Autumn 2017
Welcome FROM THE HEADTEACHER Welcome to the first Newsletter of the new year with a fantastic first half term under our belt. Staff returned to work after celebrating excellent outcomes with the Years 11 and 13 students in August, ready to begin the journey again with growing numbers joining the Sixth Form. Students are focused and working hard and behaviour and attendance are both high. We have already been able to celebrate our first sporting win, with a football trophy and the House competition is gathering momentum with a wonderful Bake-Off event for both students and staff. We are proud to, again, offer a large choice of enrichment opportunities in both main school and Sixth Form and have worked to ensure that we hold opportunities open to all students who wish to take them up; as a result, we had our largest cohorts commence their Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards.
We also saw Year 7 parents’ meeting with tutors to end the carefully prepared and almost year long transition programme, resulting in Year 7 students now taking part fully in the life of the school – not to mention their weekend at Colomendy. We look forward to the next half term taking us to Christmas with some key mock exams to support Year 11, as well as more fun in our House events, rehearsals for this year’s performance – Beauty and the Beast gathering pace, not to mention our Christmas Jumper day on the very last day of term. I am always happy to hear feedback from parents and carers and can be contacted directly at pearson.a@marchesschool.net.
Alison Pearson Headteacher
Vision: ‘Achievement through caring’
Mission: We believe: Successful, creative, lifelong learners participate in a journey of self-discovery. They know how to learn, and acquire skills to be happy and thrive in a changing world with confidence and courage.
Values: Excellence - striving always for mastery and personal success Integrity - consistently acting with honesty, compassion and respect Empathy - embracing and supporting the uniqueness of every individual Creativity - inspiring and challenging through invention, experimentation and exploration Equality - ensuring fair opportunity for all
The Marches School T. 01691 664400
Morda Road, Oswestry, Shropshire, SY11 2AR
E. admin@marchesschool.net
W. www.marchesschool.co.uk
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News OPEN EVENING On Thursday 21st September we opened our doors to a record number of prospective students and their families. The evening involved an abundance of interactive activities, live music and talks from the Headteacher. Students spent the evening exploring the wide range of facilities and course subjects on offer as they journeyed through the various departments. We would like to thank all of our student volunteers who put so much effort into welcoming the prospective students, sharing their experiences of attending and studying at The Marches School.
GCSE RESULTS In a year of turbulence through schools nationally, students at The Marches School held their nerve and performed exceptionally well. With reforms to the new GCSEs it is not possible to compare this year’s results with other years. The new examination system has been deliberately designed to be tougher and so it is impressive for 10% of the cohort to gain top grades in BOTH English and Maths and have 44% of students reach the new demanding measure of a Strong Pass in both English and Maths (the new grade 9-5). Uladzislau Barabash and Ioana Pascariu both became the first students in the school to gain the new coveted grade 9 in both English and Maths, along with A* grades in all their other subjects. In addition, a pleasingly large cohort of students have achieved A/A* grades across the board this year. Over 99% of students gained at least at A* – C pass and there was a 10% jump in students gaining the English Baccalaureate, (earning A* – C in a set of core qualifications including a language).
THE PAINTED BIRD PIANO A cross-curricular success! This piano was painted by our outstanding Year 8 Art students using artist Abi Diamond to inspire them. The piano will now proudly be on display in school.
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More News SAINSBURY’S ACTIVE KIDS
Pictured are Year 9 students Pablo Harrison, Evan Roberts, Aaron Spelman and Sam Wall with the new badminton rackets purchased with the Sainsbury’s Active Kids vouchers.
Language Leaders Award This term we awarded Lucy Arrowsmith, Immie Dean, Ewan Higgins, Anya Horsler, Lily Hughes, Megan Lacey, Olivia Lawrence, Jess Michie, Rebecca Owen, Katie Thomas and Lucy Wolsteholme with their Foreign Language Leader certificates for completing the award last year. The award teaches young people how to lead others through basic language activities by working to develop their communication, organisation and motivational skills. To gain the award students had to do a variety of tasks including research on the countries where their chosen language is spoken, planning and delivering lessons to primary school classes in French and Spanish, and assisting with our Year 5 MFL event during the conversational role plays with the primary pupils. In doing this they not only improved their own language skills in preparation for their GCSEs but also acted as great ambassadors for The Marches School in several local primary schools.
