Hove Park School
“Putting Achievement First”
Almanac 2011-12 al▪ma▪nac n. 1. 2.
A register of the days, weeks and months of the year, with events, anniversaries, etc, published annually. An annual publication containing a variety of factual information.
Welcome to Hove Park There is a really positive feeling around the progress Hove Park has made over the last year. As Chair of Governors I’m truly excited to be involved and play my small part in what can best be defined as a great team effort. The Headteacher, senior staff, teaching and non-teaching staff, students and governors, have all worked incredibly hard to set us on a path to become one of the most improved schools in the country. Two years ago the governors began the search for a new Headteacher and advertised the position set around the theme “Catching the wave of momentum”. At that time the governors were looking to build upon the green shoots of school improvement that were being established as we emerged positively from a difficult period in our history. As I write today, we can say that we have not just caught the wave of momentum, but have overtaken it! The governors are of course delighted with our rapid progress and work closely with our new Headteacher Derek Trimmer. who has established the vision and direction to ensure Hove Park will continue to move from strength to strength for our current and future students. Schools are now encouraged to work more closely together and we are confident that Hove Park’s growing strengths will have an increasingly supportive impact on improving educational standards across the city, as we share knowledge and develop effective working relationships with our feeder primary and partner secondary schools. Hove Park School now sits strongly within our community and I certainly feel proud of our progress and achievement over that last year. I look forward to continuing my involvement and support as Hove Park School moves positively into the future.
Mike Nicholls Chair of Governors
Contents News
2 - 29
Important Visitors
30 - 35
Art
36 - 47
Sports
48 - 67
Drama & Music
68 - 77
A Day in the Life
78 - 86
Year Reviews
87 - 90
Sixth Form
91 - 95
New Staff/ Leavers
96 - 99
Almanac - 2011/12
1
News Headteacher’s Introduction
3
BAFTAS/ Glyndebourne
4
New Uniform/ Website
5
Prizegiving Evening Achievements & Standards Year 7 Graduation/ BBC Shortlist
2
6-7 8 - 11 12 - 13
Perry Beeches Link/ Goodman Morris
14
Michelin Star Success
15
Vivo Miles/ Friends of Hove Park/ Forest School
16 - 17
Rolls Royce Awards/ UK Maths Challenge
18 - 19
BACC/ Fashion Show/ Olympic Curriculum
20 - 21
Careers Day/ Southern School Book Awards
22 - 23
International Trips
24 - 26
Confucius Classroom
27
European Day of Languages
28
Independent Learning/ Modular Results
29
Hove Park School
Headteacher’s Introduction Welcome to the first edition of our school almanac. We have set out to give a flavour of life at Hove Park, and to highlight some of the events and activities that have taken place across the year. Firstly, I would like to make the point that it really has been a fantastic year in terms of raising aspirations, transforming standards and achieving record results. I have now completed my first year at Hove Park and in that time I have thoroughly enjoyed stepping up to the challenge of leading the school through a period of transformation and rapid growth. I started my tenure at the school by stating that we aspired to be in the top 1% of schools nationally in terms of progress across three years of exams results. I believe we are well on track to achieve that this year as 60% of our Year 11 students are on target to gain five or more GCSEs at C grade or better, including English and Maths. When compared to 27% three years ago, this is an impressive rate of improvement and is likely to position us as one of the most improved schools in the country. However, this is only the first part of our journey. We have spent much of the last year ensuring that we have the quality of leadership, behaviour, teaching and curriculum to take the school to the next level. We have our eyes firmly set on becoming an 80% school in the next two to three years and the excitement, belief and commitment to make this happen around the school is tangible. I am delighted with the way in which staff, students and governors have stepped up to that challenge. When combined with a supportive parent/ carer body as we have here at Hove Park, this is the formula that delivers impressive results and it is right and fitting that we should be setting our sights on achieving ambitious targets that will position us in the vanguard of developing educational excellence across the city. Central in attaining high levels of achievement are a positive ethos, good behaviour and hard work.
We want to help prepare our students for life long learning and ensure that they develop into self-confident, inquiring, tolerant young adults. Consequently, we see our role as preparing them not only for where they want to be at the age of 18, but where they aspire to be at the age of 25 and beyond. But all that said, this book is about showcasing some of the other side of life at Hove Park. It is about attempting to bring together as many of the ingredients as possible that contribute to Hove Park being a happy and vibrant school. A school where children come first!
Derek Trimmer Headteacher
Almanac - 2011/12
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Harry at the BAFTAS
Glyndebourne Auditions
On 12th February Harry, in his role as Filmclub ambassador, spent the day on the red carpet interviewing red hot stars of the screen at the UK’s most prestigious film awards ceremony - the 2012 Orange BAFTA Film Awards.
Since September, 25 students in Years 7, 8 and 9 have been working with experts from Glyndebourne to create a performance in the style of the hit TV series Glee.
Working alongside experienced journalists from the world’s press Harry got to speak to filmmakers, directors and actors including Miss Piggy and A-lister George Clooney. Harry said: “Meeting Asif, award winning director of Senna, was one of the most interesting points of the day but my favourite moment was meeting George Clooney as he was rather down to earth and very supportive. At first I was nervous, but eventually I got used to it and I was hardly even starstruck!” To watch the interviews and read Harry’s report visit www.Filmclub/BAFTAS.
Many months of rehearsal are leading to a final performance which will take place on the 18th July at the Birley Centre in Eastbourne, where Hove Park students will perform alongside five other schools. Glyndebourne representatives have been so impressed by the talent of Hove Park students that many have recently been invited to audition for Glyndebourne’s Youth Company. Six of our students were successful so now, in addition to being in the Glee piece on the 18th July, they will also be performing as part of Glyndebourne’s singing picnic event on 9th July. There they will be involved in various workshops before performing to primary schools to finish the day.
Harry Harris interviewing George Clooney
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Hove Park School
New School Website We were delighted to be able to launch our new school website in the spring. It is a contemporary and accessible design which we hope is easy to navigate and covers all the information any parent/ carer or prospective parent/ carer would need to know about the school. As well as the comprehensive ‘prospectus’ content, we also update regularly with notices, an events calendar and a news blog, which highlights and celebrates the wealth of activity that goes on at Hove Park outside of the classroom. As you read through this you may wish to log on to www.hovepark.org.uk to take a look at the website and get an up to date view of the progress of the school now.
New School Uniform After consultation with parents/ carers, students, teachers and governors we are excited to be able to unveil our new uniform! The majority voted to change to a traditional uniform with blazer and tie. We also had an overwhelming response to our design survey and the winning design by a large margin was the one pictured right, featuring the blue trim detail. We hope you will agree that it is a very smart looking uniform which reflects our ambitions as a school and we all look forward to seeing our students wearing it with pride in September.
Prizegiving Evening Hove Park’s eagerly awaited Prizegiving Evening took place on Thursday 23rd February and was a fantastic event that reflected the passion and professionalism of our school. Over 700 staff, students, parents/ carers and governors were invited to Hove Town Hall to join the celebration of success and witness young people receive awards to recognise their outstanding progress and achievements. The presentations were punctuated by student performances, which were themselves of a very high standard: Hannah Corcoran, Year 11, wowed the crowd with her saxophone rendition of First Concertino by George Guilhaud; Year 11 Drama students performed a moving enactment of Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘If’ and Dance students shared an excerpt adapted from their GCSE performance piece. Guests were also enthralled by guest speaker Steve Cunningham, the fastest blind man in the world. The grand finale was a rousing rendition of ‘Consider Yourself’ from recent sell out school musical Oliver, a fitting celebration of unity and togetherness. Mr Trimmer said, “There was a fantastic atmosphere pervading the whole evening and the degree of professionalism was tangible. The student performances were excellent. A big well done to all involved in a fabulous event.” Prizegiving Evening is to be an annual celebration along with the upcoming Year 7 Graduation Ceremony (taking place for the first time this July). We feel that both events give us the opportunity to further promote success and achievement and help foster an aspirational culture within the school.
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Almanac - 2011/12
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Achievements & Standards Hove Park School is on a rapid drive to improve and our ambition for 2012 is to be in the top 1% of most improved schools in the country. So what have we been doing in order to achieve this goal? Follow the timeline below to find out more.
August
September/ October
2011 Examination Results
Mr Trimmer Outlines Top Two Priorities
The year started with record results: 44% of students attained 5 A*-C grades at GCSE including English & Maths. An increase of 17% since 2009.
1. Raise academic standards: by increasing the % of students attaining 5 A*-C grades at GCSE including English and Maths.
Aiming Higher - 2012 2. Narrow any gaps Despite the success of our students in 2011, we want to aim higher in 2012. In 2011, 57% of students nationwide achieved 5 A*-C grades at GCSE including English & Maths. Our ambition for 2012 is to exceed this figure.
GCSE English Language Our current Year 11 sat a module for their GCSE English Language qualification early – in the summer of 2011 – while they were still in Year 10. Positive results gave us an encouraging base to build on over the course of the academic year.
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in achievement: so that every student, regardless of whatever barriers they may face, has the same access to a world-class education.
Lead Lessons One new strategy we introduced this year was ‘lead lessons’. These are taught by senior staff and aimed at students who need extra support with specific exam skills in English and Maths.
Weekly Subject Monitoring Meetings We set up weekly ‘core monitoring’ meetings between members of the Senior Leadership and leaders of English, Maths and Science. The aim is to ensure we constantly plan and review progress.
Hove Park School
Year 10 Start GCSE English Language
Year 11 Information Evening
This year for the first time, we made the decision that the majority of Year 10 students would complete their GCSE English Language course in one year. By fast tracking through this core qualification, we hope to be able to maximise the number of chances pupils have to pass.
The aim of this very well attended event was to provide parents and carers with information about the forthcoming year and how they could support their children towards success in 2012. Subsequently fridge magents were sent home setting out all the dates of examinations across the year.
Launch of KS3 Bacc At KS3 we launched the Hove Park ‘Bacc’ (Baccalaureate). To pass the Bacc each term, students must complete work that meets a specific set of criteria in each of their subjects. If work is not completed then students are required to attend additional study sessions in order to catch up. The aim is to ensure high levels of progress and encourage independence and responsibility for learning in students.
Encouraging Predicted Grades October’s predicted grades for Year 11 in 2012 showed an improvement on the predictions we were making in July and indicated we were getting closer to our target.
November
December/ January
February
Year 10 Information Evening
Mock Exams for Year 11
Progress Photo Boards
GCSE Maths Revision
This event for Year 10 parents/ carers was similar to the Year 11 event in September. Attendance was excellent.
These culminated in our Mock Results Day (see below).
We set up two displays in the foyer of the Nevill Campus, containing the photographs of all students in Year 10 and Year 11. These help students to track the progress they are making.
Tuition sessions started in preparation for March examinations.
Visit to Perry Beeches School
Prize Giving Evening at Hove Town Hall
Perry Beeches was recently the most improved school in the country and in 2011 was named as National Outstanding School of the Year. Mr Trimmer and several other members of staff visited the school to meet staff and share ideas on teaching and learning.
This was a fantastic event where prizes were given to students from all year groups who had made significant progress in their subjects.
Planning a New Curriculum 2012-13 In November we began planning our new 2012-13 curriculum. Our aim was to write an exciting and relevant curriculum that would provide students with the best possible learning opportunities. The process began with us visiting schools judged ‘outstanding’ by OFSTED, such as Chestnut Grove in London.
Year 11 Students Retake Maths Unit 2 A series of focused lead lessons and tuition sessions took place in the lead up to a number of students retaking their Maths Unit 2 module in order to maximise their accumulative marks.
Mock Results Day In early January, Year 11 students had a day off normal timetabled lessons to collect their mock results and spend time reflecting on future opportunities. Once they received their results, every student had a progress interview with a member of the local business community to discuss their future options.
Encouraging Maths Results Great news! The results of the November Maths retake examination met our expectations. Special congratulations went out to Alice who sat the full ‘linear’ GCSE Maths exam in November and was awarded a C grade. Alice became the first student in Year 11 to get a fully validated A*-C result in her core GCSE subjects (English & Maths).
GCSE English Language Examination
Controlled Assessment Work in English Completed Half Term Revision Sessions
Form Tutor Revision Programme A revision programme, delivered by form tutors began in March, aimed at supporting Year 11 students with general revision skills.
13 students sat their GCSE English Language examination. As part of their preparation they spent a day off-site at Plumpton College completing a course of focused revision.
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March
April/ May
Year 9 Options Evening & Interviews
Encouraging Predictions Update
More Encouraging Maths Results
Year 11 Exam Revision
With our new curriculum offer finalised, Year 9 had the opportunity to find out more about what subjects they could choose to take for GCSE. The evening was very well attended with the majority of students and their parents/ carers present. Later in the month, every Year 9 student had the chance to meet with a senior member of staff to discuss their option choices.
In March, our forecast grades for summer 2012 were on target and showed further improvement since the autumn term.
Preparation for the final examinations began with lots of after-school sessions, revision and tutoring opportunities.
A number of students sat their Unit 1 module in a bid to increase their overall marks. A separate cohort of students also sat their linear GCSE Maths exam.
The results of examinations taken in March met our expectations. Congratulations went out to 58 Year 11 students, who took their full GCSE Maths qualification early and were awarded a good pass at grade C. There were also significant successes among those students who sat their Unit 1 module again.
Easter Holiday Revision Sessions
Link with Perry Beeches School
GCSE Maths
GCSE English Language
English Lead Lessons Start for Year 10
10 of the 13 students (77%) who sat the GCSE English Language exam in January were awarded a good pass at grade C.
To support them in preparing for their exam in the summer, Year 10 also began attending lead lessons.
Sixth Form Results from January examinations and forecasts from subjects continued to show improving performance compared to previous years.
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Hove Park School
Mr Liam Nolan, the Headteacher of Perry Beeches, invited us to join them in a bid for funding to support our work towards raising standards. The funding will enable us to employ a number of recent university graduates to work in our school full-time, providing one-to-one tuition in English and Maths every week for up to 50 students.
Intervention Programme for Year 9 We launched a ten week learning programme for Year 9 students to secure expected rates of progress in English and Maths. This included small group tutorials and weekly lead lessons.
Exams Start Good luck to all students taking examinations. We look forward to a successful results day on August 23rd. The results will be posted on our school website.
Students opening mock results
Almanac Parkmuthian - 2011/12 2012 11 11
Year 7 Graduation Throughout this academic year all students in Year 7 have been following the Hove Park Baccalaureate. All subjects are crucial to students’ success and passing each subject will earn them their Hove Park Bacc towards the end of the summer term. We want to recognise and celebrate students’ hard work and individual achievement in their first year at Hove Park and will be inviting all those who have passed their Hove Park Bacc, along with their families, to our Year 7 Graduation Ceremony on Wednesday 11th July at Hove Town Hall. Passing all subjects studied in Year 7 is just as important as it is in Year 11 or Year 13 so the Graduation Ceremony is a very exciting new event in our school calendar and we are pulling out all the stops! As well as formal individual awards, where success is the norm, there will be a lively programme of entertainment from Drama, Music and Dance. Many thanks go to our new school uniform supplier Khalsa and our Parents and Friends Association who are generously sponsoring our bespoke graduation gowns, modelled here by students Lewis Birchall and Sharif Haque.
BBC Radio 2 Shortlist Earlier this year Chris Evans’ Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 ran a short story writing competition for children aged 13 and under called ‘500 Words’. The winning entry was to win 500 books for their school as well as books for themselves. Hove Park’s Ben, Year 8, was shortlisted to the last 25 out of 74,000 applicants. Here is his story. For Kropfel, it sounded profitable, seed life on a world and wait four billion years until the life is complex, and then sell it as bio fuel. When he got permission to start his farming project he sent a probe to the surface of the planet to check the habitability of this young world. It seemed this world was a class 23.4 seeding site. His robotics soon bioengineered a sturdy micro-organism that could survive on this water rich planet. He lowered himself to the surface. It looked barren, with rocks and steam vents all the way up to the horizon. His bacteria were spread into the new world by a pod that orbited the planet and sprayed its dense, life filled smoke. What a bargain! Spray some bacteria on the surface and soon evolution will provide masses of life to harvest. An excellent deal! Kropfel was soon sent to fight with the whirlpool galaxy. After a splendid victory he started having nightmarish visions of the battlefield. He was sent to a rehabilitation centre, all the while thinking about his planet, and how much money he was paying for it. When he was released, he got on the nearest ship and shot to his planet. He was shocked to find a large PPT (Planetary Protection Trust) drone blocking his path. A message from the drone said he ‘could not come further’ and ‘this system is home to a protected, aggressive intelligent species’. He had read about this risk.
