ISSUE 6
Easter 2015
High School Musical...
...Cedar Life Lessons PSHE & World Book Day...
...Young Enterprise & Science Trip to Berlin... Sports Sponsorship... ...and a whole lot more
HEADS Review
Spring News
from the Shrewsbury Academies Trust
Whilst the spring term is generally a short one it is always a very busy one within school as our Year 11 students work tirelessly towards their external exams in the summer. I am pleased to say that forecasts at The Grange School for current Year 11 GCSE performance this summer is looking very positive. We are hoping to see a better headline figure than last year’s record breaking results of 47% of students gaining at least five or more GCSEs at grade C or above. Very well done to all the students, teachers and support staff who are working so hard to make sure this takes place in the summer. Our fingers are crossed for another record breaking summer! As you are all aware in May 2014 the Board of the Shrewsbury Academies Trust shared their new vision for the future of secondary education in the North Shrewsbury area. You may be aware that the list of successful schools for the Priority School Building Programme 2 was announced recently and unfortunately we were unsuccessful on this occasion. This is very disappointing; however, we have other methods and other plans that can be looked into to ensure that we have the single site school in North Shrewsbury that we are all working towards.” As you are aware, given the current financial circumstances relating to all schools and The Grange School in particular, it has been agreed that a desirable interim step of moving towards the bigger vision in a new building should be to create one school sharing the current facilities ie a split site school. Consultation started on 29th January 2015 with Local Governing Bodies and will continue for a period of 7 weeks involving staff, parents, students and the wider community. Parent Consultation Meetings have been undertaken in local schools and we do hope that you have had the opportunity to attend one of these and also to complete our Stakeholder Feedback Form as your views and opinions are important to us. Our main objective is to minimise disruption to students, parents and staff in order to maximise support from all our stakeholders and to maximise educational outcomes for students. I will of course keep you updated on the consultation process as it unfolds and develops. Grange Primary School was visited by Ofsted Inspectors in January 2015 where they recognised that the school was showing higher standards than last year’s inspection. Comments from the Inspectors were extremely positive and they recognised that the school has shown marked improvement at a good rate. The school was rated good for leadership and management, as well as safety and behaviour of pupils. This is a massive step forward for Grange Primary and I have no doubt that future Ofsted reports will continue to evidence real improvement as Grange Primary move towards being an outstanding school. The Shrewsbury Academies Trust is very pleased to welcome Mr David Edwards who will be joining the Trust as Chief Finance Officer with effect from Monday 9th March 2015. David will be based at our Head Office on the Mount Pleasant Road.
Geoff Pettengell Principal - Shrewsbury Academies Trust
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Dear Parents, Carers, Students & Supporters These pages reveal the heart and soul of our School. It’s not simply a bulletin or list The Grange Review is simply the best School Newsletter that I have come across in my career. It reflects the very best of what we do here. In the Worcester Road reception we have a portfolio of all of the letters, emails and copies of the press coverage that we receive. When you look at the portfolio and the Grange Review together it is astonishing how much goes on here and how much is captured, those special moments are not lost. Visitors continually comment on how calm and quiet the atmosphere is at the Grange and they are always impressed.
This has been a hectic term with many events and announcements. You have all been involved in the consultation about the future of the School and I hope that you have taken a full and active part in this democratic process. Indeed; we are on the eve of a General Election and inevitably the media covers those who are disengaged from politics. I was watching some TV coverage recently and there were some interviews about elections and those who don’t vote, the point being made was that democracy exists in this country one day every five years. With respect to that view that’s not quite following our modern definition of democracy as elections are only one part of the process. We all have the right to speak and be heard. This consultation will arrive at a conclusion where all of the views expressed will be taken into account and whilst there won’t be an overall vote; all stakeholders have expressed their feelings. The benefits of this process was made very clear to me when I observed Year 10 engaging in a well thought out debate in English, as part of their Controlled Assessment. I was really impressed by the maturity of the thinking behind what was being expressed both verbally and in writing. In addition the manner of the debate was as impressive as the points being made. This is democracy and whether one view prevails over another is less important than taking part. The recent Scots referendum and those Year 10 Students at Grange show us that to be case. Year 11 students are nearly ready for their exams and we wish them all the very best of luck. I am hopeful that this year they will be our record breakers.
Rob Hatch Headteacher
Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra On Sunday 8th March 7 Year 10 GCSE Music students attended Theatre Severn to watch a programme of music performed by the Birmingham Philharmonic Orchestra. The programme consisted of Brahms’ Concerto for Violin and Violincello and Holst’s Planets Suite. GCSE Music students study a broad range of genres within their two year course, and as part of this, they learn how the orchestra developed and changed from the Baroque era to the modern day. The orchestral concert provided students with a fantastic opportunity to extend their learning beyond the classroom, and experience the wonderful sounds and atmosphere created from performances of live music.
Mrs Bradburn Head of Arts
Quotes from Students “It was very educational and I enjoyed the atmosphere” Alix Davidson 10JCT
“It was really interesting to see the orchestra in person. Also hearing them live was just amazing.”
