Gryphon School News Summer 2015

Jane Norman - Blackmore Vale Magazine

Summer 2015

Positive Street Art Project A mural depicting the history of Sherborne has gone on display in the town. The 18 panel painting on the wooden fence in the Old Market Car Park was officially gifted to the people of Sherborne last month. The mural, which was designed by our Head

of Art and Photography, Mike Fenton-Wilkinson, and street artist, Peter Sheridan, has taken nearly two years to produce. Local historian, Katherine Barker, provided a wealth of factual information and the mural was painted by the community (some as young

as two) through a series of workshops organised by ArtsLink. Lizzie Kingsbury, from The Gryphon School and ArtsLink’s Jennie Loader, have been instrumental in bringing this exciting project to life. Do go along and see it, it’s fabulous.

Sports Awards The Gryphon School once again honoured its sporting stars at its annual Sports Awards Evening.

Students and staff were joined by Donna Creighton, a member of the British Skeleton Team. Miss Creighton presented the prizes and gave an inspirational talk. Students from all Year Groups were honoured for their achievements both on and off the field. There were awards for all sports from football, rugby, netball and athletics to dance, equestrian, karate and skiing. Students were also recognised for their leadership qualities and for being Sports Leaders.

Chef Scholarship

for Gryphon Student A Year 11 pupil, Tom Goodall, has secured a Specialised Chef Scholarship at Bournemouth and Poole College. This is a prestigious three year Advanced Apprenticeship which offers the opportunity to train in all aspects of professional cookery to the highest level. The Scholarship is arranged by the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and is managed by The Bournemouth and Poole College. Students are sponsored by individual hotels and restaurants where they work during their training including Claridges, The Ritz, The Dorchester and Chewton Glen. Because of the high profile of this course the competition for places is fierce and with only a 30 student intake Tom has done incredibly well to be offered a place. Tom has been attending the Junior Chefs Academy at the college and achieved second place in their ‘Masterchef’ style final with his Chocolate Fondant dessert. He works at the Rose and Crown in Trent, where ex-Gryphon pupil Marcus Wilcox is Head Chef. Tom has been an enthusiastic and dedicated Catering pupil at the Gryphon.

We are delighted that his commitment has paid off.

Sally Baxter – Design and Technology

Lauryn Neal in Year 11 and John Ireland in Year 13 were named as the Senior Sports Personalities of the Year and Chloe Perham and Oliver Hebbard in Year 9, were the Junior Sports Personalities of the Year. Chris South, our Director of Sport, said, ‘We are very proud of all our young sporting talents. It was a wonderful evening and a marvellous way to celebrate their achievements.’

Miss Creighton spoke about her career. She encouraged the students to ‘never leave a sport with regrets, ensure you have given that sport everything.’ She went on to tell them, ‘It might not happen straight away, or on the 2nd, 3rd or even 4th attempt, but with hard work, focus and determination success can happen, never give up on your dreams’.

Gryphon Arts Festival The Gryphon School held its first ever Arts Festival this term. We showcased the creative talents of our students over three evenings in early July. Parents and students were able to visit the Art & Design Exhibition, see Drama and Dance performances and attend Music events, including ensemble and solo performances and a performance from our Big Band.

The Drama Department’s GCSE and A level students performed some of their exam pieces and KS3 drama students’ put on a production of ‘Our Teacher’s a Troll’ by Dennis Kelly. Visitors were also able to hear music students’ exam compositions as well as seeing the many live performances.

Yarn Bombed!

Students came into school one day this term to find they had been yarn bombed. When the school Knitting Club had an abundance of donated wool and old knitting projects given to them, the members knew just what to do with it – create an up-cycled patchwork blanket, packed with different colours, textures and fibres. Where best to put it for everyone to see? Of course, on a tree in one of the busiest parts of the school! The yarn bombing was inspired by some Year 8 fabric construction homework and the Knitting Club staff members took about a month to each knit squares and rectangles which they stitched together to fit the measurements of the birch tree in the School’s first quad. The surprise, which also included a decorated rubbish bin, certainly brightened the place up and put a smile on everyone’s face as well as allowing students to explore textiles outside of the classroom.

Jenny Salmon – Head of Textiles

www.gryphon.dorset.sch.uk

iGryphon Mobile App Out Now! iGryphon, the official mobile app of The Gryphon School has been released and is available for students now. Once downloaded, students can log in using their normal school details and access a range of vital information. The app allows students to read notices posted by their

Mindful Matters A recent article in Time magazine looked at why some people are able to ‘bounce back’ from traumatic events more easily than others.

It noted that some people have better resilience to stressful events than others and that Mindfulness meditation can help to build that ability to cope. It has been used in the US Marines where it was found that personnel who had taken a Mindfulness meditation course had less emotional reactivity to mock ambush situations and were able to recover more rapidly than those who did not. A group of championship BMX riders were also taught Mindfulness. They performed much better at the next major competition, taking gold, silver and bronze whereas in a previous equivalent competition they had not been placed at all.

As well as behaving with better stress resilience they also reported feeling less anxious. At The Gryphon we have been doing work with our students, helping them develop coping strategies for stressful situations such as exams (but hopefully never ambush situations). As awareness of Mindfulness grows it is good to know that what we are working on here at The Gryphon has not gone unnoticed. The Mindfulness in Schools Project (MiSP) asked if the School could host a Mindfulness Awareness morning.

Representatives of more than 20 schools in the area came to see how we implement Mindfulness here. Members of staff and students described their experience of Mindfulness and how it has helped them in front of the assembled guests. MiSP is the main organisation in this country for promoting mindfulness in schools and its founder, Richard Burnett, can often be found on TV or the radio explaining his work.