Leave it too long and the planet always develops intelligence! These species have to be protected by law, so harvest was impossible! And what did it mean by ‘aggressive’? He had only heard of such things in ancient history books. He learned these creatures were bipeds and apparently their odd skin, bobbing heads and 10 oily fingers even made the conservationists gag. What torture life must be for such a flimsy, clumsy creature? What sense of balance must they require to stand on those two legs? They possessed nuclear weapons, and their civilisation was very unstable. And they were destroying his work! They had killed much of his planet anyway, even ate at it! He decided to destroy them. He booked himself on a tour of the world but was told not to go near the humans (for that was their self assigned pseudonym) for they were very easily distressed creatures. While over one of their more unstable countries he decided to begin. While everyone else was disembarking their ships he sneakily released a bomb. Flying away at great speed it split into 3000 separate warheads and slammed into the cities of the north. The blasts were picked up by the drones and evacuation commenced. To his surprise the ‘Humans’ began to destroy themselves. Missiles bombarded to the country he had left and they sent them back, leaving the rest of life untouched. He would be back. But the missile arching up from the dying planet below, begged to differ.
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Perry Beeches Link
Goodman Morris Shortlist
Back in January, Mr Trimmer and several other members of staff were thrilled to be able to visit Perry Beeches School in Birmingham. Perry Beeches was recently the most improved school in the country and in 2011 was named as National Outstanding School of the Year.
Last year two Hove Park students had their designs picked out to be in the final five of a prestigious region-wide jewellery competition.
After being inspired by what we saw on our visit, we felt honoured last week when Mr Liam Nolan, the Headteacher of Perry Beeches, invited us to join them in a bid for funding to support our work towards raising standards. If we are successful in our bid, the funding will enable us to employ a number of recent university graduates to work in our school full-time, providing one-to-one tuition in English and Maths every week for up to 50 students. We’ll keep you posted with the progress of the bid as soon as we get any news.
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Hove Park School
More than 300 pupils from schools across Brighton and Hove were set the design challenge by high end jewellery store Goodman Morris. The brief was to design a wearable piece of jewellery inspired by the Prince Regent’s palace. The thrilling prize for the winning design was to have their piece created and sold in the shop. Sophie and William, Year 9, along with three students from other schools, were delighted to have their creations selected. Many design ideas were displayed in the Goodman Morris shop during the glamorous final award event, where our students were commended for the quality of their design work and original jewellery ideas.
Michelin Star Success In Food Technology and Catering, there has been success in the form of Charlie. This ambitious student dreamed of working in a Michelin Star Restaurant, a goal he wanted to achieve before he turned 20. Always with his goal in mind Charlie studied Food Technology at Hove Park with dedication and enthusiasm. In Year 10 he won a ’Futurechef’ award in a national competition, which spurred him on even more. He went onto college to further his studies. Charlie’s hard work paid off when he got his first professional break- to train with Jamie Oliver. Charlie has already surpassed his original goal as he is now working at Michelin Star restaurant The Pass in Horsham, and well before his twentieth birthday. He has also just been nominated for Young Chef of the Year. His story shows what can be achieved with focus and determinaton.
Hove Park & Vivo Miles
community. Vivo actively supports behaviour for learning, helps students stay motivated and promotes an aspirational culture. What can students spend their Vivos on? All sorts - sports equipment, stationery items, mobile topups, cinema tickets... you name it, Vivo probably have it. In addition we have created our own rewards such as prom tickets or “skip-the-lunchqueue” vouchers, or there’s our ever-popular charities that students can donate Vivos to. The Vivo Parental Engagement Platform has been designed to positively “engage and inform” parents/ carers. With your own personal Vivo account, you can view information relating to your child’s rewards and stay in touch with what’s coming in and how it’s being spent.
Friends of Hove Park School Our Friends of Hove Park School group exists to help foster a sense of community and inclusion within Hove Park for students, parents/ carers and friends. In the past we have successfully supported the school and our children by raising money to buy those items that are above and beyond what the school has the capacity to fund.
Vivo Miles is an award-winning rewards platform for schools, allowing teachers to award students electronic points called “Vivos”. Unique to the scheme is the Vivo rewards card, which every student receives. The card and the scheme’s currency - the Vivo - go beyond conventional stickers and stars. Students can be rewarded for the following; Progress & Achievement, Contribution & Participation and Attendance & Punctuality. The Vivo system is understood and valued by students who achieve Hove Park School’s expectations and contribute to the school
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Hove Park School
At Hove Park we are fortunate to have a diverse range of parents and carers who are willing to bring their wider experience and skills to not only support their own child but the school as a whole. All forms of input are welcomed from organising fundraising projects to an afternoon helping paint the school. We appreciate that time is precious for many working families, but it is the little extra bits of time and support that make a difference to Hove Park and its community, helping to make your family’s time at the school rewarding. If you feel you have time, ideas, materials for projects or anything else you can offer to benefit the school please contact group chair Bob Howitt at 4fohps@gmail.com.
Forest School Inspires Kids Hove Park launched an exciting new initiative for Year 8 students this year. Forest School is an international programme aimed at getting students connected to the outside world and learning some valuable bushcraft skills. A small group of students recently had the opportunity to take a 10 week course offered through Plumpton College. The course was so successful it was extended for an extra week to allow parents/ carers to join their children in the forest and see the skills that they had learned. Students gained a real sense of achievement and grew in confidence. The Forest School programme also gives young people the opportunity to see a possible future in areas they might not have thought of. This year’s group did so well that the programme will be extended for others to benefit from in subsequent years.
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Rolls Royce Awards Two craft-mad Hove Park Science technicians had a hairbrained idea to crochet the solar system, making the planets to their relative sizes and masses. They never imagined that their woolly planets would land them in the finals of the Rolls Royce Science Prize competition. During the summer term of 2011 Mary Wong and Jan Cottingham discussed brightening up the school labs. They settled on the original idea of crocheting the planets in the solar system, a resource which has since been used in all key stages from Year 7 to Sixth Form.
Continued...
highlight of the project was the funding of an exclusive star-gazing evening at Herstmonceux Observatory for students and their families. On the 7th November 2011, the team attended the glittering Awards Evening at The Science Museum to learn which winning team would carry off the top prize of £15,000 from the competition. They showed off their project materials at the champagne reception and received a great deal of interest from leading science educators, MPs, members of the Red Arrows and CEOs of industry including John Rishton of Rolls Royce. An after dinner speech by Lord Robert Winston impressed upon the notaries present the important role of science in society. Although the school did not win the top prize, it was a wonderful experience being part of the competition and we are proud of our Science department for being in the final 8 out of 2000 entries.
Continued... Ms Wong then attended a ‘Technician as Demonstrators’ course and had to submit an action plan in which she mentioned the project. This was entered into the ‘Rolls Royce Science Prize’ competition and we were delighted when the school was chosen as one of 8 finalists and awarded £6,000 to fund their idea with a remit to develop the project over the next few months. The team chose the overall theme of ‘The Chemistry of our Solar System’ as its project. The current curriculum was enriched through new demonstrations and experiments linked to the chemistry and physical conditions on the different planets. This project was enhanced by the requisition of data-logging equipment and a variety of sensors which were used for lots of investigations including looking at greenhouse gases and modelling physical and chemical conditions on Mars and Venus. In addition, we enthused the wider community having been invited by the organisers of the Brighton Science Festival to be part of its programme of events. An article about the competition in the local paper also helped forge links with a primary school in Worthing. The
UK Maths Challenge On 25th April, a group of 88 Year 8 pupils took part in The UKMT Individual Maths Challenge. The Junior Challenge is aimed at the top third of pupils in Year 8 or below in England and Wales and involves answering 25 multiple choice questions in one hour. Of these, the first 15 are more accessible whilst the final 10 provide more food for thought. The top 40% of students nationally receive a Gold, Silver or Bronze certificate in the ratio 1:2:3. We are proud of all our pupils who rose to the challenge but in particular we must congratulate: Anna, Chloe, Joe, Jason, Lottie, Ben & Stan who all received a Gold Award; Florence, Alya, Frank, Jessica, Aisha, Mika, Max, Tahmid & Tori who all received a Silver Award; Ruben, Ruby, Katie, Eddie, Ethan, Willem, Poppy, Ellen, Laura, Freddie, Alfie, Jack, Kyle, Louie, India & Dom who all received a Bronze Award.
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The Hove Park BACC
Fashion Show
We are always looking for ways to help students hit their targets. In Years 7, 8 and 9 students will be following the Hove Park Baccalaureate. The Hove Park Bacc is a tool to support and celebrate achievement across all subjects by students of all abilities.
Students from Blatchington Mill and Hove Park recently worked together to produce a highly professional fashion show to raise money for sufferers of Cystic Fibrosis. Over the two nights more than ÂŁ1,500 profit was raised.
The Hove Park Bacc will be awarded to all students who pass every subject that they study. To pass, students need to meet or exceed their targets, so the Bacc encourages students to reach their own full potential. Teachers in all subjects ensure students know what they need to do and give opportunities to catch up when needed. Students will also be given credit for helping the community and for joining in extra-curricular activities, at school or at home. At the end of the summer term students will have an opportunity to celebrate receiving their Hove Park Bacc. Year 7 students who pass are invited to a graduation ceremony in the summer term, along with their families. (See page 12).
20 Hove Park School
Students masterminded the whole event, combining the varied elements necessary to produce a show. Immaculately choreographed sequences were punctuated by live music performances by students from both schools. The backdrop and lighting gave the show a great atmosphere. Support was offered by City College Hair and Beauty department. Martin Doswell from City College kindly gave up two evenings to organise the Hove Park Hair and Beauty students in preparation behind the scenes. Mr Sullivan from Blatchington Mill compered proceedings with energy and humour. Mr Allwright of Hove Park said “It was great to see the two schools working together for such a good cause.�
Olympic Curriculum Following on from the success of the Brighton and Hove Schools Olympic Torch Relay, students have been involved in a very exciting cross-curricular Olympic project. During Get Set Go! week each subject area picked an Olympic theme to focus on in their lessons. In Science students studied ‘Olympics and the human body’ looking at blood oxygen supply and lung volume. In Drama they explored comedy and physical theatre based on the Olympics. In PE students experienced Olympic and Para-Olympic sports such as fencing, seated volleyball, wheelchair basketball and goal ball. Travel and Tourism looked at how these sectors are working together during the Olympics. Students in English wrote fictional stories about somebody making it to the Olympics and IT set a ‘Wheels of Glory Challenge’, an online Wheelchair basketball game and competition. Each subject area will select the best work to be displayed on our Olympic themed cross-curricular board at the Valley Campus. The winners will also receive a £10 shopping voucher for their efforts. Throughout the week students had a great time trying a variety of Olympic and Para-Olympic sports in PE, demonstrating the Olympic values of determination and enthusiasm. The photo shows one of our PE students involved in a fencing session led by Premier Sports.
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Careers Day From music production to pancake making, students were given information on a range of possible jobs and college courses at our Careers and Colleges Day. We hosted exhibitions and demonstrations from colleges and employers to give our Year 9 students a taste of their potential routes for progression. Nurses, Police and representatives from the Forces were there as were recruitment specialists and various local businesses. Also well represented were the provider colleges for our external college courses. City College Hair Dressing department had an exhibition where students could be the clients. They also brought with them a racing go-kart courtesy of the Motor Mechanics department. Plumpton Outdoor Sports department had a rowing simulator where students could check their white water skills as well as their heart rate. Northbrook Music and Media departments both had interactive exhibitions and Catering kept everyone fed on pancakes cooked by the Hove Park students currently on the course.
Southern School Book Award The libraries at Hove Park offer a wealth of opportunities for students. Over the last two years we have enjoyed author visits from some very prolific and popular teenage writers including: Robert Muchamore, Alex Scarrow, Chris Bradford, Cathy Brett, Lucy Christopher, Simon Scarrow and Jill Hucklesby. We participate in the Southern Schools Book Award, which is the only celebrated author award in which students decide on the winner. At the ceremony students have the opportunity to meet all of the nominated authors. Students read five books selected from a ‘long list’ by local librarians and teachers. At Hove Park, students meet once a week between October and December to discuss the books and share their thoughts. Students also have the opportunity to write reviews which are then uploaded onto the SSBA website. In total there are 30 schools involved covering East and West Sussex. The books are chosen using strict criteria: the author must live in the UK, the book must be published in paperback, and the book should preferably not be part of a series. Hove Park have taken part in the SSBA for the last four years and students enjoy reading the diverse books picked by the selection committee. In December, students vote for their
favourite book. This information is then collated and counted with all the other votes and the winner of the SSBA is announced at the ceremony held in January at Roedean. The great thing about this event is that after the ceremony, students meet all the authors.
Rhian , Year 9 - ‘Wasted’ review When I first saw the front cover of Wasted and read the blurb, I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy it, and as I realised when I was reading the book, the cover and the name give the wrong impression to the reader. The front cover looked like the story should be gory and quite frightening, which in fact it wasn’t. I ended up really enjoying the book, because the characters were all very believable, and the plot was so gripping. Jack’s game is very interesting, but also extremely dangerous. He takes massive risks that can easily change his life, or determine life or death, as it does in the ending. It really makes you think about how doing one little thing can end up being life-changing, and it’s really amazing that it’s true. I loved the storyline and I would give ‘Wasted’ a star rating of 9/10.
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Ski Trip to Folgaria Over February half-term, the annual ski trip (and longest running trip at Hove Park) departed for the alpine ski resort of Folgaria in Italy with 25 students from Years 9, 11 and the 6th Form along with four willing staff. The students enjoyed six days of thrilling skiing in the Italian Dolomites, which started with learning to ski on the easy nursery slopes. The students gained confidence within hours and by the start of the second day, all the groups started to progress their skiing and go up the mountain which meant negotiating the scary ski lifts! From here the advanced group were off with their instructor exploring the whole of the resort and even attempting the famous Monte Maggio black run. The beginner and intermediate groups were attempting the challenging but beautiful blue runs with some even coping with the difficult red runs. A trip to Verona was a welcome break for the students to rest their tired limbs where they got the chance to go sightseeing, soak up some Italian culture and buy some souvenirs before sampling a traditional Italian pizza. The week ended with the legendary last night disco at the local John Club, where everyone got into the spirit of the trip and donned fancy dress to bring the fantastic trip to a close.
“Think German” French Fast says Hove Park Track to Dieppe Last year the school was involved in a novel drive to turn Brighton bilingual and inspire young people to select German at GCSE. Year 9 German students and their teacher, Mr Sandford, attached giant post-it notes to four iconic buildings throughout the city with the names translated into German. Brighton Pier became “die Landungsbrücke” and Churchill Square Shopping Centre “das Einkaufszentrum”. Brighton’s post-it notes formed part of the GoetheInstitut’s campaign to encourage more young people to ‘think German’ and consider the short and long term benefits of selecting the language at GCSE. A total of four buildings across the city were labelled, with University of Brighton Art Gallery becoming “die Kunstgalerie”, and Duke of York’s Cinema “das Kino”. Uwe Rau from the Goethe-Institut commented: “Speaking a language provides young people with a huge number of opportunities that will stay with them throughout their lifetime. Foreign language skills are the key to success in a modern globalised world. Knowledge of German opens doors to business as well as academia.”
During February half term, 22 students from French Fast Track in Years 9 and 10 took part in a full day of events at our partner school in Dieppe. The aim was to break down some of the barriers to better understanding and explore the stereotypes we each have of our cultures. Hove Park students were impressive linguists and participated for the duration of a long French school day working in groups of 6-7 with students from our partner school in Dieppe. Teachers were impressed by the results of this group work, culminating in presentations in French of 2-3 minutes on the topic of stereotypical behaviours and cultures. Excursions included a tour around the chateau in Dieppe, exploring the interesting cultural links with the UK and a visit to the maritime museum to learn more about the once vital coastal fishing industry. Students also enjoyed the delights of a huge town market on the Saturday before returning home. A highlight of the trip was Mr Gallucci being presented with the stereotypical beret!
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Geography Trip to Italy Earlier this year the Geography department ran a trip to Italy for GCSE and Year 8 students. The trip covered a range of elements from the Key Stage 3 and 4 syllabus, including Tectonic Activity and Tourism. Students stayed in Sorrento and visited many interesting attractions including Solfatara volcano, Pompeii, Herculaneum and Mount Vesuvius. The last day was spent visiting Capri. Staff and students thoroughly enjoyed the trip and returned to Hove Park with excellent firsthand experience of a variety of case studies that will be used to enhance their work.