The Grange School students recently presented their fantastic production of Disney’s High School Musical. This production is the latest in a long line of successful Grange shows such as Fame, Grease, Alice in Wonderland, We Will Rock You, Our Day Out and Wizard of Oz. Auditions for our leading roles were held way back in September, where students were asked to prepare a short drama piece and to sing a verse and chorus from a song. Many students auditioned and impressed the Arts staff with their talents. It is always wonderful to see so many students enthusiastic and eager to participate in extra- curricular activities, and this year was no exception. We were also delighted to see some new and fresh faces at auditions, many of whom successfully gained leading roles in High School Musical. Singing, dancing and acting rehearsals began after half term, bringing together students from all year groups. The cast of High School Musical worked very hard in preparing a small section of the show in readiness for the Christmas Concert in 2014. This was received very well by the audience and helped to boost confidence amongst the students. A gruelling rehearsal schedule continued after Christmas seeing students and staff willingly giving up their free time at break times, lunchtimes, after school and even at weekends. It was worth it! The 67-strong cast members performed to 160 Primary school pupils on Tuesday 10th in a very confident and enjoyable matinee performance. This was then followed by two fantastic evening performances on Wednesday 12th and Thursday 13th March to full audiences.
ARTS Review
High School Musical
Grace Davies-Friend 10KDO
“It helped me understand Classical music a lot more” Gemma Phillips 10JCT There are many people involved behind the scenes. A number of students have given up their own time to help with making costumes, props and painting scenery, and others have offered help backstage at the performances. Staff at the Grange School have also spent a great amount of time measuring students, making and ordering costumes, and ordering and installing equipment. A big thank you to all staff who have been involved in this year’s production. Congratulations to all students involved in High School Musical. We are very proud of all of you. Here’s to the next one! What will it be?
Mrs Bradburn, & Miss Williams
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EVENTS Review
PSHE
Cedar Life Lessons On the 10th, 11th and 12th November 2014 eight students participated in the unique pilot programme in Death Education with Cedar CIC, called Life lessons. This project was sponsored by the NHS Shropshire CCG Young Health Champion Scheme, the Police Commissioner of West Mercia and Cedar CIC. This 3 day intensive programme put students through their paces in order to tackle the very difficult topics death, dying and loss from a range of perspectives that included Anthropology, mythology, temporality, world religion, sociology, biology and the natural world. On day 3 students were able to work with birds of prey. This course was a pilot scheme project created and taught by Thanatologist Dr Judith Wester and Nicky Kent of Feather Perfect Falconry CIC. Dr Wester made this statement about our students:“I have huge admiration for these young people who were willing to face their own fears around the topics of death, loss and remembrance and recognise their own concerns. Losing a loved one is one of the hardest things a person can endure in life; their willingness to come to the class says a lot of their level of bravery. I thank them all for letting me be their guide.”
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Students enjoyed this course and found it really beneficial:-
“It was fun, emotional and tiring” “It was a great experience which has helped me understand and speak more openly to people about the loss of my dad” “It was useful; it has helped me for definite, thank you” “I was able to talk about my mum” “I learnt new ways to get the bad and sad things out of me” We would like to express how proud we are of our students facing a difficult topic, engaging and expressing emotions. Well done to you all.
Mrs Howells & Mrs Yapp Pastoral Support
PSHE in both Key Stage 3 and 4 has involved a number of visits from outside speakers. This has included the Magistrates, Malcolm Farrer from Shropshire Road Safety, the local Police, P.C Andy Hawkins and CSO Mark Barnes, the schools Shropshire Youth Advisor, Sam Knox-Allman, the National Citizens Services NCS and Barclays Bank. Students have given their feedback with regards to these visits. Mrs N. Higgins PSHE
The Magistrate Visit On Wednesday 13th December we had three Magistrates visit our form, they talked to us about who they were and what Magistrates did. They told us that they deal with local criminal cases in their community, they don’t need any form of qualifications and that they are unpaid people from the local community from a wide variety of backgrounds. Then about 5 - 6 chosen people (including me) read out a script of a court scene about a young girl called Chris Oliver. It was about how she kicked the glass down in Boots the Chemists and how she was drunk and disorderly. Finally we decided if Chris Oliver was guilty or not, we concluded that she was guilty of what she did and she was given the charges of community service. We had this visit as part of our “Being a good citizen” topic in PSHE. Ashley Davies 9NJH
• Ski Trip
Saturday 28th March - 5th April
GENERAL Review
Useful Dates for Parents/Students
• Year 10 Mock Examinations Monday 13th April - Friday 17th April
• Year 10 Parent’s Evening Thursday 21st May (4 – 7 pm)
• Parent Forum
Thursday 18th June ( 6.00 pm)
• Year 10 Work Experience Monday 22nd – Friday 26th June
Road Safety
