Summer 2017
Welcome FROM THE HEADTEACHER What a fantastic Summer term it has been, with our second Festival of Education, Family Fun Day and Sports Day all providing the perfect end to a spectacular academic year. Over the past several weeks The Marches School students have been to Canada for a sports tour, taken part in a fishing competition as a house event, hosted a fantastic Art Exhibition at our annual June Open Evening and raised funds for the school’s Eco-Domes. Elsewhere throughout the term, we have celebrated the outstanding achievements of students in Years 11, 12 and 13 at our Presentation Evening, as well as sporting success at the first ever Sports Awards. The highlight of the academic year, however, has to be the Festival of Education which took place here on Thursday 29th June, providing valuable professional development for our teachers and vital information and experience for our students. From celebrity guest speakers such as Professor Robert Winston to renowned film studio Aardman Animations, the
entire school came alive with the sound of fun and learning. The festival brought together educators from across the county and far beyond to listen to talks from esteemed practitioners such as Christine Quinn (Regional Schools Commissioner for the West Midlands), our Festival Patron, Professor Mick Waters (former Director of Curriculum at QCA) and keynote speaker Andy Buck to name a few. Meanwhile, our students enjoyed an entire day of activities, workshops and inspirational talks from the likes of gold Olympian Darren Campbell. As well as careers advice and a whole host of motivational speakers, the festival offered students the opportunity to be involved in all kinds of activities. The event was a huge success all round, with speakers, delegates and students alike all bowled over by the scope of the event. With the summer break almost upon us, all the staff here at The Marches School are looking ahead to another exciting and successful year. In the meantime, I
would like to take this opportunity to wish all those in Years 11, 12 and 13 all the very best in August, when they receive their exam results, and may you all have a wonderful and enjoyable summer.
Sarah Longville Executive 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
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News OPERATING THEATRE LIVE Year 10 science students had the amazing opportunity to be involved in an Operating Theatre Live workshop. They took part in a range of activities from making anaesthetics based on body mass, to dissections of all manner of organs from brains to kidneys!
SUMMER SERENADE On Thursday 18th May we hosted our annual Summer Serenade Concert with a theme of ‘A Night at the Movies’. Over 55 students were involved from Years 7 to 13 along with over 80 pupils from Whittington, Holy Trinity and Trefonen Primary Schools. Students performed a variety of solos and ensembles which included: Year 7 student Phoebe Shaw playing ‘Skyfall’ from James Bond, Year 9 student Taya Cranshaw-Scott singing ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ from Les Miserables, Year 9 student Immie Dean playing a piano medley of a variety of film music soundtracks, Year 11 student Nicole Potts playing ‘Moonlight Sonata’ from The Piano and The Marches School Vocal Harmony Group led by Drama Teacher Miss Wright performing a Disney Medley.
AMBER IS YOUNGEST MAYORESS! Year 10 student Amber Hunt is the youngest Mayoress in the country after her father was elected to his post in May and gave his daughter the opportunity. Amber has been carrying out her Mayoress role alongside her father, Vince Hunt, a local town and Shropshire Councillor, for the past month. So far Amber has visited local colleges, attended community fairs and had a presence at civic services.
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More News OSWESTRY YOUTH MARKET
On Wednesday 17th May students sold tie-dye bags and t-shirts at the Oswestry Youth Market and made an impressive ÂŁ70!
On Monday 15th May, Google Expeditions visited to run virtual reality Geography and Science themed sessions with Years 7 and 8 students. Using Google Cardboard goggles, staff took students to destinations around the world, into volcanos, under the sea and even as far as space.
BULLYING WORKSHOP On Friday 5th May Year 9 had an interactive assembly about bullying. Students discussed what bullying was, what they would do about it and came up with solutions to a scenario. This included who they would tell about it, what is classed as bullying and whether they would step in if they saw someone being bullied.
On Friday 23rd June a Morocco Expedition 2018 Itinerary Development Day with experts from Outlook Expeditions took place. Students worked on team-building with their teams, their aims for the expedition and developed their own itinerary with a choice of options to be negotiated over. Students have also begun fundraising for the Morocco Expedition by having a stand at the June Open Evening. www.marchesschool.co.uk
New 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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School Trips GCSE Art and Photography students went on a trip to the Tate Liverpool and World Museum in Liverpool in May.
