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the word SAMUEL WARD ACADEMY / Oct 2016 / ISSUE 31
INSIDE THIS ISSUE GCSE & A LEVEL RESULTS p2 - 3 DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARDS p4 SCAFELL PIKE CHALLENGE p5 SUMMER FAIR FUN p6 LEAVERS’ BALL IN PICTURES p7 ACTIVITES WEEK p8 OUR KS3 ALUMNI p9 STAFF SPOTLIGHT p11
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Excellent results I
n today’s world young people are under constant pressure to push themselves and achieve more and better than previous generations. We know it is harder to get into universities and tougher to find jobs and apprenticeships which offer a pathway and future career for our young people. As such it is important for students to gain the best examination results possible, to allow our future citizens to fulfil their potential. We are proud that this year at Samuel Ward our GCSE students celebrated another year of excellent results with 67% of the 179 students achieving 5 GCSE A*-C passes including English and maths. We were especially pleased that under the new government measure known as Progress 8 we achieved a score of 0.76. This means that students here at Samuel Ward on average achieve three quarters of a grade higher than similar students achieve at other schools. We also saw an increase in A* and A grades and we were delighted that so many of our students attained these top grades, putting them in an excellent position to move on to further education, employment or training at high quality destinations. We recognise how hard it can be to remain focused on the end goal in a world where there are so many distractions, and commend our students for their resilience, focus and maturity in approach to the exams. We are lucky to have welcomed many of our students back into the Samuel Ward Sixth Form, whilst others have gone on to other destinations, and we wish each and every one of the class of 2016 the very best of luck in all they do in the future.
Kath Just Headteacher
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across the board Cambridge for Tom
Sixth Form goes from strength to strength Samuel Ward Academy has once again proven its strong provision for Sixth Form students through another excellent set of A level and BTEC results this year, exemplifying the hard work and commitment of staff and students at the academy. Almost a quarter of the grades achieved were either A* or A grades and eight students achieved A*- A grades across the board. Vocational subjects also did exceptionally well with 86% of students achieving a Distinction*-Merit. As headteacher it is an absolute privilege to work in a school where teachers, students and parents work together to ensure that all students progress to the next stage of their educational journey as well prepared as possible. Clearly over their school career students have benefited from excellent teaching and pastoral support, but it is their hard work in the end that means so many students can progress to their chosen university, career or apprenticeship. With the challenges and pressures they face in the ever-changing landscape of academic success, it is pleasing to see so many of the students embracing our philosophy that: the best way to predict the future is to create it.
Our outgoing Year 13 students are going on to a range of careers and opportunities after their A level and BTEC results in August, and with over 70% of students beginning university courses in the next few weeks we have welcomed lots of ex-students who have popped in to say goodbye before their term starts. Eight students achieved straight A and A* grades in the summer and 21% of all grades achieved were A or A*. As a result, 22% of university places secured by Samuel Ward students were at top 20 universities. In 2016 our 71 students are off to study a range of 41 subjects from Ancient History to VFX. Two students achieved three A* grades at A level and both are off to study medicine. Jack Sheppard (who achieved A* in Maths, Chemistry and Biology and A in AS Physics and B in AS Further Maths) will begin his course at UCL in 2017 after a gap year and Thomas Quarrell (A* in Maths, Chemistry and Biology and A in AS Further Maths and Physics) will start this year at Clare College in Cambridge. Tom joined the Sixth Form after completing his GCSEs at Linton Village College and was Deputy and then Head Boy of Cavell House. We would like to wish all our students the very best in their next endeavours and we look forward to hearing of their future successes and achievements..