Salters’ Festival of Chemistry Four of our Year 8 students spent a day at the University of Bath Chemistry Department taking part in the annual Salters’ Chemistry Festival. The students, Rachel Munn, Will Oswald, Frederick Stone and Angelina Raja Vijayasenan were set a number of practical challenges in the laboratories. The team, who were competing against ten other schools from across the South-West, came away with third prize, winning a valuable set of Molymod for the School.

The morning was spent on a forensic science task where they performed a number of chemical tests to identify the suspect of a crime. After lunch and a tour of the University

grounds, the team took part in the ‘Tardis challenge’. They were racing against time to develop a highly precise cooling agent, again using all their practical scientific skills and knowledge. Alongside their scientific ability the students were also judged on safe working practice and team-work.

All four students thoroughly enjoyed the day and gained valuable experience working in a university laboratory. The visit was finished off with a fun ‘pops and bangs’ lecture delivered by two of the University’s Chemistry professors which was an explosion of colour and light.

Teresa Bramley - Science

Dementia Action Alliance launched in Sherborne

Jackie Brighouse – Head of Health and Social Care Jem Shackleford – Mindfulness Facilitator

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In addition to these exciting benefits, the iGryphon app comes with Office 365 included. Office 365 entitles each and every one of our students to the Microsoft Office suite, including Word, PowerPoint and Excel, as well as access to Microsoft’s cloud storage solution, OneDrive. This can be downloaded via the iGryphon app and installed onto a range of mobile devices, as well as Windows and Apple based laptops and desktop computers, or used installation free via the cloud.

To download the free iGryphon app simply visit the Google Play Store or Apple’s iTunes. A Windows phone version of the application is on its way, as is a version for parents. A desktop version of the app is also available to students without a mobile device at: http://intranet.gryphon.dorset.sch.uk.

If you require any help or support in downloading the app simply visit the iHub, recently set up outside the Careers Office in the LRC. Run by Miss RoslundGustavsson in conjunction with our Student Digital Leaders, the iHub is the home of Bring Your Own Device Support and can assist you with any issues that you experience in using your own device at school.

Homework Moving Online from September

Jem Shackleford - Mindfulness Facilitator

Dear Parents, We know mental health problems are more common than a lot of people think – one in ten young people will experience mental health problems by the age of 16. That’s why we think that it’s important to talk about mental health. By being more open about mental health we can help people know they’re not alone, and start to take the taboo out of something that affects us all. That’s why we’ve decided to support the Time to Change campaign in our school. Time to Change is England’s biggest programme to end the stigma and discrimination faced by people with mental health problems. The programme is run by the charities Mind and Rethink Mental Illness and funded by the Department of Health, Comic Relief, and the Big Lottery Fund. To help us, Time to Change has provided resources to support parents / guardians, including 10 top tips for talking about the topic of mental health. We will be holding a Parents’ Evening on Wednesday 23 September where this important area in maintaining the health of young people will be discussed. Information regarding the work on Mindfulness that is carried out in the School will also form part of the evening and you will have the chance to ask questions.

Please put this date in your diary now!

teachers, access their lesson resources and homework tasks via iLesson, check their timetable through ePortal, contact their teachers and classmates through our email system, and all whilst on the go!

A group which aims to raise awareness of dementia has been launched in Sherborne. The Sherborne and District Dementia Alliance was inspired after Gryphon students took part in the Prime Minister’s Dementia Challenge for Schools. The students, working with Mrs Lizzie Kingsbury, who is the driving force behind the venture, helped sign up local businesses and organisations as a first step in establishing a ‘dementia friendly’ community in Sherborne. More than 100 people attended the launch event in Sherborne Abbey last month. The aim of the group is to raise awareness of the condition and empower people with dementia to prevent feelings of isolation. It will also promote opportunities for people with dementia and for their families and carers in a bid to help them live more inclusive lives in the community.

Holocaust Memorial Day 2015 At the end of last term Year 9 marked The Gryphon School’s annual Holocaust Memorial Day by welcoming Holocaust survivor Henry Schachter to share his testimony. Mr Schachter survived the Holocaust by being fostered, aged 5, by a Catholic family in Belgium. His parents both died; his father on a death march and his mother in Bergen-Belsen. Mr Schachter’s presentation was followed by a question and answer session to enable students to understand better the nature of the Holocaust and to explore its lessons in more depth. He was joined by Mr William Bergman, who gave his testimony for the first time to Gryphon students. Mr Bergman showed students his own death warrant which somehow the Nazis had forgotten to destroy. The visit was part of the Holocaust Educational Trust’s extensive all year round Outreach Programme, which is available to schools across the UK.

Anna Louise Griffiths – Second in RE

Over the last year the school has been trialling the use of iLesson, our Virtual Learning Environment, to set homework activities online. This allows students to access the task description and any support materials instantly, to message and receive additional support from their teacher, and to receive reminders when a due date is approaching. All of the homework activities are then collated into students’ personalised digital diaries, without the need for them to accurately record homework tasks in their planners.

The reaction to this trial from both students and teachers has been incredibly positive and from September all homework tasks will be set online using iLesson. In addition, in September parents and guardians will be provided with their own iLesson login details. This will allow you to login and check the homework tasks currently assigned to your son or daughter, to see whether they have been completed or not, and in some cases see the mark received. To help students who do not own a personal device capable of accessing iLesson, every Year Group will be running a homework club in an IT room on at least three lunchtimes a week from September. In addition to this, TRAX, our after school homework club, takes place in IT3 after school. Your son/daughter will receive a letter outlining all of their IT access opportunities during the first week back in September.

Matt Doble - Computing

Business and Enterprise Day

Business and Enterprise Day happens in June every year with staff and students all off timetable for the day. The day focuses on students developing a range of enterprise skills such as working as part of a team, thinking outside of the box and communication and negotiation skills which are crucial during their school life and for their future. Each Year Group focuses on a different activity for the day, as shown below:

YEAR 7 Year 7 students were inspired and captivated by the Movie Maker Day that was delivered by CragRats. Teams of students developed their own movie idea which included making a trailer, acting out a scene from their movie and character profiling. The eventual winner was a team called #so awkward - well done to the team from 7HBY! Their movie idea revolved around the idea that hard work at school pays off.