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LIONS PEACE POSTER CONTEST
On Wednesday 11th October Bill Bowen and the president of the Oswestry Lions, Maureen Ross, also came in to judge the art competition entries for the Lions International Peace Poster Competition for 11 13 year olds. The judges looked at artwork submitted by Year 8 students Phoebe Shaw, Lily Waring, Amelia Bickford and Tilly Sayce-Evans. Associate Headteacher Mrs Pearson also joined the Oswestry Lions representatives in the judging. The artwork designed by Phoebe Shaw was chosen to be entered in to the North Wales District round. Well done to Phoebe who has won £25 worth of book vouchers for her winning design.
£5000 CHEQUE PRESENTATION On Wednesday 11th October Bill Bowen and the president of the Oswestry Lions, Maureen Ross, also visited The Marches School to present a £5000 cheque to the Eco-Committee following their eco-dome fundraising and awareness presentation at the Wynnstay Hotel in Oswestry on Tuesday 2nd May. Bill and Maureen congratulated the Eco-Committee for all of their hard work they had put into the eco-domes and the committee itself. The members of the committee thanked the Oswestry Lions for their generous donation.
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School Trips
I had a great day, Chester is where I was born and I think I might come here for university.
YEAR 7 COLOMENDY TRIP
140 Year 7 students and 14 staff went to Colomendy for the weekend. Once everyone had found their rooms, it was off for food. This impressed everyone as it was chips and chicken nuggets. Once fed everyone joined the other schools and we all enjoyed singing, jokes and marshmallows. After rather a sleepless night for some very excitable students, it was an early start and a full breakfast. After a visit to the small on-site shop, where I have never seen so many people spend so much money so fast on sweets and pop, students took part in numerous activities, from caving, low ropes, high ropes, laser tag, leap of faith, archery and many others. Students were enthusiastic to take part in the activities on offer and the Colomendy staff were very complimentary of students attitude and behaviour. Staff from Colomendy said it was a pleasure that the students were keen and willing to try everything on offer. There was a disco on Saturday night, followed by everyone falling to sleep by 10.00 p.m. It was a pleasure to see so many students and staff enjoying themselves, making new friends and overcoming any difficulties with activities and, in some cases, homesickness. The return journey was a much quieter affair, with some very tired students and staff. Mrs Dean - Year 7 Progress Leader
FUTURES AWARD
54 Year 6 students from Oswestry and surrounding areas recently embarked on a trip to the University of Chester on Tuesday 26th September, as part of our Futures Award competition. The trip to Chester University was designed to ignite the aspirations of Year 6 students and provide them with an insight into Higher Education and the opportunities that will be available to them in the future. Students spent the day at the university and attended a range of activities and presentations organised by Isobel Leah from the Outreach Team. Activities included ‘Step into Secondary’ by Performing Pathways, a ‘University Journey’ workshop and a graduation ceremony, where students collected their certificates wearing their very own mortar boards which they made themselves. Students also enjoyed a full tour of the campus and facilities by the student ambassadors and found out, first hand, what being a university student is really like. The Primary Schools involved were Woodside Primary, Holy Trinity C of E Primary, Trefonen C of E Primary, The Meadows Primary, Whittington Primary and Our Lady and St Oswald’s Catholic Primary School.
www.marchesschool.co.uk
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Performance Next year’s school production at The Marches School is Beauty and the Beast which will be performed from the evening of Tuesday 13th February to Thursday 15th February. Auditions took place on Thursday 12th September and we had the largest turnout yet!