In April, 40 students went to Disneyland Paris to take part in an England Netball tournament. Students were lucky enough to receive a training session delivered by the England Netball organisation and listened to a talk by Severn Stars Vitality Netball Superleague player Josie Janz-Dawson. At the tournament, two of The Marches School netball teams got through to the top finals. The Under 12 team won ‘Most Determined Team’ throughout the tournament and the whole team were awarded the 2017 International Junior Netball Festival Umpires ‘Spirit of the Game’ Award.
Over the Easter holiday, 40 students went to Andalucia in Spain to visit the sights and to practise their Spanish speaking skills. During their time there students visited Málaga, Ronda, Granada and Córdoba. When visiting Ronda, students went to see the first bullring ever to be made in Spain which has now been turned into a museum. They also visited the Mosque of Córdoba and a Jewish synagogue where they watched a singing performance and learned about the Jewish culture in Spain.
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Sport COUNTY SWIMMING GALA Wednesday 17th May saw 7 of our elite swimmers travel to Thomas Telford for the County Final Schools Swimming Gala. The standard was high with some County Records being set. It is worth mentioning that our students in Years 7 and 9 were competing against students in Years 8 and 10 respectively. There were some notable performances, including medals for the following students: Ioan Delahay (Year 9): 2nd in 100m Breaststroke and 3rd in 100m Backstroke Abagael Walmsley (Year 10): 2nd in both 100m Fly and 100m Freestyle Alex Bayley (Year 10): 2nd 200m IM Keira Lee (Year 7): 3rd 200m IM Henry Walmsley (Year 7): 3rd 100 Breaststroke Congratulations also to Year 7 students Aidan Jones and Emillie Parsons-Hands who had some great times in their events.
Mel Clarke, British Paralympian and bronze and silver medallist at Beijing and London visited the school on Friday 12th May to speak to Years 7 and 8 girls.
SHROPSHIRE ATHLETICS The Marches School Senior Girls Team won overall at the North Shropshire Athletics on Friday 23rd June. Year 8 students Beth Jones and Ellie Frist and Year 10 students Anna Holbrook Both the rugby and football teams enjoyed great success and Jessie Shaw were whilst on tour in Canada over the half term. The rugby captains. There were some team won their second fixture against a Toronto All-Star fantastic performances representative side with Connor Griffiths as Man of the during the day from the Match scoring 5-tries. The team also claimed a victory in students with individuals their final against the Toronto Nomads with some across the teams gaining outstanding individual tries from Jacob Jones and Kane 10 first places, 10 second Rowbotham. Two football squads represented the Marches and 5 third. School in Canada: The Marches Dragons, captained by George Lloyd and The Marches Lions captained by Clark Wolsgrove. Both the Dragons and Lions were unbeaten throughout. The combination of cultural experiences and sporting success in Canada made the tour an unforgettable one that both students and staff will never forget. It was outstanding from start to finish.
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Fun Day 2017 Hundreds of people descended upon The Marches School in Oswestry on Saturday 1st July and enjoyed an abundance of fun and entertainment during its annual Family Fun Day. The event, sponsored by Oswestry-based Arla Foods and raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support saw families flocking to make the most of the sunshine and the variety of activities, live entertainment and local craft producers the day had to offer. The annual Dog Show in aid of the Guide Dogs involved dog owners presenting their loyal friends in the Waggy Tail and Best Groomed Dog competition. Children from surrounding schools entered the inaugural talent contest with dance, vocal and instrumental performances. A piĂąata cake and lavishly decorated Turkish delight cake were crowned overall winners of the bake-off competition. Children battled with their friends wearing sumo suits, pedalled their way to make delicious smoothies on a bike competition in the Arla Tent, bounced their way on inflatables, enjoyed pony rides, crazy golf, nerf guns, rodeo bull and the fun fair. There was definitely something for everyone to enjoy.
