Almanac 2012-2013

Hove Park School

“Putting Achievement First”

Almanac 2012-13 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 Back in September the new school year began with a fresh and positive feeling as we embraced an excellent set of summer exam results and welcomed all students coming to school for the first time in their new uniform.

They all looked incredibly smart and proud to be Hove Park students. This was a great start to what would become a blockbuster of an academic year. 2012-2013 has seen Hove Park steam into the top 1% most improved schools in the country; gain a welldeserved "Good" from Ofsted and embark on a learning transformation that is set to revolutionise the way we teach and learn.

As governors we have had the privilege to witness at first hand the now recognised progress achieved in raising standards at Hove Park, which is a direct result of the tremendous amount of thought, hard work and commitment applied on a daily basis by Mr Trimmer and all the school staff.

This year we have developed links and partnerships to share our improvement agenda and projects such as the learning transformation.

Hove Park has now established a capacity within our leadership that will allow the school to play an increasingly supportive role and have a genuine impact on improving educational standards across the city.

I am immensely proud of the progress we have made at Hove Park this year; I’m excited to continue my involvement and support the school as we further develop in the current educational climate, and also as we work towards receiving an “Outstanding� judgement at our next Ofsted inspection.

Mike Nicholls

Chair of Governors

Contents News

2 - 23

Learning Transformation

24 - 35

Important Visitors

36 - 41

Hove Park +

42 - 45

Art

46 - 57

Sports

58 - 75

Drama & Music

76 - 83

The Ofsted Experience

84 - 90

Sixth Form

91 - 95

New Staff / Leavers

96 - 99

Almanac - 2012/13

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News Head Teacher’s Introduction Ofsted Success/ Results

3 4-5

New Uniform/ Maths Challenge

6

Leading School Improvement

7

Prizegiving Evening

8-9

Accelerated Reading/ Early GCSE Success

10

Parliament Visit

11

Enrichment

12 - 15

Year 7 Graduation

16 - 17

International Award/ Brighton Science Fest/

18

Careers in Languages Day

2

Youth Parliament

19

Key Stage 3 Achievements/ Cancer Research

20

BBC School Report

21

A2 Chemistry Students “Become the Teacher!”

22

Forest School

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Hove Park School

Head Teacher’s Introduction It really has been a whirlwind of an academic year, beginning with the dramatic improvement in standards and record results that gave us the foundations of a secure platform to claim a ‘Good’ in Ofsted.

We also began the year with a new uniform and the increased sense of pride that permeated the whole school and surrounding community.

Behaviour took another step forward as students were very proud to be associated with a school that was recognised as being one of the most improved schools in the country and on track for even greater progress.

The quality of teaching was further improved as the new team of staff joined an already strong group of professionals, absolutely committed to raising standards, driving student achievement forward and narrowing the gap between those students who were most disadvantaged and those for whom success came easily.

We saw the benefits of this approach as we reached the end of the first term significantly ahead of where we were at the same time the previous year. This pattern continued as the year progressed and the results started to come in, both at Key Stage 3 and at Key Stage 4.

It was going to be another record year as we chased the elusive and magical 70% mark!

We were also seeing fantastic progress in our year groups on Valley Campus and the success rates in the Hove Park Bacc went from strength to strength.

Then in February we had the call from Ofsted and had two days of intense scrutiny to demonstrate not only the progress we had made so far but to convince the team of inspectors that this progress was sustainable with the strategies we had put in place. The resulting report was glowing and highlighted leadership and teaching as areas of huge improvement.

Following our successful Ofsted we launched our Learning Transformation that would enable us to have one to one access to iPads across the whole of the school. Once again the level of engagement and independent learning increased dramatically over a very short time.

So as we approach the end of the academic year, we can look back and see just how much we have achieved in one year, much of which you will read about in this book.

However, this book is also about showcasing every side of Hove Park School, attempting to bring together as many of the ingredients as possible that contribute to it being a happy and vibrant school. A school where children come first!

Derek Trimmer Head Teacher

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A Record Year!

Ofsted Success

Outstanding Results

We were delighted to report in February this year that Ofsted officially rates us as a ‘Good’ school with some elements of outstanding practice.

At Hove Park School, raising standards of achievement is at the heart of everything we do, so it was great to be able to start 2012-13 in a celebratory mood after a record set of exam results in the summer.

The inspectors praised us for our ambition and determination, which has permeated the whole school and led to the school going from strength to strength since the last inspection.

The report recognises the rapid improvements in standards and achievement which it attributes to a direct result of a transformation in teaching.

“The rapid improvement in students’ achievement is a direct result of the transformation in teaching, which is now good and in some cases outstanding.”

We are also very pleased that the report is an accurate reflection of our own self evaluation of the school and a measure too of the quality of leadership at all levels.

This result is the perfect spur we need as we drive ourselves towards becoming an outstanding school.

61% of our students were able to attain the gold standard of 5 or more GCSEs at A*-C including English and Maths. This figure exceeded not only our target of 60%, but also the national average for schools of 58%. It represented a 34% increase over three years, meaning over 100 more students were successful at this level than in 2009.

Naturally, these successes made headlines in the media. Student Grant Connor was front page news in The Argus as he celebrated achieving 12 A* grades and both Mr Trimmer and Mr Hindman featured in local and national news items. Our success story wasn’t only confined to GCSE either, as students in HP6 also achieved their best results ever with a 100% pass rate for all A-Levels.

What a great start to the school year!

The school has gone from strength to strength since the last inspection.

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New Uniform The introduction of the new Hove Park School uniform this academic year has been an overwhelming success. Our students are clearly distinguished within the local community and the new uniform outwardly reflects the school’s ambition and aspirational ethos.

On the first day of the new academic year in September 2012, there was a sense of excitement in the air. As it got closer to the start of the day Hove Park students began to arrive, and they all looked impressive and smart in the new uniform.

Teachers commented on how fantastic our students looked and that as a collective they were unrecognisable from the previous year.

We regularly receive compliments from members of the community commenting on how smart our students look as they travel to and from school.

During the recent Ofsted inspection, inspectors interviewed students and the new school uniform was one of many aspects of school life which was scrutinised. They concluded: “Uniform: Students and community agreed that this has had a profound effect on student behaviour.

Students are clearly proud of their school now.”

Maths Challenge Students at Hove Park School have once again demonstrated their mathematical brilliance by achieving 3 Gold, 9 Silver and 22 Bronze Awards in this year’s UKMT Junior Maths Challenge. Over 280,000 of the most able students across the UK took part nationally with only the top 6% receiving a Gold Award, 14% a Silver and 20% a Bronze.

The test lasts one hour and comprises 25 multiple choice questions. The problems in this Challenge are designed to be stimulating, intriguing and depend on mathematical reasoning and mental agility to be solved. Points are allocated for each correct answer but points also are deducted for any which are incorrect.

Leading School Improvement When national league tables were released in January of this year, the school ended years of underachievement by taking first place in Brighton and Hove for school improvement.

When Mr Trimmer took up his post back in April 2011, he set staff and students the ambitious target of being in the top one per cent of most improved schools in the country. Hove Park achieved that target easily, becoming the second most improved school in the South East and reaching joint twelfth position nationally.

For Mr Trimmer this was a double celebration. Mayfield School in Portsmouth, where Mr Trimmer was previously Head Teacher, also made it into the top tier of schools for improvement over time.

Mr Trimmer ascribes Hove Park and Mayfield’s success to a simple formula: ‘Both schools put achievement first and challenge staff and students with ambitious targets. Our next target for Hove Park is to be a five year school - five years of continuous improvement.’

Prizegiving Evening Hove Park’s second annual Prizegiving Evening took place in March this year. Over 700 students, staff, parents, carers and governors came to witness our young people receive awards in recognition of their outstanding progress and achievement.

The presentations were punctuated by student performances, including excerpts from sell out school musical Little Shop of Horrors. Our guest speaker was Professor Richard Black, Head of the School of Global Studies at Sussex University, who inspired students and adults alike with his speech about globalisation and climate change.

For the first time this year, teachers were also recognised for their hard work and received prizes for which they had been nominated by students. Mr Waite was Best Planner, Ms Bradley voted Best Marker and Mr Haque crowned most Helpful Teacher!

Mr Trimmer said: “The evening was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the huge achievements of those students who constantly and consistently push themselves to go the extra mile. It was great to share in their success.�

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Accelerated Reading

Early GCSE Success

Since September 2012 Year 7 have been participating in our Accelerated Reader programme, a scheme designed to encourage a love of reading and ensure that students are reading at their correct level.

Throughout the year our students sat a range of modular examinations. This helped them strengthen their portfolio of qualifications gradually and took a bit of pressure off exam calendars in the summer.

Once a book has been read, the student takes an online quiz to demonstrate their understanding of the text. If a learner passes the quiz, then the programme will set appropriate reading targets and record the number of words the child has read to date.

It was really encouraging to see a steady stream of excellent results as the year progressed.

By January, almost 70% of Year 11 students had already gained an A*-C grade for GCSE English Language and by March 60% of the year group had an A*-C for GCSE Maths. Both these outcomes validated the hard work of our students and indicated standards of achievement are continuing to rapidly improve at Hove Park.

At the time of writing our Year 7 and Year 8 students have read 102,183,814 words since October. They have taken 3,104 quizzes, which equates to 3,104 books. The two most read books are JK Rowling’s Harry Potter The Deathly Hallows and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

by Suzanne Collins. We also have 20 students in Years 7 and 8 who are very proud to be ‘Word Millionaires’ having read over one million words!

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There were similar successes elsewhere too, with a range of subjects from Science to Geography to Health and Social Care all offering students the opportunity to sit exams early in order to maximise their achievement. We’re now looking forward to another summer of record results!

Parliament Visit The AS politics students visited the Houses of Parliament in April this year.

The tour was sponsored by Caroline Lucas MP. Students had a full tour of both houses, watched a debate from the Public Gallery and chatted to the Green MP about her work. They discussed party politics and the different voting systems of the UK and European parliaments.

The students were fascinated to see the inner workings of this iconic institution and felt very lucky to have such a distinguished guide!

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Enrichment The Enrichment Programme is an opportunity for students to develop interests outside of the traditional curriculum. Enrichment subjects do not have to have exams at the end of them and have given students some amazing experiences. The Journalism course run by Ms Blythe, has seen student work published in The Argus, and the Astronomy course, run by Mr Wickens, has allowed students to go to primary schools and teach Astronomy. We are very proud of the contribution that Enrichment makes to Hove Park, and it is to be expanded into Year 11 and the Sixth Form in the coming year.

Animation Paper, plasticine and real fruit have been used to create a range of impressive short animations. These really showcase students’ ability to self-motivate and problem-solve when working to a deadline. Studying films such as “Despicable Me” helped students to apply animation principles such as exaggeration, anticipation and staging to their creations.

Astronomy An exciting year in Astronomy culminated in a joint space project with West Hove Junior School, where our students designed and taught a range of activities to Year 5 pupils on the subject of the moon. All our students took part and delivered a whole afternoon of activities. What they don’t know about the moon isn’t worth knowing!

Badminton Students really enjoyed the Badminton option this year. They improved forehand and backhand techniques and learned where to position themselves to win the point.

Tournaments were popular with a number of winners including Tomas, Nas and Oscar. All students have improved both their badminton skills and their all round hand-eye co-ordination.

Web Design Web Design has been an exciting enrichment.

Students decided to join the course as they wanted to learn more about coding, a good skill to have in this evolving computer science world. Their experience and interests were at extremes and they all managed to create a product or two!

Creative Writing From detailing character traits, creating caligrams, having a guest speaker, to visiting the Royal Pavilion, this year’s Creative Writing group have had a very busy and productive year. Students have produced some amazing stories all of which can be found in the Creative Writing Anthology which we are currently compiling ready for September 2013.

Food The Food enrichment course has proved to be an outstanding success with all students developing a range of preparation and cooking skills. The recent Bake Off and Ready Steady Cook competitions have shown how independent and creative the students have become. We are all really excited about the future Come Dine with Me competitions.

Dance This year students have chosen to study GCSE Dance in their enrichment slot. It is a tall task as they have less time than they would normally, but they are committed and rising to the challenge. They have performed at a variety of events including; ‘A Christmas Knight’, Let’s Dance and the Graduation Ceremonies. We are currently working on their Almanac -piece.

2012/13 13 GCSE Group Performance

Photography Photography and ICT enrichment is an exciting introduction to Photography and Photo Manipulation. The students gain darkroom experience by creating photograms and printing. Students get to make pinhole cameras and develop their images. They also use the latest Digital SLR cameras and then manipulate their photographs in Photoshop to create an interesting and professional outcome.

Music In Music enrichment students follow a course that earns them a BTEC Award. Students study the music industry and different aspects within it. They look at different careers within the industry and focus on the skills needed for this area of work. Students also develop performing and composing skills building a portfolio of evidence for assessment.

Product Design This year we ran a Design and Technology Short Course for Year 10, worth half a GCSE. Each student completed a piece of coursework based on a design movement of their choice and we ended up with a wide range of final outcomes, from coffee tables, to wall mounted feature lights, to study chairs. The course was run so that the students learned through independent research and mini practical projects.

Young Economist This year the Economics Enrichment group has considered the endless question about our place in Europe and produced some interesting presentations using the iPad. Economics is very much about how it affects the individual so they looked at how to survive a recession and how to prosper in a boom. This led on to thinking about the sort of career that could give the greatest rewards and the greatest security. Students learnt some of the methods to use to predict major changes in the economy and how to stay one step ahead of the pack.

Volunteering This year our volunteers have helped raise £261 for MacMillan’s “Biggest Coffee Morning” and supported the “Shoebox Christmas Appeal”. They have also volunteered in primary schools to help 4 and 5 year olds with their reading. Most recently students have been placed in nursing homes where they have been on a huge learning curve and have enjoyed keeping elderly patients company.

