View from the Abbey | Friday 5 May 2023

VIEW FROM THE ABBEY

Friday 5 May 2023

The summer is certainly shaping up, with that most British of combinations of sunshine peppered with intense showers: weather that seems a metaphor for the summer term itself, with the students out enjoying cricket, tennis, cycles through the countryside, and trips to the coast, alongside the inevitable arrival of exams and the completion of BTEC courses.

The Fifth Form and Middle Sixth have made a great start to their external exams and BTEC assessments. The Sports Hall has hosted the first written exams of the season and hush has descended on the Art and Photography studios, DT and Fashion workshops, and the Creative Media Suite, as students work hard on their final BTEC assignments. The focus for all is securing what they will need for the next steps, whether that be transition into the Sixth Form to pursue their passion, or heading out to life after school, whether that be university, apprenticeships, or travels around the world.

I’m pleased to say students have approached these assessments with maturity and focus, but overwhelmingly and thankfully without significant anxiety, benefiting from support both

at school and at home. There is also the pleasing sense of culmination and completion for many, as they bring the efforts and learning of the past years to a conclusion and get to see what they are really capable of.

Education inevitably moves outside the bounds of the classroom, especially at this time of year, and the pupils have enjoyed our annual visit from Franco Manca pizza chefs, who pick wild garlic in our grounds, the arrival of lambs on the School Farm, co-curricular activities such as Ten Tors, and trips to events such as the Winchester University UCAS Discovery Day.

We were also excited to learn that we have been short-listed as ‘Boarding School of the Year’ in the prestigious Tes (Times’ Educational Supplement) Annual Awards.

MA often feels at its best in summer, with an added energy provided by occasions such as the recent Dorset County Cricket match held on our idyllic cricket square, and as ever, we would love to share this energy with you at the various milestone events open to parents this term.

Dr Josh Bradbury | Assistant Head (Head of Sixth Form)

Students watch Dorset take on Cornwall as the school hosts its first NCCA T20 game

Garlic-picking

with the pizza maestros

Earlier this term we welcomed our friends from Franco Manca for their annual wild garlic picking session.

Chefs from their restaurants across the area collected moderate amounts of the abundant wild garlic growing on the school grounds, which they will use to create fresh pesto.

As part of the visit, our Hospitality students were also treated to a masterclass in pizza-making and learnt about the restaurant’s business model.

Thank you to Photography pupil Wilf W for these photos of the afternoon.

Leonie Monaghan | Head of Hospitality

Exploring the art market

Critical and Contextual Studies A-Level student Kay has self-published a book of interviews, undertaken for her final assignment investigating the art market. She spoke to leading industry professionals to gain insight into topics including how to build an art collection and how to identify new and emerging artists.

Subject teachers Mr Lynn and Mrs Shawe-Taylor said: “Kay has designed the book from the ground up, producing a tome of outstanding quality that provides detailed insights into the world of art, which at times can be very hard to access. She has already received requests to purchase a copy the book.”

Check access to our online portals

Now is the perfect time to check you have access to our Parent Portal and that your child can log-on to the Pupil Portal using their usual Milton Abbey username and password.

The site now shows awards, commendations and any disciplinary matters (you can set up an email alert for each), alongside upcoming lessons, sports and activities, and any external exams they’re taking.

For pupils in exam years, it’s vital you and your child get used to the sites and check they are correctly showing any assessments your child is entered for, as the Portals will be the only way to receive exam results on the day they are released in the summer holidays.

Introducing our new Independent Listener

Welcome to Justin Potter, the school’s new Independent Listener, who joins the wider Pastoral and Safeguarding team this term. Justin brings his empathic and reassuring character to the role, alongside his experience as an EAL teacher working with pupils in boarding environments from across the world.

If pupils want to speak to someone outside of the school, about anything that is worrying them, they can speak in confidence to Justin. His telephone number (07747 600548) is displayed prominently in every boarding house.

COMMENDATION HIGHLIGHTS

Toby C | Lower Sixth

Harry M | Fourth Form Enrik S | Middle Sixth

Matt T | Middle Sixth

We commend these four students for their continued exceptional contributions to the Music Department. This includes being founding members of the school’s new ‘House Band’, which delivered a fantastic first performance together during the Variety Show.

Alixe worked hard over Easter to complete her Psychology work to a very high standard. She has really improved her writing style this year, listening to feedback and showing resilience.

Mrs Hall’s Fourth Form English Class have received group recognition for the excellent way they engaged in a project to write original stories using summarisation and redrafting skills.

