so much more. She has been a World Challenge leader and has run ski trips and organised a regular exchange with a German school. Mrs Page has been one of those characters who make a school a richer place to be in simply by being themselves! We have welcomed Ms Dixon as our new subject leader for German.
Fairer Funding for schools The Chancellor in his autumn statement last November promised to revise the way that money is allocated to schools. At the moment schools in different areas of the country are funded very differently. If our school were in Slough for instance we would have about a million pounds more to spend on educating our students than we currently receive. Last year there were only twenty three secondary schools in the whole country that were given less money per student than us. Buckinghamshire grammar schools take up most of the places at the bottom end of the funding table. Several are even worse off than we are. We are very much hoping that this inequity will be addressed as quickly as the Chancellor hopes. However there will inevitably be a transition process to soften the effect for those parts of the country who have their funding reduced. It will probably take several years before this “Fairer Funding” initiative does finally produce a scheme that is really “fair”. In the meantime we will continue to do all we can to make sure that our funds are used as effectively as possible.
School structures – more politics In recent months the government has been very explicit about its ambition to ensure that every school converts to become an academy by 2020. There has been some loose language about taking schools away from “local authority control” (the reality is that local authorities have had their powers taken away by successive governments for a long time now) but a very clear intention expressed by the government, establishing a definite direction of travel. At the same time as making this ambitious commitment the government has also realised that it cannot deal directly with over 20,000 schools. It plans to deal with this by encouraging academies to join together into organisations called “Multi Academy Trusts” that will behave like small local authorities. The government would communicate with the Muliti Academy Trust as its basic unit of communication, funding and accountability. The academies in the MAT would be expected to share their strengths, support each other and generate extra efficiencies by working together. There are very few MAT’s operating in Buckinghamshire bit they are beginning to appear. Our own governors and senior staff are watching developments carefully and are thinking through the best way to respond to this initiative. When we became a standalone academy four and a half years ago we did not do so for any political reason. We simply judged that our students would be best served by our conversion. The government’s funding levers made it clear that our students would miss out if we did not take the opportunity to “academise”. We are sensing that the government is beginning to create levers of influence (including funding) to encourage academies to join into Multi Academy Trusts. We are adopting the same approach as we did five years ago – scanning the political horizon to see which model is in the long term interests of children at the school. Stephen Box Headteacher
It has been a mixed start to the year for the boys football teams with Sir Henry Floyd performing exceptionally well in the league and faltering in the cup competitions. Years 7, 8 and 11 have all enjoyed an unbeaten start to their league season, conjuring wins against The Grange and John Colet, and so putting the school teams in a comfortable position going into the new year. Unfortunately, tough draws have led to the elimination of all but one team in the County Cup.
Football
Our Year 8 football team buoyed by the addition of George Western in goal and Joe Churchill in midfield remain Sir Henry Floyd’s only hope for county domination this year. The Floyd boys eased through their round one match against Lord Grey winning 8-1. This was a match where debutant Joe Churchill found himself among the scorers and picking up man of the match award. Round two presented more of a challenge against a well drilled and physical Cottesloe team, where vital goals from JJ Turner and Thomas Kingswell ground out a 2-1 victory. The boys are now training hard for the quarter-finals against Chalfonts in the new year.
The 2015 Rugby World Cup has led to a huge increase in participation in rugby at Sir Henry Floyd. With up to 35 students training for a spot in the Year 7 team healthy competition for places has caused many a selection headache for myself and Mr Roberts. So far they have an 100% record for the 2015-16 season, recording hard fought wins against Royal Latin and Sir Thomas Fremantle with both score lines at 20-10. They also produced a perfect performance against Cottesloe, winning 62-0. The team are looking forward to the new term when they will take on Cheney school.