Sports Leaders This year has seen the expansion of our Sports Leaders programme. More pupils have been given the opportunity to develop their leadership skills through the enrichment offer. This year we had 70 pupils working to gain their Level 1 qualification. After completing lessons, developing skills such as communication, organization and subject knowledge our leaders have been involved in leading sessions at Hangleton Junior School, assisting with primary events such as ‘Run the World’, Hove and Portslade Schools’ Annual Netball tournament and Cross Country Championships, and helping with Sports Days, festivals and after school clubs.

Journalism Hove Park Journalism Enrichment students became published reporters in their own right, writing a four-page 2012 Christmas supplement for local paper ‘The Argus’. The supplement included student interviews with top TV chef Jamie Oliver and Brighton and Hove Albion’s midfielder Andrea Orlandi.

Not only were the students stars of the written word but they also became broadcast journalists taking part in the BBC’s News School Report Day - researching, filming and sharing their news online. The students’ story about Punk Rock was broadcast by BBC Radio Sussex and appeared on the BBC’s website.

Students benefitted from the specialist knowledge of a variety of speakers. Guests included Guardian journalist Tom Clark, Brighton and Hove Mayor Bill Randall, and BBC News journalist Caroline Parkinson. Students also had a peek behind the scenes of TV news on a tour of BBC’s Broadcasting House.

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Year 7 Graduation Last year we hosted the first ever Hove Park Graduation Ceremony at Hove Town Hall for Year 7 students. This unique and celebratory event recognises that hard work and achievement at the start of the Hove Park journey is just as important as at its completion.

We pulled out all the stops! Students wore bespoke graduation gowns (mortar boards and all) to receive their awards in recognition of passing their Hove Park Bacc.

As well as formal awards there was a lively programme of student entertainment, including a Tina Turner inspired dance performance and an excerpt from a Glyndebourne Youth Company opera based on hit TV series Glee.

Guest of Honour was Phil Frier, then Principal of City College, who gave a motivational speech about aspiration, the value of education and moving on to college and university.

Along with our Prizegiving Evening, Year 7 Graduation has become one of the most prestigious annual events in the Hove Park calendar and we look forward to celebrating with this year’s cohort at our upcoming Graduation Ceremony in July.

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International Award

Careers in Languages Day

We were delighted to announce earlier in the year that Hove Park School and Sixth Form had once again been successful in gaining the British Council International School Award.

On the 11th and 15th February, Year 11 students had the unique experience of having a job interview in another language. This was part of a Careers in Languages Day, which aimed to raise students’ awareness of how languages can be used in the workplace.

The Award from the British Council recognises teachers and schools that work to instil a strong international flavour into the learning experience of young people.

In particular, they were impressed with the high quality and diversity of our foreign trips and our commitment to the teaching of Chinese language and culture.

The British Council commented: “Congratulations on working so hard to co-ordinate such an impressive range of work. One activity that particularly stood out was the integration of Chinese across the curriculum; it is very interesting. Well done.”

Brighton Science Fest To help celebrate the 60th anniversary of the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA, the 18th February saw nearly 400 young scientists try their hand at making a model out of sweeties at the Brighton Science Festival, hosted at Hove Park School.

Students Jamie and Josh worked solidly between 10am and 5pm explaining, guiding and assisting the enthusiastic crowd. Much to their delight, the attendees were also able to extract strands of DNA from a strawberry.

Many of them mentioned that they had seen Professor Brian Cox, in his latest series ‘Wonders of Life’ extract his own DNA from a sample of saliva using the same method.

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The Brighton & Hove Education Partnership developed the workshops and worked to make the experience as realistic as possible for the students. The interviews were based on real advertisements for holiday jobs in Europe and were conducted by local business people who use French, German and Spanish in their work.

Other activities on the day included talks by business professionals and work related activities.

Gill Ditch from Brighton & Hove Education Partnership said “It’s important that students understand the growing importance of language skills in the global environment.”

Youth Parliament Year 9 student, Kai Mohammed-Grange, was earlier this year elected Deputy Youth Parliament Member representing Brighton and Hove.

Kai was voted in by members of the Brighton and Hove Youth Council, who were impressed with his campaign and pledges to improve the lives of young people in the region.

Kai is spending one year as a Deputy Member before being promoted to a full Youth Parliament Member next year. In his role he will be expected to find out the concerns and needs of young people in the constituency and represent those views to decision makers on a local, regional and national level. He will also develop a close working relationship with our local MP and often have meetings at the House of Commons.

When asked if he fancies a future in politics, Kai said: “I may go into politics, yes.” He added: “I’m mainly just really excited and honoured to have been given this opportunity. And of course my parents are very happy and proud!”

Key Stage 3 Achievements It has been a remarkable year on the Valley Campus with the energy of 850 students channelled into some notable successes. The iPad roll-out started on the Valley Campus with Years 7, 8 and then 9. This has transformed learning, communication and independence and opened up a new world for us all.

The rapid rate of progress for older students was matched by the progress of Year 7s to 9s across all subjects. The current Year 9 are aiming to be our 80% ‘plus’ year group in the gold standard GCSEs in Year 11. This, in turn, will provide a fantastic platform for further success for them in our sixth form.

All year groups have taken on the challenge of the Hove Park Bacc and it is fascinating watching students gather around the Bacc boards to chart their progress. We are seeing ever increasing numbers of students graduating with honours each term. This is the ultimate accolade for those students who are completing all tasks at their target level and by the deadline! We are all looking forward to the graduation events celebrating student achievements in each year group at the end of the academic year.

The positive ethos on the Valley Campus has been noted by a wide range of visitors including local MPs, and has supported all types of achievement from academic through to sporting and creative arts. It has been a very good year and we are looking forward to an outstanding 2013-14.

20 Hove Park School

Cancer Research

By Grant Connor, AS Chemistry Student For a few days earlier this year, I was offered a placement to shadow a technician in the Cambridge-based facility Cancer Research Technologies. The research centre, which receives funding from Cancer Research UK, combines world-leading exploration in the chemical and biological sciences with the latest advances in technology to bring us ever closer to the cure for cancer.

Despite the hazardous weather at the time – the placement spanned the worst of January’s snow days – it was incredible to see ground-breaking experimentation at first hand. The group of chemists and biologists are wholly dedicated to their work and are highly motivated by their aim of beating the disease while still being able to find time to enjoy themselves; their frequent baking contests and daily cryptic crossword banter prove that even those with the most testing of professions need to relax and laugh!

I’d like to thank Dr Stockley (Principal Medicinal Chemist) and Ellen MacDonald (Biochemistry) for the opportunity to experience the world of cuttingedge science and the guidance regarding studies and careers in Chemistry. I wish them all the best for their future research and I encourage everyone to support their work through Cancer Research UK to ultimately find a cure for this disease.

BBC School Report

By the Journalism Enrichment Group​ From Seagulls to voting rights, Technology in the classroom to the weather, Hove Park students were breaking and making the news as part of the seventh annual BBC School Report Day in March this year.

The Journalism Enrichment Group turned themselves into broadcast reporters for a day, planning, researching, writing and filming their own news reports, which were then shared online for a 2pm deadline.

Hove Park was one of over a thousand schools taking part and though they faced massive competition Hove Park managed to get a story on the BBC’s website and a radio interview played on BBC Radio Sussex.

The students coped well with a demanding day and enjoyed using iPads to film and edit their interviews.

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A2 Chemistry Students “Become the Teacher”!

On Monday 13th May, two of our A2 Chemistry students, Ava Jenkins and Jamie DonaldMcCann, travelled to Brighton University School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences to help Hove Park chemistry teacher Jason O’Grady cover ‘Concentration in Liquids’ to two separate classes of Nursing and Pharmacy students and professionals.

Each 45 minute session involved some theory from Mr O’Grady before the nursing students got to work preparing small samples of specific concentrations of liquids and solids, carefully assisted and monitored by the expertise of Jamie and Ava. This demonstrations were designed to show how the concentration of medicines in pharmaceutical preparations can be carefully controlled no matter what the volume is that you are making up.

The sessions were part of a collaboration between Hove Park School Science Department and Brighton University School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, designed to give our students experience of not only teaching what they know to others, but doing so in a professional and adult setting, therefore enhancing their communication skills and reinforcing their own knowledge of and confidence in chemistry calculations. It was also an opportunity to add a unique skill-set to their CVs. The sessions were part of a series of drop-in classes designed to assist those completing a professional Nursing Degree at Brighton University complete their assessments on preparation of pharmaceutical prescriptions.

Their course leader Claire May kindly invited us in as guests to work with her two nursing classes on a session on concentrations in liquids when preparing prescriptions prior to an assessment on the calculations involved.

Congratulations to Ava and Jamie for bravely “stepping up to the plate” and working with adult professionals!

We are very grateful to Brighton University Senior Lecturer in Pharmaceutical Practice, Claire May, for this excellent and unique opportunity for our A2 Chemistry students to practise their skills in a professional setting, working with her healthcare professionals on a one-to-one basis.

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Hove Park School

Forest School It has been an exciting year for Forest School at Hove Park. The initiative has been extended this year to two groups going out into Plumpton Forest each week. The students did so well that we are now increasing the provision even further next year.

Students go out one day a week for ten weeks and it has been amazing to see how they develop in their confidence, team work and problem-solving over this time. Students learn practical skills such as archery, orienteering, bowl and spoon making, species identification, foraging and knife skills.

We have now been given our own grade two listed building to operate from and this reflects Plumpton College’s commitment and enthusiasm for working with our learners.

We have also had our first all-girl groups which have proved a great success. They approach tasks with their own style and have co-operated to create a real team spirit.

Year 9 student, Shakira, said: “One of the most enjoyable things that I find about Forest School is that it teaches you new skills and it isn’t just about getting down in the mud. It’s good for girls to experience this because it teaches them things that they wouldn’t have thought they would actually enjoy. I like Forest School the most because it taught me about different species in nature.”

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Transforming Learning Our Vision

25

From Vision to Reality

26 - 27

Teaching & Learning

28 - 29

Primary iPad Day

30

iTunes U/ Software Development/

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Hove Partnership Schools

Hove Park

Responses

32 - 33

Other Views

34 - 35

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Hove Park School

Our Vision This year staff at Hove Park launched the iPad Learning Transformation. Our vision is to provide a vibrant 21st Century learning environment where all students can excel.

By giving students more creative freedom and ownership of their learning and by bringing parents/carers into a closer relationship with the teaching and learning at the school, we have pledged to build strong skills in our students which are highly relevant to the digital world we are living in.

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From Vision to Reality Our aim is also to place our teachers at the heart of an international network of professionals, who have embraced the power of the latest tablet computer to transform teaching and learning, and to attract the very best teachers to work in our school. The Learning Transformation at Hove Park School has received outstanding support from parents/carers who have helped to make us national leaders in the use of iPads in schools.

Our programme has so far involved: 1. The development of project teams; 2. The forging of strong partnerships with organisations such as Brighton and Hove City Council, Brighton University and our partner primary schools; 3. The introduction of a new wireless network; 4. The procurement of commercial project partners; 5. Research and development of new approaches to teaching; 6. Training for staff; 7. The launch to students and parents/carers; 8. The management of iPad orders for 1200 students; 9. The roll-out of devices for 1-1 use in school.

The impact on learning in the school has already been substantial. Students have enjoyed having the tools to work creatively in new ways. Teachers and students have worked together in a spirit of real co-operation to explore the new apps and many parents/carers have already contacted the school to share their delight at the quality of work they are seeing from their children.

Giving students more creative freedom and ownership of their learning.

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Hove Park School

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Teaching & Learning How have iPads impacted on teaching and learning at grass roots level? Here’s a taste of what different subjects are doing to integrate apps into the classroom and the ways in which they are making life easier for teachers and students alike.

Languages In Languages we have really improved the way that students are able to practice and memorise their speaking assessments. Students have produced role plays on Puppet Pals or used Explain Everything to combine their own images and photos with a recording of their own voice.

Students have enjoyed the task, and their ability to remember their work has increased significantly.

Maths In GCSE Maths we have been using iPads to improve the way students make revision cards.

Using actual GCSE exam questions, the students take pictures of the questions, put them into Book Creator and add exemplar solutions. This means students always have their own targeted revision digital books with them at all times.

English In English we have improved the way students work independently by using iTunes U. With this app, students are able to to access the lesson resources from anywhere, helping them to support their learning at their pace. “When our group didn’t know what mise-en-scene was, we looked it up on the iTunes U course and it came up with quite a few presentations and videos explaining it.”

Mia, Year 7.

Design Technology In Design & Technology we share content through Edmodo, which allows parents/carers to be involved and monitor their child’s progress.

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In Book Creator the learners create a portfolio of research, design and self-evaluation. At Key Stage 4 we distribute a course work booklet, which includes exemplar material. This allows the learners and parents/carers to monitor work and check levels against the grade boundaries set out by the exam board.

Philosophy and Ethics In Philosophy and Ethics we have improved the way we do class discussion and submit homework. By using the app Edmodo, students are able to post their opinions on a debated topic.

We are also using Book Creator to design books on Martin Luther King.

Science In Science we’ve improved the way we help students to revise by using apps such as Explain Everything and Educreations. These apps allow us to record as we annotate and explain aloud how to tackle different exam questions. We’re able to share recordings with students via Edmodo so that even when revising at home they can do so with the direct guidance of their teachers.

PE In PE we have improved the way we use peer and self assessment by using Ubersense. With this app, students are able to analyse performances in greater detail due to the ability to play, pause and use slow motion. They can also use overlaps and side by side comparisons to critique against accurate examples of sporting techniques or to see improvements in performance.

Music In Music we have improved the way we compose by using Garageband. With this app, students are able to create an entire song on their iPads bit by bit, either creating the parts themselves or recording themselves playing the music. In class we are using iPads to change the way we deliver the lesson as students now follow the lesson at their own pace rather than the teacher’s pace.

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Primary iPad day This year we have been working with five of our feeder primary schools on an exciting iPad Transition Project.

