King Arthur's Newsletter Autumn 2022

Welcome

Welcome to the King Arthur’s newsletter for 2022. It’s already been an exciting and action-packed term, starting with our biggest intake for well over a decade. In September, we were absolutely thrilled to welcome 120 year 7 students through our doors to join our King Arthur’s family. It has been a pleasure to support them as they have settled into secondary school life and find out about all the ways to challenge them to be their best!

September is always full of mixed emotions for a school. We said our farewells to our former year 11 students back in August and wished them well as they launched into their post 16 courses. We bid them off for one final time at the end of November when we had a chance to celebrate their awesome exam success. Our evening of celebration was a joy, and it was delightful to hear how our former student’s next steps are progressing. They certainly made us all feel very proud of their achievements.

Whilst it was with great sadness that we mourned the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, it was so touching to come together as a community and pay our respects together at such a momentous time. Our students wrote in our shared book of condolence and a small group of students joined with our two Wincanton Primary schools to lay flowers at the Memorial Hall, where a short service was led by Alison Wray, our local vicar. As a school, we also marked the two minutes silence with students from the uniformed services wearing their uniform with pride.

One of the highlights of the term has been how our students have embraced the ASPIRE programme of enrichment. So many students are benefitting from the wide range of activities that develop the four pillars: Future goals, leadership, developing excellence, intellectual curiosity. This term there have been several successful sports fixtures – go various KA teams! We were also proudly represented by our hockey stars when they visited Millfield School for a hockey development day. Year 8 visited Exeter University to watch a performance of Noughts and Crosses, which they are currently studying as part of their English curriculum, and Year 9 visited the Big Pit in Wales. Each week, we welcome students to join us for any number of exciting clubs and activities. Please do check the ASPIRE opportunities as published on the website. What seems like a long time ago now, we had yet another bumper open evening. We welcomed students from our local community across years 5 and 6 to our open event, which was run by students and staff, all keen to show off our wonderful school.

As we gear up for the Christmas break, we are very proud and pleased to have once again supported the Wincanton Town council community Christmas party. We played hosts, served the dinner, and provided the entertainment for nearly 100 people. This was such a great opportunity for us to be part of the whole community and for our students to mix with the generations that have come before them, many with great tales of their time as students studying at King Arthur’s.

Do enjoy this edition of our newsletter and have a wonderful Christmas break, when it arrives.

Mrs. Jen Jacklin

The Queen

ATTENDANCE NEWS

Attendance at King Arthurs remains above the national average this term. Last half term, we were delighted to reward more than 150 students who had 100% attendance with a breaktime donut. As we enter the winter months, now is the time to put together a self-care kit with tissues, throat sweets etc to help your young people cope with their sniffles. They can carry one over the counter tablet such as paracetamol (younger students often favour Calpol Fast Melts) to take as needed, but if they require regular, or prescription medication, please hand these to reception with a medication form.

100 Club

Massive congratulations to the following students for being part of the 100 Club for Autumn Term 1 (their 100 score was 100):

Year 7: Harry B, Kiah F, August G, Emilia H, Adi K, John Mark M, Miriam S, Dylan W

Year 8: William A, Adriana J, Holly-Louise P-W

Year 9: Benjamin H

Year 10: Hollie B, Hope C, Amelia E, Eden F, Jibby S, Emilia S

As per our reports information, the new 100 score is an easier numerical way for our students to track their progress throughout the year. The new score combines their attendance, achievement points, behaviour points, attitude towards learning and home learning, each of the sections carry up to 20 points each. The better the 5 strands, the closer they will be to 100 as a score.

We will be using the new score as a rewards scale and every student has a chance of being part of the 100 Club as this is calculated every half term. After the first half term, our best 100 scores were rewarded by taking part in the non-school uniform day.

At the end of the year, students who have managed to be part of the 100 Club every half term will have an exciting surprise reward!

