View from the Abbey | 21 October 2022

VIEW FROM THE ABBEY

Learning Differently, every day

New joiners and returning students alike have taken the first half of term in their stride, making the most of so many opportunities both inside and out of the classroom.

If you follow our social media accounts, you will have seen a few snapshots of the creative teaching and learning happening throughout the school. Our teachers have made it their mission to innovate and excite, and the results have been astounding.

Walking around school, you will find Photography students taking pictures of Hospitality students’ culinary creations, Countryside Management students pressing apples for juice that Enterprise students plan to sell and BTEC Sport students performing for Creative Media assignments. One of our Open Day visitors said that they were blown away that Learn Differently was a promise not a hope, and it is a promise we are determined to keep.

We are so proud of everything Milton Abbey students are achieving. Some incredible highlights so far this year have been Alex M playing the organ for Capability Service, Maria S performing her speech to the King of Spain, Adriaan O doing brilliantly on his Medical College Admission Test and Kobi C signing for Exeter City Football Club.

Success comes in all shapes and sizes and we are sure that throughout the year we’ll see so many impressive achievements in academics, co-curricular and beyond.

Claudia Hindle | Deputy Head (Academic)

Learning Differently in practice

Maths

Fourth Form pupils put their Maths knowledge to the test with an escape room style game, testing all they have learnt about graphs so far this term. Students had to answer a series of clues to unlock the next ‘clue bag’ and reveal the final prize.

Physics

Fifth Form Physics pupils investigated terminal velocity and how this changes with the weight of an object. They dropped cupcake cases from the red stair landing, timing the rate of descent and changing by weight by nesting cases together. This demonstrated the effects of drag and air resistance.

Geography

Fifth Form Geography pupils are preparing for their upcoming mock exams by learning exam ‘command words’ and assessment objectives, to help them better understand how to answer questions and showcase their subject knowledge and skills. They enjoyed getting outside to play a game that tested their understanding of the key terms we had learnt in the classroom.

Hospitality

As part of our Hospitality courses, students help at a number of real events throughout the year, to help complete the practical modules of their course. Recently, they played a pivotal role at our Open Day: serving tea and coffee to prospective families, setting tables and being briefed on ingredients so they could assist with allergy queries.

Inspirational academic trips

Art

Sixth Form artists visited Messums Wiltshire to see the Lawrence Edwards sculpture exhibition and participate in a discussion and drawing workshop. The main gallery space, a 13th Century tithe barn, is the largest thatched building in the country and opened in 2016 after a two year restoration project.

The students produced some keenly observed experimental sketches under the tuition of artist and former teacher, Kate Clarkson, who really brought the exhibition alive. They came away knowing more about the artist and the materials he uses to create maquettes and larger-than-life walking figures.

Back at school, the students took part in a life sculpting class. They produced small pieces of the female form in response to the work they saw at Messums. They thoroughly enjoyed working three-dimensionally and produced some fantastic work.

Photography

Lower Sixth and Fifth Form Photography students visited the Chris Killip exhibition at The Photographers Gallery in London. His powerful retrospective of more than 140 works documents the lives of those affected by economic shifts in the north of England during the 1970s and 1980s. Fifth Form Photography pupil Claire B said that if she could just use one word to describe the exhibition it would be “real”.

Digital Content Production

Lower Sixth BTEC Digital Content

Production students spent the day exploring across London, absorbing all the possibilities for digital content in our everyday lives and thinking about potential future university courses and career paths. Visits included The Design Museum, The Tate Modern and The Garden at 120.

Creative Media

Middle Sixth Film & TV BTEC students took a fascinating trip to BBC Wales in Cardiff. They visited studios where dramas are filmed, saw the live newsroom and even had a go at recording their own bulletins. You can watch their edited highlights of the visit by clicking the image.

Black History Month

October is Black History Month, a time for us to celebrate and appreciate people who have helped to shape our history and future.

In assembly, Sixth Form History students talked to the school about some lesserknown black historical figures who - while not as familiar as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks - fought for change and equal rights, helping to pave the way for the world as we know it today.

Students were informed about mathematician Katherine Johnson, British Army Officer and professional footballer Walter Tull, physician and campaigner Harold Moody, journalist Claudia Jones and Bristol-based activist Paul Stephenson.

World Singing Day

World Singing Day on 15 October brought together the new School Choir, who are learning their first piece that will be sung at our Remembrance Service after the half term break. The choir are meeting every Friday for rehearsal and all students are welcome to join (speak to Mr Treadaway for more details).