Since securing innovation funding for 10 iPads for each school, our primary colleagues have been sharing ideas about how to use the devices to support learning for their own students. Our Year 7 Prefects were selected to lead on planning activities to teach Year 6 students how to use iPads and support them in their transition into secondary school.

Alongside staff, our fantastic Year 7 prefects organised a really exciting New Technology Transition Event which was held at Hove Park School on the 4th June. On the day, our Year 7 prefects led activities using 6 core apps and took on the role of teacher, helping the Year 6s create their final products - an iBook about transition to Hove Park School.

The day was a great success and we were extremely proud of our Year 7 Prefects. All the schools gave our students glowing feedback and the project was summarised very well by Chris Pearson, Head Teacher at Goldstone Primary School: “The children found the day really useful and exciting. It managed to address both the ‘introduction to iPad working’ and ‘a day at your new school’. It is clear that Hove Park is driving this agenda forward with passion and commitment and the ‘spin off’ benefits for the local primaries are just starting to show.”

iTunes U From September, Hove Park School aims to start publishing its courses on iTunes U. This will allow students and parents/carers, to access online lesson materials at any time. Students will be able to keep all their notes inside their iTunes U course for revision purposes.

This term, Hove Park School has formed a partnership with Apple UK, Hurstpierpoint College and Eastbourne Academy to set up the UK iTunes U Project. The project, the first of its kind in the UK, will provide teachers across the country with support and guidance in creating and publishing course materials on the iTunes U platform. Over the next two years, we aim to have first class study materials available to our students and families for all of their subjects and in every year group.

Software Development The Digital Leaders at Hove Park School are keen to ensure that our vision for high quality learning is supported by the best software for the iPad. We are actively working with educational software development companies to design the apps we need for our students.

Hove Partnership Schools This year we have been working with Somerhill Junior School, West Hove Junior School, Goldstone Primary School, Hangleton Junior School and West Hove Primary School to introduce iPads to their schools. After securing innovation funding from Brighton and Hove City Council, teachers in each school are actively sharing ideas for how to use the devices to improve learning for students of all ages.

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Responses In Maths we use Nearpod to work out equations.

This is a good way to learn because it means we can work with the teacher and as a class to solve the problems. In English we have been using an app called Book Creator to make a book about our progress so far in Year 7. This means we can have the assessment on our iPads and we can record our voices, which helps when we compare levels and work with our friends in the class.

Abbie, Year 7 It is extremely encouraging to see that the intention is not just to use the device for core curriculum subjects, but to allow experimentation, creativity and collaboration for artistic purposes; not to mention the innovative use of the iPad for Physical Education lessons. The idea of recording a sequence in a PE lesson and being able to give instant feedback to the children would be amazing; more importantly for the pupils themselves to see what worked and what didn’t quite work and why, giving pupils an instant analysis tool. Pupils having the opportunity to work collaboratively and in turn, learn from one another in response to a problem-solving question proposed by the teacher, is a hugely positive way to learn. I can see how that could encourage pupils to have a greater understanding of how to approach a certain problem or challenge.

Parent of a Year 9 student My iPad has helped me a lot during lessons and at home. I often use it in Maths such as Explain Everything which is easy and useful to use. I also like using the Edmodo app because it makes it a lot easier to hand in homework! The app I also like to use is Book Creator as it helps me create books for homework and lesson work. One more app which also helps me is the normal Camera app because I can crop and edit photos, then I can use it for my homework in another app!

Kar, Year 7

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My iPad has been brilliant for language lessons in terms of recording individual speaking work. We have been able to give personalised feedback on this skill far more regularly as I am able to easily receive submissions of oral work. Also using Edmodo as a tool to manage task setting/ receiving work/giving feedback is great. I hardly need to do any photo-copying now as I am able to make resources available to students in this way rather than on paper.

Rosie Glentworth, Languages Teacher I have encouraged my Year 9 students to use apps such as iMotion to simulate a geographic process e.g. longshore drift. It has meant that students can improve literacy by importing these iMotion movies into iMovie and narrate the explanation over the top to produce a recording which they then uploaded to Edmodo. They used these to help them write about the process and the transportation of beach material along the coast in their Bacc assessments.

Sarah Warren, Geography Teacher I think the iPads are really useful for my learning.

They are great for sending things to other people and there is an app for nearly everything! In class I use my iPad to help research in Science, make notes in English and many other things that help us learn. My favourite app is Pic Collage. I use Pic Collage a lot for homework because you can surf the web for pictures or use your own and create a collage then add text. I’ve used Keynote for my homework because it’s really easy to use and at the end you have a really nice presentation. We have used Educreations in a lot of lessons because you can use it as a white board to show your answers and you can do work on it and record it at the end.

Mir, Year 7

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Other Views Brighton University

JTRS

At Brighton University we are also launching a project to bring iPads into the classroom. We need to understand the potential impact of these devices on learning and teaching and so we are very excited about working with Hove Park to research the transformations that are taking place and share that information with schools around the world.

JTRS Ltd, as an Apple Solutions expert in Education, were chosen by Hove Park to help achieve their vision of learning transformation using mobile device technology. With full support and commitment from enthusiastic staff, students and parents/carers, teaching and learning is already being transformed. We are proud to have helped make a difference and will continue to support Hove Park with the rest of their journey.

Professor Avril Loveless - Brighton University

Tim Morgan-Hoole - Director, JTRS

Brighton & Hove City Council

Meru

The Learning Transformation initiative at Hove Park is a really exciting development. It will help equip all the students with the skills to use modern technology in their learning and in their future employment. There is already evidence that it is motivating students to do more, and to discover new skills and interests.

The Council is particularly interested in seeing how this initiative will help those students with disadvantages of any kind to learn and achieve more, as ‘closing the gap’ in achievement between these students and their peers is a Council and national priority.

We also really welcome Hove Park’s commitment to sharing its experience with other primary and secondary schools in its local cluster and across the city, helping to achieve our target of all schools in the city being good or outstanding.

Michael Nix - Head of Education Planning , Brighton & Hove City Council

Meru Networks are the UK & Ireland leader in the provision of robust wireless networks for education.

After careful consideration by Hove Park School, Meru were delighted to be chosen to provide the mission-critical infrastructure upon which all the teaching and learning will be seamlessly delivered and received. Meru wishes the school every success for the future; there is no doubt that the innovative vision of the Senior Leadership Team will translate into significant academic and personal success for each and every student.

Mark Howell - Area Director, UK & Ireland

HTG HTG work with over 300 schools and universities.

We are proud to be working in partnership with such an inspirational school as Hove Park in designing apps and software to empower teachers, students and parents. As Managing Director I am delighted to be working 1-1 with Hove Park because of their drive, focus and desire to improve learning.

Mike Ramsay - Managing Director, HTG

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Important Visitors MP Mike Weatherley

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Tim Crouch

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Tom Clark/ London Wasps Coach/

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Andrea Orlandi Punk Legend/ Wendy Ann Greenhalgh/

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Russian Visitors Mayor Bill Randall

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Hove Park School

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MP Mike Weatherley

By Lily, Year 7

In March this year we were lucky enough to have a little talk with MP Mr Weatherley. Here is what he said: When he was younger he wanted to be a football player and then a lawyer. He never thought that he would be an MP. He got involved in politics from being in the Student Union at University. A bit later on after he finished studying, he decided to phone the local political party offices and ask them if he could help out. They said yes.

His day is “24 hours long with no break�! The latest time he finished at work was 4am. He is very busy 7 days a week. He finally got elected for MP in May 2010 but it took him about 10 years to get elected. He feels that sometimes his job is very worthwhile, but some of the time it is important work, but not as interesting!

He thinks that children can participate in lots of different ways and get involved in politics by putting posters out for people to see, delivering leaflets to houses in the local area and making sure their voices are heard about issues affecting young people.

Tim Crouch

By Alice and Grant, Year 12

The Year 10 Drama enrichment class and a small group of sixth formers were delighted to welcome renowned actor Tim Crouch to Hove Park earlier in the year.

The students had previously seen him perform in his selfpenned Twelfth Night inspired play; I, Malvolio, and had a great time, venturing up to London to see his innovative show.

His fantastic ability to improvise kept us completely enthralled whilst the audience participation kept everyone playfully on edge. Needless to say Hove Park students didn’t disappoint when it came to volunteering to participate in the show!

During his visit to school Mr Crouch hosted a Q & A session and gave students a perfect opportunity to find out more about his journey into theatre (all the while showing he can entertain even when not in character).

It was great to get an insight into the real world of acting and play writing and to meet such a charismatic personality.

Tom Clark Tom Clark, leader writer at The Guardian, gave Hove Park’s Journalism and Creative Writing enrichment students a rare insight into the tough and exciting world of the press during his visit to the school at the end of last year.

Tom, who was in Brighton reporting on the Liberal Democrat conference, took time out of his busy schedule to chat to students about how the press works and what qualities you need to become a top reporter. After giving some great ‘top-tips’ for writers (some of which date back to Shakespearean times) Tom, spoke frankly to students about the how the traditional routes into journalism were changing fast with the technological revolution. He said that whilst the platform for delivering information might be changing, the fundamentals of a good writer never changes which is: accurate information, written with imagination and flair.

London Wasps Rugby Coach London Wasps rugby coach, Ryan Hunt, came to Hove Park School in February to deliver a coaching session to Year 7, 8 and 9 students.

Over 60 students turned up to the training and were treated to coaching tips on passing and handling. It was certainly the best training attendance for a while and it was great to see so many students playing the game under the guidance of a coach like Ryan.

Andrea Orlandi Andrea Orlandi, Brighton and Hove Albion’s new Spanish midfielder, took time out of a busy training schedule to talk to students at Hove Park School about the importance of taking part in sport when young. Orlandi encouraged the students to take up a regular sport: “Not only is sport great for keeping fit and healthy when young,” he explained: “It also teaches you self-discipline and the ability to work in groups and teams.”

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Punk Legend By the Journalist Group reporters Veteran punk rocker Gary Turner, from the 1970s punk band The Piranhas, made a guest appearance at the Journalist Enrichment Group sharing his experiences about how music and his art has influenced and shaped his life.

Gary, who is still playing in a band at the age of 70, was at school to record a discussion about the revival of punk music in the Brighton music scene for Radio 4’s Saturday Live show which will also feature Hove Park student Marlon Payne of the Brighton punk band A-M-I. Gary spoke about how he started playing music in his early teens and went on to join the Punk movement in the 70s.

He told the group that every generation needs to rebel and be different from the last.

Wendy Ann Greenhalgh The creative writers in Year 10 had a surprise visit from author Wendy Ann Greenhalgh. Wendy spent the afternoon inspiring our young writers using her ‘scavenger’ approach to writing, which involves using objects to stimulate creative ideas. Students picked a random object from a bag and then turned their thoughts into some ghostly stories which Wendy then posted on her blog.

Russian Visitors In March, Hove Park School welcomed 20 Russian head teachers who wanted to find out more about the post 16 British educational system. They were highly impressed by our Learning Transformation and our innovative use of iPad technology to improve teaching and learning. They commented on how passionate our teachers and students were about our school and they would like to continue to forge links with Hove Park School.

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Mayor Bill Randall By student reporters Tayla and Primrose

Bill Randall, then Mayor of Brighton and Hove, took time out of his busy mayoral duties to talk to some of Hove Park School’s budding reporters and writers.

Mayor Randall, who is himself a writer, started his writing career working for the girls’ magazine Jackie in the 1960s. He told Hove Park’s aspiring writers that whilst it was important to have a talent for writing, persistance was key when pursuing a career as a journalist; a rule he said which is equally true of any dream career.

Mayor Randall admitted he was a bit “immature” at school and didn’t always do what he was supposed to do. This meant that he needed to return to further education as a young adult. Commenting on what he thought of the City of Brighton and Hove he said he had ‘always loved Brighton and Hove’ and thought that the place was ‘extraordinary’ providing an accepting environment where people could be whatever they wanted to be. He went on to say that he ‘couldn’t imagine living anywhere else’.

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Hove Park + Hove Park School working in the community The staff at Hove Park School are benefitting from a growing range of partnerships. Not only do these partnerships bring great new ideas into our school but we are also increasingly in demand to share our expertise with other schools. This is Hove Park +.

Sports Leaders Over the past year we have been developing partnerships with local primary schools within the community.

For the second year running we have released a specialist PE teacher, Ms Martin, to work as a School Sports Co-ordinator supporting local primary schools with their PE. Ms Martin has provided INSET training and lesson support to teachers and provided greater opportunities for young pupils to participate in competitive sport.

HOVE PARK

Adult Education Centre

Adult Education Hove Park School is committed to providing our local community with access to the highest quality education. Our new Adult Education Centre will enable local residents of any age to study at Hove Park School. From September 2013, adults will have the opportunity to take evening classes in subjects such as GCSE Maths and English, French & Spanish Conversation, Photography, Chinese, Yoga, Ceramics and Web Design. Classes will run for two hours once a week on either our Nevill or Valley Campus. All classes will be reasonably priced, with a discount for parents/carers of Hove Park students, and will be available to book through our website. The Centre is run by Mike Aldridge, who can be contacted on 01273 295000.

iPad 1-1 Hove Park School has the largest 1-1 iPad deployment in any school in the UK. For schools interested in learning about our journey and the positive impact it is having on students and teachers, we offer open days through our website.

On their visits teachers learn about our project, receive training in the apps and see the iPads in use in lessons. This year we received visits from teachers as far away as Russia. Hove Park staff are increasingly being asked to speak at local and national conferences. This year we presented

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at a range of conferences in Sussex. Next term we will be hosting a regional conference for Apple and Mr Trimmer will be speaking at the BETT exhibition in London early next year.

employed recent graduates from Ivy League universities to coach students in literacy and numeracy. Mr Nolan is determined to introduce this system to Britain, and has arranged for a pilot programme to run in 2013-14, funded by the educational charity EEF. Following a visit to Hove Park School last year, Liam Nolan asked us to join the project. This means that Hove Park will be employing six Literacy Coaches to work with Year 7 students in 2013-14. We are sure that a combination of oneto-one and small group tuition will have a huge impact on students’ achievement and enjoyment of literacy.