On Wednesday 14th January a man called Malcolm Farrer taught Form 7CEA about road safety. He was talking about how it is dangerous to listen to music, text or not play attention to traffic. If you wear dark clothes it is harder for you to be seen by cars. He said that if you are wearing or have something bright/hi-visibility driver will spot you more easily. An interesting fact Malcolm told us was it is safer to travel by air than any other transport. I found the presentation very interesting. Erin Gwilliams 7CEA “Danger from traffic is also a big factor in whether children and young people are able to walk and cycle to school, to the park or to see friends, and therefore their ability to be healthy and socially active”. Gemma Rogers 7CEA “Don’t’ get distracted on the road! Stop, Look, Listen! Be safe on the road!” Elisha Jones 7NAT “We were shown some clips of the consequences speeding can do and the following week we watched a video about how a bunch of young adults that were involved in a car accident and they said what injuries they had suffered. I learnt a lot from this and it certainly made me aware of the road”. Tom King 10KDO
Police Visit
In one of our recent tutor period lessons two policemen came into our form to talk about drugs and alcohol. To start with they talked through the types of drugs. They then informed us on the risks of taking different types of drugs and how they make you feel and they also brought a drugs box in to show us what they look like. They then went on to talk about alcohol and the risk of drinking too much can have on your body. Aleisha Hughes 10KDO
National Citizen Initiative Programme
Students in Year 11 as part of their PSHE programme have had a number of visitors to support their learning post 16. The programme helps give post-Secondary School Students a chance at expanding their knowledge of the world they are soon to face. They believe that team building exercises and facing physical challenges as a group help to build mental confidence. The course is nationally recognised by most universities and participants will receive a certificate signed by the Prime Minister himself. Joshua Williams 11JEE
Barclay’s Bank Visitors
On Wednesday 11th February, we had 6 members from Barclays Bank come in and talk to us about our pay slips, tax and bonuses. This made us understand what is included on our pay slips and what we would do with them once we got them. The Barclays Bank visitors were extremely helpful and we learnt a great deal. I now know what to do with all my pay slips and why it’s so important to understand what everything means. Lauren James 11EJO
• Year 11 Prom Thursday 25th June
• Summer Show
Matinee Performance - 1st July Evening Performance - 2nd July
• Sports Day hosted by Stuart Dunn Tuesday 7th July
• Year 7 Parent’s Evening Thursday 9th July (4 – 7pm)
• Reserve Sports Day Friday 10th July
• Activities Week
Monday 13th July - Thursday 16th July
• Year 7 Menai Trip
Monday 13th July – Wednesday 15th July
• School Term Ends Thursday 16th July 2015 at 1.30 pm
The Grange School would like to give a very warm welcome to our 2 new Parent Governors:
Dave Hammond and Cath Dawling
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GENERAL Review
Attend Examination Invigilator Job Description Post: Grade of post: Responsible to: Working Pattern:
Examination Invigilator 2 (pt. 7) £6.69 per hour Exam Officer Casual basis
For further information and an application please contact John McCarthy. Email: j.mccarthy@sundorne.sat.coop Telephone: (01743) 276 700 Web site: thegrangeschool.info (vacancies tab in the menu)
SUMMER TERM HOLIDAY DATES 2015 Monday 13th April 2015 Term starts for students Monday 4th May 2015 Bank Holiday Monday 25th May – Friday 29th May 2015 Half Term Monday 1st June 2015 Return to school Thursday 16th July 2015 Term ends for students
School Office 8.00 am – 4.00 pm Tel: 01743 445493
To report a student absence contact the School Office between
8.00am – 9.00am 6
Student Council
We have raised really important and creative ideas in the past term in our Student Council meetings. Throughout the term, we’ve had a visit from people representing Shropshire Council. They have brought up a really enthusiastic project about making things happen around the Grange community with the help of the students from our school. This project is underway and we are really excited about the outcomes of it. Recently, we’ve also had a visit from Mr. Pettengell regarding the merger between Grange and Sundorne. In our meeting Mr. Pettengell has kindly answered our questions about the future school. I believe it’s been a pretty good experience because most of the people in our school have a vague idea about this merger and the Principal’s visit has made things clearer for us and therefore we were able to pass on the right information to our peers. Vlad Balan 10JCT Student Council Rep
We are now almost at the Easter Break and we have suffered, as have most schools across the town, with reduced attendance over the winter period. This unfortunately caused a sharp drop in attendance figures . Although we have maintained the levels of last year , up to February half term, we have lost the gains we made in the first term with overall attendance. The recent ‘Flash week’ on attendance should, hopefully, kick start us back in the right direction. I am delighted to say that the level of students with persistent absence(less than 85%) has continued to fall thanks to the dedication of our Attendance Officer, our Pastoral Team and our Education Welfare Officer. However, without the support of the parents/carers of these students, who work with us, this would not be possible. Our thanks go out to you for continuing to take the phone calls and meetings which improve your child’s attendance and therefore their life chances. We have recently had an attendance ‘Flash Week’ and this identified 259 students with 100% for the week beginning 23.02.15. Vivos are awarded to all students on a daily basis for attendance and punctuality and additional ones have been awarded following our attendance spot check.
