IN THE
CHORLTON HIGH SCHOOL MAGAZINE AUTUMN 2018
CELEBRATING SUCCESS ALSO INSIDE: EMPOWERMENT DAY CHORLTON ARTS FESTIVAL CREST DISCOVERY AWARD INTERGENERATIONAL QUESTION TIME
HELLO... Welcome to the latest edition of In the Spotlight. Inside, you will find a celebration of all the fantastic achievements and successes here at Chorlton High School. A year of incredible effort and determination from our Year 11 students and staff has secured another fantastic set of GCSE results. We are incredibly proud of the commitment our students have shown and wish them all well as they begin the next step on their Learning Journey. During last term, our Year 7–10 students created an immersive, site specific piece of theatre, ‘Operation Apocalypse’ and presented it as part of Chorlton Arts Festival. We supported ‘Mental Health Awareness Week’ with a range of tips and discussion starters. We enjoyed a huge range of sporting success and held an insightful Intergenerational Question Time to help support and build our community links. The CHS Library also welcomed the author Lisa Thompson, to discuss her book ‘The Goldfish Boy’ with an inspiring talk. ‘The Goldfish Boy’ has been our whole school book for the summer term and was introduced during Mental Health Awareness week and as part of the Year of Wellbeing. I hope you enjoy reading about all of the exciting learning opportunities our students have taken part in over the recent months. We now look ahead to a new successful, creative and happy school year. To keep up to date with all of our exciting news, activities and updates, make sure to follow our CHS Twitter account; @chorltonhigh. You can also receive our fortnightly, bite size newsletter: CHORLTON CONNECTION. To subscribe, please forward your email address to: admin@chorltonhigh.manchester.sch.uk RICHARD STOUT COMMUNITY AND MARKETING OFFICER AND IN THE SPOTLIGHT EDITOR
INSIDE THIS ISSUE...
GCSE EXAM SUCCESS
1
SPORTING NEWS EMPOWERMENT DAY 2 STEMFEST CHS NEWS
6
INTERGENERATIONAL QUESTION TIME 10
LIBRARY & 7 BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
RAISING FUNDS & AWARENESS
CYCLE FOR ASTHMA 8
CLASSFEST 12 THE GOLDFISH BOY, 13 WHOLE SCHOOL BOOK
11
3 4
CHORLTON ARTS 5 FESTIVAL
CREST DISCOVERY AWARD
9
OUTSTANDING EXAM SUCCESS! Chorlton High School wishes to congratulate all of the students who have contributed to the school’s excellent GCSE results. At a time when examinations are becoming more challenging it is with great satisfaction that we see the hard work of our young people being rewarded. This year students sat the new reformed GCSEs, in the majority of their subjects, for the first time. The A*-G GCSE grades in these subjects are now replaced with a GCSE grade scale of 9 (high attainment) to 1. The examinations are designed to assess a more demanding curriculum. Under this new system, students with a grade 4 will achieve a ‘standard pass’ whilst those with a grade 5 will achieve a ‘strong pass’. A grade 4 or above is equivalent to a grade C and above and will have currency for individual pupils as they progress to further study and employment. We are delighted to report that 62% of our students achieved the new Basics measure in GCSEs for Maths and English GCSEs, securing for themselves brilliant springboards into further education. The school is happy to announce, once again, results across all subject areas have remained high. There were exceptional results, again, in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and English. However, the school is also proud that it continues its strong Arts reputation with outstanding results in Drama and Music.
