Shaftesbury School Autumn Newsletter

@Shaftesbury

AUTUMN 2021

DofE Success Festival of the Future Student Leadership SCHOOLS ACHIEVING SUCCESS TOGETHER

S

SHERBORNE AREA SCHOOLS' TRUST

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Shaftesbury School

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WELCOME It’s been another exciting term here at Shaftesbury School! We have really hit the ground running, which has been wonderful to be a part of as we look to provide excellent opportunities, both educationally and through our extensive extra-curricular programme.

One of the highlights was our Open Evening earlier this term in which we invited prospective students and their parents to the school. What made this evening really special was the fact that so many of our existing students volunteered their time to help out; acting as tour guides and supporting teachers in different subject areas. There was a real buzz of excitement in the school that evening.

Another highlight must have been us hosting the Dorset ‘Festival of the Future’ from our very own Future Classroom. Here we were able to showcase just how forward thinking our school is in embracing the technology and the teaching methods of the future. We were able share with other stakeholders in Dorset the wonderful work we do with our STEAM Ambassadors, the international links we have with students in other countries, such as Ghana as well as the inspirational teaching that happens here on a daily basis.

Shaftesbury School really is looking to the future.

There have been many more highlights too, including Geography trips to Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove, a celebration of Black History Month, the launch of our Student Leadership Programme as well as the return of many sporting fixtures, where Team Shaftesbury have been out and about representing the school.

As we get nearer to Christmas, I am pleased to announce that the preparations for our Covid safe Carol Concert to be held at St Peter’s Church is well underway. I wish you and your families a most healthy and happy holiday period and look forward to welcoming the students back in the New Year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Donna London-Hill, Headteacher

Shaftesbury Youth Town Council We were delighted to have recently launched the Shaftesbury Youth Town Council in school. Collaborating with the local town Council, we held our first meeting in November, in which a group of forward-thinking and progressive students ranging from Year 9-13 came together and discussed matters close to home, including Mampitts Green, St James's Play Area and a local play strategy.

They elected their Chair and Vice Chairperson who presided over the meeting and ensured the agenda was closely followed. Supported by the local Council clerk, their discussions were productive and insightful. The feedback and minutes will go back to the Town Council who will use this to help form their decisions moving forward. The next meeting will be after Christmas, but we are on the lookout for representatives from Year 7 and 8. If you are interested, please email or see Mr Motteram.

Exciting new Student Leadership Programme This term we were excited to launch our brand new Student Leadership Programme to students in Years 7-11.

This exciting new programme aims to provide leadership opportunities to students, facilitates student voice and encourages our lower school students to take a lead role in school improvement.

The new structure comprises of Tutor Captains and Year Captains. These representatives are tasked with forming a Year Council that will be supported by Sixth Form Prefects. Together, each Year Council will meet fortnightly and discuss agenda items and bring forward other student voice business. These discussions are then fed back to the senior leadership staff body to support where possible and for the attention of the Headteacher.

Open Evening On the Wednesday 29th of September we held our first in person open evening in over 18 months for prospective Year 7 pupils and their parents. Over 400 pupils and parents attended the evening, and we also welcomed a few parents of current Year 7 students, keen to visit the school as they were not able to do so last year. The event offered a chance for visitors to explore and discover what we, as a school, have to offer and an opportunity to meet our new headteacher.

Each subject offered a wide range of fun and engaging activities to welcome the students. History had an escape room running that allowed the students to solve the mystery and win some sweets, Science invited students to carry out a dissection and PE was allowing them to have a taste of climbing.

The overall buzz of the event was lively and exciting, with lots of teachers as well as students involved in the activities. We very much look forward to welcoming the students to the school in September 2022!

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STEAM Ghana Project Here at Shaftesbury School, we have recently been in involved in a STEAM project with 12 students from a school in Ghana. We have been discussing topics such as post-humanism, inhabiting mars and reducing carbon emissions, both parties have come up with some fantastic ideas and solutions to many problems. As a school we have decided to bring the 12 students and two teachers over to the UK to stay at the Shaftesbury School Boarding House.

However, we need to fund the trip over to England, so we will have to raise approximately £12,000 to afford the travel and hospitality expenses. During their time here the students will have the opportunity to experience what it is like to live the UK and go to school here, they will also receive the chance to visit places such as Paulton’s Park and Stonehenge.