Rugby
The Year 9 team have continued where they left off in Year 8, bagging 4 wins in their opening 4 matches. The season opened with a classic against Royal Latin where the Floyd came from behind in the dying moments to win 21-17, with Yousuf Chaudhry scoring the decisive try with the last play. Since then the Year 9 team have moved into fifth gear with big wins winning against Sir Thomas Fremantle, 68-0 and Cottesloe, 50-7. Most recently they ground out a tough 24-0 win against Akeley Wood in atrocious conditions, demonstrating impressive maturity and outstanding skill. James Burge, Teacher of PE
GIVING BACK With good hearts, open minds and a will to assist others in less fortunate circumstances our students have raised money or provided items for a number of good causes this term. A bake sale in October raised £600 for MacMillan Cancer Support. The shoe box appeal for the Aflan Foundation produced a huge range of contributions from all year groups as noted in the adjacent article. Additionally, Save the Rhino International benefitted from £425 raised, and Hearing Dogs for the Deaf gained £120, both the result of student efforts. During the final weeks of term gifts were brought into school and placed under the five house Christmas trees in the reception
area – the Chari-Trees. The charities selected by the five houses this year were Aylesbury Women’s Aid, Florries, Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital, Mix 96 Toy appeal, and The Food Bank. All the charities were grateful for the contributions made. Our final effort was on the last day of term where students and staff arrived in their own clothes, with some looking particularly festive. Conscious of the fact that during the festive season many thousands of young people are in desperate situations not of their own making, the donations on the day totalling £1,605 were donated to Save the Children – specifically the Child Refugee Crisis Appeal. Ian Bryant, Assistant Head
A Shoe In Once again we needed to get into ‘Christmas mode’ rather early this year; in October the Sixth Form Charities committee launched the Christmas Shoe Box campaign for the Aflan Foundation. Each tutor group was challenged to fill at least one empty shoe box with gifts suitable for children in Ghana; over 107 boxes were donated! Not only did our students take time to contribute, but there were thoughtful messages, personal Christmas cards and generous gifts. There were so many presents to wrap that a team of volunteers stayed after school on a
Friday and even came in during October half term to complete the task. To see young people from almost every year group giving up their time was amazing! Mrs Hanson was so impressed by all their efforts: from Zahra, the only Year 7 pupil who came along (she also donated 2 large boxes full of items) to those that stayed to the end (Josh, Nick, Scarlett, James D, Jasmine, Sam, Jodie and Karina). All of our students worked really hard and very well together. That was all back in October; since then the parcels have been shipped to Ghana. Finally in the last week of term we had the news from the Alfan Foundation that we had been waiting for - see the information to the right. Fantastic effort everyone! You’ve made a difference at Christmas. Thank you to tutors and their tutees for their generosity and the team who helped wrap the presents.
“The Floyd shoeboxes along with other items were delivered to our storage place in Accra, Ghana on 4th December. Fortunately Anne was there when they arrived and after a brief visit to the schools and new places to support, we presented the items. We watched over 300 pupils open their gifts. We saw faces of pure happiness as the presents you donated and helped to wrap were given out. For most of these children, these presents will be the only presents they receive this Christmas. The appreciation was shown not only in their faces but in their words of gratitude and in the way they held onto their gifts. All of them say thank you, added God Bless you and wish you a Happy Christmas.”
Taste Sensations as East meets West
This autumn Year 9 had the pleasure of sampling fresh dishes cooked for them by Nita Mistry, owner of ‘Mistry Chef’ and our own in house expert Mrs Lai. The session started with a spice quiz where the students identified different ones, and then Nita explained the health benefits of each. She was impressed with the knowledge of so many students and rewarded them with some delicious potato curry and parathas. Following this a stir fry demonstration from Mrs Lai inspired many students to try cooking with vegetables they had not tried before, and to how to cook using a wok with confidence. As we make our way to the West in the New Year we shall be making tortillas and celebrating Shrove Tuesday using new crepe plates.
Mrs Mistr y
Many thanks go to our guest chef, Nita Mistry - we wish her every success with her new Indian cooking business – and Mrs Lai, for sharing their expertise with us. Amy Malone, Teacher of Food Technology
Tantalising Thai Meal For Two.
• • • • •
Many of the staff and students have been treated to the fragrant aromas of the curries from the Food class room. Opposite is a three step recipe for you to try if you have been tempted:
1. Simply fry the crushed garlic and thinly sliced chicken with the chopped spring onions in the oil for 3-4 minutes. 2. When the chicken has turned white stir in the curry paste and sugar snap peas followed a minute later by the coconut milk and simmer for 15 minutes. 3. Lastly squeeze the lime and pour over the curry adding the torn coriander before serving with cooked jasmine rice.
Healthy lifestyle (or “how to survive at university” as I like to call it) is an enrichment course set up for Year 12 students who want to learn how to cook on a budget and just generally know how to keep healthy when we (finally) have independence. Or if you’re like me, completely incapable of looking after yourself!
This term our first cooking project, when there were about three of us in the class, was pitta breads, a basic and easy bread to make. For some people, anyway.
session for Year 12 where we covered everything from nutrition to how to make a bed. You’d be surprised at how many people didn’t know how to do that.
As our class slowly got bigger (people finally heard about how amazing Mrs Malone is) our projects got harder and we ended up making macaroni cheese just last week, and surprisingly I didn’t break or burn anything. Other things we’ve done are a trip to Morrison’s to see how to buy on a budget and a LIFE
All in all, Healthy Lifestyle is a fun option to take if you really feel like you would benefit from it - like I know I and many others have. At least I can now survive on pitta bread and macaroni cheese for the rest of my life...