In addition to this, the school has seen outstanding success rates for the highest grades. A grade 7 is equivalent to a grade A. We were extremely pleased at Chorlton that this year over a third of our students attained results at this level and higher. There has been a lot of news in the media about the new Grade 9, which will be achieved by the top 5% nationally. We have been delighted to see 38 of our students achieve this grade! There are some extraordinary examples of students whose hard work and effort has manifested amazing results: • Burton Nicholls - 7 grade 9s, 2 grade 8s, 2 grade 7s • Cynog Williams - 5 grade 9s, 3 grade 8s, 4 grade 7s • Lily Norreys - 5 grade 9s, 1 grade 8, 4 grade 7s • Lina El-Hassan - 3 grade 9s, 8 grade 8s, 2 grade 7s • Sam Edwards - 3 grade 9s, 4 grade 8s Headteacher Zoe Morris paid tribute to the great dedication and commitment of students, staff and parents, “This year’s excellent examination results are a testimony to the hard work across the
school community. The determination of the students to achieve well in a set of examinations that they knew would be tougher and more challenging in content was evident in the dedication they showed to their studies and to the qualities of success that Chorlton High School strives to develop in all students. There have been phenomenal achievements with some students achieving at the very highest level, however what gives me the greatest pleasure is the consistent progress that many of our students make irrespective of their ability or starting point. We have fantastic dedication from the students, unwavering belief from staff and such positive support from parents; the perfect recipe for success. We endeavour to ensure that all students, at every level, have an excellent foundation for future success. Our school is committed to and, as these results show, succeeds in delivering, uncompromising academic excellence while enabling students to learn from the rich cultural experience embedded in the Chorlton community. Congratulations to all!”
CHORLTON HIGH SCHOOL IN THE SPOTLIGHT
EMPOWERMENT DAY Following on from a hugely successful celebration of International Women’s Day, we held a Powerful Women’s Day, focusing on supporting our young women to be successful in today’s social media driven society.
To begin the day, we invited Megan, from Girl Gang Manchester, to talk to some of our Year 9 girls. Her workshop focused on how young women speak to each other and, more importantly, how they speak to themselves. The aim of this workshop was to build confidence and a positive sense of self, concluding with an affirmation for the students to take away with them. One student commented, “It reminded me that it’s important to care for others and be me.” In the afternoon, Aliyah of Women in Media (WIM18) gave a presentation to a group of Year 8s about their recent and successful WIM18 conference. From their website: “In 2016 a small group of student journalists from the University of Manchester’s student media collective Manchester Media Group organised the first-ever Women in Media Conference. Women in Media gives delegates the opportunity to celebrate and learn from successful women in journalism, radio, TV, blogging, PR and
much more, through keynote speeches, panel sessions and workshops.” Following the presentation, Ms Slinger, Teacher of Geography and Ms Torpey, Teacher of English, delivered an Oracy workshop, where students crafted their own presentations, focusing on the way gender roles are presented and why job roles should be more equally distributed
between the genders in media and other employments. Each speech proved to be incredibly powerful, providing emotive and thought-provoking points of discussion. Following this session, one student said, “Feminism is not hating on men, it is empowering women.”
During this year’s STEMfest our students at Chorlton High School, were provided with a range of activities to enthuse them in the STEM subjects. These subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) are now important more than ever; with the Northern Powerhouse initiative being implemented in Manchester, (as well as many other towns and cities surrounding the region), careers in the STEM sector are showing the largest growth.
A Harry Potter themed spells event was provided to a select group of our Year 7 students. Here students wrote their own spells to help them carry out a selection of ‘magic’ scientific experiments. Year 8 also carried put a ‘Coasterforce’ event where they were challenged to be the engineers of tomorrow and try to design a functioning rollercoaster model. In addition, Year 10s were invited to participate in a growth mindset session to encourage them to think more positively and work their way through challenges. A further group of Year 8s were invited to spend the afternoon at the Museum of Science and Industry, looking at the scientific history of Greater Manchester. They learned how cotton was made, and looked at steam engines, and all had a great day. As well as this, we had the British Red Cross in to work with a group of Year 9 pupils and teach them basic first aid, all of whom really enjoyed the experience. Our KS3 students took part in a bake sale in order to raise money for the Christie Hospital. All of the cakes made sold really well and they looked fantastic. We have already raised well over £50 and are continuing to raise money through further donations. To bring STEMfest to a close, our Year 10 students took part in our STEMnetworking event. Here students could meet up with STEM professionals form the local community. We had 14 visitors into school to speak to our students, including GPs, transport engineers, data analysts, and pharmacology researchers. Students had short discussions with each visitor about their career before moving on to the next and all really enjoyed the experience.