Tutor group
% Attendance
7CEA 7NAT 8VLR 8CRW 9VLB 9SJR 9NJH 10KDO 10JEM 10 JTC 11MJS 11EJO 11JEE 11RTO
96.40 95.98 94.96 93.17 93.28 96.41 93.74 94.21 94.87 94.50 91.92 93.34 94.71 92.69
CHAT
Tuesday Lunchtime Workshops in Lower School Canteen and 1-2-1 Sessions in PLC by Appointment Only CHAT – Confidential Help and Advice for Teenagers is a service students can access at anytime during the school day, whether it’s about general concerns, health issues, advice or support. Students can request to see one of the following through the CHAT team – Family Support Worker, School Nurse, Connexions Worker and Youth Service.
Persistent absence (students attending for less than 85% of the time) is also down by 0.7% on this time last year. Another big move in the right direction. ‘Lates’ are a big focus this year as a large number of students are still arriving after 8.45am. During our attendance week Year 11 were found to be the main culprits - come on Year 11, you should be setting the example for the rest.
Behaviour & Safety
Behaviour has this year seen further progress with less disruption and many more students engaging well during their lessons. The result is a dramatic drop of 46% in the number of fixed term exclusions over the autumn term. Students should be congratulated for maintaining the high standards set at the start of the year. Keep it up!
Uniform & equipment Uniform has been a real success this year with fewer students being pulled up for ‘trying their luck’. Many, many thanks to parents and carers for ensuring students have a clean, smart appearance. It is something that visitors to the school have been very complementary about. We now approach exam season and thought this would be a good opportunity to remind them that the equipment list we provide them with termly NEEDS to be present for each examination. We do not provide this equipment as a matter of course, so if students are struggling to provide some items they must inform Mrs Lock.
Mrs L S Ward Assistant Head
2x PENS 2x PENCILS RUBBER RULER SHARPENER MATH SET CALCULATOR
FACULTY Review
dance
Technology Vocational Learning
Katie Morris 11 MJS, Ellesse Warren 11 JEE, Vanessa Roberts & Sarah Killeen Staff, Bridey Jennings 11 EJO, Ellie Heath 11 JEE & Jemma Woodman 11 JEE
Hair & Beauty
If a student wishes to access a service which is not available on site the CHAT team will make an appointment with the appropriate service. This is a confidential service and students should contact Mrs Perkins, CHAT Coordinator or leave a message in the post box which will appear in the near future.
Thank you to Sarah Kileen, fashion and textiles department at SCAT, for her support in teaching the Year 11 H&B students how to make 1950’s inspired skirts. The experience for the students has been fantastic. They took the challenge with great enthusiasm, adapted to using an electric sewing machine and managed to cut the fabric to pattern and sew the material using the over locker for security on the stitching. This supports their final project within the City & Guilds Introduction to the Hair & Beauty Sector. The students have researched fashion, hair, make up and lifestyles within the 1950’s. They are then recreating their chosen look, which will be assessed and graded pass, merit or distinction. Good luck to the Year 11’s on this final piece.
Mrs Perkins CHAT Co-ordinator
Mrs V. Roberts Head of Faculty Technology & Vocational
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FACULTY Review
Design & Technology Year 9 Students have completed their Clock designs and are now designing a board game. This will include all packaging and game board and cards and instructions. Some of the Clock designs were very clever and demonstrated a good appreciation of design. Year 9 students are now in the process of making choices for their GCSE subjects. Any questions then please contact me at the school. Year 11 Students are beginning to assemble their designs they have been working on over the past year. The date for everything to be handed in is April 21st/22nd. Remember to complete all Design folder work. Year 10 Students have been working on a mini GCSE project where they have had to design and make a Spice rack that could be easily manufactured in large quantities. They are presently designing the packaging for their designs which will conclude the mini GCSE project and prepare them for the start of their major design project.
Year 11 Year 7 have just finished working on their Wooden Robot’s which is a fun skills based project. There are some great designs but more importantly the students have learnt a lot of the basic skills required to aid their future projects and further develop their knowledge and understanding. Year 8 have been working on their wooden boxes which are nearing completion. These will hopefully be completed to the standard they deserve over the coming half term.
Vehicle Technology Technology Vocational Learning
Year 11 Food Technology students are busy completing their controlled assessment which carries 60% of their final GCSE grade. Over the last few months students have been preparing and cooking dishes which answer the following design brief – ‘Design and make a product that uses ingredients from the local area which could be sold a farmer’s market or farm shop’. A range of delicious dishes have been created to test the students creative skills in short crust pastry, gelatine cookery, yeast cookery, choux pastry, sauce making and cake making. The use of time saving equipment has also been encouraged such as the food processor, microwave, liquidiser and electric whisk. However, the heat is now truly turned up in the kitchen because the deadline date is the 25th March 2015. I wish all the students will in the completion of their work.