DON’T FORGET OPEN EVENING Oct 6 From 6-30pm
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Trust schools’ challenge The Sixth Form once again participated in the Samuel Ward Academy Trust Sixth Form challenge event. The event took place at Thomas Gainsborough School and our team of Maria Fitch, Alice Iron, Maisie Bott, Charlie Eshelby, Haydn Lathangue, Jared Marsh, Amy Short, Kelleigh Jansen, Irna Manguerra-Bridle, Raja Abdullah, Sam Biederman, Tarek Schoehl, competed against teams from Newmarket Academy and Thomas Gainsborough in an effort to retain the William Wardale Trophy that the Sixth Form won last year. The challenges were a University Challenge quiz, a creative task, a public speaking task, a team-building task and an engineering task. Despite considerable opposition and a hardfought battle, the team from Samuel Ward
emerged as the winner for the second year running. The new Year 12 will need to start work early to ensure that we can retain the trophy next year as we think it looks very at home in Ms Just’s office here at Samuel Ward!
Students pushed to the limits Challenging, gruelling, exhausting, rewarding, exhilarating, amusing. These are only a few words that come to mind when I think of Duke of Edinburgh. Duke of Edinburgh is one of the most challenging activities students have taken part in but equally one of the most rewarding. This year, taking part in Silver and Bronze Duke of Edinburgh has allowed all students to learn new skills and push themselves to the limit-both physically and mentally. The three sections they had to complete throughout the year, volunteering, skills and physical, gave them the opportunity to give back to the community as well as explore activities outside and within school which they would not have done otherwise, helping to improve skills such as time management and communication. The expedition, in my opinion, is the most challenging aspect of them all. Their own determination and self-will to succeed is the thing that drives students forwards. It gets them through the 6-hour(Bronze) or 7-hour (Silver) walk each day, the constant fluctuation in weather conditions and the sleepless nights. But in the end,
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their willpower and tenacity gets them through and they have one of the most satisfying and enjoyable experiences. They learn how to take bearings and read compass directions, speak to people they don’t normally interact with, quickly learn how to properly fold away a tent to ensure it all fits into the bag, learn more about themselves and their limits. These things, amongst others, make all the hard work associated with Duke of Edinburgh, worth it. Mrs Cuthbert, would like to send a huge congratulation to all students that have completed either the Bronze or Silver Award to date, all that hard work
has paid off. Also a huge thank you to all the staff who give up their valuable time to make the Duke of Edinburgh run so smoothly each year, because without their help Samuel Ward Academy could not run this award.
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Scafell Pike Challenge Twelve Year 9 students took on the challenge of climbing Scafell Pike raising money for BBC Children in Need. They had been training for this since April under the direction of gym staff at Abbycroft Leisure centre. Leaving school on Friday 2 September, the journey to the Lake District was somewhat plagued with traffic problems and ended with us arriving and pitching tent in the dark. After a good breakfast on Saturday morning we set off……… in the rain, as we climbed the rain continued and it rained and rained and rained. Everyone was amazing, we sang songs told jokes and laughed as we trudged onwards and upwards. The higher we got the colder it got and we entered the cloud – visibility was limited and keeping together in small groups was important. On reaching the summit we managed to get a quick soggy photograph and then began our descent, stopping to eat our squashed sandwiches which we did in the rescue tents provided by our mountain guides. Coming down was equally as challenging as going up, everyone was cold and tired but still in incredibly good spirits. We have a school to be very proud of, students who don’t just know the school values but put them into practice. All 12 students proved their resilience, they showed courage and respect for each other. They demonstrated their compassion and integrity and accepted the responsibility to complete a difficult challenge that they had agreed to do. They are looking forward to the next Samuel Ward charity challenge!
Poetry in motion Our annual summer essay competition ran again this year in the summer term. Almost 100 Year 7 and 8 students chose to take part, discussing topics as diverse as whether poetry should rhyme to the usefulness of space exploration. This year’s winner Charis Watts and this year’s runner up James Martinez both answered the question ‘Creativity is as important as intelligence. Discuss how far you agree with this view.’ Both wrote excellent answers which explored a range of examples to support the points that they made. The standard of the essays was once again very high with students not only demonstrating an eagerness to learn more about areas outside of the curriculum, but being able to develop and shape arguments that clearly expressed their views. Although reading all 100 entries is no small undertaking, it was a pleasure to see how well the students had understood the task and share their views with others.