Primary Science Day Hove Park School staff are working to shape the future of learning using iPad technology. We are working in partnership with software development companies, such as the Hi Tech Group to develop the next generation of school software and we are a leading school in the development of English courses for iTunes U in the UK. Our learning transformation plan has been used by the largest academy chain in the country to support its schools in introducing 1-1 tablet devices.

Perry Beeches The Academy TES School of the Year 2011 Liam Nolan, the Executive Head Teacher of Perry Beeches Academy Trust, is an inspirational figure in education. He has taken a struggling school in inner city Birmingham and made it the most improved school in the country, and followed this up by opening a hugely successful Free School in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter. Two more free schools have been approved and will open in September 2013 and September 2014. Each school is committed to providing the highest quality education to local residents, values that we share at Hove Park. We are very pleased to have been asked by Liam Nolan to work on an innovative project to improve literacy. During a trip to the USA, Mr Nolan observed a programme where schools in inner city neighbourhoods

Hove Park students love to share their knowledge with younger pupils. Last year we welcomed 120 Year 6 students from West Hove Junior School when they came to experience some “Exciting Science!”

The students were thrilled to see the effects of some of the more flamboyant science practicals such as whoosh bottles, ethanol rockets and Van De Graaff generators.

Not content to just stand back and watch they also got plenty of hands-on experience making copper from copper ore using bunsen burners.

One student said “It’s really cool to get to do fun things in Science.”

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Hove Park + Short Stay School

Year 10 Teach the Moon

At the Short Stay School we aim to support students who are vulnerable and at risk of exclusion through a personalised programme of support which involves learning away from their main school. This brand new provision is offered to three schools in the city: Hove Park, Blatchington Mill and Portslade Aldridge Community Academy.

A group of Year 10 Astronomy students were recently invited to teach Year 5 at West Hove Junior School.

Together we aim to: • • •

• • •

Engender a sense of belonging through creating a positive learning environment.

Develop skills and strategies for students to help them re-engage in their education.

Help identify and support the needs of each student in order to address areas that may create barriers to learning.

Support students’ continued access to education and re-integration back in to school.

Promote the importance of a healthy lifestyle to aid learning and well-being.

Use restorative justice principles to address harm and resolve conflict.

The students who attend the Short Stay School will be assigned a mentor who will carry out frequent 1-to-1 sessions in order to support their needs and to monitor progress and development.

Students will take part in a number of group sessions working on social skills, emotional literacy, self esteem and other barriers to learning.

Teachers from the three participating schools will be working at the Short Stay School on a weekly basis to teach literacy and numeracy lessons.

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The afternoon was based on “The Moon” and students ran a series of workshops that included getting pupils to make their own moons, a special “guess the weight of the moon” quiz, recreating the phases of the moon with Oreo biscuits and finding out how long it would take to cycle to the moon.

The pupils and teachers at West Hove School really enjoyed the day and have asked the students to come back again. Our student ‘teachers’ were very professional in their work and really did the school proud.

Educational Changes Many parents/carers have told us that they are finding it difficult to keep up with changes to education, so we have decided to give you a very short synopsis from a completely biased Hove Park perspective:

New GCSEs Most of the news headlines have been about changes to the exam system. This has caused some confusion, such as: EBacc/EBC – EBCs were a proposed new type of GCSE that has since been withdrawn, whereas the EBacc is a name for the Government’s preferred options choices at age fourteen. It comprises English, Maths, two Sciences, a Humanities subject and a Modern Foreign Language. Over 90% of Hove Park students study this combination of subjects.

Although we don’t know exactly what the new GCSE exams will look like, there are certain things that are clear: • • • •

There will be a new National Curriculum for England announced in the Autumn. Drafts of this are on the Department for Education website. The most significant change is to ICT. It is proposed that ICT changes its name to Computing and that schools are given the opportunity to deliver it in the best way that they see fit. This could mean that ICT lessons become part of Maths or Science, or that computer languages are taught alongside French and Spanish.

We will be consulting parents/carers about our responses to all of these changes, but please let us know your thoughts on shifts in education and ask us any questions that you have by e-mailing curriculum@hovepark.org.uk.

Exams will require students to write longer, more detailed answers Grammar and spelling will be assessed in all exams, not just English Coursework will not be part of GCSEs Exams will only take place at the end of the course, in one go, which means that modular courses will be scrapped

Many of these changes have already started to happen, and we have begun to prepare students for this new style of exam. The first group of students to sit the new GCSE will be our present Year 7s.

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Art Valley Campus Mural

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Key Stage 3 Art Round Up

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Photography Exhibition

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Art Exhibition

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Year 11 Arts Award

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Saatchi School Prize

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iPad’s In Action/ Art Calendar

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Little Shop of Horrors

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Valley Mural The mural in the Art Wing has been climbing up the walls like ivy since the Year 6 Open Evening. Students from the Valley Campus buddied up with our sixth form artists, dressed in stencilled boiler suits, to modify the school décor.

The mural intends to depict the area of the school by the style of art created. For example famous New York street artist ‘Keith Haring’ has been a major influence to the art mural, as have the Mexican Day of the Dead Festival, Patrick Caulfield and Otto Dix.

Key Stage 3 Art Round Up There has been so much creative energy in the art rooms this year, making it very difficult to select individual pieces. Our newest and most exciting projects have been the Year 7 illustration project, where students have used book illustrators and creative writing to inspire their own work.

Some of the most successful pieces were Eric Carle paper card sculptures and Quentin Blake pop up pages. There has also been some very exciting art generated from the Year 11 ‘Seven Deadly Sins’ project, lots of bleeding limbs, decapitated heads and generally disturbing work outcomes have filled the art room. Some great contributions to the sensational exhibition in July.

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Photography Exhibition This year Hove Park hosted an exhibition of excellence in the Nevill Library, which coincided with the Little Shop of Horrors production, so VIP guests could view more talent from the Creative Arts in the school.

BTEC Photography students coordinated and mounted work specifically to suit the environment. Year 12 Photography students were inspired by the theme ‘Their Brighton’ and ’Image and Identity’. The Year 13s responded to ‘Class and Culture’ and ‘Combining Images’.

The exhibitions were up for two weeks and generated great interest including coverage in The Argus, where selected pieces by Shah, Seb, Zoe and Amy were showcased. It was a truly inspirational event which motivated Year 10 Photography enrichment students to produce exciting work of their own.

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Art Exhibition The art exhibition this year was a sensation and continues to grow from strength to strength. It showcased the work of a huge variety of creative talent including artists, designers and photographers. People from all corners of Brighton and Hove came to see the outstanding creative work Hove Park has to offer.

This is an event which puts every student into the limelight as they each have at least one piece of work on show. This is a very proud moment for the Art and Design Technology team but more importantly the students who have really put the hours in to produce thoughtful, informed and imaginative responses.

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Year 11 Arts Award Photography Arts Awards is an exciting new course, which has encouraged Year 10 students to participate in creative events such as the Photo Fringe and Photo Biennial Festival. Students have made creative work inspired by their art heroes and heroines from the professional world and our sixth form students at Hove Park.

Creative practices such as dressing up, face painting and making movies, paper cut installations, making pinhole cameras and taking photographs are some of the many ways in which students have been inspired to create work.

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Saatchi School Prize A student studying A2 Art spent two months creating an architectural sculpture from pieces of cardboard.

Originally born out of a recycling project at school, the piece is inspired by the works of American artist Mark Langan, who makes sculptures from reclaimed materials.

Katy says through the piece she was aiming to “stylise the observations and sculptural qualities of modern architecture and abstract doodles.�

Her sculpture (pictured) was entered into the 2012 Saatchi Gallery / Sunday Telegraph Art Prize for Schools, which is open to schools from around the world for students up to the age of 18.

iPads In Action The iPads have become a great tool to use in Art. Not only do students have instant access to all paintings, collages, sculpture and installations available but also a visual encyclopaedia at their finger tips.

We have used apps to grid photographs of icons for students to transcribe, Edmodo so students instantly have acess to resources and can post homework which is then assessed and marked in a collaborative space. Brushes, Art Studio and Pic Collage are some of the more arty apps which give opportunities to create sophisticated images and drawings, similar to Photoshop and Illustrator.

They are also great tools for peer and self assessment, as students can photograph each other’s work and use the app ‘Explain Everything’ to draw over their image, describe what they see and like, and search for areas to develop.

The image top left was created on an iPad using the Brushes app.

Art Calendar 2013

Art Calendar This year the Art Department have made and sold art calendars to share the hidden gems of genius in the sketchbooks which often get missed.

Each month we dedicate at least three or four pieces of outstanding work from one year group.

We started the year with some Indian miniature paintings and finished with BTEC recycled art and GCSE work from the exhibition.

Be sure to get in early with your calendar purchase this year before we sell out; we are already overwhelmed with the amount of work and talent we have to choose from.

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Little Shop Of Horrors Each year the Art students are fortunate enough to create the back drop and props for the school show. This year the macabre themes within Little Shop of Horrors combined with a well-timed excursion to Kew Gardens, inspiring students to create monstrous plant formations in wire and paper mâchÊ.

Students worked collaboratively to share ideas. Using a range of materials, the Sixth Form Art team worked hard towards a rigid time schedule to create a truly innovative set, including props and illustrative poster designs.

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Sport Football Jack Rowe-Hurst - Albion Scholarship Brighton & Hove Schools Swimming Gala 2013/

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Netball Rugby

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National Yoga Success

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Ski Trip - Austria

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Girls Rounders Tournament/ U14 Girls’ Rugby/

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Let’s Dance at the Dome Rockley Adventure

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Girls’ Football/

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Brighton & Hove Basketball Tournament Sports Day 2013

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Year 7 Football

Cup and Nationals. We came through both, thanks to winners from Ricky. Darius covered the whole of midfield at times and provided the consistency of passing that every team needs. Other midfield positions rotated from game to game, with Finn providing width on the right, Jack and Cal on the left and Callum scoring several important goals.

The season was to end with three finals, starting with the league finals at Dorothy Stringer. Longhill put up a spirited fight to take the game to penalties, however it was goalkeeper Lewis who was the hero, saving two penalties to win the first final of the season.

2013 was to be a historic year for the Year 7 football team as they would go on to be the first side in Hove Park’s history to secure the treble.

It was clear to see from the first few fixtures, that this team was capable of special things.

Blatchington Mill were blown away 10-0 in the opening league fixture and William Parker were also thrashed 10-0 in the National Cup. Felpham in the Nationals were despatched back to West Sussex quickly before two tough local derbies against Cardinal Newman in the County

Final number two was the County Cup Final at Seaford FC against Felpham. Ricky popped up with the winner after strike pair Robert and James gave us a two goal lead, only for Felpham to peg us back to 2-2. Final number two secured.

And so to the Town Cup Final at Whitehawk and the boys saved the best til last! Cardinal Newman were easily brushed aside, with Josh’s stunning two goals from long distance and James scoring again- what a left foot! A complete natural finisher.

Well done for a fantastic season and for being treble champions!

Mr Streeter

Opponents

Competition

Venue

Score

Peacehaven Blatchington Mill William Parker Cardinal Newman Felpham Blatchington Mill Cardinal Newman PACA Dorothy Stringer Peacehaven Tunbridge Wells Longhill Patcham Tanbridge House Longhill Felpham Cardinal Newman

ESFA National R1 B&H League ESFA National R2 County Cup R2 ESFA National R3 B&H League ESFA National R4 B&H League County Cup R3 B&H Town Cup QF ESFA National R5 B&H Town Cup SF County Cup QF County Cup SF B&H League Final County Cup Final B&H Town Cup Final

Away Home Away Away Home Away Away Away Home Home Home Home Away Home Stringer Seaford FC Whitehawk FC

W4-2 W10-0 W10-0 W2-0 W8-1 W5-0 W2-1 W4-0 W7-2 W8-0 L2-4 W5-1 W5-2 W7-2 W4-2 (pens) W3-2 W5-0

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Year 8 Football down to a final between Hove Park and...yes you guessed it, Dorothy Stringer. After losing twice to them at the start of the season, Hove Park knew they deserved to finally beat this strong side but only if they played their very best.

The game was very tight and went to extra time.

It looked as though it was heading for penalties again but then the Year 8s star man Mohamed scored a very late winner that saw the team walk away with the Championship trophy. It was the very least this great side deserved.

After a very successful first season the Year 8s had silverware as their target again. However the team were knocked out in the first round by Dorothy Stringer in the Brighton Town Cup which they had won in Year 7.

Soon after that they had to play Dorothy Stringer again in the County Cup first round which Hove Park lost in a nail-biting penalty shoot out.

The Year 8s then went on to have another good run in the National Cup winning a good few games which eventually came to an end in the last 32.

The team then had to re-focus in on the Brighton League title. At the end of the season it came

Next season’s focus will be to win back the Brighton Town Cup and to have a strong campaign in the County Cup, also to continue to improve in the National Cup. Star players this year have been: Oliver - Goal Keeper; Charlie and Mathew - Centre Backs; Mohamed and Tom - Centre Midfielders and Kieran - Striker and Golden Boot.

Congratulations to all involved with the Year 8 team this season. We now look forward to next season.

Mr Lowrie

Opponents

Competition

Venue

Score

Dorothy Stringer Forest Dorothy Stringer Causeway Blatchington Mill Warden Park Blatchington Mill Dorothy Stringer

County Cup R1 ESFA National R2 B&H Town Cup R2 ESFA National R3 B&H League ESFA National R4 B&H League Play-off B&H League Final

Away Home Home Away Away Away Home Stringer

L5-4 (Pens) W3-2 L5-0 W8-0 W2-1 L1-0 W3-1 W3-2 (AET)

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Year 9 Football The team now set its sights on retaining the County Cup. A few shaky performances off the back of the National Cup exit saw us through to the semi final where we met Ardingly College. The boys returned to form in a big way with a performance that was not reflected in the 3-2 winning score line.