Our 44 STEAM ambassadors have all been asked to come up with fund raising ideas and individually raise £200 to go towards the trip and these are the ideas that have been brought up so far; school non-uniform day, sponsored walk/run, GoFundMe pages and a sponsored parachute jump.

Festival of the Future During October, Dorset Council ran their Festival of the Future, looking at technology and innovation across different sectors, with Tuesday 5th October being dedicated to education.

The day had two distinct parts - a prerecorded STEAM workshop hosted by Mr More which included local primary school pupils, and an evening event featuring an exciting line-up of guest speakers and topics - hosted at Shaftesbury School's Future Classroom.

If you would like to help, please visit our crowdfunding page https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/ alex-more

Hackathon for Youth: The future of education is now!

Workshop In November, 28 of our STEAM ambassadors took part in a 3-hour workshop led by Sontronics microphones.

After two hours they had created 8 working microphones from scratch, soldering, assembling, and working in teams. All 8 mics worked. By the end of the day, 5 students asked the CEO for a job, 3 asked for work experience and 7 suggested new ideas for products. In a word, they were sensational!

In September Isabela P, Esme J and Henry S of Year 11 took part in a global STEM competition looking at the science behind learning and how we can improve the future of education. The event involved 11 countries across the globe including Sweden, India, Germany and UAE to name a few and our students had fierce competition!

Bella, Esme and Henry were given a range of tasks to research from cognitive science to looking at how the curriculum could be enhanced for the 21st Century. Students researched how we learn, how the brain changes during adolescence and how we can maximise learning based on their findings.

Our students discussed inclusivity, looking at how we can adapt PE to support those with disabilities; they discussed how schools could become more self-sufficient using biofuel waste from the kitchens as an energy resource to reduce our carbon footprint and they looked at how we can

utilise technology further to enhance learning.

Bella, Esme and Henry were fantastic and they worked hard to develop a video to share their findings with other teams. We were delighted to rank in the top 3 schools globally!

The learning on display transcended a single subject, crossing the boundaries of many.

The students below are part of something unique we are shaping at the school and we are looking to build capacity. The world out there wants to work with us. In the last 3 years, we have collaborated with Airbus, Volvo, Team GB, SatComs Innovation, Atlas Elektronik, and Sontronics. In the new year, we will be working directly with Bath University and GF Piping. Our ambassadors have won county and regional STEM competitions and progressed to the National stage. We have teams working across continents and winning hearts and minds in the process. Thank you to Lush Trust for supporting our projects.

The event streamed live across Dorset, and featured live lesson footage of Mr Cooper and our Year 9 students, a segment on how we are partnering with a school in Ghana to deliver joint lessons, and Mr More also shared about the inter-generational WISE project we have been running at school.

It was fantastic that our school featured so heavily in the line-up, showing how we are clearly leading the way in thinking about how education is delivered, both now and in the future.

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Year 7 English Mrs. Burfitt’s Year 7 English class are studying a play text retelling Homer’s Odyssey, one of the greatest stories in European literature, and learning about the history of the English Language and how it has been influenced by other countries, resulting in the language we use today.

They have particularly enjoyed creating an extra scene for the play and designing scenery and costumes for the characters. They excelled at creating perils which could easily be encountered by Odysseus on his hazardous voyage through a world populated by gods, goddesses, witches and monsters. The whole class have made an excellent start in their English lessons at Shaftesbury School. Well done!

Year 11 Drama

Student shout-out!

Congratulations to the Year 11 GCSE Drama students who completed their exam devised performances last week. Students have to create their own pieces, based on a stimulus, and have to write, direct and perform in the final piece. It can be quite a stressful time as students attend rehearsals, adjust scripts they’ve written, organise their lighting, sound, set and costume choices etc but as always drama students pull together, and this year group was no exception. They performed to an audience of Year 10s students, who thoroughly enjoyed each piece. The Year 10’s also gained valuable insights as to how they will direct and create their own pieces later in the year. Here’s looking forward to the next set of performances and fingers crossed we’ll be able to have audiences of family and friends able to visit to watch them.