King Arthur’s staff and students remembered the Queen during tutor time. The photos on display in school were taken by Mr Munns, our ICT teacher, when he met her in Bruton, and the Crown was made by Adriana as part of our Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June. A small group of students also went to lay flowers at the Memorial Hall in Wincanton alongside students from the town’s two primary school schools with a short service led by Revd Alison Wray.

REMEMBRANCE

As part of Remembrance Day all students took part in making a 6-foot poppy which was displayed alongside those created by Wincanton Primary school and Our Lady’s Primary School in Wincanton. This was led by the students of military children and every student in the school made a poppy and were asked to write a message if they wished. It was then then constructed with the help of Mr Chapple.

Students in year 7 and 8 who had organised this then went to see their creation in the church. As part of our usual Remembrance Day, students took two minutes to reflect in the playground with a poem read by our Heads of School, Amy and Jess. On Sunday 13th we took part in the Remembrance Parade through Wincanton High Street and the service at St Peter and St Paul’s Church. King Arthur’s students were well represented whether that be with the school, Guides, Scouts, Fire Cadets, Town Band and Cadets. We are very proud of all the students and the services they belong to outside of school.

Year 11 Presentation Evening

In November we invited our Year 11 students back to celebrate all their successes from the summer exam results. This was the first time in two years we had been able to hold it in person and we were delighted to hear all that they had been up to since leaving us. Awards were given in each subject for students’ achievements, as well as some overall winners.

• The Courage and Achievement Award donated by Cole’s Yard - Harvey Lane

• Wincanton Town Council Award for Best Academic Progress - Ella Bowman

• Yeovil College Award for Best Male Academic Performance 2021-22 - Ben Morris

• Yeovil College Award for Best Female Academic Performance 2021-22 - Ella Bowman

• Strode Award for Contribution to School Life - Libby Young

• Dave Dwyer Award- Top Male Sports Performer - Josh Bishop

• Tracey White Award- Top Female Sports Performer - Isla Laughton

We are delighted with all students’ achievements and look forward to hearing of their success in the future.

Christmas Charity Boxes

This year as we prepare for Christmas we felt it important to reflect and spread some Christmas cheer elsewhere. As usual we took part in the Christmas shoe box appeal to be sent to children across the world less fortunate than ourselves.

Teaching and Learning –Working in Partnership

At KA we are always striving to ensure we provide the very best education and opportunities for our students, both in and out of the classroom. It is therefore crucial that we share the very best practice amongst our teachers and across SAST. We have been working together to provide excellent training and development for our staff, and with our colleagues in other schools.

Teaching and Learning (T+L) Team

This year we have welcomed Mrs. Angove, Mr. Elloway and Ms. Jessup to the Teaching and Learning Team. Working alongside Mrs. Mason, these talented teachers are popping into lessons, looking in student books and of course talking to students about their learning experiences. They are also spotting all the best teaching ideas being used by our staff and sharing them across the team so we can all continually improve our practice and try new teaching ideas.

Engaging in the latest research and delivering staff INSET sessions, our T+L team are a fantastic addition to the drive to make teaching and learning at KA outstanding.

Flourishing Visit

In October, KA welcomed the SAST School Improvement Team in for a Teaching and Learning review. They talked to staff and students, visited lots of lessons and gave feedback on how they feel the school is doing. Students spoke incredibly positively to our visitors about how friendly and inclusive KA is, and how safe they feel. The team were very complimentary about the relationships between staff and students and how well the school vision is embraced by all. In lessons they saw Ready, Respectful, Responsive embedded in everything we do; they saw consistency in the teaching and learning expectations in lessons and spoke to students about the pieces of work they were most proud of.

Subject Deep Dives

In a similar fashion to Ofsted, KA is conducting Subject Deep Dives each month to evaluate the T+L in different areas around the school. Having visited English, Science, Humanities and Maths so far, it has been a pleasure to hear the passion and enthusiasm of staff about the curriculum they are delivering to students. During these deep dives, student voice is at the heart of our investigations, and it has been wonderful to hear our students talk about their lessons and their learning so positively. Students loved telling us about their practical science lessons, whilst in English they couldn’t wait to show us their creative writing and explain how the feedback they were given helped them improve it even further.