Dyslexia Awareness Week

The British Dyslexia Association highlighted dyslexia across the UK from 3-9 October, as it affects up to 1 in 10 people nationwide. Often people are undiagnosed but it is believed up to 6 million people in the UK have some form of dyslexia, including students studying here at Milton Abbey.

The 2022 Awareness Week slogan was ‘Breaking Through Barriers’ to get the message across that dyslexia does not stop someone from following and achieving their dreams. This mantra rings true to our approach at Milton Abbey, where dyslexic students and others with learning differences are given the time, attention and confidence to thrive.

During the week, we highlighted how students learn in a variety of ways, with technology often playing an important role. ClaroRead and Microsoft’s Immersive Reader are two of the technologies used by some of our dyslexic students but they can also be useful to anyone who would like a break from screen-reading.

Parent Webinars are well received

Following the success of our Parent Webinar series, launched in 2020 during the pandemic, we hosted three events this half-term, covering a variety of topics.

Laura Kleiser, Head of Learning Development and Lead SENDCo, hosted a session on the topic of “A parent’s guide to supporting study skills”. This webinar provided parents with the tools and techniques to support their child in adopting positive and effective study skills. Taking control of studying will benefit pupils not only now, but as lifelong learners.

This was followed by Pete Guille, Head of Third Form, welcoming parents of our newest pupils to learn more about the school and meet each other.

At the other end of the school journey, Middle Sixth Parents were invited by Dr Josh Bradbury, Head of Sixth Form, to learn more about the UCAS university admissions process.

The sessions were interactive: packed full of practical tips, reassuring advice and plenty of time for Q&As. If you would like to view the Study Skills or Third Form webinar, please click the images. For personalised

New option for parents to share their contact details

Following requests from a number of parents and with the support of the PTA, we will publish our first directory of parents’ contact details after the half-term break. This will be available on the Parent Portal under the School Information -> Documents & Files link.

Parents have to explicitly opt-in to sharing their details and which elements they are happy to share (e.g. mobile number, email, etc.). By default and in line with data protection laws, we have to consider that no one has consented to their details being shared unless they opt-in.

To opt-in, please log in to the Parent Portal and select from the top menu Interactive -> Electronic Forms -> then click the ‘Open’ button on the form called ‘Sharing Contact Details with other parents’. You can use this form again if you want to change your preferences at any time.

Anglican Confirmations

We are planning to organise Anglican Confirmation classes for pupils, to be led by the Reverend Lewis Pearson, with a view to holding a Confirmation Service after Easter 2023. A schedule for classes will be published in due course, once we have an idea of the numbers of pupils who wish to take part. If your child you would be interested in undertaking this next stage of their spiritual journey, please email Chris Barnes , Deputy Head (Pastoral).

Girls Rugby team in historic first matches

Our trailblazing Girls Rugby team took part in a Rugby 7s festival at Bishop Wordsworth’s Grammar School. This is the first time in the school’s history that we have fielded a girls’ contact rugby team, and the occasion was well supported with the Head, Director of Sport and rugby coaches in attendance.

Despite facing teams who have played together for much longer, our girls were outstanding throughout. They showed excellent skill and game awareness, with bravery and determination levels that were a sight to behold!

With a festival format, the focus was on enjoyment of the game and building links, rather than competing for a trophy. Nevertheless, we’re proud to say the team scored 11 tries over their three matches and recorded two wins.

It was fantastic to see so many girls enjoying their rugby and we plan to host our own regional tournament soon.

Fantastic start to football

It has been a fantastic season so far on the football pitch. The first XI have enjoyed excellent victories over Kings Bruton, Downside, Stonar and Champion Academy. They have played some very attractive football along the way and have scored 27 goals so far. They have had a couple of losses but have learned from these experiences and bounced back well.

They are an excellent group to work with, as they train extremely hard and put new skills into practice. The team is young, with about eight players still in the Fifth Form, which bodes very well for the future.

The juniors have also started well. The squad has been growing and this is allowing us to play more fixtures. They had a very narrow loss to a strong Sherborne side earlier in the term. There are some very exciting players who we look forward to seeing progress in the coming months.

Sailors compete in national team event

For the first time, our Sailing Team entered the renowned Eric Twiname Championships at Farmoor in Oxfordshire. Racing against youth squad teams and top-level club teams they gained valuable race experience in a team format that they are less used to. It was two days of intense 10-15 minute racing, with 175 races held on Day 1 and 160 on Day 2.