Library Update Charity Book Sale for UNICEF On Friday October 1st we held a second hand book sale to raise money for UNICEF. This was organised and run by our Sixth Form Prefect team – mostly Mollie, Daisy and Rosie. They raised £53.85 with just one day of book selling so we hope to repeat the book sale again soon and aim to raise even more money for charity. UNICEF was chosen as they have a project currently to help children in Afghanistan affected by the Taliban takeover. Well done everyone who purchased a book or two and thank you to our wonderful Prefect team.

Massive congratulations to the following students for their performances in Shaftesbury Arts Centre’s Bugsy Malone this October: Olivia W, James J, Katy M, Harry W, Natasha M, Daisy B, Arabella A, Charley W, and Martha D. Miss Lacey, Mr Gardiner and Miss Karai thoroughly enjoyed the performance and it was great to see students representing the school so positively. Well done!

Bookbuzz for Year 7: We are participating this year in the BookTrust’s Bookbuzz scheme, which means that every student in Year 7 will receive a free book from the library as a welcome to Shaftesbury School.

Students have been choosing their books this month (November) and hopefully they will arrive in time for World Book Day at the start of March. Bookbuzz is run by BookTrust, the UK’s largest children’s reading charity that transforms lives by getting children and families reading. Each year BookTrust reaches 3.9 million children across the UK with books, resources and support to help deliver a love of reading. To find out more about BookTrust visit www.booktrust.org.uk. We hope that Bookbuzz will encourage students to read more frequently, which will help improve their wellbeing, spark interesting conversations and inspire creativity.

Upcoming author events: Several Year 7 groups are going to be taking part in a creative writing workshop on Monday 22nd November with award winning author, Bali Rai. These will be virtual visits, as Bali lives in Leicestershire, but we hope that everyone will enjoy some focused writing time and learn some new skills from an expert writer. Some of Bali’s published titles include Rani and Sukh, The Angel Collector, City of Ghosts, Killing Honour and most recently a new series ‘Voices’ which portrays the lives of otherwise forgotten people from periods of history such as young Private Fazal Khan who left his home in India to join the war effort in the Second World War. In March we have organised for Chris Vick (author of Girl, Boy, Sea and other titles) to run two more creative writing workshops with students from Years 8 and 9 as part of their library lessons. Look out for more information about these nearer the time.

AR Stars: There have been lots of Accelerated Reader quizzes taken so far this term and these students (names below) have already achieved their personal targets for the term. I wonder how high a score they can achieve by the end of term? Keep up the good reading and quizzing work. You have earned your place at the end of term AR Reward Party.

We will be spending a lesson in the library in the last week of term and taking part in some fun Christmas themed activities with treats as part of your reward. Great work!

James W, Lexie B-D, Aleah D, Harvey Q, Lukas S, Molly H, Freddie D, Christopher D, Amelia D-B, Lucas B, Sam T, Ryan M, Blythe S, and Sofia MC.

Rainbow Alliance Rainbow Alliance is the schools LGBTQIA+ group that’s been running for over 5 years. It’s a chance for all students to meet to discuss topics surrounding LGBT+ issues in school.

The group runs two sessions once a week; Tuesday KSG3 lunch and Friday KSG4 lunch; run by Miss Karai and Mr Cooper respectively. Giving students across school the opportunity to attend.

The sessions give students a safe space to be open and honest with their ideas, but also the opportunity to talk about personal experiences in and out of school. Rainbow Alliance aims to make all students feel as included and safe as possible in school, but also to address areas of improvement.

However, if students can’t make it to meetings, have further questions or simply don’t want to attend they can email rainbow@shaftesburyschool.co.uk.

Currently, the group is working towards the removal of gendered language, and having gender natural toilets within school. The group felt that, while there are many areas in school that need to be improved, these were current issues they wanted to focus on. Additionally, they’re putting together plans for LGBT+ history month, which takes place in February.

By Ellie N, Year 13 student and one of the chairpersons of Rainbow Alliance.

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DofE

Tree Planting We at Shaftesbury School were excited to receive 420 trees and hedging plants from the Woodland Trust this November. We have decided to plant across the main green space in between the two school buildings and on the playing fields overlooking Melbury Hill.