After the event James Merry, the Lead Tutor of CragRats, said ‘This was an amazing Moviemaker Day at The Gryphon which is always a highlight of the year and the students’ passion and enthusiasm for the tasks was so energising to see.’

YEAR 8 An influx of visitors from a wide array of careers joined Year 8 for what was an amazing day. From Motorsport Engineering to Web Design, Farming and Agriculture and Photography, Mrs Lizzie Kingsbury arranged for an expansive range of local business people to partake in our Career Shop.

Throughout the day students undertook three workshops learning about the skills needed for three careers of their choice from the 27 available.

Helen Lacey from RedBerry Recruitment spoke to the whole Year Group about the skills employers look for and how to create the best possible impression for potential employers.

Students were hugely positive about the day, saying ‘The speakers were inspirational’ and ‘The workshops were very interesting and I got a lot out of them.’ Who knows, maybe we have a budding Author/Illustrator or Graphic Designer in our midst!

YEAR 9 All Year 9 students once again took part in Community Volunteering for the day at primary schools, nursing homes, nurseries and environmental placements, amongst others. The day was a roaring success with Year 9 students

making a difference in the community.

The Sherborne in Bloom team were busy planting and digging, those in primary schools and nurseries helping out in classrooms and upkeeping outside areas too and some students volunteered at Stourhead and Yeovil Country Park. I have heard nothing but positive comments from our Year 9 students and they all seemed to enjoy their day. Those they worked with have also been full of praise, describing students as a credit to the School and their families.

ART PROJECT To commemorate the 10 year anniversary of The Little Gryphons Nursery, a group of Year 9 students were also involved in producing a piece of art work to display at the Nursery. Each student painted an image of an animal (representing the key groups at the Nursery) onto a canvas all of which are going to be mounted together and displayed within the Nursery. I’m sure the staff and children at The Little Gryphons will love it.

TEXTILES PROJECT Another group of Year 9 students were involved in up-cycling old clothes to make a window display for the Sue Ryder Charity Shop in Sherborne. The Charity Shop provided some bags of old jeans and t-shirts and the nine students involved turned them into something else! Staff and students are very much looking forward to creating the window display and if you are passing by, do stop to have a look at their creations.

YEAR 10 The National Enterprise Challenge team delivered an engaging day to the whole of Year 10. Teams of students created a new ride for a theme park, focusing on a target market of their choice. They had to stick to a budget and come up with a unique selling point as part of the challenge. The Sports Hall was a hive of activity and there was a real buzz as teams discussed their ideas and formulated a

presentation. In the afternoon session, a selection of teams was asked to present to their peers and the judging panel decided that the team who designed ‘Feu du cirque’ (Madness of the Circus) was the winning team. One judge commented that their concept was unique, their presentation wellrehearsed and that they were confident presenters.

Well done!

Kelly Hodges – Business

Joint Primary Schools Concert Earlier this term we held our second highly successful Joint Primary Schools Concert at The Gryphon School. This was a culminating event showcasing both vocal and instrumental work rehearsed and learned over two terms by a range of students in seven of our local Primary schools (Abbey, Sherborne County, Trent, Yetminster, Bradford Abbas, Bishops Caundle and Buckland Newton). Our thanks to Stacey Hobday for her enthusiasm and vocal brilliance in leading the combined schools choir for the SingUp project this year, and to Dorset Music Service for their financial support.

Val Mizen also led various combinations of Primary Schools in singing and in performances of Samba and Blues. A massive thank you to all the Primary School staff for their help and support in the arrangements and success of this event.

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Students raise over £8,000 for Charity We are very proud to announce that we have raised over £8000 in the past school year for local, national and international charities. The causes we have supported range from Sherborne Voluntary Ambulance to Young Epilepsy to Oxfam to name but a few! Our students have shown a huge amount of initiative in their fundraising efforts; they have held a Summer Fayre and made an attempt on the Human Dominoes world record as well as the usual cake stalls, raffles and sponsored events. As usual Year Teams have chosen their own charities to support and the School Council has decided which charities benefit from our termly non-uniform days.

Supporting our community in this way is very important to us and we always ensure that students learn about the causes they are working for and the vital work that they do.

Ten Tors Challenge Computing & ICT trip to Thorpe Park

Nicki Edwards – Deputy Headteacher

The Gryphon School entered two teams into this year’s Ten Tors Challenge on Dartmoor run by 1st Artillery Brigade. The twelve Gryphon students who took part have been training hard since September. The challenging weekend tests students’ navigation, endurance and teamwork over three different distances. Only 80 per cent of teams who start finish the event.

Daisy Baxter in Year 11 has secured a place at The Somerset Performing Arts Centre for Education (the SPACE) for her Sixth Form studies. The SPACE is a purpose built state-of-the-art facility for theatre training and students perform regularly in the Tacchi Morris theatre on site. Daisy danced and acted her way through a two day workshop to gain a coveted place on the Performing Arts course. A member of Yeovil Youth Theatre, Daisy has performed in Cats, The Addams Family and Grease at The Octagon. She has taken part in several school productions and has represented The Gryphon in the Rock Challenge dance competition for the past three years. Well done Daisy – we will look for your name in lights soon!

The Year 10 and Year 13 students who participated learnt navigational skills, first aid and the importance of teamwork as well as undertaking gruelling training walks around Mere Down, Cheddar Gorge and Dartmoor.

The Gryphon Teams benefitted from the help and experience of Sherborne School which regularly enters teams. The help of its staff was invaluable both during training and with backup logistics.