1 x 10ml spoon oil 6 spring onions 1 clove of garlic 125g sugar snap peas 2 small chicken breasts
• • • • •
2 x 15ml Thai green curry paste 200ml coconut milk (reduced fat) 1/2 lime Small bunch of coriander 150-200g jasmine rice
Emilia Moll, 6A2
EXPLORING THE BATTLEFIELDS France
During July, as part of Enrichment Week, nearly all of Year 9 waited excitedly for coaches to arrive and take us across the Channel. Nothing could dampen our high spirits, not even the drizzly rain we stood in. After a six hour coach journey we arrived in France, and soon set off on our tour. The first stop we made was in Ypres, Belgium, at the Bayernwald German trench system. We were allowed to roam around in these trenches, and explored the little hide out spaces in them. The tour guides told us about the different trench lines: the front line, the support line, and the reserve line. We learnt that there were soldiers on all three lines, and that they rotated their positions every week, so that everyone had a turn on the frontline. They told us that the British frontline would have only been a couple hundred yards away. Gazing out into the distance, it was hard to imagine the serene green hills in front of us once having been a place of war and destruction. After our breakfast the next morning at our hotel in Lille (France), we set off in our coaches back to Belgium. We learnt a lot about the Battle of the Somme, and visited
some of its battlefields. We went to the Sunken Lane, Newfoundland Park, Ulster Tower, Thiepval Memorial, Connaught Cemetery, and Lochnager Crater. The Lochnager Crater was caused by explosives that had been planted via tunnels under a hill. The debris created was massive - some of the pieces being as big as houses. After dinner, we went to Langemarch German Military Cemetery. This was different to all the Commonwealth cemeteries we had been to, as this German cemetery had metal crosses instead of headstones, and there weren’t flowers planted beside each grave, making the space seem much more sombre. After this we went back to the hotel, exhausted after a busy day! The following day we went to the Passchandale museum, where we were allowed to explore various exhibits. We saw model trenches, showing us where the soldiers would have slept, and we saw various artefacts from the time, including the soldiers’ uniforms and tins of the food they had eaten in the trenches. It was really fascinating to see the things that we had learnt about in class, and learning how they applied to the daily lives of soldiers during the war. We then went onto Brandhoek New Military Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery, where Ms Cochrane had a relative buried - Private James Greer of the Royal Irish Fusiliers. He died on the 4th
August 1917, at the young age of 21. After Ms Cochrane had paid her respects to her relative, we all went to the Poperinghe New Military Cemetery, where we learnt of the harsh way soldiers could be punished. A trip to the Menin Gate in Ypres followed, where there are the names of 54,896 missing soldiers inscribed on the memorial. Being in Ypres provided some time to go chocolate shopping and to then continue exploring the memorial, with some students looking for names of their family members. After dinner we went to Tyne Cot, where 11,954 Commonwealth soldiers are buried, making it the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world. Whilst there, we all stood and had a minute of silence and laid a wreath on behalf of our school to commemorate the soldiers. On the last day, we checked out of the hotel and set off for Belgium again. We were allowed to explore the streets for a couple of hours and had a fantastic time wandering around with our friends. The afternoon saw us board the coaches and begin our journey back home. We all had a great time on this informative, eye opening trip and I’d like to thank all the members of staff that gave up their time to make this experience possible. Ann Koleth, 10M
Autumn Concert The Autumn Concert this year brought in a huge audience and was a great success. From Mozart to Metheny, jazz to Baroque (and even an amazing guitar performance of ‘Over The Rainbow’ by Scott Caldwell-Nicholls that brought back some memories!) students from across all seven year groups put their talents on display, demonstrating a wide variety of musical styles, interests and composers. On top of Scott’s excellent piece, the concert also featured solo performances from Sam Riley, Laura Moisey-Gray, Joe Davies, Liam Gesoff and Reese Manglicmot, all of whom stunned the audience with their guitar, vocal and piano prowess. The choirs were out in full force as per usual, with the beautiful harmonies from the Floyd Acabellas and Macapella, Senior Choir, Lower School Choir and Dolce Canto being highlights of the evening for many. As if all that wasn’t enough, the performances by other student-led ensembles truly demonstrated the countless strengths the music department (and the whole school!) possesses, including the friendships forged between students young and old, the determination and ability to work together, and the absolute passion for everything they do. These stunning pieces wouldn’t have been possible, however, without the incredible talents and expertise of Mr Forshaw and Miss Bahra – thank you so much! A big thank you also goes to all of the teachers from Aylesbury Music Centre, Miss Ksiazek, all of the Performing Arts and other staff helpers for their involvement, as well as Abbie Foy and Mrs Bowles for their photos. If you didn’t get a chance to hear the musical brilliance this time round, keep your eyes open for details about the next concert… Jess Hopkins, 6A2
So l o Skil ls
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un o S e v i t c e l l o C
Christmas Celebration Held at St Mary’s Church in Aylesbury on the last Wednesday of the autumn term, the school’s traditional Christmas Celebration was once again an evening to remember. Students from Year 7 all the way up to Year 13 contributed their talents to the evening, and the inclusion of staff from across the school as well as many parents in the combined choir really ensured everybody got into the Christmas spirit. Amongst the beautiful traditional pieces and carols performed (including some of Mr Forshaw and Miss Bahra’s favourite pieces, “O Magnum Mysterium” and “In Dulci Jubilo”) were rousing numbers such as Floyd Brass’ “Christmas Special”, and the song from the huge successful Disney film, Frozen, sung by Lower School Choir. Younger male members of the school had the exciting opportunity of joining the Floyd Macapella as ‘Minimac’ – their amazing performance made it easy to see how inspiring older students can be to the lower end of the school. With festive food and drink offered at the end of a wonderful evening to all who attended, everyone headed home in a happy frame of mind. Our thanks must go to Mr Forshaw, Miss Bahra, and the Performing Arts staff, the peripatetic music teachers, Miss Ksiazek, Mr Cole and the tech team for all the hard work put into the concert, Abbie Foy and Mrs Bowles for photography, and of course Mrs Perrett for selecting the readings. Jess Hopkins, 6A2
C hristmas Celeb ration
h c r u h C s ’ y r a M St
An evening to re member. .