One of the goals came off the back of a twenty or so passing move. This passing style has been a strong feature of the boys’ play and a huge reason why the team has had so much success. We now arrived at the final against Shoreham Academy in full flight with all the squad in top form.

After the successes of the past two years this was going to be a challenging season for the boys.

The team would also have to make do without captain Charlie, who had departed Hove Park School to join premier league Arsenal full time over the summer break.

For our very first game of the season the boys travelled to Durrington in the National Cup and came away with a very comfortable 4-1 victory.

Games in the National Cup came thick and fast as we progressed through the rounds. The highlight of results being a 7-4 win after extra time and coming from 3-0 down against our football rivals Newman. However in round 7 the boys had an off day against St Igniatus in London, lost the game 3-0 and went out of the National Cup.

On a very difficult pitch the final was never going to be a repeat of last season’s 7-0 victory over Longhill, but the boys were not in the mood to give away their crown. We dominated possession during the first half of the game with Shoreham having nearly all eleven players defending in their own half. The second half went exactly the same way as the first and eventually the boys’ patient passing play paid off with Mohamed scoring the winner after some very good team play and a good pass from Morgan. Retaining the County Cup for the second time out of three finals in three years was a great way to end the season and Year 9.

Thank you to all the boys for their hard work.

Mr Pulling

Opponents

Competition

Venue

Score

Durrington Felpham Patcham Shenfield Forest Cardinal Newman Kingsdale St Igniatus Hazelwick Ardingly Cardinal Newman Shoreham Academy

ESFA National R2 ESFA National R3 County Cup R2 ESFA National R4 County Cup R3 ESFA National R5 ESFA National R6 ESFA National R7 County Cup QF County Cup SF B&H Town Cup QF County Cup Final

Away Home Away Away Home Home Home Away Away Home Home Seaford FC

W4-1 W2-0 W3-1 W2-0 W6-1 W7-4 (AET) W7-6 (pens) L3-0 W6-5 (pens) W3-2 L1-2 W1-0

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Year 10 Football

Kieran in goal continues to improve and develop as a goalkeeper and was inspired keeping us in the game many times. When committed, Mark was a good find at left back and contributed well in several games. Jordan established himself well at centre back this year and played with a good footballing brain alongside captain Louis. The returning Tom was a highlight and he gave the team much needed impetus in midfield. However a lack of goals generally meant the good football played never got the reward it deserved. Here’s to a committed and successful Year 11!

Mr Streeter

The Year 10 team had high hopes for this season, especially after winning their first Cup Final last year when they beat Longhill in the Brighton & Hove Town Cup Final.

In the first game of the National Cup, Thomas Bennett demonstrated that at this age group, strength and physical endeavour are an important factor, as we were soundly beaten 5-3. The team bounced back though with two good away wins in the County Cup, before bowing out to Peacehaven in both the County Cup and Town Cup. This season was one of overall disappointment with early defeats in all three Cup competitions.

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Year 11 Football The Year 11 team had a short season this year.

They played very well to win their first National Cup game of the season. This was a really positive start. Sadly they were knocked out of the County Cup and the Brighton Town Cup soon after. Overall the Year 11 team have been very successful throughout their season. The department is sure that many of the players will continue with their football with some staying on at our sixth form next year.

Mr Lowrie

Opponents

Competition

Venue

Score

Thomas Bennett Felpham St Andrews Peacehaven Peacehaven PACA Blatchington Mill

ESFA National R2 County Cup R2 County Cup R3 County Cup R4 B&H Town Cup R2 B&H League B&H League

Away Away Away Home Away Home Home

L5-3 W4-0 W4-1 L4-1 L2-1 W4-0 L7-2

Opponents

Competition

Venue

Score

Uckfield Blatchington Mill Warden Park Beacon Cardinal Newman

ESFA National R2 B&H League County Cup R2 ESFA National R3 B&H Town Cup R1

Home Home Away Home Away

W5-3 L6-1 L4-1 L6-2 L3-0

Hove Park School

Jack Rowe-Hurst Hove Park student Jack Rowe-Hurst has accepted the offer of a two year scholarship with Brighton and Hove Albion FC. This means Jack will become an apprentice with the club and embark on a two year development programme that involves technical training and education. From July 2013 Jack will be training every day and working on his football technical development alongside his fitness, strength and conditioning, nutrition and educational profile.

The education element will consist of a Level 3 BTec Diploma in Excellence in Sport, a Level 3 NVQ in Achieving Excellence in Sports Performance and a Level 2 Football Coaching Certificate.

Towards the end of his two year scholarship the club will make a decision on whether to offer Jack a professional contract.

Brighton & Hove Schools Swimming Gala 2013 Once again Hove Park School swimmers showed a fabulous team effort at the Brighton and Hove Schools Swimming Gala. We narrowly missed out on winning the title with the overall girls’ team finishing second and the boys’ team finishing first.

The event is a brilliant showcase of talent which otherwise would go unseen in the school.

Performances of note came from Year 12 student Amy winning both her individual races in some style and doing a fantastic job of leading by example as the Team Captain.

Charlotte did a brilliant job for the Year 7 girls with a number of silvers whilst Louis and Joel showed some outstanding talent in all their individual events and relays with numerous gold medals between them securing a first place win for the boys team.

Boys’ Squad

Joel, Steven, Andro, Daniel, Louis, Joe, James, Jordan, Ryan, James, Prentice, Stefan.

Girls’ Squad

Grace, Alice, Louisa, Karine, Simone, Olivia, Jess, Amy, Lottie, Karine, Jessica.

Year 7 Netball The Year 7 Netball squad have shown a tremendous amount of resilience, enthusiasm and team spirit throughout their first season. After a shaky start, the girls showed real improvement and their hard work began to pay off. Despite losing their first few games the A team was transformed after beating Longhill and went from strength to strength, finishing fourth in the League.

The B team also had a mixed start to the season, but showed real team cohesion, playing more competitive and closely fought games as the season went on. A real highlight of the season was when a group of Year 11 Hove Park students organised a Netball Tournament for the Year 7 squad as part of their GCSE PE assessment. This was extremely well attended and was inspiring for the Year 7s who commented that they couldn’t wait to organise events themselves. It was also rewarding for the Year 11s, who loved planning and running an event independently.

Mia, Mir, Lottie, Evie, Aji, Abbie, Tallulah and Ayah regularly represented the age group above them, performing to a very high level.

Year 8 Netball The Year 8s again demonstrated enthusiasm and passion. Both teams were in very tough leagues.

However the girls refused to be disheartened and steadily fought to win more games, eventually finishing fourth and fifth respectively.

There were huge celebrations when the A team beat Longhill and Varndean, due to some excellent shooting from Alex and determination in mid court

by Cerys and Ellie. The B team were also proud to beat Patcham in a very closely fought match, which was won on the final whistle. Outstanding players from the squad were Cerys, Alex, Saskia, Sally and Ellie, who worked particularly hard in training, showing a real determination to improve.

The girls were inspirational for the rest of the squad and the younger players.

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Year 9 Netball The Year 9 squad was boosted by some new players this season. Anna, Phoebe and Olivia proved themselves to be fantastic additions, combining well with the others, most of who have been playing since Year 7. Team spirit was at an all time high this year and every match was played with great spirit, whatever the result.

The Year 9s entered a regional tournament at Sussex University, which provided the opportunity to play at a very high standard in a professional environment. They also took part in the Brighton and Hove Netball Tournament which was hosted

by Hove Park School and run by Hove Park Year 11 GCSE PE students. Both tournaments were exciting events, with nail-biting matches. The 9A team finished third in their league pool, narrowly missing a place in the final, and the 9B team finished fourth.

The majority of the squad will be awarded their half colours this year, for three years service to Netball at Hove Park. Well done to Karine, Emily, Lottie, Olivia, Simone, India, Lola, Josie, Abbie, Phoebe, Abby and Shannon for your continued commitment and enthusiasm.

Year 10 & 11 Netball Netball was somewhat disrupted by poor weather this season. Both Years 10 and 11 teams were very successful in the matches in which they did compete. Year 11 placed second in their league and remained highly motivated and committed despite studying commitments. As we move into next year, I hope to get some thriving netball practice underway and based on the Nevill Campus to encourage the Year 10s to develop what is already a very talented team.

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Rugby Year 7 Well done to the Year 7 rugby team who have got their Hove Park rugby careers off to a flying start.

In their first match against Blatchington Mill the team won 25-0, a very confident start in which the boys applied all the hard work from the training sessions into the game.

They continued to build on this success in their second match against Brighton College Junior School, which they won 41-10. An excellent display which saw a squad of 22 Year 7 students all play their part, led by team captain Joe. Some of the tries were text book, demonstrating the rapid progress they have made since the start of Year 7.

The team went on to beat Blatchington Mill again in the first round of the cup 34-10 however lost 25-0 to a strong Cardinal Newman side.

Hurstpierpoint College gave the boys a lesson in how to play the game. However, yet again the team played with spirit and determination and despite the score, played some excellent rugby.

The signs are good as the boys embark on their rugby journey through Hove Park School.

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Year 8 The Year 8 team had a fantastic season sailing through their Town Cup games eventually winning the Town Cup Finals at Brighton RFC in some style against Cardinal Newman School.

There were a number of superb performances along the way, the most memorable being the Town Cup semi final against Blatchington Mill. The team showed great character and came back from a 20 point deficit to win the game 34-29, a truly amazing result.

Players of the year were numerous and it is hard to identify individuals in such a strong team unit. In the forwards James played a really influential role and also gained the accolade of Hove RFC player of the season and Ennio was superb as team captain. Both Ennio and Harvey were identified by Harlequins School of Rugby and picked to play in their development squad, a fantastic achievement.

Finally Mohammed was leading try scorer in a number of games and time and time again called unstoppable. Overall their greatest achievement was the Town Cup Final win and this can only be achieved by 15 strong and committed players in a team!

Year 9

Year 10

The Year 9 season culminated in another Town Cup Final and for the second year in a row their opposition was Cardinal Newman. Unfortunately the team lost on the day 45-12. However they did significantly close the gap on last year’s score and their overall team performance against their opposition. Luke scored the try of the game with a scintillating run from outside centre well within his own half to finish a try of the highest quality.

The Year 10 side had a slightly disappointing season this year, losing to Cardinal Newman in the best school rugby match we have seen in a number of years. It ended 22-20 in Newman’s favour, but was a really hard fought and well contested encounter. It was a similar story for most of the season and their old rivals at St Bede’s pipped them in another extremely close encounter finishing 24-19 to St Bede’s.

The team exited the State School County Cup against an extremely strong Weald opposition in November, which was a real shame after a string of excellent performances against Cardinal Newman, Blatchington Mill and Shoreham College.

In essence, every game this season has been played to a superb standard against superb opposition this year. Captain Sacha and Charles have moved to the centre this year from the forwards and are proving extremely hard to deal with whilst Aaron and Luke are leading a forwards pack of rapidly developing fresh players. Once again there is all to play for in the new season in the most closely contested year group in the town and county!

One of the most important things to come from the season was the renewed interest for the game. The squad is now 25 strong and new faces are challenging true team stalwarts for their positions and driving up the standard. Sam as Captain has really led the team again this year with his constant communication and inspiring play and Chris at Number 8 has led the pack of now experienced forwards. It should be really interesting to see their development as a team next year!

Year 11 The Year 11 team played out their days at Hove Park with a few fixtures this season. As always in this year, if they only had five more players in the squad they would be a very competitive side.

Numbers were assisted by some Year 10 players this season to ensure a side was fielded in the remaining games before Christmas.

A special mention goes to all those boys who have played through the entire five years at Hove Park School. A very special achievement in itself. These include Danny (Captain), Charlie, Ming, Adam, John, Reece, Hal, Kieran and Stephen. This reflects the commitment and team morale within the side. Although wins have been few and far between for the team, as a group of players they are probably the most enjoyable and committed team you could wish to work with.

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Year 7 Rugby Results

Opponents

Competition

Venue

Result

Blatchington Mill Brighton College Blatchington Mill Cardinal Newman Hurstpierpoint College Cardinal Newman

Friendly Friendly County Cup County Cup Friendly Friendly

Away Home Home Away Away Home

W 0-25 W 41-10 W 35-10 L 25-0 L 45-0 W 0-35

Opponents

Competition

Venue

Result

Town 15-A-Side Tournament Cardinal Newman Blatchington Mill Brighton College Dorothy Stringer Shoreham College Warden Park Hurstpierpoint College Blatchington Mill Cardinal Newman

Town 15-A-Side Tournament County Cup Town Cup Friendly Town Cup Friendly County Cup Friendly Town Cup Town Cup Final

Hove RFC Cardinal Newman Away Home Away Home Home Home N/A Hove RFC

1st place Walkover W 37-7 W 42-12 W 31-25 W 37-34 L 45-17 L 45-5 W 34-29 W 54-20

Opponents

Competition

Venue

Result

Hove 10-A-Side Tournament Brighton College Blatchington Mill Cardinal Newman Dorothy Stringer Varndean Shoreham College The Weald Longhill Cardinal Newman

Hove 10-A-Side Tournament County Round 1 County Cup State Schools Town Cup State Schools County Cup Town Cup Friendly Friendly Town Cup Town Cup Final

Hove RFC Home Home Away Home Away Home Away Away Hove RFC

Cancelled L 50-0 W 25-20 L 36-25 L 45-20 W 15-7 L 25-0 L 54-10 Cancelled L 54-12

Opponents

Competition

Venue

Result

Brighton and Hove Town Tens State Schools County Cup St Bedes Dorothy Stringer Varndean Blatchington Mill

Tens Tournament County Cup Round 1 Friendly Town Cup Town Cup Town Cup

Hove RFC Home Home Away Home Away

3rd Place L 22-20 L 24-19 L 22-12 L 24-36 Walkover

Year 8 Rugby Results

Year 9 Rugby Results

Year 10 Rugby Results

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National Yoga Success 12 year old Hove Park student Olivia Carlton was this month crowned UK National Youth Yoga champion!