www.marchesschool.co.uk
Don’t forget the Carol Service on Monday 11th December from 6.00 p.m. - 7.00 p.m. at St Oswlald’s Church in Oswestry
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Main Cast
Belle – Mia McKay and Libby Hughes Beast – Thom Hughes Mrs Potts – Issy Clarke and Emily Holmes Lumiere – Jake Billington Gaston – Connor Williams LeFou – Kim Willoughby Babette – Maddie Selby Chip – Jake Adams, Massimo Wyatt and Sam Lloyd Cogsworth – Fleur Watson Madame de La Grande Bouche – Taya Cranshaw-Scott Maurice – Alex Bayley Girls – Connie Holmes, Emma Hughes, Chelsea Breeze, Megan Burgess, Anya Horsler, Lucy Arrowsmith, Holly Billington and Emily Peters.
www.marchesschool.co.uk
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Sport YEAR 7 CROSS-COUNTRY On the morning of Wednesday 4th October Year 7 boys took part in a cross-country run. Henry Walker came third, Elis Jones second and Oli Roach came first. Well done boys!
GIRLS’ RUGBY Our Years 9 and 10 girls enjoyed an excellent coaching session at Oswestry Rugby Club on Tuesday 26th September, arranged by Mollie Croxon, School Games Organiser. A big thank you to Mollie and the Coaches for this opportunity.
Congratulations to our new Year 7 students who were crowned champions at the North Shropshire 5-a-side football tournament on Wednesday 20th September!
NETBALL CHAMPIONS On Monday 2nd October the Year 11 Netball team travelled to Church Stretton to compete in a County Netball Tournament and were crowned champions!
JUNIOR VICE CAPTAIN
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Year 10 student Ellie Potts is the Junior Vice Captain at Henlle Park Golf Club and has been consistently performing to a high standard. She has seen her handicap plummet from 23 to 16 and has won several competitions along the way. Competitions won include Ladies July Medal, Ladies August Stableford and a Pink Ball team competition. Ellie has also come 3rd place at the Shropshire Junior Girls Stableford Championships at Arscott Golf Club and 3rd place in the girls section of the SHUGC Handicap Championships at Shrewsbury Golf Club. Ellie has also represented the county's Scratch and Handicap teams, with the highlight coming at the Midland North Regional Finals at Trent Lock GC where Ellie was the lead-off match for the handicap team against Leicestershire, a match that she won 2 and 1. Recently Ellie played her Ladies Summer Knockout Final match at Henlle Park Golf Club. The match went all the way to the 18th green where Ellie won 2 up to become the Ladies Summer Knockout Champion.
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Information PARENTS’ EVENINGS TERM DATES Year 7 – Thursday 15th March 2018 Year 8 – Thursday 8th March 2018 Year 9 – Thursday 8th February (Options Evening) 2018 Year 10 – Thursday 24th May 2018 Year 11 – Thursday 7th December 2017 Year 11 – Thursday 22nd March 2018 Years 12/13 – Thursday 30th November 2017 Years 12/13 – Thursday 29th March 2018
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KEEP UP TO DATE
Autumn Term 2017 Tuesday 5th September to Thursday 21st December 2017 Half term: Monday 23rd to Friday 27th October 2017 Spring Term 2018 Monday 8th January to Thursday 29th March 2018 Half term: Monday 19th to Friday 23rd February 2018 PD day: Monday 26th February Summer Term 2018 Monday 16th April to Friday 20th July 2018 Half term: Monday 28th May to Friday 1st June 2018 PD days: Monday 23rd and Tuesday 24th July
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EXAM DATES
Autumn 2017 Year 13 Exams – 11th September – 22nd September (In class) AM – Request papers for January Year 11 Mock Exams – 13th November – 24th November Year 10 Mock Exams – 27th November – 8th December
Bonington - 442 Points Hargreaves - 379 Points Stephens - 364 Points Mallory - 270 Points Whittaker - 262 Points
2018 Year 9 Mock Exams – 8th January – 19th January Year 11 second Mock Exams – 29th January – 9th February Year 12 and 13 Mock Exams – 29th January – 9th February Year 10 second Mock Exams – 30th April – 11th May GCSE, AS and A2 Exams – 14th May – 29th June Year 7 and 8 Exams – 18th June – 29th June (In class) Year 7 and 8 Exams – 2nd July – 6th July
2017-18 Leadership Group Head Girl and Boy: Jessie Shaw and Jacob Morris Deputies: Lucy Tomkewycz and Matthew Collins Senior Prefects: Niall Dennehy, Clark Walsgrove, David Jones, Kimberley Burgess, Isobel Harvey, Daisy O’Reilly, Emily Sumner, Linsey Evans, Amber Hunt, Maddy Selby and Emily Onley