The Work of Politics
Work Experience During Enrichment Week at the end of the summer term I was fortunate enough to have been able to secure a two day work experience period with my local Conservative MP and Minister of Europe, David Lidington. Of these two days, one day was spent at the Houses of Parliament. In the morning of this day, I was shown how David and his ‘team’
respond to emails and letters from constituents and was given an insight into the life of a politician. After this I was given an extensive tour of the Houses of Parliament, visited the gallery of the House of Commons and the Minister of Europe’s office, and was able to sit-in on a HS2 select committee. Highlights include seeing the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow and Ed Milliband.
constituency alongside my colleague Kristina Novakovic, which was equally enjoyable. Securing this work experience was relatively straightforward as David and his ‘team’ responded to my email within a few days and I would recommend it to anyone who may be interested in politics. Josh Coulter, 6H2
The second day of work experience consisted of shadowing David in his
Work Shadowing In recent years Members of Parliament have faced a significantly difficult time, this is unsurprising in a country where Parliament is often associated with expenses scandals, sleaze and petty rumours. However, as a young women considering going in the direction of politics one day, it seemed fitting to shadow my local MP, David Lidington, for work experience. After emailing his Constituency Office outlining my reasons and desire to shadow Mr Lidington in the summer, I received a helpful response informing me that I was indeed able to spend some of my work experience with him, despite the fact that he was incredibly busy following the recent general election and fulfilling his role as Minister for Europe. During the time I spent with Mr Lidington, I was lucky enough to observe several vastly different engagements (ranging from
meeting with constituents who had specific issues with the High Speed Rail 2 project, to new business owners who needed advice regarding potential government grants and schemes). There was one consistent factor however, Mr Lidington evidently tried to be accommodating at every meeting, assuring his constituents of his willingness to help, proving therefore that the esteemed ‘constituency link’ is not in fact a thing of the past. Contrary to what the mainstream media would like us all to think, our MP’s are, from what I personally saw, very hard working and dedicated to improving the lives of their constituents where possible. Although Mr Lidington’s commitment to supporting his constituents was undoubtedly admirable, I personally found his ability to act as a jack-of-all-trades somewhat more impressive. Although this may be expected of a two-time winner of University
Challenge, it seems the majority of our MPs do acquire a wealth of knowledge and experience in their time serving our country, which is thankfully rather reassuring. Ultimately I found the opportunity of shadowing David Lidington an invaluable experience, I therefore invited him to our school to participate in a Q&A with students in the sixth form interested in both European and UK politics, in the hope that they too would reap the benefits of talking to an official government minister. Thankfully, Mr Lidington enthusiastically obliged to my invitation and with the help of Mr Forder, Josh, Harry and Maxine the visit was incredibly engaging and successful. Kristina Novakovic 6M3
UNI APPLICANT DIARIES: How Lilly made her Ucas choices
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
Whittling down Ucas choices to just five can be a mammoth task. Lilly take us through her decision process to give you some ideas on what you should be thinking about…
I have just finished my first term at Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School as Assistant Head of Sixth Form. I must admit that I felt rather nervous when I was selected for the role even though I had been working with senior Police Officers for many years, latterly as Head of HR for the City of London Police. My decision to change careers was because I wanted to give something back from all of my life and career experiences.
Choosing is difficult My choice to study at university was a huge one. It’s like, you get told your entire life what to do, how to act, and then suddenly, boom: you’re on your own...
Back-up UCAS options It was then that I realised I also needed some options with lower grade requirements, so I’ve also applied for two universities I haven’t been to and, to be honest, am not that particularly interested in. I am pretty confident that I can work hard to achieve my goals; but I am also aware that things can go wrong, which is why I’ve got at least some kind of back-up. My progress At the moment, I have received one conditional offer and I’m patiently waiting to have interviews and receive more offers!
It was extremely difficult to go from being treated like that to having to act independently. I’m the oldest child so my parents knew absolutely zilch about the whole applying to uni thing.
I am extremely excited and nervous, but totally chilled out at the same time. But I feel that whichever university I go to, I will be happy as I’ll be doing the course I am so passionate about.
Initial decision So I had to do it all myself with a little help from my form tutor, but mostly the tutorial videos on the Ucas website.
Final tips Really analyse which course you want to study. It’s not like A-levels where you have a back-up subject you can rely on if you fail one. You need to really love the subject you’re taking because as clichéd as it sounds, it decides the rest of your life! If you haven’t found that, either keep looking or perhaps university isn’t for you.