SAST Staff training sessions

Also new this year is a series of staff training events for all teachers in SAST. This exciting development is giving staff at KA access to some of the top educationalists and published writers in the education world. Their insight and expertise into teaching and learning will undoubtedly be invaluable in helping our staff create even more exciting and challenging lessons.

TEDx Youth Event

Year 9 students from King Arthur’s joined other passionate youngsters from across the Trust at Shaftesbury school’s TEDx Youth event this month. KA students were invited to listen to a range of these inspiring and motivational speeches from young people, just like them. As SAST seeks to provide opportunities to develop strong oracy skills and encourage student voice, this event was the perfect opportunity for students to highlight the issues that are important to them, raise important questions and inspire other students to stand up for what they believe in.

Topics ranged from body dysmorphia to the university admissions process and its limitations and flaws. A unique take on humanism and the effects of our relationship with technology raised some fascinating questions and the event’s youngest speaker challenged us all to stop waiting for ‘one day’ to make the changes in our lives that will change the world.

Though we were audience members this time round, we are looking forward to entering some of our own KA speakers at next year’s event. Watch this space…!

YOUTH PARLIAMENT

‘I was delighted to find out that I had been selected as a Member of Youth Parliament for Somerset, this November, after nearly a year with Somerset Youth Parliament in the Advisory Group. Already, I have been able to partake in events with individuals from across the county and see just how diverse the community is. We research, discuss, and connect with schools and organisations to help make Somerset a better place for Young People. There are 3 Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs) who represent Somerset, and they each run a campaign focusing on a cause of their choice. Having gained inspiration from meeting so many varied faces, I decided that I wanted to run my campaign on the subject of ‘diversity and respect’, so I look forward to seeing how I can make an impact on schools and the wider community, to ensure that our differences are celebrated and accepted. As a MYP, there are a lot of privileges that comes with it, my favourite being the annual meeting at the House of Commons, taking place in 2023. Here, all the MYPs from across the UK come together to decide on a national cause and I will be fortunate enough to sit within the room where this takes place – like a true MP. I’m proud to be able to put KA on a more national level and to also play a key part in ensuring that Young People’s voices are heard. I hope that in this role I can try and make sustainable change and alter how we view diversity, especially in our words and attitudes.’

YEAR 9 ART & DESIGN TRIP TO SOMERSET RURAL LIFE MUSEUM

A group of Year 9 pupils from King Arthur’s School enjoyed a fantastic opportunity by experiencing a masterclass with professional artist Jacky Oliver. Jacky has created a largescale kinetic sculpture for Somerset Rural Life Museum’s 14th-century Abbey Barn. The sculpture draws inspiration from research undertaken at the museum which looks at the different ways horses have been central to Somerset’s rural heritage. There is also an exhibition featuring a rich display of paintings, photographs, museum objects and oral

histories to tell the story of how horses helped shape the rural landscape of the county.

All the pupils took part ‘Making your Mark’ – a letter stamping workshop using pewter. The pupils stamped text using letter punches. They then cut the metal pieces by hand, using a jeweller’s piercing saw or tinsnips. The pupils really enjoyed the experience and benefitted from working with a professional artist.

House Competitions

This term has been busy with house competitions. After our newly elected house captains took post we started with the staff and student tug of war competition; it was well supported with many staff getting involved by pulling on the rope with the house captains. Loudest cheers were heard for Mr Grace and his dramatic appearance as he ran in to help his house Galahad.

Thanks to Miss Whiting who organised a bake-off competition in conjunction with Modern Foreign Languages week. There were some great entries and plenty of cake tasting as well as judgements made on the creativity and presentation of the cakes on display. The best entries went to:

Mental Health and Anti-bullying

The Pastoral team have worked alongside our Prefect team to run wellbeing events for staff and students to take part in. This term these have included ‘Send a Smile ��’ linked to World Mental Health Day in October and ‘Odd Socks and Make a Palm Tree’ linked to anti-bullying week in November. Students loved wearing their odd socks and receiving positive messages from their peers. We would like to say a massive thank you to our Prefects for their commitment and creativity.