Olivia, who has been studying yoga at Bikram Yoga Brighton for just 8 months won Gold with a breathtaking performance that drew oohs and ahhs from the crowd. She will now be invited to Los Angeles where she will compete against other National Youth yoga champions from around the world in the International Yoga Asana Championships in June this year.

2013 was the 10th year of the UK Yoga Championships but this was the first year that young people between the ages of 12 and 17 were allowed to compete against each other in their own Youth Division. Olivia had to show four compulsory yoga postures and two advanced postures to a panel of judges. Her postures were then marked against a strict criteria and she won top marks for her execution, focus, balance, grace and accuracy.

Stephanie, Olivia’s mother, said: “We are so proud of Olivia; she was very brave to compete! Her hard work and commitment has rewarded her with this amazing opportunity to go to Los Angeles and compete on an International level.”

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Ski Trip - Austria During the February half term, the annual ski trip departed for the alpine ski resort of St Johann in Tirol, Austria for the very first time with 51 students from Years 9 and 11.

The students enjoyed five days of thrilling skiing, which started on the easy nursery slope outside our very welcoming hotel. The students gained confidence within hours and by the end of the second day nearly all of the groups had made it up the mountain, which meant negotiating the scary ski lifts. The advanced group were off exploring the resort at every opportunity, whilst the beginner groups honed their skills on the gentle but sometimes challenging blue runs. By the end of the week even they had skied the difficult red run back to the hotel and become accomplished skiers, which was no doubt due to the patience and skill of our instructors. A full apres-ski programme was laid on for the students, which included bum-boarding, ice skating, swimming and bowling.

Girls’ Rounders Let’s Dance Tournament at the Dome A huge well done to the 29 Year 7 girls who played in the Year 7 rounders tournament at Longhill. The Hove Park girls really enjoyed the tournament and although they faced tough opposition, they were winners in terms of enthusiasm and participation.

They put in some great performances and their batting and fielding went from strength to strength.

The girls involved were Ayah, Taylia, Catherine, Charlotte, Cydnie, Mia, Chloe, Lauren, Bonnie, Aji, Tullulah, Sofia, Alex, Grace, Rose, Maryia, Mia, Georgia, Molly, Hayley, Sophia, Abbie, Beth, Eleanor, Maryam, Finty, Sophia, Evie and Marielle.

Well done to all three teams.

Let’s Dance, a week long celebration of schools’ dance, took place at The Dome before the Easter holidays.

Hove Park School performed two pieces at the event plus had students taking part in another two company performances. ‘Musicals Make the World Go Round’ was a piece created by Year 11 students led by Ceris. Their contemporary take on Grease and Footloose was extremely energetic and fun. It was a fantastic memory for the Year 11s to take away with them from their time here at Hove Park School.

The same evening, Jess, Georgia, Izak and Sara performed with Unique, a Streetfunk crew. It was an incredible performance that could definitely rival Diversity!

The following evening saw an ‘Ode to the 90’s’ performed by Hove Park Dance Club. Dancers performed to The Spice Girls, De La Soul, MC Hammer and more 90’s classics. An amazing performance by students closed the show.

A big “Thanks” goes out to all the dancers for their hard work and commitment.

Under 14 Girls’ Rugby For the third year running the U14 girls, rugby team were triumphant in the Brighton and Hove District Schools Rugby Tournament. Hove Park girls have shown an excellent commitment to developing their game from touch rugby to full contact through hard work and training. They have been unbeaten all year including friendlies, demonstrating what a strong team they have become. We hope to have more competitive experiences next year as girls’ rugby continues to grow with more schools participating. Well done to all the girls.

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Rockley Adventure Last summer 69 Year 8 students visited Biscarrosse in the southwest of France for an action packed programme of outdoor activities.

They experienced a variety of sports such as dart sailing, pico sailing, windsurfing, kayaking and mountain biking. Evening activities included a trip to the ‘Dune de Pilat’, a talent show and the ‘Rockley Challenge’. The trip was hugely successful due to the fantastic attitude of the pupils and the hard work of both Hove Park staff and Rockley staff. Behaviour was exemplarary throughout the week and the students were a real credit to the school.

Year 8 student, Lola, commented on the trip: ‘I have learnt to sail a dart and a pico, to uncapsize a boat and to duck when the boom swings! I learnt many new skills and also not to brush my teeth on the coach: spilt Listerine is horrible! I have also noticed that mosquito bites really hurt! Mostly I have learnt to sail boats, windsurf and have a good time.’

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Year 7 Girls’ Football

U14 Girls’ Football The U14 girls’ football team narrowly lost out on Hove Park gaining another league title finishing runners up in the Brighton and Hove league.

Highlights included wins against Patcham, Blatchington Mill, Longhill, Peacehaven and Brighton and Hove High. Well done to Phoebe, Emily, Ellen, Simone, Olivia, Leona, Alice, Louisa, Summer, Katy, Holly, Ellie, Kate and Megan for a fantastic season.

The Year 7 girls’ football team enjoyed a fantastic first season in both League and Cup. A number of the girls play outside of school for Mile Oak and this was evident from the excellent passing style and tactical awareness which they displayed.

The team was entered into the National Cup, County Cup and the Brighton & Hove League.

Hove Park should be very proud of the fact that they had enough players to field an A and B teams in the 7-a-side league.

In the league the girls got off to a fantastic start with the A team winning 4-0 against Dorothy Stringer and the B team winning 1-0. This result was followed by three wins and two losses. The highlight was a 7-1 win over Patcham in which Ellie scored a hattrick. The team finished joint runners up in the league.

Brighton & Hove Basketball Tournament After their success in the Brighton and Hove District Tournament the U16 Basketball team represented the city in the Regional Tournament.

They competed against the best teams from across the county and finished in third place overall. The competition was extremely tough and the girls played extremely well.

In the U13 County Cup they made it to the quarter finals with wins against Longhill and Seaford. In the quarter finals they faced tough opposition in Warden Park. They put up a great fight but lost the game 2-1.

In the National Cup the girls reached the fourth round beating St Wilfred’s, Cardinal Newman and Sir Robert Woodard Academy en route. In the fourth round they faced a very tough Tanbridge House team who won 3-1.

Throughout the season the whole squad demonstrated effort, enthusiasm and commitment.

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Sports Day 2012 In July last year Hove Park held their 7th annual Sports Day at Withdean Stadium. Once again we were very lucky with the weather (well, it was dry!) and both competitors and spectators enjoyed a fantastic day. The sporting rivalry between the houses helped create a competitive atmosphere as students cheered on their team mates and wore their house colours.

Students on track and field seemed to have some extra “oomph� this year, perhaps spurred on by the presence of the Olympic Torch, which put in a guest appearance courtesy of Sussex torch bearer Alex Richardson. Throughout the day we saw some exceptional displays of skill, strength and stamina and joint winners this year were the Danes and Normans.

This year Sports Day was held in partnership with the Martlets Hospice. Students ran stalls selling refreshments with all proceeds going to support this very important local charity.

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Drama & Music National Theatre Festival

77

King Lear

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Michael Rosen; Emil and The Detectives/

79

Sound City Launch Party AS Drama Performance

80

School’s Out

81

Little Shop of Horrors

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Hove Park School

82 - 83

National Theatre Festival Last March saw the culmination of the National Theatre Connections Festival where 15 Year 10 students took their performance of a brand new play to The Capitol Theatre, Horsham.

The students’ professionalism was outstanding, receiving critical acclaim from the National Theatre who congratulated them on pushing the boundaries of theatre.

Performer Hari said: “It was so much fun performing ‘What Are They Like’ in the Capitol Theatre, Horsham. Most of us had never worked in a professional theatre before so it was a really exciting, new experience. We even got proper dressing rooms! We worked with professional lighting and sound technicians, which made us understand the variety of roles that contribute to live theatre. Overall it was a really great day and something I hope we can do again.”

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King Lear “The best King Lear ever!” That’s how Chris Grace the festival director and co-founder of The Shakespeare Schools Festival described the cast of Hove Park’s Performance at Roedean.

It was an exceptional production highlighting the dramatic talent we have at Hove Park. The principal roles articulated the narrative and language with elegance and the physicality and commitment of the ensemble was highly impressive.

This was the first time the school has been involved in the Shakespeare Schools Festival (SSF), the largest youth drama festival in the UK which celebrates the work of Shakespeare.

The Hove Park cast worked on this production for two months, attending after school and weekend rehearsals to hone their performance. All of this hard work paid off on the night as the audience were clearly transfixed by their take on the tragic tale.

The Shakespeare season at Hove Park continued with a trip to see ‘I, Malvolio’ in London, a play based on Twelfth Night. This was then followed by a workshop with actor Tim Crouch.

To quote the bard himself: “Things won are done, joy’s soul lies in the doing.”

Michael Rosen; Sound City Emil and The Launch Party Detectives On Friday 24th May, Hove Park’s Valley Campus singing group took part in the Brighton Festival.

Students arrived at the Theatre Royal to be greeted

by Michael Rosen (British Broadcaster, children’s novelist and author of 140 books). He was at the Theatre Royal as part of the “Young City Reads” project to talk about his favourite book “Emil and the Detectives” by Erich Kastner. Students got their own dressing room with food provided, just opposite Michael Rosen’s dressing room.

Several Brighton primary schools attended the event at which Rosen talked about the book and then got various members of the audience to act out parts of it. The finale of the event was a song from the book in which Hove Park students got the audience to sing along with them. As the book was originally in German, the song lyrics were also in German and the students did a fantastic job of getting the audience singing along!

Afterwards the students were lucky enough to get an autograph from Michael Rosen himself.

Sunday 17th March saw the launch party of Sound City: Brighton and Hove, a new music education hub which brings together leading organisations for music in the city.

With Brighton and Hove City Council’s Music and Arts Service as lead partner, the project also involved Brighton Dome and Festival, Glyndebourne, University of Sussex and Rhythmix as well as Music teachers from schools across the city.

Hove Park School was well represented among the 13 acts with current and past members from the school performing at this very professional event at the Corn Exchange. The first Hove Park act to play was The Gig and the Girlfriend, an indie/pop four-piece made up of Year 10 students all studying GCSE Music.

We then saw Brighton and Hove Youth Concert Band and Brighton and Hove Youth Big Band take to the stage in which Hove Park students were well represented. The concert band saw Alice showing off her wealth of musical talents playing flute for the group. Ex-Hove Park student Ruby also played a superb flute solo in the group medley from “Les Misérables”. The Big Band had ex-students Daniel (trumpet) and Kirsty (tenor saxophone) performing, and also saw Hannah play several superb saxophone solos as part of their performance.

Last of the talented Hove Park musicians to perform was Year 9 student Arvin. Arvin has been playing drums since the age of four and performed a very professional and technically accomplished drum solo. He is certainly another talent to watch for in the future and at just 13 possesses skills that most drummers would spend a life-time trying to achieve.

In a first for Brighton and Hove Music and Arts the event was also streamed live to the internet.

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AS Drama Performance To mark Anti-bullying Week 2012 a group of 8 Hove Park sixth form students devised their own play exploring the impact of bullying on achievement, life chances and personal development.

They performed the piece in assemblies to the whole school throughout Anti-Bullying Week to drive home the message that everyone has the right to feel safe and that as a school we are at our best when we treat each other with respect.

The performance looks at how comedy is often used as a way to disguise bullying and the impact social networks have had on bullying. Evidence has shown that peer interventions prevents and stops more bullying than teacher-led interventions, therefore this peer performance hopes to have a greater impact than a teacher-led assembly.

School’s Out A group of young actors from Hove Park and The Youth Offending Team, in conjunction with Hydrocracker and The Dome, recently created and performed an original piece of Verbatim theatre.

Based on the educational experiences of a diverse range of people, the piece explored the educational system and looked at its flaws as well as the power education has to inspire creativity. As part of their research the group interviewed MPs, Head Teachers, senior students and young people who have been excluded from school.

The play was set in a disillusioned music classroom as the characters directly address the audience with their experience of learning and their manifesto for educational change. It was highly thought provoking piece performed to packed audiences at The Dome Studio Theatre.

Little Shop of Horrors By the Journalism Enrichment Group Hove Park Drama put on a stylish, dark comic performance of Little Shop of Horrors. The show blended a mix of the West-end musical meets sci-fi, while offering a rather grisly tale of murder, at the heart of which was a true comic romance.

Grant played a brilliant Seymour, the neurotic nerd working as an assistant in a freaky flower shop. Eleanor was stunning in her performance of Audrey the victim, wonderfully capturing that Marilyn Monroe vulnerability. Ava was terrific as the cruel and convincing Mrs Mushnik and Ashley was superb as the crazy dentist. And who could forget the wonderfully seductive voice of Megan who was the vocal to the fiendish flesh guzzling plant.

The rest of the cast delivered top class performances which were both hilarious and well created. Scenery and costumes were also fabulous and the band under the leadership of Mr Miles did not miss a beat.

Mr Trimmer congratulated the cast on a brilliant performance commenting that it was the best school performance he’d seen.

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The Ofsted Experience What’s it like to be inspected by Ofsted? Here we give a variety of personal perspectives on the experience from the Head Teacher getting ‘the call’ to announcing the outcome to expectant staff.

Derek Trimmer - Head Teacher The Call Lunchtime Wednesday and I am enjoying my first A-Level class in years.

We are studying ‘A View from the Bridge’, one of my favourite plays of all time and I’m half way through a speech when the door opens and my PA pokes her head round the door......”You have a phone call”.

This is the moment we have been waiting for, the chance to demonstrate the progress we have been making over the last couple of years.

As I walk back along the corridor to take the call I am greeted by senior staff as they emerge from offices and classrooms; everybody is keyed for the call. It feels like a long walk.

The call lasts about 40 minutes, mainly housekeeping and agreeing extra documents/ evidence to be submitted in advance of tomorrow.