I knew I wanted to study social work before I began to look for universities, so I found my five choices relatively quickly. But if you’re anything like me, you will, regardless, spend hours combing through university websites and prospectuses, taking notes at open days, just to be sure. Standout UCAS choices Despite the fact that I am happy with most of my choices, two do stand out: University of Bath and Oxford Brookes University. They immensely impressed me at the open days. Meeting their social work teams in person was such an important experience, and I feel that I wouldn’t have been so enthusiastic about either if I hadn’t gone. Bath was the first university I saw, and when I went I fell immediately in love. Walking through the campus street, I knew it was for me. After seeing two more, I was happy with my choices.
Oxbridge Progress
When choosing universities, choose one above your target grades, three on your target, and one or two below your target grades. My target grades are BBC and I’ve applied to BBB, BBC, BBC, BCC and CCC unis. It’s just a precaution because unfortunately things do go wrong and you might need that back-up. As boring as it sounds and as much as you just want to curl up in your duvet watching Pretty Little Liars with your seventh cup of tea, trust me: it will all be worth it when you’re finally where you want to be... Lily Kenyon, 6W1
This article initially appeared on the Which? University website in December 2015
Everyone at the school is welcoming and helpful, it does not take long until you feel that you belong. A lot of the teaching staff have been at the school for a long time and I can see why they don’t want to move on. The pace at Sir Henry Floyd is frenetic, there is always something going on. Students are given the opportunity to take part in a myriad of clubs/activities/events and this creates a permanent buzz around the school. The school creates confident students who are keen to achieve however, the ethos of respect is also firmly promoted. I have been very impressed by how the school and the Sixth Form runs. There is a passion for learning and teachers will go beyond the extra mile to help their students. Academic achievement is promoted but there is a very caring atmosphere. I think this is why the students thrive. In the Sixth Form students benefit from a team that understand the requirements for success placed on young people today. The level of expertise around the International Baccalaureate, UCAS and Oxbridge is outstanding. I for my part can bring a level of expertise around career advice and the world of work. It has not taken long for me to become very proud of the sixth form. As a group they are well balanced, motivated, respectful and keen. Some will need more assistance than others to fulfil their potential but I think that the Floyd is a wonderful environment and I am pleased that I chose to join this excellent team of students and staff. Caroline Craigie, Assistant Head of Sixth Form
Congratulations to the following students who have been selected for interview by Oxford and Cambridge universities: • Lewis Cole (Natural Sciences), Celia Kessler (Natural Sciences), Kristina Novakovic (History), Maddie Parsons (PPE), Ben Phan (Engineering) and Charlotte Trott (Chemistry).
• Also attending interviews are three students who left in the summer of 2015 and are currently taking gap years: Penny Chamberlain (Law), Emmeline Downie (History of Art) and Eimear Simpson (English and Classics). It is no surprise to us that four of these nine are International Baccalaureate students, showing the value that these top universities place on the IB Diploma course as a preparation for university study. To be called for interview is a huge accolade in itself and we wish them every success. At the time of publication these students will be hearing if they have achieved the next step of receiving an offer. Good luck to all! Kathryn Chapman Assistant Head of Sixth Form
A TERM IN PICTURES‌
ge a P s r M e y Good b Science C l ub
Yr 7 sailing at Caldecotte Mixed Hockey Club
otte c e d l a C t ng a Yr 7 climbi
Inter-House Football
Designing Super Smoothies
W hole school photo
Model United Nations
Cultural Pride Event
Yr 8 g in h c a o C l l a b Yr 10 Net
Sixth Form Fitness
Poetry C om pet
ition
Freshers Fair 11th Nov - Wreath laid in the courtyard.
11th Nov - Sounding the last post Chess Club
It seems crazy that it has now been over six years since my chapter at the Floyd came to an end. I joined in 2007 for Sixth Form, for what turned out to be two of the best years of my life. Whether it was political banter between Mr Peters and our politics class, turning up at the library to find my name graffitied across the Guardian, orchestra rehearsals for the annual school musical, or standing out on the field in gale force winds while Mr Buckley passionately informed us about soil erosion, the Floyd provided me with the best foundations for my adult life. So what have I done in the last 6 years? After the Floyd I was lucky enough to be accepted into Exeter University to study Politics and International Relations. If any of you are interested in a similar course I couldn’t recommend Exeter more. I was studying there when the Arab Spring broke out and it was one of the most exciting and interesting times to be learning about the Middle East. During my 3 years at university, I became President of a society working on social impact for local and global initiatives, I volunteered at a local soup kitchen, I was a support worker for an asylum seeker support service, and I set up a project in Palestine which involved taking fellow students out to the West Bank to volunteer with disadvantaged women and children. Once I graduated I decided to move to the Middle East to continue establishing the project I had set up during university. During this time I had the privilege to get involved with youth rehabilitation projects,
women empowerment initiatives and working at a visual impairment school! After many months of working incredibly hard in often turbulent and challenging circumstances I decided to come home and revisit the drawing board to decide what I should do next with my career. In 2013, I moved to London to start working in Mobile for Development at a trade association called The GSMA. This is a technology programme that focuses efforts on mobile access for disadvantaged communities in the developing world. Sounds like a bit of an oxymoron doesn’t it? Giving poor people mobile phones when they can’t even afford to eat? Well the reality is these communities already have mobile phones but what they lack is the ability to make that mobile more than just a tool for communication. My job has been to research access to mobile and support initiatives that are being created, to help people have better access to health care information, education, agricultural content and much more. This job has taken me to over 25 different countries such as Madagascar, Kenya, Bangladesh, India, Mexico and Ethiopia. I have had the opportunity to meet fascinating and inspiring communities and learn about how technology is changing their lives. As I write this I am in fact approaching my last few weeks at the GSMA. I have decided that after 3 years in London I want to be closer to the communities that I have been researching. This is why I will be moving to Tanzania in January to help launch a technology start up working in social impact.