CHORLTON HIGH SCHOOL IN THE SPOTLIGHT
SUPPORT FOR MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK 2018
SCHOOL COUNCIL TRAINING WITH ‘FREEDOM PERSONAL SAFETY’ (FPS)
In support of #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek, 14th – 20th May 2018, we shared a daily tip on Twitter and across school. The tips help encourage good mental health and have been provided by Mental Health Foundation. We also recently ran an Emotional Health Event for parents and carers to help build awareness. This session presented important information relating to mental health and wellbeing, and was developed using materials and resources supplied by Manchester Healthy Schools. Our aims for the session were to build awareness of the sometimes overwhelming pressures faced by young people, to offer ways to recognise when they are struggling and to provide effective techniques to cope in difficult situations. The following was covered in the session: What is mental health? How do we talk about mental health? How do I know my child is struggling with their mental health? How can I support my child? What can the school do? What other support services are available? Earlier in the year, we also welcomed Mind/Manchester to provide mentoring training for our students from Year 7 to 10. Our new mentors have been encouraged to use their skills throughout 2018, and have become a vital part of our ongoing ‘Year of Wellbeing’ here at Chorlton High School.
Members from our Year 8 and Year 9 School Council enjoyed training with FREEDOM PERSONAL SAFETY (FPS), a social enterprise, created to raise awareness, reduce risks and empower individuals to take control of their personal safety. Through their ‘Strong Safe and Resilient’ programme, FPS provides informal workshops and safe environments for young people to help build their confidence and resilience whilst learning techniques to stay safe. FPS aims to empower participants to take control of their own personal safety by focusing on self esteem, goal setting and increasing resilience, leading to more informed and safe decision making. Our students would like to thank FPS and their FPS instructor for providing a fun and insightful learning experience.
INTRODUCING OUR NEW HYDRATION STATION! As the temperatures continued to rise throughout our summer term, we encouraged our students to drink more and remain hydrated with our fun, new ‘Hydration Station’! Students can buy a refillable bottle for £1 from our dining hall and receive a free refill of fruit infused water either in that bottle or one of their own. We hope this continues to keep our students prepared for learning throughout the warm weather and beyond, whilst also helping to reduce plastic waste.
CHORLTON ARTS FESTIVAL 2018 CHS students worked fantastically hard for over 6 weeks to develop and practise their creative skills for a number of events that took place during the Chorlton Arts Festival 2018. CHORTON HIGH ARTS TEAM: SITE SPECIFIC (CHAT:SS) PERFORMANCE 2018: OPERATION APOCALYPSE This year’s CHAT:SS performance was like no other we have presented! Created as an immersive piece of theatre, ‘Operation Apocalypse’ tackled difficult issues of human trafficking and the continuing use of child soldiers. It was devised to inspire our audience with a deeper awareness of these important and sensitive subjects, leaving them thinking differently and ready to support change.
CHS students from Years 7-10, supported by the actor and writer, Elizabeth Eonwuka-Okoy, worked incredibly hard to develop, rehearse and prepare this dance and drama extravaganza in just 6 weeks! The performance venue was kept a secret and started with a text message to the audience members to meet our field operatives at Manchester SafeStore Unit in Cheetham Hill. The audience then quickly became immersed in ‘Operation Apocalypse’! To begin, our audience first experienced a powerful dance piece about human trafficking before being moved on and shut inside a storage container. Within the dark and gloomy atmosphere, they watched an emotional and thought provoking video. Members of the audience were then guided to Manchester Jewish Museum where further dance and drama performances took place. The evening ended with a tribute to those who lost their lives in the Manchester Arena attack with our amazing cast singing ‘Don’t Look Back in Anger’ as well as our award winning One Love Manchester song ‘This is Our City’. We would like to thank all of our outstanding young creatives for being so incredibly hard working and professional. Every moment of this production was met with a professional and serious attitude that has resulted in an outstanding and immersive piece of theatre. A huge thank you to our audience, for supporting and engaging with the latest CHAT:SS production. A final huge thank you to SafeStore and the Manchester Jewish Museum for allowing us to use their buildings and locations.
CHORLTON HIGH SCHOOL IN THE SPOTLIGHT
Over the last term we have celebrated an array of sporting achievement. Here are some highlights! CRICKET
MOUNTAIN BIKING
Jack Haworth scored 78 not out and Sonny Wilson scored 40 in a 112 partnership during the Year 7’s cricket semi-final.