We are delighted to share that our six Duke of Edinburgh students in Year 13 were all successful in completing their Silver Award two-day expedition in October. Students set off from the Gryphon School and proceeded to explore the local Dorset and Somerset area, completing a tough 19 miles over the first day. They had to navigate their way without technology, making use of their map-reading skills and keeping their spirits and motivation going (not always easy!).

Students spent the evening camping in Marston Magna, before setting off on the second day towards King Stag and back to

Sherborne - this involved a more challenging route covering over 22 miles.

Students were also involved in a project during the expedition – to pick up litter along the way, analysing the impact it was having on the countryside as they made their way along the route. Students arrived back in Sherborne thoroughly exhausted, but spoke highly of their experience and all felt a huge sense of accomplishment and perseverance. Their top tip to any budding DofE student – make sure you have worn in your walking boots beforehand!

Mr Motteram, Assistant Headteacher, commented on how proud he was of their personal endeavours to complete this, but also the camaraderie and teamwork shown.

He was particularly impressed that when spirits were low, the students had the ability to lift each other up and use humour and kindness to motivate the group. They have been an absolute credit to the Sixth Form and Shaftesbury School.

Planting trees could not be a more important issue right now, with COP 26 having taken place in Glasgow, highlighting just how critical climate change is to the planet. Every action taken towards becoming a more sustainable planet will support us in becoming carbon neutral. As well as this, creating hedgerows and green spaces will improve biodiversity by encouraging wildlife and insects to flourish within our area. They will also provide shade for students during lunchtimes and at Sports Day. We hope that the hedgerows created will provide protection and privacy from the road.

Tree planting is fantastic for mental health and wellbeing. The physical act of planting a tree, touching soil and being outside can have a profound effect on our mental health, as well as the effects of seeing green spaces, being amongst trees and the ancient Japanese act of ‘forest bathing’.

Geography Residential 2021

Year 8 Coasts trip

Year 12 Geographers set off on Monday 28th June for Slapton FSC. The trip gave us the chance to trial many interesting fieldwork techniques. On the first day we completed infiltration and soil density experiments, storm simulation plots and we measured interception using rain gauges. Day 2 was in Plymouth for our urban studies, where we investigated the character of a main shopping centre, Frankfurt Gate with more independent shops and the entertainment area of the Barbican. We completed environmental quality assessments, index of decay, noise and smell surveys and a perception analysis to name but a few techniques. In the evening we analysed data using geospatial mapping. Day 3 was spent on the beach collecting pebble data, beach profiles and then it was back to the soil lab to sort the lithology of the beach. We considered the impacts of tourism and coastal management along Slapton Sands, and finished the day with ice cream!

Year 8 enjoyed two days of sunshine on the south coast of Dorset this term.

All of this was in preparation for the students to decide their main investigation focus, that they diligently planned for on Wednesday evening before going back to one of the three locations and collecting some extremely high-quality data for their coursework.

Although we all worked extremely hard there was time most evenings for an evening stroll and then a few card games before bed. It was great to see the students being able to socialise as well as develop their geographical understanding.

Here’s what one of them said: “We went to Durdle Door and Lulworth Cove to look at how erosional processes shape and form the coastline. Before going, we established all the risks associated with the trip so we could stay safe. Whilst we were there, we studied the geology of the rocks and saw for ourselves how less resistant rock is much more easily eroded than more resistant rock and that’s why we get differences in the coastline. We had a big hike up the coast to get to Durdle Door, which was difficult at times but the view was so worth it! We ate our lunch on the beach whilst looking at the beautiful natural arch.

We saw caves, arches, stacks and stumps.

Overall, the day was super fun and we learnt a lot!”

These sapling trees will be planted primarily by our Year 7and 13 cohorts as part of a legacy project, with the intention that our Year 7s will nurture their trees throughout their schooling, before passing onto the next generation of Year 7s when they are due to leave. Students will be given assemblies on the importance of trees, and taken out of lessons to plant their tree. Students in SPACE and those in other year groups will also be offered the chance to be part of the planting programme.

Finally a ‘Tree Club’ will also be assembled, and students can volunteer to help to look after the trees during their primitive years.

We are grateful to all our staff, student and parent/carer volunteers for providing advice, information, tools and their time. It has been and will be invaluable to getting the project going, and we look forward to reaping the benefits of this project for years to come.