My time at the Floyd filled me with unbelievable confidence and energy, encouraging me to seize new opportunities wherever and whenever I could find them. Deciding to move to the Floyd for Sixth Form not only meant that I was introduced to a fantastic bunch of intelligent, enthusiastic and friendly peers, but I also had the chance to be taught by some of the best teachers I have ever encountered. To mention a few Mrs Chapman, who relentlessly had faith in my ability and if it wasn’t for her support I wouldn’t be where I am today, Mr Buckley for his passionate and informative geography classes, and for also seeing the funny side of David and I hiding his Christmas tree, and Mr Peters and Mrs Kratt, two of the most patient and fantastic politics teachers, and even though we were probably one of the most opinionated and unruly classes to teach, I will always look back fondly on those classes. I have now become old enough to have friends who are teachers and when they speak about their schools’, it confirms how lucky we all are to have had the opportunity to be taught in a school full of supportive, inspiring and academically gifted people. Take every opportunity the Floyd provides and you will already be well on your way to success in whatever you may choose to do! Hannah Metcalfe, 2009 leaver.
Parents Society Update Happy New Year everyone! We hope 2016 proves to be an excellent year for all students, staff and families at the Floyd. We’ve had a busy fundraising Autumn Term beginning with the Year 7 Family Challenge which raised over £1,000 – a great start to our fundraising for the year. This was followed by the Years 9-11 Paintballing Experience, and the Christmas Fayre and Christmas Raffle which raised £2,250 and £2,000 respectively, taking us to £5,250 raised so far this year. Thank you to everyone who supported these fundraisers, sent in donations and gave up their time to help organise the events themselves. The Year 7 Family Challenge in early October was attended by over 60 families this year - our busiest ever! Highlights of the evening were a light-hearted quiz in the ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ format, with Mr Bryant as Quizmaster for the evening, and Mr Box taking part as Phone a Friend. The event was held together with the annual Dance Challenge, led by the students from 9M2 who also acted as Ask the Audience. The success of the evening was helped along by the excellent meal choices of curry or pizza provided by the catering team. The Christmas Fayre, held on the third Saturday in November, was very well attended with a wide range of student, craft and Parents’ Society stalls including live music where your requests were sung with a piano accompaniment. The indoor barbeque was very popular, and complemented by tasty Indian snacks supplied by Nita Mistry. Our Christmas celebrations also included the Christmas Raffle, with some great prizes donated by parents and friends of the School, was drawn on 11th December and raised £2,000. The draw was made by Millie Pickering of the Raising Achievement Office, together with Duncan Spence, our outgoing Chair of the Society, with the 1st prize of a Christmas Hamper being won by Mrs Marsh, and the 2nd prize of Chocolate & Champagne, donated by the school’s Governors, being won by Hannah Burrow.
Your generous support for this and the Christmas Fayre is really appreciated.
So far this year, we have funded the purchase of iPads for the SEN Department and a subscription to Clickview http://www. clickview.co.uk/ as a video resource for all teaching staff.
Second Hand Uniform: those of you who have attended our school events will have seen that we now have good quality stock of various uniform items available to buy. If you have any particular items in mind or are able to send in quality donations please email us on parentssociety@sirhenryfloyd.co.uk. We have more events planned for the remainder of the year:
iPads for SEN Some of you may be aware that Duncan Spence, who has been the Chair of the Parents’ Society since 2013 has now handed his role onto Peter Parfitt, and Peter has been working alongside Duncan for most of this term, as he takes over the role. The Parents’ Society would like to thank Duncan for all his dedication and commitment to both the Society and to the school, for leading our fundraising efforts, together with extending a warm welcome to Peter.
new Peter Parfitt - our
C hair
Our current aim is to raise £11,000 this year to support a number of projects which are underway throughout the School, and which will benefit all our children. The challenge now is to raise the remaining money before the end of the school year. We have a number of events planned which, with your support, should enable us to reach our target.
lecting the Duncan & Millie se winning tickets!
The Giving Machine: if you are doing any shopping on the internet, please remember to login in via the Giving Machine on www. thegivingmachine.co.uk and make SHFGS your beneficiary. It won’t cost you a penny but you will be raising money for school with every purchase! For more information on how to sign up, please refer to The Giving Machine website – it only takes minutes to register as a user – please join now!