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Hove Park School
Confucius Classrooms As a ‘Confucius Classroom’ school, we are lucky to have two Chinese Teaching Assistants, George (Ren Lei) and Linda (Chen Shuoyu), here to help teach our students about Chinese language and culture. Last November, 45 Year 9 and Year 11 students enjoyed a Chinese-inspired day out in London. They strolled the streets of China Town, had a fabulous lunch in a Chinese tea restaurant, and then went on to admire the Chinese antiques at the British Museum.
in London and the Chinese New Year celebration at Hove Town Hall. Together with George and Linda, they put together a Chinese mini-play, “Story of Mr Nanguo”, which was a great success and a wonderful chance to showcase their Chinese speaking skills. Linda’s special cookery lessons with Ms Kerans proved to be a real hit with our Year 8s and she and George also run an after-school Chinese cookery club where students can try their hand at making some delicious Chinese dishes. Chinese learning is not just for the students, some staff have also shown an interest. At George and Linda’s Chinese Club for Adults, you can find Ms Griffin and Ms Kerans working hard on their Chinese and having fun too.
Thanks to liaison with Brighton University, our Year 7 students regularly enjoy Chinese activities brought to them by a group of visiting Chinese teachers. Each term the teachers give a special lesson from a carousel of Chinese cultural activities. For seven keen linguists (Kai, William, Lauren, Olivia, Hari, Alex and James), learning Chinese is not only fun, it also leads to other opportunities such as performing at the British Council\ HSBC Mandarin Speaking competition
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European Day of Languages European Day of Languages 2011 was launched on Monday 26th September with a Year 7 interactive assembly, which got students thinking and talking about the number of languages spoken in our city, our country and the world. Meanwhile all Year 8 and Year 9 Tutors ran a variety of quizzes in tutor time, with House Point prizes for winning groups. One of the most keenly contested questions was; ‘Which European Language does Mr Trimmer speak?’ All Key Stage 3 students had the chance to enter our ‘Lucky Language’ competition and explore the range of foreign language books, magazines and activities provided by Valley Library at breaktime. At lunchtime the canteen laid on a tasty European menu, displayed in four different European languages. Students and staff could choose dishes such as pollo asado, ratatouille, fritelli di zucchine and kartoffeln, finished off with torta con ricotta. Valley Hall turned into a continental cinema where students enjoyed watching a French film as they ate lunch. It was an entertaining and educational European Day and we are already looking forward to celebrating EDL 2012.
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Independent Learning The History department has been promoting independent learning this academic year with great success. Learning independently at home is essential for consolidating lessons and for developing the study skills needed at A-Level and University. Independent learning also allows students more control as they are free to present their work in any way they choose. Recent examples have seen Year 7 complete projects on the Medieval Church. Some students have built stunning models of churches from cardboard (pictured right). Others have produced booklets and presentations. The current Year 9 have produced independent work of an excellent standard throughout the academic year. Their projects included slave diaries, posters, trench diaries (bottom right) and reflections on the Holocaust. Year 8 have worked in groups to produce a “Great Exhibition� of different countries in the British Empire. They collaborated in groups both in school and at home to produce work of an exceptional standard. The department would also like to take this opportunity to thank parents and carers for encouraging and supporting students in their independent learning.
Modular Results Success! 92% of A2 Geography students achieved an A* in their Unit 4 module exam. This was an exceptional achievement and the result of considerable planning and preparation. Students spent a weekend on The Isle of Wight carrying out fieldwork investigations that they had designed. They then wrote up the investigation and completed an examination on the fieldwork.
Important Visitors Peter Tatchell
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MP Caroline Lucas
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Mayor Anne Meadows/
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Councillor Vanessa Brown/ Japanese Leaders Richard Wolfstrรถme/ Simon Scarrow/
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Lucy Christopher Steve Cunningham
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Hove Park School
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Peter Tatchell Thanks to Year 8 student Ruben’s Philosophy & Ethics homework, we were lucky enough to have human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell in school recently. Ruben made a short film about Peter when asked to research an ‘ultimate prejudice fighter’. The film came to the attention of Peter via YouTube and he was so impressed that he asked to use it on his own website and offered to come in and talk to the students. Year 8 were awe-struck by Peter’s stories of principled direct action and his unshakeable commitment to the cause. He has almost lost the vision in one eye and now suffers with memory lapses and balance problems having suffered barbaric treatment at the hands of neo-nazis in Russia and Robert Mugabe’s bodyguards in Paris. When asked if he ever fought back he said; “I was very scared in all of those situations but I am committed to non-violence. Violence is counterproductive, instead of focussing on the issue, the issue becomes your violence.” Mr Trimmer said; “We were honoured to have such a significant and awe inspiring leader of human rights in the school.”
MP Caroline Lucas It was fantastic to get a visit from Green MP for Brighton Caroline Lucas in January when she visited Hove Park to see what we are doing to raise standards and become one of the most improved schools in the country. After arriving at Nevill Campus (on the bus) to meet Mr Trimmer she looked at the progress display in the foyer before being taken to Valley. There she joined Deputy Head, Mr Hindman, on a Learning Walk to see some teaching and learning in action. The tour ended in Valley library where students had prepared some questions for her. Ms Lucas was extremely impressed with how politically switched on many of our students were during the Q & A session. They fired some quite challenging questions at her such as what did she think of the banking bonuses, the benefits cap and the scrapped Building Schools for the Future project but she got stuck into the debate giving some very thought provoking answers. Ms Lucas was thoroughly engaged and impressed throughout her visit and it was a pleasure to show her around our rapidly improving school.
Mayor Anne Meadows On Friday 16th March we welcomed Mayor Anne Meadows to the school. Having recently been to watch the school show she wanted to come back and see the school in action during the day. She arrived at Nevill Campus where she was interested to see our ‘achievement boards’. She then accompanied Mr Trimmer on a tour of Valley Campus where she spent time in an Art class and chatted to Year 7 students about being Mayor.
Councillor Vanessa Brown Councillor Vanessa Brown, Deputy Leader of Brighton & Hove Council and Cabinet Member for Children & Young People, came to visit Hove Park on Tuesday 17th April. Having heard about the improvements at Hove Park School she wanted to see them for herself. Councillor Brown had a tour of Valley Campus where she enjoyed talking to students and meeting our Brighton and Hove Youth councillors. She then met Hove Park’s new uniform supplier and was shown the plans for our new uniform. Councillor Brown said: “Thanks to the students who I met on my visit and who walked around with us. All four were a great credit to the school and I had a very enjoyable and interesting time.”
Japanese School Leaders A group of 13 teachers from Japan visited us in November to make comparisons between the Japanese and English school systems. The visitors were very interested to see how we integrate technology throughout our school and said the information gained would be of great value in improving educational activities in Japan.
Richard Wolfströme In November last year, students took part in a design workshop run by local designer Richard Wolfströme and journalist William Shaw. The aim was to design a contemporary outdoor feature or activity for Hove Park based on a heritage theme. The students were given a brief stating that the feature needed to use the wider environment of the park, not just be a static object, and it had to be suitable for a variety of age groups. The students were so engaged in the workshop, working together to produce so many creative ideas, that the designers went away with five possible designs to show the Council. The most popular ideas involved riddles to create a quest or ‘adventure trail’ through the park.
Author Simon Scarrow Author Simon Scarrow visited the school in February to promote the second book in his successful ‘Gladiator’ series. He gave a presentation to Year 7 on the history of gladiators. Students were fascinated to hear about female gladiators, gladiator school and how boys from the age of 6 were trained killers. After his presentation, Simon then involved all the students in a role play game.
Author Lucy Christopher Last October Lucy Christopher, author of ‘Stolen’ and winner of the Southern School Book Award 2010, delivered an inspiring workshop on creative writing to our Year 11 students. Student Ben James said: “Lucy was a great person to listen to and was really interesting. I’ve learned a lot”.
Steve Cunningham The “fastest blind man in the world� spent the day in school in February inspiring students with his incredible life story before attending Prizegiving Evening as our guest speaker. Steve Cunningham, who became completely blind at the age of 12, has dedicated his life to breaking barriers and succeeding beyond all expectations. He has powered to world speed records on land and sea, then taken to the air as the world’s first blind pilot. His core message for our students was that anyone can break barriers; that the path to true success is in your mind, and not your ability or environment.
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Art STOMP Logo Winner Year 11 Final Coursework
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Summer Arts Show/ Community Arts Exhibition
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Year 8 Giacometti Project
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Hove Park School
Art Roundup
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Photography Roundup
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Oliver! Set Design/ Barcelona Trip
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BRIT School
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STOMP Logo Winner Hove Park student Jake recently won a competition to design a new logo for The Old Market venue in Brighton. The venue has been taken over by the famous Brighton STOMP collective who last year called out to local schools in the community to help re-brand the venue. Our students rose to the challenge and entered the competition, in which they were asked to design a logo based on the acronym TOM. Jake submitted a few designs but the one they picked captured the spirit and energy of the venue brilliantly. The feedback we had from The Old Market was very complimentary and on the launch night they displayed all of Hove Park’s entries on projectors around the building. Jake’s winning logo is now used on all merchandise and can be seen on the building itself as well as on the website, publicity posters and leaflets in pubs and cafes all over Brighton.
Year 11 Final Coursework Here are some fine examples of GSCE artwork. Each piece is a student’s personal response to a theme. We teach students skills and techniques across many different art practices such as printing, sculpture painting and low relief. Each year we get a large cohort of students who opt to take Art in Year 9. They realise when they start their GCSE that expectations are high, particularly when they see how impressive the Year 11 work is. Mid-way through Year 10 students are encouraged to make choices and respond in a personal and informed way to a theme. We are privileged to have the opportunity to experience some truly innovative discoveries.
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Summer Arts Show 2012 In July Hove Park Nevill Campus will host the annual Summer Arts Exhibition. Year 11s will display the best of their work exploring advanced skills that can only be achieved through commitment, imagination and an ability to modify and fine tune skills. Year 10 students will also be taking a major role in this exhibition as they will each be submitting a landscape piece that they have spent a sequence of lessons working on. Year 10s will design and make posters and invitations inspired by the constructivist art movement, sending a bold purposeful message that people should attend the show. There will also be a section dedicated to our talented 6th Form Photography and Art students, displaying a wide range of personal responses using dark room practices, photoshop skills, painting, sculpture and installation.
Community Arts Exhibition In July 2011 Hove Park School’s Art department was approached to exhibit a selection of GCSE and A’ Level art work at the Brighton Jubilee Library for a Community Art exhibition. The work included a selection of paintings, drawings, sculptures, collages and photographs and was on display in the Young Peoples Corner for two months throughout the summer break. A celebratory private view was attended by staff, students, parents/ carers and local art lovers. This was a fantastic opportunity, filled with admirers and was a fitting tribute to the hard work of our students. Well done to all involved.
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Year 8 Giacometti Art teachers and students agree that ‘Giacometti’ is one of our most successful projects and this is why we do it every year. Alberto Giacometti was an artist considered to be a Surrealist. He produced a body of work in his lifetime of drawings, paintings and sculpture, which is characterised by lonely moody figures in mundane and isolated environments. Students are encouraged to be expressive with media and experiment with larger more confident gestural marks. They explore large scale figure painting in groups and analyse facial and body proportions. At the end of the project students make a sculpture using wire and mod rock. The first challenge is to make it stand and so it is a genuine accomplishment when they also look fantastic.
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Art Round Up Hove Park Art students are able to explore a huge range of styles and techniques during their time at school. We are very lucky to have a talented team of Art teachers who are all, themselves, active artists so are able to provide professional guidance to our students. These pictures are a small fraction of the amazing work completed this year.
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Photography Round Up Hove Park Photography department is growing fast. We have a brand new darkroom and an exciting new course starting in September with Year 10. On this page you can see examples of pin-hole photography, photograms, digital/ film SLR photography and some sophisticated digital manipulation. This is an area at Hove Park where the digital generation meet some traditional old school concepts and great things happen.
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Oliver! Set Design A group of A’ Level and BTEC students worked with Art department staff to design and paint a Victorian high street for the backdrop of the school show ‘Oliver!’. The students really showed their skill in creating a stunning background (pictured left) as well as the ability to think and work collaboratively. Students researched stage and set designs and came up with creative ideas for informative props after studying scripts. The set, which was predominantly acrylic paint, was given additional touches such as glitter to represent street lamps, highlighting student initiative in thinking about dramatic productions potrtayed visually.
Inspiration Trip to Barcelona On 10th February, 30 Art students from Key Stage 4 and 5 flew to Barcelona for four days. The trip included a visit to Figueres to experience the Dali Theatre-Museum, the largest surrealistic object in the world. Students also experienced the distinctive architecture of Antoni Gaudi, enjoying the sunshine and views from Parc Guell (pictured left), drawing from observation and watching the sun set from La Pedrera. The final day gave them the opportunity to visit the Sagrada Familia which Gaudi began constructing in 1883, which combines Gothic and Art Nouveau forms.
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Brit School Jack has worked exceptionally hard this year in art and made fantastic progress in his final GCSE year. Many skills and practices didn’t come easy for Jack but he attended catch up sessions and responded well to constructive advice to modify and improve his work. He was keen to continue with his art in further education and beyond so, with his growing confidence and portfolio of work, we urged him to apply for the BRIT school. We are delighted to report that Jack was accepted to study the Visual Arts & Design course, a vibrant and forward thinking Strand Area that is strongly committed to giving students a broad range of Art & Design experiences across Key Stage 4 and Post 16. They offer an innovative approach to making work through courses that involve both traditional and experimental explorations of materials and concepts. The BRIT School is one Britain’s most prestigious Performing Arts and Technology Schools for 14-19 year olds. Their ethos is one devoted to the arts, offering formidable resources and allowing students to study in sophisticated environments, equivalent to a modern workplace. The school has a unique atmosphere of support and respect which helps cultivate the ability and talent of our young people. Alumni include Rizzle Kicks, Adele, Jessie J and Amy Winehouse to name but a few.
Sports Football Honours/ Old Boys Game/ Cross Country
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National Dancers
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Let’s Dance at the Dome
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National Swimmer/ Girls Sports
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Rugby
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Ice Hockey for England
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Hove Park School
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Year 7 Football
Each player knows their unique role in the team yet they play superbly as a unit. Mr Lowrie, their coach, is hoping for another four great years with the team as they grow and improve as players. There will be many trophies to come if the team continue to improve and work together in the style they have done this year. Congratulations to all of the team on a brilliant season.
Mr Johnson (parent of Year 7 player) comments on the team’s first year:
The Year 7 football team have quickly adopted Hove Park’s slick style of pass and move football since the squad was put together at the start of the school year. The boys gelled instantly and it was soon clear they were going to become a special team. They had a brilliant National Cup run that came to an end in the last 16, which was a fantastic achievement. They also made it through to the final of the Town Cup and made the semi-finals of a national five-a-side tournament.
The first thing you notice from a parent’s eye is the attitude and enthusiasm of the boys and their teacher. The team has been a delight to watch all season. A highlight for me was in January when we went to Romsey in Hampshire and beat Mountbatten School 3-2 in the National Cup. I think they have the quality to improve on this next season and what makes this even more delightful to watch is that they are all friends having a great time playing football. With only losing a couple of games this season they have got their deserved final place in the Brighton Town Cup with beating quality teams like Dorothy Stringer (6-1) and Cardinal Newman (3-1) and hopefully at Whitehawk County Ground they will finish the season as winners.