Mrs N. Higgins Food Technology
This term we have been doing certain jobs for staff to help the motor vehicle students gain experience from “the real working environment” The students have been involved in removing and re-fitting the rear section of an exhaust system. Fitting new disc brake pads and vented discs. Carrying out service and maintenance procedures, including changing engine oil and filter, changing spark plugs and air filter, checking levels and adjusting tyre pressures. Some of the staff who have praised the students for their hard work and dedication are: Mrs V. Roberts, Miss J. Stubbs and Miss N. Atkin. We hope to continue with this to help enhance the students learning experience.
Since September, I have learnt a lot in Food Technology. We started by learning the importance of food hygiene and safety and kitchen utensils. In our first practical we used our newly learnt bridge and claw cut techniques to make a fruit salad. Next, after learning about the oven and hob we made pizza and either curry or Bolognese. Then we made small cakes to learn the importance of weighing and measuring accurately. After Christmas we made sweet or savoury muffins. Our next practical was scone making and we used the same scone recipe to make scone based pizza. I have enjoyed Food Technology so far and my favourite practical was the pizza because it was fun to make and tasted delicious!
Mr. P. Lane Vehicle Technology
Sioned Hughes 7CEA
Motor vehicle students gain experience from working on staff vehicles
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Food Technology
For the past few months, a team of 13 year 10 students have been working hard to set up their own company. The products are then to be sold at 3 trade fairs in Shrewsbury and Telford.
At first there was much deliberation regarding the product that we would sell. However we quickly decided that it would be technology based. After some inspiration from Mrs Hansen, we decided on a phone beanbag which was entirely handmade and produced from recycled materials. The beanbags have the ability to hold up your phone or tablet, leaving your hands free. We are selling them for £3 for phone sized and £4 for tablet sized.
Maya Carswell Managing Director Well done to the Grange’s Young Enterprise Company Programme team who attended their first trade fair at the Darwin Shopping Centre. They were a credit to the school and spoke politely and respectfully to the general public, Young Enterprise Staff, MP Daniel Kawczynski, Mayor Beverley Baker and ex Mayor, Cllr Jon Tandy. The products made are taking time and dedication, which the students are fully committed to. Weekly meetings take place and they use their own time to manufacture and produce the items they are producing to sell at the trade fairs. They have 3 more fairs to attend at both Shrewsbury and Telford.
English World Book Day Thursday 5th March 2015 On the 5th March 2015 we had World Book Day, The Great Grange Book Swap and it was really fun. Students were allowed to come dressed up as their favourite character from either a book, film or television programme. Miss Ward the Library and Intervention Manager ran the whole day from start to finish. The day was a success as the staff dressed up too even Mr Hatch came as James Bond and Miss Ward as Lady Macbeth. At break and lunch, there was a book swap and students and staff could exchange books. At the end of the day everybody in costume gathered in the gym for a photo to find out who won best costume. The KS3 winner was Phoebe Tucker, Year 9 who came dressed as a teletubby, KS4 winner was Luke Manders, Year 10, who was Buzz Lightyear. The best dressed staff was awarded to Mrs Roberts who was The Stig. Overall the day was really great. To see all the characters brought the whole reading process to life.
Nicole Brown 10JEM
The Great Grange Book Swap
SUBJECTS Review
Young Enterprise
Students and staff were asked to dress up as a character from their favourite book, TV or film to celebrate this year’s World Book Day. The purpose of the event was to highlight the joys of reading and encourage students to explore the pleasure of books. Rather than donate money students and staff were asked to bring in a book from home that they no longer wanted and swap it at “The Great Grange Book Swap”. The hall was opened at break and lunchtime for students and staff to come along and choose a book to take home, read and keep. The event was a great success and was supported by students and staff alike. Over twenty students volunteered to help organise the book swap, create posters and run the book swap on the day.
Miss Ward LRC
Geography
This term students in Year 7 have been working on the topics of Settlement and Economic Activity. As part of their work on settlement students investigated why the early sites for settlements were chosen and how settlements grow and change over time. Also they have studied different types of industry including farming. Students are aware of why sites were chosen for different industries and also how different types of job can affect the wealth of an area. This term sees students working on a study of the USA.
Thank you to Miss Miller, textiles teacher at Sundorne, and Mrs Hansen from the Grange, for supporting the students in the making of the items.
Year 8 have studied the topics of Population and Development - investigating why some parts of the world are crowded with people whilst other areas are virtually empty of people. Our work on Development had the focus of the causes of Poverty and what can be done to develop a better quality of life for other people. This term students are working on a study of China - a key element in the new National Curriculum.
Mrs V. Roberts Head of Faculty Technology & Vocational Mr. Hatch & Nathan Organ, 8CRW dressed as James Bond
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SUBJECTS Review
Year 9 are working on the topic of global environmental issues. This involves looking at big issues such as global warming but also more local issues such as food miles and our own global footprints. Following on from this year 9 will complete work on China; Tourism and Brazil. Year 10 are working on the Restless Earth topic. This is a popular topic and involves looking at the causes of both earthquakes and volcanoes and also how people and places respond to the effects of earthquakes and volcanoes. An interesting investigation is to see how both rich and poorer countries respond to the impact of natural hazards. Not all countries respond or are able to respond in the same way. Currently we are studying the possible impact of an super volcano eruption at Yellowstone National Park. Year 11 have just completed their second mock GCSE exams. They have completed their work on the topic of rivers and are now studying the topic of The Development Gap—the final topic for the GCSE exams. As well as this Year 11 are spending a lot of time revising and preparing for the summer exams. There are revision sessions after school every Thursday to help students with their revision and exam preparation.