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Our Fair share of Sunshine Samuel Ward key stage 3 students were lucky again with sunshine for their annual summer fair and family picnic held in June this year. Over 200 families unrolled picnic rugs, opened hampers and joined their children for a picnic lunch. It was a great success, Year 7 and 8 pupils, who were running enterprise stalls for their House charities, had given an invitation to their families and many responded enthusiastically by bringing Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles as well as small brothers and sisters. Students provided an afternoon tea of homemade cakes and refreshments to supplement the picnics as well as earning a few extra coins for the House charities. There were also fun events such as beat the keeper, hoopla, tin can alley and dart the politician. Visitors could test their golf skills, have their faces painted, search for treasure and guess the flavour as well as other numerous stalls. Each house raised a lot of money for their charity, Cavell ÂŁ232 for Help for
Heroes, Darwin ÂŁ 439 for the Make A Wish Foundation and Brunel ÂŁ440 for Plan. Not only was this a lovely community event for both families and the School but it helps to develop Student Leadership skills as they plan, organise and resource this event in small teams.
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Leavers’ Ball is a red carpet affair
Mr Dale’s Visit to China I was very privileged to travel to China in July to set up the exchange programme with Yucai School in Beijing. My visit was to ‘present’ Samuel Ward and then hopefully to sign the exchange agreement to allow our pupils to visit China and vice versa. Yucai is an all-through school (Ages 5-18) of about 4000 pupils very close to the centre of Beijing. The school sits on ancient special land and has an impressive history. The first Principal was the educator of Mao Zedong who was the founder of the People’s Republic of China. There is a museum of Ancient Chinese Architecture on the site of the school which is the site where the Emperor used to plant a tree at the start of every agricultural season and pray for a good yield. After presenting what Samuel Ward could offer their pupils and signing the agreement I was treated to a tour of the school. We started in the primary buildings and I was shown the indoor garden and the cabinet that contained Chinese herbs that the pupils had to
learn the names and smells of. The school is driven by a clear set of values and expectations just like Samuel Ward. The primary pupils had interpreted this in framed flower petal compositions. These roughly translated as ‘Love, achieve, belong’ I then visited a number of primary classrooms each with 42 or more pupils in them. There was a sense of warmth and interest in all of these classrooms and pupils wanted to and were allowed to say hello and talk to me in English. We then had lunch in the school canteen - 2 storey with ground floor being primary pupils who were helped and supported by a strong sense of student leadership with older pupils making sure all pupils had correct food and were sitting in correct places. High school pupils sat upstairs and had far more freedom. The food was excellent. In the afternoon we had a tour round the secondary buildings and I observed a Year 11 maths lesson. 41 pupils this time and really crammed into the classroom on individual desks. When I arrived the teacher was not there but a pupil was leading the rest
of the class in focussing/relaxation techniques through chanting, head and neck massage. The level of mathematics they were studying was impressive. I was left with an overwhelming affection for the school and a strong feeling that the exchange is a fantastic opportunity for Samuel Ward pupils moving forward. I got a strong sense during my visit that ‘much is different but so much is the same. We will be in touch with details of the exchange programme in the near future.
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The heat was on for our Summer Concert July the 20th was one of the hottest days leading up to the end of term, it was also the day of this years’ summer concert. A change of venue from our now regular spot in the sports hall to the un-air conditioned Drama studio this year, gave way to another impressive lighting and sound show from regular creative technicians, Gareth and Luke Hammond, who have worked on Samuel Ward’s productions since 2013. Students were once again on top form, baring the heat in difficult conditions producing some of the finest performances to date. The Swing band, lead by our
An O ut s t andi ng Acade m y - O F S T E D 2 0 1 2 / 1 3 new Head of Music, Tom Radford were brilliant and entertaining as always. The orchestra group, Woodwind group and Brass group organised and lead by our very own Eleanor Swankie, Gavin Bowyer and veteran Diana Braverman were also wonderful. Regulars Aime Frere, Shannon Elsden and Marlise Bush sang and performed solos by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Adele,
whilst Shannon performed another one of her compositions. Parents and staff who came to the concert were very impressed by the quality of all the performances and despite the uncomfortable conditions, left the evening with a breath of fresh air. Well done to all those involved, to the choir, the year 9 performance group and everyone else who gave up their evening to be there and help. It was the perfect way to end the term.