Opponents
Competition
Venue
Score
Blatchington Mill St Philip Howard Oakmeads Causeway Blatchington Mill Cardinal Newman William Parker Dorothy Stringer Longhill Forest School Mountbatten School Tideway Glyn Technology College Cardinal Newman Cardinal Newman Patcham
B&H League ESFA National R2 County Cup R2 ESFA National R3 B&H League B&H League ESFA National R3 B&H Town Cup R1 County Cup ESFA National R5 ESFA National R6 B&H Town Cup QF ESFA National R7 B&H Town Cup SF B&H League B&H Town Cup Final
Home Away Home Home Home (B) Home (B) Home Home Away Away Away Home Home Home Away (B) Whitehawk FC
W 5-0 W 11-1 W 8-0 W 5-1 L10-3 L 6-0 W 3-0 W 6-1 L 5-3 AET W 2-0 W 3-2 W 16-1 L 2-1 W 3-1 L 4-0 Won (Pens)
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Year 8 National Cup Final By Dominic (U13’s Goalkeeper) By now most of you would have heard of the phenomenal success of our Year 8 football team this year. We have already lifted the County Cup (beating Longhill 7-0); were in the final of the Town Cup; and on the 21st May we played Sandwell Academy in the final of the National Cup. This game was played at the fantastic Premier League ground of West Bromwich Albion FC - the Hawthorns. It feels such a privilege to be part of a team of really good players and since we came together at Hove Park School in Year 7 the team has just got better and better. Our football coach, Mr Pulling, has been great in helping us with his constant encouragement. We really work hard for each other and have a great team spirit. This story is about our journey to the final of the National Cup with a massive 774 schools entering the competition. We made it down to the last two!
In Round 6, we were visited by a team from Bournemouth, Twynham School. Uncharacteristically, we didn’t start the game very well, giving the ball away a lot and not winning the 50/50 tackles. But we soon got into our stride gaining control of the game when Danny had a shot from range that smashed into the top corner of the Twynham net. Danny’s superb goal was soon followed by strikes from Max and Charlie. In the second half Billy snatched another to end the match 4-0.
The early rounds in Sussex In the first round, Hove Park School were awarded a bye into Round 2 where we played away at the Weald Community School & Sixth Form based in West Sussex. Hove Park played very positive football, playing Neil Allison in early only to see his shot saved by their big goalkeeper who played very well in the first half. The teams remained deadlocked at the half time break. Soon after the restart Hove Park upped the tempo scoring quickly to go 3-0 up. Late on the Weald struck back with a goal but to no avail and the final result was 3-1 to Hove Park. In Round 3, Hove Park were drawn in another away fixture against Felpham Community College from West Sussex. Hove Park had a shaky start and were baffled by Felpham’s two early goals. But Hove Park soon regained their composure and struck back with a fantastic goal from Hove Park’s star player, Charlie. The final whistle blew and Hove Park were through to Round 4 with Charlie bagging all five and the match ball! Round’s 4 and 5 saw Hove Park awarded home draws against William Parker Sports College from South East Sussex and Christ’s Hospital School from Mid-Sussex. In these two games Hove Park scored eight goals with none conceded. In Round 5 Christ’s Hospital looked promising in the first five minutes with several good efforts, one of which struck the cross bar. But Hove Park soon got into the swing of things with an opening goal from Morgan and then shortly after that came a goal from Billy Barker. The last game of 2011 ended 5-0 Hove Park.
Closing in on the final….. The next three games saw us play away against some very tough opposition. In Round 7 Hove Park played Harris Boys’ Academy from East Dulwich. We seemed a little intimidated by Harris Boys’ because they were physically a lot bigger than us so in the first half we seemed to forget about playing our passing game. After about 20 minutes Harris broke the deadlock with a great volley from outside the box that dipped into the top corner of the net. At half time Hove Park had a stern talking to from Mr Pulling, who told us we should be all over them. He also said that we were capable of winning the game 5-1. Hove Park came out with nothing to lose and Harris knew they had a game on. It was a great moment when the final whistle blew. Hove Park were staggered at how well they had played in the second half to come back and win the game 3-1. So to the quarter finals. We played a school from Bromley called Kemnal Technology College who we beat 5-3 last year in the same competition, but that meant nothing this year. The game was a bit scrappy at the beginning. There were lots of strong tackles going in and just as we seemed to be winning the midfield battle we gave away a rare penalty. Kemnal scored, but their lead was short lived as we came back strongly to equalise. Hove Park were ecstatic when the final whistle blew; we had won the quarter final to surpass last season and reach the semi finals for the first time ever.
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The semi final was against Coombe Boys’ School from Kingston in London. Hove Park felt that they went into the semi final as the underdogs of the match and we were stunned when we found out that the match was being played at Fulham training ground. Everyone was so nervous. The match kicked off and we were the better team passing the ball very fluently and not panicking. With 5 minutes left of the half Hove Park fell asleep in defence and let Coombe run through us and slot it in the bottom corner, 2-1. In the second half Hove Park were all about defence playing for their lives and not letting anything past. Coombe were getting frustrated and they started committing more and more fouls. The final whistle blew and we had won 2-1. Unbelievably we are in the final! … What a journey.
Now down to the last two, Hove Park will be representing the City of Brighton and Hove against their opponents from West Bromwich, Sandwell Academy on the 21st May at the Hawthorns, home of Premier League team, West Bromwich Albion. Get behind the boys from the home of the other Albion as they go for the greatest prize in English Under 13’s football.
And finally, it seems the City of Brighton and Hove are getting to know about Hove Park School’s achievement. Here follows a message of support from Dick Knight, President of Brighton and Hove Albion FC:
Good luck lads as you play ‘away’ – win or lose your achievement is something to be proud of for the rest of your lives. All of Brighton and Hove is with you and special best wishes from all of us here at the (real) Albion!
Congratulations to Hove Park School Under 13’s football team for their remarkable achievement in reaching the final of the English Schools’ Football Association National U-13’s Cup. Hove Park have won through an incredible nine successive rounds to reach the final leaving an amazing 772 schools in their wake!
Dick Knight Life President, Brighton and Hove Albion
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Opponents
Competition
Venue
Score
Blatchington Mill The Weald Downlands Felpham William Parker Christ’s Hospital Cardinal Newman Cardinal Newman Twynham School Tideway Seaford Head Harris Boys Kemnal Blatchington Mill Tanbridge House Cardinal Newman Coombe Boys Patcham Longhill Blatchington Mill Cardinal Newman Sandwell Academy
B&H League ESFA National R2 County Cup R2 ESFA National R3 ESFA National R4 ESFA National R5 County Cup R3 B&H League ESFA National R6 B&H Town Cup R1 County Cup QF ESFA National R7 ESFA National QF B&H League County Cup SF B&H League ESFA National SF B&H Town Cup QF County Cup Final B&H Town Cup SF B&H Town Cup Final ESFA National Final
Home (B) Away Away Away Home Home Away Home (B) Home Home Home Away Away Home Home Away Away Home Worthing FC Home Newhaven FC West Brom FC
W 6-5 W 3-1 W 7-2 W 5-3 W 3-0 W 5-0 W 5-3 (pens) L 9-0 W 4-0 W 8-0 W 6-1 W 3-1 W 2-1 L 6-0 W 2-0 L 3-1 W 2-1 W 1-0 W 7-0 W 8-0 L 2-1 L 5-2
Hove Park School
just focussed on the job. We started to command the game, solid at the back and getting control of midfield. Then Charlie went on one of his jiggling runs inside the box he shot and the keeper parried it only for the ball to be put in the back of the net by Alex Beale. 2-2.
The final vs Sandwell Academy The stage was set, the final about to commence at the amazing Hawthorns. We had a lot of fans from Hove Park cheering us on as we warmed up on the pitch. Sandwell had even more support because their school was opposite the ground. The sun was shining in perfect conditions for a football match. We had come up on the coach the night before and we were ready. The match kicked off with Sandwell Academy trying their luck with a shot from the half way line, but luckily it was comfortable for our keeper. Sandwell had the majority of possession in the first two minutes until they won a free kick in a dangerous position.1-0 to Sandwell. Hove Park replied by getting the ball down and playing their natural game and after five minutes of that Charlie, the Hove Park skipper, struck the ball sweetly and watched the ball fly into the top corner of the net. All the players and supporters were ecstatic as Charlie ran to celebrate. Sandwell 1-1 Hove Park. Midway through the first half Mo got the ball deep in his own half surging into the midfield only to lose out to a good tackle from Jon who then went on to score and make it 2-1 to Sandwell. The sheer quality of the three goals were befitting of the Premier League surroundings. At this point Sandwell were definitely having the better of the play and Hove Park were glad to hear the half time whistle. After a pep talk from Mr Pulling we stepped out of the changing room, down the tunnel and back on the pitch. It is amazing to think about it now. The ground and the crowd of over 2000 fans. We
Sandwell stepped up their game again and started to get the upper hand peppering the shots down on the Hove Park goal forcing some good saves from our keeper. It was not too long before a Sandwell striker crossed the ball in and another Sandwell player headed it in from six yards. 3-2 to Sandwell. Hove Park heads were dropping at this point as the Sandwell support was rising and Sandwell were dominating the possession more and more. Stan had his best game of the season when we needed him most, making some crunching tackles and not letting attackers slip away from him. All of the team gave absolutely everything. But the defence was breached when a Sandwell player hit the ball from the edge of the box forcing a good save from the keeper onto the crossbar only to see a Sandwell player tap it into an open net. Hove Park were down and out by this point because Sandwell were solid at the back not letting anything through. All of a sudden Sandwell caught us on the break but Danny got back and did his bit before giving away a penalty. It was clearly a dive after the Sandwell player had been pulling Danny’s shirt more. So the captain stepped up to take it and thumped the ball low and hard into the bottom left corner sending the keeper the wrong way. The 5-2 scoreline to Sandwell didn’t really tell the story. The final whistle blew after 70 minutes and Hove Park couldn’t believe how good this Sandwell team were. 5-2. What an experience, a great achievement and astonishing that we got this far. As the ESFA Chairman said in the match programme “you are the best two teams in your age group in the country”. I think this final reflected that.
By Dominic, Year 8.
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James Fergany Huge congratulations must go to former Year 11 student James Fergany who has recently been awarded a two year scholarship with Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. James will follow in the footsteps of Elliot Levy, who last year was also lucky enough to earn himself a place in the youth academy at the Albion. James was given a brief six month contract over the past year with the Centre of Excellence after scoring many goals for the school team, Brighton & Hove Schoolboys and Sussex Schools. It was after these performances that James was spotted and the Albion then felt he had the potential to possibly earn a professional deal in the future. We wish James all the best for his future football education.
Year 9 Football
bad start when they went out of the National Cup in the first Round, the team played some great football in the County Cup and Town Cup. The season ended in style at Newhaven FC when the team controlled the game to win 3-2. It was an outstanding display to win their first trophy at Hove Park.
Year 10 Football The Year 9 football team continue to go from strength to strength, bringing their third year at Hove Park to a close with a well deserved Brighton & Hove Town Cup Final win. Following on from the Brighton & Hove league win in Year 8 and a superb tour in Spain, the Year 9 team embarked on the new season with excitement and energy. Despite getting off to a
After two successive cup final appearances in Years 7 and 8, it is clear to see that this group of players is very talented and are capable of succeeding. With Mr Lowrie’s leadership, the team took Cardinal Newman all the way to penalties in the Brighton & Hove Town Cup semi final. We hope that the squad can continue their interest and enthusiasm for the honour of representing the school and work well together in their final year at Hove Park.
Opponents
Competition
Venue
Score
Dorothy Stringer PACA Cardinal Newman Dorothy Stringer Tideway Cardinal Newman Patcham William Parker Blatchington Mill Longhill
ESFA National R1 B&H Town Cup R1 B&H League County Cup R2 B&H Town Cup QF County Cup R3 B&H Town Cup SF County Cup QF B&H League B&H Town Cup Final
Home Home Home Home Home Away Away Away Home Newhaven F.C
L 3-1 W 7-1 D 1-1 W 1-0 W 3-1 W 3-1 W 4-3 L 2-0 L 3-1 W 3-2
Opponents
Competition
Venue
Score
Shoreham College St Andrews Cardinal Newman Longhill Cardinal Newman PACA Blatchington Mill
Friendly ESFA National R2 B&H League County Cup R2 B&H Town Cup SF B&H League B&H League
Home Away Away Away Away Home Home
L 3-2 L 4-3 (pens) L 5-0 L 2-1 L 5-4 (pens) W 11-2 L 4-0
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Year 11 Football James made himself available for the County Cup quarter final against Uckfield though and was quickly summoned from the subs bench when we found ourselves 3-0 down in the first half. Unfortunately we couldn’t quite manage a fight back on this occasion. The season finished with a league double header against local rivals Blatchington Mill, where we took the chance to field 24 players throughout the game and give the opportunity to several students to represent the school for the first time. The season started with another visit to the 3G surface of Oathall Community College in the English Schools’ National Cup and a comprehensive 5-0 win. This was to lead to a clash against Seaford Head, where we managed to fight back several times during the game, after going behind, eventually winning on penalties.
It has been a fantastic five years with the highlights being the wins, the tour and the Cup Final success.
Last year’s opponents in the Town Cup Final, Dorothy Stringer, were dispatched in the County Cup. James Fergany took a brief break from school football to take up the offer of a six month trial with Brighton & Hove Albion. James has shown terrific potential throughout his time at Hove Park and it was only a matter of time before a professional club showed their interest. This was to prove an excellent decision as James was subsequently offered a two year youth scholarship with the Albion. (See story on page 54).
Freddie commented:
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Special mention must go to captain Freddie who has shown exceptional leadership qualities and led the team throughout.
I have always considered the team as one of the best, ever since the beginning, but we really found good form in the last couple of years. In Year 10, we secured our first title as Town Cup Champions with a goal from Dan Nelson, which I have selected as my favourite match. For my favourite goal, it has to be in the semi final leading up to our trophy win against Patcham.
Opponents
Competition
Venue
Score
Oathall Cardinal Newman Seaford Head Dorothy Stringer Durrington High Downlands Uckfield Varndean Cardinal Newman Blatchington Mill Blatchington Mill
ESFA National R2 B&H League ESFA National R3 County Cup R2 ESFA National R4 County Cup R3 County Cup QF B&H Town Cup QF B&H Town SF B&H League B&H League
Away Home Away Away Away Home Home Away Home Home Home
W 5-0 W 3-1 W 5-5 (7-6 pens) W 3-0 L 2-1 W 3-0 L 4-1 W 3-0 L 3-0 D 1-1 L 3-1
Hove Park School
Mini Mile Going 3-0 up at half time made us think we had the win. But before we knew it, from a sudden team collapse, we found ourselves 4-3 down. While the Patcham team were celebrating their fourth goal in our half, Jesse quickly took the centre kick, ran up the pitch with the ball, and put it in the net. Amazingly, the referee pointed to the centre spot, and allowed the goal to stand. We went on to win 5-4. It’s a shame that we have to leave all this behind, but with a team of great players that have developed massively over the years, I’m sure everyone will continue with their football, and look back on our success in times to come.
Freddie’s father Clive Martin, who has supported and sponsored the team over the last 5 years also commented: Having watched the lads in the Year 11 team since they first played together in Year 7, I have seen them develop from an inexperienced group of boys into a tight knit well disciplined team of experienced footballers.
This year Hove Park teamed up with Grounded Events, organisers of the Brighton Marathon, to hold its own Mini Mile event. This event was a warm up for the official Grand Hotel Mini Mile race that takes place on the morning of the Brighton Marathon. It was an opportunity for pupils in Years 3-7 to experience running the mile distance and a chance to see if they enjoyed it before signing up to the bigger race on marathon day. This year more than 100 pupils from St Andrews, Hangleton Juniors and Hove Park took part in the event. All pupils received a certificate of achievement and individual medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd in each race category were awarded. The event was professionally run by our Year 11 Sports Leaders, who did a fantastic job of marshalling, warming up the competitors and issuing awards to pupils in an Olympic style ceremony. Brighton Marathon organiser and Olympian Tim Hutchings was also on hand to present the medals and offer support to the young runners.
They have had their good games and bad, but throughout have remained both focussed and sportsmanlike in their endeavours. Their hard work was highlighted when they won the Town Cup in Year 10. It has been both an honour and a pleasure to have sponsored and supported them throughout their 5 years at Hove Park School and I wish them all the very best in their future footballing careers.
All the Best Clive Martin
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Representative Honours
Cross Country Report
We are very proud of our students’ successes in their sporting careers this year and there are a number of students who are currently representing professional football clubs, district teams and county teams.
The Year 7 boys cross country team have proved to be hard to beat with victories in two major cross country meetings this year.
In football, we have students currently training with professional clubs in the south-east of England. They are Mohammed, Matthew, Danny, George, Jack (Brighton & Hove Albion), Charlie (Arsenal), Billy, Morgan, Louis (Crawley Town) and Leon (Charlton Athletic). It has also been a successful year for our crosscountry runners and athletes, with many students selected for representative honours. Milad (Triple Jump), James (400m), Ellen (800m) and Lotte (Shot Putt) have all represented Brighton, Hove & Portslade District. Ellen and our fantastic Brighton & Hove and Sussex Champions, namely Charlie, Jimi, Tom and Jack have all represented Sussex Schools after excellent performances in cross-country.