Mr. R. Thomas Head of Faculty - Humanities
Religious Education
Year 7 students have been exploring the reliability of the Old Testament stories. They have been analysing different forms of evidence against popular Biblical stories to create their own idea of the truth! Year 8 students have spent this term looking at Judaism. They have looked at rules, identity, symbols, food and Anne Frank and life in Nazi Germany. Year 9 students have been exploring Life After Death. They have analysed the power of Media in our understanding of the soul, religious beliefs about life after death, and the Paranormal. Year 10 students have been looking at Crime and Punishment, spending time evaluating justice, punishments and the death penalty. Year 11 students have been focusing on their revision technique and exam practise, in preparation for their GCSE exams on the 11th & 15th May. I wish all my Year 11 students the best of luck in their exams.
Mrs C. Adams Religious Education
MFL
What a busy term this has been! We’ve been covering some really exciting topics in Key Stage 3. Year 8 students have been on a tour of the food highlights of French cuisine (this has included a taster session where we sampled the delights of a French breakfast – croissants, pains au chocolat and brioche) whilst in Year 7 we’ve begun to talk about life in a French school and the differences between the two countries of which there are many, including the popular idea of not wearing school uniform! Year 9 will soon take a little time away from language to examine the region of Normandy and its culture.
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This will also involve a short study of D-Day and the Normandy landings which celebrated the 70th anniversary last Summer, a moving yet compelling element of modern French history. Key stage 4 have been equally busy with mock exam preparation and looking at exam and more particularly technical details of language that are so vital to accurate written and spoken language. All controlled assessment work is now complete for Year 11 and the speaking exams are looming! Bon courage mes amis! Joyeuses Paques – Happy Easter!
the majority of this is after school and Connor is showing his commitment to this project to improve with services Provisions and Support for Youths in Shropshire. There are a number of KS3 students that are currently on a AAA mentoring booklet at present. This has been set up to improve their attitude, application and attainment in lessons. It has already been running for half a term and 5 Year 9 students achieved success and improved so they are now achieving more in lessons. This system has had some impact but it will continue to support students with their learning.
Mrs J. Lock Head of MFL
Miss R Evans KS3 Progress Manager
Maths
KS4
In February, 14 students across Year 9 and 10 took part in the UK Intermediate Mathematical Challenge. The Challenge is an opportunity for students to showcase their talent in mathematics against other schools from across the UK, trying to solve complex mathematical problems. This Year three students from the Grange won Bronze awards; Jasmine Dawling (Year 10), Sophie Swannick (Year 9) and Mert Mercankaya (Year 9). This is a fantastic achievement as this means they scored in the top 40% of all the participants across the UK. Here are two accounts of what it felt like to take part in this national competition “When I was chosen I knew that it showed my teacher trusted my ability in maths. We were in the Hall with some Year 11 pupils doing mock exams so I knew it was important. The questions weren’t overly hard but they weren’t a walk in the park either. My advice to someone chosen next year would be answer the questions you know and don’t stress too much.” Luke Preece Year 9 “When I was chosen I was quite shocked because I heard the challenge was aimed at Year 10 students. I was happy that Mr Hughes thought that my peers and I had the ability to work at that level. To sit in the Hall with the Year 11s doing their mocks was quite nerve racking but after a few minutes I was focused on the paper. I think it was really good practise for the exam conditions in the future. When I found out I won an award I didn’t really believe it. I was very proud of myself and really glad I had the opportunity to take part. It was a privilege to be a part of a national competition and hopefully I can try again next year.” Sophie Swannick Year 9
KS3
Some of our KS3 students have been on a consequences course run by West Mercia Police and Stoke Heath Young Offenders Institute. During this course they have looked at the effects of crime and consequences of crime. Callum Smith and Morgan Watkiss said they had learnt a lot and asked many appropriate questions and enjoyed the day. Connor Davies in Year 8 is representing The Grange School along with 3 KS4 students to work with multi agencies on a project looking at the provision for Youths in Shropshire,
We are reaching that time of year again that signals examinations, revision and more revision! Yes, exam season is rapidly approaching and with it brings after school sessions and plenty of work to do whilst munching away on those Easter eggs! There will be an examination/revision timetable issued very soon and this will remain the focus for the final few weeks before students sit their final papers. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the Yr11 students the very best of luck!