This course began with two sessions in school, with a third session along the Fallowfiled Loop Cycle route, and a fourth session on the Skillszone course at the National Cycling Centre. The students progressed incredibly well, they have been invited to test their new skills on a range of challenging routes at the Clayton Vale Bike trails.
Our Year 7 Cricket team team enjoyed success against MGS in the semi-final of the MCR Cup to set up a final match versus Parrswood.
The Year 8s also impressive run in the Lancashire Cup, including two victories against Merseyside Schools came to a close in a quarter final defeat to a very impressive MGS team.
TRACK CYCLING
Our Year 7 and Year 8 Track Cycling Team qualified for the Manchester Track Cycling Championship Finals as group winners, following an 8-4 win against Manchester Communications Academy and a 7-5 win against Manchester Creative Media Academy. So far in the finals they have defeated Manchester Health Academy 7-5 before suffering defeat themselves to MCMA 8-4. They took part in the Silver Medal race against William Hulme the following week.
ATHLETICS
CHS had six representatives in the Manchester Athletics Team in the Greater Manchester Competition. With Murtaza Khan winning Gold in the Shot Putt event and qualifying for the Greater Manchester team in a a national event held in Birmingham where he received a bronze medal and a personal best.
31 Year 7 students have taken part in a Mountain Bike Skills course as part of our ongoing High Achievers programme for Gifted and Talented students in PE.
MANCHESTER TENNIS COMPETITION
Year 7 and Year 8 Boys tennis teams won Gold and Bronze, with the Girls team winning Bronze at the Manchester School Tennis Competition held at Manchester High School for Girls. This is the first time we have entered this competition and we couldn’t be prouder of the teams’ performance and attitude. We would like to thank all of our sporting students and teams for their dedication, hard work and brilliant effort. We wish them the best of luck in their upcoming sporting endeavours.
LIBRARY LOYALTY CARDS Taking inspiration from retail Loyalty Cards, we have been encouraging students to read regularly with our recent introduction of Library Loyalty Cards. Every student that borrowed and returned a book to the library was able to get their Loyalty Card stamped. Students needed to read 9 books to fill their card with stamps, and each time a card was full, it could be entered into a prize draw, at the end of term, to win Amazon vouchers. Our congratulations go to Kate Gardham from Year 7, who became our Library Loyalty card Star, reading an amazing 72 books to win the top prize of a ÂŁ50 Amazon voucher. Our congratulations also go to James Neiland and Muzzammil Sheikh who came 2nd and 3rd, receiving an Amazon voucher as their prize.
BEYOND THE CLASSROOM Beyond the classroom (BTC) is an enrichment initiative to encourage our students to gain cultural capital whilst taking part take in a wide range of activities within their local community. Students can develop Cultural Capital through experiencing activities beyond their day to day school lives. Taking part within a sports team, visiting museums and concerts, supporting the elderly or a local business, are all great ways for
students to enrich their learning journey and a develop a wider understanding of the world around them. CHS staff from subject areas across our school have each contributed exciting ideas and recommendations to provide
insight and inspiration for the range of student choices and interests. Please see our website to read through our BTC booklet.
CHORLTON HIGH SCHOOL
A MIND THAT IS STRETCHED BY A NEW EXPERIENCE CAN NEVER GO BACK TO ITS OLD DIMENSIONS BEYOND THE
CLASSROOM CHORLTON HIGH SCHOOL IN THE SPOTLIGHT
CHARITY CYCLE CHALLENGE FOR ASTHMA UK On July 18th Mr Doran, English teacher, set himself the challenge of cycling 100 miles to raise funds and awareness for Asthma UK. He has previously raised money by running marathons but has only recently taken up cycling and swimming. Mr Doran, with the help of his Year 7 and Year 8 classes, and his debate club, collected sponsorship, as well as selling some wonderful cakes and treats at break and lunchtime. The event was an amazing success and raised a total of £300, with Mr Doran managing to complete his endeavour in 7 hours and cycling for a total of 110 miles! During summer, he undertook another cycling challenge of 100 miles on the 29th of July. This was then followed by a two-mile swim (128 lengths) in open water on the 22nd of September. Then to finish he will be running a total of 48 miles at Bournemouth Marathon Festival in October. “I have asthma myself and thanks to Asthma UK I am able to control it in a healthy and cost effective way. Sadly, it’s a growing concern amongst children but Asthma UK work to stop asthma attacks and, ultimately, cure asthma by funding world leading research and scientists, campaigning for change and supporting people with asthma to reduce their risk of a potentially life threatening asthma attack.” Mr Doran. We would like to thank Mr. Doran for his efforts and wish him the best of luck for his future sporting challenges!