Old Boys Vs Hove Rugby This annual rugby match takes place each year in May. The match is a celebration of the students’ achievements, an opportunity for a reunion and a demonstration of the strong partnership between Hove RFC & Hove Park School. The Hove Park Old Boys team consists of Assistant Head, Mr Brooking, and a motley bunch of ex-Hove Park students aged between 17 and 30 years old. So far the Old Boys have won 4 out of the 9 games with Hove RFC winning the other 5. This year Hove RFC beat the Old Boys, sadly bringing a three year unbeaten run to an end.
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In January, hosted at Waterhall playing fields, the team won the Brighton & Hove Schools Championships with our four best runners finishing in 1st, 3rd, 4th and 13th. They were Charlie Watts, Jimi Reece, Jack Marchant and Charlie Womersley. In the Year 8/ 9 competition, we also came close with good performances from Charlie (6th), Alex (7th), Charlie (12th), Morgan (22nd) and Ted (26th). However, it was the Year 7 team that continued to go from strength to strength as they went on to also win the Sussex Championships at Christ’s Hospital. The winning foursome were Charlie, Tom, Jack and Jimi. After their success at the Year 7 Sussex Schools Cross Country Championships, four students were selected to represent Sussex at an Inter County match held at Bexhill Down on Saturday 24th March. Students were racing against athletes from Essex, Kent, Hampshire and Surrey. All the students performed well in their races and we are looking forward to see what they can do on the track in the summer season. Definitely athletes to watch out for.
National Dancers An exciting opportunity has arisen for Dance enthusiasts Leah and Gabriella, who have been selected as part of ‘Team England’ and will soon be competing in the Dance World Cup in Austria. Both girls were chosen to compete as part of dance school A2Art Performing Arts in Hove. They are skilled in various dance styles including modern, tap, ballet, hip hop and contemporary, all of which will feature in the competition. Leah and Gabriella are so committed to dance they attend lessons up to five times per week. Leah has been dancing since she was three but both girls only began taking it seriously two years ago when they started competing more regularly. When asked about the future Leah said: “We’d both like to go into Dance as a career as we’ve invested so much time into it already. We’d like to work in choreography or be professional dancers in shows”.
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Let’s Dance at The Dome This year, over 50 students from every year group performed a stunning, high-energy dance piece at the Let’s Dance festival at The Dome in Brighton. Every dancer donned a Tina Turner style wig and busted out moves to Tina’s ‘Proud Mary’. Despite dancing alongside some fantastic acts, Hove Park stole the show, getting an amazing audience reaction. Students from Year 7 through to Sixth Form took part in the performance and all dancers contributed to the choreography. We opted for a comical approach to the dance piece. Getting all the performers in one place for rehearsals was difficult but all the students pulled together, rehearsing in their own time and taking part in extra rehearsals after school. The hard work paid off as the dancers gave a slick and professional performance.
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Swimming Success Student Amy is one to watch in the water. At just 16 she is already swimming competitively at a national level. The first time she was entered into the British Gas National Age Groups Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield she finished just 0.10s off third place coming in an impressive fourth. The dedication and commitment required to achieve this level at swimming is evident when you look at Amy’s daily routine; up at 5am to swim before school at Lancing College with local swimming club Shiverers, a full day of lessons and then another training session after school. Amy began swimming lessons at 7 when she attended Hangleton Juniors but initially didn’t take to what is now her strongest stroke (breaststroke) because her kick ‘wasn’t right’. Her uncle, the coach of the school swimming club at the time, spent some time with Amy, correcting her kick. From there she went from strength to strength and is now a top class breaststroker. When asked about her aspirations Amy is modest; “It would be nice to get to Olympic level but you can’t force it. If it comes, it comes.” she said. In this year’s National Championships coming up in July, Amy will be taking part in a 100m freestyle relay. Good luck Amy!
Year 7 Girls’ Football With more than 20 girls turning up to the first training session it was clear that we had an excellent group of enthusiastic players in Year 7. We had enough to field two teams when many other schools only had one. The aim of the season was to get every player involved as much as possible. With many pupils having limited experience of football, the main focus in training was to develop fundamental ball skills and build an awareness of tactics and strategies. The A-team played in a number of closely fought matches, demonstrating an excellent spirit and enthusiasm for the game. They got off to a great start by beating Dorothy Stringer 4-0 with Summer Dutton netting two of the goals. Our next game was against Blatchington Mill, which we drew 1-1. A great performance by the team with us having most of the possession. We then went on to beat Longhill 1-0, which was followed with a 3-0 defeat at Cardinal Newman. Two other schools were able to provide opposition for our B team and the girls won one and lost one. An excellent first year for the girls with both teams demonstrating a greater understanding of the game. We look forward to competing in the 11-a-side league in September.
U14 Girls’ Football The Year 8 girls played in the 11-a-side league for the first time this season. This proved a challenge for them, resulting in a few early loses. As the season progressed their confidence grew and the girls played superbly to beat Blatchington Mill 5-1. This result was followed by a 3-0 win against Cardinal Newman which helped them to finish in a very respectable 4th position in the league. Well done to the U14 squad.
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U16 Girls’ Football The Year 10 and 11 girls combined to form the U16 squad. Once again they had a very successful year with them winning the Brighton and Hove League. The highlights of the year included wins against Patcham and local rival Cardinal Newman.
Year 8 Girls’ Netball The team have worked hard this year and shown that they are developing into a good netballing team. The improvement since the beginning of the year shows that we have a strong cohesive group of students who have plenty of enthusiasm and a passion for netball. After losing their first two games they went on to beat Longhill. This was followed by a very impressive 13-1 win over Tideway. The good form continued in our game against Varndean before narrowly losing the last game of the season to Patcham.
Year 9 Girls’ Netball Year 7 Girls’ Netball The year started with an outstanding number of girls coming to Netball club every week. The A team had some tough opponents to face in the Division 1 League, fighting in some very close matches. They lost their first game 7-4 against local rivals Blatchington Mill. They then came back with a massive 15-1 win against Longhill which was the highlight of their season. Unfortunately they narrowly lost their next four games to finish 5th in the league. The B team girls deserve to be congratulated on their commitment and enthusiasm throughout the season. They have struggled with some tough competition but have shown that they are developing into a strong team.
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The A team followed on from last season’s success by winning the Division 1 League for the second consecutive year. The standard of netball in the Year 9 League was very high and this is a fantastic achievement. Highlights included a 16-0 thrashing of Dorothy Stringer, an 11-0 win over Longhill and a closely fought game against Cardinal Newman, which was very exciting to watch; it was neck and neck all the way through but the girls showed fighting spirit and came out eventual winners 11-9. The B team also had a successful season finishing runners up in the Division 2 League. They won four out of their five matches.
Year 10 Girls’ Netball The Year 10s had a strong start to the season, finishing runners-up in the Area Tournament and League. They were unbeaten in the run up to the final, which they lost to Cardinal Newman in a closely contested match.
commitment, enthusiasm and high level of playing ability and should be very proud of their achievement.
U15 Girls’ Rugby Year 7 Girls’ Rugby The Year 7 rugby team entered the Brighton and Hove District Tag Rugby tournament in March this year. For many players it was their first experience of competitive rugby. They demonstrated a fantastic enthusiasm for the game and put in an outstanding performance finishing runners-up, losing by just one point to Dorothy Stringer.
Year 8 Girls’ Rugby For the Year 8 team, this year was about developing their experience of the game by progressing to playing full contact rugby. The highlight was winning the Brighton and Hove District tournament where they won all of their games. The team have shown a fantastic
The U15 team went to the Brighton and Hove District tournament to defend their title after winning the event in 2011. Once again they were unstoppable and came out as overall winners. The girls have demonstrated a huge commitment to rugby at Hove Park and have developed into a very good side.
U15 Girls’ Cricket For the fifth year running Hove Park were involved in the U13 Girls Cricket league. The team is a combination of committed and enthusiastic Year 7s and 8s. We are one of only a few comprehensive schools that enter the Girls’ Cricket League with many of our games being played against private schools across Sussex. The team entered the Indoor District tournament at Warden Park in February and demonstrated a good level of cricket, the highlight being a closely fought game against Brighton College. The team were narrowly beaten 68–62. A summary of their league results will follow in the summer term.
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Year 7 Rugby The Year 7 rugby team has made great progress this year. They had a baptism of fire playing against well established high profile private schools with excellent rugby reputations; Brighton College Prep School, Brighton College Junior School, Hurstpierpoint College and Shoreham College. Despite losing to these schools, the boys gave excellent accounts of themselves and came close in a couple of matches. The Year 7 team came runners up in the Brighton & Hove Town Cup Tournament. They beat Blatchington Mill, Varndean and Longhill on the way to the final, to lose narrowly to Dorothy Stringer’s two tries to one in a close fought match.
Year 8 Rugby
Some strong play in the forwards from the likes of Freddie Winter and Hugh Tasker as well as excellent rugby in the backs had the team poised for a positive season. Highlights of the year include a fantastic win over Brighton College winning 38-5, beating Varndean 35-7 and a convincing victory over Dorothy Stringer 47-7 in the Town Cup to make the finals. Everyone pulled together to reach the finals, but key trys through the Town Cup season came from Kris, Callan, Ebadul, Freddie and Luke helping secure the place in the finals at Hove Rugby Club. On finals day Cardinal Newman proved strong in defence and consistently won back the ball from defensive rucks. However the boys scored two superb trys and looked every bit their equal when in possession of the ball. A disallowed try from Ebadul and a few injuries, including the Captain Dominic being bought off field with a head injury, tipped the balance in favour of the opposition and the Year 8 team were left to wait until next year for their chance to retain the title of Town Cup winners.
Year 9 Rugby
Overall the Year 8s had a good season, building on the strengths of players from Year 7 and encouraging new talent into the team. The forwards pack are developing well in defence and in attack, some superb rugby is played in the backs. The season started early in September with a defence of the Town Tournament title from the previous season. Some superb rugby was played, however Cardinal Newman eventually won the competition on points scored.
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The Year 9 team captained by Will continues to show some superb potential. This year the team reached the Town Cup Finals and lost 35-17. No disgrace as their opposition was Cardinal Newman who are both Sussex County Champions
as well as South East Counties Champions this season. It was a fantastic game of contrasting styles, with Cardinal Newman being excellent with the ball in the backs and Hove Park dominant with the ball in the forwards. Despite losing two key players in the backs to injury early on, Hove Park kept pushing the entire match which created a thoroughly watchable game.
Year 10 Rugby
Earlier in the season the team lost some really close fixtures which could have made all the difference in the County Cup. After playing a superb game and drawing 17-17 at full time, we conceded a penalty in our own 22 in added time leaving Warden Park a penalty kick for victory. This loss ended our County Cup for the season. We played St Bedes away in the County Cup Plate and after a 19-19 draw the record was firmly set straight with a 38-17 victory in the replay at home. Both performances showed real grit and determination and a combination of some great forwards play with the ball, and strong tackling in the backs proved too much for the St Bedes team on their return fixture. The match away to Dorothy Stringer was possibly the performance of the year with a hard fought 2010 victory. Mr Lawrence, Head of PE at Dorothy Stringer and Sussex rugby coach remarked at the end of the game that it was “possibly the best game of school rugby he had ever seen”. The game was won with some strong play in the forwards from Sacha and Colin both scoring some crucial trys. It was also the game that the backs line started to perform as a unit. Hove Park followed their fantastic performance against Dorothy Stringer by completing a 31-7 victory against Blatchington Mill to get the team to the Town Cup Final. Overall a really entertaining season of rugby from the team. Their performances at the end of the season against strong opposition only go to show their capacity. If they can get the full strength side on the field, ready for each game in Year 10, watch this space!
The Year 10 team played together well as always this year. However their season was cut short due to the success of others in the school and early exits from the County and Town Cups. The forwards pack were as strong as ever with stalwarts of the team Reece, Adam, Charlie, John and Ming amongst those driving the team through the forwards as in previous years. New players to the side in the form of Jim, Louie and Prentice added some new strength and enthusiasm to the side. One particularly strong game was against Shoreham College where the forwards were “immense... and fought like lions” according to Mr Edlin, the Shoreham coach. The backs started to take shape with captain Danny and Hal making a strong half backs partnership. In previous years the weak point for this team had always been in the centres. However with Ryan and Zak in these positions, this looked like it was more of a strength. In spite of a lack of wins through this season the team has definitely grown in strength. The team started well and achieved a third place at the town’s 10-a-side tournament. They also played a superb game against Shoreham College. Early exits against Tideway in the County Cup and against Cardinal Newman in the Town Cup should not mask what a positive bunch of players this team is on the field.
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Year 7 Rugby Results
Opponents
Competition
Venue
Result
Brighton College Prep Brighton College Junior Hurstpierpoint College Shoreham College Blatchington Mill Blatchington Mill Blatchington Mill Varndean Longhill Dorothy Stringer
County Cup Friendly Friendly Friendly Friendly County Cup Brighton & Hove Town Cup Brighton & Hove Town Cup Brighton & Hove Town Cup Brighton & Hove Town Cup
Away Away Away Away Away Home Brighton RFC Brighton RFC Brighton RFC Brighton RFC
L 25-10 L 45-35 L 30-10 L 25-5 L 25-15 W 45 - 0 W 15-0 W 15-0 W 15-0 L 10-5
Opponents
Competition
Venue
Result
Various Cardinal Newman Varndean School Brighton College U13s Hurstpierpoint College Tideway School Shoreham College Dorothy Stringer Blatchington Mill Cardinal Newman
15-a-Side Tournament County Cup Round 1 Town Cup Friendly County Cup Friendly Friendly Town Cup Town Cup Town Cup Final
Waterhall Cardinal Newman Away Home Away Home Home Home N/A Hove RFC
2nd Place L 43-12 W 35-7 W 38-5 L 19-10 L 48-5 W 35-15 W 47-7 Bye to final L 47-14
Opponents
Competition
Venue
Result
Tideway Various Brighton College Warden Park St Bedes Shoreham College St Bedes Cardinal Newman Dorothy Stringer Blatchington Mill Cardinal Newman
State Schools C.Cup Town Tournament County Cup R1 State Schools C.Cup County Cup Plate Friendly Friendly Town Cup Town Cup Town Cup Town Cup Finals
Tideway Waterhall Home Home Away Home Home Away Away Home Brighton RFC
W 35-3 2nd Place L 37-20 L 17-20 D 19-19 L 38-40 W 38-17 L 47-12 W 20-10 W 31-7 L 37-15
Opponents
Competition
Venue
Result
Various Tideway Hurstpierpoint College Blatchington Mill Shoreham College Cardinal Newman
Town 10-a-Side County Cup Round 1 County Cup County Cup Friendly Friendly
Hove Rec Away Away Away Home Home
3rd Place W 48-7 Walkover Given L 37-17 W 17-20 L 35-17
Year 8 Rugby Results
Year 9 Rugby Results
Year 10 Rugby Results
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Ice Hockey For England! Year 9 student Ben may be just 13 but he is well on his way to a glittering International Ice-Hockey career. Having played ice-hockey at a high standard from a young age, he was recently spotted by GB talent scouts while representing the South East of England in a UK tournament. Now playing for his country in the England U14 team, he competes at international level and has played tournaments in Budapest and more recently in Prague, where the team were runners-up. With a new season just starting, he will once again be competing as part of the South of England team before the international competitions restart later in the year. Ben is highly motivated to take his talent as far as he can and has ambitions to win a scholarship to attend college in Boston or New York where the standards in the sport are much higher. Incredibly Ben’s skills were spotted at the young age of four when he went ice skating for the first time with his family: “They put me on the ice and I just went off. I didn’t fall over once. It doesn’t run in the family or anything so no-one knew where it came from. I could just skate straight away!”
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Drama & Music Rising Musical Star - Hannah Youth Arts Festival/ A2/ White Night Festival
70 - 71
Final Drama Pieces
72 - 73
Year 9 Rock/ Leading Edge Programme
74
One to watch - Teo
75
Oliver!