Hopes were high for the team from Year 10, attempting the 35 mile bronze route, and the team from Year 13 tackling the 55 mile route.

The first day dawned wet and windy as both teams prepared to pit themselves against Dartmoor, the weather and the distances.

Thankfully the weather brightened up and the Year 10 team completed the 35 mile route easily coming home nearly five hours inside the limit. Sadly, despite trying valiantly, the Year 13 team failed to make the cut-off times and were ‘crashed out’ by the organisers.

Steve Hillier, Headteacher, said, ‘This is a famously arduous and challenging event and we are immensely proud of all the students who trained so hard and who took part. Our thanks also go to The Gryphon staff who made it possible by helping and supporting them.’

Volunteers Needed The school is looking for parent volunteers to create a pool to help train students undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh Awards and the Ten Tors Challenge. No skills are necessary although a desire to help young people develop and a love of walking is desirable.

Full training will be given. Contact geoff.cooke@gryphon.dorset.sch.uk for details.

June saw approximately 50 Year 9 students from the school take a trip to Thorpe Park to examine how the attraction makes use of Computing and ICT. Students took part in a Thrills Workshop where they were shown how Programmable Logic Controllers are used to control the rides, how modelling systems are used to ascertain the amount of G-force a rider feels when designing a ride and what operating systems are used on the rides (from Windows XP to bespoke software). Students learnt how every ride is run with two computers (one providing the back-up) and the amount of proximity sensors and lasers used throughout the Park, runs into the thousands. The sensors are used to gain data that can be analysed on the computers such as the amount of water to spray at riders, the temperature of the track, the weight and speed of the cars and at what point in the ride to take your picture! The computers also have data on queue times and people movement throughout the Park. Students were also set the challenge to work out the ride algorithm for the safe execution of a ride as they went around the Park. The Park is still working towards becoming the first completely queue less theme parks in the country through the use of Wi-Fi and smartphone technologies. It was an amazing day and the students had a fantastic opportunity to see first-hand how computing is applied to real world situations rather than simply theory in the classroom.

Nigel White – Head of Computing

German Exchange Woodturning Club It has been my great pleasure to teach woodturning to Year 7 students this year. Mrs Sally Baxter suggested the lunchtime club after seeing a pen turned by my daughter Amy and Mr Marcel Dal Din took on the mantle of overseer and introduced me to the School’s workshop. The children started by making candle sticks to get used to the tools and lathe. We progressed to turning pens out of purple heart wood and have just finished turning a set of skittles and balls. We are ending an enjoyable year by the children exploring their creativity to turn a curio or object of their own design.

Chris Mason – Woodturning Club

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I was on the German Exchange last year and so knew what to expect but this time I looked after two German girls instead of one. The German partners all spoke extremely good English so most of the time it was like having a prolonged sleepover with two friends. Both girls were very nice and even brought presents for me and my family.

While they were staying we went out and did lots of fun activities. In order to make sure they got a good feel for English culture we ate lots of English food, such as roasts and apple crumble and took them to historic towns like Bath and Lyme Regis. We spent the weekend shopping and sightseeing and I discovered lots of interesting things about German culture that I didn’t know beforehand. I found the experience incredibly enjoyable and I would strongly advise that if you have the opportunity to take part in the German Exchange, even if you are only having a German partner to stay, that you do so.

Caroline Hawkins – Year 10

Achievement award for Gryphon student Gryphon School student, Ben Norman, who is in Year 11, has been recognised as the ‘Most Improved Student’ for his hard work at the North Dorset Technical College in Shaftesbury. Ben, who is a Performing Engineering Operations pupil, received his award at a ceremony in Shaftesbury earlier this term.

Journey to

Central St Martins

I was on my knees in my school library, delving into the fashion section. I was pretty tuned in to the world of fashion designers, but something struck me as I flicked through the pages dedicated to the likes of Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen and Jimmy Choo. An Art College called Central Saint Martins kept popping up, making appearance after appearance across each fashion designer profile.

From the age of 8 I would draw mini designs in paper books inspired by the fashion shows on Blue Peter. I loved the idea of designing, but I never imagined it being a career. I didn’t realise this could be a job or that you could take it further in education. My love for garment construction and GCSE textiles opened my eyes to the possibility of a job in the fashion world, whether as a fashion stylist, a journalist or a buyer.

I was determined to finish my portfolio before my interview date in February 2015. I’m a perfectionist, and I couldn’t settle for my current work, I wanted to show them my passion for Art and Design by including work I completed for myself as well as my A2. I was up early sitting on my bed in an EasyHotel still finishing off one of my sketchbooks an hour before we got on the tube! We were told to put our portfolios in a studio at CSM and return in 7 hours. That was it. No feedback, no communication.

It was always the designer I wanted to be and knowing that most successful fashion designers studied at Central Saint Martins, I set my sights on getting in. I realized that a place at the world renowned Fashion Department grants you a platform to success and recognition. It’s the Oxbridge of the art world. I fell into the state of wanting to go there so much that I had severe anxiety and self-doubt in my ability.

In Year 12, I applied to the Fashion Foundation course, requiring an A2 portfolio of the best pieces of my work. CSM look at 2500 portfolios and accept only 350 UK students onto the course and to top this pressure off, the university were so vague about what they wanted in the portfolio - I was living in the dark for about a year.

However, I was mentored throughout the process by the fantastic Art Department we have at The Gryphon and by ex-fashion designer and family friend – Ella Oxford who attended CSM in the 1980s (the year above John Galliano). She knew exactly what they wouldn’t want and gave me some cut-throat but honest advice about certain pieces in my portfolio. I discovered throughout the process of putting it together that experimental textiles were my strength. I grew my own fabric out of bacteria for my last project, and did strange things like molding stamps in between plastic bags.