Milton Abbey worked hard and organised themselves to get on and off the water on time, never missing a start sequence. Unfortunately, we were knocked out before the semi-finals, but did win our first race in this format. The team were on the water for 13 hours in total over the two days, showing incredible resilience, determination and teamwork.

Girls Hockey team working hard and coming together as a team

The Girls Senior Hockey team has improved tremendously over this half term. It’s a relatively young side, many new to playing together with new students joining the school this year, combining our strongest players from ages 16 to 18.

The girls have worked hard in training, developing the formation and tactics; such as the attacking press, how to get out of defensive 16-yard hit-outs, as well as patterns of play to work our way up the pitch and into the attack.

We have had several fixtures already and after the half-term break we will take on Clayesmore, Bryanston and Leweston, where we hope to show how our hard work off the field will improve our performance in games.

The season will finish with the ultimate fixture: the annual match against the staff team!

Kobi signs to Exeter City FC academy

Massive congratulations are due to Third Form pupil Kobi C, who was assessed at Exeter City Football Club. Following the trial, he was immediately offered a place in the club’s academy squad and is pictured here signing a contract with Chim Chinnah, their Head of Academy Recruitment.

A royal audience for Maria

Fourth Former Maria S had an audience with the King of Spain after writing a fabulous speech for a national competition responding to the question “What is a King for You?”

Maria memorised her speech, and performed it in front of the King of Spain and more than 100 people at the Royal Palace of El Pardo in Madrid. She did incredibly well, overcoming her nerves to speak clearly for the audience, ensuring she looked at them and maintained eye contact with His Majesty throughout.

She was delighted to be applauded and congratulated by the King, who commended her speech on several occasions.

Pupils plan future menus

The Food Committee was held in the last week of half term, giving a group of pupils the opportunity to air their views (and those gathered from peers) and share suggestions for future menus with Tracey Edwards, Head of Operations, and Pete Wateridge, Holroyd Howe’s Regional Development Chef.

It was a really positive meeting. The pupils shared thoughtful comments and useful ideas that will help steer the new menus launched straight after the half term break. A further Food Committee is planned towards the end of the term to review the new menu, and to offer further opportunities for more pupils to share their ideas and feedback to help shape all aspects of school catering.

UNICEF Rights pledge

We have recently signed up to be a UNICEF Rights Respecting School and our pupils - led by the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Committee - have begun the process of earning our accreditation.

Over 1.6 million children in the UK go to a Rights Respecting School and nearly 5,000 schools up and down the country are working through The Award.

This initiative places heavy emphasis on pupil voice and we are confident our pupils will grow and develop through the wide range of opportunities The Award offers. They are already showing commitment to learning about their rights and how to exercise them and feel valued, we look forward to feeding back on this initiative.

CAPABILITY SERVICE

On the last day of half-term, we held our Capability Service to formally welcome new pupils who have enrolled at Milton Abbey this year.

Parents joined us to mark this special moment, with their children’s names proudly displayed in the Book of Registration they have recently signed with the Head. Students played a big part in the service, with a performance from the newly-formed Third Form Choir, readings from our Student Leadership Team and an organ recital by Alex M.

New pupils were piped from the Abbey through a guard of honour formed by their parents, teachers and other students.

Harvest Festival on the School Farm

For Harvest Festival last Sunday, we took our Chapel Service outside to the School Farm. It was a very special experience and a reminder that we have lots to be grateful for. Thank you to the students and staff who helped set it up and those who contributed to the service.

Climbing Club

The Climbing Club had a brilliant trip to the Jurassic Ridge climbing centre in Bridport.

The world-class venue - which opened earlier this year - was designed by the same company who created the first Olympic climbing course, featuring multiple routes per section, a combination of manual and auto-belay walls, and great equipment.

It was very popular with our students and we’ll be making a return visit. Thanks to Lexi P for taking these photos.

Beach Motocross

One of the more unusual weekend activities this half term was visiting Weymouth to watch the Beach Motocross event. It’s the first time we’d been to this event, but was so popular we’re planning future motorsports outings.

WEEKEND & HOUSE

Hot on the heels of the Sixth Form event featured in the last View from the Abbey , the Third, Fourth and Fifth Forms have now held their own formal dinner and dance socials too. After a lovely three-course meal, pupils had opportunity to play games, use the photo booth and props, as well as enjoy the disco. They thoroughly enjoyed the events.

A special mention for one of our most unusual activities goes to Athelstan House, who played a round of glow in the dark golf to celebrate the birthday of one of their students. A great game was had and students enjoyed working on their golf skills in a very different environment to usual!

LEARN

Poetry Competition for the half-term