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CAMBRIDGE BURSARY
A former A Level student, Alex Keir, who is now studying at St John’s College, Cambridge has been awarded a bursary worth £3,000 per year by OCR to support his studies at one of the UK’s most prestigious Universities, after being nominated by Marches Sixth Form teacher Mrs Vicars. In its 14th year, OCR’s bursary fund was set-up to enable talented West Midlands students to make the most of their time at Cambridge. Last month, Alex attended an awards ceremony at the OCR in Coventry where he was presented with his award by the Cambridge Assessment Group Chief Executive and Chairman of OCR, Simon Lebus. OCR praised Alex for his achievement and said he was “inspiring to meet and an excellent representative of The Marches School.” On Friday 29th September an amazing £150 was raised at the Sixth Form Macmillan Cancer Support Coffee Morning. Thank you to everyone who made a cake and bought a cake to eat! The atmosphere was fantastic.
Recently Sixth Form student, Harry Gardner, gave an impressive presentation at the Oswestry Rotary Club, discussing the communication, social and leadership skills he developed during the week-long, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) at Arthog over the summer.
Welcome FROM THE HEAD OF SIXTH FORM This has been our most exciting start to a school year since Sixth Form commenced with over 160 students attending. Our Common Room is buzzing; many external students have joined us this year, everyone is busy making friends and getting to know each other. Year 12 are settling in well to their Sixth Form careers. Though the jump from GCSE to A level is huge, Year 12 are embracing the full range of support and guidance on offer. Year 13 are fully focussed on preparing for life after Sixth Form. We have sent a number of UCAS applications off and offers are already flooding in from the top institutions in the country. Those students wishing to follow apprenticeship schemes or enter other careers are working hard on their CVs and supporting statements. Our extensive enrichment programme is already up and running and students have been taking part in a wide range
of activities including Mandarin, First Aid, sailing, climbing and running clubs, Gold D of E, NCS and TEFEL Training. Year 12 students also began helping students in the lower school with their reading in the afternoon Reading Time. This is not only a great opportunity for the Sixth Form students, as it is something they can refer to in their personal statements later in the year, but it is also beneficial for our younger students to receive help from their older peers. Our newly elected Student Presidents George Garratt and Meg Edwards, along with the Sixth Form Student Council, Rosie Long, Rachel Chestnut and Naomi Chapman are already having an impact. They hosted a Macmillan Coffee Morning for the Sixth Form and raised a fantastic ÂŁ150. I look forward to updating you with everything Sixth Form-related again in the Christmas edition.
A LEVEL RESULTS 2017 Since opening The Marches Sixth Form in 2013, the school is yet again celebrating a third set of outstanding results. Students reaped the rewards for their hard-work with a greater number of students than ever achieving the highest grades with 22% at A/A*. Students gained access to their first choice courses at top universities including; Cambridge, Durham, Manchester and Internationally in the United States with a scholarship. Our most able students are supported through a bespoke Scholars programme, a unique curriculum of ongoing guidance, stretch and support through the full two years to ensure their university applications successfully compete with the best. The programme has borne fruit again with successful entry to St John’s College Cambridge for one student, for the second year running. The programme has gone from strength to strength with the growth of the Biomedical Society this year. Results have also enabled graduate, degree level apprenticeship programmes being won with companies at the cutting edge of industry, including JCB and BT.
Claire Buckle Assistant Headteacher: Head of Sixth Form
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NEWS
Autumn 2017