Mrs J. Lock KS4 Progress Manager
Prom
This year’s celebrations will be held, as usual, at school on Thursday 25 June to wish a fond farewell to our Year 11 students. The fundraiser day was an extravaganza with performances on stage at break, fancy dress or being sponsored in order to raise funds for their big day. The fancy dress outfits were stunning, Superman, Where’s Wally were there as well as Snow White and the Wicked Queen (aka Mrs Lock and Mrs Jones). All those who took part to help raise funds deserve our congratulations. They raised almost £600 on the day – a fabulous effort! At lunch time there was a wonderful atmosphere in the school hall where stalls were set up to help raise funds with activities such as name the teddy, tombola and a cake sale. As in previous years, Mrs Lock and Mrs Jones, along with Mr Parker, Mr Ward, Mr Hughes and Mr Dobson, kept their show stopping performance top secret until the big day! We look forward to seeing you on the big night to celebrate!
Mrs J. Lock
ICT Department
During this term key stage 3 students have been set a task for the “Create IT Awards” run by Shropshire County Council. Students were asked to produce either an resource about “E-safety”, an animation or a video. Students could work in groups or on their own producing a product of their own design for a certain target audience. These resources were made for either key stage three or key stage 4 students. Entries have now been sent in and we are awaiting the results. Year 10 students are currently working towards their Cambridge National Certificate in ICT. Students are learning how to create business solutions using ICT.
History Year 7 During this term year 7 Students have been
studying a wide variety of features of Medieval Britain. Students have been gaining knowledge and understanding of many features of daily life such as: sports and entertainment, religion, marriage, feasts, education, crime, punishment and many more. Whilst studying these features students have been developing their historical skills, including using sources, analysing their usefulness and reliability, investigating opinions (both historical and modern) of a variety of events and features of this period and understanding both the causes and consequences of events. Year 8 This term students have just finished studying features of Industrial Britain and are moving on to study the renaissance era in Britain. Work will involve investigating the changes that occurred in Britain during this period as well as some other major changes that occurred around the world at this time. Students will study important discoveries and inventions of this era including the work of famous historical figures such as da Vinci and Magellan as well as studying the famous Tudor monarchy. Year 9 This term students have been and will continue to study World War Two. Students have so far studied the consequences of defeat in World War One upon Germany and its people gaining knowledge and understanding how this among other factors led to the outbreak of World War Two. Students will now begin to investigate the main events involved in World War Two, looking into both historical and modern opinions of these events as well as making use of historical sources to gain further knowledge and understanding. Year 10 Students in Year 10 have recently completed studying the first of three units of work that must be covered as part of their G.C.S.E course, that unit consisting of medicine and public health from the Roman era to the modern era. Students will now begin preparation for their controlled assessment that focuses on the British Home Front during both of the World Wars. Students will also take part in mock examinations in coming weeks to help prepare them for their G.C.S.E examinations next year. Year 11 Students in Year 11 are coming to the end of their study of Germany in the inter war years and will soon be moving on to their final unit: the transformation of surgery 1845-1918. Once completed students will focus on revision of all units of work completed in preparation for their final examinations. Students have recently completed mock examinations, in which there were some very promising results which will hopefully put students in good stead for the summer.
Mr. C. Ward History
Science Berlin Trip Sunday Up early again on a Sunday so we could visit
For 4 days at the end of January, 23 Science and Technology students from Years 10 and 11, accompanied Mr Keenan, Miss McCombie and Mr Jenkins to Berlin in Germany. The reason for the trip was to experience the real life Science and do it in another country with a language we don’t study. Friday We left school at 9.30am for Liverpool Airport in what was going to be a very long day! We arrived in Berlin at tea time having had to figure out what platform we needed to get to, as there were no signs or timetables! It took 40 minutes to get into Berlin Hauptbahnhof, the most impressive and imposing train station any of us had ever seen. After a quick toilet break and unpack, we went on the U-bahn to the Hard Rock Café for a well-deserved Burger. As the night was still early, Mr Jenkins thought it would be good to do some night time sightseeing, so we went to see the Brandenberg Gate and the Reichstag. By now we were very tired, and desperate for sleep. Saturday An early start as we visited the German Technology Museum and the Spectrum Science Centre. The Technology Museum was full of aircraft, boats and trains as well as exhibitions on photography, chemistry, biology, textiles and the science of film. Across the road was the hands on Spectrum Centre where the teachers were actually more excited than we were to play with the Science experiments. After this we went to the Sony Centre on Potsdamer Platz where we saw some of the remaining Berlin Wall. Next was the Otto Bock Medical Science Centre where we had a tour and learnt all about the development and manufacture of prosthetic limbs, including running blades. Dinner was at Pizza hut before we went to the Berlin Mall for a bit of shopping for presents.