Activities week goes with a splash! During the summer term Year 8 celebrate their graduation to Key Stage 4 with a series of activities which included trips to Italy to participate in water sports. Visits to theme parks, drama events and competing in an ‘It’s a knock out’ style competition. Great fun was had by all.
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Our KS3 Alumni
Nodar Rukhadz Paige Norris
rthipan
Kathiravan Pa
Joshua Jones
James Cowie Lucy Lawrence
Katie Chadwick
George Farrington
Samuel Ward Academy Year 8 Alumni are very special students. They were selected for embodiment of our school values in everything they do. They are positive role models for incoming new year 7 students and their pictures hang in C block to inspire others Rebecca Falconio
Hayden Ketteridge
Sinead Santos
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Students shine at Sturmer Fete Organisers of the Sturmer Fayre invited the School Choir and the Swing Band to entertain the local residents of Haverhill last Sunday 18th September. The Choir picked out 5 of their favourite numbers to fill a 30 minute slot consisting of Valerie, When I Grow Up, You Raise Me Up, Ave Maria and their favourite Disney medley! Swing Band were up next and revisited two numbers to play from the Summer Concert which were ‘Jazz Police’ and ‘It don’t mean a thing’ . Dozens of parents and friends turned up to be entertained and a special thanks goes out to the students and anyone else who gave up their Sunday to perform.
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Summer School This year’s summer school was another huge success for over 200 pupils from over a dozen local primary schools. This year’s theme was ‘Light’ and pupils took part in many activities including Painting with light, green screen filming, shadow puppetry and photography. There was also a trip to London to join in games and activities in Greenwich Park, a visit to The Maritime Museum and to meet and speak to astronomers in the Greenwich Observatory. The finale to the week was a show to parents and school governors.
Matilda is a showstopper This year’s Key Stage 3 production saw a cast of very talented students step away from our usual genre of play and tackle a mini musical instead! Matilda in 20 minutes is a reduced version of the popular West End show by Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly. The show features 5 songs from the stage show and snippets of dialogue to piece the narrative together. After some very impressive auditions, the cast, co-directed by Marlise Bush and co-choreographed by ex student Charlotte Scammerton, rehearsed intensively for 6 weeks, giving up weekends and part of their half term. The show introduced some very impressive up and coming talent with the likes of Jack Ainsworth-McKay and Grace Clancy who played the infamous Mr & Mrs Wormwood, George Farrington and Luke Potter as Bruce Bogtrotter, Amelia Jennings as Miss Honey, Ruth Ridgeway as The Trunchbull and finally, young Megan White who played the magical Matilda in her Samuel Ward debut performance. After the final show, the cast still had enough energy to perform the show 3 more times in one day to 7 of our local primary schools. Parents, colleagues, the cast’s friends and myself were all blown away by the shear dedication, commitment and professionalism to the show from start to finish. At times, I forgot they were only Key Stage 3. Needless to say I was incredibly proud of them all. Well done.
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SAMUEL WARD ACADEMY / May 2016 / ISSUE 31
Staff in the Spotlight...
Ms Just - Headteacher I have spent the last eleven years as a deputy head at Chiswick School and have been in education for over thirty years. Since graduating from Essex University and completing my PGCE at Hull University, I have worked in Hull, the Isle of Man, Singapore and Twickenham in a variety of roles. I’m also a bit of an adventurer and like to take on new challenges, so I have hiked the Inca Trail, walked Hadrian’s Wall for charity and travelled to Uganda, China, Malaysia, Australia as well as several European countries. As the new head at Samuel Ward I am often asked why I chose to come and work here and the answer is simple: wonderful students who are polite, well-mannered and respectful; hard-working and dedicated staff who really want to make a difference to students; supportive and engaged parents and the community feel of the school and Haverhill. Plus, it’s a truly stunning and beautiful part of the world.