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Physics Challenge

Year11 Prom Planning is underway for the Year 11 prom next summer. The Prom Committee is busy fundraising to ensure ticket prices can be kept to a minimum so as many students as possible can attend. Future plans to raise money include cake sales, non-school uniform day and (if teachers are onboard) ‘soak the teachers’ and ‘I’m a teacher get me out of here’.

We are also looking for support from parents/carers and the local community. Could you sponsor the balloon arch? The DJ? The prom cake? The security? Could you do the photos for the event? Could you donate fairy lights, props for the photos? If you can help in any way please feel free to make contact with Mrs Stuart on 01747 857690.

Shaftesbury A-level Physicists left the school site on Wednesday 10th November full of hope and anxiety as they headed to Exeter to compete against other schools in a day packed full of challenges. It all started with an estimation round. The students had to answer a series of questions. The twist was there was no exact answer. The students had to use their collective common sense and understanding of the world around them to try and get an answer that could be correct. Points were awarded for the processes shown by the students. How long would it take to move Mt Everest 1km to the East using a workforce of 1 million?

Then came the practical round, the students were given trays of an odd assortment of bits, including string, springs and plasticine. Using this equipment they had to think up experiments and collect results to work out the value of gravitational field strength ‘g’ on Earth and the stiffness

(spring constant) of the spring. After considering the task as a group the Teams did an excellent job of using prior knowledge and problem-solving skills to complete the tasks in time. Although the value of ‘g’ calculated from one team would have crushed us!

The final round arrived with the delivery of the Hard Questions. And yes, they were extremely difficult pushing our students to the limit. With it all to play for the Teams shared the questions out only asking each other for advice when needed. Then it was over! Work handed in and the wait for the results begin.

We were delighted to find out that we came in second place, from over 20 schools – a fantastic achievement! It was a great day and all the students worked tirelessly and all should be congratulated.

Food Tech This October the Food Department got involved with the Abbey Primary school with their cooking fortnight. We made Minestrone soup with Year 1, which they all loved, Year 5 came up to see us, which was great because due to Covid restrictions they have not been able to come up for their usual taster days.

The Year 5 students cooked fajitas as they have been learning about Mexico, and they were amazing chefs in the making! Each student wrote a wonderful letter of thanks, and they all seem very excited about joining us in the future in Year 7. It was also great to have five of our Year 13 hospitality students working as mentors on the day ensuring that the Year 5 had all the support they needed.

SPACE At the start of the year, Shaftesbury School unveiled its new alternative provision called SPACE (Specialist Provision for Alternative Curriculum Experiences).

SPACE helps our students bridge the transition from Primary to Secondary School, Key stages, and academic years. Students identified as needing this provision are given access to a safe space and/or personalised interventions delivered by Senior Learning Support Mentors (LSMs), or time in the SPACE Class to work on literacy, numeracy, and social skills.

This term the SPACE Class have learnt how to cook delicious meals and treats such as cottage pie and brownies, investigated murders through role play and problem-solving tasks, created Greek mythological creatures, made Greek vases and much, much more.

We will have a display board outside the Department with their letters and pictures of their time in the kitchen. The Department is now gearing up for Christmas baking so very soon the school corridors will be full of the smells of the festive season.

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Shaftesbury School

Shaftesbury Sixth Form Applications are Open!

We are really pleased to invite Year 11 students to apply for a place at Shaftesbury Sixth Form for a September 2022 start. All Year 11 students have now had a one-to-one careers and advice meeting with a member of staff and discussions about their next steps have taken place. Year 11 students were also given a series of careers assemblies, covering Sixth Form, Apprenticeships and College. We also spent a large amount of time demonstrating to them our extensive progression package www.unifrog.org, which we openly encourage parents to engage with.

Time has also been spent extensively updating the Sixth Form website with all relevant and important information – including helpful video guides on applying, choosing subjects/pathways and more. The website address is https://shaftesburyschool.co.uk/sixth-form/ and students can apply for a place now.

We are pleased to offer two pathways for students: our Pre-Sixth Programme for students achieving Grades 3 or below, and our Level 3 Programme (A Levels and Level 3 BTECs) for students achieving Grades 4 or above. Both offer excellent support and progression routes, with students moving on to university, apprenticeships, further education and the world of work.