Forty Year 9 CHS students have completed their Discovery award in Maths and Science by working in teams during an Extended Learning Experience Day to solve the following problem. On 20 July 2018, a team of aid workers will be arriving at the Xingu River in northern Brazil. They must cross the river to eastern bank to deliver supplies to the village on the other side at Belo Monte. The dam has collapsed and there is no way across!’ Before getting started CHS students began by conducting their own research to find out about how bridges ‘work’, learning
about engineering dynamics, and the advantages and disadvantages of using different types of bridges. They then designed and built their own bridges, checking their drawings were accurate and to scale by using a set of blue print templates provided for the project. During the project, our students have developed skills in self-management, problem solving, team work, research and communication. CREST Discovery Awards engage and inspire a wide range of students in STEM activities. The flexible framework can be adapted for students of different ages and abilities, and can be used in a range of contexts.
CHORLTON HIGH SCHOOL IN THE SPOTLIGHT
On Friday 13th July Chorlton High School, in conjunction with Southway Housing, hosted an Intergenerational Question time event to strengthen the links between the local community, local professionals and local organisations; the aim was to connect generations and open up a shared dialogue.
Over 50 people attended the event, launched with a Year 7 student passionately reciting an IGNITE speech she had written about the impact of teachers and schools on all of us. Taking a leading part in the subsequent discussions were Zoe Morris, Head Teacher, Jeff Smith MP, Mandy Shilton-Godwin, Chorlton Park Councillor and School Governor, Lindy Newns from Chorlton Voice, Jason Stone from GMFRS, Don Berry, Sandra Shaw, Millat Rakha from Old Moat NORC, exstudents and representatives from the current Whole School Council. Questions from the floor covered local government policy, issues in neighbourhoods, the needs of the different community groups and how we develop opportunities for people to meet and support each other.
The event enabled different generations to listen and learn from each other ZOE MORRIS
Zoe Morris spoke later about the success of this community event as it had, “Enabled different generations to listen and learn from each other, recognising each other’s lived experiences and positive contributions to Chorlton. In doing so, they have challenged and explored some of the stereotypes and assumptions that exist, helping to enhance the existing sense of community that Chorlton has. The focus going into the future for the Chorlton Generations Working Together Network and its respective partners is how we harness the ideas, relationships and appetite that this event has created into sustainable and meaningful intergenerational practise across Chorlton for the longer term”.
RAISING FUNDS AND AWARENESS We would like to end our academic year by celebrating an incredible community achievement! After learning about the refugee crisis happening in Calais and Greece during a lesson, two of our Year 7 students, Sonny Wilson and Ralf Syrett, have raised much needed funds for Care UK (formally Refugee Aid Chorlton). They decided to set up a charity 10K hill run and walk around Lyme Park with their friends and family. The event was a great success and the boys raised a fantastic £406! We would like to thank our young students for raising both funds and awareness, for this important issue, and for providing such a fantastic example of community spirit!
#WeStandTogether
RACE FOR LOVE
To end our academic year, 34 of our students braved the humidity and took on a 5 kilometre run around Chorlton Park to raise money for Care for Calais. Every single one of them completed the course and stayed on to encourage the final finishers. The sense of camaraderie was exceptional and it was emotional to be a part of – either partaking or spectating. Some gained personal bests and some exceeded their own expectations – Miss Torpey and Mr Doran are especially proud of their Couch to 5k group who have been training for this event for months! CHORLTON HIGH SCHOOL IN THE SPOTLIGHT
As part of the Achievement Team’s drive to raise aspirations for pupils within and school, and having seen the success of our annual STEMFest, we held a week of events, focusing on careers in the following subjects: Creative, Languages, Arts and Social Sciences. The aim of this was to show students a range of careers they perhaps wouldn’t have considered and show some of the routes into these creative professions.