68
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76 - 77
Rising Musical Star Hannah, Year 11, is something of a rising musical talent. Aged just 15, she has already gained Grade 8 standard in both flute and saxophone, and hopes to take her diploma soon in both instruments. Hannah lives and breathes music, playing with many prestigious groups locally and nationally. She is a member of Brighton and Hove Youth Orchestra, Brighton & Hove Big Band, East Sussex Youth Orchestra and, against fierce national competition, she gained one of the few places with the National Children’s Wind Orchestra. She performed at the exclusive Montreux Jazz Festival in 2010 with the Youth Big Band, a highlight of her career to date. She was recently invited to play at the launch of the Brighton Fringe Festival in May. Hannah hopes to become a professional musician either with a professional orchestra or in a jazz big band and is aiming to study at Royal Northern Music Academy in Manchester. Here she wants to study the saxophone and flute with internationally acclaimed saxophonist Professor Rob Buckland.
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Youth Arts Festival April saw the launch of a Citywide Youth Arts Festival, an event showcasing creative work from young people across the City. The annual festival, now in its fifth year, was linked to the cultural Olympiad with the theme of ‘personal best’. Hove Park students took this theme and devised an original piece of theatre called the Pathetic Athletics, a comedy physical theatre piece about the most useless Olympic team of all time. This was performed to a packed audience in the carefully selected performance space of the school gym on Thursday 10th May.
Continued...
Continued... Students also performed extracts of the piece at the launch of the Festival at Jubilee Library on 25th April. Not only was the piece performed to over 500 people who attended the showcase but Sixth Form students Hayley Pettitt and Jamie Parsons hosted the whole evening.
Student performer Hayley said; From start to finish our piece was heavily influenced by the Olympics as we explored what silly sports such as balloon blowing or the human body roll we would like to see if we were in charge. We then developed character archetypes such as Mr Panic and Miss Lazy who are forced to participate and overcome a variety of obstacles to achieve their personal best. There was lots of moments of farce and buffoonery and by the end of the performance we were all exhausted such was the physical demand of the piece. It also reaffirmed the idea of team as we all came together as a youth theatre, sharing our ideas and supporting each other. I loved being part of this ensemble and being part of a Citywide festival has added value to our work.
A2 Drama
White Night Festival As part of Citywide White Night Festival, Hove Park students performed at Brighton Museum in role as famous Brighton residents such as the Prince Regent and Martha Gunn. They also re-enacted key historical moments from Brighton’s history such as the Mods and Rockers clash of the 1960s. The theme of the event was Utopia and the young people considered the types of things they would like to experience in their own personal paradise such as the ‘shop till you drop’ utopia. The students took up residency in the museum to devise their work, talking to museum staff and using the exhibits as a stimulus. They performed all through the evening of the White Night Event in role to over two thousand people who entered the museum. This work has led to some more exciting opportunities for young people to work with the museum. We have had students create the audio description for the new World Stories Gallery and Hove Park students also performed at the grand opening of this gallery.
The A2 Drama group were asked to devise their own response around the issue of Human Rights. They had to research a variety of Human Rights violations and explore contemporary issues such as the right to privacy. The end results were highly imaginative pieces of theatre, using shadow puppetry and multi-media. The performances examined press intrusion and how people with mental illness are still discriminated against. It gave students the opportunity to put together their experience over the two years of the course and make the link between the academic and the practical aspects of the course.
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AS Drama Performance AS students performed to a jam-packed audience in the Drama Studio on Wednesday 30th May. The evening began with students performing monologues in various styles from the heart wrenching to the hilarious. This was followed by a performance of ‘Chatroom’ by Enda Walsh, a play that explores the lives of young people through the darker side of social networking.
Continued...
Continued... There were moments that had the audience on the edge of their seats which contrasted with moments of farce. We were very proud of all of the performers and we hope that all their had work will be rewarded with some high marks in the summer.
GCSE Final Performances Over 40 students completed their GSCE Drama studies this year with the final unit being a practical performance to an external examiner. Students worked in groups to direct and perform a scripted extract from a play. They showed fantastic commitment, rehearsing every day after school to create some exciting pieces of theatre. There was a variety of styles on show from farce ‘The Accidental Death of an Anarchist’ to the highly charged ‘4:48 Psychosis’. We were very proud of all of our students’ contributions and we look forward to some fantastic results this summer.
Exciting Drama Coming Soon There are lots of exciting Drama projects coming up at Hove Park including a production of King Lear in October as part of the Shakespeare Festival, the whole school production of Little Shop of Horrors and a collaboration between Brighton Dome and Hove Park. Check our website for the latest Drama news.
Almanac - 2011/12
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Year 9 Rock! This year has seen the flourishing of two Hove Park rock bands The Gig and a Girlfriend and The Wookeez. Both groups are in Year 9 and continue to wow and amaze audiences across Brighton and Hove. A wet day in June back in 2011 saw both bands take to the stage to perform at the Roundhill street party. Despite the dismal weather, both groups got the crowd in a much better mood and had them dancing away. Since then Leila (singer), Jake (guitar/ backing vocals), Max (bass guitar/ backing vocals) and Luke (drums) have taken to the stage at various concerts in and outside of school. Recently the group performed for the Brighton and Hove Olympic torch ceremony where youngsters from Hangleton Junior School were entertained by the quartet. Earlier in the year The Gig and a Girlfriend also performed at the Windmill Theatre raising money for local football team Hangleton Rangers, and also performed at Hove Park’s Family Fun Day. The Wookeez are a five piece who have played together for many years and three of the five attend Hove Park. Marlon (bass/ backing vocals) Jack (drums) and Sacha (guitar) have performed at various concerts in Hove Park even managing as a three piece. The Wookeez this year played at the Sounds from the City gig at the Brighton Pavilion Theatre, as well as various venues including the Southwick Social Club and various venues in Rottingdean. The group are already breaking onto the wedding scene with a performance at one wedding already planned for this summer. Here’s hoping that both groups will be available for Hove Park’s Family Fun Day 2012.
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Hove Park School
Leading Edge Programme For the past five years Hove Park Music department has been involved with the Leading Edge Programme. This involves Hove Park School, Blatchington Mill and Hangleton Junior School all joining together for a day of music. From each school a student is chosen to compose their own piece of music. Once written, the combined orchestras of the three schools rehearse and perform these works along with other pieces. On Wednesday 13th July 2011, a 90 strong group of musicians performed to an audience of honoured guests, parents, carers and friends. The theme was ‘Space’ and each school got to choose four students to compose music based on this theme. Karine, Toby, Tori and Anna were the chosen four and put together some fantastic musical writing to create some very atmospheric and stylish pieces. The orchestra also performed Kings of Leon’s “Use Somebody” conducted by Hove Park’s Mr Miles. This year sees no exception to the trend and on Wednesday 13th July the three orchestras will be joining forces once more to play an entertaining afternoon of Olympic inspired compositions and performances.
One To Watch In February, up and coming star and Year 11 Music student Teo supported The Big Pink at Concorde 2. It was a superb performance with the band showing some real originality in their songs. Teo is guitarist/ bassist and keyboard player for the band Two Jackals. He is also part of the creative talent behind the scenes, writing some of their original songs. Since playing with The Big Pink, Two Jackals has had one of their songs played on Radio 1 on the Huw Stephens show and received some very encouraging feedback as a result. The band also has upcoming performances at Bestival and Field Day (playing on the same stage as The Vaccines), and will also be performing as part of the Great Escape festival. Teo also found time to complete his music GCSE in which he is hoping to achieve an A*. Definitely a talent to watch for in the future.
Oliver! After many weeks of planning, hard work and rehearsals involving various staff and students of all ages, February saw the school production of Oliver! take centre stage. Set against an evocative backdrop of 18th century London, the show was an explosion of song, dance, music and theatre. The well known chorus numbers were worthy of the West End and the lead characters performed confident solos, sometimes comical, sometimes moving, with strong and clear vocals. Ms Hibbert said: “I was impressed that all the performers stayed focussed and in character as they were singing. It wasn’t just about hitting the notes, it was a very tight and professional performance.“ Ms Banks said: “There were over 100 students involved in this production from stage management, orchestration, set design and acting. It brought together the whole community as there were representatives from every year group.” From the hard working cast and crew to the costumes, set, and band, it was a fantastic show and a great night out for all who took part and came to watch.
A Day in the Life of... Demystifying the work of a headteacher and giving you an insight into what a typical day looks like for him and other members of the school community.
Derek Trimmer Headteacher
7.15am The Drive to Work
8am - Meeting Mr Alexander
10.30am Break Duty
As I am driving in to work, I make a phone call (handsfree!) to my PA and dictate a letter to her regarding a parental concern.
I meet with each of my leadership group every week. We also meet together, as a group, weekly. Mr Alexander is in charge of Achievement and Standards in the school. This meeting is about challenge and ambition at classroom level.
Being on duty at breaktime is an essential and very high priority activity. It also gives an opportunity to talk informally to the students and staff.
I then take a call from my Chair of Governors, Mike Nicholls. We are constantly in touch and meet every Tuesday morning. I also catch up with the headlines and decide to incorporate the impending Greek elections into my Year 10 assembly. I spend the rest of my drive listening to Radio 3. I enjoy my drive in to work as it gives me some ‘head space’.
7.50am Meeting PA A quick ‘catch up’ with my PA to discuss the plans for the day and prioritise calls.
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8.30am - Meeting Steering Group A chance to finalise roles and responsibilities for next year and to ensure we have the top priorities fully supported by our leadership structures.
10am - Meeting Ms Satterly Ms Satterly is newly appointed to the role of Head of Year for next year’s Year 11. This meeting gives us a chance to finalise details for the first 100 days with the year group.
Hove Park School
11am - Assembly This assembly includes a major keynote speech. My part is to outline expectations and milestones for the first 100 days for the new Year 11. As of this week, they are no longer seen as Year 10.
11.30am - Student Interviews The follow-up to assembly is absolutely critical. With Mr Roberts and Ms Satterly we meet with groups of students (2-3 at a time) who are still needing to make significant improvements to reach their target grades by the end of Year 11. This personalised and highly informed interview helps to
ensure that there is a strategy to making improvement and buy in from all key students. Knowledge is power!
12pm Learning Walk Learning walks provide a key piece of information in triangulating the quality of provision in the school. On average I visit about 40 lessons a day. We have two Senior Leaders scheduled on learning walks on each Campus for every period, every day. The walks provide opportunities to sample work, support behaviour, reiterate school priorities in terms of quality of teaching and also act as an important opportunity to engage with students.
12.35pm Lunch Duty Again, being on duty at lunchtime is about visibility, maintaining a high profile around school and engaging with students.
1.30pm - Perry Beeches Call
2pm - Meeting Karl Salter
We have been waiting for this call. Perry Beeches is the most improved school in the country – it is in Birmingham and has a fantastic ethos and track record of progress. The Headteacher, Mr Nolan, wants to work alongside us as we share similar values and ambitions. We are jointly putting in a bid to the DfE to get four graduates, each employed directly at school, to support students who are struggling with literacy and numeracy. The call went well!
A brief meeting with Karl Salter, Director of Visual Communications, to discuss how the Hove Park Almanac is coming along before it goes to print.
1.45pm - Meeting Kate Griffin A quick meeting with our Communications and PR Officer to discuss tweets for the week and to decide if we have any potentially newsworthy articles for the press.
2.15pm - Meeting Head of Technology This meeting is about data entry for Year 10s predicted grades – this is important as it helps us ensure we have the intervention targeted at the right students.
3pm Meeting Finance This meeting is about strategically planning next year’s budget.
4.30pm - Visit City College Art Exhibition Visiting City College Art Exhibition is one of the highlights of my week. The standard of work is excellent. I come back brimming with ideas of how to make our own exhibition even better.
5.30pm - Meeting Steering Group
10.45pm Check Emails
We need this time as we have a new Deputy Head/ Business Manager joining us in September and we need quality time to plan the year ahead. We are committed to improving standards further and making sure that we have the right people on the bus in the right seats. We finish at 8:30pm and adjourn for a bite to eat as we mull over the day and get excited about the year ahead.
When I get home I check my emails and provide replies – mostly acknowledging people’s work and prompting them with further questions. With an extended leadership team of fourteen, they all have slightly different work patterns and times – but they all copy me into their projects and progress. My job is to keep the plates spinning and provide the direction for the road ahead.
9.30pm – I take a call from my 13 year old son, Callum
11pm And Relax!
He is ringing to say goodnight and has two things on his mind: Having spent last weekend with me he wants to know if the Leadership Team enjoyed the cake he had baked them. He also has a problem at school he wants to talk through.
I sit down with Mrs T over a glass of wine and an episode of West Wing before spending a while just ‘catching up’. She’s been teaching Performing Arts at Mencap and has had a high octane and exhilarating day. Makes mine seem pedestrian!
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A Day in the Life of... Austen Hindman Deputy Headteacher
Before 7am My day begins with three hungry kids, two hungry cats and me trying to catch up on the emails that came in late the night before. People have different routines, and there are some members of staff and some parents/ carers who like to send messages a long time after I’ve gone to bed.
On the way to school On the way to work, I hear the ping of new emails at around half past seven. This is the early shift, mostly teachers who are already in their classrooms. I look after teaching, staffing and curriculum at school for Mr Trimmer, which means I get a lot of questions sent to me. On a good day there are a few I can answer.
7.45am Nevill Campus The quietest part of the day. Today I start at Nevill Campus, and there are very few people around. We have Niel McLeod,
our new Business Manager, visiting us and he is using my office, so I camp out in Mr Roberts’ room. Mr McLeod has already started his meetings, trying to cram as much time with our staff into one day as he can.
8.25am - Gate Duty The bell rings and I head out to the front gate. Welcoming students in and growling at them if they’re late is a crucial part of the job!
8.45 am Maths Exam There’s a key Maths exam today, and I spend the whole of session one helping the invigilators. We have students sitting this exam in the hall, in the gym and in almost every spare classroom on the Campus.
10.30am - Break Duty Breaktime is spent very pleasantly on the field, talking to students and trying not to get sunburnt.
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11am Valley Campus I take Mr McLeod to the Valley Campus, where we visit classrooms and see so many students working out of their skin to learn. It is amazing watching lessons, and seeing that ‘Eureka’ moment when a child discovers something brand new to them.
12.35pm - Lunch Duty Back to Nevill for lunch. The Year 11 students are keen to talk about the exam, their adrenaline still pumping.
1.30pm Learning Walk I drop in on some revision sessions for Year 11 Science, which is one of the last exams. At 3pm it’s time to go to the front gate and say goodbye to students.
3.30pm - Messages Through the day messages have been coming in, and I take a few minutes to sift through and return calls.
4pm Research Projects We spend some time looking at research projects that teachers have been working on during the year.
5.30pm - Meeting Steering Group The Steering Group (the Headteacher, the Deputies and two Senior Assistant Heads) sit down to plan for the next academic year. We discuss many changes for next term, as the one certainty in this job is that if you stand still for long you’ll end up slipping backwards. By 8.30pm we are running out of steam, and, as this is the last time we will see Niel McLeod before he joins us in September, we take him out to dinner.
Home By the time I get back in, my kids are fast asleep and the emails are starting to ping again...
Jim Roberts
Deputy Headteacher 8am - Campus Management Meeting My weekly briefing with key staff on the Nevill Campus to ensure we all know what’s going on in the week ahead. The meeting includes updates on student Progress and Achievement.
8.20am - Gate Duty A good chance to welcome students into school and ensure there’s a prompt start to the day. It provides an opportunity to reinforce the importance of punctuality with a couple of students that have a more relaxed attitude to timekeeping.
8.40am Administration A chance to check emails/ messages and catch up with Mrs Page, Head of Year 10.
9am - Learning Walk I try to get around the Campus at least once a day into each and every lesson. It provides a great
opportunity to find out what’s going on in different subject areas and speak to students and staff about their learning and progress of specific groups.
11.30am - Student Interviews
10am - Student Interviews
Parent meeting to discuss the progress of a Year 10 student. This included our Education Welfare Office, Mrs Fears, to reinforce expectations regarding regular attendance and the direct link between attendance and progress and achievement.
As part of our 100 day plan to support the transition of Year 10 into Year 11, we are interviewing small groups of students to reinforce expectations and highlight key areas of progress and development. Interviews are really useful in assessing student engagement and attitude.
11am - Assembly A pivotal moment in our action plan for Year 10. During this assembly we delivered key messages and expectations. This is a really good year group and we have high aspirations for them to achieve outstanding results in 2013. This Assembly was about communicating that vision.
More student interviews to reinforce the messages from assembly.
1pm - Parent Meeting
2pm - Line Management Line management meeting with Mr Gaston (Exams Officer). We meet weekly to ensure the smooth running of the exams at this busy time of the year.