Quiz Night: a fun night for all the family with a supper and bar available. We will communicate the date early in 2016. Encourage friends to come along and make up a table. More details to follow later this term. Midsummer Raffle Draw in June: if anyone is able to help with donations of prizes for this fundraiser we would be most grateful. Year 7 & 8 Disco in June: have fun with all your friends before the end of term. Spring term meetings will be on Monday 18th January and Monday 1st March, 7.30pm at the school – everyone is welcome to attend and it would be great to have more help available to organise the events for the Spring and Summer terms. If you can help in any way please contact us by e-mail: parentssociety@sirhenryfloyd.co.uk or via school reception on 01296 424781.
A Lot of Trekking In early October, three World Challenge teams spent the weekend preparing for their month-long expedition to Costa Rica and Nicaragua, by partaking in a training expedition in Snowdonia. The long weekend in North Wales was spent developing skills such as cooking in the open air, putting up expedition tents, budgeting, and of course trekking. A lot of trekking.
Throughout the weekend, the students honed their teamwork, resilience, and determination. Due to their use of these skills and co-operation, they were rewarded with the sense of accomplishment and stunning views from the summit of Snowdon. The trip formed the beginning of friendships that will last a lifetime.
“I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I was able to wake up at 6.00am in morning after spending the night in a tent, probably accompanied by various insects, and then climb three peaks in that same day without dying from exhaustion.” “One of the highlights was discovering that we were able to make food that was edible and rather enjoyable over the Trangia stoves.” Overall, it was an experience that the students will never forget, and it has equipped them with the skills they need for their summer expedition to Central America. Anna Hekkink, 6M1
The best bit for me was challenging ourselves and becoming closer as a team.
Who would want to stay awake all night on a Friday in November? Why would staff volunteer to come into school instead of putting their feet up at home and then getting a good night’s sleep? The answer of course is to attend the annual Stay-Awake-a-Thon and have fun raising money for next year’s World Challenge expedition to Costa Rica and Nicaragua! It works like this: over a hundred excited Year 7 and 8 students are delivered at 7.00pm on Friday evening by their parents. The sixth formers heading to Costa Rica and Nicaragua next July then entertain them for 12 hours and the parents pick up their bleary-eyed offspring at 7.00am the next morning. The students are sponsored to stay awake all night and the money raised goes into the team funds. And did they have fun? Of course! Activities included… Sumo wrestling, face painting and nail bar, University Challenge, computer games, tuck shop, five-aside football tournament, dodge ball, music quiz, limbo dancing, dance off completion, Blind Date, recycled fashion show, board games, films, food challenges… and of course the Talent Competition!
One team spent five days at a tiny rural school in Kerala. We complain about educational funding in the UK but the primary age children in Haripad had to buy their own exercise books and even bring their own bowl to school every day so they could have a meal. The government budget for the meal was just 5 rupees per child per day (about 5 pence). With their Stay-Awakea-Thon money, the team equipped and renovated the school kitchen and paid local workmen to build new walls – all the teachers now have a supply of exercise books for the next 12 months!
At the time of writing we haven’t quite collected in all the sponsorship money but we are delighted to announce that over £2,000 has been raised. This will provide additional team funds, especially extra money for the project and enable students to really make a difference to the community they will be working with.
The other team spent 6 days in a remote village in the middle of a 200 square mile tiger sanctuary in the state of Tamil Nadu. The team spent their time painting the external walls of school buildings, repainting the kitchen area, creating a new concrete pathway and rebuilding a wall – all jobs requested by the school staff. When they didn’t have a paint brush in hand the team played with children and provided basic English lessons to the younger pupils. Both teams would like to say thank you to all those who supported their Stay-Awakea-Thon in 2014.
Last summer two teams travelled to India.
Sarah Williams, Assistant Headteacher
In mid August twenty three sixth form students walked into the arms of their happy and relieved parents in the arrivals lounge of Heathrow airport! All of them were returning from ‘a trip of a life time’ having spent four weeks on expedition in India. During the expedition the team members had acclimatised to the heat and humidity of India’s monsoon season and became accustomed to the cultural differences in this developing Asian sub-continent nation.
For Team 1, their first challenge was the project at MTLP primary school in the town of Haripad in Kerala; they worked closely with the Headteacher to bring about improvements to the building, working alongside local builders. The team also used money they had generated in the UK (Stay-Awake-a-Thon and Indian themed evening) to buy much needed resources to better equip the school.
The final leg of the four weeks away was a visit to the Taj Mahal - it really is as amazing as it appears in pictures we had all seen! This was the end of almost two years build-up in which the challengers had been responsible for their own fundraising to meet the costs of the expedition and acquiring essential equipment; this required a degree of perseverance and provided opportunities for money management.
Team 2 spent a week at Germalam School in the remote highlands of Tamil Nadu surrounded by a 200 square mile tiger sanctuary. The project host had worked on a number of small initiatives to support local communities and improve education, healthcare and sustainable income. The team worked closely with him and the Headteacher to bring about improvements to the school buildings. This included external wall painting (plus colourful murals), digging foundations for brick walls and constructing a concrete path and drainage channel. Students in both teams took part in leading the teaching of the primary age children who were very keen to learn English.