A month later I hadn’t heard anything but on 30 March, I was on a bus home from Alexander McQueen’s Savage Beauty at the V&A. The exhibition was incredible and the museum is a stones’ throw from CSM, I was feeling pretty discouraged, but there was a seed of hope still there. With 3% battery left on my phone, I got an email announcing that I had got into the Fashion Foundation! I just sat on the coach and cried, probably much to the amusement of the other travellers on the coach.

Amazing Art destinations We recently received the brilliant news that three of our Year 13 Art students had secured places at world renowned Art education establishments. Rhiannon Davies and Boo Walters will undertake the Fashion Foundation Course at the prestigious Central St Martins, London and Hannah Judge will study at the Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence, Italy.

Our best wishes go to all of our talented Art & Photography students embarking upon the next stages of their creative development.

Mike Fenton-Wilkinson Head of Art & Photography

It was a joy to be able to tell my parents, Ella and my Art teachers. What made it even better was that Boo Walters from the other A2 Art class at The Gryphon also got onto the course. With 3000 applicants this year, more than ever before, and the course being cut down at the last minute to 150 places, it’s just incredible that two students from this fantastic Sixth Form have achieved this!

I’m just so thankful and excited for next year.

The future is unpredictable, but I know that everything happens for a reason, and that there are great blessings in store for me. I can’t wait to embrace the challenges and opportunities with open arms.

Rhiannon Davies – Year 13

A Year 13 student has won a prize in a prestigious national poetry competition.

Matt Ward was commended in the Christopher Tower Poetry Competition.

The theme was Cells and attracted entries ranging from biological cells to prison cells, monastery cells to computer cells.

Matt’s poem, Purblind, was one of only six winners chosen from 727 entrants representing 425 schools. Matt was presented with his £250 prize at a reception in Christ Church, Oxford. He was delighted to be chosen as a winner and said ‘Competitions like the Christopher Tower Poetry Prize are a really great way to motivate your creative writing and a chance, if you win, to get some insightful feedback from professional writers. The topics set by these competitions to base your ideas around are also excellent as a source of inspiration for your writing and a sense of challenge, which makes having your work recognised all the more rewarding.’

Matt’s tutor, Mrs Linda Mumford, added, ‘We are all very proud of Matt’s achievement. He is a talented writer of prose fiction as well as poetry – watch out for his name in the future!’

All the winning entries can be seen on the Tower Poetry website where the talented young authors read their own poems. www.towerpoetry.org.uk

Personal Training at the Sports Centre

Year 11 Leaving Day Once again the last day before the May Half Term was a special one as it was the last day of school for Year 11. They were going on study leave and then, for some, moving on to continue their education elsewhere. The day started with an English Literature exam but once this was over the celebrations really began. Students said goodbye to their tutors and continued The Gryphon tradition of signing polo shirts before heading to the

Gryphon student wins prize in national poetry competition

Sports Hall for fun on bouncy castles followed by a BBQ. The bouncy castles were a great hit with many of the students letting their hair

There was a fantastic atmosphere all day and once again Year 11 were a credit to the School. It was a poignant day for me as

down and rediscovering their inner child!

After lunch everybody tidied themselves up for a final Assembly in Quarr Hall. It was a lovely event where personal statements were given out and students remember the last five years of their school career with the help of a few photos from the past!

another Year Group comes to an end and the students move on to new things and fresh challenges. They are a wonderful group of young people and we all wish them every success in the future.

Steve Fox – Head of Year 11

Exeter Maths School Congratulations to Lewis Day, Rowan Preston, Oliver Tucker and Gabryel Mason- Williams who have been offered places as weekly boarders at the prestigious Exeter Mathematics School. Exeter Mathematics School is a Sixth Form school that is jointly sponsored by the University of Exeter and Exeter College. It has been created to meet the needs of able Mathematics students throughout the South West.

Robin Prince – Maths

For those of you who use the Fitness Suite after school, and are looking for a little purpose or a change of direction ask us about personal training. Our rates are £25 an hour so you could group together and spread the cost of our qualified instructors. Or take out our special membership of only £32.50 for unlimited use of the Fitness Suite and two 30 minute personal training sessions. Contact the Centre for more details.

Over the summer holidays the Fitness Suite is open all day from 8.30am, and it’s just £3 a session or £17 for 30 days unlimited use.

There is also our very popular children’s holiday activities throughout the summer from 8.30-5.30pm for only £15.50 a day or £62 for the week, check out www.dorsetforyou.com/gryphon-sports-centre for more information.

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ALUMNI Where are they now?

Since its launch last term many past students have been signing up to our new Alumni Database and telling us what they are doing now. We love to hear their stories so if you know of any former pupils who have yet to make contact please tell them to go to http://www.thegryphonalumni.co.uk where you can also see the stories of those who have already let us know about their lives after The Gryphon. Current pupils find it enormously inspiring to hear about the successes of their predecessors and keeping in touch enables the School to tell former pupils what is going on at the School now and to inform them about future events.

lA ex Redman I graduated from the University of Surrey with a 2:1 in Business Economics and an award for Best Overall Student on my course. While at university, I joined the Swimming and Water Polo Club and was Water Polo President in my final year. Since university, I have been a Business Analyst for a debt collection company but am now on a three year graduate scheme with St James’s Place Wealth Management.

As part of this I am studying towards a Masters in Wealth Management at Loughborough University. Part of my current role is working with the Finance Projects Team to implement an Enterprise Resource Planning system across the business. This is a software system that automates and integrates the core internal business functions of an organisation, provides a single source for all company data and allows for greater efficiencies in planning and analysis, transaction processing and reporting.