English Department

Our exciting autumn term continues with Year 7 reading the classic adventure novel Lord of the Flies, which many of our parents remember from their time at school! Year 8 continue to study Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses after many pupils went to see the live production in Exeter. To Kill a Mockingbird is our Year 9 autumn term text, a novel profoundly relevant in the light of some of the challenges the world currently faces. Keep your eye out for future events and extra-curricular opportunities in English including Book Club, Creative Writing Club and more fantastic trips.

On Friday 18th November, house captains organised fund raising activities in the school hall for Children in Need. The activities were well supported by students and we were able to raise £44.58 during the 30 minute lunch break.

Up and coming house competitions include our annual end of term talent show “KA’s Got Talent” and the Christmas Card competition which has been organised by Mrs Gorrick from the Art Department.

Noughts and Crosses Trip

On 5th October we took fifty Year 8 students to the Northcott Theatre in Exeter to see a fantastic production of Noughts and Crosses, adapted from the book by Malorie Blackman. The performance brought to life the dystopian love story that the pupils are currently reading in class. The play was staged by a group of extremely talented Exeter University students and our pupils loved the experience of being in the theatre to see such a well-acted and produced performance. On the way home, we even held a Noughts and Crosses quiz!

Computing

Year 7 students have been working on their understanding of computer systems with a taste of making their own websites. Students have been building an understanding of the media and how it works by creating their own headlines. They are being taught the importance of trustworthy sources of information and how to spot fake news. Students have now started the journey through SCRATCH and the basics of programming. They will visit keywords and develop their understanding of the fundamentals of IT.

Year 8 students have been working with the program ‘INKSCAPE’ where they have been creating vector graphics with the program. Vector & Raster Graphics underlie the creative industry, and their usage is a key element in the production of graphics we use in everyday life. Year 8 students have also started programming in Python, a high-level language that is used in websites, games and underlies a significant part of the computer industry. It will mirror the

concepts in SCRATCH and enable the key components of computer strategy to be taken forward.

In Year 9 we been developing their understanding of raster images, commonly known as photographs! Their pathway has taken them through the origins of bitmap images and the development of the modernday digital image. On the way they have been taught the concept of resolution and the make-up of colour depth.

Year 10 students started a new OCR course in Imedia. This is the first year of the redesigned OCR course. The simplified and up to date structure will aid students to find work in the creative industries. It will offer an industry focussed set of non-examined units (RO94/RO93) to perfect their course work and an exam unit (RO93) which they will sit in 2024. The students are currently studying elements of the media industry (RO93) before moving onto the first coursework section (RO94).

Year 11 are working hard on their final year, developing their understanding of graphics and producing an album cover for their NEA brief. This has been interspersed with study for the final PPE for the exam unit (RO81) before the final exam next year.

Women In STEM

Three of our most able female mathematicians joined the new Women in STEM programme run by Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge University and St Anne’s College, Oxford University. Over this half-term they have joined webinars aimed at helping students understand the process of applying for the top universities and helping them understand which A-levels will support them for following a future in Mathematics, Physics, Biology and Chemistry. The students involved all enjoyed them; they found them useful and informative and would recommend them to other students considering a future in the STEM subjects. The students involved particularly enjoyed hearing from current university students and graduates about their experiences.

King Arthur’s pupils’ art displayed in The Octagon Theatre

Children in Need

This year for Children in Need we allowed the house captains to run a lunchtime of activities. This included cup stacking, velcro darts, keepy-uppys and ‘Crossy Road’. All games were organised and led by the students and all cost 10p to enter to ensure everyone could take part. This was our first charity fundraiser of the year and was totally student-led for such a worthy cause.