At the end of the expedition there were opportunities for reflection. Every single challenger said the experience had made them want to travel again independently, that the whole experience had raised their self-confidence and really opened their eyes to what lies beyond Europe. They said that any student in Year 11 or 12, given the opportunity to participate in this sort of overseas experience, should not hesitate but ‘do it’! Indeed we have nearly fifty students who must have heard this advice and have signed up to go to Borneo in 2017. Their amazing journey will start in earnest in January when they start to plan their itineries; will it be community project or conservation, jungle trekking or climbing Mt Kinabalu (or both), snorkelling or an orang-utan rescue centre (or both)?
For both teams the trekking in the Western Ghats proved to be a physical challenge especially when reaching the highest point, Chatrungapara, at over 1600m, overlooking the state of Tamil Nadu and two days later completing the ascent of the Divine Rock. This expedition also had a significant cultural element including wildlife spotting from a rice barge in the Keralan back waters, exploring the Amber and Agra Forts in the northern state of Rajasthan, interacting with local trek guides, eating unfamiliar and often spicy food.
Finally, a word of thanks to a departing colleague, Sheila Page who was part of the staff team who accompanied the challengers to India. This was her last World Challenge expedition, having completed numerous other expeditions over the last ten plus years. Many students have benefited from her assistance in some of the more remote areas of the planet, and we thank Sheila and wish her well for the future. Sarah Williams, Assistant Headteacher
Dates for your Diary Sir Henry Floyd Grammar School | www.sirhenryfloyd.bucks.sch.uk
January 2016
March 2016
Monday 4th
Inset – School closed to students
Saturday 5th- Sunday 6th
Duke of Edinburgh Silver Training Expedition
Tuesday 5th
International Baccalaureate & A Level Presentation Evening at 7.00pm
Monday 7th – Monday 14th
Year 13 A Level Final Trail Examination
Monday 7th
Parents Society Meeting at 7.00pm
Tuesday 8th
Open Morning for current parents at 9.45am
Thursday 10th & Friday 11th
Year 7 visit to @Bristol Science Museum
Tuesday 15th – Tuesday 22nd
Year 11 Final GCSE Trial Examinations
Wednesday 16th
Year 7 Parents Consultation Evening from 5.00pm
Thursday 17th
Years 9 & 10 Inter-House Rugby & Hockey
Friday 18th
Year 7 Inter-House Rugby & Hockey
Wednesday 23rd – Thursday 24th
Charity Days
Thursday 24th
Mufti Day A Level & Extra-curricular Dance Showcase at 7.00pm
Friday 25th Saturday 2nd April
Junior Ski Trip to Austria
Friday 25th – Friday 8th April
EASTER HOLIDAY
Thursday 7th - Friday 15th
Year 13 International Baccalaureate Trial Examinations
Friday 15th
Open Morning at 9.45am
Monday 18th
Parents Society Meeting at 7.00pm
Thursday 21st
Year 9 Parents Consultation Evening from 5.00pm
Friday 22nd
Performing Arts Inter-House Final
Wednesday 27th
Year 9 DTP Vaccinations
Thursday 28th
Year 8 Parents Consultation Evening from 5.00pm
Friday 29th
Years 10, 12 & 13 Graphics visit to Warner Bros Studios World Challenge 2017 Borneo Itinerary Meeting from 3.45pm
February 2016 Monday 1st – Friday 5th
Global Diversity Week
Tuesday 2nd
Year 11 GCSE Art trip to London galleries
Wednesday 3rd
Year 9 GCSE Options Evening at 7.00pm
Monday 11th
Inset – School closed to students
Thursday 4th
Intermediate Maths Challenge Governors Open Morning
Thursday 14th
Year 9 GCSE Standards Evening at 7.00pm
Friday 15th
Open Morning for Current Parents at 9.45am
Saturday 16th – Sunday 17th
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Preparation Expedition
Thursday 21st
Year 10 Parents Consultation Evening from 5.00pm
Friday 22nd
Parents Society Quiz Night at 7.00pm
Monday 25th
Year 13 International Baccalaureate Study Leave starts Parents Society Meeting at 7.00pm
Thursday 28th
Junior Maths Challenge
Friday 5th
Band Night from 7.00pm until 10.00pm
Tuesday 9th
Open Morning at 9.45am
Friday 12th – Saturday 20th
Senior Ski Trip to Austria
Monday 15th – Friday 19th
HALF TERM
Wednesday 24th
Year 11 Parents Consultation Evening from 5.00pm
Friday 27th
World Challenge 2017 S-E Asia Themed Evening at 7.00pm
Saturday 27th – Sunday 28th
Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Training Expedition
Monday 29th
Rock Challenge performance in Milton Keynes at 7.30pm
Monday 29th – Friday 4th
Year 12 AS Spring Trial Examinations
April 2016
Dates are liable to change. Please see the school website for up to date information www.sirhenryfloyd.bucks.sch.uk
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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