‘My time at the Gryphon School was very memorable, my teachers’ enthusiasm for the subject had a huge impact on my learning and I accredit them with my progress and success at work.’

lE ly Roberts I left The Gryphon after Sixth Form in 2010. I then followed my passion for the arts and studied Photography at Falmouth University in Cornwall, graduating in 2013. In early 2014 I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to volunteer with the government scheme International Citizen Service (ICS). I worked specifically with the sustainable development charity Raleigh International. My placement with Raleigh was in India, a country which had seven years previously vividly captured my interest whilst on a school trip with The Gryphon. During my time in India I lived and worked alongside local volunteers in a small and under-developed village. Our aims were to provide much needed education to the community as a whole, focusing primarily on basic health and sanitation issues. Since my time in India, sustainability and the environment have become keen interests of mine alongside further travelling. `’I always found The Gryphon to be upbeat, encouraging students to be ready to embrace the new.’

t t o c S a ic s s Je I graduated as a Dentist from The University of Bristol in June 2014. By far the best experience of this five year course was my dental elective, in which I spent three weeks volunteering at a children’s hospital in Cambodia. This was an opportunity to provide pain relieving dental treatment to hundreds of Cambodian children, many of whom live in poverty. I learned a great deal during this time, both personally and professionally. A reflective account of my experience can be read on the young dentist website: http://www.theyoungdentist.com /u k / vo l u n t e e r /a r t i c l e s / 7 2 9 - d e n t a l volunteering-abroad-a-reflection .

I am currently working as a Dentist in Amesbury, Wiltshire whilst working towards further postgraduate qualifications with a view to specialise in the future. In November 2015 I will be returning to Cambodia with the charity ‘Dentaid’, to volunteer my dental skills in prisons, schools and orphanages. I ran the London marathon to help raise funds for this trip.

‘The Gryphon is an incredibly supportive and encouraging network of people, who helped shape the first steps of my career.’

Jo Counsins Having started university in the October after I left The Gryphon, my first year at Oxford was spent studying topics I would be examined on in the first-year exams. This involved a number of aspects within music, such as music history and technical writing. Now I am in my second year, the work I am doing is all in preparation for the final examinations for my degree and it has stepped up a level both in amount and in difficulty. During my time here so far I have been involved in many different musical ensembles, including playing viola in orchestras, plays, operas, and my college string quartet, and singing in my college chapel choir.

Outside music I currently play in my college’s women’s badminton team, and participated in a student consultancy programme last term.

With plenty of social events happening throughout term there are many opportunities to balance out the full-on workload.

Max Harding

d a w A e in t is r Ch I left The Gryphon School four years ago. Since then, I have been studying Dentistry at the University of Birmingham. Dentistry as a course has been really good, as it literally lets me have a feel for what working as a dentist is all about.

Treating patients has taught me lots, not just about teeth and diseases, but also about being professional, caring and empathetic in everything I do. I also had an amazing opportunity to get involved with the HCPT charity. This charity takes children with disabilities to Lourdes for a week, giving the children a fun filled holiday and allowing their families to have respite. The helpers in each team fund their own expenses and raise money for each child. It was such an amazing experience to see the children having a great time and full of smiles and laughter.

'The Gryphon School is a harbour of highly talented teachers, who not only deliver premium quality teaching, but also go above and beyond for each student.'

6

s in b b o J ie d d Fre I left The Gryphon Sixth Form in 2011 and went on to study Politics and Philosophy at the University of Southampton. I became involved in student journalism and was the founding editor of the University’s first satirical newspaper (the Southampton Spectacle). In 2014, I won my first short story writing prize, became a regular contributor to Southampton’s Wessex Scene student news site and was shortlisted for Guardian Student Columnist of the Year. In 2015, I was the writer who launched the Hippo Collective’s blogging pages. I am currently studying a part-time MA in Creative Writing at Southampton and working part-time in The Gryphon School Library. It’s wonderful to be back at The Gryphon and I’m enjoying myself immensely.

‘The Gryphon had (and still has) a strong personality. It is a vibrant community that brings out the very best in its students.’

ns o m m e S a r u a L I attended The Gryphon School from Year 7 and left in 2013 having studied Geography, Classics (Ancient History) and Applied Business for A Level. During my time at The Gryphon, I took up many responsibilities, including being a Year 11 and Year 13 prefect. After my A Levels I went to Swansea University where I am currently studying Geography, focusing on Physical Geography. At university I am both a member of the Geography Society and Dance Society. When I graduate, I am hoping to take a Post Graduate Certificate in Education in Geography.

‘Some of my happiest memories are from when I was at The Gryphon and the staff are so supportive’

After leaving Sixth Form, I went to study International and European Law at The Hague University in The Netherlands. The course is in English, but there are students from over 60 different nations, and they provide learning experience about countries of which I was previously ignorant, as well as being great people. I am currently living with four Bulgarians, two Chinese people, a Latvian, an Italian-American, a Russian and another Briton.

I can safely say that my university life is never dull, and it has completely fulfilled the international experience I was looking for. I do miss England, but it’s close enough for me to visit fairly regularly and see the friends I’ve made whilst at The Gryphon.

‘I have very fond memories of The Gryphon’

Copyright Nigel Andrews 2015: http://bit.ly/1J32tzs

Mission to Rwanda This summer, eight students from The Gryphon Sixth Form will be joining eight students from Sherborne Girls to undertake a joint mission to Rwanda, organised by The Amakuru Trust. The students have raised over £5000 to pay for the opportunity to experience this diverse and engaging cultural experience. They will be teaching in Rwandan schools and working with a street project to support young people affected by poverty and deprivation. The students will also be visiting memorial sites in order to pay their respects and learn more about the victims and horror of the Rwandan genocide. As part of this experience, students will then spend time after the trip raising awareness of the Amakuru Trust, the charity who support this amazing project and disseminating their experience to a variety of audiences in the local area.