The lead inspector is very experienced and his seniority is a relief, as it means that it is more likely to be an accurate judgement.

Inform Senior Leadership First step, let Senior Leadership know and then into the automatic roll out prepared in advance.

That means notifying all staff of the briefing

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scheduled for after school and assemblies to every year group on each campus. This is our inspection, our opportunity to demonstrate how good we are. We have been looking forward to it for months and it has involved everybody in the school community preparing together.

The students are excited and anxious to make a good impression. Meanwhile we begin the process of securing the extra documentation required for the following day along with notifying parents/carers. The pace is frantic but the execution is polished and rehearsed. We have run through this day so many times in preparation of the event. I am very excited and ready to present.

Staff Briefing It is important to steady staff’s nerves and go through expectations and arrangements. We make sure that the school is open late that night so that everybody can have time to prepare their lessons thoroughly. We also make sure everybody understands who they can go to and what support there is for resources and planning. Then it’s time for me to do my rehearsed rendition of Henry V at Agincourt, only with a slight difference: “Tomorrow is the feast of Ofsted.....” We finish the briefing with applause and laughter. We are so ready for this........

Tori Cook - Year 9 Student A Student’s Perspective When I first joined Hove Park I was aware how the school had struggled over the years, and how it’s reputation was lacking. However I also knew that a new Head Teacher was joining the school around the same time and was hopefully going to change all of that.

Mr Trimmer’s goals were to improve all different aspects of the school and to give its pupils the best possible opportunities. All members of the school including its students, spent three years making changes and improvements to begin to drastically change the school’s reputation. We all wanted to prove not only to the local community but to ourselves that we had as a whole made such huge progress.

After being a part of the school for three years I was thrilled to find out that Ofsted were finally coming to judge how much everything about the school had improved. I was given the opportunity to give something back to my school by giving a student’s perspective on what Hove Park was really like.

Along with around 8-10 other students from the Valley Campus we met with Ofsted so that they could use our knowledge

of the school to make an accurate evaluation of how the school had come on. We were asked questions about the standards of behaviour, the abilities of teachers and how they dealt and helped with disruption and school work, as well as the methods the school took to make its students aware of issues such as bullying. As to be expected, all students who participated in the meeting were more than happy to simply tell the truth of how only positive changes had occurred.

The only words that came out of my mouth were about how happy I was to be a part of the transformation the school had undertaken.

The inspection of the school lasted for two days and from then on we were all waiting in anticipation for the results. Around a month later my year was called into assembly to be informed of the overall evaluation. We were absolutely ecstatic to be told that we had been given a level of ‘Good’ on all four criteria. This was a huge step for us as a school progressing from ‘Satisfactory’.

Although we have come on in leaps and bounds in a period of just three years, there is still so much more that can be done and I can’t wait to be a part of this school’s exciting future.

The rapid improvement in students’ achievement is a direct result of the transformation in teaching.

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The Ofsted Experience Lauren Pinney - English Teacher A Teacher’s Perspective This was my first Ofsted inspection as a member of teaching staff and I would be lying if I didn’t say that I wasn’t a little anxious. However, the progress we had made as a school meant that I knew we were ready to show the inspectors what happens in our classroom every day.

After Mr Trimmer’s speech on the Wednesday afternoon, I return to the Valley Campus English Office to meet with the team; we share ideas and support each other. The only real difference for planning and teaching lessons during an Ofsted inspection is that everything you normally do needs to be obvious to the inspector – it’s the driving test analogy! Often it’s not possible to speak to the inspector during an observation, so we spend the evening writing lesson plans and annotating them to show the rationale behind them.

Miss Bradley treats the team to some pizza and I head home around 10pm for a good night’s sleep.

The following morning I wake feeling a mixture of excitement and fear. The day starts with signing diaries and checking students have completed their Bacc tasks. I know an inspector can arrive at any time, which gives me a little adrenalin boost and I teach lessons 1 and 2 with more enthusiasm than ever. But, no inspector. I feel a little deflated that two brilliant lessons went by and no one came to see them. By break I’m ready for a large coffee and a biscuit.

After break, I welcome in Year 7. They have been working on techniques for analysing texts and in today’s double lesson we’d be working on how writers select language for effect. We explore the idea of connotations with a quick word association game and then we look at how to ‘explode’ words.

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Students work in teams to explode the word ‘shine’ and then work independently to write up their responses.

The classroom is silent as the students work on their answers, the door opens and, at last, it’s an inspector! I take a deep breath.

I was observed by the lead inspector and a member of our senior leadership team. They observe the students working for a few minutes before asking them questions about what they have learnt in the lesson. The lead inspector asks to see my lesson plan and we chat for a few minutes about the class. Then it’s time for the students to feed back and peer assess their work.

I invite the inspector to stay so he can see what the class have been working on. As we approach lunch, the inspector leaves; I must have taken a visible sigh of relief because a student taps me on the shoulder and kindly says ‘don’t worry Miss; you’re a really good teacher’.

During lunch I receive a call that tells me I’ll be given feedback and a grading after school. At 3.30pm I go to the Nevill Campus. As I was observed by a member of SMT and an inspector, I am given feedback by both. Firstly they talked through all the strengths in the lesson. They were particularly impressed with the quality of student’s work and the purposeful working environment. I’m pleased, but I’m expecting a ‘but’. They begin to wind up their feedback and I realise there isn’t one.

I’m given a grading of a 1, which is Outstanding. I walk out a little bewildered. My first inspection was over and I’d actually achieved an Outstanding grading! I have a cuppa and get back to the planning to do it all over again tomorrow.

Qasim Haque - Science Key Stage 4 Coordinator A Teacher’s Perspective After the Ofsted briefing I experience a mix of emotions: anxiety (but that’s not unusual for me), panic, but mostly relief. It’s a pretty horrendous feeling knowing that Ofsted are operating in your area. Local schools are being sequentially interrogated and judged for all to see. Never knowing when, or if, you’ll be seen can play havoc with your mind.

I have experienced two Ofsted inspections during my time at Hove Park School but my feelings towards this one are distinctly different. I am confident. I know our Science Department have worked incredibly hard over the past two years to bring about some very ambitious changes. I know we have airtight evidence that shows tremendous sustainable progress in a short space of time. The anxiety stems from having to perform in an unnatural situation whilst being judged on it.

Suprisingly, I find it very easy to sleep the night before the inspection. Stress can be very tiring!

In the morning, I register my form. I see an official walk past my room knowing they could observe my tutor session if they wish. This does not happen.

Session 1

he will probably only stay for five minutes.

This turns into twenty minutes as he sits three feet away from me working one-to-one with a student.

The whole time I am acutely aware that there is a suited judge in my peripheral vision (a very natural situation!).

After the session he returns to provide feedback. I am impressed with the speed at which he working, especially when I consider that Ofsted have to make a whole school judgement, which is accurate and fair, in less than two days. Feedback is supportive and surprisingly insightful. He agrees to watch a ‘‘normal” lesson.

Session 2 The bell rings and my A-Level Human Biology class are learning about allergic reactions – a lesson I love teaching and seems to have more relevance every year. Twenty minutes pass and the same Ofsted inspector returns. He walks around the student tables and asks questions.

I have an intervention group that I share with another member of the Science Department. Here we work very hard to support students struggling in lessons due to, for example, absence. Group sizes are small so there is more one-to-one time. I do not expect an Ofsted inspector during this session as it is not a normal lesson.

I’m simultaneously teaching, listening to students and his comments. I get a positive feeling. I know the lesson is going well. Not because of what the official is saying (I can barely hear him), not because the students are engaged, but because students are undeniably making great progress. They are all learning something they didn’t know before and their work and dialogue show it.

I am wrong however as, 20 minutes in, an Ofsted inspector enters the lab. I introduce myself and explain the purpose of the group. He nods and says

This time the Ofsted official smiles as he leaves and I know the feedback will be good. I am debriefed after school. I am reassured! Grade: Outstanding.

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The Ofsted Experience Alex Mack - P.E Teacher A Teacher’s Perspective It was the final lesson on the Wednesday and I was teaching a Year10 girls’ Badminton class. All the bells and whistles I had planned to impress any visitors with had been used. An animated slide of lesson objectives, video clips saved on the iPad from England Badminton and slow motion video replays of students using the Coaches Eye application. Not a sign of an Ofsted inspector anywhere.

As we approached the final half hour of the day the girls were involved in a ladder tournament. I thought, “phew,” as I certainly didn’t relish the thought of an inspector arriving at what I believed was a fairly uninspiring section of the lesson. . . .

And of course that’s exactly when he walked in.

Not wishing to deviate from the lesson plan I, perhaps too casually, let the lesson continue as planned. This inspector, who was conducting a joint observation with Mr McLeod, sat down and leafed through my lesson plan whilst the students played out their games for a few minutes.

Wondering if it was the correct time to move students to another partner or let them continue I prepared to make my first statement of the lesson in the presence of the lead Ofsted inspector; “Okay time’s up!” Not really that inspirational. “YOU IDIOT!” I thought. The games ended and I hoped for the best.

At this point the students I was teaching all finished their games and without any prompting swiftly walked to the net shaking hands with each other to end the game. They then proceeded to feedback to each other using technical badminton terminology and using the structure of ‘what went well, even better if’. The winner then explained the ‘shot required to beat them next time’. It looked more like an exclusive lawn tennis club than a

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school badminton lesson. Perfect!

For the remainder of the time I simply moved between students and made subtle corrections, giving individual feedback whilst the Ofsted inspector verbally grilled Leila and Hannah. The girls gave him the most eloquent step-by-step explanation of how the levelling process in PE worked, what level they were and why, as well as the steps to move further.

They were absolutely brilliant.

So far I had seen the girls in the lesson organise the rotation of the tournament, stay focussed on task and give some of the most accurate feedback possible. To be honest I was really quite pleased but felt the inspector wanted to see a bit more.

As he got up intent on leaving the room I had one last role of the dice and stopped the games to review an England Badminton video clip from earlier. He waited. . . And waited. Nothing happened. Making some floundering remark I said something like “Technology. . . It worked earlier”.

The inspector thanked me and left the room. The final show piece had failed! I was convinced it was ‘Satisfactory’ at best as I had not been delivering and presenting like a TV game show host in front of him. This was really my major concern at the time.

In the anxiety of Ofsted observation all the lesson positives slipped my mind.

Walking into Mr McLeod’s office for the feedback I wasn’t optimistic. He told me to “cheer up” because the inspector was judging the quality of the girls’ learning over time, not just the slickness of my presentation, and their progress was “Outstanding”. I nearly fell over!

Niel Mcleod - Deputy Head Teacher The Final Meeting On the afternoon of the second day of the inspection I joined Mr Trimmer and Mr Hindman in the Head Teacher’s office for the final team meeting.

We had been invited to attend the team meeting on the previous day in order to hear the inspectors gather together their evidence. Today’s meeting, however, was more eagerly anticipated as the inspectors set about reaching the key judgements on the quality of education at Hove Park School.

As an inspector myself I have attended many of these meetings and the pattern of deliberation was familiar. When it is your school being inspected, however, it is a more nerve-wracking and emotional event. We were all filled with pride to hear the inspectors sum up the qualities of the school, its staff and students and the lessons they had seen.

One by one the judgements were reached after painstaking deliberation and weighing of the evidence.

Achievement of pupils was good, teaching was good and rapidly improving and the behaviour and safety of pupils was good. The leadership and management of the school at all levels received fulsome praise. The recent rapid rate

of improvement, inspectors felt, was testimony to the way Mr Trimmer had got the whole school community believing in itself and pulling together to raise achievement.

The Verdict Overall the school was judged to be providing a good standard of education for its pupils. It was a judgement the whole school had worked tirelessly for years to achieve. As I looked across to Mr Trimmer, who like all of us was moved by the emotion of the moment, there was a glint in his eye.

Was it the hint of a tear, or a reflection of his steely determination there and then to raise the bar again for the next inspection?

In a relatively short period of time, the headteacher, supported by his senior management team, has been relentless and determined in securing improvements in students’ achievement.

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The Ofsted Experience Austen Hindman Deputy Head Teacher

Informing Staff of the Outcome Having survived the meeting that Mr McLeod describes, all we wanted to do was find the staff and tell them the outcome. That wasn’t allowed.

We needed to attend another meeting, where the Governors and the Local Authority were formally told the outcome. For the Governors this was vindication. They’d sat in formal meetings like this before, being told that the school wasn’t good enough. Not this time: we’d done it. This was what they wanted for the school when they appointed Mr Trimmer back in 2011. For Parent Governors, finally their children were attending a ‘good’ school.

The Ofsted team started to pack-up. Just people, at the end of the day, going back to their homes, maybe not thinking too much about the impact they have. What they left behind was a school that was brimming with confidence and could now, finally, hold their heads as high as anyone in the City.

Now we could go and see the staff. We walked slowly up the stairs to the staff room, not sure what we were going to find, not even sure if anyone would be there. It was silent in the school. We pushed open the door...

Hubub, excitement.

So many staff had stayed into the evening to hear the news. There is a self-belief at Hove Park that wasn’t there two years ago. The staff were ready for a celebration, but I think our faces must

have said something different, because they all fell silent. I could see some of the nervousness returning. It’s happened again, Hove Park has under-performed again.

And then Derek said it: ‘Good’. Explosions. A wave of excitement. For so many people, this was a mountain that they’d been climbing for years and finally there was the reward. I hear that the party went on for many hours in a nearby pub. I couldn’t join in, I knew I was done. I needed sleep.

We felt the same excitement when we told the students. We were able to say to them: no-one can look down on you and tell you that your school is not good enough. Ofsted told the world what the school community already knew: that Hove Park School has some of the finest students in the country and some of the most innovative staff working with them.

The school’s focus on ‘putting achievement first’ pervades the work of senior management and is understood and pursued by all staff at all levels.

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Sixth Form Re-branding

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Sixth Form Success 2013

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Leavers 2013/ Debaters, Best in Brighton

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Parting Words

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Dream it!