Asha Project

We were very fortunate to welcome Nigel Rees, SAST’s Chair of Trustees, and Freddy from The Asha Project, to share with our students the work the charity does for young people across India. The students were in awe of the differences between the systems in India and the UK, and went away feeling very grateful for the free education and opportunities they have here. The ASHA Project has been working with another SAST school, The Gryphon, for a number of years and will now work with King Arthur’s too. Miss Andrews will be welcoming Freddy from the ASHA Project to shadow her for a day so they too can see these differences and explore how we can work together.

A fantastic opportunity has arisen where four pieces of artwork from three KA students have been selected to be displayed over Christmas in the gallery at the Octagon Theatre, Yeovil. This is a great compliment to the pupils and the work produced at King Arthur’s School. The work will be displayed in the exhibition that will run from 5th December 2022 to 22nd January 2023 coinciding with the annual pantomime and the theatre’s busiest time of the year. This is a great opportunity to celebrate young talent in Somerset and how talented these pupils are!

Careers

Our Careers education at King Arthur’s goes from strength to strength. This term Years 9 and 10 went to a county careers fair at Westlands. Students were able to speak to a range of employers both locally and nationally and different post-16 providers. Year 11 spent the day at Strode College looking at the post-16 options the college has available. This is part of the programme to ensure they can make informed choices about post-16, and see the range of options available to them. Year 11 have had guest assemblies from colleges, sixth forms and independent apprenticeship providers to ensure they are able to make the right choice. Year 11 also had a talk from Thales on apprenticeships with the international company, as well as taking part in the assessment centre tasks they may have to sit. We are currently supporting Year 10 students to organise their work experience placements for the summer term. If you are a local employer and feel you may be able to support with any aspect of the careers provision whether that be through offering work experience placements or talking to students regarding your career please do get in touch with Philippa Huggins, Head of Careers Philippa.Huggins@kingarthurs.org.uk.

Humanities

In Humanities we have had the exciting opportunity to get back out in the field with our students with our first department trip running to the Big Pit Live Museum. Our Year 9 cohort were taken underground to truly feel the experience of those who, in the Victorian era, were taken to mines across the country to extract the “black gold” from within the walls of the tunnels. Led by ex-miners, students were taken down into the mine shaft and led around the different sectors of the mine, strapping on their miners’ helmets, being plunged into darkness at points, empathising with the horses that once lived in the stables, as well as learning how the mining industry developed in the 1950s, 60s, and 80s. With the return of trips, more and more of these opportunities will arise, and give our students a real flavour of how their learning in class can be seen in the real world.

Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award Practice

On the 12th of November, 17 students took their first steps on The Duke of Edinburgh journey, joining the teams from The Gryphon School for the first time. With many students having only a basic knowledge of map skills, our aim was to get on the ground and allow everyone the opportunity to get a true grasp of map orientation, symbols, compass work, and tick features, skills essential for a successful long-distance walk. Lead by

three experienced mountain and moorland leaders, the students made their way across the fields around Sherborne, Corton Denham and Oborne, squishing and sliding through mud and meeting the local wildlife in the process. Though some travelled further than others, it was a valuable experience for all both in terms of their map reading skills but also how to work as a team and support each other when things got tough. The sunshine matched the mood

of the children, singing songs, laughing and joking, and attempting to convince staff that Lewis Hamilton is the greatest F1 driver of all time (the debate still rages on with this one). These students will now be able to use this experience in their work throughout the winter months, eventually working towards their assessment time in the new year.

P.E.

SPORTS CLUBS

With two new PE staff joining King Arthur’s School this year, the number of students at sports clubs has rapidly increased. Miss Vowles and Miss Cornish started in September and have inspired even more students to participate in extra-curricular clubs. The Badminton Club with Miss Cornish has gone from strength to strength with a range of school years attending. As an ex-county player Miss Cornish can motivate and inspire all standards. Similarly, Miss Vowles has welcomed many new faces to the Girls Football Club at lunch times. The hockey season has now started, and Mr Elloway and Miss Vowles have both taken fixtures in these first few weeks back. The Year 9 girls’ squad has been resilient in defending their home pitch status, only losing one game so far by a single goal. Finally, Mr Hayes has been liaising with local rugby club Castle Cary to source additional coaches for the rugby enthusiasts at school. This school club link has developed really well, and the numbers attending after school rugby have grown so quickly there are now two coaches required! Year 7 have had their first match, narrowly losing by one try to Sturminster Newton.