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Festival of Education
On Thursday 29th June The Marches School hosted its second Festival of Education, showcasing education’s thought leaders and bringing together like-minded educational professionals from across the UK. Workshops were offered by the following organisations; ACUK Hospitality, Chester Zoo, Dekko Comics, Dogs Trust, Frantic Assembly, Furrows, Harper Adams University, North Shropshire College, Oswestry Life Magazine, St John’s College, The Lowry Theatre, Thinktank and The Houses of Parliament. Flamenco dancing, Bush Craft and Eco-Dome activities also took place throughout the day. Students also had the opportunity to listen to inspirational Olympian Darren Campbell, find out public speaking tips from Stuart Burnside and entrepreneurial advice from the young Chef Luke Thomas! There was also a Futures Zone where students had the opportunity to speak to employers, apprenticeship providers and higher educational establishments so that students could start thinking about what they might want to do in the future.
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Information PARENTS’ EVENINGS TERM DATES Year 7 – Thursday 12th October 2017 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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Summer Term 2017 Monday 24th April – Friday 21st July PD Days: Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th July Autumn Term 2017 Tuesday 5th September to Thursday 21st December 2017 Please note – Tuesday 5th September is for Years 7 and 12 ONLY. Students in Years 8-11 and Year 13 will return on Wednesday 6th September Half term: Monday 23rd to Friday 27th October 2017 PD day: Monday 4th September 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
1st Place - Bonington - 2667 Points 2nd Place - Hargreaves - 2613 Points 3rd Place - Mallory - 2340 Points 4th Place - Stephens - 2307 Points 5th Place - Whittaker - 1977 Points
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PRESENTATION EVENING 2017
On Tuesday 27th June, The Marches School hosted a spectacular evening to celebrate the outstanding achievements of students. The school sports hall was an array of trophies and balloons; prizes were awarded for a range of prestigious achievements. The event also included sensational musical performances from current students. Congratulations to all students who received an award! Some of the award winners are listed below: Zac Hughes - Stonehouse brewery Community award Molly Delouze - Hobo award for abundant enthusiasm Beth Coleman - Attendance and Punctuality award Tia Greenlees - Owens Coaches award for outstanding personal achievement Toby Cox - The British Ironworks Contribution to Sixth Form life award Nicole Smith - The Tara Professionals award for commitment to study Lucy Burn - The Lion Quays Sixth Form Leadership award Alex Wetton - Good to Great Award – Student Presidents Rebecca Clarke - Presidents Shield award
Welcome FROM THE HEAD OF SIXTH FORM As the academic year draws to a close and with exams now behind us, we have time to reflect on another fantastic year that saw the Sixth Form go from strength to strength. It gets increasingly more difficult with every year that passes to say goodbye to our leavers. I am enormously proud of all our students here at The Marches Sixth Form and the incredible future pathways they progress on to. Over the past twelve months, our Year 13 students have been great ambassadors for the school and great role models for our Year 12 cohort, who I know are excited to follow in their footsteps next year. I wish them all every success in their future studies and careers, and look forward to celebrating with them one final time on Results Day in August. The contribution of the Sixth Form to the many events running in The
Marches School has been incredible. They have supported the Festival of Education, Sports Day, Sponsored Walk and the LionHeart event this term alone. They have many ongoing commitments over the academic year, supporting reading rangers and the work of the student council in the lower school. They are the most wonderful role models, I hope they found the experiences both enjoyable and rewarding. As the summer break looms, I will eagerly await not only the Sixth Form results, but also the GCSE results, as we prepare to welcome a new set of students from schools across England and Wales to our Sixth Form in September. In the meantime, I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our students the best of luck for results day, and may you all have an enjoyable and restful summer break.
MARCHES SIXTH FORM AT THE FESTIVAL
Claire Buckle Assistant Headteacher: Head of Sixth Form
BIOLOGY FIELDWORK
On Tuesday 16th May Sixth Form Biology students took part in a fieldwork trip to Borth examining sand dunes and rock pools. Although the weather was very wet a good time was had by all.
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NEWS
Summer 2017