SUBJECTS Review
Year 11 students are currently working towards their Cambridge National Certificate in ICT. Students are completing coursework topics on a fictitious music company called “Shrewsbury Sounds” which promotes new bands and artists in the Shrewsbury area. Students have to design and create a CD cover for a music artiste. This involves students researching components of a CD cover, taking photographs and manipulating them to create their finished product.
the Natural History Museum. The entrance was full of dinosaur skeletons including a T-Rex and a giant Diplodocus. There was a cool exhibition on Pandas as well as loads of stuffed animals, a space and time exhibition and a preserved specimen room that had, floor to ceiling “dead stuff” that was the size of our school hall. Next stop was the Computer Gaming Museum where we learnt about the history of games consoles and games and the differences between the games in East and West Germany in the 1970s and 80s. In the evening, we walked to Checkpoint Charlie and walked through Museum Island and the Gendarmenmarkt where all the old buildings and Art and History museums were. Monday Today we went out to the outskirts of the city to a town called Zeuthen to a particle accelerator research lab called DESY. We had a presentation by a research scientist on the work he did at the South Pole in the research into Neutrinos, tiny sub-atomic particles that could be observed by a giant glass telescope drilled a kilometre down into the ice. After this we were taken around the research labs and we were shown how a particle accelerator worked. After a long journey back we arrive back at school at 11.30pm on Monday night. Comments: “It was the best trip we’ve ever been on” “If there is another trip to Berlin, I’m definitely coming” “One more stop!” “Funniest bit was... Mr Jenkins showing Mark how to twirl his spaghetti” “Going up the TV tower and having a drink at the top was immense” “Otto Bock was cool. I never realised how much science there was to make a false leg”
Paul Jenkins Head of Science
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Mark Halstead, Tom Downes 10 JEM, Mickey Mellon
SPORTS Review
Physical Education Department
The start of the spring term is always busy, but at the same time weather sometimes causes disruption to fixture schedules. We have been quite fortunate this term that we have only had to cancel one game owing to the weather. In terms of clubs and fixtures, it is always pleasing to see such a good turn out when it comes to students representing the school for different activities. In curriculum time, students across different year groups have been improving their skills and understanding in a variety of activities including Trampolining, Basketball, Gymnastics, Rugby, Football and Fitness. Participation and effort across all groups has been exemplary and it is clear that many students are making rapid progress in different activity areas. This is the second term in which we have been using the new assessment tracking system in PE. It has helped students to engage more in their learning by setting clear targets in which to improve. Moving onto fixtures, there has been excellent representation for team sports which have included Volleyball, Netball, Football, Rugby and Badminton. It is always pleasing to see so many students representing the school, competing against other schools in different sports fixtures. Well done to all students that have represented the sports teams this term.
The u16 girls have played two matches recently, they are in the County Cup defending their title of County champions from U15 level. The first round they beat Thomas Adams 2-1, with only 10 players. Some excellent performances from Maddie Jones. Unfortunately, in the next round we lost to Thomas Telford 5-1. Despite strong performances by Lauren Jones and Mel Forbes we were unable to pull the game back. Thomas telford staff were impressed with 5 of our year 11 players and offered them a place on their BTEC Academy for a level 3 course without interview based on their sporting ability. Hopefully, Lauren Jones and possibly Maddie Jones may take this up! Thomas Telford also gave us two free football kits on the night so we appreciate their generosity. Due to the deadline of this newsletter, we will update you on other results in the next newsletter. We are due to complete an array of fixtures over the next few weeks which include representation in district Football, Netball, Rugby and Badminton. Students now have the opportunity to attend a sporting activity during different nights of the week. There is always an opportunity for your child to come along and try new activities, develop their skills and to enjoy themselves.
Shrewsbury Town F.C
visit the Grange School When Mickey Mellon and Mark Halstead came in on January 22nd, it was a good chance to make a connection with a club which has sometimes seemed distant in the past. The afternoon started with a question and answer session with Mickey Mellon and there were a lot of questions about the squad and how he coped with the pressure of the fans aspirations which was a nice insight into managing life. Next up, we took on goalkeeper Mark Halstead in a Basketball challenge which made the following Question and Answer more casual because of the fun we had in that time. Mark was asked a lot about what happens behind the scenes, in and out of the training sessions which revealed to us how well this squad could bond. Overall, it was a great experience but now we have the excitement of a possible trophy being celebrated next time by the very respectable Mickey Mellon.
New Football kits
Q+A. Student in the Spotlight Dawson Tavernier answers a few questions related to his life in Sport. Q1 Who are your sporting heroes? A1 Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck Q2 What sports do you play? A2 Football, Tennis, Rugby and Badminton Q3 What is the best advice you have been given in Sport? A3 To always trust your team mates Q4 What’s been the best moment/memory of sport in the Grange School so far? A4 Scoring my first goal for the Grange school at home v BRJ Q5 Which 3 sports people would you invite to dinner and why? A5 Wayne Rooney because he has been at Man Utd for 10 years and developed as a player. Mo Farrah because he does so much for GB in terms of sport and charity. Usain Bolt because he’s an amazing athlete even at his age he excels.
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We have been very fortunate to receive sponsorship for brand new kits. The students will wear these for fixtures when representing the school. The new kits are for all students from Year 7-11. I would like to say a big thank you to Mrs Tudor for her hard work in arranging the sponsorship deals with two companies that have strong links with our school. I would also like to say a big thank you to Sophie Downes and Hollie Wrisdale from ND Education and Peter Evans from SRS Electrical who donated money towards the purchase of the kit. It’s great to see all students representing the school in a brand new kit.
Thanks for all your support! Mr Dobson and the Physical Education Team