YEAR 7 BOYS RUGBY

The Year 7 boys got their first real taste of competitive rugby at North Dorset Rugby Football Club when they competed on Friday 14th October. The boys got off to a great start winning their first match against Shaftesbury School with tries from Blake F and Jacek P. We played two further matches, first against the stronger team from Gillingham School and finally against the overall victors from Sexeys School. Jacek was identified as the player of the tournament, which we were delighted to discover during the presentation at the end of the evening.

The Year 7 and Year 9 boys will compete in a further tournament at Castle Cary Rugby Football club in the inaugural club organised by Jack Barnett. Jack has been incredibly supportive in helping to run coaching sessions at King Arthur’s each Tuesday after school.

YEAR 7 HOCKEY

Hockey has flourished again at KA with some great results this year in all teams. Notably the Year 7s who have enjoyed almost an unbeaten run to the area finals.

On 22nd November, in collaboration with Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (SASP) and Millfield School, students attended a Hockey Development Day at Millfield School in Street. This was a development day, to give our team an opportunity to receive some coaching from Millfield players, and to play at some of the best hockey facilities in the Southwest. The girls played 8 games and won 7 scoring 18 goals.

Players Mabel and Miriam said:“This term our year 7 girls have put together a brilliant team. We have progressed well over the matches. So far, we have played Sexeys, Bucklers Mead and Gryphon. We have got better each game. Losing 2-1, then winning 4-0. Then in our last match we won 7-0! We have a great group, we work well as a team all swapping positions, including who is in goal! We have been practising on a Wednesday and Thursday with Miss Vowles and Mr Elloway.

Zak is the ACU British Youth Grasstrack Champion!

Zak says “I rode in the ACU British Youth Grasstrack Championship in July held in Cheshire. It’s our biggest meeting of the year and my first time in the intermediate class in this event. It was a small technical track which played to my advantage. The boys who are currently the top runners struggled as they prefer big sweeping tracks or they suffered bad luck. We all had five

PE TRIP

In November two classes of Year 10 BTEC Sport students visited Bath University for the day. The day looked at concepts of their course; specifically, fitness testing, leisure provision in a large public facility and elite sport.

Students participated in fitness testing using advanced technology such as light gates, to measure speed, and machines to gauge back and leg strength. On the carousel of activities KA students also had a tour of the incredible facilities by current undergraduate students.

In the £30 million world-class sporting facilities students saw the 50m swimming pool, elite triathletes, tennis players and rowers training with specialist coaches. The Sports Training Village had both indoor and outdoor facilities to accommodate more than 50 sports, including a bobsleigh track.

Some students even had the chance to undertake elite fitness testing with lead Sports Scientist Jonathan Robinson. Under his guidance, Ben M and others were pushed to their limits doing cardiovascular fitness tests. Ben even had his oxygen and carbon dioxide levels measured as he was pushed to the extreme on a treadmill. Blood samples were taken to measure lactic acid and assess his VO2 max. The same test had been used in the last few months to assess the fitness of a referee heading out to the World Cup. Ben scored a fitness level akin to that of a professional footballer!

The day ended with a lecture on the key elements of fitness in sport and coach education taken with elite athletes. The KA students were complimented by the lead scientist on their excellent behaviour and attitude to the day. The students took away key elements to help with their understanding of the BTEC course they have started this year in Year 10. Finally, the students walked shoulder to shoulder with Jason Gardiner (Athens Olympic Gold Medal sprint relay winner) as he casually walked past them!

rides and you score points in each leg. It was extremely close going into my last ride, and I had to beat Hayden to win as we were tied on points. He was on my back wheel for the last lap pushing me hard but I won and became champion! It’s been a dream of mine to win a title since I started racing age 6”.