MONDAY 9TH JULY
Professional photographer, Megan Bramley, from Trinity Mirror (for example, Sunday Express, Express, Daily Star and Sunday Star newspapers and connected magazines) came in to talk about how she got her job, pass on advice and run a miniworkshop on how to stage and take images for product shots. WHAT THE STUDENTS SAID
“I know how to do my dream career now. I didn’t before.” “I really liked finding out about what it takes to put a picture in a magazine – it takes loads more effort than I thought.”
WEDNESDAY 11TH JULY
The University of Manchester’s Black Lawyers Matter programme is a School of Law social responsibility project. Our primary aim is to work in collaboration with University and external partners to address the under-representation of black and ethnic minority people working in the legal and criminal justice professions, particularly in the Greater Manchester area. WHAT THE STUDENTS SAID “I will take from this event that you can be whatever you want and you should not let your colour stop you.” “I like knowing that I could go into Law as I have not thought about it previously. All the lawyers on TV are American and white.”
THURSDAY 12TH JULY
Dr Javier García Oliva joined us from The University of Manchester to talk about the complex nature of the interaction between the law and our human rights, specifically focusing on cases that have blurred the line between expressing religious faith. During this session, students were presented with real life cases and asked to debate it, just like a jury would have done in the court case. Groups were then asked to give their verdict and justify why they felt this was the right thing to do. WHAT THE STUDENTS SAID “I found it really interesting to apply Law to real life situations. It’s really hard to make the right choice.” “I now have a new knowledge of the Law and ethics; it’s like problem solving.”
FRIDAY 13TH JULY
On Friday morning, we invited a host of professionals from a range of industries – for example, lecturers (in Law, Economics and English), transport planners, architects, archaeologists, writers, producers, photographers and wind turbine engineers. Students then spent 3 to 4 minutes with each professional, finding out how day-to-day life works in these jobs, followed by pupil questions. WHAT THE STUDENTS SAID “I now know that you should do what makes you happy and just because you have missed one opportunity, it doesn’t mean you should give up.” “It was a good event as I now have an idea of what I want to do.”
The Goldfish Boy, by Lisa Thompson was the whole school book for Chorlton High School during the summer term. “The idea of a whole school book is to get as many staff and students as possible reading it and create some wonderful conversations” says Ms Hockey, the Library Resource Manager. The Goldfish Boy features Matthew who has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and it was launched as a whole school book during Mental Health Awareness week and as part of the Year of Wellbeing. Matthew likes sparkling clean surfaces and staying safe in his bedroom. He hates germs, going outside and feeling a disappointment to his mum and dad. However, when the toddler staying next door goes missing. Matthew finds himself at the centre of the mystery. Can Matthew overcome his fears to find out what has happened?
As part of the promotions for the book, author Lisa Thompson visited on Wednesday 11 July to talk to some Year 8 and Year 7 students. In an inspiring talk, she explained how it had always been her dream to write, but she had never had the courage to start in case she failed. She decided to give herself one year to see if she could do it and the result was, the award winning The Goldfish Boy.
A story about finding friendship when you’re lonely – and hope when all you feel is fear.
Her second book The Light Jar is already published and her third comes out next year. “I’ve had a number of students bringing in their stories for me to read, since they heard Lisa” said Ms Hockey, “so she has certainly encouraged students to pick up their pens and start writing!”. Diogo Trovoada from Year 7 said “It helped me understand the author process and as an aspiring author, it was inspiring.” Why not pop into the library and pick up a copy of one of Lisa’s books?
CHORLTON HIGH SCHOOL IN THE SPOTLIGHT
CHORLTON HIGH SCHOOL NELL LANE CHORLTON MANCHESTER M21 7SL Tel 0161 882 1150 Fax 0161 861 8753 admin@chorltonhigh.manchester.sch.uk www.chorltonhigh.manchester.sch.uk @chorltonhigh 4017 design manchesterdesignfactory.com 07884 427009