2.50pm - Line Management Line management meeting with Ms Ashdown (Head of PE). We have a fortnightly meeting to discuss progress and
achievement within Physical Education and to plan for future developments.
3pm - Gate Duty It is important to ensure students leave in an orderly and safe way.
3.15pm Administration An opportunity to stop, sit down and reflect on the day, answer some emails and respond to telephone messages.
5.30pm - Meeting Steering Group Steering Group meeting to discuss future plans. It is good to have some time and space to think and discuss the priorities for the next half term and importantly the next academic year. As an added bonus we’re finishing with something to eat.
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A Day in the Life of... Liza Leung
Nansi Mellor
Assistant Headteacher
Head of English
7.30am - KS3 Core Monitoring Meeting
11am Learning Walk
8.30am - Meeting with Ms Bradley
1.15-3pm Teaching Year 10
A fortnightly meeting with the Deputy Head of Valley Campus, Deputy Head in charge of Teaching & Learning, Heads of English, Maths, Science, Special Educational Needs and Heads of Year, focusing on progress of students in core subjects in Years 7, 8 and 9.
Visit every lesson on Valley Campus monitoring teaching and learning.
Ms Bradley is KS3 English coordinator. We work on preparation for the KS3 Learning Review – outline observations and discuss focus for the review.
Taught Macbeth. We looked at the opening of the play and how the character of Lady Macbeth is introduced to the audience.
9am-10.30am Observations
Following up on subject related questions and issues in the English department.
8.30am - Year 7 Assembly Year 7 Graduation theme and celebrating success.
8.50am - Teaching Year 8 Athletics My wonderful, highly motivated Year 8 Girls learn about javelin technique and coach each other on their performance.
10.30am - Break Contact a parent regarding their daughter’s progress in the Hove Park Bacc and meet a new student with his parents who will be joining Year 7 next week.
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1.30pm Parent Meeting Meeting with a Year 7 parent and student about his progress and achievement.
2pm - PAF Meeting Meeting with the newly appointed Chairman of the Parents & Friends Association about supporting the school at our Family Fun Day in July.
3pm Graduation Meeting Year 7 Graduation Ceremony Planning Meeting with the Head of Drama to coordinate the performances for the celebration event.
5.30pm - Meeting Steering Group Meet with the steering group and the newly appointed Deputy Headteacher, Niel McLeod, to plan strategies for next year.
Hove Park School
I completed three observations of colleagues teaching KS3 English. The particular area of focus was progress. What progress was evident from every pupil in the time we were in the lesson? We also reviewed this progress when we returned to some lessons after 20 minutes.
11am-12.30pm Department Administration I needed to speak to a couple of colleagues about planning for extra Year 10 lessons this week. Also had to follow up some issues with parents and contact home.
3pm-3.30pm Parental Contact
3.30pm-4pm Reports Started writing the Year 10 reports. I looked at how the class has made progress this year in English. They were all entered for the full certification for the English Language GCSE so I was able to comment on their preparation for this and how I expect them to perform in the exam.
4pm-5pm - Meeting Met with KS4 coordinator to plan upcoming intervention work with Year 10.
Emma Satterly
Qasim Haque
New Head of Year 11 8.20am - Gate Duty
Arrive for duty at the Nevill gates. Greet the students as they arrive to school.
8.45am - Training Training in the Common Assessment Framework, which is available to support young people and their families. This will be part of my new role as Head of Year.
11am - Assembly New Year 11’s formal assembly. Mr Trimmer talks about the year ahead and the aspirations for the new school year. Mr Hindman introduces key staff for next year, including me as their new Head of Year!
11.30am - Student Interviews Interviews regarding attendance, behaviour and lateness with key students in the new Year 11 with Mr Trimmer and Mr Roberts.
Science Key Stage 4 Coordinator
1.20pm - Town Sports Team Sheets Collect Town Sports team sheets from Valley Campus, then back to Nevill to start on reports due for next week.
3pm - PE Team Meeting PE team meeting. Check assessment data is up to date. Discussions over incorporating key elements into PE lessons. Planning for Sports Day and Sports Presentation Evening. Make selections for Junior and Senior Town Sports taking place next week from the seventy or so students who attended trials. Write letters for selected students to be handed out tomorrow.
5pm - Home Head home full of enthusiasm for next year after meeting so many of our new Year 11 cohort.
Before 8.50am
1.20pm - Teaching
Preparation Time. No form today so I used the time to prepare resources for the week’s lessons and check and action my morning emails.
A Year 9 group learnt about hydrothermal vents. After making a model of the vent, and the strange creatures that inhabit one of the most hostile environments on earth, students tried their hand at answering an extended examstyle question. It was a pleasing example of how a strong visual stimulus can help students piece together key words to form accomplished sentences.
8.50am - Teaching A top set Year 9 group learnt about DNA where you find it, how you extract it and how it is responsible for the variation that exists in the natural world. They were then replaced by a Year 8 group who flexed their mental muscle rearranging the mathematical formula for speed.
11am - Teaching My new A2 group learnt about reproduction. Even at that age it provides an endless source of amusement. Much fun was had by all. It was clear by the end of the lesson that students could now identify parts of the human body they never knew existed (and probably wished they didn’t).
4pm - Housekeeping Housekeeping time! I checked and actioned emails. I sent messages home for students deserving praise.
4.30pm - Revision I returned to Nevill Campus to help A2 biologists with their revision.
After 5pm I designed a poster for a science display to promote learning for all GCSE students.
Annual - 2011/12
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A Day in the Life of... Elizabeth Ritson
Phil Byrne
Leader of Key Stage 3 Progress
Head of ICT
7.30am - Team Administration
1.30pm Learning Walk
7.30am – Administration
All the team members have emailed their suggestions for best in subject for Years 7, 8 and 9. Selecting only one for each year is going to be difficult. It’s good to see so many students achieving at KS3. Looking through the latest coursework grades for Year 10 and the department looks set to meet its target – which is absolutely brilliant.
Just seen a really good activity I want to see developed for use throughout the team. The teacher is happy to bring it along to the next team meeting and we have a quick discussion about how it could be adapted further. It should help students become more pro-active in taking control of their progress in lessons. A couple of students were off task but quickly resettled when quietly spoken to.
I read emails from staff before a site meeting with senior staff.
A weekly meeting to discuss important calendar items and any issues that may arise in the forthcoming week. Some of the issues we discuss can range from organisation of exams at the Valley site to lead lessons in the hall for core subjects.
8.00am - Sixth Form 1-2-1 Support
7.45am – Site Meeting with SLT
Some of my Sixth Form students arrive in for 1-2-1 support for one of the more difficult units before the external moderator visit.
3.15pm - After School Sessions
8.50am – Maths Learning Walk
Three after school catch ups are being run by the team – a good turn out by students too.
8.50am - Teaching
4.15pm - Meeting
The group discussion has thrown up lots of interesting points from the students with perceptive observations about the issues surrounding copyright.
Meeting to discuss the new Year 10 course. Always feels good to tick something off the list but strange to be thinking ahead to 2013. I finish the day dealing with the most urgent emails from teachers and students.
It is always a good experience to go into different Maths lessons. It is a great opportunity to see teachers delivering great lessons and catch up with a number of students to check they are making progress. One of the best parts was seeing a group of students understand and explain Sequences – usually a very difficult subject to grasp.
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10.55am - Teaching A great lesson with my Year 8 class learning about different types of data. Every student in the class is able to show their progress by identifying and using examples of different information we can use.
12.35pm – Lunch Duty My most important part of day – according to the Year 8 and 9 boys. They wait religiously by the door for me to give them footballs so they can play on the field.
1.20pm - Teaching Year 13 Economics. The class have their final exam next week. We spend the lesson revising key topics and practising some past exam questions.
3.30pm – Meeting Meeting with a Year 9 student and parent to discuss their GCSE options for next year.
4.30pm – Preparation I spend the last few moments of the day preparing for my lessons tomorrow.
Rosemary Glentworth
Lisa Fears
Educational Welfare Officer
Year 7 Student
8.20am - Tutor
8.40am Home Visit
8.30am - Tutor Time
MFL Teacher
Ready to welcome my tutor group. We discuss this half term’s school value “contributing to the global community.” Some interesting thoughts to start the day.
8.50am - Teaching A morning of French with Year 9 and then German with Year 8. Lots of lovely speaking practice from my classes.
A Year 7 student is refusing to come to school so I make a home visit. After persuasion I am able to bring the student into school. He settles into lessons swiftly.
9.30am – Meeting with Deputy Head Discussions centred around open cases, improving persistent absence and whole school attendance.
10.50am- Teaching
11.30am - Meeting
A quick hop on the bus to Nevill. My GCSE group are one week away from their listening exam, so we revise key vocabulary and practice exam skills.
I called a meeting with a family and outside agencies to formulate an action plan of support.
1.00pm – Phone Calls with Parents
1pm - Teaching
I returned calls to a number of parents.
Back to Valley for an afternoon of learning about French festivals with Years 8 & 9.
3pm - Planning and Marking Now for some planning and marking ready for another day tomorrow!
1.30pm – Meeting Core Group Meeting with Social Services and a family.
3.00pm – Meeting with Parent Attendance Support Meeting held with parent and student.
Jasmine
Thursday is private reading in Tutor time – I am reading Sundae Girl by Cath Cassidy. Halfway through Tutor time Miss Greener checks that we have been writing our homework in our planners.
8.45am - English In English we are working on Shakespeare. We act out parts of Romeo and Juliet and then go off to research him on the computers. We had to find four facts about him, write them on Post It notes and stick them on the board – the whole class found 64 facts!
10.55am - Science We start Science by writing the date and aims of the class in our books. Today we are experimenting on microbes. This involved us getting the equipment out, then wiping a cotton bud on a surface to get a sample of bacteria. We then wiped the bacteria in a petri-dish
containing agar jelly, quickly closed the dish and taped it up. Mr Knox-Macaulay put the dishes in the incubator – I am looking forward to finding out what happens next lesson.
12.35pm - Lunch I went to the Youth Club with my friends for Lunch Club. We ate our lunch and played Connect 4.
1.20pm - Maths Today Mr Waite gave us some end of year tests. They were short tests to see what we had learnt. A lot of the questions were about ratios, fractions and percentages and we had some questions on angles. We then had to reflect on what we had done that lesson.
After school At the end of the day I had Athletic Trials for Brighton and Hove District Championships held at Withdean Stadium. I tried out for lots of events as I love running. I was chosen to run the 1000m race for the championships.
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A Day in the Life of... Luke
Ashley
Year 9 Student
Sixth Form Student
8.30am - Tutor
12.35pm - Lunch
Ms Nelson takes the register, checks that we are in the correct uniform and checks our planners. We look at some newspapers and discuss the news in groups.
Got a football from Mr Byrne and played on the field with my friends.
8.50am - Maths Ms Perkins does a lesson on sequences.
9.40am - Science Mr Roberts carries on teaching us about genes and inheritance – he does a powerpoint presentation for the class and we make notes in our books. We then discuss and write down what we have learnt.
10.30pm - Break Went to the cricket nets and played there with my friends.
10.50am - Art We are doing some project work at the moment in Art. We use different materials of our choice to continue with our work.
1.20pm - English We analysed language in a film, working out what was effective and what needed to be improved. We analysed two scenes from the film ‘Touching the Void’ and made notes.
2.20pm - Italian The whole class had to present a speech to the class, individually, on a chosen topic. We had been planning for this over the last lesson and as part of homework. In order to get a good grade we use different tenses and lots of connective words. I think I did well as I did a lot of preparation and revision.
3.00pm Cricket Practice I had a really fun training session tonight with Mr Lowrie and Mr Ball. Lots of my friends came too.
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8.30am - Student Governors Meeting
11.00am - Media Studies
I chair a meeting for student governors. We discuss how we feel the school has done over the course of the year. We discuss that it is a great thing for us to be hoping to become one of the top most improved schools in the country this year. We also discuss how the whole of our school lives from Year 7 to 13 has been and we all agree that we have all had such positive experiences here and have enjoyed the wide range of extra curricular activities on offer and how supportive all of the teachers are.
We spend the lesson talking with Ms Chinn about the A2 projects we will be studying next year. Ms Chinn explains the modules and units to allow us to start planning our work.
9.00am - Drama We spend this session working on an anti bullying piece to be performed for Valley Campus students next week.
10.30 - Break Catch up with friends in the common room.
12.35pm - Lunch I spend some time in the Sixth Form Study Room revising for my exams and get some food from the Sixth Form Snack Shack.
1.20pm - Football Coaching We are working on our final assessment. This is nearly complete and then I will have a full Level 2 Certificate in FA Coaching.
3.00pm - Drama Performance at Brighton Museum A group of performers from Hove Park get a minibus with Ms Banks to Brighton Museum where we are performing at the opening of a new gallery.
Year Reviews Year 7
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Year 8 - 9
89
Year 10 - 11
90
Almanac - 2011/12
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Year 7 Review Our Year 7 students settled in impressively quickly this year, helped by a full transition programme and their devoted tutors. The year began on a busy note with the election of House Captains and Form Representatives. ‘Celebration of Success’ assemblies have provided an opportunity for students in each class to lead their own assembly, which has been a fantastic way to share outstanding work. During these assemblies individual students have been rewarded for their ongoing progress, contribution and achievement. In acknowledgement of their efforts, the students have been presented certificates and, by the end of this Spring Term, all Year 7 students had already gained their Double Gold Certificate (100 house points), which is a first for Hove Park School. In the Autumn Term the Danes won the Inter-House Competition with the accumulation of 3,807 house points. Their prize was a trip to see the school production of ‘Oliver’. This Spring Term the Saxons won the Inter-House Competition with 7,496 points. Their prize will be a session in the Youth Club with their tutor and money to spend on refreshments.
is being hosted at Hove Town Hall on Wednesday 11th July. We would like to thank our Parents and Friends Association for providing the funding for our graduation gowns. The students are looking forward to lots of House competitions in the Summer Term which will culminate in our whole school Sports Day at Withdean Stadium.
Curriculum Project lessons are exclusive to Year 7 and help students develop key skills through exciting and challenging project work. These have included ‘Clothes with a Conscience’, ‘Refuge’, ‘Advocacy’ and they are currently working on ‘Dragon’s Den’, which is a business project where profits will be donated to charities identified by students. The library has provided many opportunities for Year 7. Highlights have included visiting authors Jill Hucklesby and Simon Scarrow, the Year 7 chess tournament and a Year 7 student winning the ‘design a book mark’ competition.
Sally and Ben were proud to receive the Outstanding Achievement Award in Year 7 at our Rewards Evening at Hove Town Hall during the Spring Term. They were among numerous other students receiving awards for their excellent achievement in all subject areas across the school. All our Year 7 students are working hard to achieve their Hove Park Baccalaureate and will graduate formally at our Year 7 Graduation Ceremony, which
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The PE Department have put together a packed programme of extra curricular activities, which has ensured success in competitions both locally and nationally. The Year 7 boys’ rugby team has made great progress this year, coming runners-up in the Brighton & Hove Town Cup Tournament. The girls were not to be outdone, though, finishing second in the Brighton and Hove District Tag Rugby Tournament in March.
Year 8-9 Review Years 8 and 9 began the new academic year with enthusiasm for the challenges ahead. Year 8 responded well to the multiple changes for them this year, with a new curriculum and form tutors to quickly get used to. They all began by creating their individual Class Charters to set the ground rules for their new classes, negotiating simple rules for everyone to follow. Tutors also led some ‘getting to know you’ activities to help the students gel quickly as the groups were created across their Year 7 classes. ‘Forest School’ has been offered to some Year 8 students this year. This exciting opportunity is facilitated through the Specialist Applied Learning Team and Plumpton College. A ten week course allows the students to learn outdoor survival skills. The impact for this group has been in raising selfesteem, confidence and cooperative skills, all of which helps them to work better in school. (See page 17 for story).
A number of Year 9 students have been supporting Year 7s twice a week throughout the year as Reading Mentors, an initiative that has been beneficial from both perspectives and a really good way for the year groups to make some connections. There has been notable success in sports: getting to the Year 8 National Schools Football Cup Final, Town Cup Final and Rugby County Cup Final plus Year 8s and 9s (girls and boys) achieved well at the Brighton, Hove and Portslade Schools’ CrossCountry Championships in January. The Year 9 girls have also excelled at netball, winning the Brighton and Hove heats and then competing in the Sussex Championships, topping that shortly afterwards by winning the Sussex Girls’ Football League. Charity initiatives have been well supported this year with students taking the lead for a number of national and local charities; our record stands with a group of Year 9 girls, who raised a staggering £121 from a breaktime cake sale for Oxfam. Year 9 have been going through the GCSE Options selection process, but there has been a number of subtle opportunities to get involved in the world of work even earlier. One of these is ‘Motorvation’, where five students at a time have the chance to learn vehicle maintenance skills and teamwork over a period of ten weeks with an outside provider. This group was praised as the best students they have had.