Believe it!

Achieve it!

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Re-branding

www.hp6.org.uk

This year saw the transformation of our sixth form HP6 as we rebranded and raised our profile not just within the school but in the local community. The sixth form moto is Dream it, Believe it, Achieve it. As we believe at this key transitional point that anything is possible. You can be anyone, do anything, no matter how aspirational that dream may be; if you believe in yourself, you can achieve your goals.

We launched the year with a prospectus that was hand delivered to every Year 11 student within the school, this was followed up with a highly successful opening evening. The result of which has seen our applications increase by over 40%. Our aim this year has been to give the sixth form a truly distinctive feel with its own identity yet still embed ourselves within the excellence associated with the Hove Park name.

Dream it!

Believe it!

Achieve it!

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Sixth Form Success 2013 The year began on a high after our fantastic A-level results where we achieved a 100% pass rate, one of the very few colleges in Sussex to achieve this.

With this our reputation grew and we were asked to host 20 Russian sixth form principals who were interested in finding out more about our sixth form and the British educational system. They spoke to students, observed lessons and we delivered a number of presentations about what we do at HP6.

The visitors were highly impressed with our work and would like to continue to build links with our sixth form, perhaps with a student cultural exchange.

This year sixth form students were asked to select a charity to champion and support throughout the year. They selected The Clock Tower Sanctuary, which supports young homeless people in Brighton and Hove. The most successful fundraiser was the Christmas Boxes, for which students created gift boxes for young people of their age. This saw the whole sixth form come together to create the present

boxes and consider how challenging life can be in December on the streets of Brighton and Hove.

We have had many successful trips this year but one of the most enjoyable was the Go Ape trip in March. This was a reward trip for students with 100% attendance and over 40 students were let loose on the giant obstacle course in Kent. The challenges overcome on this day helped build confidence, communication and team work skills as students supported each other throughout.

We have had a high number of students receive conditional offers for top University places this year including Nottingham Trent, Kings College London and Cambridge. Molly has been offered a place at Newham College, Cambridge after a gruelling application process and she will study English at the world famous university. We wish all our leavers well as they leave us to continue on the path of lifelong learning whether that be through further education or employment.

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Leavers 2013 Last year saw a national dip in university applications due to the new funding implications.

It seems many more students were looking for alternative routes such as apprenticeships, volunteering and employment.

We employed two ex HP6 students to work as volunteer teaching assistants in order to give them more experience whilst they considered their options.

Jamie and Hayley worked in the Drama department and sixth form, coaching students and leading on projects lower down the school. This has given them a clearer insight into what they want to do. Hayley is going to South Africa to teach Drama in schools and Jamie is applying to university for 2014 entry.

We have been working hard this year to provide accurate information about university funding so students are not put off by the financial cost, and realise that university is still the only route for some career paths. We have worked in conjunction with our three local universities who have provided tours, taster sessions and support with UCAS applications.

Debaters, Best in Brighton Hove Park’s debating team is the best in Brighton after defeating Cardinal Newman in the South East heat of National Debating Competition, Debating Matters. Despite being closely beaten by Worthing College in the second round, our students’ arguments were persuasive and articulate as they discussed the topics; ‘Does copyright benefit the Arts?’ and “Is factory farming necessary?”

Student Luanna, Year 13, explains: “Being part of the debate team is fascinating and looks really good on a personal statement for uni! It’s an invaluable experience and as well as enjoying myself it opens my eyes to how interesting debate is. The atmosphere on the night was competitive but at the same time inspiring. We won our first debate, which qualified us into the finals, but unfortunately we came second overall to Worthing College. We all tried our best and it was a really interesting evening.”

Parting Words I will remember the passionate teachers who wouldn’t give up on me even when I found things really hard. One of the highlights for me was creating the set for the school play. The whole sixth form art class came together and worked really hard. It was highly rewarding seeing the actors interact with our props.

The main difference I noticed at HP6 compared to my friends who went to other colleges is you get more 1:1 support. You have a personal tutor who is always there to help and the class sizes are smaller so you feel more supported. My teachers have been the most helpful and caring people I have ever come across and I will miss them lots.

Sara, Spanish, Product Design, Art and Psychology.

Sara, Health & Social Care.

I came here after completing my first year at another local college and I don’t regret that decision one little bit. I was made to feel so welcome by HP6 students and staff. I have some great friends who I know will stay with me for life.

Overall I have enjoyed my time at Hove Park both in the school and in the sixth form. The great thing about this school is the quality of teachers, they genuinely care, are lovely and provide inspiration on a daily basis.

Kaya, English Literature and Geography.

Chloe, Travel & Tourism, Home Economics and Photography.

The teacher/student relationships at HP6 are one of the strongest memories I will take with me as I leave college. They treat you like young adults yet still motivate you and tell you in an honest manner when things are not up to scratch. I loved the charity football match, especially as we beat the teachers this year winning back the trophy. These traditions will continue for generations of HP6.

Scott, Geography and Media Studies.

At HP6 the classes were small, which meant I always got the level of support I needed and teachers treated me like an individual. I have to say I loved studying History here as my teacher was truly inspiring and, because of her hard work I’ve chosen to continue to study History at University.

Luanna, History, Spanish, Maths and Drama.

One of my proudest moments was winning the Sam Griffiths Award and being presented with this at the Prizegiving event. I felt that I was really supported to apply to university, every step of the way and continuously pushed to achieve better grades. I also like the way the relationships change when you’re in sixth form compared to when you’re a student at school. I’m not treated as a child and have become more friendly with the staff and we have a good laugh in sixth form.

Studying at HP6 has been an experience I will always remember. I came to the sixth form as a kid with no clue of what direction to go in. After three years at the sixth form I achieved grades much better than I expected, which has led me to the path of university to study for a business degree. I would not have been able to achieve this without the support and encouragement from the teachers and sixth form staff. I would like to thank them for the opportunities they have given me here at Hove Park.

Jordan, Travel & Tourism, Geography and PE.

Stephen, Business, Economics and History.

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New Important Staff/ Visitors Leavers

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Hove Park School

Welcome to New Staff

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Farewell & Good Luck

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Welcome to Our New Staff We have a number of new staff lined up to start with us in September 2013. We are very much looking forward to welcoming them to Hove Park School and are delighted to have them on board at this exciting time of transformation.

Sadly the end of the school year is also a time of goodbyes. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our departing staff for their valued contribution to Hove Park and wish them all the best in their new ventures.

Derek Trimmer Head Teacher

New Staff Appointments Abigail Morgan - English Alice Cahill - TA Amanda Meier - Special Facility Amber Hunt - Mathematics Ashraf Yousif - Mathematics Ben White - Learning Manager Harriet Casswell - History Ian Jones - Data Manager Jacob Parslow - Science Madeleine Daynes - Science Myfanwy Faulkner - History Neil Watson - Mathematics Oshrat Meshulam - TA Rachel Ede - Music Samantha Lanfear - History Stephen Frimpon - English Szilard Mata - Caretaker Terry Norton - Drama Victoria Sambrook - Science

Welcome Amanda Meier Improving the outcomes for students who have additional learning needs has been my passion for the past eighteen years. I started as a Teaching Assistant and knew from the minute that I walked through the door of the school in which I worked, I had found my true vocation.

Since those first days, I started my own journey (rather later in life than most) of further education (BA Honours Degree, Qualified Teacher Status, Masters Degree) so that I could move from being a Teaching Assistant to a Special Educational Needs Coordinator; a job I have loved doing for the past five years.

I have worked within Brighton and Hove for the past twelve years, mostly at Portslade Community College (now Portslade Aldridge Community Academy). Throughout my time of working within SEN, I have gained much experience and have established some excellent working relationships with many key people within the Authority.

I am well known to most of the Authority’s outreach support services, particularly the Autistic Spectrum Condition Support Service and the Language and Literacy Support Service, who I will continue to work very closely within my new role at Hove Park School.

My Masters Degree evaluated how well we support students with Speech, Language and Communication needs in the classroom and my years of experience have meant that I have worked with students with a wide range of additional needs, particularly those who have Dyslexia and are on the Autistic Spectrum. I am therefore very excited to be heading up the newly re-commissioned Special Facility, where my goal now is to lead the provision to be recognised as outstanding within the Local Authority and beyond.

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Welcome Ben White I’m really pleased to be joining Hove Park at such an exciting time. The Short Stay School is going to provide a great opportunity for students from Hove Park, PACA and Blatchington Mill to engage with their learning in a slightly different way.

We’ve spent the last half term planning and preparing so it’s been brilliant to finally start working with the students. My background before coming to Hove Park has been focused in youth work and the crime prevention service.

I have worked on a range of projects and programmes that have supported young people from Brighton including Albion in the Community and their Friday Night Football initiative and Listen and Learn, that focused on engaging with young people in the production and performance of music in liaison with Audio Active.

As a qualified gym instructor I try, where possible, to ensure that the young people I work with also have an understanding of healthy lifestyles and the importance regular exercise.

The Short Stay School is an innovative and exciting project - the first of its kind in the City. It’s great to be part of something from the beginning and I’m really looking forward to watching it grow and develop as the year unfolds.

Welcome Terry Norton I have been in the teaching profession for 9 years now. I love working in education and am deeply passionate about my work. In addition to my love of the Arts I am a sports fanatic who holds a season ticket for Chelsea FC and a golf membership in Hampshire. I spend around two weeks a year snowboarding in various locations across Europe and for the past 6 years have organised school ski trips.

My mission is to equip the students within my care with the inquisitive, intuitive and analytical tools that will help them develop the confidence to succeed as young actors and actresses. I intend to open minds and encourage students to look beyond the conventional and ordinary thus developing diverse and innovative performances.

I believe that the positive ethos that Drama creates should be at the heart of any successful school and I look forward to working with Hove Park students and staff alike.

Farewell Leanne Griffiths This is a sad farewell, which has derived from a difficult decision. I am relocating to the West Country (Somerset to be exact) due to personal circumstances. I am sure I will settle into my new school and will feel welcome; as well as settling into a new town.

The students at Hove Park have kept me on my toes and have made my job enjoyable. It is because of them that this move will be a sad one.

I have enjoyed being a member of a fantastic school community and I will continue to hold the Hove Park torch close to my heart. I wish the school all the success in the future. My new school has a lot to live up to!

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Farewell Ruth Golding

Farewell Mary Mahoney

After 13 years and two terms I am leaving Hove Park. This comes as a big surprise to me as I thought I would be staying for a lot longer but personal circumstances have offered me a change of lifestyle opportunity and retirement.

As the song says, it is “time to say goodbye”. I have worked at Hove Park since qualifying as a teacher in 2002. During that time, I have had the privilege of meeting and working with a wonderful variety of people – both staff and students. I have learnt so much along the way as well as collecting many happy memories from my time here. It is with some sadness that I leave for pastures new but I wish all members of the school, past and present, every success and happiness in the future.

I have seen the school go through many changes and have worked with many outstanding and supportive teachers. It has been one of the friendliest schools I have worked in resulting in me making many lifelong friendships from within the staff.

I take away with me lots of happy and rewarding times. I have always enjoyed the actual teaching and the fun I have with the students, feeling privileged to be a part of many young people’s lives.

Working in a school environment makes you realise how amazing the youth of today are and what knowledge, skills and ideas they have to offer our communities. It never ceases to amaze me how they grow as people in such a short time.

I will miss all the interactions I have had with both staff and students. I say a very fond farewell to Hove Park School to all its staff and students and wish it great success in the future.

Farewell Yung Webster Four Ofsted inspections, four Head Teachers, four different courses, and four managers over fourteen years at Hove Park. But over a thousand great students who have made my time here worthwhile. Thanks for your hard work, memorable charity events, amazing productions and record breaking sports days. Thanks to all the staff who have supported me over the years and continue to do such a special job. To all the students I have had the privilege to meet and teach; well done on your achievements, remember the good times and learn from the bad. You have every opportunity to go out and be the best. Good luck!

Thank you.

Farewell to Daryl Bailey - MFL James Roocroft - Caretaker Jason O’Grady - Science John McInnes - EMAS Leanne Griffiths - ICT Mary Mahoney - Maths Maxine Bennett - Assistant Head of Year Michele Cormack - MFL Ozgen Perkins - Maths Ruth Golding - Head of Technology Sarah Paddock - English Yung Webster - Business

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What Next? – Ambition and Drive in the Year Ahead We have a very close relationship with West Blatchington Primary School and we are engaging in a project to support their rapid improvement as a school. This will include a number of joint ventures from Maths and English, to Music, PE and Drama.

It will include a focus on Teaching and Learning as well as close collaboration with Leadership. It also provides us with an opportunity to begin to shape an all-through education for some of our students who will naturally progress from West Blatchington Primary to Hove Park. We are all very excited about this joint venture as it really does provide a new dimension to community education and improving life chances for a generation of children.

Our role is to steer a path through what can sometimes appear to be confusing and conflicting policy changes.

We need to ensure that our young people continue to make good and increasingly outstanding progress. Therefore, it will come as no surprise to you to hear me say that raising standards will still be at the very core of our priorities for the future year.

We have by no means peaked in terms of setting and achieving ambitious targets for our students and I am confident that next year will see another record set of results that may well establish the standard for other schools to follow.

Recognising achievement and celebrating success will also be central to raising aspirations further and consequently we are planning the year ahead to give plenty of opportunities for children to be acknowledged and rewarded for the progress they have made. As well as this, we are also planning a full and comprehensive programme of exciting events for students of all abilities to take part in.

As you can imagine, we are already looking forward to September and the new opportunities that a fresh academic year provides. Our eyes are firmly set upon our journey towards becoming an Outstanding school and achieving everything that comes with that status. After all, our young people deserve the very best quality of education that we can provide and we are determined to provide it.

What I can tell you is that our students will be at the very heart of every decision we make and that we will continue to put their achievement first.

Another forthcoming development is our role in supporting one of our local feeder schools.

Derek Trimmer Head Teacher

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 to create 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 2012-13