If you would like to donate to this worthy cause or find out more, please see the following link: http://uk.virginmoneygiving. com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/show FundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=grypho nandsherbornegirls&isTeam=true Jen Jacklin – Head of Year 13

Sixth Form Sixth Form student Laura Skerritt was commissioned by Sherborne Literary Festival to create a visual interpretation of the Festival’s slogan, For Lovers of Good Books and Creative Expression. ‘Laura has done a great job, and the photo shoot was huge fun’, says the Festival’s Schools/Youth Events Coordinator, Lucy Beney. ‘It is a very imaginative interpretation, which we hope will encourage students to come to this year’s Festival and discover the joys of reading and writing’. Laura’s photos are being used on social media and in other publicity to promote the Festival, which this year will run from 14 -18 October. It will include a full programme of events for children and young people, once again based at The Gryphon. Laura will begin a Foundation Degree in Fine Art at Yeovil College this autumn.

A very tongue in cheek take off of East 17’s version of the ‘Stay another Day’ performed by Year 13 tutors was one of the highlight of this year’s Year 13 Leavers’ Assembly. We would like to say a massive thank you to Sophie Webster who also produced a short video of each Year 13 Tutor Groups’ individual farewells and tutor comments. The event also included a mixture of serious, and not so serious, awards and a BBQ lunch. After exams our Year 13 students enjoyed a spectacular Leavers’ Ball, which for a second year running was held at the George Albert Hotel near Evershot. The Ball, our largest to date, included pastel vintage style floral arrangements, champagne reception, two course meal and disco. A huge thank you to the Ball Committee for organising this wonderful event and particularly to James Matthews and Christian Jones who were our star DJs for the evening. Year 12 students had the opportunity to crystallise their future plans in our Progression Day in June. Whilst students planning to move on to university registered for the 2016 UCAS cycle and were supported in a personal statement writing workshop, our non-UCAS students attended a comprehensive programme of

workshops covering ‘what employers want’, CV writing and interview skills run by a representative of Inside Knowledge. Representatives of Cardiff University and Cardiff Metropolitan University as well as JP Morgan, BAE Systems and Waitrose also provided students with information about a range of opportunities in HE, training and employment. We were delighted that for the second year running Dr Richard Harvey, Professor at the School of Computing Sciences, University of East Anglia spoke to all Year 12 students planning on going to University. Dr Harvey, who was educated at Foster’s School in Sherborne, is Academic Director for Admissions at the University.

As I am stepping down as Assistant Head Teacher with responsibility for Sixth Form at the end of this term this will be my final newsletter. It has been a huge privilege and pleasure to work with so many fantastic colleagues, supportive parents and, above all, wonderful students over the last 10 years.

Reading stories from past students who have signed up to our alumni fills me with immense pride and I like to think that their time in the Sixth Form may have played a small but important part in their successes. I shall be handing over the reins to Mrs Philippa Huggins, our current Deputy Head of Sixth Form, and shall be returning in September on a part-time basis supporting Higher Education progression.

Jane Tutton – Head of Sixth Form

Gryphon School students honoured by Sherborne Rotary Club

Lessons from Auschwitz Following a Holocaust Educational Trust seminar from Zigi Shipper, a survivor from Auschwitz, and discussion about our expectations of what we would find, feel and think about our experience in Poland, we set out on a truly enlightening experience. Our first stop was at the Jewish cemetery in Oswiecim which was desecrated during the Nazi occupation and where the tombstones have been restored by those living in the town since. This helped our understanding of the effect of the Holocaust on the town and showed the stark contrast between then and now.

The camp at Auschwitz seemed to breathe the efficient ruthlessness of the Nazis. This was reflected in the shocked silence within the group and the heavy and cruel ethos that the histories of the buildings carry. We felt our emotional energy drain when at Auschwitz-Birkenau the horrors of the age were explored and we discussed the effects on all those involved. In the closing ceremony of the day we reflected on what we had learnt and what we can teach. A follow up seminar and talk in Exeter brought together our thoughts about conveying messages and sharing our unique experiences. The lessons led by the Holocaust Educational Trust and our visit to Auschwitz were truly life-changing and will remain with us forever. We will, together with the other students who attended the Lessons from Auschwitz Project, use this to spread a message of tolerance and acceptance in the hope that persecution is eradicated from society.

David Roberts and Gabrielle Dryden – Year 12

Two Sixth Form students have been awarded Aubrey Allen Leadership Awards by the town’s Rotary Club.

Both students were recognised for making an outstanding contribution to their school and the local community. Emily Hall and Arthur Morris are both in Year 13. Their Head of Year, Jen Jacklin, said there could be no worthier winners.

Both students have taken on important responsibilities at The Gryphon including being Peer Mentors and Paired Readers supporting younger students. Emily has also volunteered at Abbey View Nursing Home and been a member of the student panel for the Friends of Yeatman Hospital.

She hopes to study Medicine at Southampton starting in September.

Arthur has been a Lead Prefect and a diligent member of the School Council and a Student Governor committed to helping improve the School and articulately representing his fellow students. Arthur plans to take a gap year and to apply to read Medicine in 2016.

Steve Hillier, Headteacher, said, ‘Emily and Arthur are both outstanding members of the community and their commitment to helping others is an inspiration to us all.’

7

Sport Student Focus

Representing Team GB

In her first year of competition Amy Northam, who is in Year 7, has made the qualifying time to represent the GBR Biathle squad in Portugal on the 18 July in a world tour event. Biathle is a continuous race that involves a run, then a swim (this time in the Atlantic Ocean) and then, trainers swiftly back on, another run to the finish. She will be one of the youngest competitors in the age bracket by up to two years. On returning from Portugal she will then head up to Salford to compete in the National Biathle competition at Salford Quays in early August. This is another qualifying event as well as the fourth race in the GB series which concludes with the sixth race in Weymouth at the beginning of September.