In particular Olivia B , Sol B , Onch B-E , Gio M and Harrison S are commended for being short-listed in a short-story competition, which will see their stories published in a book that is distributed to schools nationally.

Jacob shows dedication and focus in his Psychology studies, even requesting to sit an extra two-hour mock exam to help prepare for his external assessments.

Last chance tickets: Parents’ Summer Ball

We have a small number of tickets remaining for our Parents’ Summer Ball on Thursday 25 May . Please respond quickly to the email invitation or contact the Head’s PA Cathrin Wurst if you have lost this.

We’ll be keeping your children entertained - and can drive you to and from your accommodation - so that you can let your hair down, dance the night away, take part in our charity auction, and make the most of complimentary food and drinks being served all night.

Jacob S | Middle Sixth

Alixe VG | Lower Sixth

Our First XI footballers had a nail-bitingly close semi-final against Cokethorpe School in the Society of Heads’ Cup, supported by friends from across the school who had finished the Round Square Wednesday activities.

Coming back from 2-0 down, goals from Oscar F and Antoine S levelled the score as the second half started. With 20 minutes to go, Ollie H took a textbook penalty after being tripped in the box, taking MA into the lead.

Both teams showed commitment and resilience throughout, with Cokethorpe taking an attacking approach in an attempt to try and level the scores. Strong defence from the MA boys and confident keeping from Tom M kept them at bay, but the game was poised until the final whistle blew.

They head to Market Harborough FC on Wednesday 10 May to face Langley School in the final of this national competition.

Our competitive fixtures for the term started away to Stonar for Girls’ Tennis and Boys’ U15 Cricket. Special mention goes to Charlotte G and Anna-Lou G-H, who enthusiastically represented the school in this fixture having only just joined us for their short-term experience.

Parents are warmly welcomed to watch matches at school. To view upcoming fixtures and results (and to check for any changes before travelling) visit www.ma-sport.co.uk .

Since then, we’ve also had fixtures in Golf and Sailing, with other pupils enjoying the surroundings during Athletics, Road and Mountain Biking.

International students visit stunning coast

This term, we are delighted to have welcomed a small group of short-term international students, as part of our Summer Term Experience Programme and also a student on exchange

Students tackle challenging Ten Tors

weekend

Six students - Sol, Annabel, Archie, Lee, Lottie and Euanmade up the Milton Abbey Ten Tors Team, aiming to complete 45 miles of hiking and ascent the ten tors over two days.

The challenge began with an early wake-up call of Chariots of Fire at 5am on Saturday. This alone was not for the fate hearted!

Once breakfasted, the team gathered with around 400 other teams (an impressive sight of more than 2,000 young people)

as part of our membership of the Round Square network of schools.

The students are fully immersed in the Milton Abbey experience: joining lessons, playing sports alongside their new friends, and enjoying our full boarding offering. As part of the programme, they also experience cultural aspects of life in Britain.

on the side of a hill outside Okehampton Camp.

They made a valiant effort, walking 27 miles and climbing half the tors in the first day, despite miserable weather and poor visibility.

Unfortunately though, due to injury, the team had to pull out on Sunday morning.

Nevertheless, all the students are congratulated for their resilience and sustained effort.

They have all benefited from such a challenging experience, knew that completion wasn’t guaranteed, and some have already asked to sign-up again for next year’s challenge.

This week, the students visited some of Dorset’s stunning UNESCO World Heritage coastline, including the iconic Durdle Door and quaint fishing village of Lulworth Cove.

Thankfully the infamous British rain held off for most of the trip, and the students had a great day including lunch in a traditional British pub.

CREATIVE SHOWCASE

There were scary (and surprising) sights around school, as the Third Form Creative Media pupils made their dinosaur-themed survival film. After spending the first few weeks of term studying different locations, shot composition and single-camera planning techniques, they made best of the sunny weather to shoot this dramatic chase scene. They used costumes this day, but have also learnt how the effects could be created digitally during editing. We’ll share their final film on social media later this term.

GCSE photographers and students on our Summer Term Experience Programme have really enjoyed the start to their ‘Levitation’ unit of work. This exciting module combines technical photography skills and location shooting, with creative thinking and the use of photo manipulation software to create a simulated levitation effect.

Return from Exeat:

Boarders: Monday 8 May from 17:00-21:00

(supper served 18:00-19:00) Day pupils: Tuesday 9 May 08:35 for tutor groups

Follow us: miltonabbeyschool | MiltonAbbey | miltonabbey