Year 9 embraced the challenges of the return to school with gusto. We had a record number of applications for our Senior Student cohort and they all rose to the challenge of making a formal application and having a full interview with a senior member of staff. Since then, we have had an excellent group who have regularly acted as ambassadors for the school in a variety of ways.
Both Years 8 & 9 have been working hard to achieve their target grades for the Hove Park BACC and their success was celebrated at the Awards Evening at Hove Town Hall earlier in the year. In addition the effort and enthusiasm of all students will be celebrated at our end of year activities to mark the achievements of both year groups.
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Year 10 Review The first whole year event that Year 10 students helped organise was “the Biggest Coffee Morning”, which always takes place at the end of September. This is a coffee and cake/biscuit sale that raises money for MacMillan Cancer Support. As usual this was a fun event that raised money for a good cause.
Year 11 Review By this time in their KS4 education, students are well established and, this year as usual, they are now a mature set of individuals that will leave us in a few weeks and contribute well to society. All students have completed their college application forms and have conditional places at further education establishments for September. In January we had Mock Results Day. After receiving their results this involved each student having an interview with a member of the business community focussed on driving student ambition and aspiration.
Year 10 students are now well settled at the Nevill Campus and with continued encouragement they are looking extremely smart and focussed on their learning. Tutors have contributed to this settling in process by regularly checking uniform and equipment, signing planners, checking homework and delivering SEAL (social and emotional aspects of learning) in themed tutorials. We now have information boards in the main entrance at Nevill that are a focus for highlighting achievement and progress of all students as the year proceeds. The aim is for the year group to break the record for best GCSE results. The second whole Year 10 event was the Awards Assembly followed by ‘karaoke hour’ on the last day of the autumn term. The students had a great time before breaking up for Christmas. We are now at that time of the year when Year 10 take their place as the new Year 11, and focus on the challenges ahead.
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Tutors have since delivered the structured revision programme that aims to support students up until the exams. Since half term the 10-4-10 scheme has been running in order to encourage and reward students that continue to attend after school classes. This means that students who attend 10 after school sessions in any subject will be awarded a £10 music voucher. So far 180 students have attended an after school session, 51 have attended five or more sessions and 12 have received their 10-4-10 awards. The team of Senior Students have again been working hard, helping take visitors around school and modelling good behaviour to younger students. Some also worked to complete this year’s Year Book which always requires dedication and patience. We are currently compiling Records of Achievement folders for students to take when they leave us and, of course, the organisation for the Prom is well underway and creating a buzz among the students.
Sixth Form Sixth Form Success 2012
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University Destinations - 2011
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University Destinations - 2012
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Parting Words
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Sixth Form Success 2012 We began the year congratulating students for achieving the best results at AS since 2006. Individual success from Hanis Shamsul, Jason Holman, Maria Radulescu, Joe Streeter, Jack Ashby, Danielle Hill, Rob Naish, Jon Riley, Ashley Rose and Jacob Tunesi were celebrated. As students looked forward to the year ahead, they took inspiration from the success of the leavers heading to University. (See page 93). A key to success in Sixth Form is effective personal organisation and independent study. Meg and Steve from the Life Skills Company led a successful Learning Conference where comments such as: “It made me realise that I need to change some things!” and “It really helped me understand what I can do to improve my learning and get better grades.” showed that students were engaged with the demands of post 16 study. The Debating Team have taken part in some
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close competitions. A highlight was an invitation to compete in the Institute of Ideas and Unilever Global Development Debate at Unilever Headquarters. Luanna de Abreu Coelho was awarded a prize for the quality of her arguments. The first opportunity for most students to demonstrate success came in January with Doug Allen, Jesper Angelin, Sam Beresford, Mo Rezgui, Stuart Riley, Jodie Sullivan and Jacob Tunesi producing best all round results. Year 13 Geography students led the way with 90% achieving grade A. Courses with practical and coursework assessment also achieved early success. The Diploma in Sports students developed their skills coaching teams in Years 7-10, and achieved 100% success in their first FA coaching qualifications. Looking ahead, Year 13 students have made their university choices (see page 94), which will be confirmed after their summer results.
University Destinations 2011 Name
Course
Destination
Abanob Butrous Adam Hatcher Alex Hills Atticus Pope Charlie Guile Charlotte Smith Dan Osaya Danielle Lee Ellie Jenkins Emily Beresford Glenn North Hayley Moot Jake Mitchell James Farrant Joe Stafford-Draper Jon Leonard Kate Colwell Kidusan Asfaw Kirstie Ashton Mark Penfold Merle Chalke Nick Lewis Rebecca Edgecumbe Ruvimbo Chipamaunga Tim Thorley Tom Phillips Vicky Cooper
Tourism Management Business Economics Biochemistry (Neuroscience) Economics Law Human Sciences Biomedical Science Health and Social Care Events Management Early Years Apprenticeship Community Sports Coaching Geography with Marine Studies Politics Politics & Sociology Journalism, Media & Cultural Studies Civil Engineering Early Years Apprenticeship Law Art Foundation Football Studies Product Design Games Development Speech & Language Therapy Accountancy and Finance Economics Architectural Technology & Practice Criminology & Criminal Justice
University of West London University of Hertfordshire Surrey University Sussex University De Montford University Kings College Surrey University University of Chester Greenwich University Apprenticeship Chichester University Southampton Solent University University of Lincoln Leicester University University of the West of England Coventry University Apprenticeship University of Westminster City College Southampton Solent University Nottingham Trent University Northbrook College City University Southampton Solent University Sussex University University of Derby Portsmouth University
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University Destinations 2012
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Name
Course
Destination
Doug Allen Jack Ashby Alex Beattie Aisha Booth Nicola Burt Rob Dobbs Tom Gearing Danielle Hill Ben Ishola Tom Jacobs Kirollos Kirollos Tasnia Miah Tegan Moot Josh Kitosi-Isanga Rob Naish James Noble Maria Radulescu Mo Rezgui Jon Riley Ashley Rose Joe Streeter Jacob Tunesi
Environmental Hazards Politics Media Studies Sociology & Social Policy Podiatry Sport, Health and Fitness Physics & Astronomy Primary Teaching (Mathematics) Business Management & Marketing Criminology & Sociology Aeronautical Engineering Childhood & Youth Studies Japanese Japanese Physics Biochemistry Drama Criminology & Sociology Acoustical Engineering Civil Engineering Music & Entertainment Industry Management Physics
Brighton University Portsmouth University Portsmouth University Brighton University Southampton University St Mary’s University College Sussex University University of Plymouth Brighton University University of Winchester Brighton University Portsmouth University SOAS, University of London SOAS, University of London University of Leicester Kings College University of Exeter Brighton University Southampton University Brighton University University of Herefordshire University of Bath
Hove Park School
Parting Words The support of staff at Hove Park encouraged me to become President of the Student Council. Opportunities like this have increased my confidence. In my studies I have really enjoyed learning subjects in more depth and reading around topics so I can be active in class debates.
Jodie, Psychology, Politics & Economics During my years at Hove Park, I feel that I have arrived at a place where I am able to go to university thanks to my tutors who have helped me realise what I want to study: Japanese.
Tegan, Geography, PE & Japanese Hove Park Sixth Form has been good at advising us about university and apprenticeship opportunities and making sure we take advantage of the support.
Danielle, Maths, Psychology & Biology Teachers have consistently sought to encourage universal participation, critical thinking and an enthusiastic work ethic. I am grateful for the kindness and guidance offered throughout my seven years at Hove Park. I will be sad to leave.
Paul, Economics, Psychology & Politics At Hove Park your friends and teachers get you through, regardless of who you are. I would not have chosen to go to school anywhere else.
Tom, English, Sociology & Law My time in Sixth Form has been an experience to remember. I never listened to people who said these two years go quickly, but trust me they do! Although at times my studies have been stressful, overall it has been worthwhile.
Sophie, Geography & Business Diploma
I have had some of the best years of my life in Sixth Form. I will be incredibly sad to leave friends and teachers behind.
Ollie, Media, Psychology & English I have enjoyed my time in Sixth Form. The Health and Social Care course has been an exciting option as I have had the opportunity to carry out practical training in real care environments whilst gaining my Diploma.
Sara, Health & Social Care My time at Sixth Form has made me more certain of what I would like to do in the future: Physics. My studies and the staff here have been influential in shaping my outlook on life.
Jon, Physics, Maths & Geography My name is Ellie Jenkins and I have just finished my first year of study at the University of Greenwich. I left Hove Park last year excited to begin my course: Events Management. Since then I have worked at a variety of venues from The Ministry of Sound Club in Leicester Square to Twickenham Rugby Club and at events such as London Marathon and Sport Relief. I have also just finished working at the Olympic Stadium for the 2012 Olympic Summer Games. University, so far, has been an incredible experience and living in halls is like living with your best friends for a year. Making friends is easy at university and I have experienced a variety of cultures and learnt a lot from people across the world who have come to Greenwich to study. University is an experience like no other and everyone should get the chance to experience it!
Ellie, Events Management, University of Greenwich 2012
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Important New/ Leaving Visitors Staff
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Welcome to New Staff
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Farewell & Good Luck
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Welcome to our new staff It is that time of year when we welcome new staff to Hove Park School. We are looking forward to working with them at this exciting time of rapid school improvement. It is also time to say goodbye to a number of staff. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their tireless hard work and determination and wish them all the best in their new ventures.
Welcome Niel McLeod My name is Niel McLeod and I am delighted to be joining the staff team at Hove Park this year as Deputy Headteacher and Business Manager. For the past 7 years I have worked as Headteacher at Miltoncross School in Portsmouth. In that time I am proud to have overseen a period of sustained improvement, winning a National Award for school improvement in 2008 and seeing a doubling of headline examination results during my time at the school.
Derek Trimmer
In this new role of Business Manager at Hove Park School, Mr Trimmer has set me the task of developing the school’s financial strength, leading the school’s marketing, its personnel management, health and safety systems and ensuring that learning always takes place in pleasant, wellmaintained buildings. One of our most exciting projects will be to create a new, forward-looking ICT environment.
New Staff Appointments
As a practising Ofsted inspector I will be working with my colleagues to ensure that the best possible teaching and learning ideas and innovations from around the country are brought back to Hove Park.
Headteacher
Niel McLeod - Deputy Headteacher Jonathan Waite - Head of Humanities Katherine Reading - Geography Melanie Wallace - Geography Jane Thatcher - Geography Chris Allen - Philosophy/ Ethics Danny Bradshaw - History Lauren Pinney - English Kerry Kiely - English Catherine Jessey - Science John McInnes - EFL Co-ordinator Michele Cormack - MFL John Smith - Music Adam Brazier - SENCO Susan Woodbridge - Drama
Hove Park School is rapidly achieving significant success by doing just that and I am immensely proud to be able to join you on this exciting and important journey.
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Welcome Adam Brazier Having worked with Hove Park on the Interreg project over the past three years, when the opportunity to work here came up, I knew it was something I had to go for. The relentless drive towards raising standards is something that every teacher wants to be a part of and these are indeed exciting times at Hove Park. I moved to Brighton in 1996 working at Stanley Deason for 10 years in a variety of roles and before moving to Hove Park I was at Varndean School working as a Student Coordinator. I also spent a year seconded to the Senior Leadership team. The world of Special Educational Needs is changing rapidly. Last year’s Green Paper makes several recommendations for sweeping changes to the system nationally, which make this an exciting time to work in SEN. One of the main recommendations is changing the focus for students with Special Educational Needs from the processes in school to the outcomes that each student achieves. In other words, progress made and the exam results they achieve. Our role as the Individual Learning Support team is to ensure that all students, regardless of any need they have, are given the opportunity to make the most of their potential and that staff have enough information and strategies to enable this.
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Welcome Susan Woodbridge Hove Park has given me a chance to fulfill a life long ambition of becoming a teacher of Drama in a school that is committed to raising achievement. It has taken me a while to arrive here. Before I embarked upon my teaching career I was a professional actor. Both my first and second career could not have been achieved without the guidance, teaching and mentoring I received from my school that was deemed as “rough” by all. However without Mrs Adams encouraging me to audition for a National Youth Theatre and without the school play that earned me my first press review, I would not have been able to access an excellent University and Drama School Education. Hove Park is already enabling me to pass on the passion and the gratitude I have for state education: in January I was able to help backstage during “Oliver!”; in February we performed a devised drama based on the poem “If” at Prizegiving Evening. This term we are busy preparing for exams and reinstating Lower School Drama Club, while rehearsing “The Seven Ages of Man” for the Year 7 Graduation Ceremony. It’s been a busy and welcoming start to my new career as Drama teacher at Hove Park and one that will hopefully prosper along with the skills and talents of the students.
Farewell Ken Leonard
Farewell Gary Kernan
When I was asked to write a short piece about leaving Hove Park I didn’t realise how difficult it would be. I am one of only two teachers currently at the school who were appointed in September 1979 to the then new Hove Park School; and both of us are retiring this summer.
Thirty two years, five different headteachers, and two generations of Hove Park students. Both my children through the school and many happy memories. The years have flown by and now is the time to say goodbye. My very best to you all for the years ahead and may the school go from strength to strength. Good luck.
At Hove Park I have worked with five headteachers, hundreds of other colleagues and thousands of students. Without any doubt, now is the most exciting time in the history of the school. The whole school is focussed as never before on a very clear goal; to do whatever it takes to achieve the best possible outcome for every single student. The determination of every student going into examinations this year has been remarkable. I won’t miss the hours of struggle with complex computer systems, the endless essential meetings and the hours of vital paper work. I am going to miss all of my current colleagues, but above all I will miss the students I have worked with this year, particularly the Sixth Form Maths students who have been fabulous to teach. I will still have the sense of anticipation when the exam results are published and I will be following Hove Park in the next phase of its development with a sense of pride. I am confident that Hove Park will be gaining the local and national recognition that it deserves for the innovation and thought that has gone into creating a unique school.
Farewell & Good Luck Ken Leonard - Deputy Headteacher Gary Kernan - Sociology David Daniels - Science Rose Horan - ICT Lily Nelson - MFL Robin Curnow - Science Wayne Benskin - MFL Gaelle Cooke - MFL Peter May - Learning Support Judy Cooper - Head of History Liz Fairweather - Teacher Special Facility Maggie Zakiewicz - Teacher SEN Barry Huggins - Technical Services Deborah Twydell - Teaching Assistant Melissa du Plooy - Teaching Assistant
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What next? – Ambition and Drive in the Year Ahead Behind the scenes, and the headlines of the record examination results, will be an ambitious and comprehensive programme of activities including Sport, Drama, Art and Music as well as extended curricular programmes that will further enhance students’ life experiences.
Raising Standards and Narrowing the Gap will continue to be our main objectives for the next year. We are determined to accelerate the rate of progress for all of our students in terms of academic achievement and this means ensuring that the quality of teaching and learning continues to improve across the school. Recognising achievement and celebrating success will be central to that raising of aspirations, and therefore we are currently planning the year ahead to ensure students are given plenty of opportunities to be acknowledged and rewarded for the progress they have made.
We hope that this book will have given you a flavour of what that extended curriculum really looks like and how the coming year will be populated with exciting events for students of all abilities to take part. After all, we are here to educate and develop the whole person – not just academic ability. In so doing, we believe we will be empowering our students for lifelong learning and encouraging them to develop into selfconfident, inquiring, tolerant young adults. In shaping this learning journey, we have our eyes set firmly on the horizon; for we see our role as preparing our students not only for where they want to be at the age of eighteen, but where they aspire to be at the age of twenty-five and beyond.
Derek Trimmer Headteacher
Special Thanks With special thanks to... parents and carers for their continuing support; all our teachers and support staff for their tireless dedication and commitment; our students for their enthusiasm and for always striving to achieve their best; our governors for their valuable time, input and guidance; all our partner schools and colleges for working with us in creating a successful learning network across the city. And finally, to the kind sponsors below who supported us in producing this publication.
Our kind sponsors
Hove Park School
Almanac 2011-12