Sports Day 2015 In another battle against the elements this year’s Gryphon Games took place on the last Friday in June. The event is all about mass participation with a whole school approach to sport, which involves all pupils and all staff at the school. On the day there were more than thirty different activities going on at the same time. Pupils in Years 7-10 were competing against each other in their Tutor Groups with the Sixth Form helping staff with the running of the events. These ranged from traditional activities like the 100m and football, to the less common such as cycling and classroom games.

Girls’ Sport Girls’ Sport this year brought about some fantastic results. Year 7 teams finished the Triple Crown winners having won the Yeovil and District finals for Hockey, Netball and Rounders. There are a number of girls whose performances were outstanding , in particular Alice Proctor, Ashley Taylor, Abbie Foote, Gemma Alford, Faye Nickisson, Jodie Genes and Mya Jackson.

Olympic Double Trap Medallist

Editor: Liz Oatts

Sophie Faber – Skiing

Earlier this term one of our students, Harry Maunder, who is in Year 11, won the Junior Bronze Medal in the Olympic Double Trap discipline at the United Kingdom Championships at Kippen Lodge in Scotland. The competition was part of a series of selection shoots which Harry hopes will lead to his selection for a place on the Great Britain team. He will take part in two more selection shoots this year, one in Wales and one in Hertfordshire before going to Italy in late August to shoot in the Italian Green Cup. Harry has been shooting since he was 9 and taking part in competitions since he was 10. Harry, who only took up Double Trap last year, has his sights set on competing at the highest level in the future. His aim is to take part in the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020. We all wish him every success on his journey to get into the British Team.

Sophie Faber who is in Year 9 is a successful slalom skier. This season she has won silver medals twice in inter club races and she has been training with the Senior Performance Squad at Snowtrax in Christchurch. She has also been to the Alps to train with the British Ski Academy and competed for The Gryphon School in Les Houches, France in the Equity Inter School Slalom Ski Racing Championships. Here she was up against competitors from all over Europe and finished a very respectable 27th overall. She is now taking part in the summer race series which entails a series of regional races on dry slopes across Southern England, London and South Eastern England for ‘Team Snowtrax’ in the Girls U16 age category.

She is preparing for more national and international competitions later this year.

This fully inclusive Sports Day, brought an atmosphere of enthusiasm and enjoyment across the school as students battled it out for the sought after Inter-Tutor Group trophies. The weather held up for 4 out of the 5 activities on offer, but the newly created tug of war events and the 4 x100m relays were held on a later date.

Even though the rain eventually stopped play the Sports Day proved to be hugely successful for all involved. We look forward to next year!

Alan Cummings - Head of PE and Sport

Year 8 consolidated their performances from last year and reached the finals in both Netball and Rounders taking home the silver medal on both occasions. There were standout performances from a number of girls including Charlotte Higgs, Katie Giles, Maddie Conduit, Jasmine Moore, Hannah Symms, Lauren West, Hannah Roberts and Nelle Curtis.

Year 9 did not make finals this year for any events unfortunately, but took part in many well fought games. Stand out players of the season include: Emma Reynolds, Ellie Chandler, Georgia Holder, Libby Davies, Rowan Legg, Chloe Perham, Nicole CorpuzBriones and Francis South.

Year 10 again proved a force to be reckoned with on both the Hockey and Netball pitch, moving on to and winning the finals, a fantastic achievement! Players of the Year to be recognised for their outstanding commitment are Issy Johnson, Josie Mitchell, Lucy Hunt, Lois Hill, Georgia Tailby, Chole Hellyar, Kate Kendall and Niamh Dennett.

Year 11 finished their sporting careers at The Gryphon with poise and finesse. The Hockey Team showed improvement having won some pool games and the Netball Team again made it to the finals. After four years of losing to Preston Academy in the finals they pulled a two goal win out of the bag at just the right time to finish on a high. The players who must be commended include; Georgie Long, Lauryn Neal, Sophie Ward, Leah West, Natalie Yeo and Amy Dick-Read.

Athletics The Gryphon School has had a very successful athletics season. Nine of our students who attended a North Dorset trial were selected to represent the area at an event in early June where they all performed extremely well with Amy Northam and Chris Reed setting personal bests. Michael Biss and Natasha Jones did so well they qualified to represent Dorset at the West Schools’ Athletics Competition at Kings Park later that month. In a strong field, they ran really well and finished 6th, which is a fantastic achievement.

We also attended the Gillingham Athletics competition. This is a team event, where each event competed in, scores the team points, based on performance. This meant that many of the students were taking part in events they would not usually do to gain extra points. The students involved were a credit to the School, willingly doing the events for the good of the team. Fantastic performances saw the Year 7 boys finish 2nd , Year 8 boys finish 3rd and Year 8 girls finish 1st.

Laura Harry - PE

More Popular than Ever!

We have over 45 students from Years 7, 8 and 9 taking part every Thursday in a Fun Dodgeball Club. This is great to see as the Club is aimed at students who do not represent the School in other sports and therefore do not always get the chance to play sport after school. This club gives them that chance and we have been really popular all year with large numbers attending Capture the Flag and Astro Football activities as well. It is great to see so many students simply having fun playing sport.

Chris Barker - PE

We also attended the Year 9 and 10 Athletics Competition at Bryanston. Stand out performers in this were Isaac Atherly who won his 200m and Long Jump; Sam Yeo who broke the 1 minute barrier in his first competitive race over 400m and won; and Lucy Kirk who won the High Jump for Year 9 girls.

Chris South – Director of Sport

The Gryphon School, Bristol Road, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 4EQ School and Sixth Form – T: 01935 813122 • F: 01935 816992 • E: office@gryphon.dorset.sch.uk • Conference Centre – T: 01935 810103 The Gryphon School is a company limited by guarantee • Registered in England with Company Number 08130468

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F: 01935 816992

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Nursery – T: 01935 810112

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E: nursery@gryphon.dorset.sch.uk