Another great advantage to me was in being part of the Samuel Ward Academy Trust, as it provides a family of schools who help one another and achieve more by their collaboration. Subjects work cross-trust to keep ahead of government changes and share the best each school has to offer. I also fully believe in the philosophy and ethos which underpin Samuel Ward and the Trust, where values are at the core of all we do. For me school is about the broader, holistic nature of education where we are developing the whole child, and whilst we care about results and want students to strive to achieve the best grades they can, we also want them to grow into independent, confident citizens who enjoy their interests and hobbies beyond study. As such the enrichment programme offers opportunities to try out new skills and activities and helps students develop a lifelong love of learning, which means students can fulfil their broader ambitions and go on to be doctors, sports coaches, fashion designers, actors, scientists, researchers, entrepreneurs, teachers, nurses or whatever hopes and dreams they have. I feel lucky to be leading such an innovative and creative school and look forward to getting to know the students and community over the coming years.
The Beauty of Mathematics Sixth Form students, Maisie Bott, Steph Fowle and Dilly Matthews entered the Matrix National Mathematics Competition just before the summer break. This is a national competition run by MathsWorlduk and the University of Leeds that required students to research a famous mathematician and their work and present their finding through the medium of film. The completed films were then posted on You Tube and judged by a panel made up of leading University Academics. We are proud to say that Maisie, Steph and Dilly were named as national runners up and also awarded the ‘Creativity Prize’ and that their video was presented at the MathsWorld UK Conference in Leeds in September that was attended by some of the world’s leading mathematicians. The judges commented; high levels of artistic cinematography and creativity. Clear and inspiring expression of the collaborative nature of mathematics. We are also very proud to say that Samuel Ward Academy was the only state school to feature in the final awards. The video is in the public domain and hosted on You Tube, please take a look (guest appearance by Mr Williams!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2Wlbe8ICdY
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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Wed 23 November Year 10 Work Experience Parents Evening
Tue 7th June Year 9 Field Trip TBC
Mon 28 November Year 12 Health and Social Care
Thur 6 October Open Evening
Work Experience
Wed 12 October Year 11 Positively Mad Revision
Wed 30 November Parents’ Forum, 6.00pm
Thur 13 October Year 9 new GCSE information evening
Tue 6 December Year 13 Parents’ Evening
Wed 19 October Year 9 Norwich Castle Trip
Fri 9 December Sixth Form Xmas Ball
Wed 2 November Pupil Review Day
Tue 12 December Awards Evening
Fri 4 November KS4 Christmas Carol Event
Thur 15 December Christmas Concert
Mon 7 November Year 10 Norwich Castle Trip
Fri 16 December Term Ends
Tue 8 to Thur10 November KS4 Drama Play
Wed 4 January 2017 Return to school after Christmas
Wed 9 November BTEC Parliament Trip
Two weeks beginning Mon 23 January Year 11 to Sixth
Mon 14 November Prep Exams begin for 11 / 12 / 13
Form interviews
Year 11 Maths / Media / Catering exams all week
Wed 1 February Year 10 Maths Challenge
Thur 17 November Sixth Form Open Evening
Thur 23 February Year 8 Subject Surgery
Fri 18 November Children in Need Day
Wed 1 March Parents’ Forum 6.00pm
Tue 22 November Year 13 History Trip
Frid 3 February Year 8 Ypres Trip
If you would like to visit us it would be our pleasure to show you around. Please contact Marian Merch-Chammon on 01440 760333. Samuel Ward Academy, Chalkstone Way, Haverhill, Suffolk CB9 0LD Tel: 01440 761511 • Fax: 01440 761899 Web: http://www.samuelward.co.uk Email: swa@samuelward.co.uk
Designed In-House at Samuel Ward Academy. www.samuelward.co.uk
This issue of The Word has been printed on paper made from 75% recycled fibre. The remaining 25% comes from forests managed for sustainability. The paper has been accredited by the Forest Stewardship Council. Printed by Red Side Up Ltd. Haverhill. UK
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