The application form is live and students can apply as soon as they feel ready. We fully recommend every student applying (the online process is not time intensive) and students do not need to commit to a place until later next year. The deadline for applications is Friday 14th January 2022, but we will still accept late applications after this date. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact the Sixth Form Office at sixthformoffice@shaftesburyschool.co.uk and we will be on hand to help.

6th Form The last day of the autumn term – Thursday 16th December – is traditionally Shaftesbury School Sixth Form’s Raising and Giving (RAG) Day, when students and staff come into school in fancy dress and raise money for charity.

This year, the charities chosen by the Sixth Form are Dorset Mind and The British Heart Foundation, and activities will include a nonuniform day for all students, cake sales, a raffle, candy cane sales and an afternoon performance shown in tutor time as well as Sixth Form students going out-and-about in Shaftesbury to raise money in the local community.

We hope to raise as much money as possible and look forward to a day of fun and fundraising!

Shoebox Appeal We know that everyone loves to receive a present at Christmas, but for many vulnerable children and families in Southeast Europe, Christmas serves as a reminder of their isolation and poverty.

Shaftesbury School are hoping to spread a little joy this Christmas to these individuals and have been supporting the FSCI’s (Foundation for Social Change and Inclusion) Christmas box appeal. We hope that by doing so, we can help to spread joy to as many people as possible.

In late November, the Shaftesbury community rallied to produce and wrap 30 boxes full of Christmas joy that were donated and will be delivered to those who need it most in Eastern Europe. We hope it brings goodwill over the festive period and send our peace and love to those receiving a box.

A huge well done to the students of Shaftesbury School, their tutors, staff and the Sixth Form Prefects for their efforts with the Shoebox Appeal - not to mention parents for their part in the contribution!

News

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from the Boarding House

by Craig Knowles, Head of Boarding When the doors opened in September, we excitedly welcomed many new faces to the Barton Hill House family. We welcomed our first ever boarder from India, as well as students from Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Hong Kong, and Spain just to name a few. We are very proud of our multi-cultural society in boarding, which adds so much value to our school and local community. This year we are also offering flexi boarding (where students can stay a few nights per week) and day boarding where students from school can come to the boarding house after school to join in the activities, complete any schoolwork with staff support, and have dinner, before going home at 7pm.

If you in Da are intere y, st Board Weekly or ed touch ing please Flexi Head with Craig get in of Bo ardin Knowles, g via Cra shafte ig.Knowle email: s@ sbury schoo l.co.u k

We refurbished large parts of the boarding house over the summer – including investing in lovely new sofas which were chosen by the boarders. We have painted all the main block bedrooms with a pebble grey feature wall. The dining room has been transformed, as we’ve brought the outside in with a woodland vinyl wallpaper and indoor plants. The Sixth Form has a new 70” wall mounted TV and a decorative mirrored clock.

Art Here is a selection of work that has been completed in the Art Department this term! We are very proud of the students that have created some beautiful work. If you would like to keep up to date with new pieces, then please look at our Instagram page @Shaftesbury_school_art

Design Technology

Our activities programme is now back in action following our summer break, and the limitations of the pandemic. Boarders now hit the gym Mondays and Wednesdays and we have added multi sports with Dan, swimming, and Dodgeball which has been an instant favourite. Students have also been enjoying FIFA 22, table tennis and the pool table. We have also been out and about with exciting visits across the country! The whole boarding house had a start of term trip to Bournemouth, our Shaftesbury School, Salisbury Road, Shaftesbury SP7 8ER • 01747 854498 • shaftesburyschool.co.uk

closest beach with some great shops too! I personally enjoyed playing crazy golf and having lunch by the sea. We have also visited Covent Garden in London, which was very popular with students.

Over the next few weeks we are looking forward to go-karting, ice-skating and our traditional Christmas Dinner with games!

It has been a busy term in DT! Year 8 students have been using 2D Design and the laser cutter to create crazy glasses with amazing results! In Art, Design and Technology Club, students have been designing imaginative 3D clock faces, and have been in the woodwork classroom transforming their 2D designs, first into cardboard and now making their wooden pieces. We hope to have these creative clocks painted and decorated in time for Christmas.